WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Leviathan Dawn #1, by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev and Josh Reed, on sale now.
Leviathan has won. In the wake of the Event Leviathan miniseries, Mark Shaw has risen to power as the leader of an organization strong enough to change the world. The spy organizations of the DC Universe have been destroyed and the superheroes of the world have been out maneuvered. The Leviathan Dawn one-shot depicts everything that happens next.
The organization continues to consolidate power by assembling an inner circle of (brainwashed) operatives. Among their numbers are the Guardian of CADMUS, Sasha Bordeaux of ARGUS, Elisabeth Netz of Spyral, and many others. Leviathan is also expanding into foreign countries, culminating in the takeover of Markovia.
However, the heroes, previously defeated and left scattered, are not planning to stay quiet for long. A new player has stepped up to bring them all together and form a new iteration of Checkmate. The fight is hardly over.
Picking Up the Pieces
The spy organizations of the world have been destroyed. ARGUS, Checkmate, DEO, Spyral, and others no longer exist. Their resources have been used by Mark Shaw to turn his organization into a world power. But Leviathan's gain is everyone else's loss, so the only thing left for the heroes to do is pick up the pieces.
Everyone lost something in the rise of Leviathan. Steve Trevor was thought to be a prime suspect and was locked away. Though he did nothing wrong, no one is in a rush to release him from custody. Mr. Bones had the DEO destroyed right underneath his feet, and it greatly affected his mental state. He has been sent away to Arkham Asylum and forgotten.
Lois Lane lost her father, the spymaster of the DCU, and the man whose shadow she could never truly escape. Now she has a chip on her shoulder to live up to Sam Lane's legacy, whether she wants to or not. Talia al Ghul had her vast empire taken away from her by Shaw. Now she's imprisoned in Iron Heights, at the lowest place she's ever been.
It's Not Checkmate Yet
Leading the charge is a mysterious new player known as Kingsley "The King" Jacobs, who is likely to have some connection to King Faraday, if he's not Faraday himself. The character is a long-standing government operative in the DCU and has been involved in Checkmate and Task Force X in the past. For those still unfamiliar, he plays a major role in The New Frontier.
King comes to the rescue of Steve Trevor, and the two of them go on to recruit their own team of operatives. They save Bones from his situation in Arkham and recruit Green Arrow to the cause. Even Talia is believed to be a worthwhile asset on their side, so they take her into their custody. Lois, the Question and Manhunter are also brought in.
With all eight operatives together in the same room, King declares that they are the new Checkmate, and they represent something of a "checkmate" to the Leviathan regime. Lois plans to run a story that will challenge the organization's power, but it seems to be just one piece of the puzzle. This new Checkmate is ready to bring the fight back to Leviathan.
Like previous iterations of the team, this version of Checkmate is focused on the balance of power in the world. The organization used to have a rigid structure of powered and non-powered operatives working together, but now the focus is outward. Together, they hope to keep Leviathan in check and ensure that one power can't rule them all.