Chapter Summaries

Paimon fought Satan while the Justice League and the zombie army battled across Old Gotham, and Doomsday Batman attacked Deathstorm aboard the Watchtower. Batman interrupted their attempted fusion, but Doomsday Batman overcame the Watchtower’s countermeasure and entered the surveillance room.

• Paimon confronted Satan after Constantine summoned him, and Satan revealed his king-class demon power by blasting the battlefield with a devastating shockwave.
• Paimon clashed with Satan as the Justice League and the zombie army resumed fighting across Old Gotham.
• Doomsday Batman flew to the Watchtower, where he and Deathstorm fought outside the station and began fusing their Storm Matrices.
• Batman fired a Matter Harmonic Interference Beam to separate Deathstorm and Doomsday Batman, then ordered Deathstorm to return.
• Doomsday Batman pursued Deathstorm into the Watchtower and resisted its ultrasonic countermeasure.
• Doomsday Batman melted the surveillance room door and confronted Batman.

Batman questioned Doomsday Batman about Darkseid’s control and faced Reverse-Flash’s revelation that he had repeatedly killed Barry Allen’s mother. After Barry killed Reverse-Flash, Batman fused with Doomsday Batman to uncover their plans, leaving the two Batmen locked in a battle of consciousness.

• Batman deduced that Darkseid had secretly controlled Doomsday Batman and questioned him about the Storm Matrix.
• The Flash pursued Reverse-Flash, who revealed that he had killed Barry Allen’s mother, and Barry killed him in a rage.
• Batman enlisted Deathstorm and The Grid to trap Doomsday Batman in an Eigenfield, then fused with him using the Storm Matrix.
• Inside their shared memories, Batman learned that Darkseid wanted to use the Justice League to pressure Dane Davis and discovered a hidden plan involving Reverse-Flash.
• Doomsday Batman erased memories of the plan targeting Dane Davis, and the fused Batmen prepared to fight for control of their shared mind.

Batman used the Storm Matrix and Deathstorm’s help to break free of Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation control. On Apokolips, Darkseid gained power from two fused Mother Boxes and joined Dane against Yuga Khan, whose growing strain and damaged Divine Body left the battle unresolved.

• Batman and Doomsday Batman seized the Storm Matrix in their mental world, splitting apart and breaking the Anti-Life Equation’s hold on Doomsday Batman.
• Dane’s battle with Yuga Khan continued across Apokolips as both sides harvested New Gods for power, while Grail killed New Gods to steal their divine power.
• An elder priest betrayed the other two temple guardians and used their lives to fuse Apokolips’ two remaining Mother Boxes.
• The fused Mother Boxes empowered Darkseid, who disrupted Yuga Khan from within before Yuga Khan struck him back out into the open.
• Darkseid survived, reshaped the earth to topple Yuga Khan, and joined Dane in attacking him, while New Gods increasingly withdrew from battle and slowed Yuga Khan’s supply of power.
• Dane and Darkseid damaged Yuga Khan’s Divine Body until maintaining his enormous form began draining him.

Dane and Darkseid defeated Yuga Khan, who detonated New God souls in a massive explosion that exposed Apokolips’s core but failed to kill Dane. Darkseid then revealed that Ultraman had been sent to exploit Batman’s hidden nuclear launch system, leaving Dane and the Justice League facing a threat to Earth.

• Dane and Darkseid attacked Yuga Khan together after he refused to duel Darkseid alone.
• Yuga Khan seized Dane and detonated the New God souls within himself, destroying Dane’s Demonic God's Body and damaging Apokolips.
• Dane reconstructed his body with Dreamscape power, and Darkseid returned from deep space to negotiate rather than risk Apokolips’s destruction.
• Darkseid revealed that Ultraman had disappeared from the Watchtower, and Dane realized Batman had been used as bait while Ultraman carried out the real plan.
• Dane learned that Ultraman was seeking Batman’s hidden nuclear launch system, which could detonate every nuclear weapon on Earth.
• Doomsday Batman admitted he had built a launcher capable of detonating the world’s nuclear weapons, giving Darkseid a way to threaten Earth and the Justice League.

Dane forced Darkseid to negotiate by threatening to destroy Apokolips with a Quantum State Bomb, but the two nearly resumed fighting over the Anti-Life Equation before Lucifer intervened. Lucifer revealed that Apokolips’s location had been exposed and began mediating, while Darkseid still refused to surrender the Equation.

