Chapter Summaries

Chen Tao and Hal survived Warworld’s devastating bombardment and discussed the Guardians of the Universe’s crimes while Hal mourned Sinestro. Chen Tao prepared to inspect and seal Parallax Mongul, while Hal remained conflicted but supported the decision to eliminate the Guardians.

• Chen Tao warned Hal and Bane about Warworld’s blast, and Hal guided them through a wormhole into subspace while Bane struggled with Ion Shark.
• Chen Tao showed Hal memories of the Guardians’ crimes, and Hal said the Guardians did not matter to him despite their importance to the Green Lantern Corps.
• Hal asked whether Sinestro was dead, and Chen Tao’s silence left Hal grieving for his fallen ally.
• Hal said he was still a human from Earth and believed the Lantern Corps could improve without the Guardians.
• Chen Tao changed the subject and prepared Green Lantern Power Batteries to seal Parallax Mongul.

Chen Tao helped contain the blast, secured Parallax, and set off for OA with the others, while William Hand questioned the defeated Mongul. On Earth, General Zod confronted Clark Kent at Kent Farm and declared that he had come for him.

• Killer Croc reported that Atrocitus had stayed behind and Scarecrow had fled with a Yellow Lantern Ring, while Chen Tao continued containing the explosion's aftermath.
• Chen Tao and the Green Lanterns divided the weakened Parallax into four pieces and sealed each inside a lantern furnace.
• William Hand asked the defeated Mongul whether victory had been worth the cost, and Mongul replied that they were both rebelling against their fates.
• Ventriloquist gave Chen Tao the Power Gauntlet, and Chen Tao decided to return to OA and check on Atrocitus and Supergirl.
• General Zod arrived at Kent Farm with Fiora and another subordinate, and Fiora drenched Clark with water to confirm he was not an impostor.
• Zod called Clark a broken dog, warned him that Batman could not intervene, and formally declared that he wanted him.

Chen Tao and William Hand watched Mongul die after his borrowed powers faded, while William declared his resolve to resist Black Death Emperor. Elsewhere, General Zod demanded the Life Codex from Superman, but after hearing Batman had won and was returning, Zod suddenly knelt.

• Chen Tao and William Hand listened as Mongul begged for help, then accepted his defeat and died, remembering his mother and meeting a warm figure of death.
• William told Chen Tao he was prepared to resist Black Death Emperor and asked Batman to account for his willingness to burn everything together.
• Ion Shark escaped Bane, and Batman advised him to help recharge the Green Lantern Central Power Battery before searching for his destined hero.
• General Zod demanded Superman hand over the Life Codex and threatened to devastate Earth with Mogo while Batman was away.
• General Zod heard that Batman had won and was returning, then abruptly dropped to his knees before Superman.

Owlman trapped more than two thousand Green Lanterns in the Phantom Zone and revealed that he planned to sacrifice them to save his Dark Multiverse universe. Back on OA, Chen Tao quelled the fighting and read Supergirl’s memories, discovering that she had found Argo City, which had not been completely destroyed.

• Kilowog and the Green Lanterns were trapped in a Phantom Zone pocket by Owlman, who introduced himself and killed Lanterns that attacked him.
• Owlman explained that he and his universe were defective creations from the Dark Multiverse, then made the Green Lanterns clutch their heads and scream.
• Chen Tao returned to OA and found the Yellow and Green Lantern Corps fighting while Atrocitus unsuccessfully tried to stop them.
• Chen Tao ordered Bane to break up the fighting, then subdued the rampaging Supergirl and used Bat-Brainiac to read her memories.
• Chen Tao discovered that Supergirl had found Argo City and that it had not been completely destroyed.

Lex Luthor secretly worked with Owlman while remaining loyal to his own world, and Owlman tried to recruit him by offering him a place in a supposedly superior world. Meanwhile, Batman suddenly carried Supergirl through a Boom Tube toward Kent Farm, leaving Killer Croc behind.

• Lex Luthor monitored Batman and warned Owlman that Batman might be watching them as they discussed the captured Green Lanterns and the promised Parasite and Doomsday cells.
• Owlman urged Luther to join his world and argued that its people deserved to survive over the population of Luther's world, but Luther refused to betray his own world.
• Owlman revealed that General Zod had arrived on Earth and claimed Zod could cure Superman using the Life Codex, while Luther questioned whether Zod might kill him.
• Chen Tao struggled to find a way to restore Supergirl's sanity, since a blood pool, a Blue Lantern ring, and Mogo's help were unavailable.
• Batman suddenly threw chain-wrapped Supergirl against his chest, entered a Boom Tube, and sped toward Kent Farm, leaving Killer Croc behind to protest.

