Chapter Summaries

Alex accepted Luthor’s $3.5 billion payment and met with him to discuss a possible deal. He refused to join Luthor against Superman but offered to reveal Superman’s weakness in exchange for something he wanted.

• Lexi delivered Luthor’s $3.5 billion payment to Alex and conveyed Luthor’s apology and request for a meeting.
• Lexi’s bodyguards shielded the restaurant from Superman’s X-ray vision and set up surveillance and sonic interference equipment before leaving Alex and Lexi alone.
• Luthor appeared by projection, thanked Alex for revealing that Clark Kent was Superman, and tried to recruit him to help eliminate Clark.
• Alex refused to join Luthor against Superman and proposed trading information for things he wanted.
• Alex offered to reveal a condition that could reduce Superman to weaker than an ordinary human, and Luthor reacted with alarmed interest.

Alex traded Superman's weakness to Lex Luthor for his 42% share in the Central City branch of S.T.A.R. Labs, which he needed to develop a new energy reactor. Lex agreed to transfer the shares and proposed future cooperation with LexCorp, then learned that Kryptonite could strip Superman of his powers.

• Lex Luthor offered Alex anything he wanted in exchange for Superman's weakness.
• Alex demanded Lex's 42% share in the Central City branch of S.T.A.R. Labs to use its Particle Energy Accelerator.
• Alex explained that he wanted to create a new energy reactor, and Lex agreed to transfer the shares and suggested building the reactor industry together.
• Alex told Lex that Kryptonite weakened Superman and removed his powers when it touched his body.
• Lex asked where Kryptonite could be found, and Alex suggested looking where Superman had landed.

Alex returned to Central City for Christmas, took charge of the Superpower Handling Team, and launched a 3.5-billion-dollar aid fund at the First Brotherhood banquet. His proposal to unify the city’s gangs was tabled, leaving him to recognize that the Brotherhood’s elite had little interest in the lower classes.

• Alex returned home on Christmas Eve and spent the holiday with Aunt Merri, Bert, and Anna.
• Alex called Jack to check on his gang business, then took charge of the Superpower Handling Team by forcefully silencing two protesting officers.
• Alex visited Barry in the hospital and estimated that Barry would awaken the following September and become The Flash.
• Alex established the Alex Aid Fund with 3.5 billion dollars to support struggling Central City residents, including families affected by human experiments.
• Alex proposed unifying Central City’s gangs, but the First Brotherhood council postponed the plan for further discussion.

Reverse-Flash studied Alex’s mysterious history, abilities, and deal with Lex Luthor, then began to suspect Alex was targeting him. When the artificial intelligence reported Alex’s arrival at STAR Labs, Alex looked toward the camera and smiled faintly.

• Harrison Wells reviewed the evidence that Alex had arranged Al Swan’s death and become Central City’s unknown hero.
• Reverse-Flash watched footage of Alex surviving severe injuries from Superman and recovering completely by the next day.
• Harrison Wells examined Alex’s deal with Lex Luthor and wondered how Alex knew Superman’s weakness and why he wanted STAR Labs shares.
• Reverse-Flash suspected that Alex had come from the future to target him and had arranged Al Swan’s death as part of that plan.
• The artificial intelligence reported that Alex had arrived at STAR Labs, and Alex looked toward the surveillance camera with a faint smile.

Alex visited STAR Labs to meet Harrison Wells and presented him with a document after probing him and failing to determine whether he was Reverse-Flash. The chapter ended with Wells reading the document and growing serious.

• Harrison Wells used nanomedical machines to conceal that he could walk and to prevent Alex from detecting abnormal biological signals.
• Alex shook Wells's hand and probed his magnetic field, but sensed no Speed Force reaction and could not tell whether Wells was Reverse-Flash.
• Wells invited Alex to tour STAR Labs, and Alex avoided the biological genetics research room to avoid encountering his sister Anna.
• At the particle accelerator, Alex praised Wells's extensive charity work and handed him a document about helping Central City.
• Wells read the document and grew serious.

