DC UNIVERSE Month 57, Part 2

THE JOKER: THE MAN WHO STOPPED LAUGHING #1 by Matthew Rosenberg, Francisco Francavilla, and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Over the last few days, The Joker has reappeared and is killing off his rivals. Currently, two men in Gotham find a body with a sack over its’ head and a bullet hole in the sack. The man gets up and kills the pair. Simultaneously in Los Angeles, The Joker meets with another boss, threatening to take over HIS territory. So The Joker kills him. He goes on television to announce he is taking his crime operation to a bigger audience than just Gotham. The man in the sack sees that broadcast and removes the sack…revealing himself to be…The Joker? In the backup, The Joker goes on a rampage to try to get Power Girl to come to him, as he is crushing on her. In the end, the dejected clown walks the streets. In a restaurant he passes, he does not see Power Girl with…The Joker?

MONKEY PRINCE #7 by Gene Luen Yang and Bernard Chang. Monkey prince is in Atlantis with Shifu, as he continues to search for his missing parents, currently working for Black Manta. Under water, they discover a piece of Monkey King’s staff, which has grown to enormous size. When Marcus tries to control the staff, it speaks back to him. At the same time, Manta arrives and battles Aquaman. Eventually, his ship makes it’s way to the surface, allowing Manta and Marcus’ parents to escape. This leads the Monkey Prince into battle with Aquaman.

MULTIVERSITY: TEEN JUSTICE #5 by Ivan Cohen and Luciano Vecchio. Most of the team is still missing, leaving the rest to try and figure out what to do. Later, they are attacked by the Core. During the battle, Raven returns and then pays the ultimate sacrifice to save the team, getting sucked into a Lantern ring.

NIGHTWING #97 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Maroni is in custody and learns that Blockbuster is dead and his files are in police hands. He agrees to testify and Renee Montoya shows up to escort him to Gotham to keep him safe. When that transport is attacked, Nightwing and Batgirl show up and agree to transport him, stashing him in one of Batman’s safe houses. The heroes tranquilize Maroni and share a kiss and more. In the end, a cab shows up with someone claiming to be…Ric Grayson? And he insists that Dick get in.

POISON IVY #5 by G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara, and Brian Level. Ivy relives the torture she went through with Woodrue through a series of visions caused by the spores in her body. After having hallucinations involving Batman, she again encounters The Green Man, temporarily defeating him. But he revives and explains that the spores are not designed to kill everyone but induce mind control. And now, he threatens to have her kill herself at his insistence.

PUNCHLINE: THE GOTHAM GAME #1 by Tini Howard, Blake Howard,  and Gleb Melnikov. A young man gets beat up outside of a club until Punchline comes to his rescue. Not totally, as she partially blinds him in the process. Later, she meets with the former King and Queen of the Royal Flush Gang and decides to build a new Royal Flush Gang, with the idea of distributing a nontraceable and totally legal drug. She also has a doctor who uses nanotech technology to change the young man she “rescued” into her Ace. Her plan: acquire a building in Alleytown that is used by Eiko Hasagawa, which will bring her into eventual conflict with Selena Kyle. In the end, it seems Batman is aware of much of this, as he was disguised in the club where Ace stated his night.

SWORD OF AZRAEL #3 by Dan Watters and Nikola Cizmesija. Jean Paul comes out of his visions to find himself in Greece where many children have gone missing. That leads him to a visit with Azrael and he eventually finds the severed body arts of the children. This also leads him into a confrontation with the God Satan.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #16 by Tom Taylor and Cian Tormey. While waiting for his father’s return, Jon deals with an incident at Stryker’s Island, that leads him into a battle with the Ultra-Humanite, who reveals that someone wants Jon dead…possibly Lex Luthor, based on pot points running in ACTION COMICS. In the end, Jon and his father reunite while Red Sin plans on using some stolen technology to tae down Jon Kent.

TIM DRAKE: ROBIN #2 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Riley Rossmo. Tim is accused of stealing a diamond, until he is able to give the detective the right culprit. Meanwhile, there is still a series of murders going on, leading to Tim going to the library to track down the unknown suspect. While there, the head librarian is murdered, leading to him being chased by the police again. He meets with the detective at a soup kitchen and signs a baseball bat for a kid named Gus. Later, a child revealed to be Gus, goes to a safety deposit box and is confronted by Tim, later telling him a man paid him money to get something out of the box. A mysterious man orders in the Robins and, before Tim can get back to the boat, he’s attacked by multiple Robins.

WONDER WOMAN #792 by Michael W. Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Jordie Bellare, Marguerite Sauvage, and Paulina Ganucheau. Diana tries to talk to an animalized Cheetah, who attacks her until she gets tranquilized by a security guard. More security show up and Cheetah attacks. Diana quizzes the security guard about the milk and he commits suicide. She and Cheetah flee with guards in tow, only for them t be taken down by members of the Esquecida tribe. Cheetah declares she wants to heal, even as Diana tells Etta she will send her a sample of the flower. Elsewhere, Hera is informed that Wonder Woman has found the lab and she instructs Phobos and Deimos to handle it. Eventually, it is revealed the FDA is pressuring to get Milk X-Tra recalled. In the end, Cheetah joins the team and Diana reunites with Kal-El. In the backup, young Diana continues to be taken over by her new powers, leading to her attacking both her mother and Antiope.

