Countdown: Arena
Encyclopedia
Countdown: Arena is a four-issue American comic book
mini-series
published by DC Comics
. Written by Keith Champagne
with art by Scott McDaniel
, that ran for four weeks in December 2007
.
Spinning off of Countdown
, the series features Monarch
(Nathaniel Adam
) as he organizes battles among various characters from the 52 Earths of the Multiverse
. He then adds those he deems worthy to his army, in preparation for a battle against the Monitors
. Monarch seeks to build a powerful strike team, specifically it seeks powerful alternates for Superman
, Batman
, Wonder Woman
, Green Lantern
, the Flash
, Blue Beetle
, Nightshade
, Starman
, and the Ray
to compose the squad.
The Shade attacks the other two Nightshades, mentioning she has not killed anyone in almost two days. Nightshade's limbs are severed by Shade. Eve of Shadows manages to pull the Shade into an alternate dimension called the Shadowlands, where Shade is defeated. Despite the victory, her husband and country are destroyed due to her violation of Monarch's rule against attempting to escape.
The two human Batmen unite to blind the Vampire Bat with daggers, poison it with a cyanide capsule, and breaks its neck. But the creature turns into smoke and disappears before The Bat can plunge a dagger into its chest. The two remaining Batmen square off, agreeing not to use weapons or tricks, just skill. The vampire chooses this moment to rematerialize behind the Batman of Earth-19, enabling the Bat to knock Batman of Earth-19 out when he turns around. The vampire bites the Bat in the neck and tosses him away but is blasted by Monarch before he can bite the fallen Batman (Countdown's interior art swaps the two defeated Batmen). Monarch removes the combatants from the arena, keeping Batman of Earth-19 in stasis as a "spare." The Bat later rises as a vampire and attacks Monarch's disposal crew.
The Ray of Earth-10 immediately attempts to fly out of the arena but is stopped by a force field. He then attacks the other two Rays, blinding Apollo with a blast of light. Ray Palmer helps the Nazi Ray escape the arena forcing Monarch to kill the Ray of Earth-10 for violating his rules. Apollo attacks Ray Palmer, mistaking him for Monarch. Ray shrinks and jumps into Apollo's head, blasting him from the inside out, defeating him, but leaving him alive. Monarch keeps Apollo in stasis alongside his spare Batman.
Danny's scarab abandons him to join the swarm, leaving Danny defenseless and the swarm eats him. Ted attempts to crush the swarm piece by piece but the swarm flies inside the giant beetle and destroys him from the inside out. The swarm is victorious. Before his death, Ted screams for someone to "finish [his] work" (some sort of high-tech vest), but Monarch confiscates and destroys it.
Once in the arena the three Lanterns ally together and cover it with a green field, preventing Monarch from being able to observe them, and forcing him to burn his way inside. The three Lanterns attack him but their combined attacks have no effect at all. The Green Lantern of Earth-32 turns off his ring's safeties in order to throw one, powerful blast at Monarch's face. The blast destroys the face-plate of Monarch's containment suit, resulting in a massive explosion which kills the Earth-5 Green Lantern and renders the other two unconscious. Hal Jordan of Earth-12 the first to rise, though missing an arm from earlier in battle, is recruited by Monarch. The Earth-32 Green Lantern is held in stasis.
The Starman of Earth-17 and Starwoman chat in the arena while waiting for Starman of Earth-48 (who is still on the Shiftship attacking Monarch). Once teleported into the arena, the blue skinned Starman disintegrates the gorilla Starman's upper body instantly, seeking to win the fight as quickly as possible. He then tackles Starwoman, who blasts his face with her star rod in self defense. She inadvertently decapitates the angry Starman, winning her match in a matter of seconds.
Johnny Quick chases after Lia before being punched in the face by Jay and being knocked out. Lia then betrays Jay with a blinding flash and starts punching him while yelling that she is not the crying wimp she made herself out to be on the ship. Jay warns her to look behind, but she ignores him and is impaled through the chest with a vibrating punch from a recovered Quick, incapacitating Lia. Quick challenges Jay to a race which Jay wins through treachery (throws his helmet at Johnny). Johnny feigns to be critical wounded and then vibro-punches Jay in the neck when he stoops down to help him, knocking Jay out, leaving Quick the winner.
