TIMES OF CRISIS
These are the major events that have shaped the modern age of the DC Universe and had an effect on the various DC Heroes campaigns.
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS
The Monitor and his opposite number from the Anti-Matter Universe were born billions of years ago out of a cataclysm that shook the cosmos. Immediately doing battle with each other, after millions of years of conflict the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor were thrown into a deep slumber after a massive simultaneous strike. Closer to the present era, a scientist on a distant world accidentally opened a portal to the Anti-Matter Universe, destroying his home dimension and in the process awakening the Anti-Monitor. Discovering that the destruction of positive matter universes increased his own power, the Anti-Monitor began a campaign to wipe out all reality leaving himself and the Anti-Matter Universe supreme.
The Monitor was also awakened, and sensing his "brother"'s intentions began a plan of his own to prevent the destruction of all there was. Believing that Earth would be the last line of defense due to its legendary super heroes, the Monitor began recruiting defenders from many different eras and versions of that world. As universe after universe fell to the Anti-Monitor, the Monitor sacrificed himself to save and protect the last five surviving Earths and their universes.
The heroes of these worlds banded together and faced the Anti-Monitor at the dawn of time, when he attempted to wipe out reality before it was born. This action reshaped reshaped reality, creating a New Earth that combined elements of the five surviving universes. Back in the present the Anti-Monitor made one last strike against this New Earth, seeking revenge for its heroes' actions. Earth was transported to the Anti-Matter Universe where the Anti-Monitor dispatched his Shadow Demons to kill every living thing on the planet. Once again the heroes of Earth rallied and were able to destroy the Anti-Monitor and his forces and return the Earth to its proper place.
No other crisis to date has had the drastic effect of the first. The Multiverse was no more (though other forms of alternate realities still exist) and the universe that remained had been reshaped. Many heroes sacrificed their lives defending Earth during the Crisis, including the first Dove (Don Hall), Kole of the New Teen Titans, Olympiad of the Centurions, and the second Flash (Barry Allen).
LEGENDS
Darkseid, lord of Apokalips sought to destroy Earth's super heroes by destroying humanity's faith in them. With master manipulator Glorious Godfrey in the lead, Darkseid's forces began the push to turn the people against their heroes. Thanks to Godfrey's power to manipulate emotions many people began to turn on the heroes, even blaming them for disasters and in some cases enraged mobs began attacking heroes. To deal with the increasing tensions the President of the United States issued a ban on super heroes.
As the situation worsened, Darkseid sent more forces in the form of the robotic Warhounds to back up Godfrey. As maddened mobs spread across the country and started to threaten the government a small group of heroes were assembled by Doctor Fate. These heroes confronted Godfrey and his mob in Washigton DC and were helped by a crowd of children, who still had faith in the super heroes. When Godfrey assaulted one of the children his hold on the mob was broken. Desperate he turned the Warhounds loose, but the heroes were able to stop them and save the people, earning back their trust. Godfrey fell when he attempted to don Doctor Fate's Helm of Nabu, which had been knocked off the hero. Godfrey was unprepared and was knocked unconscious by the Helm's power. Defeated, Darkseid withdrew his forces from Earth.
The crisis led to the birth of new groups like the Justice League International and the Suicide Squad, but also saw the end of some hero teams like the Centurions and the Unknowns.
MILLENNIUM
The Guardian of the Universe Herupa Hando Hu and the Zamoran Nadia Safir came to Earth to help usher in a new race of immortals that was predicted to evolve from humanity. They selected a small group of humans, whom they referred to as "Chosen Ones", they would prepare and would impart their own power and immortal life eneries to. Opposed to the immortals' plans are the age-old enemies of the Guardians - the Manhunter Cult. To help protect the Chosen Ones from the Manhunters, the two immortals turn to Earth's Green Lanterns and the Lanterns' allies in the ranks of Earth's super heroes.
The Manunters were androids originally built by the Guardians as intergalactic law enforcement officers, but the androids grew corrupt and turned on their creators. This led the Guardians of the Universe to create the Green Lantern Corps in their place, relying on living agents rather than androids. The Manhunters retreated, but continued to operate in secret, following their directive that had been corrupted from hunting down evil to hunting sentients for the sake of the hunt itself, following the credo "No Man Escapes the Manhunters!". Over time the Manhunters began recruiting living beings into their cult.
The Manhunter Cult had operated in secret on Earth for centuries, embedding covert agents everywhere. Thanks to their acquisition of a store of data containing the secrets of many of Earth's heroes the Manhunters had also place agents close to many of Earth's superhuman champions. These agents were activated to try and turn the heroes to the Manhunter cause or at least deter or prevent the heroes from opposing the Manhunters. The Manhunter agents were able to kill some of the Chosen Ones, but in the end Earth's heroes were able to stop the evil androids. The secret Manhunter homeworld of Orinda was destroyed, and the Earth-based Manhunter Cult was shattered.
