DC UNIVERSE Month 93, Part 2

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #9 by Jeremy Adams, Morgan Hampton, and Fernando Pasarin. The Starbreaker Supremecy Part 6. John Stewart is dead and Hal leads the Leanterns back to Oa where all hope rests on the freed criminals wielding rings. The Starbreaker Corps arrive and Lanterns of all colors unite to fight back. But their constructs are eaten by the enemy leading to the Guardians coming up with a counterattack. Ellie, now possessing a Blue Lantern ring, joins the fight and the grand plan results in the Starbreaker Corps entering the various Lantern batteries, where they are trapped forever. In the aftermath, Simon appears, possessed by the mind of Krona. In the end, John’s ring enters the Dark Sector and calls to him, where he is working on his farm.

HARLEY QUINN #55 by Elliot Kalan and Carlos Olivares. Harley, Gunbunny, and Mayfly have been captured by the Coast City Police but Harley being Harley manages to escape, with her inner brain telling her to go back to rescue the others. She runs, literally, into Fire and Ice, forcing her to flee back inside the jail, with her breaking the villains out. Fire and Ice end up in pursuit but Harley outfoxes them. Soon, Harley and Mayfly get tranquilized by Brock Blomquist, who is revealed to be Gunbunny’s father and prepares to hunt Harley and Mayfly. Meanwhile, the mysterious man continue to exert his evil influence on city residents, forcing Delores to shoot Marcisak.

JSA #11 by Jeff Lemire and Diego Olortegui. The Unnamed Ones have arrived and the JSA finds themselves in a fight with Johnny Sorrow and his team. Doctor fate takes control and forces the villains to flee. Kid Eternity travels to meet the dead heroes and Ted Grant whispers a secret to her to help defeat the bad guys. She returns and whispers to Doctor Fate, who takes on the Unnamed Ones, telling them he knows their true names and faces, destroying them. In the end, Kid Eternity whispers something to Wildcat that Ted told her which makes her cry with joy. In the end, Kid Eternity meets with The Spectre and is now that vessel.

JUSTICE LEAGUE RED #3 by Saladin Ahmed and Clayton Henry. Simon and Cyborg battle the Blood Tabernacle and a dragon-like creature which Simon slays with a sword construct. Defeating the dragon and the first wave, they make their way inside the hideout to save Red Canary, only to encounter Father Blood. The heroes are soon trapped and a waking Red Canary unleashes powerful red energy that destroys everything in the building-presumably Father Blood also. Meanwhile, Kara deals with the vision of her parents that Red Tornado has created, which he says is a gift he created to thank her for joining the team. He explains he was able to do that thanks to help from Deadman. When Cyborg, Canary, and Simon return, Reddy tells them that they have almost completed their mission and now need to kill Black Adam on their most dangerous mission yet.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE OMEGA ACT SPECIAL #1 by Joshua Williamson, Yasmine  Putri, and Cian Tormey. Years ago, on Krypton, Lara and Ursa discover an old data pad revealing a time when Krypton still cooperated with other worlds and civilizations. They also find what appears to be a Mother Box and an ancient weapon of some sorts that may be the Heart of Apokolips, along with a wall with a symbol that says KING OMEGA. In the present, Time Trapper reveals how time is fractured when Booster Gold appears and is taken by the Trapper into a weird field of energy with the Flash being caught in it as well. They arrive in the 853^rd century where Justice League Alpha is being devastated by the legion of Darkseid. It is revealed that this is happening throughout all timelines and the present will be the Legion’s next stop. Booster and The Flash get caught in the battle, with Booster unleashing Omega Energy to defeat the Legion as the trio heads back to the present. Time Trapper tells the gathered heroes that they must all work together to defeat Darkseid. At the same time, in Krypton’s past, ursa shows a device she took from the cave, telling how it said a great danger was coming and an ultimate weapon was needed to defeat it. Lara reveals that Ursa got the translation wrong and it actually says “Ultimate Champion”. To be continued in DC K.O. #1. 