The three Wonder Woman agree to give this fight their all, and proceed to slug it out with punches and kicks. Just when the Wonder Woman of Earth-18 is about to step on Earth-21 Wonder Woman's face, she's knocked out by a punch to the neck from Earth-34 Wonder Woman. She and Earth-21 Wonder Woman square off, delivering simultaneous blows to the head. Being the first to rise, Earth-34 Wonder Woman is declared the winner by Monarch.
The final fight will be between the Captains Atom and the Monarch. Sensing this, the now-vampiric Bat uses the teleporter (built by Blue Beetle and powered by Breach) to send Breach to scour the Multiverse for more Captains Atoms. He then takes the other two Captains down to help him rescue the survivors. Breach assembles a team of his many counterparts including Earth-13's Brigadier Atom, Earth-22's Kingdom Come
, Earth-4's Charlton Comics
Captain Atom, Earth-30's Soviet Atom, a Doctor Manhattan-lookalike, President Atom, the robotic Quantum Mechanix, Quantum Boy, Captain Addama, a Hulked out
"Attum", and many others. The Bat and the two Captains are confronted by Monarch and his army of soldiers. Monarch shares that he had planted the teleporter for Earth-33's Ted Kord to assemble (although Monarch seemingly mistakenly refers to him as a native of Earth-6) to give the group false hope. Monarch also reveals that Breach had been working for him all along and was in fact New Earth's Breach, who had survived the Infinite Crisis
and been brainwashed by Monarch. Monarch then proceeds to destroy the Bat and the Captains Atom adding their powers to his own. Saving Earth-4's Captain Atom for last, Monarch simultaneously laments that he sacrificed his morality for the cause of defeating the Monitors
and taunts Atom with the fact that since they are essentially the same man, a spark of Monarch's personality exists even within him. Breach betrays Monarch by giving Earth-31 Superman the fully charged teleporter device to save the heroes out of Monarch's holding cell. Monarch kills Breach for his betrayal while admitting that he was planning to kill him anyway.
The three Supermen battle, with Chris Kent holding a definite advantage. The Earth-31 and Earth-30 Supermen fly out of the arena and are nearly poisoned by radiation, but Chris saves them. The trio again battle with Chris absorbing enough of the other two's powers to become a glowing red giant. He tries to destroy Monarch and fails dying in the attempt. The proceedings are then interrupted by Breach, who has brought with him every other version of Captain Atom in the Multiverse. Monarch proceeds to kill them all and adding their atomic power to his own. During the confusion, Earth-31 Superman is given the transporter rig by Breach, who managed to free himself from Monarch's control, and uses it to free Monarch's "spares" and escape. In the aftermath of the battle, the Earth-30 Superman is the only fighter in the Arena alive protected by the Earth-30 Captain Atom. Monarch adds him to his roster and prepares to attack the Monitors.
, alternate Batgirl
s and Robins
with one pair appearing to be based on Batgirl and Robin Thrillkiller while the other Robin matches the appearance of his Pre-Crisis Earth Two counterpart, an alternate Lobo, Ultraa
, L.E.G.I.O.N.
from the Legion Elseworld
story L.E.G.I.O.N. 90210, Justice Society of America
members (Mister Terrific I, Black Canary
I, Hourman
I, Doctor Mid-Nite
I) from JSA: The Liberty Files
, and JLA members (Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, and the Atom) from what resembles to be from the universe of JLA: The Nail
. Monarch obliterates all these characters shortly after bringing in Superman of Earth-31, the last combatant, in order to demonstrate his own seriousness and ruthlessness.