Alex used his majority stake in STAR Labs to pressure Harrison Wells into considering an energy-era project for Central City, while secretly refusing to let Alex disrupt his own plans. Meanwhile, world leaders agreed to conceal news of the approaching aliens, prepare a space combat force, and send a probe to seek information.

• Alex told Harrison Wells that he wanted STAR Labs to help make Central City the starting point of a new energy era, but Harrison refused to turn the laboratory into a mass-production operation.
• Alex revealed that he had acquired 53% of STAR Labs and urged Harrison to accept the project, promising that STAR Labs would remain under Harrison’s management; Harrison said he needed time to consider.
• After Alex left, Harrison smashed his wheelchair and considered killing Alex, but decided against it because the Flash had not yet awakened and Alex would not remain at STAR Labs forever.
• At a secret United Nations video conference, representatives voted to keep the approaching aliens secret from civilians and to prepare a multinational space combat force.
• The representatives approved sending NASA’s Mars Probe 9, loaded with Earth languages and images, to learn about the aliens, while rejecting an immediate attack.

General Zod’s Kryptonian mothership approached Earth while its warriors absorbed sunlight, and Zod confirmed that Superman might be Jor-El’s son. Unable to find Superman’s human identity, Zod hijacked Earth’s communications and demanded that Superman surrender within twenty-four hours.

• General Zod ordered the mothership’s engines shut down so its Kryptonians could absorb sunlight and grow stronger before reaching Earth.
• Commander Faora relayed reconnaissance reports, including evidence that Superman carried Kryptonian genes and might be Jor-El’s son.
• General Zod learned that the V-Type Stealth Reconnaissance Fighter could not uncover Superman’s identity and ordered humans to hand him over.
• The V-Type Stealth Reconnaissance Fighter hijacked Earth’s communications and broadcast General Zod’s demand for Superman to surrender within twenty-four hours.

After General Zod’s warning sparked panic and debate across Earth, Superman left Kent Farm to confront the Kryptonians and protect humanity. He destroyed the V-Type Stealth Reconnaissance Fighter and flew toward the Kryptonian Mothership.

• The United Nations debated whether to hand Superman over, send him home as a bridge between civilizations, or prepare to fight the aliens.
• People around the world panicked after General Zod’s warning, as pro-alien demonstrations, apocalyptic fears, and social unrest spread.
• Clark said farewell to Martha at Kent Farm and launched into space.
• Superman intercepted the V-Type Stealth Reconnaissance Fighter and tore it apart.
• Superman flew toward the Kryptonian Mothership, determined to stop General Zod from harming humanity.

Alex learned that he could evolve into a Divine Dragon early by absorbing a Nuclear Energy Ball, but the system warned that doing so could permanently cost him an emotion. He decided to seek out a powerful opponent who could force the system to allow the evolution, just as General Zod's invasion approached, and then Lex Luthor called asking for help.

• Alex created a Nuclear Energy Ball with a modified STAR Labs particle accelerator and used its radiation to unlock his latent genetic abilities.
• The system told Alex he could evolve into a Divine Dragon early but warned that doing so could cause irreversible emotional damage.
• Alex dismissed the warning and resolved to provoke someone powerful enough to make the system permit his early evolution.
• Alex realized that General Zod's arriving Kryptonians could be strong enough to kill him and decided to find an excuse to get beaten by aliens.
• Lex Luthor called Alex and asked for his help.

Alex learned that Lex Luthor wanted to rescue Superman so Earth could rely on him against the Kryptonian invasion. After Alex watched footage of Kryptonians killing Martha, he agreed to help save Superman from the Kryptonian Mothership.

• Lex Luthor explained to Alex that humanity's reliance on Superman had weakened its willingness to face danger and that Earth needed Superman to stop the invasion.
• Lex Luthor sent Alex satellite footage of Kryptonians arriving at Martha's farm and killing her when she refused to tell them where Carl's ship was.
• The Kryptonians found the ship, destroyed twenty American fighter jets, and left Earth, while Superman remained aboard their mothership.
• Lex Luthor revealed that he planned to use Martha's death to make Superman fight his own people and asked Alex to help rescue him.
• Alex asked about Lois Lane, realized events were not following the movie's plot, and agreed to help Lex Luthor save Superman.

