DC UNIVERSE Month 105, Part 2

JONAH HEX AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH #1 by Michael Walsh. Jonah Hex confronts a group of men and kills them. It is something from his past but it still haunts his dreams and his immortality. Jonah is no longer a gunfighter, preferring to live alone with his horse Peanut. He rides into the town of Ashecott, where he encounters a child and tasks him with watching Peanut while he goes into the saloon and asks for a bottle. Once inside, a large man picks a fight with him, but he refuses to engage and leaves the saloon. Once outside, a young girl named Annie asks for his help, claiming a dark evil inhabits her father. The father takes the girl away and the sheriff  encourages Jonah to leave the town. That night, Annie wakes to find a creature in her home and her father’s skin suit. Jonah wrestles with his moral compass, smashing his trademark guns with an axe. In the end, a dark rider with glowing red eyes on a pale horse rides into Ashecott.

JSA #24 by Jeff Lemire and Teddy Kristiansen. In 1961, Dr. Midnite, Wildcat and Hourman has gone off to rescue an operative that turns out to be Atom Smasher. Atom Smasher has lost a lot of blood and the decision is to have Hourman give him a transfusion with his blood, which contains Miraclo. This leads Wildcat to have to fight the enemies to allow the process to continue. The treatment works and the heroes prepare to get out, even as Al tells them that he knows the Soviet’s future plans. Their escape is stopped by Project Rocket Red, with Hourman making the decision to fight him and allow the others to get Al out. They make their way onto the ship and believe that Hourman is either dead or captured, but he surprises them by swimming to the boat with the head from Project Rocket Red. In the present, Ted Grant,  now the host for The Spectre, muses how he has a few more good years left in him.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #24 by Mark Waid, Nicole Maines, Fico Ossio, and Dan Mora. The Atom is being interrogated by Batman, Wonder Woman, and Hawkman regarding his secret monitoring of the League members; specifically the villains. To explain his actions, re tells of a recent mission off the coast of Qurac. For that mission, Red Tornado dispatches a team to help with the aircraft carrier USS William Storm, which has been forced in Quraci waters and is under attack and could represent a descent into war. Batman, Vixen, King Shark, Hawkman, and Terra-Man respond but, despite their efforts, the steering is locked and a strike aircraft has been launched towards Qurac and a missile is launched. The Atom suddenly appears on the bridge of the ship, with him explaining he had been on the vessel for a while and has a theory involving quantum signals. Ray follows the signal and discovers Dr. Sivana is responsible. He severs the signal to the carrier, helping to preventing the attack. In front of the League members, Ray defends his actions although Batman is angry as Ray has been gathering intel on his fellow heroes. Montoya reveals she was responsible for reporting him. Ray, who refuses to apologize, says that he believes that the energy the heroes received at the end of the tournament is controlling their actions. In the second story, Dreamer finds herself in a recurring dream that brings her face-to-face with an alternate version of herself from the Alternate Universe, telling her that Darkseid is coming with a war that will stretch across the multiverse. She says that the visions the heroes have received are only part of the picture and they must put those puzzle pieces together

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE DARK REALM SPECIAL #1 by Dan Mora. In Central America, a man finds himself haunted by nightmares about the loss of his daughter, leading him to unite with a mystical spirit known as Cadejos. Meanwhile, on the Watchtower, new heroes including Boruka and Rana Dorada express concern about how distant Cadejos has been. Cadejos is tracking down a demonic cult’s ritual and discovers that a demon is preparing to sacrifice a child to open a path to the Dark Realm. He attempts to fight the demon and calls for backup in the form of Zatanna and other League members, who help him to stop the sacrifice

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #2 by Joshua Williamson and Hayden Sherman. Brainiac 1 of 5 and Matter Eater Lad find themselves on the run from the Persuaders. In the process, they are able to dig through R.J. Brande’s hidden files to track down his killer. At the same time, Lightning Lad spends time with Lightning Lord and his sister Lightning Lass. Lightning Lord, now possessing a Legion tattoo, tries to convince his siblings to join the Legion and become rogue superheroes. Lighting Lad is intrigued although his sister is afraid of what will happen to their families if people find out they have powers. The boys go out and save some people together, with Lightning Lad being branded with the Legion symbol by his brother. Cosmic Boy is planning his next moves after the events of last issue while Saturn Girl uses her telepathic powers to communicate with the elders, getting a visit from the Emerald Empress. Behind the scenes, a person believed to be Brainiac One Million learns that the identity of the person who killed Brande has been discovered and his followers are going to capture him, interrogate him and then kill him and anyone he may have spoken to. In the end, the Persuaders have a new recruit who had come to them: Lightning Lass.

LOBO #8 by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona. Green Lump is awakened by Dawg, leading him to go on a cosmic rescue mission. Meanwhile, Francis Dalex, who hold Lobo captive, reveals is he the disgraced Mauve Lantern who the Guardians blamed for not being able to stop the destruction of Czarnia. He reveals he has been a weapon that will bypass Lobo’s healing factor. Accepting his end, Lobo is executed. One year later, Lono’s rotting body is discovered by some interstellar bounty hunters calling themselves the Ex-Lobos, where one of the declares: “Lobo is dead”.

NEW TITANS #40 by Tate Brombal and Sami Basri. Deep in the Amazon rainforest, the Titans are working with the Esquecida and the people of Akahim to help them from attacks by the Yaguara: a god-like jaguar spirit protector of the Amazon. Meanwhile, Commodore Murphy and the Green Corp continue to try and exploit the jungle, getting a call from someone demanding he sets up a livestream to show the Akahim, while also asking for donations from his followers before unleashing a rocket he calls Money Shot. Eva goes to face the Yaguara and becomes compromised while Yara gets another vision and tries to free Eva. As the rocket comes into play, Jon faces it head on and stops it, getting saved by Red Devil. Static helps with the Eva situation and seemingly terminates the creature. In the end, Eva lies on the ground unconscious and the Yaguara is revealed to be the girl Yara saw in her visions.

NIGHTWING #143 by Dan Watters and David Lapham. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. The man with the truck has been stopped , thanks to an assist from Damian Wayne. While Poison Ivy’s flora attacks the city, an Exhausted Nightwing and Robin find themselves tracking down Scarface who is using the chaos to take out the Minotaur, leading them to a garage where Scarface is looking to duplicate the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. The pair work together to take out Scarface’s thugs, including one if is being mutated by Ivy’s toxins. In the end, Damian decides to volunteer at a local hospital while Wesker and Scarface flee, with the doll’s head exploding; an apparent effect of the toxin.

POISON IVY #49 by G. Willow Wilson and Alex Lins. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Several weeks before launching her attack, Chief of Staff Warren White, better known as the Great White Shark, informs her that her recent antics have tanked her in the polls. In the present, Ivy’s empire has collapsed and The Green has abandoned her. Trapped in the park, the plants that were part of her being actively try to kill her. Croc arrives to help her out of the park when she is confronted by Lady Jane: a representative for the Parliament who tells her that Gotham now belongs to The Green. Despite Croc’s warning, she races to Throatcutter Hill to reunite with Harley, but finds her apartment has been destroyed. In the end, Savage and his team arrives to release their Ivyside toxin just as Mr. Freeze’s weather machine explodes across the city. Suddenly finding herself freezing, she silently calls out for Batman. To be concluded in BATMAN: BAD SEED-SUNRISE #1.

SUPERGIRL #18 by Sophie Campbell. In the Fortress of Solidarity, the collective of heroes known as the Super Force(Lena, Nightflame, Phantasmagoria, Princess Shark, Thunder Girl, and Wombat) are adjusting to their surroundings. Thundergirl is upset that she does not have a civilian identity and knows she cannot be Thundergirl forever. Thundergirl notes that Kara is giving off weird electromagnetic readings and Lesla notes that this could be related to Kara’s S-Matrix suit. Nightflame and Wombat fight with each other, with their brawl opening up a hole on the floor, where they discover a magic book protected by a ward spell. Suddenly, Kara’s suit comes to life and Matric returns, insisting she is Supergirl. Kara puts on her old costume and the pair talk, with matrix revealing that Superman had put her into a cryptobiotic state to save her from dying. Then Reactron arrives, bursting into the Fortress, with the aim to capture Supergirl and the crystal. He exposes her to Gold Kryptonite, taking her powers away forever.

SUPERMAN #43 by Joshua Williamson and Xermonico. Cat Grant has decided to follow Marilyn Moonlight on patrol, where they find a graveyard that suddenly appeared and seems to have people who have been turned into statues. Meanwhile, Superman tries to adjust to his regular routine as a reporter, but has to leave to stop Chemo from attacking A Guarda. When he returns, she tasks him to investigate disappearances in Southside Heights and has him team up with Jimmy Olsen. They end up at the Ace O’ Clubs seeking information, with Bibbo saying he believes it is due to aliens kidnapping people to sacrifice to their gods. Later, Superman searches for Cat and ends up fighting some monsters, who incapacitate him with an energy beam. Accompanying the creatures is someone with a Black Lantern crest on their gauntlet and they enter the mausoleum, where the hooded figure addresses a crowd, including Cat. He claims he can resurrect the dead and a piece of Superman’s cape from his death is on display. The next day, Jimmy says that Clark hadn’t felt well after interviewing Bibbo and went home, which Lois knows he did not. She goes to the roof of the Planet building and finds Superman, who is suffering from a strange mutations caused by the energy beams and cannot rick exposing himself to sunlight because it burns his skin.