:
American comic book
An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
mini-series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. Written by Keith Champagne
Keith Champagne
Keith Champagne is an American comic artist, who has also moved into writing, and is known for his work at DC Comics.-Biography:Keith graduated from Montville High School, Oakdale Connecticut in 1988. He is a 1994 graduate of The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic art...
with art by Scott McDaniel
Scott McDaniel
Scott McDaniel is an American comics artist who has drawn numerous books, including Marvel Comics' "Fall from Grace" storyline for the Daredevil series...
, that ran for four weeks in December 2007
2007 in comics
-January:*January 10: Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator released.*January 24: The Boys is canceled with issue #6.-February:*February 2: Newsarama reports that The Boys has been picked up by Dynamite Entertainment....
.
Spinning off of Countdown
Countdown to Final Crisis
Countdown, known as Countdown to Final Crisis for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of 52...
, the series features Monarch
Monarch (comics)
Monarch is the name of three fictional DC Comics supervillains. The first Monarch is Hank Hall, formerly Hawk, who later renames himself Extant for the Zero Hour crossover. The second Monarch is Nathaniel Adam, a U.S. Army Captain. The third Monarch is Captain Atom, a former superhero...
(Nathaniel Adam
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
) as he organizes battles among various characters from the 52 Earths of the Multiverse
Multiverse (DC Comics)
The DC Multiverse is a fictional continuity construct that exists in stories published by comic book company DC Comics. The DC Multiverse consists of numerous worlds, most of them outside DC's main continuity, allowing writers the creative freedom to explore alternative versions of characters and...
. He then adds those he deems worthy to his army, in preparation for a battle against the Monitors
Monitors (comics)
The Monitors are a group of fictional comic book characters, who appear in books published by DC Comics.They are based on The Monitor, a character created by comic book writer Marv Wolfman and comic artist George Pérez as one of the main characters of DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths limited...
. Monarch seeks to build a powerful strike team, specifically it seeks powerful alternates for Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
, Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
, the Flash
Flash (comics)
The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
, Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
, Nightshade
Nightshade (comics)
Nightshade is a fictional character, a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. Created by Joe Gill and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in Captain Atom v2 #82 originally published by Charlton Comics.-Charlton Comics:...
, Starman
Starman (comics)
Starman is a name used by several different fictional DC Comics superheroes, most prominently Ted Knight and his sons David and Jack.Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Jack Burnley, the original Starman, Ted Knight, first appeared in Adventure Comics #61...
, and the Ray
Ray (comics)
The Ray is the name of four fictional characters, all superheroes in the DC Comics universe.The first Ray was a Quality Comics character who was one of those purchased by DC Comics. He was later retconned as a member of the Freedom Fighters...
to compose the squad.
Summary
Monarch's battles get underway, as Eve of Shadows (Earth-13), Vampire Batman (Earth-43), Ray "the Ray" Palmer (Earth-6), Scarab (Earth-26), Hal Jordan Jr. (Earth-12), Starwoman (Earth-7), Johnny Quick (Earth-3), and Wonder Woman (Earth-34) are selected as Monarch's champions. The Batman of Earth-19 and Apollo of Earth-50 become Monarch's "backups", held in stasis. Throughout the series, tensions build between the all-American Superman of Earth-31 and his Russian Earth-30 counterpart. Superman-31 and Vampire Bat discover that a transporter miraculously designed by Earth-33's Ted Kord can travel the multiverse. After the group realizes the connection between Monarch and Captain Atom, Breach volunteers to collect the other counterparts from across the 52 earths in an attempt to overpower Monarch. In the conclusion, the Supermen fight is interrupted by a barrage of alternate Captain Atoms, who Monarch is able to overpower and absorb into himself. This reveals Ted Kord-33 and Breach (actually the brainwashed Breach of New Earth, not of Earth-8) to be his accomplices. Breach betrays Monarch by giving Superman-31 the transporter to save everyone on board the ship. The last man standing after Superman-31's departure and Superman of Earth-16's sacrifice, the Red Son Superman of Earth-30 becomes Monarch's final team member.Nightshades
- Eve of Shadows of Earth-13: a sorceress named Eve Eden can manipulate shadows and controls a shadow realm. She is married to Brigadier Atom.
