open/close all folders
Main Characters
A human pastor and an avenging angel, united in witnessing the coming apocalypse and trying to understand it.
Norman McCay
A disillusioned pastor who was a friend of the Golden Age Sandman, has inherited the Sandman's visions after the man's death and is used by the Spectre as a human perspective to help him judge the impending apocalypse.
- Audience Surrogate: It's his eyes through which we the readers see the story. Being unfamiliar with the various secret identities and relationships between the heroes, he's also the means by which unfamiliar readers can glean useful exposition from the Spectre.
- Badass Preacher: With touches of Badass Pacifist. He never fires a shot or throws a single punch, but through the power of his sermons, he singlehandedly saves the U.N., and by extension the entire world from Superman.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Alex Ross' own father Clark served as the model for McCay.
- Cool Old Guy: As out of his depth as he feels, Norman is ultimately a good man with good morals who is the perfect mouthpiece for humanity to speak with the Spectre and Superman.
- Cowardly Lion: He's clearly and understandably scared out of his mind by the supernatural circumstances he finds himself in, especially when he turns out not to be entirely disconnected from them, but is otherwise willing to call out the literal Wrath of God for his impassiveness. He ultimately chooses to put himself at risk, demanding to be allowed to re-enter the physical world to talk down a rampaging Superman... and it saves the day.
- Crisis of Faith: The Kansas disaster drives him to be angry enough to rip up his Bible.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: In-universe, he's rudely jolted out of being a voyeuristic observer of ongoing events when the Flash, able to sense him and Touch the Intangible, drags poor Norman amidst the Justice League to explain himself.
- Meaningful Name: His surname may be a reference to pioneering cartoonist Winsor McCay, who's best known for two early comic strips (Little Nemo and Dream of the Rarebit Fiend) that were both about people having extraordinarily vivid dreams. Appropriate, since the entire story is an extended dream that we see through his eyes.
- What the Hell, Hero?: He gives a furious one to the Spectre for deciding to bail out once the bomb drops and Superman goes to enact vengeance on the United Nations.
The Spectre
Once the human man James Corrigan, now consumed by his role as the Wrath of God.
- Adaptational Skimpiness: His original "costume" already is barely that with just a pair of green briefs and cloak. Here it's JUST the cloak. He is nude underneath. His groin and backside are always conveniently covered by either the cloak, another character, the scenery or even just cutting off the panel in the right place.
- Ambiguous Situation: He's Jim Corrigan, but the book treats him as if he's Corrigan becoming the wrath of God instead of the wrath of God using him as a host. It also gets muddied by his employment of Norman McCay as a sort of consultant, considering Corrigan should be serving in this role anyways. According to the Spectre, he needs a human host and he's lost touch with his own humanity. He intended to use Wesley Dodds as his anchor, but he dies, and Dodds "nominates" Norman for the role.
- Full-Frontal Assault: The only thing he wears is his hood and cape.
- In the Hood: Wouldn't be The Spectre without it.
- Not So Above It All: In the ending, he gets annoyed that his superheroic contributions are "immortalized" as a mix of spinach and cottage cheese at the superhero-themed restaurant. This is treated positively, as a sign of his humanity beginning to return to him.
- Not So Stoic:
- He's been a mostly passive figure throughout the story, but he almost settles back into his vengeful ways when observing the Mankind Liberation Front meeting, Vandal Savage in particular — Vandal is a murderous sociopath who callously kills an innocent young woman, but is immortal, and thus beyond the Spectre's reach.
- He's annoyed with The Quintessence's Alien Noninterference Clause, who refuse to do anything about the "critical path" (as Deadman calls it) and states they are there just to tell each other "no". Deadman tells Norman that the last time they got in the affairs with the human race, they ended up causing The Trojan War, so they're gunshy.
- Posthuman Nudism: His Adaptational Skimpiness is meant to reflect his fading humanity.
- Was Once a Man: Invoked. Corrigan is now so removed from his humanity that he's effectively ambles about naked, save from his cowl. Whereas he was shown to have some agency in the past, he now is in need of an individual to anchor himself to pass judgement (first with Dodds, then with McCay), as he no longer has the perspective to do it on his own. This is made horribly apparent when he basically throws the duty of judgement onto McCay during the battle at the Gulag as if it were a hot potato. In the end, he ultimately, symbolically, lets down his hood, revealing his red hair and reflecting his resolve to re-embrace his human side after becoming friends with McCay. He's later shown trying to enjoy a kitschy superhero-themed Hard Rock Cafe-esque diner.
The Justice League
Those who have followed Superman and Wonder Woman's lead in trying to resurrect the "old way" of being heroes, often by any mean necessary: thus more or less defeating their point.
Superman
"We have returned to teach them the meaning of truth and justice. Together, we will guide this new breed with wisdom...and, if necessary, with force. Above all, we will restore order. We will make things right."
The former Man of Tomorrow now represents "yesterday" in a losing battle with the darker and more violent heroes who have supplanted his generation.
- All for Nothing: Part of the reason he went into exile. Joker killed everyone at the Daily Planet, Lois included, but she lasted long enough to make Clark promise to take him in alive. He did, but at the trial Joker was murdered by Magog, who was acquitted.
- Anti-Hero: He's a bit rougher than New Earth's Superman, though he's still Superman.
- Babies Ever After: The story ends with Wonder Woman pregnant with his child.
- Big Good: He's reluctant to take leadership, but he comes to think of himself as this over the course of the story. While it's suggested that there's a great deal of truth to this, it is also shown that his ways of going about things are almost as misguided as those he opposes.
- Canon Immigrant: A literal example in Justice Society of America.
- Cool Old Guy: He's a bit older than usual, but he's still the Big Blue Boy Scout; the Man of Steel with a heart of gold. Legions of metahumans admire and obey him (nearly) without question.
- Darker and Edgier: This Kal-El's optimism had been worn thin by the time he was accidentally brought to help the JSA.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": For the majority of the story he is very insistent that he be referred to as "Kal" (Kal-El), not "Clark". This is majorly due to his refusal to fully deal with the grief he feels for the deaths of adoptive parents the Kents and his wife Lois Lane, who was murdered in the Joker's attack on the Daily Planet. Eventually Superman reconnects with his humanity and reclaims the Clark name, complete with his trademark glasses.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Or at least, Earn Your Bittersweet Ending. After he learns his Earth survived, he's sent back... and sees Power Woman died in the nuke attempt. Only Norman McCay's intervention delaying him long enough to learn some of his fellow superheroes survived prevents him from going on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. But after that, he manages to rebuild his world, start a family, and lives long enough to see the beginning of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
- Establishing Character Moment: His Reluctant Hero stance and alienation are cemented in his first scene where he's living in an artificial version of a Kansas farm, refusing to go by 'Clark', and referring to humans as 'earthlings'. When he does return, and when he appears on Earth-1, the first thing he does is go through everything and everyone in his way to save lives (in the former case, the out of control metahumans, in the latter the well-intentioned JSA who'd kept him locked down, not realising he could hear a girl about to commit suicide).
- Flying Brick: As are all versions of Superman. He is much stronger than the Earth-0 Superman.
- A God Am I: He admits to this line of thinking at the end, and realized it's the belief that he had the authority to dictate how people should act that caused this whole mess in the first place.Wormwood: We saw you as gods...
Superman: As we saw ourselves. And we were both wrong. - Glowing Eyes of Doom: After the nuclear bombing of the Gulag, everything is grey and white, nothing but skeletons... and Superman, head bowed. He looks up, his eyes solid red.
- Grumpy Old Man: Downplayed in his behavior, but it's clear he has the mindset down pat. He sees himself as the Team Dad and Big Good of all superheroes, but the New Breed call him out for being the Flying Brick equivalent of an old man ranting about the "kids these days" and "the good old days". Given the state of things when he comes back, however, it's hard to argue that he doesn't have a point - on the other hand, so do they.
- Heroic BSoD: Has a minor one after it becomes clear that using lethal force against the New Breed is unavoidable.
- Kryptonite Factor: Averted. This version of Superman has absorbed so much solar radiation that Kryptonite is useless against him, to the extent that Luthor dismisses it as an option. The JSA Special shows that it can still irritate Superman's eyes, but that's it. Kal-El's only shown vulnerability in the story is magic. And while on Earth-0, he's not bothered because kryptonite doesn't work on Kryptonians from different realities.
- Miniature Senior Citizen: By the time he reaches a thousand years old, he's old and wizened.
- Older and Wiser: Compared to the Earth-0 Superman as well as the Earth-0 Magog.
- Paint It Black: The shield of his costume is painted black. To honor the victims of the nuclear holocaust in Kansas.
- Primary-Color Champion: Averted. He's replaced the yellow in his costume with black in honor of the victims of the Kansas incident.
- Reluctant Hero: While he is still Superman, he's reluctant to come out of retirement because he feels out of place in the world, he profoundly dislikes forcing people to follow him, and he knows that he's not suited to lead the way he is. It makes him profoundly unhappy until Norman gets through to him at the end and he begins to move on.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Is ready to go on one after the United Nations nukes most of the metahumans. Norman talks him out of it, unleashing what the freaking Spectre describes as "a wrath fit to cower to Satan himself."
- Second Coming: His return from his self-imposed exile in the first book of Kingdom Come was seen as that at first to Norman McCay, but the visions he has seen indicate that Superman's return would catalyze the coming doom of the metahuman battle, not avert it. The whole series drew heavily on Biblical prophecy for imagery.
- Stronger with Age: He is stated to be "stronger than he has ever been" from soaking up solar energy for a decade.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: To the Earth-Two Superman in the sense that he is an older Superman and is a member of the Justice Society as Earth-Two Superman was on his world. He also seemed to bond with Power Girl as they both needed family.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Tries desperately to stick to this rule despite the rising tensions and the stakes elevating higher and higher with each new challenge. When it becomes clear that a violent confrontation with the New Breed is inevitable he is left dumbstruck at the thought that there is no way to prevent it ending without the deaths of many on both sides.
