DC UNIVERSE Month 99, Part 2

GREEN LANTERN #34 by Jeremy Adams and Montos. Gridlock has escaped from Oa’s Sciencells and threatens to detonate the Earth’s core. Although having difficulty, Kyle eventually defeats Gridlock. Later, Odyssey and Kyle are walking down the streets of Los Angeles and Odyssey is propositioned by a man claiming to be a producer offering her a job in a movie. Meanwhile, Hal and Jayna have escaped from an Oan satellite but Hal sees they are running short of supplies and, in a lame disguise, go back to the planet, only to be taken by an invisible force that brings him to the Guardians, who request he returns home or his actions will be disastrous for the universe. As the Guardians try to force him to return home, Jayna rescues him. As they reach the ship, the Guardians destroy it. But the Guardians get paralyzed by a mysterious person who claims to be Toby Y2K-the last son of Earth.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #15 by Morgan Hampton and Fernando Pasarin. Guy and his team battle with the Manhunters and find themselves losing as the enemy can absorb and redirect emotional energy back at the Lanterns. Guy uses Allsight to find the Manhunter’s weaknesses and the Lanterns manage to disrupt their emotional intake. Meanwhile, John Stewart battles to resist being taken over by Parallax, leading him on a journey of self-exploration with help from his deceased mother. In the end, the Lanterns manage to free the Proselyte but at the cost of Aya being corrupted by a Manhunter.

HARLEY & IVY: LIFE & CRIMES #5 by Erica Henderson. Harley and Ivy are allowed to crash at Ma Hunkel’s, where she is “unofficially” taking care of children who needed a place to stay. Ivy tends to the gardening while Harley helps to teach the kids. That night, the kids sneak out and Harley and Ivy join them at an empty building across the street that is alleged to be haunted. Two of the kids find a bag and, upon opening it, see a lot of money. Whn the girls hear a crash, they go to investigate and find that the kids are now stuck inside of…Clayface!

HARLEY QUINN #61 by Elliott Kalan and Carlos Olivares. Harley, as Bat Quinn meets Harley Quinn at Mrs. Grimaldi’s. How is this possible? Because of the Alpha Energy during DC K.O., Harley has been split into two beings with the Harley Quinn here actually being her brain known as Quinntellect. Mrs. Grimaldi remarks that Bat Quinn has lost her funny side. Bat Quinn ends up brooding outside of Althea Klang’s apartment. While Klang is trying to talk to Bat Quinn, Colonel Blimp arrives and Bat Quinn savagely beats him and breaks most of his bones, leading Klang to send Bat Quinn away and calling her a  monster. As the police and medical personnel take Blimp away, we see that Klang has reached out to Detective Philo Charles: The Monochromatic Man.

JSA #18 by Jeff Lemire, Mark Waid, Gavin Guidry, and Joey Vazquez. The individual future Justice Society members put aside any differences to fight against the Ultra-Humanite, defeating him and then putting together the Justice Society of America with its’ core membership: Ther Atom, Dr. Midnite, Green Lantern, Dr. Fate, Hawkman, The Flash, Sandman, and The Spectra. In the backup, Stargirl and Atom Smasher have arrived at the Brownstone and want The Flash and Green Lantern to open up their ranks to the ‘Lost Children’ and become their teachers. Green Lantern wonders were Kid Eternity is and we learn she is becoming the new Spectre, whether she likes it or not.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERGALACTIC SPECIAL #1 by Jadzia Axelrod, Nicole Maines, and Travis Moore. Dreamer has a vision about the Witch Queen, AKA Maal Sinestro,  who has taken over Naltor and Galaxy and Star Sapphire head out to help. At the same time, Adam Strange, Green Arrow and Argus are also involved and their ship gets hit, resulting in a save by Galaxy and Sapphire. While Adam tries to find somewhere to land, Dreamer shows up, having dream-walked through Arrow’s unconscious mind, instructing him to land hear a ruined temple. The Witch Queen corrupts Carol and it is up to Galaxy to remove the creature. Next, they encounter similarly corrupted Green Lanterns,.with Galaxy doing her best to fight them without hurting them. Dreamer, Sapphire and Arrow  team up and work together to take Sinestro down. With the mission a success, Dreamer and Galaxy have a spat and then, suddenly, fall into a deep sleep. To be continued in JUSTICE LEAGUE: DREAM GIRLS.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #18 by Mark Waid and Clayton Henry. In the wake of the tournament, the decision is made to grant amnesty to the supervillains that participated in the tournament. Ted Kord finds Guy and asks what vision he saw, with Guy saying he is supposed to be the Corps’ spiritual leader. He has been tasked to take the power bank to Oa and Mister Terrific and Hawkgirl have volunteered to accompany him. Ted visits Booster who is preparing a Time Bubble to search for Superman. Martian Manhunter and Mary Marvel agree to go with him and the ship is shattered and they are attacked by Epoch. Meanwhile, a team of villains and League members head to Bialya to rescue a group of kidnapped scientists. Lex recognizes some of the scientists as people who worked for the Geneva synchronics project and discover that T.O. Morrow is behind the kidnapping and he unleashes a molecular disruption device paralyzing all but Lex, who is protected by his armor. Giganta attempts to break it but it disfigures her right hand before shutting down as Lex has convinced Morrow to sell the weapon to him. He has also leaked the idea of the amnesty program to news outlets and now the whole world knows the League now has dangerous criminals working with them.

LOBO #2 by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona. Lobo gets a corporate approved makeover and then goes out to collect his first bounty, but he first has to go through everything being directed with cuts, edits and corporate censoring. While he deals with it and continues with his bounties, he is not happy about all of it; even more so once he learns that the ratings are slipping so he is tasked to apprehend Emperor Aquaman. The two battle at length and Lobo gets run through by Aquaman’s trident. That is when he discovers he has been cancelled due to a corporate merger. While he does get paid for his bounties, he is told his costume belongs to O.O.E.C., meaning he finishes the issue naked!

NEW TITANS #34 by Tate Brombal and Sami Basri. The two groups of Titans fight with each other until Victor Stone arrives, which seems impossible because Cyborg is already here. Cyborg’s features change and he flees, leaving Victor to explain they have a new member named Eva while also explaining that the Alpha Energy has separated Victor from Cyborg, with Cyborg creating his own Mecha-World that the Titans have been trapped in. Cyborg returns and the New Titans attack but are quickly taken captive. Tara ends up trapping Cyborg and he seemingly dissolves as Eva, the “daughter of tomorrow” arrives from within him.

NIGHTWING #137 by Dan Watters and Denis Cowan. Nightwing is having nightmares over the incident on the bridge with his strange passenger. Meanwhile, traffic is tied up on the bridge as construction crews have unearthed a skeleton in the concrete. A shot rings out and a woman on the bridge is killed. Commissioner Sawyer calls Nightwing and asks him to get involved regarding the shooting, which he does. But Batman is there too and he finds the shooter and gives chase. But two more people are shot, leading Nightwing to purposely attract the shooter’s attention so he could see where the shot came from. He is grazed by a bullet but make his way to the second shooter, who turns out to be a woman named Ioana Ruscova and her brother Andrei is the other shooter, who has now gone to a new location. Ioana gives herself up to save the life of her finance, one of the construction workers. Andrei had convinced her that a sacrifice was needed as the skeleton apparently was their great-grandfather and architect Raul and a sacrifice was needed to keep his spirit appeased. In the end, Dick has to deal with the ramifications of the accident he was involved in, the Witch of Bludhaven, and the Raul’s skeleton.

POISON IVY #43 by G. Willow Wilson and Jaime Infante. In the recent past, Ivy and Harley break up after Ivy says they cannot be together because of her new position of power. Later, she goes into the sewers with a plumbing contractor to examine the handiwork of his family. While there, Catwoman arrives, asking Ivy what her ultimate plan is as Mayor. Catwoman departs and Ivy discovers a message on a wall with a quote from Shakespeare’s RICHARD II. Together, Ivy and the plumber find an area where sewage exists and Ivy threatens him for trying to destroy the ecological balance in Gotham. She does more than threat as he becomes a part of  a Draecana draco tree. In the end, a hill comes to life and tells her that the Parliament of Trees wants war after Ivy ate the Bog Venus.

SUPERGIRL #12 by Sophie Campbell. Lena and Conner are wondering what is going on with Kara and notice some kind of ‘Super Substance’ filling the bottle containing Kandor. Kara wakes up after the disastrous end of last issue to find that she has been rebuilt with Bionic and Cybernetic augmentations. She is soon visited by members of the Science Council, with Kara Black Flame now has the yellow ring of Nor-Rann and is using that power. Bry-Zan shows off Team Thunder: clones of Boy Thunder. Black Flame and her followers break into the Science Council’s bunker. Kara battles with Black Flame and is frozen with her freeze-breath. That is when Team Thunder arrives, set on killing Black Flame.

SUPERMAN #37 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora. Superboy-Prime visits Jonathan and Martha Kent, telling them he is happy to see them alive as his own parents are dead and some people, specifically Mark Waid, want to see Prime’s Johnathan and Marftha dead. Using the name CK, he has gotten a job at Asteroid Comics and is a candidate for Employee of the Monbth but a regularly late for work. After work, he visits Crime Alley in Gotham City  and is ambushed by Robin, with CK saying he didn’t like Damian at first but now he is a “fan favorite”. Together, they go searching for a chemical bomb stolen by Clayface. Prime keeps Clayface busy but uses his x-ray vision to find the bomb which he vaporizes with his heat vision, even as Clayface tries to confuse him by taking the form of Superman. Prime is consumed by a white light and he begins seeing visions of him killing superheroes. When he eventually awakes, he is on a rooftop and Robin says he spent the night watching over him, after he locked up Clayface. He races to work but someone else has gotten Employee of the Month. He admits it is tough to be a better person when people expect him to fail. Martha goes outside to talk to Power Girl who has been watching Prime as she does not trust him, telling PG that he cannot be expecting to change if he is constantly being monitored. In the end, a girl who has had a passing interest in CK says that she thinks he would be the perfect sacrifice for her ceremony.

SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #12 by Dan Slott and Lucas Meyer. President Castillo hosts a ceremony in Emerald City in honor of Superman following the King Omega tournament. Castillo is protected by his upgraded Krypto-Knights; upgraded thanks to weapons from the Fortress of Plentitude. Elsewhere, two scientists are injecting Kryptonite into animals and a chimpanzee escapes and is found by Bibbo, who names the ape Beppo. After their encounter with Master Txyz, Superboy and Tomorrow Man teleport to Smallville but Superboy yells at residents to leave him alone, causing the residents to be blown away and having to be saved by Tomorrow Man. Tomorrow Man takes Superboy to Metropolis to Lois’ apartment. Batman and Robin are also there and Batman asks Tomorrow Man who he is, which he refuses to do as he explains he is from the future.and does not want to disturb Superboy’s future. In the end, with Superboy back with his mother, Robin looks to make a Kryptonite batarang in case Superboy turns out to actually be a villain.

WONDER WOMAN #32 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. Twenty years from now, the Matriarch is being interviewed. During the interview, Mouse Man comes in and whispers something to The Matriarch, mirroring an early moment between her and Darkseid. With that, she orders Mouse Man to destroy the footage of the interview, kill the reporter and find her another one. Meanwhile, Diana and Trinity land on Themyscrira, which is no longer home to the Amazons and is ruled by men. They make their way into a bunker where they find a captive Superman. Also captured here? Steve Trevor.

ZATANNA #1 by Jamal Campbell. Zatanna, the Prime Magus,  heads into the Vardant City of Elves to eliminate a plague spirit from the body of a young girl named Va’irra. Eventually succeeding, she is met by members of the D.E.O. who have entered the realms of magic including Agent Di Manes, who tells her that he is the head of the Occult Affairs division of the D.E.O., telling her the realm of magic is changing and he looks forward to working with her again.

DC UNIVERSE Month 99, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #19 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. 1,500 miles from Gotham, Absolute Scarecrow walks out of a corn field and, through his manipulations, is responsible for the deaths of two men on the ground and whoever is flying a small plane. In Gotham City, Batman takes down a group of criminals while being watched from the Bat Lair by Alfred , Harley and her Red Hood gang. Later he meets with Waylon, who is slowly reverting back to his normal self. He gets a call from Jim Gordon and meets him on a rooftop where Gordon gets attacked by birds, thanks to the Absolute Scarecrow, and falls to his death. News reports declare Batman killed Gordon and Mayor Hill reveals his new police leader, Slade Wilson, along with his team of Robins: Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Jason Todd, and Dick Grayson.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #14 by Jeff Lemire and Haining. Wally and Linda race through a maze of mirrors, where Wally sees the Kent Farm in one of them and Linda sees the Dibney Mission. Suddenly, men in goggles are behind them screaming “Where. Is. Scudder?” Wally and Linda flee, seeing visions of their lives and family reflected in the mirror, including Linda seeing her older brother who she thought was dead. When Wally sees his father and Barry in still point, he smashes the mirror and the men attack them, with one of them grabbing them and pulling them into the ruins of Barry’s lab. He claims he is “the real one” as Wally demands he opens the way to Still Point and he says his name in Sam Scudder who once worked with Barry to create S.T.A.R. Labs and also created the ‘Mirror Dimension’ that, because of an accident, he is now tied to. He cannot leave it for more than an hour or he will die and every time he attempts to leave, it creates a double that wants to kill him. He tells Wally to find Elenore because she can free him and he will open a portal to Still Point. Scudder tells him to go to S.T.A.R. Labs and find Ray Palmer. Linda, deciding to be a part of all of this, gets him a spare costume from a rack of suits and they head to Central City. In one of the broken shards from the mirror, unseen by Wally and Linda, there are the faces of evil Wally and Linda.

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #13 by Al Ewing and Eleorona Carlini. On the planet Rann, Sin es tro-the Controller of Mu-talks with Overseer Shade of the Blackstars, ordering him to gather all Blackstars to break the Green lantern and kill all Tomars. He orders the Blackstars to bring in Scientician Sardath, demanding to know exactly what the Zeta Beam is for. Shade wears the M-Vest creating images that play on the paranoia of criminals. Shade removes his helmet and displays an x-shaped scar after the ‘Sacred Laser’ was used to carve out childish things from his brain. Sardath asks where his daughter Alanna is, fearing she has been sent to the Zone of Madness. But she has been changed, having also been subjected to the ‘Sacred Laser’. When Sardath refuses to reveal the true nature of the Zeta Beam, his own daughter executes him. Shade and Alanna locate the Zeta Beam device and it activates, bringing in O.S.S. Agent Emily Hawke. Using the M-Vest, Shade tries to scare her into defeat but she grabs him and breaks his neck, killing him; after which she fades away and enters the Zone of Madness.where she encounters the ‘Face of Steel’

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #18 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval. In the distant past, an orphaned slave named Teth-Adam tries to keep the slavers from beating an elderly man. Instead, they kill the old man and savagely beat Teth-Adam. That night, after a robed figure who may be the Absolute Phantom Strager talks of a savior, the boy sneaks out of their camp and walks into the desert known as ‘The Red Land’. As he is overwhelmed by a sandstorm, he calls out that the Gods and legends are false and demands he be struck down if he is wrong. The ‘wizard of the sands of eternity’ appears before him as a great metal skull in the sky. In actuality, it is a survey ship from the Brainiac Collective. They beam him onboard and expose him to a Father Box; curious of what it will do to him. In the present, In the present, Jimmy calls Clark to complain about his job at the Daily Planet. He also says Lois never showed up for her job interview and that turns out to be because she had broken into a deserted Lazarus Corp facility to track down the al Ghuls. Talia has led her father to the final Lazarus Pit and he proceeds to attempt to destroy it. Talia orders him into the Pit at the tip of her sword. Lois arrives, bent on killing Talia but Superman bursts in and orders them to drop their weapons, even as Talia produces a Father Box. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure carrying a magnetized hammer, takes out the Peacemakers. Ra’s begs Talia to shut off the father Box and she declares she will only do that if Ra’s kills Lois. The hammer wielder arrives and takes out Ra’s and Superman is able to knock the Father Box away. It hits a sarcophagus which opens and King Shazam, the former Teth-Adam, emerges from it.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #19 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. In the past, Aphrodite tells Circe that she cannot visit the island any more. In the present, Steve and Etta, along with some of the panicked citizens of Gateway City, head into a building where she discover a coven praying around Hecate’s symbol asking for protection. Meanwhile, Diana fights against The Eternal Flame/Giovanni Zatara, binding him in the Troika and putting them both in an unconscious state. The Troika divides into two with paths leading to Sindella or Zatanna as a baby. Accepting what he had done that brought him to this place, Zatanna appears and pulls him from this dream state. To get Diana out, Zatanna transforms into an image of Circe and manages to pull her out of the state. Zatara blasts Giganta and transports her back to her cell in Area 41. Angered, Cale sends the Iron Maiden to Gateway City. Diana orders the Zataras to flee as she prepares to fight Iron Maiden.

ACTION COMICS #1097 by Mark Waid and Skylar Patridge. Booster Gold, Mary Marvel and Martian Manhunter battle the armored individual, revealed to be Epoch. Superboy joins the trio and is hit with an energy blast before Epoch disappears. The trio explains that they will be friends in the future and that they had sent out the signal through the device Superboy found at the Science Expo. Martian Manhunter believes the device must be connected to Krypton, which Superboy knows nothing about as that secret of his home planet has yet to be revealed to him. Fearing that Epoch may try to kill Superboy before he can ever become Superman, the trio decide to stay and watch over him. They all assume human forms and meet with Jonathan and Martha. Jonathan asks J’onn where Clark came from and J’onn says he cannot reveal that, even as Jonathan explains how the spaceship crashed and that he and Martha hid it under the barn. Epoch arrives again and the foursome fight him until a blast from Jonathan’s shotgun leads to Epoch disappearing again. Everyone enters the barn only to find that Epoch has stolen Clark’s spaceship.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: BOOK OF EL #7 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski. The Valkyries explain to Otho-Ra that, in order to heal Superman she needs to find a way to steal Black Racer’s belt from him. In addition, she must light the belt with the five stars found inside Izaya’s Belt. The Valkyries deposit Superman into space to lure Black racer to him. With the Racer chasing her, Otho makes her way through space, gathering the stars. As she heads to the fourth star, the Racer grabs her ankle but she breaks free. As she reaches the final star, the Racer comes at her again but is pushed away by Khan-El. Otho-Ra becomes the new Black Racer as the existing one fades away. She reaches Superman and cures him of the Black Fire. Elsewhere, Osul-Ra materializes in a magic cage. A mysterious man, revealed to be Pyrrhos approaches and claims he is the only living son of Superman.

