"Forever Evil"
Cover of Forever Evil #1 (September 2013) DC Comics Art by David Finch
Publisher	DC Comics
Publication date	September 2013 – May 2014
Genre	Crossover
Title(s) Main: Forever Evil #1–7 Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion #1–6 Forever Evil: Arkham War #1–6 Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. #1–6 Tie-ins: Justice League #24–29 Justice League of America #8–13 Suicide Squad #24–29
Main character(s)	Lex Luthor Crime Syndicate Injustice League DC Universe
Creative team
Writer(s)	Geoff Johns, Brian Buccellato, Sterling Gates, Peter J. Tomasi
Artist(s)	David Finch, Richard Friend, Scot Eaton, Neil Edwards, Manuel Garcia, Scott Hepburn, Mick Gray, Jay Leisten, Jaime Mendoza, Jason Paz, Javier Pina, Norm Rapmund, Philip Tan, Patrick Zircher
Forever Evil	ISBN 9781401248918
Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S.	ISBN 9781401249397
Forever Evil: Arkham War	ISBN 9781401249403
Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion	ISBN 9781401249410
Justice League of America Volume 2: Survivors of Evil	ISBN 978-1401247263

"Forever Evil" is a 2013–2014 crossover comic book storyline published by DC Comics that began in September 2013 and ended in May 2014, consisting of an eponymous, central miniseries written by Geoff Johns and art by David Finch. It is the first line-wide crossover since The New 52 reboot of the DC Universe. It focuses on all the villains of the DC Universe. The miniseries spins out of the events in "Trinity War".^[1]

Johns revealed in August 2013 that the Crime Syndicate, an evil version of the Justice League from Earth-3 in the Multiverse, are the true villains of the event and not the previously thought Secret Society.^[2][3] The event was originally scheduled to end in March with Forever Evil #7, yet ended in May 2014, after the final issue was delayed to April, and eventually again to May.^[4] The final issue's delay was due to Johns realizing he needed more pages to conclude the story than originally intended.^[5]

Premise

With the three Justice League teams—the Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark—"dead," the Crime Syndicate comes from Earth-3 to take over this world, where they recruit villains to their cause. Earth-0 villains that resist the Crime Syndicate follow Lex Luthor to form the Injustice League to take down the Crime Syndicate.^[2][6][7]

Synopsis

Lead-up

In the final issue of the "Trinity War" event, the leader of the Secret Society, revealed to be Alfred Pennyworth of Earth-3, uses Pandora's Box to open a gateway from Earth-0 to Earth-3, which allows Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Johnny Quick, Power Ring, and Deathstorm to arrive; their teammate Sea King, however, does not survive the trip. In addition, Superwoman brings a hooded prisoner through the gateway with them. Atomica is revealed to be the mole in the Leagues and is actually Atomica from Earth-3. Grid, a sentient computer virus, separates Cyborg's prosthetics from Victor's body. The Crime Syndicate attack the three Justice Leagues, claiming Earth-0 now belongs to them.^[8]

At this time, Cheetah is imprisoned at Belle Reve and communicates with an unknown person, indicating that she will wait for Black Manta.^[9] Meanwhile in Constantine #4, Zatanna mentions premonitions of an upcoming war between superheroes triggered by a death and John Constantine shaking hands with Lex Luthor.^[10]

Main plot

Lex Luthor meets with Thomas Kord in a bid to buy Kord Industries, when his helicopter loses power and crashes. Getting up from the wreckage, he sees Ultraman entering a LexCorp building looking for kryptonite. Ultraman asks Grid to find other locations of it. Grid also cuts power to all major cities and orchestrates the release of all superhuman prisoners. Returning to Gotham City, Nightwing is kidnapped by Superwoman and Owlman. In Central City, the Rogues attempt to break into Iron Heights Penitentiary to free Trickster, only to be interrupted by Johnny Quick, who succeeds in freeing all the inmates, while Deathstorm and Power Ring infiltrate Belle Reve. Scarecrow tries to recruit multiple Batman rogues to the Secret Society, and they, along with many other villains, gather at the Justice League's fallen Watchtower. There, the Crime Syndicate present Aquaman's trident, Wonder Woman's lasso and Superman's cape as proof that the Justice League is dead. During the Crime Syndicate's broadcast to the world, Superwoman reveals that Nightwing is Dick Grayson. After the villains disperse, Ultraman is affected by the rising sun, and moves the moon in front of it to create a solar eclipse.^[11]

