Chapter Summaries

Su Ming visited Little Superman in his basement and reassured him about their plan to stage a superhero war using Advanced Combat Synthezoids. Little Superman shared his fears about his family and girlfriend rejecting him, and Su Ming arranged to protect Laurie as the plan moved forward.

• Little Superman left his parents in the living room and took Su Ming to his basement room.
• Su Ming observed that Clark's parents were not Martha and Jonathan, and Clark explained his parents' and girlfriend's names.
• Little Superman said his parents and Laurie feared him after his powers and identity became public, while Su Ming promised things would improve once their plan began.
• Su Ming explained that Advanced Combat Synthezoids would act as Super Villains and told Little Superman to follow the script and fight them.
• Little Superman showed Su Ming a photograph of Laurie, and Su Ming asked for it so Adjutant could add her to the whitelist.

Su Ming explained his plan to protect Little Superman’s reputation during the coming war and took him to test how to handle one of his online haters. After seeing a vicious fabricated accusation, Little Superman nearly attacked the man, but Su Ming used the Anti-Life Equation on him.

• Su Ming told Little Superman that Servants would arrive in Kansas with plausible excuses while he managed the conspiracy theorists and public opinion.
• Little Superman admitted that he wanted people to stop fearing and hating him, and Su Ming promised to establish a standard for the life he wanted.
• Su Ming used Adjutant’s coordinates to teleport with Little Superman to a United Kingdom apartment building and entered the home of a frequent online hater.
• Little Superman saw that the man had posted a fabricated account accusing him of raping a thirteen-year-old girl and nearly used Heat Vision on him.
• Su Ming stopped Little Superman and activated the Anti-Life Equation on the captive, who shouted, “Darkness endures!”

Su Ming tested mind control and hypnosis as shortcuts to making people admire Little Superman, but both methods failed in different ways. Little Superman accepted that the Holy Grail War plan was still necessary and renewed his resolve to become a hero admired by everyone.

• Su Ming used the Anti-Life Equation to control a shut-in, but Little Superman rejected turning his friends and neighbors into mindless puppets.
• Su Ming hypnotized a meme-maker into becoming Little Superman’s fan, but the man uploaded an obscene image of himself with his idol.
• Little Superman burned the fan to ash and destroyed his computer, then agreed that the shortcut was unrealistic.
• Su Ming disguised the scene as a computer accident and reminded Little Superman that Earth Prime’s people owed him their lives.
• Little Superman set aside his hesitation and recommitted to the Holy Grail War, believing people’s sacrifices could help them recognize his worth.

Su Ming and Adjutant began preparations to steer the Holy Grail War by disabling humanity’s strongest weapons and encouraging violent crimes. Meanwhile, Pipi accepted his murderous Servant Blonde Hero’s actions and helped him prepare to rob a gun store as fires erupted worldwide.

• Su Ming told Adjutant to begin the next phase by making humanity’s strongest weapons unusable and publicizing Servant crimes, while Adjutant reported that Synthezoids had replaced influential politicians.
• Blonde Hero told Pipi he had killed a husband, his wife, and their children, then persuaded Pipi that winning the war could grant any wish.
• Pipi handed Blonde Hero a pistol and car keys, deciding to rely on his Servant despite the murders.
• Blonde Hero set the neighboring house on fire and took Pipi along to rob a gun store for heavier weapons.
• Pipi searched online for reports of fires and found that arson had broken out around the world, including skyscrapers in New York.

As the Holy Grail War contestants robbed and fought to gather resources, Deathstroke watched the chaos with Little Superman and decided to wait before intervening. The chapter ended with Deathstroke saying superheroes should make their entrance only after governments had completely collapsed.

• Servants persuaded most Masters to rob for resources, setting off attacks and battles across the world.
• Su Ming and Little Superman watched projected footage of contestants, including an Indian Master bathing with his Lizardfolk Servant.
• Little Superman admitted he was a virgin, and Deathstroke teased him about it.
• Little Superman asked whether he should take action, but Deathstroke told him to let the bullets fly until the governments had collapsed.