BATGIRL #18 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. There is a dinner at Wayne Mansion and all of the Bat Family are there but Cassandra. That is  because Cass, Tenji, and Jaya have fled from Wu Zhi  into the Spirit World where they are immediately attacked by creatures from the Spirit World. They get saved by Wu Lin-The Bloodmaster, who surprises them as he has died in the real world. As they travel the Spirit World, he explains that Cass is cursed with his blood do to an oath she took.He also teaches her how she can use that blood as a weapon. In the end, Batgirl is forced to face off against Wu Bing.

BATMAN #8 by Matt Fraction and Ryan Sook. Commissioner Savage is seen arguing with Peregrine and Isley, as he wants a more aggressive stance in the city’s battle with Batman. Meanwhile, Batman has coffee with Alan Scott, asking him to help teach him how to deal with the Vandal Savage problem. In the end, Alan sees a headline on The Gotham Eye, which declares that Batman and Robin are wanted.

BATMAN/STATIC: BEYOND #5 by Evan Narcisse and Nikolas Draper-Ivey. Terry and Virgil team up to help the Slicers against the Cadmus troops. They track down , declaring that no one can stop him.Shutdown, bringing his parents to him and having them try to convince him not to explode the energy tanks and create a Big Bang in Neo-Gotham. Restraint robots arrive and Shutdown takes them out

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #50 by Mark Waid, Adrian Gutierrez, and Marcus To. Superman and Bastman find themselves in a dream dimension where they are battling friends and foes alike. This is all concocted by Doctor Destiny. But the pair fight through the nightmares and defeat him. In the backup, Batgirl and Supergirl team up against Robin and Jimmy Olsen as they race to find the Egyptian Statue of Dhur-La. They find a figure stabbed with an ornate dagger and bring it back home, with Jimmy removing the dagger. What they all discover is that Dhur-La is actually Durla and this is a shape shifter who changes into a Kryptonian Drang. Although they are taking a beating, Jimmy remembers he still has the dagger and the competing teams stab the create with it, sending the Durlan back into a magical stasis.

BATWOMAN #2 by Greg Rucka and Dani. Jacob Kane is talking on the phone with Kate’s stepmother when he notices the Batwoman symbol and realizes that Batwoman is back and uses the tracking device in her soon to try and find her. Batwoman is loose and, during the course of her captors trying to abduct her again, she kills them all, including one who is threatening to execute her father.

BIZARRO: YEAR NONE #1 by Eric Carrasco, Kevin Smith, and Nick Pitarra. David Dalton is using a duplicator machine and his experiment rips open a rift in reality and Perry and Jimmy end up on an alien world that is a warped version of Metropolis. They meet a different version of Superman who explains he built this world from pages of the Daily Planet and he brough Perry here so he could teach his planet’s reporters how to make news. Revealing he is the ruler of the planet and a super fan, he names Jimmy editor-in-chief of his Daily Planet. In the end, it turns out that this Superman is not only the ruler of the planet, he is a God and an evil one at that.

CATWOMAN #86 by Torunn Gronbekk and Davide Gianfelice. Two weeks ago, a horribly scarred Katarina Belov meets with Black Mask, telling him she does not want Selina killed just yet; she wants her to go through hell. Selina flees from the crime scene and visits Holly, who turns out to be one Black Mask’s gang disguised as Holly and she realizes that Holly has been kidnapped. She calls Slam Bradley, asking him to check on Maggie even as he realizes he is being followed. In the end, we see that Black Mask has kidnapped both Holly and Maggie.

DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR #2 by Tony Fleecs and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Deathstroke has barely survived the explosion that were placed around Wintergreen’s body. But that will not stop him as he battles them to make his way to one of his safe houses, calling in a favor from his mercenary friends. The military shows up and Slade battles with them when Deathblow and Deadshot show up. Are they friend or foe?

DETECTIVE COMICS #1108 by Tom Taylor and Pete Woods. Many years ago, Batman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary team up to stop a heist at Gotham’s Children Foundation when a masked hero arrives to assist, announcing that he is Prion. Today, Batman, Green Arrow, and Black Canary leave Prion’s grave after having seen Rita Reynoso and a woman they do not know and who apparently does not exist. Oracle informs Batman that Klep Corp whistleblower Nico Muniz is in a police convoy and Batman follows in a car they call the Hatchbat. Suddenly, the vehicle carrying Muniz goes out of control because it begins driving itself and the vehicle plunges into the water, leading Batman to drive the Hatchbat that turns into a submarine into the water to rescue the police and Muniz. After Muniz is checked out by Dr. Thompkins, Dinah offers to hide the whistleblower at her gym. Later, Ollie turns away the merger attempt and, after that is finished, he sees the mysterious woman who pushes Ollie off his building with him falling towards the street below..

EMPEROR AQUAMAN #16 by Jeremy Adams and John Timms. Arthurs uses his new powers to shatter the dam blocking her abilities and restore her to full strength. King Shark arrives and swears allegiance to Aquaman, even as his family questions it. He has Arion and Jackson help reinforce his universal Lighthouse and, after gathering his allies, including Karshon, Titanus, King Shark, and Zan, he heads into the Blue, arriving at a Lighthouse where they meet ant people. As they are being fed, a strange thing happens and worn aliens emerge from the ant people along with Karshon and Titanus. Arthur uses his power from the Blue to force the worms out and freeze them. In the end, the Crimson Queen and Jenny Greenteeth travel to meet someone who hates Arthur more than them: Black Manta.

THE FLASH #32 by Ryan North and Gavin Guidry. Wally has continued to save people who are purposely putting themselves in danger and is surprised to see Captain Cold doing the same. Saving him, Cold tells Wally he was doing it to get Wally’s attention, telling him that Robby Eves is simply a front for the challenge; that the underworld is planning something to kill everyone in Central City. After announcing he will be pre-emptively stopping people before they can video it, he does do that, causing a major drop in video submissions, so people begin endangering themselves in their homes. While he is saving a woman from injuring herself, a teen boy is hit by a train and severely injured. Linda tells her husband that she has found that their have been a number of heists of materials to build a thermonuclear bomb. Wally and Cold find where the bomb was assembled but it has been moved. They find a spare timer and Cold suggests he turn it on to see what the countdown is at, but when he does, it starts counting down from 20 minutes.

THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #1 by Jeff Lemire and Rafael De Latorre. The Nuclear Man arrive in Bedford, Colorado and experiments on the place and the citizens, turning everything to glass and chalk. Elsewhere, government agents storm Lorraine Reilly/Firehawk’s home to brief her on the situation. Following a falling out, Ronnie Raymond and Professor Stein have separated. The military accompanies Firehawk, with them suited up in experimental suits that are immune to any transmutation that he could unleash. But he slaughters to military, confirming to her that he is no longer Ronnie Raymond. Meanwhile, inside the matrix, Ronnie and Stein argue while fighting Hyena.in an endless memory loop. Soon, Ronnie is ejected and Firestorm torches him as he declares his independence. In Bedford, Firestorm attacks Firehawk and she tells the surviving military that they have to find the one person who knows Ronnie the most. But a bearded Stein is off somewhere burning his notes; one of which asks the question ‘Is it sentient’.

Some of the newest first issues

ALIAS: RED BAND #1 by Sam Humphries and Geraldo Borges. Jessica Jones is back and, right off the bat, she is in a world of trouble. She has closed her agency, at the insistence of her husband, Mayor Luke Cage, but she stumbles onto a grisly murder that ends up with her getting photographed b y a Bugle photographer. That leads to a major argument with Luke and, ultimately, puts her into a partnership with Typhoid Mary that may result in issues down the road, as illustrated in the book’s final page. I am not a fan of the art but the story is MOSTLY good. I do, however, have an issue with Humphries making Typhoid Mary sounding like an Etsy version of Harley Quinn.

ALICE FOREVER AFTER #1 by Dan Panosian and Giorgio Spalletta. Following on the events from ALICE EVER AFTER, it has been years since Alice has made her way out of Wonderland and is now living her best life with her daughter. But just because she has left Wonderland does not mean that Wonderland has ceased to exist. And that is where the Cheshire Cat comes into play with machinations involving Alice’s daughter. I loved the original run by Panosian and this picks up where it left off and, if you loved the previous series, you will love this.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN/VENOM: DEATH SPIRAL #1 by Joe Kelly, Al Ewing, Charles Soule, and Jesus Saiz. Marvel unleashes another far-reaching nine part crossover, running through Spiderverse books. Someone is killing off random people with names like Reilly, Brock, Parker, and maybe even Watson. Who is Spiral and why are they killing people to get to Eddie, Peter, Ben and Mary Jame. That’s the mystery. The story plays out nicely with the various deaths being woven into the story. And Saiz’s art, as always, slaps!

BLEEDING HEARTS #1 by Deniz Camp and Stepian Morian.DC Vertigo is officially back and BLEEDING HEARTS  is their first ‘official’ book, although THE NICE HOUSE BY THE SEA now also falls under that umbrella. This is a zombie story with a twist. In a world where intelligent zombies continue to hunt, one zombie has now begun to develop a human heart and feelings, making it tough for him to do what he needs to do but also have regrets about it. This is a wonderful tale with heart…pun intended…and soul amongst its’ humor. Camp crafts a wonderful tale and Morian’s art is very reminiscent of Skottie Young’s style but with more depth thanks to colors from Matt Hollingsworth. This may be my favorite of new releases.

