Like
Captain Atom: Armageddon, this was a series I started covering earlier this year, only to abandon due to lack of interest from all parties (myself included.) I guess the main problem was all those tedious links involving poorly used characters, plus I was trying to concurrently write character-specific coverage of the same insipid stories for other blogs. Unlike
Armageddon, I hadn't realized that I only needed to cover one more issue, which I had not yet written (whereas
Armageddon has sat completed in the can since December of 2010,) plus I didn't even need a bunch of new scans (as I chose to do for Captain Atom.) It's been so long, and I want to link to the final two Captain Atom issues, so I decided to "reissue" coverage on this mini-series prior to the concluding chapter.
DC/WS DreamWar #1 (June, 2008)
Happy Harbor, Rhode Island was rocked by a tsunami. The Silver Age Justice League of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow and the Atom looked on from the cave entrance to their Secret Sanctuary.
The Carrier trawled "the edge of existence" known as
The Bleed, a space that flowed between realities in the Wildstorm multiverse. Aboard,
The Authority viewed a number of anomalous entries into their universe: a T-shaped tower on top of Riker's Island Prison... a rocket ship in Siberia ("as envisioned by a grade school kid.")
Mr. Majestic investigated the former, and was taken down by
The New Teen Titans. He recovered just after
Spartan came to his aid. A scuffle ensued, and the Titans escaped. That is, except for
Cyborg, possession of whom came into dispute when the Authority hit on the scene.
In
Tranquility, Oregon, Alan Scott, Jay Garrick and Ted Grant looked into a retirement home.
In Siberia,
Stormwatch argued with local authorities over access to the crash site.
Invisible Kid and
Chameleon Boy spied on both parties.
In a Larkin, Arkansas trailer park, a fat man with a slit throat sat in a chair. A younger, heavyset man lay in bed. Superman looked in on him as he slept and smiled. "Kf... Never again."
DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part one, "Chimera Rising," was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.
DC/WS DreamWar #2 (July, 2008)
In New York City,
Wonder Girl and
Starfire attacked
Gen13.
Within their rocket ship headquarters, the
Legion of Super-Heroes considered how they were going to move against their foes. "Chimera Lad wants us focused on
Stormwatch. The Justice League will see to
The Authority."
During an interrogation aboard
The Carrier,
Cyborg told members of
The Authority and
the WildC.A.T.s that the heroes of the DCU had come to bring down all the crumb bums of the Wildstorm Universe. To illustrate the point, the Justice League of America teleported onto the ship and started busting heads. Martian Manhunter and Green Arrow gravitated toward the Carrier's power source, while Green Lantern, the Flash, Superman and Batman addressed Cyborg's captors.
Jenny Quarx,
The Engineer and
Jack Hawksmoor escaped the ship through a teleportational
door, but most of their cohorts were taken down. However, Green Arrow was killed in the confrontation.
Meanwhile, the Justice Society of America began systematically destroying
Tranquility, Oregon.
DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part two, "First Strike," was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.
DC/WS DreamWar #3 (August, 2008)
In Siberia,
Stormwatch and the
Legion of Super-Heroes had a brutal confrontation.
The Amazons of Themyscira launched an attack on the vampire nation from
Wetworks.
The Justice Society of America continued their assault on
Tranquility, Oregon.
Grifter gunned down Dr. Fate.
Batman, Superman and Green Lantern launched an attack on the
WildC.A.T.s headquarters. After a lengthy battle with
Zealot, the Dark Knight died by her sword. This shook Superman to the core, as he realized something was very wrong when Green Lantern never mourned the death of his own best friend, Green Arrow. Kal-El reached out to Martian Manhunter's telepathy, only to have the Alien Atlas again assert that Chimera wanted the Wildstorm heroes dead. "Tell me who Chimera is, J'Onn. J'Onn?"
DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part three, "Mettle!" was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.
DC/WS DreamWar #4 (September, 2008)
Back at
the Carrier, Superman helped the Justice League of America remember who they were, then began working with the Wildstorm protagonists to help wrangle the other murderous DC super-teams.
