Chapter Summaries

Chen Tao waited for the universes to overlap so he could send Anti-Monitor and Supreme Superboy into Owlman's universe, while doubting whether to carry out his plan's second phase. As Murder Machine and The Batman Who Laughs discussed Barbatos's designs, Anti-Monitor revealed that he had sensed a terrifying presence upstream in the Over-Time Stream.

• Chen Tao prepared to switch Anti-Monitor and Supreme Superboy into Owlman's universe when the universes overlapped, but hesitated over whether to proceed with the second phase of his plan.
• Chen Tao watched the Justice League gods beat Anti-Monitor and suspected that Anti-Monitor was holding back for an unknown reason.
• Murder Machine reported Anti-Monitor's apparent change of strategy to Barbatos, but Barbatos cut off their connection before he could finish.
• The Batman Who Laughs told Murder Machine that Anti-Monitor's heart mattered less than Batman's eventual fall into Barbatos's control, and argued that they should wait.
• Anti-Monitor revealed that he had discovered another presence within himself: a terrifying figure watching him from upstream in the Over-Time Stream.

Owlman struggled to keep the Joker-Man virus from taking over while preparing to keep his universe moving, and the Anti-Monitor suddenly asked Chen Tao for a truce after revealing that Barbatos had manipulated him. The chapter ended with Mobius warning that the real Anti-Monitor was watching him and saying they both needed to save themselves.

• Owlman cut off communications with the dying Despero and told Grail that Batman's attack had killed their allies, leaving her to organize the universe's energy alone.
• Owlman asked Grail to send magical energy to Starro the Conqueror so he could stabilize Starro and use its hidden clones to shield his universe from Batman's transmissions.
• Owlman recognized that the Joker-Man virus was worsening, but chose to continue his plan without seeking treatment and accepted that Thomas Wayne might be among those sacrificed.
• The Anti-Monitor asked Chen Tao for a truce, and Chen Tao held Wonder Woman and Thunder Shazam back while he assessed the situation.
• The Anti-Monitor tore off his helmet and revealed that the real Anti-Monitor was spying on him through the Over-Time Stream and that Barbatos had manipulated him.
• The Anti-Monitor called himself Mobius and told Chen Tao that they needed to save themselves because he refused to die alone in failure.

Mobius revealed that Anti-Monitor and Barbatos were each trying to control him, and he asked Batman and the Justice League to help him survive. As the two universes began to merge, Owlman used a miniature starfish to prepare a shield that he believed would let his universe survive instead.

• Mobius explained that he was a remnant of Anti-Monitor, had grown stronger by consuming the Dark Multiverse, and learned Barbatos had scripted his death at the hands of a Batman.
• Mobius revealed that Anti-Monitor was beginning to seize control of his body, while killing him would let Barbatos control Batman.
• Batman agreed to ally with Mobius, and he warned the Justice League that the fusion of their universe with Owlman's universe had begun.
• Owlman held a miniature starfish in a jar and said he would use the Planet Heart's energy to shield his universe from the merger.
• Owlman declared that Batman's plan to divert the danger into Owlman's universe would fail and that he would be the one to survive.

Chen Tao kept the Justice League from learning that his plan might sacrifice the Owlman Universe, then sent them to prepare for the universes’ overlap while he negotiated with Mobius. Mobius revealed that he wanted to sever the Anti-Life Equation from himself, and Owlman celebrated completing his universe’s network blockade—though he could not stop sneezing.

• Hal confronted Batman over his secrecy and deduced that Batman’s plan crossed the heroes’ moral line, so Chen Tao knocked him unconscious before he could say more.
• Wonder Woman persuaded Clark and the others to trust Batman, and the Justice League left through a Boom Tube to prepare to seize the Propulsion Tower when the universes overlapped.
• Wonder Woman told Chen Tao to return alive and reminded him that Alfred and her gift were waiting for him.
• Chen Tao learned that Mobius planned to weaken his body and separate his essential self from the Anti-Life Equation, and Mobius said they needed a powerful opponent, an Omega Effect user, and a universe for their battle.
• In the Owlman Universe, Owlman completed a network blockade and gloated that no one could destroy his universe unless Batman and the Anti-Monitor arrived together, but he repeatedly sneezed.

