Chapter Summaries

Jason and Dick arrived in the desert to meet Bane, who had refused Ra's al Ghul's offer to lead the Assassin League. When Jason and Dick attacked Bane, he countered their ambush and seized Jason.

• Jason and Dick paid a mercenary and rode a Humvee into the desert toward a hidden town.
• Bane meditated in his palace while using a modified Venom that boosted his strength without harming his intelligence.
• Ra's al Ghul asked Bane to become the Assassin League's new leader, but Bane refused and said he had no enemies.
• Ra's al Ghul reflected on Gotham and considered investigating a bald man who had created something interesting.
• Bane left the town and encountered Jason and Dick, who launched a coordinated attack.
• Bane stopped Dick with his cloak, shocked Jason through the infusion tubes, and grabbed Jason by the head.

Barry Allen and Deathstroke remained imprisoned at Belle Reve Penitentiary when Dick, Jason, and Bane launched a violent jailbreak. The prison guards focused on the assault at the entrance as the rescuers infiltrated the walls, leaving the prisoners’ escape unresolved.

• Barry complained about his restraints while Deathstroke read Grimm's Fairy Tales in the cell across from him.
• Deathstroke heard gunfire and guessed that people were attempting a jailbreak, while Barry wondered whether Miao Mu and the others had come to rescue him.
• Dick and Jason climbed over the prison wall and quietly incapacitated a five-man patrol.
• Bane climbed in elsewhere and brutally attacked a soldier, intending to take out everyone in his way.

Jason and Dick fought through the prison while Barry and Deathstroke escaped their special cell. After arming themselves, Barry and Deathstroke set out to join the others and make trouble for Amanda.

• Jason and Dick reached the underground level, stunned the guards, and blacked out the prison lights.
• Dick distracted the guards while he and Jason knocked them down in the darkness.
• Deathstroke helped Barry use scraps of a fairy-tale book and the Speed Force to break free from his hydraulic shackle before the anesthetic took effect.
• Barry freed Deathstroke, who destroyed two hidden cameras and asked where his equipment was.
• Barry returned with a guard uniform he had decorated with hazard stripes, and Deathstroke changed into it.
• Deathstroke armed himself with tranquilizer guns and joined Barry in setting out to raise hell.

Jason and Dick found Barry in the underground prison and asked him to help locate their missing family and comrades. Barry sped them away, while Deathstroke encountered Bane and the two began tearing apart the prison in a brutal fight.

• Jason and Dick searched the facility’s special cells, found them empty, and ran into Barry.
• Barry learned that Batman and Jason’s father were missing, then promised to help find them and carried Jason and Dick away at full speed.
• Deathstroke arrived too late to catch Barry and the two youngsters, knocked out a guard, and found a Batarang.
• Bane burst through the ceiling and attacked Deathstroke, whose tranquilizer darts bounced off him.
• Deathstroke and Bane traded powerful blows, smashing through the underground prison and reducing its structures to rubble.

Commissioner Gordon activated a Bat-signal over Gotham, hoping Batman would return as a symbol of deterrence. Lois and Martha saw it from Metropolis and took it as a sign that Clark might still be found, while Barry arrived at Miao Mu’s home and spotted the signal.

• Gordon accepted Alfred’s donated searchlight and prepared to project the Batman emblem over Gotham.
• Gordon activated the searchlight, sending the Bat-symbol across the clouds where it could be seen from Metropolis.
• Lois and Martha saw the signal and hoped Batman could help them find the missing Clark.
• Barry brought two young men to Miao Mu’s home, then looked up at the signal and asked, “Batman?”

Batwoman Barbara investigated the growing unrest around MW Group while a rescue mission at Belle Reve Penitentiary descended into chaos. As Peter Parker joined Bane and Deathstroke’s deadly fight, Ratcatcher Otis was still trying to bring Jason back.

• Barbara sent Huntress to help a struggling child’s family and planned to investigate a stalking report while probing the Arkham Gang’s unusual activity.
• Barbara learned that Nygma had seized control of MW Group operations and sent Ratcatcher Otis toward Belle Reve to retrieve Jason.
• At Belle Reve, Peter Parker restrained guards while Nashton redirected reinforcements, but Amanda arrived and ordered Killer Frost to deal with Spider-Man.
• Peter entered the prison’s underground level and found Bane and Deathstroke fighting amid the wreckage and dead guards.
• Peter joined the battle, but Bane broke his webbing, knocked Deathstroke aside, and was stabbed through the palm with an explosive-laden steel bar.

