DC UNIVERSE Month 82, Part 1

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #2 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. When his father was killed, Bruce Wayne found himself trapped in the bat cage. Not long after Thomas’s death, Selina climbs through Bruce’s widow with the medal, telling him to get up and go with her. In the present, Alfred continues to surveil Bruce’s activities, noting that he works by day and fights crime by night.. he also has discovered numerous “boltholes” throughout the city that form the shape of a bat. Alfred’s handler order him to stop surveillance and let Batman be taken out by the Party Animals. They attack the empty skyscraper that is his base of operations but he blows the top levels of the building, leaving the tower in the shape of a bat. Elsewhere, Martha visits Gordon in the hospital. That night, Bruce joins in on Waylon’s poker game and all his friends are there, except for Selina who is travelling the world. He brings out one of the Party Animal’s masks and Eddie, who says that one of the chips in it can be decoded to anticipate where the Party Animals would strike next. After gaining information one Mayoral candidate Hamilton Hill, Bruce breaks into Hill’s campaign office, finding a folder on his computer labeled ‘ArkM’. When he opens it, Roman Sionis tells him that he will give Batman anything he wants if he can get out of the building alive, signaling that both GCPD and the Party Animals were on their way, leading Batman to go through a hatch and climb into the control room below. There he finds Alfred. Alfred says the Party Animals are not what they seem. Batman agrees to listen and hits a switch that turns the building into an armored vehicle.

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval. Many years ago, Krypton is ruled by the Science League and the bottom of the class structure is the Labor Guild. The Labor Guild wears the letter S on their outfits. Labor Guild members Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van live in the agricultural area known as the Redlands. Both have been blacklisted by the Science League because of their criticisms about them. At the mine where Jor-El works, he investigates splintering in the mine shaft and orders it evacuated but the mine manager disagrees. An earthquake rocks the place and green radioactive gas shoots forth, killing all but Jor-El, who escapes. In the present, migrant workers are forced by an army of Peacemaker soldiers into a diamond mine owned by Lazarus Corp. The workers discover that every amount of asbestos is gone, as are the diamonds, with one of the miners wondering if the Omega Man is responsible. The night previous, a new worker arrived and was invited by Joao to have dinner with him; a man who said he had been seeing things in Joao’s world before leaving saying he had work to do. As one of the Peacemakers beats Joao as he demands to know where the diamonds are, the Peacemaker learns that one worker did not show up: the worker Joao met the night before. His name is Kal-El and he is the now adult son of Jor-El and Lara and he has been travelling around the world trying to help exploited Lazarus workers. The Peacemakers attack Kal-El but his A.I. suit, known as Sol, protects him, telling him that their weapons are based on alien tech. He fights against the Peacemakers and the Phenomena Field Team arrives, causing him to activate his heat vision. A Lazarus agent named Lois Lane sneaks up on him and takes him captive. Meanwhile, an abandoned farm house in Kansas bearing the name Kent is seen.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #2 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. In the past, Diana is walking along the shores of the Wild Isle in hell and finds an injured pilot named Steve Trevor, rescuing him from a Hydra. As she and her mother care for him, she reveals that he is in Hell. In the present, Diana confronts Harbinger Prime, with her using both her abilities and some magic. She finally convinces Harbinger Prime to stop its’ destruction and leave. Following this, Steve meets with Diana, surprising her in the process and telling her he has orders to take her to meet with his superior officer. While the officer berates her and accuses her of being responsible for the monsters arrivals, she explains that Harbinger Prime was only the first of many. She and Steve leave and, as he marvels that her flying horse is actually the animated skeletal remains of the mythical Pegasus, a bigger monster arrives.

ACTION COMICS #1074 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge and Clayton Henry. Suck in the past on Krypton, Superman tries to figure out when he is and, after a violent earthquake, he realizes he is here shortly before Krypton is destroyed. To get back home, Superman knows he must find a way to recharge the solar battery, leading him to meet with Jor-El and seek his help. His mother opens the door while holding an infant Kal-El, leading to him to be overwhelmed and he introduces himself as Klar-Ken. Jor-El arrives, complaining about the Science Council. Superman shows him the batteries, impressing Jor-El. Superman also notices a protype of the Phantom Zone Projector, which Jor-El declares is a way to save the populace. A Science Council member bursts in and seizes the Projector. He also orders his men to take the batteries, knocking Superman unconscious and arresting everyone.  Meanwhile, in the Phantom Zone, Aethyr tells Lar that he is planning to repurpose the Phantom Zone. Elsewhere, at the X’rphoan Intergalactic Exposition, the Khunds burst in and demand the bones of Emperor Kharlax, Superman of China tells them he is willing to help them so they will then leave but they attack him instead. What does not help is a fleet of Khund warships poised to strike. In the backup, Supergirl and Prisoner 8912 are captured by aliens who imprison them, deciding to auction off 8912.Supergirl is captured and the bailiff robot is finally able to free her. They burst into 8912’s cell with 8912 thinking they will be one once again.

ACTION COMICS #1075 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Joshua Williamson, Jon Bogdanove, Skylar Patridge and Clayton Henry. Superman wakes in a cell along with his parents. Lara explains that Ro-Zan is jealous of Jor-El, which is a story different from what Kal-El had always believed. The Els get taken to the Science Council, where the decision is to not charge Jor-El but to keep both the battery bracelets and the Projector, with plans to use it as a prison for all of Krypton’s criminals, despite Jor-El’s objections. After Lara claims Ro-Zan is doing this only because she married Jor-El instead of him. In actuality, this is a distraction to allow Jor-El to steal back the bracelets. Once released, Jor-El takes Kal-El to Zor-El’s home so he can help find a way to charge the bracelets. While there, he meets his bratty teenage cousin Kara, which also goes against everything he understood. Superman asks how it would be possible for someone to create solid matter in the Zone and was told it was impossible. Elsewhere, at the X’rphoan Intergalactic Exposition, Super-Man and Superboy defeat the Khunds and demand to be taken to the Khund flagship. Connor challenges the Khund leader to a fight to determine leadership of the fleet. On Earth, Jimmy runs into Lois’ office, telling her there is sudden climate change occurring. Just then, the sun begins to disappear as Aethyr drains its’ energy. In the first backup, Power Girl asks Superman what Supergirl is doing in space and Superman says he cannot tell her, but Kara was the only person who could do this. Supergirl, the bailiff robot and 8912 make their way onto the prison ship, despite 8912 trying to escape. As they fly off, the bailiff robot tells Kara that 8912’s court records declare them “the destroyer of worlds.” In the second backup, Perry White wins the election.

ACTION COMICS #1076 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge and Clayton Henry. Zor-El tells Superman that he invented a device that would charge the bracelet but that was taken by the Science Council. There is another earthquake and Superman tells Zor-El that Jor-El’s theory is correct, which is rebuffed by Zor-El, to Superman’s surprise. Superman sneaks into the Science Council and finds Zor-El’s machine, partially recharging the bracelets before being attacked by the guards. He tells Ro-Zan he is from the future and that Jor-El is right and Ro-Zan will be known as the man who destroyed Krypton. Two guards shoot Kal-El but he is unharmed, flying back to the rift that leads him to the Phantom Zone. He re-enters the Well of Time, only to find the Phantom Zone ripping itself apart. Elsewhere, Superboy and Khuarr head to the Murder Pit. Kong tries to stop them but he is thrown into the ship’s furnace. He breaks out and finds that Conner won the fight and is now the “superoveradmiral”. In the backup, the bailiff tells Kara that 8912 is responsible for 157 planets. 8912 tries to take control of the shuttle, with Supergirl restraining them. 8912 makes psychic contact with Kara, begging her to kill them.

ACTION COMICS #1077 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Meghan Hetrick and Clayton Henry. Currently, thanks to the work of Aethyr, the sun is shrinking and Earth appears to be doomed. In the Phantom Zone, Superman is doing his best to save the residents there from the growing field of solid matter. He finds Mon-El who reveals he was being attacked and had to kill his attackers. Her also reveals that Xa-Du told Aethyr where Earth is located and he will kill everyone in the solar system if he isn’t stopped. Superman confronts Aethyr and, with the help of Mon-El, stop him but at the cost of the villains own life as his plan to make things in the Zone solid resulted in killing him. With that, Superman heads to the rift that will bring him home. Meanwhile, Connor and Kong return to the museum with the Khunds where they arrange, under penalty of death, to return the missing items to where they belong, including the Fortress of Solitude. In the backup, 8912 reveals she has a brother and that he was the rage and she the fear and together they destroyed worlds, again begging Supergirl to kill her as that was the mission.

BATGIRL #1 by Tate Brombal and Takeshi Miyazawa. Cassandra meets with her mother and find themselves attacked by a legendary order of warriors known as The Unburied. Working together, they defeat their attackers and flee. Lady Shiva sees that her temple has been attacked, leading to mother and daughter investigating, finding everyone slaughtered. The Unburied attack and now they must truly work together to save themselves and to solve the mystery.

BATMAN #154 by Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Mayor Nakano has been killed and Batman, Bullock and Jim Gordon investigate, with Batman interrogating Nakano’s assistant while Bullock interrogates Nakano’s wife. Batman gets a lead on a local businessman named Leonid Kull. Kull, newly established Mayor Jacob Horgan and Ed Nygma are having dinner when Batman arrives, with police trying to force him out of this private event, leading Batman to fight back and pulling a badge belonging to the Court of the Owls off one of them. Under the threat of being arrested, Batman leaves, going to the morgue and examining Nakano’s body. Later, Bruce is told by his personal assistant about things regarding his long-lost brother, telling him to sign over half of Wayne Enterprise shares. During a visit to Leslie Thompkin’s clinic, Leslie tells him how his father once had an affair with a woman named Tara. An angry mob attacks the clinic and Bruce fights back, getting saved by the new hero named Commander Star. Jim and Batman investigate at Nakano’s when Bullock calls and says that Koyuki was having an affair. That leads to Jim turning a gun on Batman, claiming he was only defending himself. Is Jim Gordon the murderer?

BATMAN AND ROBIN #15 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javi Fernandez. The fire from the explosion continues to burn while father and son try to fight their way through and save people. After the dust has settled, with the young girl Damian had met seriously injured, father and son discuss what happened, with Bruce saying out the person Damian saw bears a resemblance to the serial killer known as Memento, although he tells Damian that this was likely a copycat. With Gotham buzzing about the appearance of memento, Batman and Robin continue to investigate. That night, Memento appears on a flaming boat and attacks Tiger Shark and his men.