- Tragic Hero: He's suffered a lot of tragedy.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: His solution to the Darker and Edgier generation was rehabilitation or imprisonment with rehabilitation. This had the effect of consolidating power and escalating conflict, though this is not solely Superman's fault. Batman's Outsiders even lampshade it, saying Superman is well-meaning, he's about as subtle as a bull in a china shop and is going about things the wrong way.
Wonder Woman
"Eternal princess of the Amazons. She is both an ambassador of peace and a master of warfare. Of all Superman's lieutenants... it is she who bears watching most closely."
Defrocked princess and former ambassador of the Amazons of Paradise Island now a woman with a singular mission.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Her Hephaestus forged sword can "shave the electrons off an atom".
- Action Girl: As always.
- Action Mom: In the epilogue.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: She is shown to be quite cynical and far more aggressive than she ever was in the "good old days". Superman calls her on this and she seems to chalk up her change in personality to her "failure" to bring peace to Man's World and her subsequent loss of her place as Princess as a result.
- Babies Ever After: By the end of the story, she is pregnant with Superman's child.
- Bling of War: Her armor in the final battle.
- Blood Knight: Played with. She is shown to be far more violent and aggressive than Superman and even willing to use lethal force where he is not. He is shown more than once having to reel her in when she gets "carried away" in battle.
- First Gray Hair: In the epilogue, Bruce correctly deduces that Diana is pregnant by Clark by the fact that she started growing some errant white hairs (that she may have not realized were there), as well as packing a few pounds. Though she's upset at the fact that he spoiled the surprise, she one-ups him by asking him to be the baby's godfather.
- Flying Brick: Natural for Wonder Woman.
- Hypocrite: Both the Spectre and Batman point out the paradox in sending a Lady of War to preach peace to the world.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: She kills Von Bach by impaling him through the back with her sword.
- Knight Templar: It takes an impending nuclear disaster to shake her out of her myopic vision for how to "save the world".
- Lady of War: Diana has been exiled from Themiscyra and stripped of her royal station, and seeing Superman's half-efforts in their current plight, she has to take a more leading role in the Justice League, so she embraces her warrior/martial side in the face of the impending pandemonium that will land on their laps.
- The Lancer: Consistently shown as Superman's "second". Giving orders to rest of the League as often as he, if not more so.
- Took a Level in Idealism: At the end of the comic, regaining her royal station and teaching the new generation of heroes.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Superman gives her a few half-hearted attempts at this over the course of the story, she mostly blows him off.
- You Can't Go Home Again: Her failure as an ambassador of peace has driven Paradise Island to excommunicate her and strip her of her royalty.
"Red" Robin
Dick Grayson, the original Robin, then Nightwing and now has become Robin once more (occasionally referred to in promotional materials, and by the creators themselves, as Red Robin). A founding member of Superman's reformed Justice League.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Not that there was ever really any doubt, but despite the Dynamic Duo going their separate ways long before the events of this story (and Batman's claim that the two never really saw eye to eye), Batman smiles as he visits and warmly shakes the hand of his old sidekick as he recuperates in his hospital bed.
- Badass Normal: As always.
- Black Cloak: Has incorporated this into a an outfit that while mature (and not a little bit Batman-esque) that still manages to retain a signature "Robin" look.
- Eye Scream: Suffers an injury during the climactic battle that damages his left eye, but not permanently.
- Shout-Out: His new look (especially the cowl) is obviously patterned after his mentor's costume in Batman (1989).
- Replacement Goldfish: Seems to be serving as this for Superman, as Batman refuses to rejoin the League.
- Sidekick Graduations Stick: Averted. Batman makes it a point to remark that Superman somehow got Dick to become Robin again. He theorizes it is part of a plan by Superman to lure him back to the Justice League.
Green Lantern
Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern.
- Ambadassador: Alan is a veteran of decades of superhero fights and, at the end of the story, becomes a U.N. delegate representing the densely-populated Justice League space station, New Oa.
- Ambiguous Situation: Ganthet's presence makes one wonder what Alan's affiliation with the Green Lantern Corps is in this future.
- Cool Old Guy: He's the original GL from the 1940s and he's still not only active but one of the most powerful and formidable heroes on the board.
- Cool Sword: And how! Alex Ross' redesign for GL is one of the most lauded in the series and a highlight of which is the energy sword that he uses, a projection of his lantern.
- Emerald Power: Obviously. Shown to be possibly more powerful than any other Lantern: Creating structures out of his power that can exist independently of him, most prominently 'New Oa' the massive space station that serves as the Justice League HQ.
- Outliving One's Offspring: His son Obsidian dies in the Gulag explosion, but Alan himself is still alive at the end of the story.
- Power Armor: A beautiful designed armor that incorporates his lantern.
- Sigil Spam: His armor is covered in little Green Lantern insignias.
- Weaksauce Weakness: Despite basically becoming a living battery with his armor, he still possesses his vulnerability to wood, a weakness Green Arrow exploits with his simple arrows to take him out of the fight.
The Flash
Wally West, now the fastest of the fastest men who lived.
- Adaptational Badass: This version has gone way past being a normal speedster, and is now an omnipresent god-like entity.
- Blessed with Suck: Has bonded with the Speed Force and is now ALWAYS moving, achieving near omnipresence at the cost of his humanity.
- Costume Copycat: Dresses more like Jay Garrick than Barry Allen.
- Full-Frontal Assault: From what the audience can tell (given that he's in a constant blur) other than the helmet... Wally's streaking.
- Humanoid Abomination: After bonding with the Speed Force, he's no longer a man, but rather a omniscient red blur moving so fast that he's essentially everywhere at once, with the trade off that he's now too fast to ever be able to stop moving or even communicate with anybody that doesn't have comparable super speed.
- Outliving One's Offspring: While the original comic leaves it ambiguous as to whether his daughter Iris/Kid Flash survives the bomb blast (with the follow-up series The Kingdom seemingly confirming it), she's explicitly stated to have died in the novelization.
- Poke in the Third Eye: Due to his melding with the Speed Force, he sees Norman and pulls him into normal reality.
- Red Is Heroic: A crimson blur encompasses all of Central City.
- Super-Speed: Perhaps one of the most extreme examples of this power shown in comics.
- The Voiceless: Sort of. He can still speak, but since he's moving so fast no-one can hear him. Superman can communicate with him, but only because he can parse out what Wally's said after he's said it.
Power Woman
Kara Zor-L, Superman's cousin has become one of his more aggressive supporters.
- Amazonian Beauty: Always shown to be quite muscular, this is taken up to eleven here without sacrificing her traditional attractiveness.
- The Brute: One of the more violent members of Superman's Justice League, even towards a somewhat feeble older man like McCay, which given her strength is quite intimidating.
- Character Death: According to Thy Kingdom Come, she's one of the victims of the nuke. Given that Superman had bonded with the JSA's Power Girl, and her skeleton is the first he sees, it's heavily implied that this is what causes him to snap.
- Excuse Me While I Multitask: In the novel, she barely looks up from her magazine while defeating a group of new-breed metahumans who get into a fight on her subway train.
- Flying Brick: As always, she is a powerful, flying Kryptonian.
- Most Common Super Power: Her cleavage is a trademark of hers.
Hawkman
Carter Hall, now a glorified eco-terrorist.
- Ambiguously Human: At first glance appears to have become a half-bird hybrid but it could be even worse with many speculating he has somehow fused with his costume and his face is now frozen as the image of his mask.
- Gaia's Vengeance: He didn't abandon humanity like the other heroes; instead, he just attacks companies who are destroying nature, such as logging companies.
- The Voiceless: Even among a cast of thousands (where most are there just to appear in the background) this is notable in Hawkman's case. He is among the first superheroes seen in the book, a member of the original roster of Superman's reformed League and a prominent member throughout the entire series and he never utters a word. Interestingly his mouth ALWAYS drawn in the same semi-open position as his old mask, the implication being that perhaps he CAN'T speak as his mask is somehow fused to his face: leading to a possible case of And I Must Scream.
- Winged Humanoid: Now the wings are his own, no more harness.
The Ray II
Ray Terrill, the son of the original Ray.
- Abstract Apotheosis: According to the Novelization, The Ray has no corporeal body at all, and is actually an Anthropomorphic Personification of radiation. He's evolved to the point that not only can he remove harmful radiation from anything animate or inanimate, but he even fixes a child's damaged RNA and DNA so he won't have harmful cancer in the future.
- Ascended Extra: The Ray has never been a huge superhero in the scope of DC comics, the original never a member of the Justice Society and his son was only a very minor and late stage member of the Justice League. Here he is a founding member of Superman's reformed Justice League, a prominent member throughout, survives the final battle and is given a significant role in the Happy Ending.
- Dirty Old Man: He's in his 60s (though he looks younger), and thinks the aforementioned boy's mother is kinda hot.
- Light 'em Up: As always.
Troia
Donna Troy, formerly known as Wonder Girl and Darkstar.
- Adaptational Wimp: The creators specifically say they use her character in comparison to Wonder Woman, to showcase Wonder Woman's ageless beauty and strength by showing Donna as being out of shape, with graying hair and to a lesser extent showing her in numerous shots as injured and on the ground. Despite the fact that depending on which origin you go by Donna should ALSO benefit from a certain amount of immortality and enhanced physical prowess.
- Flying Brick: Though she barely gets a chance to show it.
Red Arrow
Roy Harper, formerly known as Arsenal and Speedy.
- Red Is Heroic: Natch.
- Sidekick Graduations Stick: He's two codenames away from Speedy now.
Aquaman II
Garth, the former Aqualad.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Is modeled after Steve Reeves, the actor famous for portraying Greek hero Hercules in film.