DC UNIVERSE Month 57, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1048 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Mike Perkins, and  David Lapham. Luthor meets with Metallo, telling him he is dying but he can get him a new body if he helps Lex. He rebukes him. Meanwhile, Lois takes the Warworld children to a zoo, where they meet Bibbo. While there, a Boom Tube opens, with Desaad, Orion and Kalibak looking for Superman, who arrives soon after. Metron also arrives, angry at Superman and accusing him of taking the Fire of Olgrun. They also explain that because he used the fire to save Osul-Ra’s life, the boy is Olgrun’s heir and they must take him. That leads to a fight between Superman, Orion and Kalibak. In the end, we learn Metallo’s sister did not come to visit him and it seems Luthor may be responsible for that. In the backup, Supergirl tries to help Thao-La with her new powers even as Chaytil comes to Earth to avenge Mongul.

BATGIRLS #11 by  Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad and Neil Googe. The girls, along with Kyle and Maps head to the Gotham City Zoo to investigate the Hill Ripper's latest clue. Steph and Kye end up together on something resembling a date while Cass and Mas go deeper where they encounter Killer Moth. Cass goes into action, revealing her identity to Maps. Later, another clue is unraveled and the girls head to the home of Hattie Elwood, who they find has been dead a long time. But they also find the planning board and see that Grace is the next target. Unfortunately, they find out the person with that planning board is none other than The Riddler.

BATMAN #128 by Chip Zdarsky, Leonardo Romero,  and Jorge Jimenez. Superman and the Justice League take on Failsafe, with Superman being stabbed by a Kryptonite dagger. Robin flies Zur-En-Arrh Batman and the injured Superman out of danger, while the League fights a losing battle. Zur-En-Arrh Batman decides he needs to get away from Failsafe so Tim can take Superman to his Fortress. He ends up in Atlantis, where Aquaman tells him that Gotham has fallen. In the backup, Batman is undergoing his special treatments, which means visiting Zur-En-Arrh. He also has to deal with a series of gruesome murders that may or may not be connected to The Joker.

BATMAN: FORTRESS #6 by Gary Whitta and Darick Robertson. Batman and his team fight an ice guard as they attempt to break into the Fortress of Solitude. The creature wraps up Jackson before it is defeated, meaning the team must carry him to their destination. They find their way in, only to have it blocked by a deep chasm with a Phantom Zone at the bottom of it. As they attempt to cross using an arrow line that Emiko has deployed, with Jackson left on one side, Lex’ sit out of power and D’Ayl’s ring out of power, the line breaks and Batman falls into the Phantom Zone.

BATMAN INCORPORATED #1 by Ed Brisson and John Timms. In Dublin, Back Mist and The Knight investigate the execution of Tommy Tivane. In Buranda, Ghost-Maker and the rest of the team investigate what was once one of Luthor’s labs. Ghost-Maker gets a call from The Knight that sends the team to Dublin to investigate. They soon learn that many people across the globe are being killed; all of whom are Ghost-Maker’s mentors. That leads the team across the globe to seek answers. Ghost-Spider ends up in China, seeking Skyspider, but it looks like she may have found him first.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #8 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. David Sibela, Boy Thunder from an alternate Earth, is getting used to being here and training with the Teen Titans. The Key initiates an attack on Gotham City that causes everyone to have a fear of open and closed spaces, and that leads to David having to try and save a group of trapped coal miners. He cannot do it and has moments where he remembers not being able to act on his home planet. Superman races to the scene and finds that he WAS able to do it. Blue Beetle manages to develop a serum to counteract the effects of The Key’s work, freeing everyone. Batman and Superman investigate The Key’s fortress to find nothing. In the end, The Key meets with the person who had him go on this mission and it turns out to be…The Joker.

BATMAN: THE KNIGHTS #10 by Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Bruce battles Anton, defeating him and becoming The Demon’s Heart. Following that, Anton and Harris Zuma leave. Bruce, while meeting with Ra’s, reveals that Anton had told him about Ra’s missiles and Bruce destroys them. Bruce battles Ra’s and, during the fight, Talia stabs Bruce. Anton comes on scene and rescues his friend, taking him out of the burning facility. Later, Anton declares they will never see each other again. Bruce returns home, where he is greeted by Alfred. In the end, Bruce makes his way into the cave, where he thinks about his future.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #20 by Jim Zub, Chris Burnham, Nadia Shammas, Joey Esposito, Max Dunbar, Jahnoy Lindsay, and Vasco Georgiev. In a world of ancients, a different kind of Batman battles the evil that is Arkham. In the second story, Alfred solves the mystery with the help of the followers of Lord Dagon. The third story portrays Bruce and Talia as parents concerned about their injured son. In the final tale, Batman gets involved in a series of murders of some of Gotham’s elite. Upon returning home, he finds his parents in their bedroom…very much alive!

