Chapter Summaries

Miao Mu and the magically empowered Rorschach fought as Miao Mu glimpsed an embarrassing image of Brucie. Rorschach’s memories revealed how Walter Kovacs became Rorschach, while the fight ended with Miao Mu knocking him down and grabbing the black material emerging from his body.

• Dormammu’s magic made Miao Mu see Brucie in black lingerie, and Rorschach attacked him while he was distracted.
• Rorschach fought with brutal skill as memories showed Walter Kovacs making an inkblot mask and becoming Rorschach after a movie star’s murder went unpunished.
• Rorschach recalled finding a missing girl’s remains, killing one of her captors’ wolfdogs, and forcing the murderer to face the girl’s suffering.
• Miao Mu fought back, hurled Rorschach through a shop window, and shouted for Walter Kovacs to let Rorschach speak to him.
• Miao Mu punched Rorschach, slammed him into a clothing-store wall, and swept him to the ground before grabbing black material that emerged from his body.

Miao Mu encountered Dormammu and offered to help him enter his universe, but Doctor Manhattan intervened and brought Miao Mu to Mars. As Doctor Manhattan prepared a glass balcony, Miao Mu discovered he had gained unstable magical energy and learned that Manhattan had seen their coming conversation in the future.

• Miao Mu recognized Dormammu and offered to provide summoning coordinates in exchange for an opponent for Dormammu to consume.
• Dormammu's power entered Miao Mu, but Doctor Manhattan severed their connection and warned Miao not to bring more strange things into the universe.
• Doctor Manhattan teleported the unconscious Rorschach to a hospital, restored the ruined clothing store, and transported Miao Mu to Mars.
• Doctor Manhattan gave Miao the ability to breathe on Mars and shaped the red sand into a glass balcony for them to watch a storm from the South Pole.
• Miao Mu discovered that he had gained dark purple magical flame that resisted his control, then learned Doctor Manhattan had seen their future conversation.

Batman and Doctor Strange searched for Miao Mu in Los Angeles, then faced an ambush by Kaecilius and other sorcerers. Doctor Strange was pulled into the Mirror Dimension, while Batman silenced the attackers with a sonic bomb and left Kaecilius incapacitated.

• Batman searched for Miao Mu and found his revolver near signs of a roadside shootout.
• Doctor Strange met Batman, explained that Tony had sent him, and said Miao Mu had disappeared after fighting a masked man.
• Kaecilius attacked them with a fireball, and Doctor Strange struck him before demanding to know where Mordo was.
• Kaecilius summoned wind blades as hidden sorcerers attacked Doctor Strange from several directions.
• The Mirror Dimension swallowed Doctor Strange, and Batman used a sonic bomb to incapacitate the ambushers and Kaecilius.

Batman subdued Kaecilius and searched for Doctor Strange, while Strange was trapped in the Mirror Dimension and overwhelmed by Baron Mordo’s demons. Batman broke into the dimension with his Batplane and attacked the demons with missiles and cannons.

• Batman injected Kaecilius with a powerful drug and tried to question him, but the dosage left Kaecilius unable to speak clearly.
• Batman put on energy-detecting glasses and asked Alfred to scan the area for the sorcerers and Doctor Strange.
• Doctor Strange, carried by the Cloak of Levitation, fought off demons while trying to lift Dormammu’s magical blockade.
• Baron Mordo summoned more demons and declared that he would take Strange’s soul and prove himself the true Sorcerer Supreme.
• The demons blasted Doctor Strange to the ground, but Batman’s Batplane smashed through the Mirror Dimension and attacked them with missiles and 30mm cannon fire.

Batman attacked Baron Mordo’s forces in the Mirror Dimension with the Batplane, but Mordo summoned a massive Frost Giant to counter him. With his aircraft running low on weapons, Batman began assembling an Arc Reactor bomb to bring the giant down.

• Batman’s Batplane shattered the lava demons with autocannon fire as Baron Mordo raised a magical barrier and the mages sealed the Mirror Dimension entrance.
• Batman dropped a liquid bomb over the barrier, and its contents vaporized into mist as Baron Mordo opened a portal.
• Baron Mordo summoned a Frost Giant, which emerged roaring for Odin and unleashed a blizzard that froze or buried the demons.
• The Frost Giant struck at Batman’s Batplane, but the fighter’s six rockets exploded around its head and barely harmed it.
• With the Batplane nearly out of ammunition, Batman had Alfred pilot it while he began assembling an Arc Reactor bomb in the rear of the craft.

