Elijah Rolle

Early Life
Elijah Rolle was born in Gotham City the son of Howard Tulloch and Cherie Rolle. After many weeks in the hospital Elijah was eventually allowed to go home with his mother and father. One of Elijah's earliest comforts was a star mobile that was hung over his crib. Howard frequently took his wife out of the house on important social functions, leaving Elijah in the care of his abusive nanny Nurse Meachum. The only "friend" that Elijah had was his beloved stuffed animal named Guardian. Elijah was verbally and physically abused by his father for years. Growing up as a child, Elijah felt very unloved by his parents. However, Elijah was a curious and intelligent child whose curiosity often came to harm, such as when he burned his hand on a radiator as a small infant. One Christmas Eve when Elijah was four years old, Elijah went into the family den in the middle of the night to take a look at the Christmas gifts and could not resist opening the one from his mother. It was a metal building set and while he was entrapped in play he was caught by his father. Seeing the complicated construct, Howard Tulloch was convinced that it was proof that his son would use his superior intelligence to someday edge out humanity. Howard began to yell at and be raid Elijah and Cherie got in the middle of the fight and was slapped. Elijah tried to throw himself at his father but the four year old was easily knocked aside. The commotion woke Nurse Meachum who was ordered by Howard to bring Elijah back to bed. Elijah was often isolated to his room while his mother and father went out, soon growing to resent how often they left him alone, however, he came to rely on nobody but himself. While he outwardly pretended to be glad whenever his parents left him alone, he secretly cried for them to come back. He stayed awake at night listening to sirens, trying to know what they were, creating stories for them. As Elijah got older his father continued to be physically abusive toward him. The first sign that Elijah was developing mental problems due to his childhood abuse manifested when Elijah began talking to an imaginary friend he called the "Hulk". Concerned, his mother took him to mental health professionals who assured her that these were merely coping mechanisms and they would eventually go away. Although Howard was hard on him, Howard wanted his son to be more successful than him. He impressed upon Elijah the need to constantly study instead of playing sports with other kids. Howard hoped that Elijah would become a doctor or a lawyer instead of an "out of work pug" like himself. This led the neighborhood kids to taunt the "cowardly" Elijah as "Daredevil." Elijah took out his frustrations by secretly training in his father's gym.

Little Brother-10
There was a new addition to the family in Elijah’s little brother Joshua and the two brothers quickly bonded. Howard eventually left the family before Elijah started High School and Elijah took this as confirmation that his father never loved him. Elijah attended Science High School where he excelled in his work but usually kept to himself, which was a cause for concern among the faculty.

Outcast-16
One day one of his classmates tampered with one of his experiments causing it to explode in his face and getting him in trouble with his science professor. Elijah was still a clumsy student, however, as he learned to master science he was just as prone to cause experiments to blow up in his face as the other students were in sabotaging his work. Elijah soon began to keep detailed note books were he would refer to himself as Hulk and write down all sorts of strange equations alienating himself even further from his classmates who began to think he was crazy. Elijah also began secretly working on explosives in an abandoned warehouse as a means of venting his frustrations and secretly harboring ideas of revenge against his classmates. Elijah frequently made minor errors in his calculations, something that would come to bite him in the near future. Elijah also developed an infatuation with a fellow classmate named Carly, who was constantly harassed by Ken, one of Elijah's prime tormentors in high school. One day in the cafeteria, Elijah saw Carla being harassed again and decided to get involved (thinking it the perfect time to see if his boxing training paid off and stand up to the bullies). Instead of being the knight in shining armor he hoped to be, Elijah was knocked out when he was struck in the head with a lunch tray and dragged out into the parking lot where he was beaten up by his tormentors. Elijah was hospitalized with three broken ribs, a broken nose, two black eyes, and one tooth knocked out. However, his Mother, overloaded with work, was unable to get the school administrators to punish the boys responsible due to the hearsay nature of the claim and revelations of Elijah's Hulk persona and note books. Before Elijah returned to school Joshua, his six year old brother, tried to warn him that everyone in school would consider him an even bigger freak than before. Elijah ignored his brother and tried to reconnect with Carla, who was furious at Elijah for getting involved in her business. She angrily rejected him for his stunt because it had people believe that she was his girlfriend, and how repulsive she thought that was because she thought him as much of a freak as everyone else in school. Elijah was devastated by this rejection and told his brother, but Joshua had a solution to this and all other wrongs that had been committed to Elijah. Joshua suggests that Elijah smash all his enemies. While Elijah was initially receptive, when Joshua suggested that they blow up the school with the explosive devices that Elijah had been experimenting with, Elijah suddenly changed his mind and refused to do so, but Joshua told Elijah that it would happen no matter if he liked it or not. Over the next few nights Elijah was too depressed to attend school, which his mom allowed. However unknown to Elijah, when his mother went to pick up his homework for the day, Joshua planted a bomb in the school to go off in the morning. When Joshua told Elijah what he had done, Elijah rushed to school to try and disarm it. Elijah rushed into the school warning everyone about the bomb but found that nobody was listening. Crashing into the boiler room Elijah managed to get down into the basement in just enough time to disarm it. Caught down in the boiler by some of his fellow students they immediately figured out who planted the bomb and jumped him. The principal then closed the school for the day and locked Elijah down in the boiler room where he was beaten until the authorities arrived. Elijah's mother then agreed that she would send Elijah to move out of town in order for Elijah to avoid jail time once he was released from the hospital.

Its Dark, and Hell is Hot
Elijah then moved to New York City, in Hell’s Kitchen, with his uncle professional Boxer “Battlin” Jack Tulloch who was on the downside of his career. When Jack returned from boxing matches, Elijah would stitch his injuries. During one of these sessions, Jack allowed Elijah to have a drink of scotch, to keep a steady hand. Elijah, Now a senior at Cardinal Hayes High School, was still a loner when it came to dealing with his classmates and soon began to catch the eye of a group of bullies there as well. While walking home from school one day, Elijah was attacked by the bullies. Upon arriving home he sees his uncle drunk and asleep on the floor. Elijah picks him up and takes him to the bed where the two men have a conversation. They make a pact to each other that Elijah will focus entirely on work and getting A’s and Jack will focus on making one more run at the top and stop working as a thug for the local crime bosses.

Fade to Black-17
Elijah held up his end of the bargain and upon taking a shortcut home he sees his uncle physically threatening a man signaling that he still works as a hired thug. Elijah runs away with tears in his eyes feeling betrayed. Elijah then saved an elderly man from being hit by a RAND Oil & Chemicals truck, causing an accident. Hazardous chemicals from the flipped truck splashed on his face and as they were absorbed into his eyes, Elijah was blinded. The last sight he had was of his Uncle trying to comfort him during the multiple car accident. He screamed in pain and fear when he realized he would never see again. He woke up in the hospital where he found he could hear every sound in the nearby area, causing him pain. Elijah discovered his hearing, smell, taste, and touch were amplified to superhuman degrees. He also developed a "radar sense" that formed a mental picture of his surroundings. His Uncle tried desperately to comfort him. He let his nephew touch his face so he could recognize that it was him, which seemed to calm Elijah down. Uncle Jack then apologizes to Elijah and tells him that he promises that things are going to change. During his time in the hospital, Elijah was visited by a nun wearing a gold cross. Elijah stayed at the hospital for a month; while at the hospital, Elijah was visited by an old blind man named Stick. Stick knew that Elijah's other senses had been heightened and took him outside for ice cream. While they sat together, Stick asked Elijah what he could understand about nearby people just from listening to them. Stick promised to train Elijah to control and master his "gift". Elijah kept the wrapper from his ice cream, planning on giving it to Stick as a present. Stick began a harsh training regime with Elijah, often pushing an emotional response from him to teach him to control his anger. Over the next few months, Elijah became a powerful fighter with almost complete control of his blindness. Jack wasn’t doing too bad for himself either as he was on a hot streak winning consecutive fights by knockout. The next time Elijah walked home from school he was again attacked by the bullies but only this time it was them that ended up laid out on the floor in pain as Master Stick’s martial arts teachings showed great results for Elijah. This incident made Elijah somewhat of a cool kid at school as he was glorified for defending himself despite his deficiency and also the fact he was blind but also knew where everything was and could do things better than most people that could see. Then Elijah engaged in a football game with a man named Pete Ross and a few other teenage boys. However, his reflexes end up leading to Pete Ross breaking his arm, and destroying the football. Guilt-ridden, Elijah rides home with his uncle. Next day at school, when Pete asks Elijah to sign his cast, Elijah feels guilty and he runs away. Lana Lang, Elijah’s closest friend, follows him, as they talk about the day they discovered Elijah became blind. When Elijah responds that he's afraid Lana kisses him, Lana soon becomes Elijah’s first Girlfriend.

Life Changing Loss
His uncle continued to work as a boxer and one day he returned home while Elijah was reading in Braille with severe bruises on his face. He let Elijah touch his face and made him promise not to be a boxer like him. Jack reluctantly joined with a crooked fight promoter known as the "Fixer." One month later, while Elijah was reading in Fogwell's Gym, he overheard his uncle being offered money to lose his upcoming fight with Carl Creel. Elijah listened to his uncle's fight with Carl Creel on the television and cheered when his uncle overcame the odds and won the match. He waited at home for his uncle's return but became worried when he did not arrive. Elijah ran to Fogwell's Gym and was stopped by a police officer. Elijah managed to push his way past the officer and found his uncle lying on the street having been murdered by local mobsters. Elijah fell to his knees and begged his uncle to wake up before crying over his uncle's lifeless body. The now orphaned Elijah searched for his Uncle's killers. He finally found the Fixer's gang and punished them severely. He chased down and confronted the Fixer, who pulled a gun on Elijah. Before he could fire it, the Fixer suffered a heart attack and died. Elijah tracked down Angelo, the last man remaining responsible for his father's death. He found him at a brothel. Elijah confronted him but was attacked by the women who worked there. In the melee, Elijah knocked one of the women out of the window and thought she was dead. He ran away in horror over what he had done. Elijah was then allowed to live with his girlfriend Lana and finished out his Senior Year at Cardinal. Elijah continued to train with Master Stick however and during one of their training sessions, Elijah gave Stick the wrapper from his ice cream, having made it into a bracelet. Stick crushed it in his hand and told him he could no longer train him before leaving for good.

College Life-18-21
Elijah then attended Columbia Law School and Lana attended Metropolis University which ultimately put a damper on their relationship and they soon decided to break up. When Elijah arrived in his dorm room at Columbia, he introduced himself to his new roommate Foggy Nelson. Nelson had heard of Elijah, as he remembered hearing about what had happened to him not too long ago on the news. Elijah and Nelson immediately made a strong relationship and Nelson often joked about his blindness while Elijah would tease Nelson about many of his poor life choices, such as his decision to join a course studying Punjabi simply to get close to a girl. They swore to work together for many years. While at Columbia, Elijah met Lori, who was attending as a student and hiding her mermaid identity by posing as a wheelchair-using student (with a blanket covering the lower half of her body). Elijah and Lori soon fell in love with each other, but Elijah started to wonder why Lori would repeatedly cut their dates short every night to return home at 8 p.m. Elijah eventually decided to propose marriage to Lori, but Lori told Elijah that she couldn't marry him, and that she also had to return to her native country. Heartbroken, and growing suspicious of why Lori had to return home every night at a preset time, Elijah investigated, and discovered Lori's mermaid secret. Lori stated that since the two came from such different worlds, they could never be wed. After a parting kiss underwater, the two bid farewell to each other. A heartbroken Elijah soon found a confidant in fellow Columbia student Jennifer Walters who he met in one of his classes. She would soon become one of his best friends as he would often vent to her about his struggles growing up, his father, his blindness, his uncles murder, how much he misses Lana, and the fact that he fell in love with a mermaid. Jennifer found most of his stories were amusing and thought of some of them as untrue but she would always listen and add a witty line or two in a joke about Elijah’s troubled past. Having Jen around at that time helped Elijah come to accept his life the way it is and to stop looking at the dark side of his life and realize everything had a silver lining and for this he would always appreciate and value her friendship. One day, Elijah and Foggy Nelson decided to crash a debutante's ball through the kitchen; where they were welcomed by the disgruntled waiters. Later, Elijah decided to check out the party, where he sensed a very attractive woman. Before he could meet her, he was approached by one of the bodyguards; who discovered that he was a crasher. However, before he could kick Elijah out, the woman, Elektra Natchios, declared that he was with her. During their conversation, Natchios assumed Elijah to be weak and foolish, by judging him by his wing-tipped shoes, whereas Elijah countered her assumptions by detecting that she was a bored, rich girl who wanted excitement, all by perceiving why she stopped the bodyguard from kicking him out. Impressed that Elijah was able to deduce all of this, Natchios invited him to spend more time with her, noting he was not as stupid as she had initially assumed he would be. Stepping outside the building, she then stole an expensive car before she and Elijah left the party. About a week later, Natchios and Elijah broke into Fogwell's Gym, where Elijah complained that they will likely get arrested and he would have to pay for the damages, much to Natchios' amusement as she promised to pay the fines. As Natchios began asking questions about his past, Elijah explained, without going into detail, that he was not born blind and that his uncle was a boxer who had died many years earlier at the hands of Roscoe Angelo Sweeney, noting that although he did not know if Sweeney himself killed his father he did know that Sweeney had at least given the order to kill him. As Elijah continued to discuss his one-time attempt to find and confront Sweeney, Natchios jokingly fought him to figure out that Elijah was not exactly blind. Elijah admitted that his blindness was a little more complicated that it first seemed and they had a small fight, in which they proved themselves equally matched. As the fight continued the sexual tension between them grew until they could not help themselves and pulled off each other's clothes and made passionate love in the ring, with Elijah gently wrapping his hand around Natchios' throat much to her delight. As they strengthened their relationship, Elektra Natchios led Elijah to a mansion that she claimed belonged to an associate of her father. Once they arrived, Natchios joked that she should let Elijah drive despite his blindness. As Natchios explained her father's associate was overseas, Elijah picked her up before realizing she did not actually have the keys and therefore they had to break the window in order to get inside, much to their amusement as Elijah carried her inside. Once inside, Elijah laid down on the kitchen counter while Natchios cut cheese on his chest and discussed their future once they were married and had houses across the country. Elijah then asked Natchios if she really enjoyed the life style of being a rich woman, to which she explained that while it was fantastic, she would happily trade it all in for a lifetime with just him and smelling his sex during sex, demonstrating this by smashing the expensive glasses which contained expensive Champaign that they had poured for themselves, claiming that she did not care about this damage at all. However, they were interrupted when Elijah heard the sound of a car pulling up outside which Natchios claimed was the owner of the house and promised to speak to him herself so he would not be mad about them breaking in. But when Elijah went to investigate he discovered the entire trip to the house had been a setup by Natchios to make Elijah confront Roscoe Sweeney, the man responsible for his father's murder years earlier and the owner of this house, who was now pinned under Natchios' heel much to Elijah's confusion and horror as this surprise took him completely off-guard. Natchios explained that she had finally tracked down Sweeney within Monte Carlo where he had been living under several different aliases. Under the advice of Natchios, Elijah revealed his own identity to Sweeney and proceeded to beat him to a bloody pulp in revenge for his father's murder, but he then refused Natchios proposal to kill Sweeney by cutting his throat. Natchios expressed her own sudden disappointment in Elijah and, while Elijah called the police to report Sweeney as a wanted felon, Natchios then vanished, leaving Elijah.

The Vigilante-22
Elijah eventually earned his law degree and both Elijah and Foggy Nelson were able to work as interns at the large lawyer firm, Landman and Zack, during which time they found themselves being forced to defend large corporations against innocent people whose lives were being destroyed. Eventually the pair were both offered permanent jobs at the firm which Nelson showed great enthusiasm about, but believing that working for such a soulless company was not the right direction for them to go in, Elijah managed to convince the skeptical Nelson not to take the job offer and instead start up their own law firm where they could really help innocent people and make a difference to their city. The night after he and Foggy quit Landman and Zack, Elijah would have trouble sleeping because he kept hearing his next door neighbor's daughter crying at night as her father was abusing her. Elijah contacted the police to have him arrested; however, the man was able to get away with the crime as his wife claimed he would never do the crime and his daughter would not reveal the truth. Seeing that the man would not face justice, Elijah donned a black eyeless mask and went after him, cornering him at a train yard where he worked. Elijah severely beat him up and threatened that if he ever touched his daughter again, he would find him and possibly kill him. He slept better ever since. He returned to Hell's Kitchen and to his uncle's old gym. There he met a young girl staying there named Mickey. They got close to each other and he trained her. Mickey ended up being kidnapped by people working for someone named "the Kingpin". Elijah tracked them down and rescued Mickey. Elijah chose to take his vigilante career to the next level. Elijah made a yellow and Red costume out of his uncle's old boxing robes, and wore it when fighting crime.

Into The Ring
Months later, Elijah went to confession, claiming he was not there to seek forgiveness for what he had done, but instead he was asking forgiveness for what he was about to do. He would not tell the priest his intentions however. The same night, Elijah tracked down a group of gangsters led by Turk Barrett who were engaged in kidnapping and sex trafficking. They planned on transporting a group of young women in a shipping container, but Elijah snuck up behind them and attacked, knocking down many of the guards and avoiding Barrett as he attempted to shoot him. Elijah quickly subdued the gangsters and freed the women before dodging out of the way of Barrett's gunshot and beating him senseless. In the morning, Elijah was awoken by a phone call from Foggy Nelson who ordered him to get out of bed so they could view the new offices for their law practice Nelson and Rolle, while teasing him about having possibly spent the night with a woman. Before they went, Nelson joked that he was going to bribe Officer Brett Mahoney. The pair teased real estate agent Susan Harris about which one of them would get the room with a view. Elijah made her an offer on the office which was accepted and they both moved in, despite Nelson's protests. Shortly after moving into their new offices, Nelson received a call from a policeman that a young woman called Karen Page had been found in her apartment having seemingly murdered a workmate with a knife. Elijah and Nelson met Page and offered to represent her; when she asked how long the pair had been practicing law, Elijah told her it had been seven hours. Elijah listened to her heartbeat while she told them what had occurred; knowing that her heartbeat was not changing, Elijah knew she was telling the truth and convinced Nelson that they should take on her case. Later that night, they learned that Page was almost assassinated in her prison cell, so they managed to have her freed. Back in their offices, they began to question Page about who would try to kill her and why; she revealed that she had discovered a money laundering scheme inside the company she worked for. As it was clear that she should not stay in her apartment, Elijah allowed her to stay at his place. Once there he gave her new clothes and asked her more questions. When he asked if she had a copy of the hard-drive, she lied and told him she did not. During the night, Page sneaked out of Elijah's apartment; Elijah followed her and found her inside her home after collecting the hard-drive. He discovered her moments before she was attacked by an assassin. Elijah engaged the assassin in a fight, throwing himself and his enemy out the window. Elijah eventually used his strength and determination to defeat the assassin. After the fight, Elijah took the assassin to the police along with the hard-drive. This caused Page to be set free. She was quickly hired to work as a secretary for Nelson and Rolle.

Cut Man
Elijah heard a young boy had been kidnapped by Russian gangsters so he went out to try to rescue him. However he soon discovered that it was a trap and he was attacked. Barely escaping with severe injuries, he hid inside a skip until he was found by Santino and Claire Temple. Temple took him upstairs into her apartment and treated his injuries; she quickly discovered that he was blind. Elijah woke up and tried to leave but Temple insisted that he had to stay as his wounds were too severe. As Elijah refused to give her his name, she began calling him "Mike". After a while, Elijah smelt a Russian mobster wearing strong aftershave coming up the stairs looking for him. Temple answered the door while Elijah hid and the man claimed to be an NYPD officer looking for the suspect of a robbery; Temple told the man that she had not seen anything. The mobster left but Elijah heard him on the phone and knew that he had not believed her, so he chased him down and dropped a fire extinguisher on his head, knocking him out. Elijah noticed that Santino had witnessed the attack and ran away. Together, Elijah and Temple dragged the unconscious mobster up to the roof. Once on the roof, Elijah began questioning the mobster on the location of the missing boy, telling him that he would hurt him every time he lied. Temple suggested that Elijah should stab him just above the eye, causing the man incredible pain. When that still did not work, Elijah threatened to throw him off the roof; this made the mobster tell him exactly where the boy was. Elijah still threw him off the roof, letting him fall into the same dumpster he had been pulled from earlier. When Temple asked if he was alive, Elijah assured her he was. Elijah gave Temple a phone so they could contact each other and told her that it would be wise for her to relocate. Elijah then went to the place where the boy was being held hostage. He arrived and immediately began fighting the mobsters. After a prolonged fight during which many of the mobsters were thrown through doors, Elijah came out as the winner with all the mobsters lying unconscious on the floor or in too much pain to move. Elijah then removed his mask and freed the boy, telling him that he was now safe. Elijah carried him from the house and later returned him to his family.

Rabbit In A Snowstorm
The next morning Elijah visited his church and spoke to Father Lantom. Lantom told him that he was aware he was Jack Tulloch's nephew but assured him that through the seal of confession he could not tell anyone what they had spoken about. He asked if Elijah was there for confession, but he told him he was not, he then suggested that Elijah should join him for a cup of coffee but Elijah said they will do it another time. Back at the office, Elijah and Nelson were visited by James Wesley, who asked them to represent his client John Healy, who had just brutally murdered a gangster called Prohaszka. When Wesley left the office, having insulted Karen Page, Elijah followed him, tracking him by the tick of his watch. Elijah heard Wesley enter in a limo and be driven away, before he considered following, Elijah felt a pain in his side and felt blood running from an open wound. Although he showed initial uncertainty towards the case, Elijah decided to take the case in an attempt to learn who was behind the criminal activity in Hell's Kitchen. Elijah and Nelson cross-examined Healy, who clearly was experienced in court proceedings. They began working out a strategy to get Healy off by claiming self defense. During the trial, Elijah noticed one of the women in the juries' heart rate begin to raise when Wesley entered. Elijah tracked down the man threatening her and forced him to leave her alone. Elijah later gave a speech during the trial claiming that there was not enough evidence to convict Healy. As the result was being read out, Elijah noticed that another juryman's heart raced as Wesley entered; the jury announced a hung jury, resulting to Healy's freedom. Elijah later tracked down and confronted Healy. The pair began to fight, Healy using objects around him to attack Elijah. After an exhausting fight, Elijah came out as the victor and began questioning Healy on who his employer was. Eventually Healy claimed it was Wilson Fisk. Healy told Elijah that now he had revealed Fisk's name, he, his family and his friends would all become targets. Seeing no alternative, Healy slammed his face into an iron spike, killing him instantly. Elijah could only listen in horror.

In The Blood
Elijah later attacked Russian Gangster, Anatoly Ranskahov and his men, although Ranskahov escaped with only minor injuries, Elijah was able to throw one of his men out of a window and onto his car. After escaping, Elijah went to Claire Temple to treat his injuries. Later, he received a phonecall from Temple just as she was being kidnapped by Russian mobsters. Elijah ran to her aid but was too late, he spoke to her neighbor Santino who was able to reveal that she had been taken away in a taxi driven by the Russians. Elijah arrived at the taxi's firm where he found Temple being tortured by the Russians, Elijah switched off the lights in the room and managed to fight of the Russians in the dark and rescued Temple. He took her back to his apartment and tried to comfort her. Temple asked him to feel her heart and tell her how she was feeling; Elijah knew then that she was terribly afraid for her life. However, Temple assured him that he could do something about that fear. Elijah then revealed to her his real first name. The next night, Elijah followed a taxi carrying a blind man to a warehouse. Once there he attacked the Russian gangsters guarding the man, although the blind man was killed after being shot in the cross-fire, Elijah was able to catch one of the gangsters, Piotr. Elijah tried to learn the location of Vladimir Ranskahov but Piotr begged him not to cut off his head, when Elijah asked what he meant Piotr told him that everyone believed the masked man had cut off the head of Ranskahov's brother Anatoly. Before he could learn anymore, the police arrived and Elijah made his escape, leaving Piotr to be arrested.

World On Fire
Back at the office, Elijah began to ask Foggy Nelson and Karen Page about whether or not they had heard about a Russian gangster having his head cut off before they were interrupted by the arrival of Elena Cardenas. Mrs Cardenas explained that she needed legal help as her landlords her attempting to kick her out of her property and demolish her home after failing to finish building work to the property. They agreed to take the case and Elijah told Mrs. Cardenas that Nelson would speak to her landlord's lawyer which he went to the NYPD, Nelson complained knowing that the landlord's was represented by their former employers Landman and Zack. Elijah arrived at the police department and spoke to Brett Mahoney, Elijah explained the situation to Mahoney and asked to see the complain files against Armand Tully, who owned Cardenas' home. Mahoney agreed and asked Elijah to wait. While he was waiting, Elijah overheard the questioning of Piotr, the mobster he had attacked the night before, he heard Piotr asking for a deal in exchange for information on his employer Wilson Fisk. The two officers questioning him, Christian Blake and Carl Hoffman, turned out to also be under Fisk's pay. They pretended to be attacked by Piotr and shot him before Elijah could do anything. Knowing that they detectives were working for Fisk, Elijah tracked down and attacked detective Christian Blake, Blake tried to stick to his story that the Russian had attacked his partner, until Elijah began breaking his arm. Elijah asked him why Fisk had had Prohaszka murdered; he refused to answer, so Elijah knocked him out and stole his phone. Elijah later called Claire Temple and had her help him look at the phone, she told him the phone had a list of four locations sent to it, all of which listed where the Russians were. Elijah went to go after the locations, but Temple told him that she could not fall in love with someone who was so willing to put his life in danger.

Condemned
Elijah traveled to the location from the phone and found a pair of Russian guards standing by the door. Elijah began fighting the men, during the fight he overheard panic inside the building and knew a bomb was about to be set off, Elijah used his opponent as a shield as the door was blown off towards them as the building exploded, killing the Russians inside. When he awoke, Elijah caught Vladimir Ranskahov attempting to escape the wreckage, he attacked him and knocked him out, but before he could gain any information, the police arrived and attempted to arrest him. Elijah was able to fight off the police, but was unable to spot Ranskahov from being shot in the side, he then escaped with Ranskahov's unconscious body. Elijah carried Ranskahov to an abandoned building and began questioning him. Ranskahov claimed that Elijah was responsible for the murder of his brother Anatoly Ranskahov and that he had been working with Wilson Fisk. Elijah told him that he had been played by Fisk, who was responsible for Anatoly's murder and the destruction of his warehouses. Elijah offered to help him escape from Fisk's men, in exchange for information that would help him make Fisk pay for everything he had done. Ranskahov crudely refused before losing consciousness. Knowing that Vladimir Ranskahov would die without medical attention, which he could not get to him, Elijah phoned Claire Temple for assistance. He explained the situation to her and asked her to walk him through saving his life, but when he explained who it was they were helping, Temple was furious. She agreed to help however and asked Elijah to look for something to help, Elijah used his heightened senses to detect a flare in the warehouse. Under Temple's instruction, Elijah lit the flare and used it to burn Ranskahov's open wound, sealing it. Ranskahov screamed in agony until he lost consciousness again. Elijah heard a police officer arriving in the warehouse, after hearing Ranskahov's screams. Elijah attacked the man and began questioning him. The police officer told him that he was not corrupt and was a new cop who had not been paid off by Fisk yet. Elijah ordered the man to call off backup, but instead he told them that he had been taken hostage. Elijah was unable to knock him out in time to stop him. Elijah tied up the officer before pulling the officer's gun apart and throwing it away. Elijah began questioning Ranskahov again, who asked him about his morals on not killing people but being willing to let people die. Elijah reminded Ranskahov that Fisk had taken down his operation and had enough police in his pocket to ensure that Ranskahov was killed before he could leak information. Ranskahov agreed and told the man about his first encounter with Fisk and how their operation first came about. Elijah learned that Fisk was working with the Chinese. Ranskahov told him there was one name he needed to know, Fisk's moneyman. When Elijah lent in to hear it, Ranskahov attacked him, causing them to fall through the floorboards. The pair survived the fall and Elijah told him that it was not a smart thing to do. Ranskahov then lost consciousness again, this time stopping his heart. Elijah performed CPR and saved his life. Afterward Elijah began to look for a way out, finding a sewage manhole cover but finding it was too hard to lift alone. He was interrupted when Wilson Fisk used Sullivan's radio to contact them, Elijah picked up the radio and spoke to his enemy for the first time. Fisk told him that they had a lot in common but Elijah assured him that they did not and he would bring him down. Fisk then offered Elijah the choice to kill Vladimir Ranskahov and go free. When Elijah refused, Fisk ordered his men to open fire at the police and release footage of Elijah attacking police; Fisk then hung up. Believing he'd be killed in the night, Elijah called Claire Temple to say goodbye and began searching for a way out, this time however, Ranskahov helped and they made their way through the sewer. Once in the sewer, they were attacked by a small team of S.W.A.T. officers. Elijah was able to beat them but found the wounded Ranskahov had taken one of their guns and was aiming it at him. Ranskahov told him that he planned on staying behind and fighting to the death, as his testimony would not lead to Fisk's arrest and only death would stop Fisk. Elijah insisted that he was not a killer. Ranskahov told him that Fisk would destroy his life and his family, he then told him that Fisk's money man's name was Leland Owlsley. Elijah then escaped as Vladimir Ranskahov fought until his death.

Stick
In the offices of Nelson and Rolle, Elijah, Foggy Nelson and Karen Page discussed the recent events in Hell's Kitchen, including the footage of the masked man attacking the police. Nelson had become convinced that the masked man was a terrorist while Page insisted he was not. Elijah later tracked down and attacked Leland Owlsley and asked him for whom he worked; when Owlsley lied, Elijah punched him. Before he could get anymore information from him however, he was distracted by the sound of a man with a stick approaching; Owlsley used this moment to stun him with a taser before escaping. As Elijah lay on the ground, his own mentor Stick arrived and berated him for being beaten by an old man. Elijah brought Stick back to his apartment, where Stick began to immediately insult him, claiming that he should not be living such a comfortable lifestyle. Elijah argued that Stick was just pissed off that he had made something of his life without his help. Stick told him that he should abandon his work, life and friends and live as a warrior. When Stick insulted Jack Tulloch's legacy, Elijah attacked him but was only able to break his hold. Stick revealed he was there to continue his war by fighting the Japanese and wanted the weapon Nobu was transporting, known as Black Sky. Elijah agreed to help him as long as Stick promised not to kill anyone. The pair arrived at the dock and found Nobu moving a large container from a cargo ship. Stick sent Elijah down to fight off Nobu's soldiers; he went down and silently knocked out a few of the guards without raising the alarm. When the container was opened, Elijah realized that Black Sky was in fact a young child. Sensing that Stick was preparing to shoot the child with an arrow, Elijah leapt into action and deflected the arrow, alerting the guards to his presence. Nobu escaped with Black Sky and Elijah fought off the guards. When the guards were defeated, Elijah realized that Stick had disappeared. Back in his apartment, Elijah found Stick waiting for him. Stick revealed that he had indeed hunted down and murdered Black Sky. Furious at the realization, Elijah attacked Stick; during the fight most of Elijah's apartment was damaged or destroyed. Stick was able to maintain the upper hand during the majority of the fight but in the end, Elijah managed to defeat his former mentor. Elijah threw Stick's bag at him and demanded that he leave his home. After Stick had gone, Elijah was cleaning up his apartment when he found the bracelet he had made for Stick 5 years earlier, which he believed Stick had destroyed when he left him 5 years ago.

