Times of Crisis
The Modern Heroic Age lost its innocence with the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the first of what would prove to be many world, universe, and even multiverse-spanning threats that Earth's heroes would face.
Year 9
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. The Anti-Monitor attacks, sending an antimatter wave to destroy the positive matter universes until only five remain. The heroes of the five surviving Earths rally and defeat the threat, though at a cost. Dove, Aquagirl, the second Flash, and others are killed. Another consequence of the conflict is that the Multiverse is reborn as a single universe, combining elements of the five surviving Earths into one. Into this new world come new heroes, like Booster Gold and Captain Marvel. With the death of the second Flash, Kid Flash adopts the identity to become the third Flash.
LEGENDS. Darkseid of Apokolips launches an attack against Earth's heroes. His manipulative agent Glorious Godfrey turns the public against its heroes. Despite this the heroes rally and stop Darkseid's forces when they openly attack. The Justice League disbands after Steel and Vibe are killed, but a new team forms after Darkseid's defeat. This team would gain United Nations support and become the Justice League International. The government agency Task Force X started up a new Suicide Squad program, this time with teams made up of supervillains, to conduct missions related to superhuman activity.
Year 10
MILLENNIUM. The Guardians of the Universe have left, reuniting with the Zamorans, but a single Guardian and Zamoran arrive on Earth to elevate several human "Chosen Ones" as new immortals. The android Manhunters seek to thwart this and reveal a number of sleeper agents tasked with preventing many of Earth's heroes from interfering. Despite this, Earth's heroes are able to stop the Manhunters, destroying the Manhunter homeworld of Orinda and shattering the Earth-based Manhunter cult. Though the Manhunters had managed to kill some of the Chosen Ones, the remainder are given immortality and powers and become the New Guardians. Former Manhunter agent Mark Shaw attempts to restore a heroic legacy by adopting the Manhunter name. A short time later Barbara Gordon, now mostly inactive as Batgirl, is shot and crippled by the Joker. Though paralyzed, she would adopt a new identity as Oracle, serving as an information resource for the superhero community. The Green Lantern Corps is effectively disbanded when the Central Power Battery on Oa is damaged, destroying almost all existing power rings. A new Dove appears and teams up with Hawk.
INVASION. Led by the Dominators, an interstellar alliance of alien races invades Earth, seeing its ever increasing ranks of superheroes as a growing threat. After achieving a beachhead in Australia the invaders were eventually driven back. When Dominator duplicity was revealed the alliance broke up. As a final act the Dominators detonated a "Gene Bomb" that would sicken and kill anyone with the newly discovered Metagene, the genetic source of superpowers for most humans. Heroes and villains alike were stricken down, as were many normal people who simply had the latent potential for superhuman powers. A team of alien heroes (like Superman), non-powered heroes, and some alien allies, undertake a secret mission to the Dominator homeworld where they find the information to successfully cure those affected by the Gene Bomb. Several former prisoners of the Alien Alliance band together as the L.E.G.I.O.N., acting as an intergalactic police force to replace the then-defunct Green Lantern Corps.
The second Robin is murdered by the Joker. The global terrorist Kobra uses a misinformation campaign, codenamed the Janus Directive, to create conflict between several government intelligence agencies. He hopes it will serve as a distraction from his latest attempt at world domination, but despite the chaos American superhuman agents are able to thwart the scheme. In the aftermath the President reorganizes the country's superhuman assets under a new cabinet level position and appoints Sarge Steel to the role. The Justice League International expands, creating a new dedicated European branch based in Paris. A new vigilante calling herself the Huntress begins operating in Gotham City.
Year 11
The second Ray, the son of the original, makes his debut. A 13-year old boy named Tim Drake convinces the Batman to take him on as a new apprentice, becoming the third Robin. The Guardians of the Universe return to Oa and restore the Green Lantern Corps.
ARMAGEDDON. The time traveler Waverider arrives from the future to prevent one of the heroes of the present from becoming the future tyrant, Monarch. Monarch follows him and ensures his own creation by killing the second Dove, driving her partner and lover Hawk into a killing rage. When Hawk discovers that Monarch was his future self it drives him mad and he dons the Monarch power armor himself. Thus Waverider succeeds in preventing the dystopian future he came from, but only by causing Monarch to arise years earlier than before.