Luthor goes to the bowels of LexCorp to release Subject B-0̸, an imperfect attempt to clone a Kryptonian. At the Justice League Watchtower, Grid informs Ultraman that there is an uprising in Kahndaq, requiring his attention, and that the Rogues refuse to join the Crime Syndicate. Ultraman tells Grid to send Deathstorm and Power Ring to take care of the Rogues. Before departing, Ultraman checks on the prisoner brought from Earth-3. Owlman and Superwoman believe he should be killed, but Ultraman refuses, claiming that they might need him. Owlman asks that Grayson stay alive, but Ultraman and The Outsider disagree, knowing he is not the Dick Grayson they knew from Earth-3. After Ultraman leaves, Superwoman (who is having an affair with Owlman) reveals to him that she is pregnant with his child. They make plans to have Owlman overthrow Ultraman and take control of the Crime Syndicate.

The Teen Titans arrive at the Justice League Watchtower to attack the Crime Syndicate, only to be greeted by Johnny Quick and Atomica. Johnny Quick uses his powers on Kid Flash, creating a hole in time that traps the Titans. At S.T.A.R. Labs, Dr. Silas Stone and Dr. Thomas Morrow remain in the Red Room to protect its technology and research. Batman and Catwoman arrive with the critically injured Cyborg, the only ones to survive the Syndicate's initial attack.^[12] Batman explains that, after the Crime Syndicate arrived, Deathstorm attacked Firestorm, exposing the matrix that binds Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch, imprisoning everyone except Batman, Catwoman and Cyborg inside the matrix. While Dr. Stone and Dr. Morrow prepare to stabilize Cyborg, Batman learns of Nightwing's unmasking and leaves to find him. Elsewhere, Luthor connects to one of his personal satellites to locate the Crime Syndicate. He finds Ultraman and notes that he is avoiding direct sunlight. In Central City, Deathstorm and Power Ring confront the Rogues for failing to level the rest of the city. When Power Ring attacks, Captain Cold freezes his hand. Deathstorm attacks Captain Cold and extracts his freezing powers from his DNA. Mirror Master attempts to get the Rogues out through the Mirror World but Power Ring destroys the mirror they were using to escape, causing the Rogues to be separated. Captain Cold ends up at Luthor and Bizarro's location where they are joined by Black Manta, who has retrieved Black Adam from the ocean after his defeat by Ultraman.^[13]

Batman brings Catwoman to the Batcave, where he shows her his contingency plans to take down each member of the Justice League, hoping each will work on their Earth-3 counterparts. Luthor attempts to revive Black Adam while Captain Cold attempts to construct another cold-gun. Luthor takes his group through the sewers and breaks into Wayne Enterprises only to find Batman and Catwoman. Superwoman finds Ultraman taking Metallo's Kryptonite and tells him she is pregnant with his child and that Owlman is planning to overthrow Ultraman and take control of the Crime Syndicate. In Central City, Ultraman requests Deathstorm to use Firestorm's ability to transmute elements so he can create Kryptonite and sends Power Ring after Captain Cold. Power Ring, scared to go alone, asks Grid for help, who sends Secret Society members to aid him. Back at Wayne Enterprises, Power Ring arrives and attacks Batman and Luthor. Batman decides to use his contingency plan to take down Green Lantern and puts on a Sinestro Corps power ring. Power Ring's constructs are able to remove the ring from Batman and destroy it, inadvertently drawing Sinestro's attention to him.^[14] Sinestro follows Power Ring through the sewers, eventually severing his right arm, allowing his ring to search for a new host. Relieved to be free, Power Ring dies thanking Sinestro. Luthor, his team, Batman and Catwoman are able to subdue most of the Society members, while convincing Deathstroke to join their side. Ultraman and Superwoman go to the Batcave to steal Batman's Kryptonite ring, only to find it missing. Grid informs them of Power Ring's death, adding that his ring released a pulse of energy sensed across the multiverse. Ultraman, knowing the creature that destroyed their world has found them, orders the Syndicate to regroup and heads to Maine with them.^[15]

