Chapter Summaries

Mongul revealed his next arena fighter as Mechanical Superman, a half-mechanical Kryptonian survivor. Ba Di and Kara recognized the remaining human half of his face as Zo-El, Kara’s father.

• Mongul conceded that Ba Di had won the round after Kang Na and Ai Li rescued the Cosmic Dolphin and Bao Lang left the arena.
• Mongul announced that his next fighter would be a Kryptonian, while Ba Di showed no surprise and Kara reacted with shock.
• Mongul explained that he had found Zo-El near death after Krypton exploded and rebuilt him with advanced technology.
• Mechanical Superman entered the arena, and Kara recognized her father while Ba Di froze in disbelief.

Kara reunited with her father, Zo-El, only to find him transformed into the emotionless Mechanical Superman, who brutally attacked her. As Zo-El prepared to kill her, Ba Di intervened and destroyed his cannon.

• Kara broke into Mongul's arena and called out to Zo-El, but he fired an energy blast that sent her crashing into a wall.
• Mechanical Superman continued beating Kara as she pleaded with Zo-El to remember her, while Mongul relished the spectacle.
• Ba Di thanked Mongul for saving Zo-El and declared that the deed had earned Mongul one life.
• Mechanical Superman knocked Kara down and charged his cannon against her face as her last plea seemed to stir a fleeting memory.
• Ba Di appeared between Kara and Zo-El, blocked the cannon with his palm, and sent Mechanical Superman crashing into the arena floor.

Ba Di intervened to save the girl from Mechanical Superman’s cannon, then faced Mongul in the arena. Mongul’s first punch shattered Ba Di’s damaged armor and exposed the dangerous magnetic field beneath it.

• Ba Di blocked Mechanical Superman’s Particle-Stream Electron Cannon, drawing the crowd’s attention and leaving cracks across his Emperor Armor.
• Mongul entered the arena and declared the third battle had begun as the spectators roared for him to kill Ba Di.
• Ba Di warned Mongul to leave Warworld and the Solar System, while trying to keep the magnetic field in his damaged arm under control.
• Mongul charged and punched Ba Di, but Ba Di stopped the blow with his left palm without moving.
• Mongul’s punch broke apart Ba Di’s steel gauntlet, revealing his arm as a powerful magnetic field began to emerge.

After Mongul damaged the Emperor Armor’s seal, Ba Di’s magnetic power erupted and devastated the arena as spectators fled. Mongul attacked again, but Ba Di seized him and slammed him into the ground, crushing a vast section of Warworld.

• Mongul’s punch damaged Ba Di’s left arm armor, releasing a magnetic field that hurled Mongul into the arena wall and pulverized thousands of spectators.
• Ba Di signaled General Otto, Captain La Jin, and Jie Mi to take Kara and Mechanical Superman away from the arena.
• Mongul emerged from the hole, fired a high-energy beam at Ba Di, and teleported behind him to attack.
• Ba Di caught Mongul by the neck and slammed him into the ground, creating a huge crater and pressing nearly a quarter of Warworld inward.

The Monitors watched over the universe from its boundary and detected a severe rejection response at its central point, indicating that an entity was damaging the universe. Director Nock ordered an investigation and prepared to inform Chief Monitor Mandrakk.

• The chapter explained that the Blood Domain surrounded finite universes and that the Monitors crossed it to observe and maintain them.
• A highest-level alarm sounded in the Monitors' observation hall when inspectors detected a contamination source at the universe's central point.
• Director Nock asked whether Doctor Manhattan had caused the rejection, but the inspector said the symptoms differed and indicated an entity was damaging the universe.
• The inspector warned that something might be about to break through from the Antimatter Universe passage.
• Director Nock ordered search vessels, destroyers, and transport ships to investigate and establish a transmission channel, then left to report to Chief Monitor Mandrakk.

After defeating Mongul, Ba Di worked with Hera to rebuild the armguard that suppressed his dangerous magnetic field. Brainiac and Volthoom both sought bodies made from Ba Di’s blood, and Ba Di agreed to meet them the next day.

