Chapter Summaries

Chen Tao left to join Sinestro’s Yellow Lantern Corps and bring it back to Earth, while the Guardians of the Universe began forcibly turning Green Lanterns into Supreme Green Lanterns. The chapter ended with the First Lantern splitting his ring and deciding he could not rely on Earth 3’s Hal Jordan.

• Barry Allen told Chen Tao that he had completed the accelerated fusion of Lobo’s bloodline with Clayface’s DNA, then learned Chen Tao planned to join the Yellow Lantern Corps and establish a new order.
• Chen Tao explained that he hoped to negotiate with Sinestro and bring a Yellow Lantern Corps back to Earth before flying away with a Yellow Lantern Ring.
• On Oa, the Guardians restrained Relok Hag and Varix and implanted a power battery into Relok Hag to transform him into a Supreme Green Lantern.
• The Guardians forced Varix to undergo the same transformation, dismissing his protests as they prepared to convert more Green Lanterns.
• The First Lantern split his ring into three and decided he could not count on Earth 3’s Hal Jordan.

Sinestro’s Yellow Lantern Corps broke through Oa’s defenses as Batman and his allies prepared to enter the battle and target the Guardians. Meanwhile, Cyborg Superman killed Green Lantern Xudar and seized the Power Gauntlet, while a covert Clayface operation began tracking Arin Sur.

• Sinestro reflected on his betrayal of the Green Lantern Corps and told Amon Sur that the Guardians and Corps had betrayed them first.
• The Yellow Lantern Corps gained the upper hand, and Ranx’s assault shattered Oa’s protective barrier; Sinestro charged toward the Central Power Battery, where Parallax was imprisoned.
• Batman, Lex Luthor, Bane, and Atrocitus prepared to attack Oa, with Batman insisting they follow his plan to kill the Guardians and reshape the Lantern Corps.
• Batman opened a Boom Tube to Oa, and his group entered aboard Brainiac’s skull ship to present themselves as a third-party force.
• A Clayface mass began tracking Arin Sur under a replacement plan called Honey, Say Something.
• Cyborg Superman killed Green Lantern Xudar and took the Power Gauntlet from the Foundry.

Sinestro stole the Green Lantern Central Power Battery from Oa, intending to take it to Qward and eventually claim Parallax, but Batman appeared in a Yellow Lantern uniform to stop him. Meanwhile, Cyborg Superman stole a Blue Lantern Ring for Mongul’s assassination plan, while Deathstorm secretly revealed that Batman had copied his ring and that the intended target was not Sinestro.

• Sinestro used a multicolored key forged by the First Lantern to prepare to take the Green Lantern Central Power Battery to Qward, deciding to deal with Mongul before attempting to control Parallax.
• Sinestro lifted the Central Power Battery from Oa, but Batman appeared in a Yellow Lantern uniform and called himself Sinestro’s friend.
• Sinestro blasted at Batman and fled Oa with the battery as Batman confronted him.
• On Nyu in Sector 2814, Cyborg Superman fought through the Blue Lantern Tribe, seized a Blue Lantern Ring, and escaped while its members pursued him.
• Mongul told Cyborg Superman to bring the ring quickly because Oa was close to falling and said he had found the Power Gauntlet for the assassination plan.
• Mongul told Deathstorm that the assassins had arrived, while Deathstorm privately revealed that Batman had copied his Yellow Lantern Ring and that he intended to assassinate someone other than Sinestro.

Chen Tao pursued Sinestro after Sinestro stole the Green Lantern Central Power Battery, while the Guardians of the Universe debated how to contain the crisis and conceal the Yellow Lantern Corps. The Guardians voted to destroy Oa and its witnesses, and prepared to include Batman in the cover-up.

• Chen Tao changed from a Yellow Lantern into Green Lantern Batman to evade attacks, then warned Sinestro that he would not be able to control Parallax.
• The Guardians of the Universe drew lots to choose a Guardian to sacrifice, and Horooba secretly changed the result so Number 12 was selected instead of himself.
• Horooba showed the Guardians that Sinestro, Mongul, and Arkillo were gathering, while they discovered that Batman carried Abin Sur's ring.
• The Guardians decided that free will had caused the Green Lantern Corps to fail and unanimously voted to abandon it and establish a Third Army.
• The Guardians unanimously approved detonating the Green Lantern Central Power Battery to destroy the Yellow and remaining Green Lanterns, and planned to kill every witness, including Batman.

Mongul and Arkillo remained locked in a standoff with the Guardians of the Universe while Sinestro warned that they intended to destroy the Green Lantern Central Power Battery and everyone who knew of their defeat. When Chen Tao arrived as Batman, he healed the Guardians, then attacked them instead of obeying their orders, leaving the battle erupting into chaos.

