DC UNIVERSE Month 14, Part 2

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #7 by James Tynion IV and Alvarez Martínez Bueno. Man Bat breaks the Fourth Wall and tells the tales of the past being written by a mysterious typewriter. Zatanna goes to  a mysterious club where she meets with the First of the Fallen, who is felled by The Otherkind. Detective Chimp and Swamp Thing meet with vampire Andrew Bennett, who has a supernatural meeting that causes him to flee. Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos, along with Wonder Woman, investigate a nuclear submarine taken over by otherworldly creatures. In another dimension, Zatara and Sargon the Sorcerer fight against the power of The Otherkind and The Rip, which are making their way to Earth.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #4 by Joshua Williamson and Philippe Briones. The citizens of the planet in the Ghost Sector continue to worship Cyborg, which still unnerves him, but he slowly begins to accept it as one of the followers reveals he is machine-like. He tells Cyborg that the Machine Worlds need him. The team then heads off with the follower to Machine Worlds, where they are confronted by The Programmer. To prove his worth, and that he is not a false messiah, he is put into the Colosseum to do battle with Azrael, who he defeats. Later, Azrael, Jessica and Starfire escape their prison and meet with Rapture, who has built his life around Azrael. Meanwhile, Darkseid meets with Blackfire, who he tries to convince that she needs to assist him in his grand plan.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #5 by Joshua Williamson and Carmine di Giandomenico. While the rest of the team is fighting with Rapture and his robots, Cyborg learns that the Programmer is creating a Motherbox, designed to turn all the people in the Ghost Sector ebing turned into cyborgs to save them. The team, with Rapture, heads to The Programmer where Cyborg grabs the Motherbox and learns that Darkseid lied to them and is planning on building a New Apokolips here. The Coluans collected all these planets to try and hide them from Darkseid. Rapture reveals that he and his Order of Azrael were the angels responsible for killing all of Starfire's followers. This ticks off Azrael, sending Rapture off to his Order and giving them orders to kill the Odyssey team. In the end, Rapture is revealed to be the Coluan who lost his Green Lantern love in issue #1.

NAOMI #1 by Brian Michael Bendis, David F. Walker and Jamal Campbell. In a small town, Superman fights Mongul for 17 seconds and that event, missed by Naomi, affects her life. When it is revealed that this is not the first time that something happened in this town, it leads Naomi to do some research and finds that Superman had been here before…on the day Naomi was adopted. Is there a connection?

NIGHTWING #56 by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza and Davide Gianfelice. The newly assembled Nightwing team takes on Scarecrow and those who have been transformed by the Fear Gas. Grayson sees this, but is concerned with finding and rescuing Beatrice. He sees Zak get shot and his sister Colleen wounded and Grayson leaps into action to help. Together, they overcome the Fear Gas and defeat Scarecrow. In the end, it seems like there may be a new superhero team in town, as the Nightwings ask Grayson to join them.

  

RAVEN DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS #11 by Marv Wolfman and Pop Mhan. Raven’s family is confused, finding her clothes in their house and they don’t even remember who she is. Raven is leading Night Force into Paraguay to save Skye and then make their escape into Azarath. Zack Zatara gets sick and they all proceed to call him "Barf Boy". Skye is dying and they learn that most of humanity has some degree of Arcane in them, meaning the Shadow Riders will have to kill billions to succeed. In the process, Skye dies.

RAVEN DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS #12 by Marv Wolfman and Pop Mhan. Skye resurrects but is dying and, despite Raven’s healing efforts, Skye explodes. After leaving Azarath, Raven goes to the hospital to visit the last of her faceless sisters, who gets killed by a Shadow Rider after Raven leaves. The Shadow Rider goes to Wintersgate and tells Raven he killed her sister and that leads her to be possessed by her natural powers and takes out the Rider. The team agrees they should all go back to Wintersgate, but Raven goes to her family and, after taking the forgetful spell off, she tells them her name is really Raven.

RED HOOD OUTLAW #30 by Scott Lobdell and Pete Woods. Jason finds himself in Mexico as he continues his hunt for Underlife, which takes him to Hierve El Agua. He discovers a building which has been torn apart by an axe, telling him that Artemis was here. Wingman shows up and captures Red Hood, telling him he wants Red Hood back in Gotham to lead a team that doesn’t follow Batman’s rules. He breaks free and takes down Wingman, acquiring a dog in the process and also discovering a cache of drugs. He also discovers a room full of bodies in liquid stasis, including Bunker. That is when his dad shows up, revealing he is Solitary. Meanwhile, in another reality, Artemis and Bizarro continue their journey.