With the Manhunters thwarted, Herupa and Nadia were able to complete their mission. The surviving Chosen Ones were transformed and given powers, though the effort cost the two immortals their lives (a price they knew they would need to pay). The Chosen Ones operated for a time as a group called the New Guardians, but over time went their separate ways. One of the Chosen Ones, Gloss, is now a member of China Force.
The Millennium crisis was not the final end of the Manhunters. Former Manhunter agent Mark Shaw adopted the Manhunter name as a hero, and served as an inspiration for the later hero to use the Manhunter name. The legacy of the Manhunter cult lived on in figures like the Annihilator and the Grandmaster.
INVASION!
The Invasion was an attack on Earth by an alliance of alien races. The invasion was initiated by the Dominators, a race of beings with a strong caste society who use science as a meand of dominating other species they consider beneath them. Dominator scientists felt that Earth was a growing threat due to the size and diversity of the planet's superhuman population. Convincing the warlike Khunds to join forces with them, the Dominators proposed an alliance of many worlds to deal with the perceived threat.
Other races that joined the Alliance were the Citadel, the Okaaran Warlords, and the Psions from the Vegan system; as well as the shapeshifting Durlans, the Hawkmen of Thanagar, and the Gil'Dishpan. The Daxamites joined solely as observers, and many other planets were pressured into signing on to prevent them from possibly allying with or warning Earth, though these worlds did not contribute any military forces to the invasion. To further isolate Earth any potential allies, like former members of the then-disbanded Green Lantern Corps and space-faring groups like the Omega Men, were killed or were captured and imprisoned in the Alliance's Starlag prison.
The initial attack established a beachhead in Australia, which was quickly occupied by Alliance forces (primarily the Khunds), while attacks also began in other regions across the globe. Once Australia was secure the Aliiance broadcast its demands that the planet hand over all the superhumans, demands that the United Nations rejected. The heroes rallied and began an assault on the invaders that put the Alliance on the defensive. At a crucial moment the Daxamites, who had gained powers like Superman's due to exposure to Earth's yellow Sun, switched sides to Earth. With an army of Supermen against them, the Alliance crumbled and those members that did not outright surrender were driven off.
Earth's victory celebrations were cut short when a low caste Dominator researcher nearly wiped out the planet's heroes. The Dominator had discovered the heretofore unknown Metagene, a genetic factor present in humans that allows for the development of superpowers under the right conditions. Not realizing his higher caste masters had intended to enslave Earth's superhumans to serve the Dominators, the researcher on his initiative created and then deployed a weapon dubbed the Gene Bomb. The bomb unleashed a plague across Earth that sickened and would eventually kill anyone with the Metagene. As many of Earth's heroes lay dying, a team of heroes who were unaffected (aliens like Superman and Martian Manhunter, robotic heroes like Cliff Steele, and those whose bodies had been transformed to the point they could no longer be infected by the bomb) went on a secret mission to the Dominator homeworld with the help of the Omega Men. There the Martian Manhunter was able to use his telepathy to read the mind of the researcher (who had been imprisoned for unwittingly thwarting the plans of the higher castes). With the knowledge gained the heroes were able to develop an antidote and save Earth's heroes.
The discovery of the existence of the Metagene in humans opened a new chapter in the understanding of super powers, and led to the widespread use of the term Metahuman to refer to individuals with such powers. In the greater cosmos, the void left by the dissolution of the Green Lantern Corps leads Coluan Vril Dox to create the Licensed Extra-Governmental Interstellar Operatives Network (L.E.G.I.O.N.), an intergalactic police force to help keep order across the galaxy, even on Earth where the currently assigned officer is Guardienne.
JANUS DIRECTIVE
The Janus Directive was a disinformation campaign launched by the international terrorist Kobra against the American intelligence community to distract them while he initiated his latest plan to wipe out most of humanity so he could repopulate the globe with his followers and be like a god. The Directive led the leaders of several intelligence agencies to believe the other agencies were conspiring against them, setting up a conflict.
Amanda Waller, leader of Task Force X (that included Checkmate and the Suicice Squad) struck first, sending her teams against other superhuman intelligence groups including Project Atom and the Force of July. This turned into a massive inter-agency conflict with deals and betrayals on all sides before Kobra's role was finally revealed. The agencies were able to work together to stop Kobra from using a satellite-based orbital weapon from wiping out humanity, destroying the satellite and capturing Kobra himself.
