Chapter Summaries

Miao Mu celebrated Christmas by giving Barry a restored photograph of his mother and setting off a dangerous cache of fireworks with Jason. The blasts drew the attention of Arkham District residents, while the chapter also showed how the heavily armed Arkham Supermarket and a wave of gang killings had reshaped the district.

• Miao Mu told Jason to bring out the Earthshaker fireworks and told Barry that he had made a profit from LexCorp's rising stock price.
• Miao Mu gave Barry a restored photograph of Barry as a child with his mother, and Barry became emotional.
• Miao Mu and Jason set off the Earthshaker fireworks, sending a series of loud explosions across Arkham District.
• Deadshot Lawton looked up at the fireworks while Zoe showed him her teddy bear, and customers at Arkham Supermarket continued shopping under armed security.
• Arkham's gangs were wiped out by mysterious gunmen, and the resulting mass of bodies overwhelmed the crematorium's old incinerators.

Catwoman and Spawn infiltrated the Kane estate to search for the Spear of Longinus, while Bruce Wayne attended the family’s Christmas dinner. Bruce reunited with his mysterious aunt Lindsey Kane as Alfred and Oswald watched from outside.

• Philip Kane left his collection room after Kate summoned him upstairs, and Catwoman and Spawn entered through its window.
• Catwoman disguised herself as a maid and blended in with the staff preparing the dinner party.
• Bruce Wayne arrived at the estate with a bottle of wine while Alfred monitored him from the Batmobile and Oswald waited in a van nearby.
• Bruce spoke with Kate and greeted Lindsey Kane when she came downstairs.
• Philip checked on Bruce, and Lindsey invited him to dinner and asked whether he liked cake.

Selina and Spawn broke into the Kane mansion’s underground vault to find the Spear of Longinus, but the case held Joker’s bomb instead. Batman saved Catwoman from the explosion, while Joker prepared a ritual with the real spear on a distant shore.

• Kate dreaded joining her mother, Mrs. Kane, for dinner, while Selina searched the mansion for the Spear of Longinus.
• Spawn triggered the vault alarm and used magic to damage the sealed security door as the Kane family and bodyguards responded.
• Catwoman joined Spawn in the vault, helped him escape the sleeping gas, and began picking the combination case open.
• The case contained a Joker card, a goblet, and explosives; Batman kicked the bomb away from Catwoman before it detonated.
• Spawn and Batman met again after the explosion, while Joker placed the Spear of Longinus amid magic runes and prepared to begin his plan.

Joker grew restless in Hell and anticipated using the Spear of Destiny to escape to the mortal world. Meanwhile, Miao Mu and his companions headed out to watch Batman face Spawn, while Jason spent Christmas at Jerry’s apartment party.

• Joker complained about Hell, attacked Three-Horned Demon, and sensed the Spear of Destiny drawing closer.
• Miao Mu drove toward the outskirts with Deadshot Lawton, Riddler Nygma, and Barry to watch Batman versus Spawn.
• Miao Mu sent Jason to Jerry’s apartment so he would not be left home alone.
• Jason sat through Jerry’s crowded party, blocking out the noise and perfume while watching television.

Miao Mu followed the Hell Brand’s call to Crimson Cape, where the Joker used his controlled arm to make him drive the Spear of Longinus into the ground. The act opened a rift between Hell and the present world, leaving demons free to escape into Gotham.

• The Hell Brand burned on Miao Mu’s wrist and compelled him toward Crimson Cape, so Lawton drove him there while Nygma arranged supplies.
• Miao Mu found a Joker doll hanging from a wrecked boat, and the Joker revealed he had prepared a Christmas gift for him.
• The Hell Brand spread over Miao Mu’s arm and forced him to seize the buried Spear of Longinus and plunge it into the ground, erasing the brand’s power.
• The Spear of Longinus connected Hell to the present world, and Barry appeared beside Miao Mu as the rift began to form.
• In Hell, the Joker fed a soul orb to demons and joined with the Joker Dragon to shatter the boundary, opening a vast rift above Crimson Cape.
• Several winged imps flew through the rift and eyed the humans in Gotham.

A rift to Hell opened over Gotham, releasing demons across the city as Batman and Spawn raced to stop the invasion. At the breach, Miao Mu confronted a Clown Dragon as his Hell Brand changed, while Malebolgia and Mammon headed toward the mortal world.