A series of events leads the United Nations to end support of the Justice League International. The American and European teams see a roster shakeup as they rebuild. UN sponsorship is partially restored when Superman joins as leader of the American team and Green Lantern of the European team (now based in London).
DEATH OF SUPERMAN. The monstrous creature Doomsday cuts a swathe of destruction across several US states before reaching Metropolis. Superman is finally able to stop the creature but is killed in the process. In the aftermath four new "Supermen" appear; Superboy, a teenage clone, Steel, a construction worker and genius engineer wearing a suit of powered armor, and a mysterious Kryptonian Superman and Cyborg Superman. The Cyborg is revealed to be Hank Henshaw, a former astronaut who became a disembodied consciousness capable of inhabiting machines. He blamed Superman for his condition and sought revenge. The Cyborg Superman teams with the alien conqueror Mongul and the pair destroy Coast City as a first step in turning Earth into a Warworld. The Kryptonian Superman is revealed to be the Eradicator, an artifact from ancient Krypton. The real Superman returns, resurrected thanks to a series of exceptional circumstances, aided by Kryptonian technology. He is initially almost powerless but the Eradicator sacrifices itself to restore Superman to full power and he defeats the Cyborg Superman and Mongul.
The United Nations forms the Justice League Task Force to undertake special missions. Batman is crippled by the villain Bane.The vigilante Azrael takes on the Batman identity. He proves to be violent and unstable and the original Batman takes back the mantle after recovering from his injuries. Learning of a prophecy that Wonder Woman will be killed, Queen Hippolyta manipulates a contest and forces her daughter Diana to hand over the Wonder Woman mantle to Artemis, an Amazon of Bana Migdhall. Diana learns of her mother's duplicity but is unable to prevent Artemis from being killed, after which Diana reassumes the role of Wonder Woman. Artemis' soul is condemned to Tartarus, but with Diana's help she escapes and returns to life a year after her death.
Year 12
Green Lantern, mad with grief over the destruction of his home of Coast City, attacks Oa to try and gain more power. He injures and kills several other Green Lanterns before destroying the Guardians of the Universe and absorbing the power of the Central Power Battery, becoming the entity known as Parallax. The lone surviving Guardian uses his own power to forge a new power ring and gives it to a young man in Los Angeles who becomes the new, and now only, Green Lantern. Teen speedster Impulse, grandson of the second Flash, arrives in the present from the 30th Century.
ZERO HOUR. Entropy fissures open at the beginning and end of time, sending waves forwards and backwards eating everything. The New God Metron assembles several heroes to deal with the threat, believed to be the fault of time-powered villain Extant (formerly Monarch). Heroes engage with Extant at the Vanishing Point near the end of time, but are defeated. Many members of the Justice Society are aged up, countering the effects that had maintained their youthful vitality over the decades, and the Golden Age Hourman and Atom are killed. More teams of heroes assemble and are able to stop Extant, but learn that he was not the source of the threat to the timestream. The true villain is revealed to be Parallax, attempting to destroy the timestream so he can recreate the universe and rewrite reality in order to "fix" everything he believed had gone wrong. Reality is erased, but a small group of heroes have escaped thanks to Waverider. They are able to defeat Parallax and, with the help of the Spectre, restart the Universe. The new reality is nearly identical to the one erased, though there are small differences that impact the histories of some heroes.
Triumph, a founding member of the Justice League, forgotten after being pulled into a time anomaly, returns. Several Justice League members, led by Captain Atom, form a splinter team called Extreme Justice. Green Arrow sacrifices his life to prevent terrorists from destroying Metropolis. His son decides to continue his legacy as the new Green Arrow.
UNDERWORLD UNLEASHED. The demon Neron attempts to raise Hell on Earth. He tempts many supervillains to exchange their souls for increases in power, which the villains then use to cause chaos. Neron extends his offers to heroes, hoping to corrupt them with offers of their greatest desires. Earth's heroes eventually defeat Neron when Captain Marvel offers his own soul in exchange for Neron releasing his hold on the heroes the demon has captured. The pure nature of the offer is anathema to the demon and Neron is forced to retreat to the lower levels of Hell, though the enhanced powers he gave many of the supervillains remain.