In the aftermath, the President completely restructured the American superhuman intelligence community. The Department of Metahuman Affairs was created as an oversight organization under the leadership of Sarge Steel. Unknown at the time was that the enigmatic being known as Omega also had a hand in the creation of the Department of Metahuman Affairs, also known as the Department of Metahuman Resources. This was part of his manipulation of numerous world governments to create top-level agencies to manage and control each nation's superhuman assets, which in turn fed into Omega's self-appointed role to protect Earth from all threats, external and internal.
Several operatives were killed during the Janus Directive, including most of the Force of July, which was replaced by the Ameriforce. The hero Paladin was serving as a Checkmate Knight during the Janus Directive and was nearly killed in one of the inter-agency attacks. The event traumatized him for several years afterward.
WAR OF THE GODS
The witch Circe seeks to destroy the world, and in the process she awaken smany pantheons of Earth's gods. These gods are compelled to go to war against each other, pantheon versus pantheon, and the whole planet is caught up in the carnage. Led by Wonder Woman, Earth's heroes attempt to stop the fighting, or at least keep innocents from being harmed.
The conflicts end when the gods of war from the various pantheons join forces, realizing they had been manipulated by Circe, and convince the other gods to stop the fighting. Circe is finally defeated by Wonder Woman and Troia, and she is stripped of her power by the Titan Cronus.
The impact of the War of the Gods was felt across the globe, especially among those mystic heroes with connections to various deities. The coins once used by the hero Captain Action regained their long-lost power and are now used by his grandson as Pantheon.
DEATH AND RETURN OF SUPERMAN
The unstoppable alien killing machine christened Doomsday had been buried on Earth for an unknown amount of time before it awakened and emerged from its earthen tomb. Cutting a swath of destruction across the United States, the Justice League and other heroes are helpless to stop it. Finally, in a dramatic confrontation that threatens to level Metropolis, Superman is able to fell the creature, but at the cost of his own life.
The world mourns the loss of the Man of Steel, but shortly after four mysterious heroes emerge claiming the mantle of Superman. They are dubbed the Cyborg Superman, the Last Son of Krypton, the Man of Steel, and Superboy. The Man of Steel was John Henry Irons, a genius engineer who was inspired to build a futuristic suit of armor and become a hero in the image of Superman. The other three all claimed to be an incarnation of Superman himself. Superboy was a clone of Superman, but not fully as it turned out some of his DNA was human; the Last Son of Krypton was revealed to be the Kryptonian artifact known as the Eradicator that had assumed Superman's form; and the Cyborg was in reality Hank Henshaw, a former astronaut who had been transformed into a disembodied form that could inhabit machinery who also had a hatred of Superman whom he blamed for his state and for the death of the woman he loved. Henshaw had inhabited the Kryptonian Birthing Matrix that had brought Superman to Earth as an infant and had used it to build his Cyborg Superman body.
The Cyborg eventually revealed his true intentions and joined forces with the alien conqueror Mongul. The pair destroyed Green Lantern's home of Coast City and set about trying to turn the Earth into a new Warworld. Only the return of the real Superman, who had been resurrected when the Eradicator placed his body in a Kryptonian Regeneration Matrix in the Fortress of Solitude, could stop the pair. The world mourned the deaths of millions in Coast City, but celebrated the return of the one and only Man of Tomorrow.
Superman's sacrifice would inspire many to take up his fight for truth and justice, including many of the founding members of the original Enforcers of Justice, especially Jonathan Law Jr. who would finally embrace his family legacy and take up the mantle of the Tarantula.
ZERO HOUR
At the beginning and end of time, entropy fissures open up sending waves of entropy forward and backward through time erasing existence as they pass. Cosmic entities like Metron of the New Gods, and temporal observers like Waverider and the Linear Men, were the first to notice the crisis. In the present, the first clues were the appearances of people, including heroes, from alternate timelines in the mainstream timeline. As the crisis worsened, people from the far future or distant past, like Vandal Savage, began to vanish from existence. In the 64th Century, the Flash disappeared while trying to close an entropy fissure. Back in the present, Metron assembled many of Earth's heroes to try and deal with the coming crisis.
Initially, it was believed that the time travelling villain Extant was responsible for the crisis, something even Extant himself thought at the time. Taking advantage of the chaos in time, Extant began an assault on Vanishing Point, the headquarters of the Linear Men located outside of the timestream. Several heroes decided to take the fight to Extant, and the venerable Justice Society are transported there by Doctor Fate, but at the Vanishing Point the heroes fell in battle with Extant. The members of the Justice Society, whose aging had been slowed due to exposure to exotic energy decades earlier, found themselves rapidly aged to extreme old age. Both Atom (Al Pratt) and Hourman (Rex Tyler) died, while the others were left weak and frail.