Shadows In The Glass
The next morning, Elijah awoke in his wrecked apartment and went to work. Arriving, Elijah overheard Foggy Nelson and Karen Page discussing their secret investigation of Union Allied Construction. Elijah tried to convince them to leave it alone for their own good, but Page was insistent. They told him they were working with Ken Urich, who would break the story for them. Elijah agreed to help them, as long as they promised they would bring down Union Allied through the legal system. While they investigated the case, Page told them Detective Christian Blake had just woken up in hospital after being shot. When Elijah arrived at Blake's hospital ward, he found Carl Hoffman injecting him with poison. Elijah put Hoffman in a chokehold and knocked him out before turning his attention to Blake. He locked the door and informed Blake the poison had already reached his heart; there was nothing anyone could do to save his life. The vigilante told Blake to tell him everything he knew about Wilson Fisk. Once Blake had given him the information he needed, Elijah escaped the room moments before the police kicked down the door and found Blake lying dead. Elijah later tracked down Ken Urich, the journalist Karen Page had been speaking to. Elijah insisted he was not the one responsible for the explosions in Hell's Kitchen. Instead, he wanted Urich to expose the man who was--Fisk. Urich was initially unsure about this claim. When he pressed Elijah for proof, the vigilante was unable to provide any. However, Elijah did reveal to Urich the details of Fisk's operation, including Leland Owlsley's involvement and Fisk's part in the murder of Detective Blake. Urich ultimately agreed to write the article. However, not long afterwards, Fisk made a public announcement which contradicted everything Urich would have said. Considering the recent events, Elijah went to Father Lantom for council and accepted his offer for a latte. Once Lantom had poured his coffee, Elijah asked him if he believed in the Devil and if the Devil walked among them. Lantom chose to tell Elijah the tale of a holy man he had met while working overseas; Lantom had witnessed the man and his family murdered by a military commander. Lantom claimed that he had seen the Devil in the eyes of the man who had murdered his friend. Elijah arrived back at the offices of Nelson and Rolle to discover Ken Urich was having a meeting with Karen Page and Foggy Nelson about what to do about bringing down Fisk. Elijah joined the debate, agreeing with most of Urich's points as they both wanted to keep everyone as safe as possible; they discussed tracking down Armand Tully who was responsible for moving tenants from their homes under Fisk's orders. When Page commented on how "bad ass" the man in the mask was, Elijah could not help but smile, despite Nelson still claiming that the man was a terrorist. As their leads proved more and more fruitless, they were visited by Elena Cardenas, who revealed that Wilson Fisk had doubled the offer to get the tenants to move from their homes. They agreed to refuse the offer and to continue to fight back. After she had gone however, Elijah argued that it was too dangerous to fight Fisk this way as he was sure to win. He told them to continue digging as he believed they would find something in a lost document somewhere. Elijah then went out to look for the woman who appeared with Fisk at his press event as he appeared to be close to her; Page confirmed which art gallery she worked and Elijah left. Elijah arrived at the Scene Contempo Gallery where he was soon approached by Vanessa Marianna. Elijah jokingly explained the reasons for a blind man looking to purchase art as he claimed his guests would often state his home was a bit stark and he wished to warm it up. Marianna began describing some of the pieces of artwork for Elijah to imagine. He then asked her if she was seeing anyone, claiming to wish to know what a man who won her heart appreciated. Wilson Fisk then arrived in the building; although he had to control his anger, Elijah greeted him warmly. Fisk claimed that if he wished to purchase art he should buy whatever Marianna suggested; Elijah however reminded him that they should not be speaking as they were on opposing sides of a law case. Elijah then left claiming he needed to consider the cost of the art work. Seeking moral guidance, Elijah went to visit Father Lantom again. Elijah told Lantom that he had been to visit someone close to the devil and had only learned that Fisk did indeed have someone he loved, who loved him in return. Lantom tried to convince him to leave the judgement and punishment to God, as he did not wish for Elijah to commit murder. Elijah and Lantom discussed if it was better to commit murder or allow someone to continue to cause grave crimes without being stopped. Lantom then posed the question if Elijah was struggling with the thought that he had to kill the Devil but did not want to, or that he did not have to but wanted to.

Speak Of The Devil
Back in the office, Foggy Nelson presented Elijah with an official sign for Nelson and Rolle. While they were celebrating however, Karen Page received a phonecall that Elena Cardenas had been murdered in her home. They went together to identify the body and Brett Mahoney revealed that a junkie had stabbed her while stealing her purse. The group went to Josie's Bar to drown their sorrows with alcohol; there they discussed the idea that Cardenas' death was not a random act of violence but a planned assassination. While they were talking, Wilson Fisk appeared on the TV claiming to be mourning Mrs. Cardenas' death. Elijah and Page then discussed religion where Elijah revealed his Catholic beliefs. Elijah then claimed to have had enough and left. Putting on his Red and Yellow suit, Elijah hunted down the junkie who had killed Elena Cardenas; he questioned the man violently, throwing him into broken glass. The junkie claimed not to know the names of the men who hired him, stating he had been taken to a warehouse and given his orders. Elijah ordered the man to surrender himself to Brett Mahoney at the police station. Arriving at the warehouse, Elijah was confronted by Nobu, who was wearing an all red ninja suit. Elijah complimented Nobu on his ability to slow his heartbeat to ensure the encounter was a surprise. As the two fought, Elijah was vastly outmatched and was cut and stabbed repeatedly by Nobu's Kyoketsu-shoge. Managing to rip off Nobu's mask, the ninja commented that Elijah was a worthy opponent and he considered it to be an honor to claim his life. Eventually Elijah, barely able to stand, managed to kick Nobu into fuel which was lit on fire by an electrical spark, causing Nobu to burn to death. Before he could escape, Elijah was confronted by Wilson Fisk, who was accompanied by James Wesley and one of his guards. Fisk claimed he had used Elijah to kill Nobu, although he had wished that they had killed each other and admitted to organizing the death of Elena Cardenas. Elijah told him he would kill him and the two began fighting, but the wounded Elijah was no match for Fisk and was brutally beaten. During the fight he tried to cut Fisk and learned he was wearing body armor in his suit. As Elijah lay wounded, Fisk ordered Wesley to shoot him, but Elijah managed to leap from the window and swim to safety.

Nelson V. Rolle
He eventually made it back to his apartment where he collapsed and was found by Foggy Nelson. Nelson called Claire Temple who arrived and treated Elijah's injuries. When he regained consciousness, he found Nelson still in his apartment, furious about having been lied to for all the years of their friendship. Nelson questioned if Elijah was the one responsible for the bombing and the killings of cops, Elijah told him that Fisk was responsible for everything. When Karen Page tried to phone, Nelson turned the phone off, when Page called Nelson, he answered and told her that Elijah was in a car accident. He then demanded that Elijah tell him everything about his abilities and his history. Elijah told him how he was trained by Stick and how he had been taught to use his blindness as an advantage. Later Nelson received a call from Brett Mahoney informing him that the junkie who killed Elena Cardenas had seemingly committed suicide by jumping off a roof. Elijah told Nelson that he had never killed anyone but wanted to after Cardenas' death, telling him how he had gone to the warehouse with the intention of killing Wilson Fisk. Elijah then told Nelson how his abilities actually developed and how he tried not to become a fighter to make his father proud but was left with no choice when he heard about a little girl being abused by her father, leading him to attack the father, putting him on the path to wearing the mask. During their continued arguments Nelson compared Elijah to Fisk and told him he would not have kept this a secret from him before storming out. Karen Page arrived the next morning to check on Elijah, believing him to have been in a car accident. Elijah opened a bottle of beer for himself and skirted around the questions Page threw at him. Page started to suspect there was not a car accident and Elijah had endangered himself against Wilson Fisk after meeting Vanessa Marianna. She asked him if someone had broken in and beaten him up and Elijah said nothing. Page then told him that they had discovered that Fisk's mother was still alive and living under the name Marlene Vistain and Fisk had murdered his father as a young boy. Elijah remained skeptical as he did not believe it would make a difference; Page left after giving Elijah a balloon. When Elijah tried to move too much he pulled out his stitches, so he called Claire Temple who returned to stitch up is wounds again. They spoke about how Elijah used meditation to help heal his wounds. Temple suggested that Elijah should invest in body armor to protect himself, he told her how he had seen that Wilson Fisk wore a special light body armor. Temple then announced that she was planning on leaving the city for a few months, she told him that she believed he had been killed the night the Russians were blown up and they knew that they could only be together if Elijah stopped wearing the mask, which he never would. She left after telling him she would always be there to patch him up and comparing him to a martyr. With little confidence, Elijah returned to church to seek guidance from Father Lantom. Elijah told him that he did not kill the man he had told him about, but that he had wanted to. He explained how Claire Temple had told him if he continued what he was doing he would end up bloody and alone. Lantom revealed that he knew that Elijah was indeed the man in the mask who was attacking criminals at night, although he did not know how he did it. Elijah asked why God had put the Devil within him and they discussed what the Devil actually represented. Elijah returned home and tried to meditate to calm his mind and recover his body, but he continued to suffer from the memories of his violent fights with Nobu and Wilson Fisk. Putting his suit back on, he tracked down and chased Turk Barrett and disarmed him. He threatened that if he went for any of his backup weapons, he would throw him off the roof. Elijah demanded to know where Fisk got his armored suits from, Barrett initially claimed to not know but quickly revealed that it was Melvin Potter when Elijah nearly threw him off the roof. Arriving at Melvin Potter's Workshop, Elijah explored the Workshop and looked at designs and blueprints on the tables. He was soon interrupted by the arrival of Melvin Potter. When Elijah revealed his presence, Potter appeared confused and frightened, claiming that no one should be there. He then attacked Elijah with items around the workshop including chains and buzzsaws. Eventually Elijah managed to overpower Potter and spoke to him.Elijah quickly realized that Potter was a mentally unstable man who was being forced to work for Wilson Fisk under the threat that his friend and caretaker Betsy Beatty would be killed. Elijah promised he would protect Potter and Beatty if he designed an armored suit for him. Elijah arrived back at the Nelson and Elijah Law Office and found Foggy Nelson and Karen Page speaking to each other, after an awkward encounter with Nelson as he was leaving in which neither said a word, Elijah spoke to Page. Page told him that Nelson believed that he had taken responsibility for the death of Elena Cardenas, she tried to convince him to repair his relationship with his friend. Elijah suspected that Page was hiding something, when he asked if something had happened she told him that the world had fallen apart. Elijah met with Ken Urich outside his offices and asked him for information regarding the heroin he had taken from the junkie who had killed Elena Cardenas. He told Urich that he believed since the Russians had been wiped out, Wilson Fisk would have likely taken over distribution of the heroin and he wanted to disrupt that trade to throw Fisk off balance. When Urich revealed he was working on something he believed could help, Elijah told him to keep his head down, using Anatoly Ranskahov's death as an example. Urich told him it was a woman running the Chinese drug trade and they were using blind men and women to deliver the heroin. Urich jokingly told Elijah he needed a new outfit and Elijah assured him he was working on it.

The Path Of The Righteous
Waiting in the street, Ken Urich told him he had seen the blind men delivering the drugs, Elijah used his heightened hearing, he waited to hear the taps of a stick. Elijah followed the woman until she was picked up by a car, Elijah followed the car using the classical music it was playing to keep track of it's location, running over rooftops until it stopped outside a warehouse. Elijah listened and memorized the secret knock to gain entry. Elijah returned home, while stitching up his wounds again he called Karen Page to tell her he would not be coming into the office as he claimed he was working on something that could help the case. Elijah used the secret knock to gain entry into the Chinese drugs den, once inside he took out the guards before looking at all the blind workers making the heroin, who had seemingly all been blinded with burns. He was spotted by the woman in charge, Madame Gao, who ordered the workers to attack him. Elijah survived the attack however and confronted Gao. She revealed that all her workers had blinded themselves rather than her blinding them because they had faith in her. When Elijah tried to ask her about Wilson Fisk, she hit him in the chest and sent him flying across the room. When he looked up he found she had escaped. With the building burning down, Elijah ordered one of the guards to allow the blind workers to escape. As Elijah was leaving he was confronted by Brett Mahoney who attempted to arrest him. Elijah knocked him down and told him that Christian Blake and Carl Hoffman were dirty cops before escaping. Elijah returned to the office to find Karen Page had locked the door, Page asked him if the company had become three people who never speak to each other. In response Elijah quoted Stick's speech that he should push the people he cared about away, and although he had tried to ignore it he clearly had listened to those words and taken them onboard. He told Page that he had had a terrible night in which he had seen the worst of humanity and learned that he could not do what he did alone anymore. As he broke down crying, Page took him in her arms and comforted him telling him he was not alone and he never was. After Ken Urich was found murdered in his home, Elijah and Karen Page attended his funeral, led by Father Lantom. He listened as Page spoke to Ken's widow Doris Urich. Lantom approached Elijah to ask how he was holding up after the death of his friend, Elijah told him he felt that it was his fault that Urich had died as he had not stopped Fisk. Back at the office, Page expressed her anger that Urich's former boss Ellison had attended as she believed he had been taking money from Wilson Fisk. They then discussed Foggy Nelson who had failed to turn up to the funeral. Page told Elijah she was too afraid to return home in case Fisk ever found out she was with Urich when they spoke to Marlene Vistain; Elijah swore to protect her. Elijah attempted to question Ken Urich's former boss Ellison but failed.

The Ones We Leave Behind
While training at Fogwell's Gym, Elijah was visited by Foggy Nelson, when Elijah asked how he had found him, Nelson told him he had always known about the gym but assumed it was something to do with Elijah's father so he had never questioned it. They spoke about Karen Page's reactions to Nelson not attending the funeral and their own relationship. Nelson revealed he had been working with Marci Stahl who had been copying files concerning Landman and Zack's dealings with Wilson Fisk and Leland Owlsley, Elijah told him to leave it alone as this is what killed Urich. Nelson desperately tried to convince him not to go after Fisk in the mask again to use the law and they agreed to work together again. The pair met with Brett Mahoney who spoke about the warehouse fire at Madame Gao's base, he told them about his encounter with the masked man and how he was starting to believe that Wilson Fisk was the enemy, mentioning that there wasn't a single fingerprint at the scene of Ken Urich's death. During their conversation Elijah overheard two officers talking about hunting down Carl Hoffman, they continued their research back at the Nelson and Elijah offices where Karen Page commented on how nice it was to be back together. They looked through the files given to them by Marci Stahl to try and find anything in the money movements that could led them to where Leland Owlsley could be keeping Carl Hoffman. Eventually Page worked out there was a property missing from the record and there was no profit from selling it, meaning it was being hidden from the records. Elijah went down to the building and found a team of corrupt police officers had killed Owlsley's guards and were preparing to shot Carl Hoffman. Elijah was able to save Hoffman and take out the corrupt officers. He sat opposite Hoffman and convinced him to give evidence against Wilson Fisk rather than sit and wait for someone to kill him. He told him to give himself into Brett Mahoney and use Nelson and Rolle as his lawyers.

Daredevil
Elijah followed him to ensure he did as instructed and watched as Hoffman arrived at the precinct and gave himself up to Mahoney. Nelson and Elijah were hired as his lawyers and sat with him as he gave evidence against Fisk, exposing his entire operation and leading to the arrests of Turk Barrett, the corrupt cops, Senator Randolph Cherryh and Wilson Fisk. With Fisk being taken to prison, Elijah celebrated with Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. They raised their glasses in tribute to everyone Fisk had hurt, including Elena Cardenas and Ken Urich. However during their celebrations, a news report came on the television showing that the armored van carrying Wilson Fisk was being hijacked. They decided to get home quickly before they became endangered but Elijah decided to leave them and get his own taxi, Nelson tried to convince him not to endanger himself but Elijah convinced him he knew what he was doing. He took a cab to Melvin Potter's Workshop where he collected his new red armored suit. Standing on a rooftop, Elijah listened to the police sirens to try and locate Fisk. Finding the van transporting Fisk, Elijah threw one of his batons at the window; causing the driver to crash. Elijah confronted Wilson Fisk and told him that not everyone deserved a happy ending. While Elijah fought his guards, Fisk attempted to escape on foot. After knocking out the guard with the use of his batons, Elijah cornered his enemy. Fisk roared at Daredevil, telling him he was going to kill him. Elijah repeated what Fisk had told him after his fight with Nobu and told him to take his shot. The pair engaged in a fierce and brutal fight, with Fisk's brute strength and determination equally matching with Elijah's speed and agility. Although his new armored suit offered extra protection, Fisk was still able to beat Elijah nearly to death by throwing him at walls and hard onto the ground before beating with with a metal pole repeatedly; all while ranting about how the city did not deserve heroes but deserved people like himself and his father. Determined to bring Fisk down, Elijah disarmed Fisk and used his own batons to beat him into submission. Barely able to stand, Fisk mocked Elijah's attempts to make a difference to the city while wearing a costume; but with a final hard punch to the face, Daredevil knocked out Fisk. Brett Mahoney arrived on the scene and arrested Fisk. The next morning, Karen Page read the newspaper article regarding Fisk's arrest at the hands of Daredevil and joked about the name and the costume. Foggy Nelson finished attaching a sign to the outside of the Nelson and Rolle offices. They discussed how long it could take for Wilson Fisk to go to trial considering the size of the case. Elijah spoke to Page, commenting that there was still something in her voice that told him she was still frightened. She told him that putting Fisk behind bars would not bring back Ken Urich or Elena Cardenas or erase the trauma they had been through. He told her all they could do was move forward. That same night, Elijah put on his new red armored suit once more and stood on a rooftop overlooking his beloved city; now free from the clutches of Wilson Fisk and his deadly plans, but still in need of a lone hero willing to protect its people from any dangers and new enemies that came its way. Upon hearing the screams of some women in danger nearby, Daredevil readied his batons and ran off the roof to save them; ready to forever protect the good and the innocent people of Hell's Kitchen from whatever threat that came their way, now or in the future.

Hell's Hero
Though some of his early enemies were considered laughable like (Matador, Stilt Man, and Leap Frog), Daredevil gathered an impressive and dangerous rogues gallery. Electro was the first costumed villain Daredevil faced. Also, in one of his first encounters, he clashed with his long-time nemesis the Owl. In his first team-up with another superhero, he assisted Spider-Man in defeating the Circus of Crime. His next opponent, the Purple Man was a spy for a foreign country. When he was accidentally doused with experimental chemicals, they turned his skin purple and gave him the power to control people's minds. His power wasn't very effective against Daredevil since it worked best when people could see him. Mister Fear seemed like a natural enemy for a "Man Without Fear". He was a wax museum curator obsessed with bringing his statues to life. Instead, he discovered a gas that filled people with terror. He used this gas as Mister Fear to commit daring crimes. It was also during this time that Elijah started dating the Black Widow whose real name is Natasha Romanov. He also faced the Sub-Mariner during his early days as a hero. Even though he could not defeat the Atlantean, Daredevil refused to give up, which greatly impressed Namor. Elijah soon moved to San Francisco with Natasha Romanova, the Black Widow; leaving behind Nelson and Rolle for love. Although their relationship later ended shortly after, they remained friends; but sometimes Natasha wished they were more. While living in San Francisco, Elijah worked for another law firm.

Man Without Fear-23
He left when he realized his bosses were more concerned with their careers than with their clients and returned to New York where he rejoined Nelson and Rolle. They moved their offices to a Storefront was financed by the father of Elijah's new girlfriend Heather Glenn, Maxwell Glenn, who soon became a subject of investigation himself by Daredevil. During this time, Elijah stopped a plot by the Jester who used fake tv transmissions to plunge New York into chaos and teamed up with the Ghost Rider to rescue Karen Page who had been kidnapped by a new Death's Head. It was soon apparent that Heather Glenn had enough of Elijah’s workaholic lifestyle and decided to break up with him. One day, Elijah meets Elektra Natchios. Elektra is the daughter of Nikolas Natchios, a businessman that has dealings with Wilson Fisk, a rich executive who is also the criminal leader of New York City's Underworld, known and feared as the Kingpin. When Nikolas tries to bail on his dealings with Fisk, the mobster hires the Irish hitman Bullseye, who never misses a shot, to kill him. Elijah tries to stop Bullseye, even causing him to miss a shot, but Bullseye ultimately succeeds in killing Nikolas and framing Elijah in the process. As a result, Elektra swears to take revenge on him as reporter Ben Urich, who had been investigating Elijah's activities, discovers his secret identity. Believing Elijah to have done good things for Hell's Kitchen, he tells Elijah that Bullseye will be going after Elektra next. Elijah goes after Bullseye, but is attacked by Elektra, who plans to use her extensive training in martial arts to avenge her father's death by killing Elijah. After wounding him, she removes his mask, and discovers his secret identity and innocence. Forced to fight Bullseye alone, Elektra is overpowered and murdered by the hitman, who is forced to flee before he can kill Elijah as the police arrive, having been tipped off by Urich. Elijah, wounded, makes his way to a local church, where he is looked after by his confidant Father Everett, who knows his secret identity. After recovering slightly, Elijah fights Bullseye, who had followed him to the church. After a violent battle, Bullseye discovers that loud noise is Elijah's weakness and prepares to kill him with a spiked piece of wood after incapacitating him. Elijah blocks the attack and hears an FBI sniper stationed on the neighboring building preparing to fire. As the bullet is fired, Elijah moves out of the path of the bullet and pulls Bullseye's hands into the path of the bullet. Wounded, Bullseye pleads for mercy, but is overpowered by Daredevil and thrown from the church's top floor. He lands on the hood of Urich's car, wounded but alive. Upon discovering that Fisk is the Kingpin and Bullseye's employer, Elijah makes his way to his office to face him in combat. The confrontation gets off to a bad start for Elijah, however, as Fisk proves to be a surprisingly powerful combatant, overwhelming Daredevil for the majority of the fight. Lying on the floor, Elijah questions Fisk as to why he killed the people he loved, having learned that Fisk had killed his father many years before, to which Fisk says it was just business. Angered, Elijah finds the strength and breaks Fisk's legs, but refrains from killing him, instead allowing him to be arrested by the police, who have discovered his criminal connections. Before being taken away, Fisk — who had also discovered Elijah's secret identity after overpowering him — swears revenge on Elijah Rolle, but Elijah taunts him, pointing out that he cannot reveal his secret identity, for the humiliation of being beaten by a blind man, and that Elijah will be waiting for him when he gets out of prison. Having taken down Fisk and gained some closure over his father's murder, Elijah goes back to his day-to-day routine, though brokenhearted over the loss of Elektra. His strength is renewed at the possibility that Elektra might still be alive after he goes to the rooftop where they had their first kiss and finds a necklace like the one her mother gave her, except with a Braille inscription. Elijah meets Urich one last time, in which Urich assures him that he will not publish his article about Elijah's true identity, and Elijah dives into the night, forever the "Man Without Fear". Bullseye, having been moved to a prison hospital and severely bandaged up after his confrontation with Elijah, still has his perfect aim despite his injuries after he impales a fly on the wall with a nearby syringe needle.

Rash Decisions
After Elektra's death, Elijah(in a rushed and clouded decision) proposed to Heather. He then went to work proving Glenn Industries' board of directors were involved in illegal dealings. He found enough proof to ruin the company, and leave Heather with no choice but to marry him. Foggy saw that what Elijah was doing was wrong. With the Black Widow's help, he broke up Elijah and Heather. Karen soon quit working for Elijah and Foggy and pursued an acting career in L.A., but ended up a porn star hooked on heroin. She sold out Daredevil's secret identity and the Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, was soon released from prison. It was Fisk who systematically destroyed every piece of Elijah Rolle's life; who was indirectly responsible for the deaths of Elektra and Jack Tulloch; who knew Elijah is Daredevil, but never told anyone, just to play power games with the hero.

Forgiveness
Elijah took Karen back to New York and they built a life together. Typhoid Mary(the woman Elijah thought he killed when he knocked her out of a window during his first night as Daredevil) was the living embodiment of the Madonna/whore complex. Mary was a sweet but frightened woman who had been a successful actress. Typhoid was a trashy, cruel killer with telekinetic and pyrokinetic powers. The Kingpin hired her to make Elijah Rolle fall in love with her, and then drive him crazy. Typhoid Mary succeeded in getting Elijah to cheat on Karen Page and nearly beat him to death. The incident is the catalyst for Elijah and Karen putting a halt to their relationship. Elijah then started dating Glorianna O'Breen. Glorianna O'Breen was an Irish photojournalist who met Elijah when he fought an IRA terrorist. But Elijah's descent into poverty and madness, brought about by the Kingpin, pushed her away. She later moved in with Foggy Nelson. Years later, Glorianna was killed by Victor "Kruel" Krueller, a madman trying to remember his past by beating witnesses to his attempted murder.

Isaiah Rolle
Elijah created an imaginary twin brother, Isaiah Rolle, to protect his secret identity. He would often pretend to be "Isaiah" to act like the confident, cocky Daredevil for his friends. "Isaiah" would die in a fight, allowing Elijah to become the "new" Daredevil. The Kingpin destroyed Elijah's life, taking away his home and livelihood; But Elijah put his life back together. He opened a free law clinic in Hell's Kitchen where he lived with the newly returned from rehab Karen Page; rekindling their relationship.

Jack Batlin
Elijah's secret identity was threatened by a New York tabloid. Though he protected himself, he still faked his death. Even Foggy and Karen were fooled. Elijah now lived as a street hustler named Jack Batlin. He kept fighting crime as Daredevil, this time with an armored costume and a meaner attitude. This led to an identity crisis, although he eventually overcame this and cleared up rumors of his identity, subsequently beginning work at a law firm run by Nelson's estranged mother.

Final Performance
Mysterio was one of Spider-Man's most persistent enemies. But when he was diagnosed with inoperable cancer, he conceived an elaborate "final performance". Although he initially planned to target Spider-Man, when he read reports about the new wall-crawler, he dismissed Spider-Man as a target, seeing no point in driving a 'clone' insane. Recalling a prior confrontation with Daredevil, he decided to turn his attention to Elijah after paying the Kingpin for information, seeing in Daredevil a kindred spirit as both were 'second stringers' with little reputation outside their homes. With Fisk's information, Mysterio devised an elaborate plot to pretend that the Second Coming was taking place, leaving Daredevil in the custody of an infant who had been reportedly identified as both the new Christ and the Antichrist, Daredevil also being tricked into coming in contact with an associate-suggestive toxin that would make him violent if anyone suggested that the child was innocent with the toxin being both odorless and tasteless so Daredevil could not tell he was drugged. At the same time, Foggy Nelson was framed for murder and Karen Page was tricked into believing that she had AIDS due to her old porn star career. Despite having been pushed to breaking point, with Dr. Strange's help, the toxin was removed, and Elijah overcame Mysterio's traps and illusions, bluntly informing the villain that his entire plot was nothing more than B-movie cliches and old tricks. With nothing left to live for, Beck committed suicide. Although still shaken by Karen's suicide death, a conversation with Spider-Man helped Elijah see that the baby he had saved represented something positive that had come from this whole mess, inspiring him to use Karen's life insurance- which she had asked him to use on something that would benefit him rather than give it to charity- to restart Nelson & Rolle.

Blind, Deaf, and Dumb
Maya Lopez was born deaf. She also had the gift to recreate any physical motion she sees. The Kingpin used her in another plot to destroy Elijah Rolle. First, he arranged Elijah to meet her, knowing Elijah was lonely after the recent death of Karen Page. Then he tricked Maya into thinking Daredevil killed her father. Maya created the identity of Echo and fought Daredevil. She didn't know he was Elijah and he didn't know why she now hated him. Elijah soon explained himself and Maya attacked the Kingpin. She left him blinded for many months. Elijah was outed by the press as Daredevil. He publicly denied this and sued the paper.

Shotgun Wedding
The latest woman in Elijah's life was Milla Donovan. Like Elijah, Donovan was blind. Elijah saved her life and two weeks later they were married. When Milla eventually learned their marriage may have been part of Elijah's mental breakdown, she filed for an annulment.

Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen
Elijah continued to fight crime, ultimately defeating Wilson Fisk and claiming the title of "Kingpin of Hell's Kitchen", preventing any crime from being committed in the area, although Elijah's own mental state was rapidly going downhill after the death of his true love, his lies to the public, and assuming the alias of his greatest enemy.

Penitentiary
Elijah was eventually captured by the FBI and sent to prison for his actions. Foggy Nelson was believed to have been killed and a Daredevil impostor was sighted. Elijah learned that the Kingpin, Bullseye, and the Punisher were also serving time. An attempt at a breakout was made by Black Tarantula. Elijah was able to stop Fisk and Bullseye and saved the warden. He and Punisher then escaped.

Truth Revealed
The impostor was confronted, revealing himself as Iron Fist and that he had been hired to do so. The two and Ben Urich searched for information. The employer seemed to be an injured but very much alive Foggy Nelson. Daredevil then set out to Europe to trace the figure who had had Foggy killed and employed a fake Daredevil. Much to his surprise, this was the Kingpin's wife Vanessa Fisk, who was dying after she killed her son and wanted revenge on Daredevil, who, along with Kingpin, she blamed for her situation. She offered to solve his secret identity problems once and for all if Elijah would corrupt himself by fighting as a lawyer to free Kingpin from prison. Elijah refused, but Vanessa had already set her plan in motion, having the FBI director who imprisoned Daredevil killed, leaving a suicide note saying he had framed Elijah. Elijah was able to return to his life in New York City, reunited with Foggy and Milla. Elijah decided to honor Vanessa's last wish out of respect for the person she used to be before the Kingpin's influence corrupted her and had the charges against the Kingpin revoked, although he lost his U.S. citizenship and left the country. Vanessa died of her terminal illness.

Hell to Pay-24
With the charges against him for being Daredevil cleared, Elijah decided to move his office to a new location due to constant threats from his enemies and resumed his life as a lawyer with Foggy and Becky Blake where their law firm would not be listed in the phone book and take referrals only to help avoid being easily located. Elijah also moved to a different apartment as well. Disaster struck when he went up against the new crime boss the Hood. Mister Fear who was working with him at the time, poisoned Milla with a psychedelic drug which he did with the help of Lily Lucca, a young woman in love with Elijah whom he met while in Europe. This put Milla into a mental institution with Elijah accepting the fact that he ruined Milla's life when Mr. Fear told him there was no cure for her. Out of grief for what happened, Elijah accidentally had sex with Dakota North while drunk and he went up against Lady Bullseye and the Hand, where in her civilian disguise as a Lawyer, Lady Bullseye showed the pictures of Elijah and Dakota together to Milla's parents, resulting in them being granted full custody of their daughter with Elijah regretting that he had betrayed his wife. Elijah then decided to sign for divorce.

Enemies Closer
A drunken, blind and immortal sensei Master Izo then targeted Elijah in his war against the Hand - and Elijah was forced to team up with his old enemy, the Kingpin, to take the Hand down. However, the price that was paid for this, is that this agreement combined with his ever-growing irrational behavior resulted in Foggy firing Elijah from the firm when he found out about the arrangement. The Kingpin attempted to betray him, but Elijah beat him and his assassin, Lady Bullseye, and seized control of the Hand, with Izo's help on the condition that they are to never be involved with either Lady Bullseye or the Kingpin again. Lady Bullseye, sent by the Kingpin, killed two associates of Norman Osborn, H.A.M.M.E.R. director and leader of the superhuman community. Enraged, Osborn sent his assassin, Bullseye, to kill Daredevil, whom he suspected was responsible for the kill. Bullseye lured Daredevil to a trap, detonating a bomb in an apartment building full of families that were holding out against an OsCorp development site.

Breaking Point
Pushed to the brink by Osborn and Bullseye's acts, Daredevil rallied his associates in the Hand to "send a message" - and take back the streets of New York from Osborn's corruption. He then traveled to Japan to unite the five warlords of the Hand while a splinter group worked to corrupt his soul. Elijah returned to New York City and built a large fortress over the spot where Bullseye destroyed the apartment building and called it Shadowland.

Shadowland-25
When Daredevil erected his fortress, it began to unsettle some of the heroes. Bullseye entered the fortress and challenged Elijah to a battle. Elijah arrived dressed in a new black Daredevil costume and ordered a group of ninjas to attack. Bullseye defeated all of these ninjas, but soon faced Elijah himself. Elijah brutally broke both his arms and then used a sai to stab Bullseye through the chest, effectively killing him. Although Daredevil was possessed by the Beast due to the actions of the Snakeroot, it is unclear whether Bullseye's murder was an action of Daredevil's own will. After the final battle- where he was cured of the Beast thanks to Iron Fist striking him with a 'chi punch' that healed the spiritual damage the Beast had caused to his soul-, Elijah celebrated the heroes victory by having sexual relations with his old flame the newly revived Elektra. While lying in bed Elijah realizes that he can’t start a relationship with Elektra because he needs to find himself and find what his real purpose is in the world. When Elijah woke up there was no need to break the bad news to Elektra as she had already left. Elijah then left New York on a journey to mentally re-train himself that would place him back on the right path by rediscovering himself, while Black Panther took over his role as the protector of Hell's Kitchen. Following the events of Shadowland, Elijah wandered in New Mexico to escape his life as a hero, feeling that he had never accomplished anything of worth save for getting his friends hurt, but despite his best effort to stay out of heroics, he ended up getting involved in a corrupt police force operating in a small New Mexico town, saving its residents in the process and defeating a local drug lord named Calavera whom the cops were working for. Though Calavera possessed mysterious telepathic abilities which exploited Elijah's fears of his past mistakes, this ordeal left him reassured in himself, his abilities and his duties as Daredevil, allowing him to face his actions during the Shadowland and reaffirm his status as the 'Man Without Fear' and defeat Calavera. Elijah then attempted to make his way back to New York City to rebuild both his superhero and legal careers.

Becoming Superman
While he was visiting his Grandmother Ruby in Smallville on his way back to New York, a spaceship crash landed on her barn. Elijah and Ruby rush to the barn and find a dead woman and what appears to be a dying man. The man asks for help and Elijah and Ruby pick the man up and lay him on a bed inside of the house. The man says that his name is Jor-El and he’s from the planet Krypton. He explains that Krypton had exploded and he and his wife barley managed to escape the destruction but warns them that he is being pursued by terrorist from his planet. He warns Elijah that these people will not rest until they have enslaved the planet and made it their own and that they will be like nothing this planet has ever seen before, an indestructible force of nature. He then comes to the realization that this does not have to happen without resistance. Jor-El tells Elijah that he could survive and be rejuvenated if the sun were around but with it being the dead of night he knew he would not survive. He asked Elijah if he could transfer some of his remaining life force into Elijah by way of a blood transfusion. This would make Elijah have all of the powers of a Kryptonian and give Earth a chance at surviving the coming onslaught. Elijah initially denies Jor-El’s offer but upon Jor-El noticing that Elijah is blind, assures Elijah that once he has the Kryptonian blood flowing within him his blindness would be cured. He also assures him that if he doesn’t take his offer that he and everyone that he loves will die. Elijah reluctantly agrees to Jor-El’s proposition and asks his grandmother (who is a former nurse) to bring him a needle to draw blood. Jor-El then takes the needle and extracts his blood before sticking Elijah with the needle pumping Kryptonian blood through his veins. Elijah could now see again like Jor-El promised and Jor-El told him he also possesses exceptional strength, speed, eyesight, hearing, ability to see through objects, and the ability to shoot lasers through his eyes among others. Jor-El then told Elijah that he only has a small fraction of Kryptonian blood and his powers would only last him for about the total of one Earth Year. Jor-El then passes on to Elijah the Kryptonian control key to his spaceship which is wrecked and tells Elijah that he thinks it will be of great use to him. He then tells Elijah that he is now a part of the Kryptonian race and bestows upon Elijah the Kryptonian name of Kal-El(which was going to be the name of Jor-El’s unborn son). With that Jor-El lied limp and lifeless on the bed. Jor-El’s words struck Elijah to the core and the “Man Without Fear” was now afraid, not for his life but of the responsibility placed upon his shoulders.