BATMAN VS. ROBIN #2 by Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar. Nezha’s team of magic based villains are collecting magical artifacts, so he can siphon off energy and pace them all into the Helmet of Fate. Damian and  Mother Soul watch as Nezha torture Black Alice. Elsewhere, Felix Faust is tortured by visions of the past until Batman can get him to power down. This leads to Batman and Alfred encountering Abel in the House of Secrets. There, they see a vision of Damian and company battling on Lazarus Island. Later, Cain takes them to the House of Mystery where they are entertained with a play starring Mother Soul and the Lazarus Demon. Next stop for them is with Mildred, Mordred and Cynthia: the hosts from The Witching Hour. This takes them to a vision of Damian unleashing Nezha from his tomb. This takes them to Damian being possessed and he takes on his father and Alfred, forcing them to flee. Mother Soul presents him with his own Batsuit and his own “accessories”: Stephanie, Tim, Dick, and Jason. In the end, Alfred tells Batman he is always by his side, but his shadow seems to suggest he may be Nezha in disguise.

BLACK ADAM  #5 by Christopher Priest and  Rafa Sandoval. Sargon is visited by Nergal, who saddles the sorcerer with the power of the real Sargon of Akkad. In Egypt, Black Adam is attacked and destroys the plane, killing the pilot, which brings Bruce Wayne into things. Adam meets with Wayne, who explains he may be allergic to the Nth metal in his ring. Malik heads to his apartment to save his sister and her baby, but Sargon is already there. In the end, Adam has been taken down by Batman.

CATWOMAN #48 by Tini Howard and Nico Leon. Selina and Valmont head to Tuscany, where they meet with Mia Tomasso in an attempt to get her to intervene to save Dario’s life. That leads to a meeting with Don Lorenzo Tomasso and his wife Victoria, which goes nowhere. Meanwhile, in Gotham, Black Mask takes Dario away from Godard, meaning the game has changed and Selina takes her mission directly to the Don and his wife. To get to Dario, Valmont calls in a favor, but that happens to be Flamingo. They get attacked on the plane, Flamingo destroys the plane’s controls and that means Valmont and Catwoman are forced to bail out…and share a kiss.

DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #5 by Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere. Black Adam battles against the Secret Society, who have been corrupted by The Great Darkness, freeing himself in the process. On Earth Batman, Batman battles Green Lantern Hal and The Flash Barry, who eventually snap him out of his trance and show him his Bat Family. Next stop: Superman’s false world, where he reveals that he is already aware of the changes in the world. Meanwhile, the surviving Titans gather at the Hall of Justice, along with the Titans Academy students and Gar, who now sports an eyepatch. Jon Kent and his team, fresh from 

DARK CRISIS: THE DEADLY GREEN #1, arrive with Pariah’s machine. Deathstroke and the Secret Society launch an attack and the combined might of the Titans face them. While that battle rages, Superman and the Justice League face off against Pariah, but he leaves them and heads to Earth Zero, where we find that the Great Drakness has spread and it appears that all the villains have been corrupted by it.

DARK CRISIS: THE DEADLY GREEN #1 by Ram V, Alex Paknadel, Dan Watters, Daniel Bayliss, Tom Derenick, George Kambadais, and Brent Peeples. Alan Scott and his children meet with some of the remaining heroes, including John Constantine and both Swamp Things. Splitting into teams, they all head off into different realms, with Constantine confronting a number of magic creatures including the Upside Down Man. With an assist from Swamp Thing, Jon Kent manages to make his way through a dreamscape where he is able to grab ahold of Pariah’s machine that once started the First Crisis. While they figure how to manipulate it, Constantine says that they are the corruption within The Darkness.

DARK CRISIS: WORLD WITHOUT A JUSTICE LEAGUE-GREEN ARROW #1 by Stephanie Phillips, Dennis Culver, Clayton Henry, and Nik Virella. In this world, a Robin Hood inspired Green Arrow meets Black Canary, leading to them facing off against a much more violent version of Green Arrow. Thanks to Canary, they defeat him, while Arrow’s bard reveals himself to be…Oliver Queen. In the backup, we see the adventures of Black Canary and Green Arrow on Earth-Back Canary 1 and Earth-Green Arrow 1. In the end, Pariah decides he needs a special prison for these two as love seems to win out.

DARK CRISIS: YOUNG JUSTICE #5 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Laura Braga. Kid Mxyptlk shows up with his version of Cassie alongside. He tells them that he gave them a word, because they had been replaced or removed from the timeline. Cissie, the real Cassie and Red Tornado show up to lend a hand. Fake Cassie is defeated and the team, with help from Impulse and the Speed Force, manage to get back to what should be Happy Harbor. What they discover is that Kid Mxyptlk, has followed them there.