As the entropy wave closed in many future and past eras began to manifest and blend with the present day. Dinosaurs started to appear alongside futuristic cities, and alternate timelines continued to merge. Teams were dispatched and after battling Extant and his servants, the alternate future Team Titans, the heroes were apparently able to close the rifts and stop the entropy wave from wiping out the rest of time. The victory was only a pause, however, as it was soon learned that the true threat was not Extant.
New entropy fissures opened and the entropy wave began to again consume all of time. More heroes from future times, like Impulse and Booster Gold, vanished from existence. A puzzled Extant was removed by the true perpetrator - Parallax. Formerly the heroic Green Lantern, Hal Jordan had taken all the power of the Green Lanterns and transformed himself into the entity known as Parallax. Driven mad by grief and guilt after the destruction of his home Coast City, Parallax now attempted to use his acquired power to rewrite reality in order to "fix" everything that had gone wrong.
As the entropy wave erased the last of existence only a handful of heroes remained, a small group Parallax had kept with him and a group who had escaped to the Vanishing Point thanks to Waverider. The heroes from Vanishing Point confront Parallax in a desperate attempt to stop him from creating his own universe. Weakened by the constant assaults, Parallax is finally felled by his former friend Green Arrow. The universe had still been erased, so the remaining heroes concentrated the energies left by Parallax's attempt and their own powers into the hero Damage, and with an additional push by the Spectre a new Big Bang is initiated to restart the universe.
With the universe restarted, time begins again. Heroes who had appeared from alternate timelines disappeared, while events unfolded once more. Time had been restored, and those who had been lost to entropy fissures were also back, but the new timeline had differences from what had come before. Like the Crisis on Infinite Earths before it, this Crisis in Time had changed reality and the changes to history impacted many heroes like Hawkman, who's own timeline had been fractured and was now a combined version of several incarnations; and Batman, who had now gone from public figure to shadowy urban legend in the minds of the people of Gotham City. Some new heroes emerged from the Crisis, including Fox Spirit; and the Manhunter found himself based in Pacific City, a place that did not exist prior to the changes in the timeline.
Future eras also changed, as the future of the Team Titans was wiped out, and the Legion of Super-Heroes were changed completely, their previous history erased and a new one started.
UNDERWORLD UNLEASHED
The demon Neron, a collector of souls, makes a play for more power using Earth's villains and heroes. After tempting the Flash's enemy Abra Kadabra with true magic, Kadabra in turn tricks several of Flash's Rogues Gallery (Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master (II), and Weather Wizard) into sacrificing themselves. This act grants Neron passage to the Earth realm so he can move on with the next phase of his plan.
Neron immediately begins spreading fear, chaos and hate. By tempting members of the staff and guards at different prisons, Neron sets into motion a series of events that leads to riots and breakouts that frees many super villains. He follow this up with offers of power in the form of black candles that, when lit, transport the villains to Neron's palace in Hell. Neron has already formed an inner council made up of Kadabra, the witch Circe, Doctor Polaris, Lex Luthor, and Joker; each having been given power (Kadabra and Circe), healing (removing Polaris' split personality and giving Luthor a young, healthy body), or (in the case of the Joker) a box of really nice cigars. With these powerful villains already by his side, Neron is easily able to convince many of the other assembled criminals to accept his offer. Those that decline are sent back, the two dozen or so that accept are transformed, with new or increased powers or other enhancements, whatever their heart's desire. James Jesse, the Trickster, has managed to trick his way in by stealing the candle of another villain, but neither accepts nor declines Neron's offer and instead just hangs around to observe.
On Earth, Neron begins to ply heroes with offers of resurrecting loved ones and other temptations. Most reject the offer, some even try and attack the demon, but a handful accept and make a deal. In Hell the five members of the Inner Circle come up with a plan to steal the soul power that Neron is collecting, only to discover that it was a ruse by Luthor and Joker to remove the three others by trapping them in Neron's "Soul Jar" (the whole idea of trying to steal Neron's power being a ploy by suggested the Trickster in the first place).
Earth's heroes have to contend with the newly-enhanced villains, and the other chaos spreading due to Neron's influance, but soon realize that the demon is the source. They also (wrongly) construe the absence of Superman to indicate that Neron has taken the Man of Steel prisoner. The heroes decide to head to Hell to confront Neron and free Superman, and are able to transport there with the help of Blue Devil, one of the heroes who accepted Neron's deal and still possesses the black candle. Storming Hell the heroes battle demons as well as the effects of their surroundings, which threatens to sap their sense of hope and cause them to plunge into despair and give up the fight. In the end they reach Neron and engage him in battle.
