Superman & Batman: Generations 2 (or II) was a four-issue Elseworlds limited series written and drawn by John Byrne as a sequel to Superman & Batman: Generations Vol 1. Set in the same continuity where characters age according to the calendar, each issue contains two stories set 11 years apart, starting in 1942 and ending in 2019. The cast of characters was expanded for this series to include other residents of the DC Universe, including the Justice Society of America, Blackhawk Squadron and many Silver Age heroes.
- 1942: Battlefields--Hawkman and the Blackhawks battle a giant Nazi robot. Green Lantern arrives, but exhausts his power ring saving Hawkman. The robot launches a rocket, which Blackhawk member Chuck stops at the cost of his life. Superman and the Spectre arrive, and disarm the robot. Superman rips open the machine to reveal the Ultra-Humanite, who uses kryptonite to hold off the Man of Steel and escape. Back in Gotham City, Lois Lane discovers that Lex Luthor developed the robot and sold the plans to the Nazis. She is captured and held captive with Robin, but the two are saved by Batman, disguised as Luthor's henchman.
- 1953: Absent Friends---A long missing Commissioner Gordon collapses in the doorway of Wayne Manor. He tells Bruce he knows his secret identity, and warns him of a new threat--a mysterious criminal known as "The Head of the Demon". Meawhile, Wonder Girl (a mystical projection of Wonder Woman) flies to North Korea in search of Steve Trevor's downed plane, while Diana Prince Trevor goes into labor. Wonder Girl finds Trevor, but he dies en route to Paradise Island. At the same moment Diana gives birth to a baby girl, Lois Kent gives birth to her daughter, Kara Kent. Clark arrives late; as Superman, he had been stranded on a planet with a red sun until he is rescued by Green Lantern Abin Sur.
- 1964: Children's Hour--Bruce Wayne Jr. is stopped by his mother from going out as Robin with Batman II, while Kara Kent tries on her Supergirl costume for the first time. She flies to Wayne Manor to see BJ, who is unhappy with his situation. Supergirl points out that he promised not be Robin with Batman; he didn't say anthing about Supergirl. The teens fly off and find Kid Flash, who is facing the Weather Wizard and the Mirror Master. When Kid Flash is knocked unconscious, Supergirl and Robin intervene, only to be knocked out by Gorilla Grodd. Meanwhile, Barry Allen calls Diana Trevor looking for Kid Flash. Diana's daughter Stevie goes looking for Wally as the new Wonder Girl. She is drawn to a warehouse in Central City, where Gorilla Grodd is preparing to transfer the teens' superpowers into his body. Supergirl, who had been playing possum, rips aparts the machines holding the teens, and the four young heroes subdue the criminals. Supergirl and Wonder Girl realize they share a special bond due to being born at the same moment; this is what drew Wonder Girl to the right location. The teens decide to form a crime fighting team and, after rejecting the name "Junior Justice Society", call themselves the Justice League.
- 1975: Troubled Souls---Batman III is summoned to Arkham Asylum, where the Joker has been acting strangely. Surveillance tapes reveal that the Joker is being haunted by the ghost of Dick Grayson. With the help of Doctor Occult, Deadman, and the ghost of Alfred Pennyworth, Grayson's spirit is convinced not to murder the Joker, and goes into the light with Alfred. Bruce Wayne, in his Batman costume, visits the dying Joker, whose last request is to know the Batman's identity. Batman replies that, with all the pain the Joker has caused, he deserves nothing, and leaves. In a subplot, test pilot Hal Jordan barely survives the flight of an experimental rocket plane, and decides to retire and go into politics.
- 1986: To Hunt the Hunter---Superman tracks Luthor to his hideout, but discovers it is a computer simulation. The faux Luthor plays a hologram of Joel Kent killing Supergirl just to torment the Man of Steel. Meanwhile Wonder Woman II, Flash IV, and Green Lantern discuss Batman III, who has become violent and unstable since the death of Supergirl. The JLA reluctantly decide they have to stop Batman. They track down Batman and try to restrain him, but he manages to overpower them. While fighting, Batman becomes enraged and begins savagely beating a helpless Green Lantern. When Flash screams that he is killing the Lantern, Batman snaps out of his rage and flees to his home. There, he collapses in front of his wife Mei-Lei, crying for help.
- 1997: Turning Points---Batman III, preparing to leave in search of Ra's al Ghul, tells his son Clark Wayne that he must be Batman now. Clark reveals that he has known for some time he is adopted, and that only a true Wayne can be Batman. Clark instead takes the identity of Knightwing. On patrol, Knightwing comes across a rampaging robot previously used by the villain Ransak. Knightwing struggles with the robot, while Superman watches helplessly from the Phantom Zone. At the last minute, Superman manages to briefly appear before Ransak, causing a distraction that allows Knightwing to short out the robot. He finds a young girl, the daughter of the real Ransak, inside the suit. Meanwhile President Barbara Gordon and former President Hal Jordan meet to discuss a major threat. The renegade Green Lantern Sinestro has vowed to kill Jordan, who had turned down Alan Scott's offer to become Earth's new Green Lantern. Flash IV, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, and Blackhawk unsuccessfully try to stop Sinestro. Kyle flees to the White House with Sinestro in pursuit. Sinestro arrives and blasts Scott, then prepares to kill Jordan. Jordan takes Kyle's ring and, reasoning that the ring's weaknesses are in the mind of the user, manages to defeat Sinestro. Jordan and his wife Carol Ferris are taken to Oa, where Jordan is once again offered the role of Green Lantern.
- 2008: This Ancient Evil---Knightwing faces a threat from the past, a robot with the brain of Lex Luthor. He manages to defeat Luthor with the aid of Cyborg, the fifth Flash, and Green Lantern Hal Jordan (his youth restored by the power ring). Clark Wayne then leaves to marry Amanda Mason, the young girl that had once faced him as Ransak. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne and Bruce Jr. visit the dying Mrs. Wayne in the hospital, where she tells them a secret (which is not revealed until Generations 3).
- 2019: Father to the Man---Batman and Knightwing arrive at the Fortress of Solitude, where Superman shows them the Chroniscope, a Kryptonian device that can view the past and future. Knightwing plays a message from Jonathan Kent recorded 99 years ago, that tells how he had used the Chroniscope and had seen the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne. As the Waynes were scheduled to visit the county seat that week, Pa Kent decides to warn them. Before this can happen, the Waynes are kidnapped by the Ultra-Humanite. Bruce escapes and, disguising himself with a fox head, helps Superboy stop the kidnappers. Kent then shows Thomas Wayne the Chroniscope. Several weeks later, Pa Kent is shocked to read that the Waynes were murdered. Using the Chroniscope, he learns that the Waynes decided not to change the future, as their death was responsible for creating the Batman. In 2019, Superman consoles a stunned Bruce Wayne with the knowledge that his parents realized they were creating a great force for good.
Issues
- Superman & Batman: Generations II #1
- Superman & Batman: Generations II #2
- Superman & Batman: Generations II #3
- Superman & Batman: Generations II #4
Collections
See Also
- Cover Gallery: Superman & Batman: Generations II Vol 1
- Collections from Superman & Batman: Generations II Vol 1
- Images from Superman & Batman: Generations II Vol 1