- Eve Eden: A Nightshade who appears similar to her New Earth counterpart, can manipulate and control darkness.
- The Shade, a female who carries a cane and wears a top hat, able to control all shadows.
The Shade attacks the other two Nightshades, mentioning she has not killed anyone in almost two days. Nightshade's limbs are severed by Shade. Eve of Shadows manages to pull the Shade into an alternate dimension called the Shadowlands, where Shade is defeated. Despite the victory, her husband and country are destroyed due to her violation of Monarch's rule against attempting to escape.
Batmen
- Batman of Earth-19: A Batman who started his career in the 1880s and defeated Jack the RipperJack the Ripper"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
. Featured in Gotham by Gaslight. - Batman of Earth-40, The Bat: A Batman who was a covert government operative under the alias The Bat during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Featured in JSA: The Liberty FilesJSA: The Liberty FilesJSA: The Liberty Files is a comic book published by DC Comics. The writers were Dan Jolley and Tony Harris. The artists were Harris and Ray Snyder. The books were originally written as two separate two-issue stories; JSA: The Liberty File in 2000 and a sequel, JSA: The Unholy Three in 2003...
. - Batman of Earth-43: A Batman who became a vampire after fighting DraculaCount DraculaCount Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
. Featured in Batman & Dracula: Red Rain.
The two human Batmen unite to blind the Vampire Bat with daggers, poison it with a cyanide capsule, and breaks its neck. But the creature turns into smoke and disappears before The Bat can plunge a dagger into its chest. The two remaining Batmen square off, agreeing not to use weapons or tricks, just skill. The vampire chooses this moment to rematerialize behind the Batman of Earth-19, enabling the Bat to knock Batman of Earth-19 out when he turns around. The vampire bites the Bat in the neck and tosses him away but is blasted by Monarch before he can bite the fallen Batman (Countdown's interior art swaps the two defeated Batmen). Monarch removes the combatants from the arena, keeping Batman of Earth-19 in stasis as a "spare." The Bat later rises as a vampire and attacks Monarch's disposal crew.
The Rays
- The Ray of Earth-10: A fascist Ray who bears a glowing Swastika on his chest. Oddly, the Ray of Earth-10 shown in #52 fights alongside Uncle SamUncle Sam (comics)Uncle Sam is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero based on national personification of the United States, Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam first appeared in National Comics #1 and was created by Will Eisner.-Quality Comics:...
and the Freedom FightersFreedom Fighters (comics)Freedom Fighters is a DC Comics comic book superhero team made up of characters acquired from the defunct company Quality Comics. Although the characters were created by Quality, they never were gathered in a group before acquired by DC...
. It is possible that this Ray is Ray Terril, as his costume resembles the New Earth Ray Terril's new uniform. The heroic Ray was possibly Happy Terril, his father (he is shown wearing the costume of the original Ray). - ApolloApollo (comics)Apollo is a fictional character, a comic book superhero who first appeared in the Stormwatch series, but is best known for his role in The Authority. While visually distinct, Apollo is cast in the mold of the Superman archetype....
of Earth-50: Member of the Wildstorm UniverseWildstorm UniverseThe Wildstorm Universe is a fictional shared universe where the comic books published by Wildstorm take place. It represents an alternate history of the real world where ideas such as interstellar travel and superhuman abilities are commonplace...
's superhero group, the Authority (Keith Champagne said, "It doesn't necessarily mean Apollo is a Ray analogue, just that Monarch grouped him together with the other two [due to the solar-powered connection]"). - Ray Palmer of Earth-6: Formerly The Atom of his Earth, Ray retains his size-changing belt in addition to light controlling powers as The Ray.
The Ray of Earth-10 immediately attempts to fly out of the arena but is stopped by a force field. He then attacks the other two Rays, blinding Apollo with a blast of light. Ray Palmer helps the Nazi Ray escape the arena forcing Monarch to kill the Ray of Earth-10 for violating his rules. Apollo attacks Ray Palmer, mistaking him for Monarch. Ray shrinks and jumps into Apollo's head, blasting him from the inside out, defeating him, but leaving him alive. Monarch keeps Apollo in stasis alongside his spare Batman.
