ABSOLUTE CASSANDRA CAIN: THE SHADOW’S HAND #1 by Che Grayson and Matias Bergara. Somewhere in the Himalayas, where the League of Assassins has their base known as The Crest, Lady Shiva battles ninjas while calling out to any god and she gets Jack Grimm in the process. Cassandra’s father, David Cain, tells that story to his young daughter. In the past, sometime after this, Cassandra is in a hospital bed and, because of a battle, has lost her ability to speak. This leads Shiva to train her as she puts together a team, made up of Cassandra, Michael Sommers, Benjamin Turner, and, despite her wishes, Scandal Savage, who Cassandra saves from suicide. Eventually, Cassandra heads to Ark D where she is attacked by but teams up with Taso Yamashiro as they battle zombies. The Soultaker sword reveals how Cassandra lost her voice and she joins the team. Upon returning, Cassandra and Shiva battle each other with Shiva revealing that the League was originally destroyed because she refused to let Grimm control it. Together, Cassandra and Shiva represent the League of Shadows.
ABSOLUTE BATMAN #24 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. Scarecrow, having accomplished his goals, bids goodbye to Jack Grimm as he prepares to leave Gotham. After the death of Tim, Bruce retreats to the bat enclosure at Gotham Zoo. Martha finds him and explains her history with the Court of Owls and how Scarecrow turned them against each other. She gives her son a map showing Scarecrow’s probable movements so he can track him down and also an untraceable identity if that is his choice. This leads Bruce to recall how, after he had beaten Falcone’s men when he was ordered to kill Matches Malone, he had retreated to the bat enclosure and was inspired to become something criminals would fear. At the same time, Alfred’s superiors order him to leave Gotham but he defends Batman and refuses. Barbara Gordon, still devastated by the death of her father, follows Bruce into the enclosure. Bruce is not there but he has left her equipment. Batman has tracked down Scarecrow in a cornfield just outside of Gotham, where Scarecrow has filled it with fear toxin. Batman changes the game by lighting the cornfield on fire. Scarecrow fights back, claiming this is the same cornfield where he bled Bruce’s father. Batman destroys Scarecrow, stitching his mouth shut and mounting him on a cross like a real scarecrow. As he prepares to leave the cornfield, Barbara arrives, dressed in a Bat costume and carrying the gun Batman left for her. Batman reveals he knows where he is going next: Jack Grimm’s manor.
ABSOLUTE FLASH #19 by Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles. Wally is bloodied and beaten by Zolomon where he sees his father telling him that he has seen below and he needs to set something free. As he gets to his feet, Zolomon attacks again. Thawne tells Zolomon he needs to not just beat Wally but kill him. Meanwhile, Linda is encountering the magic of Abra Kadabra as have the citizens of Central City. Grodd convinces her to focus and see and that allows her to push through the illusions and destroy his technology. At the same time, Zolomon’s ability starts to glitch, allowing Wally to knock him out. He may be down but he is not out and attacks again. Suddenly a bubble shaped ship and a man arrive, knocking Zolomon out again, with the man carrying Wally into his ship. Inside, he tells Wally, Linda and Grodd that his name is Ray Palmer and he is taking them to the subatomic world.
ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW #5 by Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque. Dinah and Green Arrow have been captured by Hector Hammond, who arrives late because of a cosmic event of sorts at some other facility. He removes Green Arrow’s mask, only to find his head of security, Malcolm Merlyn, underneath. Threatening them both with the combined force of Dr. Iker and Grundy, he forces Merlyn to explain. Merlyn is a false identity he created when he went undercover to find out what happened to Guillermo Garcia. Garcia’s body was given to Queen who stored it in his bunker but did not live long enough to get to the truth of what Hammond and Jubal Slade were up to. Roy shows up and shoots Grundy but fails to stop him and both Merlyn and Roy pay with their lives.Iker and Grundy face off with each other as Hammond flees. But Merlyn’s partner, a second Green Arrow, has now arrived.
ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #18 by Al Ewing and Jahnboy Lindsay. In 1943, a mysterious woman, later revealed to be Emily Hawke(AKA Agent Zero) finds and shoots Baron Blitzkrieg, who has claimed he has connected with his rulers that he calls the Dark Circle. They apparently represent the Black Zero(AKA Darkseid), who is the solution to the Anti-Life Equation. Suddenly, the world turned white and she ended up in the Zero-Zone. In the present, she is visited in the Zone of Madness by Simon Baz, who brings her up to speed even as they are confronted by the Manhunters. Simon tells her to look into his eyes and they transport out of the Zone of Madness and back to Earth, just outside of the D.E.O. building, where Simon again dons his mask, as they discover they dead body of Grace. Inside the building, they meet with Cameron, who produces Argent File #0 which details everything regarding the D.E.O., the Manhunters, the Green Lantern, Black Star, and everything else they have encountered lately.
ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #23 by Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra. Many years ago, on Krypton, young Kal-El encounter his first dead body; that of a Kandorian who had been executed. In the present, Kal-El continues his hunt for Brainiac, which leads him into conflict with Winslow Schott: AKA The Toyman. During their battle, where Superman is blasted by a high-tech sonic weapon, Superman retaliates in a way that completely shatters most of the bones in Schott’s body. As he has gone over the edge, Superman realizes that Brainiac is purposely trying to break Kal’s spirit. And he may have done so.
ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #24 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. Diana destroys the giant eye and confronts Deimos and Phobos, who remind her of her friend Barbara. She allows them to flee and goes to the Hieron, where she is determined to use a portion of the Tetracide to make an antidote to fear to combat the twin gods of fear. Deimos and Phobos make their way to the Gateway City Museum of Natural History, where Barbara has already transformed into the Cheetah. They offer to bring Wonder Woman to the museum so Cheetah could devour her.
ACTION COMICS #1102 by Mark Waid and Montos. KINGDOM OF ZOD, PART 6. Supergirl has gone to Kryptonopolis to find Ursa while Superboy searches for both of them. Being under the red sun, his powers are steadily being drained. He finds the detention center where the two women are being held and questioned by General Zod, with Ursa explaining her history with him and how Krypton will soon be destroyed; going as far to tell him that Jor-El was right, which sends him into a rage and he strikes her. Supergirl gets free and knocks Zod out, effectively saving Ursa. Ursa escapes with the El cousins in pursuit. Ursa finds Zor-El, Supergirl’s father, and tries to convince him that Joe-El was speaking the truth, but accidentally throws him off a building, resulting in him getting a cranial fracture. Supergirl captures Ursa and they go back to their ship, preparing to leave. But Ursa says that if they leave Krypton to be destroyed, those deaths will forever be on their consciences. Supergirl notes that Krypton died so Superman could live, leading Superboy to agreeing to have them return to the present. But they may not get there as Zod arrives to attempt to steal the ship. Back on Earth, Mary Marvel and J’onn hide in the sewers, only to be captured by the Krypto Knights. Steel and Lana collect Kryptonite samples in the mines, before she goes searching for Superman. She finds him, along with Conner and Prime but, when she tries to absorb the radiation from Kal-El, the amount causes her to pass out. To be continued in SUPERMAN UNLIMITED #17.
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: BOOK OF EL #12 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scott Godlewski. The House of El battles against Kry-Ux and his forcing, with Superman realizing that they can defeat them if they can get Kry-Ux out of the energy bubble he has created. Kryl-Ux pulls the final God-Aspects out of Superwoman and the twins and transforms Rao into a black hole but the Els fly through the bubble and take back the God-Aspects, with Kryl-Ux falling into the black hole and Superman following him to try and save him. Superman is now on a farm on a replica of New Phaelosia with a now normal Kry-Ux. The rest of the Els arrive and Kryl-Ux asks them to use the God-Aspects to send him back to when he thought he was all-knowing so he can do some good. A month later, Pyrrhos and Superwoman come from the future and take Red Son and Starchild with them to be bearers of truth and justice in alternate timelines.