Gotham City is struck by a plague, a hemorrhagic fever dubbed Ebola Gulf A. As the city turns on itself the Governor orders a quarantine and the city's wealthy make a failed attempt to ride out the contagion in a fortress-like complex. As Batman and his allies try to maintain order, Azrael learns that the plague was an act of bioterrorism and is able to locate a cure and deliver it to Gotham, ending the crisis. Wonder Woman relocates to Gateway City where she strikes up a friendship with museum curator Helena Sandsmark. Helena's daughter Cassie becomes the new Wonder Girl, initially using Olympian artifacts to give her super-strength and flight but is later granted powers of her own by Zeus.
FINAL NIGHT. A creature called a Sun Eater arrives in the Solar System and, as its name implies, it begins to devour the Sun. Earth is plunged into cold and darkness as its heroes race against time to find a way to stop the Sun Eater and restore the Sun. In the end the creature is destroyed and the Sun reignited by Parallax, who sacrifices himself in an act of penance and redemption for his past crimes.
Year 13
After the previous team disbands a new Justice League forms, based from a new Watchtower headquarters on the Moon. One of their first missions is defeating an invasion of evil White Martians. Superman's powers undergo a strange metamorphosis where he now transforms into a being of electromagnetic energy.
GENESIS. The Godwave returns to Earth. Many superhumans have their powers affected. Earth's heroes and the Gods of New Genesis battle against Darkseid, who is attempting to seize the power of the GodWave for himself. After a confrontation at the Source Wall itself the heroes stop Darkseid, as well as the Greek god of war Ares who was also attempting to claim the Godwave's power, leaving the two beings trapped in the Wall.
Robin, Superboy, and Impulse form a new team that the media calls Young Justice. They are joined by the new Wonder Girl as well as the other young heroes Arrowette, Empress and the Secret. Superman's powers evolve further and he splits into two separate beings, dubbed Superman Red and Superman Blue due to the coloration of their energy forms. Their combined powers become essential to stopping the Millennium Giants, ancient mystical creatures that attempt to wipe out all life on Earth so it can begin anew. In the aftermath Superman becomes a single being again and his powers return to normal.
A devastating magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes Gotham City. Deeming the situation hopeless, the American government declares Gotham City a No Man's Land, destroying the bridges that connect the main island portion of the city with the mainland. Anyone unable to escape in time becomes trapped in the now lawless city. Batman and his allies, including members of the GCPD under Commissioner Gordon who elected to remain behind, fight to maintain order.
ONE MILLION. The Justice Legion A, heroes from the 853rd Century, travel to the present and swap places with the Justice League, who travel to the future. Unfortunately due to the machinations of their enemy, Solaris the Tyrant Sun, the Justice Legion accidentally unleash a plague on Earth, leading to conflict between them and the rest of Earth's heroes. At the same time Vandal Savage launches his own attack which results in the destruction of Montevideo in a nuclear strike. The heroes and the Justice Legion resolve their differences and discover the virus is a ploy by Solaris to ensure its own creation in the past. The Justice Legion construct a body for the virus to inhabit, freeing the Earth from it but ensuring Solaris is born. The Justice Legion return to the future after setting in motion a plan that will enable them to defeat Solaris in the 853rd Century. With Solaris defeated in the future the Justice League are sent back to the present. The 853rd Century android Hourman stays behind and joins the Justice League for a time.
After the return of their former teammate Cyborg the original Teen Titans, Nightwing (formerly Robin), Troia (formerly Wonder Girl), Flash (formerly Kid Flash), Tempest (formerly Aqualad) and Arsenal (formerly Speedy) decide to form a new Titans team. They are joined by Starfire, Jesse Quick, Damage, Argent, and Cyborg. The death of the original Sandman brings together his surviving former teammates, some of whom decide to reform the Justice Society. The original Flash, Green Lantern, and Wildcat alongside Sandman's former sidekick Sandy, now going by Sand, are joined by the new Starman Jack Knight, the second Black Canary, Atom Smasher (formerly Nuklon of Infinity, Inc.), the 853rd Century Hourman, a new Hawkgirl, and the new Star-Spangled Kid as the members of the new JSA.
