Chapter Summaries

Reverse-Flash was chased into S.T.A.R. Labs by an intelligent future version of himself, who revealed that Ian Kent controlled the Speed Force and enslaved Speedsters. Meanwhile, Ian gained the upper hand against Superman and unexpectedly took a selfie while gripping him by the neck.

• Reverse-Flash fled his Time Wraith, found that he could not escape through time, and raced to S.T.A.R. Labs to force Barry to help him.
• Reverse-Flash took Dr. Wells hostage and demanded that Barry kill the pursuing Time Wraith, which arrived and confronted them inside the lab.
• The Time Wraith revealed that Ian Kent was the master of the Speed Force and that the power Barry and Reverse-Flash had gained came with enslavement; Barry and Reverse-Flash connected Ian to the fighter battling Superman.
• Lady Paradox watched Lady Death's projection observe the battle as Ian used his strange Speed Force abilities to counter Superman's attacks.
• Ian caught Superman by the back of the neck and took out a smartphone to take a selfie, leaving Superman stunned.

Ian held Superman while using increasingly powerful attacks to make Doomsday adapt and grow, hoping to test whether he could deceive time and history. As Ian unleashed a strange golden beam at the evolved monster, Barry Allen and Wonder Woman arrived and watched in alarm.

• Ian took a selfie while holding the stunned Superman, then Doomsday revived from the nuclear blast with a stronger body adapted to radiation.
• Ian told Superman he was using Doomsday to test whether he could fool time and history, while Doomsday charged at them.
• Ian threw more nuclear warheads at Doomsday, which survived and adapted, and explained its ability to resist attacks that had already failed to kill it.
• Ian launched a hydrogen bomb at Doomsday, then announced himself as the Knight of the End as the monster evolved again.
• Ian fired a powerful golden beam at the charging Doomsday, while Barry Allen and Wonder Woman arrived and mistook Ian for a possible Ares.

Barry Allen and Wonder Woman debated whether Ian was Ares while Ian fought Doomsday and explained the monster’s Kryptonian origins to Superman. The chapter left Superman beginning to believe Ian’s claim that he was an ancient Kryptonian god.

• Wonder Woman identified Ian as Ares, but Barry questioned her judgment and shared how he had gained his speed.
• Barry and Wonder Woman speculated about the links between Speedsters, the Speed Force, and mythological gods as Doomsday evolved under Ian’s deliberate attacks.
• Doomsday charged Ian, who used the Speed Force to slow it and accidentally swung Superman into its fist.
• Ian told Superman that Doomsday was a Kryptonian genetic-engineering experiment created by Lex Luthor using stolen Kryptonian technology.
• When Superman questioned Ian about the technology, Ian claimed to be an ancient Kryptonian god awakened by Krypton’s destruction, and Superman began to believe him.

Ian continued fighting Doomsday while claiming to Superman that he was an Ancient God of Krypton, using the captive Sun God Rao as proof. As Doomsday evolved again and the battle reached space, an unseen old man watched Ian and Superman and warned that the young writers were too confident in trying to avoid Superman’s death that night.

• Ian insisted that his Kryptonian combat instincts explained why his fighting style resembled Superman’s, then summoned Rao from a thermos to testify that Ian was an Ancient God of Krypton.
• Rao confirmed Ian’s claim and offered to explain that Kryptonians were created as self-operating divine weapons, but Ian refused to rewrite Kryptonian history and told Rao to explain it to his aunt instead.
• Doomsday emerged from an erupting volcano with stronger lava armor, and Ian resumed fighting it while wielding Superman as a weapon.
• Ian used his Reverse Evolution Ray to weaken Doomsday’s armor, while Superman instinctively kicked at Doomsday and began to doubt what Rao had said about Kryptonians.
• Flash and Wonder Woman watched the battle and argued over whether Ian was a Kryptonian or Ares reincarnated, while an unseen old man observed Ian and Superman from an untouched bench.

God watched Ian fight Doomsday while subtly altering the story, then traveled to New York and comforted a pregnant woman arguing with her boyfriend. There, Lucifer confronted God and accused him of secretly cultivating a nemesis who could challenge him.

• God observed Ian use Superman as a weapon against Doomsday while preserving the historical outcome, then made a subtle change to the story.
• God left the battlefield and comforted a pregnant woman who had argued with her boyfriend about his kindness and idealism.
• Lucifer joined God on a bench in New York and accused him of avoiding their mother and making others carry out his orders.
• God suggested that the woman's boyfriend might serve as a part-time God and named the story Bruce Almighty.
• Lucifer claimed that God was cultivating Ian Kent as a true opponent and nemesis, and God listened without confirming or denying it.

