Chapter Summaries

Steppenwolf attacked Atlantis’s Doomsday Watchtower and stole its Mother Box despite Mera and Aquaman Arthur’s efforts to stop him. He escaped through a Boom Tube, claiming he already had two Mother Boxes and that the Amazons had joined him.

• Mera learned that King Orm had refused to send more guards or investigate the disappearances at the Doomsday Watchtower.
• The Mother Box began to glow, and Steppenwolf arrived, killing or wounding the guards as he fought his way toward it.
• Mera used her water-controlling abilities to attack Steppenwolf, but he broke free and nearly killed her.
• Aquaman Arthur arrived and fought Steppenwolf, but Steppenwolf overpowered him and took the Mother Box.
• Steppenwolf escaped through a Boom Tube, saying he had two Mother Boxes and that the Amazons were now his allies.

Arthur rejected Mera’s plea to return to Atlantis and left to seek the bat who had warned him about Steppenwolf. Meanwhile, Steppenwolf used the Mother Box to transform his base and himself, then set out to find humans who had encountered a Mother Box.

• Mera told Arthur that Atlantis needed him and warned that King Orm was preparing to wage war on the surface.
• Arthur suspected Steppenwolf was trying to divide the Amazons and Atlanteans, then decided to find the bat and protect the surface world for his father.
• Steppenwolf embedded the Mother Box in a metal stele, and DeSaad told him to use it to become stronger before pursuing the remaining boxes for Darkseid.
• Steppenwolf let the Mother Box modify him, growing larger and gaining fiery armor and greater power.
• A Parademon reported that humans tainted by the Mother Box’s aura had been captured, so Steppenwolf entered a Boom Tube to find them.

Victor discovered that Steppenwolf had abducted his father and joined Batman, Vera, and Barry Allen to find the captured scientists beneath Gotham Harbor. The group confronted Steppenwolf, who seized Victor’s father and demanded to know where the Mother Box was.

• Victor found his apartment door ajar and discovered from surveillance footage that a winged creature had taken Dr. Silas Stone.
• Victor followed the Bat-Signal to Gotham, where he told Batman that the abducted scientists included his father.
• Vera tracked the abductors to an abandoned tunnel project beneath Braxton Island, and the group went there to investigate.
• The heroes found Steppenwolf interrogating captured scientists about a Mother Box and killing one of them.
• Victor entered the room and ordered Steppenwolf to release the prisoners, but Steppenwolf grabbed Dr. Silas and demanded the Mother Box’s location.

Victor saved Silas from Steppenwolf, while Vera intervened and drove the battle outside the tower. Steppenwolf proved stronger than expected, but Vera unleashed a massive lightning strike that destroyed the docks and engulfed him.

• Victor blasted Steppenwolf's arm, freeing Silas, then carried his father to safety as Batman and Barry Allen helped evacuate the scientists.
• Vera caught Steppenwolf's Electro-Axe, threw him out of the tower, and followed him into battle with Mjolnir.
• Vera realized Steppenwolf had been empowered beyond his movie version, while he warned that she could still be defeated.
• Vera summoned a storm and struck Steppenwolf with a colossal bolt of lightning, destroying the docks as Bruce watched.

Vera fought Steppenwolf in Gotham, but he escaped through a Boom Tube, leaving her injured and the city damaged. On Themyscira, King Orm arrived with Atlantis's army and accused the Amazons of betraying their ancient alliance and allowing the Atlantean Mother Box to be stolen.

• Vera clashed with Steppenwolf, and their lightning storm destroyed buildings across Gotham while Bruce watched.
• Steppenwolf escaped through a Boom Tube, and Vera lay on the sea coughing up water.
• On Themyscira, Hellen worried about the Conqueror's absence and spoke with Hera about him.
• Hellen spotted Atlantis's glowing submarine and shark riders in the bay and called for the warning horn.
• Hippolyta led the Amazon army to the shore, where King Orm arrived and accused the Amazons of betraying Atlantis and losing its Mother Box.