SUPERMAN THE WEDDING ALBUM: 30^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1 by Rainbow Rowell, Louise Simonson, Karl Kessel, Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Cian Tormey, Jon Bogdanove, and Tom Grummett. Jon Kent is visiting his parents and, while looking through old photo albums, learns that his parents never get a chance to celebrate their wedding anniversary or that heroes went to their wedding, so he concocts a plan to have a surprise anniversary party for them. But Mr. Mxyzptlk decides to help him, whether he wants it or even knows about it. Chaos ensues as Jon, along with jimmy Olsen, struggle to find somewhere to hold the party, deal with inviting guests, hiring a band and more. He pulls it off and they arrive but Mxyzptlk wants to claim that he was behind the party and resents being invited to the party, leading to him brainwashing the guests, turning Jimmy into a balloon. He then turns the cake toppers into giant Lois and Clark who go on a rampage. Mxyzptlk steals Lois and Clark’s wedding rings. The Justice League arrives and help stop the rampage while Lex and Guy Gardner trick the villain into saying his name backwards, sending him back to the Fifth Dimension. With the imp gone, Jon recovers his parents’ rings. In the end, everyone celebrates on the Watchtower where they renew their vows and Wonder Woman pronounces them as man and wife.

SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #18 by Dan Slott and Lucas Meyer. Superman and Lois share a quiet moment at a river while Jon has taken Bibbo and his food truck to Steelworks, where John  Henry has purged all the Kryptonite from Beppo’s system. Jon is given a box of toys from Natasha that Lois had bought for Ultraboy. Jon tells her he wants to take some time to rediscover himself while Natasha says she is moving to National City and setting up a new branch of Steelworks called Hammer Space that will be dedicated to space exploration. Jon goes off and tries out many occupations including race car driver, ranch hand and trading card player. He goes to Las Vegas and watches the Royal Flush Gang attack a game store. As Tomorrow Man, he tries to intervene but the police think he is in league with the villains. Superman arrives to vouch for Tomorrow Man, leading to an argument between the two. While they talk, Jon says he wants to go to Earth-3 and try to save Ultraboy, even if he has to break barriers to get there. In the end, Natasha arrives at Hammer Space and meets with her new personal assistant, who introduces her to the newest applicant as head of R&D: Toyman.

TEEN TITANS #2 by Kyle Higgins and Daniele Di Nicuolo. Jason interrogates someone, searching for the missing kids. This leads the team to scope out the Ascend building. Unfortunately the kids are a little eager and burst into the facility, traumatizing the kids and staff and causing damage. Maren Vellis, the person in charge, explains this is simply a wellness center. Jason arrives, calling himself Monty Malone, and apologizes, saying his team is actually kids from his group home who thought their friend was in trouble. In the end, Ezra gets a text message from Eugene saying he had found something about Ascend. He goes to visit but Eugene is not in his dorm room. But he sees a van driving off and believes that Eugene has now been kidnapped.

WONDER WOMAN #38 by Stephanie Williams and Daniel Sampere. In the past, the Matriarch has followed Steve and Trinity to steal the infant version of herself from her while Diana is trying to protect Elizabeth. Trinity prepares to use the Lasso of Death against the Matriarch, but she uses her Green Lantern ring to grab the Lasso and pull it away from Trinity. Diana agrees to fight the Matriarch on identical stipulations and puts Elizabeth down, but Matriarch goes back on her word and attacks using the ring. Steve tells Diana that Trinity is not breathing and the Matriarch declares she is able to save her in exchange for being able to land one punch on Diana. She relinquishes the Lasso and Diana agrees, being knocked unconscious in the process by a construct. Matriarch grabs her own baby self and Lizzie and flees, trying to flee Themyscira but is knocked out of the sky when she hits an invisible drone deployed by Nubia, who challenges her to combat. Her ring depleted, Nubia tells her to surrender and that leads to Nubia slicing off the Matriarch’s ring finger. She is then attacked by metal wings, courtesy of Silver Swan, who is alongside Circe, Angle Man, and Doctor Psycho, who have all come here to free Sovereign.

ZATANNA #7 by Jamal Campbell. In the past, in a remote village in the Arctic Circle, the vampire Lady White watches her brother torture a female prisoner named Helmi until their father steps in to scold Baron for torture and Lady White for not feeding on the prisoner. Sometime later, the White Coven that Lady White and her family belonged too, was subject to death and destruction at the hands of the Order of the Van Helsings. In the present, an elderly Helmi is celebrating her birthday when a ship crashes on the shore. Sheriff Danil, along with his partners Eva and Sten, investigate and find Zatanna and a message written in blood that had implored Zatanna to find them. Helmi later says she was freed by Van Helsing and Zatanna believes the message is connected to the Lady White and she is targeting Helmi. Eva reveals she is a Van Helsing descendant and is part of the Order; also revealing that Father White had escaped and that Lady White must be trying to reconnect with him. Zatanna takes Eva to the old settlement for the White Coven, currently abandoned, where they are attacked by Father White. In the end, the sheriff takes Helmi home only for her to be greeted by Lady White.

DC UNIVERSE Month 105, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #25 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. In the past, Bruce goes to Croc’s Gym and visits with his friends during the regular poker game. After apologizing for what he did over the previous year, he is invited by Oz to join the game. In the present, he breaks into Grimm Manor, only to find his friends there waiting for him; telling him that Grimm came to each of them and convinced them he was not the monster Bruce claimed he was. Admitting each got something they desired, Grimm agreed not to reveal the Batman’s name to the world, while placing him in a psychiatric hospital. Bruce jumps out a window and runs. At the same time, Alfred calls Harley and asks her to look out for him. Bruce is pursued by police gunships and falls into a gave outside of the Manor where he is greeted by Grimm wearing a suit of infant flesh. As Batman pulls out the Bat-Axe, Grimm sheds the skin and transforms into the monstrous Joker, who reveals he got his name because people say he never laughs and only certain people can make him laugh. He shows him trophy cases holding century’s worth of weapons and armor with an empty one for Batman. During their battle, Batman buries the axe into The Joker’s back. He survives and attacks with daggers and eventually an explosive to bury The Joker. He survives them all. Batman is stabbed by The Joker’s tail, with him demanding his favorite joke. As The Joker goes to bite Batman’s head, Barbara Gordon, dressed as The Bat, arrives, shooting The Joker in the face, allowing her to rescue Batman as the villain flees. Bruce waves in the Batcave with Harley and The Bat around him. The Bat leaves after hearing that The Joker killed her father while Batman apologizes to Harley for how he treated her. He then sees a very pregnant Selina standing behind him.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #20 by Jeff Lemire and Haining. Wally finds himself confined to the sick bay aboard Ray Palmer’s ship, called the Ant Farm, along with Linda and Grodd. Palmer, the Absolute Atom, found them and brought them into the subatomic world after Scudder had told Wally to find Ray, who has been studying the Still Point energy, believing that he and Barry were tracking the same thing. Later, Ray discovers documents that tie Eleanor to H.I.V.E.: a group of scientists that have operated for centuries and had also installed a tracking device in Grodd, which Ray shrinks down to remove. He tells them not to go to the lower deck but Linda and Grodd do, finding a mutating Victor Stone. Ray arrives and intervenes before Stone, the Absolute Cyborg, breaks free. Outside of the subatomic world, Director Bones allies arrest Ralph Dibney as Bones lays out plans to frame Wally and his friends as domestic terrorists.

ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW #6 by Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque. The second Longbow Killer/Green Arrow is revealed to be Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance’s son, Connor Hawke, who reveals he faked his own death in issue #2 and had been working alongside Merlyn as part of a group of archers taking down corrupt billionaires. As Connor tells Dinah that her father is safe, Grundy arrives but is destroyed thanks to a fuel tank shoved inside of him that is exploded by a flaming arrow Dinah fires. Merlyn is confirm to have died, with Connor retrieving a thumb drive from Merlyn’s body. As Hammond’s troops arrive, Dinah releases her previously unknown sonic power, brought about by her emotional confrontation with Connor. Later, Hammond arrives at his home to find Dinah there waiting, telling him he should go into witness protection before he ends up dead. As it turns out, Hammond is found hanging in his apartment, dead by what is suspected to be a suicide.  In the end, Mia, Roy and Dinah are determined to find a connection between Kobra, Dinah’s mother and Arthur Curry, while at the same time at talk show host is looking to get Dinah on her talk show while Alby Raines is pushing the idea that Green Arrow is their Robin Hood.

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #19 by Al Ewing and Jahnboy Lindsay. Simon, Agenet Zero, and Cameron review Argent File #0 in search of answers. The diary of Paul Kirk reveals how he met yellow aliens in the 1940’s who told him “no man escapes” and to beware Sin Es Tro. He later meets with Wild Bill Donovan who puts together the Office of Strategic Services. He is tasked with forming a sub-division called Task Force X. Other team members include Samuel Bradley, “Red Kate” Spencer, Emily “Zero” Hawke, Donald “Falcon” Richards, and Thor the dog. Later, he sends Hawke on a solo mission to Castle Blitzkrieg. He hears a recording from her. where it appears she is captured or killed along with the words “no man escapes”. With the intelligence community in a new space, he takes drugs, presumed to be LSD, and goes on a trip to see what Hawke saw. From there, the files show the journal of Donald Richards. Rick Nelson rebranded himself as Rick Flag and the company as the Agency. Red Kate went off to join Task Force X. He is called to the House on Unamerican Activities and gives up everything on Kate, Emily and Kirk before going home from that meeting to find Thor had died. Under pressure from Flag to assist with the MK-Ultra program, he writes a letter requesting a meeting with President Eisenhower, but died before that can happen; either murdered or by suicide. As it turns out, Sam Bradley, is used in the MK-Ultra trials. Where he meets a transformed Paul Kirk, but also meets Flag, who has taken the name of Uncle Sam. With the file finished, The trio realizes that Hammond runs the D.E.O. Everything is connected: Manhunters, Lazarus, Hammond and the D.E.O. In the end, Will Lawlor and Renee Montoya,  inside the abandoned Belle Reve Facility, have been observing the trio, with Lawlor going to inform their boss: Amanda Waller. She instructs Will to tell Kyle Rayner that he is back on Task Force X.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #24 by Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra. John Henry irons has relocated to the Kent farm, with the intentions of aiding Clark and, after seeing the sunstones from Krypton, building new armor for himself,. He reveals his original goal was to go to Metropolis and kill Ra’s, as he was the person who was responsible for buying the Peacemaker design and then not following through when John objected to using the design for his private army. John gets used to small town living, even observing Clark’s growing friendship with Lana. Superman continues to deal with various emergencies, but does so in a humane way. He helps Chemo, building him a containment suit. He gets the Atomic Skull into a treatment program for his addiction; even seeing Bloodsport’s rehabilitation under Iron’s tutelage. In the end, both heroes visit Irons’ mother’s grave.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #25 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. Diana prepares to head to Gateway City and find Veronica Cale, making the decision to take a Tetracide Fear Potion designed to counteract any fear. Prior to this, Diana and Circe went to hell to help her prepare. When Diana leaves, Steve, Petra, and Ferdinand contemplate taking the potion, which they all eventually do. Steve heads off to follow Diana and meets with Hecate and becomes her emissary. Meanwhile Barbara fully transforms into a grotesque cheetah that still contains elements of the previous host for Cheetah, Priscilla Rich. She meets with Phobos and Deimos and devours them to gain their power. Diana arrives and tries to reach out to the person who was her friend but Barbara has become a being craving power over friendship and the two battle, with Cheetah having more of a physical advantage. Elsewhere, Veronica Cale speaks to the statue of her daughter, claiming she will do anything to save her. In the end, she has been taken to Cheetah’s lair and, just before she can eat Diana, Cheetah is knocked away by Steve Trevor, who has been transformed as the Emissary of Hecate.