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #12 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. A DC K.O. tie-in. As of now, 62% of the planet has been evacuated but The Atom hears about a bank robbery, leading to he and Batgirl investigating, finding Polka-Dot Man responsible. The Atom punches him and the villain explodes; severely injuring Ray and Barbara. Apparently, this is not an isolated incident as other low-level villains are giving the Justice League members still on Earth problems, causing Mr. Terrific to deduce that Neron is responsible because of a deal he had made many years ago to increase their power levels in exchange for their souls. Terrific then puts a team together made up of time-lost members of the League: Aquaman, Superman Blue, and Power Girl from the past, Guy Gardner Warrior, Green Lantern from KINGDOM COME, Futures End Batman, Dr. Fate of the 31^st Century, the Gold Hawk of Andrino, and Dc One Million Owlwoman. Because of the battle with the Legion of Doom, Universe-0 is gone and these heroes cannot return home and if the Justice League fixes the damage Darkseid has caused, these heroes will cease to exist. Before their mission, they meet with various League members. Guy tries to connect with Ice. Aquaman visits his counterpart’s room and is confused to see a picture of a daughter he was not aware of. Power Girl records a video message to her current self. The Watchtower receives an urgent message from Air Wave begging for assistance against Darkseid’s forces while Terrific activates a Boom Tube to bring them to Hell.

KRYPTO: THE LAST DOG OF KRYPTON #5 by Ryan North and Mike Norton. Krypto is in Kansas and helps save a family from a robber. The children recognize that the dog has super powers and suddenly Krypto smells something and flies away, landing at the Kent farm. Jonathan brings him home and the dog and Clark bond. Jonathan recalls something found in Clark’s cradle and fetches it; revealing what looks to be a dog tag in the shape and symbol of the El family. Clark changes into his outfit and gives Krypto a cape and attaches the dog tag. Krypto now has a forever home.

THE NEW GODS #11 by Ram V,  Evan Cagle and Denys Cowan. Otis Tennant has been troubled by visions of the spaceships heading to Earth, resulting in his turning into the Black Racer. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman and Barda fight the Furies, with Barda eventually growing large in size and defeating them. In space, Orion and Scott Free are set on saving Kamal, with Mister Miracle confronting Desaad and Orion dealing with Maxwell Lord. A brainwashed Kamal unleashes his power on Orion in an attempt to break him. Killowog and Jo see the size and scope of the spaceship armada and get backup in the form of the Black Racer.

NEW HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE #4 by Mark Waid, Howard Porter and Hayden Sherman. Barry Allen’s documenting of the DC Universe concludes, beginning with the creation of the Black Lantern Corps. From there, Flashpoint occurs, Barbara Gordon resumes her activity as Batgirl, Amanda Waller reforms the Suicide Squad, Batman and his family fight the Court of Owls and Red Hood forms The Outlaws. The League has to fight Earth 3’s Crime Syndicate while Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz become Green Lanterns. A new Dr. Fate comes along in the person of Khalid Nassour, Wallace West starts his career and multiple Batwings arrive. The lost Wally West returns but the Dark Multiverse comes into being. It is discovered that much of what happened, specifically New 52, was caused by Doctor Manhattan, who ultimately returned the Justice Society to their place in history. A new Titans team was formed as did a new Young Justice. Pariah attempted to revive the Pre-Crisis Multiverse, which eventually ended up creating the Omniverse. Amanda Waller put her dark plan in place, eventually defeating her and resulting in changes to the power set of many heroes. In the end, the future is not fully written, especially with the DC K.O. event still happening.

NIGHTWING #131 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. A wanderer robot is returned to Spheric Solutions, having been destroyed by Nightwing-Prime, as noted by The Zanni. Elsewhere, Killer Moth is in his submarine and fires a missile at Nightwing’s speedboat until Oracle hacks into his system, forcing him to flee in his Moth-Rowboat. Nightwing gets attacked by the mutated Clean Cutters, leading to Nightwing-Prime to recue him. Back in the apartment they share, Nightwing has Prime go back to his studies while Dick goes to visit Commissioner Sawyer, who explains there are children missing and it seems to tie to Cirque Du Sin. Nightwing looks at the drawings of one of the kids and sees The Zanni in it. Prime heads out on patrol and encounters Killer Moth.  But, before he can apprehend him, he is struck by a Kryptonite blast to his chest, Nightwing finds him and encourages him to hang on even as Prime says he can hear circus music.