• Dane revealed that Superman had brought a Quantum State Bomb to Apokolips and pressured Darkseid to concede rather than risk the planet’s destruction.
• Darkseid accepted defeat, and Dane demanded war reparations for Earth and the Anti-Life Equation; Darkseid refused to give up the Equation, bringing them to the brink of another battle.
• Lucifer appeared between Dane and Darkseid and neutralized their attacks, then warned that Apokolips’s location had been exposed and the planet had stopped moving.
• Dane insisted that his demands remain part of any settlement, while Lucifer asked whether Darkseid would ever hand over the Anti-Life Equation; Darkseid refused.

Lucifer gave Dane the Life Equation, making Dane immune to the Anti-Life Equation, while Darkseid negotiated for Apokolips's restoration. Dane restored the planet through his dream powers and woke it, leaving the story with Earth’s zombie crisis still unresolved.

• Lucifer revealed that he had condensed the Life Equation from the life of a world he created and offered it to Dane, who accepted it.
• Darkseid demanded compensation for Apokolips, and Lucifer warned that Highfather’s forces were approaching; Dane offered to restore the planet if Darkseid accepted the first condition from their negotiations.
• Darkseid agreed, and Dane used the Mother Box and his dream powers to repair Apokolips, revive some of its dead, and awaken the planet.
• On Earth, Doomsday Batman exited Firestorm mode and lost control of the zombie army, whose members became more irrational but also lost the ability to use their powers.

Arthur Curry faced Ultraman’s attack on Atlantis while the underwater kingdom struggled under his overwhelmed rule. Ultraman searched the city after knocking Arthur through several buildings.

• Arthur struggled to govern Atlantis alone after Apokolips’s purge left the kingdom without its council and nobles.
• A guard warned Arthur of an enemy attack, and Arthur ordered the evacuation of civilians before heading outside with the Golden Trident.
• Arthur mistook Ultraman for Superman until he saw the U on his chest.
• Ultraman struck Arthur with Heat Vision, sending him through several underwater buildings, then searched the surrounding area.

Ultraman attacked Atlantis, fought Arthur and the two Meras, and stole a device capable of targeting the world’s nuclear missiles. Dane arrived before Ultraman could escape, killed him, healed Mera, and left Arthur asking whether the mission on Apokolips was over.

• Arthur fought Ultraman in the sea, wounded him with the Golden Trident, and received help from Queen Mera and Mera, forcing Ultraman to retreat.
• Ultraman found Doomsday Batman’s nuclear missile launcher, but Mera seized it and fled as Arthur and Queen Mera tried to hold Ultraman back.
• Ultraman struck Mera with Heat Vision and escaped with the launcher, but Dane arrived through a Boom Tube and intercepted him.
• Dane disarmed Ultraman, pierced his heart with the trident, and cut off his head, killing him.
• Dane healed Mera with his power from the Life Equation, and Arthur asked whether things on Apokolips were finished.

Grail escaped Apokolips with Orion’s Star-Board, while Darkseid found Orion in a rampage and began turning him against Highfather. As New Genesis’s fleet approached Apokolips and Big Barda secretly pursued Grail, war between the two worlds became increasingly likely.

• Grail used Orion’s Star-Board to flee Apokolips and planned to observe Earth before deciding how to act.
• Orion’s hidden power drove him to slaughter everyone at the launch base, and Darkseid stopped him and urged him to embrace Apokolips as his home.
• Darkseid showed Orion a New Genesis fleet heading toward Apokolips and challenged his belief that New Genesis had never waged war.
• Highfather approved the New Genesis Council’s plan to investigate Apokolips and personally led the fleet toward the front lines.
• Big Barda learned Granny Goodness had not revived, took a craft from Darkseid’s trophies, and set out to track Grail.

After the Justice League cleared the demons Satan had unleashed, Dane freed Doomsday Batman from prison and asked him to oversee Earth’s reconstruction. Dane removed the Anti-Life Equation from the two Batmen, but their memories of Reverse-Flash’s plan remained gone, and Batman’s distrust left the Storm Matrix’s future uncertain.

• Dane explained that Big Barda had left Apokolips and Doomsday Superman had returned to prison, while Batman reported that Reverse-Flash had erased his own memories before dying.
• Dane and the Justice League joined forces to locate and destroy the demons Satan had released, finishing the cleanup after several days.
• Dane told Doomsday Batman that Earth needed him to lead its reconstruction, and Doomsday Batman accepted the responsibility.
• Dane used the Life Equation to remove the Anti-Life Equation from both Batmen, who merged through the Storm Matrix into Storm Batman.
• Dane could not restore the missing memories, and Batman later split from Doomsday Batman and argued that the Storm Matrix should be removed and given a new host.