Su Ming explained how Little Superman could use the chaos to gain political influence by supporting Laurie as president, then arranged a practice rescue to assess his superhero performance. Little Superman rescued people from a burning office building but returned them to the road so abruptly that Su Ming choked on his soda.

• Su Ming explained that Little Superman should work within society’s rules and secure a political spokesperson rather than become an overlord.
• Su Ming proposed making Laurie president and having Little Superman support her, while Laurie’s orphaned status and ties to his family made her a suitable ally.
• Su Ming told Little Superman to practice a staged rescue at a disaster site.
• Little Superman chose a burning office building, rescued the trapped people, and left them bewildered on the road.
• Little Superman returned to the basement and asked Su Ming how he had done, prompting Su Ming to spray soda in disbelief.

Su Ming taught Little Superman to make rescues into polished publicity opportunities, while Pipi and Blonde Hero escalated their bank robbery into a massacre. The pair escaped with the gold, and Pipi agreed to kill Masters so they could win the Holy Grail War.

• Su Ming demonstrated how to rescue Survivors slowly and pose for photos as Superboy-Prime, then had Adjutant edit the footage for publicity.
• Little Superman said he understood the lesson and went to practice saving someone.
• Blonde Hero and Pipi robbed a bank in Westwood City, where Blonde Hero killed police officers and destroyed a SWAT vehicle with an RPG.
• Blonde Hero gained the ability to float and move at high speed after absorbing gold, then escaped with Pipi.
• Blonde Hero asked Pipi to kill other Masters, and Pipi agreed to do whatever it took to win the Holy Grail War.

Su Ming and Deathstroke began a staged crisis to make the world fear threats and believe Superheroes were necessary, while Little Superman prepared to act as its heroic protector. After Clark reassured his parents amid reports of attacks, their trust in him began to grow, setting the performance in motion.

• The silver-haired Maiden told Deathstroke that the Holy Grail War had begun and the Servants were ready to act.
• Su Ming encouraged Little Superman to believe that deceiving the world was necessary, then sent him to prepare for his role.
• Little Superman returned upstairs and found his parents watching news reports about widespread attacks, including an assault on the Kansas City police department.
• Jerry told Clark that attacks had struck businesses and public institutions across the city.
• Clark promised to protect his parents from the apparent Supervillains, and his mother's attitude toward him softened.

Clark’s parents began to reconsider their fear of him after learning he had saved people, while he flew off to find Laurie. In the basement, Su Ming and Adjutant arranged a staged rescue and planted evidence to repair Laurie and Clark’s relationship.

• Naomi tried to call Laurie, and Clark left home in combat armor to find her while Jerry prepared supplies and a shotgun.
• Jerry showed Naomi news footage of Clark rescuing survivors, and the couple decided they had been misled and began preparing to flee with Laurie.
• Su Ming told Adjutant to use backup plans on Laurie and stage events that would help her reconnect with Clark.
• Adjutant sent a Servant and Master toward Laurie and planned to plant evidence on the Dark Web for her to discover.
• Jerry entered the basement to pack Clark’s comic books, unaware that Su Ming and Adjutant had been directing events there.

Investigative journalist Laurie entered the blood-soaked ruins of City Hall to investigate a deadly attack and search for clues about the attackers’ motives. After discovering that a killer was still inside, she fled the building.

• Laurie arrived at City Hall and recorded her plan to investigate whether the attack was connected to other violence in the city.
• Laurie entered the ruined building, where an unnatural cold, unexplained noises, and numerous bodies unsettled her.
• Laurie vomited after finding a horrific scene in an office, then continued toward the mayor’s office despite sensing someone nearby.
• A half-dead survivor crawled out of the darkness and warned Laurie that the killers had not left.
• An iron chain with a hooked end dragged the survivor into a dark room, and Laurie ran to escape City Hall.