POISON IVY #37 by G. Willow Wilson and Atagun Ilhan. Janet continues to get sicker and that leads Ivy into making a trip to Gotham to seek out Dr. Leslie Tomplins, convincing her to come back with Ivy, despite Batman’s objections. Tompkins decides that Janet has an advance case of Mycosis worse than she has ever seen in someone so young. Tompkins declares that she cannot help her and she needs to be taken to Gotham General. Wendy arrives and reveals that it was Janet who betrayed Ivy and Ivy takes matters into her own hands by dragging Janet into The Green.

SUPERGIRL #6 by Sophie Campbell and Rosi Kampe. Supergirl finds herself trapped in Mindworld, where she is tormented by numerous nightmare interactions, including the Red Lanterns. The next day, when she wakes, she goes out on patrol with Lesla and nods out in the process; visualizing herself in battle with a Red Lantern version of herself that turns into Nightflame. Luna Lustrum, out Trick or Treating, finds Supergirl hiding under a shrub; attracted to her by her aura. Supergirl cannot wake from her nightmare and Lena convinces Luna to use psionics to go inside Supergirl’s head. Together, her friends tell her how much she is loved and that gives her the energy to deal with monsters in the Innerverse, telling them she will see them again tomorrow. She wakes and they all go to a Halloween party.

SUPERMAN #31 by Joshua Williamson, Eddy Barrows, and Eber Ferreira. A DC K.O. tie-in. Superman confronts Time Trapper, who tells Superman he must journey to the Heart of Apokolips and helps crown a King Omega to defeat Darkseid. Superman goes to the Fortress and questions the simulation of his father about Krypton and its’ connection to Darkseid. The program has no answer because any memories have been erased from history. Later, Mercy Graves tells Superman of the Apokoliptian fire pits popping up across the planet and that Lex has built ships to help evacuate the planet. Before he heads off to this series of battles, he spends time with his family as Lois heads to the Fortress and quizzes Jor-El but gets Lara, who reveals  a ‘Destroyer’ legend featuring a Dark Omega and an Alpha, which she believes to be Doomsday. Suddenly, Superboy-Prime crashes into the Fortress followed by Sun-Boy from the Legion of Darkseid. But Sun-Boy’s power reactivates Lois’s dormant power and Superwoman is reborn.

SUPERMAN: THE KRYPTONITE SPECTRUM #3 by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo. Clark is now a boy again and he is okaying a game with Billy Batson’s in Batson’s bedroom. Batson tells Clark that he does art therapy at school and that helps him deal with his feelings. Elsewhere, Lex has teamed up with Toyman and Sivana, who have created a theme park called Nostalgia Springs, which the heroes go to. They are not there in this abandoned place for long when they are attacked by Bizarro Bots. The heroes end up riding the Canonical Coaster of Doom, where they encounter animatronic moments from their histories, although inaccurate. They escape by being shot out on a version of the rocket that brought Kal-El to Earth. Upon their exit, The Captain is shot by a ray of raw light and Superboy hit with a Kryptonite ray. Batman arrives and takes out the villains and gives Clark a drink that restores him to Superman. Meanwhile, Batman deduces that the Rainbow K is not from Krypton but is actually a distress signal from the Fifth Dimension. Batman shows him a message from the Fifth Dimension saying HELP MXY and he suddenly finds himself as Clark in the Planet Office…somewhere in the Fifth Dimension.

SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #6 by Dan Slott and Rafael Albuquerque. In Tunnel One, Superman is dealing with the effects of Kryptonite poisoning, with the Krypto-Knights trying to protect him from the Kobra cult. Elsewhere in the tunnel, Castilho threatens Lois who whistles for the Supermobile, which Superman hears and uses his golden aura, taking out Kobra. Lois jumps in the Supermobile and uses the robotic arms to take the crystal from Castilho. The leader sends his knights after her and Superman follows. But his aura wears off while he fights one of the Krypto-Knights and Lois must grab him, with the crystal falling to the ground and growing massive green crystals. Castilho is overjoyed as he now has a Kryptonian fortress. He then orders Superman, Lois and the Planet team to leave the country they entered illegally. With his enemies gone, Castilho declares himself to be the King of Krypton and plans on using this fortress to make Kryptonian weapons.

TITANS #28 by John Layman and Pete Woods. A DC K.O. tie-in. With Darkseid’s arrival imminent, the Titans go about enacting a grand plan to evacuate everyone on Earth, launching the multiple Titans Towers into space. That still only allows them to evacuated 34% of the population so they press on, even as many citizens are protesting it. Things go from bad to worse as Granny Goodness, her Furies, and Parademons attack the ship that Starfire is piloting, forcing her to call for backup.