BATMAN/SANTA CLAUS: SILENT KNIGHT RETURNS #1 by Jeff Parker and Lukas Ketner. Ten hours ago, in Egypt, an empty suit of armor shows up and begins to drain the life-force of people; similar to what is happening all over the world. Currently, Damian arrives at Zatanna’s home, telling her he needs the help of her magic and then proceeds to explain what has occurred. Members of the Justice League arrive in Egypt and contained the suit of armor, but the entity broke free and touched his sword against Superman and also Nubia, who has noticed that Doom’s Doorway has opened. As the heroes fail, Thunderheart gets Robin out of the battle and sends him away, telling him to bring back help. As he finishes telling Zatanna the tale, Klaus comes down her chimney explaining how, in their last meeting, one of the Monsterkind had escaped and he is sure this is related. Back at the battle site, a Norse giant appears and the heroes fight it. They defeat it but batman demands they stop as they realize the Silent Knight has built a castle out of human lives.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #33 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. While the heroes struggle to both break free of Eclipso and alternately fight against him, with The Spectre getting involved. But even with his help, the fight goes badly until Doctor fate arrives and is able to use his power to destroy the black rock. Superman and Doctor Fate put the rock back together and trap Eclipso within it, leading to The Spectre hurling it into the sun to act as Eclipso’s permanent prison.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #19 by Zac Thompson, Dave Wielgosz, Michael W. Conrad, Brendan Hay, Rich Douek, Stefano Raffaele, Nikola Cizmesija, Christopher Mitten, Marco Santucci, and Stevan Subic. Batman teams up with The Scarecrow to attempt to stop a device that is causing fear and anger among Gothamites. The pair succeeds, even though it is eventually revealed this was part of crane’s long-term game after all. In the second story, Wonder Woman teams up with Plastic Man to try and retrieve her stolen lasso. That leads to them crosses paths with Roulette and she sets him on fire. But Plastic man meeting with Shadow King and then going undercover. In the third story, Animal Man’s daughter Maxine senses something wrong with her and that brings Martian Manhunter into the equation to reach inside of her mind where it is revealed she has become one with a hive of killer bees deep inside The Red. In the fourth tale, the Robins find themselves captured by Killer Moth, who is seeking revenge on the Robin that once sucker-punched him with a lead pipe, leading our heroes to declare it was Jason Todd. Despite that, he is willing to kill them too, but they team-up to escape and capture him. In the final tale, a meeting of people affected by the acts of Zsasz gets a surprise visit from the killer, who is prepared to finish what he started when Batman arrives. But one of the patients has now gained the courage to take a knife to Zsasz’s throat and, while Batman begs him not to do it, the man slits the killer’s throat. In the end, Zsasz will survive and the man will have to live with the consequences. But he may have already gone over the edge as he is seen adding a fifth scar to ones he already had.

BIRDS OF PREY #15 by Kelly Thompson and Sami Basri. Cass continues her undercover operation to try and free the Amazons who have been held captive by the Ninth Day Corporation, but she has underestimated them and is attacked and gets captured. She struggles to find a way out of her cell and uses her many skills to do so. She gets free and ends up in the bowels of the building where she comes face to face with one of the Ninth Day’s failures: a creature transformed by the Corporation’s experiments.

BLACK CANARY: BEST OF THE BEST #1 by Tom King and Ryan Sook. In the recent past, Black Canary goes to stay with her mother, the original Black Canary, as she is looking for her to train her for a sanctioned, no powers allowed MMA submission fight against Lady Shiva. As it turns out, her mother is fighting an aggressive form of cancer that has already left her bald because of her treatments. It is shown that the reason for the fight is Dinah making a deal with someone who has promised her cash and a cure as long as the fight goes six rounds. The two begin training, despite their reunion being a difficult one. In the present, Shiva comes out swinging and quickly gains the upper hand.

BLACK LIGHTNING #1 by Brandon Thomas and Fico Ossio. On the night that Amanda Waller won, Black Lightning, Lightning, and Thunder did their best to fight back, but their powers failed and Jefferson still feels guilty about it. Later. Jefferson learns of a teen named Isaac who has developed powers and is being held at bay by police. Jefferson intervenes, taking him to the Watchtower, along with Lightning. While there, Lightning gets a call from her sister Anissa, with Lightning picking her sister’s brain about when they would be together again and what happened with the relationship between Anissa and her girlfriend Grace Choi. Isaac breaks free of the containment unit as an energy surge is noticed in Suicide Slum, sending father and daughter back to Earth. Lightning tries to reason with the being who turns out to be Anissa, saying she is sorry that this happened again.

CATWOMAN #70 by Torunn Gronbekk and Fabriana Mascolo. Selina, still in her disguise as Evie, meets with Suzy Sinner, who fills her in on the activities of Katarina Belov and her sons Alex, Ivan and Mitya. The sons apparently each have keys to a vault that they must work together to open or kill the others who possess it. After the meeting, where Suzy realizes she is not really Evie, Selina realizes that she is being stalked and fights back against the man, where she finds out her identity has been compromised. She flees to a rooftop and is attacked again, defeating the would-be assassin and flees before anyone else can arrive.

DC HORROR PRESENTS CREATURE COMMANDOS #2 by David Dastmalchian and Jesus Hervas. Two months ago, the team confronted Zatanna, who was attempting to free some captive women who it turned out had been transformed into horrible creatures. In the process, Lt. Marilyn Harris was killed. In the present, Dr. West  In the present, as Dr. West is flooded with those memories as the team made up of the newest members are prepped for the next mission, despite their infighting. Elsewhere, Brainiac has plans of his own by making his subjects becoming living bombs.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1091 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Batman continues to investigate the recent deaths of teens that were recently released from juvenile detention, including one that Batman had struck as he was holding a gun on the hero. Oracle reaches out to tell him that one of the teens they were keeping an eye on has been kidnapped. With Robin’s assistance, they free the boy and learn that this was retribution for the boy stealing from The Penguin. During the fight, Batman is injured by a crowbar strike and, meeting with Superman later, he reveals he is considering the treatment to keep him young. As Bruce, he goes to the clinic and receives his first dose of the drug. With Robin taking the boy to a hotel room to keep him safe, Batman visits The Penguin, telling him that whatever his problem was with the boy that it ends now. At the same time, the boy gets a visit from a mysterious and seemingly dangerous visitor.

THE FLASH #15 by Simon Spurrier and Vasco Georgiev. As it turns out, Wally West has been split into two beings. One is back in the real world and the other is with the family in Skartaris. The plan, as put forth by Inspector Pilgrim, is to eventually get the two back together again without causing a temporal implosion. Irey returns to her family just as strange creatures begin to attack, which they believe is due to Warlord saying that magic is fading. They notice a usually shape in the sky where only a single shard of light is getting through. Wally goes to investigate but his powers suddenly quit on him. A strange reptile woman arrives and, being unable to communicate, attacks the family, leading to Wade bringing forth Inspector Pilgrim who uses his powers to subdue the woman before leaving. Wally and Linda seem happy but Irey wonders what the connection is to their dog, which seems to be the source of some of the strange things happening.

GREEN ARROW #18 by Chris Condon and Montos. Many years ago, a boy named Kenny finds a puddle of black goo that comes from chemical waste barrels that are leaking. After stopping a criminal, Ollie goes back to his apartment and sees a news report that talks of the death of Donald Sherman: CFO of Horton Chemical and former business partner of Ollie. The police believe that Sherman’s death is connected to a string of murders. While breaking into the crime scene, he sees a photo of Sherman at a dinner and he recalls having gotten into a bit of a scuffle as Ollie accused him of illegally dumping chemicals. His investigation is interrupted by a police detective. Cooler heads prevail and she tells him of the death of Senator Eustace Foley, who was also at the same awards dinner.

GREEN ARROW ANNUAL 2024 by Joshua Williamson, Sean Izaakse, and Amancay Nahuelpan. Sometime in the future, Ollie is on the island and telling tales of his adventures to a group of children, including the sons of John Diggle and Roy Harper. After explaining how he spent years trying to track down the villain Firestarter, the kids convince Ollie to form a new Team Arrow and, together, they finally take down Firestarter.

Here comes a batch of first issues

ASTONISHING TALES FEATURING DEATHLOK #1 by Christopher Priest, Justina Irland, Denys Cowan, and Carlo Pagulayan. Finally: the REAL Deathlok returns to celebrate his 50th Anniversary. Luther Manning is back and I couldn’t be happier, as he brings his supporting cast with him. Top that off, there is a surprise ending featuring the newest Sorcerer Supreme. It is not the full-on reboot I would love to see, but I’ll take it.

BATMAN: FULL MOON #1 by Rodeny Barnes and Stevan Subic. People are being torn apart in Gotham in this Black Label title. Is it REALLY a werewolf haunting Gotham City. That’s the premise in this fun and beautifully illustrated book. Ot’s the perfect read for the Halloween season. The story is cool, there are some great cameos an, as I said previously, the art is great!

BATMAN THE LONG HALLOWEEN: THE LAST HALLOWEEN #1 by Jeph Loeb and Eduardo Risso. With the untimely death of Tim Sale, DC unleashes this sequel to the classic THE LONG HALLOWEEN with this ten issue series featuring some of the best creators in the business. It picks up after that classic tale and drops lots of breadcrumbs along the way. I loved the original and it’s just a shame that Sale couldn’t be here to finish the story. Highly recommended.

BLADE #1 by Bryan Hill and C,F, Villa. Coming out of BLOOD HUNT, everything that affected Blade is changed. He is no longer being possessed by Varnae and he has healed from being almost killed by his daughter. Basically he is back and he is passed! I’m okay with a BLADE series but I don’t understand the need to make it a Red Band title, which is Marvel’s newest gimmick. Sure, the cover, at least the variant cover, is unsettling and there are some grisly moments inside but nothing a reader of EC Comics or other Horror books hasn’t seen before. Overall, a fun read.

THE CREEPING BELOW #1 by Brian Azzarello and Vanesa Del Rey. Heavy Metal music meets Horror. That is the best way to describe this new titles from BOOM! Studios. A photographer named Val ends up in a world where apparent devil worship meets a cast of strange characters, along with equally devious creatures. I’m a big fan of Azzarello’s work and this may be his weirdest piece yet. The art left me a bit cold but the story, even with some language barriers (you’ll understand when you read it) was a fun, sometimes confusing ride. 

THE CRYPT OF SHADOWS #1 by Steve Orlando, Chris Condon, Benjamin Percy, Jason Loo, Claire Roe, Djibril Morissette-Phan, Raffaele Ienco, and Carlos Magno. It’s Halloween season and Marvel trots out this anthology title, all held together by an opening and closing piece featuring Agatha Harkness because, well…there’s a tv show and all. The stories are kind of lackluster, featuring the Scarlet Witch, Namor, Man-Thing, and Werewolf by Night. All in all, only for completists.

