Chapter Summaries

Su Ming explained how he had moved to block The Batman Who Laughs’ planned crises and sent Barry and the others to protect Wally and prepare to free Kid Flash. When Barry revealed that Deadpool and Harley had joked about sacrificing him, Su Ming abruptly teleported away without answering.

• Su Ming argued that Luthor would not cooperate with The Batman Who Laughs and outlined how the villain planned to trigger crises through Blue Beetle, Shazam, and Hawkman.
• Deathstroke revealed that he had occupied Sepulk, placed Darkseid under house arrest, and allied with Brainiac 21 to prevent the Technology Crisis and Magic Crisis.
• Su Ming told Oliver to gather the Justice League’s Round Table members to protect Barry while Barry and Roy continued trying to free Wally and Kid Flash.
• Su Ming told Barry to run if The Batman Who Laughs attacked him, and Barry asked whether Su Ming had another plan.
• Barry told Su Ming that Deadpool and Harley had joked about sacrificing him to Heaven, and Su Ming teleported away without answering.

Joker returned to Luthor with the Tenth Metal, and Luthor paused his Serum research to hear Joker’s new intelligence about Crisis Energy. Batwoman questioned the Joker imprisoned in her cell about Gordon and learned that Deathstroke had disappeared from tracking, while Bruce recorded a warning about The Batman Who Laughs becoming the Crisis.

• Joker brought the Tenth Metal shell he had stolen from John to Luthor and said he had left John alive.
• Luthor suspended his Serum research and agreed to hear the Justice League intelligence Joker had received from an informant.
• Batwoman saw Gordon in a vacant-eyed state, ordered a blood sample sent for analysis, and questioned the Joker in the cell.
• The imprisoned Joker demanded that Batwoman stop The Batman Who Laughs and restore the story to the two of them.
• Batwoman received word that Deathstroke had left Justice League Dark’s headquarters and vanished from tracking.
• Bruce recorded Deathstroke’s concealed possibility that The Batman Who Laughs could become the Crisis.

Su Ming prepared the Rock of Eternity as a trap for The Upside-Down Man, relying on its defenses and new allies. He sent Superboy-Prime to Thanagar Prime to retrieve Donna and Raven and borrow golden Nth Metal.

• Su Ming arrived at the Rock of Eternity and asked Bobo about its defenses against The Upside-Down Man.
• Su Ming explained that Queen of May had taken control of The Green and become his ally after Beelzebub destroyed the Parliament of Flowers' source of survival.
• Su Ming summoned Superboy-Prime and praised him as the ideal ally against The Upside-Down Man.
• Su Ming sent Superboy-Prime to Thanagar Prime to check on Donna and Raven and obtain golden Nth Metal.
• Su Ming and Bobo headed to the Rock of Eternity's top level to await Superboy-Prime's return.

Su Ming prepared the Rock of Eternity and Sepulk to draw the Upside-Down Man out by redirecting magical energy, with Raven arranging the spellwork and Superboy-Prime providing the pyramid. The chapter ended with Su Ming asking Superboy-Prime to confront the Upside-Down Man when he appeared.

• Superboy-Prime returned with Donna and Raven and placed a stolen golden Nth Metal pyramid atop the Rock of Eternity.
• Donna explained that Superboy-Prime had taken the pyramid from Queen Thea Ra's temple, though Raven confirmed he had evacuated everyone safely.
• Raven said she could redirect energy to Sepulk by setting up magic arrays and having Superboy-Prime adjust the pyramid.
• Su Ming thanked Superboy-Prime over a meal and encouraged him to help rebuild his reputation.
• Su Ming told Superboy-Prime to hold off the Upside-Down Man after Raven diverted the energy flow and lured him out.

The chapter explained the Council of Eternity’s origins and how the Rock of Eternity could redirect magical energy, while the group prepared to confront The Upside-Down Man. As Deathstroke positioned Deadpool as bait, The Upside-Down Man suddenly appeared and grabbed him.