 WONDER WOMAN #26 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. At a time in the past, an elderly man named Ernest Pye addressing a gathering held by the American government, saying his wife died during a Crisis and saying that people need a place where they can be free of superheroes and he takes people to Moray Island. One of those in the crowd is Carl Denter, who becomes the Mouse Man and he talks to Pye and joins everyone on the journey to Moray Island. Crime on the island rises, leading to Denter using his mice to kill any criminals, which gains him followers that dress like mice. Over time, he takes control of the government and kills any who oppose him, including his mentor. To avid more opposition, he orders the residents to only say “Mouse Man knows” and “mice have ears”; symbolizing that Mouse Man is aware of everything that happens on the island. In the present, Diana attacks Mouse Man’s fortress, dispatching his followers and attacking him directly by throwing her tiara at him, which he snaps with one hand. She eventually defeats him but, when she asks him to surrender, he reveals that Lizzie has been captured by his people. 

DC UNIVERSE Month 93, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #13 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta.  Bruce, having been visited by Selina in her Catwoman guise, talk and make love. Then the pair head off to meet with the Red Hood gang, now led by Harley Quinn, who likes the idea of a plan involving taking down Ark M. Elsewhere, Bane and his scientists push the amount of venom his boy can take to the maximum. Batman hijacks a city-wide video feed and challenges Bane to a fight in the Veterans Arena to be broadcast live. Before he leaves, he bids goodbye to Alfred and Selena and then leaves a box filled with raw meat for his friend Waylon.

ABSOLUTE BATMAN 2025 ANNUAL #1 by Daniel Warren Johnson and James Warren. In the first story, a young Bruce goes to buy weapons to use when he sees a group attacking a pair of immigrants. But when he intervenes, the weapons merchant knocks him out and Bruce gets saved by a priest, who takes him home to tend to his wounds. He tells Bruce that the guy named Deejay is hell bent on getting rid of the immigrant camp. When Deejay and his gang, aided by the police, attack the camp, Batman arrives and, in violent fashion, ultimately eliminating the threat. In the second tale, a masked gang breaks into a former priest’s church looking for guns. Batman arrives and, after a bloody brawl, the bad guys are defeated and the priest and his son, who he has been estranged from, reunite.

ABSOLUTE EVIL #1 by Al Ewing, Giuseppe Cammuncoli, and Stefano Nesi. In 1951, Hawkman has a meeting with the House Un-American Activities Committee, where they demand he unmask. Ultra Right Wing Carter Hall agrees and then proceeds to tattle on those superheroes he believes to be Communists. In the present, Oliver Queen gets a call from his friend Roy, telling him he is going after billionaire pedophile Jubal Slade. At the same time, Slade calls Hector Hammond, who believes he can pay off Queen. Hammond then goes to a meeting room with Veronica Cale, Elenore Thawne, Ra’s al Ghul, and The Joker. Cale gives a presentation involving many of the heroes of the past. Wesley Dodds was found dead and his research involving knockout gas was stolen which seemingly resulted in the military developing nerve gas that won World War II. Later, Ted Grant was framed for murder and became a vigilante, eventually taking a payoff and opening a gym. Iron Munro was called before the HUAC but refused to give names and soon found himself blacklisted in Hollywood. He died after being ‘accidentally’ exposed to nerve gas. Cale goes on to explain this was how people who tried to act outside of the “status quo” were dealt with. But, after the “Gateway Event” and the arrival of Wonder Woman, Superman and more, things have changed and they all need to work together. Hammond refuses and Cale calls in Hawkman, who dumps the corpse of Oliver Queen on their table. While Hammond and Thawne still are not on board, The Joker reveals that a particle physics lab he owns made a recent, relevant discovery he refers to as the ‘Omega Particle’ and he proclaims their group should be known as the Justice League. As Brainiac watches all this through Ra’s al Ghul’s sunglasses, he meets with Mirror Master, telling him this group needs another member and suggests a candidate he saw in the Mirror World. In the end, a man and his wife are enjoying some peace on their farm when he receives a phone call. He reveals he is Lex Luthor and asks how he can help the person on the other end.

