Chapter Summaries

Joker disrupted a Joker Gang auction and encountered a second Joker, who was apparently a counterfeit from another world. Batman arrived as the counterfeit fell, but the dead body disappeared into another dimensional space.

• Joker broke Philip's hand, threatened Kate, and shot a man in the thigh when the man could not name a price for his life.
• A cloaked stranger interrupted Joker, who then took a submachine gun and fired wildly into the auction crowd; Bruce shielded Kate before escaping to get help.
• Bruce ran to the underground garage while Joker, disguised as a janitor, took a submachine gun and searched the building for the Joker Gang's counterfeit.
• Joker entered a sealed room where a Black Magic practitioner was conducting a ritual, and the practitioner used the magic formation to throw him back into the auction hall.
• The two Jokers faced each other, and the newcomer shot the auction-stage Joker, whose body vanished after he fell.
• Batman confronted the surviving Joker, while the Black Magic practitioner found the corpse in another dimensional space.

Batman and Selina fought the Joker Gang during the auction hall shootout, helping the frightened guests escape. Batman emerged from the smoke wounded but ready to confront Joker.

• Batman knocked Joker to the floor, and the Joker Gang opened fire on him.
• Batman rolled smoke bombs across the floor to obscure the gang's aim.
• Selina comforted Kate, then disarmed a Joker Gang member and fought her way toward the exit.
• A middle-aged man took a submachine gun and covered the guests as they fled the hall.
• Batman threw Batarangs that knocked the gang's guns aside, then emerged from the smoke with a graze on his shoulder and confronted Joker.

Batman fought the Joker and his gang while Miao Mu and Barry searched for a way out of a dimensional space. Zatanna emerged through a portal with the blinded Constantine, leaving them together in the corridor.

• The Joker revealed that he had survived and burned Batman's abdomen with an electrified glove.
• The Joker gang attacked Batman, and the Joker knocked him down before raising an auction hammer to strike his head.
• Miao Mu found Barry investigating the strange empty rooms and learned that someone had trapped them in a dimensional space.
• Barry spotted a dark violet portal opening in the corridor, and Zatanna stepped through with Constantine.
• Zatanna gave Constantine a cane and threatened to punish him if he had tricked her.

Miao Mu, Barry, Constantine, and Zatanna met inside a magical barrier in Gotham and investigated how to escape it. Constantine sensed that the barrier was a hidden magic circle and led the group onward.

• Zatanna confirmed that someone had summoned a demon in Gotham and attacked Constantine, while suspecting Constantine might have summoned it himself.
• Barry arrived and pretended not to know Zatanna or Constantine, while Miao Mu threatened Constantine with his revolver and demanded an explanation.
• Constantine said someone had summoned a demon and admitted the summoner was stronger than him, though he left his own involvement unclear.
• Zatanna introduced herself, and she and Constantine identified their surroundings as a magical barrier hiding something rather than a dimensional space.
• Constantine followed a magical trace and led the group forward as Zatanna playfully squeezed Barry's reindeer headpiece.

Miao Mu, Zatanna, Barry, and Constantine confronted Solomon Grundy after Constantine charged into Felix Faust’s lair. Their attacks and Zatanna’s spells failed against Faust’s defensive magic array, and Miao Mu hurled a grenade at Grundy.

• Constantine burst through a door and was thrown back out by a towering creature, which he identified as Grundy.
• Miao Mu shot Grundy in the face, but the zombie healed within seconds without showing pain.
• Zatanna’s spells failed to affect Grundy, and Constantine explained that Faust’s array redirected magic into outer space.
• Miao Mu learned that Felix Faust was the black magician behind the defenses and prepared his grenade.
• Miao Mu pulled the grenade’s pin, placed it in a gift box, and threw it at Grundy.

Miao Mu confronted Felix Faust during a botched demon summoning, while Selina transformed into a black cat and fled as Gotham police surrounded the building. Batman and a Joker-painted man appeared at an upstairs window, and Police Commissioner Loeb ordered officers to arrest Batman.