Batman and Doctor Strange fought the Frost Giant in the Mirror Dimension, using the Batplane and magic to exploit its weaknesses. Doctor Strange left the giant staggered on one knee and advanced with Vishanti's Sacred Sword.

• Doctor Strange fled across the ice while Batman piloted the Batplane through the Frost Giant's blizzard and hail.
• Batman rammed the Batplane into the Frost Giant's chest with its Arc Reactor set to detonate, creating a hole near the giant's heart.
• The Frost Giant attacked the ejected Batman, but Doctor Strange's Cloak of Levitation pulled Batman clear of the hurricane.
• Doctor Strange severed two of the Frost Giant's fingers, cut into its arm and eye with spinning magic shields, and summoned Vishanti's Sacred Sword.
• Doctor Strange opened a portal that redirected the Frost Giant's punch onto its own head, knocking it to one knee.
• Doctor Strange advanced on the dazed Frost Giant with Vishanti's Sacred Sword.

Doctor Strange defeated the Frost Giant, then found Mordo and the other sorcerers poisoned and unconscious. Batman supplied an antidote and explained the toxin, and Strange dispelled the Mirror Dimension and repaired the damage, though he could not bring the dead goldfish back to life.

• Doctor Strange destroyed the Frost Giant, absorbed its energy, and fashioned an icy sword as Batman photographed him.
• Doctor Strange found Mordo and the other sorcerers unconscious and trembling, then encased them in ice after suspecting a trap.
• Batman gave Doctor Strange an antidote and explained that a colorless, odorless toxin had poisoned the sorcerers.
• Doctor Strange dispelled the Mirror Dimension and restored the damaged storefronts and streets, but the dead goldfish remained dead.
• An old advertising sign restored by Doctor Strange fell from the rooftop again when its rusted support frame broke.

On Mars, Doctor Manhattan offered Miao Mu the Connective Force in exchange for protecting the world, though the trade's terms remained unclear. He sent Miao Mu to find the Space Stone, and Miao Mu arrived in a snow-covered part of Los Angeles where an Adventure Treasure appeared.

• Miao Mu questioned Doctor Manhattan about the Space Stone while Doctor Manhattan showed him visions of Supermen from other worlds and timelines.
• Doctor Manhattan offered Miao Mu the Connective Force, explaining that Miao Mu could earn it by safely protecting the world in the future.
• Doctor Manhattan opened a portal and told Miao Mu that the Space Stone was in someone's possession and that finding its owner could save the world.
• Doctor Manhattan accidentally teleported Miao Mu to Los Angeles, where Miao Mu vomited and found garbage covered in ice and snow.
• An Adventure Treasure notification appeared, announcing that treasure had refreshed and discoverable items were available.

Miao Mu absorbed the Demon Scepter’s runes and bound souls into the Ouroboros Brand, gaining a demon-armored ability before an eye in the scepter’s remains was destroyed by his dragonfire. He found himself in Hell, where White Mammon claimed he was dead and offered to lend him energy to live again, but Miao Mu suspected a trick.

• Miao Mu picked up the Demon Scepter, and the Ouroboros Brand absorbed its magical runes and the souls bound to its demons’ true names.
• Miao Mu used the new power to summon a demon phantom, transform his arm, and unleash a towering pillar of lava.
• Miao Mu destroyed a mysterious eye in the scepter’s remains with dragonfire, then discovered he was in Hell.
• Miao Mu called Constantine’s name, drawing a stampede of demons who rushed toward him, and he hid until they passed.
• White Mammon appeared and told Miao Mu he was dead, offering to lend him energy to live again.
• Miao Mu recognized that White Mammon was lying and erupted with energy.

Miao Mu escaped Hell after refusing White Mammon’s offer to become his knight and set out to find Rorschach for help locating the Space Stone. At Los Angeles Municipal Hospital, Doctor Strange and Batman arrived to find Rorschach missing, then confronted him when he attacked.

• Miao Mu exposed White Mammon’s interest in the Ouroboros Brand and recognized Spawn’s mark on the demonic contract, identifying White Mammon as Malebolgia.
• Miao Mu refused White Mammon’s offer and was expelled from Hell, where he saw an energy meter showing more than ten billion units.
• Miao Mu decided to search for the Space Stone and used intelligence from Luthor to learn that Rorschach was receiving treatment at Los Angeles Municipal Hospital.
• Doctor Strange and Batman arrived at the hospital and found Rorschach’s bed empty, then Batman warned Doctor Strange when Rorschach attacked with a medicine bottle.
• Rorschach challenged Batman and Doctor Strange, but Doctor Strange opened a portal and transferred him elsewhere.

