DC UNIVERSE Month 35, Part 2

METAL MEN #12 by Dan Didio and Shane Davis. Magnus unleashes his Metal Dog on the Plutonium Man, allowing him to plan a victory path, Suddenly, Sideways and Jenet Kliburn show up, looking a little worse for wear and creates a rift allowing everyone to escape, except for Rusty, who goes nuclear, In the end, most of the team leaves, except for Tina, who has a dance to a Talking Heads song with Will. The bar owner, who looks like creator Dan Didio, throws them the keys and tells them to lock up for him.

NIGHTWING #77 by Dan Jurgens and Ronan Cliquet. Nightwing looks to solve a mystery involving a corporation that has been hacked. Along the way, he learns that a woman playing Santa is the hacker and she and her daughter are homeless. She was a programmer for the company and she, along with many others, lost their jobs at the corporation. The next day, Bruce moves all the homeless into one of his apartment buildings, buys the corporation and gives everyone their jobs back. Merry Christmas!

RED HOOD OUTLAW #52 by Shawn Martinbrough, Tony Akins and Moritat. Red Hood has saved vigilante Dana Harlowe, AKA Strike, during a bombing, which was the handiwork of Killer Croc and Tommy Maxx. He tracks down Croc, but the real target is Dana and her sister Denise Harlowe.  Red Hood manages to save Dana and then teams up with her to bring down Tommy. In the end, Jason and Dana get a “housewarming gift” from Batman.

SUPERMAN #28 by Brian Michael Bendis and Ivan Reis. It’s revealed that Synmar Utopica was created to one day take on Superman if he should ever decide to conquer Symar. But after a Civil War, Synmar Utopica brought Superman here to inspire the people, but he took over the planet and the military is now trying to take it back. This leads to Superman battling and defeating Symar Utopica before the United Federation of Planets army shows up. In the end, Superman gives encouragement to a local guitar

SUPERMAN ENDLESS WINTER #1 by Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Phil Hester, Ande Parks. ENDLESS WINTER CHAPTER 3. In 10^th Century Greenland, Edwald’s son is killed, unleashing the Frost King. In the present, Superman battles the Frost King’s minions. Meanwhile, Sebastian Stagg’s team discovers three people frozen in the ice chunk that they brought back from the Fortress of Solitude. Continued in AQUAMAN #66.

TALES FROM THE DARK MULTIVERSE: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 by Steve Orlando and Mike Perkins. In this Dark Multiverse version, Earth-Two survived but the Justice League of America the monsters of Asgard and Ragnarok came to Earth. The All-Star Squadron battles Surtur in a bid to stop him from destroying the world, resulting in almost all of the heroes dying. In the end, Green Lantern offers himself as Surtur’s avatar, saving what’s left of his world and becoming the Dread Lantern in the process.

TALES FROM THE DARK MULTIVERSE: DARK NIGHTS METAL #1 by Scott Snyder, Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Karl Mostert. The Justice League failed to end Barbatos with the Element X, and the dragon of the Dark Multiverse used Batman as his host to change the world. Duke Thomas, Batman’s last sidekick, must now go on a quest to kill Barbatos, the Batman Who Laughs, and the Justice League members who have become dragons of Barbatos. Many surviving heroes are sacrifice along the way, but Duke manages to gain the victory. In the end, finding out Tempus Fuginaut has observed it all, Duke gains his revenge on him.

TALES FROM THE DARK MULTIVERSE: FLASHPOINT #1 by Bryan Hitch. Barry Allen dies, which allows Eobard Thawne to become free of time and allows him to take over the world. He teams with Batman and Cyborg and they free Superman. But Batman kills Superman, thinking this will help him get Bruce back. Diana shows up to claim America and she brings Barda and the army of Apokolips with her. Thawne grabs the bullet that killed Superman and leaves. In the end, he goes back in time and saves all the Waynes, meaning he has changed history and leads all the supers, heroes and villains, in his newly created world.