Blue Beetles
- Ted (Kord) of Earth-33: A giant man-sized blue beetle, pet of his world's Mr. and Mrs. Kord.
- Danny (Garrett) of Earth-39: A Dan Garrett whose scarab has bonded with him as New Earth's scarab has to Jaime Reyes.
- Scarab: A swarm of Blue Beetles from Earth-26 (mistakenly labeled Earth-21 when introduced).
Danny's scarab abandons him to join the swarm, leaving Danny defenseless and the swarm eats him. Ted attempts to crush the swarm piece by piece but the swarm flies inside the giant beetle and destroys him from the inside out. The swarm is victorious. Before his death, Ted screams for someone to "finish [his] work" (some sort of high-tech vest), but Monarch confiscates and destroys it.
Green Lanterns
- Green Lantern of Earth-5: A Green Lantern named Hal Jordan who comes from a world home to Captain MarvelCaptain Marvel (DC Comics)Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
and the Marvel FamilyMarvel FamilyThe Marvel Family is a group of fictional characters, a team of superheroes in the Fawcett Comics and DC Comics universes. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and Fawcett artists C. C...
. - Green Lantern of Earth-12: A Green Lantern named Hal Jordan III, grandson of the original Hal Jordan, from the world of Batman BeyondBatman BeyondBatman Beyond is an American animated television series created by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration with DC Comics as a continuation of the Batman legacy...
. - Green Lantern of Earth-32: A Green Lantern named Bruce Wayne who found Abin SurAbin SurAbin Sur is a fictional character and a superhero from the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Showcase #22 : "SOS Green Lantern". He was a member of the Green Lantern Corps and is best known as the predecessor of Green Lantern Hal Jordan, whom Abin Sur's power ring chose as his replacement...
's power ring. Featured in Batman: In Darkest KnightBatman: In Darkest KnightBatman: In Darkest Knight is a one-shot comic book, published in 1994 and written by Mike W. Barr with art by Jerry Bingham. The comic is an Elseworlds story in which Bruce Wayne becomes the Green Lantern instead of Hal Jordan. This one change creates a domino effect which changes many events and...
.
Once in the arena the three Lanterns ally together and cover it with a green field, preventing Monarch from being able to observe them, and forcing him to burn his way inside. The three Lanterns attack him but their combined attacks have no effect at all. The Green Lantern of Earth-32 turns off his ring's safeties in order to throw one, powerful blast at Monarch's face. The blast destroys the face-plate of Monarch's containment suit, resulting in a massive explosion which kills the Earth-5 Green Lantern and renders the other two unconscious. Hal Jordan of Earth-12 the first to rise, though missing an arm from earlier in battle, is recruited by Monarch. The Earth-32 Green Lantern is held in stasis.
Starmen
- Starwoman (Courtney Whitmore) of Earth-7: A brunette Starwoman equipped with a star rod.
- Starman of Earth-17: An intelligent gorilla who serves as peacemaker from an Earth home on KamandiKamandiKamandi is an American comic book character, created by artist Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. The bulk of Kamandi's appearances occurred in the comic series Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, which ran from 1972 to 1978....
. Carries a star rod. - Starman (Mikaal Tomas) of Earth-48: A male from "the black planet" empowered with cosmic abilities.
The Starman of Earth-17 and Starwoman chat in the arena while waiting for Starman of Earth-48 (who is still on the Shiftship attacking Monarch). Once teleported into the arena, the blue skinned Starman disintegrates the gorilla Starman's upper body instantly, seeking to win the fight as quickly as possible. He then tackles Starwoman, who blasts his face with her star rod in self defense. She inadvertently decapitates the angry Starman, winning her match in a matter of seconds.