SHAZAM #2 by Geoff Johns and Marco Santucci. The Marvel Kida are at the Rock of Eternity and try to decide which of the six lands they see on a map that they should explore. They take the magical train and head to Funland, where they meet the seventh champion of the family, King Kid. Meanwhile, Doctor Sivana, with the Encyclopedia of Magical Monsters in tow, meets with a doctor. He explains how his eye gives him magical sight and it is revealed by the creature in his head, that he needs the doctor’s tongue for a spell. The voice in his head is Mr. Mind.

SIDEWAYS #12 by Dan DiDio, Shane Davis and Kenneth Rocafort. Following the explosion at the end of last issue, Detective Hopkins finds Sideways, who Hopkins knows is Derek. Derek reveals what led to the explosion. The Dark Star Labs team captures Derek and harnesses him to open up at portal to the Dark Multiverse. Sideways creates a rift, but the rift inside a rift causes a Black Hole and almost everyone in Dark Star is sucked into it. Just when things look bad for Derek, he gets saved by a being from the Dark Multiverse. In the end, Derek makes amends with his father and then meets his birth mother.

THE SILENCER #12 by Dan Abnett and Jack Herbert. While Hope’s family is searching for her, she is in Talia’s lair with all of her potential followers. She refuses to pledge allegiance to her and that leads to a big brawl. Talia promises to keep Hope’s family safe if she stops fighting. Hope’s family is meeting with someone at the U.S. Embassy, who turns out to be in Talia’s employ. She has no choice but to surrender, which leads to Talia plunging a knife into Hope’s chest and throwing her out the window.

THE SILENCER #13 by Dan Abnett and V Ken Marion. It’s Hope’s origin story. It begins with her at St. Hadrian’s, where she meets Talia for the first time. Over the next few years, her skills improve. Talia asks her to give her a few more years and then, in the end, she will give Hope back an ordinary life. Many years later, she completes her mission to kill Guile. After that, despite being badly injured, she leaves Talia’s employ to start an ordinary life. Flashing forward to now, Hope has just come out of the Lazarus Pit and gives her allegiance to Talia.

SUICIDE SQUAD #50 by Rob Williams and German Peralta. Rick has been captured by the infected Waller and Harley shows up to help him out. Just when things look really bad, Cosmonaut arrives and sacrifices himself to save them. It turns out that the undead Marines are seeking revenge against Flag and have no problems infecting the world with the virus. The rest of the team is fighting them while Harley and Flag proceed on. The team regroups just as the underwater prison surfaces. Flag meets up with his former teammates, who encourage him to be infected and join them. Waller arrives and infects Harley. The team opens a portal and Katana uses her sword to get the creature in there, ending the crisis. Everyone is cured, the Marines finally die again and even Croc shows up.

SUPERGIRL #26 by Marc Andreyko and Kevin Maguire. Supergirl awakes and fins herself in the clutches of Harry Hokum. He is planning on using Supergirl’s cells to create Kryptonian children. Splyce transports Supergirl to a prisoner transfer while Kara pretends to be unconscious. At the prison, Kara is thrown in with a bunch of women and children who have been denied food and water. The guards outside the cells get taken out by the Omega Men and Kara agrees to help them if they help her get these prisoners free. They move through the prison and find three of their cohorts, who were dead and have been resurrected. Meanwhile, Zn’dr and Krypto are captured by two hooded men.

SUPERMAN #7 by Brian Michael Bendis, Ivan Reis, Brandon Peterson and Jason Fabok. Superboy has returned and looks to now be around age 17. He has a reunion with his parents and explains what happened on his trip with Jor-El. He reveals that they all faced off against the Dominators before landing on a planet where the people thought that Lois was a part of the House of El, because of the super suit she is wearing. While there, they run into Lobo. They also find out that the Khunds have been stealing children, so they go off to help there. Lois leaves and Jon tells them that she missed the best part: that Jor-El is completely insane and needs to be stopped.

TEEN TITANS #26 by Adam Glass and Bernard Chang. The Teen Titans break into Batcave where they encounter a robot Batman. Meanwhile, Damian encounters Alfred, who tells Damian he shouldn’t be taking what doesn’t belong to him. Damian says that Red Hood betrayed them and he is here to take what he needs.  The team beats the Batman robot and leave. Later, Red Hood catches Damian in the basement, where he has Black Mask chained up. Damian reveals that he believes Red Hood is either in league with The Other or is The Other. He also says that no that he has gotten this ornate box from the Batcave, Red Hood will no longer be a problem.

TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #1 by Adam Glass, Ryan Benjamin and Jose Luis. Damian tracks down Red Hood in a bar in Texas, where Damian confronts him about The Other and they battle. Damian shows Jason the box he stole from Wayne Manor causing Jason to get angrier, take down Damian and take the box…all while someone watches. In the second half, the rest of the team battles Joystick. He uses his mind control powers to take over Djinn, learning her secrets and revealing some of them to the team. Before they take him down, he reveals that Djinn has deep feelings for Robin which devastates Crush. Djinn goes to the prison where Joystick ends up and magically removes his ability to speak, threatening to remove something else if he reveals her secrets in the future.

