Chapter Summaries

Lex Luthor tried to turn Superman’s loss of control into a public scandal, but Kate Grant disrupted his press conference, and the Justice League used the event to warn him. Clark stayed home to care for pregnant Lois, while Atomica grew anxious about Superman’s absence as she pursued her plans.

• Lex Luthor held a press conference and used old footage of Superman under Poison Ivy’s control to argue that Superman posed a danger to the public.
• Kate Grant countered Luthor by suggesting his feud with Superman stemmed from his interest in Lois Lane, diverting reporters toward rumors about Lois’s pregnancy.
• Plastic Man, disguised as Kate, returned to the Watchtower with Barry after their mission, and Cyborg explained that the event had served as a warning to Luthor.
• Clark stayed home to cook for Lois and worried about the risks of her carrying a human-Kryptonian child.
• Atomica became anxious because Superman’s absence from hero work undermined one of her reasons for joining the Justice League.

Dane watched Artemis and Big Barda begin a weapons duel in Themyscira, while Atomica's virus plot, Cyborg's possible transformation, and Pandora and The Questioner's investigations continued elsewhere. The chapter left the duel underway, with Artemis kicking Big Barda away and taking her spear.

• Dane arrived in Themyscira and joined the Amazons gathered to watch Artemis and Big Barda duel.
• Dane signaled the start of the match, and Artemis and Big Barda exchanged powerful attacks in the arena.
• Big Barda dodged Artemis's axe swing and countered with a spear thrust aimed at Artemis's throat.
• Artemis trapped Big Barda's spear between her hands, pulled it toward herself, and kicked Big Barda away, taking the spear.

Big Barda defeated Artemis in an arena match on Themyscira while Dane spent time with Menalippe. Meanwhile, Amanda Waller learned that Kryptonite could weaken Superman and agreed to Atomica’s plan to steal some from Batman.

• Big Barda defeated Artemis after the two exchanged attacks, and Dane declared her the winner.
• Big Barda admitted she was interested in Dane, while Artemis pointed out that Wonder Woman was her true rival.
• Atomica told Amanda Waller that Kryptonite could weaken Superman and that Shazam had brought some back from Krypton.
• Waller realized Batman might possess Kryptonite, and Atomica proposed stealing it from him.
• Waller approved the plan and told Atomica to take the Kryptonite without confronting Batman.

Atomica stole a microscopic fragment of Batman’s Kryptonite for the Crime Syndicate’s plan to target Superman, prompting Dane and Batman to agree that the Justice League must respond to the Syndicate’s coming invasion. As Dane convened the League to discuss parallel universes, Madame Web received a distressed woman who feared something evil was inside her.

• Atomica followed the Man on the Situation’s guidance into the Batcave and took a tiny fragment of Batman’s Kryptonite.
• Batman discovered the missing fragment and confronted Dane, who explained that Atomica worked for the Crime Syndicate and planned to help bring it to their Earth.
• Dane told Batman that Atomica and another mysterious person had entered their universe using a device like a Mother Box, and declared that he would stop the Syndicate.
• Batman persuaded Dane to involve the Justice League, and Dane called a Watchtower meeting without Atomica to discuss parallel universes.
• Madame Web received a distraught woman who described nightmares of burning herself alive and finding gasoline beside her bed.

Pandora’s Box corrupted Pandora and then The Phantom Stranger, who began taking control of Kandahar, while the Spirit of Kandahar moved Pandora and The Questioner to safety and alerted Dane. Dane rescued Madame Web from Bomb Girl’s explosion and subdued Bomb Girl, leaving the danger in Kandahar for the Justice League to confront.

• Pandora confronted The Questioner in Kandahar and tried to make him open Pandora’s Box, but The Phantom Stranger intervened.
• Pandora’s magic trapped The Phantom Stranger and The Questioner, and The Questioner briefly held the box before The Phantom Stranger seized it and became corrupted.
• The Phantom Stranger attacked Pandora and The Questioner, destroyed The Questioner’s phone, and spread red magic across Kandahar to claim the city.
• The Spirit of Kandahar transported Pandora and The Questioner to the Void World and alerted Dane, who ordered the Justice League to move out toward Kandahar.
• Dane sensed Madame Web was in danger, used the Speed Force to pull her from Bomb Girl’s explosion, and struck Bomb Girl with lightning when she tried to flee.
• Madame Web recovered and clung to Dane, telling him he had arrived just in time.

