Story: "Trial By Fire" (22 Pages)

Credits:

Joe Kelly (plot, script)
Kano (pencils)
Jaime Mendoza (inks)
Wildstorm (colors)
Comicraft (letters)
Tom Palmer Jr. and Eddie Berganza (edits)

Feature Character:

Superman (last in Superman: The Man of Steel #117; appears in Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #173 between pages of this issue; next in World's Finest: Our Worlds at War #1)

Guest Stars:

Wonder Woman (between pages of Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #173)
Steel III (between pages 10 and 20 of Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #173)

Supporting Characters:

Lex Luthor (last in Superman: The Man of Steel #117; next in World's Finest: Our Worlds at War #1)
Lena Luthor (last in Superman: The Man of Steel #117; reverts to child form in this issue)
Jimmy Olsen (last in Harley Quinn: Our Worlds at War #1; next in Superman Vol. 2 #175)

Villains:

Darkseid (last in Adventures of Superman #595; appears between pages of Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #173 - appearance on page 22 follows his appearance on page 22 of the Wonder Woman issue; next in Young Justice #37)
Brainiac-13 (last in Superman: The Man of Steel #117; destroyed)
General Zod II (last in Superman: The Man of Steel #117; next in Harley Quinn: Our Worlds at War #1)
Faora (last in Harley Quinn: Our Worlds at War #1)
Imperiex Prime

Guest Appearances:

Raven
Tempest II (both between pages of Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #173)
Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner; last in Superman Vol. 2 #173; next in World's Finest: Our Worlds at War #1)
Captain Atom
Captain Marvel (both last in Superman: The Man of Steel #117)
Troia (between pages of Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #173)
Martian Manhunter (behind the scenes; last in flashback in Superboy Vol. 3 #91; next in World's Finest: Our Worlds at War #1)

Synopsis:

Lex and Lena Luthor prepare to strike back against Warworld using LexCorp Towers; Superman absorbs as much of the sun's energy he can stand; Steel does what he can against Warworld; Darkseid despairs at the defeat of Apokolips and is disturbed by an offer of help from Wonder Woman.

Just as Lena is about to 'fire' LexCorp Towers, her activities are detected by Brainiac and she is whisked away to Warworld. A powered-up Superman also arrives on Warworld, much to Steel's astonishment. Back on Earth, Luthor has found a replacement for Lena in Jimmy Olsen and prepares once more to fire his weapon. As Superman weakens Warworld he suddenly realises that Imperiex is still alive inside it and will be released once more if his actions are successful. He is barely able to get a signal out to Steel and the others to tell them to stop and uses the Martian Manhunter's telepathic link to suggest a new plan. Using Lex's temporal displacement technology combined with Darkseid's Boom Tube boosted by magic supplied by Tempest and the Amazons and all focussed through Steel's new armour, they create a portal to the past, a tiny fraction of an instant after the big bang. Here, Brainiac and Imperiex are dissipated harmlessly, having little effect, simply an echo of the explosion that started it all.

The war is over, but at great cost. Although Luthor now has his daughter back, many good people have been lost and others, from Darkseid to Superman have made terrible sacrifices.

41