Recaps

The Court of Owls abandoned its underground labyrinth after Yang Ming proved too dangerous to confront, leaving the space for Bruce Wayne’s school project. Meanwhile, Haly’s Circus arrived in Gotham, where gangsters threatened the troupe and Dick Grayson sensed that his family was in danger.

• The Chief Justice ordered the Court to relocate its Talons and destroy records before Wayne Enterprises’ excavation exposed their chamber.
• Bruce Wayne told Yang Ming that the labyrinth was empty, and Yang Ming claimed the underground space for the school’s security center and storage.
• Haly’s Circus arrived in Gotham, where a gang led by a scarred bald man demanded half its revenue and threatened the performers.
• Harry refused the gang’s demand and rejected John and Mary’s suggestion that the circus leave Gotham.
• Dick Grayson watched the gangsters depart and worried that they viewed the circus as prey.

Yang Ming took the Wayne children to Haly’s Circus, where Tony Zucco’s men sabotaged the Flying Graysons’ aerial rope. As John prepared to perform, Yang Ming sensed the rope breaking and reached for his pocket, leaving the family’s fate unresolved.

• Yang Ming invited the Wayne children to Haly’s Circus and teased Bruce Wayne about a surprise, prompting Bruce to attend in secret.
• Tony Zucco punished a subordinate for failing to collect protection money and ordered his men to sabotage the Flying Graysons’ rope with acid.
• Yang Ming, Jessica, Loki, and the children watched the circus, while Batman hid above the VIP seats.
• The Flying Graysons began their performance before a packed tent as Zucco’s men’s acid weakened the main rope.
• Yang Ming sensed the rope tearing as John prepared for the leap of death and reached toward his jacket pocket.

Bruce Wayne saved John and Mary after the Main Rope snapped, preventing Dick from becoming an orphan. Yang Ming captured the saboteurs, learned Tony Zucco had ordered the attack, and joined Batman at Zucco’s club to confront him.

• Bruce Wayne swung down from the dome and caught John and Mary, lowering them safely onto the Safety Mat.
• Yang Ming stopped two escaping thugs backstage, deflected their bullets, and forced them to identify Tony Zucco as the man who ordered the rope cut.
• Yang Ming sent the injured thugs through a portal to the entrance of the Gotham City Police Department and asked Selene to locate Zucco.
• Selene reported that Zucco operated from the Pink Flamingo Strip Club, so Yang Ming went there and fought past the bouncers.
• Batman arrived at the club as Yang Ming faced more than twenty armed enforcers, and the two prepared to confront Zucco together.

Yang Ming and Batman rescued the Graysons’ lighting technician, defeated Tony Zucco, and exposed a plot against the Lake Street school project. After delivering Zucco and his men to the police, Bruce met Dick Grayson, who asked to train with him, but Bruce sent him back to his parents.

• Yang Ming and Batman fought through Zucco’s gunmen and confronted him with the injured lighting technician as a hostage.
• Yang Ming shot a coin through Zucco’s gun hand, and he and Batman subdued Zucco’s men.
• Yang Ming found a ledger linking Zucco to corruption and sabotage, including a plot against the Lake Street school project backed by the True Master of Gotham.
• Yang Ming broke Zucco’s legs and warned the assembled thugs not to target the school, circus, construction site, or children.
• Zucco and six henchmen were delivered to the Gotham Police Department with the ledger as evidence, and Commissioner Gordon summoned the East End deputy commissioner.
• Dick thanked Batman for saving his parents and asked to train with him, but Bruce told him to return to the Graysons and protect his Flying Graysons badge.

Yang Ming began teaching the street children to read so they could protect themselves from exploitation, then went to Wayne Manor after Alfred warned him that the Court of Owls might have infiltrated much of Gotham. The Court learned that Barbatos had chosen Bruce Wayne as a gateway to the world and ordered its Talons to protect him.

• The children struggled to read the newspaper, so Yang Ming explained how illiteracy could leave them vulnerable to fraudulent contracts and announced lessons in reading, arithmetic, and rules.
• Jason pledged to learn and teach the others, and Yang Ming promised rewards for their progress.
• Alfred collected Yang Ming for a meeting with Bruce Wayne, warning that the Court of Owls might have members throughout Gotham.
• The Court of Owls debated Yang Ming and Bruce Wayne as Barbatos appeared and forbade them from harming Bruce.
• Barbatos revealed that he had chosen Bruce as a door for the Dark Multiverse and ordered the Court's Talons to protect him until the Bat Legion could enter and help destroy the world.
• A mirror showed a ruined world where a monstrous bat-caped figure stood over the dead Justice League.