Lucifer concluded that he had found a way to kill God, while Ian’s fight with Doomsday took an unexpected turn when the monster began transforming into an unprecedented form. Rao recognized the change as the scientists’ supposedly unrealizable vision of the ultimate life-form.

• God sent Lucifer back to his Light Bar after Lucifer accused him of seeking failure and blamed his own masochism on God’s influence.
• Mazikeen told Lucifer that the Weeping Angels had vanished from every timeline and parallel universe, and Lucifer suspected Ian Kent was responsible.
• Lucifer told Mazikeen that he had found a way to kill God.
• Ian used Superman as a weapon while battling Doomsday, then struck it with [World-Burning Pulse], leaving only its head intact so it could evolve.
• Doomsday rebuilt itself by absorbing nearby energy, but then collapsed into a cocoon of light and began changing into a humanoid form that Ian could not approach.
• Rao looked at the cocoon and declared that Doomsday was becoming the ultimate life-form that Kryptonian scientists had only imagined.

Ian transformed into a colossal, dark-powered Ultra Warrior to fight Ultimate Doomsday, but Doomsday hurled him into the distance and shattered the moon in the process. As Earth faced the consequences, Lady Paradox revealed that Ian’s Creator had intervened.

• Rao panicked as he sensed Doomsday evolving into an ultimate lifeform, while Superman warned Ian that he could not use him as a weapon against it.
• Ian activated the End of All Things Body with Belial’s stored power, grew to classic Ultraman size, and bound Superman to his back.
• Ultimate Doomsday caught Ian’s finger, swung the giant around, and hurled him through asteroids until he crashed into the moon and shattered it.
• Diana and Flash watched the moon break apart, while Batman arrived and struggled against the disaster and the strange thoughts caused by God Ian’s Speed Force.
• Lady Death accused Lady Paradox of changing the plan, but Lady Paradox denied it and said Ian’s Creator had made a move.

Ian struggled to defeat Perfect Doomsday in space, escalating from giant-form attacks to a brutal close-quarters battle as Doomsday adapted to his abilities. Ian finally used Return of All Things to end both their existence, and their lifeless bodies began falling toward Earth.

• Lady Death realized Lady Paradox was an invader from another universe and asked who had created her, but Lady Paradox stayed silent and watched Ian’s fight.
• Ian grew to enormous size and attacked Perfect Doomsday, but Doomsday pierced his hand and battered his eye before Ian shook it off.
• Ian returned to human size, sent Superman to safety, and fought Perfect Doomsday in a savage melee, regenerating from severe injuries as Doomsday adapted to his attacks.
• Ian used Void Return to Nothingness to erase part of Doomsday, but Doomsday quickly evolved resistance, forcing Ian into a punishing war of attrition.
• Ian activated Return of All Things and defined himself and Perfect Doomsday as targets to be ended, leaving both motionless and lifeless.
• Ian and Perfect Doomsday began falling toward Earth while Superman watched in shock.

After Ian and Perfect Doomsday died, Batman and Superman clashed over who should take their bodies. Ian’s Cosmic Tapeworm emerged, swallowed Batman’s Kryptonite and Perfect Doomsday, and began transforming into a humanoid being.

• Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash arrived at the impact craters, where Batman collected Ian’s still-moving blood and argued with Superman about Ian’s actions and the danger of powerful beings.
• Diana urged the group to secure Ian and Perfect Doomsday’s bodies, while Batman rejected Barry’s offer to take them to S.T.A.R. Labs and insisted he would handle them himself.
• Superman blocked Batman from taking the bodies, so Batman used Kryptonite to weaken him and prepared to bag the remains.
• A Cosmic Tapeworm burst from Ian’s corpse, knocked the Kryptonite from Batman’s hand, swallowed it, and then devoured Perfect Doomsday.
• The Cosmic Tapeworm glowed and began transforming into an unknown humanoid life-form, its light outlining a graceful female silhouette.

After Ian's apparent death, the Kryptonite-eating life-form emerged as a powerful girl who believed Ian was her father and demanded his body. The girl attacked Batman, who claimed to be Ian Wayne's relative to survive, while Ghost Ian returned from Hell and silenced Flash before he could reveal the truth.