TALES FROM THE DARK MULTIVERSE: WONDER WOMAN WAR OF THE GODS #1 by Vita Ayala and Ariel Olivetti. Wonder Woman isn't able to contain the power of Hecate and it takes over her. She goes after the heroes, Ares' son Phobos takes over the military and bombs Themyscira, and most of the heroes are slain by Diana. In the end, the magical forces manage to subdue Diana, but General Yedziniak chains the Amazons and has the military hunt down the surviving heroes.

TEEN TITANS ENDLESS WINTER #1 by Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, and Jesus Merino. ENDLESS WINTER CHAPTER 6. In 10^th Century Greenland, Black Adam’s actions have split a glacier, leading to the deaths of the Frost King’s family. In the present, refugees are camped in Titans Tower and Roundhouse’ mom is cooking for them. Later, the team finds a young woman who has developed ice powers. In the end, Donna Troy and the Flash head to Themyscira to meet with Hippolyta. Continued in JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #29.

WONDER WOMAN #768 by Mariko Tamaki and Rafa Sandoval. Maxwell Lord isn't dead, and Diana and Etta realize it might be Liar Liar.  Deathstroke shows up to kill Liar Liar but when he learns she is Maxwell’s daughter, he leaves. In the end, Emma, the hero of her own story, faces off with the person she sees as the Evil Queen-Diana.

WONDER WOMAN #769 by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Pugh. Wonder Woman faces off against versus Emma. Eventually, Emma gets into the hospital where her father is, to find out that Etta has ferried him away. Diana promises to help her and handle Emma’s apparent schizophrenia.  In the end, Diana takes her to the new Amazonian Embassy for treatment where it appears Maxwell Lord is still in Emma's head.

DC UNIVERSE Month 35, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1028 by Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr. Perry White is in shock that Jimmy Olsen owns the Daily Planet, but is happy he has been given total creative control. Then he heads to the Hall of Justice where it is revealed that Conner is a clone who should live a standard length and whose powers may burn out someday. Superman and Conner head to the Kent farm, which will be Conner’s new home. In the end, the Planet goes out as normal and there are lots of easter eggs representing moments from Bendis’ run.

AQUAMAN #66 by Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Miguel Mendonca and Marco Santucci. ENDLESS WINTER CHAPTER 4. In 10^th Century Greenland, the Frost King rages at the death of his son and battles The Viking Prince, Hippolyta and Swamp Thing, killing Swamp Thing in the process. In the present, Aquaman enlists the Fire Trolls to join the team in the fight against the Frost King. Continued in JUSTICE LEAGUE #58.

BATMAN #104 by James Tynion IV, Ryan Benjamin, Danny Miki, Bengal, and Guillem March. Ghost Maker is stitching up Batman in Arkham, where he tells him he is doing this for Bruce’s benefit. In a flashback, Dick and Bruce confront Ghost Maker for the first time, with both agreeing not to tread on each other’s territory. Back in Arkham, Ghost Maker provokes Clownhunter to take his revenge on Harley.

BATMAN #105 by James Tynion IV, Carlo Pagulayan, Danny Miki, Alvaro Martinez, and Christian Duce. In the past, Bruce meets with Ghost Maker. They agree to stay out of each other’s business. In the present, Clownhunter is ready to kill Harley, but Batman tosses a batarang to Harley, who frees herself. The pair disarm Bao, who goes after a knife, leading to Harley apologizing and being ready to take what’s coming to her. He slams the knife into a table and leaves. Batman and Ghost Maker fight, with Batman finally dropping his sword, saying he won’t fight. Ghost Maker agrees to end the fight and offers him a spot in Gotham, provided he doesn’t kill anyone. Ghost Maker accepts and they head off into battle together.

BATMAN ANNUAL #5 by James Tynion IV and James Stokoe. Leslie Thompkins is walking through Crime Alley when she is accosted by a mugger, which gets broken up by Big Henry. At home, she encounters Clownhunter, who came here because Batman said to see her if he ever needed help. Flashing back to three years ago where Joker and Harley come into his family restaurant. The tip he leaves them is to spray them with Joker toxin, killing them. Flashing back to the Joker War, he creates the bat-bat and becomes Clownhunter. In the present, Leslie talks with him and offers him the chance to help with her anger management class. Later, Batman appears in Leslie’s clinic and thanks her for helping Bao.