• Ba Di defeated Mongul after Warworld had suffered extensive destruction, then extinguished the singularity his power created.
• Hera and General Otto’s legion began moving into Warworld as Ba Di had Hera reconstruct his magnetic-field-suppressing armguard.
• Hera told Ba Di that Brainiac wanted to surrender and obtain a drop of his blood; Ba Di agreed to receive Brainiac’s terminal at Emperor Tower.
• Brainiac agreed to become Ba Di’s flesh-and-blood dependent and said he would explain his reasons at an audience the next day.
• Hera reported that Volthoom also wanted Ba Di to create a body for him and would swear loyalty; Ba Di agreed to address both requests the next day.

Owlman crossed the desolate ruins of Metropolis and found Alexander Luther hiding beneath the collapsed World Building. He persuaded Luther to join him in finding Mobius, but their search required Luther to transform into "Zansha."

• Owlman walked through Metropolis's ash-covered ruins and found the World Building collapsed.
• Owlman discovered that someone had repeatedly used the basement elevator's F5 level.
• Alexander Luther ambushed Owlman with an M9 Pistol, but Owlman explained that he had found a parallel world where they could survive.
• Owlman convinced Luther that finding Mobius was their only way to reach the new world and escape Earth's destruction.
• Luther agreed to go with Owlman, who told him he needed to transform into "Zansha" to find Mobius.

Brainiac and Volthoom surrendered to Ba Di, seeking to follow him beyond the universe, and Ba Di transformed them into his retainers with drops of blood. Both received new bodies and knelt to thank him.

• Brainiac explained that he had conquered worlds to pursue knowledge and chose to surrender after calculating that he could not challenge Ba Di.
• Brainiac asked Ba Di to take him beyond the universe, and Volthoom also offered to become Ba Di's retainer.
• Ba Di accepted their offers and sent a drop of blood to each of them.
• Volthoom left his Power Ring and used the blood to form a living body, then excitedly thanked Ba Di.
• Brainiac merged with the blood, kept his green skin, grew two antennae, and knelt to thank Ba Di.

The Guardians of the Universe debated how to stop Mandrakk from making Earth and the universe part of his plan, considering Darkseid, the Black Lantern, and releasing First Lantern Volthoom. The Olympian Gods awakened from their slumber, and Zeus received a cryptic order from his true body: “Recruit!”

• A Guardian told the other Guardians that he had stopped the Green Lantern Corps from deploying against Earth, despite the Monitor Race demanding their aid.
• The Guardians discussed Mandrakk’s role in creating the multiverse and Antimatter Universe and feared he would become a false Only God.
• The Guardians considered contacting Darkseid, using the Black Lantern, releasing First Lantern Volthoom, and finding the Olympian Gods.
• A lightning bolt struck Zeus’s Thunder Spear, awakening the Olympian deities from their statues on Mount Olympus.
• Zeus revealed that his true body had sent him the message “Recruit,” leaving him puzzled about whom the gods should recruit.

Ba Di learned how Only Gods achieve uniqueness and completed a thought-based system designed to spread his will across the universe. The system began binding powerful beings to missions, leaving Zeus and the Guardians of the Universe alarmed and suspecting Mandrakk.

• Volthoom explained that the thought system, built with Ba Di's team, would spread Ba Di's will through life and thought across the universe.
• Volthoom described how Only Gods reclaim their selves from countless versions across infinite universes, and Brainiac feared that another version could replace him.
• Ba Di realized that merging his temporal copies had made him an Only God through evolution, while his system could serve as an alternative projection into other universes.
• Ba Di absorbed the finished system, which burst from his forehead and spread across the universe from Earth.
• Zeus bound the Overlord System, which ordered him to recruit someone within three days or face erasure.
• Three Guardians of the Universe on Oa Star bound themselves to different systems and feared that Mandrakk was trying to control them.