Flashes
- Jay Garrick of Earth-2: A WW II hero and a member of the Justice Society of AmericaJustice Society of AmericaThe Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
. - Lia Nelson of Earth-9: The Flash of the Tangent ComicsTangent ComicsTangent Comics was a DC Comics imprint created in 1997–1998, developed from ideas created by Dan Jurgens. The line, formed from various one-shots, focused on creating all-new characters using established DC names, such as the Joker, Superman, and the Flash...
imprint, a Flash with various light-related abilities. - Johnny Quick of Earth-3: A member of the villainous Crime Society of America, this alternate Flash is an evil counterpart to the Earth-2 Flash.
Johnny Quick chases after Lia before being punched in the face by Jay and being knocked out. Lia then betrays Jay with a blinding flash and starts punching him while yelling that she is not the crying wimp she made herself out to be on the ship. Jay warns her to look behind, but she ignores him and is impaled through the chest with a vibrating punch from a recovered Quick, incapacitating Lia. Quick challenges Jay to a race which Jay wins through treachery (throws his helmet at Johnny). Johnny feigns to be critical wounded and then vibro-punches Jay in the neck when he stoops down to help him, knocking Jay out, leaving Quick the winner.
Wonder Women
- Wonder Woman of Earth-18: A Wonder Woman who was sheriff of a western town in the 1890s. Featured in Justice RidersJustice RidersJustice Riders is a 1997 Elseworlds prestige format one-shot, from DC Comics, written by Chuck Dixon, with art by J.H. Williams III.The story involves the Justice League of America recast in assorted roles in the Wild West. Wonder Woman is a Marshal, Booster Gold is a Maverick-style gambler, Wally...
. - Wonder Woman of Earth-21: A Wonder Woman who started her career in the 1940s. Featured in DC: The New FrontierDC: The New FrontierDC: The New Frontier is an Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Award-winning six-issue comic book limited series written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, published by DC Comics in 2003-2004. It was then collected into two trade paperback volumes from 2004–2005 and then an Absolute Edition in 2006...
. - Wonder Woman of Earth-34: A Wonder Woman who freed women from the cruel oppression of King JackJack the Ripper"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
in 19th Century England. Featured in Wonder Woman: AmazoniaWonder Woman: AmazoniaWonder Woman: Amazonia is a comic book one-shot published by DC Comics under its Elseworlds imprint. As with all Elseworlds it tells a non-canon story of a DC hero, this time Wonder Woman, outside of regular continuity and is set in the 19th Century...
.
The three Wonder Woman agree to give this fight their all, and proceed to slug it out with punches and kicks. Just when the Wonder Woman of Earth-18 is about to step on Earth-21 Wonder Woman's face, she's knocked out by a punch to the neck from Earth-34 Wonder Woman. She and Earth-21 Wonder Woman square off, delivering simultaneous blows to the head. Being the first to rise, Earth-34 Wonder Woman is declared the winner by Monarch.
Captain Atoms
- BreachBreach (comics)Breach is a fictional character, a superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Breach #1, and was created by Bob Harras and Marcos Martin.-Publication history:...
(Major Tim Zanetti) of New Earth but is thought to be from Earth-8. - Ronald RaymondFirestorm (comics)Firestorm is the name of several comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein, the first Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. Martin Stein, by himself as Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm the Nuclear...
& Nathaniel Adam of Earth-37: merged to create Quantum-Storm. - Captain Atom of Earth-38: Leader of his world's Atomic KnightAtomic KnightAtomic Knight is a DC Comics superhero and was briefly a member of the Outsiders team. He is sometimes depicted as one of a group of Atomic Knights, which first appeared in Strange Adventures #117 .-Original Atomic Knights:...
s.
The final fight will be between the Captains Atom and the Monarch. Sensing this, the now-vampiric Bat uses the teleporter (built by Blue Beetle and powered by Breach) to send Breach to scour the Multiverse for more Captains Atoms. He then takes the other two Captains down to help him rescue the survivors. Breach assembles a team of his many counterparts including Earth-13's Brigadier Atom, Earth-22's Kingdom Come
Kingdom Come (comic book)
Kingdom Come is a four-issue comic book mini-series published in 1996 by DC Comics. It was written by Alex Ross and Mark Waid and painted in gouache by Ross, who also developed the concept from an original idea...