• A blood-red rift opened above Kane Mansion, and Spawn left to confront the demons while Batman followed with Alfred’s help.
• Batman launched a folding motorcycle for Spawn, who transformed it into a heavy machine gun-equipped bike and sped after the Batmobile.
• Little demons poured into Gotham, where residents fought them off, including a couple who burned one in their oven.
• Miao Mu faced a Clown Dragon at the rift with the Spear of Destiny as his Hell Brand became a golden snake biting its tail.
• Joker noticed his magic draining in Hell and waited for Malebolgia and Mammon, who both set out toward the opened gates.

Miao Mu and his allies fought the Clown Dragon as imps poured through the Hell rift, then sent The Flash to find a magician who could help seal it. Batman and Alfred arrived in the Batmobile, while the Joker’s obsession with Batman stirred inside the Clown Dragon.

• Deadshot used his modified Mosin-Nagant to shoot imps emerging from the rift, while Miao Mu blasted the Clown Dragon’s wing with a holy-water grenade.
• The Flash attacked the grounded Clown Dragon, then carried Miao Mu away from its fire breath; Miao Mu sent him to find Constantine or Zatanna at Zatara Circus.
• Deadshot fired glass-tipped rounds into the Clown Dragon’s eyes, and Miao Mu pulled him clear when the creature breathed fire again.
• Batman and Alfred drove the Batmobile through burning rubble after Batman fired demolition missiles to clear their path.
• The Joker’s laughter and fixation on Batman surfaced within the Clown Dragon’s soul.

Batman, Spawn, and Miao Mu’s team attacked the Clown Dragon on the beach while Mammon and Malebolgia fought over the rift in Hell. Batman found a way to disrupt the monster’s wing, and Spawn joined the assault as the battle continued.

• Batman fired the Batmobile’s machine gun at the Clown Dragon, while Spawn drove his battering-ram vehicle into it and pierced it with a green energy beam.
• The Clown Dragon crashed to the ground, and Miao Mu and Lawton watched from the beach as Mammon struggled against Malebolgia inside the rift.
• Malebolgia tore Mammon’s body in half as Mammon reached toward the mortal world and demanded his vessel from Faust.
• Spawn teleported beside Batman while evading the Clown Dragon, which recovered and prepared to attack again.
• After Miao Mu urged them to strike, Batman grappled onto the Clown Dragon’s back and detonated explosives on its intact wing, making it roll aside.
• Spawn descended from above and punched the Clown Dragon in the abdomen.

Miao Mu resisted Faust’s illusion and fought off Faust and Solomon Grundy as Faust fled toward the rift to Hell. After Grundy knocked him down, Miao Mu summoned the Holy Flame Hammer and transformed into a flame-wreathed figure clad in Demon Armor, then flattened Grundy’s face with a punch.

• Miao Mu saw through Faust’s illusion and battered the dark mage, while Deadshot’s shot was stopped by Faust’s protective barrier.
• Faust summoned Solomon Grundy and flew toward the rift to Hell, leaving Grundy to fight Miao Mu.
• Deadshot unleashed a barrage at Faust, forcing him to raise three cracking energy shields.
• Miao Mu fought Grundy, who knocked him flying with a hook.
• Miao Mu summoned the Holy Flame Hammer, whose sacred flames spread over him as Demon Armor formed around his body.
• Miao Mu used his newfound strength to grab Grundy and punch his face flat.

Miao Mu survived the holy fire and discovered a golden Ouroboros on his wrist as Malebolgia demanded the Spear of Destiny. Spawn’s contract compelled him to pursue Miao Mu, prompting Batman to fight Al Simmons, while Joker leaped from the Hell rift amid the Clown Dragon’s explosion.

• Miao Mu’s demonic armor shattered under holy fire, and the Hell Brand on his wrist became a golden Ouroboros.
• After Batman’s flashbang sent Faust into the Hell rift, Malebolgia demanded the Spear of Destiny and spotted Miao Mu carrying it.
• Malebolgia ordered Spawn to retrieve Miao Mu, and a hidden clause in Spawn’s contract forced him to obey.
• Batman tried to stop Spawn, and he and Al Simmons fought as Batman urged him to resist Malebolgia.
• Joker offered Malebolgia his help, leaped out of the Hell rift, and the Clown Dragon exploded in a cloud of green smoke.