BUTCH: A HATE COMIC #1 by Peter Bagge. I’m a longtime fan of HATE, going all the way back to issue #1 in 1990 and even NEAT STUFF earlier. Bagge resurrected HATE as a series of Annuals before changing formats and releasing HATE REVISITED. This is the next chapter, following up on the existing story, where Butch Bradley faces jail time for an assault. HATE is not for everyone but it has a wonderful wit to it and if, like me, you’ve followed the exploits of the Bradley family, it is essential.,

DEAD TEENAGERS #1 by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Caitlyn Yarsky. Welcome to another one of those books that, because of low print runs and LCS orders, has become one of those books that speculators love to swoop down on, thinking they are going to finance their kid’s college tuition with it. And yes: that is a thing once again, just like killed the business in the 90’s. But let’s put that aside, shall we. If you have ever seen the movie HAPPY DEATH DAY…and you should…then you might see where this book is going as a bunch of teenagers relive their deaths in various GROUNDHOG DAY scenarios. But then there is a cliffhanging twist and it changes everything. The story is a fun mystery ride and the art is clean and reminds me of Jaime Hernandez’s style. If you’re a Horror fan, grab this…if you can find it!

D’ORCS #1 by Brett Beau. What do you get when you have a main character who is half Dwarf and half Orc? You get D’Orc! In this fantasy world, D’Orc is trying to get along with his magic, talking shield, and do so without killing anyone. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always go so well and now he has the head of a ghost chicken he was responsible for accidentally killing haunting him. And that’s just the beginning. If you’re a fan of I HATE FAIRYLAND, you will love this!

END OF LIFE #1 by Kyle Starks and Steve Pugh. Eddie Stallion is a hitman who screws up in a major way by accidentally robbing from a crime-boss known as The Raven. So he flees to a town of fifty called Pluto, which is where he grew up, meaning he has to reconnect with his dying father. He also reconnects with his first love; all while contract killers are chasing after him. It is a wild, funny ride that has a ton of heart built into it. This was an immediate sellout when it was released and I can see why. It’s part of the Vertigo relaunch and is highly recommended.

GENERATION X23 #1 by Jody Houser and Jacopo Camagni. This one is pretty plain and simple: Laura and her sister Gabby team up to protect mutants from hate. But that may not be as easy as it looks and when they encounter a group of teen mutants, this may quickly becoming a team-up book. It’s an okay read: nothing phenomenal but a nice chance to see the sisters together.

THE HOUSE OF LOWTHER #1 by K. Lynn Smith. This one snuck under my radar at first but was able to grab issue #1 and #2. Miss Sawyer Ellis takes a job as part of the cleaning staff for a building caring for residents with mental and physical issues. What she soon discovers is that this place is actually a residency for cryptids. Well written with artistic echoes of STRAY DOGS and FERAL. It’s in beautiful shades of black, gray and white. This is a winner and highly recommended as I feel it will touch the heartstrings as it moves along in the narrative. 

IRON MAN #1 by Joshua Williamson and Carmen Carnero. Another first issue, although its’ Legacy number is #681, and Tony is back at the helm again and reuniting, somewhat, with Pepper Potts. But during the first ever Tony Stark Awards, Madame Masque and A.I.M. show up and Iron Man goes into action. But this is all a ruse as Whitney kidnaps the award winner who she plans to use him and other s who Tony pointed out as the “best and the brightest” for her own gains. If you’re a fan of Tony, you’ll love this. The story is cohesive and the art looks amazing!

NECTAR #1 by Jeremy Robinson, Annapaola Martello, and Francesco Francini. It’s 1837 in Salem, Massachusetts and strange things are happening in the form of some extremely ravenous butterflies. And that’s just what can be gleaned from this first issue. This is another hot speculator book that people think they are getting rich on and, at the moment, they are going for some insane prices. Here’s what matters: Robinson’s tale is a great teaser for what it to come and the art is suitable. In the end, it’s a quirky Horror story so buy it for that and not the cash at the end of the rainbow.

PICK-UP #1 by Michael Coast and Felipe Cunha. This is a wonderful, oddball one-shot that is one of those ‘under the radar’ titles. A social media influence who is all about teaching men how to pick up women unknowingly captures a murder. From there, it’s a crazy wild ride to get to the finish with one helluva unexpected, almost Hitchcockian ending! It looks great and will keep you guessing until almost near the end. Highly recommended!

RIPCORD #1 by Cullen Bunn and Aneke. In the outback of Australia, a young woman named Dillon is looking for her sister who has fallen victim to a drug called Ripcord.  The drug not only alters ones’ mind but transforms their bodies as well, turning them into killers. As dedicated as she is to finding her sister, there are those who only want to attack and abuse Dillon, leading her to fight back in a violent manner. But what lurks in the outback? A well-crafted story that I THINK know where it is going, based on multiple images in the book and the cover. Either way, it looks amazing and I’m in for the ride.

SIRENS: LOVE HURTS #1 by Tini Howard and Babs Tarr. In this Black Label title, Selina, Harley, and Ivy are planning out their next caper, but Selina has also invited Dinah to be a part of their get-togethers. It is kind of tough to be criminals when you’re friends with a hero. Amongst that plot, there is a series of murders happening that may being carried out by Calendar Man. Can these four work together to solve the case without someone getting killed? A fun, non-canon story that has the vibes of the HBO Harley Quinn cartoon.

SKYCLAD #1 by David Campiti, Mary Anne Evans, and Michal Dutkiewicz. When I saw Campiti’s name attached to this title, I knew I was in for it. Campiti, over his career, has been involved with such works as HERO ALLIANCE, EXPOSURE, LOST IN SPACE, and T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS. And then add in Michal Dutkiewicz, who worked on LOST IN SPACE, WOLVERINE and more and that synched the deal. Louene owns an exclusive gentleman’s club that is part of a coven. She also was a healer sentenced to death as a witch. Now she wants to use her recognizing men’s sexual desire and uses that to take revenge, while using their energies to maintain her youth. Looks great, fun read, and recommended.

SMILE: FOR THE CAMERA #1 by Hannah Rose May and Miriana Puglia. How truly twisted is this book? Well, it starts with an airport worker jumping into a spinning jet engine with obvious results. And it goes from there with a group of fashion models. Now, I will admit it is a slow burn spinoff/prequel from the fictional SMILE world, so it may not have all the scares you would want. But I’m about to give it time to percolate. In fact, there is only one other grisly scene following the opening and that is on the final page. Designed for people into the SMILE franchise but works well as a stand-alone too.

SUPER CREEPSHOW #1 by Kieron Gillen, Ryan North, Rossi Gifford, and Derek Charm. Another rebrand leads to another mini-series. The first story features young love, drugs, and spiders. In the second story, a teenager develops super powers with horrible results. If you are a fan of the rebooted EC line, then you’re a Horror fan and will want to add this to your collection.

THE MUPPETS NOIR #1 by Roger Langridge. A book I would never even think of buying if it wasn’t for the amazing setup at last year’s Rhode Island Comic Con and the photo shoot I did with my author friend Tabitha Winters. Kermit gets bonked on the head and suddenly he dreams he is a private eye name Flip Minnow. The book is filled with a lot of in jokes and, while potentially aimed at children, has enough bits to attract longtime adult fans of the property as it is filled with so many of Henson’s cast of characters.

THE PERIL OF THE BRUTAL DARK #1 by Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips. It’s New York City in 1941 and Ezra Cain, currently a private investigator and formerly an archeology student, is tasked to track down an artifact stolen from the Museum of Natural History. The piece in question is an ancient anvil that supposedly belonged to Hephaestus. Unfortunately, a sect called the brutal Dark appear and the mystery gets incredibly deep. This is a great Noir influenced tale that blends mystery with Science Fiction. Condon and Phillips were the team responsible for both THAT TEXAS BLOOD and THE ENFIELD GANG MASSACRE and their work on those titles oozes through this book. It’s another Vertigo release and is also highly recommended.

THE PUNISHER #1 by Benjamin Percy and Jose Luis Soares. Coming directly out of the recent ‘Red Band’ series, Frank Castle is back in New York City and is seeking anyone who was connected to mind controlling him in that mini-series. He is still trying to put his mind back together and that brings him to Micro, who he believes may have had a part in it. Throw in old foes Tombstone and Jigsaw and you know this book is going to be completely unhinged. It’s a wild story and the art is killer…pun intended!

THE THING ON THE DOORSTEP #1 by Simon Birks and Willi Roberts. The book begins in 1933 with Daniel Upton murdering Edward Derby, who is secured in Arkham Sanitarium. From there, the story goes back to their first meeting in 1899 as children. Over the years, the two have a friendship, sometimes a distant one, even as Edward goes to the Miskatonic University and discovers a dark book that appears to be the Necronomicon. What has changed that caused the opening murder? We don’t know yet and I’m sure it will be revealed as the series continues. It’s a dark journey that fits into a wonderful Gothic vibe.

TIGRESS ISLAND #1 by Patrick Kindlon and Ephk. This is a weird one that is also another one of those ‘speculator specials’. Here’s the concept: a group of actresses, all of whom are down on their luck, find themselves kidnapped to an island prison run by a crazy female warden. And now they need to find a way to escape. This is a cool reimagining of the classic Exploitation ‘Women in a jungle prison’ films of the Seventies. I’m not a huge fan of the art which has a very minimal style to it, but the story is so much sexy and fun!

ULTIMATE ENDGAME #1 by Deniz Camp, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, and Jonas Scharf. The Maker is free and the Ultimate Universe is coming to an end. And boy: the final page is a major, unexpected twist! That’s all you need to know. If you have followed the Ultimate Universe since its’ rebirth, you will love this. If not, keep scrolling.