Batman, Luthor and their team arrive at the fallen Watchtower in search of Grayson and the Crime Syndicate. Grid informs the Outsider of the intrusion, and he goes to protect their hooded prisoner, only for Black Manta to intercept him and kill him. Batman, Luthor, Catwoman, and B-0, who now calls himself, "Bizarro", enter the room with Grayson and see he has been placed in a "Murder Machine", originally intended for Doomsday. They realize the machine is a detonator for a bomb that can only be stopped if Grayson's heart stops. The remaining members of the Crime Syndicate (Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick, Grid, Deathstorm, and Atomica) return to the Watchtower and attack Sinestro, Deathstroke and Black Adam. Johnny Quick and Atomica attack Captain Cold and Black Manta, who have unmasked the prisoner and removed the tape from his mouth. Captain Cold freezes Johnny Quick's leg and then breaks it off. Back with Grayson, Luthor prevents Batman from saving Grayson, choosing to save the groups' lives over Grayson's. As Grayson dies, Batman wrongly attacks Luthor for murdering him, with Luthor trying to reason with him that he has everything under control. The hooded prisoner is revealed as Alexander Luthor. When he shouts "Mazahs!", Alexander transforms himself into the evil Mazahs and kills the injured Johnny Quick, taking his power.^[16]

Luthor is able to revive Grayson, having only momentarily stopped his heart to disable the machine, as Cyborg joins the heroes, having destroyed Grid. Cyborg gives Batman Wonder Woman's lasso, and he is able to release the trapped heroes within Firestorm. Superwoman reveals that the father of her child is actually Alexander Luthor, that she's actually loyal to Mazahs, and she's secretly been planning to overthrow both Ultraman and Owlman and have Mazahs take control of the Crime Syndicate. Mazahs kills both Deathstorm and Bizarro, and immobilizes Luthor. Realizing he sounds just like Mazahs, Luthor is able to use the magic word to summon the dark lightning, which transforms Mazahs back into Alexander Luthor. Luthor fatally stabs and kills Alexander before he can transform back into Mazahs. Ultraman attacks Luthor, but Black Adam and Sinestro move the moon, stopping the eclipse and rendering Ultraman powerless with sunlight. Atomica reappears from underneath rubble, only for Luthor to kill her by stepping on her. Luthor rejoins the heroes and saves Superman by removing the Kryptonite placed in his brain by Atomica. In the aftermath, Luthor tells Ted Kord he has decided to not buy Kord Industries, telling him that his father would want him to continue the family business and offering him any support or advice he might need. Ultraman and Superwoman are both captured, with Owlman still on the loose, and Luthor begins the process to create a clone of Bizarro, stating that it will take him five years to do so. It is also revealed that Luthor deduced that Bruce Wayne is Batman. Never learning from the Crime Syndicate who or what the entity was that destroyed their world, Superman believes that Darkseid has returned. At the very end of the story, it is revealed that the entity is actually the Anti-Monitor, who has been going around consuming universes in order to attack Darkseid.^[17]

Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S.