- Sidekick Graduations Stick: The original Aquaman mentions him as a reason he won't be fighting. Garth is Aquaman now, not him.
Tornado
Formerly known as the Red Tornado, the Tornado Champion once housed in an android body, now able to manifest without it.
- Abstract Apotheosis: Of wind. Specifically called out as such by Ross, along with Fate and Midnight as having been reduced to purely their core concepts.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: He's made entirely out of colored wind, matching his first costume. Red wind making up his body and purple wind making up his cape, gloves and boots.
- Blow You Away: Naturally.
- Elemental Embodiment: Even more so than usual.
King Marvel
Freddy Freeman, formerly Captain Marvel Jr., married to Lady Marvel and father of Whiz.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Elvis Presley, a noted fan of the character.
- Flying Brick: As all who have the power of Shazam.
- Good Parents: Seen, with his wife, telling their son Whiz to stay behind when the League prepares to go to war with the New Breed.
- Primary-Color Champion: Particularly notable as Superman has darkened his look and now that Freddy's older he almost looks more like a new Supes rather than taking after his former mentor.
- Sidekick Graduations Stick: A king definitely outranks a "captain".
Lady Marvel
Mary Batson, formerly Mary Marvel, married to King Marvel and mother of Whiz.
- Flying Brick: As all who have the power of Shazam.
- Good Parents: Seen, with her husband, telling their son Whiz to stay behind when the League prepares to go to war with the New Breed.
- Sidekick Graduations Stick: Shouldn't she be Queen if Freddy is King? Either way, it's better than just 'Mary'.
Starman VIII
Thom Kallor, formerly Starboy, a time-tossed member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. It would later be revealed this Thom Kallor was a native to a different universe and had been sent to this world by accident.
- Adaptational Badass: Is shown using his powers to control gravity completely, not just to add mass but also to subtract it.
- Canon Character All Along: While initially designated as this timeline's version of Thom Kallor, Justice Society of America would later reveal this is the original version of Thom Kallor who had accidentally been sent to this world. He was sent back to his home universe thanks to the blast at the Gulag.
- Gravity Master: As always, though he seems to have learned some new tricks. He's shown using his ability to even bring the Flash to a sudden stop.
- Heel–Face Turn: First shown fighting the League but has joined them by the very next panel.
- Legacy Character: In name only, and perhaps indirectly at that. As "Starman" is merely the adult equivalent of his own unrelated codename "Starboy". He does not use the cosmic rod or wear a costume similar to any of the previous Starmen.
Robotman III
Vic Stone, formerly the hero Cyborg of the Teen Titans, in the intervening time period he has somehow been transformed into a being of living liquid metal and is now the newest 'Robotman'.
- Affirmative-Action Legacy: The first two Robotmen had been white men before losing their bodies.
- Chrome Champion: Made of a golden liquid metal.
- Taken for Granite: The nuclear explosion in the end apparently petrified and killed him.
- Taking Up the Mantle: Gave up his original superhero persona to become a new version of Robotman.
Captain Comet
Adam Blake, now the warden of the Justice League's Gulag.
- Cool Old Guy: One of the oldest and most brilliant of Earth's metahumans.
- Mind over Matter: Still has his formidable telekinetic powers.
- Naked People Are Funny: Gets caught in one of Mr. Miracles' traps — an energy sphere that keeps shrinking on its victim, which ends up encasing them and destroying their armament, and all their clothes.
- Sacrificial Lamb: His death at the hands of Von Bach kicks off the Gulag uprising and the last act of the story.
Mister Miracle
Scott Free, universally recognized as the greatest escape artist of three worlds. Designs the League's Gulag to "inescapable"; he perhaps focuses too hard on more complex breakout methods and overlooks something as simple as "magic lightning".
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: As is typical of the pairing of him and his wife Big Barda.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Has his daughter immediately summon a Boom Tube when he notes the red light in the sky. He is the Greatest Escape Artist In the Universe, after all, and knows a trap is coming long before it's set off. When his daughter asks how in the world he knew, Big Barda chuckles, "Scott always knows".
- Trap Master: Being the master escape artist, he's also a master at creating traps.
- Troll: Played with. Insults Orion as loudly as he can in front of the Lowlies, to get them to shake off their slave mentality — they're shocked that nothing happens afterward when Scott does. Scott whispers to Supes that Orion is trying his best and has the best intentions, but he can't say that out loud.
Big Barda
Serves as head of security for the Gulag and helped put together the rest of the security staff.
- Action Girl: As always.
- Eyepatch After Time Skip: In regular canon she has both peepers working fine.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: As is typical of the pairing of her and Scott.
Brainiac's Daughter
Occasionally referred to in promotional material as 'XTC'. The linear notes list her as the "human" daughter of the Superman villain Brainiac but Word of God says that she is actually intended to be the daughter of Supergirl and Brainiac 5 of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
- Chest Insignia: The cut of her outfit is in fact the Superman "S". It's just a little bit bigger than the usual versions.
- Flying Brick: As she should be if she is indeed Supergirl's daughter.
- Heel–Face Turn: Originally seen fighting the League but turns quickly to their side.
Hourman III
Rick Tyler, son of the original Hourman who has improved on the powers of his father.
- Adaptational Badass: Not only does he exhibit powers no other Hourman has been seen to have (most notably flight) but it is even said he is no longer limited to an hour, making his name meaningless besides for sentimental value.
- Artifact Title: His power is no longer under a time limit, making his codename meaningless.
- Flying Brick: The Hourmen have always been super strong but the flying is new.
Sandman IV
Sanderson Hawkins, formerly referred to as Sandy the Golden Boy.
- Adaptational Badass: His powers are ill-defined at best, Sandy Hawkins has a variety of sand-related abilities but he is shown here flying in many panels (a power he never laid claim to before) and in the linear notes it is said that "the sands of time have stood still" for him, implying some form of immortality.
- The Ageless: The "sands of time have stood still" for him. It is possible he no longer ages.
- Continuity Nod: He was the sidekick of the original Sandman but wears the costume of the Garrett Sanford iteration of the character.
Living Doll
Daughter of Doll-Man and Doll-Girl.
- Girl Friday: Seems to serve as this to Superman. Taking notes while literally on his shoulder.
- Incredible Shrinking Man: Is never shown in her large form, if she even has one.
- Sizeshifter: Naturally as Doll-Man's daughter, interestingly she is only ever shown in her miniature form.
Alloy
The combination of all five Metal Men.
- The Atoner: Is partially responsible for the Kansas incident alongside Magog.
- Fusion Dance: Is a combination of all five of the original Metal Men.
- Gentle Giant: Shields Magog during the Kansas Incident to save his life and has since joined the "Lawful Good" Justice League.
- Heel–Face Turn: Not only previously aligned with the New Breed of heroes but was also specifically a member of Magog's Justice Battalion: the team of "heroes" who were responsible for the Kansas incident. How he came to Superman's side is not shown.
- Karma Houdini: He/It was arguably equally as involved in the Kansas incident as Magog but where Magog is put in the Gulag, Alloy is a member of the Justice League.
- Our Giants Are Bigger: Even for a character that is a combination of five others, Alloy is MASSIVE.
Avia
The Daughter of Mister Miracle and Big Barda.
- Flying Brick: She flies through the use of New God technology but the strength is all her.
- Generation Xerox: Is wearing a costume that is about a 50/50 mix of both of her parents' costumes though it's primarily inspired by her mother's with her father's coloring.
- Heel–Face Turn: A light example but was at least associated with the New Breed before joining the Justice League. She's first seen at the Titans Tower bar with the others before Superman confronts them.
- Legacy Character: Takes after both her parents.
Atom Smasher
The former Nuklon, member of Infinity Inc., and godson of the original Atom.
- Big "SHUT UP!": Gives one in the Titans Tower club scene to Marvin (Yes Marvin from the Superfriends... he didn't age well...) when he interrupts Superman.
- Civvie Spandex: Isn't actually wearing a costume, just casual clothing.
- Heel–Face Turn: A minor example as even in the club scene he's clearly more on Superman's side but he is initially seen with the New Breed nevertheless.
- Sizeshifter: Not shown very often but he does have this power and seems to be using subtly throughout, maintaining a size larger than a normal human almost 24/7.
- Super-Strength: As always, if anything he's even bulkier here than ever.
Phoebus
An original character who has replaced Firestorm as Earth's fire elemental.
- Heel–Face Turn: Originally one of the "New Breed" of so-called heroes and is in fact first seen fighting against the League but quickly switches sides and joins them. Later he is one of the first Wonder Woman calls on to defend the Gulag implying he must have made a pretty significant moral change.
- Playing with Fire: Obviously as a fire elemental.
Golden Guardian III
The second clone of the original Guardian.
- Bling of War: He is the GOLDEN guardian after all.
- Clones Are People, Too: Not treated any differently than any other super for being a clone.
- Doppelgänger Gets Same Sentiment: Greeted warmly by Superman as fellow Metropolis heroes despite not being the first Guardian or the second (the one Superman would be more familiar with).
Aleea Strange
The daughter of Adam Strange.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Daughter of Adam Strange and his Rannian wife Alanna.
- Jet Pack: And quite a stylish one too.
Red Tornado III
A new, seemingly human, female successor to the mantle.
- Blow You Away: Naturally.
- Canon Immigrant: Entered the mainstream DC-verse as JSA member Cyclone in 2006.
- Fiery Redhead: Explicitly referred to as "fire haired" in the linear notes and it is this where her name comes from as unlike previous Red Tornados her costume is entirely silver.
- Heel–Face Turn: Is first seen battling the League but has joined them by the very next panel.
- Legacy Character: How connected she is to the other Red Tornados is ambiguous but she is seen standing with them in the League's headquarters on New Oa.
Midnight
Supposedly the ghost of the first Dr. Mid-Nite (Charles McNider) given "form" by embodying the blackout smoke he once used to capitalize on his night-vision.