Laurie was trapped between two criminals until Clark arrived and killed them, then comforted her. He urged her to leave the increasingly dangerous city with him, but Laurie insisted on investigating the attacks at the mayor’s office.

• Laurie fled from Phage and ran into an armed criminal who blocked the exit.
• The two criminals cornered Laurie, and she pleaded for her life before the gunman fired.
• Clark burst through the building, shielded Laurie from the bullets, and killed both criminals with Heat Vision.
• Laurie embraced Clark in relief, then apologized for not understanding his struggles.
• Clark said the city and the world were no longer safe and told Laurie that Naomi and Jerry were waiting at home.
• Laurie refused to leave before finding out at the mayor’s office what had caused the attacks.

Little Superman followed Deathstroke’s plan by helping Laurie investigate the staged mayor’s office, then brought her home to reunite with his parents. As the family prepared to leave town for a remote cabin, Deathstroke appeared in the basement and said the plan was beginning to work.

• Little Superman took Laurie to the mayor’s office, where she searched for evidence while he guarded her.
• Little Superman flew Laurie and a box of documents to his Kansas home, where she reunited with his parents.
• Little Superman recited Deathstroke’s words about responsibility, winning his parents’ approval and Laurie’s admiration.
• Jerry proposed that the family hide at his cabin in the Quet Smoky Hills, and Laurie went with Naomi to collect her computer and communication equipment.
• Little Superman returned to the basement and found Deathstroke, who said they needed to reinforce the treatment and overcome people’s prejudice.

Su Ming helped Little Superman reinforce his heroic persona and warned him to avoid killing openly. As Little Superman's family left town, Laurie began investigating the crisis, while he promised to seek out clues.

• Su Ming told Little Superman to keep acting like a hero and to contact Adjutant rather than kill anyone who angered him.
• Little Superman thanked Su Ming and promised to help him in the future, then gagged when Su Ming joked that Deadpool was his brother too.
• Jerry drove the family away from town as news reports described deaths, collapsing buildings, and murdered public figures.
• Laurie examined files from the mayor's office and asked Clark what had caused the crisis.
• Little Superman claimed he had faced other world-ending crises and promised to investigate after taking Laurie to the cabin.

Su Ming used staged crises to help Little Superman bond with his family and improve Laurie’s view of him. Deadpool arrived to collect his payment, then joined Su Ming and proposed a new scenario for Little Superman.

• Su Ming ordered Adjutant to stage a satellite crash so Little Superman and the Kent family would rescue one another.
• Su Ming arranged for bison to cross the family’s route so Little Superman could carry their pickup over the herd without harming any animals.
• Deadpool visited Su Ming after settling his account with Batman and collected an IOU for his remaining payment.
• Deadpool asked to help with Little Superman’s scenarios, and Su Ming allowed him to participate as long as he kept within the movie rating.
• Deadpool asked Adjutant to arrange a Godzilla-sized dung beetle for Superboy-Prime.

Su Ming let Deadpool plan a game, while Little Superman followed a mysterious script during his family’s journey. After lifting their pickup over a charging bison herd, Clark pretended the satellite radiation had weakened him and urged his family to leave the populated area, setting up the coming Dung Beetle incident.

• Su Ming agreed to let Deadpool play a game, and Wade happily outlined his plan.
• Little Superman read a new script in his mind and decided to follow it, though it involved a giant Dung Beetle and testing Jerry.
• Laurie worried that Clark was hurt by the satellite’s radiation and offered him her thigh as a pillow.
• When a huge herd of enraged bison charged toward the pickup, Little Superman lifted the vehicle so his family could watch the herd pass safely below.
• After lowering the pickup, Little Superman pretended the radiation had weakened him and urged Jerry, Naomi, and Laurie to leave the populated area quickly.

As Jerry’s family drove through the global chaos, they encountered a gigantic dung beetle blocking their route across a river. The beetle began pelting their pickup with dung balls as Jerry sped across the bridge.