DAZZLER #1 by Jason Loo and Rafael Loureiro. Everyone’s favorite mutant Rock Star is back in a new mini-series. I would like to say it’s a great return to form but it’s not. The art is great and the story is what it is, but it spend too much time with pages of our hero singing and not enough time with her doing superhero things. I am totally disappointed by it.

G.I. JOE #1 by Joshua Williamson and Tom Reilly. Now, you may be reading this and are saying to yourself: “Wait! Isn’t there already a G.I. JOE series?” And you would be correct. This new series, written by Williamson, picks up after the various mini-series and comes early on in the careers of the Joes. This is not the Joes that you are familiar with. Even Baroness is a part of the team. So consider this not so much of a reboot but an origin story. The action is wild and the story and art fits. I am truly loving the current JOE series by Hama and company and enjoyed the mini-series, so this fits into my wheelhouse. 

GODFATHER OF HELL #1 by Cavan Scott and Pius Bak. This book intrigued me, mostly by the cover. Here’s the story: a small time crook disobeys his Mob boss and gets whacked because of it. He ends up in Hell and now it looks like he’s coming back to life to reap the souls of those who have sold them to Lucifer but refuse to pay up. So, he becomes a hitman for the Devil. The story is interesting, the art is reasonable and there are a couple of cool twists along the way. Seek this one out.

GREEN LANTERN DARK #1 by Tate Brombal and Werther Dell’edera. An Elseworlds tale where Rina Mori is the possessor of the Lantern’s light, even if she is reluctant to be the sole hero in a world filed with darkness and monsters, run by Grundy and his zombie horde. All the other heroes have died, including Superman and the Secrete Six and Rina is the only person to keep the creatures away. It’s a role she does not want. But what is more important: self or others. An interesting story with great art from  Dell’edera, who is most known for SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN. 

HEAT SEEKER: COMBUSTION #1 by Charles Ardai and Ace Continuado. Titan rolls out another mini-series in the continuing adventures of the GUN HONEY cast. It’s filled with intrigued, secret agent action and a bunch of nude men and women. I mean A LOT of nude men and women! But, looking beyond that, the story is a great set-up for the rest of the series, complete with a cool final page and a plot twist. Highly recommended, especially if you have read any of the previous runs.

HOUR OF THE WOLF #1 by Mark London and Danilo Beyruth. Mad cave is trying to establish its’ own universe which started with REVOLUTION 9 and will soon include EXIT CITY. This is the middle release and the promise from Mad Cave is that they will all come together in a final crossover. I really liked REVOLUTION 9 and was looking forward to this. And it delivers. There’s a strange, highly sought after painting that leads people into another world and traps them there. It’s very weird, slightly creepy and a whole lot of strange fun. I’m curious to see how these series and the forthcoming one will come together but count me in for the ride.

HOW TO STEAL AN ELECTION BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES #1 by Elisa Pocetta and Matteo Pizzolo. When a candidate running for President finds out her campaign is in deep trouble because of some leaked nudes, she goes into action to fight back and enlists a little help along the way. This is a fun, sexy and somewhat obscene journey filled with some great nods to current and past political situations. The story is a real trip and the Anime style artwork further enhances it. This is a sleeper for sure as far as collectors but it fits my reading perfectly. Basically, it was a fun read and I can’t wait for the rest of the series.

HYDE STREET #1 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis. Another new title as part of the Ghost Machine line of books. And this one is really trippy. Welcome to Hyde Street where folks who have skeletons in their closet will pay for their crimes while a former ad executive and a boy scout compete to complete their quotas. The story is a grim one and Reis’ art is dynamic! This is such a fun book in a creepy sort of way, with a back story for the ad executive that fills in a bunch of details. Where is Hyde Street and how do you get there? Still to be revealed and I cannot wait. 

IRON MAN #1 by Spencer Ackerman and Julius Ohta. Because, Marvel just LOVES turning out new first issues when there seems to be no need. But here we go again. After the events in the last series, Tony Stark has managed to get Stark Unlimited back in his control. Unfortunately, it looks like A.I.M. and Roxxon are looking to take it over and use it to start making weapons once again. And that’s where Tony’s problems begin and it only gets worse from there. The story is fine, the art is acceptable and tis could be a fun storyline. But that remains to be seen. For now, it’s a great filer until something better comes along. 

IT HAPPENED ON HYDE STREET: DEVOUR #1 by Maytal Zchut and Leila Leiz. This one shot from out of the Ghost Machine initiative, ties directly into the HYDE STREET series. So, you’re getting married and you need to lose some weight. That leads you to Fat Free where you get your weight loss solution. Well, maybe not the BEST solution, but it is something your mother and grandmother have used. Let’s just say that the results may be fine but the way to get there isn’t pretty. A wonderful little horror tale with some nice body horror twists in it.

MARK SPEARS MONSTERS #1 by Mark Spears. This was a recommendation from my LCS and I’m glad he called this out to me. It is filled with vampires, werewolves and some of the most amazing photorealistic art out there. The story bounces between the past and the present and that means the art shifts between color and black and white. The story is okay but you’re really going to want to go in for the art.

MINKY WOODCOCK: THE GIRL CALLED CTHULHU #1 by Cynthia Von Buhler. Well, this is a ton of fun expanding on research done by Von Buhler. This is her third book to utilize Mindy Woodcock, following both THE GIRL WHO HANDCUFFED HOUDINI and THE GIRL WHO ELECTRIFIED TESLA. In all fairness, I didn’t read either and now I’m bummed about it. Woodcock is a private investigator who gets involved with Betty May, Houdini, HP Lovecraft and Aleister Crowley, among others. The art is very cartoony and has a nice 1920’s feel to it. Von Buhler is an award winning author and artist and this book is just a great, refreshing read.

MOON KNIGHT: FIST OF KHONSHU #1 by Jed MacKay and Alessandro Cappuccio. Marc Spector died saving New York City and he was replaced by his friends and followers at the Midnight Mission. But Spector got resurrected by Khonshu. So the original Moon Knight is back in a new series that picks up threads from the previous series. It’s okay, especially if you are a fan of the character and the mythology surrounding him. Again, your mileage made vary a bit but it’s a decent title.

MYSTIQUE #1 by Declan Shalvey. Everyone’s favorite Mutant hero/anti-hero is here with a four-issue mini-series with Mystique seemingly playing both sides as she looks for something named Protozoa. Throw in Sabretooth, Maverick, Maria Hill, and both Nick Furys. Shalvey’s story is an intriguing one and his art fits his style. It ends with a cliffhanger and I cannot wait for issue #2.

OLD DOG: OPERATIONS #1 by Declan Shalvey, Leonardo Romero, PJ Holden, Alex Paknadel, Rory McConville, Charles Soule, Sumeyve Kesgin, Gavin Guidry, Matias Bergara, and John McCrea. A short story anthology featuring former CIA operative Jack Lynch and his supporting cast. It’s a wild, often confusing ride, especially if you did not read the previous series. But, for those fans, you get a bit of back story into how Jack became who he currently is. Again, it will certainly appeal to readers who jumped on the original run. New readers? You probably want to seek out the predecessor.

PSYLOCKE #1 by Alyssa Wong and Vincenzo Carratu. Here comes another Mutant mini-series, following the fall of Krakoa. Psylocke gets involved with a group kidnapping mutant children and the deeper she goes, the more intense it gets. The story is okay while the art really shines. It is one of those books that will truly just attract a core group of readers, especially when you realize that this only briefly ties into the main Mutant continuity. Overall, it’s not bad, just not great.

THE ROCKETFELLERS #1 by Peter J. Tomasi and Francis Manapul. Here’s the story of a family in the 25th century that is forced to flee to 2024 and live their life here and now, even as they are trying to get back to their own time and stop the impending evil present. Basically, it is a little like LOST IN SPACE meets the FANTASTIC FOUR but with a bit more humor. That’s the best way I can describe it. The story is a ton of fun, the dialogue is snappy, and the whole concept of a future family having to learn to live in the present  is pretty cool. And the art surely helps push things along. If you’ve been reading any of the GHOST MACHINE titles, you’ll love this one too.

SENTINELS #1 by Alex Paknadel and Justin Mason. Here is a weird mini-series that comes after the Fall of Krakoa. And I don’t quite know what to make of it. A team has been put together with enhanced abilities, thanks to a resurrected Lawrence Trask and his using patients from a VA Hospital to be turned into his hybrids. Are they the good guys or the bad? It’s tough to say. They get sent on missions and with the head of Greymalkin involved, you know it could go badly fast for everyone involved. The story is a little cut and paste and the art is okay. Not my favorite new title of these new Mutant based series.

SHI: RETURN OF THE WARRIOR #1 by Steven Peros, Billy Tucci, Gardenio Lima, and Ricardo Silva. Thirty years ago, Billy Tucci created this amazing warrior woman and the book, coming out in a time when “girl heroes” weren’t popular was an amazing success. Now, Ana Ishikawa is back, in a story set fifteen years after Ana hung up her armor. She now has a daughter named Hotaru and her ex-husband is in jail. Her daughter has leaned the ways of the warrior, even as the two of them try to live normal lives. But the past comes back to their doorstep and it looks like the war is ready to begin again. For those of us who enjoyed this book back in the day, it is good to have Ana come home. The story fills in some gaps and leaves a lot of breadcrumbs for the future.

STORM #1 by Murewa Ayddele and Lucas Werneck. The aftermath of the end of the Krakoan Age continues on with this new series featuring Storm. And it starts with a bang as a nuclear explosion sets things in motion, as it appears to be caused by a mutant whose powers have just activated. Or is it due to the engineers who were doing shady things? This presents a more human side to Storm than usual as she must decide which story is the one she should present to a public face, plus dealing with the death and destruction. Werneck’s art is top notch here and Ayddele has definitely put their heart into it. One of the better off-shoot series, by the feel of it.

SWEET PAPRIKA: OPEN FOR BUSINESS #1 by Steve Orlando and Emilio Pilliu. Coming on the heels of Mirka Andolfo’s highly acclaimed SWEET PAPRIKA comes this sequel, which it should be noted does not involve Andolfo at all, except for a variant cover. It would take me too long to try and explain the whole back story but this series concentrates on Aubrey and Persica and how they have to move through their professional lives along with being involved in a queer open relationship. That having been said, this series is not for everyone, especially if you are offended by moments of male on male sex. But the characters are well developed and the dialogue is perfect for these characters.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES MUTANT NATION #1 by Tom Waltz, Erik Burnham, Vincenzo Federici, and Mateus Santolouco. Coming out of the run that ended the last series, we get another series featuring various TMNT cast members. Two stories here, focusing on two brothers and also Casey Jones. I have to say that the recent reboot books have caught my attention and got me back into the Turtles yet again. It’s just a ton of fun for some of us who grew up with the classic series.