• The Kryptonite vanished as the worm transformed into a girl, and the heroes debated whether she was a reincarnation or a new generation born from Ian's life essence.
• Superman told the girl that Ian had died protecting the planet and was her father, and she decided to take his body away for burial.
• Batman warned that Ian's corpse could attract dangerous organizations, but the girl read his intentions and attacked him for lying.
• Batman injected a Superman-strengthening serum but could not escape the girl's grip, so he claimed that his name was Bruce Wayne and Ian's name was Ian Wayne.
• Flash began to correct Batman's fabricated family connection, but a transparent hand covered his mouth as Ghost Ian emerged from the ground and gestured for him to stay quiet.

Ian returned as a transparent soul after dying alongside Perfect Doomsday, silenced Flash before he could reveal Ian’s identity, and freed Batman from the newly born girl. He claimed he had rejected Heaven to protect Earth, but Diana and the girl noticed signs that he had actually come from Hell.

• Ian emerged from the ground, knocked Flash unconscious, and ordered the purple-clad girl to release Batman.
• Ian announced that he had died defeating Doomsday and called himself the Super Invincible Immortal Divine Lord Who Defeated Death for Earth.
• Ian recalled that he had climbed out of Hell after Heaven’s gates rejected him, leaving old Thomas Wayne behind in the industrialized city he managed.
• Ian told the others that he had refused Heaven’s Angels and returned to Earth to protect humanity.
• Diana pointed out that Ian had climbed out of the ground, and the purple-clad girl noted the black smoke, growing horns, and tail that betrayed his story.

Ian returned from the dead in the ruined wilderness, but his soul developed demonic features and his attempt to prove he was an angel produced seventy-two wings split between holy white and infernal black. He flew toward Los Angeles to confront the devil he blamed, while Lady Death questioned Lady Paradox about why she had tried to kill her creator.

• Ian claimed he had sacrificed Heaven to save the Justice League and silenced Batman with a Ghost Pepper lozenge, but Diana pointed out that horns and a tail had appeared on him.
• Ian's soul grew demonic claws and wings, and he denied being a demon before ordering the Purple-Clad Girl into confinement; she vanished into his corpse's palm.
• Ian fused with his body and used Advanced Mimicry to summon seventy-two white wings, but Hell's power corrupted half of them black and scarlet.
• Ian blamed a real devil and flew toward Los Angeles, leaving the heroes to discuss his power; Batman secretly kept blood from Ian's corpse and said nothing about Ian Kent.
• Lady Death asked Lady Paradox why she had tried to kill her creator, and Lady Paradox replied that doing so was necessary for her to be born as she watched Ian head toward the Light Bar.

After the heroes left the ruins, Lady Death followed Batman to the Batcave while Ian traveled to Los Angeles to find Lucifer. Lucifer appeared in the frozen bar and unexpectedly welcomed Ian as the newest Satan.

• Diana took the unconscious Flash to S.T.A.R. Labs, while Superman and Batman left to deal with Ian and the Speed Force contamination.
• Lady Death threatened Lady Paradox over her plans, then secretly went to the Batcave and waited for Batman.
• Ian reached the future site of Light Bar, found Rico's instead, and knocked unconscious people who tried to accost him.
• Ian threatened to burn down the bar unless Lucifer Morningstar appeared, freezing everyone else inside.
• Lucifer manifested his will from the future, called Ian the new master of Hell, and toasted him as the newest Satan.

Lucifer told Ian that Hell had chosen him as its new Satan and sent him to Gotham to compete for an epic-level soul. In Gotham, Bruce Wayne finished making a drug from Ian’s blood and began testing it on mice while Lady Death watched.

• Lucifer admitted that he had manipulated events to make Ian Satan, but said Ian’s soul and Hell’s choice had also shaped the transformation.
• Ian denied wanting to become Satan, and Lucifer told him that a powerful soul in Gotham would soon reach its end.
• Lucifer vanished, time resumed in the bar, and Ian wondered which Gotham soul Lucifer meant.
• In the Batcave, Bruce mixed Ian’s blood with chemicals and rare materials to create a disturbing drug.
• Bruce began testing a diluted version of the drug on white mice as Lady Death watched him from the control room.

Ian revisited his parents’ favorite pizza shop in Smallville, then formed a plan to build a business around souls. After learning that Lucifer wanted John Decker, Ian intercepted the man’s soul and drove off Heaven’s Angel, while Lucifer realized he might have chosen the real Satan.

• Superman entered Rico’s to find Ian, was unable to see inside the bar, and met the bartender, Lucifer, who offered to talk.
• Ian ate at Kansas Sunshine Pizza House, recognized owner Hank from his parents’ memories, and secretly placed a soul mark on him.
• Ian returned to Los Angeles and found John Decker’s soul in an alley as an Angel approached to guide it.
• Ian beat the Angel, claimed his authority as Satan, and greeted John as Lucifer’s target and Chloe Decker’s father.
• Lucifer’s smile froze as he realized Ian had taken control of the situation.