DEATHSTROKE INC. #14 by Ed Brisson and Dexter Soy. Slade is still on the hunt for Campbell, but three of Walsh’ enhanced soldiers are here to stop him. Sade kills Bolster but is killed by Stock. They report to Walsh, but Slade still lives and kills Stock. Then he takes down Muzzle, leading to Slade finally getting to Campbell, who says everything was Walsh’ idea. He executes Campbell and prepares to go after Walsh, until he finds that Muzzle is not dead and now has Wintergreen hostage.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1065 by Ram V, Simon Spurrier, Hayden Sherman, and Rafael Albuquerque.  Prince Arzen and his family have arrived, but so has Ra’s personal guard Ubu, looking to blow everyone up. As her officers insists on calling Batman, Montoya denies their requests. Luckily Batman shows up anyway and battles Ubu. He defeats the guard, but almost drowns until he is saved by Gordon and his new protégé. They take him back to Gordon’s apartment and bandage his face in the dark, to hide his identity. Meanwhile, the family offers Mr. Cummings a ot of money to make him go away and they can take over the Arkham real estate. In the end, Ubu seeks safe passage out of Gotham and deals with Harvey Dent. But Harvey leaves him with a wolflike member of the League, who kills him. In the backup, Harvey is ordered to kill his therapist and that results in a battle with his own evil conscience to do the right thing.

DUO #6 by Greg Pak and Khoi Pham. The Immutables battle the Irredeemables while Tinker gets involved, just concerned with the two groups killing each other. He challenges David/Kelly to go off and save civilians but our heroes make the choice to take down the Irredeemables. Tinker shoots David/Kelly and subdues them, which would allow one of the Irredeemables to kill them. Marius pushes the creature into the portal and orders Tinker to seal it, with him inside. The other Immutables wish David/Kelly luck, he destroys Tinker’s creations, and prepares to fight the good fight for the future.

THE FLASH #787 by Jeremy Adams and Fernando Pasarin. Wally West and his children are watching television when suddenly WAM-Wrestling Across the Multiverse comes on. Immediately, they become fascinated by it, until they realize the battle is happening in THEIR downtown. That leads to The Flash getting in the middle of it and teaming up with Omega Bam Man as they battle for the WAM Tag Team championship. When all is said and done, they become champions.

FLASHPOINT BEYOND #6 by Geoff Johns, Tim Sheridan, Jeremy Adams, Xermanico, Mikel Janin, and Gary Frank. Batman faces off against Rip Hunter for control of the snow globe that contains the Flashpoint Universe. He is responsible for the return of the Flashpoint Universe to find a way to bring his father back to life. Inside the Flashpoint,  Joker/Martha Wayne tries to convince her husband to take a trip in her time machine to save Bruce’s life. They share a kiss, but not the same mission, even though Two-Face holds her own son hostage. Two-Face destroys the time machine and Joker kills Two-Face. As the house collapses in flames, Thomas, Martha, and Dexter leave together. In our universe, the snow globe has now stabilized and Rip and company head back to their time lab. In the end, Martha is kept in her own private cell in the Batcave and Dexter has become Robin. In the Time Lab, the Time Capsules have failed, meaning the team that will become the new Justice Society is being pulled back into the time stream. Those members are: The Golden Age Mister Miracle, Betsy Ross, Moly Pitcher, Ladybug, Salem the Witch Girl, Cherry Bomb, John Henry Jr., The Golden Age Red Lantern, Judy Garrick, The Harlequin’s Son, The Golden Age Aquaman, Quiz Kid, and The Golden Age Legionnaire. In the end, Cleopatra Pak and her pet Bubs need to find a way to find The Watchman.

FUTURE STATE: GOTHAM #18 by Dennis Culver, Justin Greenwood, and Cliff Chiang. In the final showdown, the team faces off against the Joe Chill inhabited Damian and his followers. Dick, declaring himself to be Batman, faces off against Damian, who unleashes Hellfire upon him, which is growing weaker and takes Dick as a host. Dick sacrifices himself to destroy Hellfire Chill, turning the world to color yet again. Jason arrests Hush, leading to a spike in his approval rating while Magistrate’s plummets. In the end, Jace and Jason, along with Mother Panic, become the new protectors of Gotham. In the backup, a young Dick and Batman battle Clayface.

G.C.P.D.: THE BLUE WALL #1 by John Ridley and Stefano Raffaele. The Gotham Police Department has a new graduating class and the story follows three of those rookies: Samantha Park, Danny Ortega and Eric Wells. Ortega ends up posted to Tricorner: the toughest slot in the city. Wells becomes a prole officer, trying his best to keep the recently released out of trouble. Park is out on her first trip when they get notified of a suspect. She follows a youth meeting the description and pulls her gun on him. But she does not fire, as it’s the wrong person She is praised as a hero by Renee Montoya and trotted out as a publicity stunt. She later confesses she did not shoot because she was scared. Later, a similar situation, and again does not pull the trigger. The suspect fires at her and misses…but someone else is shot in the process because of her inaction.

GOTHAM CITY: YEAR ONE #1 by Tom King and Phil Hester. It’s 1961 and a young Helen Wayne has been kidnapped from her parents, Richard and Constance Wayne. This leads Private Investigator Slam Bradley into the mystery. The Waynes believe that their daughter was kidnapped by the Bat-Man, based on a note with his symbol, asking for$100,000. Later, Slam’s partner turns up dead, shot by Slam’s own gun. In the present, an aged Bradley tells Batman that he doesn’t know the entire story.