ACTION COMICS #1103 by Mark Waid and Patricio Delpeche. In the past, Lionel Luthor, a brilliant scientist, had a run-in with Vandal Savage, resulting in his reputation being ruined and ending up working an assembly line in Shelby, Kansas. The experience turned Lionel into an alcoholic domestic abuser and taking his anger out on Lex, who he was jealous of. One night, during a dinner party his mother Leticia had created, Lex showed off his piano playing abilities which intimidated the guests. When they left, his mother broke down with his mother saying the guests were jealous and Lex should not care what they thought. Days later, Lionel and Leticia had a huge fight with Lionel leaving, which was Leticia’s plan. Mother and son create a plan to flee, starting with her reporting her car stolen, even though she had actually stashed it in the nearby bushes. She set the house on fire and, when she called emergency services, she pretended that she and Lex were dying in that fire. As the house burned, mother and son made their escape. During the same time period, Jonathan and Martha have to deal with Clark’s powers coming to light and feared that he would act without thinking to hide them.

ALL IN SAGA: DARKSEID VS. THE WORLD #1 by Scott ZSnyder, Joshua Williamson, Sanford Greene, and Yasmine Putri. Darkseid explains the events surrounding the King Omega conflict, while also detailing his life story, and clarifying how the tournament affected the heroes and their emotional energy has become the source of Omega power, along with the power from the Heart of Apokolips. Darkseid continues to tell his tale as he faces off against the Crime Syndicate on Earth-3, giving them the ultimatum of submitting to him or be forced to. They resist and fight him, though they are defeated. In the past, Darkseid was Uxas who, along with his brother Drax, was the child of King Yuga Khan and Queen Heggra. His father was obsessed with obtaining the Omega Force and he shared the same obsession, eventually killing his brother and obtaining the Omega Force for himself. He fell in love with a scientist named Suli who saw the Omega Force as something that would create harmony. Their relationship produced a son named Kalibak. Queen Heggra saw Suli as a threat and poisoned her, leading to Uxas killing his mother and his becoming Darkseid. He goes on to explain that Superman will always be his philosophical opposite and his universe is filled with suffering. Superman represents the Alpha and Darkseid is the Omega. He proposes a universe where no one would ever be lost: the Absolute Universe which he built to reflect his philosophy, where nothing is lost forever because everything happens all at once. In the process, he also created a new Source Wall made up of his defeated enemies.In the second story, Pandora, from the New 52 mythology, FLASHPOINT, and DOOMSDAY CLOCK, reappears, despite her perceived death during DOOMSDAY CLOCK. It is revealed that she did die but Darkseid brought her back to life and he reminds her that he has saved her and asks her why she had been spying on Earth-Zero after it reformed and demands she tell him what she has observed, making him fall silent. He refers to her as his harbinger and makes travel between worlds and alternate realities. He tasks her with finding people who would be useful to him while seeking out his enemies.

BARBARA GORDON BREAKOUT #6 by Mariko Tamaki and Pablo M. Collar. In the prison, Barbara and Myrna are investigating Sparrow’s death when they discover a false wall leading into the cell where Sparrow had been attacked. Two guards discover the women, leading to Barbara attacking them. As she resists, one of the guards is prepared to shoot her when a mysterious man kills the guards. Elsewhere, someone kills the warden and when some guards go to his office, the killer arranges to be taken to her. Imagine her surprise when the man who killed the warden turns out to be…Two- Face. Meanwhile, Savant is planning an escape with Aleksandr Creote

BATGIRL #24 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Batgirl continues to make her way through Gotham to save the life of the young girl. At the same time, those trapped in Bao’s restaurant have to band together to keep themselves safe. Batgirl eventually makes it to Gotham General while also refusing treatment. She returns to the restaurant and now stands ready with everyone else to defend themselves.

BATMAN #14 by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Police officers, wearing cheap Halloween style Batman masks, attempt to break in to Pennyworth Manor, where Verity is speaking to batman, who is on his way to find Victor Fries. Once inside, Verity fights the invaders, actually wearing one of the masks to infiltrate the thugs. Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Cold, Batman finds an injured Victor who has been incapacitated by his wife during a divorce battle resulting in his containment helmet becoming cracked. As much as she wants her husband to die, he reaches a deal: save Gotham by giving them what they have always wanted-winter.

BATMAN BAD SEEDS: GOTHAM CENTRAL #2 by Christopher Cantwell and Jacob Phillips. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Even though Gordon and Baker have Anarky at gunpoint, he manages to escape, but is stopped by Batgirl Stephanie Brown. At the same time, the plants kill the train conductor, which speeds up in the process. Zsasz kills or tries to kill several people on the train when Stephanie intervenes. Baker calls for Bullock to move in, but Zsasz stabs her arm while a stray shot from Bullock hits Baker in the shoulder. Stephanie takes down Zsasz and, thanks to the subway manager, the train finally slows down. But Vandal Savage demands that the TUCOs blow the tunnel in order to kill a bat, Anarky, Zsasz, Gordon and others. The trapped passengers manage to escape the train but their path to freedom is blocked by a large carnivorous plant and they are forced to save Zsasz, who gets ensnared by the plant. Later, Stephanie saves Anarky from the same fate, The TUCOs blow up the subway train, with Anarky and Stephanie caught in the blast. She remains unconscious as Anarky leaves her behind. To be continued in GOTHAM GENERAL #1.

BATMAN BAD SEEDS: GOTHAM GENERAL #1 by Greg Rucka, Rosa Ekedal, and Steve Lieber. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. In the early evening, 14-year -old Shoshana Evans arrives at Gotham General to visit her mother Dr. Natalie Evans, who is finishing her final shift at the hospital, as she and Shosh are moving to Gateway, as Gotham has become too dangerous. Suddenly, the lights go out as Ivy’s attack is unleashed on the city. The hospital becomes overwhelmed by victims of Ivy’s attack and Nat orders her daughter to remain in the hospital break room. She gains access to a hidden telephone and tries to call someone who can give her information. One of the patients exhibits strychnine poisoning and a child arrives and stops breathing, meaning they have to put him on a ventilator and they believed he is suffering from curare poisoning. As patients pour in, the hospital begins to run out of resources. As the night goes on, Shosh discovers a locked Bat-Box that apparently has some connection to Batman and the Bat Family. In the end, an ambulance arrives carrying the injured body of Stephanie Brown, who was injured in BATMAN BAD SEEDS: GOTHAM CENTRAL #2.

BATMAN BAD SEEDS: STREETS OF GOTHAM #1 by Mariko Tamaki, Matt Fraction, Bruno Abdias, Rossi Gifford, Gretel Lusky, Jorges Fornes, Steve Lieber, and Brian Ching. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. A six story anthology set during the BAD SEEDS event. In the first story, a group of tenants in an apartment building decide to have gathering on the rooftop of their building. At the same time, two crooks decide to rob the empty apartments. One of the pair, who is not a fan of this whole thing, helps an elderly tenant, leaving his partner to continue. The young man finds a friend in the tenants while the other gets killed by one of the carnivorous plants. In the second tale, a woman named Beth helps a young man named Freddie negotiate his trip back home among the chaos. When they are confronted by crooks, the Signal , who Freddie apparently knows, intervenes. In the third tale, a group of kids are gathered together, including two girls who each think they are Batman. That eventually leads to all four of them teaming up to save some people from a man eating plant. In the fourth tale, Signal faces off against the TUCOs, one of whom is attacked and injured y one of the plants. Later, Signal visits him in the hospital, telling him that if he recovers, the two of them are going to have words. In the fifth tale, Tim and Berine face off against ninjas. In the final tale, a group of trapped television writers are saved by Signal, which leads to one of them coming up with the pitch for that project.

BATMAN BAD SEEDS: SUNRISE #1 by Matt Fraction, G. Willow Wilson, and Giuseppe Camuncoli. The BATMAN BAD SEEDS concluding chapter. It is 5:58 a.m. and Gotham City has become a prehistoric jungle. The Bat Family is spread throughout the city with Jim Gordon is trapped in the subway tunnel and Savage preparing to deploy his dangerous Ivycide, which is lethal to both humans and plants. Just before sunrise, Victor, Pamela and Batman use the Winter Engine, covering the city and causing the temperature to drop drastically; freezing the plants and neutralizing the spores. While Gotham has been saved, the city is now covered in ice. Elsewhere, Ivy is confronted by the Parliament of Trees, regarding her attempt as a failure and taking her powers away. Inured and exhausted, she is attacked by Savage and fights back, threatening to unleashing nightshade into his lungs; a false threat as she is powerless. He breaks off a piece of ice and is about to kill her when a Batarang breaks it. Batman pulls her to safety but she fights against him as she wants to kill Savage herself. Savage deploys his soldiers after Ivy and Batman but uses their tanks as a bomb, throwing them into the building and releasing the Ivycide. Batman shares his Bat-Breather with Ivy, as much as she says she is willing to die here. As Gordon and Espinoza arrives, Savage declares himself Mayor of Gotham City and claims that Ivy and Batman are dead and also responsible for the death of the TUCOs he actually killed. But Ivy and Batman emerge from the building and she is delivered to an ambulance. Waylon arrives and attacks Savage, tearing off Savage’s head and leaving his decapitated body in the sewer. With the attack over and Savage dispatched, the residents and heroes attempt to get back to a normal life, with Ivy in Arkham and Savage’s rule ended..

