Chapter Summaries

Su Ming persuaded Superman to abandon his plan to remain in the devastated future and return to the Main World by claiming Lois was gravely ill. Superman discovered the deception, but went home to reconcile with Lois before returning to find Su Ming’s next plan already approved.

• Superman decided to stay in Kamandi’s future to help defeat the invasion and rebuild, but Su Ming told him Lois might be dying and he had one last chance to see her.
• Su Ming gave Kamandi a bulletproof vest, snacks, and an English edition of The Art of War, and encouraged him to defeat the Ape Empire without Superman.
• Superman reconsidered after realizing his fight with Brainiac could destroy Earth and followed Su Ming, Cyborg, and Aquaman through the portal.
• Back in the Main World, Superman found Lois and Joe well at home, realized Su Ming had tricked him, and was kept at the table by Lois’s demand to talk.
• Superman returned to the Hall of Justice after Su Ming had already secured unanimous approval for his plan, then thanked him for making him go home and resolve things with Lois.

Su Ming and Diana discussed their plans against Perpetua while the others left to handle their tasks. They went to Diana’s unfinished temple to continue building it as Su Ming prepared a surprise on Channel 52.

• Harley returned from the meeting with a potato she had named Alexander, and Superman came back before Su Ming had to humor her further.
• Superman asked what to do next, and Diana clarified that Su Ming meant he could act freely, so Clark left to patrol Africa.
• Diana questioned whether they should tell Superman their plan, and Su Ming argued that other versions of Superman were more useful because they lacked Batman as a teammate.
• Su Ming offered to send Harley to Paradise Island to help Donna and Kara recover from the virus, and Diana approved.
• Harley ran off to find Magik, while Su Ming and Diana headed to her unfinished temple to work on it.
• Su Ming said he would meet the three Monitor brothers alone to prepare a surprise for Perpetua on Channel 52, and he suggested Diana use a statue of her mother in the temple.

Luthor discussed the setbacks to his plans with Cheetah, Sinestro, and Grodd after they escaped an attack by a large force of spellcasters. He promised them rewards in Perpetua’s reborn world, while declaring that his own journey would begin beyond the Multiverse.

• Cheetah, Sinestro, and Grodd returned to Divinity injured after Justice League Dark, the Shadow Pact Squad, the Seven Soldiers of Victory, S.H.A.D.E., and other spellcasters drove them from a Parallel World.
• Sinestro told Luthor that the attackers were not Circe’s people and that Deathstroke from Another World had taken their foothold in the occult.
• Luthor dismissed the setback as a minor obstacle and said Perpetua’s power would crush the Justice League once they brought it before her.
• Cheetah asked about her promised reward, and Luthor told her she would become Queen of the Amazons and torment Diana in the new Future.
• Sinestro asked what Luthor wanted for himself, and Luthor said his journey would begin in the World Beyond the Multiverse.

Luthor explained his plan to use the reborn multiverse for expansion, then discovered that the Justice League had evaded the trap he and his allies set. He blamed Deathstroke and Batwoman, ordered Brainiac to return to the present, and left Doctor Ivo stranded in the past.

• Luthor told Grodd, Cheetah, and the others that he planned to prepare humanity for expansion beyond the multiverse.
• Luthor contacted Brainiac and Doctor Ivo, only to learn that the Justice League had entered their trap and escaped without anyone being captured.
• Luthor concluded that Deathstroke had taken command from Batwoman and outmaneuvered him.
• Luthor rejected Brainiac’s suggestion to ask Goddess for help and told Doctor Ivo to create his own time machine or be abandoned.
• Luthor ordered Brainiac to return from the Future, left Doctor Ivo behind, and cut off their communication.

Su Ming regrouped with Bobo and Diana after the failed attempt to capture escaped Legion of Doom members, while Batwoman escaped a clash with The Batman Who Laughs carrying the Three Artifacts of Sin. Both confrontations ended without a decisive victory.

