Chapter Summaries

Joker escaped Arkham after freeing prisoners and discovered that The Batman Who Laughs had killed Thomas, while Batwoman arrived too late to save him. After Batwoman left, Deathstroke, Detective Chimp, and Harley discussed Thomas's death and decided to recover his brain for Slade's Black Mud pet to read his memories.

• Joker released prisoners to attack Arkham's guards, then searched the asylum and found Thomas's mutilated corpse in the infirmary.
• Joker left Arkham before Batwoman arrived, planning to change into a purple suit, make laughing gas, and visit Grodd.
• Batwoman found Thomas dead and spoke to herself in different voices before leaving without questioning Deathstroke, Detective Chimp, or Harley.
• Deathstroke revealed that she had been guarding against Thomas becoming a weapon and agreed with Slade's caution.
• Detective Chimp proposed taking Thomas's brain so Slade's Black Mud pet could read his memories, and Harley volunteered to smash his head.

Su Ming and Green Arrow interrogated Commissioner Gordon and uncovered how Batwoman had secretly hidden him from The Batman Who Laughs. Su Ming prepared for the next confrontation by sending Bobo to the World Forge and leaving Green Arrow in charge of defending the Hall of Justice.

• Su Ming ended the interrogation after Commissioner Gordon ranted about lies and refused to betray The Batman Who Laughs.
• Green Arrow admitted he had not known Batwoman secretly brought Gordon into her private dungeon beneath the Hall of Justice.
• Su Ming learned from Bobo that Batwoman had hidden Gordon from The Batman Who Laughs, who then killed Thomas Wayne at Arkham.
• Su Ming sent Bobo to the World Forge to ask the World Forger to prepare something for him.
• Su Ming warned Green Arrow not to send the Teen Titans away as a diversion and trusted him to defend the Hall of Justice.
• Su Ming and Green Arrow went to check on Zatanna.

Su Ming investigated the returning Witch's Mark on Diana and decided she had to go to Sepulk for examination. When Diana refused, he knocked her unconscious and prepared to take her there, while Zatanna remained trapped in an unknown Nightmare.

• Man-Bat told Su Ming that Zatanna remained unconscious despite her body being repaired, and Abby suspected she was lost in a Nightmare.
• Su Ming reassured Diana that Constantine would not endanger Zatanna because of his promise to her late father, Giovanni Zatara.
• Su Ming showed Diana the Black Diamond and discovered that witchcraft energy was slowly returning to the mark on her forehead.
• Diana refused to leave the Justice League and Justice League Dark for treatment at Sepulk.
• Su Ming used Strangle and a Golden Frying Pan to knock Diana unconscious so he could take her to Sepulk.

Su Ming returned to the gathering after sending Diana back to Paradise Island, then met Barry, who delivered a case from Cindy. After putting the case away, Su Ming learned about Batwoman’s secret actions and asked Barry to take him to a Parallel World, where Barry said Wally was having trouble managing time.

• Su Ming returned alone and told Green Arrow that Diana had gone back to Paradise Island.
• Su Ming redirected Green Arrow’s questions by asking about the Teen Titans, and Green Arrow said Nightwing had rejoined the team after recovering from his injuries.
• Barry met Su Ming at the elevator and handed him a medical case from Cindy, which Su Ming secretly stored while in the restroom.
• Barry told Su Ming that Wally had run into trouble with time management in the Speed Force Plane.
• Su Ming told Barry that Batwoman had secretly captured Commissioner Gordon and taken other unreported actions.
• Su Ming asked Barry to take him to a Parallel World after they ate, and Barry agreed despite the troublesome Time Point.

Barry and Deathstroke fled through the Speed Force Plane with Black Flash pursuing them, while Su Ming explained the danger and criticized Barry for letting Wally tamper with the Timeline. As Barry’s stamina dwindled, he agreed to enter a Future Timeline so Deathstroke could try to knock Black Flash away.

• Su Ming told Barry that he should have stopped Wally from wandering through the Speed Force Plane after escaping the Speed Force Maze.
• Barry explained that he had wanted to be kind to Wally and said he should give him the Flashmobile he had always wanted.
• Su Ming warned Barry that Black Flash could kill him with a touch and explained that it was the Speed Force’s manifestation of speedster death.
• Su Ming proposed entering a Timeline so he could knock Black Flash away, and Barry agreed to choose one in the Future with less impact.
• Barry turned into a floating patch of light with Deathstroke as Black Flash chased them.