Batman and Alfred fought through the Joker-filled beach while Nygma’s crew fired a heavy howitzer at the demons. Superman arrived to help reload the cannon, then flew toward the beach as Nygma ordered another shot.

• Batman was distracted by the Joker’s illusion and was kicked into the green smoke before Alfred drove the Batmobile through the puppets to find him.
• Batman climbed onto the Batmobile, told Alfred that the Joker had gone after Miao Mu, and remembered that the Spear of Longinus could open Hell.
• Alfred recognized the sound of a 240-millimeter howitzer shell and sped away as its blast wiped out the Jokers on the beach.
• Nygma urged Otis’s security crew to reload the cannon, and Superman loaded a shell by hand after saying Miao Mu had sent him to help.
• Superman took the loading forklift and flew toward the beach while Nygma ordered the crew to fire again and bring back the cannon barrel.

Miao Mu fought Spawn over the Spear of Destiny and discovered that the Ouroboros on his wrist could transform his qi into powerful armor. Superman arrived to help, and Miao Mu learned that his friends had bombarded the Hell rift with a cannon.

• Spawn demanded the Spear of Destiny, but Miao Mu refused and struck him with a qi-powered blow that formed pale black armor around his fist.
• Miao Mu realized the Ouroboros was changing his qi into armor and that his memories of Joker had vanished.
• Miao Mu attacked Spawn with armored claws and a barrage of enhanced strikes, forcing Spawn to defend himself.
• Superman froze Spawn's legs and joined Miao Mu, who asked about the Hell rift and the beach.
• Superman said the beach was safe after Miao Mu's friends bombarded the area with a cannon.

Miao Mu, Barry, Superman, and Constantine worked together to close the Hell rift and stop Malebolgia from invading the mortal world. After the rift vanished, Constantine was left injured, while Miao Mu reclaimed the Spear of Destiny.

• Barry arrived with Constantine and the materials for the sealing ritual, and Constantine began preparing to close the Hell rift.
• Constantine used the Spear of Destiny to summon Gabriel, who fought Malebolgia while the magic circle began sealing the rift.
• Constantine summoned the First of the Fallen, and the demon’s intervention helped force the rift shut.
• Gabriel honored his deal by giving Constantine a mark that could summon him once, while the First of the Fallen punished Constantine with severe stomach pain.
• Superman carried Constantine to Gotham Hospital, and Miao Mu took back the Spear of Destiny.

Joker ambushed the wounded Faust in a Gotham cemetery and repeatedly shot and blew him up. At Zatara Circus, Zatanna prepared to leave while confronting Bruce about lies and worrying that he was pushing himself toward collapse.

• Joker struck Faust with a shovel as he emerged from his coffin, then buried him again.
• Joker opened Faust’s coffin, fired a Thompson submachine gun at him, and detonated explosives, leaving the grave in repeated blasts.
• At the Zatara Circus grounds, Bruce asked Zatanna to stay longer, and she told him someone she had trusted had lied to her.
• Zatanna made bubbles for Bruce and recalled how she had cheered him up after his parents died.
• Zatanna noticed Bruce’s bandaged wrist and mechanical brace and warned him that he was heading toward collapse.
• Bruce joked with Zatanna as they walked together, though both kept secrets from each other.

Barry realized the timeline was rejecting him and left Miao Mu, but he used his remaining time to investigate the changes to Gotham. He found Jason from ten years in the future and took him back through time, worried about how their actions had altered the future.

• Barry told Miao Mu that the timeline was rejecting him, said he would return to his own time, and vanished in a burst of red lightning.
• After Miao Mu left, Barry raced through Gotham and Arkham, examining traces of changes to the timeline and stabilizing an explosive experiment on his way.
• Barry followed evidence of someone altering the timeline to the sewers, where he found Jason from ten years in the future fishing beside a small grill.
• Jason admitted he had carefully changed the timeline, and Barry warned that the changes had already caused major consequences on Christmas night.
• Barry gave Jason a backpack, grabbed him, and used the Speed Force to take them back through time.

Miao Mu visited Old Tang’s herbal medicine shop in Chinatown to restock medicine and was shown a demon soaking in medicinal liquor that Old Tang claimed could extend life. After refusing to drink it, Miao Mu left Old Tang’s shop under Myers’s watch and headed toward Dixon Docks.