THE TERMINATOR #1 by Declan Shalvey and Luke Sparrow. I had some high hopes for this series but they have fallen short. What we get is a Terminator chases a couple who have been on the run for some time. The back story for them is a little fuzzy , but basically they get tracked down and killed. End. To top it off, there is a two-page backup by Sal Crivelli and Colin Craker that is the start of a series of stories and, even though the art is suitable, it also did nothing for me. Mileage may vary but this one didn’t hit home with me at all.

THE TIN CAN SOCIETY #1 by  Peter Warren and Francesco Mobili. While a tight group of children have all grown up and gone their separate ways, one of them has been brutally murdered, leading to a reunion and the realization that one of them may actually be the killer. What’s more: the murdered man was a superhero. An interesting look at friendship and how that friendship may have created these events. This is another book that I think will fly under the radar but is definitely worth checking out.

VIOLENT FLOWERS #1 by Maria Llovet. I have become a huge fan of Llovet since seeing her work on such titles as LUNA, THESSALY, NIGHTMARE COUNTRY and, most recently CRAVE. Her style is unusual and so are those stories she crafts. This is no exception, as the theme is vampiric but also contains elements of lesbianism and horror of a magical bent. Picture the work of such masters as Milo Manara and Guido Crapax and you have her style. Her work is certainly not for everyone and, if you read CRAVE, which truly pushed the boundaries of taste, but it is captivating, nonetheless. Highly recommended for folks with an open mind.

WOODSTAKE #1 by Darin S. Cape and Felipe Kroll. So here is one heck of a cool concept that, thanks to my LCS, I got turned onto. It’s 1969 and folks are heading to the Woodstock festival. Unfortunately, there is evil afoot there in the form of vampires. Yep: vampires at Woodstock! This first issue sets things up and, therefore, there are a lot of missing details in the plot. And that’s okay as you get a taste of what is to come. Not to mention, the artwork is amazing! Apparently, there was a #0 issue that came out August that I now have to find to get the prologue to this whole thing. A fun, sometimes comedic romp!

DC UNIVERSE Month 81, Part 2

CATWOMAN #69 by Torunn Gronbekk and Fabriana Mascolo. Things have changed for Selina, especially when she finds that Evie Hall has been murdered in Berlin. The night before, she is at a gathering and a chairman of a corporation gets murdered. She finds herself on the run and in a new, prototype costume. In disguise, she ends up going to Berlin to find out who killed Eve, who was actually one of her aliases, and her friends. Unfortunately, someone has been watching her and she has been found in Berlin.

DC ALL IN SPECIAL #1 by Joshua Williamson, Scott Snyder, Daniel Sampere, Dan Mora, and Wes Craig. The book is divided into two parts. In ALPHA, 52 days after Waller’s defeat, a new Watchtower has been constructed and the decision has been made to include all heroes to join the Justice League, to be known as Justice League Unlimited. Superman invites Booster Gold to join and he recalls seeing a blank membership card from his time in the future. At the first meeting, Mister Terrific reveals there will always be a blank card for any new members: the same card Booster had once seen. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning possess Hal and Zatanna and Darkseid’s voice comes from them saying the Spectre will reveal the truth. Lightning from the heroes opens a Boom Tube and Darkseid appears, with an axe replacing one of his hands. Hal declares that Darkseid has bonded with The Spectre and is now death itself. Skeet detects a rift in reality and that Darkseid is out of sync with reality and the future has been altered. Darkseid begins building a gateway. The magic users craft a spell and Superman carries it to Darkseid demanding that he free The Spectre. Darkseid thanks him, saying “Darkseid ends” before disappearing in an explosion. Later, the League meets with Orion who says a Darkseid must always exist, so a new one is probably being created. Batman and Mister Terrific examine the membership card which now contains Anti-Life energy and they believes it is a gateway to The Elseworlds, once known as the undeveloped Alpha World, and it is still developing. A time traveler is the only one who can get there and Booster Gold accepts the mission. Arriving there, he finds that Elseworld is a second Apokolips. He gets attacked by Darkseid and a corrupted version of the Legion of Superheroes.

In OMEGA, set 52 days before ALPHA, Darkseid has an idea to create a device that will give him ultimate power but there must be a blood sacrifice so he cuts off his left hand to provide the blood. He tells his most loyal followers that this will be a journey he takes alone and, when Kalibak objects, Darkseid kills him and tosses him into the machine. Darkseid goes to a number of places in search of The Spectre, apparently killing Eclipso in the process. Ultimately, he finds The Spectre and bonds himself to him, leading to him attacking the heroes as seen in ALPHA. Darkseid’s death on Earth-0 results in the further development of The Elseworld, where heroes do exist but in radically different forms. Wonder Woman was raised in Hell, while Batman and Superman are also completely different. When Booster Gold arrives, he reveals his army. To be continued in ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1, ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1, and ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1.

DC HORROR PRESENTS #1 by David Dastmalchian, Leah Kilpatrick, the Boulet Brothers, Cat Staggs, and Butch Mara. A woman discovers that her boyfriend has fallen out of their apartment window and is dead on the pavement below. She commandeers the ambulance and goes to visit her father, Dollmaker, and asks him to resurrect her boyfriend. He does and then she kills him again because he was breaking up with her. In the second story, there are Amazons being killed on Themyscira. They open Hippolyta’s tomb, which has been tampered with, When they open it, Hippolyta corpse has been corrupted and begins attacking and killing the Amazons. Diana fights her and, along with the surviving Amazons, is able to seal the animated corpse up. In the end, it turns out to be a creepy gift from Circe.

DC HORROR PRESENTS CREATURE COMMANDOS #1 by David Dastmalchian and Jesus Hervas. Two weeks from now, the Creature Commandos are attacked, causing the death of a young girl. Now, in a secret laboratory, a Dr. West is talking to a corpse when she is visited by a mind reader named Mina and General Eiling, who seems to run the facility. Lieutenant Shrieve arrives, saying he is now in command of the Creature Unit. This leads to a recruiting session, with West, Eiling, and Shrieve going out to get creatures for the team. First they acquire vampire Vincent Velcro and then a werewolf named Wanda. With their version of a Frankenstein Monster named Lucky  repaired, the team is formed. They are told by Eiling that a dangerous weapon is being developed on Namibia and that is their next mission. On Namibia, General Buzzword has her followers beat on a elderly woman but she kills them all, to the pleasure of both Buzzword and Eiling. In the end, it seems Brainiac is behind it all and has plans to cause terror and death anywhere in the world.

DC’S I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST CRISIS #1 by Cavan Scott, Nathan Cayanan, Ashley Allen, Matthew Levine, Dan Didio, Rachel Pinnelas, Dave Wielgosz, Rex Ogle, Ario Anindito, V Ken Marion, Jose Luis, Jordi Tarragona, M.L. Sanapo, Will Robson, Sid Kotian, and Adam Graphite. During CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #4, Batgirl tries to save a young girl from Killer Croc, who reveals he is not threatening her but just looking for someplace warm and safe. In the second tale, set during MILLENIUM, Dr. Light is forced to battle Cormac Manhunter. In the third tale, set during FINAL NIGHT, Black Canary is forced to fight her demons courtesy of Scarecrow and Silver Banshee. In the fourth story, set during ZERO HOUR, the JSA is forced to face off against the villainous Extant. In the fifth story, set during INFINITE CRISIS, Nightwing faces a changed Connor Kent, who locks him in a endless loop where he dies forever, believing he is saving his world by doing this. In the sixth tale, set during BLACKEST NIGHT, sees the Scarecrow tormenting a young man, before Jonathan Crane is offered a yellow Lantern ring. In the seventh tale, set during FINAL CRISIS,  Lex Luthor has to deal with his personal demons before deciding to join with the heroes to fight against Libra. In the final tale, set during FLASHPOINT, Midnighter is forced to go out and deal with Pyg.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1090 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin. Many years ago, Thomas Wayne saves the life of an abuser, while also treating his victim and her baby. Later, one of Thomas’ patient with severe burns needs to be sedated. As it turns out, that patient is Joe Chill. In the present, Batman responds to a robbery gone bad and a young man finds himself on the run. When Batman finds him, the teen has been murdered; the latest in a series of murders. Later, he goes to an event as Bruce Wayne and meets with Scarlett Martha Scott, who takes him to a lab where a serum called Sangraal that promises to extend life. Three weeks from now, Batman confronts a villain who is threatening to execute someone, saying this person is not worth Batman’s mercy and he should not make the same mistake his father did.

THE FLASH #14 by Simon Spurrier and Vasco Georgiev. Two weeks ago, Weather Wizard goes to the Arctic Circle and meets with a man riding a dinosaur. Two days ago, the Flash Family goes to a cookout to celebrate Barry Allen’s retirement. Now, the family find themselves on a vacation in Skartaris. But this is a bit of a ruse as Wally had a message from Travis Morgan saying he needed Wally to come there to help them against Weather Wizard. Wally tells Linda of the mission and she thinks it’s awesome. Irey races off to the Watchtower and finds…her dad. Wait: isn’t he supposed to be in Skartaris?

GREEN ARROW #17 by Joshua Williamson, Chris Condon, Amancay Nahuelpan, and Montos. Peacemaker and Peacekeeper are on the run and get apprehended by Green Arrow. When he drops them off, he visits with Waller, telling her if she ever tries something like this again he will have no problem pulling the trigger. He then goes to the Watchtower, to explain what happened and is welcomed back to the Justice League. Later, he goes to his company with the idea of taking it back. In the backup, batman visits Ollie and tells him he still has issues with how things went down. At the same time, the former head of a chemical company is murdered, apparently with water his company polluted.

