DC UNIVERSE Month 78, Part 1

ABSOLUTE POWER #1 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. As Superman attempts to stop a group of robbers, one of them shoots him and, as the bullets pass through his body, he suddenly finds himself powerless and falling to the earth below. Jon and Superboy catch him and transport him to a hospital, but they also have lost their powers and fall to the earth below. The lead up to this is that Amanda Waller has been responsible for releasing A.I. generated footage of superheroes attacking civilians, which leads to chaos and a hunt for superheroes. Waller speaks with the President and admits to doing this and, defying the President’s orders to stop, she instructs a rebuilt Failsafe to begin Phase Two and he unleashes his team of Amazos, now dubbed Task Force VII, to begin hunting the heroes. Cyborg and Oracle attempt to stop the flow of disinformation being created by the Brainiac Queen, but fail, forcing thew now powerless heroes to band together for their own safety. Waller broadcasts to the world that the Bureau of Sovereignty it now in control to end the superhero problem. Green Arrow reveals to his former teammates that he has joined with Waller and there is no place the heroes can escape to, as she has blocked access to the Multiverse and alternate universes. Task Force VII attacks the powerless heroes, taking many into custody while the others flee. In the end, Jon is captured by Last Son and finds himself filled with circuitry, causing him to ask who he is.

ABSOLUTE POWERS ORIGINs #1 by John Ridley and Alitha Martinez. Amanda Waller’s husband is killed by someone named Candyman and now Waller dedicates her life to seeing the superheroes fall. Determined to avenge him, she dedicates herself to working on the campaign of congressional candidate Marvin Collins. When she eventually confronts him with compromising evidence, he agrees to help her in any way possible. When he gets elected, Waller now has the ability to pull strings to get what she wants.

ABSOLUTE POWER: TASK FORCE VII #1 by Leah Williams and Caitlin Yarsky. While most of the superheroes have been depowered and captured, the Shazam Family is currently the most powerful superheroes around. Waller has Parasite track them, finding them on the Rock of Eternity. With that accomplished, she has Last Son kill Parasite. At the Rock, the gods refuse to help Mary and Billy, so they head into the Chamber of Souvenirs, where Mister Dinosaur says he knows just the weapon they need, once they fill out the proper paperwork. Last Son arrives and subdues Mister Dinosaur when Black Adam arrives. During the battle, Last Son sees the body of Parasite and feels remorse, based on the feelings he has stolen from Superman and his family. As Last Son begins to drain Black Adam’s powers, Mary lends a hand and Last Son is temporarily subdued. Later, Steve Trevor is ordered to Gamorra to work with the Bureau and sees the imprisoned heroes, including Billy, Mary and Black Adam. He is taken to Sarge Steel who tells Trevor that he now works for him, with Trevor responding “The hell I do!”

ABSOLUTE POWER TASK FORCE VII #2 by John Layman and Max Raynor. Doom Patrol and Tempest find their powers gone, with Tempest being told that Aquaman’s powers have also taken away. In Atlantis, Depth Charge leads an assault on Atlantis, with Jackson Hyde leading the resistance. As the Doom Patrol head below in a specially designed ship, Aquaman, safe under a special dome, watches as Depth Charge assaults Atlantis. Even with his security cube leaking, Doom Patrol manages to free him, escaping from the carnage to the surface world. In the end, Steel sends Trevor to his new office, where he discovers a listening device, leading to Steel having him apprehended. , .

ABSOLUTE POWER TASK FORCE VII #3 by Jeremy Adams and Marco Santucci. In Coast City, original Green Lantern Alan Scott finds himself attacked by one of the Amazo robots when the creature suddenly freezes up, as it now face s glitch in its’ programming. Scott is rescued by what is left of the Justice Society. The Amazo, once it goes back to Waller to report that Scott has escaped, gets a partial reprogramming and goes to the Oblivion Ba, where it attacks. Meanwhile, a captured Steve Trevor manages to escape and pass himself off as one of the task force. The JSA members make their way to the Tower of Fate, but they are followed by the Amazo. To save the others, Alan agrees to go with the robot. To be continued in GREEN LANTERN #14.. 

ACTION COMICS #1067  by Gail Simone, Rainbow Rowell, Eddy Barrows, and Cian Tormey. At a time early in his career, Jimmy, Lois and Clark interview activist Jefferson Pierce. An alien race known as the Gorathians arrive and begin attacking citizens. Superman confronts them and is met by an alien called Xait of the S’tahl. He claims he is part of a peaceful race but the Gorathians joined them and have been bullying them ever since. establishing ‘The Games’, where the winner gets control of the loser’s planet and resources. Xait begs Superman to be their champion and he agrees, even as the Goathian leader threatens to destroy Earth if Superman loses. Superman plans to call Batman and Wonder Woman as his seconds but the Gorathian leader declares that Lois and Jimmy will be his seconds. The leader transports the trio to the arena: a nuclear powered Navy aircraft carrier suspended high above Metropolis. As Superman is paired up against Gallalox the Handsome, the Gorathian leader cuts off the carrier’s ability to hover over Metropolis and it plummets towards the city below. In the backup, Lois is now Editor of the Daily Planet. The Atomic Skull goes on a rampage and Superman battles him, finally convincing him to stop. In the end, Clark is ready to write the story but Lois explains he cannot because it is a conflict of interest.