Orm used the missing Atlantean Mother Box and the deaths of the Doomsday Watchtower guards as pretexts to attack Themyscira. As the Amazons were overwhelmed by Atlantis’s weapons, Diana stayed behind to guard the Mother Box until a Boom Tube opened beside it.

• Mera and Vico realized Orm was seeking an excuse to conquer Themyscira, and Vico said only Arthur could stop him.
• Orm demanded to search the Amazons’ palace and treasury, then declared war when Hippolyta refused.
• Mera condemned Orm for ignoring her requests for reinforcements at the Doomsday Watchtower, while Atlantis’s flagship entered combat.
• Hippolyta led the Amazons in a charge, but the flagship’s cannons and Atlantean water shields devastated their attack.
• Diana watched the battle from the palace and stayed near the Mother Box, then saw a Boom Tube open beside it.

Diana fought Steppenwolf to protect the Amazons' Mother Box, but he overwhelmed her and escaped with it. After waking in the sea, Diana saw another figure falling toward the palace ruins.

• Diana seized the Mother Box and confronted Steppenwolf as he arrived through a Boom Tube.
• Steppenwolf attacked Diana and destroyed the palace square, repeatedly knocking her away from the Mother Box.
• Diana used the Lasso of Truth and her Bracers of Hercules to resist Steppenwolf, but he blasted her into the distance with blue energy.
• Steppenwolf took the Mother Box and Electro-Axe, then departed through a Boom Tube.
• Diana woke underwater, surfaced, and saw a figure falling from the sky toward the palace ruins.

Azu returned to the Amazons’ ruined palace with the Kryptonite he had sought and found them under attack by Atlantis. He destroyed Orm’s flagship and turned the battle around, while Mera and Vico emerged from the sea to witness the devastation.

• Azu arrived at the ruined palace and saw Atlantean forces attacking the Amazons at the bay.
• Orm fought Hippolyta and offered to spare the Amazons if they pledged loyalty, but Hippolyta refused to surrender.
• Azu rescued Hellen from Atlantean gunfire, then flew to the flagship after learning Atlantis had started the war.
• Azu broke into the flagship’s command center and destroyed it with his Heat Ray.
• Orm saw the flagship explode, and Hippolyta told him the Amazons had a powerful ally as Azu landed before her.
• Mera and Vico surfaced in the sea, and Mera mourned the dead and blamed Orm for starting the war.

Azu confronted Orm over Atlantis’s attack on Themyscira, but Diana revealed that Steppenwolf had stolen the Mother Box from the palace. Azu killed Orm and attacked the Atlantean soldiers, while Vico tried to escape with Mera.

• Azu demanded an explanation from Orm, who blamed the Amazons for revealing the Mother Box’s location and offered compensation for the damage to Themyscira.
• Diana landed beside Azu and confessed that Steppenwolf had stolen the Mother Box while the Amazons were away from the palace.
• Azu accused Orm of colluding with Steppenwolf and lifted him into the air; Orm’s trident blast failed to harm Azu, who killed him with golden beams.
• Azu swept his golden beams through the Atlantean soldiers, killing many as panic spread across the beach.
• Vico grabbed Mera’s hand and urged her to flee.

Azu slaughtered the Atlantis warriors, recovered Kryptonite for the Amazons to forge into weapons, and left Steppenwolf to discover that Earth held the Anti-Life Equation. At Wayne Enterprises, Arthur joined Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen, Vera, Victor, and Silas Stone, warning them that Steppenwolf already possessed at least one Mother Box.

• Azu killed the Atlantis warriors with his Laser Eyes and gave Orm’s trident to Hellen to keep safe.
• Azu returned with a chest of Kryptonite and asked Hippolyta to have the Amazons forge weapons to use against Kryptonians.
• Steppenwolf used the Mother Box to discover that the Anti-Life Equation was on Earth, then decided to seek it for himself rather than notify Desaad.
• Victor brought a dormant Mother Box to a Wayne Enterprises warehouse, where Silas, Vera, Bruce Wayne, and Barry Allen discussed the danger it posed.
• Arthur arrived carrying a trident and told the group that Steppenwolf had at least one Mother Box.