The Court of Owls responded to Yang Ming’s strength by using its influence in City Hall to halt the Lake Street school project, while Bruce Wayne discovered how deeply the Court had infiltrated Gotham. Yang Ming rejected Bruce’s plan to fight the order through legal channels and set out to pay a house call on Director Elwin.

• The Court of Owls ordered its City Hall assets to shut down construction at the Lake Street site.
• Bruce showed Yang Ming evidence that the Court had infiltrated Wayne Enterprises, city agencies, police, and utilities.
• Lucius Fox reported that City Hall had revoked the school’s construction permit, claiming an archaeological site lay beneath it.
• Bruce proposed an administrative review, but Yang Ming argued the Court would empty the underground maze before the process finished.
• Yang Ming asked Alfred to locate Director Elwin and prepare a medical bag and scalpel for a house call at Elwin’s private mansion.

Yang Ming broke into Director Elwin’s villa and tortured him until he confessed that the mayor had bribed him to halt Wayne Enterprises’ Lake Street project. After securing Elwin’s signed permit reinstatement and recorded confession, Yang Ming headed through a Space Door to confront the mayor.

• Yang Ming entered Elwin’s villa, incapacitated Elwin’s mistress, and injected Elwin with adrenaline before inflicting intense pain to make him talk.
• Elwin confessed that the mayor had paid him three million dollars to issue the stop-work order and fabricate an archaeological site, but said he knew nothing about the Court of Owls.
• Yang Ming made Elwin sign and stamp a document revoking the stop-work order, then recorded Elwin repeating his confession.
• Yang Ming knocked Elwin unconscious and rendered the driver unconscious outside the villa.
• Yang Ming opened a Space Door to the mayor’s private underground garage and stepped through with his medical case.

Yang Ming rejected Mayor Hamilton’s offer to join the Court of Owls and let it control Lake Street School. As four Talons burst into the office, Yang Ming declared that he would put everyone who made Gotham’s rules on his Dissection Table.

• Yang Ming entered Mayor Hamilton’s office and learned that Hamilton belonged to the Court of Owls, which had sent four Talons to guard the meeting.
• Hamilton described the Court’s control over Gotham and offered Yang Ming funding and influence if he joined, on the condition that the Court controlled the school.
• Hamilton explained that the school would sort children into useful workers and eliminate those deemed disobedient or worthless.
• Yang Ming rejected the offer and said he intended to put the people who made Gotham’s rules on his Dissection Table.
• Hamilton ordered the attack, and four Talons smashed through the office windows as Yang Ming challenged the mayor to book an appointment.

Yang Ming foiled Mayor Hamilton’s attempt to frame him, saved a hostage, and survived Hamilton’s suicide bombing, but Commissioner Gordon arrested him on suspicion of terrorism and murder. At GCPD headquarters, Bruce Wayne secured a brief visit with him while pressure mounted for his release.

• Four Talons attacked Yang Ming in Hamilton’s office, but Yang disarmed them and used a Space Door to remove the planted evidence and recording device.
• Yang Ming disabled the bomb strapped to Hamilton’s secretary, but Hamilton revealed a suicide vest and detonated it, killing himself and wrecking the office.
• Commissioner Gordon arrested Yang Ming after finding him at the blast site and ordered officers to get medical help for the unconscious secretary.
• At GCPD headquarters, Gordon rejected a Wayne Enterprises lawyer’s demand to release Yang Ming on bail.
• Bruce Wayne persuaded Gordon to let him visit Yang Ming for ten minutes.

Bruce Wayne questioned Yang Ming after the mayor’s explosion and agreed to protect the secretary, while Yang warned him the Court of Owls might target her. Left alone in custody, Yang Ming resolved to recruit more heroes and assemble the Justice League to face Barbatos and the Dark Multiverse.

• Bruce Wayne told Yang Ming he knew he was not the killer, and Yang urged him to protect the secretary from the Court of Owls.
• Bruce said the secretary was at Gotham General Hospital under Gordon’s officers and Wayne Enterprises’ protection, and promised to go there himself.
• Yang Ming asked Bruce to keep his companions from learning he was in trouble, especially Retsu Unohana, and warned Bruce not to go to the hospital alone.
• After Bruce left, Yang Ming recalled the mayor’s reference to Barbatos and recognized the Court of Owls as guardians of the Dark Multiverse’s gate.
• Yang Ming decided to recruit the Flash, find a Green Lantern Ring, and bring in Cyborg so he could assemble the Justice League.