Dane persuaded Batman to keep the Storm Matrix and recruited Orion as a potential ally while Apokolips and New Genesis resumed their war. Orion considered Dane’s offer to serve as Earth’s ambassador and avoid fighting for either side.

• Dane convinced Batman that he should keep the Storm Matrix because his main sphere of activity was another world.
• Dane visited Apokolips during its battle with New Genesis, freed the detained Orion, and calmed his violent impulses with the Life Equation.
• Orion told Dane about Grail, and Dane suspected she had come to seek the destroyed Power Ring so she could summon the Anti-Monitor.
• Dane explained that Orion’s violent power could be suppressed with replacement energy or mastered through will, then offered him a place with the Justice League.
• Dane proposed that Orion act as an ambassador between Earth and Apokolips, helping with Earth’s reconstruction while avoiding the war between Apokolips and New Genesis.

Dane brought Orion to Earth and introduced him to the Justice League, while Batman objected to trusting Darkseid’s son because of the uncontrollable power inside him. As Orion worried about his madness after seeing Superman, Dane promised to help him control it, while Darkseid launched a surprise attack on Highfather.

• Orion agreed to accompany Dane to Earth, and Dane used a Mother Box to take them from Apokolips while Darkseid was fighting Highfather.
• Highfather believed Darkseid had killed Orion and grew furious after learning Scott Free had died, while the New Genesis and Apokolips forces continued their war.
• Darkseid feigned weakness, then struck Highfather with a Disintegration Force Field and used the Omega Effect to send the Anti-Life Equation into his mind.
• Dane introduced Orion to the Justice League and showed him Superman, whose wife Lois had died after Darkseid caused Superman to lose control.
• Batman argued that Orion should remain under surveillance because of his dangerous, uncontrollable power, but Dane said Orion deserved a chance and promised he could resolve Orion’s madness.

After the Apokolips operation, Dane spent the night with Diana, who later accepted his growing closeness with Queen Super. The chapter ended with Queen Super confronting Dane in an Amazon arena, where their fight turned into a passionate encounter.

• Diana tied Dane up with the Lasso of Truth and challenged him over acting alone, then spent the night with him until dawn.
• Diana discussed her night with Poison Ivy, Vixen, and Doctor Light Kimiyo, while Diana allowed Dane to follow Queen Super.
• Queen Super left the Watchtower and led Dane to an Amazon arena, where she ordered the guards away.
• Queen Super attacked Dane with the Lasso of Submission, but Dane caught the rope and pulled her toward him.
• Queen Super leaped onto Dane, kissed him, and declared that he would be hers.
• Poison Ivy returned to find Amazon warriors gathered outside the arena, peering through its gates.

Dane left Poison Ivy’s base after spending time with Queen Super and Poison Ivy, then visited Barry Allen at another surface base. Barry confided that Reverse-Flash’s claim about killing his mother had been troubling him.

• Dane left Poison Ivy’s base, deciding to take a break before visiting Mera.
• Dane found Barry Allen at a training ground, where Barry was distracted and had not gone out to run.
• Dane offered Barry a drink and asked what was bothering him.
• Barry told Dane that Reverse-Flash’s words about his mother kept echoing in his head.
• Barry revealed that Reverse-Flash had claimed to be the one who killed his mother.

Dane warned Barry against using time travel to save his mother, while Barry remained consumed by the possibility. As Dane reviewed his powers and considered preparations for a changed timeline, Barry pushed his speed beyond its limits and reached the Temporal Convergence Point.

• Barry asked Dane whether he could use the Speed Force to travel through time and save his mother, and Dane warned him about the risks of changing history.
• Barry suggested saving Nora in another parallel world, but Dane cautioned that success could lead him to interfere in more worlds.
• Dane reviewed his authorities, Old Gods' power, and other abilities, then considered a power that might help him prepare for the Flashpoint Paradox.
• Barry ignored Kid Flash's warning about overexertion and demanded an energy solution as he tried to run faster than Reverse-Flash.
• Barry broke through an invisible threshold and found himself at the Temporal Convergence Point.

Barry broke through the space-time barrier and found a convergence point where he could observe real events from his past, including his killing of Reverse-Flash. Kid Flash warned him against interfering with history, while Dane considered what Barry’s new ability could mean; the next morning, Mera went to Queen Mera’s office as Atlantis prepared to join Earth’s reconstruction.

