Please allow me to introduce myself. I come to you with an irresistible offer. My name is Neron. 
- — Neron
Underworld Unleashed #1 is an issue of the series Underworld Unleashed (Volume 1) with a cover date of November, 1995.
Synopsis for "Underworld Unleashed"
The Rogues undertake a strange mission at the urging of Abra Kadabra. Given little explanation, they agree to strike at five specific, though seemingly unremarkable, locations across the United States. Each attack is committed simultaneously, yielding explosive results far beyond their expectations. Each of the Rogues is consumed by green fire while they are still alive as their respective target sites go up in flames.
The incident does not go unnoticed by the superhero community. In the Justice League Satellite, the League members take note of the attacks and spring into action. Flash orders Blue Devil to call for backup as they leave him on the station. Blue Devil is the only one to realize the strategic pattern of the five random locations. By tracing a line between each site, Blue Devil draws a perfect pentagram. He knows that something has been set free.
In Keystone City, the Trickster is frustrated with the pedestrian pranks that he has been reduced to just to make ends meet. When he reads about the tragic fate of the Rogues, he grows depressed, knowing that his fellow villains never rated higher than petty crooks. Trickster decides that he wants to go for the "big score."
At Belle Reve Penitentiary, a convict named Lou goes to the office of the prison's chaplain. He complains that a guard named Finney swiped his Betty Grable calendar, and the man behind the desk agrees to help Lou out. He provides Lou with a riot shotgun and tells him that Finney will be in the turbine room at precisely midnight. Lou doesn't trust the "chaplain," but he accepts the weapon and agrees to carry out his vengeance. After Lou leaves, the man withdraws the missing Betty Grable calendar from behind his desk.
At midnight, Lou ventures down to the turbine room. He finds Finney and viciously guns him down. The gunfire sets off sparks that damage the turbines. Engineers race about to correct the situation, but there is nothing they can do. The power shuts down and the doors to the prison cells unlock. One hundred forty-two super-powered criminals escape out into the night.
Back in Keystone, the Trickster allies himself with another fellow Rogue — the Rainbow Raider. The Raider shows him a tapered candle with intricate carvings on its sides. He tells the Trickster that someone had delivered it to him, but he has no idea who or why. Before the evening ends, the Trickster surreptitiously pockets the candle and replaces it with a rubber chicken.
When he lights the candle, he finds himself instantly transported to an unknown location. The Trickster gapes in surprise as he finds himself in the company of over 60 super-criminals, many of whom are likewise in possession of a lit green candle.
A demonic being known as Neron steps out and introduces himself. He takes credit for staging the Belle Reve breakout and for providing the villains with their respective candles. In exchange for their souls, Neron promises each of them their fondest desire. Many of the villains are only too happy to accept Neron's offer. Some even feel that their soul belongs to him already. Others, such as the Joker, are present just for the sheer thrill of it. Some however, have little desire to play second fiddle to Neron. Mongul for one, refuses to acknowledge Neron's power and attempts to strike him. Neron effortlessly punches Mongul to the floor, then stomps on him with his boot. Trickster debates the value of accepting Neron's offer. He then remembers that he wanted to "take the next big score" and thinks, "It doesn't come bigger than this."
after this display of Neron's sheer power, over half of the villains accept his offer and over half reject it. The ones who rejected the offer are sent back to Earth first by Neron in contempt, then the ones who accepted it are given their greatest desires and their souls are collected in a huge Soul Jar, after which Neron also sends them back to Earth to wreak havoc and seek revenge on the super-heroes.
There is one more guest who arrives after receiving a special invitation – Blue Devil. Blue Devil steps out from a spiraling green haze of smoke and addresses Neron.
Appearing in "Underworld Unleashed"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Abra Kadabra
- Airstryke
- Atomic Skull
- Black Adam
- Black Bison
- Black Hand
- Black Spider
- Blackguard
- Blockbuster
- Blockhouse (Final appearance)
- Bolt
- Catman
- Cheetah
- Chiller
- Chronos
- Circe
- Cluemaster
- Copperhead
- Crazy Quilt
- Deadline
- Deadshot
- Doctor Alchemy
- Doctor Phosphorous
- Doctor Polaris
- Doctor Spectro
- Dumas
- Dummy
- Earthworm
- Fiddler
- Gentleman Ghost
- Ghost
- Golden Glider
- Gorilla Grodd
- Gunhawk
- Harlequin
- Hellgrammite
- Hi-Tech
- Hyena
- Joker
- Jolt (Final appearance)
- Killer Frost
- Killer Moth
- Lex Luthor
- Magpie
- Major Disaster
- Malcolm Merlyn the Dark Archer
- Metallo
- Mongul I (Dies)
- Neron (First full appearance)
- Ocean Master
- Parasite
- Pied Piper
- Poison Ivy
- Prankster
- Psycho-Pirate
- Punch and Jewelee
- Rainbow Raider
- Riddler
- Scarecrow
- Shadow Thief
- Shark
- Shrapnel
- Silver Swan
- Sledge
- Solomon Grundy
- Terra-Man
- Ventriloquist and Scarface
- White Dragon
- Rogues
- Captain Boomerang (Dies)
- Captain Cold (Dies)
- Heat Wave (Dies)
- Mirror Master (Dies)
- Weather Wizard (Dies)
Other Characters:
- Carl (a guard captain at Belle Reve)
- Chricton (the warden of Belle Reve)
- Deke Hobbsner (a gunshop owner)
- Finney (a guard at Belle Reve)
- Lou (a prisoner at Belle Reve)
- Scmidt (a guard at Belle Reve)
- Simon (an engineer at Belle Reve)
Locations:
Items:
- Captain Cold's Cold Gun
- Candle of Neron
- Medusa Mask
- Neron's Soul Jar
- Philosopher's Stone
- Trick Boomerangs
- Trident of Lucifer
- Weather Wand
Vehicles:
- None
Notes
- Underworld Unleashed (Volume 1) was a three-issue miniseries published on a bi-weekly shipping schedule. Each of the three issues was double-sized (52 pages), which retailed at $2.95 per issue.
- This issue was reprinted in the Underworld Unleashed trade paperback.
- Abra Kadabra served as Neron's lieutenant and manipulated the five Rogues into bringing Neron to Earth.
- The Fiddler's appearance in this issue does not even mention his on-panel death in his previous appearance in Hawkworld Annual (Volume 2) #1.
- The Pied Piper's appearance among the group of villains in Hell is a continuity error, at it was later revealed in The Flash (Volume 2) #127 that he never lit his candle that he received in The Flash (Volume 2) #106, somehow knowing right away that there was something not quite right about it.
- The Silver Swan's appearance among the group of villains in Hell is also a continuity error, as by this time she was no longer a villainess, but had reformed and become an active heroine in the earlier DC crossover event War of the Gods.
- This is the first appearance of the intelligent Blockbuster.
- This is also the last appearance of the super-villain team of Blockhouse II and Jolt II (they both first appeared in Superman: The Man of Steel #7 and 8).
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Underworld Unleashed #2
- Underworld Unleashed #3
- Underworld Unleashed: Abyss - Hell's Sentinel #1
- Underworld Unleashed: Apokolips - Dark Uprising #1
- Underworld Unleashed: Batman - Devil's Asylum #1
- Underworld Unleashed: Patterns of Fear #1
- Rogues Gallery #1