This was all part of Neron's plan, though, as he turns the heroes against each other, specifically against Captain Marvel. As the most innocent of the heroes, Captain Marvel's soul is irresistable to the demon and Neron hopes to crush it. On Earth the remaining heroes are fighting a losing battle as Neron's influence spreads and the planet heads towards apocalypse. Sussing out Neron's gambit, Trickster confides in Captain Marvel who offers his soul to Neron freely in exchange for the release of the heroes and Earth. Unable to resist the deal Neron takes the bait, but because he did not yet corrupt Marvel's soul the altruistic nature of the deal makes the soul poison to the demon. Beaten, Neron must retreat to the lower depths of Hell and all those under his effect are released.
Though Neron is defeated, the villains whose powers were changed and augmented retain those enhanced abilities, making them an even greater threat than before.
BATTLEGROUND: NYC
The extra-dimensional conqueror Overlord attempts to invade Earth through a beachhead in New York City.
FINAL NIGHT
A space-borne creature called a Sun Eater arrives in the Solar System to devour the Sun. Warned by an alien named Dusk, who has traveled from system to system ahead of the Sun Eater to deliver her message time and again, Earth's heroes make a desperate attempt to divert the creature. The heroes fail and the Sun Eater envelops the Sun and begins to consume it, plunging the Earth into total darkness.
The heroes spread out the keep panic from getting out of hand while Brainiac Five of the Legion of Super-Heroes (who were temporarily stranded in the present) works with Lex Luthor on contingencies. Continuing to study the phenomenon in the hopes of find a solution, Brainiac Five instead discovers that while the Sun Eater is draining the energy from the Sun it is not draining the mass, meaning the Sun will soon collapse and explode in a Hyper Nova, which will wipe out all life in the Solar System even if a means to survive without the light and heat of the Sun is found.
In desperation Luthor and Brainiac Five develop force field devices they intend to deploy around the Sun to contain the blast. The new hero Ferro (who later becomes one of the Seven Thunders) pilots the spacecraft to disperse the force field generators, what is sure to be a suicide mission. Ferro was willing to sacrifice himself in the place of Superman, whose powers had faded without the Sun's energy and who originally intended to fly the mission. The mission is too late, however, as the Hyper Nova starts before the force field generators can be deployed. Ferro is saved by the arrival of Parallax, formerly the Green Lantern Hal Jordan and who had taken the power of the Guardians of the Universe in an attempt to remake the universe to undo what he saw as his and others' failures.
Jordan uses his powers to stop the Sun Eater and rekindle the Sun, while at the same time restoring the damage done to the Earth. The effort is successful and the Sun and Earth are restored, though the act costs Jordan all of his power and ultimately his life.
Some villains who thrived on darkness sought to take advantage of the absence of the Sun during the Final Night. One of these was Ian Karkull, an old foe of the Justice Society. Karkull's scheme was defeated by Justice Inc. and the team were also able to free the hero Shadow Walker who had been Karkull's prisoner.
REVELATIONS
Evil and cosmic forces threaten to bring the End of the World.
GENESIS
At the end of the Second World, with the destruction of the Godworld, a great wave of power was sent out across the Universe. As this Godwave passed over world after world it would often bestow power on the denizens of those worlds. When the Godwave would reach the edge of the universe it would be reflected back and once again pass over many worlds. On Earth once such passage gave birth to powerful entities who would become known as gods to the people of that world. Millennia later another passage of the Godwave would lay the foundation for the rise of super powered individuals on Earth. Now the Godwave had passed into the Source, beyond the edge of the Universe, and was compressing before it would rebound once more, this time with enough power to scour the Universe clean while sowing the seeds for new life and new gods to arise.
The presence of the Godwave in the Source sends out ripples across the Universe, affecting all those touched by its previous passing. On Earth and across the Cosmos, many of those with powers find those powers unreliable, fluctuating out of control or even changing outright. Even normal people are affected, the ripple causing effects that are best described as a loss of faith or of nerve. Worse, the villainous Darkseid intends on intercepting the Godwave to harness its power for himself.
Gathered by Highfather of New Genesis, a group of heroes heads to the Source Wall to try and stop Darkseid. The heroes enter the Source itself, only to discover that the war god Ares has already intercepted the Godwave. The Source Wall cracks and the Source is apparently destroyed, but two surviving Old Gods of the Second World move to confront Ares. Buoyed by the Earth heroes, who use their powers to help focus the hopes and faith of all living beings in the Universe into the Old Gods, Ares' plan is thwarted and the Source is restored with the Source Wall intact.
The threat to the Universe is ended, but the recent effects of the Godwave and the near-destruction of the Source remain. Among the heroes whose powers were changed by the Godwave were Flashback and Torch. It was also during the events of Genesis that Darkseid reclaimed a part of his soul from the hero Elemental and destroyed the alternate Earth known as the Megaverse.