• Miao Mu blasted Solomon Grundy with a gift-box bomb, rushed inside, and aimed his gun at Felix Faust beside the magic circle.
• Faust realized he had summoned a demon, then froze as he recognized that the summoned figure might be the person who had entered the room.
• Selina turned into a black cat, grabbed a diamond, and tumbled down the stairs as police officers charged into the building.
• Police Commissioner Loeb arrived with the Special Action Team and demanded to know where Gordon was, while Bullock reminded him that Gordon had taken leave for the Zatara Circus.
• A Joker-painted man was left dangling outside an upstairs window, and Batman was slammed against the window as Loeb ordered Bullock to arrest him.

Batman fought the Joker while trying to protect Kate, but the Joker vanished after cutting his own throat as a magic circle appeared beneath him. With police arriving, Batman escaped through a window and lost consciousness after hearing someone call him Bruce.

• The Joker strangled Batman and seized Kate, while Batman remembered the cables in his gauntlets.
• Batman used the cables to pierce the Joker's arm, disarm him, and free Kate.
• The Joker detonated a bomb at the doorway, and Batman shielded Kate with his cape.
• The Joker beat Batman with a stick until a magic circle appeared beneath him, then cut his own throat and disappeared with the circle.
• Batman saw police arrive, escaped through a window, and collapsed after hearing someone call him Bruce.

Barry tried to get the unconscious Batman out of the police-encircled building, while Miao Mu and Zatanna fought Faust and his fire demon. Miao Mu broke through Faust’s magical barrier and left him battered against a wall.

• Barry found Batman unconscious and wounded, then decided to get him away before police exposed his identity and enemies could attack him.
• Zatanna joined Miao Mu as he fought Faust’s fire demon with the Holy Flame Hammer, while Zatanna summoned water to douse the flames.
• Miao Mu sent the demon to Zatanna and attacked Faust, first firing the Holy Flame Hammer and then shooting his protective barrier with guns.
• Miao Mu shattered Faust’s barrier with gunfire and punched him into a wall, breaking the bones in his face.

Miao Mu drove off Faust and destroyed the blood-stained magic circle, while Zatanna and Barry dealt with the demon puppet and got Batman moving toward the Batcave. The chapter left Constantine trapped in Hell before Malebolgia and the laughing Joker.

• Miao Mu burned away Faust’s black liquid form, but Faust reappeared as a shadow and warned that Gotham would become part of Hell before disappearing.
• Miao Mu discovered blood in the magic circle and burned the circle and the floor beneath it with the Holy Flame Hammer.
• Zatanna threw the demon puppet into the Gotham River, while Barry asked her for help and carried Batman to the Batmobile.
• Barry set the Batmobile to take Batman to the Batcave, and Zatanna returned to the building to take Constantine through a portal.
• Zatanna dragged Constantine through the portal, unaware that his soul was in Hell, where Malebolgia demanded it as the Joker laughed.

John Constantine met Hell’s demon king Malebolgia, who tasked him with finding the Spear of Destiny and defeating a rival for territory in the mortal world. Bruce woke at home on Christmas after a dangerous night in Gotham, where Alfred revealed a cat named Hangina had followed the Batmobile back.

• Constantine offered Malebolgia a deal, but Malebolgia asked him to find the Spear of Destiny and defeat a rival competing for Hell’s territory.
• Bruce woke in his bedroom and learned the Batmobile’s autopilot had brought him home while he was injured and unconscious.
• Alfred told Bruce that Master Philip and Mr. Cameron had visited, and that more than ten people had jumped from buildings amid Gotham’s stock-market crisis.
• Alfred introduced Hangina, a bandaged black cat he had found on the Batmobile, and Bruce agreed to keep her.

Miao Mu received Bronze Tiger’s belongings and martial arts notebook after learning that Bronze Tiger had left temporarily to fulfill a promise. He set aside a meeting and prepared to oversee the Joker’s transfer to Arkham Asylum that night.