Man of Steel
Elijah then decides against going back to New York and starts living a nomadic lifestyle, working different jobs under assumed identities, anonymously performing good deeds, and struggling to cope with his new found powers. Elijah eventually infiltrates a U.S. military investigation of an ancient Kryptonian scout spaceship in the Canadian Arctic. When Elijah enters the alien ship, he uses the Kryptonian "control-key" from the ship that brought Jor-El to Earth, which allows him to communicate with the preserved consciousness of Jor-El in the form of a hologram. Jor-El reveals full details about the extinction of his race, and tells Elijah that he was going to Earth to bring hope to mankind for a better future. Lois Lane, a journalist from the Daily Planet newspaper who was sent to write a story on the discovery, sneaks inside the ship while following Elijah and is rescued by him when she is injured by its security system. Lois' editor Perry White rejects her story of a "superhuman" rescuer, so she traces Elijah back to Kansas with the intention of writing an exposé though she doesn’t find what she is looking for and feels embarrassed she would accuse a guy like Elijah to be a superhuman savior. Meanwhile, the Kryptonian terrorist  Zod and his crew seek out other worlds that the Kryptonian race colonized long ago, only to find out that none of the outposts survived after Krypton abandoned them. Zod and the others eventually pick up a Kryptonian distress signal sent from the ship Elijah discovered on Earth. Zod arrives and demands that the humans surrender Kal-El, whom he believes has the codex, or else Earth will be destroyed. Elijah accepts, and the military hand him and Lois over to Zod's second-in-command, Faora, at Zod's request. Zod reveals that he intends to use a terraforming "world engine" to transform Earth into a new Krypton and use the codex to repopulate the planet with genetically-engineered Kryptonians, killing Earth's indigenous life in the process. Elijah and Lois escape Zod's ship with Jor-El's help, Elijah defeats Faora and another Kryptonian, and convinces the military that he is an ally. Zod deploys the world engine and initiates the process in Metropolis and over the southern Indian Ocean, increasing the Earth's mass and atmosphere. Elijah, now called "Superman", destroys the world engine, while the military uses the spacecraft that brought Jor-El to Earth in an aerial strike on Zod's ship over Metropolis, sending Zod's forces back into the Phantom Zone. Only Zod remains, and he engages Elijah in a destructive battle across Metropolis using his newly developed powers. When Zod attempts to murder cornered civilians as revenge for his defeat, Elijah is forced to kill him. Sometime later, Elijah warns the government that, if it wants his help, it will be on his terms.

The Daily Planet
To create an alias that gives him access to dangerous situations without arousing suspicion, Elijah takes a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet in Metropolis where his onetime accuser Lois Lane is the star reporter. As Elijah walks around Metropolis, awestruck, he encounters a citizenry that lives fast, cheap, and out of control. He comes up to the Daily Planet, a dilapidated building laced with graffiti. Inside he makes a point of catching his briefcase and spilling it in a subtle way. In the elevator he meets Rudy Jones, a janitor who says he has forgotten his lunch. Taking Elijah for a country rube, Jones talks him into handing over his lunch. At the main floor he encounters Ron Troupe, Steve Lombard, Cat Grant, and Jimmy Olsen, the whipping boy. He is mistaken for a bill collector and eventually makes his way to the Planet office, where Lois and Perry debate the merits of a story. Perry cites the fact that going after Lex Luthor has nearly killed the Planet, and Lois fights back with the nobility of idealism. Perry formally introduces Lois and Elijah, and Lois offers to take Elijah on a tour, which surprises Perry. She takes Elijah to the Lexcorp building for the unveiling of a piece of technology, and sneaks in wearing a blonde wig by duping Elijah to distract the guards. At the top Luthor unveils his Metallo body suit, which Lois observes with interest as a potential machine of war. Security catches her, she flees, and then she trips and falls off the building. Elijah, hearing the ruckus, sneaks into an alley, changes into his suit, and saves her. People grab at him and he flees, fearing he's done the wrong thing officially unveiling himself to the world. Lois and Perry debate the story about the Superman, while the other reporters look on in interest. Luthor’s goons show and demand that Lois go with them, and they ask for Elijah to come as well. Lois agrees, given the opportunity to finally quiz Luthor.

Battling The Parasite
Lois and Elijah wait for Luthor, who appears as they're talking about his wealth. Lois lights into him with questions. While they talk, Rudy Jones has mutated into the Parasite and attacks Luthorcorp employees. Elijah hears Parasite's rampage, tries to make an excuse to leave, but as he does, the Parasite bursts in, having smelled him. Elijah appears and takes Parasite out of the building. As he does, Parasite's teeth grow outward, and he sucks on Elijah's neck, stealing power. They crash on street level. Elijah musters strength and punches the Parasite. He hits Parasite with heat vision, then freezes him in place. The people around seem afraid of Elijah and thankful. Luthor appears, and tries to foster the fear. Elijah leaves. On the roof of the Daily Planet, he sees Jimmy on the ledge. Thinking him about to commit suicide, Elijah stops him. They talk about feeling ostracized in the big city, and how Jimmy is thinking of leaving. Superman persuades him not to, given that Jimmy is his only friend in the city. Jimmy asks if he can take a picture of Superman, and Superman allows it. Jimmy has him put his hands on his hips. The issue runs with Lois' story and Jimmy's picture, identifying the flying man as "Superman." This infuriates Luthor, causing him to declare personal war on Perry White. A fire in the Daily Planet's main warehouse almost takes a fatal turn that night, but people are saved by Superman. Public opinion is still wary of Superman, but it is beginning to turn. As he is about to fly away, he meets Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, who get some information for a story. The three voice the opinion that the fire is the work of a malicious. Jimmy wonders who it could be...

Battling Metallo
At the Daily Planet, things are looking up. Lois is about to get to work, when she is greeted by Sgt. John Corben, her father's choice for her future husband. Lois tries to break away, but John refuses to go away... until he is met by Elijah Rolle. Corben tries to bull Elijah aside, but through a combination of oafish good humor and a grip like a steel vice, he sends Corben packing. Elijah offers to buy lunch for Lois Lane, and she takes him up on it. Over lunch, Lois Lane tells Elijah about John Corben, who works for her father and whom he favors over Lois and her sister. Lane always wanted a son. Lois also reveals that she cannot remember her mother. When Elijah tries to comfort her, she points out that Elijah constantly shifts between two personae, one a bumbling fool and one a supremely confident man. An explosion on a skyscraper leads to Elijah leaving complaining of an inner ear infection. Flying to the scene as Superman, he meets General Lane, who asks him for an interview. Lane points out that while there have been previous reports of humans gaining extraordinary abilities, his office believes that Superman is not human. Superman explains that he grew up on Earth, considers himself an American, and wants to use his powers to be a productive member of society. Lane abandons the pretext that this is an interview, and demands to know what Superman can do, and what his interest in Lois is. Superman turns to leave, telling Lane that he is no-one's enemy. Outside, Superman is accosted by soldiers, who fail to make any impact. However, the soldiers are soon backed up by Corben, who manages to weaken Superman in a pitched battle. As Corben reveals the glowing rock, Superman is weakened, but a ricocheting bullet hits the rock, creating an explosion which cripples Corben and his battlesuit. Superman escapes through the sewers as the soldiers rush to save Corben. General Lane and his forces arrive at the Daily Planet to shut the newspaper down, until they get some answers about Superman and in the sewers below Metropolis, Superman sits wounded. Soldiers find Superman in the sewers. They battle him as he pleads with them to stand down, for the safety of the bystanders. Metallo enters the fight, and he begins to attack his own soldiers in order to get to Superman. Lois arrives to warn him about the kryptonite and tell him to flee, but he refuses to give up. Metallo attacks him with a kryptonite ray, threatening the bystanders, but Superman melts a manhole cover over the kryptonite and flies Metallo into space until the lack of oxygen knocks him out. Sam arrives and orders Superman and Lois arrested. The crowd turns on the Army, and Superman orders the crowd to stop, telling them that they, not the Army, not Lex Luthor, nor himself, are meant to be Metropolis's saviors. Superman meets with Lex and tells him Metropolis doesn't belong to him: "You don't own us." Lex objects, since he doesn’t think Superman is from Earth let alone Metropolis. Superman replies, "This is my home," and leaves. Superman visits Lois atop the Daily Planet building and thanks her for making him feel like he belongs there. He starts the Planet’s rusty globe spinning again. Lois asks, "Are you a man or an alien?" His response is, "I'm Superman."

Rookie Of The Year
In his first year, Superman had his first encounters with Metallo, Arathaza, Bloodsport, the Circle, the Fearsome Five, Chemo, Rampage, Mister Mxyzptlk, and the Silver Banshee as well as the Legion of Super-Heroes. Superman would often go against Lex Luthor, who had vowed to destroy the hated "alien" and reclaim his place as the First Son of Metropolis. After Superman encountered his Achilles' Heel, Kryptonite, in his first battle against the cyborg Metallo; Lex Luthor retrieves the Kryptonite from Metallo and has part of it fashioned into a ring which he wears at all times, forcing Superman to keep his distance. Luthor also dismisses the suggestion that Elijah Rolle and Superman are one in the same, rationalizing that no one who had Superman's powers would ever choose to live life as Elijah Rolle.

Meeting Batman
When Superman and Batman meet each other for the first time, Batman is on the trail for the criminal known as magpie. He is interrupted in a lead by Superman who regards him as an outlaw. Rather than risk capture, Batman informs Superman that should the later make any attempts to come near him, a signal will be activated that will trigger a bomb and kill a person somewhere in the city. The two are forced to work together and eventually capture Magpie. In the end, Batman revels to Superman that the endangered person is Batman himself. Superman departs cautioning Batman against crossing any further lines. Batman admits to himself of a respect for Superman’s innate goodness and wonders if, in a different reality, they could be friends. Elijah sees through Batman’s mask and sees that it is his cousin millionaire playboy Bobby Stewart and Elijah reveals his secret identity to him.

The Purge
In keeping up his secret identity Elijah Rolle misses the train to take him to work, something he does three times a week. A gunshot is heard from that train and Elijah appears as Superman and finds the victim: the train's driver. As the train speeds up uncontrollably, Superman tries to grab the side of the train but it already plummets off the curve toward the ground. But Superman manages to catch it, before it hits the ground. Superman tracks the trajectory of the bullet that killed the driver, but finds nothing. In the distance, shadowy figures track his movements, and later that night, those figures break into S.T.A.R. Labs. They make sure Superman is not around to stop them, but a shadow appears and stops them anyway. The media believes Superman was the one who stopped the thieves, but wonders why he decided to leave them hogtied. In Antarctica, other shadowy figures track down and dig out a creature created by Lex Luthor: Bizarro. Elijah receives a tip from an old friend, and he meets him in his limousine. Bobby was the one who captured the S.T.A.R. Labs thieves, as he explains that he has been on the trail of an exclusive cartel that can obtain any type of weapon calling themselves "the Purge". The thieves were after kryptonite, and Bobby needs his help in the decryption of a LexCorp disc, where the thieves will steal next. An Amazon woman, who calls herself "Diana", passes her "audition" by fighting several shadowy figures. A man from the shadows offers her a position with The Purge. Elijah breaks the code on the disk and discovers that The Purge was after something called "Project Replica". He knows what it means, and goes to one of the locations to see it gone. Covered in heavy, thick chains, Bizarro sits as the shadowy man enters: Ra's Al Ghul. Calling Bizarro his "friend", he talks him into joining the Purge and adds that no one will ever harm him again. He is unlocked, and is given a medallion that says "Bizarro #1". In the Batcave, Batman informs Superman that the man behind The Purge is Ra's Al Ghul, an eco-terrorist. Bats once had connections inside Ghul's network, but they disappeared. He knows whatever he's doing, it's big. Bizarro steals a nuclear sub, when he is attacked. He shakes the sub and kills all the soldiers, with one of the missiles launched and detonated near Themyscira. Above the Daily Planet, Superman is greeted by Princess Diana aka Wonder Woman. She has come to talk about the missile that fell, whom the Amazon believe that Superman did it himself. When it is revealed that Bizarro did it, someone who wears something similar to Superman's costume, Diana feels embarrassed that they thought it was Superman. They decide to take down the sub, and Superman and Wonder Woman take a ride in her in invisible jet. Tracking the sub down at the Sahara Desert, they find a camp where they investigate an underground facility. Soon, the two heroes get attacked, but Diana is already fast enough to be deflecting the bullets. The commander orders Unit A to fall back and Unit B to advance. Realizing Unit B are suicide bombers, Superman can do nothing but shield Diana as they all explode. The dust settles, and after Superman takes care of the nerve gas, they go to the commander who has locked himself in a vault. Inside, the commander activates a bomb and kills himself just as Superman and Diana burst in. With no time left, Superman gets Diana out as he spins at incredible speed to get the bomb underground as it explodes. As she leaves, Diana sees a knot on a crate that is an Amazonian Bridle Knot. Diana tries to find Superman as his hand breaks through. With Diana mentioning the crate to Gotham City, Superman knows who to ask for help. "Diana" and members of The Purge meet with a street gang in Gotham. Inspect the "merchandise", Batman takes down the Purge, and soon does the same with the gang. When he goes after "Diana", Batman is able to fend off most, but not all, of her attacks. Finally, "Diana" knocks him out and escapes. Recovered, Batman uses one of the Purge members to get answers. Not able to get anything, a golden lasso wraps around the man and he starts spilling his guts. Diana doesn't approve of Batman's aggressive methods, but he isn't seeking approval. Superman tries to play peacemaker while he introduces one to another, and why they are here. After bringing him up to speed, Batman gives the two heroes a psychological sketch of Ra's and wants to question the Purge member further, using Wonder Woman's lasso. She agrees, if he doesn't brutalize the suspect. After getting the man's name, rank and serial number, the three learn the missile is in Gotham, but doesn't know the location. When they're finished, Batman breaks the man's jaw. Batman and Wonder Woman get at each other's throats over Batman's brutality toward the man they question. Diana is taken aback, though, when Batman reveals the "Diana" wearing an eagle crest like Diana's. Batman departs, leaving Wonder Woman to question how Superman could consider such a man a friend. Before she leaves, she hands him one of her ear rings that is also a transmitter. Below Gotham, Ra's enters his Lazarus Pit, where "Diana" learns he is much older. Ra's learns from her that she is from Themyscira, and her name is Artemis. In the Batcave, Batman explains to Superman that the total of missiles are half a dozen, meaning there is four left. He is also informed that in twenty-four hours, 95% of the world's communication satellites will pass within in five cubic miles of each other. Something no one, except Ra's, is aware of. If Ra's detonates a missile in the center, the world will be thrown into a communications blackout. As Superman goes out to take care of the missile in Bulgaria; Batman reveals something he didn't tell him: the location of Ra's Al Ghul. In her jet, Wonder Woman sits impatiently until she picks off a signal: Bizarro. Following him to Ra's lair, she learns that the missile is still prepped and ready, so she reveals herself. As she gets to Ra's, Bizarro appears and gets the upper hand, even breaking Diana's lasso, before completely beating her. Superman reaches the silo in Bulgaria and plans to stop the missile as it launches. Grabbing the warhead, he throws it into deep space as it explodes. Wonder Woman awakens in the same chains that held Bizarro with Ra's next to her. Exchanging words, Ra's reveals that one of the missiles will destroy Gotham, while the others will give something bigger for Superman to worry about: all part of his plan to save Earth from man. Seeing a group of guards out cold, Artemis is attacked by Batman, and finally gets the upper hand against her. Just as Bizarro is about to kill Diana, Batman appears and hurts Bizzaro with an explosive that hurts his eyes. Blinded, he files off as Batman fights Ra's and beats him. Until, Ubu surprises Batman in order for Ra's to escape. Freeing Diana, Batman and Wonder Woman make their way deep into the complex until Diana gets weakened from the fumes of the Lazarus Pit. Batman goes to work on the missile as one of Ra's followers, Sybil, attacks him. Diana, still weak, fights her but is stabbed. Batman cries for the Amazon, just as Sybil falls to her death and Batman stops the missile. Diana enters the Pit just as Superman arrives. When she emerges; the fact that the Pit causes anyone to go insane at first leads Diana to go out against Superman and Batman, just as she leaves. Worried about her, Superman and Batman travel to Themyscira to see how Diana is doing. Upon flyng down, Superman finds Diana after taking her bath. Overcome by her beauty he rushes forward and kisses her, but Diana, surprised, decks the Man of Steel. Suddenly, Amazonian soldiers surround Superman, but Batman descends before a fight can break out. Diana informs them that these men are here to speak to her, and they need to do so in private. On the atoll, Diana apologizes for her hasty departure from Gotham and assumes the Purge is still active. Batman is quick to realize that Ra's will have to change his plans. Superman is go find Bizarro and Diana will try to find anything she can. In the Gobi, Artemis learns that Ra's new plan is to find a new remote location as their headquarters: Themyscira. Diana asks her mother, Hippolyta, about the rogue Amazon, and she reveals a group of Amazons known as the Bana-Mighdall. Superman finds out where Bizarro is when Batman's tracking device is being interfered by extreme cold. Wonder Woman meets Batman, as Bobby Stewart, indicating that she knew who he really was. And it is with him that she figures that with a rogue Amazon as his ally, Themyscira would be the perfect target as Ra's new location. At Ra's headquarters, Superman comes out of nowhere and fights Bizarro and buries Bizarro into a mountain side. Ra's meets with Superman and tells him of two airplanes that are about to be destroy in Metropolis. Not wanting to believe him, Superman leaves to make sure things are well in his city. Ra's and Bizarro resume prepping their forces to invade Themyscira. Superman arrives in Metropolis in time to see two airplanes preparing to crash into the Lexcorp building. He grabs one plane and manages to maneuver it into the second one and the two planes crash into the lake. Superman takes off once more. Ra's forces reach Themyscira, and the Amazons prepare for battle. A sonic device knocks Bizarro out as Wonder Woman and Batman descend onto the scene. As Batman battles Bizarro, and Wonder Woman and Ra's duel, Artemis leads the attack against Themyscira. However, she can't fight her own people, so she fights against Ra's forces. Soon, Superman comes in and disables all the helicopters and finds Artemis. Wonder Woman finally defeats Ra's and helps Batman against Bizarro until Superman comes in, burns Bizarro's hand off, and punches off several times into a volcano. The battle ends when the three disable all the remaining weapons and send all to the bottom of the water. Returning to their homes, Superman can't believe how they almost had a disaster, as Wonder Woman can't find the rogue Amazon, and Batman knows Ra's Al Ghul will return as it has happened before. But all of them agree that without each of them meeting the others, would it have happened differently. Each of them considers the others friends. Later, Ra's Al Ghul's body is found by his daughter, Talia Al Ghul. Artemis begins her journey home after spending a few months on the other side of Themyscira aka Paradise Island. And below the ocean, the severed hand of Bizarro glows an eerie red, becoming red kryptonite.

Battles with Darkseid-26
The Justice League was then formed by Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter after Applaxians attacked Earth. Superman became one of the first members of the team, along with Batman and Wonder Woman, after the team was first formed. Superman soon had his first encounter with the god Darkseid, who teleported him to Apokolips. Superman remains on Apokolips for some time, eventually rallying the lowlies in a resistance against their despotic ruler, but the revolution is unsuccessful and Superman is returned to Earth. After this, Darkseid decides that humanity will be easier to control if he destroys the legends that inspire them. His first attack sent to Earth is a giant monster called Brimstone, who begins destroying New York City. Doctor Bedlam also poses as a villain named Macro-Man to attack Captain Marvel. They trick Captain Marvel into believing he has murdered Macro-Man, and Captain Marvel is so traumatized that he gives up being a hero. Darkseid and the Phantom Stranger argue over humanity's nature. Brimstone buries the Justice League under a building. Glorious Godfrey poses as a psychologist named G. Gordon Godfrey on TV, and turns the public against super-heroes. This rhetoric incites violent riots across America. President Reagan issues an executive order declaring that all costumed super-heroes must cease their activities. Superman is personally told to stand down, and he agrees. Batman is attacked by a crowd, and Robin is beaten unconscious by the mob. Amanda Waller puts a new Suicide Squad together under Task Force X. This group includes Blockbuster, Bronze Tiger, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Enchantress, and Rick Flag. They are sent to destroy Brimstone, who is attacking Mount Rushmore. Blockbuster is killed in action. Deadshot shoots Brimstone with an experimental rifle and Brimstone explodes. The riots get worse and super-villains go on crime sprees with no heroes to oppose them. Godfrey convinces his followers that they must overthrow the corrupt American government. Billy Batson becomes Captain Marvel again to protect a young girl, and the "wisdom of Solomon" helps him realize that Macro-Man was a setup. Doctor Fate gathers a group of heroes including Batman, Black Canary, Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel, Changeling, The Flash, Guy Gardner, and Superman. They challenge Godfrey during a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. These heroes successfully exposed G. Gordon Godfrey for the villain that he was and freed the minds of those under his thrall.

Lust Vs Love
Superman and Wonder Woman began to spend more time together during this period, and Superman was surprised to find that she was in his thoughts a lot. Eventually the two came together, discussing their mutual attraction and spent the night together, but after they helped the Olympian Gods in a crisis involving Darkseid trying to overthrow them, they decided they were not right for each other and would just remain friends. Superman did trust Diana enough to reveal his secret identity to her. A drunken Heather Glenn desperate to get back together with her ex-boyfriend called Elijah for help. When he learned she was lying and just looking for attention, he angrily left and ignored her. Days later, she hung herself. After that Elijah saves Lois Lane from another near death experience and he drops her off at her house. When he drops her off they both give in to the feelings they have toward each other and indulge in one epic night of passion.

Super Fighters Vs Superheros
After having his plans thwarted on three separate occasions by Superman, Darksied made up his mind to attack Earth and invade it head on in a last ditch effort to conquer the world. Superman defeated the galactic despot Darkseid and stopped him from destroying the city of Metropolis, thwarting his invasion plans for Earth. Superman sent Darkseid crashing into the city street of Metropolis, and confronted a nearby Lex Luthor for his part in the invasion, Luthor having allied with Darkseid. When Darkseid attempted to escape via a Boom Tube, Superman used his heat vision to blast him, though this caused the Boom Tube to destabilize and explode with Darkseid inside it, seemingly killing the god once and for all. After Darkseid's apparent death, he turned over Lex Luthor to the authorities. Shortly after, during the merging of the two universes, Superman's powers began to weaken due to the magical nature of the merging. He went to his Fortress of Solitude to try and recover, but was soon attacked and imprisoned by Sub-Zero in ice. Wonder Woman soon defeated Sub-Zero and freed Superman. After hearing that Darkseid may still be alive, he returned to Metropolis, only to encounter Scorpion, who was looking for Kitana. Though Superman didn't understand his intentions, Scorpion battled and defeated Superman thanks to a combination of Superman's weakened powers and Scorpion's magical based abilities. Superman later encountered Lex Luthor, who escaped justice thanks to a lack of evidence, now allied with Catwoman, The Joker, and Deathstroke, along with Captain Marvel, who informed them of Darkseid's transformation into Dark Kahn due to the merging of the universe that accidentally occurred when Superman defeated Darkseid. Though Superman and Luthor were momentarily possessed by the Kombat Rage after Luthor blamed Superman for the situation, Captain Marvel calmed them down and the heroes and villains were forced to team up to defeat Dark Kahn. Superman later went to the Fortress of Solitude once again, this time with Green Lantern, where they encountered Shang Tsung andBo Kazama. Superman faced Shang Tsung, but was ultimately defeated by the revitalized sorcerer. He and the other heroes and villains soon used the portal in Jax and Sonya 's Special Forces base to be taken to Apokolips, which was now in complete chaos, having merged with the other dimension Outworld. They soon found Raiden and the other Kombatants, who challenged them to Mortal Kombat. However, Dark Kahn soon arrived and everyone lost control, succumbing to the Kombat Rage. After a huge battle, neither side won and Superman and Lex Luthor soon turn against one another, blaming one another for Dark Kahn's creation. Superman defeated Luthor, but was interrupted by Batman, who had regained control of himself from the Kombat Rage, pleading with the Man of Steel not to kill Luthor. Superman refused to listen and battled the Dark Knight. Though Batman was defeated, he managed to reach out to his friend and this allowed Superman to regain control of himself, momentarily freeing him from the Kombat Rage. Superman then went to Dark Kahn's merged fortress to confront the abomination and amend his mistake in helping create it. He encountered Raiden and after a decisive battle, they realized that neither one was siding with Dark Kahn and worked together to defeat him, resulting in Dark Kahn's destruction which separated the two universes. Superman stood in Darkseid's throne room on the restored Apokolips and as his allies and enemies gathered around him, they saw the warlord Shao Kahn had been left in Darkseid's place, though he lacked any of the power he once possessed. Superman then imprisoned Shao Kahn in the Phantom Zone.

Back to Normal
Immediately after things were back to normal, Elijah’s powers faded away as his year of having powers were up. Elijah was also slowing going blind again, now having to actually use glasses to see clearly. A slightly depressed Elijah wanted to get away from all of the people around him and all the relationships he developed to just reboot his life so he could come to grips with normality. Elijah had a face to face meeting with Perry where Elijah told him that he wanted to quit the planet to take time to travel the world and rediscover himself as a reporter. Perry White agreed to let him go and told him that he was a good reporter that would always have a job at the planet. Elijah then went to say goodbye to Lois but found out that she was not working that day as she called in sick something Elijah found very suspicious. Elijah then went back to his grandmother’s house in Smallville where after about two weeks he was finally able to come to grips with his recent power loss; realizing that he did some great things for the planet with his short time as Superman and even if he was no longer able to physically protect the world he could use his mind to still help the people in it.

Going Back to College
Elijah then went to Navapo, New Mexico where he decided to go back to college and attended Desert State University to become a scientist. There he dated a girl named Sally and carved her name on a tree. He soon became the top student with Professor Herbert Josiah Weller. Later he dated a girl named Susan Jacobson, but their relationship soon became rocky when Elijah lacked any sort of intimacy and she broke it off after one night where he aggressively grabbed her arm. Elijah later transferred to Pennsylvania State University where he briefly worked with Canadian student Walter Langkowski finding a similar interest in gamma radiation. He also worked with Peter Corbeau, and Raoul Stoddard. It was during his time at Penn State that Elijah found inspiration from noted scientist Albert Einstein and like the famous scientist, bought a wardrobe consisting entirely of purple suits. Elijah finally finished his education at the Gotham Institute of Technology, where he worked alongside fellow researcher Philip Sterns. It was here that Elijah obtained his doctorate in nuclear physics.

Becoming The Hulk-27
During his final months at Gotham he attended with his younger brother Joshua Rolle whom he had not had a chance to really hang out with since he left for New York and who was surprisingly living the high life. The two soon became intellectual rivals, although Joshua's new found wealth and playboy lifestyle eventually distracted him from further competition. In his final months at the school he also met and fell in love with Angela Lipscombe and the two began dating. They had a promising relationship with their educational backgrounds, and Angela helped Elijah “come out of his shell”. However, while Angela succeeded in getting scholarship grants, Elijah had great difficulty and his anger and frustration over this began to boil to the surface. Having grown jealous of her success and attributing it to her being attractive, Elijah abruptly ended their relationship and cut off all contact with her. Shortly thereafter Elijah was tapped to work for the United States Army. Following his graduation, Elijah was approached by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross to come work for the military to develop his gamma bomb for military use. Elijah intended to develop his bomb as a means of destroying enemy weapons and buildings but sparing human lives, Ross was only interested in making a destructive weapon that would make America's enemies fear them. Elijah then began pitching his gamma bomb project to the United States government. This was a means to an end for Elijah as he hoped that the weaponizing of his gamma research could lead to it being used in other areas such as medicine to cure disease and ultimately curing his blindness. However, Elijah intentionally made the bomb not nearly as powerful as it could have been and his frequent tweaking of the bomb prompted military brass and government officials to become uneasy with the amount of taxpayer dollars were being spent on the project. Elijah's project would have been cancelled if it wasn't for a charismatic entrance and endorsement from his brother Joshua who stood by Elijah's work. However, things became sour when Joshua pointed out areas where he would the bomb could be improved. This led to an argument between the brothers, which soured their relationship. Soon Elijah arrived at Los Diablos Missile Base aka "Desert Base" in New Mexico. There he met and began dating Betty Ross, daughter of General Ross. Elijah found Betty to be kind and was instantly smitten by her due to the fact that she reminded him of his mother. General Ross on the other hand still had a critical opinion of Elijah, calling him a milksop and demanding results. Upon finding Guardian among Elijah's belongings, Ross was even more disparaging unintentionally ripping the arm off the stuffed animal. Despite this rough start, Elijah began to continue his work on the Gamma Bomb project. On the days leading up to the test of his gamma bomb, Elijah was becoming deeply troubled by the increase in military observers, who became interested in his project, of these top brass individuals was General John Ryker. Unknown to Elijah, Joshua still bitter about their argument, had a point to prove and tampered with the plans for the gamma bomb to change the specifications and make the bomb more powerful. Unknown to military staff at the time, one of Elijah's assistants Igor Starsky was really a Russian spy who was seeking to obtain Elijah's plans for the formula. Elijah kept the plans a well-kept secret but let slip that he had them hidden in his cabin. As the final countdown began, Elijah notices a young boy named Rick Jones driving out into the testing area to play his harmonica on a dare from his friends. Elijah told Igor to delay the countdown while he rushed off to get Rick out of the testing area. However, Igor saw this as an opportunity to get a hold of Elijah's plans and allowed the countdown to continue. Elijah got to Rick and threw him into a led lined trench. However, before he could throw himself to safety, the Gamma Bomb went off bombarding Elijah with a seemingly lethal dose of gamma rays, however, miraculously Elijah survived.

1st Transformation
Elijah and Rick were recovered from the military and Elijah did not stop screaming in agony for many hours. Left in isolation to presumably die of radiation poisoning both men survived. However, that night, Elijah suddenly transformed into a powerful grey skinned Hulk. Upon his transformation the brutish Hulk smashed out of quarantine and fought his way through the military to get to freedom. Rick, feeling indebted to Elijah for saving his life went after the Hulk to make sure nobody got hurt. The Hulk tore a path of destruction all the way to his lab where he caught Igor trying to steal his gamma bomb plans. Igor was no match for the brute strength of the Hulk and was easily subdued. When Rick tried to get the Hulk to understand that he was really Elijah Rolle, the Hulk rejected Elijah as a weakling. However, as the sun began to rise, the Hulk reverted back to Elijah Rolle before the military arrived and Rick covered for how he and Elijah got out of their cell. With Igor in custody, the spy used a micro-transmitter hidden under his fingernail to contact his commander, the gamma ray mutated man known as the Gargoyle. As the Gargoyle smuggled himself into America, Elijah and Rick tried to flee into the desert before nightfall in case Elijah transformed into the Hulk again. When Elijah transformed into the Hulk once again, he crossed paths with Betty Ross, who had gone looking for Elijah worried about his well-being and she fainted at the sight of the Hulk. The Gargoyle then appeared and used his mind control pellets to subdue the Hulk and Rick and smuggled them to Russia. However, as their rocket crossed the globe into daylight the Hulk reverted back to Elijah. The Gargoyle was more impressed with capturing Elijah and secreted him away to a lab. There, the Gargoyle lamented about his mutation and asked Elijah for help to be restored to normal. Elijah helped and succeeded in restoring the Gargoyle to human form. In thanks, the former Gargoyle helped Elijah and Rick escape back to America, sacrificing his life to do so in the process.

