Chapter Summaries

Aquaman Arthur brought Mera and Atlantis’s leaders to the Ocean Festival to encourage understanding between Atlantis and the surface world, while Batman and Wonder Woman joined them. As the festival ended, a mysterious fleet attacked Atlantis, leaving Regent Orm vowing revenge.

• Arthur explained to Mera that he wanted Atlantis to join the international community and build understanding with the surface world.
• Tula and Muke sampled festival treats and attractions while Arthur and Mera discussed Atlantis’s relationship with land people.
• Arthur discovered Batman and Wonder Woman had arrived in full costume and urged them to change into ordinary clothes.
• Arthur, Mera, Batman, Wonder Woman, Tula, and Muke enjoyed festival games and food, and Arthur insisted that Batman set work aside for the day.
• At the bonfire party, Arthur caught a red ring meant for Chen Tao and placed it around his neck.
• A mysterious fleet bombarded Atlantis, and Regent Orm arrived to find the city scorched and declared that Atlantis would take revenge.

Owlman warned the Justice League that Batman might gain power by killing and absorbing others, and that the heroes might someday have to die to strengthen him. As Chen Tao weighed releasing Supreme Superboy and negotiated with Darkseid, Owlman secured the Anti-Monitor only fifteen more days before his invasion.

• Owlman visited Arthur and Mera, poisoned them, and proposed that Batman’s power came from killing others and plundering their abilities.
• Owlman’s warning reached Diana, Barry, Billy, and the rest of the Justice League, who privately considered whether sacrificing themselves might be their only chance to win.
• Chen Tao reflected on the danger of gaining anchoring items from fallen teammates and worried that he might have to release Supreme Superboy as a last resort against the Anti-Monitor.
• Chen Tao went to Apokolips and told Darkseid that the Anti-Monitor possessed the Anti-Life Equation, prompting Darkseid to acknowledge their agreement.
• Owlman returned to the Anti-Monitor’s universe and persuaded him to wait fifteen days before traveling to Earth, while anticipating Lord Orm’s attack at the Snow Wave Base celebration.

Chen Tao prepared a trap at Snow Wave Base to capture Orm and prevent his attack on the surface, while Owlman warned Batman that the Anti-Monitor would arrive in fifteen days. When Arthur failed to persuade Orm to stand down, Chen Tao declared himself king of the land to get Orm’s attention.

• Barry told Chen Tao that he still could not use the Speed Force to travel through time, and Chen Tao reassured him that they had other ways to face the Anti-Monitor.
• An owl delivered Owlman’s recording, which warned Batman that the Anti-Monitor would arrive in fifteen days.
• Chen Tao explained that Clayface had disguised everyone at Snow Wave Base and that they would try to persuade Orm while keeping the public unaware.
• Orm prepared an Atlantean fleet to retaliate against the surface, then confronted Arthur at Snow Wave Base and threatened to sink Metropolis.
• Arthur tried to reason with Orm, but Orm accused him of betraying Atlantis, so Chen Tao interrupted and announced that he was the king of the land.

Owlman and Starro prepared to transform Earth’s life into vessels for The Red, while Owlman expected Batman to reject the plan and sought to force his hand. Batman confronted Lord Orm by framing their dispute as an Atlantean succession crisis, and Orm ended by kneeling to recognize Arthur as the rightful king.

• Starro told Owlman he had created vessels for about six billion people and was working to produce more for Earth’s other creatures.
• Owlman explained that he planned to use the power of The Red and the Speed Force to help Batman fight the Anti-Monitor, despite the harm the transformation could cause.
• Owlman predicted Batman would refuse the plan and said he was certain Batman was trying to persuade Orm.
• Batman challenged Orm’s claim to kingship and accused him of plotting to murder Arthur and seize Atlantis’s throne.
• Orm knelt before Arthur and said Atlantean law made his brother the rightful King of Atlantis.