UNIVERSAL MONSTERS: PHANTOM OF THE OPERA #1 by Tyler Boss and Martin Simmonds. This series of mini-series continues with this interesting take on this classic tale. It has some nods to the source material while also adding some cool new twists. Ultimately, it will be about the Phantom, who may actually be a real phantom, and his love Christine, who may be just as responsible for what happens as he is. Love the story and I am a huge fan of Simmonds from his DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH work.

WOLVERINE: WEAPONS OF ARMAGEDDON #1 by Chip Zdarsky and Luca Maresca. ARMAGEDDON is supposed to be the summer crossover for Marvel and this is the first shot. Wolverine is involved in a hunt for a missing Super-Soldier and, somehow, Nuke is involved with it as is pseudo Captain America Dave Colton. Beyond that, it’s mostly a first issue set piece that will play out over the mini-series. Story is fine and the art is okay.

WADE WILSON DEADPOOL #1 by Benjamin Percy and Geoff Shaw. Everyone’s favorite ‘Merc with a Mouth is back in a new #1. And it starts with a wild, ultra-violent bang! It seems Wade is going through a bit of a mental crisis and he is just looking to feel as much pain as possible and is desperately finding a way to die. He’s back living with Blind Al and we all knows how that goes. But while contemplating his future, a letter arrives and tells him the future, meaning he isn’t ready to cash in his chips yet. Designed for Deadpool fans.

WHITE SKY #1 by William Harms and JP Mavinga. It’s a concept we have seen in everything from THE WALKING DEAD to THE LAST OF US and beyond. The world has ended and a father and his daughter are making their way through it, trying to find a place to survive. But the idea that the world ended and there are beings, possibly supernatural ones, alive out there takes the genre and twists it sideways really fast! Another speculator book with first issues going for $60 and up! The story is good and the art works well. But the hook here that sets it apart from other ‘end of the world’ books is the final few pages, setting it up for something out of the norm. Highly recommended…if you can find one!

 

X-MEN UNITED #1 by Eve L. Ewing and Tiago Palma. Welcome to Xavier Mansion 2.0. Emma, Kitty and many of the X-Men have come together with student mentors to teach a new batch of mutant students. Haven’t we been here before? Lots of complaints with this one. The art is very uneven and if I ever see Cyclops drawn so badly again, I will riot! And who are all these characters? They all seem to blend together. And why do we have a tripped out version of Lockheed that might now me named…Marigold? Oh Lord! I’m a X-Man fan going way, WAY back, but this one is hard to swallow!

DC UNIVERSE Month 98, Part 2

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #14 by Morgan Hampton, Oclair Albert and Fernando Pasarin. As Guy tells of his rise to becoming Allsight while being haunted to psychic visions of reincarnated baby emotional entities. Jessica Cruz puts him in charge of assembling a multicolor Lantern team to retrieve them. The teams are assembled and Guy’s trio goes to Biot, where they encounter a force of Manhunters. Elsewhere, Soranik returns to Korugar, where she she volunteers to be an entrant in Borga street fights, where she ends up bonding with Parallax. Meanwhile, John is dealing his dedication to duty and with Kalma Tui’s frustration over him being away so much and he agrees to take her to New Korugar.

HARLEY & IVY: LIFE & CRIMES #4 by Erica Henderson. Naked and still on the run, they eventually steal a car, with Ivy using her powers to cover herself and Harley having to make do with a used garbage bag. They eventually end up in Bensonhurst where they drop in on someone who used to help her out while she was in high school. The person turns out to be Abigail Hunkel.

HARLEY QUINN #60 by Elliot Kalan and Carlos Olivares. Harley has adopted a new persona to protect Throatcutter Hilly: Bat Quinn. This brings her into direct conflict with Penny Plunderer. She gets assistance from a superpowered Chicken Fingers, who has gained powers from the Alpha energy he got from Harley. Together they defeat the villain. In the end, Bat Harley returns home to be greeted at the door by…Harleen Quinzel?

JSA #17 by Jeff Lemire, Mark Waid, Gavin Guidry, and Joey Vazquez. Alan is being strangled by the Ultra-Humanite when he transforms into green Lantern and unleashes his power upon him. Soon, he is joined by Hawkman and Hawkwoman and the villain flees, with the heroes in pursuit. Baze, his body broken and failing, meets with Satanna, Sportsmaster, and Cyclotron and they prepare to head to Germany to meet with other Fifth Columnists. Elsewhere, The Atom and Wonder Woman arrive at Starco, finding Johnny Thunder and The Flash already there. They end up meeting up with Sandman, Hourman and the freed Amazing Man. Suddenly, they hear a ticking sound and the Starco Building is rocked by an explosion set in motion by Satanna before they left. In the backup set in the present, The Flash and Green Lantern reminisce while also mourning the loss of Wildcat. Alan’s children arrive and say they are in the process of adding heroes to the roster. That is when Stargirl and Atom Smasher arrive, saying they are ready for duty.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #17 by Mark Waid and Clayton Henry. In Bialya, a group of terrorists are going to kill some hostages when they are interrupted by the Justice League: an armored Lex Luthor, Starro, and Giganta. Three days earlier, Blue Beetle, Red Tornado and others noticed the earth is healing and soon the heroes from the tournament arrive, fully restored.; all that is except for Superman. Many of them have seen their own vision of the future and a debate occurs on what to do with the villains who they have kept in The Phantom Zone. In Keystone City, Air Wave, Stargirl and Kid Flash try to stop Tar Pit and Girder from destroying a bridge only to learn they were trying to stabilize it, while also complaining how they should not have been imprisoned but should have been allowed to help in the tournament. Later, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Captain visit the Phantom Zone, meeting with Mon-El As they try to decide what to do with those prisoners; possibly giving them amnesty to help with a future Darkseid attack.

LOBO #1 by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona. Lobo, after having been triggered by an anti-hero movie called MURDER MOUTH AND FISTY CLAWS reality show, gets contracted for a bounty hunter job. He finds his target but, just before he is able to kill that target, he is informed that the bounty has been cancelled and Naco announces he is retiring, meaning Lobo won’t get paid. This leads him to Omni Mega+ Entertainment Corporation to collect his fee. What he discovers, after trashing the company’s security team, is that Omni Mega+ bought our Naco’s business and now they want to make Lobo the star of their new reality show.

NEW TITANS #33 by Tate Brombal and Sami Basri. It’s a great day for the Titans to enjoy friendship and coffee before they get attacked by The Fearsome Five, who they defeat. Tomorrow, another day of friendship and coffee but this time they are attacked by Terra. Every day is the same: coffee and villains, over and over. Eventually, Dick hears voices from the coffeemaker, insisting they stop drinking the coffee. Day in, day out until Dick cannot take it anymore and destroys the coffeemaker. Donna passes out and seemingly dies. That is when the New Titans, Jon Kent, Stephanie Brown, Red Devil and Wonder Girl, arrive.

NIGHTWING #136 by Dan Watters and Denis Cowan. Following the events involving the circus, Dick Grayson is like a man lost. Bludhaven, under the new mayor, has also changed, with a super highway having been built in the center of the city, with the promise that it will bring business to the city. Nightwing encounters a strange woman walking down this super highway and gives her a ride. The woman, who want to be taken to “The Crossroads” is a strange one and references how the settlers of this city killed women presumed to be witches. She pulls an unusual looking knife on him and presses it to his throat. He notices that she is bleeding from her eyes and he attempts to drive her to a hospital, which leads her to cut him and then try to take control of the car, causing a catastrophic crash that takes the lives of nine people.

POISON IVY #42 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. A lot has happened since the last issue as Ivy is now Mayor Isley and her trusted team in made up of Janet, Great White Shark, Peter Undine, and Juhi. Juhi and the create she has summoned continue to plot when she realizes that the Arcane Perimeter she has set up around Ivy’s office has been breached. That is because Ivy has gotten a visit from a very angry Xylon. The creature eventual flees when Juhi arrives and exhibits her magic. In the end, Ivy is overwhelmed by the list of things she needs to do that she had promised during her campaign and she is totally broken up because what she has done has cost her Harley.

SUPERGIRL #11 by Sophie Campbell. Kara has gone to Kandor in search of Lesla where she rescues Kandorian Ryla from something called Cut: a part of Black Flame’s Science Scouts. She eventually finds Lesla and her cousin Zora: AKA The Black Flame. As she tries to take Lesla away, Lesla removes kara’s Yellow Ring of Nor-Kann and Black Flame attacks a now powerless Supergirl. During the fierce battle, Zora stabs Kara and tosses her into the deep blackness below.

SUPERMAN #36 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora. After breaking the fourth wall, Superboy-Prime proceeds to take out a group of super villains. He may be dreaming of becoming a Justice League member, the League is uncertain of his change of heart, based on his previous actions. Lois, who has lost her powers again, debates with Mr. Terrific, who is concerned that Superboy-Prime knows so much about their fictional lives. Lois meets with Prime, telling him he needs to do what Superman would do and insists he needs to get a job, which he does at a local comic shop. In the end, he goes to his apartment and reads comics, while dreaming of being part of a new Trinity. Unbeknownst to him, he is being watched by an old foe of Superman: Manchester Black.

SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #11 by Dan Slott and Lucas Meyer. Master Txyz, a demon from the Fourth Dimension who claims he is Jon’s archenemy,  confronts Jon, verbally badgering him as he shows him how unimportant he is to the legacy of Superman, including moments such as his captivity in Universe-3 and his journey with Joe-El. He fights back against what he is exposed to, including being attacked by dinosaurs and war planes, eventually tearing off his damaged uniform and grabbing one from one of the pilots, declaring himself to be Tomorrow Man..Txyz admits he has created a time paradox and decides to leave Jon alone, but opens a time portal as a present for Jon. Jon pulls a screaming boy from the portal and finds it is a younger version of himself still dressed as Superboy.

WONDER WOMAN #31 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. Twenty years from now, an older, white-bearded Lex Luthor is preparing to gift the Matriarch the God Killer Sword. But he has planned well for this as he has tasked Jon Kent, Damian Wayne and Elizabeth Rpince-the current Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman-to assassinate her. The Matriarch, currently attended to by Mouse Man, now lives in Wayne Mansion. When the time arrives, after the heroes have a final goodbye with each other, Batman bursts in and steals the God Killer and battles with the Matriarch. Superman bursts in and steals the Green Lantern flight ring she wears. But that turns out to be a ruse and is actually a Kryptonite ring. As Elizabeth fires an arrow meant to kill the Matriarch, Luthor shoots the arrow and breaks it, saving Matriarch, allowing her to kill the two heroes. Heartbroken, Elizabeth heads to a secret passage at the base of the Washington Monument where she has a rendezvous with mother. It is revealed that Jon had swapped out the God Killer when they met with Luthor and now Diana possesses it.  

DC UNIVERSE Month 99, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #18 by Scott Snyder and Eric Canete. Batman, in his spiked suit, is fighting hybrids inside the Heart Building as Alfred searches for a weak point on Ivy’s body. She reveals that, during the fire in the lab, only her preserved heart survived, eventually transforming her. She moves him towards a huge spore cluster that she plans to unleash and evolve Gotham in a way to help it resist Grimm. Officer Gordon arrives with a sound cannon and a SWAT team and Batman threatens to use it on Ivy’s heart unless she destroys the spores, which she does. As it turns out, Batman still crushes the heart anyway, revealing a more brutal, darker Batman. Meanwhile, Martha meets with the Court of Owls, who are upset that she broke the communication rules. With guns pulled on her, she dares them to pull the trigger and, much to her surprise, someone does.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #12 by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles. Wally comes forth from the portal and reunites with his father, which is short-lived as Thawne’s energy monster charges forward. The two battle across the landscape with Thawne claiming he is the one and only Flash. The Rogues intervene with Jesse Quick opening a portal, leading to Rudy making the sacrifice and launches himself and Thawne into the portal. Wally demands they reopen the portal but the Rogues refuse due to safety concerns as Elenore flees. In the end, The Rogues now consider themselves free agents while Grodd learns from Dada that all men will pay.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #13 by Jeff Lemire and Haining. Wally, currently staying at the Dibney Youth Mission, awakens from a nightmare involving his father. The next day, Dibney questions him about the events and what he has seen Wally do. He also shows him a card delivered by people who came looking for Wally; specifically Agent Hunter Zolomon of the D.E.O. Later, Linda inquires about Wally’s powers and shows him a cell phone video of Wally as the Flash. After demonstrating his powers to her, he talks about his mother and how a lot of what happened to her was because she didn’t stay on her Bi-Polar medications. They head to what is left of Fort Fox to try and find our what happened to his father when they come across broken mirrors in one of the bathrooms. Suddenly Linds finds herself trapped in the mirror shards and Wally gets dragged in by…the Mirror Master.

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #12 by Al Ewing and Jonboy Lindsay. Hector Hammond’s dark creation is trying to kill Jo Mullein, with Cameron Chase defending her ex by shooting at it and temporarily disrupting Hammon himself, who is wearing the Mento Device. This allows them to flee to the roof, where the creature ends up following them to. Meanwhile, Simon has found a way to hide his face again. Jo uses her ring and her powers to fight the creature but it takes Hal using his powers to finally separate the creature from its’ host, Todd Rice. Simon arrives and directs them to the object in the sky-the Green Lantern. But Tomar Re has arrived and says the the Green Lantern is actually a gun he is going to use to kill Mogo.

ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER #10 by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez. John is trapped inside a hallucination, trapped inside a bar by government forces led by a man named Rainbow. The bartender tells a story about beetles dying because they confuse beer bottles for other beetles to mate with. Eventually, he is awakened in the interrogation room where he is strapped into the Absorb-acon, pulling his thoughts out as data, with the ultimate goal being to weaponize Martian biology into something they call the Consensus. Meanwhile, the White Martian has possessed John’s son while also convincing John’s wife that everything is fine..

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #17 by Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra. The Parasite monster is causing havoc and Lois sees Jimmy captured by it, with him begging her to kill him. Hawkman attacks it, with no regard for the people trapped inside of it. Superman orders him to stop as he will kill those people and Hawkman says they can’t be saved and he is just trying to put them out of their misery. Superman hears Lois scream and he rescues her, while Hawkman insists that Superman should not let the create assimilate him and gain more power. But Superman figures that he didn’t free Lois but she had no fear and the creature dropped her. If Superman can make everyone in Metropolis feel that way, he can defeat the creature. The Parasite assimilates Superman and grabs Hawkman, leading to Carter Hall being lectured by a young Clark to motivate him. Connected to the creature’s nervous system, the creature suddenly explodes, freeing everyone. Superman scoops up the creatures remains and tell Lois and Jimmy he is taking it to the Fortress he has built. He tells Hawkman that he knows who he worked for and that he is not for sale. Meanwhile, Talia breaks into Ra’s prison and convinces him to leave with her, leaving Superman’s book behind with an apology to him. Hawkman calls Talia and says they have a problem. In the end, Brainiac slaughters Lex’s wife and son Alex, with Brainiac telling him to “make yourself interesting”.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #18 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. Having lost her arm to her assailant and his curse inside of her, Diana heads to Hieron, followed by Zatanna. Although sent to bind Diana, she unbinds her, risking Cale’s wrath, But Diana clashes with Zatanna before ending the battle. Diana heads to confront Giovanni Zatara, freeing Queen Ara along the way. She calls upon the Troika, transforming her for the final battles with the witch.

ACTION COMICS #1096 by Mark Waid and Skylar Patridge. Many years ago, Superboy saves Lana’s father after a mysterious blast from the sky almost kills him. Lang ominously tells Superboy that he will soon find out what it is he has been jotting down in his notebooks. He later experiences what appears to be some sort of time displacement happening, eventually sending him to his own future and the Fortress of Solitude. Hearing voices calling for help, he finds a mysterious box and, when he touches it, Mary Marvel, Martian Manhunter, and Booster Gold appear and encourage him to flee from a giant robot that is chasing them.

BATGIRL #17 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. Stephanie Brown is concerned about Cassandra who says she is almost home when suddenly her own blood attacks her. Suiting up, she tracks down Jaya and Tenji, asking for help in getting the Bloodmaster reverse this curse. They end up battling Wu Zhi and the Bloodmaster’s followers, eventually defeating them and finding Bloodmaster who is currently connected to a portal to the Spirit World.

BATMAN #7 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez. The issue opens with Josiah Jones leaving a room in Arkham Towers, calling Bullock’s office and saying “he” wants to talk. Bullock relays this information to Batman where he meets with Zeller who takes him to Patient Ten who she has used a number of methods to immobilize. What he finds is The Joker, suspended in green fluid and wired to machines that control his every movement. He refuses to answer Batman’s questions but says that Jones is a former policeman who may have taken this job out of empathy or retribution. He proceeds to go on at length at how Zeller’s treatments have given him new insight. When Zeller attempts to end the session, The Joker insists on complete confidentiality in a conversation with Batman, telling him that someone is coming to kill Batman. When Batman says that is normal, The Joker calls him ‘Bruce’.

BATMAN/STATIC: BEYOND #4 by Evan Narcisse and Nikolas Draper-Ivey. Static is battling with Shutdown but Shutdown’s powers have drained Virgil’s energy. Gear, Rubberband Man and Aquamaria arrive and stop Shutdown but he transports away. Elsewhere, Terry is forced to use analog stealth to track a Kobra cult, with a mysterious voice, revealed to be Ebon, leading him to a hidden bunker containing a prototype Batsuit. Meanwhile, in deep space, Superman and Icon meet with the Cooperative, with Hawkgirl arriving to inform Warhawk about the blackout on Earth. Back on Earth, Richie presents Virgil with a ‘Shutdown Suit that will allow him to store and recycle energy. But things are not getting easier as a division of Cadmus soldiers have arrived to arrest Static.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #49 by Mark Waid, Mark Russell, and Marcus To. 48 hours ago, Superman and Batman were battling Brainiac, who sent them into a rift, where they ended up on a S.T.A.R. spacecraft. That was then, this is now. They find themselves chained up at Magnus Robotics where they meet their Earth 3 counterparts: Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman. This Earth’s Riddler arrives and frees them, explaining that he has become disfigured because of an encounter with Owlman, who threw him into a vat of toxic chemicals. On this world, what our heroes know as villains on their Earth are actually the heroes and vice versa. Riddler and the other heroes, including Catwoman, Mad Hatter, and others, free Two Face and they end up battling Ultraman and company while Riddler is finding a way to send Superman and Batman back home. The team up defeats the villains and our heroes are sent home. In the end, Riddler reveals that he has discovered a certain thing in a swamp in Louisiana.