• Nygma told Miao Mu that Bronze Tiger had left a crate and messages at the Arkham Police Department, explaining that he would return after completing a promised task.
• Miao Mu opened the crate and found the Iron Fist Stone Monkey statue, Bronze Tiger’s mask and knuckle-dusters, and a notebook bearing the name Benjamin Turner.
• Miao Mu studied Bronze Tiger’s martial arts insights and qigong notes, which helped him begin to grasp the sense of qi.
• Nygma reminded Miao Mu about his packed schedule and the night transfer of the Joker captured in the television station case.
• Miao Mu decided to lead the team receiving the Joker and checked that Otis was managing security at Arkham Asylum.

Lois and Clark visited Gotham’s Zatara Circus, where Clark bought tickets and Lois suggested they visit Officer Miao Mu. Constantine sensed Clark’s immense soul and, worried about Hell’s plans for Gotham, decided to make preparations in Los Angeles while Bronze Tiger headed by speedboat toward Star City.

• Lois and Clark explored the circus grounds and watched an elephant steal bananas.
• Lois explained that the Daily Planet had sent her to Gotham to avoid offending LexCorp on the day Lex Luthor was released.
• Clark showed Lois the two tickets he had bought for the evening performance.
• Lois suggested that she and Clark visit Officer Miao Mu, and Constantine hurried away after sensing Clark’s powerful soul.
• Constantine considered the forces preparing to bring Hell into Gotham and decided to travel to Los Angeles to make preparations.
• Bronze Tiger left Gotham by speedboat and headed along the coast toward Star City.

Bruce resumed training while recovering from his injuries and learned of a problem connected to Wayne Enterprises’ environmental energy division. At Arkham Asylum, Miao Mu received Joker from Commissioner Gordon and began processing him as a prisoner.

• Alfred told Bruce that his spare suit was ready and relayed Lucius’s suggestion that he attend a Wayne Enterprises meeting.
• Bruce asked about the environmental energy division after Alfred hinted that it involved a serious problem.
• Commissioner Gordon arrived at Arkham Asylum with Joker and warned Miao Mu to keep the transfer secret from reporters.
• Miao Mu saw Joker’s injuries and heard him call Arkham Asylum his home.
• Miao Mu ordered the staff to photograph Joker and shave off all his green hair.

Miao Mu had Joker’s teeth pulled and ordered him confined at Arkham Asylum, but Joker soon escaped to the hidden basement laboratory. After killing the pig-masked doctor, Joker decided to take teeth from the Werewolf corpse.

• Miao Mu questioned Joker about his condition, then ordered him locked up without treatment.
• Miao Mu pulled out Joker’s front teeth and ordered guards to remove the rest before placing him in room J2.
• Doctor Simon Hurt treated Joker’s wounds while the room lights flickered.
• Joker awoke in Arkham’s hidden laboratory and killed the pig-masked doctor with a scalpel.
• Joker rejected the doctor’s rotten teeth and began preparing to take the Werewolf’s fangs.

Doctor Hurt remembered his mission to serve Darkseid but also identified himself as Barbatos, then empowered Joker to spread despair through Gotham. At Blackgate Island, a shipment was interrupted when red-cloaked figures burst from a container, leaving the captain staring at a figure from a New York urban legend.

• Doctor Hurt evaded Otis's rat surveillance and teleported to a hidden laboratory, where he remembered Darkseid's summons and declared, "I am Barbatos."
• Doctor Hurt confronted Joker, learned he wanted a stronger chemical, and dunked him in a glowing green pool before warning him to drive Gotham into despair.
• Joker saw a flaming version of himself in a reflection and dismissed it, saying he was busy.
• A cargo ship docked at Blackgate Island while the captain watched the Whisper Gang hack a man to pieces on the docks.
• A container from New York fell open, its sliced locks dropping away as red-cloaked figures and chains surged out, startling the captain.

Lois interviewed Miao Mu about Batman and arranged to meet Commissioner Gordon for information, while Barry watched the familiar figures in a changed timeline. Meanwhile, Oswald the Penguin fled a pursuer and came face-to-face with a corpse-like monster carrying a scroll marked with a spear.