Different Transformations
The following nightly transformation of Elijah into the Hulk yielded a new version of the Hulk, this one with green skin. Going on a rampage, he was quickly stopped by Rick Jones. Soon the world was threatened by the Tribbitites while Elijah and Rick were busy constructing a secret lab and holding place for the Hulk hidden within a cave in the middle of the New Mexico desert. Seeking a brilliant mind to use for their own ends they kidnapped Elijah and Rick. When Elijah refused to help they shot Rick back to Earth, but as the ship shifted over to the dark side of the Earth, Elijah transformed into the Hulk once again and trashed their ship. The ship crashed back on the light side in New Mexico and Elijah was arrested, believed by General Ross to be a traitor in league with the Tribbitites. While Elijah was incarcerated, the Tribbitites threatened to crash the moon into the Earth. That night Elijah turned into the Hulk again and broke out of his cell. Seeking revenge against General Ross, he went to his home only to find Betty there. Rick arrived with the military, but the Hulk fought them off and fled with Betty back to his lab. There, Rick confronted the Hulk to ask for his help, but with the rising of the sun, the Hulk reverted back to Elijah Rolle. Elijah then redeemed himself by using his gamma ray cannon to invert the magnetic weapons of the Tribbitites sending their fleet spiraling out into space and saving the Earth from destruction. The Hulk's next transformation had him revert back to his grey form and he was attacked by the Distorter who used his mind control helmet to make the Hulk attack military installations around New Mexico. However, the Hulk ultimately was able to resist the Distorter's device and easily defeat him, turning the rogue scientist over to the military. With his underground lab and confinement cell completed, Elijah began being placed in captivity at night. When he turned into the Hulk again, he once more turned into the green skinned version. Around this time Rick was forced to lure the Hulk back to Desert Base in order to be used as a test subject for a new manner rocket. Although Rick managed to load the Hulk into the rocket, the military did not intend to return the Hulk to Earth. Rick messed with the controls sending the Hulk crashing to Earth; however, a strange side effect liked the Hulk to Rick so that the Hulk obeyed all of Rick's verbal commands. However, whenever Rick went to sleep the Hulk went on a rampage, forcing Rick to still use the secret chamber to lock up the Hulk. During one of the periods in which Rick was awake he decided to visit a circus. Unknown to him it was run by the Circus of Crime and when their leader the Ringmaster hypnotized Rick with the rest of the crowd, he was able to send a mental command to the Hulk for help in time. The Hulk easily quashed the Circus of Crime and he and Rick escaped when the military arrived. With Elijah remaining in his Hulk form since the rocket malfunction, Rick eventually brought the Hulk back to the secret lab where he exposed the Hulk to one of Elijah's gamma rays in an attempt to change him back to normal. Rick succeeded but Elijah was greatly weakened. After adjusting the device, Elijah was able to expose himself to another dose of gamma rays that reverted him back into the Hulk but with his own mind, all be it Elijah had a cruel streak. The Hulk put his powers to good use saving a family from a burning house before returning to his lab and changing back into Elijah, feeling even weaker than before. With Elijah's intellect the Hulk could be focused on real threats in the hopes of earning a good name. When an apparent alien calling himself Mongu came to Earth issuing a challenge to the mightiest person on Earth, the Hulk clashed with the "alien" in the Grand Canyon, only to find out that it was really a Russian agent wearing a mechanical suit. Although Hulk defeated "Mongu", the Russians managed to escape and the military was left to believe that the entire incident was a hoax masterminded by the Hulk. The Hulk was next tricked into venturing into the realm of Subterranea by the near immortal and former Roman ruler known as Tyrannus who kidnapped Betty and absconded with her to his underworld realm. The Hulk was forced to fight in a gladiatorial arena, but the green behemoth managed to defeat all of Tyrannus' minions and free himself, Betty and Rick and return to the surface. Later when the Asian principality of Llhasa was threatened by the communist soldier known as General Fang the Hulk and Rick travelled to the remote region to defend it from Fang's invasion. The Hulk easily quashed Fang's army and then left the commander on an American occupied island to be apprehended. After stopping military capture again, the Hulk returned to his secret lab and when he used his gamma ray projector to return to Elijah, he was surprised to find that although human in form his strength was greatly increased. The Earth was soon threatened by the Metal Master an alien who could control metal with his mind. When Elijah exposed himself to gamma rays again all but his head turned into Hulk form. Fortunately, Elijah had made a mask of the Hulk's face and wore it. During his first bout with the Metal Master the Hulk was defeated and knocked out. When military personnel arrived on the scene and removed the Hulk's latex mask, Elijah's incomplete transformation finished, covering up his identity before it could be revealed. With the aid of Rick's newly formed group, the Teen Brigade the Hulk constructed a phony weapon to trick the Metal Master into thinking that the Hulk had a metal weapon that was immune to his power. The Hulk then easily defeated the Metal Master in combat and forced him to leave Earth and promise never to come back again.

Anger Triggered Transformation
For defeating the Metal Master, the Hulk was awarded a presidential pardon, however, when he returned to his lab to change back into Elijah Rolle he was horrified to find that the gamma ray projector no longer worked. Losing his temper the Hulk smashed the device; however, his anger triggered the transformation changing him back into Elijah once again. When Elijah next transformed into the Hulk he was reduced to a blind rage due to a burning sensation under his skin that was a side effect of his transformation.

Partnering With The Sentry
During his rampage the Hulk clashed with the super-powered hero known as the Sentry, whose own power had a soothing effect on the Hulk and also began a slow transformation in the Hulk making him more intelligent, docile, and able to revert to and from Elijah Rolle and the Hulk at will. The two became partners of sorts and the Hulk spent a time living in New York City within the Sentry's headquarters, the Watchtower. The duo clashed with foes such as the General, the Living Nuke, and the Lobster People. When the Hulk risked his life to save the Lobster People colony he was heralded as a hero. Also for his part in stopping the Lobster People's invasion of the surface world the Hulk was regaled as a hero. However, during the parade in the Hulk's honor the Sentry's old foe the Void attacked and when the Hulk tried to defend his friend the Void attacked the Hulk with his tendrils. The Hulk then fell to the ground where he was in a coma for days. When the Hulk awoke the battle was over and both the Sentry and the Void were missing. Without the Sentry's influence the burning sensation came back to the Hulk and he reverted back to his brutish mentality. When Elijah next turned into the Hulk he fled to Antarctica in order to escape the military and find peace, however, the cold was too brutal for even the Hulk and he collapsed, reverting back into Elijah Rolle. Fortunately, Elijah was rescued by a team of scientists researching the effects of global warming on the hole in the ozone layer over the region. Their investigation also accidentally revived the ancient Kakarantharaian known as Fin Fang Foom. While Foom attempted to obtain a human host to regain his strength, killing some of the scientist; Elijah was regarded with some suspicion, triggering his transformation into the Hulk. Seeing this powerful form before him, Fin Fang Foom revealed his true self and the Hulk attacked the massive dragon. Foom attempted to convince the Hulk to join his cause, but the Hulk decided that if anyone would rule the Earth, it would be the Hulk -- alone -- and the jade giant promptly tossed the massive dragon onto the moon before departing to be alone again. The Hulk also worked with the Sentry again, venturing into the Negative Zone to battle the Irish themed villain Danny Boy.

Continuing To Work For The Government
Elijah's expertise was later sought to assist in stopping the super-villain known as Sundown who was rampaging through New York City, however, Elijah was unavailable due to one of his absences while transformed into the Hulk. Elijah's frequent absences started taking their toll on Elijah as it prompted General Ross to apply more pressure on Elijah to complete his projects, such as a robotic suit of armor that could allow someone to withstand an atomic blast. Elijah soon came to realize that his recent spat of transformations were all caused by stress and that similar stress also triggered the Hulk's reversion back into human form. Such a situation of stress occurred when Ross gave Elijah only a few hours to finish perfecting his robotic battle suit, prompting a transformation into the Hulk. The Hulk fled desert base leaving the suit of armor vulnerable to be taken over by a spy. When the spy tried to abscond with the armor during the morning tests, General Ross believed that Elijah was trying to steal his own invention. The spy clashed with the Hulk briefly but managed to escape when the Hulk began reverting back into Elijah Rolle. Unable to prove Elijah was involved in the theft of the suit, Ross was forced to let him go free, and Elijah soon began building a device that would help him track down the spy who stole it.

Glenn Talbot
His search for the spy coincided with the arrival of Major Glenn Talbot. Talbot was sent to Desert Base by the Pentagon to investigate suspicions that Elijah might be a spy and/or have a connection to the Hulk. Talbot instantly became smitten by General Ross' daughter Betty becoming determined to expose Elijah as a spy or worse in order to eliminate him from the competition for Betty's love. Elijah managed to track down the spy who stole the suit of armor and transformed into the Hulk. As they battled, Major Talbot and Betty arrived on the scene and Glenn shielded her from debris from a rock smashed by the Hulk. The Hulk succeeded in defeating the spy by knocking him into a seemingly bottomless pit. However, the spy had a back-up plan and had launched a missile at Desert Base. The Hulk dived in the path of the missile detonating it. The Hulk was knocked out and Talbot quickly mobilized the military to subdue the green monster, in a bit of irony special bonds designed by Elijah Rolle himself were used to subdue the Hulk.

So Says, The Leader
After failing to hear from his spy, the Leader, a gamma ray spawned genius, sent the international spy known as the Chameleon to obtain secrets from the base. Also, having heard that the Hulk was captured, Rick Jones went to desert base to plead in the Hulk's defense. Disguised as General Ross, the Chameleon approached the captive Hulk and then attempted to obtain an alliance with him. The Hulk refused and while the Chameleon was busy dismissing the 24 hour guard placed around him, he reverted back into Elijah Rolle. Easily able to slip from the bonds, Elijah was found by Rick who quickly helped him change into some fresh clothes and report in. However, both General Ross and Major Talbot were even more suspicious of Elijah in light of the Hulk escaping and someone posing as the General. As Elijah left the meeting he was jumped by the Chameleon who disguised himself as Elijah to gain access to his lab. Hearing Betty in distress, Elijah transformed into the Hulk again and attacked the Chameleon who managed to keep the Hulk at bay by threatening to use a gamma bomb grenade. Ultimately the Chameleon ditched Betty and tossed the grenade, the Hulk shielded the blast with his body. The resulting explosive buried the Chameleon in debris, and the gamma rays from the explosion reverted the Hulk back to human form. Under the cover of smoke, Elijah then fled the scene to change into fresh clothes again. When forced to report to General Ross and Major Talbot, the fact that Betty was able to see through the Chameleon's disguise cleared Elijah of any wrong doing, however, the pair were more determined than ever to pin something on Elijah.

Presidential Pardon
Elijah was next ordered to be present on a military train shipping his latest invention the Absorbatron to its testing area. Talbot was determined to stick to Elijah like glue hoping to learn his secrets. This didn't happen as the train was soon attacked by the one of the Leader's Humanoid constructs. Talbot locked Elijah in a room aboard the train while the military handled the attacker. However, Elijah transformed into the Hulk and broke free. The Hulk then prevented the Humanoid from stealing the Absorbatron and returned to human form before the military arrived. Finding Elijah on scene, Talbot accused him of being involved in the theft and had him locked up, pending trail. While incarcerated Elijah was granted a request to be given tranquillizers which he used to remain in human form so as not to betray his identity. Salvation came from Rick Jones himself who came to Elijah's aid. Seeing that Elijah was stuck, Rick met with the President of the United States. Confiding Elijah's double identity to the President, the President agreed that Elijah's secret must be kept lest enemy nations discover the truth and attack Elijah to try and learn how to create their own Hulks. Elijah was soon given a presidential pardon, angering Talbot and making him more determined than ever to find some proof that Elijah was a traitor to his country.

Dealing With Talbot And The Leader
Elijah and Glenn Talbot were next dispatched to Astra Island where they were to test Elijah's Absorbatron device. When Elijah realized he was out of tranquillizers he fled while transforming into the Hulk. This transformation coincided with the Leader's attempt to steal the Absorbatron with an army of Humanoids. The Hulk fought the Humanoids until the military arrived, prompting the Leader to recall his Humanoids lest they be destroyed. The Hulk also attempted to escape by swimming away in the ocean. While the Hulk succeeded in escaping the American military the Hulk changed back into Elijah Rolle and nearly drowned.

Hulk in Russia
He was rescued by a Russian submarine and he was taken to an undisclosed communist country in Eastern Europe. There Elijah was informed by the so-called Commandant that he was going to be forced to work for the Soviets. When Elijah refused to work for them he was placed in a small cell where his stress level increased to the point that it triggered another transformation into the Hulk. The Hulk then broke out of his cell and trashed the facility he was being held. However, the Commandant called in reinforcements. Wounded by a blast from a "Vaporizor Ray" the Hulk was assisted by one of the captive scientists to heal his wounds but the temperamental Hulk shunned his offers of friendship. It wasn't until the Commandant slew the scientist that the Hulk realized the man was trying to help and the Hulk went on another rampage until his stress trigged another reversion. Elijah awoke and had to flee attacking jet fighters, but transformed into the Hulk again when he came across the dead scientist's body, saving him in the nick of time from a missile. The Hulk then smashed the fighters and continued on his rampage. The Hulk cut a path of destruction into Russia, but the constant attacks grew on the behemoth's nerves and so he leapt across many miles until he reached Mongolia where an exhausted Elijah reverted back to human form. He was found by Kanga Khan a Mongolian raider who took Elijah prisoner and agreed to contact the American authorities to turn him over for a ransom. The military sent Major Talbot to recover Elijah, but his arrival coincided by an attack by Hakun Gantu and his rival gang. Talbot fled with Elijah but while trying to cross a narrow mountain path it gave way under their feet and they began to fall. While Talbot was knocked out by the fall, Elijah was saved thanks to another transformation into the Hulk.

Back on American Soil
As the Hulk, Elijah then bounded his way back to America leaving Talbot behind. Miraculously, the Hulk managed to find his way back to Elijah's home to rest where he reverted back into human form. When he awoke he found General Ross, Betty and an army of soldiers looking to arrest him. Major Talbot was recovered and his request to punish Elijah was denied by the president himself. Instead the pair was ordered to return to Astra Island to complete the test of the Absorbatron. Prior to their arrival the Leader doused the island with an army of miniaturized Humanoids that were grown to full size when Elijah and Talbot arrived. Overpowered, Elijah transformed into the Hulk and began fighting the creature off, however, this time the Leader was prepared for the attack and used a powerful gas to knock the Hulk out and take him prisoner. The Leader then absconded with the Hulk and the Absorbatron hoping to use both to rule the world. While examining the Hulk, the Leader left him alone to find instruments that could pierce his tough hide. While the Leader was gone, Elijah returned to human form and used his intelligence to break free and send out a signal to the military. Finding the Hulk missing from the examining table, the Leader tried to flood the room with gas, prompting another transformation into the Hulk. However, the Hulk's strength was too much for the Leader who fled as the Hulk destroyed the Absorbatron, before exhaustion over took him and he returned to his human form.

Bullet Meet Cranium
Just then the military and Rick Jones arrived. Jones attempted to stop the military before General Ross' orders to shoot to kill were carried out, but Rick was too late and Elijah was seemingly shot dead. Although Elijah was legally dead, Rick Jones absconded with his body to Elijah's secret lab. There Rick bombarded Elijah with a powerful gamma ray which triggered his transformation into the Hulk, reviving him and keeping the bullet in his skull from killing him. The Hulk realized that he retained Elijah's mind and was horrified to realize that in order to stay alive he had to remain the Hulk at all costs. Creating a chemical concoction to remain the Hulk for 48 hours, Elijah went to Desert Base to get one last look at Betty before leaving his old life completely. However, his arrival coincided with an attack by the Leader's massive Humanoid creation. The Hulk tried to fight the creature, but the military confused his assistance as his being responsible for the attack. This prompted General Ross to order the launching of his Sunday Punch Missile. The Hulk was alerted of the danger by Rick Jones, and he managed to leap himself and Rick away from the blast. The attack angered Elijah and his mind began to deteriorate. He and Rick retreated back to his secret lab, but they were followed by the military. With Ross ordering the Hulk's surrender, he sent Rick out to distract them to try and figure out how to get out.

An Unlikely Savior
As the military prepared to attack the Hulk was offered salvation from the Leader. The Hulk accepted the Leader's offer and was teleported away just as his lab was destroyed, leaving the military to think the Hulk had been killed. The Hulk was transported to the Leader's hideout in Greece. The Leader then asked the Hulk to join him in conquering the world, but the Hulk refused. Anticipating this, the Leader felled the Hulk with knock out gas. When Elijah later awoke he began to feel the change that would turn him back into his human form and kill him. Trashing the Leader's lab to try and find a device that utilized gamma rays to sustain his Hulk form Elijah alerted the Leader to his destruction and he unleashed his Humanoids on him. With the Hulk weakening the Leader called off his Humanoids and while examining the Hulk, the Leader found the bullet and used his gamma powered machines to dissolve it and save Elijah's life. However, as a consequence Elijah was horrified to find that although he would live, he was trapped in the form of the Hulk. The Leader then ordered the Hulk to assist him in recovering the so-called Ultimate Machine from the homeworld of the Watcher. Indebted to the Leader for saving his life, the Hulk agreed and the Leader teleported the Hulk to the Watcher's homeworld. There the Watcher revealed himself, telling the Hulk that he would not interfere in his quest. Before the Hulk could recover the Ultimate Machine he was attacked by the alien known as the Amphibian. The Amphibian also sought the Ultimate Machine and the two fought it out. The Watcher allowed them to fight, only interfering to teleport them away from the equipment, and then banish the Amphibian away when he deemed the Hulk the victor. The Hulk then recovered the Ultimate Machine and was teleported back to Earth by the Leader. Although the Leader was victorious, the collected knowledge of the Ultimate Machine proved too much for even his enhanced intellect and he was seemingly killed by the information. The Hulk left the Leader's lair, his mind devolving even more. Once back in the United States the Hulk decided to try to use the Ultimate Machine. It was too powerful for him as well but he was still able to pick up a thought that Rick Jones was under military arrest and demanding to see the President. The Hulk abandoned the Ultimate Machine to go to Washington D.C. with the military trying to oppose his progress.

25th Century
General Ross ordered the use of the T-Gun (a weapon designed by Elijah Rolle) on the Hulk. When the Hulk was blasted with it, it appeared to vaporize him, however, he was transported to the 25th Century, a world that had been decimated by a great war. He was instantly attacked by the forces of King Arrkam and taken prisoner. Taken to King Arrkam's fortress, he was told to assist them in their battle against the "evil one", the Executioner of that era. The Hulk initially refused and broke free, however, the Executioner and his forces attacked. The Hulk overpowered the Executioner and his forces and sent them fleeing, but despite this King Arrkam and his forces believed that the Hulk assisted the Executioner in his attack. Before they could attack the Hulk the effects of the T-Gun wore off and he was transported back to his own era and returned to the ruins of his old lab in New Mexico. This happened just moments after a grief stricken Rick Jones revealed the Hulk's identity to Major Talbot.

Deterioration
The Hulk's return was instantly discovered by the military who renewed their attack on him. Attacking Desert Base, the Hulk was quickly captured thanks to a plan devised by Elijah's replacement Professor Konrad Zaxon. Zaxon having created a device that could harness the organic energy of the Hulk and aspirations of world domination, attempted to attack the Hulk alone. By this point the Hulk's mind had devolved to that of a simple brute and although weakened by Zaxon's weapon fought back. Zaxon was knocked aside and caught in the path of his own weapon, killing him. Accusing of murdering Zaxon, the Hulk fled the base. Going on a rampage, the Hulk destroyed a railroad track stopping a train. Incidentally, the train carried the Olympian demi-god Hercules who was en route to Hollywood to pursue a film career. The Hulk held his own against Hercules, but was forced to flee when the military caught up and attacked him again. The Hulk managed to find refuge but his peace was short lived.

Elijah Rolle is Back
He was teleported back to Subterranea by his old foe Tyrannus. Tyrannus sought the Hulk's aid in recovering the Fountain of Youth from the Mole Man in order to restore his youth. The Hulk initially refused until Tyrannus revealed that he held Betty, Rick and Glenn Talbot as his prisoners. The Hulk plowed into the Mole Man's forces and went toe-to-toe with the Mole Man's war-machine the Octo-Sapien. During the fight the Hulk threw the Octo-Sapien into the Fountain of Youth causing a massive explosion that destroyed the fountain and restored the Hulk back into Elijah Rolle. As Elijah fought his way back to Tyrannus' stronghold he learned that his foe had released his friends and continued on to find his matter transporter. Swarmed by Tyrannus' legion of Tyrannoids, Elijah is forced into a transformation into the Hulk. The Hulk easily fought them off and got to the matter transported returning him to the surface. While the Hulk was detained by Tyrannoids on the surface the terrorist organization known as the Secret Empire sent their agent the Boomerang to kidnap Betty Ross in order to ransom her away for the military's new Orion missile. The Hulk's return to the surface was met with another attack by the military. The fleeing Hulk crossed paths with Boomerang who was trying to escape with Betty. Unable to shake the Hulk, Boomerang was forced to let her go, forcing the Hulk to rescue her so he could escape the scene. The Hulk brought Betty to shelter and then went to get her food. He was attacked by the military again, but when he spotted Rick Jones and General Ross, the Hulk nabbed them and brought them to Betty, who explained the Hulk was not involved with her kidnapping by Boomerang. More frustrated than ever, the Hulk bounded away to find peace.

The Incredible Hulk-28
Elijah then spends some time by himself and works at a bottling factory in Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, while searching for a cure for his condition. On the Internet, he collaborates with a colleague he knows only as "Mr. Blue", and to whom he is "Mr. Green". He is also learning meditative breathing techniques to help keep control, and has not transformed in 58 days. After Elijah cuts his finger, a drop of his blood falls into a bottle, and is eventually ingested by an elderly consumer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, giving him gamma sickness. Using the bottle to track down Elijah, Ross sends a SWAT team, led by Russian-born British Royal Marine Emil Blonsky, to capture him. Elijah transforms into the Hulk and defeats Blonsky's team. After Ross explains how Elijah became the Hulk, Blonsky agrees to be injected with a small amount of a similar serum, which gives him enhanced speed, strength, agility, and healing, but also begins to deform his skeleton and impair his judgment. Elijah journeys to Culver University and reunites with Betty, who is dating psychiatrist Leonard Samson. Elijah is attacked by Ross and Blonsky's forces, tipped off by the suspicious Samson, causing him to again transform into the Hulk. The ensuing battle outside the university proves to be futile for Ross' forces and they eventually retreat, though Blonsky, whose sanity is starting to falter, boldly attacks and mocks the Hulk. The Hulk apparently kills Blonsky and flees with Betty. After the Hulk reverts to Elijah, he and Betty go on the run, and Elijah contacts Mr. Blue, who urges them to meet him in New York City. Mr Blue is actually cellular biologist Dr. Gustavo Navarro, who tells Elijah he has developed a possible antidote to Elijah's condition. After a successful test, he warns Elijah that the antidote may only reverse each individual transformation. Sterns reveals he has synthesized Elijah's blood samples, which Elijah sent from Brazil, into a large supply, with the intention of applying its "limitless potential" to medicine. Fearful of the Hulk's power falling into the military's hands, Elijah wishes to destroy the blood supply. Meanwhile, Blonsky is revealed to have survived the battle and has completely healed. He joins Ross' forces for a third attempt to take Elijah into custody. They succeed and Elijah, along with Betty, are taken away in a helicopter. Blonsky stays behind and forces Gus to inject him with Elijah's blood, as he covets the Hulk's power. Gus warns that the combination of the super-soldier formula and Elijah's blood may cause him to become an "abomination", but Blonsky insists. The experiment mutates Blonsky into a creature with size and strength surpassing that of the Hulk, but drives him mad. He attacks Gus and kills him. Blonsky then rampages through Harlem. Realizing that the Hulk is the only one who can stop Blonsky, Elijah convinces Ross to release him. He jumps from Ross' helicopter and transforms after hitting the ground. After a long and brutal battle through Harlem, the Hulk defeats and nearly kills Blonsky, relenting only after Betty's plea to spare him. After having a small, peaceful moment with Betty, the Hulk flees from New York. Wanting to be alone Elijah went into seclusion and attempted to build a device to try and cure himself of being the Hulk. However, the device was a failure and he transformed into the Hulk once again. The Hulk then tried to flee the city, which went on high alert.

Meeting The Silver Surfer
Spotting the Silver Surfer passing by, the Hulk mistook him for an alien vessel and attempted to "board the ship". When the Hulk tried to grab the board, the Surfer blasted him off and confronted him. The Hulk battled it out with the Surfer, but the Surfer was too powerful and soon grew weary of the fight and tried to leave. However, the authorities arrived and attempted to apprehend the Hulk. Feeling sorry for the gamma spawned monster, the Surfer rescued him. However, the Hulk still sought to find safety on another world and tried to take the Surfer's board. The Surfer refused to help him and after a brief clash the Silver Surfer attempted to read the Hulk's mind and learned the Hulk's origins. When the Surfer tried to cure the Hulk, the monster awoke and thought he was trying to attack and fought him off. Having become fed up, the Surfer condemned the Hulk to his curse and left.

Helping The High Evolutionary
Roaming around in the wilderness the Hulk was discovered by men working for the High Evolutionary. Knocking the Hulk out with specially made pellets, the Hulk was then loaded into a ship that blasted off for the Evolutionary's planet Wundagore II where his New Men were currently in revolt. En route the Hulk revived and attacked the ships pilot, Sir Ram before realizing he was in space. As the ship neared Wundagore II, Sir Ram revived and realized they were heading into a deadly cosmic storm. The ship made it through and while Sir Ram died of radiation poisoning the Hulk was restored to human form. Arriving on the planet, Elijah was informed on what was happening and the High Evolutionary immobilized Elijah with his vacuum ray and then placed him in a device intending to enhance his evolution by millions of years. However, the process was interrupted when the New Men attacked the High Evolutionary's base, forcing the High Evolutionary to release Elijah and fight back. During the attack Elijah turned into the Hulk one more and fought against the New Men. Gravely injured the High Evolutionary was forced to use his device on himself transforming him into a godlike being. Before joining with the universal consciousness, the High Evolutionary reverted his New Men into their base evolutionary form and then returned the Hulk to Earth.

Lords of The Living Lightning
Back on Earth the Hulk began trying to find a place to live in peace. While bounding across the wilderness he knocked a plane out of the sky. It was piloted by a spy for the Lords of the Living Lightning. Rescued from the crash the spy convinced the Hulk to accompany him to the Living Lightning headquarters. There their leader Lightning Lord convinced the Hulk that they sought peace and after capturing Glenn Talbot further convinced the Hulk to attack a military missile base. While the Hulk attacked the military base, keeping General Ross and his soldiers busy while the Lords of the Living Lightning took over the facility. The Hulk was knocked out by a powerful sedative gas during the battle and locked up in a cell with Betty Ross, as the Lightning Lord assumed that the Hulk would harm the girl, pressuring General Ross to surrender the base. However, the Lightning Lord's plan began to fall apart when the Hulk refused to harm Betty and attacked him. When the Lightning Lord fought back his lightning weapon triggered the Hulk's transformation back into Elijah Rolle. The military began retaking the base forcing the Lords of the Lightning to flee back to their base where they planned to launch missiles at the base. With time running out, Elijah convinced General Ross to allow himself to use his gamma ray projector to force another transformation into the Hulk. Transformed again, the Hulk then rushed to the Lords hideout and attacked, destroying their atomic pile causing a massive explosion that destroyed their base.

Out His Body
The Hulk survived, and while the Sub-Mariner sought an alliance with the Hulk, his foe the Puppet Master used his radioactive clay to take control of the Hulk. Under the Puppet Master's control the Hulk freed himself from the rubble of the Lords base. When he was approached by Rick Jones, the Hulk was ordered to attack anyone who came near and he struck down his most staunch ally. As the Hulk bounded away General Ross and Major Talbot vowed to destroy the Hulk no matter what. The Hulk was then lured to the Sub-Mariner along the Miami coast. When Namor offered a partnership, the Hulk was forced to attack. The two fought across the beaches of Florida, but no matter how hard the Puppet Master pushed the Hulk could not be made to kill the Sub-Mariner. Namor was able to defeat the Hulk by making a massive tidal wave that sent the Hulk crashing on a nearby island where he reverted back into Elijah Rolle, the tidal wave also destroyed the Puppet Master's base. Not recognizing Elijah, Namor returned to the ocean with no further incident.

Asgard
Elijah came under to the attention of Loki who once more sought to manipulate the Hulk to his own ends. This time, Loki transformed Elijah back into the Hulk and transported him to Asgard. There the Hulk bested Heimdall the guardian at the gates of the golden realm. Breaching the gates of Asgard, the Hulk clashed with the Warriors Three. The Hulk soon lost the urge to fight and the Warriors determined the Hulk to have been manipulated. Seeking to find out who transported the Hulk to Asgard, the Warriors Three suggested they seek the advice of Oldar the Oracle. When they attempted to cross a bottomless pit Loki struck the Hulk with another mystical bolt causing him to revert back into Elijah Rolle and fall into the chasm. Elijah was saved from sudden death by the Enchantress who sought to learn what she could about the whereabouts of Hercules whom she was smitten by. She and the Executioner had aligned themselves with the Trolls that lived beneath Asgard for a planned invasion. Elijah was questioned about Hercules, but when Elijah had no information the Enchantress ordered the Executioner to kill Elijah. Elijah transformed into the Hulk again and fought off the two Asgardians and their Troll army. When a cave in separated them, the Enchantress led her forces an attack. The Hulk followed after them and fought off the Trolls and forced them to retreat. Gravely wounded by the Enchantress, the Hulk was restored to health by Asgard's ruler Odin. Seeing Odin's Sceptre of Power, the Hulk thought he was being attacked. He was stopped by the Warriors Three, who convinced Odin that the Hulk was not in control of his actions, staying the rulers wraith. However, Odin still banished the Hulk back to Earth.

Back on Earth
The Hulk was teleported right in the center of Times Square in New York where he immediately went on a rampage and then fled to the rooftops from the authorities. There he reverted back into Elijah Rolle stealing some clothes, Elijah managed to sneak across the city to the apartment owned by Rick Jones and convinced the landlord to let him in. With Rick away, Elijah turned on the television where he was horrified to find a interview with Ross, Talbot and Rick. During the interview Rick admitted that he considered the Hulk a threat and one that should be destroyed. Just then Rick returned to his apartment and tried to hold Elijah at gun point. When they were interrupted by Betty, Rick lost his nerve and shot the floor instead of Elijah. Unknown to them at the time, Elijah was being observed by the Space Parasite who sought to battle the Hulk and drain his life energies. In order to trigger a transformation, the Space Parasite used a device that altered Betty's mood to make her lash out at Elijah, triggering a transformation into the Hulk. The Space Parasite then teleported into the room and both he and the Hulk fought. Their fight took them into Yankee Stadium. Although the Space Parasite managed to drain some of the Hulk's life energy, the Hulk proved to be too powerful a foe and the Space Parasite was beaten to the point where he was near death. When the Hulk refused to kill him, the Space Parasite fled to space to die there. In the aftermath of the battle, the Hulk was doused with tear gas by the police which triggered another transformation back to human form and Elijah Rolle was arrested. Elijah was taken into military custody and was kept sedated while they transported him to JFK International Airport to be taken to a military facility. Along the way the convoy was attacked by the Rhino who was sent by his employers to capture Elijah Rolle. While the Rhino nearly succeeded in capturing both Elijah and Betty, the plan ultimately failed when Elijah transformed into the Hulk once again. Getting Betty to safety, the Hulk then battled the Rhino one-on-one. During the course of the battle the Rhino seemingly died due to injuries sustained when he made a fuel tanker explode. Seeing the military come to Betty's aid, the Hulk assumed she was still in danger, so he grabbed her and bounded off. Betty convinced the Hulk to return her to her hotel room so she could get clothes to wear, but when she tried to enter the room she ran into a pair of car thieves. The Hulk came to Betty's rescue, but he suddenly transformed back into Elijah Rolle and was shot in the leg while the thieves fled. The gunshots attracted the police and Betty tried to escape with Elijah in her own car. When the authorities started to shoot at them, Elijah bailed out of the car, transforming into the Hulk once again. The Hulk then proceeded to go on a rampage through the city.

The Missing Link
The Hulk continued to flee the authorities across the city and eventually crossed paths with the so-called Missing Link a mutated and radioactive caveman that was unleashed upon New York by communist agents. During their first clash, the Missing Link's radiation caused another transformation of the Hulk's body back into Elijah Rolle, but still retaining the Hulk's mind. This proved to be short lived as the Hulk returned to his normal form while pursuing the Missing Link. As the Hulk fought the Missing Link, Glenn Talbot and Rick Jones arrived on the scene with a device created by Reed Richards that was intended to restore Elijah to normal permanently. When the Hulk seemingly destroyed the Missing Link, Talbot blasted him with the device, changing him back into Elijah Rolle just as the Missing Link freed itself from the rubble. Elijah got Glenn and Rick to flee the scene, while he was injured he stayed behind. When the Missing Link grabbed him, his radioactive body caused him to mutate back into the Hulk once again. The two fought out while the authorities arrived. The Hulk was briefly separated from the Missing Link and was chased by the authorities. A guilt stricken Rick Jones tried to come to the Hulk's aid and get everyone to stand down. This time, Rick's luck ran out for him as falling debris from compromised buildings injured him seriously. Frustrated by his attackers, the Hulk left, abandoning his staunchest supporter. By the time the Hulk found and resumed his battle with the Missing Link, General Ross had called for SHIELD to intervene. However the Hulk and the Missing Link were actually recovered by a Russian owned helicarrier commanded by Russian agent Yuri Brevlov and taken back to Russia before Nick Fury and his agents could arrive. The Hulk and the Missing Link were flown into Russian airspace, there the Hulk broke free from his cell and started trashing the Russian helicarrier, eventually getting free. Yuri and his soldiers were forced to follow the Hulk in a smaller ship when the Missing Link's radioactive body hit critical mass and exploded destroying the helicarrier. They tracked down the Hulk who had come to the aid of a small boy who was caught in the middle of their battle. The Russian soldiers were prevented from attacking the Hulk further thanks to the intervention of SHIELD who incapacitated their ship. The Hulk fled to a nearby village where he turned over the child to the villagers, who attacked him. When the boy pleaded in the Hulk's case, he was allowed to leave.

