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"Drowned Earth: Part Three": The Tomb of Arion

Quote1 Pity the Sea Gods. My handiwork turned hopeful beings into relentless villains. There is no hope for them now. The dream of Arion is dead... but there is still a path to victory. Take the power I have given you and end their reign of terror over the world. Kill them, Arthur. Quote2
Poseidon

Justice League (Volume 4) #12 is an issue of the series Justice League (Volume 4) with a cover date of January, 2019. It was published on November 21, 2018.

Synopsis for "Drowned Earth: Part Three"

The Tomb of Arion

Surrounded by Manta, Drogue and an army of sea monsters, the only thing keeping Mera, Superman and Flash alive is an aquakinetic barrier created by the queen of Atlantis. To make things worse, Manta connected to the Flash, due to the fact Barry is half transformed into a sea creature, trying to convince his subconscious to let the metamorphosis complete itself. With hope lost, Mera feels that the Tear of Extinction, who they discovered was already in the hands of Cheetah and Manta, also resided inside Arion's very bones. This means that the substance can still be retrieved, and Mera does so, making an aqua-sword she created rich with the Tear's power.

Thanks to this new weapon, she's able to severely injure Drogue, who calls retreat in fear. The Tear was the weapon which killed the three alien sea gods in the past, and Drogue is scared about everything happening again. Manta of course does not want to go: they have them cornered and the Flash is almost in his control, but he must accept to retire.

Inside the Graveyard of the Gods

Wonder Woman is fighting against Poseidon, who just pierced Aquaman with his trident. The Olympian then, seeing Artur back on his feet, feels guilty about his actions: the prisony inside the Graveyard already took a great toll on him. Then, Poseidon explains how things really went with the Triumvirate in the past: Arion was a great explorer and sorcerer, and he was the leader of Atlantis, a city of the sea open and friendly to all kind of life. Seeing how beautiful the city was, and how great the ideals of Arion were, Poseidon decided to reveal to the Atlantean a secret: of all the oceans in space, only the one on Earth was rich of the Life Force, a power that Poseidon possessed being the god of the seas.

Arion, learning that other oceans in space lived without the gift of Life, studied a structure called the Conch he developed in Atlantis: in it, he would concentrate the Life Force wielded by the Earth's ocean, to give it to all the oceans in the universe as a gift. As he prepared this instrument, Arion broadcasted a message through space, and three sea gods of alien planets answered, in hope to receive this gift as life on their planet was struggling to develop. Poseidon, learning of this, was afraid to give his power away, and was selfish: he tricked Arion into believing this three gods were evil invaders.

The Atlantean hero, angered, reversed his plan and instead put the Tear of Extinction, the very reverse power of the Life Force, inside himself and the Conch and with it, he gave his life to kill the three alien gods. Since then, Atlantis started its history of reclusion and closure, and Poseidon was the one to accuse for that tragedy. He would like to do something to help now, but it seems that all is lost, given that he's imprisoned.

Washington D.C., the Hall of Justice

The Legion of Doom is inside the Hall, with only Batman as its defense. Lex and Cheetah took the Totality, and thanks to its power they are destroying the Graveyard of the Gods, to release another of the seven forces necessary to reshape the Multiverse in Doom. Meanwhile, Batman, inside an old suit made by Lex himself, just defeated Grodd, Joker and Sinestro. But when he reaches Luthor, the Legion is able to transport back into their base with the Totality, and the Dark Knight is alone against the poisoned water. Also, Cheetah was successful in destroying the Graveyard of the Gods, while both Aquaman and Wonder Woman are inside it.

Back to the Graveyard

With the dimension around them collapsing, Poseidon gives his trident to Arthur and then uses the last power he has to send Diana and Arthur away, back home on Earth. He left Aquaman with a task: revealing to him that the Tear of Extinction still resides in Arion's bones, Aquaman must bathe Poseidon's trident in the substance, making it a weapon of pure death able to destroy the Triumvirate.

The Blood Reef, home for the Triumvirate of Sea Gods

The three alien gods are desperate: the fact a human retrieved the Tear makes them tense, as that substance is able to kill them once again. Manta convinces them to do something they swore they would never permit: release a death kraken, a variant species of the same beast Drogue released to poison the Earth's oceans. This creature, instead of spreading the metamorphing liquid now cursing the Earth, spills pure necrotic death. Even if it sounds crazy, the gods accept the proposal of Manta, who gives the order to the creature himself.

Appearing in "Drowned Earth: Part Three"

Featured Characters:

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Vehicles:

  • The Black Manta (Flashback only)

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