BARBARA GORDON BREAKOUT #5 by Mariko Tamaki and Amancay Nahuelpan. Distraught over the death of her friend Sparrow, she receives word that Sparrow is actually still alive, but in grave condition. In the infirmary, the belief is that someone wanted to make Sparrow’s near death look like a suicide. Myrna goes to Sparrow’s bedside and asks who attacked her, with her barely allowing garbled words to come out. Elsewhere, Barbara meets Vanessa Woods; previously thought to have been killed. Barbara warns her and tries to tell her to be careful, with Woods telling her to leave her alone. This is when Die confronts Barbara and the two brawl, even as Barbara tells to tell her that Sparrow is not dead. Suddenly, Die slits Wood’s throat, killing her. At the same time, Sparrow dies from her injuries. Savage learns of Woods’ death but is angry that Barbara is still alive. In the end, Myrna tells Barbara that Sparrow could not describe her attacker but the sound ‘click, click, click’. This triggers a memory of hearing the same sound when she was attacked on her first night in the prison. She also has a mysterious note saying: I DID THIS FOR YOU.
BATGIRL #23 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. A BATMAN: BAD SEEDS tie-in. Following recent events, Cassandra, Tenji, and Jaya enjoyed a quiet evening and a meal at Ba Bao’s restaurant when Ivy’s prehistoric plants break through the restaurant, trapping everyone inside, including the restaurants customers. One customer almost gets eaten by one of the plants but is saved, although badly injured. Another customer, a young man, stabs Cassandra in the process of the chaos until she calms him down. A young girl becomes poisoned after smelling the plant’s flowers and now Batgirl must race across the city to get her to the hospital before it is too late.
BATMAN #13 by Matt Fraction and Matteo Scalera. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. With the city plunged into darkness due to Poison Ivy’s vicious attack, Batman makes his way into GCPD headquarters and battles a gauntlet of Savage’s TUCO’s, floor by floor, until he reaches the top, where he is forced to battle ‘Big Boy’: the largest of the TUCOs. After being thrown down the stairs, Batman recovers and eventually uses a firehouse to choke out the big man. Once upon the roof, Batman confronts Savage, who is standing next to a monstrous device containing his “Ivycide”, with Savage declaring that Batman is now under arrest.
BATMAN BAD SEEDS: GOTHAM CENTRAL #1 by Christopher Cantwell and Jacob Phillips. A BAD SEEDS tie-in, continued from BATGIRL #23. Among the chaos, Jim Gordon and his partner Espinoza respond to a strange death at the Gotham Arboretum. Even though the initial death looks to have been caused by Ivy’s killer plants, they investigate further, deducing the person had been murdered and the body was dumped here. This leads them to Arkham Towers as the murder points to Victor Zsasz. At Arkham, they discover the guard has been murdered by Zsasz, with the words NO CROWN scrawled on his chest: a reference to neuroscientist Dr. Zeller’s Crown of Storms. Elsewhere, Anarky crashes an underground gambling operation in Chinatown, stealing their money, leading to Officer Lynne Baker being told to catch him or it is her job. Gordon, Espinoza, Baker, Anarky, along with Harvey Bullock and Zeller, all end up on a subway car, which comes to a halt because of the continuing growth of the plants. Sitting in the back of the subway car, holding a screwdriver and wearing the deceased guard’s clothes, is Victor Zsasz. Continued in BATMAN BAD SEEDS: GOTHAM CENTRAL #2.
BATMAN AND ROBIN YEAR ONE: DYNAMIC DUOS #2 by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. Dick prepares to go undercover in this particular child gang and it takes Alfred to get him the proper look. Meanwhile, Mehitabel goes to Catwoman’s apartment, where she has been battered by a “mark”. But she leaves before she can tell Selina everything. Later, Carl Volpe is murdered in his office, leading Batman to investigate and visit The Penguin, who tells him he is not aware that Volpe was stealing from him. Dick, in disguise, ends up meeting with the gang and he gets taken to visit the Crime Master. But Catwoman is there too and gets captured. And Dick is ordered to prove his merit and put a bullet into Catwoman’s head.
BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #55 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Members of the Justice League finishing helping out Adam Strange when Superman heads back to Earth. In the Himalayas, Ra’s Al Ghul invites Poison Ivy to join his Four Harbingers of the Apocalypse, consisting of Ocean Master, Queen Bee, and Tokamak. Queen bee unleashes a horde of insects upon Gotham and Robin is affected by being stung. His system begins to shut down and it is deduced to be case where his molecular DNA is being reversed. Superman finds her and he is attacked but he manages to capture her. Just then, he receives a Code Red alert as Ocean Master is waging war on the surface world and Tokamak is attacking the Kori Nuclear Plant in South Korea.
BATMAN/SUPERMAN/WEIRD AL: WORLD’S WEIRDEST #1 by Mark Waid, Tyrone Finch, and Dan Schoening. Batman and Superman are battling Lex and The Joker when something strange happens and begins to spread across all reality. Superheroes lose their powers, magic begins to vanish, and the world loses its’ unique sense of weirdness. Mr. Mxyzptlk arrives in Metropolis, revealing that the Fifth Dimension is losing its’ magic and becoming dull, and he tells Superman and Batman they must recruit the “weirdest man on Earth” to create a vaccine to cure this plague. The heroes track down Weird Al Yankovic, who has also been affected and is working at a boring desk job. As part if his origin story, it is revealed that he was once challenged to an accordion contest against the Infernal Brxpritz Collective of Souls. He won the duel And was awarded the golden accordion. The heroes get him to retrieve the instrument, restoring his weird self, and learn the person responsible is Mr. Nobody of the Brotherhood of Dada. Al unleashes the power of the golden accordion to defeat Mr. Nobody and restore reality.
BATWOMAN #7 by Greg Rucka and Dani. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Kate has made her way to Gotham and calls her father to check in on the status of her sister. During the call, the lights go out and communication is lost, due to Ivy’s attack; complete with one of the monster plants attacking her. She takes to the street where she observes Savage’s TUCO’s patrolling in their search of any Bat Family member. Batwoman meets with Batman, who sends her to the lower catacombs of St. Dumas Cathedral, where there is a cache, backup communications and more. She gets into the cathedral where the TUCO’s have also arrived.
BIZARRO: YEAR NONE #3 by Eric Carrasco, Kevin Smith, and Nick Pitarra. In the past, Bizarro tries to cover his white skin and realizes his attempt to act and look normal is coming to an end. In the present, Bizarro bring Jimmy with him to a fire as he wants advice on what would Superman do, even as the citizens feel the need to run back into the fire. Later, while chasing bank robbers, he neglects saving a family in a car, but is thrilled that he has recovered the bank’s money. Meanwhile, Perry has been kidnapped by this world’s Lois and Steve Lombard, who tell him that the world is dying because Bizarro has become unstable. But they have a plan and Lois tells Perry that they are going to save the planet soon and he needs to stay out of their way. Perry meets with Jimmy and Bizarro arrives; accusing them of plotting against him. He hears an explosion and heads there, where he finds Lois and company and is saddled with Kryptonite. Their machine is fired up and the plan is to send him to Jimmy and Perry’s Earth. But Bizarro recalls that he is not Superman and therefore he cannot be affected by Kryptonite and kills all of Lois’s teammates. He uses his power to etch the word No 1 onto the rock, which he now wear declaring “Me am NO ONE”.
CATWOMAN #91 by Torunn Gronbekk and Danilo Beyruth. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Selina is with Carmine when all hell breaks loose because of Ivy’s attack. Carmine gets a call from District Attorney Hendon, looking for help finding his son, who is lost somewhere in the city. Meanwhile, Holly is caring for two friends who are suffering from effects of being exposed to the plant’s toxic venom. Selina arrives and sees the conditions and, even though Gotham General is still open, she advises Holly to care for them in her apartment instead. Selina makes her way to Icon Towers where she delivers a package to the doorman from Carmine and makes her way upstairs to one of the rich residents. He tries to attack her by shooting at her but that fails. Unfortunately, it looks like he too has been infected.