BATMAN AND ROBIN YEAR ONE: DYNAMIC DUOS #3 by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. Batman meets with the Mad Hatter, battling a Gryphon before ultimately apprehending him. Meanwhile, Robin, in disguise, has been ordered to kill Catwoman to prove his loyalty. Before that happens, Kitten bumps into a column and that allows Catwoman to escape, which buts Dick at odds related to his subterfuge. Batman heads out and picks up Dick, who assures him he was not followed. But who is that hiding and observing? Catwoman.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #56 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Ra’s al Ghul continues his plan to reduce the population of the Earth by 90%, claiming this is to save the planet from pollution. With the Justice League busy off plant, Superman and Batman are forced to split their resources and go after Ra’s allies, with Superman going off to fight Tokamak in South Korea, where he is destroying nuclear plants, and Batman is fighting against Ocean Master and the Atlantean army. Queen Bee has unleashed a deadly viral plague that is affecting citizens across the world. Talia allies herself with the heroes by battling Poison Ivy in Kansas where she is making plans to attack the world’s food supply. To combat Queen Bee’s attack, Batman teams up with Kid Flash to break Mirror Master out of prison and have him reverse engineer a cure. In the end, as things continue to get worse, Batman calls an audible and brings in additional allies in the form of Flash’s Rogues Gallery.

BATWOMAN #8 by Greg Rucka and Dani. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. In the catacombs of the Cathedral of St. Dumas, Batwoman waits for the arrival of the TUCOs, who have been tasked with killing her and claiming bounties from Savage. Before she can act, Huntress arrives, wounded from a clash involving a TUCO sniper that has left a blood trail. As Batwoman tends to Helena’s wounds, Helena urges her to use lethal force, having seen the video of Batwoman killing people. Batwoman refuses and uses non-lethal attacks to take down the TUCOs before the two prepare to leave the cathedral.

CATWOMAN #92 by Torunn Gronbekk and Danilo Beyruth. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Catwoman saves a 13-year-old boy named Alfie Hendron, the son of the D.A., from getting abducted; taking it upon herself to make certain the boy gets home.

CLAYFACE: CELEBRITY DIRT #4 by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Fran Galan. The real Clayface meets with Dr. Victoria October so they can figure out who the fake Basil Karlo is. She reveals that there are a lot of people out there who have injected people with Clayface’s DNA, left over from what occurred in DETECTIVE COMICS #973 and #974. Elsewhere, a reporter meets with the fake Clayface and then finds where Katie is being held. When he tries to free her, he finds himself being killed by the fake Clayface. Later, Clayface gets ambushed by Lady Clayface who traps him in liquid Nitrogen, learning that it was her who sent the pictures and video to Clayface. She also reveals this fake Clayface is her husband, Preston Payne., who tells him that Clayface doesn’t know what Payne is really like.

THE DEADMAN #5 by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo. Deadman is no longer what he was and has found himself restore as Boston brand. He is also somewhere in what is called the Gr33n Future, conversing with the Parliament of Circuitry. He tells Boston that The Master, believed to be a version of Mr. M, is responsible for what has happened. The Phantom Stranger, saying that all who would have been considered heroes, had been consumed by The Index: described as the beating heart to The Master’s mind. As he wanders through the city of the future, he comes across Connor Hawke, who is the Green Arrow of the Gr33n Future, along with Amril Melville-Ms. Terrific. He had been instructed to go to the tenth floor of the Empyrean Building: a building that technically does not have ten floors. Once there, he is greeted by Swamp Thing and they meet with The Master and soon finds himself back in the present as Deadman. Also there is Bobby the spirit, along with Mr. M and the Soul-Eaters.

DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR #8 by Tony Fleecs and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Adeline is controlling Slade’s business and the Deathstroke name, assembling a group of operatives including the Body Doubles, Captain Boomerang, Copperhead, Angel Breaker and others. Slade is no longer taking contracts but, when an obnoxious man cuts Slade in line at a gas station and then cuts Slade’s tires, Slade pursues him. He eventually catches him and kills him with a knife to the man’s head. Slade opens the man’s trunk and finds a dead Green Lantern in there, shocking Ray Palmer, who he has been speaking too throughout.

THE DEMON #1 by James Harren. In Camelot, in the past, a child with a distinct streak of white hair is seen sitting in a cottage. In modern day, a barefoot, much older and bearded Jason Blood wanders the street like a wandering homeless person, talking to Etrigan, who shares a body with him. Despite his appearance, he can see what ordinary people cannot and, as he pulls a wooden mask from under his cloak, he sees the infestation of creatures in the city; even as Etrigan goads him on to let him free. Jason ends up with the fairy folk and manages to defeat a creature coming for them, leading to them accompanying him in his fight with the creatures in the city.Meanwhile, Morgaine le Fey meets with her coven, including the Iron Duke, Somnambula, Ugly Meg, and The Baron. She meets with merlin, in the form of a baby, and steals his powers to call out the Princes of Hell. Offering them passage into the real world, leading to Etrigan’s brother manifesting and leading to Etrigan being released.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1114 by Tom Taylor and Clayton Henry. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Batman is held at gunpoint by Nora as her husband is minutes away from death. Batman tells her that the only way to stop Ivy’s flora attack is to deploy Fries’ Eternal Winter Engine. She allows Batman to patch her husband’s cryogenic helmet, convincing the pair to put away their differences to save the city. En route, they see a young girl threatened by monsters and, despite their worried he was saving one to risk all, Batman does save her, with the girl giving Nora a flower and that rekindles her humanity. At the lab, they find a plant monster, which Batman freezes. To set off the machine, the couple must combined their blood. The Engine fires up, creating an ice dome over Gotham as the couple dances in the ruins. To be concluded in BATMAN: BAD SEED-SUNRISE.

THE DOOM PATROL #2 by Darcy Van Poelgeest and Niko Henrichon. After the events of last issue, Negative Man has been changed, but he has also retrieved a toy stuffed cat from the alien creature. Later, the Chief sends them on a lucrative mission to rescue a tech billionaire’s daughter from a death cult. Negative Man is asked to stay behind and reveals that the protean wasn’t eating cats at all; it was collecting them to hopefully bring back someone who really loved cats. As he leaves, he gives the stuffed cat to Caulder. En route to the cult, the team is attacked by the villain Warp. In the end, Negative Man and Elasti-Girl are trapped in a flaming vehicle and Caulder burns the stuffed cat.

EMPEROR AQUAMAN #22 by Jeremy Adams and John Timms. Animal Girl and Swamp Thing explain to Arthur that they are on Mogo, that contacted them to help heal it after having crashed into another planet. Aquaman senses something underground and they enter a crack near a mountain seeping black ooze. The trio encounters a creature of black ooze called Chaotix: a follower of the Lord of Chaos. Aquamna is able to destroy it using the waters of Mogo to dilute the creature. He cannot go back to Eath because Lolanna has blocked the portal back there. He opens a portal and ends up on New Korugar. Meanwhile on Earth, Lolanna and her followers search for the Zodiac Crystals in the Atlantean Royal Palace. She eventually deduces that her father had hid them in the throne, blowing it open and revealing the final four crystals.

THE FLASH #38 by Ryan North and Gavin Guidry. Despite Wally’s ability to see future events, three bridges have been destroyed. He checks on the people he had arrested and find they are still in custody, meaning someone else executed this event. He races to Metropolis to help Jon Kent with the rescue operation before traveling to Star City to assist there where Green Arrow objects to his presence. Ollie calls a meeting to the Justice League and suggests using a weapon to negate Wally’s powers, similar to one used on Superman over a decade ago. After defeating the Trickster and learning his ability is not always instantaneous, he goes to meet with the Justice League, where Red Tornado tells him that his continued use of the Speed Force has created wormholes within his brain, leading to poor judgment. With this evidence, Oliver is convinced that removing Wally’s powers is the right thing to do but Wally is poised to fight against them.

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #7 by Jeff Lemire and Rafael De Latorre. After the events in Pittsburgh, Firehawk has to explain Ronnie’s actions to the Justice League. The Department of Metahuman Affairs gets involved, bringing in Mister Terrific and Captain Atom to decide what to do next. Firestorm is now walking the Earth to try to figure out who he is, meeting a young boy named Ronnie, which triggers a memory in this redesigned Firestorm. Terrific and Atom track Firestorm down and Atom overreacts, thinking Firestorm is going to attack. Firestorm creates a bubble to save himself and that is when Secretary Porter arrives and claims Firestorm is government property. In the end, as Firestorm begins to remember Lorraine, she meets with Jason Rusch and they try to figure if Firestorm can be controlled.