• The chapter recounted how Jebadiah and six others gained immense power, formed the Council of Eternity, and ultimately failed to protect the universe.
• Old Shazam chose Billy as his successor after Black Adam abandoned his mission, and Billy turned the Rock of Eternity into a base for himself and his friends.
• Raven slightly redirected the magical energy flowing through the Rock of Eternity toward Sepulk without alerting The Upside-Down Man.
• Wade asked Deathstroke whether The Upside-Down Man had an asshole and suggested using a bomb or excrement against him.
• Deathstroke sent Wade to stand alone as bait and offered him fifty thousand US Dollars to fill out the crowd and stay quiet.
• The Upside-Down Man emerged from the void, embraced Wade, and licked his face while greeting him.

Deathstroke confronted the Upside-Down Man, who revealed that he wanted more power and had created his own dimension. After the Upside-Down Man summoned four monstrous servants, Superboy-Prime destroyed them in a burst of speed.

• Wade taunted the Upside-Down Man, but remained trapped while Harley and Detective Chimp discussed the strange narration boxes.
• Deathstroke stepped forward and challenged the Upside-Down Man, who said greed and conspiracy had taught him to seek more and escape his ancient bonds.
• The Upside-Down Man snapped Wade's neck, crushed him into a ball, and threw him at Deathstroke, who sliced him in two.
• The Upside-Down Man transformed the area around the Rock of Eternity into his It-Realm and summoned four It-Things to fight Deathstroke's group.
• Deathstroke called on Superboy-Prime, who charged the four monsters and instantly blew them apart.

Superboy-Prime battered the Upside-Down Man while Deathstroke spoke with Lex Luthor, who offered a way to deal with the creature in exchange for a promise. Deathstroke agreed, leaving Lex to send his method.

• Superboy-Prime shattered the Upside-Down Man’s magical beam and punched it across its own It-Realm.
• Superboy-Prime continued beating the Upside-Down Man while checking Deathstroke’s reaction, as Deathstroke spoke with Raven and then answered a call.
• Deathstroke moved Wade’s remains together and helped him up while speaking with Lex Luthor about the antidote and Crisis Energy.
• Lex offered to help defeat the Upside-Down Man and eliminate The Batman Who Laughs in exchange for a promise.
• Deathstroke accepted Lex’s terms and asked him to send his method.

Su Ming and the others exposed the Upside-Down Man’s decoy and tracked its real position among its clones. As Superboy-Prime kept the monster occupied, Su Ming waited for Luthor’s plan and prepared to rely on a conceptual power to finish the fight.

• Deathstroke and Harley revealed that the Upside-Down Man had faked its death with a decoy to hide its pursuit of the Rock of Eternity.
• Harley spotted thought bubbles near the supposed fight, and Superboy-Prime tore apart the decoy, revealing only smoke inside.
• The real Upside-Down Man appeared, but Superboy-Prime struck it away before it could escape again.
• Deadpool identified the monster’s shadow clones by their shadows, while Su Ming paid him five hundred dollars for his earlier injury.
• Deathstroke explained that Strangle had tracked the Upside-Down Man after it approached Deadpool, while his other abilities could also have found it.
• Su Ming kept the Upside-Down Man occupied as he waited for Luthor’s idea and considered the Parliament of Life as the true conceptual weapon.

Deathstroke exposed The Upside-Down Man’s claim to control his dimension as a bluff and revealed that he had not mastered Hecate’s Witch’s Moon. As The Upside-Down Man tried to flee, Deathstroke summoned Queen, who transformed the battlefield into a lush green dimension and confronted the monster.

• The Upside-Down Man created over a thousand duplicates and attacked while Superman repeatedly destroyed them and Deadpool fought the It-Things.
• Deathstroke argued that The Upside-Down Man had seized Hecate’s Witch’s Moon and could not truly control its laws, exposing his deception.
• Harley read The Upside-Down Man’s thoughts, and the group learned he was desperate because his plans had gone wrong.
• The Upside-Down Man recognized a device Deathstroke produced and tried to dismiss his dimension and escape.
• Deathstroke called for Queen, who enveloped the Rock of Eternity and The Upside-Down Man in a verdant dimension and challenged him in the name of The Green.

Deathstroke captured the Upside-Down Man in The Totality after Queen of May used The Green to restrain it. The threat was contained, and Deathstroke asked Queen of May to help renovate the Rock of Eternity.