Dane returned to Kandahar with Madame Web after the Justice League fought the Phantom Stranger and contained Pandora’s Box. Blue Beetle was corrupted and attacked Superman, while the Phantom Stranger was subdued; Dane arrived as Constantine stopped stripping the Stranger of his equipment.

• Nimu warned Dane that the War of Three-Body had become a battlefield, so he returned to Kandahar with Madame Web.
• Blue Beetle charged the Phantom Stranger, was overwhelmed by his magic, and was corrupted by Pandora’s Box.
• Blue Beetle attacked Superman, but Superman resisted Pandora’s Box by thinking of Lois Lane and their unborn child.
• Hawkwoman, Diana, and Green Lantern disarmed and subdued the Phantom Stranger, while Zatanna contained Pandora’s Box.
• Constantine cursed the Phantom Stranger and began taking his magical equipment as the Justice League secured the scene.
• Dane arrived with Madame Web, introduced her to the League, and stopped Constantine from stripping the Phantom Stranger further.

Dane exposed Atomica as an infiltrator from another universe and urged the Justice League to counterattack Earth-3 before its threat grew. The League agreed to capture the mastermind, while Outsider watched a doctored feed at an A.R.G.U.S. base, unaware that Cortana controlled it.

• Constantine returned the Phantom Stranger's holy items after Dane said he could not protect him from Heaven, and Blue Beetle and Barry faced Batman's reprimand.
• Dane revealed Atomica, who showed no reaction to Pandora's Box, and Batman confirmed that the box was made of antimatter from another universe.
• The League discovered Atomica had planned to weaken Superman with a tiny piece of Kryptonite and learned her heart was positioned opposite to most people's.
• Dane proposed capturing the Secret Society's accomplices and counterattacking Earth-3, and Diana, Zatanna, and Hawkwoman supported the plan.
• Outsider watched an apparently normal feed at an A.R.G.U.S. base, unaware that Cortana had taken control of Atomica's pinhole camera, though his instincts warned him something was wrong.

Outsider gathered the Secret Society at an A.R.G.U.S. base, but the Justice League arrived and defeated the villains in a chaotic battle. After Batman interrogated Outsider, he learned the Crime Syndicate was even more dangerous than expected and that Thomas Wayne Jr. was involved in the murders of the Wayne family.

• Outsider assembled the Secret Society and realized Bomb Girl had gone missing, prompting him to suspect they had been exposed.
• Dane brought the Justice League to the base, where Deathstroke tried to flee and the heroes fought the Secret Society.
• Giganta rampaged through the base, Shadow Thief was crushed to death, and the Justice League captured or subdued the remaining villains.
• Batman interrogated Outsider while the other heroes waited, and Clark shared that Lois was pregnant.
• Batman told the team that the Crime Syndicate consisted of dangerous criminals and that Thomas Wayne Jr. had conspired to murder the Wayne couple and another Bruce Wayne.

Dane and Batman organized the Justice League’s expedition to Earth-3, deciding who would go and who would remain to protect their world. As the team prepared, Dane took Madame Web to stay at the Rock of Eternity and spent his remaining free time with his girlfriends.

• Batman urged the Justice League to take the threat from Night Owl seriously, and Dane warned that Night Owl was a destructive killer who could rival Batman.
• The League planned its counterattack and chose to leave Clark, Aquaman, Blue Beetle, and Martian Manhunter behind while Red Hood and The Flash joined the expedition.
• Dane asked the Trinity of Sin about their plans, then suggested that Pandora seek advice from Gabriel in Los Angeles.
• Dane invited Nimu to stay at the Rock of Eternity, where she found an old room hidden behind a Wizard Council seat.
• During the pause before the expedition, Dane visited Harley and Poison Ivy in Gotham and experimented with Harley’s proposed dry route.

Dane and the Justice League entered Earth-3, arriving in a Gotham ruled by Night Owl. After learning what they could about the city, they split up to investigate the world, leaving Dane with Zatanna and Diana.

• Diana bound Dane with the Lasso of Truth and questioned him about Menalippe before they began another private battle.
• Dane used Pandora's Box to lead the Justice League through a portal to Earth-3, where a Gotham police officer attacked him.
• Dane read the officer's mind and learned that Night Owl ruled Gotham and had killed its last resisting hero, Jester.
• Diana questioned Outsider with the Lasso of Truth and learned that Night Owl might be at Old Wayne Tower or the Crime Syndicate's base.
• Batman chose to investigate Earth-3, and Dane gave money to the League members before they split up to explore.
• Zatanna and Diana stayed with Dane after the others departed to investigate on their own.