• Barry entered a space-time convergence point and watched a historical scene in which he killed Reverse-Flash, who seemed to notice him.
• Barry considered changing the past, but Kid Flash warned that even one action in the Speed Force could alter the real world, so Barry left without interfering.
• Kid Flash reported Barry’s breakthrough to Dane, who considered whether Barry might try to prevent Nora’s death and wondered how changing history would affect the timeline.
• Dane reflected on his limits and on the multiversal beings whose existence spanned countless parallel universes, then questioned why he seemed to have no counterparts.
• Mera woke before Dane and went to Atlantis’s government hall, where Atlantis was preparing to participate in Earth’s reconstruction and step onto the world stage.

Queen Mera told Mera that Atlantis had used forbidden Orichalcum to keep its people warm and power its surviving technology after Apokolips devastated the kingdom. Worried about the mineral’s environmental damage and diplomatic consequences, she asked Mera to seek Dane’s help, and Dane learned that Orichalcum was already in use.

• Queen Mera gave Mera a report detailing Xebel’s recovered Orichalcum reserves and the danger of using the unstable mineral.
• Queen Mera explained that she had used Orichalcum after Atlantis’s destruction because her people faced hunger, cold, and failing technology.
• Mera realized the mineral’s use could create environmental problems and strain Atlantis’s growing cooperation with the surface world.
• Queen Mera asked Mera to approach Dane for help because she was close to him.
• Dane asked whether Queen Mera had already started using Orichalcum.

Dane considered Queen Mera’s request for Orichalcum and offered Atlantis a deal: lead an expedition against the Sea Overlord’s underwater kingdom in the Antimatter Universe in exchange for his support and a stable gateway. After resolving tensions with Apokolips, Dane returned home and opened a gateway between the two worlds, leaving The Grid connected to both universes.

• Mera told Dane that Queen Mera wanted him to help Atlantis establish a stable gateway to another world in exchange for Orichalcum.
• Dane proposed that Queen Mera lead Atlantis against the underwater kingdom in the Antimatter Universe, and she agreed to prepare her forces and provide supplies.
• Dane and Darkseid reached a cautious reconciliation, and Orion chose to stay on Earth as Apokolips’s diplomatic ambassador.
• Dane returned to his world and worked with the Flash to open the Thyssen Gate inside the Justice League headquarters.
• Dane connected The Grid to its counterpart through the gateway, giving it access to the digital networks of both universes.

Dane strengthened his bond with the Spirit of Kandahar and left the Flash to visit Iris in Central City. Barry confided his dilemma about changing the past to Iris, who argued that he could create a new timeline but could not alter his own history, leaving him to consider whether the choice would be worthwhile.

• The Spirit of Kandahar drew Dane into an illusion, acknowledged him as her king, and grew emotionally closer to him.
• Dane awoke in Justice Hall with a stronger connection to Kandahar, then left and allowed the Flash to travel freely through the Thyssen Gate.
• The Flash went to Central City and reunited with Iris, where he met her father, William.
• Iris noticed Barry was troubled and asked him to explain what was weighing on him.
• Barry told Iris he was considering changing the past to save his family despite the possible consequences to the time-space continuum.
• Iris suggested that changing the past would create a new timeline rather than replace Barry's own history, and questioned whether that would give him what he wanted.

Barry explained that he wanted to save Nora so another version of her could live happily, and Iris supported him before her father caught the two together and chased Barry away. As Dane prepared for Barry’s possible timeline changes, he created a Quark Ball and entrusted it to Cortana; days later, rumors about Dane’s relationships with Justice League heroines had spread publicly.

• Barry told Iris that he wanted Nora to survive in another parallel world, and Iris promised to support him.
• Barry and Iris became intimate, but William found evidence of what they had done and chased Barry out of the house with a shotgun.
• After learning Barry might alter the timeline, Dane spent three years in the Inspiration Dreamscape creating a Quark Ball that could protect its wearer from timeline resets.
• Dane gave the Quark Ball to Cortana, deciding her Dream God nature made her more suited than Diana to withstand a world reset.
• Amanda’s American Justice League officially formed, with Doctor Fate, Hawkman Hall, Firestorm, Green Arrow, Elastic Man, and Big Barda among its members.
• Dane learned that rumors and explicit fan works about his relationships with Justice League heroines had begun circulating publicly.