Alex met Lex Luthor at a Nevada bunker and learned that General Zod planned to transform Earth to restore Krypton. Lex introduced Alex to the military command staff as the person who could help confront the Kryptonian threat, while revealing his own extraordinary authority as the United Nations of Earth's Supreme Commander for Space Strategy.

• Alex arrived in Nevada, where Lex Luthor greeted him and led him into a nuclear-proof bunker.
• Lex Luthor explained that Kryptonian ships had appeared on Earth and that he suspected they were gathering data to transform the planet.
• Alex confirmed that Krypton had been destroyed and said General Zod had reason to invade Earth, but withheld the truth about the Central Codex.
• Lex Luthor brought Alex to a deep underground control room, where General Lane reported that the Kryptonian Mothership had reached Jupiter and was approaching the Asteroid Belt.
• General Lane objected to Lex Luthor's plan, but Lex ordered him to follow the United Nations of Earth's Supreme Commander for Space Strategy, revealing his command authority to Alex.

General Zod confronted the weakened Superman aboard the Kryptonian Mothership and explained his plan to restore Krypton on Earth. Superman refused to sacrifice humanity, and Zod ordered his brain examined before learning that a human had sent information that could lead to the Central Codex.

• Zod arrived aboard the Mothership and learned that Superman had regained consciousness but remained weak from Kryptonian gas.
• Zod dismissed the others and told Superman about Krypton's destruction, his friendship with Jor-El, and the search that had led him to Earth.
• Zod revealed that Jor-El had hidden the Central Codex in Superman's pod so Kryptonians could be reborn on Earth.
• Superman asked what would happen to Earth and humanity, then refused Zod's plan to transform the planet at their expense.
• Zod left the medical room and ordered his subordinates to examine Superman's brain.
• A subordinate told Zod that a human had sent information through a satellite that could help locate the Central Codex.

Alex and Lex Luthor prepared to board the Kryptonian Mothership to save Superman, with Alex revising Lex’s message to General Zod after explaining the Kryptonians’ motives. Lex revealed his nanotech Luthor Armor, powered by Kryptonite, and believed it could defeat the Kryptonians.

• Lex Luthor planned to offer General Zod his help as an Earth traitor, but Alex changed the message to focus on the Central Codex.
• Lex deduced that the Central Codex was an important device for storing information and wondered why General Zod wanted it.
• Alex urged Lex to stop speculating and reveal his combat capabilities before they boarded the Kryptonian Mothership.
• Lex removed his suit and activated black-and-green nanotech armor that assembled around his body.
• Lex told Alex that he had built the armor after seeing Superman and had found Kryptonite to use as an energy source.
• Lex claimed that the armor would make the Kryptonians easy to defeat if Alex’s account was accurate.

Alex and Lex Luthor argued over how to deceive General Zod, then boarded a Kryptonian ship meant to take Luthor to the mothership. When a soldier barred Alex from joining them, Alex declared himself Earth's Strongest Warrior, earning Faora's respect and permission to board.

• Alex rejected Luthor's plan to win General Zod's trust and proposed using the Central Codex as bait to reach Superman.
• Faora arrived in a Kryptonian ship and ordered Luthor to come with her to meet General Zod.
• A masked Kryptonian soldier refused to let Alex board, saying General Zod had invited only Luthor.
• Alex declared himself Earth's Strongest Warrior and challenged the soldier's contempt for humans.
• Faora recognized Alex's warrior's honor and ordered the soldier to let him aboard.

Lex Luthor offered to help General Zod find the Central Codex and defeat Earth's defenses in exchange for letting one-tenth of humanity survive. Zod agreed to cooperate, and the chapter ended with Alex suddenly experiencing something aboard the mothership.