The Blood Lord sacrificed his followers to gain power while Owlman prepared a scheme to turn Lord Orm against Batman. When a planted accusation shattered Batman’s effort to secure peace between Atlantis and the surface, Batman punched Orm unconscious.

• The Blood Lord used Buddy Baker’s blood to lure his followers into a pool, then drained and devoured them as Owlman watched.
• Owlman warned the Blood Lord that Lord Orm would not make peace with Batman and ordered him to be ready.
• Arthur tried to persuade Lord Orm that the Anti-Monitor threatened the world, and Orm agreed to cooperate if the warning was true while still demanding the attackers be found.
• Batman secretly checked an Atlantean soldier’s memories and arranged for Atlantis’s forces to return home while Orm kept his personal guard.
• An Atlantean accused an American soldier of attacking civilians, causing Orm to turn against Batman.
• Batman used the Speed Force to strike Orm on the head and knock him unconscious.

Killer Croc and the Rogues watched the Totem Council until its palace began to collapse, while Batman forced Lord Orm to hear his case for cooperation against the Anti-Monitor. As Batman and Orm reached the start of a conversation, Owlman ordered Blood Lord to eliminate the Totem Council.

• Killer Croc won the Rogues’ card game by using his connection to The Red to cheat, and Arnold struck Trickster after he disrespected Batman.
• Arnold’s ring briefly manifested red rage energy before returning to green, and the group saw the Totem Council’s palace collapse on the monitor.
• Chen Tao subdued Lord Orm and threatened him with Aquaman Arthur’s life to stop him from ordering an attack on the surface.
• Lord Orm refused to surrender and explained his devotion to Atlantis and his brother, but Chen Tao revealed that he could destroy Atlantis with Chemical Waste Monsters and urged him to cooperate.
• Owlman contacted Blood Lord and ordered him to eliminate the Totem Council after learning that Lord Orm had been convinced.

The Blood Lord, aided by Antler Totem, seized power in the Red while Batman stopped Lord Orm’s war and rejected Owlman’s plan to transform billions of people into Red beast-men. Owlman warned Batman that an unbeatable enemy awaited him, as Batman called the Justice League together for emergency support.

• The Blood Lord crushed the Red’s defenders, destroyed the Totem Council’s hall, and learned that Antler Totem had chosen him and helped him enter the Red.
• Lord Orm abdicated, and Batman used Orm’s magic trident to prevent anyone from unleashing a tsunami before Arthur could take charge of Atlantis.
• Owlman revealed that he planned to use a tsunami and the Red to transform billions of people, but Batman refused despite Owlman’s offer to reduce the casualties.
• Owlman said the Blood Lord could defeat the Totem Council but warned that Batman would eventually face an enemy he could not defeat.
• Batman contacted Diana for emergency support, and he asked Barry to come help and pick up their teammates; General Swanwick also left the Pentagon, while Clark and Poison Ivy were contacted.

The Justice League entered The Red to confront Antler Totem and Blood Lord as their revolt against the Totem Council erupted into battle. Meanwhile, Owlman abandoned his plan to save the universe and ordered Conqueror Starro to prepare for the apocalypse, but the Justice League arrived before Antler Totem expected them.

• The Flash assembled Batman’s prepared safeguards at the concert venue, and Wonder Woman led the Justice League through The Red’s portal.
• Antler Totem and Blood Lord faced the remaining Totem Spirits, while Killer Croc and the Rogues arrived to support the Council.
• Batman foiled Owlman’s Atlantis attacks, and Owlman told Conqueror Starro to halt their plan, abandon Blood Lord, and gather selected allies and resources before the apocalypse.
• Antler Totem fought the Totem Spirits and declared that Blood Lord would help him seize control of the seas, confident that Owlman would keep the Justice League away.
• The Justice League appeared through a portal, and Wonder Woman struck Antler Totem with her sword.

Batman coordinated preparations for the Anti-Monitor’s arrival, building alliances and reassuring allies while the Justice League dealt with threats and public diplomacy. On April 23, he gave a speech promising the world that the Justice League would defeat their enemies, as the guide set the apocalypse’s arrival for April 25.