HARLEY QUINN #23 by Stephanie Phillips and Matteo Lolli. Harley is dead and the Quintessentials are having a funeral for her. But, not really, as she has risen from the dead and the Quintessentials see her as a cult leader. She apologizes to Kevin about their being there and thanks hi for resurrecting her. Damian shows up, looking to kill her because she has been exposed to the Lazarus it. They fight and she wins, leading to them talking it out later. Elsewhere, a masked figure is intent on killing all Harley’s and takes out one of the cultists. In the end, Harley decides that if Gotham wants her so bad, then maybe this “new” Harley should go back to them.

THE HUMAN TARGET #8 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood. Chance and Ice are visited by Rocket Red, who knocks them out and then spends the entire day knocking Chance out in between trying to find out what he did to his friend Guy Gardner. In the end, he apologizes to him, as a message has come in from the Justice League saying Guy is off planet. Ice reveals she was responsible for the fake voice message. Either way, Chance only has four days left to find a way to live.

I AM BATMAN #14 by John Ridley, Christian Duce, and Tom Derenick. Batman solves Anarky’s murder and it turns out ot be Tony, the leader of the activist group Anarky was a part of. Renee is heading back to Gotham, but not before she has a meeting with Hadiyeh, who she apparently has past history with. Meanwhile, Tiff masks up and attacks some muggers, which leads her into a direct confrontation with Chubb, who she knocks out. Later, Batman is shown the masked woman’s picture and realizes who it is. He has a conversation with a seemingly possessed Whitaker, who calls Batman a coward. Incensed, Batman assaults him and may have killed him.

DC UNIVERSE Month 56, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. THE LEGION OF SUER-HEROES #6 by Brian Michael Bendis and Scott Godlewski. Vandal Savage is ruling the Old West and monologuing to a captured Batman. His gang has captured Jonah Hex and he demands he be dropped in the pig trough. When he thinks he has done the impossible, ending the Age of Heroes before it starts, Brainiac 5 reveals that he is here with the combined forces of the Legion and the League. He is held inside the Gold Lantern ring and then is judged by the Eders of Oa. He reveals he is a sourced of the Great Darkness, leading to a battle between himself and Gold Lantern. Lantern wins the fight, the Elders destroy Savage’s ring and banish him. The League is returned to the present day while Gold Lantern is tasked to lead the Gold Lanterns and find them all. And Savage? He is found in the Old West, where Jonah Hex rescues him with the promise of a new life.

MULTIVERSITY: TEEN JUSTICE #4 by Danny Lore, Ivan Cohen and Marco Failla. The team battles against the Green Lanterns and lose, with most of them being taken off the playing field. That means the rest of the team will have to continue the fight without them.

THE NEW CHAMPION OF SHAZAM! #2 by Josie Campbell and Evan "Doc" Shaner. Mary’s foster parents have disappeared, forcing her to quit Vassar  so she can care for Pedro, Eugene, Freddy, and Darla. She ends up enrolling herself into Fawcett Community while also keeping an eye out for her parents and anything Disaster Master may have been involved with. She battles a giant flying lizard and some strange energy creatures, during which the magic bunny gets zapped and loses its’ powers. But she also learns that a lot of people have gone missing and not just her parents.

NIGHTWING #96 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Nightwing battles Blockbuster while Barbara, Batwoman and the citizens save Haven. After Barbara shows Electrocutioner and Brutale that Blockbuster owns Bludhaven Private Prison, they desert him. In the end, a defeated Blockbuster meets with Heartless, ho removes his heart.

NUBIA: QUEEN OF THE AMAZONS #4 by Stephanie Williams and Alitha Martinez. Nubia returns to Madagascar and battles Zillah for control of Sekhmet's power. In the end, Zillah is slain by Nubia, once her best friend and Sekhmet's power is gone.

POISON IVY #4 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. Ivy gets the job working loading boxes on an assembly line. But those boxes, because of Ivy’s condition, are now contaminated as they are being shipped all across the country. She also realizes that George Halloran is a bad boss and kills him. That night, she has a one night stand with one of her female co-workers. During the night, she is attacked by a creature that says the Green Man sent him. She tells the woman that it is best if she forgets about her and she leaves, to hunt the Green Man.

SUPERMAN: SON OF KAL-EL #15 by Tom Taylor and Cian Tormey. Sperman and the Revolutionaries lead a final assault against Henry Bendix and his control of Gamorra. Bendix transform Jay's mother into a monster and sets her against her son. Damian Wayne shows up to hep ruin Bendix plans, especially after Luthor cuts off their deal. He transports to Skywatch and fires his ultimate weapon, which Superman stops. Luthor arrives on Skywatch and opens an airlock, sending Bendix drifting into space. In the end, everyone survives, including Jay’s mother, and Jon and Jay share a very public kiss.

SWORD OF AZRAEL #2 by Dan Watters and Nikola Cizmesija. Azrael battles vengeance but, when Brother Karl is injured, Vengeance leaves, admitting the mission is compromised. Hen he goes back to the chapel, he discovers that Brielle Arnier, who may be the Angel of Death, has killed everyone. Deciding that he will not let the Templars use her as a weapon, he takes her to Greece. While there, vengeance scouts, Jean Paul meditates and confronts his inner demon, and one of the Templars arrives to see that Brielle completes their mission.