• Queen of May used her control over The Green to crush the Upside-Down Man's duplicates, seal their portals, and trap its true body in vines.
• Deathstroke's preparations, including Queen of May's support and Luthor's delivery of The Totality, left the Upside-Down Man unable to escape.
• Deathstroke used Tenth Metal to draw the trapped Upside-Down Man into The Totality and seal it inside.
• Deathstroke praised his team, reassured Donna that her presence had helped, and thanked Superboy-Prime and Bobo.
• Deathstroke asked Queen of May to help renovate the Rock of Eternity, and she agreed.

Su Ming turned the Rock of Eternity into a guarded base and explained why he had spared Luthor, while a distant Dark Multiverse group received a sphere from The Batman Who Laughs' corpse. The chapter ended with Mage Batman declaring that magic was free again and that events were following his plan.

• Queen of May used her control of The Green to transform the Rock of Eternity into a flowering forest and decorate its rooms.
• Su Ming told Bobo that he had spared Luthor because Luthor had paid for his life and remained useful to Superman and Su Ming.
• Su Ming ordered a company of Space Marines to occupy the Rock of Eternity and establish a monastery, Librarius, and teleport Relay Station.
• In the Dark Multiverse, King Robin felt a resonance from Tenth Metal, dropped a sphere, then carried it to a room full of Batmen and Alfreds.
• Mage Batman took the sphere from King Robin and said that magic was free once more and that everything was proceeding according to his plan.

The Batman Who Laughs transferred his consciousness into Manhattan Bat’s body and gained immense power. He declared himself the Bleakest Knight and prepared to reshape the Multiverse.

• The Batman Who Laughs’s followers opened the iron door and revealed Manhattan Bat, a mindless blue being created from a Dark Multiverse Batman.
• The Batman Who Laughs explained that he had escaped death by storing his consciousness in a sphere and planned to use Manhattan Bat’s body.
• Three Alfreds removed Manhattan Bat’s brain, and Bat-Mage explained how the sphere would let their master control the body.
• The sphere fused with Manhattan Bat’s body, which transformed into a blue version of The Batman Who Laughs.
• The Batman Who Laughs demonstrated his power by disintegrating Bat-Rex and restoring him, then transformed into a black shadow and named himself the Bleakest Knight.
• The Batman Who Laughs announced that he would shape a Multiverse belonging to them.

Barry, Diana, and Roy searched Gotham for a lawyer to help Wally, while John was hospitalized after a suspicious car accident. Wally was left facing an attack from Girder inside Blackgate Penitentiary.

• Barry, Diana, and Roy struggled to find an available Gotham lawyer, so Diana agreed to loosen their standards.
• Barry sensed Tenth Metal resonance and said Deathstroke had dealt with the Upside-Down Man.
• Diana told Barry that John had been in a car accident, and John reported hearing a man and a woman laughing nearby.
• Barry, Diana, and Roy went to a luxurious villa to meet another potential lawyer.
• Girder entered Wally's cell after bribing the guards and removing his Power Dampening Collar.
• Girder attacked Wally and threatened to kill him, while Wally asked how he had gotten into the cell.

Wally was attacked in prison by Girder and Tar Pit, but his collar broke during the fight and he used his restored Speed Force to defeat them. A mysterious, injured figure appeared and told Wally that he still had a mission to complete.

• Girder and Tar Pit attacked Wally in his cell, while Tar Pit explained his long-running grudge against the Flash Family.
• The villains beat Wally until his Power Dampening Collar snapped apart.
• Wally regained access to the Speed Force, defeated Tar Pit with dry ice, and electrocuted Girder.
• A blue-wrapped stranger appeared in the cell and told Wally that he still had a mission to complete.

Tempus Fuginaut sent Wally West to save the Dark Multiverse’s Earths from a spreading corruption, while Deathstroke brought Harley and Little Superman to Los Angeles to prepare for a possible crisis caused by The Batman Who Laughs. Deathstroke revealed that he had withheld information from the Justice League and planned to secure backup for direct combat.

• Tempus Fuginaut explained that dark matter was corrupting the Dark Multiverse and gave Wally five minutes on each Earth to stop it.
• Tempus Fuginaut equipped Wally with a new uniform and time-powered staff, then sent him to Earth -23 to begin his mission.
• Deathstroke left Bobo, Raven, and Donna at the Rock of Eternity and took Harley and Little Superman to Los Angeles.
• Harley asked to visit a bar, but Deathstroke explained that demons and angels competed for souls across the city and took her to the Federal Bank Building rooftop instead.
• Deathstroke told Harley he had concealed the possibility of a Dark Multiverse crisis triggered by The Batman Who Laughs and said they needed an insurance policy for direct combat.

