WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Action Comics #1018 by Brian Michael Bendis, John Romita Jr, Klaus Janson, Brad Anderson and Dave Sharpe, on sale now.
Throughout most of 2019, Lex Luthor ushered in the “Year of the Villain.” Thanks to Perpetua, the Superman villain was given special powers that transformed him into Apex Lex, a deadly predator with the abilities of Martian Manhunter, among others. In his attempt to tip the cosmic scales of the world in favor of "doom," Lex gave every supervillain in the world what they truly desired in order to accomplish their nefarious goals.
Now, in the latest Action Comics storyline, Luthor has taken his war on Earth even further by unleashing his Legion of Doom on Metropolis. The Justice League and the Teen Titans joined the battle, but nearly every superhero has been taken out, leaving only Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman standing. But there’s a reason the Legion of Doom is so powerful now. As it turns out, the supervillain team has a new ally... in Leviathan.
Leviathan has plagued the DC Universe for the past year. The mysterious villain systematically took out all of the world’s intelligence networks (Spyre, Checkmate, A.R.G.U.S., etc.), and he did so with ease and efficiency. For a long time, the villain’s identity remained a mystery, something which sparked a manhunt led by the biggest and best superhero detectives in the DCU. Eventually, the powerful villain, who has goals to remake the world as he sees fit, was revealed to be former Manhunter Mark Shaw. While Shaw was unmasked and his plans were thwarted in Event Leviathan, the villain promised he would return.
Superman’s battle with the Legion of Doom in the center of Metropolis started in Action Comics #1017, which dropped us right in the middle of the fight. Now, the battle continues in issue #1018. However, this latest chapter also offers various flashbacks, one of which reveals how the battle between Superman and Apex Lex and the Legion of Doom began.
While Clark Kent was walking in the street with Melody Moore, contemplating his public unmasking in two days, the Legion’s headquarter-ship flew over Metropolis. Superman rushed into action, and flew up, up and away to confront the supervillains. However, he was left shocked when powerful attacks he didn’t expect hit him hard — energies that belong to Leviathan. And then, Superman saw the worst — something truly unexpected: Leviathan and the Legion have joined forces.
Now, thanks to the present segments of Action Comics #1017 and 1018, we already know this alliance has been enough to take out most of the Justice League and the Teen Titans. Superman is nearly the last superhero left standing — and he will have to pull off a truly incredible feat if he has any hopes of defeating this team-up between two of his deadliest enemies.
Action Comics #1019 goes on sale Jan. 29.