CLAYFACE: CELEBRITY DIRT #3 by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Fran Galan. Basil is still on the hunt for the imposter who has stolen his identity and that leads him to meet with former A.R.G.U.S member and transgender bioweapons expert Dr. Victoria October, who had previously allowed him to fake his own death. She reveals that he is not even Basil Karlo but is actually Matt Hagen and he confesses that Karlo was his father’s stage name. He makes his way into Katie’s apartment and manages to track her down by her phone. En route, he encounters what appears to be Lady Clayface. Katie is being held by the fake Basil Karlo and she is forced to drink a pink solution from a bucket, with the fake Karlo telling her this was what remained of the other girls.
THE DEADMAN #4 by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo. Boston, angry that Rama Kushna has not been truthful with him, decides to go to another higher power and ascends into heaven to meet with what is known as ‘The Presence’. But he ends up waiting an ungodly amount of time. He eventually talks with an angel who brightens him up by telling him that he gives hope and sunshine to people. With that, he presents the angel with white crayons and leaves. When he arrives back on Earth, he finds himself human again and meets with the avatar of The Green.
DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR #7 by Tony Fleecs, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Dave Wachter. Several months ago, Adeline is at her son Grant’s grave to celebrate his birthday. In the past, she is enlisted by Major Wintergreen to help recover an intelligence agent, with Wintergreen noting how he has a feeling she is pregnant, even th0ough she has not told Slade yet. The mission has them fighting their way through horribly mutated fighters, leading them to the asset: Professor Ivo. He refuses leaving and is desperate to find his notes on his research. Defeating flying drones, Ivo is taken into custody. Several months ago, Adeline travels to Quroc and meets with a horribly mutated and scarred Ivo and she returns his notebook to him and, in return, he gives her a globe that he says is “power” and will make her “unbreakable”.
DETECTIVE COMICS #1113 by Tom Taylor, Dan Watters, Jeff Spokes. And Scott Hepburn. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. At the top of the GCPD building, Verity tells Batman that Savage’s poison he intends to release will not only stop the plant invasion and kill Ivy, but will kill at least 100,000 citizens. He tries to convince Savage not to do this but Savage is well aware of it but says this will ultimately save Gotham. Taking out Savage with an explosion, Batman launches himself onto one of the airships, where he manages to fly the aircraft high enough that the poison is negated. Making his way to the second craft, Officer Hall refuses to release the poison, allowing Batman to leave and go search for Mr. Freeze as a possible way to stop the plants. To be continued in BATMAN #14. In the backup, Batman meets and battles someone who once worked for The Penguin and gained telekinetic powers are shock therapy at Arkham. Batman is defeated and the attacker escapes, deciding to call himself Rhetoric.
THE DOOM PATROL #1 by Darcy Van Poelgeest and Niko Henrichon. As Dr. Miles Caulder is writing up his 215th ‘Doom Entry’ when he is visited by a spectral woman named Evelyn who, at one point in what appears to be a part of a series of visits, had asked Caulder to help her and he agreed, even if it would kill the Doom Patrol. During this particular visit, he dies. The rest of the team, Robotman, Elasti-Girl, and Negative Man, are completely broke and are driving around in a beat-up van where they are tracking down the missing cat of a half-blind neighbor. Finding the cat, who has died, the team scrambles to find a replacement cat to substitute for the dead one. Negative Man meets with the woman and she discusses her thoughts about aliens and alien abductions when a giant UFO arrives and begins abducting cats from the neighborhood and attempts to eat the Doom Patrol. Negative Man flies into the creature, killing it, but emerges from it, saying he must find the “pain in his memory before it” finds them.