General Zod begged Superman Clark Kent for the Life Codex and offered to cure his Doomsday infection, but Batman attacked Zod before the negotiation could proceed. Clark agreed to help establish a New Krypton under conditions, while Batman arranged for Zod to treat Kara inside Mogo.

• General Zod knelt before Clark and offered to cure his Doomsday infection in exchange for the Life Codex and a chance to build New Krypton.
• Batman arrived through a Boom Tube and, fearing for Clark, attacked Zod and repeatedly beat him across the fields.
• Zod fought back briefly but was overwhelmed by Batman’s synchronized powers, then hid behind Clark and asked Batman to hear him out.
• Batman opposed Zod’s proposal but deferred to Clark, who agreed to create New Krypton on the condition that Zod would not control it.
• Batman asked whether Zod was controlling Mogo and brought Kara to Mogo’s planetary core so Zod could help her.

Chen Tao returned to OA, tricked Ion Shark into finishing the Green Lantern Central Power Battery before trapping him inside it. Arin Sur then took charge of the conflict between the Green and Yellow Lantern Corps, leaving Chen Tao free to deal with Kara.

• Chen Tao waited with Superman and General Zod for the Justice League to return, then sent them to take Zod back while he answered Amanda Waller and hurried to OA.
• Chen Tao freed Bane from Ion Shark, persuaded Ion Shark to finish charging the Central Power Battery, and trapped the shark inside it with green chains.
• Arin Sur arrived wearing both a Green Lantern ring and a Yellow Lantern ring and told Chen Tao to take Kara while she handled the Corps.
• Arin Sur used her Yellow Lantern ring to ground the Yellow Lanterns, then invoked her family’s history and Abin Sur’s reputation to restrain the Green Lanterns.
• Arin Sur said the Corps could settle their disputes after Kara regained her sanity.

Chen Tao learned that Clark Kent wanted General Zod dealt with, while Metron recounted how he arranged the exchange of Orion and Scott Free to avert a war between Apokolips and New Genesis. Metron ended by declaring that he observed all things and knew everything.

• Chen Tao checked on the unconscious Supergirl Kara Zor-El, then left Atrocitus to watch over her.
• Arin Sur tried to return her Green and Yellow Lantern rings, but Chen Tao told her she was worthy of them.
• Clark Kent told Chen Tao that he had been signaling him to deal with General Zod.
• Metron explained that he intervened in the recurring conflict between Apokolips and New Genesis by proposing an exchange of their rulers’ sons.
• Metron persuaded Darkseid and Highfather to agree to the exchange, and Orion and Scott Free were traded on neutral territory.

Batman warned Superman that Zod’s proposed cure was unreliable and that a restored Krypton would threaten the universe, but Superman chose to let Zod try to cure him so he could protect Earth. Elsewhere, Metron repeatedly forgot who Doctor Manhattan was and began investigating the disturbance before Owlman and a red-eyed woman confronted him.

• Batman told Clark that Zod’s plan to use the Life Codex might kill him and that Zod mainly wanted the Codex.
• Clark warned Batman not to let Zod create a new Krypton, arguing that Kryptonians would likely try to conquer other worlds.
• Batman proposed dealing with Mogo before capturing or stopping Zod, but Clark insisted they give Zod the Life Codex and let him attempt the cure.
• Clark decided to risk the treatment because Earth and Batman needed Superman to return.
• Metron struggled with memories of changing timelines and repeatedly forgot who Doctor Manhattan was, while the Mobius Chair malfunctioned.
• Metron resolved to investigate Doctor Manhattan, but Owlman and a red-eyed woman captured him with a lasso.

Owlman and Grail captured Metron and tried to seize the Mobius Chair, but the chair escaped their grasp. Owlman later secretly recovered it and asked how to defeat the Anti-Monitor, learning that more than 3,000 superhumans would need to gang up on him.

• Grail used the Lasso of Submission to hold Metron while Owlman tried to capture the Mobius Chair.
• Grail killed Metron with her Omega Beams, but Owlman and Grail could not keep the chair from escaping despite using the Father Box and the lasso.
• Owlman told Grail their attempt had failed, then hid the chair in a Father Box subspace while she repeatedly checked the area for him.
• After Grail left for good, Owlman retrieved the Mobius Chair and sat on it despite the tremendous pressure it exerted.
• Owlman asked how the Anti-Monitor could be defeated, and the chair answered that an army of more than 3,000 superhumans had to gang up on him.

Owlman learned from the Mobius Chair that defeating the Anti-Monitor required more than 3,000 heroes and that he had no way to do it himself. Remembering the Anti-Monitor’s warning that the Dark Multiverse would never be saved, Owlman resolved to fight anyway, while Chen Tao told General Zod that they needed an honest discussion about creating Krypton.

