Recaps

Venom slaughtered Roman’s crew at the Freight Yard while Joker watched and celebrated the violence. Batman identified Venom as the one controlling Chen Mo and raced to the scene with sonic equipment as Peter was sent the location.

• Venom killed Mad Hatter, Jonathan Crane, Riddler, Alberto Falcone, and Roman while the remaining gunmen cowered nearby.
• Joker watched the Freight Yard footage, praised Venom’s brutality, and joked about giving him a new name.
• Batman and Peter evacuated casualties while Barbara sent Batman footage of the massacre and confirmed that the crew was dead.
• Batman recognized that Venom had taken over Chen Mo’s body and ordered Alfred to send sonic equipment while Barbara cleared the nearby streets and alerted Peter.
• Batman drove the Batmobile toward the Freight Yard as Venom climbed among the web-covered strands.

Batman and the others prepared to separate Venom from Chen Mo and bring him home, while Peter and the others reached the Freight Yard to confront him. The chapter ended with Venom emerging above the cocooned survivors as Peter told Chen Mo they had come to get him.

• Batman told Gordon that Venom was controlling Spider-Man and ordered the police to pull back and send ambulances.
• Peter joined Batman, and they agreed that Peter would draw Venom toward the square while Batman handled Joker and prepared the sonic equipment.
• Dick, Barbara, and Jason joined the rescue effort, and Batman explained that Venom was responsible for the killings while accepting blame for failing to separate it from Chen Mo sooner.
• Superman and Diana fought alien ships above Gotham, destroying weapons and aircraft as more attackers surrounded them.
• Peter, Barbara, Dick, and Jason reached the Freight Yard and found survivors wrapped in webbing across the street.
• Venom appeared upside down behind a lamppost, and Peter stepped forward and told Chen Mo they had come to pick him up.

Peter fought Venom while Jason, Barbara, and Dick rescued people trapped in cocoons around the street. After Venom badly injured Peter and Barbara’s Sonic Device only briefly drove it back, the group fled east through a passage with Venom close behind.

• Venom ambushed Peter, and Jason and Barbara took cover while Dick and Jason helped rescue a cocooned man and discovered more captives hanging around a billboard.
• Peter drew Venom away from the captives, but their fight damaged nearby buildings and left Peter struggling with chest pain.
• Barbara used a portable Sonic Device to make Venom loosen its grip on Peter, and Jason and Dick pulled Peter to safety.
• Venom recovered and pursued the group as Peter led it east, while Barbara and Dick guided Jason and the injured Peter through a passage.
• Peter kicked Venom back to protect Jason, then ran with the others toward the exit as Venom followed them into the street.

Batman struggled to protect Joker-controlled civilians from trampling and injury while Joker taunted him through a broadcast. As Batman’s allies prepared backstage, Joker showed him a live feed of a family in Crime Alley and raised the threat of another attack there.

• Joker broadcast from the plaza screen and urged the laughing crowd to attack Batman, who restrained and shielded them without using force that could seriously injure them.
• Batman cleared space behind a pillar and helped officers and medics carry two injured civilians through a side door, but the crowd immediately filled the gap.
• Harley sprayed more mist into the crowd while Joker’s henchmen blocked escape routes, forcing Batman to protect people as the press of bodies drove them toward the central platform.
• Batman heard Jason and Peter struggling nearby, while Alfred reported that everything was in position backstage and Batman told them to wait for his signal.
• Joker showed Batman a family being confronted by him in Crime Alley, while the infected man in Batman’s arms continued to slam into his chest.

Batman struggled to protect the laughing civilians while Joker replayed the murder of Bruce’s parents and taunted him into nearly attacking. Venom shattered the screen, and Batman kept rescuing people as Venom broke into the studio and dragged Joker out through the window.

• Batman watched Joker’s recording of his parents’ murder and ordered Alfred to send it to Gordon and find the child shown in it.
• Joker replayed the shooting and urged Batman to kill him, while Batman resisted throwing a Batarang and continued protecting the civilians around him.
• Jason, Peter, Dick, and Barbara took cover as Venom tore a steel beam from its mountings and smashed the screen.
• Batman shielded nearby people from the falling screen and carried civilians to the side door while Dick and Barbara helped evacuate them.
• Venom smashed through the studio window, wrapped Joker in black tendrils, and dragged him out of the building.