Ba Di understood how an Only God could grow by reclaiming information scattered across existence, then created a Source system that spread through conscious life throughout the Milky Way. Through it, he learned that a Guardian of the Universe had been erased and that the Guardians had rallied the Seven Lantern Corps to fight the Monitor Race.

• Ba Di contemplated true reincarnation and realized that Only Gods could strengthen themselves by gathering information about themselves from across existence.
• Ba Di created a Source system that spread through the Milky Way and implanted itself in more than a thousand jian consciousnesses.
• Ba Di recognized that absorbing those consciousnesses individually would be an immense task, while the Source offered a more effective way for Only Gods to increase their power.
• Ba Di's system recorded information from across the cosmos and transmitted the memories of a Guardian of the Universe who had been erased.
• The Guardians of the Universe suspected the Monitor Race and gathered the Seven Lantern Corps they could assemble to fight them.
• Ba Di opened his eyes and smiled at what he had discovered.

On Oa Star, Gan Se and Sai De suspected the systems controlling the Guardians were part of a larger scheme. Ba Di descended through Gan Se, destroyed Sai De when she recognized the impostor, and decided not to fulfill Gan Se’s extensive wishes.

• The Guardians of the Universe mourned their erased companion and blamed the Monitor Race and Mandrakk for manipulating them.
• Sai De warned Gan Se that someone was trying to control them through the systems implanted in their minds.
• Ba Di took dominion over Gan Se, replacing him while retaining his memories and appearance.
• Sai De recognized that the being before her was not Gan Se, but the system destroyed her mind and dispersed her body into particles.
• Ba Di considered Gan Se’s wishes to protect the universe, preserve peace, and safeguard Oa Star too troublesome, so he abandoned most of Gan Se’s information.

Ba Di ordered a universe-wide conquest and began planning a cosmic communications network, then possessed Zeus’s projection and learned about God’s Domain and its powerful inhabitants. The chapter ended with Ba Di recognizing the danger he would face if he ventured beyond the multiverse.

• Ba Di used Gan Se’s memories to learn about the universe, then ordered Volthoom to prepare the Lantern Corps to conquer Oa Star and every sector.
• Ba Di sent Kang Na to capture Lantern Beasts and tasked Brainiac with building cosmic signal stations across the Solar System.
• Zeus investigated the strange system affecting his projection before Ba Di took control of him and absorbed his memories.
• Ba Di learned that God's Domain lay beyond the multiverse and contained the Only Gods, their realms, and numerous powerful divine systems.
• Ba Di realized that leaving the multiverse could expose him to recruitment, slaughter, or imprisonment by the inhabitants of God's Domain.

Ba Di realized he needed to grow stronger before venturing into God's Domain, so he planned to use the multiverse and its Source to build his power. After meeting Hera's projection and hearing the Olympian gods debate appearing on Earth, he raised his Thunder Spear and engulfed the temple in lightning.

• Ba Di judged that his universe's inhabitants were too weak to serve as followers in God's Domain and planned to gather the derivative multiverses before refining the final universe.
• Ba Di decided to use the multiverse to obtain the Source and absorb information before facing the gods of God's Domain.
• Hera entered the temple and urged Zeus to appear in the mortal world because humanity had been conquered and the gods' projections were losing faith.
• The Olympian gods gathered and debated whether to appear on Earth, with some urging battle and others recommending caution.
• Ba Di silenced the gods, told Hera he hoped to see her true body next time, and engulfed the temple in lightning from his Thunder Spear.

Ba Di reviewed the dangers of God's Domain and the plans to strengthen his power by conquering other universes. As Hera listed his remaining business, he noticed Jonathan Kent's name on the screen.

• Ba Di considered how powerful the Only Gods and the Olympian Pantheon were compared with the multiverse.
• Ba Di ordered Hera to take Olympus Divine Peak on Earth for him.
• Ba Di asked Hera to list the matters he needed to handle before traveling to other multiverses.
• Hera reported on the Positive Monitor's scheme, the Anti-Monitor's anticipated destruction, the cosmic star map, the network base station, and the Cosmic Lantern Corps Conquest Army.
• Ba Di reviewed the projected list and noticed Jonathan Kent's name, recorded ten years earlier.