• The Mobius Chair listed thousands of required allies and told Owlman there was no method he could carry out to defeat the Anti-Monitor.
• Owlman recalled the Anti-Monitor explaining that the Dark Multiverse was doomed and that heroes from the normal Multiverse would never come to save it.
• Owlman broke down over his lack of choices, then decided that either the Anti-Monitor would die or his world would live.
• Chen Tao told General Zod that neither trusted the other’s intentions regarding the creation and control of a Kryptonian world.
• Chen Tao urged General Zod to talk openly, insisting there was still room for a solution.

Batman negotiated with General Zod over rebuilding Krypton and offered to help establish it in a parallel universe, but Zod had to accept that it could not be rebuilt in their universe. After an interruption from Arnold the Ventriloquist, Zod agreed to Batman’s condition.

• Batman told General Zod he would not allow Krypton to be rebuilt in their universe, and Zod threatened to have Green Lantern Mogo destroy Earth.
• Batman explained that a Kryptonian civilization would threaten neighboring worlds and demanded that Zod accept his terms before receiving the Life Codex.
• Batman told Zod to be his dog, prompting Zod to attack until his Kryptonite restraints stopped him.
• Arnold the Ventriloquist interrupted to complain that his ring-bearing hand hurt, and Batman used his Green Lantern ring to temporarily ease the swelling.
• Batman offered to help Zod establish Krypton in a parallel universe, and Zod reluctantly agreed.

As Batman tried to secure Clark’s risky operation to remove the Doomsday Spores, he learned that General Zod had sent more than two thousand Green Lanterns back into the Phantom Zone and suspected Owlman had helped him. Batman halted the surgery and planned to extract Clark’s Life Codex himself, while Mera arrived seeking Justice League help for Aquaman.

• Clark reassured Batman that he wanted to regain his powers to help protect the world, then went to the operating room for Zod’s surgery.
• The Flash reported that the Green Lantern Corps had vanished and that Hal Jordan was attacking Zod, so Batman ordered the fight contained and its witnesses silenced.
• Batman incapacitated Hal with fear toxin from his ring, while kryptonite concealed in Zod’s uniform stripped Zod of his powers.
• Zod admitted he had exiled the Green Lanterns to the Phantom Zone, and Batman suspected Owlman had told Zod where to find Hal.
• Batman canceled Zod’s operation and decided to extract the Life Codex from Clark before reading Zod’s memories.
• Mera bound Barry with water and demanded to speak with Batman about getting Justice League help for Aquaman.

Chen Tao learned that Aquaman Arthur had vanished into the Mariana Trench, leaving Atlantis’s diplomacy in crisis, and went with Mera to find him after she revealed he had returned. At Arthur’s home, Chen Tao discovered that Arthur had transformed into a fish-headed man and could no longer speak intelligibly.

• Martian Manhunter told Chen Tao that Arthur had swum into the Mariana Trench, where repeated searches had failed to find him.
• Martian Manhunter explained that Arthur’s absence had weakened Mera’s efforts to build relations between Atlantis and the United States because Atlantean leaders would not follow her.
• Chen Tao agreed to lead a new search for Arthur and entered the reception hall to meet Mera.
• Mera told Chen Tao that Arthur had returned home but was gravely ill, and asked him to come alone.
• Chen Tao found a naked, fish-headed man at Arthur’s home and prepared to attack until Mera explained that the creature was Arthur.

Lucius found that Aquaman’s fish-headed transformation had increased his strength and tied it to the Red, while Batman Wizard’s attempt to restore his human appearance failed. As the Anti-Monitor’s approach drove Batman to seek more power, Lucius explained that ordinary people could not safely share the burden, leaving the crisis unresolved.

• Lucius compared Aquaman’s current condition with his past abilities and concluded that he had become stronger, while Mera explained that the transformation threatened his claim to Atlantis’s throne.
• Lucius compared Aquaman’s mutation to Plant Master Jason Wood’s Green-powered transformation, and Chen Tao noted that Arthur also carried some of the Red’s power.
• Chen Tao tried to restore Aquaman’s human head with Backwards Magic, but the spell failed, so he sent Arthur and Mera to find Zatanna Zatara for help.
• Lucius described plans to combine lantern-beast powers, Atlanteans, and a transmission device to help Chen Tao withstand greater power, but warned that ordinary people could not safely share the burden.
• Chen Tao looked toward the night sky and said the Anti-Monitor was coming and would not give them time, while Lucius mistook his expression for a moment of grief.

Owlman told Grail that his schemes had turned Lord Orm, Starro, The Red, and Aquaman into pawns meant to strengthen Batman for the fight against the Anti-Monitor. He exposed Nightwing as Batman’s planted spy, but Batman revealed that Lobo was another spy and confronted Owlman, leaving their shared goal of killing the Anti-Monitor in the open.