• Su Ming learned that Grodd had escaped with the Still Force and ordered Bobo's unharmed team to join him at Diana's dormitory area.
• Bobo arrived and recounted how his team had failed to capture the fugitives.
• Batwoman reunited with Owlman and gave him the Three Artifacts of Sin, explaining that she had retrieved them from The Batman Who Laughs's submarine.
• Batwoman infiltrated Green Arrow's stolen nuclear submarine, incapacitated its crew with Bat-Tear Gas, and fought The Batman Who Laughs.
• The submarine exploded, and The Batman Who Laughs escaped with his subordinates while Batwoman fled in her mini-submarine with the artifacts.

Su Ming predicted that Perpetua might punish Cheetah and the other Legion of Doom members for failing their mission, while Diana worried about her old friend. The group remained unable to intervene, and Su Ming ended by arranging a possible memorial for Cheetah.

• Su Ming told Detective Chimp and Diana that Sinestro and the others had failed their mission and might be abandoned by Perpetua.
• Diana worried that Cheetah would die, but Su Ming said they could not reach the Legion of Doom or abandon their defensive plans to search for Perpetua.
• Diana explained that she considered Cheetah a friend because Cheetah had helped her and taught her about human society and art.
• Diana admitted that she had pretended to agree to kill Cheetah when Cheetah asked for death because she could not bear living as a beast.
• Su Ming called Barry to find pine wood and Cheetah's shed fur for a coffin or memorial, prompting Diana and Detective Chimp to shake their heads.

The Legion of Doom came before Perpetua expecting rewards, but she transformed Brainiac Million into her throne and seized the others. She spared Luthor, telling him that he was the reason for her actions.

• Luthor used The Time Machine to recall Brainiac, who had evolved into Brainiac Million on the future Timeline.
• The Legion of Doom went to Perpetua's Throne Room, where she explained that destroying the Justice League would unlock the seventh Dark Power of Creation.
• Grodd, Brainiac Million, and Cheetah each asked Perpetua for a reward, but she dismissed their requests as insignificant.
• Perpetua transformed Brainiac Million into a throne and sat on it, horrifying the rest of the Legion.
• When Luthor asked why she had done it, Perpetua said he was the reason and used tentacles from the throne to drag everyone else toward her.

Perpetua gave Luthor the powers extracted from his captured allies and ordered him to kill Starman and his three traitor brothers. Meanwhile, Su Ming, Diana, and Bobo ate grilled meat in their cave while waiting for Wade's message.

• Perpetua trapped Sinestro, Grodd, and Cheetah in coffins and extracted their powers, then transferred them to Luthor along with her other Dark Powers of Creation.
• Luthor thanked Perpetua as his mother, and she sent him to find Starman and kill his three traitor brothers.
• Su Ming grilled lamb skewers in the dormitory cave while Bobo asked for chili sauce and Diana asked about his company.
• Su Ming explained that his company planned to develop interstellar trade and space mining, then shared the skewers with Bobo and Diana as they waited for Wade's message.

Su Ming questioned Deadpool about finding Starman and learned that he had tricked him into accepting the Perpetua Assassination Plan. Su Ming decided to let Starman prove himself a hero because he still had a use for him.

• Deadpool arrived while Su Ming and the others were eating barbecue, and Su Ming led him outside to discuss his mission.
• Deadpool said he had found Starman in a familiar New York bar by tracing his ties to the Justice Society and guessing he would seek drugs and alcohol.
• Deadpool claimed Starman believed that Sepulk existed and that the Justice League was preparing to flee there, and had accepted the Perpetua Assassination Plan.
• Su Ming deduced that Deadpool had posed as a disfigured Batwoman from a Parallel World to deceive Starman.
• Su Ming told Deadpool to keep the deception secret and said he would let Starman prove himself a hero because he remained useful as Luthor's Living Reconnaissance Plane.

Starman, rejected by the Justice Society and adrift in a ruined New York, drank and smoked alone until a foul-smelling, makeshift Batman told him the Justice League had fled the universe. Starman doubted the stranger until he proved he was Batman by drawing a bat symbol in urine.