Spider-Man and Deathstroke struggled to contain Bane in the underground prison while Amanda Waller assembled Task Force X members to join the fight. The new recruits were lowered into the battle as Killer Frost stalled for time and Double Down was killed for refusing the mission.

• Spider-Man and Deathstroke fought Bane, whose Venom enhancement drove him into a rampage, while Spider-Man searched for Jason and the others.
• Spider-Man saved Deathstroke from Bane’s swinging boulder and joined him in attacking Bane with webbing and rubble.
• Killer Frost told Amanda Waller she needed help to complete the mission, prompting Amanda to release more Task Force X members with freedom as their reward.
• Amanda listed Polka-Dot Man, The Thinker, Blackguard, Mongal, Javelin, Slipknot, Arm-Fall-Off-Boy, and Weasel among the recruits, while Killer Frost said Double Down refused to join.
• Amanda detonated Double Down’s head bomb and ordered the remaining recruits lowered into the prison to fight for their freedom.

Task Force X descended into Belle Reve Penitentiary to help Jason, while Deadshot eliminated the rooftop snipers and watched Amanda from above. Below, the team mistook the web-filled prison for a giant spider’s lair, then encountered Deathstroke, Spider-Man, and Bane; the chapter ended with Deathstroke attacking the arriving squad.

• Deadshot parachuted toward Belle Reve, killed the rooftop sniper team, and kept Amanda in his sights without firing.
• The Task Force X members entered the underground prison, where The Thinker examined the webs and Killer Frost froze his hand free.
• Javelin, Blackguard, Polka-Dot Man, Arm-Fall-Off-Boy, and the others split off to search, while The Thinker and Killer Frost stayed behind to provide support.
• Deathstroke and Spider-Man struggled to restrain Bane with rebar and webs as Spider-Man’s Spider-Sense warned him of Javelin’s thrown spear.
• Deathstroke struck Javelin in the forehead with a hurled stone, and Bane smashed Blackguard against a wall.
• Deathstroke threw Javelin’s spear at the arriving group, striking Weasel.

A swarm of red-eyed rats overwhelmed Belle Reve Penitentiary as Bane and Deathstroke slaughtered prisoners and Spider-Man tried to warn them. Otis unleashed the rat tide across the prison, leaving Amanda wounded and trapped as Barry arrived to face the catastrophe.

• Polka-Dot Man attacked in panic while Bane and Deathstroke killed Arm-Fall-Off-Boy and Mongal, and Spider-Man tried to pull them to safety.
• Spider-Man sensed danger and warned Deathstroke as red-eyed rats poured into the underground prison and devoured the Thinker.
• Killer Frost attacked the rats with freezing blasts, but the swarm kept advancing unaffected.
• Ratcatcher Otis unleashed rats from across the region, spreading the hunger pheromone and directing the swarm through Belle Reve.
• Amanda ran toward the vehicles with special forces soldiers, but the rats injured her and the vehicles had been destroyed.
• Barry arrived at the prison and stared in shock at the rat-infested scene.

Miao Mu, Batman, and Clark remained trapped in Themyscira’s sealing tower because the Mother Box opened a Boom Tube whenever they tried to leave, drawing Steppenwolf’s attention. They waited for Brucie or another source of help while Steppenwolf raged on Apokolips.

• Miao Mu complained about being confined with Batman and Clark for nearly two months as the Mother Box kept them inside the tower.
• Miao Mu recalled how the group had arrived on Themyscira, encountered the Mother Box, and fought Steppenwolf when it opened a Boom Tube.
• The Mother Box repeatedly opened a Boom Tube whenever the men tried to leave, forcing them to retreat and trapping them in the tower.
• Queen Hippolyta considered sealing the men inside, but Miao Mu cited embarrassing incidents from Themyscira’s history and persuaded her not to punish them.
• Batman asked them to endure the confinement, while Clark tried to call for help using brainwave transmissions and Miao Mu glared at the Mother Box.
• On Apokolips, Steppenwolf rampaged on a drill field as he waited for the Boom Tube to reopen.