• Batman arrived at The Red and learned that the Amazons had agreed to help him; he briefed Wonder Woman on Atlantis’s alliance and the defeat of Lord Orm’s forces while she and The Flash battered Blood Lord.
• Mera addressed reporters at Snow Wave Base as Aquawoman, presenting Atlantis as part of the human community, and Arthur celebrated her speech and pledged Atlantis to defend their world.
• Lex Luthor refused Owlman’s offer to abandon the universe, saying it was his world.
• The Flash told Batman that he could not travel through time, and Batman reassured him that he had backup plans and would protect their world.
• Lucius told Batman that he and Luther had made a breakthrough that removed the need for a physical battery compartment in their research.
• Batman reviewed Lantern Corps preparations with Hal, discussed General Zod’s escape with Mogo, and later delivered a United Nations speech urging the world to stay calm and trust the Justice League.

Chen Tao tried to use the Cosmic Treadmill to travel back in time before the coming battle with the Anti-Monitor. He failed because he and Barry Allen lacked enough Speed Force, leaving Chen Tao uncertain whether his preparations would be enough.

• Chen Tao entered STAR Labs and opened the Cosmic Treadmill room using a hidden backdoor.
• Dick Grayson told Chen Tao that Owlman had become suspicious and isolated him aboard the spaceship, but also revealed Owlman had said one universe could not defeat the Anti-Monitor.
• Chen Tao concluded that Barry Allen could not travel far through time because Chen Tao had been siphoning Barry's Speed Force and had claimed a place in the universe's Speed Force himself.
• Chen Tao used Gorilla Grodd and Turtle Man to supply Speed Force while he ran on the Cosmic Treadmill, but he could not move backward through time.
• Chen Tao stepped off the treadmill and worried that he might have needed more time to prepare for the Anti-Monitor.

Owlman tried to understand Batman’s silence while the First Lantern and Alexander Luthor waited in captivity, and Chen Tao renewed his resolve to face the Anti-Monitor. The Anti-Monitor dragged Earth into the Land of the Dead and announced its doom, but a burst of light began to break through the darkness.

• Owlman learned that Nightwing had told Batman about their conversations, but Batman had shown no reaction or revealed his plans.
• Owlman dismissed the Outsider’s concern about Nightwing and Grail becoming intimate, while the imprisoned First Lantern dreamed and Alexander Luthor waited chained in the Crime Syndicate’s base.
• Chen Tao prayed that a future version of himself would come to help, then accepted that he had to face the crisis as Batman.
• Batman reassured the United Nations that the Justice League would protect Earth as people across the world carried on with their lives.
• The Anti-Monitor seized Earth, isolated it with a force field, and declared that the world would die.
• The sky turned black, and Superman struggled against rising panic as a bright beam cracked through the darkness.

Chen Tao protected Earth from the Anti-Monitor’s Shadow Demons by shrinking the planet into a bottle, then confronted the Anti-Monitor on a vast planet outside the force field. The Anti-Monitor revealed that he knew about the Dark Multiverse, leaving Chen Tao questioning who he really was.

• Shadow Demons attacked cities around the world as heroes and Lanterns fought them, while Lord Orm demanded to join Atlantis’s battle against the Anti-Monitor.
• Owlman argued that Batman’s moral code had doomed the world, but Nightwing defended Batman and his belief that another solution existed.
• Batman appeared outside Earth holding the shrunken planet and the Shadow Demons in separate bottles, revealing that he had used Brainiac’s technology to protect humanity.
• Chen Tao absorbed the bottled Earth, escaped the planet’s immediate danger, and flew toward a massive planet that had appeared beyond the force field.
• Chen Tao recognized the Anti-Monitor as the Darkseid War version, and the Anti-Monitor discussed Supreme Superboy and the Dark Multiverse, prompting Chen Tao to wonder who he was.

Mobius explained how he came to exist as a Dark Multiverse version of the Anti-Monitor and why he feared Barbatos. He left Batman’s question about his identity unanswered, determined not to expose his weakness.