• Alex and Lex Luthor followed Faora into the Kryptonian Mothership wearing respirators.
• General Zod questioned Lex about the Central Codex, and Lex claimed he knew Superman and could locate it.
• Lex told Zod he understood Krypton's destruction and demanded that one-tenth of Earth's humans be spared.
• Lex revealed Earth's military bases and offered their information so the Kryptonians could destroy Earth's weapons before they ruined the planet.
• After consulting his aide, General Zod agreed to cooperate and called Lex a great man of humanity.
• Something suddenly happened to Alex beside them.

Alex pretended to attack Lex Luthor in a furious display, but Faora struck him down before he could reach him. General Zod ordered Alex taken to the medical room, leaving him alive for now as Lex Luthor’s plans continued.

• Alex tore off his suit and shouted that Lex Luthor had betrayed Earth before punching toward him.
• Faora intercepted Alex and smashed his chest, leaving him badly injured and unable to move.
• Lex Luthor asked General Zod to spare Alex temporarily to avoid provoking Earth into using its weapons.
• General Zod praised Alex’s resolve and ordered a Kryptonian to carry him to the medical room.

Ko discovered that Carl's cells contained the Kryptonian Central Codex, which held genetic traits from across Krypton's population, and told a fellow Kryptonian. Alex then revealed he had been faking his weakness with Kryptonite, killed the Kryptonian holding him, and confronted Ko.

• Ko analyzed Carl's blood and found tens of thousands of genetic types encoded in her cells.
• Ko concluded that Jor-El had placed the Central Codex in Carl and told the tall Kryptonian he had found it.
• The tall Kryptonian asked where the Codex was and said he would retrieve it for General Zod.
• Alex, still held by the tall Kryptonian, asked whether the Codex was in Superman's cells.
• Alex crushed the tall Kryptonian's neck, dropped his body, and showed Ko a piece of green Kryptonite.

Alex killed Ko, secured the Kryptonite, and took control of the Kryptonian Mothership, though the system secretly altered its programming to remove him from danger. As Alex entered a healing chamber, he ordered Aura to free Superman so he could speak with him.

• Alex killed Ko and stored the Kryptonite shard in a radiation-proof case.
• After assessing his chest injuries, Alex ordered the system to take control of the Kryptonian Mothership.
• The system altered the ship's AI to monitor Alex and send him to the edge of the universe if he faced danger.
• Alex realized the system had tampered with his new space base and ordered Aura to prepare a healing chamber and regrow his ribs.
• Alex told Aura to switch the ship's atmosphere to Earth air, fill the treatment room with orange sunlight, release Superman, and stop the healing fluid at his neck.

Alex revived Superman aboard the Kryptonian Mothership after Zod’s forces had captured and poisoned him. Superman refused to fight the remaining Kryptonians and asked Alex to help negotiate coexistence, but Alex revealed that General Zod had killed Superman’s mother.

• Alex replaced the treatment chamber’s Kryptonian atmosphere with Earth air and Orange Sun radiation, restoring Superman’s strength.
• Superman thanked Alex for saving him, then accepted that he owed Alex and Lex Luthor favors.
• Alex told Superman to defend Earth and eliminate the invaders, but Superman refused because they were his last Kryptonian kin.
• Superman proposed trading Kryptonian technology for land on Earth and pleaded for Alex’s support in negotiating coexistence.
• Alex pointed out that the Kryptonians had nearly dissected Superman and that General Zod had killed his mother.

Superman learned that General Zod had killed Martha and attacked the Kryptonians in grief and fury. As Superman tore through the Kryptonian Mothership, Alex stayed focused on finding a way to trigger his transformation into a Divine Dragon, but the ship was severely damaged and began falling toward Earth.

• Alex showed Superman satellite footage of General Zod's soldiers killing Martha at the Smallville farm.
• Superman flew through the spacecraft toward the main hall, roaring that Zod had killed his mother.
• Alex decided that Faora should help him trigger the system's evolution into a Divine Dragon.
• Superman fought General Zod and cut through the Kryptonian Mothership with Heat Vision, damaging Alex's treatment pod and scorching his arm.
• Superman's Heat Vision destroyed sections containing the Superluminal Engine and Main Crystal Engine, and the damaged mothership began falling toward Earth.