GREEN LANTERN CIVIL CORPS SPECIAL #1 by Jeremy Adams and Phillip Kennedy Johnson. John Stewart and his sister get attacked by Killowog, who has been resurrected and now wears a Yellow Lantern uniform. He steals John’s Darkstar ring and heads off. Twelve hours later, John is being cared for by Sheperd, Hal, Carol and Guy. The team make the decision to go off and retrieve the ring, along with help from former Amazo Jadestone., who has been guarding the new Central Power Battery. On Oa, Alan Scott arrives at the Chamber of Unseeing. Meanwhile, John and Sheperd go to Oa, where Alan has created a construct to fight the members of the Chamber. John and Sheperd release Larfleeze who now acts as a distraction to the guards, as he is looking for his orange light. Hal, Carol and Jonh go to Thanagar to tell them of the  upcoming takeover, only to find out that Thaaros has taken over and fights back, releasing the Radiant Dead. With things going badly, the Durlans release the Star Shroud, who murders Thaaros..As Thaaros dies, he uses his last bits of energy to corrupt Mogo. To be continued in GREEN LANTERN #16

GREEN LANTERN #16 by Jeremy Adams and Xermanico. Continued from GREEN LANTERN CIVIL CORPS SPECIAL #1.  Mogo, now a Red Lantern, has unleashed its’ fury on Thanagar, killing billions. Hal, John and Carol are on a Rannian battle cruiser with the thousands they could save, but the aft thruster of the ship is damaged, causing Hal to tell Carol to handle things on the ship. Elsewhere, on the Durlan flagship, we learn that they plan to continue with their designs, even that their scientists have made in-roads in freeing the Spectrum from Keli Quintela: Teen Lantern. Keli is visited by the Ellie Stewart construct, promising to free her. John and Hal attack the Durlan ship, but are subsequently attacked by the Star Shroud. On the Rannian ship, Carol uses her power to restart the ship, which tears through Star Shroud. Star Shroud arrives on the Durlan ship and orders them to go to Oa. In deep space, Thaaros is reborn and heads to Oa also. Guy and Sheperd free the prisoners on Oa, including Jo Mullen. But things are not perfect as a giant creature, either from Thaaros or the Star Shroud, is poised to attack the Rannian ship.

HARLEY QUINN #44 by Elliot Kalan and Mindy Lee. Harley is back in Gotham and separated from Ivy. She also reveals how, when she was young, she had an interaction with someone named Chicken Fingers that changed her life. She goes out and finds that the city has changed and is now clean, thanks to the work of folks in Nowegosoe Tower. Harley visits it, finding security guards beating up Chicken Fingers. Has she faces off with them, she meets Althea Klang, who managers the tower. Based on their interaction, she starts the Harley Quinn Destructive Agency. But Klang has other plans and talks with someone about stopping Harley.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #12 by Geoff Johns and Todd Nuack. As Courtney prepares to graduate high school and move on with her superhero life, she recalls the events that led to this, from childhood to becoming a superhero. 

NIGHTWING #118 by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo. Tony Zucco has been arrested for murdering the Graysons, but is quickly freed by a police officer whose family is being held hostage by Heartless. Speaking of Heartless, Gerald tells Shelton that the heart he got from Blockbuster is wearing out and he will need a new one, which he plans to replace with Nightwing’s. Heartless, claiming to be Dick Grayson, goes broadcasts that he and his men will demolish Haven within the hour. Dick shaves and dons civilian clothing while the Bat-Family searches for the kidnapped children. The Heartless army is in the midst of a confrontation with citizens when Dick arrives, revealing he knows Heartless is Shelton. He gets a call telling him the children have been found and freed, which Dick tells to the Heartless army and they turn on heartless, who flees to the docks, telling Gerald and Zucco to meet him there. Dick becomes Nightwing and chases him, as does Hayley. Dick catches up with him, having conquered the effects of the Fear Toxin, and attacks. Gerald is ready to shoot Nightwing and Hayley bites him, leading to Gerald shooting the dog. Gerald falls into the water and presumably drowns. Shelton attacks Zucco and rips his brain out. Shelton and Dick brawl and then Shelton falls, as his heart has given out and he dies. In the end, Dick takes Melinda and her wife to their parents’ grave. In the end, he looks over the city with Barbara and Hayley.

NIGHTWING #119 by Dan Watters and Dexter Soy. Someone who is part of the Cirque Du Sin introduces the tale. Members of Gotham’s gang community, represented by Mama Bear, Boss Bludgeon, Dr. Proboscis, and the Blockbuster Gang, meet to discuss their plans moving forward after months of territorial fighting. Nightwing interrupts the meeting and discoivers a bomb, which goes off, killing all the gang members. Later, Dick Grayson goes to visit his sister, who is having a meeting with Olivia Pearce: the C.E.O. of Spheric Solutions. To help with the warfare, she is offering the city upgraded weapons to the police force. That night, Nightwing injects himself into the gang war, telling them he is giving them a pass until after he solves the murders of their leaders. Unknown to Nightwing, the head of Cirque Du Sin has met with Pearce and it appears there is another bomb ready to take Nightwing out.

POISON IVY #26 by G. Willow Wilson and Marcio Takara. Janet goes out shopping and is caught in a explosion at the grocery store caused by a follower of the ecoterrorist known as The Green Knight. Ivy goes to investigate this small town that is abandoned but also just popped up in the last week. With Ivy investigating, Janet gets freaked out by memorials to the Green that appear in the hallway of her building and calls Croc, who offers to come and hang with her. Then she calls Ivy, still investigating the new town, when a news report comes on. It looks like Ivy has now been identified as The Green Knight..

POWER GIRL #14 by Leah Williams and Adriana Melo. Ejecta is a hero and a media sensation who also beat the stuffing out of Omen last issue, causing Omen to hide away in her apartment. Power Girl, in her civilian guise, goes to the Daily Planet and pitches the idea of an expose piece on Ejecta to Mariposa, only to find that Mariposa has been investigating who built Ejecta’s cybernetic enhancements. They visit Omen and Paige reveals herself as Power Girl to Mariposa. Omen, Natasha and Power Girl go to the old Daily Star building, breaking in to get Ejecta’s attention. She uses her powers to cause Omen to be scared enough to pass out, then leaves, going to Dolira and meeting with her father. He tells her to eat up as he believes she needs her strength to kill Power Girl next.

SHAZAM #16 by Josie Campbell and Dan McDaid. It’s Christmas time and the Vasquez family is in a financial bind as they have spent so much money on legal fees to keep their children while Billy’s mother continues to try to gain custody. Billy sees a television interview with Freddy, who is now calling himself The Commander, With his siblings busy, Billy decides to ask his neighbor Beau on a date and receives help from Mary, Darka and Shazam. But Freddy has beaten him to the punch and talks to Beau, who informs him of a new app called Society which gives information about superheroes. Together, they all go to investigate a robot attacking the city. En route, they get attacked by the robot, leading to the siblings to transform. Mary and Freddy take down the robot while Shazam tries to stop a thief but is disoriented by a special weapon the thief has. A high-ranking official from Society offers The Commander ahis business card and they later find out Freddy is now the new spokesperson for Society. In the end, the official meets with Georgia Sivana along with the pilot who operated the robot. A green worm comes out of the man’s face and it’s obvious Mister Mind is again targeting the Shazam Family.

SUPERMAN #19 by Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora. In a moment from the end of time, Superman confronts the Time Trapper. Today, Lois, now working as Superwoman after the Abolute Power event, joins her husband on a mission against the Atomic Skull and his atomic powered pets. Finishing that, they are faced with a giant version of Doomsday, who has been released from Hell. During their battle, time stops and suddenly only Superman is moving. That is when the Time Trapper shows up and reveals himself…as an older version of Doomsday, telling Superman that, despite being enemies for millennia, he needs the Man of Steel’s help now.

TITANS #16 by John Layman and Pete Woods. The Titans tour the Watchtower and Gar accidentally sets off a transformation on a space creature. Back at the Tower, Nightwing asks Donna to take over as team leader. All the team starts having vicious memories of past trauma. Raven attacks and they are all knocked out. When Roy wakes, he finds Clock King is responsible for their memories, thanks to new powers he got during the Absolute Power event. But Donna is not about to let him do this without a fight.

WONDER WOMAN #14 by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. On Day 1 after her release from the Sovereign, Diana and Steve Trevor sit on the beach as she tells him she was able to keep her sanity in captivity because she knew he was always with her. On Day 3, Dr. Psycho meets with the Sovereign. On Day 5, Steve Trevor tells Diana that he is going to meet with the Sovereign. On Day 12, Steve meets with the Sovereign, who shoots and kills Trevor. On Day 15, Trevor’s body is found floating in the Tidal Basin in Washington, under the shadow of the Washington Monument. On Day 16, word gets out about Trevor’s death, even reaching as far as the Justice League Watchtower. On Day 17, Clark and Bruce meet with Diana. She is unaware of his death at this point. On Day 19, Steve Trevor is laid to rest with full military honors. On Day 22, the Sovereign gathers allies to protect him from Diana, including Grail, Angle Man and others. On Day 27, a distant relative who of Steve Trevor, who has claimed his personal effects, realizes that the flag he was buried in is missing, with a note saying that the person who wrote it is sorry for the woman’s loss. On Day 29, Wonder Woman is seen nestled in a cave, holding Steve’s flag and crying. On Day 32, Superman and Batman meet with Donna Troy, Yara, and Cassie, as they try to locate Diana. On Day 37, Diana decides she must stop mourning and get up, but discovers she cannot. On Day 50, three women search through endless drawers searching for a certain spool of thread. Wonder Woman removes her costume and wades into the ocean. She meets with Trevor in the afterlife as he takes the boat to the next place. Diana surfaces, and, using her hair, along with two pieces of thread, apparently representing herself and Steve, creates a gold thread. She then creates an infant from the clay on the beach, rubbing the thread on the child’s head. She then names the baby Elizabeth Marston Prince On Day 51, the women find the spool of thread they were seeking and notice that some of the thread is missing and they will need a new one of gold, apparently representing Diana’s new daughter..

DC UNIVERSE Month 81, Part 1

ABSOLUTE POWER #4 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. Ollie orders all the Bureau forces on Gamorra to reform in preparation of a full assault. Waller has Failsafe activate her Multiversal Gate. In the Dark Roads, the heroes discuss their plan. Hal goes to deal with the Gate while Batman uses a Boom Tube to take on Bureau. Sarge Steel instructs the Bureau’s troops to fire on the heroes but their weapons backfire and shock them; exhibiting Ollie’s work to destroy the Bureau from the inside, much to Waller’s anger. The heroes make their way into the facility, running into Task Force VII. Jon and Nightwing break into Waller’s command center but she uses a piece of Kryptonite to keep Jon down. Failsafe restrains Nightwing, leading Waller to declare she will kill all the superheroes. Batman, Blue Beetle and Time Commander complete the device that Ollie was building, which will reverse the timelines to just before Task Force VII stole their powers and then restore them. But they are attacked and Ollie arrives and uses the device to restore the powers to the heroes, even though some powers have now been switched.  He reveals that Martian Manhunter had implanted a belief in him that Waller was right-all to keep the Bureau’s psychics from detecting his deep cover.