Su Ming and Barry lured Black Flash into a mountain fissure and struck it with the Light of Creation, but it escaped into the Speed Force. Su Ming then asked Barry to take him to the ruined Earth-15 to search for the Cosmic Holy Grail.

• Su Ming directed Barry to find a narrow fissure in the ruined Himalayas so they could confront Black Flash on favorable terrain.
• Barry led Black Flash into the fissure, and Su Ming struck with the Light of Creation, rebuilding the mountains as the attack destroyed the surrounding terrain.
• Black Flash escaped into the Speed Force at the last moment, and Barry explained it would pursue another speedster after failing to kill him.
• Su Ming asked Barry to take him to Earth-15, and Barry warned that the universe was reduced to a tiny fragment and that the Cosmic Holy Grail was difficult to find.
• Barry carried Su Ming and Deathstroke through the Speed Force toward Earth-15 as Su Ming explained why he sought the Cosmic Holy Grail.

Four cross-dressers arrived at the Hall of Justice, where they tricked its AI guide into believing one of them was terminally ill. The AI activated a special protocol and agreed to extend visiting hours and keep the restaurant open, leaving the group free to begin their visit.

• Four people dressed as Supergirl drove to the Hall of Justice and entered the public exhibition area.
• One of the visitors warned the others to avoid discussing their plan in case Batman had planted bugs.
• A visitor praised the Justice League to prompt the robot guide, speaking with The Flash’s prerecorded voice, to respond.
• The group requested hero photos and a meal, claiming the pale visitor had a terminal illness and this was her last wish.
• The robot scanned the pale visitor, activated a special protocol, and offered to delay closing and keep the restaurant open.
• The pale visitor pretended to weep with gratitude as the group’s deception succeeded.

Luthor, Mercy, Joker, and Punchline toured the Hall of Justice in disguise, where Joker explained how their disguises and his understanding of Batwoman let them bypass the League’s defenses. The group remained free to move through the Hall, while Joker believed the parallel-world Deathstroke would leave him alone to play his games with Batwoman.

• The disguised group ate at the Hall of Justice, where Joker and Punchline joked and took selfies while Luthor questioned how easily they had entered.
• Luthor called the Hall’s affordable food a way for the Justice League to win the support of impoverished people, but Joker dismissed his concerns and credited Deception Magic and charm.
• Joker explained that he had gotten past Batwoman by exploiting her chivalry toward women and said Wonder Woman was their greatest danger among the League’s leaders.
• Joker claimed that Batwoman and The Upside-Down Man had sent Diana to Rot Country, and that Deathstroke would eventually send her away for treatment.
• Luthor warned Joker that Deathstroke might be nearby, but Joker said the parallel-world Deathstroke preferred to let him play with Batwoman and would not interfere.

Joker and Luthor planned to reach the Hall of Justice dungeon and find Commissioner Gordon, while Su Ming and Barry searched the ruins of Earth-15 for an unlikely ally. Su Ming summoned that ally with a song, and a furious young man in red and blue rushed toward him.

• Joker told Luthor that keeping their plans small would keep Deathstroke from interfering, then proposed finding Gordon and taking his blood.
• Luthor began hacking the Hall of Justice surveillance system to locate a secret passage, while Joker suggested a password tied to Batman’s parents.
• Su Ming and Barry arrived at the remains of Earth-15, where Su Ming said someone there could help them fight The Batman Who Laughs and resist The Upside-Down Man.
• Su Ming sang “Tears of the Iron Window” through a megaphone, and a red-and-blue young man charged at him, shouting for him to stop.

Su Ming met Superboy-Prime, the powerful survivor who had destroyed Earth-15 after being deceived by its Luthor. He offered Superboy-Prime a chance to help save the Multiverse and recreate Earth Prime, and Superboy-Prime accepted the deal.

• Superboy-Prime arrived and exchanged a brief clash with Deathstroke before recognizing Barry Allen.
• Superboy-Prime recounted how he had been trapped on the Source Wall, escaped when it shattered, and discovered that the Multiverse no longer matched the comics he remembered.
• He recalled how Earth-15's Luthor deceived him, prompting him to destroy Oa and Earth-15.
• Su Ming offered Superboy-Prime a chance to save the Multiverse and help restore Earth Prime.
• Superboy-Prime agreed to work with Su Ming and warned that he would kill him if he broke his promise.

