Defending the Universe: Part 2

As discussed in “Creating the Universe: Phase 1”, DC Comics is lagging behind Marvel in the making of movies because they lack a cohesive vision of the how to link movies together.  DC has the most iconic comic characters, which is why they have been so successful on the small screen.  DC’s characters have a depth that is unmatched, and that was BEFORE the New 52 brought those characters even more depth.  The DC characters can be the heart of some incredible character-driven movies, so without further ado, here is Phase 2:

Superman: Resurrection

Following the events of Justice League: The Death of Superman, the members of the League have gone their separate ways, each taking turns helping to defend Metropolis.  Soon, reports start to come in of several Superman-like heroes - The Cyborg Superman, A Superman Clone whose age is unstable, A near-perfect duplicate of Superman created by a Kryptonian Life Matrix, and Steel - helping members of the League out.  The faux Supermen are soon joined by a significantly de-powered Superman who has risen from the dead.  Each of the Faux Supermen fall before Mongul, who is intent on destroying Metropolis.  The true Superman faces Mongul in a climactic final battle, where he faces certain defeat because his powers have not yet returned to full strength.  As he faces defeat, the Faux Supermen step in.  It is revealed that the Cyborg was helping Mongul all along.  Steel finds a way to charge up Superman by bleeding the powers of the other three Faux Supermen, giving Superman the power he needs to defeat Mongul.  In a post-credits scene, Mongul kneels before Darkseid and apologizes for his failure, but Darkseid dismisses it, saying that everything is proceeding according to plan.

Aquaman: Atlantis Found

Aquaman find himself the target of several attacks.  While investigating his attackers, he discovers that they come from the Earth’s oceans.  He tracks them to Atlantis, which he had thought was only a myth.  The current “king” of Atlantis plans to attack the surface world and destroy the “apes” on the surface.  Aquaman joins a resistance movement to overthrow him and stop the war. After the “king” puts a doomsday machine in motion that will sink the West Coast,  Aquaman learns that only his genetic code can override the machine, and thus learns his true heritage: he is the rightful ruler of Atlantis.  In a post-credits scene, underwater pods are revealed with alien life forms that had been seeded on earth as part of an invasion plan.

Green Lantern: No Fear

Following the events of the first Green Lantern Movie, Sinestro has possession of two rings, his Green Lantern Ring, and the yellow ring created by the Guardians.  He attempts to keep the Yellow hidden, but finds himself drawn to its power.  He starts recruiting his own corps, giving them yellow rings spawned from his master ring.  When a Lantern is killed by an alien wielding a yellow ring, Sinestro’s duplicity is discovered and he is stripped of his green ring, but when the Guardians try to strip him of the yellow master ring, it is found that the ring has bonded to him, finding in him a host that can grow in power as he consumes more fear.  The Corps united against Sinestro’s new Corps in a battle where the very fate of the Universe hangs in the balance.  Hal Jordan manages to defeat Sinestro by tapping him in the central power battery on Oa where the Guardians are able to reduce the power of the yellow rings, which is followed by a power surge within the battery that causes bright plumes of color to emerge and shoot off into space.  The Guardians send a guardian after each plume of light to investigate and deal with any threats.  In a post credits scene, we see a guardian standing over a blue ring.  He picks it up, and his robe changes.  He looks up to see an alien looking at him, and the guardian offers him the ring.

DC Presents: Invasion

On Mars, the Martian Manhunter lives in solitude, the last survivor of an interplanetary war which decimated Mars millennia ago.  He serves as the sole caretaker of a facility that holds the invaders in stasis.  During routine checks, he discovers that some of the alien invaders have escaped.  He makes a decision to destroy the remaining aliens in violation of an oath to preserve life, which would free him up to pursue the ones that escaped.  He follows them to Earth, where they lurk in the sewers of Gotham city.  He teams up with Batman, who is investigating a strange series of deaths that are related to the invaders.  The invaders are from Apokalips, and they are building a gateway that will allow them to return home.  In the final battle the final alien triggers the gateway which shuts down almost immediately as he is defeated.  Batman tells the Martian Manhunter he will destroy the gateway and the Martian Manhunter returns to Mars to resume his exile.  In a post credits scene, government agents confiscate the gateway.  On Apokalis, Darkseid triggers a gateway and smiles.

Justice League: Apokalips Rising

The Gotham Gateway is in a secret government facility called Checkmate.  Government agents tasked with monitoring meta-humans had confiscated it before Batman could destroy it.  Suddenly, the gateway activates, and parademons pour forth, crying out “for Darkseid”.  Batman calls upon the members of the Justice League, and an interstellar war with Apokalips begins.  The battle pits the Justice League and the world’s military forces against the forces of Darkseid.  In the final battle with the leader of the invasion force, the gateway is finally destroyed.  In a post credits scene, an archaeologist lifts a golden helmet out of the ground, seemingly untouched by the years.