GREEN LANTERN #40 by Jeremy Adams, Vasco Georgiev, and Scott Godlewski. Hal continues to investigate why his name is in the Book of Oa and the craft he is travelling in crashes and the occupants are greeted by a hooded individual that turns out to be Krona wearing Hal’s face. Hal is poised to attack but Krona tells him that his look is due to an incomplete transfer of Hal’s body and memories, while saying his own investigation led him to the Nexus of Emotions. Meanwhile, Kyle encounters a villain named Temptation, whose power is to disperse fumes that cause people to willingly surrender their souls. With Jade and Odyssey, they attack and defeat this villain, thanks to Kyle creating a Green Lantern construct of a dragon. Tom Kalmaku, now called The Seer because of his visions, arrives and tells Kyle to return to Oa. Enroute, Odyssey explains she was once imprisoned in a sciencell under the name of the Time Bandit. Upon arrival, he learns that Guy is now The Allsight and the Book of Oa has been revealing pages regarding the Nexus of Emotions, which is connected to the origins of the emotional spectrum. He is showed a sciencell containing Predator. Guy says the next piece of their investigation revolves around the Emotional Wall. Kyle reunites with Soranik as Saint Walker explains how the Alpha Guardians are connected to the emotional entities. In the end, a new Black Hand is revealed to be Alexandra DeWitt: Kyle’s girlfriend who had been murdered by Major Force in 1994’s GREEN LANTERN #54, stuffing her body into Kyle’s refrigerator.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #21 by Morgan Hampton, Juan Jose Ryp, Vaco Georgiev, and Serg Acuna. Guy gardener fights against Predator and calls out for assistance from the Alpha Guardians. When they arrive, they learn that Predator no longer possesses the power of love and is waiting for something called The Arrival. With the Predator is a cell, Guy looks in the Book of Oa, giving him the message that Hal Jordan needs his help. Meanwhile, Simon and El walk through Zillaboq, searching for the captured Lanterns. Kelli transforms herself into a bee construct and finds Jo and the captured Katma. Kelli transforms again and attacks the Darkstars, allowing Katma to flee while Kelli goes back and frees Jo.

HARLEY QUINN #67 by Elliott Kalan and Carlos Olivares. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. As Harley heads off to find Ivy, she is attacked by NKVDemon, getting stabbed by his dagger. Because of that and her exposure to the spores, she begins to hallucinate, seeing a retro version of classic Poison Ivy. Ivy tells her that there old days are over now. In her second hallucination, while being beat more viciously by NKVDemon, she sees images of Ivy and her together, sharing tender embraces. NKVDemon’s relentless attack continues and Harley has a third vision: a future vision of older Ivy and her together. Giving her hope, she gets lucid long enough to use the villain’s own sword to kill him before collapsing in an alley.

DC UNIVERSE, Month 104, Part 2

JSA #23 by Jeff Lemire and Teddy Kristiansen. In the 1950’s, the Justice Society disbanded to protect the secret identities. A decade later, Ted Grant, Rex Tyler, and Charles McNider are met by a mysterious man who convinces them to put their costumes on again for a secret mission to rescue a government operative who may have been captured in the Soviet Union. The trio land in the Soviet Union and see the captured operative: The Atom.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #23 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, and Metamorpho are on the Planet Dronna, fighting against Kanjar Ro and his team of villains and attempting to defend Mister Terrific who has been corrupted with the sudden surge of power he has absorbed. A Dominator attempts to capture terrific and he awakes, heals the others and defeats the villains, leaving only Kanjar Ro standing. Ro says he was hired by another to capture the Power Bank and Terrific uses telepathy to extract the employer from Ro’s mind before teleporting the team to their next destination. On Earth, many of the villains who were granted amnesty have gathered at the Hall of Doom, where they debate working with the League or not until Lex arrives, telling them they are probably being tracked. He is correct, as they are being observed from the Watchtower by Ray Palmer’s secret group. Batman arrives at the Hall of Doom, accusing Lex of undermining the League. As the two tussle, other League members join the fray until Shazam summons a thunderbolt and gets them to stop fighting. As Atom and his group observe, Atom still believes the villains are not being honest about wanting to be helpful and Blue Beetle is concerned about his friend’s apparent paranoia.

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1 by Joshua Williamson and Hayden Sherman. A thousand years from now, as told from the diary of R.J. Brande, Brande tells how the heroes of this era, despite heroes being illegal, were inspired by Superboy. As it turns out, Brande has been murdered and his death could represent a turning point for the United Planets. Brainiac 1 is a private investigator along with his bodyguard, Matter-Eater Lad, and they are investigating the murder, with Brainiac 1 believing the Persuaders were involved and that Brande had been searching for superheroes. On the planet Winath, Garth Ranzz, despite the ban on superheroes, is using his lightning powers to apprehend a gang or car thieves, declaring himself to be Lightning Lad. Upon returning home, his sister, Ayla, questions what he has done, with Garth saying that what happened to them, being attacked by lightning beasts, gave them a gift they sure use to help people. On Braal, Rokk Krinn is a star playing Magnoball where he uses his powers to change the game and this could result in the end of his career. On Titan, Imra Ardeen is a lonely girl who hears voices from events in the past, with glimpses of the original Brainiac and conversations flooding her mind. Brainiac 1 and Matter-Eater Lad, investigating the murder, find Brande’s journal and see how he was searching to heroes when the Persuaders arrive, telling brainiac 1 that he is wanted on twelve planets and will be returned to New Colu for reeducation. In response, he tasks Tenzil with dispatching them. Brainiac 1 searches telepathically and sees the future Legionnaires, even as his brother Mekt Kim rescues his brother from bullies. This leads to brainiac 1 realizing that Mekt, the future Lightning Lord, killed Brande.  

LOBO #7 by Skottie Young, Riley Rossmo, and Jorge Corona. Lobo is hanging out and enjoying Game Night with Granny Goodness, Ambush Bug, Thak and the Space Cabbie. Lobo gets a job from a mysterious contract that sends him back to Czarnia: the homeworld he destroyed and killed everyone. Suddenly Dawg is hit by a blast of pink energy from an unknown assailant. Lobo suspects this is Mr. Kzzt’s doing but it soon becomes evident that this is personal, where the assailant utterly destroys Lobo, leaving him beaten and apparently dead. The attacker reveals himself as…Francis?

NEW TITANS #39 by Tate Brombal and Sami Basri. The New Titans head to the Amazon, where they find that Commodore Murphyand his Green Team are there to bring Green Energy to the Amazon. They encounter a giant cat made out of trees called the Yaguara before crash landing in the jungle and encountering the Esquecida Amazons. The New Titans and the Amazons make their way to Akahim, where Yara is greeted mostly warmly by her people. But a giant worm called Minhocao arrives and the team reacts until Commodore Murphy arrives and feeds the creature with a giant pink sugar treat. Emily reacts with surprise at his appearance; saying she does not know him. That is when Anahi has a vision that the Yaguara has breached the hidden city.

NIGHTWING #142 by Dan Watters and David Lapham. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. A truck filled with a large quantity of TNT is stolen from a Bluehaven construction site and is heading toward Gotham, with the driver bent on revenge because his son died during Ivy’s attack on the city. Nightwing gives chase while trying to avoid the ever growing plant problem. When the driver reaches his destination and is poised to explode it, he is suddenly stopped by a Batarang through the truck’s windshield, seemingly killing him. Who saved the day? Damian Wayne.

POISON IVY #48 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. As Ivy walks the streets of Gotham, citizens beg for help to no avail. She travels to Robinson Park and meets with The Hill, who informs her that he is leaving as Wood Elementals arrive and march into the city. She is told that the Parliament could have taken Gotham without her help and remind her that she is only human after all and must pay for killing Bog Venus. She tries to attack them but ends up having to flee back into the city. She is struck in the ankle by an arrow from The Huntress who leaves Ivy to have to deal with the Wood Elementals, even as she begins to choke on her own toxins. In the end, she knows she must reconcile with Harley.

SUPERGIRL #17 by Sophie Campbell, Bruno Frenda, and Joe Quinones. KINGDOM OF ZOD PART 5. Supergirl, Superboy, and Ursa travel to Krypton’s past; about a year before its’ destruction. Ursa is determined to prevent the impending disaster, while Kara knows that this would radically alter the timeline. Superboy, himself displaced from his time period into the current one, is ordered to not get involved in any of the events that could also affect the timeline. Reaching the city, Kara spies her parents and her younger self. Young Kara falls and Supergirl reacts to go help her, but is restrained by Superboy and soon find themselves being chased by Kryptonian police, which leads to her capture, along with Ursa, with them finding themselves face to face with a younger General Zod. Meanwhile, the Kryptonite infection continues to grow on Earth, potentially making it inhabitable. But there is hope as Steel makes a discovery concerning the plague, until he and his team are interrupted by Plague Zombies. Lois and Tomorrow Man, each infected continue through the tunnels while the Eradicatrix finds herself lost without Ursa or Zod. To be continued in ACTION COMICS #1102.

SUPERMAN #42 by Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, and Eduardo Pansica. KINGDOM OF ZOD PART 8. The Kryptonite plague has been eliminated and all Kryptonite is now inert, except for some samples on the Watchtower. Meanwhile, in El Caldero, Martian Manhunter, Mary Marvel, Lena, Nightflame, Luna, Princess Shark, and Thundergirl escape from their cells and Superman arrives to assist the Calderans, with J’onn saying that Supergirl and Superboy are no longer on Earth. The Super Family go to the Kryptonian fortress where the body of Zod is. Superman and Prime find a captive Booster Gold, who says that Ursa stole his time bubble, which suddenly materializes in Emerald City. Superman, Booster, and Prime race there to find Zod and a fleet of warships, along with a captured Supergirl and Superboy. Trying to settle things peacefully, Superman kneels before Zod, who agrees to release the captured heroes if Superman agrees to help Zod save Krypton from destruction. Superman refuses and Zod, using the powers he has gotten from Earth’s yellow sun, decides to take Earth by force. To be concluded in SUPERMAN: KINGDOM OF ZOD SPECIAL #1.