• Sinestro convinced Mongul and Arkillo to hold off on fighting him by warning that the Guardians might detonate the Green Lantern Central Power Battery and offering a fair contest for Parallax later.
• The Guardians and the Yellow Lantern leaders became deadlocked, while the Yellow Lanterns and Green Lanterns below also remained locked in a stalemate.
• Chen Tao arrived in his Green Lantern form, and the Guardians ordered him to help defeat Sinestro and reclaim the Central Power Battery.
• Sinestro warned Chen Tao that the Guardians might destroy the battery, but Chen Tao healed the injured Guardians instead of answering him.
• Chen Tao recited a passage from the Book of Ezekiel, then laughed and used his power to make branches explode through the Guardians of the Universe.

Clayface and Killer Croc secretly switched places with Arin Sur and Amon Sur while Batman and Atrocitus attacked the Guardians of the Universe. Sinestro joined the slaughter, and the assault on the Little Blue Men continued.

• Clayface used a remnant of himself to locate Arin Sur, swallowed her, and sent her through a portal into the Red.
• Killer Croc disguised himself as Amon Sur and left the prison while Clayface took Arin Sur’s place in bed.
• Atrocitus attacked the Guardians of the Universe and tore one apart, blaming them for his family’s death and the Manhunters.
• Batman seized a Guardian, stopped his self-destruction with rapidly growing plants, and laughed while tormenting him.
• Sinestro joined Batman and Atrocitus in killing the Guardians of the Universe, choosing revenge over escape.

Sinestro slaughtered the Guardians of the Universe and found himself surrounded by Batman, Mongul, and Arkillo as Atrocitus subdued the battlefield below. Batman revealed that he had switched to a Yellow Lantern Ring and declared himself an ally ready to help Sinestro rebuild order, leaving Sinestro stunned by the unexpected offer.

• Sinestro savored his newfound freedom as he killed the Guardians of the Universe and protected the Green Lantern Central Power Battery from Mongul and Arkillo.
• Batman praised Sinestro’s defeat of the Green Lantern Corps while keeping him surrounded with Mongul and Arkillo.
• Atrocitus raced across Oa, incapacitating Green and Yellow Lanterns and bringing their battle to a halt.
• Sinestro considered fleeing with the Green Lantern Central Power Battery or releasing Parallax, but hesitated over the risks.
• Batman pulled on a Yellow Lantern Ring and proclaimed that he and Sinestro were on the same side, promising to rebuild the universe under the Sinestro Corps.
• Batman asked whether Sinestro would welcome him into the Sinestro Corps, leaving Sinestro speechless.

The chapter recounts how Mongul was exiled as a child for refusing to fight cruelly, then shows him deciding to risk his life by working with Krona. Krona opens the Green Lantern Central Power Battery and releases Parallax, leaving Mongul to fight for control of it.

• Young Mongul refused to strike a vulnerable opponent during Slaughter Day, and his tribe exiled him and his mother to the Gologothian Wasteland.
• Mongul remembered his exile and resolved not to spare Sinestro, but he hesitated over whether to seek Krona's help.
• As Batman spoke with Sinestro, Mongul agreed to let Krona attach himself to his body and open the Green Lantern Central Power Battery.
• Mongul accepted that he might die trying to claim Parallax, while Krona promised him a place in the new world he planned to create.
• Krona opened the Green Lantern Central Power Battery, and Parallax roared free.

Mongul recalled how his mother taught him that the Warzoon Tribe never protected the weak, then tried to command the Parallax Entity after it broke free from the Green Lantern Central Power Battery. Batman brought Scarecrow into the confrontation as a potential host, but the Parallax Entity looked toward Batman as it awakened.

• Young Mongul hunted a carrion beast to feed his injured mother, but she beat him and taught him that Warzoons had to decide their own fates.
• Mongul ordered the Parallax Entity to obey him as it began breaking free, while Sinestro reinforced the battery and persuaded Arkillo to attack Mongul.
• Batman opened a portal to The Red, brought Scarecrow into the scene, and told Killer Croc to retrieve living and dead Guardians of the Universe.
• The Parallax Entity escaped, and Sinestro, Mongul, Arkillo, and Batman-controlled Scarecrow attacked it with yellow light.
• Scarecrow became entranced by the Parallax Entity as Mongul charged it and claimed mastery, but the entity turned its attention toward Batman.

The chapter recounted how young Mongul survived Bull Mammoth, lost his mother, and vowed to become the new Mongul. In the present, Parallax ignored Mongul and Sinestro and chose Batman as its host, while Batman desperately resisted.