Batman persuaded Mobius to move the battle and the Anti-Monitor’s power to Owlman’s universe, while Mobius realized Batman might be controlled by Barbatos and chose to leave afterward. Owlman’s defenses failed, and he watched Batman and Mobius arrive together as The Joker-Man warned that he was going to die.

• Batman laid out a plan to fight in Owlman’s universe, trap the Anti-Monitor’s body and Supreme Superboy in a Speed Force storm, and use Owlman’s Propulsion Towers to move Batman’s universe.
• Mobius accepted Batman’s plan, recognized similarities between their manipulation by higher powers, and decided he would leave rather than stay with Batman.
• Murder Machine contacted Barbatos to report Batman’s apparent corruption, but Barbatos abruptly ended the call.
• Owlman struggled to stop the universes from overlapping while Grail remained trapped in the Propulsion Tower and The Joker-Man taunted him about being sacrificed.
• Owlman prepared to persuade the Anti-Monitor to ally with him, but Batman and the Anti-Monitor appeared together as The Joker-Man warned Owlman he was going to die.

Owlman tried to escape Batman and the Anti-Monitor by using the Propulsion Tower system and a series of emergency countermeasures, but each failed. As his safehouse vanished, he was left helpless, tormented by Joker-Man’s voice.

• Owlman fled when Batman and the Anti-Monitor entered his universe, then used Nataza and Backwards Magic to slow them and escape to his safehouse.
• Owlman launched the Galactic Puppet against Batman and the Anti-Monitor, but they destroyed it head-on.
• Owlman released his Amazo robots and bombarded the enemies with Planet Heart energy, but neither attack stopped them.
• Owlman sat motionless as the Propulsion Tower system erased his safehouse, while Joker-Man blamed his suffering on his inability to choose either path completely.

Batman captured Owlman and used his memories to help Luther prepare the exchange of the suns, while Barbatos agreed to an alliance with the Anti-Monitor. In Fiji, Time Master warned Golden Pioneer that their combined threat could endanger the multiverse, but he could not interfere.

• Batman found Owlman’s original body, read his memories, and used the password he learned to help Luther open the barrier holding the Green Lanterns.
• Batman connected Owlman and Luther to transfer Owlman’s knowledge of the Propulsion Tower system, then ordered Luther to exchange the universes’ suns to free Supreme Superboy and William.
• Barbatos heard a mysterious voice claim Mobius and offer Batman to him, and he accepted the arrangement.
• In Fiji, Time Master warned Golden Pioneer that the Anti-Monitor and Barbatos had agreed to work together and could threaten the multiverse, but his attempts to interfere failed.

Chen Tao fought Anti-Monitor to delay him while Luther’s Propulsion Tower exchanged the universes, then escaped as the transfer completed. The Owlman universe was left behind with Anti-Monitor and Supreme Superboy, who opened his eyes.

• Chen Tao used the Purple Predator’s energy to confront Anti-Monitor while Mobius warned him that Anti-Monitor was taking control of his body.
• The Batman Who Laughs watched the battle and realized Batman had abandoned the Owlman universe, advancing Barbatos’s and Anti-Monitor’s plans.
• Chen Tao transformed with his combined powers and fought Anti-Monitor, taking severe injuries as Mobius guided his evasions.
• Chen Tao feigned another attack, then retreated as the universes overlapped and the exchange began.
• Chen Tao reached safety in his own universe, while Anti-Monitor, Barbatos, and Supreme Superboy remained in the Owlman universe; Supreme Superboy opened his eyes.