• Mobius recounted the Anti-Monitor’s origins, his role in the Infinite Earths Crisis, and his repeated resurrection in the Sixth Dimension.
• Mobius explained that the Flashpoint and Rebirth reboots erased mortal Mobius, while the World Forger’s death allowed a Dark Multiverse counterpart to emerge.
• After the Dark Multiverse’s defective Anti-Monitor was defeated, New 52 Anti-Monitor energy merged with the erased Mobius essence to create Mobius.
• Mobius said he devoured Dark Multiverses to grow stronger but avoided breaking Barbatos’s barrier, fearing that Barbatos would discover him.
• When Batman asked who he was, Mobius refused to reveal his identity or give Batman a chance to find his weakness.

Batman used the Speed Force and Ion Shark to rewind time and keep the Anti-Monitor from killing the Justice League. After the Anti-Monitor recognized how Batman’s time manipulation worked, Batman offered to negotiate his departure from the universe.

• Lex Luthor gave the Justice League devices to help charge Batman, then traveled to the Source Wall to show Supreme Superboy the fight and urge him to seek revenge on the Anti-Monitor.
• Chen Tao released the Justice League and Rogues onto Qward, then used the Green Lantern ring to control Ion Shark and transform into The Devastator.
• Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Shazam, and the Rogues attacked the Anti-Monitor, but his immense strength let him defeat their opening assault.
• The Flash supplied Batman with Speed Force energy, allowing Batman to rewind time and repeatedly undo the Anti-Monitor’s attacks on the Justice League.
• The Anti-Monitor deduced that Batman was combining the Speed Force with Ion Shark’s control of time and space, and Batman asked him to leave the universe and never invade again.

Batman used timeline resets to test how the Anti-Monitor’s threat could be countered, while Bane secured Anton Arcane’s help and demonstrated that the Black Death Emperor could be forced back through his portal. Meanwhile, The Batman Who Laughs learned the Anti-Monitor had entered a Dark Multiverse universe and focused on recruiting its Batman.

• Lex Luthor tested Supreme Superboy and reported to Batman that he could detect timeline resets by the second one.
• Batman’s repeated timeline resets exposed Arcane’s memories of earlier loops, and Bane persuaded him to cooperate against the coming destruction.
• Arcane explained that William Hand could briefly draw more of the Black Death Emperor’s power, and Batman confirmed the Emperor’s arrival could be reversed before summoning Bane and William.
• Murder Machine told The Batman Who Laughs that the Anti-Monitor had entered a Dark Multiverse universe and that Barbatos expected an Anti-Monitor Batman to emerge.
• The Batman Who Laughs dismissed the threat and turned his attention to recruiting that universe’s Batman, a combination of Mongul and Batman.

The Dark Knights waited for a Batman who might become the Batman Anti-Monitor while Chen Tao led the Justice League and Rogues against the Anti-Monitor. When Superboy-Prime failed to defeat him, Chen Tao called on Darkseid to act.

• Murder Machine told Red Death, Drowned Vengeance, and the Devastator that Barbatos had ordered them to wait for a Batman who might kill the Anti-Monitor and become a recruit.
• Chen Tao used Turtle Man's Still Force to rescue the Rogues, then directed the Justice League and Rogues in a prolonged attack against the Anti-Monitor.
• Chen Tao found that restarting the timeline erased the Anti-Monitor's sudden increases in power, and he asked Darkseid if he was ready to act.
• Chen Tao opened a portal and sent Superboy-Prime into battle against the Anti-Monitor, who had destroyed his world and taken his subjects.
• The Anti-Monitor broke free, overpowered Superboy-Prime, and began disintegrating him with the Anti-Life Equation.
• Chen Tao told Darkseid that he could act.

Superwoman took control of the Crime Syndicate and led its combat forces to Thunder Zan-Sha, while Owlman secretly watched through his mind-controlled Martian Traveler. Thunder Zan-Sha devoured the superpowered fighters and pledged to become the strongest hero, as Batman told Darkseid to wait for the moment to attack the Anti-Monitor through Thunder Zan-Sha’s eyes.