BATWOMAN #1 by Greg Rucka and Dani. On an isolated island in Greece, Kate Kane is undergoing a therapy session, trying to deal with her fractured relationship with her sister. While her therapist believes what she is talking about is their childhood relationship, Kate is actually talking about she was forced to fight her as Alice, when she was acting in the name of Darkseid. That fight ended with Kate being thrown off a cliff by her sister. Kate is broken by the experience but there is much afoot as disciples of Darkseid have already decided that Kate is ripe for the picking and will soon be in their control. But Batwoman arrives and has other plans.

CATWOMAN #85 by Torunn Gronbekk and Davide Gianfelice. Two weeks ago, Black mask is beating someone he has hanging from the rafters of the building he is in; someone who has been partially dismembered and had their face removed from their body. A woman arrives saying she hates Selina Kyle as much as he does. A week ago, Selina returns to Gotham and is greeted by her friend George, before finding that she is going to being evicted from her apartment. Following a call to her, Selina meets with her friend Holly, who reveals that her girlfriend needs money, with Selina promising to get the money. Currently, Selina has disguised herself as a blonde pregnant woman and has managed to make her way into the GCPD lockup and steals what was the biggest seizure in GCPD history, which includes money and drugs. Selina meets with Carmine, who she is working for, and is pissed off that drugs were involved. Back at her apartment, she discovers George there, masked and tied up. When she removes the mask, it triggers and explosive device attached to his head, which immediately kills him.

DC K.O. #5 by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Javi Fernandez, Wes Craig, and Xermanico. In another timeline, Darkseid has become King Omega of the Absolute Universe and begins his invasion of Universe-0, where Superman watches Batman and Wonder Woman being killed by Darkseid. The Time Trapper reveals that he created this timeline as one last way to stop Darkseid by helping Superman, who he believes will be able to win while also allowing the Time Trapper to redeem himself spiritually. He also knows that universes have died because of Omega energy but have also been born because of Alpha energy and he gives Superman all of his power to allow Superman to win. In the tournament, Lex has become King Omega but is suddenly eliminated by a revived Superman, and now Darkseid and Superman battle for ultimate supremacy. The battle is fierce as Darkseid assimilates part of the universe with every strike upon Superman. At the space before the universe is born, the pair fights for millions of years with Superman eventually destroying the heart of Apokolips, allowing the fallen heroes to return. They take the shape of a red beam that vaporizes Darkseid. .With the tournament over , Superman still holds the power but rejects it while rising to the heavens to become the protector of a world of unlimited options..With Superman gone, Bruce and Diana still visit Lois on game night. At the Watchtower, Mr. Terrific reveals that people all over the world have been given Alpha and Omega energies while Booster Gold leaves to find Superman. Cyborg has new Apokoliptian powers and Superboy Prime takes Metropolis as his new home. The Omega Legion has fled back into the future and Lex has taken back control of Lexcorp. ‘Elsewhere’, Alfred Wayne realizes the box Batman left him has stopped working and Damian notices that it is detecting signals from other worlds; all with other Batmen. In Central City, Barry continues to record the history of the universe but discovers his computer has a new text title ‘Book Zero’. In the end, it is revealed Darkseid has survived and still is planning to conquer the Multiverse and still rules the Absolute Universe. He has now decided to set up a tournament in each universe that will have their own King Omegas, eventually starting a ‘Crisis of Absolute proportions’.

DC X AEW #2 by Steve Orlando and Travis Mercer. Lex and Mercedes Mone now have the broken belt that contains the Element Xplates and now the Big Galactic Belt has been reforged. Mr. Terrific notices that reality is being remixed and it is up to the combined might of the AEW stars and Earth’s heroes to fix things. Will Ospreay and Nightwing battle the League of Assassins. John Moxley and Guy Gardner battle mutants in the city of Vanity. Orange Cassidy and Harley Quinn fight the Royal Flush Gang in Atlantic City. In Limbo Town, Hawkgirl and Adam Page face off against the Inquisitors. Over on Dinosaur Island, John Stewart and Swerve Strickland fight Deimos. Having defeated Johnny Sorrow, Toni Storm and Zatanna fight against the Shaggoth Dogs. Wonder Woman and Willow Nightingale are in the Underworld battling Echidna. In the Tomb of Gotham, a reckless Darby Allen and Batlam fight The Joker. The joker gets the upper hand until unexpected backup arrives in the form of Sting. All the heroes transport to the Watchtower where a battle royal ensues until Kenny Omega arrives, using the Mother Box to become the New God of Professional Wrestling. Together with Wonder Woman, he battles Lex and Mercedes, with the heroes winning after delivering a ‘Truth Trigger’. In the end, the belt is sent back home to The Source.

DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR #1 by Tony Fleecs and Carmine Di Giandomenico. At a time not specified, Wintergreen is meeting with Rose Wilson. He says he is getting older and cannot keep taking care of Slade Wilson with Rose telling him she won’t be her father’s manservant. In the present, Deathstroke has been hired by an unknown contact to take out an unspecified target. What he ends up walking into is a fight with the Body Doubles. Defeating them, he discovers a dead Wintergreen with a note from the person who hired him saying they are taking everything from Slade, starting with all of his money and then an explosion trigger from a device under Wintergreen’s chair. Slade is broke and his best friend is dead and now he’s sufficiently pissed off!

DETECTIVE COMICS #1107 by Tom Taylor and Pete Woods. After Batman interrupts Green Arrow busting a crooked cop, he reveals he is aware of a takeover bid of Queen Industries by Klep Corp. He also reveals there is a criminal investigation going on and that two of the three whistleblowers have died of seemingly natural causes…on the same night. Later, Bruce attends a training session involving the Bat Family and Team Arrow. In the end, Ollie, Dinah, and Bruce gather at the grave of an old ally named Prion when a little girl arrives and questions them, followed by the woman’s grandmother.

EMPEROR AQUAMAN #15 by Jeremy Adams and John Timms. Somewhere inside The Blue, a young boy, who actually may be Arthur Curry, washes up on the shore. A man who looks like an older version of Aquaman tells the boy it is time to save the universe, also saying that they are part of each other and have been separated. They travel to Curry Lighthouse where they find a civilian Arthur Curry who tries to convince the pair to stay in The Blue. On Earth, Lolanna tells Mera that Arthur is trapped in The Blue forever as she sends water constructed dragons to attack her daughter. Back in The Blue, the trio hears Mera calling for them. With that revelation, the civilian, the old man, and the boy join hands and merge, allowing their energy to break the barrier they are held behind and head back to Earth. The jewel on Lolanna’s neck explodes and Aquaman bursts forth, banishing her into The Blue. After an embrace, Aquaman and Mera, along with Justice League Blue, head to Atlantis, where Aquamna breaks the barrier, freeing Atlantis. Aquaman proclaims that, together, they will work together to confront the seas on every world to help protect Atlantis while also declaring himself emperor and opening a portal to The Blue.

THE FLASH #31 by Ryan North and Gavin Guidry. Wally is in the process of serving dinner to his family when he goes to handle the chaos created by Tar Pit using the Weather Wizard’s wand that has created an unstoppable tornado it has created. Solving that problem, he observes a woman preparing to jump off a building and rescues her. What he later discovers is that there is a new challenge where people are being offered money to capture the best video of The Flash saving them. He pays a visit to the man responsible: Robby Eves of Creat-O-Matic Solutions Inc. That leads to a mysterious individual having Eves up the reward by two hundred percent.

GREEN LANTERN #33 by Jeremy Adams, Ron Marz, Xermanico, V. Ken Marion, Dan Jurgens, and Darryl Banks. Kyle and Odyssey find themselves stuck of the 405 freeway as he is trying to track down seven escapees from Sciencell Sector Black. This gives him time to relate his origin story while he was struggling to be a successful artist. Later, he is visited by Wally West, who helps him get his new apartment fixed up, until they end up at a nearby film studio and fight one of the escapees, eventually capturing him. In the second story, Hal Jordan finds himself transported somewhere is space where he meets with Jayna, as they find themselves trapped by Manhunters. They get their way past them and commandeer a ship, escaping into space. That leads to Krona, who has downloaded his consciousness into a clone of Hal, but that body has become corrupted, leading to him retelling Hal’s life story. In the last story, Kyle mentors to young Lanterns who refer to him as a beacon in the darkness..

DC UNIVERSE: Month 97, Part 2

THE FLASH #30 by Mark Waid, Christopher Cantwell, and Vasco Georgiev. Wally, Bart, and Barry travel through time to where Barry had to make the sacrifice during CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. Bart tries to create a scenario where Barry does not disappear into the Speed Force, even as Darkseid reminds Bart that his tampering with this moment risks destroying the Speed Force that he has become. At the same time, Wally, along with Max Mercury, Rocky Davis, last seen in CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN #5, and Ultivac, battle against Darkseid and his Legion. Wally goes after Bart, stopping him from changing history. Continued in DC K.O. #5.

GREEN LANTERN #32 by Jeremy Adams and Montos. Star Sapphire and Dove respond to a cry for help in Paris, only to find that it is only Hal here looking for a date with Carol. Their date, with Hal explaining what he learned from the Book of Oa, is interrupted as Carol notes a mystical cry and they go after a thief named Cupid, who blast them with explosives. They battle her and, in the process, Carol sees that Hal was going to propose, which causes her to unleash upon Cupid. Carol sees that the stolen item is a cross with a pink gem inside and it sets itself into Carol’s ring. The gem reveals there were eight aspects of love and Carol must reunite them, with her wielding Agape. Hal attempts to propose but she tells him to wait until her mission is complete. He heads off to meet Kyle before finding himself transported to Phantom Girl’s lab. Meanwhile, Krona steals a ship in Dark Sector Seven.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #13 by Morgan Hampton, Jason Paz, Will Conrad, Oclair Albert and Fernando Pasarin. Fatality attacks John Stewart with Enquar encouraging her to kill him. But she resists and rallies Lanterns, defeating him and imprisoning him in her necklace.

