...I am Ultraman! Nothing can kill me. Nothing can hurt me. Nothing has ever freakin' scratched me. Metropolis is mine. Its people are mine. They love me. 
- — Ultraman
Crime Syndicate #1 is an issue of the series Crime Syndicate (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 2021. It was published on March 2, 2021.
Synopsis for "The New Deal, Part 1: Strange Visitor"
On November 22, 1963, the tyrannical U.S. President John F. Kennedy was incinerated to death in the middle of a parade by a young boy who would grow up to become Ultraman. The Amerikan people jubilantly celebrated their freedom from Kennedy by what they perceive the boy to be their savior.
In the present day, Ultraman is very displeased to find a Daily Planet headline that strongly criticizes him. He violently barges into the Daily Planet building by smashing a truck into the building before confronting a defiant Cat Grant, who was behind the hit piece. Grant is not intimidated by Ultraman, as she swears that one day that the people of Metropolis will rise up against their metahuman overlord. Even if Ultraman kills her then someone else will fill her place, such as Alexander Luthor. Ultraman tells Grant that she was allowed to live because he wanted her to print her stories to respect him. But if she continues her slander against Ultraman, he will instead kill her entire staff. Just as Ultraman delivers his threat, he notice something in the sky.
At Arnold, D.C., President Oliver Queen is in the middle of a "meeting" with the Themyscira ambassador Donna Troy, aka Superwoman, who is influencing Queen into giving her secret files on various metahumans. A pair of FBI agents bust into the meeting. Before anyone could act, the Oval Office's walls are shattered open by a massive impact. Superwoman tells the surprised agents and Queen that is no earthquake, but something bigger...
In Coast City, the Emerald Knight (John Stewart) executes his own brand of justice on a hoodlum and a police officer: the hoodlum is accused for theft, and the policeman is accused for being corrupt by preying on the weak. He kills them by dropping them over a great height. Stewart's sentient power ring crudely criticizes him for not acting quick to deliver his punishment before directing his attention to the sky.
In Central City, Johnny Quick and his girlfriend Atomica are interrupted in their crimes by the same impact, causing Johnny to lose his footing and crashing into a car.
All over the world, everyone look to the skies to see a massive, purple starfish-like alien: Starro. The alien came with swarms of Starro parasites which attaches various people including Johnny Quick. Over Metropolis, Ultraman is overwhelmed by the parasites and is eventually falls into Starro's control. In his last act of his free will, Ultraman incinerates several nearby bystanders in a spiteful attempt to deny Starro anymore human hosts.
In Gotham City, the Owlman kills a mugger from robbing a man at gunpoint. Not just out of a good deed, but for the mugger committing the crime in the city without "the Talons'" permission. Owlman's butler Alfred kills the mugging victim for taking a picture of Owlman with his smartphone; Owlman wanted to make his existence a terrifying fable and folklore to the public rather than fact. Owlman then discuss with Alfred about the news of Starro's invasion, noting that the alien and its parasites are specifically targeting the world's major cities but some such as Gotham are not directly attacked. Intrigued, Owlman is finding out the reason why that is and also to exploit it.
Appearing in "The New Deal, Part 1: Strange Visitor"
Featured Characters:
- Ultraman (Flashback and main story) (Origin)
Supporting Characters:
- Atomica
- Emerald Knight (John Stewart) (First appearance)
- Johnny Quick (Jonathan Chambers) (First appearance)
- Owlman
- Superwoman (Donna Troy) (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Starro (First appearance)
Other Characters:
- Alfred Pennyworth
- Cat Grant (First appearance)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Jacqueline Kennedy (Single appearance) (Flashback only)
- Jimmy Olsen (First appearance)
- John F. Kennedy (Single appearance; dies) (Flashback only)
- President Oliver Queen (First appearance)
- United States Air Force
- United States Secret Service
- Agent Calabrese (Single appearance)
- Alexander Luthor (Mentioned only)
- Amazons of Themyscira (Mentioned only)
- Benedict Arnold (Mentioned only)
- Overlords of Oa (Mentioned only)
- Talons (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Earth 3
- 1963
- Cuba (Mentioned only)
- United States of Amerika
- Dallas
- Dexter Vines Motel (Mentioned only)
- Elm Street (Mentioned only)
- Dallas
- 2021
- Arnold, D.C
- Coast City
- Gotham City
- Metropolis
- Johannesburg (Mentioned only)
- Kiev (Mentioned only)
- New York City (Mentioned only)
- Themyscira (Mentioned only)
- Tokyo (Mentioned only)
- 2020 (Mentioned only)
- 1963
Items:
Events:
- Cold War (Flashback only)
Synopsis for "The Paranoid Titan"
Clark Kent was adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who took advantage of his alien heritage after his powers emerged in 1963. Clark does all of the work on the farm while taught by his adoptive parents about the negative lessons of "freeloaders". It wasn't long that others in Smallville saw his powers and grew to be afraid of him. When Clark sought his parents' advice about the people's reactions to him, they assured him that people will like him by showing them how to be obedient. But if not, then those people don't matter to Clark at all except for his parents as long he is better than them.
Clark took his parents' advice and had tried hard to set the other kids at his school of how to be good. However, the kids were only left envious of Clark, and calling him names such as "freak", "space baby", and "bizarro". Clark deemed them ungrateful freeloaders. Over time, Clark started to realize that while he did all the work on the farm his parents did nothing.
One night, the Kents decided that Clark needs to know the truth of his alien origins. They showed him the spaceship that was sent to Earth when he was a baby and kept hidden under the barn. The Kents explain that they kept this secret from Clark and anyone else over the fear that other people will try to take Clark away from them and enslave him. After hearing the truth, Clark is left deeply upset over the Kents for being liars. He is angry at them for not keeping the secret well enough as the townspeople and the kids had already knew of what he is. Also Clark is upset over his adoptive parents exploiting him; now knowing that they are not looking out for him due to parental concerns, but more afraid about someone else would use him rather than them. They are thus nothing more than a couple of freeloaders. Clark then flies away from the Kent Farm with his spaceship, leaving his adoptive parents for good.
Appearing in "The Paranoid Titan"
Featured Characters:
- Ultraman (Flashback only) (Origin)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Jonathan Kent (Flashback only)
- Martha Kent (Flashback only)
Locations:
Vehicles:
Notes
- The comic reboots many elements of Earth 3, as well as character origins, following the recreation of the infinite multiverse in Dark Nights: Death Metal #7.
Trivia
- The scene where Ultraman throws a truck into the Daily Planet building, is a reference to the cover of Action Comics #1.
- In Ultraman's origin, the scene where baby Kal-Il is rocketed out of Krypton, reuses the same design format from All-Star Superman #1.
See Also