TASK FORCE Z #12 by Matthew Rosenberg and Eddy Barrows. Despite the explosion last issue, everyone seems to have survived and it’s the final battle between Mr. Bloom and Jason/Harvey Dent. Jason battles with Gotham, apologizing for killing him.  Gotham realizes he had been manipulated by Bloom and attacks him, with Bloom threatening to explode him, even as Gotham Girl pleads for him no to do it. Jason attacks Bloom and Harvey saves the day, allowing Gotham to capture and dispose of Bloom. In the end, Jason meets Stephanie as he heads to West Texas to look for The Joker. In the Gotham Morgue, Harvey Dent arrives and takes many of the zombies with him, saying he has big plans.

TIM DRAKE: ROBIN #1 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Riley Rossmo. Tim, after what has happened in the yet to be concluded DARK CRISIS: YOUNG JUSTICE, is living on a boat at the Gotham Marina and loving his life with his boyfriend Bernard. He gets a visit from Darcy Thomas, who is surprised to see that he is living on a boat. When he discovers two of his neighbors murdered, Tim and Sparrow investigate, encountering animal constructs as previously seen in the DC PRIDE story. They work together to defeat the creature, but it seems this is just the beginning and does not solve the murders.

WONDER WOMAN #791 by Michael W. Conrad, Becky Cloonan, Jordie Bellaire, Marguerite Sauvage and Paulina Ganucheau. Diana visits the Vale of Hippolyta where she sees a vision of her dead mother. The oracle arrives to tell Diana of her visions, which include strange flowers, large vats of chemicals, and Diana’s death. Diana goes undercover and starts working in the Cale Industries plant in Brazil that is harvesting the flowers. While investigating, she finds a room filled with test animals, including her friend Barbara, A.K.A. Cheetah. In the backup, Antiope and Hippolyta continue to argue until Diana arrives on a strange creature that apparently grants power to those that deserve it. Now Diana has the power.

 

DC UNIVERSE Month 56, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1047 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Riccardo Federici and David Lapham. Kryl-Ux has betrayed Superman and now leads Warworld. But Superman has brought Warworld to Earth as he tries to figure out how to get the inhabitants back to their real homes. He makes an impassioned speech to the world, asking for leniency for these aliens, even the dangerous ones. Elsewhere, Lex has a new plan to enact and he looks to be wanting to resurrect Metallo. In the backup, Superman returns with Warworld and gets to reunite with Thao-La and others. But things may not go smoothly now, as the Warzoon arrive, looking for Superman.

BATGIRLS #10 by Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad and Neil Googe. After battling Killer Moth, Cass and Steph attempt to crack the code they found in the fake eye, where they figure that the code is a book cypher that has to do with the word ‘eye’. While the pair go through library books, Steph runs into Kyle Mizoguchi, who gives her his phone number. Later, they deduce that the code references a Poe book and that eye meant flashlight, which leads them to the bat enclosure at Gotham Zoo. While they think it might be clues left by the Riddler, it actually is the doings of Mr. Fun.

BATMAN #127 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez. Zur-En-Arrh Batman fights agaiant Failsafe, who he created. The battle is all encompassing and appears to end in his death. Luckily Superman arrives. In the backup, Catwoman visits a small bookstore where she meets with Paul Meredith, who is actually Oswald Cobblepot with a nose job. He explains that he faked his death and is getting a new start. Actually, he has an ulterior motive that will destroy Batman.

BATMAN BEYOND: NEO-YEAR #6 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Max Dunbar. The Gotham AI is set to activate its nano-virus to enslave the free will of everyone in Gotham. Gestalt's research has learned that Donovan Lumos's party ship is the activation antenna, so Terry calls in his team to stop him, with Boonma leading the extraction team to get all the civilians off the party ship. Terry defeats Loomis in his newly designed Batsuit. In the end, a new Bat-Team is ready for the future.

BATMAN: FORTRESS #5 by Gary Whitta and Darick Robertson. On Barbados, Jackson Hyde meets a new boy that he immediately crushes on until a gang of thugs show up to torment them, forcing Jackson to use his powers, which scares of his new love interest. Batman and D’Ayl arrive, looking to add Jackson to the team. Later, Batman heads to Star City where he looks to recruit Emiko to the team. While Batman meets with Luthor, Jackson messages him and informs him of what he has found in the deep…and he says it looks like “solitude”.

BATMAN: THE KNIGHT #9 by Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Bruce and Anton cross the desert to reach the site f their final training mission: Lazarus, where they meet Ra’s al Ghul for the first time. While there, Bruce is wounded fighting Ra’s, but is healed and develops a romantic encounter with Talia. In the end, Ra’s orders the two friends to fight to the death.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #7 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. A pair of desperate scientists send their young son through Hypertime, where he arrives on Earth and meets Batman, Robin and Superman. Once there, he is taken to the bottled city of Kandor, where they examine his new powers and make him into Superman’s newest sidekick-the Boy Thunder. He goes to visit this world’s version of his parents, which only serves as trauma to them as their son died when he was three years old. Devastated, they take him to be with kids his own age: the Teen Titans.