Su Ming explained why he had sent Superboy-Prime to meet Clark and helped Barry see that The Batman Who Laughs’s infected team was a diversion rather than a direct attack on the Justice League. The chapter left Barry considering the roles of technology, reincarnation, and magic in the villain’s plan.

• Barry questioned Su Ming’s decision to trust Superboy-Prime, and Su Ming argued that Clark could help keep him under control.
• Su Ming told Barry that Earth-0’s Superman had been reshaped by Doctor Manhattan and Mister Mxyzptlk, a secret known within the Justice League only to Batwoman and Diana.
• Su Ming asked Barry to examine the infected targets and recognize that The Batman Who Laughs was exploiting the League’s assumptions about his usual tactics.
• Barry realized that The Batman Who Laughs had staged a second apparent attack on the Justice League to conceal another objective.
• Su Ming directed Barry to consider what Blue Beetle, Hawkman, and Shazam represented, and why the villain had tried to rescue Gordon.

Barry and Deathstroke considered what Commissioner Gordon represented to the Batman Who Laughs, but could not identify the answer, so they traveled to Earth-11 to inspect the situation. They reunited with Bliss and Alfred, and Deathstroke revealed that Earth-0’s starving holdouts had rejected Justice League relief.

• Barry asked Deathstroke whether Commissioner Gordon represented goodness, order, justice, or love, but Deathstroke ruled out each possibility.
• Deathstroke said they needed to gather allies against the Batman Who Laughs and asked Barry to keep their investigation secret from Batman.
• Barry agreed to trust Deathstroke’s concern that Batman might be controlled by the Joker Virus, and they traveled to Earth-11’s Gotham.
• Bliss detected Barry and Deathstroke arriving in her Gotham and discussed their visit with Alfred in the Batcave.
• Deathstroke told Alfred to prepare steak and said the Justice League had distributed food on Earth-0, while those still starving had refused its relief stations.

Deathstroke met Bliss on Earth -11 to check on her work with the Legends and their Waverider. After Bliss took Barry on a terrifying test flight in her new Bat-plane, Deathstroke said he would use the Waverider to begin a long journey and counter The Batman Who Laughs with something he could not anticipate.

• Alfred served Deathstroke and Barry coffee and said dinner would be ready in half an hour.
• Bliss showed Deathstroke that Earth -11 was peaceful and revealed the Bat-plane she had built with help from the Legends and the Waverider.
• Bliss took Barry on a high-speed test flight around Earth, leaving him exhausted and shaken.
• Deathstroke said he planned to find the Legends and enlist Barry's help with Gideon, the Waverider's Ship AI.
• Bliss asked why Deathstroke had left the Legends stranded in her world, and he explained that the Waverider's origin in the DCCW Multiversal System made it a key to outmaneuvering The Batman Who Laughs.

Bliss kept the Legends of Tomorrow working on Earth -11 while Sara and Sharp wondered whether Batwoman planned to give them a new mission. When Batwoman, Barry, and Deathstroke arrived aboard the Waverider, Su Ming asked Barry to speak with Gideon about the ship’s Time Engine and AI.

• Bliss hid the Waverider beneath an unmapped Pacific island and kept the Legends of Tomorrow on Earth -11, where they enjoyed saving people and stopping crimes despite being hostages.
• Sara and Sharp discussed leaving Earth -11 and worried that Batwoman was preparing to give them an impossible task.
• Gideon alerted Sara and Sharp that Batwoman, Barry, and Deathstroke had arrived on the ship’s bridge.
• Barry explored the Waverider, while Su Ming retrieved the liquor Sara had hidden in her office.
• Su Ming directed Barry to speak with Gideon about the Time Engine and the ship’s AI.

Deathstroke persuaded Sara to take him and Barry aboard the Waverider, offering to cure her sister and save Green Arrow. After Barry reprogrammed Gideon, the ship prepared to travel to Sara’s universe.

• Deathstroke offered Sara a cure for her sister and a chance to save Green Arrow in exchange for the Waverider’s help bringing people to Earth-0.
• Sara accepted the deal, and the Legends departed Earth -11 while Bliss stayed behind.
• Sara asked Deathstroke to take the Waverider to her Earth so she could help Oliver and visit her family.
• Gideon refused to change course because Barry and Deathstroke were temporal singularities, but Barry quickly rewrote her program.
• Gideon locked the spacetime coordinates and began the countdown for the jump to Sara’s universe.

