- This is a priority alert to every Green Lantern Ring in a hundred million light-years. Return to Oa. Race to the center of the universe... the edge of space is about to rip open! The Source Wall is going to explode!
- — Ganthet
Justice League Annual (Volume 4) #1 is an issue of the series Justice League Annual (Volume 4) with a cover date of March, 2019. It was published on January 30, 2019.
Synopsis for "Multiversal Meltdown!"
The desperate Justice League travels to the Promethean Galaxy in the Javelin-7, past fragments of the disintegrating Source Wall. Only Hawkgirl does not flinch at the sight of it, and this scares her.
The Green Lantern Corps is using all of their willpower to hold the Wall together, for if it falls, so does the multiverse. Lanterns Kyle Raynor and John Stewart attempt to educate Starman but he is already speaking with the universe, and opens a portal through which the New Gods bring the captured Wonder Omega Titan. Through a second portal Ganthet and the remaining G.L.C. drag the Wisdom Titan, while Shayera and the Thanagarian Fleet tow in the final living Omega Titan - Mystery.
As Hawkgirl watches the assembled Omega Titans near the Source Wall, her cosmic wings sprout in anticipation, anxious to play her part as the avatar of the fourth Titan - the dead Entropy. She had learned from Starman, weeks before, that the Titans' critical function was to repair damage to the Source Wall, using the energy they had gained from consuming worlds.
The three living Omega Titans are pushed against the wall, and it grows around them. They offer no resistance. Hawkgirl, in her suit designed by Starman, flies into the void in the wall meant for Entropy, prepared to give her lives to save the multiverse. While she enjoys a few moments in a psychic projection of heaven with Martian Manhunter, something outside goes terribly wrong. Brainiac is alive and has brought the Legion of Doom to the Promethean Galaxy.
Lex Luthor had secretly rebuilt Brainiac in the Hall of Doom, to help Luthor take hold of the remaining three universal forces and free Perpetua. They would simply hijack Starman, and draw the remaining energies from him, while Brainiac's drones kept the Justice League busy.
Starman channels the entropic energy through Hawkgirl when she thinks she's ready, yet still, she screams! And in that moment Brainiac's tendril snakes out and grasps Starman, who is forced to fire his energy out into the Totality, completing Lex Luthor's mastery of all seven universal forces. Perpetua is freed in a blinding light! The space battle freezes; the Promethean Giants open their eyes and glare; and the goddess Perpetua forms in front of the assembled armies.
Ganthet calls out for Highfather, but the time of the New Gods is over and Highfather fades back into the Source. Apokolips and New Genesis follow suit, as Adam Strange reports that they have ceased to exist in a flash of light. Lightray and Orion try to Boom Tube away, but seem to meet the same fate.
The Wall; the wall is burning — exploding — but Hawkgirl still desperately tries to complete her task with the Omega Titans. As Martian Manhunter pulls Hawkgirl away, the Titans are screaming while the Wall disintegrates around them, until a final shockwave like a new Big Bang, and Source Wall is gone.
In the Ghost Sector, Uxas is hidden behind a distortion field and has escaped the end of the Fourth World.
On Earth, the Swamp Thing hears all of nature screaming: as in Heaven the Spectre swears holy vengeance.
Above the fray in the House of Heroes, Kalel tells the rest of Justice Incarnate that the end is here.
Brainiac, Sinestro and Luthor are momentarily awed by Perpetua forming within the Skull Ship, and flee with her still-inactive body. Returning to the Hall of Doom, they prepare for a war unlike anything the multiverse has seen before.
Similarly awed, yet despondent, is the Justice League who are warned by Ganthet that they are seen by many as the destroyers of the universe — the multiverse — as everything is now in motion and the League flees before it.
Appearing in "Multiversal Meltdown!"
