DC UNIVERSE Month 69, Part 1

ACTION COMICS #1058 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Gene Luen Yang, Greg Hahn, Travis Mercer, Viktor Bogdanovic, and Rafa Sandoval. As Clark faces off against the other Superman, he uses Supercorp’s series of Anti-Superman satellites to defeat him. Norah Stone gives a press conference, saying that Blue Earth has everyone’s back. When Clark arrives home, he finds out an incident at Steelworks involving one of the Warworld children. Later, Kara tells the story of Red Son and Starchild, as contained in the fable “Nightwing and Flamebird”. Norah has a virtual meeting with some of her associates, saying she thinks she can turn one of Clark’s brood. With his powers temporarily taken away, Irons builds him a steel suit and equips him with a sword. In th first backup, the Warworld children are captured by the Worm Emperor, but get saved by the Super-Man of China, who they accuse of being a Chinese spy. He explains that a Chinese reporter was murdered, possibly by someone with laser vision. While he tries to explain, and in the middle of a fight with the children, Kenan falls down and dies. In the third story, the children create chaos during the Metropolis Day parade

ALAN SCOTT: THE GREEN LANTERN #1 by Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey. In 1941, J. Edgar Hoover tries to convince to join the JSA by revealing compromising pictures of Alan with his boyfriend Johnny. The two were in the service together in 1936, working on a project that would make use of something called The Crimson Flame. Johnny had given Alan a ring to signify his love for Alan. During a test of The Crimson Flame, something goes wrong, with Johnny being torn away by the Flame. In 1941, Green Lantern arrives at a hostage situation when a strange red ball of energy erupts that he stops. He gets to the gunman and Jay Garrick says it looks like the gunman had drowned. That was when Alan realizes he knows the man…it’s Johnny. In the end, Alan is undergoing shock treatment in Arkham.

AMAZONS ATTACK #1 by Josie Campbell and Vasco Georgiev. Continued from WONDER WOMAN #2. Following the recent incidents involving an alleged Amazon, Nubia travels to Washington to meet with the President. But, before that can happen, a mysterious gas turns the Secret Service against her., with Faruka saving her. As they flee, the pair end up going out a window and are saved by Mary Marvel. The police try to arrest the Amazons and, with news broadcasts claiming the Amazons attacked the President, it appears there is a war brewing.

BATMAN #138 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez. At one point, Vandal Savage met with Ra’s as he was leaving his Lazarus Pit, where Savage reveals he is looking for the power from the meteor rocks that made him immortal. Meanwhile, Batman tells Jason that he has infected Jason with something that fills him with fear when his adrenaline kicks in. Later, Nightwing is confronted by Batman, with Dick explaining that he believes Bruce is out of control. At the same time, Tim and Damian fight, ending with Tim handcuffing Damian to a pipe to keep him out of Batman’s war.  Tim assaults Batman and then Nightwing comes along to beat on him worse, leading to a brawl between Tim and Dick, with Batman trapping them in a net to end the battle. They cut themselves free and free Damian, who is crying out for his father. Jason gets freed by Marquise, who reveals she is Scandal Savage. With Scandal by his side, Vandal reveals he has a grand plan.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 by Joshua Williamson and Simone Di Meo. Batman continues to struggle after being attacked by bats that were sent after him by Shush. He is able to save himself thanks to a smoke bomb made of eucalyptus, cinnamon, rosemary and thyme. At the Gotham Zoo, which Shush has made her home base, Croc dips out of her group even as her mysterious conspirator tells her that there is a loose end she must deal with. The next day, Damian finds himself bullied at school, which leads to him dipping out of school and heading to where White Rabbit is being held, only to find that Batman is already there and planning to interrogate her. They find that the guards  have been knocked out and Shush and her crew have gotten there first.

BATMAN BEYOND: NEO GOTHIC #4 by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, and Max Dunbar. As terry falls, he hallucinates memories of his mother, Robin and Bruce. When he wakes, he finds himself in an alley, where he discovers he is a cat. He observes Kyle being tormented by a group of anthropomorphic cats. Kyle is later saved by the elderly Constantine, who teaches him various lessons before he dies. Meanwhile, Terry battles a vision of a mutated Batman, before reuniting with Kyle. They find themselves in a garden where they face off against denizens of The Green.