BATMAN BEYOND #50 by Dan Jurgens and Sean Chen. Dana Tan calls Terry to tell him that Bruce and Matt were attacked and are in the hospital. He is also told that there is video footage of Batman killing a security guard. Terry meets with Bruce when Wonder Woman shows up, leading to them teaming up to battle Inque. In the end, the heroes defeat Inque, Bruce gets a new heart and it looks like Wonder Woman may be bringing Batman into the Justice League.

BATMAN/CATWOMAN #1 by Tom King and Clay Mann. In the past, Alfred brings Bruce breakfast, where he finds Bruce and Selina making love. Later, Selina goes to steal some jewelry but is interrupted by The Joker, who confronts her about sleeping with Batman. In the present, Batman meets with Andrea Beaumont, also known as The Phantasm, where he reveals that Alfred is dead. Later, he tells Selina that Andrea is in Gotham to find her son who has run away from home and thinks Selina can help. Catwoman takes Batman to the Sewer King to try and find the boy, but he sends his crocodiles to attack them. Later, Selina captures a thief who reveals the boy is in town looking for his father. She find Andrea’s son dead in a tent and it appears the cause of death is Joker Toxin. Later, the grave of Victoria Beaumont is dug up and inside is the Mask of the Phantasm. Then we see Andrea in an apartment with the costume. In the future, we see an elderly Selina Kyle driving to a trailer park where she meets an elderly man who recognizes her. The two talk about their children and grandchildren. Selina’s cat finds blood underneath the welcome mat. Selina informs him that Bruce Wayne has died, which makes him sad. She reveals that she needs to kill the man, who removes his glasses and wig. The man is The Joker.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN #15 by Joshua Williamson and Andrei Bressan. At Arkham Asylum. Batman and Superman learn that Solomon Grundy’s body has increasing levels of toxic radiation and if he explodes, he will take out half of America. Poison Ivy is brought into the conversation and she deduces that his connection to the Green will eliminate this bomb in his next reincarnation. They need to get him to Slaughter Swamp. The Secret Society of Super-Villains sees this as an opportunity to use Grundy for their own purposes. After our heroes take out the bad guys, Swamp Thing takes Grundy to the swamp. In the end, Superman and Batman have a snowball fight.

BLACK ADAM ENDLESS WINTER #1 by Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Brandon Peterson, and Marco Santucci. ENDLESS WINTER CHAPTER 8. In the 10^th Century, Hippolyta and Black Adam rejoice in the fact that The Viking Prince’ sacrifice has ended the Frost King. And Swam Thing is back too. In the present, Black Adam and his group, along with the Frost King all converge on Stagg Industries. Black Adam gets the Frost King to stop his rampage when he threatens to destroy the crystal containing Edwald’s family. But Sebastian butts in with a Staggatron equipped with Kryptonian crystals, which fires up the Frost King again. Luckily, the Justice League arrives to lend a hand. Concluded in JUSTICE LEAGUE ENDLESS WINTER #2

CATWOMAN #28 by Ram V and Fernando Blanco. Selena and the Strays continue to battle with the Khadym Mob, as she looks to take them off the playing field. In the end, she meets with Father Valley: the mysterious assassin who seems intent on saving her for himself. Also, Hadley is told that the drugs he found are laced with something plant based…which appears to be coming from a captive Poison Ivy.

DARK NIGHTS DEATH METAL #6 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Batman and Superman prepare to take their armies into battle against the Dark Multiverse forces. Wonder Woman and Lobo are trying to get to the World Forge while the transformed Batman Who Laughs battles and kills Perpetua. Diana figures our she needs her lasso to be able to achieve success and arrives in time, powered up and carrying her cosmic chainsaw.