ONE MILLION
The Justice Legion A, heroes of the Solar System from the 853rd Century arrive in the present to invite the Justice League to travel to their era to celebrate the return of the original Superman, who has been living in his Solar Fortress of Solitude in the heart of the Sun for centuries. The Justice Legion promise to keep an eye on the present while the Justice League travels to the future, so the League agrees to go. Immediately after the Justice League is sent to the future, however, the Justice Legion's Hourman unwittingly unleashes the "Hourman Virus" part of a millennia-long plot from the 853rd Century by the Tyrant Sun, Solaris, and the immortal Vandal Savage.
As the Hourman Virus spreads it creates havok in both machines and in living beings. Computers behave erratically or fail and people begin to go insane. In the midst of this the present day Vandal Savage is threatening the world with weapons of mass destruction - suits of nuclear-powered Rocket Red armor that he has turned into missiles. And as an extra touch to hurt the world's heroes he has placed captured members of the Titans in the armor. The first suit is sent to destroy Washington DC, but the Hourman Virus affects its guidance and instead it strikes the city of Montevideo in South America, killing over a million people and destroying the city. Thinking the interference with the missile was deliberate, and affected by the Hourman Virus, Savage declares war against the world and launches several devastating attacks.
Meanwhile the Justice Legion A try to find a way to stop the virus and realize they must build Solaris, creating their enemy in the present as he intended - the virus is programmed to seek out Solaris, so creating the Tyrant Sun will draw the virus out of its victims. Vandal Savage's attacks across Earth are thwarted, and the villain is stopped by the Martian Manhunter and the Titans, who had escaped the Rocket Red suits before they were detonated. When the construction of the Solaris husk is complete it draws the virus to itself, giving birth to the Tyrant Sun. The 853rd Century Starman sacrifices his life to prevent the newborn Solaris from destroying Earth, sending it across the Universe where it will take centuries before it can threaten the planet again. With the virus gone the Justice Legion A are able to return to the 853rd Century to help the Justice League thwart Solaris and Vandal Savage's plan to assassinate the original Superman when he emerges from the Sun. Solaris is destroyed in the 853rd Century, and the Justice League are then returned to the present. As for the 853rd Century Vandal Savage, his effort to escape is hijacked by time traveler Chronos. who diverts the future Savage's teleport through time and drops the villain in Montevideo seconds before Savage's Rocket Red missile struck.
The Justice Legion A were not the only heroes from the 853rd Century to visit the present at that time. The Enforcers of Justice received a visit from Knight 2146, a member of Justice Legion K - The Paladin Corps. He had come back to meet ArcAngel who, alongside Paladin would apparently inspire the creation of the JL-K. Knight 2146 is mortally wounded in an attack on the Enforcers by Death Spider shortly after the danger of the Hourman Virus becomes apparent. Dying, he gives his advanced space-cycle, the Steed over to Renegade, and gives his A.I. computer Progeny to ArcAngel. The Hourman Virus threatened Earth's computer systems as much as it did the physical world, and the techno-voodoo Loa that gave Mystère her powers were in danger. With the assistance of the legendary Hacker and the three teenage technophiles of Quantum, Mystère is able to design an advanced virtual reality system that lets the Enforcers directly confront the Hourman Virus in Cyberspace. Together with the Loa, Death Spider, OMEGA, and several other cyber-entities; the Enforcers were able to prevent the virus from destroying Earth's computer networks.
DAY OF JUDGMENT
The Spectre has been without a host since the spirit of its previous host, Jim Corrigan, found peace and moved on. The Demon Etrigan manipulated the Spectre Force so that it was bonded with the rogue angel Asmodel, who had been condemed to Hell for attempting to overthrow Heaven. Asmodel, now possessing the power of the Spectre, froze Hell and unleashed all the demons and damned souls onto the Earth.
Emerging in New York, Asmodel begins to lay waste to the city as the demons and the damned spread out and cause chaos. Earth's heroes rally and try to contain the threat, but Asmodel is too powerful. To deal with the rogue Spectre and the demons the heroes split into four groups. One group stays to continuing holding off the demons, a second group heads to space to retrieve the Spear of Destiny (the one weapon that the Spectre fears), a third goes to Heaven to try and convince the spirit of Jim Corrigan to once again bond with the Spectre, and a fourth travels to Hell to relight the fires and call the demons back.
The Spear of Destiny is retrieved and brought back, and the fires of Hell are relit thanks to the sorceror Faust sacrificing his soul by murdering the villain called the Enchantress. In Heaven, Jim Corrigan remains at peace and refuses to bond with the Spectre again, so led by the angel and Justice League member Zauriel the group heads to limbo where they instead recruit the soul of Hal Jordan, the former hero Green Lantern who as Parallax had caused the Zero Hour crisis, to be the new host of the Spectre.