BATMAN/CATWOMAN THE GOTHAM WAR: RED HOOD #2 by Matthew Rosenberg and Nikola Cizmesija. The Joker surprises two of Catwoman’s thieves, asking them to deliver something to Red Hood. Meanwhile, Jason is roughing up criminals, trying to find The Scarecrow. He meets with Ravager and they find one of Catwoman’s thieves, now dead, with the note to Red Hood. Over the next few days, as detailed in CATWOMAN #57 and BATMAN #138, Jason falls down a dark hole, with Batman injecting him with something that creates a fear response when his adrenaline kicks in. Jason goes to rescue people in a fire, as seen in CATWOMAN #58, where he is visited by both The Scarecrow and The Joker. The two villains fight and The Joker doses The Scarecrow with Grundy’s pee. As the building starts to collapse, The Joker flees, leaving Jason behind. To be continued in BATMAN/CATWOMAN THE GOTHAM WAR: SCROCRCHED EARTH and THE JOKER: THE MAN WHO STOPPED LAUGHING #12.

BATMAN/CATWOMAN THE GOTHAM WAR: SCORCHED EARTH #1 by Tini Howard, Chip Zdarsky, Mike Hawthorne, and Nikola Cizmesija. While Tim faces off against Savage’s army of villains, Jason, Selina and Bruce meet, with Bruce explaining that Savage is seeking out meteor fragments. The fragments are believed to make people immortal and enhanced and Bruce had the largest piece., which is now missing from Wayne Manor. He learns of what Tim is facing and sends the Bat Family, minus Jason, to assist while he goes after Savage.  Catwoman catches up with batman, who reveals that the fragments are not the source of power, but a homing beacon for a larger meteor.  The Bat Family takes out the villains and Batman alerts them that a meteor is coming and will wipe out the entire Eastern seaboard. That leads to Jason commandeering the Batwing and crashing it into the meteor. It breaks apart but a large piece does land. Savage stabs his daughter and places his hand on the meteor but it seemingly engulfs him while Batman and Catwoman save Scandal, with Selina falling into the green aura around the meteor, seemingly killing her. Two weeks later, the cleanup is complete and it has created something akin to a Lazarus Pit, giving hope that Selina and Savage have survived. Later, Batman has a virtual meeting with The Riddler, who informs him that The Joker is back and causing trouble. In the end, one of The Riddler’s henchmen finds Bruce’s newest lair and realizes that Bruce is Batman.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #20 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. The Flash meets with Batman and Superman, telling them that he has found Boy Thunder and he is on Earth-22. The pair of heroes use a modified Cosmic Treadmill to travel to Earth-22. They observe a much older David, along with this version of Superman, standing over the coffins of Ted Kord, Kara and Ray Palmer. They also see a sea of  gravestones with the names of the dead heroes of this Earth. They are then displaced, putting then into Metropolis, where they go to Planet Krypton. Outside, a hero battles Atom Smasher, using his powers to subdue the villain. The hero is David and he uses his power to attack Superman.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #6 by Guillem March, Ed Brisson, Rob Williams, Sean Lewis, Jeff Spokes, Stefano Landini, and Javier Fernandez. Batman, after his battle with The Joker, finds himself with a case of amnesia and being cared for by a young girl named Aurora and her mother. While he tries to regain his memory and abilities, with the hope to go back into being Batman, he becomes romantically involved with Aurora’s mother. At one point, while out helping people, Catwoman observes him. In the end, he sees the Bat Signal and that may trigger a memory. In the second story, Stormwatch faces off against Kanjar Ro before sending him to The Phantom Zone. Then the team seemingly breaks up, with Ghost Maker, Ravager and Peacekeeper staying behind, provided the latter can get to go after Batman at some point. In the third take, Harcourt continues her journey back from death, tracking down the man who killed her: Boomerang. In the final take, Batman investigates a possible murder in a theater, only to find it all a trick created by Rupert Pint..