DAY OF JUDGMENT. Jim Corrigan, host of the Spectre since 1939, finally finds peace and is able to move on. Through demonic trickery the Spectre becomes bonded to the fallen angel Asmodel, who freezes the fires of Hell and unleashes demons and damned souls on Earth. Earth's heroes and some of the most powerful magic wielders attempt to control the chaos and stop the Spectre. Realizing they need a new soul to serve as host, a group of heroes are able to summon the spirit of Hal Jordan, the former Green Lantern and Parallax. He is able to gain control of the Spectre from Asmodel, restoring Hell and stopping the demonic assault on Earth. In order to keep watch in case Jordan should lose control of the Spectre, a group of magic-users form a new team called the Sentinels of Magic, whose members include Sentinel (formerly the Golden Age Green Lantern), Zatanna, the Phantom Stranger, Faust, Ragman, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Raven and Blue Devil.
Year 14
After months of public and political pressure the American government rescinds the No Man's Land declaration, beginning the restoration of Gotham City. The Justice League face the threat of Mageddon, an ancient war machine from the First World. Mageddon's approach to Earth causes an increase in hostility between people, leading to outbreaks of conflicts across the globe. The Justice League are able to rally humanity, temporarily gifting superhuman powers to everyone on Earth to form a super-army to take down Mageddon and end the threat, though the conflict did cost the life of Justice League member Aztek. Leveraging publicity from his involvement in restoring Gotham City, Lex Luthor runs as an independent candidate in the election and wins, becoming President of the United States. Oliver Queen, the original Green Arrow, is revealed to be alive again after having been resurrected by Parallax just before the latter's sacrifice to end the Final Night.
OUR WORLDS AT WAR. The cosmic entity Imperiex seeks to destroy what it deems an imperfect universe. Having wiped out entire galaxies it targets Earth, feeling the planet is significant due to being central to the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Earth gains allies in a fleet of alien refugees, victims of Imperiex who are ready to make a last stand. Another surprise ally, due to the machinations of President Luthor, is Darkseid and the planet of Apokolips. Imperiex attacks, sending powerful constructs called Probes, one of which destroys the city of Topeka, Kansas. Earth's heroes rally to destroy the other probes, though at a cost, including the death of Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons. Another victim is the kingdom of Atlantis, which disappears along with its king, Aquaman, after a confrontation with a Probe; leaving a massive, waterless gap in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean reaching from the ocean surface to the seabed where the sunken realm once lay. In the midst of the assault Brainiac 13 arrives with its Warworld, intent on playing the others against each other in an effort to steal Imperiex's vast power. Earth's forces begin fighting with Apokolips until Brainiac's duplicity is revealed. Imperiex's outer shell is breached, allowing Brainiac 13 to tap into its power, but Superman and Earth's heroes, along with Darkseid, are able to send Imperiex, Brainiac 13, and the Warworld back to the dawn of time where they are destroyed in the Big Bang.
The current Green Lantern absorbs the energy left behind when Parallax reignited the Sun during the Final Night. Becoming effectively a living incarnation of the Oan Central Power Battery he renames himself to Ion and begins performing near-miraculous feats across Earth. He soon realizes that the power is too much for a single person and he instead channels it all into recreating the Central Power Battery on Oa and resurrecting the Guardians of the Universe. He reverts to being Green Lantern again while the resurrected Guardians prepare to rebuild the Green Lantern Corps.