Batman and Spider-Man struggled to stop Venom while the Joker tried to provoke them into killing him and set off his death-triggered device. As the Joker and Harley were restrained and the crowd remained under the mist’s influence, Peter tried to pry a victim from Venom’s grip.

• The Joker taunted Venom into strangling him, but Batman intervened and discovered a device that would release its contents if the Joker died.
• Batman cut the restraints, secured the Joker to a post, and told Barbara to bring a containment unit while he fought Venom on a collapsing platform.
• Harley restarted the misting unit after the broadcasts failed, but Barbara disarmed and restrained her.
• Venom attacked Batman in the square as laughing civilians swarmed them, and Batman and Spider-Man worked together to protect and restrain the victims.
• Venom grabbed a man who had stabbed it with an iron rod, and Peter wedged himself between its teeth and the victim while trying to pry its fingers loose.

Chen Mo fought Venom over his rage and refusal to kill, while Peter and Batman struggled to keep the possessed man from harming anyone. Chen Mo held on to Batman as they moved him away, leaving his conflict with Venom unresolved.

• Peter braced Venom’s finger away from the man’s neck despite breaking four ribs, while Jason supported him and Batman helped with the rescue.
• Chen Mo fought Venom through memories of violence, poverty, loss, and the childhood pages that first introduced him to Spider-Man.
• Chen Mo admitted that criminals deserved death but refused to let his anger decide who lived, and he and Venom reached a stalemate.
• Peter and Batman freed the man from Venom’s grip, and Dick passed him to the officers while Jason supported the injured Peter.
• Barbara secured Joker in a containment shell and had officers lower him from the platform as Harley was escorted inside.
• Batman took hold of Chen Mo’s wrist and guided him away from the doorway while Chen Mo continued holding on and resisting Venom.

Batman rescued Chen Mo from Venom and carried him to safety while Chen Mo remained unconscious. Venom escaped aboard an evacuation craft, and Batman took Chen Mo inside for medical care.

• Batman used the sonic emitter to separate Venom from Chen Mo and caught the injured Chen Mo as he collapsed.
• Batman held Chen Mo close and protected him as Venom attacked, then leaped from the collapsing maintenance platform with him.
• Peter saw Batman carry Chen Mo back and collapsed against Jason, while Barbara checked Chen Mo’s breathing and helped secure the cape around him.
• Venom fled the rooftop by hiding on an alien soldier boarding an evacuation craft bound for the mothership.
• Dick arrived with a stretcher, but Batman continued carrying the sleeping Chen Mo into the building.

Batman brought the injured Chen Mo to a treatment room, where doctors found his wounds healing rapidly, and stayed beside him as he slept. With Gotham under attack, Batman blamed Venom for the killings and classified Chen Mo as a victim, while Venom escaped aboard the mothership determined to take Chen Mo back.

• Medical staff used a nebulizer to calm Peggy's violent laughter, then began treating the other affected patients.
• Batman laid Chen Mo in the treatment room, where a doctor checked his rapidly healing wounds and Batman remained at his bedside.
• Gordon detained Joker and Harley, while Venom escaped with an alien soldier aboard an evacuation craft and vowed to retrieve Chen Mo.
• Batman told Alfred that Venom was responsible for the murders and that Chen Mo should be treated as a victim under alien control.
• Superman and Diana fought the invading craft, and Superman landed a damaged passenger plane before checking on Bruce and Chen Mo.
• Clark noticed Bruce's tender attention to Chen Mo, then returned to the battle after Batman asked about the air-combat situation.

Chen Mo woke after Venom was separated from him and learned that Black Mask, Scarecrow, and the other criminals had been killed. He urged Bruce to use the power vacuum to reform Gotham, while Bruce insisted that he only needed to save the world, and artillery fire lit the room as the Communicator buzzed.

• Chen Mo woke in Bruce's Bat-style suit, drank water, and said he had no regrets about what had happened.
• Peter visited with four fractured ribs, and Chen Mo apologized for hurting him while Venom controlled him.
• Dick told Chen Mo that Black Mask, Scarecrow, and the other criminals had been killed, and the survivors were being moved.
• After the others left, Chen Mo urged Bruce to rescue more survivors, keep the lists, and use the empty criminal territory to change Gotham's rules.
• Chen Mo asked Bruce to change Gotham at its roots, but Bruce said he only needed to save the world, making Chen Mo laugh.
• Artillery fire lit the room, and Bruce's Communicator lit up again.

