abstract
| - Five years ago, they appeared in the sky: booming holes in space, spewing an army of monsters led by the villain Steppenwolf. Entire countries were destroyed. But Earth's defenders fought back. And chief among them were Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. In a last-ditch plan, Batman planned to infiltrate the towers that controlled the Parademons, upload a program that would cripple the towers and halt the destruction. Superman and Wonder Woman vowed to give him whatever help he needed. In Metropolis Superman and Wonder Woman made their final stand. Both were distracted by their personal losses, but both fought on, giving their friend the time he needed to do his job. Of course, they were not alone. Robin flew wingman for her father, guarding him with the Batplane's weaponry. Supergirl guarded the nuclear devices that the world's governments had decided to keep as emergency weapons. And in New Guinea, a squad of American soldiers led by Sgt. Al Pratt guarded one such device. In Metropolis, Wonder Woman was greeted by Mercury, who told her the news: with Amazon Island destroyed, the gods of Olympus took up arms against the invaders. Now they too have sustained losses: Apollo, Mars, Neptune, Vesta. Mars. Minerva. But throughout the loss, the gods saw the heroes of Earth have a plan to save them. On that dark day, the gods were praying for them. Suddenly, Superman and Wonder Woman were attacked. Wonder Woman was stabbed in the chest by Steppenwolf, and Superman was swarmed by Parademons and vanished in a flash and a boom. At the tower, Batman got to the console. He planned to destroy the tower, but the only to do so is by the self-destruct sequence. Robin was forced to listen as her father blew up. But as the Parademons rained down, Supergirl and Robin saw a mysterious Boom Tube portal open, with a lone figure inside it. They both flew through to find him. They were never seen again. All of this is public fact, five years later. And Galaxy Broadcasting Corporation CEO Alan Scott is willing to do his part to see the fallen remembered. In Michigan, two university graduates are breaking up. Joan has a job waiting in Tyler-Chem on the West Coast. Jay has nothing. Jay tries to be hopeful, but Joan shoots him down. Later that night, Jay privately admits that she was right. Suddenly, something flashes out of the sky and crashes to Earth near him. Jay runs, to find the Roman god Mercury, with a message: a great evil is coming, and if Earth is to survive, it will need new heroes!
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