After Yang Ming was framed for Mayor Hamilton’s death, Bruce uncovered an attack on Emily and protected her from the Talons. Yang Ming was released after Emily identified the mayor as the culprit, then told Retsu Unohana he was leaving Gotham and entrusted the people and projects there to her.

• Gordon suspected that someone had framed Yang Ming and ordered the original mayor’s-office footage investigated.
• Talons disguised as police and paramedics attacked Emily in the hospital, but Batman defeated them with super-freeze bombs.
• Emily told Bruce that the mayor had kidnapped her, planted the bomb, and detonated it, and that Yang Ming had saved her.
• Gordon released Yang Ming after Emily’s statement cleared him, while warning that the investigation and public scrutiny would continue.
• Yang Ming returned to the Wayne Royal Hotel and told Retsu Unohana he was leaving, entrusting Gotham and its people to her.

Yang Ming arrived in Central City and used Bruce’s help to secure a forensic scientist position at the police department so he could recruit future allies. On his first day, he met Barry Allen and recognized signs of his newly awakened speed.

• Yang Ming read about a red blur rescuing eighteen workers from a warehouse fire and identified the hero as Barry Allen.
• Yang Ming asked Bruce to arrange a job for him at the Central City Police Department, and Bruce secured the position through the mayor.
• Yang Ming arrived at the department, where Inspector Singh welcomed him and introduced him to Joe West.
• Yang Ming caught an autopsy report after Barry Allen stumbled out of the Forensics Unit, then recognized Barry’s abnormal speed and a scorch mark on his cuff.

Yang Ming began his first day as Central City Police Department’s Forensic Consultant and helped investigate the deaths of the Martinelli Family. After recognizing the killer as a metahuman, he left Joe and Barry to seek help from S.T.A.R. Labs, while he secretly watched them and waited for his plan to draw them in.

• Yang Ming met Barry and took over a workstation, cleaning the cluttered desk and warning Barry not to run in the lab.
• A police officer reported that twenty-three members of the Martinelli Family had died during a family dinner, and Joe, Barry, and Yang Ming went to the estate.
• Yang Ming determined that a colorless, odorless toxic gas had caused the deaths and identified the likely source as a metahuman.
• Joe and Barry suspected a metahuman was responsible, and Yang Ming left the scene so they could contact S.T.A.R. Labs without him.
• Yang Ming watched Joe and Barry head toward S.T.A.R. Labs from a parked Chevrolet and waited for his plan to bring them to him.

Barry, Joe West, and the S.T.A.R. Labs team investigated Kyle Nimbus, a killer who could become poisonous gas, while discussing a metahuman prison. Yang Ming stopped Kyle from killing Joe and Barry, leaving the unconscious men for emergency responders and taking Barry’s suit to protect his identity.

• Caitlin explained that the Martinelli Estate victims had died after someone replaced the air around them with a lethal gas, and Wells proposed converting the Particle Accelerator’s underground isolation area into a metahuman prison.
• Barry learned that Kyle Nimbus, a criminal Joe West had arrested who disappeared during a prison transfer, was the suspect and rushed to warn Joe.
• Kyle entered Joe’s home as green gas, revealed his vendetta against Joe, and overpowered Joe and Barry when Barry arrived to help.
• Yang Ming struck Kyle with armament Haki, forced him back into solid form, and killed him with a final punch.
• Yang Ming injected Barry and Joe with antidote, called emergency services, removed Barry’s red suit, and left.

Barry and Joe recovered in the hospital after an unknown person killed Kyle Nimbus and treated them, leaving them to question whether the rescuer was Yang Ming and what they wanted. Doctor Wells watched footage of Yang Ming confronting Kyle and concluded that Yang Ming did not belong to this timeline.

• Barry woke in the hospital and learned from Joe that Kyle Nimbus had been killed by a single powerful blow.
• Iris and Eddie visited, and Eddie reported that Kyle had died about twenty minutes before the rescue team arrived, with strange gas in his lungs and no ordinary human tissue.
• Eddie revealed that the mysterious rescuer had left deep footprints and injected Barry and Joe with an unfamiliar antidote.
• Joe suspected the rescuer had known Kyle would attack, while Barry wondered whether the person had been tracking Kyle and might be Yang Ming.
• Joe ordered Kyle's body kept under separate custody, and Barry specifically warned against letting Doctor Yang near it.
• Doctor Wells watched surveillance footage of Yang Ming striking Kyle and said Yang Ming did not belong to this timeline.