• Superwoman revealed Ultraman had been driven insane by kryptonite and persuaded the newly released Sea King to follow her orders.
• Superwoman led the Crime Syndicate’s fighters to Thunder Zan-Sha, while Owlman watched through his control of Martian Traveler.
• Thunder Zan-Sha attacked the fighters, killing Sea King, Martian Traveler, Johnny Quick, Atomica, Red Arrow, and Black Siren to absorb their powers.
• Superwoman embraced Thunder Zan-Sha and told him there were more enemies for him to devour; he vowed to kill them all and become the world’s strongest hero.
• Batman told Darkseid to hold his attack and wait for Thunder Zan-Sha to reach the battlefield, where he would be used to kill Ultraman and help strike the Anti-Monitor.

Nightwing learned that Owlman planned to unleash a Speed Force storm to destroy their universe and deprive the Anti-Monitor of its food. As Batman faced the Anti-Monitor, he sent the Justice League back to Earth, where Thunder Zan-Sha and Superwoman arrived on the battlefield.

• Nightwing confronted Owlman and learned that he planned to force the Speed Force into a storm that would consume their world after Batman exhausted his timeline resets.
• Owlman contacted Thunder Zan-Sha Alexander Luthor and offered his support to him and Superwoman, while claiming he wanted a place in their new world.
• Batman, transformed into The Devastator, rescued Ultraman from the Anti-Monitor and sent him back into the fight.
• Batman ordered the Justice League to retreat to Earth, shrinking Hal, Superman Clark Kent, and Wonder Woman with Brainiac's shrinking ray.
• Thunder Zan-Sha arrived on the battlefield with Superwoman in his arms as Batman faced the Anti-Monitor.

Batman manipulated Thunder Zan-Sha into killing Ultraman and absorbing his power, triggering a catastrophic fusion of stolen abilities. As Batman and the possessed Thunder Zan-Sha attacked the Anti-Monitor together, their combined Omega Effect pierced the Anti-Monitor’s chest.

• Batman revealed that he had prepared a feast for Thunder Zan-Sha and maneuvered him toward Ultraman.
• Thunder Zan-Sha pierced Ultraman’s chest and absorbed his power, while Ultraman chose not to fight back.
• Chen Tao transformed into a fusion of Red Death, The Devastator, and Dark Father as Thunder Zan-Sha’s stolen DNA caused his body to mutate.
• Deathstorm emerged beside Thunder Zan-Sha, died from the drug in his system, and released Parallax, which was dragged into Thunder Zan-Sha.
• Thunder Zan-Sha lost control and killed Superwoman before standing behind the Anti-Monitor under an unseen influence.
• Batman and Thunder Zan-Sha combined their Omega Effects, which pierced the Anti-Monitor’s chest.

The Dark Knights watched Batman pierce the Anti-Monitor, while Drowned Vengeance predicted that the apparent victory would end in her world's destruction. Chen Tao warned Darkseid against summoning the Black Racer, then used William Hand and Anton Arcane to draw out the Dark Multiverse Dragon; Arcane's empowered claw tore out the Anti-Monitor's heart.

• The Devastator asked when Murder Machine's screen would be ready, and the Dark Knights watched the Anti-Monitor get pierced in another universe.
• Drowned Vengeance recalled how killing the Sea Queen had failed to save her world and predicted that Batman's victory would leave no one alive.
• Chen Tao warned Darkseid that the Anti-Monitor might control the Black Racer and opened a passage through The Black for Bane.
• Chen Tao guided William Hand to channel the Black Death Emperor's power into Anton Arcane, who emerged from The Black to attack the Anti-Monitor.
• Anton Arcane regenerated after the Anti-Monitor's energy nearly disintegrated him, then struck again with the Dark Multiverse Dragon's power and tore out the Anti-Monitor's heart.