SUPERMAN: KINGDOM OF ZOD SPECIAL #1 by Joshua Williamson, Mark Waid, Dan Slott, Paolo Villanelli, Sophie Campbell, Tamra Bonvillain, David Messina, Ivan Plascensia, Rachel Stott, and Bruno Frenda. In the past, Jon and Damian had taken Wonder Woman’s jet on a joy ride, leading to Jon being grounded by his father, who told him how he had been forced to seal Zod in the Phantom Zone. In the present, the Eradicatrix makes an entry of how the Kryptonite asteroid gave rise to El Caldero. Superman and the family take on Zod, who refuses to return to his Krypton, knowing the ultimate fate. Lena finishes work on her time bomb and Booster is able to get past Zod’s guards and get to the detonation site near the time bubble. The bomb releases temporal energy that sends Zod and his army back to Krypton. Young Clark is caught in the vortex but is captured by Ursa, who is prepared to kill him if it keeps Superman from ever interfering in Zod’s plans. Supergirl and Tomorrow Man try to reason with her but she is ultimately swayed by learning her son, Lor-Zod, is still alive, leading to her leaving and telling the Super-Family not to search for her. With the war ended, Castilho realizes that El Caldero will have serious economic repercussions, even as Lois says he must turn over the Kryptonian castle to the House of El, with Supergirl as the owner, as chosen by the sun crystal. Superman asks Jon why he has accepted a new identity, with his son saying he wants to walk his own path. Lois interviews Young Clark, who says he was inspired by Jonathan Kent. Booster, Mary Marvel, and Martian Manhunter bring Superboy to the Fortress, who does not want to leave after learning so much about his future, which leads to Martian Manhunter to erase his memory and return him to his past. Meanwehile, Supergirl has chosen Antarctica as the home for her Fortress of Solidarity, with Thundergirl and Nightflame invited to live with her. Maybe she will not have any peace as Reactron is preparing to attack her, now that he has attached a piece of Gold Kryptonite to his armor. Superboy-Prime, admitting mistakes he has made, decides to put his hero career on hold but answers one last call to give Lois and Clark some time together. At her lab, Lena tells Conner of visions she saw when the bomb detonated, including a Black Lantern ring, a future Brainiac capturing multiple Legions of Super-Heroes, the flag of Black Zero waving during a solar eclipse, and Mercy working on a mysterious project. She has Conner take her data to the Watchtower when he is met by Lex, who tells him they need to talk.

SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #17 by Dan Slott and Rachael Stott. KINGDOM OF ZOD PART 7. On the Planet Krypton, one orbital cycle before it explodes, Zof has captured Supergirl, Superboy, and Ursa. Back in El Caldero, Superman finds himself cured by Lana, who purges the lethal Kryptonite from his body. What he discovers is that he can now absorb Kryptonite and the radiation from it into his own body.  He turns into his 200 second golden form, repairing his damaged eye in the process, and proceeds to travel around the world, absorbing the radiation from every infected individual on the planet; even going to Stryker’s Island where he gives Metallo a new Kryptonite heart. Returning to El Caldero, he removes the Kryptonite that had become the country’s major resource. In the process, his gold form transforms to something very much like that from his Superman Prime era and he expels all of that radiation into space. Returning back to Earth, he uses his last few seconds to absorb all the extreme radiation that is crippling Lana, restoring her to her human form. In doing so, he burns out his golden form permanently. The Eradicatrix arrives and battles with Jon, who defeats her with shocking results. In the end, Jon tells Superman and Lois that he cannot sense any other Kryptonians. To be continued in SUPERMAN #42.

TEEN TITANS #1 by Kyle Higgins and Daniele Di Nicuolo. Jason Todd meets with two parents so he can investigate the disappearance of a young man named Cole. His online footprint leads him to a group of mostly meta-humans and tech-savvy teens who are calling themselves Teen Titans. Included in the group are Eugene Choi(formerly a member of the Shazam Family), Cheshire Cat(Lian Harper-daughter of Cheshire and Arsenal), and Fairplay(Jeffrey Holt-son of Mr. Terrific), along with new heroes Proxy and Wildcard. While at a video arcade, the teens encounter a group of masked robbers with the heroes defeating the robbers, although they do get assistance from Red Hood. Jason demands they stop using the Titans name and he continues searching for Cole, who the teen heroes are aware of but have had no contact with. Later, the teens show up at Jason’s lair and he tells them he will help them find Cole, provided they fix his damaged gear and he picks the team name, which is Teen Titans.

WONDER WOMAN #37 by Stephanie Williams and Daniel Sampere. Steve and Trinity arrive in the present, only to be met by an army of Amazons who do not believe this version of trinity is the same as the baby they know of. This leads to Trinity fighting and defeating the Amazons. Meanwhile, Diana, carrying both baby Trinity and baby Lyssa, descend into a deep cave, where she fights a monster that had escaped from Doom’s Doorway; eventually defeating it by choking it out with her lasso. Steve and Trinity learn of where Wonder Woman is and they descend into the cave, where the trio come face to face with each other, with Steve and Diana sharing a kiss. Diana recalls meeting the adult Trinity before in TRINITY: DAUGHTER OF WONDER WOMAN. Trinity says they have come back to warn Diana of the future where Lyssa becomes the Matriarch. But the Matriarch has slain the Amazons who met with Steve and Trinity and now she uses the Lantern ring to take baby Lyssa from Diana.

WONDER WOMAN 2026 ANNUAL: WONDER WAR-THE MATRIARCH SPECIAL #1 by Stephanie Williams, Leah Williams, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira, and Belen Ortega. Lyssa has died and must cross the River of Fire to make her way back to the time where Steve and Trinity have gone back to in an effort to stop Lyssa from becoming the Matriarch. The River is populated by the people she has killed throughout her life including Green Arrow, Angle Man, Bane, Aquaman, Damian Wayne, Donna Troy, Jon Kent, Cassie, Yara Flor, and Nubia, who wants revenge for Lyssa killing Io. Her journey ends with the three Fates meeting her and offering her the Green Lantern ring, telling her that if she takes it, Lyssa belongs to them. She does and makes her way to Themyscira. Also essential are the numerous flashbacks, revealing the sisterly bond she once had with Trinity and how she eventually came to the realization that she needed to do whatever was necessary; even if it broke all the principles of the Amazons to prove she was worthy.

ZATANNA #6 by Jamal Campbell. Zatanna gives the reader a lecture  on the four Classical elements and their roots in magic. Midway through this, a Great Dragon of Despair has arrived over the Hidden City. In response, Zatanna summons a giant purple rabbit to carry the citizens of the city to safety. Zatanna fights the dragon but cannot defeat it, as it was brought forth by the negativity of the citizens, leading them to unite to save themselves.

DC UNIVERSE, Month 104, Part 1

ABSOLUTE CASSANDRA CAIN: THE SHADOW’S HAND #1 by Che Grayson and Matias Bergara. Somewhere in the Himalayas, where the League of Assassins has their base known as The Crest, Lady Shiva battles ninjas while calling out to any god and she gets Jack Grimm in the process. Cassandra’s father, David Cain, tells that story to his young daughter. In the past, sometime after this, Cassandra is in a hospital bed and, because of a battle, has lost her ability to speak. This leads Shiva to train her as she puts together a team, made up of Cassandra, Michael Sommers, Benjamin Turner, and, despite her wishes, Scandal Savage, who Cassandra saves from suicide. Eventually, Cassandra heads to Ark D where she is attacked by but teams up with Taso Yamashiro as they battle zombies. The Soultaker sword reveals how Cassandra lost her voice and she joins the team. Upon returning, Cassandra and Shiva battle each other with Shiva revealing that the League was originally destroyed because she refused to let Grimm control it. Together, Cassandra and Shiva represent the League of Shadows.

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #24 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. Scarecrow, having accomplished his goals, bids goodbye to Jack Grimm as he prepares to leave Gotham. After the death of Tim, Bruce retreats to the bat enclosure at Gotham Zoo. Martha finds him and explains her history with the Court of Owls and how Scarecrow turned them against each other. She gives her son a map showing Scarecrow’s probable movements so he can track him down and also an untraceable identity if that is his choice. This leads Bruce to recall how, after he had beaten Falcone’s men when he was ordered to kill Matches Malone, he had retreated to the bat enclosure and was inspired to become something criminals would fear. At the same time, Alfred’s superiors order him to leave Gotham but he defends Batman and refuses. Barbara Gordon, still devastated by the death of her father, follows Bruce into the enclosure. Bruce is not there but he has left her equipment. Batman has tracked down Scarecrow in a cornfield just outside of Gotham, where Scarecrow has filled it with fear toxin. Batman changes the game by lighting the cornfield on fire. Scarecrow fights back, claiming this is the same cornfield where he bled Bruce’s father. Batman destroys Scarecrow, stitching his mouth shut and mounting him on a cross like a real scarecrow. As he prepares to leave the cornfield, Barbara arrives, dressed in a Bat costume and carrying the gun Batman left for her. Batman reveals he knows where he is going next: Jack Grimm’s manor.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #19 by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles. Wally is bloodied and beaten by Zolomon where he sees his father telling him that he has seen below and he needs to set something free. As he gets to his feet, Zolomon attacks again. Thawne tells Zolomon he needs to not just beat Wally but kill him. Meanwhile, Linda is encountering the magic of Abra Kadabra as have the citizens of Central City. Grodd convinces her to focus and see and that allows her to push through the illusions and destroy his technology. At the same time, Zolomon’s ability starts to glitch, allowing Wally to knock him out. He may be down but he is not out and attacks again. Suddenly a bubble shaped ship and a man arrive, knocking Zolomon out again, with the man carrying Wally into his ship. Inside, he tells Wally, Linda and Grodd that his name is Ray Palmer and he is taking them to the subatomic world.

ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW #5 by Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque. Dinah and Green Arrow have been captured by Hector Hammond, who arrives late because of a cosmic event of sorts at some other facility. He removes Green Arrow’s mask, only to find his head of security, Malcolm Merlyn, underneath. Threatening them both with the combined force of Dr. Iker and Grundy, he forces Merlyn to explain. Merlyn is a false identity he created when he went undercover to find out what happened to Guillermo Garcia. Garcia’s body was given to Queen who stored it in his bunker but did not live long enough to get to the truth of what Hammond and Jubal Slade were up to. Roy shows up and shoots Grundy but fails to stop him and both Merlyn and Roy pay with their lives.Iker and Grundy face off with each other as Hammond flees. But Merlyn’s partner, a second Green Arrow, has now arrived.