- Abstract Apotheosis: Of darkness. Specifically called out as such by Ross, along with Fate and Tornado as having been reduced to purely their core concepts.
- Black Cloak: A benevolent example. It is actually meant to be a dark green but this is hardly noticeable given he's one of the darkest colored characters on the bright and shiny Justice League and in most panels it's incredibly difficult to distinguish any color other than DARK.
- Dark Is Not Evil: A living cloud of darkness that is a member of the Justice League.
- Friendly Ghost: He's a ghost who's ALSO a superhero.
Bulletman and Bulletgirl
The successors of the original Golden Age duo.
- Flat Character: Of the the Justice League these two may be the least focused on. Even non-member Whiz gets more screen time and story than them.
- Powered Armor: The flying helmets of old have been replaced with full armor on most of their upper bodies.
- Those Two Guys: Never seen apart.
Powerman
A robot minion of Superman's.
- Flat Character: Shows up in a lot of crowd scenes, but doesn't have dialog. The description above is the only bit of characterization he gets.
- Flying Brick: Probably. Superman robots have typically not been too far from his own power level.
- Robot Superhero: Based off of a character who appeared in one story, a robot designed by Superman to protect Batman and Robin when they teamed up with him.
Whiz
The son of King Marvel and Lady Marvel.
- Mythology Gag: Captain Marvel and Shazam first appeared in Whiz Comics.
- Tagalong Kid: The youngest "member" of the Justice League, if he is indeed a member and not simply just following his parents around. He stays behind during the final battle and thus is sadly orphaned as a result.
Batman's Outsiders
Those who have aligned themselves with Batman and seek to represent humanity in this war against Gods.
Batman
"For a man who can hear clouds scrape together, you don't listen very well. The only thing I wonder about your down and dirty, quick and fast totalitarian "solutions"... is whether I'd be the first to be "reformed" by your new regime."
The Dark Knight of Gotham, now broken after years of pushing his body to the limit and having his secret identity exposed.
- Badass Normal: As always, though notably his years of being a badass normal have taken quite a toll on his body.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Gregory Peck, in reference to Batman: Year One.
- Cool Old Guy: Although much older, and requiring an exoskeleton to move thanks to the damage done to his body by decades of crime fighting, he is still the World’s Greatest Detective, and a Deadpan Snarker who leads his team to secretly take down Luthor and the MLF, punches the Brainwashed and Crazy Billy Batson on a hunch, and joins the Gulag fight alongside his Silent Cavalry in a suit of Powered Armor.
- Dark Is Not Evil: The "Dark Knight" and yet is the closest thing the story has to a pacifist (much against his character). Opposing both sides of the morality war around him and instead insisting there was a better way than fighting. Averted in the end as he swaps his traditional black motif for a white costume and assorted accoutrements when he converts his mansion to a hospital as the natural conclusion of his choice.
- Dented Iron: His years of crime-fighting have caused him to require an exoskeleton to support his body.
- Didn't See That Coming: He correctly deduces that Diana is pregnant with Superman's child. What he didn't deduce or expect was that she wants him to be the godfather, especially with his track record.
- Handicapped Badass: Years of crimefighting and maintaining the peak physical condition of the average man has taken its toll on him, resulting in him requiring an exoskeleton to move around.
- Hypocrite: Invoked. Superman calls him out on his holier-than-thou attitude when the gulag riot blows out, stating that both he and Bruce share the same desire to prevent people from dying (this being the reason why Clark retired, Bruce chiding and mocking him for it).
- I Own This Town: The novelization elaborates that, after being publicly exposed as Batman, Bruce Wayne begins openly exerting influence over his home city in order to protect it from crime. He is still a Fiction 500 billionaire, has armies of robots patrolling the streets, and his endorsement controls who becomes mayor or police commissioner. While Superman is disturbed by how heavy-handed his old friend is, Gotham City is one of the safest places in the country, and Bruce is still acting selflessly.
- Powered Armor: Dons an heavily armoured version of his Batsuit when he joins the fight.
- Secret Public Identity: Subverted. Most everyone just calls him Batman instead of Bruce Wayne after his identity gets exposed and Wayne Manor gets wrecked.
- Smug Smiler: He has a perpetual smirk throughout the book. Given that he plays Luthor like a harp and adjusts remarkably well to Superman's involvement, there's reason for it.
- Technical Pacifist: His motivation is to be this in theory. The results vary but this is at least his goal going in.
Green Arrow
Oliver Queen, now retired and married to long time love Dinah Lance. Serves as one of Batman's three lieutenants alongside his wife and Ted Kord.
- Badass Normal: This is the Emerald Archer himself, after all. The Novelization has the entire bar chuckling at his Self-Deprecation at being some old guy, knowing he was as dangerous as any superhero, including Superman.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Sean Connery.
- Despair Event Horizon: When Dinah is killed, it's implied that he spent the rest of the Gulag battle cradling her body in despair. He doesn't show any emotion when he sees the bomb drop either.
- Good Parents: Seen with Dinah, moving to shield their daughter when Captain Marvel attempts to intimidate her.
- Happily Married: Only seen apart from his wife on one occasion in the story.
- The Lancer: Implied to be Batman's second in command.
- State The Simple Solution: During a conclave of Batman's Outsiders and Lex Luthor's Mankind Liberation Front, he posits that they just drop a Kryptonite bomb on Superman (the leader and most powerful member of the JLA) to resolve the current world crisis.
- Together in Death: Dies in the nuclear explosion in the Gulag battle, clutching his wife’s corpse. They are seen, still together, as skeletons afterwards. In the Novelization, all of the archer heroes gather around Dinah and Oliver, and all die together.
Black Canary II
Dinah Lance the second Black Canary, now retired and married to the former Green Arrow. Serves as one of Batman's three lieutenants.
- Good Parents: Seen with her husband, moving to shield their daughter when Captain Marvel attempts to intimidate her.
- Happily Married: Almost never seen apart from her husband.
- The Smurfette Principle: The only female on Batman's inner circle.
- Together in Death: She dies, and Oliver in grief stays with her corpse to be consumed by the nuclear blast. On the post-explosion splashpage in the comic, his skeleton is cradiling hers.
Blue Beetle II
- Blue Is Heroic: Natch.
- Heel–Face Turn: Hinted at. Seen in the beginning on one of Superman's screens alongside the Question and two members of Magog's Justice Battalion, Thunderbolt and Peacemaker (likely an homage to them all originally being Charlton characters), both are absent when the team is seen confronting Parasite perhaps objecting to Magog's style of heroism.
- Power Armor: And quite an impressive one, based on the scarab of the original Blue Beetle.
- Scarab Power: Ted combines the mystic scarab of the first Blue Beetle with his tech.
- Silver Fox: For one of the older generation of heroes, he doesn't actually look too bad. Not "supermodel" attractive, but he's clearly aged a lot better than most.
- The Smart Guy: Batman's tech guy, the only one (other than Batman himself) seen to control the Bat-Bots.
Fate
The Helm of Nabu, no longer in need of a host.
- Adaptational Wimp: Dr. Fate is usually depicted as the greatest sorcerer in the DCU and yet here where the character should be even MORE powerful than ever since he is the power disembodied, "it" is mainly used as a teleport with little else in the way of showing of power. Justified in that the Lords of Order won't let him help too much, as he is nominally a member of The Quintessence, who have an Alien Non-Interference Clause.
- Ancient Artifact: Natch.
- Badass Cape: Has become its entire character.
- Living Clothes: Its new status without a host.
- Power Floats: Never touches the ground.
- Teleport Cloak: Its main use in the story despite the great power at its disposal.
Nightstar
The daughter of Nightwing and Starfire.
- Antagonistic Offspring: Like her friends, is seen opposing her parent by choosing Batman over Superman, but they remain quite amicable and she is shown saving her father during the final battle and sitting by his bedside as he recuperates.
- Dating Catwoman: Played with. She becomes romantically involved with Ibn (a member of Lex Luthor's "Mankind Liberation Front") over the course of the story (while he's meant to be undermining his own evil organization from within), even protecting him from her own team when they inevitably turn on their villainous "allies".
- Flying Brick: Not quite as strong as her mother, but still stronger than a normal human being.
- Generation Xerox: Like Red Hood, Darkstar, Kid Flash and Tula she makes up a nice parallel (if gender reversed) to the founding Teen Titans.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Daughter of a human man and an alien (Tamaranean) mother.
- Heel–Face Turn: Originally seen among the New Breed, engaging in the same disastrous fights as the others, then becomes a prominent member of Batman's team.
Red Hood
Lian Harper, the daughter of Roy "Red Arrow" Harper and the assassin Cheshire.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In the regular continuity, Lian Harper debuted with red hair as an infant but it gradually darkened and became black later on. This version of Lian has been a redhead all her life.
- Antagonistic Offspring: Her father Roy is on Superman's side, but she chooses Batman's contingent.
- Fiery Redhead: She's a ginger here, rather than dark haired like her mother (as she was in the regular continuity).
- Generation Xerox: Like Nightstar, Darkstar, Kid Flash and Tula she makes up a nice parallel (if gender reversed) to the founding Teen Titans.
- Red Is Heroic: Naturally.
- Red Riding Hood Replica: She follows in her father (Red Arrow)'s footsteps and becomes an archer. She adopts his color scheme and bases her superhero identity and costume on Little Red Riding Hood.
- Uncanny Family Resemblance: When the Kingdom Come Teen Titans briefly travel to the main DC Earth, Red Hood's younger counterpart Lian notices how much she resembles Cheshire. When Arsenal sees Lian and Red Hood standing next to one another, he's genuinely unnerved by their similar appearance (despite their different hair colors), especially when Lian asks if he notices Red Hood looks like her mom.
Darkstar
Robert Long, the son of Donna Troy and her ex-husband Terry Long.