Waller prepares to kill Nightwing but Dreamer arrives and subdues Waller, explaining that Jon’s dreams of her resurrected her. Waller rants about how she fooled the whole world but Air Wave has managed to broadcast her rant to the whole world. Elsewhere, Barry fights the three evil speedsters but Johnny Quick activates the gate, but Hal creates a barrier to hold them back while Barry tries to deactivate the Gate. The barrier begins to crack and the Flash Family arrives to reinforce it. Barry shuts down the Gate, cutting Earth-0 from the Multiverse forever. Two days later, Jay and Wally confirm their access to the Multiverse is gone and Barry no longer has his powers. Waller wakes in prison and is confronted by Dreamer, who reveals she has locked Waller’s memories of the heroes’ secrets, while also hinting she has had a Brain Bomb implanted in Waller’s head. While the Fortress is being rebuilt, Ollie calls Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman together, saying that they need to reform the Justice League. In turn, they show him plans for a new Watchtower.

ABSOLUTE BATMAN #1 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta. Secret agent Alfred Pennyworth has been pulled off a five-year search for a target and sent to Gotham, where he attempts to call his daughter Julia. On a video call with his handlers, her learns to a terrorist group known as the Party Animals who have increased the murder rate by 700%. While being told to observe only, he is also made aware of a vigilante, which Alfred has permission to engage with if needed. As he leaves his safehouse, he notes his motorcycle has been stolen. The following day, civil engineer Bruce Wayne is working out in Croc’s Gym, owned by childhood friend Waylon Jones. Waylon tries to convince him to come to a poker game with his other childhood friends: Oz, Eddie, Harvey and Selina. Elsewhere. The heads of Gotham’s crime families meet with Roman Sionis: the leader of the Party Animals. He is told to leave Gotham by dawn or they will have him and the Party Animals killed but Sionis has them all killed instead. That night, at a town meeting, the townspeople blame Mayor Gordon for the recent problems. Alfred observes the Party Animals making their way to the meeting and asks his superiors for permission to engage but is told to only observe. Martha Wayne tells tries to calm the townspeople down as a smoke grenade fills the room and the Party Animals gun Gordon down. Barbara Gordon tells the police to secure a perimeter and when she opens a door, she sees Batman who orders her to shut it and stay inside. Alfred observes Batman as he battles the Party Animals and, at one point, one of them pulls out a cleaver and attacks. Batman, who pulls out an axe and cuts off the hand of the attacker. Alfred engages Batman but his easily disarmed, with Batman escaping with Alfred’s gun. At this point, Alfred realizes that Batman is Bruce Wayne. Bruce’s story is that he won a student engineering competition and the prize was a trip to the zoo, where the zoo was attacked by a mass shooter that resulted in his father’s death. After time as a juvenile delinquent, he gets an athletic scholarship but fakes an injury in order to devote his time to the subjects he would need as a crimefighter. The next day, Afred follows Bruce to his mother’s house, planning to kill him, but is distracted by a text from Julia telling him to never contact him again. That night, he tracks Bruce to his hideout and Bruce shoots Alfred with the gun he took, which has transformed into a non-lethal weapon. He then jumps on the motorcycle and drives it out of the skyscraper; flying away with the help of the wings on his costume. In the epilogue, a private helicopter in manila picks up Alfred’s original target: a mysterious billionaire who has been training the with the most dangerous people in the world before killing them. No one knows his real name but, because he has never laughed, is known as The Joker.

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #1 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman. In Gateway City, a strange flying object arrives and horrible monsters fly out of it, attacking the citizens. In the midst of it, a masked woman riding a skeletal flying horse arrives to fight the creatures. She removes the mask and, speaking an unknown language, clangs her bracelets together and there is a huge explosion. In flashback, on the prison of Circe located on the Isle of Hell, Circe arrives and delivers Diana: a baby who is the last of the Amazons. Circe also declares that the child can never be reunited with her sisters again and the word Amazon can never be said by the woman ever again. Over time, the child grows up and discovers she has natural skill that allows her to calm even the most savage creatures. Eventually, as Diana grows up, she finally manages to say the word Amazon and embraces it. Back in the present, Diana tries to reason with the main creature but has no effect, leading to her to declare herself the last of the Amazons and the Princess of Hell and she has no plans to let these creatures take this world.

ACTION COMICS #1070 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. Fifty-two days between Waller’s defeat and Darkseid attacking the Watchtower, the Phantom Zone Projector in the rebuilt Fortress of Solitude cracks and opens a portal that allows three prisoners who had been fused together to escape. They head to Metropolis and attack Superman, overpowering him until he is rescued by Supergirl. Superman heads to Ethiopia where he digs up a lead canister containing Gold Kryptonite, which would rob the prisoners of their powers but would do the same to Superman and Supergirl. While fighting the escapees, the canister is knocked away and Jimmy Olsen uses his signal watch to distract them and use the Gold K on them. Kara tells them that they are screaming in Kryptonese to kill them. Superman miniaturizes them and sends them to a hospital in Kandor. He tells the family that he is going into the Phantom Zone to investigate but finds himself confronted by a band of armed men when he arrives. In the backup, Supergirl has Steel build her a spaceship to head to Thanagar and then uses circuitry in her eye to erase his memories. Power Girl attempts to stop her and she again uses her power to erase her memory. Arriving at Thanagar, she meets with an official at a United Planets outpost before also erasing his memories.

ACTION COMICS #1071 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. In the Phantom Zone, Superman is attacked by armed denizens of the place. He takes them out, but does so at a cost as the special battery bracelets he wears are running out of power. He also gets attacked by giant spider creatures and that forces him to use more energy. That is when the Phantom King arrives and Superman is taken into custody. The Phantom King reveals himself to be Superman’s old friend Mon-El. Also, Jon and the Superman of China are forced to end their baseball game and head to the Fortress, where they are in for a surprise. In the backup, Supergirl heads to the High Court of Thanagar to retrieve a prisoner. But a strange spider creature attacks and takes out and kidnaps the judge, leaving Kara wondering how to find both the judge and the prisoner.

ACTION COMICS #1072 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. Superman meets with Mon-El who shows him he has captured the real Captain Xa-Du. Mon-El explains that a being named Aethyr who arrived in the Phantom Zone and promised to make the world more like how things were in the material world. But he quickly became a dictator, turning the place into his own personal prison, with Xa-Du as his handpicked warden. Many Kryptonians rebelled, capturing Xa-Du and killing the survivors, much to Superman’s dismay. They soon discover that Xa-Du has escaped and he has made his way back to Aethyr, who claims he is in the process of destroying Earth. Meanwhile, Jon and the Superman of China discover that all the artifacts in the Fortress has been stolen. A portal opens up and both are transported somewhere; somewhere that has all the artifacts set up like in a museum. In the backup, Supergirl finds the captured judge and gets attacked by the alien creatures. The judge gives Kara the coordinates to deliver the prisoner and, telling Kara to finish the mission, promises to finish hers.

ACTION COMICS #1073 by Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Skylar Patridge, and Clayton Henry. As Superman and Mon-El travel through the Phantom Zone, they get attacked by Xa-Du’s ship where Superman, whose bracelets are almost out of power, is forced to attacked Xa-Du. Mon-El ends up saving him from a face to face with Xa-Du, leaving Superman to face Aethyr. Angry with Xa-Du, Aethyr tosses him into the Eye of the Zone and does the same to Superman. But the Man of Steel undesratnds this is a fall through time and manages to break through one of the walls and ends up…on Krypton as it once was. Meanwhile, Jon and the Superman of China meet the curator of the Royal Museum of Space. In the backup, Supergirl continues on her journey to deliver the prisoner to their final destination.

BATMAN #153 by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez. Batman meets with Jim Gordon as the city rebuilds and comes back to normal. At the same time, Edward Nygma, with the help of Wayne Enterprises, has started a tech giant called Nygmatech. Even though he has been exonerated for his crimes, Mayor Nakano is suspicious. Leonid from the Court of Owls meets with him and threatens to reveal his alleged indiscretions. Batman meets with Nygma and, while impressed by his technology, explains he will be watching him. Nakano’s wife makes the decision to leave him, taking their son with her. At Wayne Enterprises, Bruce is advised to look at merging with Nygma’s company; something being arranged by Bruce’s own personal assistant. Later, Batman apprehends some criminals and runs into a new, gun-toting vigilante named Commander Star. Commissioner Savage arrives and declares they don’t need two vigilantes and orders his men to arrest Batman, who flees. In the end, an alleged brother files a claim against Bruce for half of his shares and someone shoots Nakano in the chest, seemingly killing him.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #14 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javi Fernandez. In 1892, Nicodemus dies but there may be a promise of him to come back to life sometime in the future. In the present, Batman and Robin are fighting a gang of criminals that are connected to the Order of the Green Knight. Later on, Bruce and Damian go to an event celebrating the rebirth of the Scared Heart Medical Center. Before entering, Bruce is hassled by someone that he will be ground up by “the wheel” criminals who are followers of Nicodemus move in and assault the place. While Bruce becomes Batman to fight against them, there is an explosion and Damian is caught in it.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #32 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Eclipso has destroyed the Watchtower and captured most of the heroes, except for Batman and Superman, who have been corrupted. Robin gets involved and heads to the Justice Society headquarters, getting them to split up to try and help out. The Spectre gets called in and appears to break Robin’s neck, which snaps the Dark Knight out of his possession. The rest of the Justice Society manages to toss Superman into the sun, which burns out his possession. The now freed heroes, along with Batman and Superman, attack Eclipso. But he attacks back and now there heroes have been altered and stopped in their tracks.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #18 by Christian Ward, Zipporah Smith, Jeremy Adams, Mauguerite Sauvage, Brendan Hay, Patric Reynolds, Mike Norton, Laura Braga, and Marco Santucci. Batman has to deal with a villain named Doubt whose voice allows him to corrupt people’s mind with his negative words. Batman is forced to fight through those suggestions and finally recalls a conversation with Alfred when he was young to help him defeat the villain by using his own voice. In the second feature, Constantine and Streaky continue to team-up to defeat someone who was using the Talisman of Osiris to reanimate the dead; specifically his deceased friend. He eventually realizes this is a cruel fate for his friend’s beloved pet and destroys the talisman, reversing everything. In the third tale, M’Gann and Jackson team up to defeat a villain trying to bring new life to Mars by draining the water from Earth. In the next tale, Harley faces of against the Ghosting Master, who has been stealing identities from millions of people. In the final story, the Robins team up to find out who has been kidnapping Robin cosplayers, only to get captured themselves by Killer Moth.