Batman secured Wayne Manor after capturing Outsider, while Doctor Light and Vixen encountered corrupt authorities in Gotham and fled the city. Hal confronted his hostile family without his ring, and Barry found no familiar relatives in Central City before meeting a girl at his old university.

• Batman scanned Wayne Manor, took control of its systems, and brought the sedated Outsider inside.
• Vixen and Doctor Light defeated a gang of thugs and a corrupt police officer in Gotham, then flew away to avoid exposing themselves.
• Hal visited his parents in Seaside City, evaded Martin’s knife attack, and entered the house after knocking him down.
• Barry found strangers living in his family home, learned that Central City had a speedster called Johnny Quick, and went to his university.
• A girl mistook Barry for a new student, and he blushed when he noticed her beauty.

Dane, Diana, and Zatanna found Demon Island, where Ares’s Amazons attacked them before learning who they were. Dane subdued the Amazons, and their queen secretly prepared to summon Ares for help.

• Dane used Pandora’s Box to locate a magically concealed island and opened a portal there with Diana and Zatanna.
• The Amazons, led by Hippolyta, attacked the newcomers, but Dane repelled them and crushed the queen’s sword.
• Diana used the Lasso of Truth to learn that the island was Demon Island and that this world’s Lois Lane was Ares’s child.
• Dane ordered the queen to gather her army and take him to the palace, then sealed the island against outside communication.
• The queen told her adjutant to prepare the altar so she could call on Ares, despite worrying that he might have been waiting for this opportunity.

The Amazon queen revealed Ares’s history and her plan to release him, while Dane chose to wait and observe. At the Crime Syndicate, Night Owl and Ultraman plotted against Mazahs, but Queen Super remained unconvinced and judged all three men as potential mates.

• The Amazon queen explained that Ares had caused Ragnarok, lost his children and allies, and been sealed after a thousand-day war, while Hera had entrusted Lois to her as a possible weapon against him.
• Zatanna’s familiar overheard the queen order her adjutant to release Ares, and Dane decided not to interfere so he could assess Ares and investigate Mazahs.
• Ultraman told Night Owl that Mazahs had killed his opponent and absorbed the opponent’s ability, prompting them to suspect Mazahs was hiding a weakness tied to the name he refused to speak.
• Night Owl and Ultraman planned to recruit Queen Super and use her Lasso of Submission to make Mazahs reveal his weakness, while gathering enough allies to overpower him.
• Queen Super weighed Ultraman, Night Owl, and Mazahs as candidates for her trial, then heard their request to oppose Mazahs and privately marked each man down for his shortcomings.

Queen Super agreed with Night Owl and Ultraman to capture Mazahs before using him to have a child. On Demon Island, Hippolyta freed Ares, but Dane and Diana defeated the God of War and stopped his War Demons, leaving Hippolyta impressed by the newcomers.

• Queen Super agreed to capture Mazahs with Night Owl and Ultraman, while excluding him from the Crime Syndicate's invitation to meet.
• Hippolyta entered the sacrificial altar on Demon Island and used her blood to break Ares's seal.
• Ares grabbed Hippolyta and summoned his War Demons, while Dane struck Ares and Diana rescued Hippolyta.
• Hippolyta summoned the Amazons, who joined Diana in fighting the War Demons as Dane battled Ares in the sky.
• Dane lured Ares into underground magma, empowered Ares's battle axe, and drove it into the God of War's heart.
• Ares's defeat ended the War Demons, and Dane absorbed his divine power and sealed his soul while Hippolyta ordered the Amazons to clean up the battlefield.

Diana revealed to Hippolyta that she came from a parallel Earth, while the Crime Syndicate prepared to capture Mazahs with the help of Owlman’s three gene-spliced clones. In Gotham, Batman confronted Talon Dick Grayson in Owlman’s lair and wore him down in a fight.

• Diana told Hippolyta that she was the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus on another Earth, though that world’s Hippolyta was not her mother.
• Owlman introduced three clones made with Mazahs’s and his own genes, calling them the Wonder Family, and proposed using them to capture Mazahs.
• Ultraman, Superwoman, and Owlman favored keeping Mazahs alive, while Johnny Quick and Sea King wanted him killed; Martian accepted capture, and the Syndicate agreed to imprison Mazahs.
• Batman hid Outsider in Wayne Manor’s Batcave and went to Old Wayne Tower, where Talon Dick Grayson attacked him.
• Batman disarmed Talon’s gun and used changing rhythms to exhaust him, leaving Talon gasping while Batman remained composed.