- Antagonistic Offspring: Has chosen Batman's side, while his mother is on Superman's.
- Generation Xerox: Like Red Hood, Nightstar, Kid Flash and Tula he makes up a nice parallel (if gender reversed) to the founding Teen Titans. At the time of publication, Donna was a member of the Darkstars.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Has long luxurious blonde locks, dashing good looks. This is in part to add to his mythological connections with Ross remarking he ended up looking rather like many images of Hermes. It also matches his appearance as Lord Chaos in the Team Titans future.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Zigzagged. Lives to adulthood here but still dies before the story is over.
Tula
Daughter of Garth, the former Aqualad.
- Ambiguously Brown: Her facial features are vaguely East Asian. Her mother is named in the series' annotations as "Mizuko Perkins", most likely referring to Deep Blue, the half-Atlantean daughter of the Japanese superheroine Tsunami.
- Antagonistic Offspring: Like her friends, she is on Batman's team where her father has chosen Superman. It's implied she actually has the worst parent/child relationship out of all the Titans, as she is seen punching him during the climactic fight. It probably doesn't help she was named after her father's dead girlfriend, explicitly not her mom.
- Chainmail Bikini: Her battle armor is quite revealing.
- Generation Xerox: Like Red Hood, Darkstar, Kid Flash and Nightstar she makes up a nice parallel (if gender reversed) to the founding Teen Titans.
- Perpetual Frowner: Referred to in the linear notes as a "malcontent" and is often pictured with a sour look on her face.
Kid Flash II/Flash IV
Daughter of Wally West and Linda Park.
- Ambiguous Situation: In the novelization, she's explicitly stated to have died during the explosion at the story's climax, while the original comic leaves it ambiguous as to whether or not she survives (with The Kingdom seemingly confirming she lives).
- Antagonistic Offspring: Her father is one of Superman's first recruits in the Justice League, and she instead chooses to join Batman's "Outsiders".
- Generation Xerox: Like Red Hood, Darkstar, Nightstar and Tula she makes up a nice parallel (if gender reversed) to the founding Teen Titans.
Wildcat III
Man-Panther and newest bearer of the Wildcat name.
- Beast Man: A half man, half panther.
- Canon Immigrant: Was incorporated in the JSA in 2008 which established him as Tom Bronson, the illegitimate son of Ted Grant/Wildcat I.
- Legacy Character: The third to take on the name after Ted Grant and Yolanda Montez. Unlike them, however, he is a literal hybrid of human and big cat.
- Panthera Awesome: Unlike the other two Wildcats, who were humans in costumes, this Wildcat is a humanoid black panther.
- Super-Strength: Takes down the immortal Vandal Savage (who has fought the Justice League solo) pretty quickly.
Jade/Green Lantern VI
Daughter of the original Green Lantern and embodiment of that legacy's traditional power.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Portrayed with the green skin typical of the character.
- Antagonistic Offspring: Siding with Batman against her father who is on Superman's Justice League.
Martian Manhunter
Once a founding and integral member of the original Justice League but now a broken man.
- Heroic BSoD: Using his telepathy past its limits has completely broken him.
- Power Incontinence: After overtaxing his telepathy and touching EVERY mind on the planet simultaneously he is left with only a very fragile control over ALL of his powers, not just telepathy, as seen when Batman goes to hand him a cup of tea and his hand phases through it clearly without his intent.
- Small Role, Big Impact: It is he who, after a surreptitious mental scan of Captain Marvel, confirms Batman's suspicion that "Earth's Mightiest Mortal" is actually Billy Batson grown to adulthood, and suffering under mind control imposed by Lex Luthor.
Menagerie
Formerly Beast Boy/Changeling from Teen Titans
- Adaptational Superpower Change: Now, for an unstated reason, can only take the shapes of imaginary creatures rather than actual animals. (At time of publication, the main continuity version had just come out of a period where he could only turn to "nightmare" creatures due to trauma, although he hadn't lost the ability to become human.)
- Amazing Technicolor Population: As usual all of his forms are always green.
- Blessed with Suck: He can now transform into any mythical or imaginary beast, but he lost his ability to become any real animal, and according to
Word of God, he can't become human again. - Shapeshifter Mode Lock: According to Word of God he can no longer return to human form.
Obsidian
Shadow manipulating son of the original Green Lantern.
- Antagonistic Offspring: Siding with Batman against his father who is on Superman's Justice League.
- Expy: His look here is modeled after The Shadow.
Lightning
The metahuman daughter of Black Lightning.
- Canon Immigrant: Was introduced to the mainstream DC-verse as part of the JSA in 2008.
- Electric Black Guy: Or 'girl' in this case. Daughter of the trope codifier no less.
- Heel–Face Turn: Originally seen among the New Breed later shown as a member of Batman's team.
- Shock and Awe: Naturally.
Black Canary III
The daughter of Green Arrow and the second Black Canary.
- Apologetic Attacker: In Convergence, she is happy to meet her alternate universe father and technical half-brother, tries not to be too rough on them as they fight, and apologizes to them more than once.
- Archaic Weapon for an Advanced Age: Sports a crossbow as her way to honor her father as well as her mother (and grandmother).
- Dark Is Not Evil: As is natural for any of the Black Canaries but especially for her as she incorporates some "goth" aesthetic into her look and remains purely heroic.
- Legacy Character: The third in the Black Canary line after her mother and grandmother.
Zatara II
The son of Zatanna and John Constantine, grandson of the original Zatara.
- Psychic Powers: Like his father he can see the "unseen". He is one of very few characters who can see Norman McCay and the Spectre.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Definitely takes more after his mom and maternal grandfather's style of dress than his dad's.
Steel
John Henry Irons, formerly a member of the "Superman family" but after Superman's exile has retooled himself as a follower of Batman's.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: His switch from Superman's side to Batman's is treated as a significant moral switch but both sides are technically good guys.
- Powered Armor: Seemingly the same armor as usual, no noticeable power upgrades in the years since the modern comics. Only cosmetic changes to make it resemble Batman's aesthetic.
The Creeper
Aging wretched screwball superhero.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Portrayed with the yellow skin typical of the character.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Is said to be completely mad.
- Psycho Supporter: A member of the team that serves as the closest thing to a 'pacifist" faction in this story...and is BATshit insane.
Phantom Lady
The spirit of the Golden Age Phantom Lady.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Bettie Page.
- Friendly Ghost: Maintains the same do-gooder personality (if as wild as always) she had in life.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Despite her classic costume being yellow and green she is shown to be violet here. Perhaps a reference to the blue and red costume of the Fox Comics Phantom Lady.
Batwoman II (and Ace)
A New Goddess who idolizes Batman, and a horse-like bat creature (presumably also from the Fourth World) that serves as her steed.
- Humans Are Special: Is an alien from a godlike race but idolizes a human superhero (one without any powers to boot) enough to make her home on Earth and even die for his cause.
- Mythology Gag: Her color scheme and role as a Batman admirer are callbacks to Kathy Kane, the original Batwoman.
Cossack, Dragon, and Samurai
Cossack, Dragon, and Samurai
The newest incarnation of the Batmen of Many Nations.- Captain Ethnic: As the original Batmen of Many Nations were before them, each member is defined by their country of origin.
- Cossack: Russia
- Dragon: China
- Samurai: Japan
Nucleoid
A pliable nuclear powered "New Breed" hero.
- Canon Foreigner: One of the only purely original characters to choose either Superman or Batman's side. Even Phoebus of the League is vaguely connected by being Firestorm's successor.
- Heel–Face Turn: Formerly of the New Breed and now on Batman's team.
Mysteryman
One of Batman's fellow crimefighters.
- Badass Normal: He's seen fighting Powerman—one of Superman's robots—during the big final battle, hand-to-hand. So either he's got some serious skills or a lot of nerve.
- Flat Character: That phrase up there is the only description we get of him.
- Shout-Out: The notion of "Mysteryman" first appeared in 1957, in Detective Comics #245. In that story, Commissioner Gordon suited up to fight along side the Dynamic Duo. What this might mean for this Mysteryman is unknown, although the implications are fascinating.
The Mankind Liberation Front
Lex Luthor and various retired super villains form a committee to superficially represent humanity against the "threat" of the Justice League.
Lex Luthor
The Arch-Nemesis of Superman, still a criminal overlord but now acting under the false guise of altruism.
- Bald of Evil: As is usual for the character.
- Berserk Button: Go ahead, mention Superman near him...
- Big Bad: He's the closest thing the book has to a main antagonist, even if most of what he does is sitting back, pulling some strings, and letting the heroes tear each other apart.
- Evil Old Folks: He's still a very evil man, and leads a group of fellow supervillains to bring down the Justice League.
- Fat Bastard: He's gained weight in his old age, and is nastier than ever.
- Faux Affably Evil: Is always polite, friendly and amiable with both the MLF and Batman... until he's not.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: At some point in the story, he orders the production of more bat-bots without consulting Batman. When Batman and his allies turn against the MLF, Luthor runs away... only to be captured by said bat-bots, which are under control of Ted Kord.
- It's All About Me: Exemplified by his reaction to Vandal Savage casually murdering his secretary? He gripes it takes a long time to train his personal secretary and any attacks on his employees is an implicit attack on him.
- Laser-Guided Karma: His punishment for the events of the story? Cleaning bedpans.
- Non-Action Big Bad: As the lynchpin of the criminal conspiracy to bring down the Justice League (and rule the world), he never gets his hands dirty, preferring to let others do his dirty work and using the brainwashed Captain Marvel as his personal bodyguard. Maskes total sense as he's way past his physical prime and has gained quite a few pounds. He and his sworn foe Superman never even come face-to-face with each other within this story. The closest he gets to physical action is fleeing Batman's coup, only to get surrounded by the Bat-Bots.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Luthor paints himself and the MLF as protectors of the people, justifying the pain and suffering he puts humanity through and raising the tensions between humans and metahumans as his attempts to return humans as the rightful apex predators of the Earth. But since this is Lex Luthor we're talking about, the only person he's looking to uplift is himself.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Gets twitchy whenever someone mentions Superman.Lex: He will not touch me!