Col. Steve Trevor awakes at the remains of the A.R.G.U.S. headquarters in Washington, D.C and learns from his secretary Etta Candy that the headquarters' destruction was caused by a massive spike in energy around Dr. Light's body and that A.R.G.U.S. and its agents have been completely exposed. After seeing the Crime Syndicate's broadcast, Trevor learns that the President is in danger, who has a backup key that would assist in A.R.G.U.S. regaining their assets. Trevor goes to the White House, where he encounters Shadow Thief, Deathstroke and Copperhead.^[18] Trevor is able to reach the President and escape the Secret Society's attack, returning to A.R.G.U.S.' headquarters with him. Trevor uses the President's key to open the Green Room, to keep the President and Candy safe, and heads to the Wonder Room, which he has filled with mementos of his past relationship with Wonder Woman. There, he finds the Delphi mirror and the Morai that reside within it, and strikes a deal with them to locate the missing Justice League members.^[19] After trading his memories of his time with Wonder Woman, the Morai teleport Trevor to Dr. Martin Stein's cabin, where Killer Frost has arrived. Both reveal they need Dr. Stein's help to find and help Firestorm, as Stein created the protocols that make the Firestorm fusion possible. Stein reveals that the matrix, if not found, will get overloaded and explode, causing a second Big Bang. Elsewhere within the Green Room, Candy begins investigating about the founding of A.R.G.U.S., and Dr. Light appears in Los Angeles and is found by people known as the Crimson Men.^[20] Secret Society members try to get in contact with Killer Frost, and use their communication coins to find her location at Dr. Stein's cabin. Dr. Stein takes Trevor and Killer Frost to his secret, off the grid, basement, where he uses his teleportation devices to transport them to A.R.G.U.S.' Detroit station, known as "The Circus". Inside, they encounter fellow A.R.G.U.S. agents, who allow Trevor to talk to one of their prisoners, Psi, in hopes of seeing if she could psychologically disrupt the Firestorm matrix to free the Justice League. When Psi touches him however, Trevor realizes that he needs Wonder Woman's lasso of truth, which is in the possession of the Cheetah. In the Green Room, the President and "Mr. Green" discuss a promotion with Candy.^[21] Killer Frost, who is weakening due to Firestorm's disappearance, helps Trevor locate the Cheetah; however, they are attacked by her menagerie and captured. Cheetah uses the lasso on Trevor, only for Trevor to gain control, noting how the lasso will choose to be controlled by the purer heart. Elsewhere, the Crimson Men take Dr. Light to their secret location, and promise to make him human again, in exchange for information on Trevor. Dr. Light heads to Trevor's location following Cheetah's defeat to kill him.^[22] Trevor and Killer Frost fight Dr. Light, with Trevor using the lasso on him, to force him to teleport away. Martian Manhunter contacts Trevor to have him come help save the Justice League. Elsewhere, in the Green Room, "Mr. Green" reveals the history of A.R.G.U.S., and reveals to be a member of the Crimson Men, looking to reshape A.R.G.U.S. through Trevor and Candy.^[23]

Forever Evil: Arkham War

With the heroes gone, Penguin becomes mayor of Gotham City, and divides the city up to different Arkham inmates. Scarecrow, hoping to control Gotham, goes to see Mr. Freeze, The Riddler, Killer Croc and Poison Ivy to let them know that a war with Blackgate Prison is coming and to gain their support. Through his conversations with each, Scarecrow learns that Bane may be the cause of the Blackgate uprising, and will be their leader in the impending war, hoping to use the Talons that were stored at Blackgate on ice.^[24] Bane, having escaped Peña Dura Prison in Santa Prisca, travels to Gotham hoping to control it as well, and orchestrates the release of Blackgate's prisoners during the Crime Syndicate's broadcast to the world.^[25] Bane enters Blackgate to join the prisoners there, where he comes across where the Talons are stored, hoping to make them in to his weapons. Scarecrow approaches Professor Pyg and Penguin to see if they will support him. Penguin has already planned for the impending war, by blowing up the bridges giving access to Gotham City. The attack on the city begins, with Bane's men attacking the Gotham City Police Department.^[26] Scarecrow and Man-Bat attempt to steal the frozen Talons from Blackgate while Penguin is having a meeting with Bane, though Bane arrives at Blackgate as the Man-Bats are attempting to transport the Talons to Mr. Freeze, able to keep one from leaving.^[27] The Man-Bats are able to bring the remaining Talons to Mr. Freeze, while Bane retrieves Emperor Penguin for the Penguin as part of their agreement. When he brings him to the Penguin, the Penguin tells him that the Arkham fighters are not scared of Bane, as he does not instill fear as Batman did. Realizing this, Bane constructs a batsuit for himself and sets his sights on retrieving the Talons.^[28] Bane wakes up the Talon William Cobb and takes him through Gotham where he fights members of Arkham Asylum. Bane begins recruiting Gotham citizens to his side, offering his base at Wayne Tower as a haven to the people to escape the rule of the Arkham inmates. He tells Cobb his plan to turn the city over to the Court, in exchange for use of Talons at his disposal to be powered by his Venom. Elsewhere, Scarecrow begins waking the Talons in his possession, having doused them with his fear gas and using Mad Hatter's mind-control technology in their helmets to control them.^[29] The Talons attack Bane's men, and eventually set their target on Bane. Bane, with the help of Cobb, is able to injure the Talons enough to activate their regenerative powers to remove the mind-control technology. At Arkham Asylum, Scarecrow senses he has lost the Talons and turns to his next plan, giving the other Arkhamites a small dose of Bane's Venom to temporarily transform them.^[30] The Venom-induced Arkham villains attack Bane and the Talons at Blackgate. They bring Bane back to Arkham Asylum, where Bane begins to defeat them as their Venom wears off. Penguin arrives to congratulate Bane, and offers to exchange his help for the Arkhamites. Bane takes the offer, keeping Scarecrow however, to hang between two buildings and declares that Gotham City is finally his.^[31] Following the defeat of the Crime Syndicate, Batman eventually returns to Gotham, delivers Scarecrow to the Gotham City Police Department, and is able to defeat Bane and his Talons. With Bane locked up in Arkham Asylum under heavy guard, Bruce Wayne and Commissioner Gordon work to rebuild Gotham City.^[32]

Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion

After freeing the Trickster and attending the meeting at the Justice League Watchtower, the Rogues return to Central and Keystone City, only to see that both have been destroyed by Gorilla Grodd,^[33] who has proceeded to take control of Central City as its king and renames it Gorilla City.^[34] Captain Cold asks Mirror Master to help him get to the hospital where his sister Golden Glider is being held, in order to check on her. While there, the Crime Syndicate send Secret Society members to finish Grodd's work and destroy the hospital. The Rogues are able to hold them off, only to be interrupted by Deathstorm and Power Ring, who were sent by Ultraman to deal with the Rogues for resisting the Crime Syndicate.^[35] After battling Deathstorm and Power Ring, Captain Cold is separated from the other Rogues. The Rogues, now led by Mirror Master, land in Metropolis and are confronted by Archer. Trickster is able to quickly stop him, as Parasite arrives, because the Crime Syndicate has put a bounty on the Rogues' head. Unable to stop him, Mirror Master brings the Rogues into the mirror world to escape only to end up being caught by Poison Ivy in her district in Gotham City.^[36] Poison Ivy poisons Trickster to force Weather Wizard to move the eclipse to let her plants get sunlight. Weather Wizard says he cannot, but Mirror Master says he can help if he can rebuild his mirror gun. After getting the parts and entering the mirror world, Mirror Master is able to get sunlight back to Poison Ivy's plants. However, the vine holding him begins to break, forcing Trickster to go in after him, stopping the sunlight from coming through. The sunlight draws Man-Bats to the Rogues' location, who takes Weather Wizard and forces the others into Mr. Freeze and Clayface's territory.^[37] Mr. Freeze tells Mirror Master he is not interested in capitalizing on the bounty on their head, only to use Weather Wizard to create optimal conditions for him to freeze Gotham. As the Rogues are fighting the two, Black Mask arrives to capture the Rogues to receive the bounty. To escape, Trickster arrives with an Arkham van, having been separated from the others. Still being chased, Heat Wave sacrifices himself to allow the other Rogues to escape. However, they are stopped by the Royal Flush Gang.^[38] As the Gang transports the Rogues, Weather Wizard is able to free them, only for Mirror Master to blame him for killing Golden Glider. Choosing to leave, Mirror Master and Trickster go to the Royal Flush Gang's hideout alone to surrender. However, they use Mirror Master's constructs to distract them, while Trickster is able to rescue Golden Glider and bring her to the safety of the Pied Piper. Heading back to help Mirror Master, Trickster is greeted by Johnny Quick and Atomica. The duo nearly defeat Mirror Master and Trickster before Weather Wizard returns. The Royal Flush Gang are able to shoot Weather Wizard, as Grid teleports away Johnny Quick and Atomica, and sends Secret Society members and Grodd in their place.^[39] Pied Piper leaves protecting Golden Glider to join the Rogues in the fight against Grodd and the Society members. Seemingly defeated, the Rogues are joined by Golden Glider, who has woken up, due to the Pied Piper's music. Together, they are able to trap Grodd and the Society members in the mirror world, allowing Central City to begin the rebuilding process.^[40]

Tie-in plots

"Forever Evil: Blight"

John Constantine, Swamp Thing, Nightmare Nurse, Pandora and the Phantom Stranger attempt to defeat Blight, who is the manifestation of evil itself, and rescue the missing members of the three Justice League teams.^[41]