BIRDS OF PREY #2 by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero. Dinah continues to try and put her team together and her plan is to go to Themyscira and get Sin out. But Zealot has issues, saying she is not about killing Amazons, which she explains they are not going to do. As the team heads off, via Boom Tube, to different locations, Dinah meets with Constantine and they head to the Oblivion Bar. Eventual the entire team land in a place beneath the bar and have to band together to take on the guardians of the Barter so Constantine can regain his “bag of tricks”. Defeating the guardians, the team heads to East Gotham docks and eventually make their way to Themyscira where they are met by King Shark, who apparently is joining the team…sort of.

BLUE BEETLE #2 by Josh Trujillo and Adrian Gutierrez. Ted Kord is in the hospital and his closest friends are there with him. Jaime’s biggest concern is that Ted’s sister is not here. Victoria Kord is still at the scene of the crime and looking to get revenge for what happened. At Estrella Plaza, Xiomara and Roma get attacked by the same person who attacked Ted, injuring Shepherd Ood in the process. What Jaime discovers are magic symbols on the ground, meaning he needs to contact his ex.

CATWOMAN #58 by Tini Howard and Nico Leon. Selina meets with bruce, who is traumatized by what has happened to Jason. Later, she meets with Vandal and Scandal and Vandal attacks her with a sword, decapitating her, only to find that this was actually Lady Clayface. Savage meets with many of Gotham’s villains. Jason tries to rescue people in a fire and has fear issues rise up within again. Scandal meets with Catwoman, who tells Selina that she is planning on being immortal like her father. Batman and Catwoman head to the fire, saving Jason. While a crowd observes the fire, the villains arrive.

CITY BOY #6 by Greg Pak and Minkyu Jung. Cameron, whose powers are out of control, meets with Swamp Thing, telling him that he is seeking his mother. Swamp Thing takes him on a journey, revealing that his parents hid in the woods when Bludhaven was hit with nukes. Together, they find her grave and Cameron allows his anger to further progress to the city, bringing much pleasure to a certain doctor responsible for all of this.

CYBORG #4 by Morgan Hampton and Esan Damien Hill. Marcus has been freed but that doesn’t mean the crisis has ended. While at lunch with Estelle, a group of Solace synths attack in a number of places, including free prisoners at S.T.A.R. labs and where Sarah is holed up. In the end, a captured Sarah is brought to the site of the battle between Victor and the synths.

DANGER STREET #10 by Tom King and Jorge Fornes. Jack Ryder goes to the roof of the GTN building and discovers the bodies of Manhunter and the Assassin. Commodore arrives and is more upset that they got blood on his diamond sword. He forces Jack to kneel before him. Meanwhile, Lady Cop, who has the helm of Dr. Fate in her possession, tries to get help from the FBI, but that gets her nowhere. She makes the decision and takes the helm with her on a flight to somewhere. Highfather tells Darkseid that he cannot hold back the sky, which pleases Darkseid. Warlord is with Non-Fat, telling him he needs to meet with Starman. He informs his blue friend that Orion is back and they need to find him.  Warlord tracks Orion down and find him very drunk. After a  brief scuffle, Warlord explains they have to revive the boy to get the soul Orion is searching for, but they need the body and the helmet.  Later, in a meeting with Commodore, Jack is forced to become The Creeper as the Outsiders arrive and threaten to kill Commodore. The Creeper talks them down, as they reveal that all they did wrong was step outside of the line and they want their lives to go back to the way it used to be. But, to achieve that, they need the helm.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1075 by Ram V, Francisco Francavilla, and Aaron Campbell. Batman continues to struggle because of the influence of the Azmer in his system. He goes to Wayne Manor where he is captured  by the Orghams. Arzen unmasks him, discovering him to be Bruce Wayne. While it looks as if The Batman is going to be hung in Gotham, Arzen questions the decision. In the backup, a young Bruce deals with his parents’ deaths and his possible future.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1076 by Ram V, Dan Watters, Jason Shawn Alexander, Christopher Mitten, Liam Sharp, and Aditya Bidikar. With Batman scheduled to be executed, Catwoman goes about gaining allies to help him, starting with Jim Gordon, and moving through Azrael, Poison Ivy and Commissioner Montoya. In the second story, The Question goes hunting for a serial kidnapper. In the third backup, Azrael meets with Karl and vengeance before deciding to put on his Bat armor once again. In the final story, a Summoner arises.