DARK NIGHTS DEATH METAL: THE LAST STORIES OF THE DC UNIVERSE #1 by Cecil Castellucci, Jeff Lemire, Christopher Sebela, Gail Simone, Scott Snyder, Mariko Tamaki, James Tynion IV, Mark Waid, Joshua Williamson, Rafael Albuquerque, Mirka Andolfo, Meghan Hetrick, Francis Manapul, Christopher Mooneyham, Travis Moore, and Daniel Sampere. The heroes of the Multiverse prepare to spend what may be their last days before the final battle. The various Titans members gathers and Donna is surprised by the appearance of Wally West. Hal Jordan meets with Sinestro and gives him a Green Lantern ring, allowing him the chance to be the hero. Diana meets with a Donna Troy, who convinces her that she has the power to lead the fight. Green Arrow is planning to propose to Black Canary, but Laurel Lance Queen arrives. Aquaman writes a letter to his daughter. Batman performs a wedding between Batgirl and Nightwing, which won’t stand if they live through this, according to Barbara. Superman goes back in time to help as many as he can before coming back to the present and reuniting with his family. In the end, Batman uses the Black Lantern ring to resurrect the dead, specifically Roy Harper. Continued in DARK NIGHTS DEATH METAL #6 and DARK NIGHTS DEATH METAL: THE LAST 52 WAR OF THE MULTIVERSES #1.

DARK NIGHTS DEATH METAL: THE SECRET ORIGIN #1 by Geoff Johns, Scott Snyder, Ryan Benjamin, Francis Manapul, Jerry Ordway, and Paul Pelletier. After a retelling of the origin of Superboy-Prime, we move to the present, where no one wants to be around him, except for Krypto. The transformed Batman Who Laughs offers Superboy-Prime the chance for his own world with everyone he knew and loved in it. Despite the temptation, Superboy-Prime fights back, destroying the evil worlds and losing his life in the process. In the end, Superboy-Prime is reading the comic version of what he just lived through before going out and saving someone in an homage to ACTION COMICS #1’s cover.

DARK NIGHTS DEATH METAL: THE LAST 52 WAR OF THE MULTIVERSES #1 by Magdalene Visaggio, Kyle Higgins, Regine Sawyer, Marguerite Bennett, Matthew Rosenberg, Justin Jordan, James Tynion IV, Che Grayson, Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Dexter Soy, Paul Pelletier, Alex Maleev, Scott Kolins, Aitha Martinez, Pop Mhan, Inaki Miranda, Rob Guillory, Mike Henderson, Alitha Martinez, Alex Maleev, and Scott Koblish. Wonder Woman faces off against the Batman Who Laughs in the Hellscape. The Flash team, with the help of the resurrected Roy Harper, defeat the evil Wally West. The Supermen family face off against the Last Sun, with the help of Luthor Superman, Zod and Cyborg Superman Hank Henshaw. Batman leads his team, along with the Black Lantern ring resurrected Batman Who Laughs corpse against the Joker dragons. The two fight each other before the resurrected Batman Who Laughs Batman decides they need each other and join forces. Ryan Choi’s Atom battles his doppelganger before going giant-sized and stomping Ra into the ground. There is also the possibility of merging the Metal Men with Mr. Terrific's T-balls into a superweapon. Lois Lane and Maxima battle an alternate Lois who stole Superman's powers and killed every superhero on her Earth. Maxima is killed and Lois makes the ultimate sacrifice. Raven' and the Titans face off against their evil counterparts. The Penguin battles transformed versions of himself and, in the process, transforms into a giant, prehistoric bird. John Constantine is confronted with an evil version of himself, who he kills by serving him poisoned liquor. Swamp Thing leads his team, knowing they will die in the process, but that buys him time to get to the Swamp King. In the end, Diana swears that she will kick the Batman Who Laughs ass. Continued in DARK NIGHTS DEATH METAL #7.

