Cover of the book with the caption "When Evil Wins..."
This is the 520 page one-shot event that leads into the restructuring of the DCU by Dr. Nygma.
Characters[]
Heroes[]
- Batman/Bruce Wayne
- Superman/Kal-El
- Wonder Woman/Diana
- Barry Allen/Flash
- Hal Jordan
- Green Lantern/Kyle Rayner
- Aquaman/Orin
- J'onn J'onnz
- Green Arrow/Oliver Queen
- Hawkman/Carter Hall
- Black Canary/Dinah Lance
- Doctor Fate/Kent Nelson
- Booster Gold/Michael Jon Carter
- more to come
Villains[]
The Society[]
- Bane
- Ra's al Ghul
- Despero
- Brainiac
- Zatanna (mind controlled)
- Black Adam
- Vandal Savage
- Deathstroke
- Eiling
- Grodd
- Faust
- Manchester Black
- Sinestro
Society Partne[]
Summary[]
Brainiac brings together a group of villains, all of whom possess the knowledge of the secret identities of at least one hero. Together, they kill off the families of these heroes and the heroes themselves. Batman, Wonder Woman, Doc Fate, and Booster Gold form a plan to save the world.
Plot[]
Brainiac sends a holographic projection of himself to several villains asking that if they know the secret IDs of at least one hero, to meet him on his ship. Those who respond are: Bane, Ra's, Vandal Savage, Despero, Black Adam, Deathstroke, Eiling, Manchester Black, Faust, Sinestro, and Grodd.
First, Black Adam and Faust go to San Francisco to kidnap Zatanna. As she enters her house, Adam flies through the door and pins her to the wall. He gags her and shouts "Shazam!" which returns him to mortal form and incapacitates Zatanna. He shouts it again, giving him back his powers and hurting her even more. Faust then uses a spell to place her under their thrall. They then fly back to Brainiac's ship.
Later, Batman investigates the crime scene. He finds some evidence, but as he prepares to leave he sees Ra's al Ghul standing in the doorway. It starts off with Batman about to walk out of Zatanna's house when he sees a silhouette and a familiar voice saying "Hello, Detective." They then proceed to fight. At one pont, Batman is about to throw a batarang at Ra's, but Bane comes up behind him and suffocates Batman. The batarang drops out of Batman's hand and hits Bane's venom supply. It leaks open and he lets go of Batman. They proceed to have a hand to hand combat match while Ra's has disappeared. Bane is about to pin Batman but Batman tricks Bane into ramming into a fuse which hits his Venom tube and electrocutes him. Batman leaves and afterwards, Bane is teleported back by Brainiac.
The next day, Superman is fighting Metallo when he sees Lois being pulled up into a green ship. He crushes Metallo's skull and goes after Lois. Inside the ship (the interior looks like space), Lois is sealed in a suspended animation chamber with Manchester Black watching over her. Kryptonite is radiating from everywhere, weakening Superman. Manchester savagely beats Superman with a stick before stepping back. He says to Superman "Take this kryptonite sword and kill yourself. Or don't. I don't really care because I'm not here." He is revealed to be a hologram which then disappears.
Superman sees a bomb that will cause the ship to explode in 5 minutes and 20 seconds. He eventually gets Lois out of her pod and escapes the ship, but he and Lois are severely burned. Lois dies at the hospital and Superman's powers disappear for an unconfirmed amount of time, leaving him a normal human.
Meanwhile, Hal Jordan is entering a bar when he sees on TV that Ferris Air was destroyed and Carol and Tom K. were killed. He walks outside of the bar and starts crying. Suddenly, Deathstroke appears and attacks Hal. They have a battle, with Deathstroke clearly having the upper hand. However, Hal finds a gun and shoots at Deathstroke's empty eye socket. He is momentarily stunned, but he throws his sword at Jordan