Yang Ming noticed that someone had searched Barry’s desk and warned that the intruder had reached inside the precinct, while Barry kept his suspicions about Yang Ming to himself. Barry responded to a diamond-truck robbery as the Flash but was frozen by Captain Cold, until Yang Ming appeared in front of the fleeing robbers’ SUV.

• Yang Ming spotted signs that someone had searched Barry’s desk, and Barry realized Nora Allen’s case photo had been turned over.
• Yang Ming discussed Kyle Nimbus’s poison and metahumans with Barry, while Barry questioned whether Yang Ming had saved him at Joe’s house.
• Barry left the precinct as the Flash to stop armed robbers hijacking a diamond transport truck on Westside Highway.
• Leonard Snart introduced himself as Captain Cold and used his freezing gun to trap Barry in ice.
• Yang Ming confronted the robbers as they prepared to leave, calling Barry his colleague.

Yang Ming defeated Snart and his robbers, recovered the Cold Gun, and revived Barry after the freeze nearly stopped his heart. He admitted to Barry that he had also saved Joe and Barry before, but left the highway as Joe and the police arrived without explaining who he really was.

• Yang Ming dodged Snart’s Cold Gun, disarmed the robbers, and knocked Snart down with a Haki-coated punch.
• Yang Ming bound Snart and the other robbers, confiscated the Cold Gun as evidence, and used warming equipment to revive Barry.
• Barry recognized Yang Ming as the person who had saved him and Joe, and Yang Ming confirmed it.
• Barry asked Yang Ming whether he was a good person, and Yang Ming said his earlier rescue should make the answer obvious.
• As Joe and the police arrived, Yang Ming told Barry he was returning to the police station but did not want to give a statement.

Yang Ming took the Cold Gun from Snart and later told Barry that he had approached him because he wanted his help in the future and hoped to become his friend. Barry remained suspicious, especially after finding Yang Ming reading Nora Allen’s case file, but Yang Ming promised he would help Barry arrive in time when future dangers came.

• Yang Ming kept the Cold Gun rather than handing it to the police, while Barry thanked him for saving him and Yang Ming asked for dinner in return.
• Joe West arrived at the highway and questioned Barry, who fled into the woods before explaining what had happened.
• Barry found Yang Ming reading Nora Allen’s case file at the police station and demanded to know his motives.
• Yang Ming invited Barry to lunch, where he admitted he wanted Barry’s help in the future and wanted to be his friend.
• Yang Ming told Barry that his willingness to save people was why he had approached him, and promised to help him reach future crises in time if Barry trusted him.

Yang Ming began training Barry at S.T.A.R. Labs, showing him that speed alone could not make him an effective fighter. After defeating Barry and teaching him anatomical strikes and improvised weapons, Yang Ming left Barry with a new approach to combat.

• Yang Ming criticized Barry's lack of awareness during their meal and brought him to S.T.A.R. Labs for combat training.
• Yang Ming challenged Barry to attack him, dodged every strike using Observation Haki, and knocked him unconscious with precise nerve strikes.
• Yang Ming explained that Barry had been trained to run fast rather than stop opponents efficiently, and taught him about vulnerable anatomical targets.
• Over the next two days, Barry studied anatomy and practiced striking specified nerve points with precision.
• Yang Ming demonstrated that Barry could use his speed to launch ordinary objects as weapons, and Barry began trying the technique.

Yang Ming trained Barry to use the Speed Force with precision, pushing him through a chaotic battlefield simulation until he successfully hit a moving target without harming a nearby hostage. Doctor Wells questioned Yang Ming about his abilities, while Yang Ming recognized him as Eobard Thawne but concealed that knowledge.

• Yang Ming set up stationary, moving, and hostage targets to teach Barry precision, but Barry’s first coin barrage destroyed the training area and triggered the hostage alarms.
• Yang Ming told Barry that his poor judgment could endanger innocents, and Barry asked for another chance.
• Yang Ming ordered Cisco and Caitlin to add drones, smoke, lights, and noise, forcing Barry to keep training through repeated failures.
• Barry used the Speed Force to sense movement and calculated a precise coin throw that disabled a moving target without damaging the nearby glass hostage.
• Doctor Wells praised the training and questioned Yang Ming about his abilities, while Yang Ming privately identified him as Eobard Thawne and chose not to expose him yet.

Barry overcame his fear of his childhood bully Tony Woodward and defeated him by using speed and careful analysis. After Barry credited Yang Ming for teaching him, Doctor Wells secretly studied Yang Ming and decided to find him a real opponent.