Manipulation
As the Hulk left he was teleported to the secret headquarters of the Mandarin who sought to use the Hulk to trigger World War III in the hopes of taking over the world and rebuilding it to suit his feudalist ideals. The Mandarin tested the Hulk's abilities and was impressed. But when he asked the Hulk to join him the angered brute attacked, tearing a path of destruction through the Mandarin's headquarters, until the Mandarin managed to trap him in a pit of quicksand. The Hulk managed to free himself only to be trapped in a glass cylinder and gassed. This allowed the Mandarin to place a mind control device on the back of the Hulk's neck. The Hulk was then sent out to the Chinese province of Tsen-Tse where he clashed with the Chinese military. The Hulk's mindless attack was stopped thanks to the interference of Nick Fury and Yuri Brevlov who tracked down the Mandarin and destroyed his control device. Furious at being manipulated, the Hulk leaped back to the Mandarin's base where he trashed the base causing it to collapse to rubble, but the Mandarin managed to evade capture.

Meeting The Inhumans
While climbing the mountains of the region the Hulk scared some locals who went after him. As he was trying to get away he crossed paths with the Inhuman dog known as Lockjaw whom the Hulk assumed was part of the attacking party. Fighting Lockjaw, the Hulk was teleported to another dimension and placed into a prison that held Inhuman criminals Leonus, Timberius, Aireo, Falcona, Nebulo and Stallior. These Inhumans watched in awe as the Hulk was able to smash through the energy barrier that kept them imprisoned. Freed, they were confronted by the mad Inhuman, and would be ruler of the Inhuman throne, Maximus who convinced the Hulk and the others to join his cause to usurp the throne of the Great Refuge. The Hulk was convinced and he assisted Maximus and the others in getting into a chamber where a deadly energy source was locked away since it was invented by an ancient Inhuman scientist named Romnar. The Hulk's great strength proved to be the key to smashing through the barrier allowing Maximus to gain hold of the energy and use it to threaten to destroy the Inhuman kingdom unless their leader Black Bolt surrendered the throne. However Maximus' allies tried to betray him and then tried to use his weapon to destroy the Hulk. While Black Bolt forced Maximus to cut off the source of the power the Hulk clashed with the rogue Inhumans and defeated them all in combat. When Black Bolt went to confront the Hulk the pair exchanged blows until Nebulo attempted to use the ray weapon on Black Bolt. The Hulk disarmed Nebulo but was engulfed in the deadly energy. Black Bolt then saved the Hulk's life, and realizing that the Hulk was an unwitting pawn of the entire ordeal offered him a chance to live among the Inhumans. Seeing that everyone save Black Bolt feared him, the Hulk declined the offer and left in peace, hoping to find another realm where everyone could accept him for who he was.

Galaxy Master & The Sagatarians
The Hulk continued to travel through Asia even as the Earth's axis began to shift in an unnatural fashion causing freak weather patterns all over the world. Fighting his way onto a Chinese rocket test site, the Hulk mistook a missile for a rocket leaving Earth and tried to ride upon it. The missile was launched and exploded in Antarctica, sending the Hulk crashing into the prehistoric realm known as the Savage Land where he reverted back into human form. Elijah was found by the Swamp Men who sought to sacrifice him to their god Umbu. Elijah was rescued from the Swamp Men by Ka-Zar and his sabretooth tiger Zabu. Upon learning that Elijah was a scientist, Ka-Zar brought him to a nearby cave where a strange device was running. Examining it Elijah was horrified to learn that it was causing the Earth's axis to shift. Before Elijah could disable the device the Swamp Men attacked again, triggering another transformation into the Hulk. The Hulk frightened off the Swamp Men and when Ka-Zar tried to reason with the Hulk to disable the device, the brute swatted Ka-Zar away, knocking him out. As the Hulk battled with Ka-Zar and Zabu, the effigy of Umbu -- really a robot left by the alien Sagittarians for their master the Galaxy Master -- came to life and began heading toward the machine in the cave. Umbu crossed paths with the Hulk and a battle began, but the Hulk was felled by gas that caused him to revert back into Elijah Rolle. No longer detecting the Hulk, Umbu continued on his course. Elijah then rushed to the cave and managed to disable the device which also disabled Umbu. But the deadly radiations from the device seemingly killed him, and his body was found by Ka-Zar. Detecting that Umbu and their device to destroy the Earth were both deactivated the Sagittarians sent a Titan Time-Probe to recover the one responsible so that they could deliver it to their master the Galaxy Master for revenge. Elijah's dead body was recovered from the Savage Land, and the Sagittarians used their advanced science to resurrect Elijah in the hopes of exacting revenge. After scanning his mind and learning nothing of value, the Galaxy Master ordered Elijah ejected out of the airlock. Just over the orbit of the planet Sagittarius, Elijah transformed into the Hulk again as the airlock opened. The powerful brute was able to survive in the vacuum of space to cause heavy damage to the Sagittarian ship causing it to crash land on their homeworld. Recovering from the crash, the Hulk was confronted by the energy form of the Galaxy Master who was bent on destroying the beast that ruined his plans for universal domination. As the Hulk battled the Galaxy Master and his ever changing forms, his battle inspired Princess Daydra and her rebellion to also attack the Galaxy Master to free themselves from his slavery. When the Galaxy Master turned into a suffocating gas, the Hulk was knocked out, prompting the rebels to attack. The Galaxy Master made short work of the rebels and then tried to draw the princess into his body. Reviving, the Hulk jumped into the tractor beam and was drawn into the Galaxy Master's energy form instead. With the Hulk inside his energy matrix, the Galaxy Master was defenceless against the Hulk's attack. When the Hulk destroyed the nucleolus within the Galaxy Master his threat was seemingly eliminated. In thanks, Daydra provided the Hulk with a ship to return him home. However the Hulk was impatient to leave and left before the pressure inside the ship could be properly calibrated. Although the Hulk was able to survive within, he started to change back into Elijah Rolle, whose body was not conditioned to survive within the craft and was at risk of being crushed to death. Clinging to life, Elijah managed to save himself when he found that the ship he was in was powered by gamma radiation. Unleashing the energy source triggered another transformation into the Hulk, saving his life when the ship crash landed on Earth.

Hulk Wont Help
Recovering from the crash, the Hulk was confronted by the Sandman who sought the Hulk's alliance so he could obtain the military's new space-warp ship in the hopes that he could reunite with his Negative Zone ally Blastaar. At first the Hulk fought back but then was tricked into attacking the base. But when the Hulk arrived he remembered that Betty Ross often spent time there and held back until the soldiers attacked him, spurring him into a violent rage. The Hulk fought the army until he spotted the Sandman trying to escape with the space-warp ship about to ram into a car with Betty inside. The Hulk slammed the Sandman's transport out of the way and the two began to fight. The Hulk ultimately won the bout by sweeping the Sandman's particles off the base and then fled the base when General Ross tried to congratulate him, thinking it was another attack. Growing tired the Hulk reverted back to Elijah Rolle, who was now more determined than ever to find a cure for himself and went seeking out Betty, hoping that she could help him. Elijah found Betty sequestered to a room on base, but their romantic reunion was cut short when Elijah was caught in the room by Major Talbot who raised the alarm. The advancing soldiers excited Elijah enough to trigger another change into the Hulk, who tried to escape with Betty. Outside the base, both were attacked by the Mandarin and Sandman, who had teamed up to defeat the Hulk. Gassing the Hulk and Betty, the two villains captured both and spirited away to one of the Mandarin's nearby secret hideouts. When the Hulk recovered from the gas he found himself pinned to a metal table with energy beams that fed off his own gargantuan strength. But like many other traps that held him before, this was only a temporary setback as that Hulk gained the strength to break free once he saw Betty in danger. The Hulk fought both the Mandarin and Sandman until they threatened to toss Betty into a massive pressure cooker. The Hulk still fought back. Seeing that his plan was a failure, the Mandarin knocked the Sandman into the pressure cooker and fled. The Sandman was transformed into living glass, but before the Hulk could shatter him, Betty convinced the Hulk not to kill him. While the Hulk's guard was down, he was blasted from behind by soldiers led by Glenn Talbot who were armed with a neutralization ray. As Hulk began to pass out, he accused Betty of tricking him before blacking out and being taken into custody. With the Hulk now in military possession and sedated by the neutralization ray, his old foe the Leader chose that moment to reveal that he had survived his last encounter. He then offered the military a means of containing the Hulk indefinitely under the auspices that he was attempting to undo his past wrongs, but was secretly plotting to gain control of the military installation in order to trigger World War III and take over whatever was left of the world. After a failed attempt to escape, the Hulk was then trapped in a massive plasti-thene prison constructed by the Leader that could withstand the Hulk's repeated blows, a seemingly impenetrable prison. Ultimately, Betty overheard the Leader's plot to take over the world and while unable to convince her father of this, convinced Glenn and that their only means of stopping the Leader and his Super-Humanoid robot was to free the Hulk. Unable to get the Hulk to cooperate, Talbot tried to get the soldiers on base to subdue the Leader but he incapacitated all the troops with his mental powers. Alone, Betty was able to use the Leader's devices to free the Hulk from his prison. When the Hulk fought back, the Leader used a gun that created another miniature plasti-thene prison and then prepared a nuclear warhead for launch. The Hulk managed to break free of this prison, but when he resumed his battle the Leader teleported the Hulk and his Super-Humanoid to a nearby island to prevent the jade giant from thwarting his missile launch. The Hulk destroyed the Super-Humanoid by tossing it into a nearby volcano, but returned to the base too late to stop the Leader from launching the nuclear missile. As the Leader fled for cover in a bomb shelter, Betty managed to calm the Hulk enough to make him revert to Elijah Rolle. Elijah then recalled a hunter missile he constructed and then used it to intercept the nuclear missile, blowing it out of the sky. The pressure triggered another transformation into the Hulk who went looking for the Leader, catching him moments after he launched a second nuclear warhead. This time the Hulk was able to leap up and redirect the missile high into the air where it exploded harmlessly. Seeing his plan as a failure, the Leader fled, passing by the body of Elijah Rolle in the ocean below, ignoring the significance of the body floating there so as to make his escape.

The Atlanteans
Elijah was recovered by the Atlantean royal known as Lady Dorma who gave Elijah a potion that would allow him to breath underwater and took him to Atlantis to recover from his injuries. When Mistress Fara, a rival for Prince Namor's affections, saw Dorma secreting Elijah into her room, she went to the Sub-Mariner and convinced him that his lover was betraying him with a surface dweller. When Namor went to confront Lady Dorma and argument ensued while Elijah awoke. Confused and excited, Elijah transformed into the Hulk once again and he attacked the Sub-Mariner. The two battled across Atlantis causing much damage, which cost Mistress Fara her life. The Hulk did not fare any better battling the Sub-Mariner this time as last, as he proved no match for the Altantean monarch in his natural element. Knocked to shore in a massive tidal wave, the Hulk reverted back into Elijah Rolle. Once again when Namor went looking for his foe and only found Elijah, he returned to the ocean -- still not making the connection between the two men.

The Evil Inhumans
Elijah awoke to find himself in the Central American nation of Costa Salvador. Exploring around he found that everyone was in a trance like state thanks to a massive robot construct that projected strange beams of energy. Finding one lone native not under its control, Elijah learned that the island was under the control of someone the local called "the great one". Finding himself falling under the influence of the beams, Elijah tried to fight their effects, triggering a transformation into the Hulk, who was immune to the beams control. The Hulk then leapt to the castle of the "great one" and discovered that it was the hideout of Maximus and his group of evil Inhumans. The Hulk fought off the Inhumans until the United States Air Force, coming to the aid of Costa Salvador due to a mutual protection agreement arrived. The Hulk found himself confused as to who to fight: Maximus and his legions, or the military who haunted him for so many years. Maximus managed to convince the Hulk to fight off the military, unaware that Betty had stowed away on her father's plane. Upon discovering this and learning that Maximus intended to kill the invaders, the Hulk turned on him. Maximus in turn unleashed his mind control robot, which the Hulk easily destroyed. As Maximus and his forces fled in a ship, the military once more attempted to apprehend the Hulk, but not wishing to be imprisoned again the Hulk easily bounded away to seek peace somewhere else.

Taking A Chance
The Hulk found himself in Florida, where his large leaps inadvertently put him in the path of a missile test. Struck by the missile, the Hulk crashed into the nearby swamp. Wading through the mire, the Hulk unknowingly smashed through a United States government radioactive waste disposal shed. The cracked barrels of waste seeped into the swamp resurrecting the remains of criminal Joseph Timms into a mire monster later named the Glob. The military managed to track down the Hulk and attack him again. While the Hulk defended himself, the Glob meanwhile kidnapped Betty and took her into the swamp. Eventually the Hulk crossed paths with the Glob and tried to free Betty from it. The battle ended when the Glob crossed back into the radioactive swamp water that spawned him and began to dissolve. The Glob's last action was to hold Betty above water keeping her safe long enough for the Hulk to recover her. Distressed by the Glob's sacrifice, the Hulk left Betty for the military when they arrived and fled into the swamp to reflect on the entire encounter. The Hulk returned south where in his confused mind he thought an oncoming train was attacking him and derailed it. Fleeing into the wilderness the Hulk passed out and changed back into Elijah Rolle. Elijah then went down to survey the wreckage he caused, and happened to come across a newspaper report stating that Reed Richards had devised a cure for the Hulk. Elijah then hopped the next freight train heading into New York in the hopes of finally being cured. While riding the rails, Elijah began working on a complimenting formula with the one designed by Reed Richards. The ride was cut short when a pair of bindle-stiffs who were also riding in the freight car mistook Elijah making a pouch for his formula as something valuable and tried to mug him. This triggered another, all be it brief, transformation into the Hulk.

No Happiness for Elijah Rolle-29
Reed Richards developed a cure for Elijah's condition that worked to a degree. Elijah gained the ability to transform into the Hulk at will while maintaining his intelligence. Vowing to never become the Hulk again, Elijah proposed to Betty who accepted. Sadly, the Leader recruited the Rhino and fired a gamma ray during Elijah and Betty's wedding causing Elijah to turn into the Hulk once more. The Hulk clashed with the Rhino and the Leader, hospitalizing General Ross and destroying his home. The Hulk escaped, and Glenn Talbot vowed to Betty that he would destroy The Hulk. Returning to the desert, the Hulk was sought out by the X-Men who were seeking one of Elijah's inventions that could heal their injured leader, Professor X. Although they briefly clashed, Elijah returned long enough to give the X-Men what they needed to save their leader. Elijah agreed to work with Glenn Talbot to try and stop a radioactive comet threatening Earth. This meteor turned out to be the Absorbing Man, whom the Hulk defeated. Elijah's body was captured by a cult that sought to release their demonic masters, the Undying Ones. The Hulk was sent into the realm of the Night-Crawler along with Barbara Norris. Dr. Strange came to the Hulk's aid to stop the Undying Ones. Barbara Norris sacrificed herself so that the two heroes could escape. The Hulk once again become a pawn in the on-going war between Tyrannus and the Mole Man. This time Tyrannus attempted to win the Hulk's cooperation by making him befriend his robot Mogul. When the Hulk learned that the creature was really a robot he considered it a betrayal and destroyed him, and left Tyrannus' realm. Trying to get the surface, the Hulk nearly caused a massive earthquake by effecting fault lines on the west coast. The Hulk was targeted by the Leader who revived the Glob and sent him after the Hulk in a plot that ultimately ended in failure. Rick Jones sought out his old friend to find a way to separate himself from the Kree soldier Captain Marvel. A student protest set Elijah off, leading to a clash with Captain Marvel. Another former colleague, Dr. Raoul Stoddard, succeeded in splitting the Hulk from Elijah, sending the Hulk on a rampage to destroy Elijah. The Hulk fled the military and hid out in the slums of Los Angeles and befriended the young Jim Wilson while Elijah and the military attempted track down the Hulk in order to merge Elijah and the Hulk. After merging Hulk with Elijah once more, the military asked Jim Wilson to stay with them to keep the Hulk under control. Wilson was also targeted by the terrorist organization Hydra who also sought to control the Hulk. This plot ended in failure, however Jim was seriously injured. Betty Ross suffered a nervous breakdown from the stress of dealing with Elijah's double life as the Hulk. The Hulk and the Abomination were then enslaved by Xeron and traveled the stars to hunt down and kill the creature known as Klaatu. Although the Abomination attempted to kill Elijah/Hulk, the crew's captain Cybor seemingly slayed Klaatu. The Hulk and Abomination clashed sending them crashing back to the Earth. Hulk clashed with the Sandman, who tried to force a blood transfusion with Betty to stop himself from turning into glass. The defeated Sandman lost in a whirl pool while Betty was transformed into glass as a result of the transfusion. The Leader sought to exert the Hulk to the point where the monster would die of a heart attack. He created psycho projections and led him towards the hospital where Betty Ross was, threatening to shatter Betty's fragile glass form. Thanks to interference from Jim Wilson, the Leader's plot was foiled. Hulk was captured by the military with aid from Reed Richards and Charles Xavier, however he was teleported away by the insectoid Psyklop. Psyklop sought to shrink the Hulk down in size and use him as a power source to bring his masters, the Dark Gods, to Earth.

Entering The Microverse
Ultimately the Hulk shrunk out of sight and got transported to the Microverse world of K'ai. In K'ai the Elijah persona was restored and Hulk joined a rebellion led by Jarella against the evil warlord Visis. Hulk and Jarella formed a relationship and they were prepared to wed when Psyklop found the Hulk and brought him back to the Earth. With his savage state restored, Psyklop's base was smashed and the Hulk escaped. With vague memories of his adventure in K'ai, Elijah was taken back to the military when psychiatrist and Betty’s ex-boyfriend Leonard Samson came up with a duel solution for curing Elijah and restoring Betty back to human form. Samson was successful, however he used the siphoned gamma radiation to mutate himself into a gamma spawned Adonis. Samson romanced Betty Ross, making Elijah jealous. Elijah purposely bombard himself with gamma radiation and became the Hulk once more to battle Doc Samson. When Betty vocalized concern for Samson over the Hulk, the Hulk fled the scene. The Hulk became the new pet project of the Parrington family. The Hulk was targeted by the Enchantress who turned the Parrington's daughter Samantha into a host for Valkyrie to battle the Hulk. The plot ended in failure and Samantha reverting back to normal. His next rampage through New York made Elijah the subject of a military man hunt.

The Defenders
He was saved from the military when Dr. Strange recruited the Hulk, Sub-Mariner, and the Silver Surfer to stop Yandroth from setting his Omegatron to destroy the Earth. They formed a loose knit team of heroes known as the Defenders. The Hulk answered a call to help to stop Ares and the Enchantress from fulfilling a prophecy that would have given him mastery over the entire world. Hulk later ended up in Egypt where he was talked into taking a part in a movie being filmed there. Elijah was fired from the movie set and was caught in the middle of the Horusians God-Spawn battle, destroying their champion, the Colossus. The US military built Project: Greenskin, aka Hulkbuster Base, as a specialized facility to capture the Hulk. Upon its construction, General Ross was replaced with a robot by the Leader. The Leader was disguised as Glenn Talbot in the hopes of not only destroying the Hulk, but replacing the President and Vice President with robot duplicates. The Hulk foiled the Leader's plot, and in the aftermath of the battle Doc Samson lost his powers. The Hulk fled into the desert, briefly encountering a mirage city that would vanish as quickly as it appeared. The Hulk was again captured by the military and cured by Peter Corbeau.

Jarella Returns
Jarella transported herself to Earth to seek the Hulk. She was followed by an assassin sent by Lord Visis. Elijah exposed himself to gamma radiation to become the Hulk again to save her. When it was determined that Jarella's presence on Earth risked the planets destruction, Jarella willingly returned to K'ai. Sedated at Project: Greenskin, the Hulk battled the High Evolutionary's exiled New Man, the Inheritor, when the creature came seeking radiation to prolong its evolved state. When the Hulk came across Lorna Dane he confused her for Jarella and captured her. Lorna was saved by her fellow X-Man, Havok. During a night of love making, Betty heard Elijah calling out for Jarella, prompting her to break up with him and begin a romance with Glenn Talbot. Elijah sought out Henry Pym in Washington D.C. to find a means to shrink small enough to return to Jarella's world. There, Elijah learned Pym's talk had been cancelled and turned into the Hulk and went on a rampage. The Hulk ultimately saved Washington from Senator Morton Clegstead who, while trying to find a cure for cancer via gamma radiation, had mutated into a massive pile of ooze. Hulk broke into Pym's lab and consumed one of his shrinking formulas. This caused him to shrink to miniature size and be captured by the Chameleon who was then working for Hydra. The Hulk attempted to escape Hydra's clutches with the help of Ant Man, however the unstable formula shrank him down to the Microverse. As he shrank down to size, he ruined the fantasy world created by the Shaper of Worlds for the former Nazi Kronsteig. Finally reaching Jarella's world, the Hulk, with Elijah's intellect restored, helped Jarella overthrow Visis once more. Pym's formula wore off sending him back to Earth.

Betty Talbot?!?!?
The Hulk was reunited with his fellow Defenders battling Dormammu in Rutland, Vermont, stopping Xemu the Titan's attempt to change children into members of his long dead race, and lastly foiling a plot by Necrodamus to sacrifice the Sub-Mariner in order to free the Undying Ones. The Hulk was reunited with Jim Wilson, after which he learned of Betty's coming marriage to Glenn Talbot. He was forced to battle a Leader controlled Rhino. The Rhino and Hulk were launched into space and ended up on the High Evolutionary's Counter-Earth where they were embroiled in a battle between the New Men. During this adventure the Hulk met Counter-Earth's Elijah Rolle who was married to Betty Ross and had a son, Elijah Jr. The conflict ended with the Hulk and Rhino being shot back to their own Earth. With their ship blasted out of the sky en route to Earth, General Ross forced the Abomination to go out and keep the Hulk away from Betty and Glenn's wedding. The Abomination lost the fight but he succeeded in his task. Learning that Betty was heading to Niagara Falls, he pursued her. The Hulk got sidetracked when he was recruited by Dr. Strange to rejoin the Defenders in searching for the Silver Surfer, clashing with Calizuma. The group ended up in the realm of the Undying One, battling their leader the Nameless One and rescuing Barbara Norris. They next clashed with the Enchantress and Executioner, ending with Barbara being revived as the Valkyrie. The Defenders were then called to clash with the Omegatron, which with Valkyrie's aid they destroyed.

She Hulk Is Born
One day Elijah went to visit his beloved best friend Jennifer Walters, a Los Angeles-based lawyer. At that time Walters had been defending a hood named Lou Monkton, whom gangster Nicholas Trask had framed for murder. While Walters drove Elijah to her home, one of Trask's henchmen shot her. To save his best friend's life, Elijah improvised an emergency blood transfusion. The transfusion of Elijah's blood mutated Walters, causing her to become the She-Hulk.

The Mightiest Mortal
The mighty Thundra returned to the past in a quest to challenge the mightiest mortal man who ever walked the earth. Her target was none other than the Incredible Hulk, but Thundra had a secret agenda. She told her female populates that she was going to kill the mightiest man, but she was really going back to mate with him. When she met the Hulk, she convinced him to bare her a child and after they spent a night together; she went back to the future and gave birth to a daughter named Lyra.

Separated from The Hulk-30
Back in New Mexico, the Hulk was being blamed for a number of acts of sabotage around Desert Base. Furious, General Ross hired the newly formed group the Fantastic Four to stop the Hulk. Elijah meanwhile knew he was innocent and became the Hulk to find the real saboteur. This led to a clash with the FF and the first of the Hulk's many battles with the group’s powerhouse the Thing who is actually his brother Joshua. With help from Rick Jones, the Fantastic Four and the Hulk exposed the real saboteur, a communist agent calling himself the Wrecker. While the Hulk escaped capture again, the FF captured the Wrecker and turned him over to the authorities. When word went out that the Hulk was heading for the Big Apple, the Fantastic Four were alerted. The team faired poorly defending the city from the Hulk with their leader Mr. Fantastic ill, both the Invisible Girl and Human Torch were injured fighting the jade giant, leaving the Thing as the only hero to stand in the way of the Hulk's rampage. Although the Thing lost the first bout, he got back up and continued after the Hulk. The Hulk was later attacked by the Thing and a partially recovered Human Torch, outnumbered the Hulk fled through the New York subway system and managed to finally make his way to the Baxter Building. There he found the fully recovered Fantastic Four waiting for him and they successfully chased the Hulk up a partially constructed office tower. The Hulk was able to hold his own against the uncoordinated hero team until Rick Jones managed to throw a gamma irradiated pill into the Hulk's mouth. This knocked the Hulk out causing him to fall into the Hudson River, reverting back into Elijah Rolle as he was swept away by the currents. Leonard Samson then captured the Hulk and succeeded in separating Elijah's psyche and atomic structure from the larger atomic structure of the Hulk. The Hulk's body, with all personality and memory removed, was inert until Samson stimulated the brain within the body. This new Hulk escaped and became a greater menace than ever before. Elijah became leader of a new Hulkbusters task force which he headed from Gamma base.

The Heart Wants What It Wants
Betty realized that she was still in love with Elijah, and the marriage of Betty and Glenn soon ended in divorce. For a time Betty lived on her own. Ultimately, she returned to Elijah as he honestly loved her more than any woman. As for Glenn, he blamed his divorce on Elijah and died trying to destroy the Hulk. Elijah finally married Betty Ross, believing himself free of the curse of the Hulk. During the honeymoon, Elijah became gravely ill and was hospitalized. Due to his separation from the Hulk, Elijah's body began to lose molecular cohesion. The Hulk's body soon followed suit and he was defeated by the Defenders. With the aid of Doctor Strange, Elijah was re-merged with the Hulk.

The Gray Hulk Returns
The original Hulk persona assumed control of the body, however the reintegration was unstable and an attempt to stabilize and possibly cure Elijah in a nutrient tank resulted in the Hulk returning to his original gray incarnation who only manifested at night. Rick Jones absorbed the excess gamma radiation and became a light green Hulk-like creature when he was pushed into the nutrient bath by General Ross, who was attempting to sabotage the experiment and kill Hulk. Elijah reasoned the best way to cure Rick was to use the machine from Hulk's Cave to change himself into the Hulk. Little did he know that this was a subliminal suggestion placed by Hulk himself, who once free smashed the machine to avoid turning back into Elijah. Complicating matters, the Leader arrived, having followed the Hulk in hopes of regaining his faded intellect. When he found the machine destroyed, the Leader made a deal with the now-smarter Hulk to transfer Rick Jones' gamma radiation into himself. Shortly after, a dishonored Thaddeus Ross managed to take control of the energy creature Zzzax. When Ross and Jones were defeated and the radiation energy was transferred from Jones the lab exploded allowing all concerned to believe the Leader dead. Little did Hulk or Elijah know, Leader survived and sent the vampiric Half-Life after him. Hulk tore off Half-Life's limbs close to daybreak before the villain could pull himself together. The SHIELD Council decided they had enough Gamma bombs so that Elijah was no longer required and ordered Agent Quartermain to murder him. The mutant bounty hunters X-Factor managed to locate the Hulk and freeze him in place before placing a call to SHIELD. After transporting Hulk back to Gamma Base, Quartermain went against the orders of the Council before blowing up several large explosive charges that wiped out Gamma Base. Quartermain took Elijah and Rick Jones away from SHIELD.

Pregnant
While on the way to the government stash of gamma bombs, Betty Rolle was released from the Leader's captivity to help stall them. She revealed that she was pregnant with Elijahs' child. Hulk decided to keep Betty safe, despite her being Elijah Rolle's wife, not his. The quartet made their way to the government facility but found out too late that the Leader's henchmen Rock and Redeemer had already taken a gamma bomb. When the Leader detonated the gamma bomb in Middletown with the Hulk at ground zero, the Hulk was assumed to be dead. In reality, Hulk had been transported to Jarella's world moments before the detonation. There, the Hulk helped a group of minor wizards to overthrow the "Grand Inquisitor" in return for a spell which was promised to rid him of Elijah Rolle for good.

Mr. Joe Fixit
When the Hulk returned to Earth, he took a job as an enforcer at a casino. Calling himself Mr. Fixit, the Hulk spent several weeks without reverting to human form. It was during this time that he met and dated Marlo Chandler, who would one day marry Rick Jones. Elijah eventually returned and the Hulk's life as Mr. Fixit soon came to an end through the machinations of the Maggia.

The Battle Within
Elijah found Betty working in a convent when he was attacked by Prometheus, an agent of a team called the Pantheon. The stress and anger of being unable to get to Betty caused the Savage Hulk persona to resurface and sent Elijah's psyche into turmoil. The Grey Hulk managed to keep the Green behind a mental door, but knew that since he had been unleashed once, it was only a matter of time before the Savage Hulk would take over. When the Hulk was needed to fight the Super Skrull, the Grey Hulk convinced Elijah to bring him out instead of the Savage Hulk. The Gray Hulk managed to outsmart the Super Skrull and managed to save Betty. Inside Elijah's mind, the Gray Hulk and the Green Hulk were fighting for dominance.

The Professor Hulk
Through hypnosis, Samson created the green intelligent "Merged" Hulk - an integration of Elijah's separate personalities. This Hulk joined the Pantheon. The Pantheon were led by Agamemnon, an immortal offspring of an Asgardian and a human. Unknown at the time was that centuries earlier, Agamemnon had offered any of his offspring to the alien Troyjans in exchange for the ability to pass his godhood down to his descendants. As a favor to their friend Jim Wilson, Hulk and Rick agreed to help out at an AIDS benefit concert with Rick headlining and Hulk providing security. The concert was disrupted by the drug-addicted assassin Speedfreek who was sent to kill one of the concert's attendees. Jim was stabbed defending the man and the Hulk got rid of Speedfreek before he could kill anybody.

The Pantheon
During one of his missions with the Pantheon, Hulk fought alongside a rebel force in Trans-Sabal against both S.H.I.E.L.D. issue Mandroids and the government mutant team X-Factor. Tran-Sabal's dictator Farnoq Dahn had promised the US government energy assistance if they helped him keep his place as unchallenged ruler. He was exposed as a psycho when he tried to win the war by tying a mother and child to two separate missiles and threatened to launch them if the Pantheon did not withdraw. He was stopped by Hulk and X-Factor. The tyrant was forced to face his people for the crimes he committed but most of them still saw him as a god and bowed at his feet. He was then shot and killed by a traumatized Rick Jones. Pantheon member Atalanta was shot down in the Himalayas by the Troyjan warrior Trauma and Hulk, Ulysses, and Hector were sent to find her. Trauma found Atlanta and confessed his love to her before the Hulk showed up and brought down an avalanche on top of him. During this time Marlo was killed by a woman posing as Rick's mother. Because the Leader shared a mental bond with Rick he offered to bring her back to life. Leader attacked the Pantheon's headquarters, The Mount, using both his gamma soldiers and the U-Foes to distract the Hulk so that he could ask Agamemnon for help against Hydra. Agamemnon agreed to help and the Hulk left in anger. Agamemnon betrayed the Leader by sending the Hulk to Freehold in order to kill him. The Hulk crashed into Freehold during the middle of the Hydra invasion and when Leader was trying to resurrect Marlo. Overcome with anger Hulk ignored Rick's pleas to stop and destroyed the machine because he thought that Leader was lying and taking advantage of his grieving friend. The Leader was seemingly killed in the battle. The Hulk knocked the helmet off of Redeemer, saw the resurrected General Ross, and realized his mistake.

Losing Control
The Hulk began showing signs of instability when he began referring to himself as Hulk instead of Elijah. As a favor to a former Pantheon member Perseus, Hulk traveled to Lock Ness to investigate reports of a monster in the lake which turned out to be Piecemeal. The Hulk was about to defeat him when Madman interfered. After Perseus was killed, Hulk killed Piecemeal and appeared to kill Madman but no body was found. Using his new power as leader of the Pantheon during Agamemnon’s leave of absence, Hulk led a strike against a maximum security prison to free an ex-girlfriend who had been falsely imprisoned. Trauma returned and kidnapped Atalanta was to make her his bride. With the help of the Silver Surfer and the Starjammers, the Hulk and the Pantheon attacked the Troyjan home world. Upon arriving they were all shocked when Trauma's father, the Troyjan leader, Lord Armageddon, told them the truth about Agamemnon. If they tried to take Atalanta back then the Troyjans would take back the extended lives of all the Pantheon. Hulk did not care about the deal and attacked Trauma, accidentally impaling Trauma on his own shoulder spike. With his last words, Trauma pardoned the Pantheon and asked his father to let them all leave in peace.

The Maestro
The Hulk was taken into the future by Rick Jones' granddaughter Janis to fight his future self, Maestro. Maestro was a tyrant who had killed all the heroes and villains on earth and named himself emperor of the post-apocalyptic world. He had the intelligence of Elijah and was twice as strong as the Hulk. Maestro was killed when Hulk sent him back in time to ground zero at the moment the gamma bomb that created him had gone off. After killing Maestro, the Hulk was sent back to the present, haunted by the thought of losing control and becoming Maestro.