ABSOLUTE FLASH #8 by Jeff Lemire and Travis Moore. In the past, Barry Allen is lecturing at Keystone University. Elenore Thawne meets with him after class with an offer to continue his research in quantum mechanics. They fly to Fort Fox where she shows him her grandfather’s journals when Eobard Thawne was heading up a government project called Blue Trinity, which was trying to connect with an alternate dimension of pure energy. The government shut him down but he went out to the desert and built his machine. Captain Jay Garrick tries to stop him but Thawne has opened a portal and he throws Garrick into it and he is disintegrated. When the machine exploded, Thawne disappeared and is presumed dead. Barry becomes interested in the equations on the chalkboard here and begins correcting them. Two years later, Barry has rebuilt Eobard’s machine and Thawne brings in Rudy West, who wants to have weapons built for the military. Thawne tells him he needs to play along to continue to receive funding. Later, he opens a portal to what is being called Still Point and sends in a three person team to collect samples of ‘Red Matter’ and they fins a spaceship they bring back to base where alien technology and the bodies of the crew are studied, allowing the creation of Grodd and the Rogues’ equipment. Barry hears the voice of Eobard calling him and when Barry touches this red lightning, he sees himself from the future in the containment suit, telling him to stop and that it must be Wally.

ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #7 by Al Ewing, Jason Howard and Riley Rossmo. In deep space, a Black Star possessed Mogo, led by Killowog, attacks members of the Green Lanterns with devastating results before moving on and destroying J586. Later, Tomar-Re, coupled with Red Lantern energy, attacks and dispatches Killowog. Turned into a cube, the cube flies through space before ending up with someone who possesses the Yellow Light-someone who appears to be a version of Sinestro and then destroys a miniature version of Starro.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #12 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval. While Ma kent rambles on and seems to recognize that maybe her son may be back, Sol takes Superman to Kansas, in an effort to keep him safe. But he is still dealing with the effects of Brainiac’s mental torture. Jimmy and Lois take in a meal at a Smallville Diner where they meet Lana Lang and discover there may be some support for Superman and resistance against Lazarus. On their return to the farm, they find Superman enveloped in a fortress that doubles as his cape; constructed by Sol. He introduces himself as Kal-El and warms that Ra’s and Talia are coming-and they have quite the army with them.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #13 by Kelly Thompson and Matais Bergara. At the Hieron, Diana hears a news alert abut something destroying a casino in Reno and she heads there. She not only sees the destruction but also senses “pure malice” in the air as she confronts an energy creature that lashes out with a psychic attack before disappearing over the Pacific. Back at the Hieron, Diana, Barbara, Etta, and Gia analyze this and other attacks that seem to have been unleashed at ancient Amazon battle sites. Diana heads to the next location in Delphi, Greece where she realizes the monster is her own magical balance-that she is responsible for all of this.

ACTION COMICS #1091 by Mark Waid and Skylar Partridge. Clark escape from the military and heads back home, telling the Kents what happened. Later, he meets with Captain Comet, who reveals he was responsible for the military showing up as part of a test. He later reveals that he is suffering from an incurable alien infection. Clark insists that Captain Comet needs to go back into space to save his life but Comet declares he must stay here and both help and teach Clark. Ultimately, Clark gets the dying hero into his spaceship and propels him back into space to hopefully save his life.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: BOOK OF EL #2 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski. Superman has saved a distant relative named Ronan Kent and learns that he has been transported to the far future and Smallville has become Tropolis Kyne and is run by Luthor. Well…a Luthor that is actually a robotic construct as Lord Ux rules all. Ronan takes Superman into the remnants of the Fortress of Solitude where Clark revisits old memories. Ronan goes off ahead to meet with an old man before bringing him to meet Superman. It is revealed that the old man is in fact Jimmy Olsen. Before he can reveal too much to his old friend, they are attacked by some of Lord Ux’s ‘Summer Men’. In the first backup, from Brandon Kent’s journal, it is revealed the Luthor isn’t being controlled by Brainiac-he IS Brainiac. In the second entry, from the Chronicles of the House of El, it is revealed that the last three Luthors have been an entity sent by Kryl-Ux to watch for Superman’s return.

AQUAMAN #10 by Jeremy Adams and John Timms. The citizens of Atlantis remain trapped behind a magical barrier, even as Mera, Jackson, and Garth try to find away to break out. On the surface, a ghost pirate ship appears and causes havoc. Aquaman and his team work together to defeat the pirates who manage to dig up an artifact that they have been searching for. But they are quickly dispatched by Aquaman’s daughter from a future timeline who takes the artifact and heads off.