The returning heroes, including Hal Jordan, confront Asmodel but are still unable to defeat the power of the Spectre. Using the Spear of Destiny, Captain Marvel manages to injure the Spectre, exposing the Spectre Force. The demon Neron reveals that he has traveled to Earth by possessing Superman (who was part of the team that went into Hell). Neron attempts to usurp the Spectre force from Asmodel, but he and Hal Jordan are instead pulled inside where they and Asmodel must each make their case for the power of the Spectre. In the end it is Jordan's guilt that persuades the Spectre to choose him. Asmodel and Neron are ejected and Hal Jordan becomes the new Spectre.
The last of the demons are defeated and sent back to Hell along with the damned souls that had escaped. Asmodel was imprisoned in Heaven, while Neron faced punishment in Hell for his transgressions - being reduced to the rank of Rhyming Demon, which had been the outcome that Etrigan had been aiming for when the demon instigated the whole series of events.
Death Spider was one of the souls to escape from Hell during the events surrounding Day of Judgment, but he was destroyed by the Spectre shortly after Hal Jordan became the host for the Spirit of Vengeance.
JLA: WORLD WAR III
A weapon of the Old Gods, the Warbringer Mageddon, escapes from its chains and heads across the cosmos towards Earth. Mageddon's arrival has been heralded; legends from some ancient cultures seem to prophecy it, and the New Gods of New Genesis are also aware of its coming. Some sensitives, including ArcAngel begin to have prophetic visions as well. As Mageddon draws closer to Earth, it sparks aggressive feelings which grow stronger and stronger and wars begin to break out across the globe. The Justice League calls on Earth's heroes to help contain the conflicts.
To prepare for its arrival, Mageddon has brought a handful of individuals under its control to serve as its agents, including Lex Luthor who sends the Injustice League to distract the Justice League. The Enforcers of Justice encounter another of these agents in Central America when they are sent to monitor escalating hostilities between two neighboring Central American nations. Under the manipluation of the agent the Enforcers are drawn into a conflict with the The Ameriforce, but soon uncover the Mageddon agent. With the crisis in Central America stabilized, the Enforcers are then able to join with the Justice League and other heroes from around the planet to combat Mageddon
In the end the Justice League, with the help of the New Gods, Amazon technology, and the surviving member of a group of cosmic super beings that had tried to keep Mageddon contained, are able to temporarily grant all of humanity super powers. With the entire empowered population of the planet on their side the League is able to stop Mageddon in its tracks. Faced with defeat, the Warbringer attempts to invoke a doomsday self-destruct, but is stopped by the sacrifice of the hero Aztek and the threat of Mageddon is ended forever.
OUR WORLDS AT WAR
The cosmic entity known as Imperiex is attempting to destroy what it sees as an imperfect universe in order to replace it with a perfect one. Imperiex has been destroying galaxies, a process it refers to as "hollowing", but has now set its sights on Earth. It believes Earth is the key to destroying the universe as the planet was the crux of the Crisis on Infinite Earths. An unlikely alliance of aliens joins with Earth to try and prevent the destruction of the universe, while another enemy waits in the wings seeking to take advantage of the situation.
Events are heralded by the apparent disappearance and then reappearance of the planet Pluto. Superman flies out to the edge of the Solar System to investigate, but he not the only one. Whatever is happening with Pluto is having an effect in Cyberspace, which is sensed by Mystère of the Enforcers of Justice. The team decides to send Surge, whose energy form can travel at the speed of light, to scout out the region of space near Pluto where Mystère thinks the intruder is. He meets with Superman en route and they arrive at where the planet Pluto should be only to find that it has been transformed into a massive battle-planet that Superman recognizes as a Warworld. The two heroes come under attack and retaliate in kind. Together they are able to destroy the Warworld, or so they think. In reality the Warworld's master, Brainiac 13, has faked its destruction and cloaked it from further detection.
Days later a fleet of alien ships arrives in orbit around Earth. But the aliens have not come to invade, they are refugees fleeing Imperiex, who is fast approaching Earth. The aliens have chosen to ally themselves with Earth to make a last stand. When the dark world of Apokalips appears in the sky as a new moon of the planet, Earth's heroes are convinced it is the coming threat. The real threat is not yet arrived, though, and it is so powerful that even Darkseid himself has need of allies to fight it. A surprised planet learns of the unusual alliance from its instigator, U.S. President Lex Luthor.