The Doctor (with telepathic tag along Martian
Manhunter) metaphysically learned from his predecessors that Chimera was the trailer park kid from WS Earth that could add to reality from his imagination and a volume stolen from the "mother of all libraries," the Athenaeum.
Gen13 was attacked by Raven and Changeling from
The New Teen Titans. The Atom was sent to rein them in, but was knocked out before he could reveal himself.
Deathblow, the
WildC.A.T.s and
Stormwatch fought a war with the Legion of Super-Heroes. Only
Bouncing Boy seemed to recall the Legion's prohibitions against killing, and with the help of the Flash (and only after having been stabbed by
Warblade,) honor finally prevailed.
The Doctor spoke with Chimera on another plane, learning his stepfather had killed his mother and made him do... "stuff." The kid murdered the man, and figured out a way to "piggy-back" so he could watch the s.o.b. go to Hell. En route, he found his way to the Athenaeum, and stole the DC Comics volume from the library. However, Chimera had used heroes to do the work of villains, which wouldn't stand once their realization in the Wildstorm reality was complete. After all, they
were heroes. Chimera recognized his error.
Apollo and
Midnighter were waiting outside of "Chimera's" trailer in Arkansas when
Doomsday burst out of it. "I knew we shoulda wasted the little #&@% when we had the chance!
DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part four, "Resurrection!" was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.
DC/WS DreamWar #5 (October, 2008)
Doomsday was rampaging, and
Mr. Majestic vouched for the man this "Superman" was supposed to be, so the pair flew off to help
Apollo and
Midnighter.
In
Tranquility, Oregon, a whole host of DC super-villains fought the assembled heroes. Among them were the Golden Age Cheetah, Mano, Blockbuster, Solomon Grundy, Captain Cold and the Royal Flush Gang. Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick convinced a skeptical and justifiably hostile
Grifter that the assembled heroes needed a field commander with military experience. "We're outnumbered and on the defensive. That's how these things are lost... Tactics, son. Organization. Looks like you're just the man for the job..."
In Siberia,
Stormwatch and the
Legion of Super-Heroes battled Validus and the Thunderers of Qward.
Back in Larkin, Arkansas, Midnighter let the Superman tackle Doomsday while he ran into the trailer in hopes of gutting the sleeping Chimera and ending this mess. He was halted by an armed Joker. "Batman Lite, I presume."
WildC.A.T.s headquarters was being torn apart by Giganta, with help from Dr. Light, the Iron Age Cheetah, the Weather Wizard, Firefly, Charaxes, Dreamslayer and more. Martian Manhunter,
Jack Hawksmoor and
Zealot emerged from a
door to help.
The Aegean was dominated by Starro the Conquerer, whose possession of various Amazons,
Coda warriors and followers of Kobra troubled Wonder Woman and
Wetworks. One had trouble with the term "Super-villains?! And said with a straight face?" Diana replied, "I'm glad you find this so amusing." The Amazing Amazon was just about to take the battle directly to Starro when it fell from the sky dead from indigestion related to a Wildstorm character.
The Carrier continued traveling
the Bleed and observing the situations from afar.
The Doctor explained to
Jenny Quarx that Chimera hadn't recognized the intrinsic heroism of his first constructs, and was retaliating against their betrayal of his goals with the second batch. The Doctor could affect Chimera on his home turf, so other avenues had to be pursued.
In Tranquility, the Flash helped relay Grifter's orders to the troops. Vampires joined the other warriors in the Aegean, who easily routed Kobra to secure the Aegean. Siberia was still in play overnight, as the Legion refused to use lethal force, which gave Stormwatch fits. Cyborg managed to talk down the New Teen Titans and
Gen13, but not before the Atom was confirmed as "squished." The Halo Corporate headquarters was wrecked, with casualties in the triple digits. Martian Manhunter was shown confronting Charaxes.
In Arkansas, Midnighter dodged gunfire until Apollo blasted the Clown Prince of Crime in half with eyebeams. Unfortunately, Superman prevented the killing of Chimera, giving him time to find an even more dangerous threat from out of his volume from the Athenaeum...
DC/Wildstorm: Dreamwar part five, "Bad To The Bone" was by Keith Giffen, Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott.
New 52's Day featuring Wildstorm