• Grail reported that Lord Orm, Starro, The Red, and Aquaman were being manipulated as part of Owlman’s plan to empower Batman.
• Owlman dismissed Grail’s report and privately reflected that the Mobius Chair had forced him to consider a cruel Plan B involving sacrificial pawns.
• After Grail left, Owlman told Nightwing Dick Grayson that he knew Batman had sent him to spy, and he exposed Batman’s listening devices and other hidden tricks.
• Nightwing revealed that Batman had assigned a second spy, while Batman’s face appeared on Lobo’s necklace and Lobo woke in confusion.
• Owlman told Batman that Nightwing had not heard everything and said they temporarily shared the goal of killing the Anti-Monitor.

Chen Tao restored Superman’s powers and discovered that Jor-El had altered the Life Codex so it could no longer create Kryptonians. After Supergirl revealed Argo City’s location to General Zod, Chen Tao offered to remove Zod’s genetic compulsion and let him start over on Earth, but Zod’s reaction to hearing that Kryptonian bodies remained raised suspicion.

• The narration explained that the Dark Multiverse’s unstable worlds were doomed to collapse, often beginning with a hero’s fall, while Owlman watched Batman follow his plan and decided to help him continue.
• Batman told Clark that his surgery had succeeded and his powers would gradually recover, then showed him the Life Codex that had been extracted from his body.
• Chen Tao used a Kryptonian machine to reveal that Jor-El had removed the Life Codex’s ability to create Kryptonians, making the Kryptonian people extinct.
• Supergirl told Chen Tao that someone had invited her to meet General Zod, and Chen Tao allowed her to visit him.
• General Zod drew Argo City’s location and information from Supergirl by appealing to her grief over its destruction.
• Chen Tao told Zod the Life Codex could not restore Krypton and offered to remove Zod’s genetic urge to protect Kryptonians so he could live on Earth; Zod showed a sharp reaction when he heard Kryptonian bodies still existed.

Arthur and Mera discussed plans for an Atlantis–land embassy and agreed to attend Mercy Harbor’s Ocean Festival with friends. As Dead Water began attacking people across the country, Batman and Wonder Woman arrived to join them at the festival.

• Mera warned Arthur that both Atlantean and land-world resistance could threaten his proposed embassy, while Arthur insisted he would serve as a bridge rather than rule Atlantis.
• Officer Erica invited Arthur and Mera to the Ocean Festival, and Mera agreed to bring friends.
• Dead Water emerged from water to attack a prisoner in Albuquerque and a woman in New York, with further attacks reported in other cities.
• Arthur told Mera that Batman had arrived for the festival with Wonder Woman.

Doctor Ivo pitched a plan to secretly control Batman to powerful officials, while Chen Tao learned of the scheme and prepared for Owlman’s plans and a new threat. After a widespread blackout ended, Chen Tao sent Martian Manhunter to arrange civilian evacuations and set out to confront the creature that had absorbed the region’s electricity.

• Doctor Ivo introduced Amazo, Generation Three, and offered to fuse it with Batman and control his body if the officials helped create an opportunity.
• Chen Tao, secretly attending the meeting, discovered Doctor Ivo’s proposal and considered how it fit into the wider threat surrounding Batman.
• Chen Tao recorded that he had allowed General Zod to learn about the dead Kryptonians in Argo City and expected Zod to try to revive them.
• Alfred urged Chen Tao to rest and mentioned Arthur’s invitation to the Ocean Festival, but Chen Tao left to attend the politicians’ meeting.
• After an earthquake caused a blackout across several cities, Chen Tao and Martian Manhunter suspected a creature had absorbed the electricity.
• As power returned, Chen Tao told Martian Manhunter to prepare Clayface and Barry to evacuate civilians at the Ocean Festival, then went to face the creature.

Chen Tao investigated several threats, only to learn that Doctor Ivo’s conspiracy and the Dead Water attacks had already been resolved by others. After an unexpected encounter with a reformed thief in Gotham, Owlman revealed that he had arranged events to protect Batman and believed his brother was about to die.

• Chen Tao attended a meeting where officials approved a lenient treaty with Atlantis, then learned Doctor Ivo and his Amazo robot had already been handed over to the Justice League.
• Chen Tao investigated the Dead Water attacks and discovered that Aquaman had captured the creature and the crisis had been resolved.
• Chen Tao stopped a former gang member from stealing money at the Gotham Gazette, then let him touch his Batman costume before leaving.
• Owlman confronted Doctor Ivo for attacking Batman, ordered him to turn himself in, and said Batman was about to die.