BIRDS OF PREY #14 by Kelly Thompson and Sami Basri. Cassandra Cain, using the name of Shen, attends a meeting where she is forced to fight off bodyguards. As it turns out, the meeting gets rescheduled. Apparently, Cass has gone undercover to rescue five Amazons who have been captured by this organization known as the Ninth Day. When she finally gets that meeting, she is taken to an underground laboratory and finds the Amazons. At the same time, Onyx and Grace engage in a violent training session with Barda.

DC UNIVERSE Month 80, Part 2

HARLEY QUINN #43 by Tini Howard, Alexis Quasarano, Sweeney Boo, and Riccardo Federici. With Robin captured, Harley fights alone against Mr. Freeze. When he realizes he is defeated, he encases himself and Nora in a block of ice and allows himself to be captured. Later, Harley disguises herself as Pulaski to visit her daughter, convincing her to call her mother in an effort to seek justice. Pulaski is the chief prosecution witness against Maxie Zeus but Harley brings in a witness of her own in Bella Pulanski and her testimony crushes her mother’s credibility, resulting in the case against Zeus being dismissed. In the end, Harley suggests a road trip for her and Ivy. In the backup, Harley the Barbarian and her crew battle the Kraken.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA # 11 by Geoff Johns and Marco Santucci. Because of the situation involving a young Mordru, the Justice Society of America are forced to face-off against the Legion of Super-Heroes. Dr. fate arrives along with the Legion of Substitute-Heroes, declaring there is a traitor in their midst, that turns out to be Yolanda, who turns out to be influenced by Eclipso. And he begins to influence many of the heroes. Mordru gets Huntress to fire a crossbow arrow at him, causing him to dissolve and freeing everyone again. Mordru takes the Black Diamond, which now holds Eclipso, and declares he will bring it to Gemworld. In the end, Huntress puts together a new JSA in the 31^st Century.

OUTSIDERS #11 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Robert Carey. In the void, the carrier holds back the wave of destruction that the Drummer released. Telling Jakita that they are the only two stories in existence. As the Carrier’s mind begins to dissolve, she shows Jakita a different timeline. In it, Batwoman and the Final Knight kill each other six months from now. Lucius Fox dies alone in a hospital eight years from now. In Neo-Gotham, Luke Fox is killed by the Challengers of the Unknown thirty-seven years in the future. Just before their deaths, the carrier pulls them out of this timeline and tells them they are the authors of the story and need to write a better one. Lucius, Luke, Batwoman and Jakita end up in the Multiversal Library where Lucius tells Jakita the Carrier is dead; dying to stop Jakita’s plan. They fight Jakita who overpowers them with Lucius challenging her to write a better story than the one she had been given. Jakita takes out the Planetary Guide, scrapes the Planetary logo off the cover and writes ‘OUTSIDERS’ on it instead. Placing the book back on the shelf, the Outsiders fade away. The spirit of the carrier appears and tells her she is doing the right thing. The Outsiders wake on the Carrier, realizing that Jakita has manage to restore reality. Two months later, Luke meets with Batwoman, telling her he has quit The Outsiders, that Jenny Crisis has joined them and wants to recruit other Century babies. He is again a vigilante in Gotham and hints that he wants to build a new version of The Authority. Meanwhile, Jakita finishes the Outsiders book and puts it back on the shelf. She finds another book called PLANETARY and finds a comic book inside that tells of her adventures with The Planetary.

THE PENGUIN #12 by Tom King and Rafael De Latorre. The Penguin, who has killed his son, finds himself at the end of a gun held by Spider when Batman arrives and saves him. Moving to a moment from the very beginning of this mini-series, Batman and The Penguin are in a sinking Batmobile when they get rescued by The Help. When Bruce awakes, he is being cared for by The Help. Oswald meets with his daughter and they appear to mend fences until she is shot in the head and killed by Spider, as revenge for his lover’s death. Spider strikes a deal with Copplepot, saluting the Penguin of Gotham. Later, Oswald meets with Lisa and others, using his guile to continue to elevate himself to power. In the end, he just prefers to feed the birds and watch the city.

PLASTIC MAN NO MORE #1 by Christopher Cantwell, Alex Lims, and Jacob Edgar. Many years ago, Eel O’Brien was a petty criminal who was in and out of jail until he got transformed into Plastic Man. Always considered a joke by the rest of the Justice League, After many years of absorbing death rays, Plastic Man soon discovers that his body is slowly depolymerizing and decides he needs to get his life in order in his final days, the first of which is to reconnect with his son, which does not go well. In the end, he decides to try and build a bomb big enough to recreate the effects of his original exposure to nuclear radiation. By the way, the hand that oozed off his body appears to have new life.

POISON IVY #25 by G. Willow Wilson, Joanne Starer, Grace Ellis, Gretchen Felker-Martin, Dan Watters, Marcio Takara, Haining, Brian Level, Atagun Ilhan, and Dani. With their last battle against Woodrue over, Poison and her friends try to adjust to their life. Along the way, we see various moments in Ivy’s life in the past and the repercussions regarding the mushrooms and those who became her followers.

POWER GIRL #13 by Leah Williams and Adriana Melo. Omen goes to a party in downtown Metropolis where she meets up with Natasha Irons, who had asked her attend to make sure nothing bad happens. When Perry White comes onstage, Omen uses her telepathic powers to scan the crowd, hearing the thoughts of one man who is aware of her presence and even knows her name. The catwalk she is sitting on suddenly breaks and she finds herself attacked by Ejectra, saying she is just trying to protect the people in the building, although some have been injured or killed by it. She invites Omen to read her mind and she is shocked by what she finds, allowing Ejectra to attack her before leaving and telling her how Omen’s actions killed people. Omen leaves and goes to another party to spend time with Paige. The pair dance but Omen eventually collapses in Paige’s arms.

SHAZAM #15 by Josie Campbell and Emanuela Lupacchino. Mary and Uncle Dudley fight against the Submen while elsewhere Billy and the child flee from one of them. It turns out the child is actually a young version of Zeus, who convinces Billy to make amends with the Captain, unleashing him into the fight. All of the Submen are defeated except for their leader, who calls himself the right hand of Chronos. That is when the emissary is hit by lightning as a transformed Freddy Freeman has arrived.

SUPERMAN #18 by Joshua Williamson and Jamal Campbell. An ABSOLUTE POWER tie-in. To gain the Map of Mordru, Neron asks what each of the heroes is willing to give to acquire it. He ultimately asks Superman to lie to him and Superman agrees. He gives Zatanna the map and whispers to Superman that he knows his secret. They take the map and head to the Dark Roads. They head to the House of Heroes to recruit help from the Multiverse. The Map is draining Zatanna of her powers and her life force, admitting she will do anything to get her powers back. The House of Heroes has been destroyed and only Doctor Light is there, explaining that Waller has blocked access to the Multiverse with the help of someone she had laying wait in The Bleed. It turns out that Waller’s agent was an Earth 3 version of a fused together Batman and Superman called Konfusion, who creates a construct of Ultraman. As the House begins to collapse, Superman helps Zatanna to open a shadow portal to escape, leaving Konfusion behind as the House collapse. Elsewhere, Marcy, Lois, Lex and Siobhan go to the Fortress of Solitude and find it destroyed. Mercy and Lois send the others back to Metropolis as they wait for another attack, but it turns out to be Superman, Doctor Light and Zatanna. Superman, Zatanna and Doctor Light seek out Batman and Wonder Woman while the others are sent to Metropolis to fight Waller’s disinformation campaign. In Hell, Doomsday breaks through the gate holding him and heads back to Earth. To be concluded in ABSOLUTE POWER #4.

TITANS #15 by Tom Taylor and Lucas Meyer. The team, with help from other heroes, fight against Trigon with poor results. Gar goes to speak with the Dark Winged Queen and that manages to free the real raven from her captivity. Gar convinces the pair to join together again and raven is reborn in a new white outfit, helping to resurrect Nightwing, who died during the attack. She battles Trigon and stabs him, explaining that she couldn’t kill him because demons do not die. Later, they meet with Waller, accusing her of making a deal with the devil and saying the world is protected by the Titans. This led into ABSOLUTE POWER.

WONDER WOMAN #13 by Tom King, Tony S. Daniel, and Khary Randolph. Wonder Woman has now reunited with Steve. While the pair kiss, Damian tells them they have bigger things to worry about. and they set about making their way into the facility. Steve goes to shut the prison’s locking system down and Wonder Woman and Damian prepare to hold off the Bureau’s troops. Wonder Woman is injured during it all but Damian manages to free their friends from their cells. Together, they use Zatanna’s portal to take them through the Dark Roads. In the backup, Damián tells Trinity the story of how Wonder Woman and he became so close and managed to inspire Diana, which neither Jon or Trinity believe. Jon says she should use the Lasso of Truth on him but she wants to use the Lasso of Death so she doesn’t have to listen to any more of his stories, leading Damian to say he will never tell this story again.

DC UNIVERSE Month 80, Part 1

ABSOLUTE POWER #3 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora. The Brainiac Queen, along with Jon Kent, are ordered to search the world looking for the heroes in hiding. Dr. Mid-Nite, now blind because the Global Guardian took his ability,  wakes up on the shores of Themyscira. Wally reveals he still has a chunk of Kryptonite on him and many want him to use that to stop Jon, but Nightwing shoots the idea down. Hal Jordan outfits those here with weapons he stole from the Hall of Order. Nightwing order Hal and Wally to go back to the Hall of Order to get intel on the Amazos, while a team led by Aquaman is sent to get the Tim Commander. The team rescues Time Commander, but Red Tornado gets shot in the head by Deadeye. Meanwhile, Failsafe and the Brainiac Queen go to China, declaring that the Bureau of Sovereignty has divorced themselves from the United State and that they have all of China’s classified data. Waller calls Failsafe and explains that Task Force VII is not operating as best they can. He then gets a call from a mysterious voice telling him to get to Gamorra. Back on Themyscira, Mr. Terrific constructs a trap and, when Brainiac Queen and Jon show up, the trap is sprung. The Brainiac Queen glitches and when Waller tries to force her to regain control of Jon, Batman comes in on a Boom Tube and sends her to Pluto. Superman reunites with his son as Nightwing tells the heroes they need to take the fight to Waller now. On Gamorra, Barry finds the Multiversal Bridge and realizes what Waller is doing. That is when he is attacked from behind by her army.