BATMAN #150 by Chip Zdarsky, Denys Cowan, and Jorge Jimenez. A small-time crook named Teddy learns Batman’s secret identity and plans to sell the information to the highest bidder, in order to support his family. He meets with The Penguin’s daughter but is told by the friend who got him in to see her that they plan to kill him once he gives up the information. After an explosive disruption, Teddy finds himself with a group of former henchmen and women for various villains. The team pulls a bank job but that gets broken up by Batman. Teddy wakes to find himself at his son’s dorm, with his son telling him how he became one of The Scarecrow’s henchmen, but Batman intervened and told him to be better, leading to him going to college. Teddy is met by Bruce Wayne who tells him to leave Gotham and always be better. In the end, Batman makes his way into Titan Tower where he finds Cyborg trying to fight off the virus he has contracted by trying to get into Waller’s system. He also reveals she has a Mother Box and that leads to the Paradise Lost Amazo finding them and attacking. Paradise Lost captures Cyborg and returns to Waller’s base. Barry Allen, the only person able to deliver messages to the heroes, arrives and asks about Cyborg. Batman explains he has been captured but he now knows where Waller’s power source is and is going to get Catwoman to help him get it.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #11 by Joshua Williamson and Juan Ferreyra. On Dinosaur island, Bane is beating dinosaurs and declaring himself king. Batman, Damian and Goliath head to the island to search for him and meet Maya there. The Kobra Cult is also there, capturing dinosaurs when Bane arrives and wreaks havoc. As Damian sees this, he recalls how Bane killed Alfred, which leads to him commandeering a small dinosaur and going after Bane by himself. Batman attempts to go after him but is stopped by Bane’s daughter.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #29 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Batman has been turned into a puppet by Doom-Mite and now Superman and the other s must find a way to save him. Mxyzptlk takes his powers back  as the heroes stall for time. Bat-Mite goes to Los Angeles and meets with Zatanna, telling her that Batman and Superman need her help, as Mxyzptlk meets with Dr. fate and tells him the same. The Mites continue to make their way around the world, enlisting, or trying to enlist, other magic wielding heroes to help. Johnny Thunder, Constantine, Dr. Occult, and Prince Ra-Man. They all arrive, minus Constantine, to lend a hand, subduing Doom-Mite and allowing Batman to be restored. Bat-Mite defeats Doom-Mite and seemingly sacrifices himself in the process. They convince Mxyzptlk to say his name backwards and Bat-Mite reappears in his underwear. Batman tells him to go home and do good. In the end, the Bat-Mite costume is in the Batcave, next to the costumes of the other Bat Family members.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #15 by Tim Seeley, Mark Russell, Allex Segura, Joshua Hale Fialkov, Kelley Jones, Jon Mikel, Andy McDonald,, and Lisandro Estherren. Nightwing and Deadman continue their journey to find about Stella, with Deadman taking control of Maggie along the way. As it turns out,  the monks of Rama Kushna are involved and they find that Stella is at the center of  a sacrifice at a blood temple. Deadman reveals that the voices that brought him to Bludhaven weren’t about trying to take his soul-they wanted Nightwing’s soul.  In the second story, the meteor once again hits Jurassic times. But in the present, there is a meteor coming to Earth.In the process, Superman encounters Bugster Gold from the future, who transports the heroes back 65 million years and they reset the timeline. The present Earth is saved and Bugster Gold is now stranded in the present, where he promises to somehow destroy the human race.In the third tale, Montoya investigates an attack on a friend and that means The Question needs to look into it further. In the final tale, Batman manages to save himself and the alien and get him back with his people, despite Guy Gardner’s help.

BIRDS OF PREY #11 by Kelly Thompson, Robbi Rodriguez, Javier Pina, and Gavin Guidry. The Birds travel through the Pocket Dimension and find themselves .in a Prehistoric world where they have to face off against dinosaurs. As they end up facing off against Maia, Constantine tries to figure out how to get Meidian and Mia to the rest of the team, with little success. In the process, Superman encounters Bugster Gold from the future, who transports the heroes back 65 million years and they reset the timeline. The present Earth is saved and Bugster Gold is now stranded in the present, where he promises to somehow destroy the human race.I n the third tale, Montoya investigates an attack on a friend and that means The Question needs to look into it further. In the final tale, Batman manages to save himself and the alien and get him back with his people, despite Guy Gardner’s help.