Batman confronted Talon and revealed his suspicion that Night Owl had murdered Dick Grayson's parents, directing him to seek evidence at Wayne Manor. Elsewhere, Jason fought the Skull Gang and then battled Talons who tried to take him into custody.

• Batman disabled the tower console and told Talon that Night Owl was not a force for justice in Gotham.
• Batman told Talon that his parents had been murdered and suggested Night Owl had killed them; he said Wayne Manor held evidence.
• Jason refused to pay the Skull Gang's demanded tax and beat its members in the street.
• Talons confronted Jason and demanded he explain how he had entered Gotham, but he refused and transformed into his Red Hood suit.
• Jason fought the Talons, whose attacks could not damage his suit, and exchanged gunfire with them after both sides drew firearms.

Jason learned that Night Owl’s Talons served as Gotham’s official authorities while enforcing criminal protection schemes. Meanwhile, Night Owl’s trap for Mazahs turned into a battle across the Caribbean, where Mazahs proved strong enough to overwhelm the Crime Syndicate and left Night Owl ordering an attack.

• Jason questioned a wounded Talon and learned that Night Owl ruled Gotham and that the Talons collected protection money from gangs as the city’s official force.
• Night Owl lured Mazahs to a deserted island with Queen Super as bait, where Mazahs fought the three Captain Marvels and wounded Sea Overlord.
• Ultraman and the Crime Syndicate attacked Mazahs near the Caribbean coast, but he survived their combined assault and realized he could challenge them all.
• Night Owl’s gravity weapon briefly pinned Mazahs, but it malfunctioned before Queen Super could restrain him, and Mazahs blasted her through several buildings.
• Mazahs smashed Night Owl’s aircraft, then seized and brutalized Power Ring while Night Owl landed among the Crime Syndicate and ordered an attack.

Mazahs escaped after fighting the Crime Syndicate, while Dane revealed that he had sabotaged Night Owl’s aircraft and watched events unfold from Demon Island. In Gotham, Dick learned Night Owl had murdered his parents, and Batman tried to persuade him that the city could change for the better.

• The Wonder Family and Ultraman fought Mazahs until he fled into space, and Ultraman blamed Night Owl for the failed aircraft.
• Dane revealed that he had caused Night Owl’s aircraft to malfunction and described Hippolyta’s plans for Queen Super and the Amazons.
• Diana continued retraining the Amazons while Dane warned Hippolyta against pursuing world conquest.
• Dane watched the Justice League members investigate their world and saw Dick examine evidence linking Night Owl to his parents’ deaths.
• Batman told Dick that Night Owl had killed the Graysons because he wanted to raise and trust a talented child, and Dick questioned Batman’s motives and faith in Gotham.

Batman challenged Night Owl’s control of Gotham by exposing the Court of Owls and encouraging resistance, while Barry reconnected with Iris in Central City. The chapter ended with Barry rescuing Iris from a crashing bus as Kid Flash equipped itself.

• Batman told Dick he could choose his own path, then identified himself as Batman and left.
• The Court of Owls fell into disarray after Dick disappeared, while Gotham citizens and officials began resisting Night Owl’s rule.
• Batman told Red Hood that Joker’s Gang was Gotham’s hidden resistance and that he had found its hiding place.
• Barry explained to Iris that his money had been stolen, and she offered him a place to stay and help getting identification and work.
• A bus crashed into the café where Barry and Iris were talking, so Barry entered the Speed Force and carried Iris to safety.

Dane freed Hephaestus from Ares’s chains by offering him Ares’s imprisoned soul, then asked him to forge a new weapon from Ares’s Axe. As Dane headed after Zanza, Power Ring lost control and attacked Carol in Seaside City.

• Barry rescued everyone from the café and bus before the crash resumed, then comforted Iris as she clung to him.
• Dane met the imprisoned Hephaestus in the volcano and offered him freedom in exchange for working for him.
• Hephaestus accepted Dane’s offer, and Dane used Ares’s power to break the chains holding him.
• Dane gave Ares’s soul to Hephaestus and asked him to melt down Ares’s Axe and forge a new weapon using Ninth Metal.
• Dane left Demon Island after Diana and Zatanna chose to stay with the Amazons, and he headed toward Zanza’s hiding place.
• Power Ring appeared above Carol and charged at her, while Hal stood nearby and denied being the man she knew.