Deathstroke and his companions arrived in a Gotham frozen by a mysterious crisis, where Jack Napier had declared himself the Pale Knight and promised Batwoman he would save the city. Deathstroke prepared Harley to deal with the local Dr. Quinzel and Female Joker before negotiating with the two knights.

• Jack Napier told Batwoman that he loved Gotham and would become its Pale Knight, while half the city lay frozen in ice and snow.
• Sara discovered that the Waverider’s arrival had caused an unpredictable Timeline change in the DC Black Label Universe.
• Deathstroke and Detective Chimp discussed the Source Wall and the dangers beyond it while observing Gotham from the cloaked Waverider.
• Harley explained that she would not harm the Jokers of other worlds and said she had already won against Earth-0’s Joker.
• Deathstroke told Harley that a Dr. Quinzel and a Female Joker were in Gotham, then prepared to bring the city’s crisis to an end and negotiate with its knights.

Su Ming reviewed the Timeline of Gotham’s crisis and divided the team’s tasks to stop the Female Joker and prevent the future Death Angel’s attack. The team prepared to thaw Gotham and capture its villains while Su Ming and Harley went to kill their targets.

• Gideon showed how Jack had suppressed Joker’s madness, tried to reform Gotham, and teamed up with Batwoman after the Female Joker froze half the city and Alfred died saving his master.
• Gideon showed that Jack would eventually become Joker again and that a Death Angel would kill Commissioner Gordon and Barbara, destroy Wayne Manor, and drive Batwoman deeper into darkness.
• Su Ming ordered himself and Harley to kill the Female Joker and Death Angel while Bobo, Barry, and the others reversed the freezing generator and captured Gotham’s villains.
• Bobo revealed the Group Mind Control Shielding Device, and Su Ming told him to wait until the villains were caught before using it.
• Barry questioned whether killing was necessary, but Su Ming drew the Owl Dagger and said he could kill without leaving clues.

Deathstroke sent Harley to obtain Dr. Quinzel’s medicine formula while he prepared to mislead Batwoman’s investigation. As Batwoman, Jack, and Gordon readied their forces for an operation, Jack promised to save Gotham.

• Deathstroke explained that Dr. Quinzel’s medicine could suppress Batwoman’s madness and asked Harley to get its formula without violence.
• Harley left on the Cloak of Levitation to visit Dr. Quinzel while Deathstroke prepared to travel with Pale Knight.
• Deathstroke directed the Symbiotes to disguise themselves as a mysterious woman and follow Earth-11’s lead to misdirect Batwoman.
• Batwoman and Jack prepared for the operation, and Gordon’s officers familiarized themselves with their assigned Batmobiles.
• Jack told Gordon that he was Gotham’s Pale Knight and vowed to save the city at any cost.

Harley broke into Dr. Quinzel’s home in another world and discovered that her counterpart was pregnant and still cared for two hyenas. She used the dogs and explosives to keep Dr. Quinzel from leaving, intending to learn her story and stop her from interfering with Deathstroke’s mission.

• Harley picked the lock to Dr. Quinzel’s apartment and was greeted by two hyenas identical to her own.
• Dr. Quinzel confronted Harley with a gun, and the two women recognized that they looked alike.
• Harley lowered her gun, claimed the hyenas as hostages, and learned that Dr. Quinzel was pregnant and in a hurry to leave.
• Harley said Deathstroke had gone to save Dr. Quinzel’s boyfriend and warned her not to interfere.
• Harley revealed explosives and a remote detonator, then demanded that Dr. Quinzel sit and tell her story.

Batwoman learned from Jack that Jason had survived the Joker’s torture but betrayed her and stayed away because he blamed her for his suffering. Still shaken by the revelation, she turned her attention to rescuing the frozen civilians by finding Mister Freeze.

• Batwoman asked Jack what had happened to Jason, and Jack recovered memories of the Joker’s torture.
• Jack told Batwoman that Jason had said he wished he had never met Bruce Wayne, giving the Joker the betrayal he wanted.
• Jack explained that Jason blamed Batwoman for the Joker targeting him and wanted her to believe he was dead.
• Batwoman struggled to accept Jason’s betrayal and absence, then asked how they could save the frozen people.
• Batwoman decided they needed to find Mister Freeze and accelerated the Batmobile.