The Pantheon Crumbles
Soon after this Rick and a revived Marlo were married. At the wedding Betty told Hulk that she wanted to move into the Mount to be with him. After the wedding, Hulk was attacked by the disgraced Skrull warrior Talos the Tamed. In an effort to gain back some honor, Talos wanted to be killed by earth's strongest warrior. Hulk refused to fight because of how well his relationship with Betty was going and he did not want to risk losing his temper again. Later, Hulk received news that his old partner Jim Wilson was at an AIDS protest that was getting out of control. He took him back to the Mount to give him treatment but despite the advanced technology Jim still died. Having discovered the truth about Agamemnon, Hulk and the rest of the Pantheon made him stand trial. Agamemnon resurrected all of the dead Pantheon warriors to kill everyone in the Mount. Agamemnon tried to escape but was killed by Atalanta which brought an end to the undead warriors. Achilles, still loyal to Agamemnon, tried killing teammate Ulysses but the bullet ricocheted and hit Betty.

Savage Rolle
The Hulk became so angry that he reverted back to Elijah Rolle's body with Hulk's brain. Even in his human form he gave off enough gamma radiation to make Achilles vulnerable and Ulysses killed him. The Pantheon fled their former base and the still mindless Elijah was taken into custody and temporarily placed in the care of Doc Samson while Betty was treated for the bullet wound that killed their unborn child. Nick Fury then took Elijah into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody because he was a fugitive.

The Professor Is Back
During Elijah's transport Betty died and her soul was given the chance to go to heaven. First she wanted to visit Elijah to see if he still loved her. He calmed down when he saw her and was able to transform and escape. After seeing how important she was to him, Betty decided to live and returned to her body. Hulk visited the destroyed Mount and saw a hologram set up by Paris telling him that he was now the leader of the Pantheon and that Hulk was fired. Living under the last name Danner, Hulk and Betty moved to a small town in Florida. To hide his green skin, Hulk wore bandages all over his body and claimed to be a burn victim. Soon after their move a child was killed by a gigantic shadowy figure, and the Hulk was suspected of the crime because of his size. Upon investigation, Hulk found out that the true killer was a deranged old man living in the everglades with the Man-Thing, and rescued a child. A few days later Hulk and Betty offered their help to a young pregnant homeless girl. While at the clinic protesters attacked and the girl was shot and killed. Hulk offered the girls' father his help in bringing her killer to justice. They learned the killer was just a kid who had accidentally shot her when someone pushed him. The father revealed himself to be Speedfreek and tried to kill the kid. Hulk hurled a car battery at Speedfreek which covered him in battery acid burning most of the skin off his face and causing him to flee. Hulk learned that the Abomination was fighting cops in the sewers of New York and decided that it was his problem. The homeless were being cleared out because the police commissioner was working for a drug lord who needed the sewers for new drug routes. While Hulk and confronted the Abomination, the cops used the opportunity to clear out the homeless by killing almost all of them. Abomination snapped and started killing all of the cops then took his battle with the Hulk to the surface. They crashed through the Daily Bugle before the Abomination jumped onto a news copter and crashed it. He used the opportunity to escape while Hulk was distracted.

Ghosts of The Future-31
An army squad led by Matt Talbot(Glenn's brother) captured Betty. After Hulk saw Matt shoot Betty in both legs, he went so far over the edge so he reverted back to his Elijah form. Elijah was taken into custody. During a jailbreak, Elijah still with the mind of the Hulk, ran towards a grenade and nearly died when it went off. He was able to transform into the Hulk before he could be killed but shrapnel was left in his brain extremely hindering his intelligence. Seeking a device to remove the shrapnel, he traveled to the Leader's Freehold. With the Leader dead, the hidden arctic sanctuary Freehold had been placed in the care of Omnibus. Omnibus believed that there would eventually be a nuclear war that would kill everyone on earth so he decided to speed it up by ordering terrorist attacks across the world to cause strain on global relations. He had also mentally controlled many high ranking government officials including Talbot which explained his insane behavior. Jailbait overheard Omnibus's plan and exposed him to the people of Freehold and he was sentenced to death. Hulk decided that the best way to save the world would be to pose as Maestro and claim to be the man behind the terrorist attacks.

Momentary Relapse
A psychotic Thor was then sent to defeat him. It was a close battle until an atom bomb was dropped on top of them. The Hulk was believed dead by most of the world but he had actually used a hidden Pantheon base to survive. The bomb did happen to revert the Hulk back to a savage however, and The Hulk's body began giving off radiation equivalent to a nuclear bomb. The army found that anything that came within five feet of him would be melted by radiation. Betty showed up and the Hulk broke free. Moments later Jason the Renegade stepped from the shadows and shot the Hulk with a Pantheon gun which caused the soldiers to panic and begin shooting. Hulk laughed off the bullets and escaped with Janis Jones(who wanted Hulk to return to the future) leaving Betty in tears.

The Sidekick
The Pantheon had become a democracy and had outvoted Paris to bring Hulk back into the group. Paris approached Henry Gyrich with a proposition to take down the Hulk for good. The Pantheon attacked Janis(who became the Hulk's sidekick) and appeared to kill Hulk, but it was actually just a mindless cloned body created by the Pantheon. Hulk destroyed their ship and headed towards Washington DC with Janis where she told the military that the Hulk would not run anymore. If they attacked him, he would attack a major city in retaliation. While he was traveling through the Midwest, Hulk and Janis were attacked by the Thunderbolts whom he easily defeated, then he destroyed a dam to fulfill his promise of retaliation. Hulk began having chest pains that would force him to keel over in pain although at the same time he was physically becoming more powerful. Dr. Strange found that because of extreme emotional stress, he was having chest pain. Hulk returned to the gamma base where he was created.

Hulk Island
He was ambushed by the newest person placed in charge of capturing the Hulk, Colonel Cary St. Lawrence. Hulk considered this the ultimate invasion of privacy because he considered the gamma base "his place". He was about to kill her when he had the idea to take over an island in the Florida Keys which he renamed Hulk Island. He saved the inhabitants from a hurricane and they grew to respect him. Hulk was manipulated by Apocalypse into becoming one of his Horsemen. Hulk agreed to serve him if Apocalypse would remove the shrapnel from Hulk's brain. He battled the Absorbing Man and Juggernaut who were sent by the NWO with Rick and Janis Jones to stop this new Hulk that was using the power of the Celestials. He nearly killed the Absorbing Man and Juggernaut but Rick jumped in and Hulk swung at him. Seeing the crippled body of his best friend caused the Hulk to break free of the mind control and flee in shame. Mercy sensed the Hulk's desire for death and sent him on a path to fight Mr. Hyde, but the Hulk wanted a good death and refused to be killed by what he considered an unworthy foe. Wanting to help put the Hulk out of his misery, Mercy sent him to one of his deadliest enemies, the Abomination. Sulking through New York, Hulk found the Abomination but because of all the damage done to his brain he hallucinated himself in the Abomination's place and he began letting out all his built up rage from the last few months on him. As a result, Hulk had a relapse and reverted back to savage Hulk. Elijah and General Ross were soon attacked by the Destroyer and his troll minions. During the battle the Destroyer stepped in a pool of Hulk's blood. It recognized that Hulk and Maestro were the same being and drew the Hulk's mind inside of it. Hulk was able to outsmart Maestro and crush him under a rock slide.

Starting to Make Things Right
Elijah was brought back to Gamma Base where he established some kind of control over the Hulk and started rebuilding his life with Betty and made peace with her father, General Ross. Later, the Troyjans attacked and Elijah and agreed to meet with their leader, Lord Armageddon. After seeing Elijah leave with the aliens the press believed that he had heroically sacrificed himself to save the president's daughter. Armageddon wanted Hulk's help in resurrecting his son Trauma with device the Leader had previously used to bring Marlo back to life. The device needed a very large gamma power source in order to work and he planned on sacrificing Hulk to do it. Elijah said no but Hulk agreed and stepped into the machine. During the process Hulk gave off too much radiation and incinerated Trauma's body. Armageddon agreed to live in peace out of fear of punishment from the Silver Surfer, but after Hulk left he leveled Freehold and killed everyone living there including the gamma beings Jailbait and Hotshot. Elijah was given a secret pardon for his crimes as the Hulk for saving the president's daughter.

Death of Betty Rolle
Just when everything started going right with the Hulk, Betty nearly died due to gamma radiation poisoning that resulted from her time with the Hulk. Elijah was able to find a cure using his blood in a transfusion. But then she was pushed over the edge by the transfusion when the Abomination secretly switched it with his blood instead as revenge. Elijah went insane and tried to kill himself seconds after Betty was pronounced dead. Doc Samson stopped him but he turned into the Hulk later and escaped from gamma base. He began coming up with elaborate scenarios to kill himself, but he would always transform seconds before death. With Betty dead and Elijah believed to have killed her, General Ross started to hunt the Hulk once more. Elijah figured out the truth behind Betty's death when he went to the home world of the Watcher and was given infinite knowledge. He returned to Earth to get revenge on the Abomination but he let him go. Confronting General Ross he told him that they were both to blame for Betty's death.

The Avengers-32
Elijah Rolle was soon diagnosed with ALS. Due to the deteriorating effects of ALS and the chaos ravaging his mind-scape, Elijah cut a deal with the three dominant Hulk personalities - the Green Hulk, the Gray "Joe Fixit" Hulk, and the Hulk - essentially to time-share their existence in return for stabilizing his fractured psyche and providing him with release from his disease. Despite the intervention of General John Ryker, Elijah was able to retain control until the Leader provided the means to cure Elijah, using genetic samples taken from the corpse of the Gargoyle and added to the Hulk's DNA by Ant-Man, the transformation back into Elijah Rolle triggering a catalytic reaction that repaired the damage to Elijah's cellular structure and cured the disease. The original Defenders, including Hulk, re-formed when Yandroth surfaced again to menace the world. Though the heroes defeated his plan, Yandroth used his sorcery to levy a deathbed curse upon their heads, binding them to come together in times of crisis. The curse magnified the egos of the cursed quartet until they became mentally unstable. They became the Order, seeking to end all threats to the Earth by taking control of it. Other heroes fought them, and the energies unleashed by the battle were harnessed to resurrect and further empower Yandroth. Coming to their senses, the Defenders stopped fighting and Yandroth was reduced back to his human form, defeated, and imprisoned. Elijah then went to exile in Calcutta where he would try to do some good for the people there. The Asgardian Loki encounters the Other, the leader of an extraterrestrial race known as the Chitauri. In exchange for retrieving the Tesseract, a powerful energy source of unknown potential, the Other promises Loki an army with which he can subjugate Earth. Nick Fury, director of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and his lieutenant Agent Maria Hill arrive at a remote research facility during an evacuation, where physicist Dr. Erik Selvig is leading a research team experimenting on the Tesseract. Agent Phil Coulson explains that the object has begun radiating an unusual form of energy. The Tesseract suddenly activates and opens a wormhole, allowing Loki to reach Earth. Loki takes the Tesseract and uses his scepter to enslave Selvig and several agents, including Clint Barton, to aid him in his getaway. In response to the attack, Fury reactivates the "Avengers Initiative". Agent Natasha Romanoff is sent to Calcutta to recruit her ex-boyfriend Dr. Elijah Rolle to trace the Tesseract through its gamma radiation emissions. Coulson visits Joshua Rolle to have him review Selvig's research, and Fury approaches Elijah’s half brother Jonathan Tulloch with an assignment to retrieve the Tesseract. In Stuttgart, Barton steals iridium needed to stabilize the Tesseract's power while Loki causes a distraction, leading to a confrontation with Jonathan, Joshua, and Romanoff that ends with Loki's surrender. While Loki is being escorted to S.H.I.E.L.D., Thor, his adoptive brother, arrives and frees him, hoping to convince him to abandon his plan and return to Asgard. After a confrontation with Joshua and Jonathan, Thor agrees to take Loki to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s flying aircraft carrier, the Helicarrier. There Loki is imprisoned while Elijah and Joshua attempt to locate the Tesseract. The Avengers become divided, both over how to approach Loki and the revelation that S.H.I.E.L.D. plans to harness the Tesseract to develop weapons as a deterrent against hostile extraterrestrials. As the group argues, Barton and Loki's other possessed agents attack the Helicarrier, disabling its engines in flight and causing Elijah to transform into the Hulk. Joshua and Jonathan try to restart the damaged engine, and Thor attempts to stop the Hulk's rampage. Romanoff fights Barton, and knocks him unconscious, breaking Loki's mind control. Loki escapes after killing Coulson and ejecting Thor from the airship, while the Hulk falls to the ground after attacking a S.H.I.E.L.D. fighter jet. Fury uses Coulson's death to motivate the Avengers into working as a team. Joshua and Jonathan realize that for Loki, simply defeating them will not be enough; he needs to overpower them publicly to validate himself as ruler of Earth. Loki uses the Tesseract, in conjunction with a device Selvig built, to open a wormhole above Rolle Tower to the Chitauri fleet in space, launching his invasion. The Avengers rally in defense of New York City, the wormhole's location, but quickly realize they will be overwhelmed as wave after wave of Chitauri descend upon Earth. Elijah arrives and transforms into the Hulk, and together he, Jonathan, Joshua, Thor, Barton, and Romanoff battle the Chitauri while evacuating civilians. The Hulk finds Loki and beats him into submission. Romanoff makes her way to the wormhole generator, where Selvig, freed of Loki's control, reveals that Loki's scepter can be used to shut down the generator. Meanwhile, Fury's superiors attempt to end the invasion by launching a nuclear missile at Manhattan. Joshua intercepts the missile and takes it through the wormhole toward the Chitauri fleet. The missile detonates, destroying the Chitauri mothership and disabling their forces on Earth. Joshua's suit runs out of power, and he falls back through the wormhole just as Romanoff closes it. Joshua goes into freefall, but the Hulk saves him from crashing to the ground. In the aftermath, Thor returns Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard. Fury expresses confidence that the Avengers will return if and when they are needed. The Other confers with his master about the failed attack on Earth and humanity's strength. The Avengers then eat in silence at a shawarma restaurant to celebrate their victory. After the Avengers were publicly unveiled, the Hulk's tenure with the Avengers proved to be very short lived. During the Hulk's initial visit to what eventually became known as Avengers Mansion he frightened away all the staff, leaving only Joshua Rolle's artificial Intelligence Edwin Jarvis, who loyally stayed on the job. When Iron Man attempted to get government sanctions for the Avengers, the Hulk's membership in the group turned out to be a PR nightmare. The Hulk and Rick Jones met with the team at the mansion. When discussing a charter and rules for the group the Hulk grew agitated and literally jumped out of the mansion, causing a lot of damage and more negative publicity for the group. Later the group met to determine who would lead the group, the Hulk came to blows with both Thor and Iron Man, until ultimately the group decided to elect the Black Widow as their secret chairperson so as not to bruise the egos of the male members. Soon after, the Avengers were asked by the military to stop Latverian monarch Dr. Doom from recapturing a ship that the military had in their possession. Although the heroes were lured into a trap aboard the ship by Doom's followers they managed to destroy the ship. The Hulk nearly caught Doom himself, but only succeeded in capturing one of his Doombot simulacrum.

Age Of Ultron
In the Eastern European country of Sokovia, the Avengers storm a Hydra fortress with the mission to retrieve Loki's sceptre from Baron Strucker. Meanwhile, the drones of the Iron Legion are on crowd control duty. Strucker decides to surrender, seeing there was no chance of victory. Doctor List protests the decision, suggesting they release the enhanced twins, Wanda Maximoff - who possesses telekinetic and telepathic abilities - and Pietro Maximoff - who possesses superhuman speed. Strucker refuses to risk them, unaware that the twins have already mobilized. Pietro confronts the Avengers outside the base, distracting Hawkeye as he comes under fire from one of Hydra's bunkers, while Wanda remains inside the fortress, which Iron Man and Captain America were able to penetrate. Captain America confronts Strucker and subdues him. In the outer base, Thor takes the injured Hawkeye back to the Quinjet, while Black Widow calms down the Hulk. Inside the base, Iron Man finds the sceptre inside a secret chamber containing Strucker's experiments as he downloads the Hydra scientist's records. As he explores the chamber, Wanda sneaks behind Joshua and uses her abilities to make him envision his greatest fear: the bodies of the Avengers strewn about somewhere in deep space as the Earth again comes under attack from the Chitauri; with Captain America's dying breath spent scolding Joshua for not saving them, and for not doing his best. Joshua eventually snaps out of the vision, and retrieves the sceptre. The Avengers return to the Avengers Tower in New York. Doctor Helen Cho, an expert in cellular regeneration, takes a look at Hawkeye's injuries. Joshua asks Thor if he could study the sceptre before it's taken to Asgard, and the God of Thunder agrees, giving him three days before he departs. Joshua starts to study the gem inside the sceptre, and discovers it possess some kind of artificial intelligence far more advanced than his own A.I., J.A.R.V.I.S. Joshua convinces Elijah to resume their work on Project Ultron, a peacekeeping program meant to control the drones of the Iron Legion, which could help create peace on the planet in ways the Avengers could not. During a party in celebration for the Avengers' latest victory, Joshua leaves the rest of Ultron's syncing process to J.A.R.V.I.S. The party begins, and the Avengers are joined by other allies, including Sam Wilson, Maria Hill, Helen Cho and Jim Rhodes. During the celebration, Natasha flirts with Elijah, While Joshua and Thor argue over who has the better girlfriend. Meanwhile, the syncing process finishes, and Ultron awakens, confused by its state of existence. Even though J.A.R.V.I.S. tried to assist Ultron during its first moments of consciousness, the assimilation of all the information on the present world and humanity's history causes it to go haywire. Ultron attacks and seemingly destroys J.A.R.V.I.S. before building itself a body using damaged parts of the Iron Legion. The party has since wound down, and only the Avengers, Maria Hill, Rhodey, and Doctor Cho remain. They entertain themselves by taking turns trying to lift Thor's hammer Mjolnir. Though everyone fails, Jonathan manages to make it budge. Ultron interrupts the friendly competition, and accuses the Avengers of preventing the world from achieving peace by not allowing it to evolve. Ultron believes that the Avengers must be destroyed in order to establish world peace. The advanced A.I. sets numerous Iron Legion drones to attack the Avengers, one of which escapes with Loki's sceptre. Even though Thor destroyed Ultron's body, it used the Internet to escape, taking all of Strucker's data with it. In Sokovia, Ultron takes over the inner workings of Strucker's now-abandoned base, and builds itself a new body. Using Strucker's data, Ultron learns about the Maximoff twins, and lures them to the church in the center of the small country. Wanda tries to read Ultron's mind, but the twins soon discover Ultron was no human. Ultron then convinces the twins to join his cause to destroy the Avengers. Back in New York, the team confronts Joshua for creating Ultron without their knowledge. Thor scolds Joshua for meddling with the sceptre, but Josh claims that they needed Ultron, because no matter how good they do to the world, something like the Chitauri invasion can happen again, and the world needs something as powerful as Ultron was intended to be. All the while, Ultron and the twins have been on the move, building their army, and even killing Baron Strucker, writing the word "PEACE" in his blood on his cell wall. The Avengers deduce that Ultron killed Strucker because he would know what Ultron would do next. The Avengers start investigating the physical copies of Strucker's files, and infer Ultron will want to use vibranium to build itself a stronger body. Vibranium is found in Wakanda, but one of its biggest black market dealers, Ulysses Klaue, operated out of South Africa. In a salvage yard close to South Africa, the Maximoff twins approach Klaue in his office inside one of the scrapped ships. They try to intimidate him, but as soon as Klaue mentions he would only talk to whomever was in charge of them, Ultron flies up to the office and throws Klaue out of the window, and demands vibranium. When Klaue claims that the vibranium was worth billions, Ultron uses his control over the Internet to transfer large amounts of money to Klaus's different accounts. Ultron is enraged when Klaue compares the A.I. to Joshua Rolle, and cuts off Klaue's arm at the elbow to team him a lesson. The Avengers appear soon after, and a battle breaks out. Ultron and Iron Man both fly out and continue their fight outside the ship. Inside, Pietro attacks the Avengers, giving his sister the chance to affect them with her powers. The only one who doesn't succomb to her powers of illusion is Hawkeye, who strikes her in the head with an electrically charged arrow, forcing Pietro to go help her and flee the scene. He wanted to go and get Barton, but she insists to continue their mission, and manipulate Elijah, who was waiting in a Quinjet outside the shipyard. Inside the ship, the different affected Avengers suffer from visions of their fears: Natasha remembers her training in the Red Room, and the way in which she was weaponized and turned into an assassin; Jonathan sees himself in a party celebrating the end of the War, where he reunited with Peggy Carter; and Thor envisions himself at a feast in Asgard, where a blinded Heimdall blames him for their destruction. The group eventually snaps out of their visions, albeit traumatized. Outside the ship, Iron Man finally catches up with Ultron and prepares to destroy his body. However, the villain alerts him of what Wanda Maximoff had caused. The Hulk was unleashed in Johannesburg, completely blinded by rage due to Wanda's manipulation. After destroying Ultron's body, Joshua flies towards the city, calling for Veronica, the contingency plan he and Elijah had created in case Hulk went out of control. From a Rolle Industries satellite, a pod which flies towards Iron Man is released. A bigger suit of armor enfolds around Iron Man, who proceeds to confront Hulk. A furious battle ensues throughout the city. Even though Hulk was capable of tearing apart Iron Man's armor, Veronica sent new parts of the suit to tinker it when necessary. After pushing the Hulk through a collapsing skyscraper, Iron Man is finally able to stop him. The Avengers leave South Africa defeated. Maria Hill contacts the team, and tells them the commotion in Johannesburg had caused a public backlash, and recommends they lay low for a while. Clint takes them to a safe house, a farm in the countryside provided by Nick Fury when he joined S.H.I.E.L.D. The Avengers meet Hawkeye's pregnant wife Laura and their two children, all of whom were left off of Hawkeye's S.H.I.E.L.D. profile for their own protection. Elijah and Natasha discuss if they should go forward with rekindling their relationship; talking about running away once the situation with Ultron was settled. Thor decided to investigate about the things he witnessed in his vision, and departed. In London, Thor consults Erik Selvig, and both go to the Well of Seeing, a mythical location where people could experience their dreams. Thor steps into the waters of the well, and relives his vision. In addition to his dream of the Asgardian hall, Thor witnesses images of the Tesseract, the Aether, the Orb, and another of the Infinity Stones, a stone inside Loki's scepter. Lastly, he sees a mysterious figure open its eyes. Back at the Barton safe house, Jonathan and Joshua discuss about the latter's methods while chopping wood. Laura interrupts them, and asksJosh if he could take a look at their broken down tractor. When Josh enters the barn, he is confronted by Nick Fury, who subsequently convinces the rest of the Avengers to stand up and fight back against Ultron. Elijah deduces that Ultron was going to try to evolve itself, and concluded that he intends to visit Helen Cho for her expertise with cellular regeneration and her regeneration cradle to build itself a new body using vibranium. At Helen's Cho research facility in Seoul, she is approached by Ultron, who uses the scepter to compel her to build it a new body using synthetic tissues. Using the Mind Stone inside Loki's scepter, Ultron begins the consciousness transference process into his new body. Wanda Maximoff takes this opportunity to peer into Ultron's psyche and discovers that he was planning to destroy all of humankind, prompting her to cancel Dr. Cho's mind control. The scientist, released from her enslavement, then overrides the transfer, causing Ultron to lash out at her in retaliation. Unable to complete the transfer expediently and with the Maximoff twins's sudden desertion, Ultron takes the android body and flees. With the Avengers bearing down on Ultron's location once again, the evil A.I. attempts to evade them in a tractor trailer along with the regeneration cradle and the dormant android body. Captain America arrives at the facility and finds an injured Helen, who informs him of Ultron's plan. The Avengers find the trailer and deploy, with Jonathan the first to respond. In light of the situation, Ultron is forced to disconnect itself from the cradle to contend with Captain America atop the truck. Black Widow deploys from the quinjet on Captain America's bike in pursuit of the trailer. The battle with Ultron and Captain America escalates onto a train, and the Maximoff twins comes to the aid of Captain America as the train derails, endangering the innocent civilians on board. But with their powers, Wanda and Pietro successfully divert the disaster. Meanwhile, Black Widow is still in pursuit of the trailer; managing to gain entry mere moments before two Ultron sentinels take the entire trailer airborne. Natasha directs Hawkeye to get the Quinjet behind the truck, and cuts the straps securing the cradle into the truck. The inclination of the truck caused the cradle to fall out of the trailer, and it was caught by Hawkeye on the Quinjet. Before she could jump into the Quinjet, Ultron and its sentries grab her and leave. Hawkeye is forced to deliver the cradle to Josh at the Avengers Tower and leave Natasha behind. Captain America is relieved once the cradle is confirmed to be route to Joshua's hands, however, Wanda Maximoff considers it a bad idea, because she realized that Joshua could use the new body to try to redeem himself by trying to create something similar to Ultron. Ultron returns to Sokovia, where he builds a new body out of vibranium, and imprisons Black Widow in a cell. Meanwhile, in the Avengers Tower, Hawkeye delivers the cradle to Joshua and sets out to try to find Natasha, being sure she could use some old fashioned way to reach out to them. The process of transferal of Ultron's mind in the new synthetic body was left at 97%, and there were a few minutes left before the body started installing. Joshua suggests overwriting the mainframe of the synthetic body with J.A.R.V.I.S., which was revealed as the cause to Ultron being able to access the nuclear codes. J.A.R.V.I.S. survived Ultron's initial attack and went into hiding in the Internet. When Captain America and the twins arrive to the Tower, they try to stop the upload, fearing Josh could unleash something as bad as Ultron. The dispute escalates to a physical confrontation, but it is interrupted when Thor returns. Using Mjolnir's power, the God of Thunder finished powering up the cradle, and the synthetic body came to life. It initially attacked Thor, but soon calmed down. Thor explains to the rest of his teammates about the figure that had appeared in his vision, and the creature takes that as his name. Vision states he was on the side of life, and sides with the Avengers to stop Ultron. Vision proves his worth to the team when he effortlessly lifts Mjolnir and hands it to Thor. Shortly after, Barton tells them that he found Natasha in the Hydra base in Sokovia, where the team, Vision and the twins included, prepare to go. Their first course of action is to start evacuating civilians from the city. Iron Man confronts Ultron inside the church in the center of the city while Vision gets inside Ultron's systems and cut it off from the Internet, preventing it from transferring its mind outside of itself and the drones it was controlling. Elijah finds and frees Natasha, and informs her about the ensuing battle, suggesting her to leave. The two shared a kiss, but Widow pushes Elijah down a shaft to awaken the Hulk, claiming he was the person she needs. They then leave the base to help the rest of the team. As the Avengers are helping the civilians out of Sokovia, the ground starts to rumble. A portion of Sokovia rises into the air. Ultron used his remaining vibranium to create a set of machines capable of lifting the city into the sky high enough that it would cause an extinction level event when it falls back to the Earth. The mechanism is powered by a drill in the center of the church, and creates a magnetic field that holds the portion of Sokovia together. Iron Man informs Captain America that if the drill is overcharged, it could blow up the makeshift asteroid, preventing it from threatening the Earth if it fell. Cap refuses to let this happen until the all of the civilians trapped on the rock were evacuated. Suddenly, the old S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier appears in the distance, commanded by Nick Fury and run by the remains of S.H.I.E.L.D. Numerous "lifeboats" are dispatched to pick up the civilians and take them to the safety of the Helicarrier. The Avengers reassemble at the church to fight off Ultron and its drones to prevent it from activating its plan's final procedure until the civilians were secured. The Avengers are victorious, and Ultron's main body is heavily damaged in the process. Numerous sentries try to attack the Helicarrier, but Nick Fury deploys Rhodey in the War Machine armor to get rid of them. Ultron's prime body reaches the Avengers quinjet and uses its firepower to attack the Hulk before flying off to harass other targets. It finds one when Hawkeye rushes to rescue a boy, but before the quinjet's guns could find their target, Pietro puts himself between them, sacrificing himself to shield Hawkeye and the child from the barrage. The Hulk retaliates shortly thereafter, leaping into the quinjet and hurling Ultron's prime body down to the streets below. Wanda Maximoff finds the wrecked form of the robot in the wreckage of a bus, and tears out its core in a symbolic gesture to demonstrate how the death of her brother broke her own heart. The Avengers proceed to the lifeboats once every civilian had already boarded them. One of the last remaining Ultron sentries reaches and activates the drill, plummeting the floating portion of Sokovia towards the Earth. Iron Man and Thor manage to overcharge the drill and cause the flying fragment of Sokovia to fall apart into pieces before reaching the ground. Meanwhile, The Hulk remains in the quinjet, and refuses to let Black Widow find it by keeping the cloaking system on. On the ground, Vision finds Ultron's last remaining body, a badly-damaged drone. Ultron confronted Vision, ensuring him that killing it wouldn't make a difference, as humans are set on a path of self-destruction. Vision replies that he knew, but that it was the flaws of humankind that made them graceful, being a privilege to live among them. The sentry charged at Vision, but he destroys it with a blast of energy from the Mind Stone. Some time after the dust settled, a New Avengers Facility had been built in upstate New York, run by Nick Fury, Helen Cho, Maria Hill and Erik Selvig. Joshua Rolle retires from the team, and Clint returns to his family, which now includes his newborn son Nathaniel Pietro Barton. Thor believes the Mind Stone is secure with the Vision, and returns to Asgard. Nick Fury tells Natasha that an unidentified object, possibly the quinjet Hulk escaped in, was found in the ocean. Captain America and Black Widow appear before War Machine, Falcon, Vision, and Wanda - the new Avengers. On the other side of the galaxy, Thanos opens a vault containing the Infinity Gauntlet. Dissatisfied with his pawns' failures, the Mad Titan dons the Gauntlet, resolved to retrieve the Infinity Stones himself.

Taking On The Avengers
The Hulk's whereabouts soon became known when he went on a rampage; until he crossed paths with a pregnant woman who was rushing to a hospital alone as she had gone into labor. The Hulk's rage subsided and he helped the woman give birth but soon passed out and reverted back into Elijah Rolle. Elijah woke up in a prison cell and was interrogated by the police who believed he was a drunken bum who murdered someone. However, after hearing his story and having a lab report confirm that the blood on him contained embryonic fluid, he was released from custody. After the Hulk abruptly left the team, the original Avengers were determined to hunt him down, not wishing him to run free; using this as a farewll mission before they officially disband. The Hulk's only ally was Rick Jones who found the Hulk back in the southwest and helped him return to his secret lab and the gamma ray platform turning him back into Elijah Rolle. However, the blast was not strong enough and Elijah changed back into the Hulk that night angrier than ever. Rick alerted the Avengers who came to New Mexico to clash with the Hulk. Despite their combined might the team was unable to capture the Hulk who managed to escape. The Hulk managed to escape out to sea where he found refuge on a small island. There, he was confronted by his Defenders teammate the Atlantean prince the Sub-Mariner. They then lured the Avengers to an island that held an abandoned military base from World War II where a battle broke out. During the course of the battle the Hulk and Thor were separated from the other combatants and fought one-on-one. However, there was no clear victor as their battle caused the cavern they were fighting in to collapse separating the two. The Hulk then rejoined the battle with the Sub-Mariner against the Avengers. Ultimately, the Hulk ended up fleeing the battle. Seeing that his ally had abandoned him the Sub-Mariner then ended the conflict, escaping into the ocean. Elijah sought refuge and peace in Alaska where he lived as a hermit loosely connected to the town community.

Planet Hulk
He was eventually tracked down by Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D., who required his help in defeating the Hydra space weapon called the Godseye which could detonate all the nuclear bombs in the world. Sent up as the Hulk, he discovered that the Godseye was actually a rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. weapon that could match the strength of any enemy. In the ensuing battle, the Godseye found that though it could try, it could not match the increasing power of the Hulk- unable to duplicate Elijah's unique ability to channel gamma energy even if it could duplicate the energy itself-, and it exploded. A S.H.I.E.L.D. commissioned space shuttle was sent to retrieve the Hulk, or so he believed. Seizing the opportunity to be rid of the Hulk, a group of superheroes known as the Illuminati decided to jettison the shuttle into space to a planet with no intelligent lifeforms. Unfortunately, there was a navigation error, and the Hulk landed on the planet Sakaar, a world filled with barbarian tribes, gladiator battles and ruled by a corrupt empire. The planet was situated near a portal, which gave it access to several different cultures and technologies. The Hulk was captured and became a gladiator. Hulk ushered an uprising, overthrowing the current regime.