Justice League

Revolutionaries in Kahndaq use an ancient scroll to attempt to revive Black Adam so he will be their champion once again to save them from their oppressive ruler. A man named Amon begins to read the ancient spell, but before he can complete it, the military attacks them. An injured Amon makes his sister Adrianna complete the spell which revives Black Adam. He proceeds to defeat the military forces and kills the Kahndaqi ruler, acting as Kahndaq's ruler again.^[42] On his way to deal with the situation in Kahndaq, Ultraman makes a detour to stop at the Daily Planet. There, Ultraman begins to interrogate Jimmy Olsen, thinking him to be similar to his Earth-3 counterpart. Noticing Lois Lane Ultraman comments how she shares the same name as Superwoman, but is not her physical equal. Meanwhile, Jimmy's watch sends out a distress signal, which is heard by Black Adam, who arrives at the Daily Planet and engages in battle with Ultraman.^[43] 30 years ago on Earth-3, it is shown how Alfred and Thomas Wayne Jr. killed his parents and Bruce. It is also shown how Thomas Wayne Jr. killed Dick Grayson's parents, taking him in so he would emotionally bond with him. Back in the present on Earth-0, Owlman breaks up a meeting of mob families in Chicago, taking control of them. Back at the Watchtower, Owlman goes to talk to Nightwing, telling him that he does not want what the rest of the Crime Syndicate wants. Able to break free, Nightwing attacks Owlman, before reluctantly agreeing to help him stop the Crime Syndicate.^[44] Grid continues to examine case files for the Crime Syndicate members attempting to learn how to feel, and sees Power Ring, Johnny Quick, Atomica and Deathstorm's histories of how they gained their powers. However, he is unable to view Superwoman's, as her file has been deleted, to which he states, that if he had feelings, it would now be suspicion. Meanwhile, at S.T.A.R. Labs, Dr. Stone is able to stabilize Victor, who begins to wake up.^[45] Victor asks his dad to make him Cyborg again, this time having it be his choice. Victor asks to go into the real Red Room so he can request which technology and equipment he would like in his new armor. Having been rebuilt, Cyborg sets out to find Will Magnus to learn more about his "Metal Men" project.^[46] Meeting with Magnus, Cyborg learns that he cannot help him. Magnus tells him the history of the Metal Men project and how they were destroyed protecting Magnus and the population. Seeing their responsometers that control them in Magnus' lab, Cyborg senses that their minds and hearts are still active, encouraging Magnus to activate them once more to help him.^[47] With the Metal Men reactivated, Cyborg informs them of Grid as they head to Happy Harbor to take on the Crime Syndicate. Cyborg lures Grid out and the Metal Men begin attacking him. Grid brings Society members to help, as Grid enters Cyborg's new body. Cyborg is able to trap Grid in his body, as the Metal Men defeat the Society members. The group is joined by Steve Trevor and Killer Frost as more Society members show up, with Cyborg taking Wonder Woman's lasso to go save the Justice League.^[48]

Justice League of America

Martian Manhunter and Stargirl awaken in the outer part of the Firestorm matrix, where they encounter someone who appears to be Jason Rusch, half of the duo that is Firestorm. Jason proceeds to inform them that he believes they are in a prison constructed by the Crime Syndicate, and offers to bring Martian Manhunter through the inner parts. There, Martian Manhunter realizes that the "prison" seems to react to each of its inmates, creating a different experience for each. He sees the different prisons of Wonder Woman, Shazam, The Flash, Superman and Green Lantern. After losing Jason and realizing he is being pursued by an unknown person, J'onn is contacted by Stargirl, who stayed behind. She tells him she found a way out, and steps into the Crime Syndicate-led world.^[49] Losing connection to Martian Manhunter, Stargirl goes after him through the matrix. She passes through the previous prisons J'onn did, but sees glimpses of her past in each. She eventually finds him battling a version of himself crafted by the matrix. It is stated that the prison has no effect on Stargirl due to her youth. As such, she is able to escape the prison, and takes J'onn with her. Once out of the prison, Stargirl comes across members of the Secret Society.^[50] Stargirl realizes that by escaping the prison, Manhunter's conscious has merged with her. While she is fighting the Society members, she also is fighting Manhunter from entering her mind and memories. Manhunter is able to control Stargirl temporarily to fight off the Society, and Stargirl is able to focus long enough to escape. Finding a quiet spot, Manhunter attempts to locate the prison, only to trigger a memory of Stargirl's that makes her realize she needs to go help her family. Stargirl, wanting Manhunter out of her mind, is able to separate herself from him, and heads off to find her family. Manhunter, realizing the prison has weakened his abilities, is able to locate it and realizes that the prison is Firestorm, who is on the verge of detonating.^[51] Stargirl and Manhunter agree to travel together to find Firestorm or Stargirl's parents, whichever comes first. Eventually, they are stopped and attacked by Despero.^[52] Despero is able to defeat Manhunter with Stargirl arriving too late to help him. Manhunter tells her to continue to stop Firestorm from detonating, as he begins to die. Stargirl heads to Los Angeles and meets up with her family, only to be attacked by Despero.^[53] Stargirl is able to hold off Despero and she is able to get to Firestorm before he detonates. She gets inside his mind and sees Ronnie and Jason arguing, which she realizes is the cause of the impending detonation. Stargirl is able to stop them from arguing and contacts the trapped heroes, who are able to free themselves from the matrix. They proceed to attack Despero, while Stargirl suddenly awakes back in the prison. She sees Martian Manhunter and he tells her that they never left the prison, that Despero was manipulating each hero's prison from the outside. Stargirl was the only one able to break free of her prison, which gave Manhunter the opportunity to contact Steve Trevor on the outside, to learn that they needed to find Wonder Woman.^[54]