Chen Mo recovered in the hospital while the heroes tracked the alien crisis and searched for Pamela, whom he believed might have survived underground. He also began planning how Gotham could use the dead gang bosses’ resources to keep its people fed and employed, while reserving the city’s godfather position for himself.

• Chen Mo comforted Peter, told him about his collection of Spider-Man memorabilia, and said he loved Peter as a friend.
• Chen Mo connected Pamela’s return to the Dionysium pool and asked Bruce to search underground for any surviving plants; he said he only wanted to be Pamela’s friend.
• Dick teased Chen Mo about Barbara and asked about the heroes’ canonical partners, prompting Chen Mo to joke that Batman and Batgirl were a match.
• Chen Mo examined Bruce’s records of the alien ships and learned that Bruce had anticipated a Multiverse crisis, though the ships arrived earlier than expected.
• Alfred brought a list of Gotham workers and businesses, and Chen Mo directed Bruce to keep rescue and deliveries going while assigning the dead gang bosses’ resources to people willing to work.
• Chen Mo reserved Gotham’s godfather position for himself, and Jason said he was willing to stand with him.

As the alien invasion continued, Chen Mo used his new authority as Gotham’s Godfather to redirect trucks, food, and workers toward the people who needed them and to hold the city’s bosses accountable. With supplies moving and his sanity restored, he and Peter prepared to recruit Barry Allen while Bruce headed to find Aquaman.

• Bruce allowed Jason to stay at the Manor, and Jason agreed after Peter eagerly suggested their rooms could be next to each other.
• After learning Roman Sionis was dead, Chen Mo ordered Vincent to clear a roadblock, send the food trucks to a kitchen, and record the drivers’ unpaid wages.
• Chen Mo coordinated Penguin and Harvey to staff kitchens, deliver supplies, clear roads, and prioritize food, medicine, and rescue vehicles over territory disputes.
• Chen Mo crossed the gang leaders’ names off the lists and made clear that Gotham’s bosses would keep their positions only if they managed workers and resources responsibly; Bruce supplied Wayne vehicles and connected supply records to the terminal.
• Once the kitchen deliveries were moving, Bruce identified the Flash and Aquaman as recruitment targets, and Chen Mo and Peter set out to approach Barry Allen.

Chen Mo, posing as Batman, and Peter recruited Barry Allen to help evacuate people in Gotham during an alien attack. Barry agreed to go take a look, bringing his unfinished suit and the Batarang.

• Barry returned home and found Chen Mo posing as Batman and Peter waiting for him.
• Peter examined Barry's suit sketch and discussed its uncomfortable seams before Chen Mo showed Barry evidence of his rescues and the alien fleet threatening Gotham.
• Peter described his early mistakes rescuing people, and he and Barry shared stories about getting lost while helping others.
• Barry examined Chen Mo's Batarang, then asked Peter and Chen Mo to sign his notebook alongside his own name as the Flash.
• Barry agreed to go to Gotham, gathered his suit and backpack, and took the Batarang with Chen Mo's permission.

Bruce Wayne asked Arthur to join the fight against the alien fleet in Gotham, but Arthur stayed to search for missing boats and later found an enemy craft with information about targets near Gotham Harbor. Meanwhile, Chen Mo gave Barry a Batarang, and Venom secretly attached itself to a powerful officer aboard the mothership.

• Bruce met Arthur at the docks and asked him to come to Gotham, but Arthur chose to remain at sea and agreed to share information.
• On the flight back, Chen Mo joked with Bruce, then gave Barry a spare Batarang and took back the original.
• Arthur rescued two men from a damaged boat, destroyed an alien craft, and found a display showing targets approaching Gotham Harbor.
• Arthur contacted Batman and arranged to bring him the alien display.
• Venom took control of a wounded soldier, hid from a powerful officer, and secretly attached a tendril to the officer's armor.

Jason brought Barry to the underground base, where Barry discovered Bruce Wayne was Batman and joined the others in planning against an enemy vessel. Footage from Superman then revealed that Venom had bonded with an enemy officer, prompting Chen Mo to warn Bruce about the dangerous new threat.

• Jason welcomed Peter and Barry into the underground base, where Barry admired the equipment and received a Batarang.
• Arthur teased Chen Mo about being Bruce's boyfriend, and Barry recognized Bruce Wayne and Batman as his favorite fictional pairing come to life.
• Chen Mo and Peter explained that they were Spider-Men from different worlds, and Bruce signed Barry's notebook as Batman.
• Arthur identified the enemy vessel's route, while Bruce, Chen Mo, Peter, Barry, Jason, Barbara, and Dick reviewed the evidence and mapped its approach to port.
• Superman sent footage showing Venom bonding with an enemy officer, and Chen Mo told Bruce that his former partner had found a formidable new lover.

