Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare #3 is an issue of the series Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1996.
Synopsis for "Daze & Knights"
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman are battling Know Man's Sparkers. However, time is precious. Doctor Destiny must be found before it's too late. J'onn J'onzz ends the conflict quickly by knocking the Sparkers out with a telepathic assault. J'onzz has been changed drastically since he learned of Doctor Destiny's deception as he normally would not do this. The mental attack on Know Man's group took a lot out of him. He rests a few minutes before revealing his theories. Apparently, Doctor Destiny had been calling for help by placing seeds of truth into the minds of the seven heroes. Green Lantern knows where the dream manipulator is because he had been drawing Destiny in his comics. He had intended to place the machines to which the villain was attached in a military research complex outside of Butte, Montana. All that remains is for the team to get inside before Know Man's plans succeed.
Thanks to Batman's stealth prowess, the Justice League are able to enter the government complex without any problems. The seven, however, are subject to a series of illusions before the Flash finds the door that leads to Doctor Destiny. The dream master is attached to Know Man's devices while pleading for help. Know Man had promised Destiny a world of his own making if he used his powers to assist him in his plan. Destiny had wanted to make the Justice League feel as helpless as its members had made him feel in the past. What Destiny didn't realize was that everything that he believed was his, actually had belonged to Know Man. Doctor Destiny had given what was left of his soul to Know Man in order to get revenge on his foes.
Know Man then makes himself known to the Justice League. The omnipotent being knocks Superman into space and tells the rest of the heroes that he intends to save the world rather than conquer it. He was granted his abilities when an alien ship landed on his world. The Controller, as Know Man called the craft's pilot, had given a being that seemed a prehistoric human male his power, and thus, Know Man was born. Seeing the vast information in the Controllers' vessel had made him curious. It was here that he saw humanity's fate. Know Man planned to save Earth from a threat of incredible power. Using Doctor Destiny, Know Man had given the JLA the normal life they had always wanted, while, at the same time, making ordinary humans superpowered beings. Know Man needs these new metahumans to defeat the coming menace. However, what started out as a plan to aid Earth has turned to utter chaos. Even the Justice League might not be able to clean up Know Man's mess.
Batman has a plan that requires the distraught Martian Manhunter to telepathically awaken the entire world from Know Man and Doctor Destiny's dream. Aquaman will use his latent empathic power to keep J'onn from going too deeply into humanity's collective consciousness. Everything seems to go well until the strain is too much for Aquaman. As the rest of the JLA, including Superman, battles Know Man, a weakened Doctor Destiny assists the Martian Manhunter in doing what Aquaman could not. In doing so, Doctor Destiny sacrifices himself to help mankind revive from the nightmare that he had caused. Know Man's scheme has failed.
Seeing that his plot was not a success, Know Man leaves the task of protecting the human race from the foreseen menace to the Justice League. He only hopes that they are up to such a great task. With Know Man now gone, Superman says that the powerful extraterrestrial has taught the team a lesson: some threats are just too big for only one hero, and the Justice League must reform in order to take on such things.
Appearing in "Daze & Knights"
Featured Characters:
Antagonists:
- Behemoth
- Know Man
- Doctor Destiny
- Onyx
- Unity
- Vigil
Other Characters:
- A Controller (Flashback only)
- Guardians of the Universe (Flashback only) (Cameo)
- Poseidon (Mentioned only)
- Vandal Savage (Flashback only) (Cameo)
Locations:
Items:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in the Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare trade paperback and Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare—The Deluxe Edition
See Also
- Cover gallery for the Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare series
- Images from Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare Vol 1 3