Year 15
The Atlantic Trench disappears and Atlantis reappears, except it is on the surface and stands in ruins. Following clues the Justice League travel 3,000 years into the past to try and solve the mystery. In their absence a new Justice League is formed, led by Nightwing and consisting of the Atom, Green Arrow, Hawkgirl, Firestorm, the mystic Jason Blood, former government metahuman operative Faith, and reformed villain Major Disaster. This original League eventually return to the present with the help of the new League, and by using powerful magic, restore Atlantis, which again sinks below the waves Though the people of Atlantis have returned as well, the suffering they underwent, for which they blame Aquaman, results in him being exiled from the kingdom. After the apparent death of Troia, both the Titans and Young Justice disband. In the aftermath a new Teen Titans forms, consisting of Robin, Superboy, and the new Kid Flash (formerly Impulse), based in San Francisco and mentored by Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire.
When a giant kryptonite meteor threatens Earth, President Luthor blames Superman and frames him for crimes against humanity. Superman and Batman work to prove Superman's innocence, leading to Luthor trying to deal with them personally. Luthor attacks the two using a suit of power armor, having injected himself with a mix of Venom and synthetic kryptonite to give himself superhuman strength. This is not enough to defeat the heroes and Luthor's actions are publicly exposed. He is apparently killed, though in reality escapes, but this and his public exposure ensure his removal from office. The kryptonite meteor is stopped by Captain Atom, who chooses to sacrifice himself so Superman will not have to in order to stop the threat. Luthor's Vice-President, Pete Ross, becomes President but resigns after a few weeks, leaving Jonathan Horne to ascend to the Oval Office. Amongst the debris from the kryptonite meteor Batman discovers a rocket that turns out to be Kryptonian in origin. Inside is Kara Zor-El, Superman's cousin, who also survived the destruction of their homeworld. After training with Wonder Woman, Kara adopts the identity of Supergirl.
An earthquake strikes San Diego, sinking a section of the city into the Pacific Ocean. Many of the citizens are saved when they develop the ability to breathe underwater, a result of secret tampering with the city's water supply to dose the population with a mutagenic formula. Aquaman becomes the protector of the submerged section, now dubbed Sub Diego, and one resident, Lorena Marquez, becomes the new Aquagirl.
IDENTITY CRISIS. Sue Dibny, wife of the Elongated Man, is murdered. The Justice League hunts for the killer, aggressively pursuing many supervillains. In an altercation with the Shadow Thief, Firestorm is killed. In the end the killer is found to be Jean Loring, the ex-wife of Ray Palmer (the Atom), who claims Sue's death was accidental. Jean is found to be mentally unstable and is committed to Arkham Asylum. During the investigation there are revelations that cause schisms in the Justice League that will lead to the team breaking up.
Parallax is revealed to be an entity representing an embodiment of fear. It had been trapped in the Green Lantern Corps Central Power Battery by the Oans and had escaped by at first influencing and then fully possessing Hal Jordan. Now that Hal Jordan is bonded to the Spectre the Parallax entity attempts to seize control of the Spirit of Vengeance. The Spectre is able to remove the entity, which also breaks its bond with Hal Jordan's spirit. Jordan's body is resurrected and his spirit returns to it, and he resumes his role as Green Lantern, after which he and his allies defeat the Parallax entity and it is once again imprisoned in the Central Power Battery on Oa. Coast City is rebuilt and people begin to move back to the city. Troia is revealed to be alive and her friends free her from the control of the Titans of Greek myth, revealing that the Greek Titans were intent on fleeing the universe ahead of some impending cosmic crisis.
The planet Rann is teleported to the Polaris system, causing the orbit of the planet Thanagar to move closer to its star, rendering the planet uninhabitable. Thanagar's leadership declares war on Rann, claiming the act had been deliberate. The war spreads as other stellar powers take sides in the conflict while the Green Lantern Corps and L.E.G.I.O.N. try to maintain order. Eclipso takes Jean Loring as its new host and seduces the hostless Spectre and tricks him into attacking the world's sorcerers in an effort to destroy all magic. Wonder Woman kills Maxwell Lord after he murders Blue Beetle and mind controls Superman into almost killing Batman. Lord's advanced spy satellite, having gained sentience and calling itself Brother Eye, reacts to Lord's death by activating over one million of its cyborg OMAC soldiers across the world to kill all superhumans in revenge, which includes attacking Wonder Woman's home of Themyscira.