• Laurie suspected a hidden force was behind the worldwide attacks and searched the documents she had found.
• Naomi and Jerry spotted a beetle more than forty meters tall across the river, and Clark identified it as a dung beetle.
• Clark offered to drive the monster away, but Jerry refused and took the pickup toward the bridge instead.
• The beetle noticed the pickup, rolled a smaller dung ball, and hurled it at the vehicle.
• Jerry dodged the first throw, but the beetle began launching more dung balls at the pickup.

Su Ming oversaw Deadpool and the Adjutant’s chaotic plan to clear obstacles for Little Superman, then went to confront World Forger about the unstable Earth Prime and the Dark Multiverse he had created for Clark. World Forger warned that Su Ming’s interference could damage the universe, while Su Ming challenged him over how he had treated Little Superman.

• The Adjutant hurled dung at Jerry’s pickup while Deadpool enjoyed the spectacle, and Su Ming told them not to cause a real accident.
• Su Ming approved Deadpool’s antics and explained that the plan’s third phase would begin once the Kent family reached the vacation cabin.
• Su Ming sensed someone watching him, left the basement, and found Deathstroke speaking with World Forger in a fiery red space.
• World Forger warned Su Ming that Earth Prime was unstable and might not withstand changes to its story.
• Su Ming reminded World Forger that he had saved him and his brothers from Perpetua, then criticized him for giving Little Superman a Dark Multiverse where people mistreated Clark.

Su Ming left the World Forge after advising World Forger to seek Dream’s help with creating Light Universes and returned to Earth Prime. There, he watched Deadpool stage a race for Superboy-Prime and asked Adjutant for an update on the Holy Grail War.

• Su Ming urged World Forger to experiment with creation and suggested he work with Dream, while World Forger warned that The Source might have noticed Su Ming after he defeated Pralaya.
• Su Ming took more Tenth Metal and returned to Earth Prime, where Deadpool was staging a pickup-truck race between the Kent family and Dung Beetle.
• Deadpool planned to end the race with Dung Beetle crashing off a cliff and exploding, and Adjutant agreed to arrange the explosion.
• Su Ming asked Adjutant how many Holy Grail War contestants remained, and she reported that Superboy-Prime had eliminated one pair while another team had gained fourth-level ability permissions and a major advantage.

Su Ming and the Adjutant prepared the next phase of the plan to clear Little Superman’s name while the Masters and Servants rested. He approved moving Game Land into the Cosmic Zoo and let the Adjutant take a vacation, leaving the preparations in the Split Programs’ hands.

• Su Ming and the Adjutant discussed the delayed start of the third phase, which would begin after the Kent family reached the cabin and the war broke out; they planned to publicize Little Superman’s good deeds and exaggerate the destruction beforehand.
• The Adjutant showed Su Ming Harley demolishing her way through an Escape Room, and he ordered more amusement facilities built and a hammer given to Death.
• Su Ming agreed to move Game Land into the Cosmic Zoo after Death returned, provided the Vishanti were notified first.
• Su Ming declined to attend Mother Night and Agamotto’s wedding but arranged for a Synthezoid to deliver gifts.
• Su Ming let the Adjutant go play in Game Land, and her Split Programs took over her work.

Deadpool asked Su Ming to alter the past and save the mother of his child, but Su Ming explained that only the future could be changed. Deadpool then discussed his wasteful spending and considered asking the Punisher to help free Vanessa’s sisters from traffickers.

• Deadpool asked the Adjutant to stage an attack on the Kent family’s pickup so Little Superman would be forced to kill the attackers.
• Deadpool asked Su Ming if he could change the fate of the mother of his child, and Su Ming said the past was beyond his reach.
• Deadpool said he hoped the woman could be saved someday, and Su Ming said he would help if that day came.
• Deadpool explained that he spent his money supporting Vanessa’s sisters, and Su Ming told him their traffickers took most of it.
• Deadpool considered asking Taskmaster for help, but Su Ming suggested using the Punisher as a free killer instead.