Batman led the team in the Batplane to attack the Mothership, where Chen Mo, Peter, Barry, Aquaman, Superman, and Wonder Woman fought their way inside. Venom took control of an officer aboard the Mothership and planned to reclaim his spider and destroy Batman’s plane.

• Bruce prepared the Batplane as the team set out toward the Mothership’s attack ships.
• Batman guided the plane between cannon fire, and Peter and Chen Mo prepared to disable the first ship’s weapons.
• Superman and Wonder Woman stopped an Escort Craft and cleared the entrance so the Batplane could reach the platform.
• Chen Mo, Peter, Barry, and Aquaman fought through the ship, disarming guards and clearing a path toward a shielded passage.
• Venom possessed an officer, confirmed that the soldier he had left behind was alive, and resolved to reclaim his spider and tear apart Batman’s plane.

Chen Mo and his teammates fought through the alien ship, disabled its ground cannon, and then swung toward a neighboring ship under fire. Batman covered their crossing and told Aquaman and Flash to return to the boarding point while Superman went to meet the two spiders.

• Chen Mo and Aquaman broke through the shield formation and cleared guards from the passage.
• Barry, Peter, Chen Mo, and Aquaman overcame a Heavy Armor Guard and forced their way into the gun compartment.
• Aquaman lifted the cannon while Chen Mo removed its Drive Rod, and Peter webbed the weapon to a pillar to disable it.
• The neighboring ship’s cannon fired at them, but the Batwing attacked it and drew its aim away.
• Batman told Aquaman and Flash to return to the boarding point, and Chen Mo and Peter swung across to the neighboring ship as Superman went to meet them.

Chen Mo and the heroes fought through the gun emplacements, subdued an armored soldier, and cleared a path for the Batplane. The group prepared to board the third Attack Ship by hitching a ride on one of its returning craft.

• Chen Mo, Peter, Superman, and Wonder Woman fought armed soldiers and dismantled the guns on the first ship's platform.
• Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Chen Mo, and Peter worked together to overpower an armored soldier and pin him down.
• Chen Mo and Peter stopped cannons from firing on the Batplane while Superman helped protect and widen its path.
• Wonder Woman and Superman took the armored soldier up and fought him among the Escort Crafts, keeping the battle above the city.
• Chen Mo and Peter caught a damaged returning craft with webbing and clung to its hull as they headed toward the third Attack Ship.

Chen Mo and the team disabled the Attack Ships’ guns and helped the evacuation convoy escape Gotham. As they regrouped on the platform, Venom and the officer attacked, leaving Chen Mo face-to-face with Venom.

• Chen Mo, Peter, Aquaman, and Barry fought through the gun compartments and disabled the ships’ gun emplacements.
• Superman and Wonder Woman moved the damaged Attack Ships away from the city while Gordon confirmed the evacuation convoy had passed.
• Chen Mo and Batman shared a quiet moment on the platform, and Chen Mo teased Batman about praising his fighting and paying him.
• Venom emerged beneath the platform and reached for Batman, but Chen Mo threw the tendril away and pushed Batman clear.
• Chen Mo confronted Venom on a beam after Superman intercepted the officer, and he called Venom his ex.

Venom tried to kill Batman, convinced Batman posed a threat to Chen Mo, while Chen Mo and the others struggled to restrain him. Chen Mo used Batman’s sonic emitter to stop Venom and insisted he would deal with Batman himself, even as he recognized Batman was behaving strangely.

• Venom attacked Batman, and Chen Mo, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Peter worked to pull him away from the hatch.
• Venom remembered his anger at Batman’s surveillance and experiments on Chen Mo, and decided killing Batman would protect Chen Mo.
• Chen Mo used the armor’s webbing and a railing to hold Venom back while Batman retreated into the cabin.
• Batman told Chen Mo how to use the armor’s directional ultrasound, and Chen Mo activated it against Venom’s neck.
• Chen Mo shut off the emitter, caught Venom’s hand, and told him he understood why Venom wanted to kill Batman but would handle it himself.
• Venom warned that something was wrong with Batman, and Chen Mo recognized that Batman’s calm, caring behavior was unlike him.