, Earth-4's Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
Captain Atom, Earth-30's Soviet Atom, a Doctor Manhattan-lookalike, President Atom, the robotic Quantum Mechanix, Quantum Boy, Captain Addama, a Hulked out
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
"Attum", and many others. The Bat and the two Captains are confronted by Monarch and his army of soldiers. Monarch shares that he had planted the teleporter for Earth-33's Ted Kord to assemble (although Monarch seemingly mistakenly refers to him as a native of Earth-6) to give the group false hope. Monarch also reveals that Breach had been working for him all along and was in fact New Earth's Breach, who had survived the Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
and been brainwashed by Monarch. Monarch then proceeds to destroy the Bat and the Captains Atom adding their powers to his own. Saving Earth-4's Captain Atom for last, Monarch simultaneously laments that he sacrificed his morality for the cause of defeating the Monitors
Monitors (comics)
The Monitors are a group of fictional comic book characters, who appear in books published by DC Comics.They are based on The Monitor, a character created by comic book writer Marv Wolfman and comic artist George Pérez as one of the main characters of DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths limited...
and taunts Atom with the fact that since they are essentially the same man, a spark of Monarch's personality exists even within him. Breach betrays Monarch by giving Earth-31 Superman the fully charged teleporter device to save the heroes out of Monarch's holding cell. Monarch kills Breach for his betrayal while admitting that he was planning to kill him anyway.
Supermen
- Superman of Earth-16: As verified by Keith Champagne, this Superman is Christopher KentChris Kent (comics)Christopher Kent is a fictional character, a Kryptonian in the , who first appeared in Action Comics #844 , the first part of the Action Comics story arc "Superman: Last Son". Created by Richard Donner and Geoff Johns, he is the biological son of General Zod and Ursa, and the foster son of Clark...
, who in the main DC Universe is the preteen biological son of General ZodGeneral ZodGeneral Zod is a fictional character who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, a supervillain who is one of Superman's more-prominent enemies. The character first appeared in Adventure Comics #283 , and was created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp...
. Earth-16 is referred to as the Pre-Crisis world of the "Supersons" as Superman Jr. and Batman Jr. were the direct sons of the famous characters. Originally, Christopher was described as coming from Earth-15, where Zod apparently replaces Kal-ElSupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
as Superman. However, prior to Countdown: Arena, Earth-15 and its heroes were destroyed by Superman-Prime. - Superman of Earth-30: A Superman who lands in CommunistCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
35 years earlier and directly leads the Soviet Union to openly conquer most of Earth-30. Similar to the character featured in Superman: Red SonSuperman: Red SonSuperman: Red Son is a three-issue prestige format comic book mini-series published by DC Comics that was released under their Elseworlds imprint in April 2003...
. - Superman of Earth-31: A super-patriotic Superman as seen in All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes AgainBatman: The Dark Knight Strikes AgainBatman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again is a Batman mini-series by Frank Miller with Lynn Varley. It is a sequel to Miller's 1986 miniseries, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.-Overview:...
, and Batman: The Dark Knight ReturnsBatman: The Dark Knight ReturnsBatman: The Dark Knight Returns is a four-issue comic book limited series written and drawn by Frank Miller, originally published by DC Comics under the title Batman: The Dark Knight in 1986. When the issues were released in a collected edition later that year, the story title for the first issue...
.
The three Supermen battle, with Chris Kent holding a definite advantage. The Earth-31 and Earth-30 Supermen fly out of the arena and are nearly poisoned by radiation, but Chris saves them. The trio again battle with Chris absorbing enough of the other two's powers to become a glowing red giant. He tries to destroy Monarch and fails dying in the attempt. The proceedings are then interrupted by Breach, who has brought with him every other version of Captain Atom in the Multiverse. Monarch proceeds to kill them all and adding their atomic power to his own. During the confusion, Earth-31 Superman is given the transporter rig by Breach, who managed to free himself from Monarch's control, and uses it to free Monarch's "spares" and escape. In the aftermath of the battle, the Earth-30 Superman is the only fighter in the Arena alive protected by the Earth-30 Captain Atom. Monarch adds him to his roster and prepares to attack the Monitors.
