• The Spectre, who's also known as the Wrath of God, has declared war on magic, killing magicians of all sorts on a murderous spree. Among the last to fall are Captain Marvel and his patron, the wizard Shazam, shattering the Rock of Eternity and unleashing hordes of magical monsters.
• The planets themselves are out of alignment, triggering a war between the worlds Rann and Thanagar. Alien races of all sorts are choosing sides, straining the handful of Green Lanterns (a group of galactic cops) to their limits. Even so, a tear in the fabric of spacetime may be the gravest danger to these spaceborne heroes.
• Back on Earth, the world's supervillains are being pulled together by Lex Luthor into a "secret society" bent on world domination-- and the eradication of the superheroes. Their secret weapon is technology salvaged from a nearly-omnipotent alien known as the Anti-Monitor.
• And finally, Batman's satellite-- Brother Mark I (aka Brother Eye)-- has gone rogue, launching an all-out war on the superhuman community, partly out of revenge for the murder of Max Lord. One of its primary targets: Paradise Island, home of Wonder Woman.
• But the strangest sign of all may be the return of four survivors of a long-ago battle against ultimate evil.

When it becomes clear that one of the four has horrifying plans for Earth, working secretly with another of their small "family," can the heroes reunite in time to stop the literal end of the world?

Greg Cox takes on the forbidding task of unifying a seven-part miniseries and four lead-in miniseries into one coherent narrative. It's a daunting challenge because the diverse threads appear to have little connection, until the true nature of the plot is revealed. Suffice it to say that there's a lot going on in this book.

Comic book fans will see many of their favorite scenes from the series revisited, including extended stretches with Power Girl (who finally discovers her true origin, after decades of confusion) and Superboy (aka Conner Kent, the "super-clone" created after the Death of Superman). One by one, the heroes must rise to the challenge of these different but interrelated dangers... as the world's greatest hero makes some discoveries of his own-- what does a "perfect" world need with superheroes?-- and goes into battle one final time.

Cox does an elegant job of putting all these puzzle pieces together. There are bits left out, which is only natural given the number of connected comic book titles involved, but the essence is there-- and readers who want the lowdown on DC Comics' reinvention can get it in one enjoyable package.

Recommended.