INFINITE CRISIS. Alexander Luthor Jr, a survivor of the first Crisis who came from Earth-3, aided by other survivors Superboy of Earth Prime and the Superman of Earth-2 (who is desperate to save his wife, Lois Lane-Kent), has manipulated events in order to restore the multiverse and create a "perfect" Earth. Troia leads a group of heroes into deep space to help stop the Rann-Thanagar conflict, which was caused by Luthor's manipulations as part of his plan. Themyscira is sent to another dimension by the Greek gods to save it from the OMACs. The Spectre destroys Atlantis as well as the Rock of Eternity, releasing the Seven Deadly Enemies that were imprisoned there and apparently killing the Wizard Shazam. To distract Earth's heroes the Secret Society of Super Villains drops the creature Chemo onto Blüdhaven, killing millions and leveling the city. The OMACs are disabled when a large group of heroes lure them to a remote desert and set off a massive EMP and Batman leads a team that takes down Brother Eye. Alexander Luthor's plan is stopped when Superboy sacrifices himself to destroy the machine Luthor was using to recreate the multiverse, leading to the universes collapsing back into one and causing changes to the timeline in the process. The Spectre's rampage is stopped when it is once again bound to a human host. An enraged Superboy Prime attempts to destroy the universe but he is stopped by Superman and the Superman of Earth-2, the latter losing his life in the battle. Alexander Luthor escapes capture but is later murdered by the Joker and the real Lex Luthor.
In the aftermath many of the heroes that went to deep space remain missing, as is the third Flash, who did not return after he and Kid Flash attempted to imprison Superboy Prime in the Speed Force. Kid Flash returned during the later battle with Superboy Prime, having aged several years in the interim, but does not assume the Flash mantle as the Speed Force remains inaccessible. A new Checkmate organization is formed, this one under international supervision. Due to the actions of the Spectre, the Ninth Age of Magic has come to an end and the Tenth Age has begun, which causes much upheaval as the rules of magic change. Knowing that some of their own actions contributed to the severity of the crisis, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman choose to step away for a time.
Year 16
52. The year without Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman.
Lex Luthor regains control of his company and institutes the Everyman Project, which offers to provide superpowers to anyone who is compatible with the developed process. As part of the promotion of the program Luthor establishes a new Infinity, Inc. team made up of Everyman Project subjects. On New Year's Eve Luthor maliciously removes the powers from most of the subjects, leading to many people with flight who were airborne at the time plummeting to their death. Luthor gives Superman-like powers to himself. He is fought by Steel until a means is found to remove the villain's powers, after which he is arrested.
Black Adam has become leader of the nation of Kahndaq. He forms a coalition with the Chinese government and others to present a united superhuman front against the perceived super power imbalance with the United States. Black Adam's militant stance softens when he marries a woman named Adrianna Tomaz, who gains powers as Isis. Black Adam also grants a portion of his own power to Adrianna's brother, Amon, who becomes known as Osiris. The Chinese government plots against Adam, creating a quartet of creatures called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, patterned after the Biblical entities. The Horsemen attack Kahndaq and kill Osiris and Isis before fleeing to the neighboring nation of Bialya. An enraged Black Adam attacks Bialya, destroying the Horsemen but also murdering the nation's military and government before turning his wrath on the civilians and killing the majority of the Bialyan population. Adam is captured when he attacks the Chinese science outpost where the Horsemen were created but he escapes, declaring war on the rest of the world. After attacks on Italy and Egypt, Black Adam turns his attention to China. When their own superhuman defenses prove inadequate, the Chinese government allows American and other global super heroes to intervene. Black Adam is stopped and his powers are stripped from him by Captain Marvel. The media refers to the one-week conflict as World War III.
The sunken Sub Diego is magically restored to San Diego and its denizens are returned to normal. In Batman's absence a new hero calling herself Batwoman begins operating in Gotham City. The Question dies and is replaced by former GCPD detective Renee Montoya, who becomes the new Question. Oliver Queen is elected mayor of Star City. The heroes missing in deep space following Infinite Crisis safely return to Earth. A new multiverse is discovered to have been created in the wake of Infinite Crisis, apparently consisting of 52 separate parallel universes. The 52 universes are overseen by a group of beings who collectively refer to themselves as the Monitors.