Suicide Squad

Following the prison break at Belle Reve, Amanda Waller contacts Deadshot and asks him to get the Suicide Squad back together,^[55] and he is able to recruit Harley Quinn back to the team.^[56] Waller gets to a secret area in Belle Reve, where she instructs Deadshot and Harley to go to the Rocky Mountains to intercept a weapon. Before doing so, Deadshot and Harley recruit Captain Boomerang back to the team. Back at Belle Reve, James Gordon Jr. learns that the Thinker is building a satellite to control something, while it is shown that the Thinker, disguised as Waller, has recruited Warrant, Steel and Unknown Soldier, under the guise of "new" Suicide Squad recruits, to also head to the Rockies to retrieve the weapon. In the Rockies, Power Girl arrives to assist the new recruits, where they learn the weapon is actually O.M.A.C. Deadshot, Harley and Captain Boomerang have also arrived, and the new recruits get instructions from "Waller" to kill the reformed team, while the actual Waller is attempting to contact Deadshot to not bring O.M.A.C. back to Belle Reve.^[57] The two teams fight until Unknown Soldier realizes that his team was approached by the Thinker, and were tricked. Meanwhile, Harley takes O.M.A.C. and activates him, causing him to fire a laser on the mountain, which collapses on the two teams inside it. At Belle Reve, Gordon finds Waller who proceeds to bring him to a secret sublevel in the prison, where she reveals "Project Y", who is Kamo, King Shark's father.^[58] King Shark begins to attack Kamo, until Waller is able to lie to both to get them to help her defeat O.M.A.C. once he arrives. Harley arrives at Belle Reve and drops O.M.A.C. near Gordon, who confronts her and learns that she betrayed the team in the Rockies, and that the Thinker is planning to use O.M.A.C. While Gordon is talking to Harley, the Thinker takes O.M.A.C. and begins transferring his mind to it. Now activated, O.M.A.C. proceeds to attack Belle Reve.^[59] Back in the Rockies, Power Girl is able to lift the fallen mountain, allowing the two teams to get free. They split up to find a way out of the mountain and while searching, Warrant falls into running water, and is swept away when Deadshot fails to help him; the teams are able to make it out. At Belle Reve, O.M.A.C. fights King Shark and Kamo, while Waller attempts to activate Belle Reve's fail safe through the Thinker's computer. Before she is able to do so, Kevin Kho reaches out to her, telling her he is trapped within O.M.A.C.^[60] As Waller works with Kho, the team returns from the mountains, only to be dragged into the fight with O.M.A.C. Having killed Kamo, O.M.A.C. is able to defeat Power Girl, Steel, Unknown Soldier and King Shark, and heads further into Belle Reve. Deadshot and Harley find "magic bullets" that will allow them to gain temporary super human powers. Deadshot fires them into Harley, Waller, himself and Unknown Soldier and the Squad begins to attack O.M.A.C.^[61] Kho is able to regain control of O.M.A.C. before Waller has to enact her last resort. But without knowing, Captain Boomerang knocks O.M.A.C. into a portal sending him to another dimension. Waller later tells the Squad that the "magic bullet" was actually a strand of a nano-bomb and they are once again tagged as with the explosive collars.^[62]