Batman and Doctor Strange rescued Rorschach from the Los Angeles River and learned that Miao Mu was pursuing the same target as they were. Meanwhile, Doctor Manhattan observed the shifting Multiverse, and Miao Mu tracked Doctor Strange through Los Angeles with a Three-Headed Hellhound and Thor’s Punishment Contract.

• Batman and Doctor Strange pulled Rorschach from the river, and Doctor Strange confirmed that Dormammu’s presence had vanished from him.
• Rorschach asked about Miao Mu, learned that Doctor Strange and Batman had dealt with the mages, and told them to find Daniel Dreiberg, whom he had sent away from Los Angeles.
• Doctor Manhattan saw Rorschach’s curse and surveyed the shifting fifty-two Multiverses, where he spotted Barbatos watching worlds from negative darkness.
• Miao Mu tracked Doctor Strange through Los Angeles with a Three-Headed Hellhound and carried a contract that would punish Doctor Strange if he harmed Lex Luthor.

Miao Mu sent his Three-Headed Hellhound into the sewers, where Rorschach, Batman, and Doctor Strange searched for Daniel’s old hideout. They found Nite Owl II’s abandoned aircraft beneath the Dreiberg House, while Miao Mu waited outside and began pounding on the door.

• Miao Mu sent the Three-Headed Hellhound through a pried-open manhole into the sewers.
• Rorschach led Batman and Doctor Strange through the sewers toward Daniel’s backup route to an abandoned subway tunnel.
• Doctor Strange froze the sewage to clear a path, while Batman and Rorschach used improvised ice skates to catch up.
• The group found Nite Owl II’s dusty aircraft and an owl-shaped uniform in the hidden subway hideout.
• Miao Mu found the Dreiberg House above the tunnel, whistled, and pounded on its door, waking Daniel and his family.

Rorschach, Batman, Doctor Strange, and Miao Mu arrived at Daniel’s home while pursuing Veidt and the Space Stone. Daniel refused to learn more about the crisis but agreed to help identify Veidt’s documents, as Rorschach warned that Veidt’s plans were worse than anything from the Cold War.

• Miao Mu questioned Daniel about masked strangers, and Doctor Strange froze a charging Hellhound underground, sending steam bursting through Daniel’s wall.
• Batman, Rorschach, and Doctor Strange tumbled into Daniel’s house, startling him and Jupiter, who was carrying their baby.
• Rorschach demanded that Daniel reveal Veidt’s whereabouts, but Daniel said he had only helped Veidt find theoretical materials and did not know where he was.
• Miao Mu asked whether the group was pursuing the Space Stone; Rorschach said he wanted to find and punch a blue-skinned man, while Batman and Doctor Strange confirmed their shared objective with Miao Mu.
• Daniel declined Rorschach’s offer to explain what he had forgotten, then agreed to help check documents connected to Veidt.
• Rorschach warned Daniel that Veidt was planning something worse than the Cold War, recalling Veidt’s past plans that caused mass deaths to unite humanity against a common enemy.

Miao Mu, Batman, Doctor Strange, Rorschach, and Daniel flew to Antarctica to find Ozymandias and the Space Stone. They located his hidden glass pyramid, where Veidt awaited them and wondered whether this Rorschach would die as before.

• Batman said Lex Luthor was sorting through paper archives for Veidt's address, and Miao Mu told the others to rest before their departure.
• Batman helped Daniel repair Archimedes while Doctor Strange studied the magical contract Miao Mu had sent him.
• After two hours of sleep, Daniel piloted Archimedes through Doctor Strange's portal into Antarctica, following strange signals.
• Archimedes and Batman's computer lost power as Doctor Strange sensed magic being torn apart, then he spotted a glass pyramid concealed beneath a mountain.
• Ozymandias Veidt watched Doctor Strange from inside the pyramid with a lynx and said he wanted to see whether Rorschach would die there again.

Doctor Strange and Miao Mu fell through a trap in the Glass Pyramid and encountered a Tentacle Monster in the darkness below. Miao Mu transformed into a massive stone demon and overpowered the creature, leaving it shoved toward its own mouth.

• Rorschach and Daniel went left through the pyramid, while Miao Mu, Batman, and Doctor Strange headed right.
• Miao Mu and Doctor Strange fell through a disappearing floor, and a tentacle carried them through the dark passage.
• Doctor Strange lit the way and discovered a huge Tentacle Monster preparing to swallow them.
• Miao Mu expanded into a stone demon, tore off one tentacle, and Doctor Strange froze another.
• Miao Mu grew to seven meters tall, grabbed the Tentacle Monster, and shoved its head into its own mouth.