Batman chose to return to the Anti-Monitor rather than abandon Owlman's universe, despite Luther warning that the plan was dangerous. As Batman prepared to leave, he told Luther that his desire to save the weak was a weakness that would always trap him in desperate situations.

• Mobius dismissed his thoughts of resisting the Anti-Monitor and turned his attention to Supreme Superboy.
• Luther told the Justice League that their universe was safe and that Owlman's universe would be sacrificed, but Batman remained silent instead of activating the Propulsion Towers.
• Fail-Safe freed Owlman and restored his past memories to counteract the Joker-Man virus, but Owlman believed his universe could no longer be saved.
• Luther urged Batman to follow their escape plan, arguing that returning to fight the Anti-Monitor would be foolish and futile.
• Batman admitted that he had planned to return from the start, and the Justice League stayed silent as Luther tried to dissuade him.
• Batman told Luther that his endless desire to save the weak was a weakness that would trap him in desperate situations.

Batman chose to return to Owlman's universe to help save it, and the Justice League insisted on going with him. Lex Luthor stayed behind to operate the Propulsion Tower and propel his universe to safety, while Mobius saw a mysterious flame appear as he prepared to attack.

• Batman told Luther that he had planned to return to Owlman's universe, and Luther failed to stop the universal exchange by hacking the Propulsion Tower system.
• Batman named Lex Luthor the Justice League's next leader and ordered him to operate the Propulsion Tower so their universe could escape safely.
• Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Shazam, and Superman Clark refused to let Batman go alone, and Lex sent the Justice League through the portal with him.
• Batman told Luther to stay behind because the Propulsion Tower needed him, and the Justice League disappeared into the portal.
• Luther operated the Propulsion Tower while raging that the Justice League would die, then admitted that he would keep living; Bizarro comforted him by patting his shoulder.
• Mobius watched the multiverse fall to the Anti-Life Equation and saw a ball of flame appear before him.

Owlman used Batman’s recording and an Orange Lantern ring to prepare to save his universe, while Chen Tao took control of the Fail-Safe Robot and changed the plan. Golden Supreme Superboy was enraged by magical illusions of Laurie and charged toward Earth, where he attacked Anti-Monitor Mobius.

• Owlman summoned Joker-Man, who revealed a metal sphere containing Batman’s recorded instructions for driving Supreme Superboy and Anti-Monitor away from Earth and saving the universe.
• Owlman created an inferior but functional Orange Lantern ring, put it on, and flew off to recruit or transform the universe’s remaining overlords.
• Chen Tao’s will entered the metal sphere, merged it with the Fail-Safe Robot, and chose to deploy the Universal Magical Illusion Projection instead of Clayface.
• Supreme Superboy emerged from the sun empowered by yellow sunlight, then saw illusions of Anti-Monitor assaulting Laurie and destroyed Mercury while lashing out in fury.
• Supreme Superboy flew toward Earth and collided with Anti-Monitor Mobius, who taunted him about Old Superman and his past; Supreme Superboy struck and erased Mobius’s upper body.

The Dark Knights prepared to enter the universe as Barbatos planned to claim both the Anti-Monitor’s avatar and Bruce. Supreme Superboy defeated Mobius, learned that his reality had been forged, rejected Mobius’s attempt to manipulate him, and faced a new presence growing inside Mobius.

• Drowned Vengeance questioned why the Dark Knights kept watching tragedies, while The Batman Who Laughs announced Barbatos had ordered them to move to another universe.
• The Batman Who Laughs explained that the Anti-Monitor was returning from the Over-Time Stream and that Barbatos intended to claim both the Anti-Monitor’s puppet and Bruce.
• Mobius attacked Supreme Superboy with planet Qward and the Anti-Life Equation, but Supreme Superboy overpowered him and tore him apart.
• Mobius told Supreme Superboy that his universe and past had been created by a World Forger, and Supreme Superboy pretended to break down before revealing he was not fooled.
• Mobius pleaded with Supreme Superboy, then heard another voice call him useless as something began growing inside his body.