Catwoman
Selina Kyle, the former Catwoman, now an aging socialite and seemingly romantically involved with the Riddler.
- Cool Old Lady: She IS an older version of Catwoman, after all, and is the only MLF member seen fighting back against Batman’s group.
- December–December Romance: Has become involved with Edward Nigma late in life.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Her punishment for the events of the story are light: she's given light nurse duties.
- Never Mess with Granny: When Batman's group turns on the MLF, most of the now quite elderly former villains understandably fold pretty easily (even the immortal Vandal Savage) but Selina is the sole member seen fighting back. Knocking back the presumably superhuman Tula with one hit and making a get away, only stopped by Jade at the last minute.
- Rags to Riches: At some point, went from being a cat burglar to running a fantastically successful cosmetics company, and is now one of the patrons of Luthor's MLF.
- Right-Hand Cat: Carries around a white-haired Persian.
- The Smurfette Principle: The sole female member of the MLF.
Captain Marvel
Once The Pollyanna of the Superhero community. A young boy given the powers of a god. Now a wildcard in the war between humanity and the ubermensch.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Thanks to Lex Luthor using the mind control worms of his old foe, Doctor Sivana.
- Break the Cutie: The epitome of The Pollyanna as a superhero, now grown up, traumatized by the increasing violence and grimness of superheroics, and Lex Luthor's brainwashed lackey.
- The Dreaded: For good reason. A Flying Brick who can rival Superman himself but also possibly one-up him because he wields one of the Man of Steel's weaknesses? Already scary. All of that under the control of Lex Luthor? Pants-crappingly terrifying.
- Narrator Norman McCay puts it best when he says "No one breathes in his presence. 'What is he thinking', they wonder. 'What will he do next?' To them, he is a shark, trawling for prawn".
- Flying Brick: As always.
- Kid Hero All Grown-Up: As it turns out, the man in the tuxedo serving Lex Luthor is not Captain Marvel but an untransformed adult Billy Batson. Kingdom Come is also one of the most notable examples where it's confirmed that Captain Marvel is an adult version of Billy.
- Madness Mantra: By the last act of the comic, Billy's brain has been traumatized so much that all he can say is "Shazam!" over and over.
- Mind Rape: He's conditioned by Lex Luthor to hate superheroes via genetically designed worms created by his arch-enemy Dr. Sivana (who's implied to be dead by this point in the future) and based on another of his old enemies: Mr. Mind.
- Oh, Crap!: Literally everyone's reaction to seeing him.
- Shock and Awe: Figures out how to use his magic lightning for offensive use.
- Stepford Smiler: When not alone with Luthor he is usually seen with his trademark child-like grin but now it takes on a sinister affect and only serves to make the others more afraid of him. He loses it for good during the final confrontation with Superman.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: This is Billy Batson, one of the most optimistic Kid Heroes in all of comics and used as a representation of the old school fun the medium and the superhero genre brings to the table. But the increasing darkness of the next generation heroes and the world proves to be too much for Billy and the good Captain, leaving the boy in a vulnerable enough state for Luthor to swoop in and groom him into his servant.
Ibn al Xu'ffasch
The heir to Ra's Al Ghul and son of Batman and Ghul's daughter Talia.
- Anti-Villain: The entire MLF claims to be this but he is the only one who acts like it.
- Canon Immigrant: Technically, Damian Wayne is his Prime-Earth counterpart, but Ibn showed up in print a good decade or so before him. They both stem from the same Did They or Didn't They? story involving Batman and Talia.
- Double Agent: It's revealed that he joins Luthor's Mankind Liberation Front to serve as a mole for Batman.
- Mr. Fanservice: He (and his romance with Nightstar) is quite popular in fan art and he's noted to have inherited his father's good looks.
- Ship Tease: With Nightstar, the daughter of his father’s former protege.
- Token Good Teammate: He is the least bloodthirsty and openly villainous of the MLF, the one who sets up the allegiance with Batman's team (fittingly enough as his son) and after their defeat seems the most devoted to their jobs working as aides to the sick and injured.
Vandal Savage
The same immortal madman who has plagued superheroes through the centuries.
- Ax-Crazy: He said two sugars...
- Beard of Evil: Has thick, rough facial hair and an even rougher temperament.
- Complete Immortality: As usual.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Did that poor secretary really deserve to die for screwing up his drink order?
- Evil Mentor: Has taken King as a sort of "protege" in the ways of immortality.
- Hidden Depths: In the epilogue, Batman notes that Savage's healing tricks (learned over centuries of life experience) have made him invaluable in Batman's makeshift hospital.
- Time Abyss: As usual, he is an immortal Neanderthal.
- Would Hit a Girl: Hell, snap her neck, even. Coolly and effortlessly. Over an incorrect drink order.
The Riddler
Edward Nigma, the aging former enemy of Batman, has become involved with Selina Kyle and is invited by her to join in on Mankind Liberation Front meetings. Much to Luthor's annoyance.
- Audience Surrogate: Mixed with Mr. Exposition, as he's there to not only question Luthor, but also to exposit who Luthor's allies are.
- Butt-Monkey: When Batman's Outsiders detain the MLF, poor Edward is spun in his chair at superspeed, and nearly suffers a heart attack from dizziness.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Frank Gorshin.
- December–December Romance: Has become involved with Selina Kyle late in life.
- Evil Old Folks: This version of the Riddler is getting on in years, but he’s still a member of the MLF.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He's given the lightest of punishments: he entertains young patients, doing things like performing magic tricks and making them feel better, something which he enjoys doing.
- Minion with an F in Evil: He's shocked at how Luthor is sacrificing the incidents for his schemes and is a bit of a Devil's Advocate, saying Luthor doesn't mean uplifting mankind — he means uplifting himself and the other MLF members.Edward: When is a villain not a villain?
Lex: (brusquely) When he works for the common good, Mr. Nygma. - Symbol Motif Clothing: Downplayed compared to most of his other outfits, but still there; the frames of his glasses are shaped like sideways question marks.
- Troll: Per usual. Luthor isn't having it and warns Selina to keep him in check with a veiled threat.
Kobra
Lord Naga.
- Armor-Piercing Question: In the original graphic novel, he asks Lex Luthor if they all truly have nothing to fear from the JLA in general, and Superman especially. This triggers Luthor's huge freakout.
- Bald of Evil: As deprived of hair follicles as Luthor and just as depraved.
- Flat Character: He's given the least amount of characterization of any of the MLF.
King
Former leader of the Royal Flush Gang.
- Complete Immortality: Following the Meta-Gene Bomb in the 'Invasion!' storyline.
- The Stoic: Has a very blase reaction to Vandal casually murdering a secretary, merely calling him a "ham".
Red, White, and Blue
Android servants of Lex Luthor posing as New Breed heroes to sow more resentment in the public against the superhumans.
- Captain Patriotic: What they pose as.
- The Mole: White is Lex's spy within the Gulag.
- Terrible Trio: Their MO.
The "New Breed"
The ultra-violent new generation of "super heroes" who care more about aggressive displays of power to alleviate their boredom than saving lives.
Magog
The epitome of the "New Breed" of superheroes and Superman's defacto successor as the hero of Metropolis.
- Anti-Hero: Sets himself up as the paragon of the "new" generation of heroes, directly comparing himself to what Superman was to his generation of heroes in that way. Needless to say, what he represents barely passes for anything called a "hero".
- Anti-Villain: What he really is. He's brutal and his actions have undeniably caused serious damage but he honestly believes in what he's doing as the best way to save lives, is horrified at innocent people dying as a result of his actions and he makes valid arguments in defense of his approach as awful but necessary.
- The Atoner: After the Kansas incident he's an empty shell of what he once was. No more bluster or bravado, he's grief stricken and utterly broken. Willingly lets himself be housed in the Gulag; in the novelization he walks up to the front door and humbly asks to be admitted. At the end of the story, he's happily present at Wonder Woman's re-coronation, and smacks 666 upside the head when he spits to one side in disrespect, before going on to become Dean of Students at her new school.
- Bling of War: His impressive golden armor.
- Boom Stick: His signature weapon, what he uses to kill the Joker and then again in his rage against Superman despite knowing it would (probably) be useless against him.
- Cool Helmet: His signature horned helmet.
- Corrupted Character Copy: Magog, being a Take That! at Rob Liefeld, is a Jerkass and demented version of Cable, though this is subverted somewhat as Magog manages to be redeem himself after a Despair Event Horizon and helps the Justice League. He still proves to be the villainous opposite of Cable in later comics though, as seen in Infinite Frontier where he joins the Injustice Incarnate whom mean to keep the worlds of the Multiverse separate, whereas Marvel's Cable is all about hopping between universes for the greater good.
- Expy: An explicit one for Cable, the creators' go-to example of the epitome of the '90s Anti-Hero. Ironically, he undergoes a similar character evolution to Cable himself after the story is over, becoming a teacher concerned with making the world better.
- Jerkass Has a Point: He's far from the nicest guy but he makes a number of valid arguments, most notably that the older generation of heroes really are out of touch with the modern world and how it's changed, that their stance of simply capturing villains who would escape again put lives in danger, that Superman in particular refuses to consider that his ideals might have any flaws or that anyone else might also be right and that the Joker was a monster who absolutely deserved to die and would have just killed more people when given the chance. It's a major part of what makes him a compelling character rather than simply a strawman.
- Manly Tears: Both when confronted by Superman in Kansas and in the Gulag, as the other inmates largely rage and fume.