• Miao Mu asked Old Tang to restock safflower oil and bruise-and-sprain ointment, then heard that Old Tang had a life-extending treasure to show him.
• Old Tang led Miao Mu upstairs and showed him a red-skinned, black-winged demon soaking in a vat of medicinal liquor.
• Old Tang offered Miao Mu a cup of the liquor, but Miao Mu refused and hurried out while Old Tang drank it himself.
• Miao Mu found his former superior Myers waiting outside and asked him to keep an eye on Old Tang’s shop.
• Miao Mu put on sunglasses and walked toward Dixon Docks with his medicine bag.

At Dixon Docks, Miao Mu tested the power of the Ouroboros Brand while Al Simmons waited for a demon overseer. Miao Mu rejected an invitation from the Roman and left after knocking down one of Sophia Falcone’s twin enforcers.

• Miao Mu checked his supplies at the police-sealed warehouses, then met Al Simmons, who warned him that people were taking an interest in him.
• Miao Mu revealed that the Ouroboros Brand let him pierce a wooden stake with clawed fingers, and Simmons told him the mark seemed like a gift rather than a demonic contract.
• Three-Horned Demon arrived to claim authority over Simmons, but Simmons threatened him and said he would carry out Malebolgia’s mission without being ordered around.
• Three-Horned Demon left for New York, intending to confront Spawn and prove his loyalty to Malebolgia.
• Sophia Falcone confronted Miao Mu with the Twins and offered him an invitation from the Roman, but Miao Mu threw it into the sea and refused to attend.
• Miao Mu knocked one of the Twins off the boardwalk with a shoulder strike, while Sophia held back and insisted the Roman’s power would return.

Barry Allen, newly acting as the Flash, was threatened by a caller who knew his identity and demanded he come to Gotham. There he encountered Batman’s brutal interrogation and fled before Batman could question him, leaving Batman to wonder whether he was connected to Miao Mu.

• Barry received a call from a mysterious person who threatened to expose his identity unless he went to a pier in Gotham that night.
• Barry put on his homemade Flash suit, called Rick for directions, and sped toward Gotham.
• In Gotham, Barry mistook a man in a black suit for someone falling from a building, then saw him spread wings and enter a bar.
• Barry rushed into the bar to help but retreated when its occupants opened fire, then returned to find Batman fighting seventeen men.
• Batman terrified a gang boss with the Batmobile until the man revealed that the Roman’s sister had returned and that Alberto had brought back a business deal for the Roman.
• Barry fled when Batman noticed him, and Batman wondered whether the speedster was connected to Miao Mu before continuing his work protecting Gotham.

Miao Mu tested Barry Allen’s readiness to be a superhero and decided he needed serious training before they traveled through the Multiverse. Barry believed he had passed a Justice League assessment, while Miao Mu began preparing him for the dangers ahead.

• Miao Mu waited for Barry at a dock, worrying about the Hyper-Adapter, the Dark Multiverse, and his plan to take Barry with him.
• Barry arrived in a homemade costume, and Miao Mu knocked him down and broke his finger to test how he reacted under pressure.
• Barry recovered with super speed and rushed at Miao Mu, but he diverted a live grenade into the Gotham Canal before it exploded.
• Miao Mu claimed Barry had passed a Justice League assessment, showed him his own powers, and let Barry believe he was a mysterious instructor.
• Miao Mu warned Barry that good intentions were not enough to face dangerous villains and told him he needed extensive training.

Barry struggled against Jason in a martial arts gym and returned to work bruised and humiliated. Determined to become a real superhero, he asked Miao Mu to help him get stronger, and Miao Mu prepared to take him somewhere unfamiliar so he could push his speed further.

• Barry insisted he should not lose to a kid, so Miao Mu told Jason to go for it.
• Jason struck Barry in the stomach, knocked him down, and beat him until he was helpless.
• Barry returned to the Central City Police Department with a bruised face and claimed he had fallen.
• Barry asked the chief for leave, then rushed to Miao Mu's office and declared that he wanted to become a real superhero.
• Miao Mu agreed to help Barry on the condition that he obeyed instructions, and Barry demonstrated his speed by fetching a car tire in five seconds.