DC’S VERY MERRY MULTIVERSE #1 by Paul Scheer, Derek Fridolfs, Sholly Fisch, Ivan Cohen, Tom King, Thomas E. Sniegoski, Brittany Holzherr, Jay Baruchel, John Layman, David F. Walker, Nick Giovannetti, Dani Strips, Gustavo Duarte, Vanesa Del Rey, Steve Lieber, Eleonora Carlini, Dustin Nguyen, and Keith Giffen. In IT’S A HORRIBLE LIFE, Harley decides to kill herself when Sticky Joe arrives and takes her to other Earths to see what they look like when Harley isn’t with the Joker. In the end, it is revealed that Sticky Joe is actually the long-lost brother of the Wonder Twins, Unfortunately, he gets hit by a bus and becomes a real angel. In CHRISTMAS BY GASLIGHT, it’s 1880 England and Plastic Man plans to steal Christmas toys collected for a charity event. He gets stopped by Batman and they team up to defeat Mr. Freeze. In TO STOP THE STAR-CONQUERESS, Earth 11’s version of Starro has invaded Gotham City to take over the Justice Guild. But Teen Justice, featuring the first appearance of Kid Quick, before New Year’s Day. In BIZARRO LOVE HOLIDAY, a child shows him how important it is to give and receive. In HOLIDAYS BEYOND, Terry goes looking for an ages-old bat sub as a Christmas gift for Bruce. In the process, he’s attacked and soon finds himself seeing Earths where there was no Batman. In the end, it was all a dream after being attacked by Blight. In NIGHT OF THE MAGI, the League of Shadows are forced into a battle in the annual celebration of Saturnalia. During the battle, we learn the origins of Ragman. In HAVE YOURSELF A BIZARRO LITTLE CHRISTMAS, Bizarro learns Christmas spirit, which leads to him giving odd gifts to the Unjustice League. In TWAS THE NIGHT, Booster Gold is hosting a party at his superhero-themed restaurant when Maxwell Lord attacks. His staff helps to take him down and it’s revealed that Lord was just an actor hired to put on a show. In PREZ RICKARD’S MAGICAL SCI-FI DESOLATE SOULS CLUB HOLIDAY SPECIAL, Prez Rickard hosts a variety show to spread the message of Pandar the Fallen. In A VERY LOBO HANUKKAH, Lobo has to fight Dominators on his way to an intergalactic zoo.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1032 by Peter J. Tomasi and Brad Walker. Nightwing, Batgirl, The Signal, Orphan, and Red Hood have all been captured by The Mirror, who is revealed to be Hush. His plan is to kill them and sell their organs on the black market. Elsewhere, Nakano gets a prosthetic eyeball which he demands be taken out when he finds it was paid for by Bruce Wayne. Meanwhile, Bruce tracks down Damian and they fight before eventually teaming up and going after their missing family members.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1033 by Peter J. Tomasi and Brad Walker. Batman and Robin track down Hush, with Batman attacking while Robin deals with the rest of the family. When Robin tries to assist his father, Batman pins him against a wall with a batarang, claiming this is his personal fight. Batman takes Hush down and father and son patch up some of their differences, with Damian saying he solved the first case in the Black Book and he'll finish the last one after Bruce is dead. Bruce offers R back and Damian rejects it. In the end, Nakano wins the election, and Bruce leaves Wayne Manor for good.

THE FLASH #767 by Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Clayton Henry, and Marco Santucci. ENDLESS WINTER CHAPTER 2. In 10^th century Greenland, Black Adam, Swamp Thing, The Viking Prince and Hippolyta meet to face off against the Frost King. In the present, Flash heads to Khandaq to meet with Black Adam, but is attacked by creatures that serve the Frost King. His Speed Force has been drained, but he gets saved by but just before he meets his defeat, he is saved by Black Adam, Catman, Rampage, Multiplex and others. Black Adam uses his lighting to give Barry an energy boost. In Central City, Barry saves Iris, they confess their love for each other, and he races off to continue the fight. Continued in SUPERMAN ENDLESS WINTER #1.