BATGIRL #12 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. Batgirl, Jade Tiger, and Jaya Jayesh fight their way through The Blood, even as Cass is troubled by visions of her dead mother. They eventually make their way into the hidden city of Samsara, where she meets with Nyssa al Ghul. She tells Cassie that there are blue poppies that gives the Unburied their power and those flowers must be destroyed. Before Cass can agree to join Nyssa, Chodak the Unbowed breaks free and attacks Nyssa, leading to Batgirl saving her and defeating him and agreeing to help stop The Unburied.

BATMAN #2 by Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez. Tim Drake Robin breaks up a gang of crooks who are stealing baby formula. When the police arrive, one of them shoots a fleeing suspect in the back. When Tim attempts to flee, he is shot by a police officer and captured and place in a police van with other criminals. Tim fights for his life, dispatching them and freeing himself from his bonds in the process. The van gets stopped by well-deployed Bat Spikes and Tim is freed. The police officers threaten to shoot batman and fire, hitting each other in the process, although Batman takes a glancing shotgun blast off his head in the process. In the aftermath, one officer is dead and the other is wounded and Vandal Savage declares war on Batman and Robin.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #26 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Fico Ossio. Batman and Robin interrogate The Penguin following the attack at The Iceberg Lounge. Penguin insists he does not know who was responsible even as Batman reveals that the assailant puts coins on the eyes of the dead. When the heroes leave, Cobblepot has one of his men make arrangements to have a meet with Harvey Dent. Because Batman left a microphone in the Iceberg Lounge, he knows that a meet is happening at Asher Estate and he sends Robin to stake it out. While waiting, Damian gets a visit from the Gotham Irregulars, who want to help out. The killer arrives to the meeting and demands Harvey gives up The Penguin, declaring he is the person responsible for killing his boy. Batman intervenes and disarms him. That is when Batman recalls a cold case he never solved and realizes the man is really after The Ventriloquist.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #44 by Mark Waid, Mark Russell and Lucas Meyer. While Batman and Superman deal with Toyman and Mad Hatter in Bolivia, Batman reveals he has sent Robin to scope out Ardora Industries: a subsidiary of Lexcorp. Superman calls in his cousin to back up Robin. He makes his way into Adora but his disguise his subterfuge soon fails and Supergirl arrives to help. But they have Kryptonite and that results in them being captured. They distract their captor, who is going through a crisis of a personal nature, leading to them insisting that they are not dating. Using her super-breath, Supergirl manages to get the access card to freedom, which Robin tosses with his mouth to get the door to open. Escaping but still trapped in a chair, a stray bullet from the thugs breaks the Kryptonite chains, defeating the bad guys and hitting the self-destruct button, with the pair flying away and her delivering a kiss as they do. In the end, Batman and Robin find them in Robin’s car in something resembling a romantic embrace when they are actually looking for the shutoff for the proximity button in the car.

BIRDS OF PREY #26 by Kelly Thompson and Sami Basri. Batgirl and Black Canary make their way into the server room and install a piggyback into the system, even while Canary thinks there is a missing piece. Back at their temporary headquarters, they discuss their plan, where they will get placed directly into the game’s finale. After making their way through the game by answering a bunch of riddles, Barda and canary are stop by police who open fire on them with Barda taking wounds protecting Canary. Reuniting with Sin and Cass, Cass says she has solved the game. Leading them to a solid wall, she says that Vivi is looking for entrance to the Seam and is very close. 

CATWOMAN #80 by Torunn Gronbekk and Danilo Beyruth. Selina continues her search for Palmero Pearl. In the process, she rescues a reporter named David Moran who has been caught photographing Zervas and the Falcones. That night, she attends the ball but, even disguised, someone knows who she is.

CHEETAH & CHESHIRE ROB THE JUSTICE LEAGUE #3 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott. Cheshire and Cheetah have assembled their team, consisting of Hazard, Klarion and Teekl, and Featherweight, whose mother once tried to kill Superman. They are told of the mission to steal the Power bank, but also of the hoops they will need to jump through, including finding a way onto the Watchtower and making it past the security there. Cheshire and Hazard make their way into Ferris, allowing Hazard to download the schematics for the Watchtower and also leave an executable that will give them a back door to it. As part of their plan, Featherweight and Lian manage to steal a Justice League membership card from a distracted Sideways. But Klarion, who has taken an immediate liking to Featherweight, has his own plan and meets with a group looking for the Power Bank-a group led by…Black Adam.