HARLEY QUINN #59 by Elliot Kalan and Carlos Olivares. Harley and Althea go on their date that gets interrupted by Colonel Blimp. Harley, determined to no longer have to deal with things, tells him to go ahead and rob the place. Chicken Fingers arrives to fight Blimp and Harley tells Althea that she may not be a complete good guy but Althea is the bad guy, leading to them realizing the both have good and bad in them. When Harley saves Chicken Fingers, she declares the date over and orders Althea to leave with Chicken Fingers, who she takes to the hospital. Harley, still fighting Blimp, ends up in Chicken Finger’s hospital room, eventually admitting that maybe they aren’t such bad guys after all.

JSA #16 by Jeff Lemire and Gavin Guidry. Dr. Fate tries to convince Corrigan that there is still good in the world as he tries to get him to embrace the Spectre. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman and The Atom end up at Gotham Airstrip but Hawkman and Hawkgirl are also there to take on Satanna, Sportsmaster, and Cyclotron. The Flash, along with Johnny Thunder and Yz the Thunderbolt transport to the airstrip and introduce themselves, with Hawkman and Hawkgirl taking offense at the comments of the other heroes. Alan Scott meets with Starco CEO Walter Baze, who drugs Scott, realizing he is getting too close to what is happening and revealing himself to be the Ultra-Humanite. Beneath Starco, Sandman and Hourman talk with the other captive, who reveals himself to be Amazing Man.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #16 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. As the battle in Oklahoma City continues, Air Wave calls in backup with Blue Beetle explaining the rest of the Justice League is busy with the evacuation of Earth. In Hell, Owlwoman has betrayed the assembled team and joined Neron. She agreed to monitor the League’s action to save herself from death. Neron sends her to Oklahoma City to protect the souls of the villains he has already collected. Seeing the heroes and villains fight even as it looks like certain death, she decides to destroy the sphere with the souls and gets Doctor Occult to open a portal so she can save Mr. Terrific. Furious at Owlwoman’s actions as she sends Terrific back through the portal as the portal closes. Back with Martian Manhunter and Mary Marvel, Terrific says that his team has died and they all died heroes.

JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG #7 by Brian Buccellato and Christian Duce. Batman and Harley transport to a Monarch base to find a Titan that could help them against Lex and Shaw, finding Mothra as a possible ally. In Peru, Kong takes on Cheetah with the help of Hal and Wally while Martian Manhunter takes on Ghidorah and Rodan. In the Pacific, Aquaman and Mister Terrific tend to an injured Godzilla. But, when a distress call from Wonder Woman takes Aquaman away, Terrific detonates a nuclear device, revitalizing Godzilla, just in time to team up with Mothra. The heroes team up with Godzilla, Kong, Mothra and some of the Great Apes to take down Ghidorah and Skar King. With the battle ended, the League sends Task Force X home, with some Leaguers remaining to monitor the situation. In the end, Harley and King Shark relax on a beach until Mr. Terrific and Batman arrive and convince them to return home.

NEW HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE: THE DAKOTA INCIDENT #1 by Joseph P. Illidge, Stephanie Williams, Morgan Hampton, Nikolas Draper-Ivey, Valentine De Landro, Carlo Pagulayan, Stephen Segovia, Fico Ossio, and Edwin Galmon. In the future, Rocket’s son and Static’s protégé Amistad, under the hero name of Beacon, journeys into the past to save the future and observes moments from Dakota’s history he was unaware of. In the days when Lex Luthor was President, the heroes of Dakota first emerged and he demanded Amanda Waller assemble a squad to bring Dakota under his authority. Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, and Deadshot, along with troops, descend on Dakota and they get into combat with the Dakota heroes. Captain Atom arrives and he battles Icon. Superman and Wonder Woman arrive and team with the Dakota heroes, forcing Task Force X to flee. With Static and Rocket as representatives, they join Jefferson Pierce in meeting with Icon, who has inked a deal with Luthor that would allow a D.E.O. office to activate in Dakota. In the present again, Beacon meets with Static, who eventually remembers the past as time resets. In the end, he looks for his suit and Static lives again.

NIGHTWING #135 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. From out of the rubble of Titans Tower, Nightwing Prime arises with Night-Hare. At the Cirque, Nightwing works on getting the children out when he is attacked by The Zanni. Nightwing-Prime arrives and takes over the battle, allowing Dick and the children to escape. Prime stays behind in a never-ending battle with The Zanni. In the end, Nightwing gives Night-Hare to one of the rescued children while Mayor Bisogni plots.

POISON IVY #41 by G. Willow Wilson and Davide Gianfelice. Having killed Henley, Ivy is on the run but ultimately gets apprehended and jailed, with the Falcone family and Great White Shark., where she finds she is famous because someone recorded the murder. Janet from HR goes to the Mayor’s office, trying to gain Ivy’s release, meeting with someone from the Mayor’s office is knows more about Ghost Pipe than she should. Despite that, Janet fails. The woman, whose name is Juhi, proceeds to manifest a creature that calls her Summoner and asks the creature to follow Janet. Ivy gets fan mail and a visit from Harley, with Ivy saying she is going to run for Mayor.

SUPERGIRL #10 by Sophie Campbell and Joe Qujinones. Kara meets with her crush while Lena and Luna spy on her. He tells Kara that he knows she is Supergirl, leading Luna to use one of her gadgets to determine that he is wearing an earring that is having an effect on Kara. Lena rips the earring off the man’s ear and the spirit of Nela-Nar comes forth from it, determined to live vicariously and help the Kryptonian fall in love. Luna unleashes an Anti-Kryptonite suit to protect Supergirl for as long as the suit maintains power. With Lena’s help, she traps Nela’s essence in one of Lena’s gadgets. In the end, Conner arrives telling Kara that Kandor is in big trouble.

SUPERMAN #35 by Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Julio Ferreira. Before the tournament begins, Doomsday tells Superman to trust Robot Superman as the final hope against Darkseid. In the present, Superboy Prime battles Darkseid’s Legion while Saturn Girl taunts Lois about her husband’s death at the hands of the Horsemen of the Absolute. In the process, Saturn Girl’s own feelings for Lightning Lad come forth, quieting Darkseid’s voice in her head. Lois tries to convince Saturn Girl to renounce Darkseid and she does, begging Prime to not kill Lightning Lad and orders the Legion to retreat. As Time Trapper looks to flee into the past, he is shown a video of Lara Lor-Van, who explains that Doomsday is the alpha to Darkseid’s omega. Robot Superman, critically damaged fighting with Cosmic Boy, realizing his mission is complete and dies. Tim Trapper decides to face Darkseid personally with what little power he still has. Superwoman reunites with the Kents and introduces them to Prime, who asks to be called Clark.

SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #10 by Dan Slott, Jeremy Adas, and Lucas Meyer. Clark compares Prankster II to The Puzzler or The Trickster, causing him to want to kill Clark. With Perry still alive, the original Prankster says they can give Minnie Manheim a refund, but his nephew refuses. Oswald meets with Minnie who still wants Perry killed and now wants him to pay her back with double of what she paid him. When he refuses to refund her money, she has her henchman cut off his right hand, which turns out to be a prop. She demands he finish the job or she will cut off both hands. The fake hand turns out to be a microphone that has recorded the whole thing, revealing she plans to rob the Hob’s Bay reserve, leading him to pass the info to the Daily Planet as an anonymous tip. Clark gives chase and gets attacked by robots but changes into Superman and defeats them. Back at the Daily Planet, Oswald meets with Clark, promising to reveal his son’s lair provided he can be protected from Minnie. In the lair, Oswald is revealed to be Prankster II in disguise and Clark is attacked by a Kryptonite snake. When Prankster II leaves, Clark powers up his golden power, trapping his enemies and retrieving the fake hand with the evidence. Elsewhere, Mr. Mxyzptlk warns again about Txyz, whose voice informs Jon that their first meeting will be their last.

TITANS #32 by John Layman and Pete Woods. In the past, the Titans debate what to do with the plan to evacuate Terra to Gemworld. In the present day, Terra overpowers Nightwing and Raven, with Nightwing suggesting she free Amethyst and help them battle Jinx and aid the refugees. On Earth, Grail offers saving Donna so she can serve Darkseid, with Donna refusing. Breaking free, she attacks with help from Connor and the young heroes. Donna summons a Boom Tube and that sends Grail and her army into space. Raven psychically links all of the Titans, thanks to Amethyst’s magic and terra’s increased power. They share a moment together, with Donna reminding them that they will endure together, always. To be concluded in DC K.O. #5 as this title becomes NEW TITANS.

WONDER WOMAN #30 by Tom King and Jeff Spokes. Eris observes with pride as she has deceived Nubia, Cassie, Yara, Donna, Phillipus, and Clio into believing in their own insecurities even as they all have their own ideas of what is best for Elizabeth, leading to them attacking each other. Eris manifests the Apple of Discord and, after taking a bite, dark duplicates of the women manifest in front of them. Diana arrives and dispatches the dark duplicates. Eris promises that, someday, Lizzie will be affected by fear and then she departs, saying the Wonder War will begin soon. Back in her garden, Eris plants a seed while mysterious figures stand behind her. She claims that the united Amazons might be united by what’s in front of them but the war will bloom beneath them.