World War Hulk-33
Installing himself as king, the Hulk met and fell in love with a queen named Caiera Oldstrong. Together, they ushered in a new age of peace and prosperity for Sakaar. Caiera became pregnant with the Hulk's child, but died when the shuttle that brought the Hulk to Sakaar suddenly exploded, killing millions of people. Driven to new heights of rage and fury, the Hulk swore revenge against the Illuminati, whom he held responsible for the death of Caiera Oldstrong. With his allies, the Warbound, the Hulk rode atop the prow of an alien warship as it set course for Earth. Reaching the moon, the Hulk defeated the Illuminati member Black Bolt (who was actually a Skrull impersonating Black Bolt and not the real one). The Hulk then proceeded to New York City, where he demanded that the city be evacuated and the presence of the Illuminati. As the time limit for the evacuation of New York had passed, Hulk defeated Iron Man and Rolle Tower was destroyed in the process. The heroes engaged the Hulk and his Warbound but were defeated. After Hulk became allied with Hercules, Namora, and the Angel, General Thunderbolt Ross called in the U.S. Army to dispatch the Green Goliath. Despite the army's best efforts, including the use of adamantium bullets, Hulk defeated them. Alongside his Warbound, he transformed an area near Madison Square Garden into a gladiatorial arena. Doctor Strange, mystically invoking a powerful old enemy, Zom, battled the Hulk. Barely holding back the demon Zom, Dr.Strange began to exhibit some of the demon's traits. Strange sent the Hulk crashing into a building that crumbled upon himself and the innocent bystanders who had gathered to watch the fight. The Hulk had protected the innocent bystanders. Distraught by his actions almost killing innocents, Dr. Strange stopped fighting, and an uncaring Hulk gave Strange a lesson on control and pummeled him into the ground. After implanting "obedience disks" in all of the captured heroes, the Hulk set Black Bolt, Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Strange, and Iron Man into the arena. The Hulk had them fight each other. In the end the Hulk spared them, declaring he intended justice and not murder. Hulk planned to destroy New York City and leave the Illuminati to their shame. Soon, a nearly insane Sentry arrived on the scene and a cataclysmic battle ensued between him and Hulk. Sentry unleashed forces that nearly destroyed what was left of New York, but ultimately, it was a stalemate between the two. The Hulk then briefly reverted back to Elijah Rolle and the Sentry reverted back to Bob Reynolds, and in their human forms, Elijah Rolle was able to knock out Bob Reynolds. Warbound member Miek impaled the Hulk's longtime friend Rick Jones, and revealed he intentionally allowed the mass deaths on Sakaar to happen, knowing they were caused by former followers of the Red King and not the Illuminati. The Hulk and the Brood No-Name attacked Miek in retaliation. The betrayed and enraged Hulk unwillingly began releasing energy that threatened the Eastern Seaboard, and prompted Joshua Rolle to activate a series of satellite devices that opened fire and eventually left the Hulk in his Elijah Rolle form unconscious. S.H.I.E.L.D. imprisoned Elijah in a facility three miles underground and the other Warbound members were placed under U.S. custody.

The Red Hulk
While Elijah was incarcerated at Gamma Base, a new mystery revealed itself when the Abomination was found murdered in his homeland of Russia. The perpetrator soon revealed himself as a massive creature referring to itself as the Red Hulk. This new incarnation of the Hulk decimated the likes of She-Hulk, Iron Man, Rick Jones in his new powered up identity of a creature named A-Bomb, and even Thor. Elijah was set free when the clash between the Red Hulk and A-Bomb caused an earthquake that damaged his prison. The potential threat to Elijah's life triggered his transformation into the Green Goliath, and the Hulk wasted no time in confronting his new nemesis. The Hulk, caught unprepared for the Red Hulk's fighting style, was defeated in their first meeting - suffering a broken arm in the process - but the outcome was much different during their second meeting. The Hulk found a potential weakness in the Red Hulk and exploited it. Once the Red Hulk was beaten, the Hulk left before he could find out the Red Hulk's true identity. However, Elijah began spending his time trying to track down the Red Hulk before he could do more damage. On his journey, Elijah ended up in Las Vegas where the Hulk had to team up with Sentry, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight and even Brother Voodoo to quell a pack of Wendigos from devouring everyone inside a casino.

Skaar
Meanwhile, on Sakaar, the Hulk's thought-dead son, Skaar, had risen. Skaar was progeny of Hulk and Caiera the Oldstrong. After Caiera's death a cocoon containing Skaar fell into the lake of fire. After a period of time, Skaar emerged from the cocoon, appearing to be the age equivalent to a human preteen. He quickly grew into what seemed to be an adult. Skaar wanted revenge on Hulk was because he felt he abandoned him and his world to death. Skaar was excluded from his planet and was warped to the solar plains of Earth. Skaar confronted his father, who was then in his savage persona. Skaar was disgusted with his father's diminished intelligence. Hulk engaged Skaar in a fight that created a fissure that endangered a nuclear power plant. The Warbound were trying to prevent a nuclear catastrophe when they were unexpectedly aided by the Hulk and Skaar. Skaar, using the Oldpower, sealed the containment building and saved the workers at the plant. Skaar subsequently impaled the Hulk and left, claiming he would come back when there was someone worth killing.

Forever A Defender
Sometime later, the Grandmaster came to Hulk with a proposition: if Hulk chose to participate in a game and won, Grandmaster would bring his love, Jarella, back to life. Hulk agreed and was told he could pick a group of allies to aid him in the game. Hulk chose his former teammates in the Defenders: Namor, Silver Surfer, and Doctor Strange. When the time came to meet their opponents, the Collector appeared with the Hulk's nemesis, the Red Hulk, and his team: Baron Mordo, Terrax and Tiger Shark - now known as the Offenders. The Grand Master gave the Savage Hulk Elijah Rolle's mind and had each team member transported to the times and places that the hulk had gathered the defenders from. The Hulk battled with the Red Hulk in Atlantis where The Red Hulk pierced the Hulk's heart with a cosmic energy charged trident. Hulk was eventually revived by the Grand Master and knocked out the Red Hulk with one punch.

A Decisive Victory
Afterward Elijah was captured by AIM, and was detained underneath Gamma Base to be used to create a gamma powered super soldier program, headed by MODOK and backed by General Ross. M.O.D.O.K. was responsible for the creation of the Red Hulk, Rick Jones' transformation into A-Bomb, and the evil split personality of Doc Samson. The plot was uncovered by She-Hulk. To infiltrate an A.I.M base Jennifer recruited reporter Ben Urich to help uncover the truth. A battle soon interrupted the tank containing Elijah, causing him to transform into the Hulk. When the two Hulks clashed, Red Hulk used his radiation absorption abilities to steal the gamma energy from inside the Hulk, preventing him from ever becoming the Hulk again. As the base reached critical mass the defenseless Elijah Rolle was rescued by a now intelligent A-Bomb. In the aftermath of the explosion Norman Osborn sent Ares to learn if Elijah could still turn into the Hulk. When Ares attacked Elijah, Rick rushed to his defense but was quickly defeated. Ares was soon outsmarted by Elijah and he was locked in a room built to hold the Hulk. After evading Ares, Elijah and Rick parted ways.

Training Skaar
Elijah confronted Skaar in the Mojave desert. After much deliberation Skaar grudgingly agreed to allow Elijah Rolle to train him on how to defeat the Hulk, should he ever return. Elijah lured the Juggernaut into fighting Skaar. Soon after, the pair encountered Norman Osborn's Femme Fatales, Victoria Hand and Ms. Marvel. Elijah discovered Betty Ross was alive, and was immediately attacked by a Harpy who turned out to be Marlo Chandler. The pair came to the aid of the Fantastic Four, who were in the middle of a battle with the Mole Man and later Tyrannus. Later on, Elijah saved Skaar from Dr. Doom. Elijah and Skaar tried to protect Hank Pym from the Leader but failed.

Betty Lives
Elijah then assembled his own group of Avengers to try and save Betty. Betty, who was angry with him for marrying another woman, was used by the Leader to distract Elijah so that he could "hulkify" many A.I.M. marines and heroes. Elijah was captured by the Leader and hooked up to a virtual reality machine.

The Red She-Hulk
He was unwilling to leave the virtual world until he was convinced by Dr. Doom, who was also trapped. When Elijah escaped, he was saved from Dr. Doom by Red She-Hulk, who was stabbed by Skaar and turned out to be Betty herself. The Leader escaped and the Cathexis Ray Generator machinery was reversed and all the radiation from the Hulked-Out Heroes returned back to the Helicarrier. Elijah then absorbed all the energy to contain it at the behest of Reed Richards. Doc Samson died trying to help. The Helicarrier crashed and the Worldbreaker Hulk emerged from the rubble.

Finally!!!!!
Skaar had his chance to fight the Hulk at last. During the confrontation, Hulk rescued innocent bystanders endangered by their fight. Skaar reacted to this act of compassion by ceasing his assault, but Hulk continued his, causing Skaar to revert to human form. Hulk was reminded of Elijah's own abusive father and reverted to human form as well, recognizing that he couldn't continue this fight without Elijah becoming his father. Elijah apologized and embraced his son, and Skaar accepted his love.

The Hulk Family-34
The Red Hulk set himself up in the White House, planning to take over America. However, the Hulk showed up to foil his plan. After having Ross Imprisoned in Gamma Base, Jonathan Tulloch released him to stop the Leader and M.O.D.O.K.'s contingency plan called Scorched Earth. Elijah was put in charge of countering the program and learned how to shut it down from clues from the depowered M.O.D.O.K. Elijah assisted Red Hulk and shut down the Living Supercomputer running Scorched Earth, not knowing it was a distraction made by M.O.D.O.K to cover the trail of his cloned successor, M.O.D.O.K Superior. The Hulk family, composed of Skaar, Korg, A-Bomb, Hulk, She-Hulk, Savage She-Hulk(the daughter of the Hulk and Thundra who came from the future), and Red She-Hulk all went into seclusion, ignoring the attempts of the government to bring them out of hiding.

Hiro-Kala
Hulk's other son, and Skaar's twin, Hiro-Kala set his sights on Earth, planning to destroy it with the planet K'ai. Hiro-Kala was confronted by his father. Skaar used his own old power to seal Hiro-Kala in a sphere of stone. Hiro-Kala was merged with the Worldmind to create a miniature sun, to use the Old Power to warm K'ai.

Nul: Breaker Of Worlds
After a wishing well's power was unleashed, the Hulk found himself facing some of his mightiest foes. One of them was the alien warlord Arm'Cheddon. He defeated and depowered She-Hulk and A-Bomb as part of his revenge scheme again the Hulk. He then revealed that he had reconfigured his power-channeling abilities so that he could channel the Hulk's energy; the stronger the Hulk got, the stronger he got. When the Red She-Hulk interfered with the conflict he hit her with the full force of his power. In a rage, the Hulk killed Arm'Cheddon. When the Serpent was freed by Skadi, he called seven hammers to Earth. The Hulk was transformed by one of these hammers, becoming one of the Worthy: Nul, Breaker of Worlds. Rampaging through South and Central America, Nul was eventually transported to New York City where, teaming with the Angrir-possessed Thing, the two began battling a lonesome Thor. After defeating the Thing, Thor stated that he never could beat the Hulk, and instead removed him from the battle by launching him into Earth orbit, after which Thor collapsed from exhaustion. Landing in Romania, Nul immediately began heading for the base of the vampire-king Dracula. Opposed by Dracula's forces, including a legion of monsters, Nul was seemingly unstoppable. Only after the intervention of Raizo Kodo's Forgiven was Nul briefly slowed.

Elijah Vs Hulk
Ultimately, Nul made his way to Dracula's castle where the timely arrival of Kodo and Forgiven member Inka, disguised as Betty Ross, was able to throw off the effects of the Nul possession. Throwing aside the hammer, the Hulk regained control, and promptly left upon realizing "Betty's" true nature. Claiming that he wanted to be alone, Hulk tried to separate himself from Elijah and went to ask Doctor Strange for help. Hulk resorted to Doctor Doom in order to separate himself from Elijah Rolle, resulting in him removing the portion of the brain controlled by Elijah and moving it to a gamma-free cloned body of Elijah Rolle. Hulk moved underground, where he lived with a tribe of Moloids until Commander Amanda von Doom contacted him for help to hunt an insane Elijah Rolle. Hulk helped the Mad Squad (Doom's team) to assault an island which Elijah used as a base, where he created gamma-mutated animals experimenting to become the Hulk again. The attack resulted in Elijah's vaporization in a gamma bomb, which resulted in Elijah Rolle sharing Hulk's mind once more, but still with his insane mind, and Hulk wouldn't have any memories of his time as Elijah. With the transformation shifted so that Hulk was the 'dominant' persona, reverting to Elijah when he became too calm, Elijah Rolle lead the Hulk to a journey in different locations around the world, which ended with Hulk waking up strapped to a chair with a needle pointed above him and Elijah talking on a video screen. The recording of Elijah revealed that he had finally discovered the cure for the Hulk, the components of which was what Hulk had been gathering throughout his "journey". However, Elijah also revealed that he was no longer interested in controlling the Hulk, having come to recognize that he was a better person with the Hulk than he would have been without it, prompting the two personas to join forces once more in investigating Doom's latest plan.

An Avenger Once More
Weeks after his reunion with his Elijah persona, which caused the Hulk persona to lose intelligence as well as his Elijah persona becoming good again, the Hulk exiled himself to the American desert until an aquatic villain stole from a convoy of the army, forcing Hulk to face him. In order to known who this villain was, Hulk took a torn piece of his suit to the Avengers, revealing that he was a member of the new Zodiac, which were revealed to be the pawns of a returned Thanos, who tried to use a human-created Cosmic Cube stolen from the Army to rule the universe, but because it was human-crafted, it wasn't a real Cosmic Cube, thus not very powerful. Thanos was finally stopped by the Avengers with the help of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Because of his invaluable help, he was offered to return as an Avenger as well as offering his help to S.H.I.E.L.D., so his Hulk persona would be controlled while at the same time he could use his vast intellect as Elijah Rolle to create new technologies with the necessary resources to help humanity, both offers were accepted. Among his missions, he helped S.H.I.E.L.D. battle the Quintronic Man and the Byzantine. When the space-time continuum was broken, it was revealed to Elijah S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret splinter branch codenamed: T.I.M.E.. With the aid of the Tomorrow Man, Hulk defeated the Chronarchists, a group of travelers which took advantage of the state of reality to reknit history to their desire.

Doc Green-35
After being shot in the head by an unknown assassin, Elijah Rolle is taken to a hospital somewhere in Kentucky for treatment where he unexpectedly transforms into the Hulk and escapes. Hulk proceeds to go on a rampage forcing Hulk's fellow Avengers to step in and try to stop him. Hulk is eventually captured and an operation is performed on Elijah Rolle's brain with the help of Joshua Rolle's version of the Extremis virus. The operation is successful as the Extremis virus repairs Elijah's brain damage. This procedure also increased Elijah's mental capacity, which gave him the intelligence to tweak the Extremis virus within him and unleash a new persona for the Hulk: the super-intelligent Doc Green.

Zeus' Proposition
Elijah didn’t have much time in this new persona when he was soon suddenly transported to Olympus by Zeus. Elijah was greeted by Zeus and a young boy who Elijah felt a strange connection with. Zeus tells Elijah that he remembers him from the time he saved his home and family from the evil despot Darksied and that he was troubled to learn of his struggles in recent years with the Hulk. Elijah tells Zeus that the past 8 years have been very hard for him but he and the Hulk have genuinely come to peace with one another and he no longer feels the desire to rid himself of the Hulk. Zeus then asks him if he would rid himself of the Hulk if he was able to get his Kryptonian powers back. Elijah says that it is impossible but Zeus tells him that he can bestow them upon him. Zeus goes on to continue that the metahuman community on Earth faces a universal threat in the near future that they need a leader for. Zeus tells Elijah that Superman was a leader and that Hulk as strong as he is could never be able to lead heroes like Superman can. Zeus then bluntly states that if he doesn’t turn back to Superman then everyone in the superhero community that he knows and loves will die and even though the Hulk might survive, he will live with eternal guilt, grief, and sorrow knowing that he could’ve saved everyone’s life. Elijah states that he needs some time to think about it and that he doesn’t want to make any rash decisions. Elijah was then given three days by Zeus to think about his offer and was sent back to Earth.

Last Ditch Effort
Elijah Immediately went to see Betty. Elijah offered to take her on a trip to a tropical island so they could rekindle their marriage and he promises that it would be just them with not even a word spoken of any Hulks. Betty agreed and warned him that he better keep his word and they leave and go to a tropical island together. For a day and a half they had a great time until Elijah forgot his promise and told Betty about what happened to him with Zeus and asked for her opinion on whether he should continue being the Hulk. Betty, now in tears after Elijah broke his promise of not talking about the Hulk and doing nothing but spending his time with her, turns into Red She-Hulk and remarks that after seeing him without the Hulk, she's not sure who she fell in love with, the man or the monster. As she walks away, Elijah asks her if there is any chance of them getting back together and Red She-Hulk coldly responds no. She then leaves in disgust while Elijah stands alone with tears in his eyes.

Mind Made Up
Elijah then knows what decision he must make and goes off as Doc Green to look for his son Skaar. Skaar was tracked down in the Savage Land by Doc Green in order to depower him, as part of Elijah’s plan to depower every Gamma mutate on the Earth, as the cure was derived from his blood. After a brief fight, Skaar was finally depowered. Doc Green then stated for Skaar not to feel alone as he would join him in being depowered soon. He then teleported Skaar to Paris, along with a backpack full of money, so he could start a new and better life.

Deal Or No Deal
When Elijah was on his way to depower his daughter Lyra, Zeus suddenly transports Elijah back to Olympus and tells him that its time he made his decision. Elijah pleads for more time so he could exact his plan of depowering every Gamma mutate on Earth but his wish was denied by Zeus who told him to make his decision immediately. Elijah complied and told Zeus of his decision to take him up on his offer and regain his old Kryptonian powers. Zeus assured him he was making the right choice and wastes little time getting rid of the Hulk and giving Elijah what he once loved so much. Elijah immediately feels the affects and as he is getting transported back to Earth, he looks at the young boy standing by Zeus and gives him a wink which the young boy returns with a smile. Zeus tells Elijah that when the Metahuman race is safe he will be stripped of his powers for good so he should enjoy them while he has them.

A Second Chance
When Elijah is placed back on Earth, he doesn’t really know where to go or what to do, so he decides to pay his mother Cherie a visit since he had not seen her in close to 20 years. Elijah goes back to Gotham, his place of torment growing up, and stays with his mother in his old family home after a tearful reunion. They fill each other in on what has been going on in their lives for the past 15 years as Elijah lets her know she has 2 grandchildren. Elijah stayed with his mother for about 2 weeks, but when Elijah picked up a newspaper from the Daily Planet and read an article by Lois Lane about some woman calling herself Supergirl, Elijah knew what he had to do next. First however, Elijah asks his mother if he could take her away from the sass pool that is Gotham City and move her to Paris where his son Skaar is alone trying to raise himself. Cherie said that she would be happy to spend some time with Skaar and see Paris. Elijah then flew his mother to Paris and introduced her to Skaar and Skaar hesitantly took her in. Elijah then moved back to Metropolis and picked up his old job as a Journalist for the Daily Planet like Perry White said he could 9 years ago. Superman was shocked to meet a being calling herself Supergirl, someone who first appeared similar to Lana Lang. Supergirl explained that she was from the Time Trapper's Pocket Universe and pleaded Superman to come back there with her. Superman agrees and meets the Lex Luthor of that universe, a benevolent scientist responsible for creating the Matrix Supergirl. He explains that he accidentally released their universes General Zod, Faora, and Quex-Ul, three Kryptonian criminals, from the Phantom Zone. The Kryptonians proceeded to destroy the atmosphere of the Pocket Earth, killing everyone on the planet, save for a handful that Lex protected in Smallville. Superman was unable to stop them from killing the rest and badly injuring Supergirl. Superman exposes the criminals to gold Kryptonite, taking away their powers, and then decides that they must be punished for their crimes--he exposes them to green Kryptonite, killing them. He then takes Supergirl and leaves the dead world. The guilt of taking life weighs heavily upon Superman. He has a minor psychotic break, which manifests itself in the form of him blacking out and fighting crime in the guise of Gangbuster. Guardian, a street level vigilante, discovers this after a brief fight. Superman decides after what he's done that he has to leave Earth--after seeing to a few things and saying good-bye to his mother and Skaar, Superman uses a breathing mask and a teleporter to begin a self-imposed exile into space. When Matrix fully recovers physically, she shifts into Elijah's image, briefly posing as him. After several adventures in outer space, Superman is picked up by Warworld and confronts Mongul for the first time. He meets the Cleric and encounters the Eradicator for the first time. Superman is pitted against Draaga in Warwold's arena, and when he refuses to kill Draaga, Mongul attacks Superman. Superman is saved from Mongul by the Cleric, who teleports him away. Superman accepts the Eradicator device from the Cleric, who dies shortly thereafter, and deposes Mongul as the ruler of Warworld. Draaga becomes the leader of Warworld, but he is humiliated by his defeat at Superman's hands. Having found peace over executing the three criminals in the Pocket Universe, Superman returns to Earth.

Superman Returns
He returns to Earth with his spacecraft crashing into his grandmothers crop field, and awakes the next morning reminiscing of his childhood. Elijah Rolle returns to Metropolis to his old job at the Daily Planet, to find out that Lois Lane has become a mother and is now romantically involved with Richard White, the nephew of the newspaper editor Perry White. During the 9 years that Elijah ceased to be Superman, Lex Luthor got out of jail with the help of an unsuspecting elderly beneficiary, whom he conned into marrying so he could get at her wealth after she died. With the money, Lex hired out a new set of goons and then traveled to Superman's Fortress of Solitude, where he talked with the hologram of the Kryptonian Jor-El, wanting to know everything about Kryptonian crystals. Returning to the widow's mansion, Lex Luthor has one of his men chip away a portion of a Kryptonian crystal from the Fortress of Solitude, planting it in the water of her immense train set layout. After a minute or so of waiting to see its effect, all the lights suddenly go out. They soon go back on, and as Lex and his gang continue to watch, a crystalline structure emerges from the water, ripping through the floor of the mansion. The crystal growth experiment causes a power outage on the East Coast. The power loss interferes with the flight test of a space shuttle attached to a Boeing 777, occupied by Lois Lane who is covering the story. Elijah flies into action as Superman and stops the plane from crashing onto a baseball stadium, which is full of spectators. They cheer as Superman brings it down safely to land. Lois faints as she sees him take off. The Daily Planet staff room is abuzz with the news that Superman is back. Perry White wants full coverage of his return on all angles from his reporters. Lois Lane, however, feels that the news item that should be covered is the mysterious power outage. Perry tells her one of the things that sells papers is Superman, which is one of the things she's best at writing. Meanwhile, as Lex Luthor looks out over the harbor from the balcony of the widow's mansion, he sees the Daily Planet newspaper headlining THE MAN OF STEEL IS BACK. This means he's got the challenge of the century on his hands again to deal with. He greets part of his gang out in front as they unload a metal containment box from a van, indicating that it was stolen property. Luthor tells them to modify it and attach it to the ship. While Elijah overhears the conversation between Perry and Lois, a young boy greets him while carrying an asthma medicine inhaler. The boy turns out to be Lois' son Jason, who, though Lois says is rather fragile due to his need for various medications, is certain he will grow up big and strong "just like his dad". Elijah assumes at this point that Richard White, Lois' fiancee, must be the father as he greets him. As Elijah and Lois wait outside the Daily Planet building for a taxi to come, Lois asks Elijah if he ever had that feeling about someone he had strong connections to that just suddenly took off without even saying goodbye. Elijah had a feeling Lois was talking about him as Superman leaving her years ago, and answered that maybe that person had trouble saying goodbye. Lois just asks what's so hard about saying goodbye, but she doesn't answer Elijah's question of who it is she's talking about. Suddenly a taxi pulls up just for Lois to get into, and Lois says goodnight to Elijah as she goes off to her home. Elijah changes into Superman and flies over to Richard White's house, watching through his X-ray vision Richard and Lois talking with each other about the first article she wrote about Superman. Richard asks the question to Lois of whether she was ever in love with Superman. Lois says the whole world was in love with Superman, but as for her personally...she simply shakes her head and says no. Superman flies off into space to clear his mind of thinking about that response, just listening to all the sounds that are coming from Earth, until he hears the sound of an alarm. He zooms back down to Earth, following the sound to its source. At the Newhart Federal Bank, some bank robbers have set up a machine gun to take out a squad of police cars gathered around the parking area in the hopes of covering their escape. The gunner mows the police cars down, then turns the gun on some officers that have sneaked their way up the stairs. No sooner does he pull the trigger, though, Superman with lightning speed blocks the bullets with his body. The gunner tries to shoot a handgun bullet into Superman's eye, but it's instantly crushed upon impact and falls to the ground. As Lex Luthor and his gang enter into the Metropolis Museum near closing hours to steal a valuable rock, a woman screams as her car tears through the city streets, apparently out of control. Soon the car ends up flying, as Superman now flies the car to where he causes it stop before he puts it down safely. The woman gets out of her car, saying she needs to get to the hospital because of heart palpitations. Superman flies her to the hospital entrance, where she says they have stopped. Superman is glad that the woman is feeling better and tries to get her to let go of him as he departs. Afterward, the woman (revealed to be Luthor's henchlady Kitty) looks at her watch, seeing whether Luthor has pulled off the heist. Elijah Rolle sees that Superman is still making news everywhere as he enters the Daily Planet offices and sees reports of his heroic acts throughout the whole world reported on television networks. He is called into Perry White's office, where Lois is debating Perry's decision for her to cover Superman instead of what she thinks are the bigger stories: the mysterious blackout and the museum robbery. Elijah also discovers that Luthor was released from prison following a court appeal in which Superman failed to show up as a witness. Lois is less than pleased when Perry assigns the blackout story to Elijah while she gets stuck with Superman coverage. She vents her frustrations out on Richard, who suggests that she could find a way to interview Superman without him coming back into her life. Lois heads for the roof of the Daily Planet, where she meets with Superman as she tries to light up a cigarette. During the interview, Superman asks why she wrote the article Why The World Doesn't Need Superman, and Lois answers that the world has moved on without him during his absence, saying "the world doesn't need a savior, and neither do I." He takes Lois on a flight high above Metropolis and asks her what she hears. Lois answers she hears nothing. Superman says he hears millions of people crying for a savior. Superman returns to his Fortress of Solitude and discovers that the memory crystals have been stolen. He suspects that Luthor must be behind this and flies off to find him. He returns to the Daily Planet as Elijah Rolle and helps Richard White track down Lois Lane, who turns up missing. He gives Richard help in accessing Lois' files on her computer by giving him the possible password, "Superman". With the stolen rock being Kryptonite, the only substance that can weaken and kill Superman, now in Luthor's possession again, he has the sample shaped into a cylindrical casing for one of the memory crystals taken from the Fortress of Solitude and placed inside a torpedo with its explosive components removed. After kidnapping Lois Lane along with her son Jason, whom he had found snooping around the mansion, he took them on his ship to the coordinates where he would launch the missile, revealing to Lane and his associate Kitty that the grown land mass would end up displacing parts of other continental land masses, effectively killing billions of people in the process. He leaves Lois and Jason in the care of his thug Brutus while he oversees the launching of the torpedo containing the Kryptonite-encased crystal. After the launch, however, he discovers that Brutus was mysteriously killed by a grand piano hurled at him with great strength, and has Lois and Jason locked up in the pantry while he, Kitty, and his men take off on helicopter toward their newly-emerging land mass. As Luthor creates his Kryptonite-laden land mass with one of the stolen crystals wrapped in a Kryptonite casing, another power blackout occurs in Metropolis. Superman at first follows a faxed message sent by Lois Lane revealing her whereabouts, but is soon diverted back to the city when he sees a rip forming in the ground that's heading toward Metropolis, causing a massive earthquake and a possible underground gas explosion. Superman rushes to the rescue of the imperiled city and its citizens, stopping the ignited gas explosion and catching the Daily Planet globe before it crash-lands on top of hundreds of people. Richard White follows the faxed coordinates to the boat that Lois Lane and Jason are trapped on and frees them from the pantry, only to be trapped himself when one of the emerging crystals from Luthor's grown land mass rips through the ship, shearing it in half. As Lois, Richard, and Jason climb to safety to avoid drowning, the door to the pantry closes in on them, and with it their hope of ever escaping. Fortunately, Superman comes and lifts that half of the ship up from the water, pulling the three of them out of the pantry and bringing them back to Richard's seaplane. He examines Lois with his X-ray vision and tells Richard she'll be fine. While Richard takes off to bring Lois and Jason to safety, Superman arrives in the heart of Luthor's new land mass and confronts Luthor, unaware that the land mass is laden with Kryptonite, and demands for Luthor to give him back what was taken from his Fortress. Luthor, seeing sweat dripping from Superman's temples, responds by hitting the Man of Steel, causing him to fall to the ground and seeing the Kryptonite through its cracks. Luthor takes pleasure in repaying Superman for nine years of his life lost in prison by using the weakened superhero as his punching bag, and then letting his thugs have a go at hurting the Man of Steel, humiliating him until Luthor finally shoves a jagged piece of Kryptonite into his back and watches him plummet into the depths of the sea. As Richard continues to fly around the new land mass, Jason spots Superman struggling to reach the surface and tells his mother that. Richard also sees him and brings the seaplane down so he and Lois can bring him to safety. On board the seaplane, Richard tries to bring the seaplane to speed in order to take off as they head for a sudden dropoff, which it goes off until Richard manages to get it flying skyward. With a pair of tweezers, Lois succeeds in removing the jagged piece of Kryptonite out of Superman's body and flings it into the sea. With Superman's powers now restored, he leaves the seaplane, saying goodbye to Lois, and then dives straight into the ground, using his heat vision to separate the grown land mass from the continental shelf and to fly it far into space. Luthor and his assistant Kitty manage to escape the island before Superman flies it away from Earth. As he does, the Kryptonite embedded in the land mass weakens Superman to the point of near death. Then, with the island lifted far away to reach escape velocity, Superman plummets back to the Earth; landing in the middle of Metropolis Park. Lex and Kitty land on a small desert island with no gas left in the helicopter and no source of food available to them, until Luthor eyes the surviving dog from the elderly widow's mansion. Superman is soon rushed to the hospital, where physicians try to revive him to no avail, though they succeed in removing the rest of the Kryptonite stuck in his back. The Daily Planet headlines SUPERMAN IS DEAD, and Lois is sitting at her desk waiting for Richard to take her and Jason to the hospital where they would see him one last time. During their visit, Lois tries to tell the comatose Superman something, but words fail her at that moment, and instead she kisses him. Jason gives Superman a goodbye kiss before he and his mother leave. Sometime later, the hospital finds that Superman is gone. While Lois is at her desk at Richard White's house beginning to compose Why The World Needs Superman, Elijah is in Jason's bedroom, amazed at the revelation that he is the father of Lois' child. He tells the sleeping child the words: "You will make my strength your own; you will see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father becomes the son." As Lois goes outside to light up a cigarette, again the lighter's flame is suddenly blown out. She looks and sees that Superman is alive again. She asks him if they'll ever see him around. He says that he'll always be around as he flies off into the night.

Fortress Of Solitude
Later, He finds Matrix living in his apartment, still locked in the form of Elijah Rolle, and Jimmy takes a photo of the two of them. Still confused, the Matrix actually attacks Superman in Smallville before realizing what she has done. Still locked in Superman's shape, she takes off into space in an exile of her own. Superman soon learns that the Eradicator, more sentient than he initially thought, has a mind link to him and is attempting to impose its own designs on Earth. He decides to bury it in the Antarctic, but a subsequent visit reveals that the artifact has built a vast underground fortress—which becomes the Fortress of Solitude. Superman learns the whole history of Kem-L, and how he built the Eradicator and what its purpose truly is. The Eradicator begins to melt some of the polar ice cap, but after a communication with holographic forms of Jor-El, his wife Lara, and Kem-L, Superman manages to shut it down. Elijah, recently fired from the Daily Planet, accepts a job at Newstime from Collin Thornton. The Eradicator begins to exert its influence over him again, forcing him to change into the so-called Krypton Man. He battles Draaga again on the Moon, almost killing him in the process. Only an intervention by his mother and Skaar at the Fortress itself is enough to snap Superman out of the programming the Eradicator has him under. He takes the Eradicator artifact and his Krypton Man costume and hurls them into the sun.

Kryptonite Ring
Luthor's kryptonite ring is eventually stolen from him by a former employee, Amanda McCoy. With some help from Batman(Tim Drake), Superman manages to recover the ring. He decides to entrust the ring to Batman for safe keeping, telling Tim to use it against him if he would ever lose control and need to be put down. Mister Mxyzptlk decided to have some fun with Superman through Lex Luthor for a change. He gave Lex a piece of red kryptonite, which removed Superman's powers. It would work so long as Luthor did not tell Superman about it. When Luthor told Elijah Rolle, he inadvertently broke the spell and restored Superman's powers.