- Moral Pragmatist: He subscribes to the use of force to achieve ends, no matter how grisly. As a way to State The Simple Solution, he opts to just kill The Joker after he massacres hundreds (including Lois Lane); the fact that the public side with him (and acquit him of manslaughter charges) makes Superman abandon the pursuit of justice and heroics in general. Things begin escalating with Superman gone, and Magog's brutal methods catch up to him when his team causes the Kansas incident that kills millions.
- Mysterious Past: Who is he? Where did he come from? Where did he get his powers? The comic never says. He never even gets a real name. At least some of these got answered by his version in the regular DC continuity, but they might not apply to this version.
- Mythology Gag: Magog is the comic's equivalent to the biblical Golden Calf, the false idol that the Israelites start worshipping in Moses' absence. This is reflected in his design, especially with his golden horned helmet.
- No One Gets Left Behind: Saves as many metahumans as he can when he sees the nuclear bomb falling, starting with Tokyo Rose.
- Stylistic Suck: Played with. Alex Ross designed Magog with every superhero cliché he despised from 90's comics: pouches and superfluous belts everywhere, missing an eye, a brutal edgelord personality, etcetera; in other words, Cable. The fact that he ended up looking awesome despite that leaves in evidence the quality of Ross' work.
- Villainous Breakdown: He goes down without Superman touching him. He just collapses to his knees at the weight of the guilt over the accidental destruction of Kansas.Magog: They chose the man who would kill over the man who wouldn't. And now they're dead. A million ghosts. Punish me. Lock me away. Kill me. Just make the ghosts go away.
- The fact that he's an Anti-Hero instead of a true villain no doubt contributes to this. He really was trying to be a hero and do the right thing, and he genuinely cares about all the innocents who suffered for his recklessness.
- Villain Has a Point: He's absolutely correct that simply arresting villains like the Joker only for them to go free again and hurt more people helps no one and that the older generation of heroes, particularly Superman, demonize the new heroes but never provide meaningful alternatives and refuse to consider another side, caring more about feeling righteous than what is best for the world.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: His actions go well beyond acceptability but he sincerely cares about saving lives and really believes that taking villains out is the best way to do that.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Does just that (with his energy lance) after the Joker murders the staff at the Daily Planet, spurring and encouraging legions of anti-heroes to follow his lead.
Joker's Daughter II
Is not intended to be Duela Dent but is instead one of "many" to follow the Joker's lead after his death.
- The Atoner: One of the few survivors of the New Breed, seen on Paradise Island with the others prepared to become Wonder Woman's students. How successful said endeavor proves in rehabilitating her and the rest is left ambiguous.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Based on comic book writer Jill Thompson (and to an extent her signature character the Scary Godmother).
- Hidden Depths: At some point after the final battle she's acquired a teardrop tattoo, which has many hidden meanings in criminal circles but most have to due with showing grief at the loss of a friend or lover.
- Monster Clown: Obviously in that she patterns herself after the Joker.
- Sexy Jester: To an extent. Not an unattractive woman despite her makeup and costume not going for titillation.
- Villainous Harlequin: Obviously.
Von Bach
A would-be Yugoslavian dictator.
- Asshole Victim: Was anybody really that mad at Wonder Woman for offing this peach of a guy?
- Captain Ersatz: Meant to stand in for the more political villains superheroes face in the Golden Age.
- Evil Is Petty: He kills Captain Comet for berating the prisoners for the destruction they've caused. And for blasting him back when he tries attacking Comet after said berating.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: How Diana offs him.
- A Nazi by Any Other Name: He speaks in German (though sometimes inaccurately) and is covered in tattoos of far right German symbols.
- Super-Strength: The only power he displays; if he has any others they are not shown.
Tokyo Rose
An assassin from Japan.
- The Atoner: Survived the final battle and is seen along with her fellow "New Breed" heroes on Paradise Island prepared to learn from Wonder Woman.
- Captain Ersatz: Based on Chun-Li.
- I Can't Feel My Legs!: She is left paralyzed from the waist down from a violent kick by Batman during the battle at the Gulag.
- Kick Chick: Much like the character she's based on, she mainly fights with kicks.
666
A self-made cyborg who seeks only destruction.
- Antagonist in Mourning: Enraged and in shock that Wonder Woman killed Von Bach.
- Body Horror: Has mutilated himself by replacing various body parts with machinery.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Is drawn to resemble comic book writer Brian Azzarello.
- Number of the Beast: The codename he chooses.
- Truly Single Parent: The novelization says his teenaged mother was impregnated by some floating powered energy rather than by another person, but no one, not even her son, ever believed her about that.
Cathedral
A rogue metahuman physically styled after a cathedral. Said to be the "Holy Terror" of the Underworld.
- Affably Evil: Seems rather polite, even as he's about to murder a teenager.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: What he's about to do to Whiz before Wonder Woman tosses him.
Manotaur
A classical Greek monster armed with modern weaponry.
- The Atoner: One of the few survivors of the New Breed after the last battle and joined the others on Paradise Island in the end to study under Wonder Woman.
- Badass Arm-Fold: The last panel featuring him has him in this pose, cementing himself as one of the new Deans at Paradise Island.
- Beast Man: Half man, half bull.
- Ex-Big Bad: The Novelization notes that he has been accepted by the Amazons despite being a classical Greek enemy.
Trix
According to the linear notes she is apparently whatever is left of the Matrix Supergirl.
- The Atoner: Survived the final battle and is seen on Paradise Island with the other New Breed survivors prepared to be taught by Wonder Woman.
- Diesel Punk: In particular seems inspired by the works of H. R. Giger.
- Femme Fatalons: Rather long, nasty looking black claw/fingers on her left hand.
- Was Once a Man: Being whatever's left of Matrix.
Thunder
Said to be a new version of Johnny Thunder.
- Affirmative-Action Legacy: Said to be a new version of Johnny Thunder (though with completely unrelated powers). Where Johnny was a blonde white man, he is a black teenager. He does wear a sweatshirt with an image of Johnny's Thunderbolt on it however.
- The Atoner: Survives the Gulag battle and is seen on Paradise Island in the end under Wonder Woman's tutelage.
- Electric Black Guy: A lot of people noticed he shares more in common with Black Lightning/Static than he does with Johnny Thunder.
- Shock and Awe: Gets this instead of a genie.
Mr. Terrific II
Patterns himself after the original Mr. Terrific in look but seems to be a form of mocking as he celebrates "fair play" by being a gun nut who opens fire on a crowd while having a personal force-field for himself.
- Hypocrite: Touts the same fair play motto as the Golden Age version while stacking the deck in his own favor with heavy firearms matched with a personal forcefield.
- More Dakka: Sports an insane amount of weaponry and is not afraid to use it.
Stars
The latest version of Star-Spangled Kid. He also is carrying on the Starman legacy by using the cosmic rod.
- Affirmative-Action Legacy: A young black man whose persona is based on the Golden Age hero Star-Spangled Kid, who was white.
- Everyone Has Standards: For all of his destructive Nominal Hero antics, he is visibly shocked by the news about the destruction of Kansas.
Stripes
A new version of Stripesy; like his fore-bearer he too is partnered with a new version of the Star-Spangled Kid.
- Affirmative-Action Legacy: Is a black man who is patterned after the original Stripesy, who was white.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: While held in the Gulag, he complains about how everyone present were responsible for doing stuff like killing Ra's al Ghul and Eclipso and fighting groups like "The Slaughter Brigade", saying they saved lives.
- Hypocrite: Complains about how the metahumans and heroes of his generation saved people and deserve respect, yet at no point acknowledges how many lives they blatantly ignore or jeopardize while they run around beating each other up out of sheer boredom.
- Never My Fault: His attitude and behavior sums up the biggest problem with the metahumans who were inspired by Magog; they believe just because they killed the bad guys they're automatically deserving of respect and admiration from the older heroes, but they refuse to acknowledge (or care) about all the people they endanger and possibly kill in their rampant bloodlust for fighting one another.
Kabuki Kommando
The Fourth World's Japanese champion.
- Space Romans: Is a New God from the Fourth World that has patterned himself after Japanese Culture (to an almost stereotypical degree).
NIL8
A "sentient" armory.
- Fun with Acronyms/Punny Name: As Norman notes in the Novelization, say each letter/number out loud.
- More Dakka: Packs more firearms than the NRA.
- SkeleBot 9000: A variant, as he seems to be a human skull placed in a giant mech.
Swastika
An American militia man and "anarchist" who has tattooed his entire body with the negative space of a swastika.
- The Atoner: Survives the Gulag battle and is seen on Paradise Island with the others but how sincere his rehabilitation is in question. Seen spitting during the ceremony and is given a hard smack for it from the truly reformed Magog.
- Obliviously Superpowered: Possibly. In the novel he's mentioned as a probable example of people who took the at-home test which told them they had the metahuman gene and just made a suit and waded into the fray when it turned out positive without actually checking what they could do. As he is never apparently seen to use any powers, it may not have even triggered at all.
- Those Wacky Nazis: Subverted. He might style himself after a swastika, but he's not a Neo-Nazi.
- Ungrateful Bastard: He survives the massacre and is sent to Themyscira to be healed (and probably to be set straight); he shows his gratitude by spitting during a sacred function. Fortunately Magog, the new Dean of Students there, gives him a hard clout.
Catwoman II
Armored Meta-Human successor to the original.
- Hell-Bent for Leather: Covered head to toe in black leather, verging on Dominatrix in appearance.
The Justice Battalion
L to R: Peacemaker, Nightshade, Thunderbolt, Alloy, Magog, Captain Atom, and Judomaster
Magog's new version of the Justice League, dedicated to his way of being a "hero". Made up of: Alloy, Captain Atom, Nightshade, Peacemaker, Judomaster, and Thunderbolt.