CATWOMAN #67 by Tini Howard and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Selena confronts Eiko who, dressed as Catwoman, is fighting her own war while Viceroy’s people are preparing to land on the docks. Selena is injured in the process and explains that she has been getting by because of a shard of the meteor left in her skull. Later, the pair meet with Flamingo and Espada and their teammates and devise a plan to stop Viceroy. Later, Selina meets with Nightwing, revealing she is very ill and needs a doctor. Still, the teams go after Viceroy who lights up the docks. Selina is injured worse and Flamingo takes her to a doctor, who just happens to be…Hush.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1087 by Ram V, Dan Watters, Francesco Francavilla, Christian Duce, and Stefano Raffaele. Shadow Angel and the Azmer Army unleash the violence onto Gotham, but Azrael, Batgirl and Nightwing fight back. Meanwhile, Batman meets with the Ten Eyed Man, who supplies him with vital facts. Seeing the war has escalated, Mr. Freeze turns on his machine and snow begins to fall in Gotham, which slows the Azmer down. Batman fights tenclaw and gets an assist from Two Face. The Orgham Queen sees what is happening but still is planning to flood reality with fear extracted from a captured Jonathan Crane. Neang battles Freeze while Joker’s Daughter beheads the Shadow Angel. In the backup, Azrael is helping people but also dealing out his own brand of vengeance until Nightwing knocks some sense into him…literally.

THE FLASH #11 by Simon Spurrier and Ramon Perez. The Arc Angles say they believe they cannot get Wally to do what they want of him. The Stillness arrive and want to die, even though they have been made immortal. Wally begins to remember things and the Arc Angles tell The Stillness to get Wally to chase them and, if they do, the Arc Angles will destroy them. The Stillness tell Wally they are going to destroy Earth and he gives chase. The Arc Angles tell Wally that the cosmic forces are coming from the Deep Change and that it exists outside of the Source Wall. On Earth 0, the Flash Family now understand that the Speed Force are made of time. The junior Flash members go off to find the Rogues but learn that Mirror Master, Grodd and Abra Kadabra are dead at the hands of the Arc Angles, and that the Folded Man is now an insane hobo. Wally makes his way through the Source Wall as the Arc Angles destroy The Stillness.

GREEN ARROW #14 by Joshua Williamson, Amancay Nahuelpan, and Sean Izaakse. Batman and Nightwing contact Team Arrow, telling them about Task Force VII’s attack. They ask how they can help and they are told that Oliver’s deal with Waller may have actually left Team Arrow out of it, so they need to stay safe as they may be the only resistance when things progress. Instead, Roy leads them to a new Arrowcave and says they must find Professor Ivo, who is probably the only person who can tell them how to stop the Amazos. Thanks to Cheshire, they find Ivo, who is deformed and has gone mad. While Ivo calls Task Force VII abominations, he refuses to destroy them and reactivates Tomorrow Woman and flees. Elsewhere, Bright talks with Queen who says that going after super weapons is useless unless they find the creators. Bright tells him that Waller will kill Queen when all of this is through with him. Back at Ivo’s, Lian and Cheshire give chase but Ivo is caught by Bright before the heroes can get to him.

GREEN LANTERN #13 by Jeremy Adams and Fernando Pasarin. The Bureau of Sovereignty has captured many superheroes including Hal Jordan, who is being tortured by Karshon. He refuses to give in, having now reunited with Carol. Hal realizes that Tharros is behind much of this and Waller tells him he is right, stating that she realizes that Tharros will eventually want to take on Earth and she wants Hal’s ring. Hal eventually knocks out his captor and gets free, running into a group of soldiers who have confiscated weapons and his ring. On Oa,  Jessica suggests the resistance moves deeper into their hideout while Kyle feels problems in the emotional spectrum. Sinestro returns to new Korugar and finds one of his cities destroyed and promises revenge. In Battery Park, the Justice Society finds themselves attacked by the Amazos. In Las Vegas, Carol’s former fiancée is devastated until a mysterious grey ring appears to him.

GREEN LANTERN: WAR JOURNAL #11 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Montos. While John battles his demons and figures out how to defeat the visions that have confused him. He makes his way to the heart of the Star Shroud and reunites with byla, along with getting an assist from Shepherd and Kyle.Meanwhile, John’s mother and the construct of her dead daughter continue to flee from the Star Shroud, while Steel tries to break into the bubble the woman is trapped in. She admits that she knows the construct is not really her daughter and the construct bonds with John’s mother as they prepare to battle the creature.  

HARLEY QUINN #42 by Tini Howard, Joanne Starer, Sweeney Boo, and Marcial Toledano Vargas. Harley tells Harmada and Vampire Squid that Freeze betrayed them. And they come up with a way to stop Freeze and melt the Icrscraper. But Freese has woken up and frozen Robin. Meanwhile, Pulaski, after her recent conduct, has been suspended without pay by the police force. But Vandal Savage, in his role of commissioner, reinstates her, telling her to finish her mission dealing with Harley and he might make her a detective. In the backup, a dreaming Harley takes on protesters looking to burn books.