Lex Luthor investigated the missing technology, the Belle Reve breakout, and the search for Miao Mu and other missing heroes, while preparing to identify Wonder Woman. In Boston, Diana Prince saw a video of Cyborg flying toward an unknown destination.

• Lex Luthor reviewed the theft-like disappearance of devices from Red House and planned ways to restrain The Flash and Deathstroke, considering The Turtle’s slowing-field research and Deathstroke’s son Joseph William Wilson.
• Lex Luthor assessed MW Group and Miao Mu as threats, concluded that Miao Mu, Batman, and Superman were likely still alive, and used Moxie to search for metahumans.
• Moxie narrowed Lex Luthor’s search to historical records of Wonder Woman, and Lex began comparing the evidence to identify her.
• Diana Prince finished her research work and found a fan-site video showing Cyborg flying with high-speed thrusters, apparently rushing somewhere.

With Superman and the others missing behind a magical barrier, Barry sought help from the broke exorcist Constantine in Los Angeles. Constantine agreed to help find them after Barry paid him, while Deathstroke’s magic-suppressing sword made him reconsider his fee.

• Nygma said divination confirmed that the missing people were alive but hidden somewhere ordinary people could not find.
• Barry decided to seek out Constantine, a magician and exorcist who had previously collected a debt from him.
• Constantine worried about his empty work schedule and dwindling friends as he returned to his Los Angeles home with hard bread and no jam.
• Barry and Deathstroke broke into Constantine’s dark home, and Deathstroke spotted the invisible exorcist by sensing him.
• Barry offered Constantine emergency cash, and Constantine agreed to find the missing people before noticing Deathstroke’s magic-suppressing sword.

The Mother Box vanished from the Seal Tower, allowing Miao Mu, Superman, and Batman to escape Themyscira. In Los Angeles, Constantine’s summoning brought him the Mother Box instead of Miao Mu, while The Flash attacked the newly transformed Cyborg, Victor Stone.

• The Mother Box disappeared through a magic circle, and Miao Mu, Superman, and Batman fled Themyscira as the Amazons called for Queen Hippolyta.
• Constantine summoned the Mother Box to his office instead of Miao Mu and heard movement inside it while The Flash and Deathstroke watched.
• Deathstroke spotted an incoming figure, and The Flash raced out to intercept him while Deathstroke paid Constantine to continue his work.
• Victor Stone recalled how the Mother Box had transformed him into Cyborg, then flew toward its resonance.
• The Flash struck Victor out of the sky, and Victor got up and charged at him.

Victor attacked Barry with his metal thrusters, but Barry easily dodged and drove him into the road. Meanwhile, Constantine’s spell pulled Steppenwolf out of the Mother Box, and the First of the Fallen appeared, convinced Constantine had died and was finally his to torment.

• Victor transformed his metal plating into thrusters and charged Barry, who dodged and shoved Victor headfirst into the road.
• Constantine used his theft spell on the Mother Box and, with Deathstroke’s help, began pulling Steppenwolf out of it.
• Steppenwolf emerged and blasted Deathstroke through walls and buildings with an energy attack.
• The First of the Fallen appeared in a puddle of black liquid and believed Constantine’s death meant he could claim his soul.
• Constantine reminded the First of the Fallen that their contract prevented him from enjoying the soul alone, but the First mocked him and demanded that he pay his debts.

Miao Mu returned home to Gotham and reunited with Jason and his household, while Batman returned to Wayne Estate with Dick. The chapter left both men safely home with their families after the crisis.

• Clark reunited with Martha Kent and the others, while Batman left to return to Gotham and Miao Mu went inside to greet his household.
• Miao Mu thanked his friends for caring for Jason, and Nygma, Otis, and Deadshot departed after welcoming him home.
• Miao Mu told Jason to come downstairs and promised to take him out to sea the next day to look for Brucie.
• Batman picked up Dick on the Batcycle, and Dick said he had no more questions for Batman.
• Bruce Wayne removed his cowl at Wayne Estate, where Alfred welcomed him and Dick home with a turkey feast.