Year 17
ONE YEAR LATER. Superman reappears in Metropolis. Batman returns to Gotham City. After being briefly replaced by Troia, Diana returns to the role of Wonder Woman. The now-adult Kid Flash reveals he still has access to the Speed Force and assumes the identity of the Flash, though the general public believes he is just his predecessor returned. It is revealed that secret government agency SHADE has been operating a secret facility in the walled-off section of Blüdhaven, experimenting on members of the public to create metahuman operatives. A group called the Atomic Knights has been working against them to smuggle people out. They find that SHADE has been using a captive Captain Atom as a radiation source for their experiments. Captain Atom is freed and creates a nuclear detonation, reducing the walled section of Blüdhaven to a radioactive crater.
A new Justice League forms with a mix of veteran and new members as well as new headquarters, the orbiting Watchtower satellite as well as the Hall of Justice in Washington, DC. Prof. Ryan Choi becomes the new Atom after receiving Ray Palmer's size-changing belt. Uncle Sam returns and forms a new Freedom Fighters. With Captain Marvel having taken the Wizard's place in the rebuilt Rock of Eternity, Freedy Freeman (the former Captain Marvel Jr.) completes a series of mystical trials to become the new champion of Shazam. Talia al Ghul introduces Batman to their 10 year-old son, Damian. The Rogues kill Bart Allen, the current Flash; as a consequence the Speed Force is restored. During an encounter between the Justice League, the Justice Society, and time traveling members of the Legion of Super-Heroes the third Flash, Wally West, and his family return from the dimension they had been exiled to during Infinite Crisis.
The sorceress Circe resurrects Hippolyta and tricks her into leading the Amazons on an attack against the United States. Washington, DC is heavily damaged before Circe's deception is revealed and Hippolyta ends the attack. Sinestro founds his own Corps of yellow power ring users and launches an all-out assault on the Green Lantern Corps. The American government begins secretly exiling super-villains to an alien planet. The Fourth World ends with the deaths of the New Gods, culminating with a final battle between Darkseid and his son Orion.
FINAL CRISIS. Darkseid and his inner circle of Apokolips New Gods survive by possessing human hosts, moving from body to body as each previous host dies due to the strain of hosting the essence of a New God. Darkseid's servant Libra takes control of the Secret Society of Super-Villains to give his lord an army, and the evil gods take control of the Command D bunker in the ruins of Blüdhaven to use as a base and laboratory to create more soldiers. Darkseid unleashes the Anti-Life Equation on Earth to subject almost all of humanity to his will. With space and time collapsing under Darkseid's power, the last remaining heroes launch a desperate attack on Blüdhaven. Batman, held captive in Command D, escapes and uses one of Darkseid's own weapons to deal the dark god a mortal blow and is struck down by Darkseid's Omega Beams in return. A resurrected second Flash joins with his successor to lead the New God incarnation of death, the Black Racer, to strike down the wounded Darkseid. The fall of the dying Darkseid creates a hole in reality that pulls in Earth and threatens the Multiverse. Superman shatters the last remains of Darkseid's essence, then prevents the collapse of the Multiverse with the help of the Green Lantern Corps and a group of Supermen from other Earths. Superman is then able to use a cobbled together Miracle Machine to undo the damage done by Darkseid and restore the Earth and the Multiverse. Among the heroes who were killed during the crisis are Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Batman. Nightwing takes over the mantle of Batman, with Batman's son, Damien, as his Robin. The previous Robin does not believe that Batman is dead and takes on the identity of Red Robin for his search for evidence.