• Starman failed to persuade the retired Justice Society to fight and received several bottles of liquor from them.
• Starman obtained marijuana from his elderly former supplier and wandered into a ruined bar where he reminisced and got intoxicated.
• A ragged man wearing a red-and-black uniform and newspaper Batman ears approached Starman and claimed to be Batman from a parallel universe.
• The makeshift Batman told Starman that the Justice League had found an escape route from the multiverse and had already left, while Starman refused to believe they would abandon everyone.
• The stranger claimed that the returned Justice League members were mentally unwell, and Starman began to doubt his earlier assumptions.
• Starman challenged the stranger to prove he was Batman, and the man drew a bat symbol with urine, convincing him.

Deadpool, disguised as Batwoman, showed Starman fabricated footage of the Justice League abandoning the multiverse and urged him to escape. Starman chose to stay and fight, and Deadpool gave him a risky plan before leaving him to act.

• Deadpool convinced Starman of his identity and explained that Sepulk and the Justice League were preparing to leave their universe.
• Starman watched the footage and, distressed by the League’s abandonment of the multiverse, asked whether Deadpool planned to leave too.
• Deadpool urged Starman to come with him, but Starman refused and vowed to fight the Legion of Doom as Will Payton.
• Deadpool offered Starman a dangerous plan to find Perpetua, and Starman listened eagerly and agreed to carry it out.
• Starman asked Deadpool to leave while he said goodbye to the bar, and Deadpool departed.

Starman set out alone to search the universe for Luthor and the Legion of Doom, while Su Ming waited for the signal to begin his plan. After receiving it, Su Ming left Diana behind and departed to carry out his part of the mission.

• Starman retrieved his Cosmic Staff, accepted the plan’s slim odds, and flew through space searching for Luthor and the Legion of Doom.
• Su Ming finished assembling the temple and waited with Diana while she carved a statue of her mother.
• Diana described how Amazons settled disputes through contests and shared that she had written stage plays when she was young.
• Su Ming received the Monitor’s signal and told Diana he would go alone because he needed people who could not die and had acting experience.
• Su Ming reassured Diana, then transformed into his armor and left.

Luthor found Starman in space and easily endured his attacks, then summoned Perpetua to reclaim the power she had stored inside Starman. Starman claimed he knew Perpetua’s weakness and launched into a strange stance to fight her.

• Luthor tracked down Starman, who accused him of being a sneaky rat and attacked with the Cosmic Staff.
• Starman’s strongest blast left Luthor unharmed, and Luthor split his next beam with one finger.
• Luthor summoned Perpetua, who appeared and said she wanted to reclaim the power she had stored inside Starman.
• Starman said he knew Perpetua’s weakness, rejected her offer of a suitable position, and moved to fight her.

Starman tried to stop Perpetua from restoring her full power by using starlight and a song to inspire hope, but she and Luthor were unmoved. He launched one final attack and Perpetua killed him.

• Starman told Perpetua that Batwoman had identified her seven Dark Powers of Creation as a weakness and said he could thwart her plan by preventing despair.
• Starman played a cassette and performed a bath dance, hoping to fill people with light and joy, but Perpetua and Luthor dismissed his attempt.
• Luthor suspected Deathstroke had sent Starman to die, while Perpetua said humans’ cruel natures made despair inevitable.
• Starman realized the plan had failed, stopped dancing, and charged Perpetua with his Cosmic Staff.
• Perpetua caught Starman in her hand and crushed him, leaving frozen blood mist and starlight.

Perpetua learned about Darkseid’s bridge between multiverses and the Deathstroke who defeated him, so she and Luthor changed their plans and headed for Sepulk. There, Su Ming prepared a time-travel mission with Magik, Gin, the Monitor brothers, and an AI-controlled portal.

• Perpetua crushed Starman, absorbed his power, and learned from the Totality’s memories about Darkseid’s bridge between multiverses.
• Luthor told Perpetua that Darkseid could be persuaded to join their plan, but Perpetua revealed that Deathstroke had defeated him and taken over Sepulk.
• Perpetua became interested in Otherworld Deathstroke, and she and Luthor decided to travel to Sepulk instead of following their original plan.
• Su Ming reunited with Gin, Magik, and the Monitor brothers in Sepulk’s Main Control Room and explained that they would use the Omega Pit for time travel.
• Su Ming activated the enormous portal with his AI System and invited everyone to go through.