The Anti-Monitor reclaimed control of Mobius’s body, banished Supreme Superboy, and bargained with Barbatos for help stabilizing his presence in the timeline. In the Owlman Universe, Batman discovered William Hand and Bane had secretly followed the Justice League, and reluctantly agreed to let William fight alongside them.

• Mobius briefly regained his sanity before the Anti-Monitor took control of his body and confronted Supreme Superboy.
• Supreme Superboy pierced the Anti-Monitor’s chest and tore off his head, but the Anti-Monitor banished him into the gap between Dark Multiverses.
• The Anti-Monitor bargained with Barbatos, agreeing to give him his true body’s brain in exchange for help anchoring his puppet in the current timeline.
• Batman found William Hand and Bane in the Owlman Universe and challenged them for secretly following the Justice League.
• William Hand explained that only he could summon Black Death Emperor at full strength and asked Batman to let him fight beside the team.
• Batman yielded and allowed William Hand to join the fight, while warning him to protect himself.

Supreme Superboy escaped the gap between Dark Multiverse worlds by using a Purple Lantern Ring to locate Batman, while Chen Tao prepared backup anchor items from the Justice League. The Anti-Monitor attacked the League and claimed Supreme Superboy would not return, but the ring’s purple light suggested otherwise.

• Supreme Superboy struck the trapped souls of destroyed Dark Multiverse worlds, then realized Barbatos had left them unable to return to the World Forge.
• Supreme Superboy used the Purple Lantern Ring to find Batman, removed it after obtaining the location, and tore open space to pursue him.
• Chen Tao asked the Justice League to give him blood and distinctive personal items so they could become anchor items if any of them died.
• Martian Manhunter, Thunder Shazam, Aquaman, Mera, Clark, Diana, Bane, and William Hand each handed Chen Tao blood and a personal item.
• The Anti-Monitor destroyed the League’s spaceship, surrounded them, and said Supreme Superboy was not coming back and the Dark Multiverse’s souls had no right to be remembered.
• Purple light began shining around Chen Tao, indicating that Supreme Superboy had activated the ring.

Batman transformed into a dragon and fought the Anti-Monitor with help from the Justice League while they waited for Supreme Superboy to return. The Anti-Monitor repeatedly tried to control the fight and keep Batman alive, but Batman’s tricks brought Supreme Superboy back again and again, leaving him convinced the two were conspiring.

• Batman warned Wonder Woman that he could not save her by restarting time, then transformed into a dragon with power from the Devastator, Ion Shark, and Parallax.
• The Justice League restrained the Anti-Monitor and attacked him while Batman fought, but the Anti-Monitor searched the changing futures for ways to defeat them without killing Batman.
• The Anti-Monitor saw futures in which Batman’s death triggered the Black Death Emperor’s arrival, so he changed his tactics and exiled Supreme Superboy when he appeared.
• Batman used Supreme Superboy’s ring to bring him back quickly, then refused to defend himself as Supreme Superboy charged, forcing the Anti-Monitor to teleport him away again.
• After Supreme Superboy repeatedly returned, he accused the Anti-Monitor of being in cahoots with Batman.

Anti-Monitor opened a passage between the Dark Multiverse and the Light Multiverse to stop Supreme Superboy from returning to the battlefield. Supreme Superboy vanished from Chen Tao’s side, while a blue, bald man noticed his arrival in the Light Multiverse.

• Anti-Monitor fought the Justice League while trying to reason with Supreme Superboy, but Supreme Superboy rejected his appeals and kept returning from the Dark Multiverse to attack him.
• Chen Tao’s interference helped keep Supreme Superboy hostile, and Anti-Monitor realized that repeatedly banishing him was draining his strength.
• Anti-Monitor reached an agreement with Barbatos and opened a crack between the Dark Multiverse and the Light Multiverse.
• A dazzling white light made Supreme Superboy disappear from before Chen Tao, and Anti-Monitor declared that it was over.
• A blue, bald man in the Light Multiverse noticed Supreme Superboy on the timeline and wondered what he was.