Titles

Main titles

• Forever Evil - A seven-issue miniseries by Geoff Johns and David Finch, focusing on the villains of the DC Universe,^[1] and the Crime Syndicate taking over Earth-0. The series' final issue, originally solicited to release at the end of March 2014, was delayed until May 2014.^[4]

In October 2013, three six-issue main tie-in books launched:^[63]

• Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. by Sterling Gates, Philip Tan, Neil Edwards, Javier Pena, Jason Paz, and Jay Leisten, focuses on Steve Trevor and a select group of A.R.G.U.S. agents as they search for the Justice Leagues and hunt Society members.^[7][64]
• Forever Evil: Arkham War by Peter Tomasi, Scot Eaton and Jaime Mendoza, focuses on Batman's villains.^[65]
  • A concluding one-shot issue, Forever Evil Aftermath: Batman vs. Bane, by Peter Tomasi, Scot Eaton, Jaime Mendoza and Scott Hana, was released in April 2014.^[66]
• Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion by Brian Buccellato, Patrick Zircher and Scott Hepburn, focuses on The Rogues.^[65]

Tie-ins

In addition, several of DC's ongoing comic series tie into Forever Evil starting in October 2013. These titles are:^{[7][63][67][68][69][70]}

• Justice League #24–29 by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, taking place within the days of Forever Evil, spotlighting the Crime Syndicate, and featuring the return of some heroes to the DC Universe towards the end of "Forever Evil".^[65]
• Justice League of America #8–13 by Matt Kindt, Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy; Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira, focusing on the fate of the Justice Leagues.^[65]
• Suicide Squad #24–29 by Matt Kindt and Patrick Zircher

Teen Titans #24–25 were originally solicited as tie-ins to the event, but upon their release, did not tie in, instead focusing on the Titans' individual travels through the time stream, as a result of the events in Forever Evil #2. Justice League #30, Justice League of America #14, and Suicide Squad #30, while not part of the official event, all featured the "Forever Evil" banner on their covers, and dealt with the aftermath of the event.^{[66][better source needed]}

"Villains Month" titles

""Villains Month""
An example of the "Villains Month" 3D lenticular covers, with the cover of Batman #23.1 or Joker #1 (September 2013) DC Comics. Art by Jason Fabok.
Publisher	DC Comics
Publication date	September 2013
Genre	Superhero
Title(s) Action Comics #23.1–23.4 Aquaman #23.1–23.2 Batman #23.1–23.4 Batman and Robin #23.1–23.4 Batman/Superman #3.1 Batman: The Dark Knight #23.1–23.4 Detective Comics #23.1–23.4 Earth 2 #15.1–15.2 Green Arrow #23.1 Green Lantern #23.1–23.4 Justice League #23.1–23.4 Justice League Dark #23.1–23.2 Justice League of America #7.1–7.4 Superman #23.1–23.4 Swamp Thing #23.1 Teen Titans #23.1–23.2 The Flash #23.1–23.3 Wonder Woman #23.1–23.2
Creative team
Writer(s)	Multiple
Artist(s)	Multiple
DC Comics The New 52 Villains Omnibus	ISBN 978-1-4012-4496-5

For the month of September, in conjunction with Forever Evil, approximately one third of the ongoing titles at the time published multiple "Villains Month" issues, while the rest skipped publication. All titles used the "point" system, replacing the current number system, which resumed in October 2013. Titles were known by both their normal publication title, as well as their "Villains Month" title. Each book features 3D lenticular motion covers on the front and back of the title.^[71] DC also released 2D versions of the covers as well.^[72] As the 3D covers had to be printed months in advance than normal, neither the 3D or the 2D covers featured creator credits. This drew criticism from Yanick Paquette, who later clarified his complaints, saying he was unaware of the additional production needed for the covers and understood this was a decision DC was forced to make, in order to get the covers out on time.^[73]

The DC villains that received their own titles and were a part of Forever Evil brought comparison to the Legion of Doom, because many of the villains are members of the different incarnations of the Legion of Doom.^[74] Many of the titles explore the background of the titular villain, with some being a straight one-shot, and others tying into Forever Evil.