Final Crisis – 4

Synopsis

One month after the Anti-Life Equation was broadcast over every medium on Earth, the majority of humanity has fallen under the control of the Dark Gods. Ignorance reigns supreme, with only the Daily Planet left as a source of information.

Ray Terrill arrives at the Hall of Justice, bringing with him Mark Richards, the Tattooed Man. It is there that he finds one of the few remaining pockets of resistance, consisting of Green Arrow, Black Canary, Oracle, the West family, and Joan Garrick. The Tattooed Man claims to have something called the Circuit, which is essential to defeating Darkseid. Outside, Darkseid’s Justifiers are working to destroy the hall’s force-field.

Elsewhere, at the Command-D Bunker in Blüdhaven, Dan Turpin struggles to fight off Darkseid, whose influence is painfully altering Turpin’s body. As he continues to fight, Godfrey Good, Simiyan and Mokkari squabble over who will receive Darkseid’s favour upon his reincarnation, concluding that Granny will win favour when she delivers the Central Power Battery to Darkseid. Simiyan and Mokkari present the newly-reincarnated Kalibak before their lord, who used a dead Lantern and his ring to attack John Stewart and frame Hal Jordan.

At the Hall of Justice, the Ray manages to use his abilities to tap into the Ünternet, the ultra-secret network designed by the Calculator, and contacts Checkmate. Checkmate reports that their castle is holding, but they are under siege. The Black King and the White Queen hold out little hope, and have recruited Renée Montoya for a special last-resort project. Meanwhile, Superbia, the floating stronghold of the Ultramarine Corps, falls. Facing overwhelming odds, Alan Scott calls for as many heroes as possible for an attack on Blüdhaven. Even notoriously difficult entities like Black Adam and the August General-in-Iron are considering joining. Suddenly, a brainwashed Black Lightning destroys the force field around the Hall of Justice.

In Central City, Wally West’s reunion with his uncle Barry is interrupted by the arrival of the new Female Furies, led by Wonder Woman. As they hide, Barry goes on about how Darkseid is falling, dragging the Earth with him, when an overwhelmed Wally brings him back to reality: Barry died, and no one ever really stopped mourning him. Barry apologises for his over-focusing on Darkseid, and tells Wally that his family is made it to safety. They manage to set a trap and escape the Furies. Barry hurries back to his home, where his wife is infected with the Anti-Life Equation. Wally fears that there’s nothing they can do for Iris, but like a fairy tale, Barry’s kiss (and a small dose of his lightning) brings her back.

With the Justifiers starting to storm into the Hall of Justice, Black Canary and Green Arrow lead their civilian guests as they hurry to teleport up to the safety of the JLA Satellite. Against Canary’s protests, Green Arrow stays behind to smash the teleporter controls so the Justifiers can’t follow. Arrow is captured and made a Justifier.

At the Checkmate castle, Green Lantern and Hawkgirl see increasing numbers of super-powered Justifiers. Inside the castle, the White King and his forces panic as something teleports through their defences. It’s the Super Young Team, bearing Mister Miracle, who holds the key to defeating the Anti-Life Equation. However, he is shot by one of the pawns.

In the Command-D Bunker, Turpin reaches the point of no return, when he must decide whether to continue struggling and die in agony, or give in and become Darkseid. As the news of Mister Miracle’s apparent demise reaches him, he decides there’s really no choice at all. The Dark God of Apokolips is reborn.