• Young Mongul’s mother charged Bull Mammoth to protect him, but the beast fatally wounded her.
• Mongul killed Bull Mammoth from inside its mouth, then obeyed his mother’s dying order to kill her and swore to become the new Mongul and avenge them.
• Chen Tao reasoned that Parallax’s power depended on its host and that Scarecrow’s talent for instilling fear made him an appealing host.
• Parallax flew past Scarecrow and chose Batman, ignoring Mongul’s and Sinestro’s attempts to summon or control it.
• Batman screamed for help as Mongul asked Deathstorm through his Yellow Lantern Ring why he had not acted.

Lex Luthor seized control of Warworld’s navigation and propulsion systems, while Mongul’s attempt to use Deathstorm as an assassin unraveled. Mongul then had Anton Arcane take over Deathstorm’s body and prepare a surprise attack on Batman, who watched from the battlefield.

• Lex Luthor escaped Warworld’s arena slaves and found a secondary control room while Batman urged him to retreat.
• Lex Luthor bypassed Mongul’s authority and gained control of Warworld’s propulsion system, leaving its weapons under Mongul’s command.
• Deathstorm realized Mongul’s Yellow Lantern Ring had chosen Batman and that Mongul had changed the assassination target from Sinestro to Batman.
• Mongul took back the powers he had lent Deathstorm and let Anton Arcane possess Deathstorm’s body.
• Mongul told Anton Arcane that Batman’s Yellow Lantern Ring would restrain him during the attack, while Chen Tao watched Mongul and the Clayface duplicate wearing a Yellow Lantern Ring.

Mongul believed Deathstorm had killed Batman, but Chen Tao had survived by cutting off his head and using a decoy body. As Parallax pursued the decoy, Bane’s many Parasite selves overwhelmed Anton Arcane inside Deathstorm, leaving Mongul’s plan in danger.

• Mongul had Deathstorm stab Batman through the heart, then confirmed that the Black appeared to consume Batman’s body.
• Parallax attacked Deathstorm with Yellow Lantern energy, severing Anton Arcane’s connection to Mongul and revealing Bane’s consciousness inside Deathstorm.
• Bane told Anton Arcane that ninety-nine percent of Deathstorm’s body belonged to the other 143 Parasites, then grew into a many-headed monster and sealed Arcane away.
• Chen Tao explained that he had cut off his own head and attached it to a Clayface decoy, so Deathstorm had corrupted an empty body rather than the real Batman.
• Deathstorm carried the decoy toward Mongul as Parallax chased after them, while Mongul braced for the pursuing threat.

Sinestro struggled to stop Mongul and Parallax, realizing that his utilitarian creed had led him toward sacrificing himself to contain the threat. Mongul blocked his plan and prepared to claim Parallax, but an unseen attacker stabbed him through the heart.

• Sinestro watched Batman's corpse drift in space and feared the devastation Parallax could unleash through Mongul.
• Sinestro removed Mongul's Yellow Lantern Ring, but Mongul used Krona's Power Gauntlet to attack with green energy.
• Sinestro recalled Abin Sur's objections to sacrificing people for the greater good and decided to let Parallax merge with him instead of Mongul.
• Mongul revealed that Sinestro could not use the Phantom Zone device to exile himself and taunted him as Krona's ghostly image appeared over his face.
• An unidentified person pierced Mongul's heart from behind and cut off his speech.

Batman defeated Mongul’s plan to claim the Parallax Entity, but Mongul had deliberately brought Krona and the Black Death Emperor into conflict inside his body. Mongul died pursuing strength and became something terrifying, while the Alfred Protocol identified his death blood and began downloading War Bat.

• Batman stabbed Mongul and used the Black Death Emperor’s power to force Krona to resist it.
• Sinestro lost control of the Parallax Entity, but Deathstorm absorbed it into the Deathstorm Matrix.
• Batman explained that Mongul could have escaped, while Mongul admitted he wanted strength at any cost.
• Mongul revealed his childhood vow to become ruthless, then died as Krona struggled against the Black Death Emperor inside his body.
• The Alfred Protocol obtained Mongul’s Death Blood and began downloading the A-rank Batman-targetable file War Bat.

Chen Tao realized Mongul had maneuvered Krona and Black Death Emperor against each other, then prepared to summon William Hand as a host. Mongul killed Arkillo, and Batman revealed that William Hand was alive and that Blackest Night was about to begin.