GREEN LANTERN: SEASON TWO #10 by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. On Earth-0, Hyperwoman is plotting revenge against Hal Jordan. On Earth-11, Zundernell lands on the planet’s surface while the multiple Carols and Hals argue, which causes Star Sapphire to come out. Despite being stunned, Zundernell summons his Armies of the Pit from the Dark Multiverse. With the help of Batwoman and Sister Terrific, the Lanterns defeat Zundernell by disrupting his vibrational frequency with massive sound waves, and the power of Love. Hal uses his ring to shrink Zundernell to the size of an atom. Hal returns to Hyperman’s trial on Kranaltine where Mechandro confirms that Hyperman was hooked on drugs that Powerlord was manufacturing. Hyperwoman tries to kill Mechandro, but Hal stops her and she is arrested. Meanwhile, Hyperboy calls off the wedding to Shadow-Princess Illustra, which leads to war. In the end, Hal and Carol share a kiss, but she declines to go with him.

JINNY HEX SPECIAL #1 by Magdalene Visaggio and Gleb Melnikov. One year after the death of Jinny’s mother, Jack Duckett arrives and claims to be Jinny's father. Despit their bonding, we find that Duckett is an immortal cowboy searching for the Godseye, which was stolen many years ago by Jonah Hex years ago, so he can become a god. He finds the artifact, merges with it and becomes Three-Eyed Jack, where he remakes reality into a western town. Jinny and Lady Bird’s friends are turned into monsters, all while Jack tries to possess Jinny's body to become his permanent host. Lady Bird and Jinny defeat Three-Eyed Jack and have Superman take possession of the Godseye. The they head off on a road trip.

JUSTICE LEAGUE #58 by Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Xermanico, Alex Sinclair, Tom Napolitano, Marco Santucci, Arif Prianto, Troy Peteri. ENDLESS WINTER CHAPTER 5. In the 10^th Century, Black Adam attacks the Frost King, leading to possibly dire circumstances for his family. In the present, the League continues to battle the minions of The Frost King. John Stewart ends up face to face with The Frost King and takes him down. But this is only his avatar, as the real Frost King has now found the source of what he seeks-Stagg Industries. Continued in TEEN TITANSENDLESS WINTER #1.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ENDLESS WINTER #1 by Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Howard Porter, and Marco Santucci. ENDLESS WINTER CHAPTER 1. In 10^th Century Egypt, Swamp Thing, Hippolyta and the Viking Prince free their champion-Black Adam. In the present, the League tangles with a bunch of Z Grade villains including Multiplex, Rampage and Catman. Meanwhile, Sebastian Stagg and his team is at the Citadel Glacier when they find the remains of the Fortress of Solitude. They also extract a huge ice block containing a crystal from Krypton. That unleashes the Frost King, who is bent on turning our planet into a land of snow and ice. Continued in THE FLASH #767.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ENDLESS WINTER #2 by Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Marco Santucci and Howard Porter. ENDLESS WINTER CHAPTER 9. Justice League and Black Adam are take on the Frost King who, thanks to the Kryptonian crystal, is more powerful than ever. They all end up back in the Arctic Cycle, with the Viking Prince infused Swamp Thing taking the lead. Hipolyta discovers Edwald’s family in ice and finds that Edwald is also still in ice. Black Adam gets involved, intent on killing the frozen Edwald. When things look bleak, Aquaman arrives with the Fire Trolls. Swamp Thing calls on Odin and brings down lightning which destroys the Frost King. In the end, Edwald is put in stasis until the League can figure how to save his family. In the 10^th Century, the wizard Shazam entombs Black Adam for his transgressions.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #29 by Andy Lanning, Ron Marz, Amancay Nahuelpan, and Marco Santucci. ENDLESS WINTER CHAPTER 7. In the 10^th Century, the team battles the Frost King, resulting in the death of The Viking Prince. But he takes the Frost King with him into the glacier. In the present, Hippolyta tells this tale and Diana and Zatana heads to New Myrra to enlist the help of Swamp Thing. In the Oblivion Bar, Hippolyta uses magic to summon forth the spirit of The Viking Prince who says that they need to find Edwald’s family to find Edwald. In the end, The Viking Prince’ spirit merges with Swamp Thing to create a new champion of the Green. Continued in BLACK ADAM ENDLESS WINTER #1.