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #18 by Al Ewing and Jahnboy Lindsay. In 1943, a mysterious woman, later revealed to be Emily Hawke(AKA Agent Zero) finds and shoots Baron Blitzkrieg, who has claimed he has connected with his rulers that he calls the Dark Circle. They apparently represent the Black Zero(AKA Darkseid), who is the solution to the Anti-Life Equation. Suddenly, the world turned white and  she ended up in the Zero-Zone. In the present, she is visited in the Zone of Madness by Simon Baz, who brings her up to speed even as they are confronted by the Manhunters. Simon tells her to look into his eyes and they transport out of the Zone of Madness and back to Earth, just outside of the D.E.O. building, where Simon again dons his mask, as they discover they dead body of Grace. Inside the building, they meet with Cameron, who produces Argent File #0 which details everything regarding the D.E.O., the Manhunters, the Green Lantern, Black Star, and everything else they have encountered lately.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #23 by Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra. Many years ago, on Krypton, young Kal-El encounter his first dead body; that of a Kandorian who had been executed. In the present, Kal-El continues his hunt for Brainiac, which leads him into conflict with Winslow Schott: AKA The Toyman. During their battle, where Superman is blasted by a high-tech sonic weapon, Superman retaliates in a way that completely shatters most of the bones in Schott’s body. As he has gone over the edge, Superman realizes that Brainiac is purposely trying to break Kal’s spirit. And he may have done so.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #24 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. Diana destroys the giant eye and confronts Deimos and Phobos, who remind her of her friend Barbara. She allows them to flee and goes to the Hieron, where she is determined to use a portion of the Tetracide to make an antidote to fear to combat the twin gods of fear. Deimos and Phobos make their way to the Gateway City Museum of Natural History, where Barbara has already transformed into the Cheetah. They offer to bring Wonder Woman to the museum so Cheetah could devour her.

ACTION COMICS #1102 by Mark Waid and Montos. KINGDOM OF ZOD, PART 6. Supergirl has gone to Kryptonopolis to find Ursa while Superboy searches for both of them. Being under the red sun, his powers are steadily being drained. He finds the detention center where the two women are being held and questioned by General Zod, with Ursa explaining her history with him and how Krypton will soon be destroyed; going as far to tell him that Jor-El was right, which sends him into a rage and he strikes her. Supergirl gets free and knocks Zod out, effectively saving Ursa. Ursa escapes with the El cousins in pursuit. Ursa finds Zor-El, Supergirl’s father, and tries to convince him that Joe-El was speaking the truth, but accidentally throws him off a building, resulting in him getting a cranial fracture. Supergirl captures Ursa and they go back to their ship, preparing to leave. But Ursa says that if they leave Krypton to be destroyed, those deaths will forever be on their consciences. Supergirl notes that Krypton died so Superman could live, leading Superboy to agreeing to have them return to the present. But they may not get there as Zod arrives to attempt to steal the ship. Back on Earth, Mary Marvel and J’onn hide in the sewers, only to be captured by the Krypto Knights. Steel and Lana collect Kryptonite samples in the mines, before she goes searching for Superman. She finds him, along with Conner and Prime but, when she tries to absorb the radiation from Kal-El, the amount causes her to pass out. To be continued in SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #17.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: BOOK OF EL #12 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski. The House of El battles against Kry-Ux and his forcing, with Superman realizing that they can defeat them if they can get Kry-Ux out of the energy bubble he has created. Kryl-Ux pulls the final God-Aspects out of Superwoman and the twins and transforms Rao into a black hole but the Els fly through the bubble and take back the God-Aspects, with Kryl-Ux falling into the black hole and Superman following him to try and save him. Superman is now on a farm on a replica of New Phaelosia with a now normal Kry-Ux. The rest of the Els arrive and Kryl-Ux asks them to use the God-Aspects to send him back to when he thought he was all-knowing so he can do some good. A month later, Pyrrhos and Superwoman come from the future and take Red Son and Starchild with them to be bearers of truth and justice in alternate timelines.

BARBARA GORDON BREAKOUT #5 by Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan. Distraught over the death of her friend Sparrow, she receives word that Sparrow is actually still alive, but in grave condition. In the infirmary, the belief is that someone wanted to make Sparrow’s near death look like a suicide. Myrna goes to Sparrow’s bedside and asks who attacked her, with her barely allowing garbled words to come out. Elsewhere, Barbara meets Vanessa Woods; previously thought to have been killed. Barbara warns her and tries to tell her to be careful, with Woods telling her to leave her alone. This is when Die confronts Barbara and the two brawl, even as Barbara tells to tell her that Sparrow is not dead. Suddenly, Die slits Wood’s throat, killing her. At the same time, Sparrow dies from her injuries. Savage learns of Woods’ death but is angry that Barbara is still alive. In the end, Myrna tells Barbara that Sparrow could not describe her attacker but the sound ‘click, click, click’. This triggers a memory of hearing the same sound when she was attacked on her first night in the prison. She also has a mysterious note saying: I DID THIS FOR YOU.

BATGIRL #23 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. A BATMAN: BAD SEEDS tie-in. Following recent events, Cassandra, Tenji, and Jaya enjoyed a quiet evening and a meal at Ba Bao’s restaurant when Ivy’s prehistoric plants break through the restaurant, trapping everyone inside, including the restaurants customers. One customer almost gets eaten by one of the plants but is saved, although badly injured.  Another customer, a young man, stabs Cassandra in the process of the chaos until she calms him down. A young girl becomes poisoned after smelling the plant’s flowers and now Batgirl must race across the city to get her to the hospital before it is too late.

BATMAN #13 by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. With the city plunged into darkness due to Poison Ivy’s vicious attack, Batman makes his way into GCPD headquarters and battles a gauntlet of Savage’s TUCO’s, floor by floor, until he reaches the top, where he is forced to battle ‘Big Boy’: the largest of the TUCOs. After being thrown down the stairs, Batman recovers and eventually uses a firehouse to choke out the big man. Once upon the roof, Batman confronts Savage, who is standing next to a monstrous device containing his “Ivycide”, with Savage declaring that Batman is now under arrest.

BATMAN BAD SEEDS: GOTHAM CENTRAL #1 by Christopher Cantwell and Jacob Phillips. A BAD SEEDS tie-in, continued from BATGIRL #23. Among the chaos, Jim Gordon and his partner Espinoza respond to a strange death at the Gotham Arboretum. Even though the initial death looks to have been caused by Ivy’s killer plants, they investigate further, deducing  the person had been murdered and the body was dumped here. This leads them to Arkham Towers as the murder points to Victor Zsasz. At Arkham, they discover the guard has been murdered by Zsasz, with the words NO CROWN scrawled on his chest: a reference to neuroscientist Dr. Zeller’s Crown of Storms. Elsewhere, Anarky crashes an underground gambling operation in Chinatown, stealing their money, leading to Officer Lynne Baker being told to catch him or it is her job. Gordon, Espinoza, Baker, Anarky, along with Harvey Bullock and Zeller, all end up on a subway car, which comes to a halt because of the continuing growth of the plants. Sitting in the back of the subway car, holding a screwdriver and wearing the deceased guard’s clothes, is Victor Zsasz. Continued in BATMAN BAD SEEDS: GOTHAM CENTRAL #2.

BATMAN AND ROBIN YEAR ONE: DYNAMIC DUOS #2 by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. Dick prepares to go undercover in this particular child gang and it takes Alfred to get him the proper look. Meanwhile, Mehitabel goes to Catwoman’s apartment, where she has been battered by a “mark”. But she leaves before she can tell Selina everything. Later, Carl Volpe is murdered in his office, leading Batman to investigate and visit The Penguin, who tells him he is not aware that Volpe was stealing from him. Dick, in disguise, ends up meeting with the gang and he gets taken to visit the Crime Master. But Catwoman is there too and gets captured. And Dick is ordered to prove his merit and put a bullet into Catwoman’s head.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #55 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Members of the Justice League finishing helping out Adam Strange when Superman heads back to Earth. In the Himalayas, Ra’s Al Ghul invites Poison Ivy to join his Four Harbingers of the Apocalypse, consisting of Ocean Master, Queen Bee, and Tokamak. Queen bee unleashes a horde of insects upon Gotham and Robin is affected by being stung. His system begins to shut down and it is deduced to be case where his molecular DNA is being reversed. Superman finds her and he is attacked but he manages to capture her. Just then, he receives a Code Red alert as Ocean Master is waging war on the surface world and Tokamak is attacking the Kori Nuclear Plant in South Korea.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN/WEIRD AL: WORLD’S WEIRDEST #1 by Mark Waid, Tyrone Finch, and Dan Schoening. Batman and Superman are battling Lex and The Joker when something strange happens and begins to spread across all reality. Superheroes lose their powers, magic begins to vanish, and the world loses its’ unique sense of weirdness. Mr. Mxyzptlk arrives in Metropolis, revealing that the Fifth Dimension is losing its’ magic and becoming dull, and he tells Superman and Batman they must recruit the “weirdest man on Earth” to create a vaccine to cure this plague. The heroes track down Weird Al Yankovic, who has also been affected and is working at a boring desk job. As part if his origin story, it is revealed that he was once challenged to an accordion contest against the Infernal Brxpritz Collective of Souls. He won the duel And was awarded the golden accordion. The heroes get him to retrieve the instrument, restoring his weird self, and learn the person responsible is Mr. Nobody of the Brotherhood of Dada. Al unleashes the power of the golden accordion to defeat Mr. Nobody and restore reality.

BATWOMAN #7 by Greg Rucka and Dani. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Kate has made her way to Gotham and calls her father to check in on the status of her sister. During the call, the lights go out and communication is lost, due to Ivy’s attack; complete with one of the monster plants attacking her. She takes to the street where she observes Savage’s TUCO’s patrolling in their search of any Bat Family member. Batwoman meets with Batman, who sends her to the lower catacombs of St. Dumas Cathedral, where there is a cache, backup communications and more. She gets into the cathedral where the TUCO’s have also arrived.