The Flash and Deathstroke fought to stop Steppenwolf from emerging into Los Angeles, but missiles blasted the building apart and the Mother Box inside Victor opened a Boom Tube. Steppenwolf called for the Mother Box as 37,000 Parademons poured through, leaving the heroes facing an overwhelming invasion.

• The Flash rescued civilians and found Deathstroke wounded while Steppenwolf forced his way through a portal from Apokolips.
• Deathstroke threw his greatsword to the Flash, who struck Steppenwolf and then hammered him with rapid blows from the Speed Force.
• The Flash used Steppenwolf to intercept two incoming missiles, then carried Deathstroke out before the building exploded.
• Victor's Mother Box left his body and opened a Boom Tube, while its light on Victor's forehead turned blue.
• Steppenwolf ordered his forces to seize the Mother Box and kill everyone as 37,000 Parademons poured through the passage.

Victor saw a vision of Darkseid approaching Earth through the Mother Box and helped close its passage, but Parademons pursued him, Barry, and Deathstroke. As the three fought off the attackers, Wonder Woman, Diana, arrived and joined the battle.

• Victor used the Mother Box to glimpse a ruined future and saw Darkseid looking toward Earth before he mostly closed the passage.
• Barry carried Victor and Deathstroke away from the pursuing Parademons, but laser fire wounded him and left him exhausted.
• Deathstroke and Victor fought the Parademons while Victor secured the Mother Box to his back with mechanical arms.
• Parademons bypassed Deathstroke and Victor to attack Barry, and one shot him in the shoulder.
• Diana arrived, trapped a Parademon with the Lasso of Truth, learned it sought destruction and battle, then killed it and charged into the swarm.

Miao Mu encountered Constantine in Hell, where Constantine had died and was bargaining with the First of the Fallen using a modified soul contract. Constantine sent Miao Mu back to Gotham with a Bible and the contract, which bound itself to Miao Mu and left him facing Hell’s attention.

• Miao Mu found Constantine arguing with the First of the Fallen over a Hell Soul Contract that gave Constantine thirty hours of freedom.
• The First of the Fallen attacked Constantine, but the contract shielded him, and he gave Miao Mu a Bible and the rolled-up contract before sending him back to his bedroom.
• Miao Mu woke in Gotham as the contract’s markings re-formed and its clauses transferred onto him.
• Miao Mu realized Hell’s unseen watchers had turned their attention to him and threw the Bible out the window, cursing Constantine.
• In Hell, Constantine shuddered, checked behind himself, and said he would take a knife for Miao Mu.

Miao Mu discovered he could reach into Hell through Hell's Soul Scroll just as Parademons invaded his villa. He and the Justice League fought back, and Miao Mu ended the chapter wielding a Hell-enchanted shotgun against the attackers.

• Miao Mu sensed he could open a portal to Hell, but Parademons crashed into his villa before he could try.
• Victor fought the Parademons, hid the Mother Box in a refrigerator, and reinforced it with a Parademon's remains.
• Wonder Woman charged into the invading army and cut down Parademons with her sword and shield.
• Miao Mu sent a Parademon in his bedroom plunging into Hell, where it was destroyed.
• Miao Mu enchanted a Remington M870 shotgun with Hellfire and blasted another Parademon apart.

Miao Mu, Barry, Deathstroke, Jason, Victor, and Diana fought off Parademons attacking the house as the invaders began to retreat. After the battle, Diana asked Miao Mu if he was the person she had heard about.

• Miao Mu blasted a Parademon outside the broken second-floor window with his enchanted shotgun.
• Barry and Deathstroke killed a Parademon in the living room, then Barry ate biscuits while Deathstroke searched for replacement gear.
• Jason helped Deathstroke find equipment behind the bar and used experimental submachine guns to fire on Parademons breaking through the kitchen.
• Deathstroke armed himself, threw grenades toward the kitchen, and charged outside with a greatsword to fight the Parademons.
• Miao Mu jumped down from the second floor as the red lights in the sky began to dwindle, and Diana drove back nearby Parademons with her Guardian Silver Bracers.
• Diana asked Miao Mu if he was Miao Mu, and he confirmed his identity while saying he had met Wonder Women from other worlds.