Su Ming brought the Monitor, Anti-Monitor, and World Forger to the N52-era Monitor Sphere and explained that Doctor Manhattan would reboot that multiverse regardless of their actions. The Monitor recognized the period as the time when the first Mandrakk intended to destroy the multiverse.

• Su Ming and the three brothers arrived at the bustling Monitor Sphere before the last reboot.
• The Monitor warned Su Ming that changing the past was risky, but Su Ming said Doctor Manhattan would reboot the multiverse anyway.
• Su Ming revealed the Comedian's Badge as proof that Doctor Manhattan might be watching, unsettling the three brothers.
• The Anti-Monitor recalled Doctor Manhattan's unsettling appearance during the era of Infinite Earths.
• The Monitor recognized that they had arrived during the period when the first Mandrakk planned to destroy the multiverse.

Su Ming planned to borrow the Monitor brothers’ Thought Robot, believing the ultimate weapon could help defeat Mandrakk and Perpetua. He intended to persuade Thought Robot by warning him that Lois would be endangered, while Starman’s death had unknowingly made him a hero and delivered Deathstroke’s fabricated intelligence to the Legion of Doom.

• Su Ming assessed Mandrakk as a multiversal threat capable of consuming Heavenly Blood and destroying entire multiverses.
• Su Ming concluded that Starman had been right to seek the Monitor brothers, who were talented inventors but not combatants.
• Su Ming planned to enlist the Over-Monitor to persuade the Monitor brothers to activate Thought Robot early and send it on missions before returning to fight Mandrakk.
• Su Ming reasoned that Thought Robot would agree to help if told Lois was in danger across future Parallel Worlds.
• Su Ming regarded the Spectre Universe as a trap prepared for Perpetua and concluded that Starman had become a true hero by carrying fabricated intelligence to the Legion of Doom.

Su Ming and the Monitor activated Thought Robot by bringing Superman and Ultraman together, then recruited the awakened hero to fight Perpetua. Thought Robot agreed to help after Su Ming warned that Lois was in danger across every parallel universe.

• The Monitor gathered his split forms and prepared to activate Thought Robot, while Su Ming arranged for World Forger to shield them from the coming annihilation.
• Superman and Ultraman arrived, fought, and died together, and their energy awakened Thought Robot, who protected Su Ming, the Monitor, Anti-Monitor, and World Forger.
• Su Ming introduced himself to Thought Robot as Deathstroke from the Future and explained that Perpetua threatened the multiverse.
• Su Ming warned that every Lois in every Parallel Universe was in danger, and Thought Robot asked when and where he should go.

Perpetua and Luthor searched Sepulk for the Justice League while avoiding damage to the artificial world that linked two universes. Luthor found an EXIT door and prepared to broadcast their coming attack across the multiverse as Perpetua entered the passage.

• Perpetua judged Darkseid’s construction of Sepulk to be a severed piece of an existing universe and asked Luthor to locate the Justice League.
• Perpetua stopped Luthor from going ahead alone and ordered him to find the League without provoking a fight that might damage Sepulk.
• Luthor searched the artificial star and found a small green EXIT door that he believed led inside the sphere.
• Luthor produced a camera drone and planned to broadcast the events in Sepulk across the multiverse through Divinity.
• Perpetua shrank to human size, opened the door, and told Luthor to follow her inside.

Perpetua and Luthor entered a brightly lit television studio expecting to confront the Justice League, but found Deathstroke waiting as a live battle show began. The hosts introduced Deathstroke as the reigning champion and welcomed Luthor and his mother as the first challengers.

• Perpetua sensed creatures waiting beyond the corridor and prepared empty coffins in case they refused her offer of places.
• Luthor announced that the Justice League should surrender, but the dark hall lit up to reveal a television studio with Deathstroke standing in the arena.
• Bethany Snow and the other hosts introduced their live broadcast, sponsored by Wilson Enterprises, and joked about its title and participants.
• The hosts named Deathstroke the reigning champion and introduced him with the title “Horse Hunter.”
• Vartox directed the spotlights toward Perpetua as the hosts welcomed Lex Luthor and his mother into the arena.