BIZARRO: YEAR NONE #3 by Eric Carrasco, Kevin Smith, and Nick Pitarra. In the past, Bizarro tries to cover his white skin and realizes his attempt to act and look normal is coming to an end. In the present, Bizarro bring Jimmy with him to a fire as he wants advice on what would Superman do, even as the citizens feel the need to run back into the fire. Later, while chasing bank robbers, he neglects saving a family in a car, but is thrilled that he has recovered the bank’s money. Meanwhile, Perry has been kidnapped by this world’s Lois and Steve Lombard, who tell him that the world is dying because Bizarro has become unstable. But they have a plan and Lois tells Perry that they are going to save the planet soon and he needs to stay out of their way. Perry meets with Jimmy and Bizarro arrives; accusing them of plotting against him. He hears an explosion and heads there, where he finds Lois and company and is saddled with Kryptonite. Their machine is fired up and the plan is to send him to Jimmy and Perry’s Earth. But Bizarro recalls that he is not Superman and therefore he cannot be affected by Kryptonite and kills all of Lois’s teammates. He uses his power to etch the word No 1 onto the rock, which he now wear declaring “Me am NO ONE”.

CATWOMAN #91 by Torunn Gronbekk and Danilo Beyruth. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Selina is with Carmine when all hell breaks loose because of Ivy’s attack. Carmine gets a call from District Attorney Hendon, looking for help finding his son, who is lost somewhere in the city. Meanwhile, Holly is caring for two friends who are suffering from effects of being exposed to the plant’s toxic venom. Selina arrives and sees the conditions and, even though Gotham General is still open, she advises Holly to care for them in her apartment instead. Selina makes her way to Icon Towers where she delivers a package to the doorman from Carmine and makes her way upstairs to one of the rich residents. He tries to attack her by shooting at her but that fails. Unfortunately, it looks like he too has been infected.

CLAYFACE: CELEBRITY DIRT #3 by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Fran Galan. Basil is still on the hunt for the imposter who has stolen his identity and that leads him to meet with former A.R.G.U.S member and transgender bioweapons expert Dr. Victoria October, who had previously allowed him to fake his own death. She reveals that he is not even Basil Karlo but is actually Matt Hagen and he confesses that Karlo was his father’s stage name. He makes his way into Katie’s apartment and manages to track her down by her phone. En route, he encounters what appears to be Lady Clayface. Katie is being held by the fake Basil Karlo and she is forced to drink a pink solution from a bucket, with the fake Karlo telling her this was what remained of the other girls.

THE DEADMAN #4 by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo. Boston, angry that Rama Kushna has not been truthful with him, decides to go to another higher power and ascends into heaven to meet with what is known as ‘The Presence’. But he ends up waiting an ungodly amount of time. He eventually talks with an angel who brightens him up by telling him that he gives hope and sunshine to people. With that, he presents the angel with white crayons and leaves. When he arrives back on Earth, he finds himself human again and meets with the avatar of The Green.

DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR #7 by Tony Fleecs, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Dave Wachter. Several months ago, Adeline is at her son Grant’s grave to celebrate his birthday. In the past, she is enlisted by Major Wintergreen to help recover an intelligence agent, with Wintergreen noting how he has a feeling she is pregnant, even th0ough she has not told Slade yet. The mission has them fighting their way through horribly mutated fighters, leading them to the asset: Professor Ivo. He refuses leaving and is desperate to find his notes on his research. Defeating flying drones, Ivo is taken into custody. Several months ago, Adeline travels to Quroc and meets with a horribly mutated and scarred Ivo and she returns his notebook to him and, in return, he gives her a globe that he says is “power” and will make her “unbreakable”.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1113 by Tom Taylor, Dan Watters, Jeff Spokes. And Scott Hepburn. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. At the top of the GCPD building, Verity tells Batman that Savage’s poison he intends to release will not only stop the plant invasion and kill Ivy, but will kill at least 100,000 citizens. He tries to convince Savage not to do this but Savage is well aware of it but says this will ultimately save Gotham. Taking out Savage with an explosion, Batman launches himself onto one of the airships, where he manages to fly the aircraft high enough that the poison is negated. Making his way to the second craft, Officer Hall refuses to release the poison, allowing Batman to leave and go search for Mr. Freeze as a possible way to stop the plants. To be continued in BATMAN #14. In the backup, Batman meets and battles someone who once worked for The Penguin and gained telekinetic powers are shock therapy at Arkham. Batman is defeated and the attacker escapes, deciding to call himself Rhetoric.

THE DOOM PATROL #1 by Darcy Van Poelgeest and Niko Henrichon. As Dr. Miles Caulder is writing up his 215^th ‘Doom Entry’ when he is visited by a spectral woman named Evelyn who, at one point in what appears to be a part of a series of visits, had asked Caulder to help her and he agreed, even if it would kill the Doom Patrol. During this particular visit, he dies. The rest of the team, Robotman, Elasti-Girl, and Negative Man, are completely broke and are driving around in a beat-up van where they are tracking down the missing cat of a half-blind neighbor. Finding the cat, who has died, the team scrambles to find a replacement cat to substitute for the dead one. Negative Man meets with the woman and she discusses her thoughts about aliens and alien abductions when a giant UFO arrives and begins abducting cats from the neighborhood and attempts to eat the Doom Patrol. Negative Man flies into the creature, killing it, but emerges from it, saying he must find the “pain in his memory before it” finds them.

EMPEROR AQUAMAN #21 by Jeremy Adams and John Timms. From somewhere in deep space, Aquaman enters the Blue. On Earth, Lolanna’s forces attack Atlantis, where Mera and Justice League Blue defend the city, with help from Captain nemo. Jackson heads to Amnesty Island to safeguard Andy, who is playing with Zan and Jarro when Ocean Master and Tiamat arrives, ordering them to surrender or be killed. Zan flees with Andy. Jackson, along with Titanus, Karshon and King Shark, battles against Orm but Tiamat crushes him. The Fisherman arrives and the tide turns towards the villains. In Atlantis, Lolanna reveals they have Andy and forces Mera to surrender the kingdom to her. The Sea Witch transforms the population into statues and the villains head to a tower where a great treasure is held. She then destroys the portal to the Blue, meaning Arthur cannot return. Arthur creates another portal, which brings him to a swamp, only to find Animal Girl and Swamp Thing waiting for him, with Animal Girl saying they need to chat.

THE FLASH #37 by Ryan North and Gavin Guidry. The Flash has a vision of the major bridges in Gateway City, Star City and Metropolis being bombed a week into the future. He finds out who the perpetrators are, arrests them and delivers them to the police in Central City. Meanwhile, Green Arrow is holding a meeting on Mount Everest with Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Red Tornado, Wonder Woman, and Jon Kent. The Flash arrives and pleads his case, while the League members wonder just how far ahead Wally can see into the future and what gives him the right to imprison people on a possibility. Superman hears an explosion in Metropolis a week earlier than he saw, but arrives too late to save the bridges in Metropolis, Star City, or Central City.

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #6 by Jeff Lemire and Rafael De Latorre. Stein and Lorraine meet with Firestorm outside the Firestorm Matrix with Stein unleashes his weapon, which transports Stein, Lorraine, and Ronnie  into the Matrix. Ronnie fights with Stein, angered that Stein managed to kill a lot of people in Colorado, Ronnie attempts to kill him, with Lorraine convincing him to do so after they get out. Stein says that if they can get to the core, they may be able to regain control of Firestorm. At the core, they find Firestorm and Lorraine becomes Firehawk. She begins to lose the fight leading to Ronnie and Stein becoming Firestorm again. After a tearful goodbye, Ronnie bids farewell to Firehawk and Firestorm heads into the sun, eventually coming to Ostrander, Texas where Firestorm has been radically transformed.

GREEN LANTERN #39 by Jeremy Adams and Adriana Melo. Kyle and Odyssey find themselves in the midst of the fast food battle. Kyle gets them to stop and declares that the mascots hired by Big Belly Burger have been killing the owners of the other fast food joints. The Big Belly Burger executive declares they are not responsible and Odyssey destroys his head; shocking Kyle. She reveals he was actually a Dominator named Marktelion who had been bringing mutations to his customers to turn them into zombies. Major Force arrives and claims ownership of Marktelion’s experiments on behalf of S.H.A.D.E. as the government had actually funded Marktelion’s experiments to defend against a possible Darkseid return. In response, Kyle turns into the White lantern and reverses the mutations while also taking away Major Force’s powers, turning him back to a normal person. In the end, Tom Kalmaku has a dream about all the Central Power batteries on Oa shutting down.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #20 by Morgan Hampton, Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, and Juan Jose Ryp. Jo is enjoying a drink on Zillaboq when the Darkstars arrive. She goes to leave and then decides to fight back, resulting in her being captured by them. Meanwhile, John and Katma are at John’s mother’s grave before she convinces him to fly her through the clouds. She convinces him to let her wear his Green Lantern ring but that results in her being forced to wear a Darkstar Exo-Mantle and she disappears with John in pursuit. At the same time, Simon, Kelli, and Ellie are flying through deep space near Zillaboq when they are stopped by Darkstars who threaten to arrest them. One of the Darkstars hears an unrecognizable Darkstar signature and leave, just as John arrives and drafts the three Lanterns to join him in the hunt for Katma. On Oa, Guy is looking through the Book of Oa and that leads him to go to the Phamosa Jungle, where he finds the cave of the deceased and also Predator.

HARLEY QUINN #66 by Elliott Kalan and Carlos Olivares. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Harley is readjusting to having her brain back with her when Ivy’s plant creatures begin attacking Throatcutter Hill. As she attempts to save her neighbors, she sees that Althea has power and directs the citizens to go there for sanctuary. At the same time, Gunbunny, Mayfly, The Convoy, and Chicken Fingers come together to lend a hand. The KKVDemon arrives, figuring to make some money during the chaos and Delores saves Harley at one point, redeeming herself from killing Marcisak. Harley arrive in Althea’s tower and tries to convince her to let everyone stay when Harley realizes Mrs. Grimaldi decided to stay in her home. Harley goes to her and tries to convince her to leave when a tendril destroys her home, convincing her to go to Althea’s. In the end, Harley heads to find Ivy.