FIRE & ICE: WELCOME TO SMALLVILLE #2 by Joanne Starer and Natacha Bustos. Fire films a mock fight with Ambush Bug in order to gain Social Media traction. While Fire goes to the bar Pour Decisions, where she learns the proprietor is Rocky’s sister,  Ice and Rocky go book shopping, where Ice finds that Rocky goes to the local medical center to deliver the books to ailing children. When Ice and Rocky return to the salon, they find it filled with villains, as part of Fire’s rehabilitation program. With cameras everywhere to capture the moments, a fight breaks out and, in the midst of it, Jimmy Olsen shows up.

THE FLASH #2 by Si Spurrier and Mike Deodato Jr. Wally battles The Uncoiled before being taken to The Stillness. Later, the gorilla’s attack and Wally is there to battle them. Mr. terrific informs him that the city has been marked. But who is marking it-The Uncoiled or The Stillness or both?

GREEN ARROW #5 by Joshua Williamson, Sean Izaakse, and Phil Hester. Ollie and his older self battle lizard creatures before ending up at the Arrow Cave. Elsewhere, Jade meets with Dinah and Roy, who reveals she knows that Waller has made deals and agrees to help find her and Roy’s daughter. In the end, Ollie battles his older self, revealed to be a robot. In the process, he is transported to a different place and time, where he meets his younger self. But a third Ollie arrives and our Ollie is shot with an arrow. Is Green Arrow dead again?

GREEN LANTERN #4 by Jeremy Adams and Xermanico. Sinestro meets with Hal, demanding Hal’s ring or else he would blow up several bombs placed throughout the city. Hal gives him the ring, which does not work for anyone but Hal, leading to Sinestro triggering the devices. Luckily, Barry is en route to find them and get rid of them Hal and Barry work as a team and save the city. Later, Barry and Hal investigate the theft at Ferris and Carol arrives, where Barry tells her that he is going to have Terrifictech to do forensic analysis on her planes. When she leaves, Barry gets a notification that someone was attacking Los Angeles, where they find Major Disaster and subdue him. Unfortunately, the Ferris aircraft are suddenly activated and head off somewhere. In the backup, a young boy, who turns out to be Sinestro’s son, tries to make a name for himself.

GREEN LANTERN: WAR JOURNAL #2 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos. In the Amazon rainforest, a group of Lanterns, searching for john Stewart, encounter a woman who announces that they will work together to punish Stewart. Elsewhere, John takes his mother to Steelworks, where he has a job interview. Later, they are attacked by the three Lanterns, who have been transformed by the woman they earlier interacted with. During the battle, one of the Lanterns stabs John and it looks like he is going to be transformed too.

HARLEY QUINN # 33 by Tini Howard, Gretchen Felker-Martin, Sweeney Boo, and Hayden Sherman. On Earth-26, Harely has been killed and Lux Kirby arrives to suggest a meeting with Captain Carrot. On Earth-), Lux tells Harley that Python Ivy also got killed. Besides teaching and worrying that her Ivy will suffer the same fate, Harly is at the back and call of Lady Quark, who makes her come to Warworld and supervise Liana’s riding lessons. In the process, they get attacked and Harley reaches out to Lux, who has information on who has been trying to kill her…and it seems like her own hyenas are responsible. In the backup, it’s another twisted Harley dream.

HAWKGIRL #4 by Jadzia Axelrod and Amancay Nahuelpan. Seventeen years ago, a young Cyandi had an interaction with Vulpecula. Today, Metropolis is being attacked by a dragon, leading to Supergirl, Cyandi, Hawkigirl and Steel teaming up to fight it. Not having much luck, Cyandi supercharges her powers and transmutes them to Hawkgirl, giving her an impenetrable armor. She defeats the creature and, in the end, she meets a woman and it ytriggers a memory-a memory from seventeen years ago when she met Vulpecula.