• Barry thanked Yang Ming for his combat lessons, and Yang Ming told him to respond to the bank robbery alarm.
• Barry confronted Tony Woodward, recognized his former bully, and initially retreated as old fears overwhelmed him.
• Remembering Yang Ming’s advice, Barry focused, struck Tony’s knee, and used a supersonic vortex and resonant punch to defeat him.
• At S.T.A.R. Labs, Barry told Cisco and Doctor Wells that Yang Ming had taught him the winning technique.
• Doctor Wells secretly reviewed footage of Yang Ming and decided to find him a more formidable opponent.

Yang Ming’s methods helped Barry become a more capable protector, but a metahuman who drove bank crowds into violent rages overwhelmed him. Barry reunited with Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle, and the groups agreed to work together on the cases of Roy G. Bivolo and Captain Boomerang.

• Joe West confronted Yang Ming over Kyle Nimbus’s death and warned him to stay away from Barry, while Yang Ming offered to treat Tony Woodward’s worsening condition for a fee.
• Over several peaceful weeks, Barry used Yang Ming’s training to stop criminals efficiently, and Cisco and Caitlin grew to trust the doctor.
• Roy G. Bivolo repeatedly robbed banks by using light from his eyes to inflame people’s anger, leaving Barry occupied with restraining the crowds while Bivolo escaped.
• Cisco identified Bivolo’s power, and Yang Ming suggested blinding him before Joe objected to his violent solutions.
• Felicity contacted Barry about Oliver and Diggle’s pursuit of Captain Boomerang, George Harkness, and Barry proposed that their teams join forces against both criminals.
• Felicity persuaded Oliver to accept Barry’s offer to work together, and Barry rushed back to inform his team.

S.T.A.R. Labs argued over whether to work with Oliver Queen and his team, as Joe West opposed involving a former killer while Barry and Yang Ming stressed the need to catch Rainbow Raider. Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle arrived, but Joe and Oliver remained hostile as the chapter ended on Oliver’s claim that winners draw the line between heroes and murderers.

• Barry announced that Oliver Queen could help the team, but Joe rejected working with a vigilante who had killed criminals.
• Caitlin and Cisco argued that Oliver’s team could help them catch Rainbow Raider and Captain Boomerang, while Joe warned Barry against crossing the line into killing.
• Dr. Wells suggested a limited collaboration, and Yang Ming supported it by arguing that Central City needed Oliver’s help.
• Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs, where Joe told Oliver he was unwelcome.
• Cisco and Felicity bonded over her tactical tablet as Barry tried to persuade Joe; Oliver answered Joe’s accusation by saying winners drew the line.

Yang Ming settled the argument over Barry and Oliver’s methods by arranging a no-kill duel at an abandoned steel mill. Barry adapted to Oliver’s traps using Yang Ming’s lessons, but Oliver’s grappling-hook arrow left Barry in danger as the fight continued.

• Oliver argued that Barry’s refusal to kill endangered innocents, while Joe defended Barry and challenged Oliver’s willingness to decide who lived or died.
• Yang Ming proposed that Barry and Oliver fight to determine whose approach should guide them, and Dr. Wells supported the duel; both men agreed.
• At the steel mill, Oliver used flashbangs, tripwires, an electric net, oil, and smoke to keep Barry off balance.
• Yang Ming coached Barry to seek weaknesses rather than charge blindly, and Barry used a screw and a supersonic clap to disrupt Oliver and press an attack.
• Oliver avoided Barry’s strike and unleashed a sedative arrow, then fired a grappling-hook arrow at Barry’s chest emblem while Barry was recovering.

Barry and Oliver fought to a draw, with both suffering serious injuries, before Yang Ming stopped the duel and criticized their tactics. The two teams joined forces at S.T.A.R. Labs and began tracking Roy G. Bivolo and George Harkness.

• Barry took Oliver’s grappling arrow in his shoulder and used the connection to knock Oliver down and dislocate his right knee.
• Oliver yanked the bowstring to stop Barry’s attack, leaving them both injured until Yang Ming declared the fight a draw.
• Yang Ming assessed their wounds, gave Barry medical spray, and pointed out the flaws in both men’s fighting techniques.
• Oliver asked who had taught Barry, and Barry’s respect for Yang Ming revealed him as Barry’s tactical instructor.
• Joe warned Oliver that Central City had a no-killing rule, while Yang Ming defended teaching Barry how to survive.
• Felicity connected her laptop to the S.T.A.R. Labs console and asked Cisco to help trace Roy G. Bivolo and George Harkness.