Batman subdued a giant lynx with industrial pepper spray and a tranquilizer after Miao Mu and Doctor Strange returned from fighting a tentacled creature below. Elsewhere, Rorschach and Daniel faced Mime and Marionette, who blocked their way to protect their child.

• A giant lynx attacked Batman, who blinded it with pepper spray and knocked it out with a tranquilizer dart.
• Doctor Strange and Miao Mu smashed their way back up through the floor after defeating a tentacled creature resembling Ozymandias's alien creation.
• Miao Mu suspected Ozymandias had escaped the pruned timeline and said he wanted to confront him.
• Rorschach and Daniel encountered Mime and Marionette in a corridor, where Marionette said they could not pass because of their child.
• Mime mimed throwing an invisible object, then Marionette flipped forward and kicked at Rorschach and Daniel.

Batman, Doctor Strange, and Miao Mu broke into Adrian Veidt’s lair and discovered that Veidt had used the Space Stone to direct lost aliens toward Earth. Doctor Strange took the Stone, unknowingly completing the coordinates, and Miao Mu arrested Veidt as the threat drew closer.

• Veidt watched Rorschach and Dennis defeat Mime and Marionette faster than he had expected.
• Miao Mu, Batman, and Doctor Strange forced their way through Veidt’s locked metal door using fire and Miao Mu’s demonic transformation.
• Doctor Strange sensed the Space Stone in the ceiling, and Veidt explained that it had traveled with them and was being used to set coordinates for aliens he had guided toward Earth.
• Doctor Strange took the Space Stone and attached it to the ornament on his chest, unknowingly giving the aliens their final coordinates.
• Miao Mu struck Veidt and formally arrested him, threatening to send him to Arkham Asylum.

Doctor Strange returned to his chaotic Marvel world after giving Miao Mu a snow globe containing a teleportation spell. Miao Mu learned that Veidt had promised Mime and Marionette he would find their missing child, and Veidt revealed the child had returned through the connection between the two worlds.

• Doctor Strange thanked Miao Mu and Batman, then gave Miao Mu a magically reinforced snow globe that could teleport them when broken.
• Doctor Strange opened a rift and departed, while Miao Mu and Batman prepared to return with the captured Veidt.
• Miao Mu guessed that Veidt had summoned General Zod and other Kryptonian survivors, putting Metropolis and Kent Farm at risk.
• Miao Mu learned that Veidt had promised Mime and Marionette he would find their missing child if they stopped Rorschach and the others.
• Veidt said the Space Stone had connected the worlds and dimensions, bringing Mime and Marionette's child back, then asked Miao Mu if he understood what that meant.

Tournament envoy Three-Five-One began recruiting fighters for the Multiverse Combat Tournament and launched a preliminary trial in Gotham. At Miao Mu's home, five gray attackers invaded and struck at Miao Mu and Brucie, leaving their fight underway.

• Three-Five-One found Master Splinter's universe and expanded the tournament invitation to include its Earth.
• Loki contacted Three-Five-One, claimed an audience seat, and recommended Thor and a complete-version Hulk for a representative match.
• Three-Five-One scanned Gotham, saw a scaled man defeat an assassin, and unleashed a preliminary trial from a doorway in the sky.
• A gray javelin smashed through the window at Miao Mu's home, interrupting Miao Mu and Brucie's private time.
• Five gray stick figures transformed their hands into scythes, sliced Miao Mu's shotgun in half, and attacked him and Brucie.

Miao Mu and Brucie defeated strange Grey Matchstick Men and discovered they had been summoned to the Multiverse Combat Tournament. In Gotham, Bruce and Jack Napier faced their own troubles as the city’s reforms continued and Harley confronted Jack at home.

• Brucie and Miao Mu fought the Grey Matchstick Men, with Miao Mu destroying several of them by brute force.
• The defeated Matchstick Men formed a screen showing Miao Mu and Brucie’s photos, names, and location, and Brucie read that they were connected to the Multiverse Combat Tournament.
• Bruce fought off seven Matchstick Men in his home with only a bath towel, then asked Alfred where Dick was and discussed keeping his Batman identity secret.
• Alfred described Gotham’s improving conditions as Harvey Dent’s prosecutions and Jack Napier’s investigations weakened the city’s former elite.
• Jack swallowed pills to regain clarity, then faced Harley, who waited on his bed with a dagger and a vicious smile.