DC K.O. #1 by Scott Snyder, Javi Fernandez, and Xermanico. We begin with Game Night at the Kents when a god-like Darkseid appears, soundly defeating and killing the heroes. This is revealed to those on the Watchtower by the Quantum Quorum, who says this has already happened but they have rewound time seven days. They reveal that Darkseid will trigger a cosmic crisis with the Heart of Apokolips reshaping the Earth. They propose a tournament where heroes and villains will compete to become the new King Omega, who could challenge Darkseid and remake the universe. For the next seven days, the heroes make their preparations. At last, on the seventh day, the battles begin with surprise villains entering the fray. Immediately, some of the combatants, such as Adam Strange, Damage, and even Batman are eliminated. The final result leaves 32 champions, heroes and villains, to face off against each other. In the end, it is revealed the Darkseid himself as the master manipulator of the Quantum Quorum and that he has taken the form of one of the 32.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1102 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Batman has only two days to solve this mystery of the virus that will result in his death. Clues point to a company called King Chemicals: run by a man who made his fortune at poker. He makes his way to Kasnia to engage in a high-stakes poker game with Louis King. Oracle learns that everything in King’s past has been created or altered through AI. Batman makes his way into King Chemicals and discovers there is no real labs there and he faces off against The Lion: the person responsible for everything. Batman is brutally beaten and escapes but may be in worse shape than he originally believed as he passes out in the Batplane.

THE FLASH #26 by Mark Waid, Christopher Cantwell and Vasco Georgiev. A DC K.O. tie-in. Wally is pursuing Alchemist in Arizona; capturing him near the Grand Canyon. Later, Wally is on the Watchtower where Time Trapper and World Forger are devising a tournament to select King Omega. Bart vibrates into the Time Stream where Omega energy is tainting everything. The two speedsters experience altered memories as they come face to face with Darkseid in a slowed down past. Bart ends up in Tunguska, Russia in 1908 where a blast of Omega Energy has left mass destruction(NOTE: 6/8/08 in Tunguska is the site of the Tunguska asteroid impact in our world, not the fictional one). He encounters Max Mercury who has joined the Legion of Darkseid.

GOTHAM ACADEMY: FIRST YEAR #1 by Brendan Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, and Marco Ferrari. Following previous events and pre-dating the first GOTHAM ACADEMY series, Olive Silverlock moves into Gotham Academy where she meets her roommate Lucy Hunt. Later, even as he deals with her traumatic past, she meets Kyle Mizoguchi and develops a friendship. Later, she goes to visit her mother in Arkham Asylum and meets Jonathan Crane, who gives her some of the same pills her mother takes, saying that madness is often hereditary.

GREEN ARROW #29 by Chris Condon and Montos. Ollie continues to follow the trail of the Crimson Archer, discovering a series of passports; one of which belongs to Herb Vraney. Ollie recalls Vraney from a mission in Cambodia. Digging further, he finds a secret space where the drug is being stored and he destroys the vials. He makes his way to Advance Pharmaceuticals, where he finds workers making the drug. That brings him into conflict with Vraney: the man he thought he killed in Cambodia.

GREEN LANTERN #28 by Jeremy Adams and V. Ken Marion. Guy and Jo explore the Castle of Desolate Stone, finding the stolen Book of Oa, where they find a page declares ‘Hal Jordan’. Hal is handling a dangerous criminal in Coast City when he is called back to Oa, where he sees the Book of Oa, specifically his name, and he is hit with an energy blast. While he is rushed to the medical bay, the Guardians see the book and believe that Hal has received certain information, just as they did when they exited the Source Lantern and make the decision to leave Oa. Meanwhile, Krona wanted to take the Corps apart and has put his consciousness into a body like Hal’s, but that body is breaking down. He needs to fix this and retrieve the information that the Guardians now possess. Hal heads back to Earth where he is hit with visions of a black tower and his fighting with the Guardians. He gets a message from the Justice League and he heads to Star City, where it seems he will reunite with Oliver Queen.