Other
A page from the comic which appears in Previews and online solicitations also features Earth-26 (animal) Teen Titans, alternate FirestormsFirestorm (comics)
Firestorm is the name of several comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein, the first Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. Martin Stein, by himself as Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm the Nuclear...
, alternate Batgirl
Batgirl
Batgirl is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, frequently depicted as female counterparts to the superhero Batman...
s and Robins
Robin (comics)
Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
with one pair appearing to be based on Batgirl and Robin Thrillkiller while the other Robin matches the appearance of his Pre-Crisis Earth Two counterpart, an alternate Lobo, Ultraa
Ultraa
Ultraa is a DC Comics character, originally the first superhuman on Earth Prime. The original first appeared in Justice League of America #153 , he was created by Gerry Conway and George Tuska...
, L.E.G.I.O.N.
L.E.G.I.O.N.
L.E.G.I.O.N., is a team of fictional extraterrestrial superheroes, a science fiction comic book published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Invasion! #1, and were created by Keith Giffen, Bill Mantlo and Todd McFarlane...
from the Legion Elseworld
Elseworlds
Elseworlds is the publication imprint for a group of comic books produced by DC Comics that take place outside the company's canon. According to its tagline: "In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places — some that have existed, and others...
story L.E.G.I.O.N. 90210, Justice Society of America
Justice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
members (Mister Terrific I, Black Canary
Black Canary
Black Canary is the name of two fictional characters, DC Comics superheroines created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino. The first Black Canary debuted appeared in Flash Comics #86 . The first Black Canary was the alter-ego of Dinah Drake, who took part in Golden Age adventures...
I, Hourman
Hourman
Hourman is the name of three different fictional DC Comics superheroes, the first of whom was created by Ken Fitch and Bernard Baily in Adventure Comics #48 , during the Golden Age of Comic Books.-Rex Tyler:Scientist Rex Tyler, raised in upstate...
I, Doctor Mid-Nite
Doctor Mid-Nite
Doctor Mid-Nite is a fictional superhero physician in DC Comics. The figure has been represented in the comics by three different individuals, Charles McNider, Beth Chapel and Pieter Anton Cross. Dr. Mid-Nite was originally created by writer Charles Reizenstein and artist Stanley Josephs Aschmeier...
I) from JSA: The Liberty Files
JSA: The Liberty Files
JSA: The Liberty Files is a comic book published by DC Comics. The writers were Dan Jolley and Tony Harris. The artists were Harris and Ray Snyder. The books were originally written as two separate two-issue stories; JSA: The Liberty File in 2000 and a sequel, JSA: The Unholy Three in 2003...
, and JLA members (Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, and the Atom) from what resembles to be from the universe of JLA: The Nail
JLA: The Nail
JLA: The Nail is a three-issue comic book mini-series published in the United States by DC Comics. It is a self-contained story by Alan Davis which stands outside of the mainstream continuity of the DC Universe....
. Monarch obliterates all these characters shortly after bringing in Superman of Earth-31, the last combatant, in order to demonstrate his own seriousness and ruthlessness.
Website
On September 14, 2007, DC launched an Arena website where fans can vote for which heroes will appear in Monarch's army. The only heroes that people were able to vote for were alternate versions of Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman.Collected editions
The series has been collected into a trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Countdown: Arena (168 pages, August 2008, DC Comics, ISBN 1-4012-1822-9, Titan BooksTitan BooksTitan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981. It is based at offices in London, England's Bankside area. The Books Division has two main areas of publishing: film & TV tie-ins/cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics reference/art titles. The...
, ISBN 1845768671)