The real threat which soon reveals itself to the world. In a matter of seconds the planet is under siege, and ground zero is the city of Topeka, Kansas. The Earth is under attack by the Imperiex and it has sent its probes, artificial constructs of awesome power, to destroy the planet, which will serve to start a chain reaction that Imperiex will use to collapse the entire galaxy. The first probe was responsible for the destruction of Topeka, but dozens or perhaps hundreds more appear around the world. Conventional armed forces are completely outmatched, leaving it up to Earth's heroes and their alien allies to save the planet.
The Enforcers of Justice fight a continuous battle against the Imperiex Probes that have landed in the western United States. Succeeding in fending of these attackers the Enforcers are then sent by the government to help defend Australia against more Imperiex Probes, where they are teamed with the Australian heroes Captain Danger and his sidekick Danger Boy. Elsewhere the battles against the Probes continue where there are casualties including Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons and mother of Wonder Woman. As more probes are destroyed, Imperiex itself arrives to deal with the problem.
Meanwhile. after successfully fending off the Imperiex Probes in Australia the Enforcers of Justice are called in by the military for a special mission. They are teamed with a new Suicide Squad led by former Ameriforce team leader the Americommando and consisting of: Paradox, FX, and Chain Reaction. The two teams will be going on a covert reconnaissance mission to Apokalips. President Luthor does not trust his ally, Darkseid, and wants to know if Apokalips is planning to turn against Earth at some point. Paradox teleports the teams to Apokalips and they begin their surveillance.
At this point Brainiac 13 arrives at Earth in his cloaked Warworld. He triggers a booby-trap concealed in the B13 technology that was left behind in Metropolis during his last assault on Earth. The trap fires a powerful energy blast at Darkseid's forces, making it look like Earth has turned on its ally. In retaliation to this apparent betrayal Darkseid sends his Parademons to attack Earth, while on Apokalips the Enforcers and the Suicide Squad are discovered and must battle their way to escape. After being separate from the Suicide Squad, the Enforcers find Guy Gardner, Warrior, captive in the lab of Darkseid's chief scientist, Desaad. Reports had said that Warrior had been killed by an Imperiex Probe in Moscow, but obviously he survived. The heroes free the injured Warrior and rejoin the others. The battle rages for a while longer before Americommando orders a retreat and Paradox transports them back to Earth.
The conflict with Apokalips does not last much longer. On Earth, the Flash and his ally Cyborg find a way to disable all the attacking Parademons simultaneously, and hostilities cease when Brainiac 13's actions are revealed. Brainiac 13 had revealed himself after a strike by Earth's forces had managed to pierce Imperiex's outer shell. Using Warworld, Brainiac was able to absorb Imperiex's power into himself, becoming immensely powerful. The war ends when Earth's heroes and Darkseid are able to send Brainiac 13, Warworld, and the captive Imperiex back to the dawn of time where they are destroyed with the Big Bang at the start of the universe.
While nearly all of Earth's adult heroes were on the front lines of the conflict, younger heroes were drafted into support functions. Heroes like Young Justice and many of the super-powered students from Superior City Academy work to rescue wounded heroes from the battlefront and to help with other tasks at Earth's main medical facility during the war, the Paradocs.
JOKER'S LAST LAUGH
While in prison, the Joker learns he is dying from an inoperable brain tumor. Determined to not go out with a whimper, Joker scavenges chemicals from around the prison and concocts a new variant of his Joker Venom whith which he infects the other inmates at Slabside Penitentiary. Exposure to the Venom turns the victim's skin white, their hair green, and causes their facial muscles to form a wide smile; while also driving them insane. The "Jokerized" inmates riot and cause a breakout, releasing the insane villains out into the world.
Heroes work overtime to contain the rampaging villains while the Justice League tries to hunt down the Joker, who has gone into hiding. From his hiding place, Joker uses some of the infected super-powered villains to poison the planet's atmosphere and cause it to rain his Joker Venom across the globe. The scientist (and sometime Man-Bat) Kirk Langstrom realizes that the Venom will eventually kill anyone it infects and works with a reluctant Harley Quinn to develop an antidote.
The Joker is finally located and stopped, with Nightwing nearly beating him to death. Langstrom is successful in creating an antidote and the infected are all returned to normal. The villains are all incarcerated again, including Joker and it is learned that the test results that had started the villain's rampage had been faked by doctors hoping that the terminal diagnosis would "scare the Joker sane".
The Slab was not the only prison to suffer from an outbreak of the Joker Venom. The infection had managed to get in to Stronghold as well thanks to one of the Slabside escapees. The Enforcers of Justice were called in to help contain the Joker-ized inmates and in the process one of the team's members, Surge, was accidentally infected. Because of the nature of Surge's powers the antidote did not work on him and he remained a threat for some time after being infected before a means was found to finally cure him.
TOTAL CARNAGE
An old villain enacts a scheme of revenge against Superior City and its heroes.