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #19 by Brandon Thomas, Zac Thompson, Joey Esposito, Chris Burnham, Brandon Easton, Alberto Jimenez Alburquerque, Hayden Sherman, Mikel Janin and Will Robson. The Outsiders battle transformed creatures in an effort to find Duke’s mother. In the end, she is transformed back to her old self and reunites with her son. In the second tale, Batman battles a little child, but it turns out to be Wesker and his puppet. Or is it? In the third tale, Batman and Robin fight Two-Face. In the fourth story, Alfred continues his investigation and it leads him to the Head of Dagon. Next up, Batman and Killer Croc team up to fight some people who are killing rare reptiles.

BATMAN VS. ROBIN #1 by Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar. Springing out of the ROBIN series, Bruce Wayne comes back to Wayne Manor to find that Alfred is alive! When they go to the Batcave, he finds Damian Wayne, who is teamed with Jakeem Thunder and Tim Hunter to kill Batman. He defeats the magic users and his son, barely escaping along with Alfred in the Batboat. Damian heads to the Tower of Fate, where he considers using other magical methods, including Eclipso. Batman and Alfred visit Zatanna, who is being hung by Schrodinger’s Noose. She reveals that other magic users have been attacked. In the end, Robin meets with his benefactors: Mother Soul and Devil Nezha.

BLACK ADAM #4 by Christopher Priest and  Rafa Sandoval. Malik discovers that Teth Adam has been discharged, so he attempts to go back to a normal life. But Etrigan shows up, forcing him to use his new powers. Meanwhile, War visits Sargon the Sorcerer.

BLOOD SYNDICATE: SEASON ONE #5 by Geoffrey Thorne and Juan Castro.  Rocket and Icon arrive to stop Holocaust's takeover of Paris Island.  But Holocaust is well prepared and takes the heroes down. Now being declared as Kind Holocaust, it seems no one can stop him. That’s when the super-powered street gang arrives, poised for a final battle.

CATWOMAN  #47 by Tini Howard and Caitlin Yarsky. Valmost and Selina head to Swtizerland to track down Finbar Sullivan’s brother Declan. They find out that the family’s financier Eskander Tadesse is in their chalet, leading them to stake him out, where he reveals that he believes that Abigail and Declan are plotting to kill him, leading to Selina and Valmont saving him. Then they head to Vienna to go through a private vault where the records concerning kidnapped women are located. They find what they need, the bad guys get arrested by Interpol and all seems well with the world…until Selina gets a call from Dario, who has been kidnapped by Noah. That means Valmont and Selina are off to Italy to save his life.

DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #4 by Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere. On New Earth, in Sector John Stewart, Hal Jordan confronts Kyle Rayner when Barry shows up and, after telling him what is going on, transports the pair of them away to the twisted world created for Batman. Inside the Hall of Justice, the gathered team tries to figure out what is happening with the Great Darkness and Pariah while Alan Scott tries to motivate Dick Grayson. Grayson and others accompany Alan to meet with Detective Chimp and Swamp Thing who says he is uncertain if this is the Great Darkness or if something has corrupted it. At the Legion of Doom’s headquarters, Black Adam tries to convince the Legion how they should work together and that is when Deathstroke and his team arrive and battle. But they get corrupted by the Great Darkness as Pariah gives birth to a new Multiverse.

DARK CRISIS: WORLDS WITHOUT A JUSTICE LEAGUE-WONDER WOMAN #1 by Tini Howard,  Dan Watters, Leila Del Duca and Brandon Peterson. In this new world created by Pariah, Diana observes Etta being sworn in a President and then takes her to Themyscira, where she is made an honorary Amazon.  Diana does visit her mother and they argue, with Diana ending up in the Well of Souls, where she finds Dr. Psycho. He reveals how she stopped that he was launching missiles at the Amazons and she stopped it. The Amazons took him prisoner so Gaia could feed off him. The Amazons use one of the missiles to leave this Earth, where Diana decides to stay on Earth to fight for an unappreciative world. In the backup, Martian Manhunter battles Martian Manhunter on a world where everyone is a Martian.

DARK CRISIS: YOUNG JUSTICE #4 by Meghan Fitzmartin and Laura Braga. The team continues to deal with their new world and where they fit in it. In the end, Kid Mxyptlk, their biggest fan, is revealed to be the villain behind their current predicament.

DEATHSTROKE INC. #13 by Ed Brisson and Dexter Soy. Slade wakes on an autopsy table, revealing he is still alive, having been healed after last issue. This leads him on a hunt for his clothes and gear. Securing them from the police, he seeks out Wintergreen and plans to go after his original target along with Isherwood. He calls Addie, who reveals she is pregnant, which upsets him more than pleases him. When he discovers someone else is going after the target, Deathstroke steps up his game, looking to keep that contract for himself.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1064 by Ram V, Simon Spurrier, Dani and Rafael Albuquerque. In the past, Talia tells a young Damian the tale of Farhad and his battle with Azmer.In the present, Batman seeks out the members of Maroni’s crew he saw on the docks and finds Talia  and the League instead. The docks blow up and Batman is seemingly lost, even as Prince Arzen arrives. But Batman rises from the ashes, prepared for what is next. In the backup, Jim Gordon is saved from a zombified Detective by the young boy, who is poised to become his assistant in helping the lad in discovering his own identity.