Ian tried to recruit John’s soul to his own afterlife by promising freedom, a reunion with his wife, and privileged status, while Lucifer watched in horror. John began questioning Ian about Lucifer and Chloe, and Lucifer broke down as Ian offered to become John’s sworn family.

• Lucifer realized Ian was taking revenge and, while speaking with Superman, earnestly recommended that Superman read a parenting guide.
• Ian tried to persuade John’s soul to choose his world instead of Heaven, claiming Angels belonged in factories and describing an elaborate, customized afterlife.
• When John said he wanted to go to Heaven, Ian denigrated its rules and promised John could live with his beloved wife in Ian’s world.
• Ian revealed seventy-two white wings and claimed John’s “little John” had helped cause Lucifer Morningstar’s defeat, leaving John stunned and asking whether it involved Chloe.
• Ian offered John privileged status and proposed they become sworn family, with John calling him Grandpa, while Lucifer screeched in front of Superman.

Ian forced John Decker’s soul into a sworn grandfather-grandson bond, replacing a shattered Jesus statue with a Superman statue and declaring it his Father God. Meanwhile, Lucifer failed to sway Superman and realized God had lifted the commandment preventing him from entering the era.

• Lucifer screamed in shock when he sensed Ian’s plan, alarming Superman with a glimpse of his demonic form.
• Ian dragged John Decker to a Guan Gong temple and then a church to secure a divine witness for their sworn-family bond.
• The church’s Jesus statue shattered after Ian’s oath, so Ian used his power to create a sacred-looking Superman statue and completed the ceremony before it.
• Lucifer resumed trying to influence Superman, first offering to find caretakers for his child and then warning that an undisciplined descendant could undo Superman’s good deeds.
• Lucifer felt the commandment restraining his true form disappear and realized God had acted.

Lucifer refused to act against Ian despite recognizing God’s intentions, and struck a mysterious deal with Superman. Meanwhile, Ian expanded his dimension into the Myriad Spirit Realm and connected it to Heaven’s and Hell’s soul channels; Lucifer then traveled to an earlier point in time to approach Jonathan Kent with another deal.

• Lucifer revealed his identity to Superman, insisted he never lied, and warned him that he needed to learn how to raise a child.
• Superman agreed to hear Lucifer’s offer, and Lucifer whispered a proposal that left him stunned and incredulous.
• Ian expanded his dimension into nine layers and created the Myriad Spirit Realm as a personalized afterlife for souls.
• Ian connected the realm to Heaven’s and Hell’s soul-receiving channels and prepared to bring old John’s soul into it.
• After reaching a deal with Superman, Lucifer traveled to an earlier time in Smallville and approached Jonathan Kent with a second deal.

Lucifer approached young Jonathan Kent and tempted him with a guaranteed buyer for the family farm’s crops, then revealed that he wanted Jonathan to father a future child destined to become the devil himself. In a future Metropolis, Superman saw reality and religious symbols shifting, then received a call from a contact labeled “Father.”

• Lucifer found Jonathan working on the Kent family farm and offered to secure decades of generous purchases for its crops.
• Jonathan suspected Lucifer wanted the family’s land, but Lucifer used Jonathan’s worries about Martha and their future to win his attention.
• Lucifer proposed that Jonathan’s future child run off to Los Angeles to become a detective, framing the bargain as a way for the devil himself to be born.
• In the future, Superman saw distortions spreading through Metropolis, including churches changing their symbols of faith, and set out to investigate the timeline disorder and Bruce Wayne’s erasure.
• Superman received a call from the impossible contact labeled “Father.”

Clark heard from Jonathan, who was alive in the altered timeline, and accepted memories of a brother named Uclifre as reality reshaped his past. He reunited with his family on the Kent farm and lost sight of the anomalies, while Barry uncovered reports claiming Bruce Wayne murdered four people and Clark killed Bruce.

• Clark answered Jonathan’s call and learned that his father was alive and wanted him to come home for dinner with his big brother, Uclifre.
• Clark’s memories shifted to include a feud with Uclifre, and he went to the Los Angeles Police Department to invite him to dinner.
• Uclifre left the station with Clark, and Clark carried him through the air to the Kent farm.
• Martha and Jonathan welcomed both sons, and the warmth of the family reunion erased Clark’s doubts about the altered timeline.
• Barry consulted Gideon at S.T.A.R. Labs and found newspaper reports claiming Bruce Wayne killed Ian, Jonathan, Jordan, and Damian before Clark snapped his neck.