Jonathan Kent feared Ba Di had summoned him to reject his plea to revive his wife, Martha. Ba Di instead told him that Martha was waiting for him at Metropolis Central Hospital, fulfilling the hope Jonathan had held for twelve years.

• Jonathan Kent remembered how Jor-El's actions had caused Martha's death and clung to Ba Di's promise to bring her back.
• Jonathan hid his grief from his roommate Shanks, adjusted the patrol and training schedules, and went to General Otto after being summoned.
• General Otto told Jonathan that Ba Di had ordered him to return to Earth.
• Jonathan feared his ordinary service had not earned Martha's resurrection and knelt before Ba Di, begging not to be abandoned.
• Ba Di acknowledged Jonathan's twelve years of loyalty and told him Martha was waiting in VIP Ward 35 of Metropolis Central Hospital, confirming she was his real wife.

Gotham’s newspapers revealed Bruce Wayne as a possible Batman, prompting arguments among residents about whether the wealthy playboy could be the Dark Knight. The debate ended in a shootout when Red Hoods tried to rob people sheltering from the rain.

• Newspapers across Gotham announced Bruce Wayne’s alleged identity as Batman.
• A young man claimed he had seen Batman fly into Wayne Group, but other people dismissed the sighting and argued over Bruce’s motives.
• The young man and other youths defended the idea that Bruce had become Batman to protect Gotham, while older bystanders mocked them.
• Several Red Hoods arrived with machine guns and ordered the crowd to hand over their money.
• The young man and the other bystanders drew guns, and a gunfight erupted between them and the Red Hoods.

Batman confronted Joker atop Wayne Tower, but Joker escaped after deliberately plunging from the tower. The next day, Bruce Wayne began a press conference to calm Gotham, then abruptly admitted he was Batman.

• Batman arrived at Wayne Tower and confronted Joker, who said he chose death and fell from a gargoyle.
• Joker deployed a hidden parachute, landed safely by his Joker Car, and escaped Batman's pursuit.
• Batman returned to the Batcave, and Alfred urged Bruce to hold a press conference while Bruce asked him to find files on Joker's surviving former subordinates.
• Bruce attended the packed press conference and initially denied being Batman while flirting with reporters.
• Bruce lowered Alfred's prepared notes and told the reporters, "I am Batman."

Ba Di publicly revealed that he was Batman, then announced plans to reform Gotham by recruiting powerful allies, investing his fortune, and preparing new technology and weapons. As he and Alfred left, a Planet Daily reporter forced open the elevator doors.

• Ba Di's admission that he was Batman stunned the press, and Alfred ended the conference before reporters could question him further.
• Alfred warned Ba Di about the consequences of revealing his identity, and Ba Di promised to inform him of future plans.
• Ba Di instructed Alfred to arrange a dinner with Gotham's leading families, develop new technology and weapons, seek military support, back Gordon for police commissioner, and hire about a thousand elite mercenaries.
• Ba Di committed roughly 7.6 billion dollars of his personal assets to reforming Gotham and said the city needed strong medicine.
• A Planet Daily reporter forced open the elevator doors just as Ba Di and Alfred were about to leave.

Ba Di, acting as Batman, confronted Clark Kent at Wayne Building after Clark challenged Batman’s impact on Gotham and demanded that he stop. Clark left vowing to find someone who could make Ba Di listen.

• Clark Kent pressed Ba Di for an answer about whether he was Batman, and Ba Di admitted that he was.
• Clark asked whether Ba Di would continue as Batman and urged him to stop, arguing that Batman brought fear to Gotham.
• Ba Di defended Batman’s sacrifices and ordered Clark to return to the Planet Daily.
• Clark grew angry but held back from attacking Ba Di, then left to find someone who could tell him what to do.