• Chen Tao recognized that Mongul had used his own body to trap Krona while drawing out Black Death Emperor.
• Chen Tao summoned William Hand through a portal, hoping to force Krona into accepting their terms.
• Mongul attacked Arkillo, who was corrupted by death and rose as a corpse.
• Sinestro identified the power as Blackest Night but believed Mongul could not serve as its host.
• Batman pulled William Hand through a portal and told Sinestro that Black Death Emperor had killed him, so Blackest Night was about to begin.

Batman let William Hand approach the Black Death Emperor as part of a test, but intervened when Mongul attacked and used William as leverage. As Mongul’s powers and allies shifted around him, Batman revealed a new form and prepared to confront him.

• Batman told William Hand to follow their plan and approach Mongul, while Sinestro charged at the weakened enemy.
• Mongul used a Blue Lantern Ring to overwhelm Sinestro with compassion and leave him unable to fight.
• Batman stopped Mongul from attacking Sinestro, and Killer Croc took William Hand through a portal into the Red.
• Mongul threatened Batman and nearly struck William Hand, but Batman summoned Power Ring to help him.
• Mongul’s deathly power began killing Batman’s nanobots, but Batman transformed into a skull-cowled form and shed the corruption.
• Krona’s soul power stirred, Sinestro sprang back into action, and Batman taunted Mongul as he declared himself the cute little kitty.

Mongul turned Krona’s power against him and used it to force Parallax out of Deathstorm. Batman prepared to face the unleashed entity, calling it toward him as the chapter ended.

• Mongul realized First Lantern had switched Sinestro’s Blue Lantern Ring from weakening him to filling him with compassion, and the two clashed using green energy.
• Chen Tao protected William Hand while Supergirl summoned an army of Eradicator robots, which joined the chaotic battle and attacked Atrocitus.
• Mongul used Black Death Emperor’s power to overpower Krona through their mental connection and began drawing on his power.
• Killer Croc warned Chen Tao that Parallax was about to escape Deathstorm and that it could not be released inside The Red, so Chen Tao agreed to let Deathstorm release it in the material universe.
• Batman pressed a hand to Deathstorm’s head as Parallax burst out as a huge, yellow, fanged creature, then coaxed it to come to him.

Chen Tao waited for Mongul and Sinestro to fight over Parallax rather than risk absorbing the Lantern beast himself. As the struggle reached a stalemate and Chen Tao prepared to use Deathstorm, a terrifying voice broke his Green Lantern shield and claimed William Hand.

• Chen Tao decided to wait for Mongul to seize Parallax and Sinestro to reveal his intentions, keeping Ion Shark and the Green Lantern Central Power Battery as backup.
• Mongul used death-energy chains to restrain Parallax, while the First Lantern tried and failed to pull the Lantern beast away.
• Sinestro joined the First Lantern and combined green, yellow, and blue energy to increase their hold on Parallax.
• Chen Tao asked Deathstorm to help contain Parallax again, but a chilling voice called out to William Hand.
• The voice shattered Chen Tao's Green Lantern barrier and told William Hand that he belonged to it.

William Hand rejected Black Death Emperor’s control in his mental world as Batman and allies intervened to help him resist. The chapter ended with their combined power beginning to engulf Black Death Emperor.

• William Hand recalled his obsession with the dead and his fear as Black Death Emperor’s influence consumed him.
• Batman appeared in William Hand’s mental world and urged him to join the heroes protecting Earth.
• William Hand refused Black Death Emperor and accused him of manipulating his life.
• Black Death Emperor invaded William Hand’s mind and tried to strangle him, but Batman praised William and called for help.
• Sinestro took the Blue Lantern Ring to Mongul, whose body revealed Bane’s power; Mongul repented and severed Black Death Emperor’s connection to him.
• The First Lantern and Krona joined the fight inside William Hand’s mind as Batman encouraged William, and his shadow spread over Black Death Emperor.

Chen Tao and his allies drove Black Death Emperor out of William Hand’s mental space, and William resolved to face him again when he returned. As the First Lantern tried to escape by controlling Power Ring, Bane killed its current bearer and the ring chose Ventriloquist, Arnold, whose will resisted the First Lantern’s control.

• Mongul repented under Krona’s influence, cutting off Black Death Emperor’s link to reality and weakening him until he vanished from William Hand’s mental space.
• William Hand asked Chen Tao why he had not answered Black Death Emperor’s threat, then vowed that they would defeat him again.
• Batman warned the First Lantern and Krona to run; Krona fled, while the First Lantern tried to bargain for his release.
• Bane ambushed and killed Power Ring, forcing the First Lantern to leave William Hand’s mind and return his consciousness to the ring.
• Power Ring flew onto Ventriloquist, Arnold’s finger, and Arnold resisted the First Lantern’s attempt to control him before opening a briefcase containing a maid outfit.