• Lois asked Miao Mu about Batman, and he described the hero and offered to introduce her to Commissioner Gordon.
• Clark said he planned to return to Kansas for Christmas, and Miao Mu explained that Jason was staying with his teacher.
• Oswald the Penguin fled through an alley with an iron-chain wound in his hand, fearing the monster chasing him.
• A corpse-like figure in a black uniform, chains, spiked bracers, and a crimson cape landed in Oswald's path and unfurled a scroll bearing a spear outline.

Lois and Clark visited Gotham’s Major Crimes Unit to ask Gordon about Batman, while Constantine escaped the Hell Brand by transferring it to a half-demon. The chapter ended with Constantine asking Papa Midnight for a portal to find out more about Malebolgia, who planned to turn a city into Hell’s territory.

• Miao Mu brought Lois and Clark to the Gotham police station, where they asked to speak with Gordon about Batman.
• Renee Montoya complained about her overtime work and told Miao Mu that Gordon was in his office.
• Miao Mu told Gordon that Metropolis reporters wanted to hear about Batman, and Gordon agreed to meet them.
• Papa Midnight used a chain to pull the Hell Brand out of Constantine and transfer it to a half-demon, whom he banished to Hell.
• Constantine asked Papa Midnight for a portal to the Reversal Plane Library so he could learn Malebolgia’s name and stop his plan to claim a city for Hell.

Miao Mu confronted Joker in a restroom, but their fight sent him to Hell, where Joker acted as his guide. Joker explained that the newly arrived souls were burned by Hellfire and reborn as low-ranking demons.

• Miao Mu found a Joker doll in a restroom stall, shot it, and crushed it when it spoke to him.
• Miao Mu’s Holy Flame Hammer ignited the doll, and the resulting blast sent a charred claw through the mirror to seize him.
• Miao Mu shattered the mirror, but Joker made the restroom floor collapse beneath him.
• Miao Mu landed in Hell, where Joker appeared in a burned form, took away his Holy Flame Hammer, and grabbed him by the throat.
• Joker tossed Miao Mu aside to inspect several souls that fell from the sky and became low-ranking demons in Hellfire.

After Joker dragged Miao Mu’s soul into Hell, he marked him and sent him back with a flood of memories. Miao Mu realized Gotham was connected to Hell and learned that stopping the demons would require finding them host bodies.

• Joker grabbed Miao Mu in Hell, awakening him in the police station restroom with a strange brand on his wrist and Joker’s memories in his mind.
• Miao Mu recalled a suspicious doctor at Arkham Asylum who had claimed to be Barbatos and serve Darkseid, then rushed out of the station.
• Miao Mu discovered through Joker’s memories that Joker had the Dionysium Factor, Constantine had made a deal with a demon king, and Hell had connected to Gotham.
• Joker urged Miao Mu to stop Gotham from becoming Hell and explained that demon kings needed host bodies to leave Hell.
• Joker mentioned forgetting to eat birthday cake, and Miao Mu recognized the memory of Joker meeting Faust beside two corpses on a magic circle.

Miao Mu recruited Deadshot Lawton as an instructor for his security company, offering him a gun store, company shares, and help with his criminal record and custody case. Lawton took a letter to Arkham Asylum to find Otis, while Miao Mu invited Lois and Clark to lunch after Lois interviewed Gordon about Batman.

• Lawton asked Miao Mu for a proper job, and Miao Mu offered him work as a security instructor along with a gun store, ten percent of the company, and help with his record and daughter’s custody.
• Lawton accepted the offer, and Miao Mu sent him to Arkham Asylum with a letter for Otis.
• Lois thanked Gordon for information about Batman, and Miao Mu invited her and Clark to lunch while Gordon returned to work.
• Clark noticed the Hell Brand on Miao Mu’s wrist through his X-ray vision but did not ask about it.
• Lawton reached Arkham Asylum and asked its security guards for Otis so he could deliver Miao Mu’s letter.