- Beware the Superman: The Justice Battalion claim to be fighting for justice, but they are violent madmen who abuse their powers with glee, not caring if civilians get hurt. This eventually leads to the fateful battle, where they beat down a weakened, begging Parasite, culminating in the destruction of Kansas and the deaths of one million people.
- Expy:
- Peacemaker has been redesigned to resemble Boba Fett.
- Thunderbolt has also received a subtler redesign made to remind readers of the Golden Age Daredevil (no relation to Matt Murdock)
- To a lesser extent the entire team can be seen as one to X-Force, as Magog is an expy of their leader Cable and the team is meant to represent the darker edgier teams of the early '90s.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: Particularly in Captain Atom's case; he is a former military man and then a charter member of the Justice League, but here he is not only a member of the more extreme Justice Battalion but he is the one who specifically goes after Parasite, directly leading to the Kansas incident.
- Mythology Gag: Aside from Magog and Alloy the team is made up of characters that DC acquired from the former Charlton Comics. And the gritty Dark Age team being based on those characters is probably meant to remind one of Watchmen.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Their whole schtick. They claim to be a "superhero" group but they are merciless, zealous and overly violent. Their actions directly led to the destruction of Kansas by leading a full on assault on a elderly, weakened Parasite who is already surrendering.
- The Worf Effect: Captain Atom is accidentally killed by Parasite "splitting" him open.
Unaligned Characters
Deadman
Boston Brand, now having finally "accepted" his own death.
- Dem Bones: He's considerably more skeletal than usual when he shows up.
- Friendly Ghost: As he always was.
- Horrifying Hero: One of the most genuinely friendly characters in the series and is literally a talking skeleton.
- Nice Guy: Very friendly and encouraging to Norman when they meet on some cosmic plane. Tries to warn him about being careful around the Spectre. He eagerly hopes to speak to Norman after the latter passes away to hear a fresh perspective (no need to rush).
- Seen It All: Boston's been around the block a few times. He refers to the Apocalypse as "the critical path down on Earth", and doesn't view the immortal beings as anything that special, even telling Norman he could be a god (clarifying not Capital G God) if he wanted.
- Spear Carrier: His only role is to show up and contextualize the Spectre's deal to Norman, making it clear why Norman is so important to helping the Spectre judge the story's main conflict.
Shazam
The immortal wizard who had originally empowered the Marvel Family.
- Parental Substitute: To Billy Batson/Captain Marvel. States as much himself to the other cosmic powers when he pleads for their aid in saving the heroes of Earth.
Phantom Stranger
The mysterious wanderer.
- Choosing Neutrality: He and the other cosmic powers have taken this stance quite aggressively.
- God Is Neutral: His role in the story.
Highfather
The New God Leader of New Genesis
- Adaptational Jerkass: While New Genesis had its flaws, its leader was largely portrayed as an All-Loving Hero who cared about all beings, great and small. Here Highfather dismissively calls Earth a small, meaningless variable in his grand Life Equation when the possibility of its destruction is raised.
- Big Good: Especially now that Darkseid is gone and Orion, who is at best only a bad guy on paper at this point if not completely neutral, is in charge of Apokolips.
- Choosing Neutrality: He and the other cosmic powers have taken this stance quite aggressively.
- God Is Neutral: His role in the story.
Ganthet
The last Guardian of Oa.
- Adaptational Badass: Last Guardian or no, Ganthet was NEVER on the same level as the likes of the Spectre, The Phantom Stranger and other cosmic entities. Here is portrayed as their peer.
- Choosing Neutrality: He and the other cosmic powers have taken this stance quite aggressively.
- God Is Neutral: His role in the story.
- Last of His Kind / Sole Survivor: He’s this for the Guardians of the Universe.
Zeus
King of the Greco-Roman Gods.
- Choosing Neutrality: He and the other cosmic powers have taken this stance quite aggressively.
- God Is Neutral: His role in the story.
- Was Once a Man: Deadman chuckles that Zeus was once just some guy who found a magic rock.
Orion
The former New God insurgent has switched roles and become the new dictator of Apokolips after finally defeating his father and realizing... Apokolips doesn't work without him. He tries to have an election, but he wins by what he considers "an obscene plurality" (read as: 100%), even though he drafts Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu to help out.
- Ambiguously Evil: It's established that he's not happy about taking over his father's throne, but it's not made clear if he follows Darkseid's footsteps as a tyrant, willingly or not. Scott Free notes Orion is doing his best, but the Lowlies still have too much of a slave mentality for Orion to help directly.
- Like Father, Like Son: Not by choice. He's even styling his hair like his dad's old helmet, if only unconsciously.
- Orcus on His Throne: Has been more and less forced into this role by his own people.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: His entire motivation was to fight every natural instinct within him to be just like his evil father. Even though he eventually wins against Darkseid, circumstances force him to Turn Out Like His Father anyways and now all that's left for him to do is sit around on his throne lamenting it.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Aside from still having some hair, he is the spitting image of Darkseid now.
- Turn Out Like His Father:Superman: You're more like Darkseid than ever, Orion.
Orion: So it was written to be. Our story has always been a generational one. It is said that many men eventually become their fathers. - Universally Beloved Leader: Deconstructed to the point of tragedy. Orion overthrew his cruel and despotic father Darkseid, as prophesied, and attempted to set up a better, more democratic and egalitarian regime instead. The people took to it alright; they first immediately began doing what they'd been conditioned to do their entire lives and preying on one another once there was no one to stop them. Later they voted Orion into absolute power to replace him by an obscene 100% plurality, and demanded he go back to telling them what to do, because what they wanted most was the comfortable familiarity of Freedom from Choice.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Superman tells Orion how dissapointed he is at witnessing what became of Apokolips under his rule (or, what it didn't), but Orion explains that he tried to sell the concepts of "freedom" and "democracy" to the planet's denizens; that cookie didn't crumble for them, though, because misery is what they're used to.
- You Kill It, You Bought It: Orion killed Darkseid and took his place. Unfortunately, he tried an election and won by what he called "an obscene plurality". He realized despite his good intentions, he and Darkseid were not so different, something Superman is disappointed by. Orion is more philosophical about it in a Like Father, Like Son kind of way. Actually, the problem there was that the people of Apokolips are as insanely evil as their fallen lord, and giving them freedom just resulted in them preying on each other worse than before. So yes, killing Darkseid just made Apokolips worse.
Aquaman
Now King Arthur, ruler of Atlantis.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: Kingdom Come is the source of a rather legendary quote from him about how as King of Atlantis, literally two thirds of the Earth is under his rule and jurisdiction.
- Pet the Dog: He's detached himself from humanity and their problems to focus his attention on the oceans, but displays genuine shock and sympathy when Wonder Woman confesses to her excommunication from Paradise Island.
Secretary-General Wyrmwood
- Anti-Villain: He's responsible for the deaths of many metahumans, but it's very clear that he takes no joy in it. He has a family to think about, after all.
- Muggles Do It Better: Discussed in the Novelization, where Wyrmwood criticizes Superman for building a hi-tech containment facility for all of the world's dangerous metahumans, even one built by Gadgeteer Genius Mr. Miracle and guarded by Flying Brick Captain Comet. Wyrmwood says that if the decision had been left to him, he would have scattered captured metahumans throughout different maximum security prisons (of which his home state Montana has many). That way, even if one of them did somehow escape, there wouldn't be hundreds of others on hand ready to join in the escape and make it impossible to recapture them all without the kind of violence and danger that does indeed occur in the climactic Gulag battle.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Downplayed. He has a moment in his office after he orders the bombing where he appears to break down. He may not think it was the wrong choice but he still clearly appears to be pained over having to make it.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Only appears in a few frames in the story but is responsible for the impetus for the final act.
- Unfit for Greatness: The novelization describes him as a former junior senator from Montana whose greatest prior accomplishment was spending four years on the Senate Agriculture Committee and who only became Secretary General because no one more qualified wanted the job given the Crapsack World nature of society. Wyrmwood has ample opportunities to understand why they felt that way.
Sandman
Wesley Dodds, the Golden Age Sandman. Still suffering from prophetic dreams but now they are focused on the end times. He dies before he is able to do anything about it.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: He foresees the war between the metahumans but dies before he can do anything to affect it. Or so it seems, since Norman McCay has somehow inherited his dreams.
- Plot-Triggering Death: His death causes Norman to inherit his powers, kickstarting the story.
- Small Role, Big Impact: His visions are somehow adopted by Norman, turning the pastor into the book's Audience Surrogate and the reason why it manages to scrape by with a Bittersweet Ending after everything that happened.
Americommando
Harry "Tex" Thompson, a gun-toting madman who claims to be America's protector.
- Alternate Company Equivalent: Americommando is the DC version of Captain America, who first appears in Action Comics #1 alongside Superman.
- Ambiguous Situation: The relationship between him and the Brain Trust is never fully explained. They explicitly control the Minutemen but whether they control Americommando as well or whether they're working for him is completely unclear.
- Beware the Superman: Like so many of the other new breed of "superheroes", he is a callous, violent, and mentally screwed-up man.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: The presence of the Brain Trust suggests that he probably wouldn't be "declaring war on the wretched refuse" without them, though they might just be overstressing existing weaknesses.
- Captain Patriotic: A particularly twisted example. Goes a murderous rampage to "save" America from starving refugees after Kansas gets turned into a radioactive crater.
- Corrupted Character Copy: He's a bloodthirsty psycopathic Captain America wannabe.
- The Dragon: To the Braintrust, a pair of big-brained villains that are apparently pushing him and the Minutemen to attack the refugees.
Starfire
Koriand'r, a Tamaran princess, who married to Dick Grayson, bearing him a daughter, before the events of the story.
- Morality Chain: Her death makes Dick even more distant with Bruce, and more attracted to Clark's new Justice League.
- Posthumous Character: Dies before the events of the story from an alien disease. Bruce anonymously sends every xenobiologist to try to help with her treatment, but they weren't able to save her.