Featured Characters:
- Justice League
- Batman (Bruce Wayne) (Flashback and main story)
- Green Lantern (John Stewart)
- Hawkgirl (Flashback and main story)
- Martian Manhunter
- Mera
- Superman (Clark Kent) (Flashback and main story)
- Wonder Woman (Diana of Themyscira)
Supporting Characters:
- Ganthet
- Green Lantern Corps
- New Gods
- Genesisians
- Big Barda
- Highfather (Dies)
- Lightray (Apparent Death)
- Mister Miracle (Scot Free)
- Orion (Apparent Death)
- Genesisians
- The Omega Titans (Multiverse) (Flashback and main story)
- Shayera Hol
- Thanagarians (Behind the scenes)
- Starman (Will Payton) (Flashback and main story) (Also as an hologram)
- Titans
- Miss Martian
- Steel (Natasha Irons) (On a TV or computer screen) (Cameo)
Antagonists:
- Legion of Doom (Flashback and main story)
- Brainiac (Joins team)
- Brainiac's Drones (Cameo)
- Gorilla Grodd
- Lex Luthor
- Sinestro
- Brainiac (Joins team)
- Perpetua (First full appearance) (Also in a vision)
- Promethean Giants/"The Great Army" (Multiverse) (Destroyed)
Other Characters:
- Adam Strange (Cameo)
- Darkseid (Post-Flashpoint) (Cameo)
- Justice Incarnate (Multiverse) (Cameo)
- Aquawoman (Earth 11) (Cameo)
- Batman (Earth 17) (Cameo)
- Captain Carrot (Earth 26) (Cameo)
- Green Lantern/Abin Sur (Earth 20) (Cameo)
- Machinehead (Earth 8) (Cameo)
- Mary Marvel (Earth 5) (Cameo)
- President Superman (Earth 23) (Cameo)
- Thunderer (Earth 7) (Cameo)
- Justice League Dark
- Detective Chimp (Cameo)
- Swamp Thing (Alec Holland) (Cameo)
- The Source (Behind the scenes)
- The Spectre (Post-Flashpoint) (Cameo)
- Amanda Waller (Mentioned only)
- The Anti-Monitor (Post-Flashpoint) (Mentioned only)
- Barbatos (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Dark Knights (Dark Multiverse) (Mentioned only)
- Carter Hall (Mentioned only)
- God (Mentioned only)
- The Hands (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- The Monitor (Post-Flashpoint) (Mentioned only)
- M'yri'ah J'onzz (Deceased) (Mentioned only)
- The Quintessence (Earth 0) (Mentioned only)
- Team Entropy (Disbanded) (Mentioned only)
- Team Mystery (Disbanded) (Mentioned only)
- Team Wisdom (Disbanded) (Mentioned only)
- Team Wonder (Disbanded) (Mentioned only)
- The World Forger (Post-Flashpoint) (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Omniverse (Behind the scenes)
- Post-Flashpoint Multiverse
- The Bleed
- House of Heroes (Cameo)
- Earth 0
- Ghost Sector (Cameo)
- Sector 2814
- Earth
- Hall of Doom (Cameo)
- United States of America
- Salem (Cameo)
- Tree of Wonder (Mentioned only)
- Washington, D.C.
- Hall of Justice (Flashback only)
- The Chapel (Flashback only)
- Hall of Justice (Flashback only)
- Salem (Cameo)
- Earth
- Sector 0
- Oa (Mentioned only)
- Sector 1287
- Colu (Mentioned only)
- Sector 2682
- Thanagar (Mentioned only)
- Hyperspace (Behind the scenes)
- Kendra Saunders' Mindscape
- American Old West (As an illusion only) (Cameo)
- Ancient Egypt (As an illusion only) (Cameo)
- Promethean Galaxy
- Source Wall (Destroyed)
- Sphere of the Gods
- Heaven (Cameo)
- New Genesis (Destroyed) (Cameo)
- Apokolips (Destroyed) (Mentioned only)
- Still Force (Behind the scenes)
- Sixth Dimension (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- The Bleed
- The Void
- Dark Multiverse (Mentioned only)
- Hypertime
- Timestream (Mentioned only)
- Perpetua's Multiverse (Unnamed) (Erased) (Mentioned only)
- Post-Flashpoint Multiverse
Items:
- Aero-Discs
- Aquawoman's Trident (Cameo)
- Earth 17's Bat-Armor (Cameo)
- Batsuit
- Bracelets of Submission
- Genesisian Scepter (Cameo)
- Green Lantern Ring
- Lex Luthor's Warsuit
- Nth Metal
- Nth Metal Armor
- Natasha Irons' Armor (On a TV or computer screen) (Cameo)
- Tear of Extinction (Unnamed) (Behind the scenes)
- Totality
- Ultraviolet Power Ring
- Wonder Woman's Tiara
Vehicles:
Events:
- Big Bang (Mentioned only)
- The Cosmic Judgment (Mentioned only)
- Dark Multiverse Invasion (Mentioned only)
- The Destruction of the Source Wall
- "The Incoming War" (Mentioned only)
- The Rise of the Omega Titans (Mentioned only)
Concepts:
- Boom Tube
- The Green (Behind the scenes)
- John Stewart's Tattoo Ring
- Magic
- The Seven Hidden Forces of the Universe
- Black Apple (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Faithlessness (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Invisible Spectrum (Unnamed) (Behind the scenes)
- Sixth Note (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Void Wind (Unnamed) (Behind the scenes)
- The Seven Positive Forces of the Universe
- Reincarnation (Mentioned only)
- Space-Fold
Notes
- The Source Wall is destroyed in this issue, kicking off the slow meltdown of the Multiverse that will culminate with its judgment.
- As a consequence of the incoming end of the Multiverse, The Source summons back the New Gods into the Greater Omniverse, causing the "death" of the Fourth World.
- However, the shields of the Ghost Sector (shown in Justice League Odyssey) prevent Darkseid's death.
- The direct consequences of the death of the New Gods and the survival of Darkseid are shown in Justice League Odyssey #6.
- Both origins of the Promethean Giants are supported in this issue as they are said to originally be Perpetua's Great Army imprisoned as well as hapless beings that were petrified after trying to cross the Source Wall.
- It will be later confirmed that they really were Perpetua's Army of Apex Predators.[1]
See Also