THE TERRIFICS #11 by Jeff Lemire and Viktor Bogdanovic. With the team split up, the Terrifics are off pursuing their individual lives. Plastic Man goes to visit his wife and his son, who has his father’s powers and they berate Plastic Man for his non-involvement in the family. Linnya has returned to Bgtzl, where she is forced to wear clothing she doesn’t like, because h sei s considered royalty. Rex, who is now human, goes out looking for a job, which is difficult because he has almost no experience. Mr. Terrific is tracking Java, who is making is way through the Multiverse, killing alternate versions of Mr. Terrific. He gets to Earth-23, where Mr. Terrific’s wife Paula is Mr. terrific. Terrific transports there and comes face to face with Java’s team of Terrifics that he calls the Dreadfuls.

THE TERRIFICS #12 by Jeff Lemire and Viktor Bogdanovic. Mr. Terrific battles Doctor Dread’s Dreadfuls. They are Metalmorpho of Earth-44, Phantom Boy of Earth-13 and Plasma-Man from Earth-43. And when they’re done with him, they plan on killing Mr. Terrific of Earth 23, who resembles Mr. Terrific’s wife. Over on Bgtzl, Linnya’s moher is trying to have her daughter involved in an arranged marriage, which leads to her stealing a spaceship and heading back to Earth. Rex and his dog break into Stagg’s lab so he can destroy the Orb, so he cannot accidentally turn into Metamorpho again. Plastic Man meets up with his son Luke and gets schooled in a game of basketball. To convince his son how much he loves him, Plas steals that Batmobile so they can go joyriding. Back at Mr. Terrific’s lab, Linnya receives Mr. Terrific’s distress signal and calls the team back together. That leads to Rex making a fateful decision, destroy the Orb and he and the dog turn back into Metamorphos.

TITANS #33 by Dan Abnett and Bruno Redondo. Ben is back at Titans Headquarters, reading an Unearth book so he can get a better idea on how to help the team. After defeating their enemies, they head to the castle where Lord Travesty is waiting. Ernest, who created the world, is acting as Travesty’s advisor. After Ernest leaves, Travesty meets with his new allies: Mother Blood and the Blood Cult. They have helped Travesty get the throne and they want the Titans to come and try to retrieve Raven’s soul self. They get to the castle, but are attacked by a mighty warrior, who turns out to be Raven’s soul self.

THE UNEXPECTED #8 by Steve Orlando and Ronan Cliquet. Neon and Quenh are dead, and that means Firebrand and Hawkman have to face Mandrakk on their own. In actuality, Neon and Quench have a portion of themselves still alive in the World Forge. Neon convinces Quench to put aside their differences and they fight their way out of the World Forge, joining Hawkman and Firebrand to battle Mandrakk. Together, they change Mandrakk, who must now feed off Dark Matter and he’s gets sent back into the Dark Multiverse. Quench goes on his own journey, Neon repairs Firebrand’s hospital and Firebrand is prepared o battle for Earth as needed.

WONDER WOMAN #61 by G. Willow Wilson and Xermanico. Steve is healed by Aphrodite and they go off to find Wonder Woman. After a reunion, Diana, Steve, Aphrodite, and Etta convince the Prime Minister of Durovnia to go to the scheduled peace meeting. But their path is interrupted by aircraft attacks and an appearance by Ares.

WONDER WOMAN #62 by G. Willow Wilson and Xermanico. Diana and Ares battle, until Aphrodite gets involved and reminds Ares of who she is. The Prime Minister and the rebels meet and a peace is achieved. But that is all dependent on if the gods and their attendants leave their country immediately. Later, Diana and Steve visit Etta in the hospital, before Diana leaves to begin her search for Themyscira.

WONDER WOMAN #63 by G. Willow Wilson and Emanuela Lupacchino. The mythical creatures that had kidnapped Steve are out in the world and trying to fit in with problems resulting. They end up at the Old Ebbitt Grill, where the clientele are not happy to be eating with what they consider to be farm animals. A waitress named Maggie befriends them and offers to take them to somewhere where they might be more accepted. Diana returns with Ferdinand the Minotaur, leading to all of them heading to Ferdinand’s place where he is going to cook them a pasta dinner. In the end, it is revealed that Veronica Cale has Nemesis captive in her apartment.

YOUNG JUSTICE #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Patrick Gleason.  Invaders from Gemworld show up looking for Superman and that results in a team forming, made up of Jinny Hex, Tim Drake Robin, Impulse, and Wonder Girl. The team ends up on Gemworld and meets Amethyst. And then Connor Kent, long missing from DC continuity, shows up!