Su Ming and his companions searched Albera’s abandoned office for clues about Lucifer and Dream. Harley recognized Albera’s disguised writing as a map and backup plan, though its destination remained unknown.

• Su Ming, the Adjutant, and Little Superman observed Los Angeles and found that the city was still operating steadily under Mazikeen’s control.
• Su Ming took Harley and Little Superman to Albera’s abandoned office to look for clues she had left before disappearing.
• Strangle unlocked the door, and Su Ming and his companions searched the filthy room and found a stained sheet covered in Albera’s symbols.
• Little Superman used his X-ray Vision to read the writing beneath the stains and copied the symbols for Harley.
• Harley examined the copied writing and concluded that its careful pauses and coded symbols concealed a map and Albera’s backup plan.

Su Ming and Harley analyzed Albera’s strange drawing and concluded that she had left using magic after making a stop along the way. Deathstroke set out to find a mage who could decipher the clues, while Little Superman stayed behind.

• Su Ming examined Albera’s drawing from a new angle while Harley wished they could visit a nightclub together.
• Harley explained that Albera’s drawing reflected her state of mind and interpreted its symbols as evidence of a chosen plan.
• Harley concluded that Albera had departed by magic and paused at an intermediate location that might help trace her route.
• Su Ming decided to find a reliable mage to decipher the drawing’s spells and coded writing.
• Deathstroke flew out the window with Harley, while Little Superman closed it and turned off the lights.

After the Upside-Down Man’s defeat made magic free again, Su Ming went to Limbo to recruit Constantine as a reliable sorcerer. Constantine pretended to be dead until Su Ming threatened to destroy the House of Mystery, then agreed to make a deal and received Su Ming’s prepared contract.

• Su Ming brought Harley and Little Superman to the House of Mystery to find Constantine.
• The group searched the apparently empty house and found no sign of Constantine.
• Su Ming threatened to destroy the House of Mystery with a Planet Bomb, forcing Constantine to reveal himself from an illusion.
• Constantine invited the group to drink, but Su Ming ignored his attempts to gain sympathy and prepared to leave.
• Constantine grabbed Su Ming and asked to make a deal, and Su Ming placed a contract on the table.

Deathstroke agreed to help Constantine deal with Trigon after learning the demon lord was furious over Constantine’s schemes and lies. When Trigon attacked, Deathstroke tried to convince him that Constantine had deceived them both, but the confrontation remained unresolved.

• Zha Kang signed Deathstroke’s confidentiality contract in exchange for help with the trouble Trigon was bringing him.
• Zha Kang admitted that he had impersonated Trigon to lure angels into attacking The Upside-Down Man, after which the angels had attacked Trigon’s Another World.
• Deathstroke agreed to speak with Trigon and examined Albera’s letter while Zha Kang tested its spells.
• Trigon appeared outside the House of Mystery and demanded that Constantine face him, so Deathstroke went out to confront him.
• Trigon accused Deathstroke and Constantine of using his name to offend Order, Heaven, and Hell and of taking his daughter away as a concubine, then attacked.
• Deathstroke blocked Trigon’s punch with his sword and shouted that Constantine had tricked them both.

Su Ming fooled Trigon into believing Constantine was dead, sending the Demon Lord back to Another World without a fight. Back in the House of Mystery, Constantine confirmed he had deciphered the thing Su Ming wanted, though he warned him it was dangerously mad.

• Trigon recognized that someone had fooled both him and Deathstroke, then stopped attacking the House of Mystery.
• Deathstroke brought Trigon a corpse made to look like Constantine, and Trigon believed he had been killed.
• Trigon feared Heaven and Hell would fight over Constantine’s soul, but Deathstroke claimed responsibility and refused Trigon’s offer of help.
• Trigon left for Another World, and Su Ming stored the Synthezoid corpse after confirming the Demon Lord was gone.
• Su Ming returned to the House of Mystery, where Constantine revealed he had deciphered the requested thing and cautioned Su Ming about getting involved.