ABSOLUTE POWER ORIGINS #3 by John Ridley and Alitha Martinez. At an undetermined time in the past, Batman invades Task Force X headquarters just so he can intimidate Waller. It turns out that he didn’t break in, but had been here all along, disguised as Matches Malone. After having met with her pregnant daughter, she found herself out of her daughter’s life. Later, with her daughter giving birth to Amanda’s grandchild, she is still told to go away. She meets with her son and promises to find a way to bring them all together again.

ABSOLUTE POWER: SUPER SON #1 by Sina Grace, Nicole Mianes, John Timms, and Travis Mercer  Jon Kent has mostly shaken off the control from the Brainiac Queen, but is still working with the Amazons to completely free himself from her control and the memories she has corrupted him with. His guide along the way in his dreams and memories is Dreamer, who died destroying the Brainiac Queen. Finally free of Brainiac Queen, Jon reconnects with his boyfriend Jay, who is glad Dreamer is dead as she was responsible for his mother being killed.. In the end, the pair make the decision to move to San Francisco and share their lives together.

ABSOLUTE POWER: TASK FORCE VII #6 by Stephanie Williams and Khary Randolph. Waller sends  Paradise Lost to Themyscira to get revenge for what happened to the Brainiac Queen. While the Amazons try their best to fight Paradise Lost, the Amazo makes its’ way to the Well of Souls and absorbs the powers of the dead superheroines there, and then destroys the Well, effectively sealing off Themyscira from the rest of the world. On Gamorra, Steve finds himself on the run from Waller’s task force and, while hiding, crosses paths with Diana and Robin

ABSOLUTE POWER: TASK FORCE VII #7 by San Watters and Fran Galen. Global Guardian, with the New Global Guardians, has been sent to capture superheroes around the world. He attacks Eurocrops and overpowers them but Failsafe reboots Task Force VII and this causes him to freeze and fall to the earth. Belphegor arrives to arrest the New Global Guardians, which leads to an argument between the two sides. Intercorps uses a Boom Tube to send them to their headquarters, saying they must work together to stop Waller. A rebooted Failsafe arrives and depowers these metahumans. Back on Gamorra, Steve Trevor reenters the prison to get any captives out but, while trying to free Frankenstein, he is caught by Bureau soldiers and finds himself pinned down by gunfire. He calls Wonder Woman to let her know that Waller is planning to recruit villains from the Multiverse as part of her army. To be concluded in ABSOLUTE POWER #4.

ACTION COMICS #1069 by Gail Simone, Rainbow Rowell, Eddy Barrows, and Cian Tormey. Superman is beaten up and exhausted but still offers Grunhar one last chance to surrender, which he declines. Goor looks for seconds for Superman, as Lois and Jimmy have snuck away and gone into the ship. To Goor’s surprise, all the spectators volunteer, but he selects a Thangarian named Tamar Nal and a Khund named Koma as Superman’s seconds as the Man of Steel prepares to face a powerful Daxamite named Hux-Ur. In this final battle, the loser is the first person to leave the ring. The pair battle with Hux-Ur possessing a piece of Kryptonite that weakens Superman. Hux-Ur throws the piece away and Superman ends up winning, revealing that Grunhar cheated, voiding all the results. With the combined force of all the Kandorians, that Jimmy and Lois freed from Kandor, Grunhar is forced to withdraw. Back on Earth, Superman arrests the developer who was trying to shut down the developer who was trying to shut down the Siegel Youth Centre. In the backup, Lois and Clark meet to resolve the issue with his new assignment, which he agrees to continue doing as it has given him new perspective.

BATMAN #152 by Chip Zdarsky and Mike Hawthorne. Batman faces off against the Suicide Squad, allowing Catwoman to get away and retrieve the Boom Box. She gets attacked by Black Alice and the timer on the Boom Box goes off and the crypt begins to disappear. Batman tells Deadeye that the crypt contains his mother’s coffin, causing Deadeye to head back towards the crypt. Batman modifies the force field around the crypt and, after tricking Bizarro, in a move the cuts of Bizarro’s arm. With the Suicide Squad being attacked by the flying scorpions, they flee through the Boom Tube back to Earth, leaving Gunsmith, Batman, and Catwoman stranded. He realizes what is happening, the scorpions drop and an energy blast disintegrates Gunsmith. Batman and Catwoman leap through the Boom Tube as Darkseid arrives. Our heroes end up on a tropical island and walk together.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #13 by Joshua Williamson and Juan Ferreyra. Damian has been transformed and is determined to kill Bane, but Batman gets him to stand down, with bane breaking Vengeance’s gun, telling her enough is enough. He then tells Batman he will help he and Damian and then Batman can take him back to Gotham. They team up to fight Kobra, even as Maya shows up and injects Damian with anti-venom. Kobra is defeated, Vengeance flees, and the heroes take Bane back to prison. In the end, Damian begins to go back to his artistic work before he and his father go out crimefighting.

BATMAN/SUPERMAN: WORLD’S FINEST #31 by Mark Waid and Adrian Gutierrez. Some time ago, on the Justice League satellite when Green Lantern, Black Canary and Green Arrow find themselves possessed by Eclipso. When Eclipso make presence known, he defeats the League, but Red Tornado escapes, landing in Civic City where the Justice Society is ready to join the fight.

BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #17 by Michael W. Conrad, Zipporah Smith, Alex Segura, Troy Peteri, G. Willow Wilson, Miguel Mendonca, Christopher Mitten, Mike Norton, Andy MacDonald, David Baldeon, and Jason Shawn Alexander. A hostage situation caused by the Calendar Man forces officers Brooks and Bullock to attempt the impossible to rescue them. In the second tale, Constantine teams up with Streaky the cat do deal with events surrounding a talisman with a missing stone and the mystical events resulting from it. In the third story, Montoya continues to deal with the after effects of having her hero alter ego outed while discovering that Zero is really Jordan Rich. To be continued in THE QUESTION: ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER. In the fourth story, Billy Batson, seeking advice, meets with Oliver Queen when they are forced to deal with Clayface.

BIRDS OF PREY #13 by Kelly Thompson and Gavin Guidry. In the Pocket Dimension, the team faces off against Maia, with some assistance from her sisters, who have been brought here from the Spirit World. In the end, Cela sends her sister back through the portal and the team, along with Cela, come back to their world.

CATWOMAN #68 by Tini Howard and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Selina is dying and it is up to Hush to save her as Flamingo watches. Even though Batman objects, he allows the surgery to go on, as he watches from a distance and uses a radio signal to communicate to her using the fillings in her mouth. In the space between life and death, Selina meets with Valmont and also the god Ptah, in the form of a giant bat. The combined efforts brings her back to life and she angrily takes out both Hush and Flamingo. Together, the Cat Family team up to take down Viceroy, even though the villainess gets away.

DETECTIVE COMICS #1089 by Ram V, Dan Watters, Guillem March, and Christopher Mitten. Batman fights against the Orgham Queen and her followers while getting an assist from the reborn Arzen Orgham and Tali Al Ghul. As the rest of the Bat Family work to break the Orgham spell that has fallen over Gotham, Batman finds Crane and forces him to see Batman and fear him. With Gotham saved, Mr. Freeze realizes it is time to move on. Harvey Dent, suffering from a bullet wound, flips his coin and it appears he is also moving on…to Bludhaven. The Ten Eyed man is also making decisions and appears he is looking for a change. With Gotham finally free of the Orgham grip, Batman meets with Selina and is ready to once again take the mantle of Gotham’s protector.

THE FLASH #13 by Si Spurrier and Ramon Perez. Wally and Barry team-up to cut the Corona Contrarium out but is still having an effect on the Deep Change. Wally enters the Deep Change to help heal it just as the Arc Angles arrive. Barry tries to convince Wally to come back just as Inspector Pilgrim opens a portal and brings Barry back to Earth, instructing him to bring the Corona Contrarium with him. The Arc Angles try ot convince Wally to stop and threaten the lives of Linda and his children if he does not. Wally uses his new abilities to attack the Angles and save his family. The Deep Change awakens and shows Jai how to turn the Arc Angles into The Stillness, with Wally convincing them they are explorers and they need to go as far away as possible. Linda realizes that the Deep Change is about to give birth, which is does and goes back to sleep. Back in the Flash Museum, they find a small dog wearing a collar with a Flash symbol and all admit they seemingly know the dog, referring to it as Foxy. They get a call that Waller is doing something big(ABSOLUTE POWER) and the Flash Family race off, except for Wally who tells Linda he saw a future where there were two Flashes who did not trust each other. Linda asks if that was Wally and Barry and he says they were both named Wally. He leaves to help the others and tells her they will talk soon.

GREEN ARROW #16 by Joshua Williamson and Amancay Nahuelpan. An ABSOLUTE POWER tie-in. Team Arrow fights against Bright, with Ollie and Connor teaming together. Bright reveals he is from Earth 3 and was once the White Lantern until his world’s Oliver Queen, known as Deadeye, betrayed him and left him for dead. Ollie pushes Bright out of the plane and flies the craft back to the Hall of Order, where he hands Team Arrow over to the Bureau. Ollie shows Ivo the plans for Task Force VII, noting that they have Chrono Healing that makes them virtually invulnerable. Later, using Time Commander’s hourglass and Martian Manhunter’s mysterious box, Ollie begins to build a device. Black Canary, Zatanna and Doctor Light, via the Dark Roads, arrive and tells him they are going to Gamorra. He refuses to come and they leave. In the end, Waller calls him and says that the war is coming. To be concluded in ABSOLUTE POWER #4.

GREEN LANTERN #15 by Jeremy Adams, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Montos,  and Fernando Pasarin. An ABSOLUTE POWER Tie-In. Wally and Hal make their way to the Hall, where they break in so Wally can download all of Waller’s data about the Amazos. In the process, they are forced to face off against Major Force. Alan Scott continues to try to humanize Jadestone, who finally gains something akin to free will and defeats Major Force. Jadestone takes Hal to the site of the Power Battery, allowing Hal to get his powers back once more.  Meanwhile, Star Sapphire and Dove face the ire of the citizens of Coast City, who have been changed by Waller. They save many citizens and then Nate arrives, transformed into Sorrow. He is suffering from the heartbreak of losing Carol and she is forced to fight him, then leaves, finding Hal at the Power Battery and they reunite with a kiss. In the backup, an epilogue to GREEN LANTERN WAR JOURNAL, John Stewart adjust to life with his reborn sister and the ‘ghost’ of his mother. Both stories will continue in GREEN LANTERN CIVIL CORPS SPECIAL.