DUO #5 by Greg Pak and Khoi Pham. Kelly has taken control of David’s body and now, with an army backing them, has decided to play Messiah, going about healing people with Nanobot technology. Tinker teams with the Immutables to stop him, including an attack that seemingly kills Maya. Tinker then betrays the Immutables and things go from bad to worse.

THE FLASH #786 by Jeremy Adams and Amancay Nahuelpan. The surviving heroes have banded together and are joined by Wally and the returning speedsters. The teams go out to take out the various members, along with Animal Girl, of Deathstroke’s crew. In the end, Nightwing calls everyone back to the Hall of Justice.

FLASHPOINT BEYOND #5 by Geoff Johns, Tim Sheridan, Jeremy Adams, Xermanico and Mikel Janin. Two days after the end of DARK CRISIS, Mr. Terrific appears on a talk show where he explains the workings of the Great Darkness, Hypertime, and the Omniverse and how they coexist. Meanwhile, Bruce visits Ra’s visits, where he observes his father’s ashes and a dossier on the Time Masters, provided to him by Justice League Incarnate. In the Flashpoint world, Thomas confronts his wife, saving the Dents. She explains that ‘the man in the golden mask” told her everything before she killed him. She also says the Joker in our world as a man named Jack Oswald White. She beats him down and then reveals her plan, which includes a time bubble that she built that contains Hypertime. In the end, Rip Hunter arrives on Earth-) with plans to stop Bruce.

FUTURE STATE : GOTHAM #17 by Dennis Culver, Geoffo, Giannis Milonogiannis and Adam Hughes. All of the various Batmen converge to battle Hush and Damian. Batman Dick Grayson exclaims he is Batman now and leaves, with the rest of the Bat Family going off to confront Hush and Damian. But Hush now controls the Court of Owls. During the battle, it is revealed that Damian is possessed…by Joe Chill. In the backup, Batman watches over a badly injured Selina, only to later find out that she faked her injuries so she could pull off a robbery.

HARLEY QUINN #22 by Stephanie Phillips, Matteo Lolli and David Baldeón. With Harley dead, Kevin heads North looking for the League of Assassins and a Lazarus Pit to resurrect her. She is eventually put in the bit and reborn, only a little more twisted and a little angrier than before.

HARLEY QUINN 30^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Rafael Scavone, Stjepan Sejic, Stephanie Phillips, Kami Garcia, Paul Dini, Sam Humphries, Rob Williams, Cecil Castellucci, Mindy Lee, Chad Hardin, Rafael Albuquerque, Stjepan Sejic, Riley Rossmo, Mico Suayan, Jason Badower, Guillem March, Erica Henderson, John Timms, Dan Hipp, Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson. In the first tale, Harley intercepts a group of burglars and that sends her to Wayne Manor to team up with Alfred. In the second tale, Harley teams up with Fifteen Minutes Man for a Suicide Squad mission that ends with Waller blowing up Harley’s partner. In the third tale, Catwoman has a heart-to-heart with Harley, to get to her unresolved feelings for Joker, leading to her going out and attempting to prove her wrong. In the fourth story, Harley and Kevin break into a nature preserve to retrieve her captured hyenas, leading to a tussle with a group of poachers. In the next tale, which acts as a prequel to the CRIMINAL SANITY series, Harleen Quinzel works with the GCPD to track down the Joker, who killed her roommate Edie. In the sixth tale, Harley throws a housewarming party for Ivy, Selina and herself, resulting in too many guests, and some that probably shouldn’t be there. In ‘A Legend is Born’, Harley is a barmaid dressed as a jester who goes out in the world to obtain her first sword. Next up, is the last Harley Quinn story, where Waller has activated her brain bomb and she reminisces about her career before dying. In ‘Troop Harley Quinn’, Harley starts a Girl Scout troop. Lastly, ‘Harley’s World ’brings us a series of vignettes showcasing her career.

THE HUMAN TARGET #7 by Tom King and Greg Smallwood. Chance spends time with Fire, as she tests him. He ends up with Fire and Ice, where Fire confesses that she got the money from J’Onzz, using it to buy the water from Booster Gold, but insists she did not poison anyone. Bt she reveals that Guy did ask for the water.

I AM BATMAN #13 by John Ridley, Christian Duce, Eduardo Pansica and Julio Ferreira. Batman and The Question continue their investigation into whether Detective Keenan is the man responsible for killing Anarky. Later, Keenan has a eeting with Batman, where he has snipers prepared to take him out, but The Question has dispatched them. He confesses he didn’t kill Chan, who was a police informant. Elsewhere, Tiff Fox continues to try and find a way to help a new friend Kayln who may be falling back into trouble with her old gang. Thinking vigilantism is the only way, she dons a mask and prepares to fight injustice.