Arthur joined Bruce's alliance after warning that Steppenwolf had taken Atlantis's Mother Box and might also have the Amazons' box. Conqueror arrived seeking the remaining Mother Box, but claimed he had come as an ally and had dealt with a problem for Arthur.

• Bruce introduced Arthur as Aquaman, and Vera explained that he was a mixed-race Atlantean raised on land.
• Arthur reported that Steppenwolf had taken Atlantis's Mother Box, and Vera suspected he had also taken the Amazons' box.
• Barry suggested hiding the remaining Mother Box, but Bruce argued they had to defeat Steppenwolf, and Arthur agreed to join the alliance.
• Bruce and Victor said Vera had stood against Steppenwolf, while Arthur warned that the enemy was exceptionally powerful.
• Conqueror descended into the room, and Victor identified him as an enemy responsible for destruction in Metropolis and the White House.
• Conqueror said he had come as an ally and claimed he had taken care of a problem for Arthur.

Azu attacked the Justice League to claim the Mother Box, overpowering Arthur and Vera before Barry escaped with it. Azu and Vera pursued Barry, while Batman followed in his jet, and Dr. Silas and Alfred encountered a Boom Tube on the road.

• Azu confronted Vera and revealed that he intended to take the Mother Box for himself.
• Arthur attacked Azu, but Azu threw him through the warehouse and into the harbor.
• Azu sent Vera flying, but Barry grabbed the Mother Box and sped toward Gotham City.
• Vera and Azu pursued Barry as Batman took off to catch up, while Alfred drove Dr. Silas to safety.
• A Boom Tube appeared in the road ahead of Alfred and Dr. Silas.

Steppenwolf captured Alfred and Cyborg, learned the Mother Box was in downtown Gotham, and sent Parademons after it. Azu stopped Barry Allen and took the Mother Box, leaving Barry hurtling away and the story poised for Steppenwolf’s forces to pursue it.

• Steppenwolf ambushed Alfred and Cyborg, used a device to read Cyborg’s memories, and learned the Mother Box’s location.
• Bruce sent Victor to find Silas, while Batman and Arthur turned the jet toward the Parademons and Steppenwolf.
• Victor found Silas’s body in the sea and discovered that his father’s neck had been broken.
• Azu used a Mind Storm to distract Barry Allen, then grabbed him and hurled him far away.
• Azu picked up the Mother Box as a truck crashed into him and crumpled around him.

Azu and Vera fought over the Mother Box, tearing through a city street with their powers and destroying vehicles and buildings. Azu gained the upper hand and slammed Vera into the ground, pinning her in melted asphalt.

• Azu reached for the Mother Box, but Vera struck it with lightning and arrived to challenge him.
• Azu and Vera exchanged taunts before attacking each other at close range.
• Vera hurled Mjolnir at Azu, and Azu sent a natural-gas Tanker Truck hurtling into her, causing an explosion.
• Azu and Vera caught each other's attacks and unleashed eye beams that formed an Energy Storm, devastating the street.
• Azu wrestled Vera down and pinned her beneath the melted asphalt with his strength and Bracers of Hercules.

Azu fought Vera and Steppenwolf over the last Mother Box, using his powers to defeat Steppenwolf’s attack and clear away the Parademons. Vera stole the Mother Box with Hermes’ Boots, but Steppenwolf struck her aside and reclaimed it.

• Steppenwolf uncovered the last Mother Box beneath the ruins while Azu stopped Vera from intervening and punched her far across the city.
• Azu confronted Steppenwolf and used Twist Reality to turn his Electro-Axe attack into silver sand before kicking him away.
• Azu destroyed the attacking Parademons with Heat Ray and took the Mother Box.
• Vera returned at great speed and stole the Mother Box, then transformed Azu’s Cyttorak’s Crimson Chains into butterflies.
• Steppenwolf struck Vera away and took the Mother Box back.

Azu and Vera fought Steppenwolf and the Justice League over the Mother Box, while Bruce tried to escape with it. The combatants gathered in the street and faced off, with Steppenwolf warning that a great darkness was coming.