Year 18
WAR OF THE SUPERMEN. Superman rescues the shrunken Kryptonian city of Kandor from Brainiac and restores it and its inhabitants. Unwelcome on Earth, the Kryptonians use Brainiac's technology to create a planet for themselves, called New Krypton, on the opposite side of the sun from Earth. Paranoid military forces on Earth launch a strike that destroys New Krypton just as an army of Kryptonians, under the command of General Zod, are preparing to attack Earth. Luthor, allied with the military leadership, turns the Sun red to rob the Kryptonians of their powers, leading to more deaths until the Sun is restored by the Kryptonian hero Flamebird. In the 100 Minute War the remaining Kryptonian forces under Zod attack several global capitals and major population centers, killing many including world leaders like the Prime Ministers of Britain and Japan and the French President. The war ends when Superman and his allies send Zod and the last of the Kryptonians to the Phantom Zone, while another group exposes the secret military cabal that destroyed New Krypton. Rather than face trial for potential war crimes in the murder of the Kryptonian civilians with the destruction of their world, the leader of the cabal, General Sam Lane, commits suicide.
A schism splits the Justice League. The villain Prometheus takes advantage to prepare a massive terrorist attack using a myriad of stolen technologies. A series of devices are planted in several cities that are home to super-heroes, and the device in Star City detonates early, destroying a large portion of the city, killing 90,000. The League captures Prometheus but when the heroes are unable to stop the rest of his devices they are forced to release him in exchange for the codes to disarm them. Green Arrow later hunts down Prometheus and executes him for the deaths in Star City. The Justice League effectively disbands in the aftermath, though the new Batman soon forms another League with mostly new members.
BLACKEST NIGHT. Nekron, a death entity, unleashes the Black Lantern Corps, made of the dead animated by Black Lantern power rings. His army of Black Lanterns, many of them reanimated superheroes and villains, target the living heroes. To combat the threat Green Lantern teams with his archenemy Sinestro, who wields the yellow light of fear, and the other champions of the emotional spectrum; Atrocitus and the Red Lanterns of rage, Larfleeze the keeper of the orange light of avarice, the Blue Lanterns who wield hope, the mysterious Indigo tribe, and the Star Sapphires powered by the violet light of love. With Earth's heroes, the various Lantern Corps are able to prevent Nekron from destroying the Entity, the embodiment of life. Several heroes who had previously returned from the dead, including Superman, Green Lantern, and the second Flash, are empowered by White Lantern power rings and are able to destroy Nekron. Afterwards the Entity resurrects a dozen deceased heroes and villains for an unknown purpose.
BRIGHTEST DAY. The resurrected heroes and villains are manipulated by the White Lantern power to protect the Earth from destruction. The plant elemental Swamp Thing had been corrupted by Nekron before his defeat, becoming a Dark Avatar that now attempted to destroy all life on the planet. The resurrected Firestorm, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and Hawkman and Hawkgirl are transformed into new Elementals of Fire, Earth, Water and Air respectively in order to combat the Dark Avatar, while the others are involved in assisting in the transformation of the deceased Alec Holland, whose mind had been the template for the previous Swamp Thing, into a new Swamp Thing. The Elementals and the new Swamp Thing battle the Dark Avatar in the ruined section of Star City, which the Entity had transformed into a large, star-shaped forest. The Dark Avatar is defeated and the new Swamp Thing undoes all the damage it had done to the planet.
Batman is revealed to be alive, having been sent backwards in time by Darkseid's Omega Beams at the end of the Final Crisis. He fights his way back to the present and defeats the trap Darkseid had left behind, before reuniting with his successor to help save Gotham City from Doctor Hurt. Bruce Wayne reveals himself as Batman's financial backer and declares the creation of Batman Incorporated, an initiative to effectively "franchise" the Batman. A global network of operatives, many also taking on the Batman name, were recruited to help combat crime across the world. Batman, Inc. would face off against global terrorist organization Leviathan.
Maxwell Lord, resurrected during Brightest Day, uses his powers to make the world forget him. A handful of former members of the Justice League escape the effect and hunt down Lord, forcing him to restore the world's memory of him. Having used his temporary anonymity to completely discredit Checkmate, Lord takes over the remnants and declares his intent to use the organization to police the world's superhumans. The Justice Society relocates their headquarters to the city of Monument Point, where the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, is appointed mayor after the death of the current mayor. When a powerful being, imprisoned in an ancient temple hidden below Monument Point, is accidentally released by the Justice Society. It takes the sacrifice of the Golden Age Green Lantern, unleashing the full power of the Starheart, to stop the being from destroying the Earth.
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