EMPEROR AQUAMAN #21 by Jeremy Adams and John Timms. From somewhere in deep space, Aquaman enters the Blue. On Earth, Lolanna’s forces attack Atlantis, where Mera and Justice League Blue defend the city, with help from Captain nemo. Jackson heads to Amnesty Island to safeguard Andy, who is playing with Zan and Jarro when Ocean Master and Tiamat arrives, ordering them to surrender or be killed. Zan flees with Andy. Jackson, along with Titanus, Karshon and King Shark, battles against Orm but Tiamat crushes him. The Fisherman arrives and the tide turns towards the villains. In Atlantis, Lolanna reveals they have Andy and forces Mera to surrender the kingdom to her. The Sea Witch transforms the population into statues and the villains head to a tower where a great treasure is held. She then destroys the portal to the Blue, meaning Arthur cannot return. Arthur creates another portal, which brings him to a swamp, only to find Animal Girl and Swamp Thing waiting for him, with Animal Girl saying they need to chat.
THE FLASH #37 by Ryan North and Gavin Guidry. The Flash has a vision of the major bridges in Gateway City, Star City and Metropolis being bombed a week into the future. He finds out who the perpetrators are, arrests them and delivers them to the police in Central City. Meanwhile, Green Arrow is holding a meeting on Mount Everest with Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Red Tornado, Wonder Woman, and Jon Kent. The Flash arrives and pleads his case, while the League members wonder just how far ahead Wally can see into the future and what gives him the right to imprison people on a possibility. Superman hears an explosion in Metropolis a week earlier than he saw, but arrives too late to save the bridges in Metropolis, Star City, or Central City.
THE FURY OF FIRESTORM #6 by Jeff Lemire and Rafael De Latorre. Stein and Lorraine meet with Firestorm outside the Firestorm Matrix with Stein unleashes his weapon, which transports Stein, Lorraine, and Ronnie into the Matrix. Ronnie fights with Stein, angered that Stein managed to kill a lot of people in Colorado, Ronnie attempts to kill him, with Lorraine convincing him to do so after they get out. Stein says that if they can get to the core, they may be able to regain control of Firestorm. At the core, they find Firestorm and Lorraine becomes Firehawk. She begins to lose the fight leading to Ronnie and Stein becoming Firestorm again. After a tearful goodbye, Ronnie bids farewell to Firehawk and Firestorm heads into the sun, eventually coming to Ostrander, Texas where Firestorm has been radically transformed.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #20 by Morgan Hampton, Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, and Juan Jose Ryp. Jo is enjoying a drink on Zillaboq when the Darkstars arrive. She goes to leave and then decides to fight back, resulting in her being captured by them. Meanwhile, John and Katma are at John’s mother’s grave before she convinces him to fly her through the clouds. She convinces him to let her wear his Green Lantern ring but that results in her being forced to wear a Darkstar Exo-Mantle and she disappears with John in pursuit. At the same time, Simon, Kelli, and Ellie are flying through deep space near Zillaboq when they are stopped by Darkstars who threaten to arrest them. One of the Darkstars hears an unrecognizable Darkstar signature and leave, just as John arrives and drafts the three Lanterns to join him in the hunt for Katma. On Oa, Guy is looking through the Book of Oa and that leads him to go to the Phamosa Jungle, where he finds the cave of the deceased and also Predator.
HARLEY QUINN #66 by Elliott Kalan and Carlos Olivares. A BAD SEEDS tie-in. Harley is readjusting to having her brain back with her when Ivy’s plant creatures begin attacking Throatcutter Hill. As she attempts to save her neighbors, she sees that Althea has power and directs the citizens to go there for sanctuary. At the same time, Gunbunny, Mayfly, The Convoy, and Chicken Fingers come together to lend a hand. The KKVDemon arrives, figuring to make some money during the chaos and Delores saves Harley at one point, redeeming herself from killing Marcisak. Harley arrive in Althea’s tower and tries to convince her to let everyone stay when Harley realizes Mrs. Grimaldi decided to stay in her home. Harley goes to her and tries to convince her to leave when a tendril destroys her home, convincing her to go to Althea’s. In the end, Harley heads to find Ivy.
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