• Azu knocked the Mother Box away from Steppenwolf, then attacked Arthur and Victor as Batman escaped with the box aboard the jet.
• Azu struck Bruce out of the sky and pursued him into a building, but Vera’s Void Slash Wave tore through the structure and forced Azu outside.
• Steppenwolf attacked Bruce on the street and reached for the Mother Box, but Azu and Vera blasted him away and joined Bruce.
• Victor and Arthur arrived, bringing the gathering factions to six people, while Barry Allen remained absent.
• Steppenwolf warned the group about the coming darkness, and Vera and Arthur dismissed his threat.

Batman tried to escape with the Mother Box while Azu and Vera fought and Steppenwolf overwhelmed the others. As Steppenwolf began to leave through a Boom Tube with the Mother Box, a golden beam severed the arm holding it.

• Steppenwolf admitted that he had killed Silas, prompting Victor to attack him, while Batman fled with the Mother Box and Azu fought Vera.
• Arthur and Victor joined forces against Steppenwolf on a rooftop, but he fought them off as Batman escaped aboard the Batwing.
• Azu and Vera continued fighting, and Azu's Golden Rays damaged the Batwing, which made an emergency landing with Bruce and the Mother Box aboard.
• Steppenwolf caught up to the crashed Batwing, defeated Arthur, Victor, and Bruce, and seized the Mother Box.
• Steppenwolf summoned a Boom Tube to depart, but a golden beam cut off the arm holding the Mother Box.

Azu used a duplicate to distract Vera and stole the Mother Box before Steppenwolf was taken away by a Boom Tube. Bruce and the others learned what happened and planned to use Victor’s connection to locate the Mother Boxes, while Vera insisted that Steppenwolf was hers to kill.

• Azu revealed that he had fought Vera with a duplicate, severed Steppenwolf’s arm, and escaped with the Mother Box.
• Vera discovered that Steppenwolf had vanished and found his severed arm at the battlefield.
• Victor reconstructed the events for Bruce and the others, who saw Conqueror take the Mother Box.
• Vera warned that Conqueror might join Apokolips or seize Steppenwolf’s remaining Mother Boxes, and Bruce agreed that he posed a danger.
• Victor said he could locate the Mother Boxes through his connection to them, while Vera claimed Steppenwolf as her target.
• Bruce offered to prepare his private plane, and Alfred arranged dinner after Barry asked for pizza.

Steppenwolf recovered from his injuries and told Darkseid he had found the world containing the Anti-Life Equation, prompting Darkseid to send reinforcements. Meanwhile, Vera and the others located the remaining Mother Box in Pozharnov, Russia, and prepared to reach it before Steppenwolf.

• Steppenwolf regenerated his severed arm and reported to Desaad that he had found the Lost World containing the Anti-Life Equation.
• Darkseid appeared, confirmed Steppenwolf's discovery, and ordered him to unite the Mother Boxes while promising reinforcements.
• Steppenwolf showed Darkseid footage of Azu and Vera fighting him in Gotham City and asked for support against the planet's protectors.
• Darkseid opened a portal for an army of Parademons, and an armored, white-haired woman carrying a war club stepped through.
• Vera asked Victor for the remaining Mother Box's location, and Victor identified a nuclear power plant in Pozharnov, northern Russia.
• Bruce said his plane would take about seven hours to reach Pozharnov and noted that Steppenwolf had not yet gathered all three Mother Boxes.

Vera flew to raid Steppenwolf’s headquarters while considering the enemy’s abilities and her own hidden trump card, Hermes’ Divine Descent. Azu brought Diana to Apokolips’s temporary base in northern Russia, where he unsettled her by mentioning Steve Trevor.

• Vera left Bruce and the others to attack Steppenwolf’s headquarters alone, telling them to bring champagne when they arrived.
• Vera reflected on the enemy’s powerful clone and mental abilities, and on the restrictions that prevented her from learning Akkon’s Form.
• Vera considered the hidden powers of Hermes’ Boots and the Multiverse Crystal cost of using Divine Descent.
• Azu brought Diana to the ruined nuclear plant transformed by the Mother Box into an Apokolips battlefield.
• Azu teased Diana about falling in love with him and mentioned Steve Trevor, prompting her to ask how he knew Steve’s name.