Doctor Manhattan struggled to understand the Origin Universe’s shifting timelines and the consequences of his changes to Superman. After Supreme Superboy appeared and attacked him, Manhattan rebuilt himself and glimpsed a future dominated by a monstrous Batman whose hammer altered history.

• Doctor Manhattan traced the Origin Universe’s changing versions of Superman’s arrival and family life, then recognized that his alterations had changed the Multiverse and provoked the universe’s resistance through Wally West.
• Supreme Superboy appeared before Doctor Manhattan in an unknown part of the Light Multiverse, and his Purple Lantern Ring went dark as he tried to return to his battle.
• Enraged, Supreme Superboy attacked Doctor Manhattan, apparently reducing him to dust, then tore through space in search of the Anti-Monitor and Batman.
• Five minutes later, Doctor Manhattan reconstructed himself and recognized Supreme Superboy’s savage face as resembling the Time Trapper.
• Doctor Manhattan sensed Barbatos and the Anti-Monitor blocking his view of the Dark Multiverse, then saw a future in which a monstrous laughing Batman struck history with a heavy hammer.

Barbatos manipulated the Dark Multiverse’s fate as Anton Arcane possessed William Hand aboard Brainiac’s skull ship and tried to stop Batman’s plan. William resisted Arcane, reclaimed the Black Lantern Ring, and summoned the Black Death Emperor, leaving Arcane trapped in his grasp.

• Barbatos wove the Dark Multiverse’s fate while Bane and William Hand watched Batman’s battle against the Anti-Monitor from Brainiac’s skull ship.
• Arcane revealed that he had possessed William Hand and attacked Bane, who tried to hold him back and awaken William.
• Arcane urged William to reject Bane’s plan, but William recognized the manipulation and resisted his control.
• William used Green Lantern chains and First Lantern light to pull the Black Lantern Ring from his body and put it on.
• William invoked the Black Lantern oath, and the Black Death Emperor reached across the universe and seized William with Arcane still trapped inside him.

Black Death Emperor arrived with William Hand and threatened Anti-Monitor, forcing Barbatos to intervene. Barbatos resurrected William Hand and blocked Black Death Emperor from attacking, but Black Death Emperor took William away, leaving Batman to prepare his next move with Owlman.

• Black Death Emperor's Black Lantern Corps swarmed the battlefield and surrounded Anti-Monitor, while Batman admitted William Hand could not be saved by his own means.
• William Hand summoned Black Death Emperor and ordered him to attack Anti-Monitor, but Black Death Emperor refused to obey and raised his scythe to reclaim the dead Anti-Monitor.
• Barbatos resurrected William Hand, severing his connection to the Land of the Dead and restraining Black Death Emperor from attacking Anti-Monitor.
• Black Death Emperor praised William Hand, carried him through a rift, and left as William silently apologized to Batman and the Justice League.
• Chen Tao contacted Owlman to confirm his preparations, then hinted that he planned to force his next target into action.

Owlman prepared the Propulsion Towers to draw energy from Batman, while Batman faced the Anti-Monitor and swallowed Barbatos’s heart as a new power source. The heart contaminated Batman, and his body began to swell as his systems’ protection failed.

• Owlman confronted his doubts about sacrificing himself and confirmed he had completed Batman’s preparations for the Propulsion Towers.
• Batman ordered Owlman to link all four towers to him, explaining that he would provide their energy instead of the Planet Heart.
• The Anti-Monitor overwhelmed the Justice League and threatened Aquaman until Batman revealed the black heart.
• Batman told the League the heart would give him immense power, then swallowed it whole.
• Barbatos’s heart contaminated Batman, his protective protocols failed, and his limbs began to crack and swell.