Future Mrs. Rolle-36
Superman eventually discloses to Lois the secret of his double life and soon after Lois called off her engagement to Richard. Elijah then proposed to Lois Lane and she accepted. Dying of cancer, Lex Luthor decides to fake his death in a plane crash. On the day of Luthor's flight, Jimmy Olsen decides to throw Lois and Elijah an engagement party at the Daily Planet. Elijah ducks out so that Superman can investigate the remains of the crashed jets. He finds a mangled body, complete with Luthor's prosthetic hand, and it's enough to convince him (and the world) that Lex Luthor is dead. Immediately afterwards, Superman is swept away in an adventures across time which takes him from the ancient past to the distant future. When he finally returns to the present, only a few hours have passed. Shortly thereafter, there was a strike at the Daily Planet. The Eradicator then reemerges, this time in a humanoid form. He sets out to remake the earth into a new Krypton, but Superman battles against him yet again, seemingly destroying him for good. After a couple weeks of knowing his secret, Lois found that she was a little peeved to think that Elijah had been using his role as Superman to gain an advantage over her as a reporter for all those years. After Elijah beat her to the punch on a story involving the Parasite, Lois was determined to one up him. The strike organizer was a man named Jeb Friedman, a southern "good ol' boy" who took a strong interest in Lois, despite her engagement to Elijah. Lois was initially only interested in Jeb for any Intergang connections he might have. She then challenges Elijah to scoop her on a story without using any of his powers. Lois went home to her parents, her mother almost completely recovered, where her father was attacked by Angstrom. Lois managed to hold him at bay until Superman, tipped off to Angstrom's escape and his intent by Emil Hamilton, could turn up and subdue him. Lois offered to call off the bet, but Elijah insisted on keeping it. Lois promised to tell Angstrom's story, but the true facts were lost when he was cured at STAR and they sold the story to Newstime. Despite his obvious intentions, Lois and Jeb actually became friends, although it made Elijah more than a little jealous.

Lex Luthor II
A young man named Lex Luthor II, the alleged son of the late Lex Luthor, turns up in Metropolis and lays claim to his father's empire. Superman helps investigate the man's claims and he appears to be the genuine article--no one suspects that it is really the elder Luthor in a cloned new body!

From the Pit Below
When Perry White's son, Jerry White, is shot, Superman is forced to literally go to Hell to try and rescue both Jerry and Jimmy from the demonic Blaze. Superman is able to rescue Jimmy--but not Jerry, though Jerry's soul does escape hell through his sacrifice. Superman later joins forces with Blaze's brother, Lord Satanus, but she ultimately proves the victor in the war against her brother. In the aftermath, Superman meets the being Kismet, who tries to help Superman find some peace by going over the choices he's made and by offering him a glimpse at several possible futures.

Beyond the Stars
Arguably Superman's greatest foe, however, apart from Lex Luthor is Brainiac. Brainiac was originally a Coluan scientist named Vril Dox whose body was destroyed and who sought refuge in the body of a human illusionist, Milton Fine "The Amazing Brainiac." He attacked Superman, but Fine was able to temporarily overcome Brainiac's control. Brainiac was subsequently captured by Luthor and experimented upon, resulting in his appearance changing to more closely match his original body, before he escapes and battles Superman again. Superman is unable to defeat him, and Brainiac escapes into space aboard a custom made "brain ship”. Brainiac would eventually return to Earth at the helm of Warworld. Having recruited Maxima to his cause, Brainiac captured Metron and brainwashed Supergirl (Matrix) and Draaga into serving him as he prepared his invasion of Earth. Brainiac has his head ship come to earth as part of a punitive first engagement--an arrogant boast of his impending invasion. Realizing that this is not an invasion that should be dealt with after it arrives, Superman rallies most of the world's heroes in Metropolis to plan a preemptive counterstrike. With Dubbilex's help (using Metron's Mobius Chair), the heroes are able to reprogram Brainiac's headship and meet Warworld on its way to Earth. Superman leads the invasion of Warworld while Batman stays in charge of some heroes on Earth to deal with any other preemptive attacks. Superman manages to get Draaga and Supergirl to shake off their programming and join him in the fight. After some desperate fighting, Brainiac is defeated--Maxima changed sides in the fighting and lobotomizes Brainiac, but Superman prevents her from killing him. The New Gods used a Boom Tube to transport the heroes from Warworld back to Earth, right into the middle of downtown Metropolis. Lex Luthor II was already organizing a victory parade.

Sons Of Liberty
Superman then decided to join the newly reformed Justice League on a full time basis. Not only did Superman fight demons, but also vampires--Vampire Ruthven to be specific. A group called the Sons of Liberty was busted up by Superman. In exchange for his protection, Major Holcroft agreed to testify before a Senate hearing. Superman was on scene at the capitol building, making sure no one was trying to slip a weapon inside the chamber. He neglected to scan Senator Pete Ross, however, assuming that he could trust him. Pete was being blackmailed, however, by the Sons of Liberty and did sneak a handgun inside to kill Holcroft. Pete couldn't go through with it, but unfortunately the Sons had backup. Another of their operatives grabbed Ross's gun and shot Holcroft. Superman had to let the assassin go and rush the major to the hospital. Before he passed out, Holcroft told Superman that the Sons were responsible for the death of Senator Caldwell. Superman went to Pete in his jail cell, but Pete was too afraid to talk to him with his wife Lana's life at stake. Pete was brought before Judge Kramer, who was actually a member of the Sons of Liberty. Agent Liberty was supposed to assassinate Pete in the courtroom, but he refused to do it, turning against the organization. While Superman took apart most of the rest of the unit, Liberty got leverage on the judge and sent it into Elijah Rolle. Lana was freed and Pete confessed to everything, which meant that the murder charges were dropped (but not the others).

Death
Not long after that, a monstrous alien beast called Doomsday emerged in eastern Ohio and began to march towards Metropolis. The beast single handedly defeated the Justice League when the team rallied to stop it (the lineup consisted of Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Bloodwynd, Maxima, Fire, Ice, and Guy Gardner). Superman battled the creature across several states, eventually drawing the line in Metropolis itself. After a desperate battle, Superman managed to put down the monster; but collapsed as he did so, dying in Lois's arms. All attempts to revive Superman fail, and he is pronounced dead--while Elijah is discovered to be MIA as well (one of several hundred people missing and presumed dead in Doomsday's rampage). Superman was buried with full honors with hundreds of heads of state and several hundred thousand onlookers beneath a large statue in Centennial Park. The Justice League and other heroes marched behind the casket, following their leader (official or not) one last time. Lois, Lana, and his immediate family were all devastated. The family decided to keep the secret that Superman and Elijah Rolle were one and the same while Cadmus steals the body from out of the tomb. Supergirl retrieves the body from Cadmus, prompting Lex Luthor to gloat that while he may not have killed Superman, by providing the tomb he at least "buried him." Howard Tulloch, suffering from a heart attack, is rushed to a hospital in California where he is remains in critical condition. Howard recovers after having a near death experience where his soul, guided by Kismet, met with Superman's spirit (which was being plagued by demons) and convinced him to fight his way back to the land of the living. Even as Howard awakes and tells Lois and his wife Superman has returned.

False Saviors
Sightings of four different beings, all claiming to be Superman, emerge in Metropolis: "The Man of Tomorrow," "The Last Son of Krypton," "The Man of Steel," and "The Metropolis Kid." A trip to the tomb itself reveals it to be empty. While the first two actually claimed to be Superman (and provided circumstantial evidence that this was true), the latter two did not actually claim to be the original Superman. The young Metropolis Kid claimed to be a clone of the original Superman (in fact, he told it to everyone who would listen, soaking up the limelight as much as possible) and the Man of Steel was alleged (by a psychic named Rosie) to have Superman's soul. Cults begin to spring up in Metropolis, worshiping any one of the new four (but the visored Superman or the Cyborg primarily) as a messiah. President Clinton is saved by the Cyborg, and officially endorses him as the real Superman. Lois feels that of all of them, Steel is the closest to how Superman would have acted. It is eventually revealed that none of the four are the real deal. The Eradicator, rendered incorporeal after his last battle with Superman, went to the tomb to try and use Superman's body as a new vessel. Sensing Superman's soul was still lingering, he fashioned a new body in Superman's image and placed Kal-El's body in a chamber that was bombarded with sunlight. The Eradicator's body could not absorb sunlight the way Kal-El's could, so he used Kal-El's body to power his own until Superman was successfully revived. His memory had been hazy, however, and he briefly believed that he was actually Superman. He also struggled with the new, human emotions he felt in his new body.

Return
When Superman was finally revived in the Fortress, he was weak and powerless, so he used a Kryptonian battle suit to get to Metropolis. The war suit arrives in Metropolis and is met by Lex Luthor II, Lois, and others, who are shocked when a black-suited Superman emerges and tells them all that he is the real deal. Upon learning that Coast City has just been destroyed by the Cyborg Superman (and that he plans to obliterate Metropolis next), he joins with The Metropolis Kid, Supergirl, and Steel and heads for the site, which is now the location of Engine City. Before they leave, he has a brief talk with Lois, who becomes mostly convinced that this man is the original one she fell in love with. The assault on Engine City is hard, but Superman is soon joined first by Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), who manages to defeat Mongul after Superman and Supergirl could not, and then the Eradicator, who explains that it was he who was responsible for Superman's revival--and that it cannot happen a second time. Superman also learns that the Cyborg is really Hank Henshaw, who was so desperate for revenge against Superman that he decided he would assume his identity and have the universe blame him when Earth was destroyed. During the fight, Superman's powers are restored through a self-sacrifice by the Eradicator and the Cyborg is stopped. Superman returns to Metropolis--and to Lois, who no longer has any doubts he is the real thing. Superman gets right back into action, quickly convincing Lex Luthor and Maggie Sawyer that he is the genuine article as well. Unfortunately, he still has to "reacquire" the rights to the name and symbol "Superman," but after helping the young Metropolis Kid comes to terms with his origins and accepts the "The Metropolis Kid" name, the kid graciously returns the rights to the Man of Steel. Superman, with the help of the shapeshifting Supergirl, manages to come up with a plausible way of "resurrecting" Elijah Rolle, who had not been seen since Superman's death (one of several hundred people unaccounted for because of Doomsday's rampage). Supergirl takes Elijah's form and Superman "finds" Elijah in the rubble of a destroyed building. Jimmy gets another picture of Superman and Elijah side-by-side. Doctor Occult visits Superman and Lois, explaining to them how his revival occurred before taking them to Paris to see his overjoyed Mother and Son. Superman also learns that the Fortress of Solitude has been destroyed; he buries what is left of it in the ice and does his best to stop the cults that have sprung up worshiping him. He also discovers that the Eradicator has been healed, seemingly after his body was merged with the mind of a scientist named David Conner.

Right Back To Work
Elijah is welcomed back to a chorus of cheers at the Daily Planet and Superman is thrown a party by Lex Luthor II aboard a blimp (the party is thrown in his honor) but the scene gets ugly when Underworlders attack the blimp, trying to kill Paul Westfield. Fortunately, the Man of Steel saves the day (and both Westfield and Luthor). Superman leaps back into the good fight with renewed vigor--he barely stops to rest in the first few weeks after his return. He fought a new team, Nuclear Waste, and said good-bye to John Henry Irons, who had decided to give up being a superhero (his armor being mostly destroyed in Engine City) and relocating to Washington D.C. He also takes time to be with Lois--which has some tragic results when the two decide to go to Paris and are therefore not present in Metropolis when the Toyman kidnaps Adam Grant and subsequently murders him. Superman is able to track down the Toyman and bring him in with minor trouble. Superman also has to deal with a new villain called Bloodthirst, who has a new Bloodsport, and a revamped Hi-Tech engage in a killing spree, known as "Spilled Blood," in Hob's Heights, all to create more chaos in the city. Bloodsport and Hi-Tech both attempt to murder Jimmy Olsen, but Superman is able to save his pal and finally stop the killing. Bloodthirst, before fleeing, hints that Luthor's presence in the city will truly lead to chaos. Shortly after the Toyman is brought in, Superman gets into a fight with Lobo which lands him stranded in outer space for a couple of weeks. While in space, he meets Auron (who at first did not believe he was the real Superman, since Auron had been created to protect Superman's legacy) and encounters Massacre for the first time. Massacre kills Auron and withdraws, promising to come after Superman sooner or later. Superman finally gets some help that sends him back to Earth. Superman got a rematch with Doomsday after the monster turned up alive and well on Apokolips (the Cyborg Superman was there as well). Superman had been troubled by nightmares about the creature, worried about what had happened to it, and Waverider tipped him off to go to Apokolips where the monster was alive and well. Not even Darkseid could stop the monster's rampage. After working with Darkseid to defeat the Cyborg, Superman pursued Doomsday to the planet Calaton and fought the beast to a standstill. Luckily, with some help from Waverider, Superman was able to teleport Doomsday into the distant future--just before the universe came to an end. This allowed him to find a little piece of mind, although he regretted the creature's apparent death.

Clone Wars
Lex Luthor, whose cloned body is slowly decaying, attempts to clone Superman again using Dr. Teng's procedure, resulting in a second Bizarro Superman. Bizarro escapes from Luthor and kidnaps Lois Lane, thinking that he is actually the real Superman. Lois manages to escape from "Bizarro World," a warehouse where Bizarro had attempted to recreate Metropolis in his own warped way. His memories fragmented, Bizarro flies to Smallville and tries kidnapping Lana Lang, not understanding why she resists him. Superman arrives and drives Bizarro back to Metropolis. After a battle in the city between Superman and his twisted clone, Luthor reclaims Bizarro. Superman and Lois fly to LexCorp Towers to free him, but Bizarro dies soon after they arrive--but not before Lois Lane learns that Luthor is also dying of a strange malady. At this same time, Superman notices a distinct increase in his powers (and his mass as well). Superman is diagnosed by Dr. Hamilton as having his absorption rate being out of control--he is absorbing far too much energy, and his size and powers begin to grow out of control. Cadmus Labs attempts to help him, but their efforts prove fruitless. After several failed attempts at controlling the situation, Superman is only cured after allowing the Parasite to purge him of the excess energy. Unfortunately, he is not able to defeat the Parasite, who knocks the Man of Steel out (and clear across Metropolis) before leaving to lay low.

Battle For Metropolis-37
Superman, back in control of his powers, receives a clean bill of health from Dr. Hamilton. He flies off to LexCorp, where he has to stop an enraged and nearly out of control Supergirl from killing Luthor. Lex's depravity had finally been exposed to Supergirl after she discovered a plot to clone her. Supergirl leaves Luthor forever, but needs some time to herself to process what has happened. Luthor, blaming Project Cadmus for his deteriorating condition, orchestrates an all-out war between the Project and the Underworlders (who are also dying from a mysterious plague). Luthor arms and equips the renegade clones. The Underworlders' fight spills out onto the streets of Metropolis and even Superman has trouble containing it. Luthor goes even further, detonating bombs all over the city, prompting an evacuation of most of the city. Luthor and the Underworlders suspect the flood caused by Cadmus is the source of their malady. Cadmus and Dr. Packard realize too late, however, that fallout from Engine City (and the missile detonated over the city) is to blame. Using Guardian's DNA, Cadmus is able to create a cure, saving the lives of The Metropolis Kid and the Newsboy Legion. Luthor orders his Team Luthor to try and steal the cure from the Project, resulting in the near destruction of the Project. Luthor's schemes are revealed to the whole world on live TV, thanks to the efforts of Lois Lane and Gertrude Kelly, who had finally betrayed Luthor. Kelly also reveals to Superman Luthor's location. Luthor threatens to launch missiles into the heart of Metropolis, but Superman talks him down. Happerson, however, launches them anyway, devastating most of the city including destroying all of the major skyscrapers (including LexCorp Tower, the GBS Building, and the Daily Planet) save for the Newstime Building. Superman, working with The Metropolis Kid and Supergirl manage to limit some of the damage. Luthor is finally taken into custody (although at this point he is virtually catatonic). Metropolis would lay in ruins for several weeks, having to contend with several "safeguards" left in place by Lex Luthor (giant robots, hallucinogenic gases, etc) as well as Luthor himself wielding Superman's own war suit (which Luthor recovered from Metropolis harbor when Superman and his allies had gone to Engine City). Luthor is taken into custody and his deterioration is halted, but cannot be reversed, leaving him a vegetable unable to even blink his eyes. In addition to Luthor's devices, Superman had to contend with appearances by Bloodsport II, Massacre, and Rift. Superman lead a cadre of heroes back to Metropolis, and thanks to the magic of Zatanna, the subconscious of Superman, the power of the other heroes, and the soul of Perry White, Metropolis was restored to its former glory. When the Spectre seems to get even more out of control, having destroyed the entire nation of Vlatava, President Bill Clinton calls on Superman to confront the Spectre in Japan, wielding the Spear of Destiny, one of the few weapons that can harm the embodiment of God's Wrath. Unfortunately, the Spear is cursed with the taint of Adolf Hitler, and all who bear it are corrupted by it. Superman has a vision where he uses it conquer the world, but ultimately has the strength of will to reject the Spear. The Spectre hurls it into orbit and parts with Superman.

Battle with Conduit
Elijah Rolle is awarded a "Baldy" for his journalistic efforts, but is attacked at the awards. Superman quickly realizes someone is trying to kill him. The would be assassin is a new villain, Conduit, and Superman is crushed to learn that Conduit is an old friend of his from Gotham, Kenny Braverman. Their fight ends up breaching Superman's tomb, and afterwards it is discovered that there is a dead body in the tomb that looks just like Superman. This causes the world to wonder if the Superman flying around is a fraud. Conduit quickly escapes custody and attacks Superman (not caring if he's real or not) as now he feels a greater hatred of the Man of Steel than for Elijah Rolle. Superman is able to bring him down again. Superman begins to track down his enemies who could pull off such a hoax one by one--traveling across not only the country but to New Genesis and Apokolips as well--as Luthor, the Eradicator (at the time working with the Outsiders), Darkseid, and Mister Mxyzptlk are all eliminated as suspects. As time went on, Superman's grip on reality began to break down, causing his behavior to be even more erratic. All of this was because the real culprit was Brainiac, who had recovered from his vegetative state on New Genesis and was returning to Earth. When Superman finally learns what is going on, he confronts Brainiac in the streets of Metropolis, battling the villain until Brainiac is convinced he is about to lose, at which point the personality of Milton Fine reasserts itself and the villain is lead away. On Christmas Eve, while trying to find a "Date with Debbie" doll, Superman had to assist the S.C.U. and several others to stop the "Night of the Hundred Thieves," which included such second stringers as Royal Flush Gang, Captain Boomerang, Loophole, Punch and Jewelee, etc. The thieves were all caught and Superman got the doll. Thorn came out soon after, thinking that the 100 were responsible for the Night of the Hundred Thieves, but that turns out to be a dead end. Superman helps free Babe from the villainous vampire Ruthven with the help of Lock, and also enlists the aid of Mister Miracle when the villain Deathtrap comes after him. Deathtrap's attack comes after Superman meets a new character on the scene, a mercenary named Shadowdragon. Elijah, Lois, and Jimmy went to Washington D.C. for a reporter's convention. While there, they were all three attacked by thugs hired by Arclight, who had a grudge against all reporters. Even working with Agent Liberty, Superman could not prevent Arclight from escaping. Arclight would turn up in Metropolis a few weeks later, however, and working with Jimmy Superman was able to apprehend him. However, when Perry used Ron Troupe's story instead of Jimmy's, Olsen quits the Daily Planet. After a few weeks of light duty, Superman's life is turned upside down when Conduit learns the secret of his double life. Conduit blows up Elijah's grandmother’s farmhouse, kidnaps Jimmy Olsen, attacks Lana Lang, and confronts Superman himself. Even though he confronts Conduit in his own lair, Superman has to retreat to save his Grandmother. He then goes on the run with Grandmother, trying to stay one step ahead of Conduit and his forces (who seem to have a nearly limitless cache of resources to track them down). After Conduit apparently kills Lois and his Grandmother, Elijah in his rage decides that he will no longer be Superman, violently ripping his suit off and incinerating it with his heat vision. Luckily, both his parents and Lois are alive (although he doesn't learn that Lois is alive until after his final showdown with Conduit) and Superman prepares for the final showdown. The final fight with Conduit occurs in a mock Gotham that Conduit had built in a remote area of the Dakotas. He manages to capture Superman and drops him there. The entire town is populated by animatronics that resemble Gotham citizens from their high school days--including an entire stadium full of bots that look like Braverman's father, cheering him on. Conduit challenges Superman to a one-on-one battle, but his rage during the fight results in him "self-destructing." Superman destroys Conduit's base, defeating an entire army of Pipeline soldiers in the process. Thankfully, Conduit's arrogance kept him from revealing Superman's secret to anyone else. Superman and his Grandmother continue on the road for awhile, with Elijah questioning whether he should resume his identity as Elijah Rolle since he has to be Superman yet is afraid for the lives of his loved ones. A reunion with Lois helps him put things in perspective, and he realizes how much he would be giving up by not being Elijah Rolle. Superman and Lois then return to Metropolis. Superman is subsequently able to rescue Jimmy Olsen, who has been left within a trap prepared by Conduit. Superman reluctantly agrees to referee a boxing match between Bloodsport I and Bloodsport II at Stryker's Island, but as expected a riot breaks out and Superman has to stop it. The first Bloodsport is shot and killed by guards while Supes is dealing with the latter, who is later murdered in his cell. Shortly thereafter, Superman meets the Alpha Centurion for the "first" time, and the Centurion's presence makes Superman a little protective of Lois, as Lois and Marcus were lovers. Superman gets on the trail of Luthor, trying to track him down, but only leads to dead ends (two of which literally blow up in Superman's face). Superman also meets the new CEO of LexCorp, the Contessa Erica Alexandra del Portenza. The Contessa hires the Alpha Centurion to be the new head of Team Luthor, which she renames the Centurions. Superman is approached by Kalibre, an assassin from Apokolips, who pleads with Superman to save his daughter, who has been slated for execution by Darkseid. Superman agrees, and manages to convince Darkseid to spare her life on the condition that Superman will not remain on Apokolips. Darkseid then sends Superman home, and secretly releases the Cyborg Superman, his prisoner since Superman's battle with Doomsday on Apokolips. Back on Earth, Superman shortly thereafter has to contend with Psi-Phon and Dreadnaught, who are looking for revenge against him and Green Lantern (although they grabbed the wrong one) and perhaps something more--a bounty on Superman.

Trial in Space
After a battle with the Parasite (who has been modified, and now has a split personality) leaves him near death, Superman is easily arrested by Brute at the behest of an intergalactic group known as the Tribunal. Superman manages to escape the ship and fall into the sun, which powers him up, but even then Brute is able to recapture him. Superman is put through a show trial for the destruction of Krypton (his guilt was already assumed). Their argument is that the Kryptonians need not have died if not for the actions of Superman's blood donor Jor-El, and since they believe that the sins of the father shall be paid by their sons, Superman is guilty for the planet's destruction. The Alpha Centurion rallies together a Superman Rescue Squad while Superman manages a jail break with some fellow prisoners, including Mope. After several adventures in space--including a stopover at Haven and encounters with Freelance and Tolos--Superman and the Rescue Squad all end up on the Tribunal's home world, each captured by the Cyborg Superman. When the Cyborg betrays the Tribunal, Superman and his allies have to battle each group. Superman saves the Tribunal from the Cyborg's betrayal and the Tribunal decides to "commute his sentence," by sentencing him to never give up his "never-ending battle." Superman and the team return triumphant to Earth. Lois is happy to see Superman back safe and sound, but admits that lately she is missing Elijah very much.

Heartache and Dark Times-38
Even though Lex Luthor (fully recovered thanks to a deal with Neron) was on the run, Superman's life is still troubled. After the return of Lori Lemaris, a near death because of the Joker, and Superman's extensive periods of being removed from her, Lois breaks off their engagement. Jeb Friedman, not wasting a single moment to try and hit on Lois, works with her to investigate mob involvement in the fish market and is shot and killed after killing someone to save Lois. This only widens the rift Lois now feels towards Elijah, as she had been unsure of how to feel after Elijah had refused to kill the Joker, even if it meant she would die. Elijah is unable to reconcile with Lois, even after Mr. Mxyzpylk tries to patch them up (Mxy dropped by and decided he wanted to give everybody in Metropolis what they wanted--with disastrous and hilarious results). Mxy's actions do let Lois reevaluate her recent feelings and after a talk at Mount Fuji--interrupted when Superman has to save a NASA shuttle landing on Mars--she decides that she simply cannot be with Superman. Superman reluctantly accepts that their relationship is over, although in frustration and despair he heads to Paris to talk to his mother and son. Superman is later kept decoyed while Lex Luthor marries the Contessa. Superman also had to contend with the return of Brainiac, who switched his mind into Superman's and Superman's into the body of a young mental patient, Chas Cassidy, before briefly capturing all of Metropolis. He used the citizens of the city as a vast data storage unit until Superman--in Chas's body--was able to breach into his fortress. With the help of the young boy himself (Chas), Superman is able to put everybody back in their right bodies and save the city. Lois, now frustrated, angry, and still not ready to come back to Superman, now feels that he is "cramping her style"--that she has grown too dependent on him and that she can no longer be the effective reporter she used to be. This situation is made too clear when he saves her again, this time from the Parasite. Lois decided to take a foreign correspondent position overseas and leaves Metropolis, although she and Elijah part on good terms. Not long after Lois leaves, Perry reveals to Elijah that he is taking a leave of absence because he has been diagnosed with lung cancer. Perry asks Elijah to fill the position of acting editor while he is gone, and Elijah reluctantly agrees. On the same night, Superman encounters Obsession, who goes on a rampage after Superman does not return her affection, causing him to wonder if he had been smothering Lois in the same way at the end. Tolos, the alien wizard Superman encountered while on the run from the Tribunal, arrives on Earth attempting to collect Superman in his bottle city of Kandor. Superman manages to defeat the wizard with the help of some of the denizens of the bottle city, but he is unable to free them from their prison. When the field around Kandor begins to destabilize, Superman and Emil Hamilton take the bottled city to the Fortress of Solitude hoping to find something in the rubble to save the city. Instead of debris, however, they discover that the Fortress has been completely rebuilt, thanks to a sole surviving Fortress robot. The robots initially do not recognize Superman, however, forcing a brief confrontation before the Fortress can be utilized to save Kandor. Oldest child of the royal family of the planet Almerac, the Fiery-tempered Maxima came to Earth in search of a suitable mate, leaving behind Ultraa, her betrothed. She and Superman were genetically compatible; she could give him what no Earth woman could- strong children. A depressed Superman, still trying to get over his failed engagement to Lois, accepted Maxima’s advances to the point where he spent a whole month on Almerac with her, but he then told her in a nice and respectable way that he has no intensions of being her life-long mate and ruling Almerac alongside her. She was infuriated when Superman rejected her offer, but after she allowed him to go back to Earth, she found out that she was pregnant. Just afterwards, the Final Night occurs. Without the sun, Superman's powers fade away. Superman does his best to keep hope alive, and is willing to sacrifice his own life if the need arose. Lex Luthor reemerged at this time and helped the worlds' heroes to come up with a solution to the sun-eater menace. Superman was fully prepared to sacrifice himself to come up with a stop-gap solution, but thankfully that sacrifice would not be necessary. Eventually, with the help of Parallax, the sun was reignited and the earth was saved. But Superman was still powerless.

The Wedding-39
Lois returns to Metropolis immediately after the Final Night (breaking up an international drug ring in the process) and reconciles with Elijah after he finds out that Lois had given birth to his daughter whom she named Athena. The two decide to get married quickly. Lucy Lane throws Lois a bridal shower and a bachelorette party, while Elijah has a bachelor party thrown at the Ace O' Clubs. The marriage is arranged in short order, with Jimmy Olsen and Lucy Lane as best man and maid of honor. Elijah is still powerless, but Joshua Rolle arranges for a cadre of heroes to look over Metropolis for him. Joshua also happened to own an apartment building where Lois found an ideal place, and so as a wedding gift he allowed for Elijah, Lois, Jason, and Athena to move into the home. Lois and Elijah then went on Honeymoon in Hawaii, where Elijah was shot and kidnapped by terrorists and Lois had to come to his rescue--which she did commando style (literally). After getting home from the honeymoon, Superman is determined to get his powers back. After several failed efforts involving the Legion of Super-Heroes, Cadmus, and a visit to the Fortress, it is an encounter with the New Gods that restores Superman to his old self. In the meantime, Lex Luthor, restored to celebrity status for his aid during the Final Night, voluntarily turns himself in to the authorities. Five of Superman's old foes--Maxima, Barrage, Anomaly, Misa, and Riot--form a Superman Revenge Squad and come after him. They do not present much of a challenge to Big Blue. After a long absence, Intergang finally makes a return, filled mostly with the clones of long dead members. After a menace from Know Man and an invasion by the White Martians, Superman is one of the seven new charter members of the new JLA.

Superman Blue
Something odd strikes Superman as his powers begin to fluctuate. A trip to Kandor only seemed to make things worse. Superman found himself as pure energy, needing a containment suit from Dr. Emil Hamilton (the material of which was mysteriously donated by LexCorp). Superman's new form was a blue and white energy being who could still fly (faster than ever) but who possessed far different abilities than traditionally associated with the Man of Steel. Furthermore, he could turn back into a powerless Elijah. Superman worked with his new powers and continued to be a hero. He found that he was considerably faster, intangible and able to interact with computers in this energy form. However, he was weaker to energy disruption, and needed to use his powers creatively to replace the super-strength he formerly had. Superman is able to make the most of his powers and stop a rampaging Metallo with a little help from Ceritak, who recently arrived in Metropolis from Kandor. At this time, Perry White returns to the Daily Planet, his cancer now in remission. He resumes his old job, and Elijah is relegated back to being a reporter. Superman and the Atom have to return to Kandor and save it from Tolos again. While they are gone, Ceritak (aka Scorn) dons Superman's classic costume and tries his luck as a superhero. He also befriends Ashbury Armstrong, the daughter of Daily Planet reporter Dirk Armstrong, who has been growing increasingly skeptical about Superman since his new form. Scorn teams up with Superman when he returns to battle Saviour, who almost gets the best of Superman because of Jimmy Olsen's newscasts (which prompt Bibbo to punch out Jimmy). With Lex Luthor's trial approaching, Superman is appealed to turn in the Kryptonite ring Luthor used to have (which Superman has entrusted to Batman). Batman reluctantly turns over the ring to Superman (and in the process, Superman learns that he is not vulnerable to Kryptonite in his new form) and Superman allows the ring to be tested by Luthor's defense attorneys. Luthor switches the real ring for a fake and returns the fake to Superman (who gives it back to Batman). Morgan Edge creates a new Superman Revenge Squad, one consisting of Rock, Barrage, Parasite, and Baud and sets them on Superman. Jimmy Olsen, meanwhile, thinks he's figured out Superman's secret identity and plans to announce it on television. Jimmy ends up chickening out, however, and falsely announces that Superman does not have a secret identity at all, which causes him to be fired from GBS (and Intergang to decide to come after him). Lex Luthor's trial begins: Luthor's defense is that he was really Lex Luthor I, totally innocent and in hiding for over a year, and that Lex Luthor II had been an evil clone created by his assistant. When a mad clone appears (specially created for the occasion) the judge has no choice but to dismiss the case. The Genesis Crisis then strikes, rendering superheroes across the globe powerless. Superman joins the world's heroes and the New Gods in a desperate battle against Darkseid and Ares that takes them to the Source Wall and beyond. While Superman was at the Source Wall, he encountered the Cyborg Superman, who unbeknownst to Superman piggybacked in Superman's containment suit back to earth. Back on Earth, Superman accidentally releases the Millennium Guards, three ancient, powerful beings who identify Superman as dangerous blight on Earth and attempt to eradicate him. While Superman battles the likes of the Ripper, Lex Luthor resumes his place at the top of the world--he organizes the assassination of Mayor Berkowitz even as his daugher, Lena Luthor, is born to the Contessa. Luthor then has the Contessa drugged and kidnapped, not wanting to share his daughter even with her mother.

Superman Red
The Cyborg Superman and the Toyman join forces in an attempt to destroy Superman's energy form, but instead Superman is split into the aggressive Superman Red and the calmer Superman Blue. The Millennium Guard reawaken, and discovering that Superman is not only still alive but now there are two of them, band together and summon the Millennium Giants. Superman Blue and Superman Red are not capable of handling the colossal giants on their own. The Giants begin to march over the world, causing havoc and destruction, obliterating the city of Thiena Na Oge and most of the nation of Markovia in their path. The JLA rallies to take up the fight, and the two Supermen are finally able to destroy the giants--but the cost may be the earth itself! The two Supermen engage in one last, desperate gamble to save the Earth from total destruction--even if it means losing their lives in the process. Fortunately, not only is the Earth saved, but Superman is restored to his old form and powers (and into a singular being once again) much to the happiness of everyone (especially Lois). He has to get right back into the thick of things, first by saving a passenger jet from crashing, then by working with the SCU to rescue a kidnapped Lena Luthor which features a brief appearance by a new Bizarro. Superman saves the baby and returns her to Lex. Superman had another rematch with Doomsday about this time. After a battle with Superman had ruined his body, Brainiac managed to retrieve Doomsday and download his mind into the brute's body. With his new power, he easily took down the Justice League--this time consisting of Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), Flash (Wally West), Plastic Man, Orion, and Huntress--all while Superman was distracted in Smallville. Superman had gone there because Lana Lang had given birth prematurely and need Superman to fly the baby to the east coast. En route, Superman was attacked by Brainiac/Doomsday and the baby was kidnapped. Brainiac, who was being rejected from Doomsday's body, hoped to use the baby to grow a clone of Doomsday. Fortunately, Superman was able to stop this plan, save the baby, and eject Brainiac from Doomsday. While Brainiac was forced into a new robotic body, Brainiac 2.5, Doomsday was taken to the moon and trapped in four transport tubes on the moon, never more than 25% integrated in any one tube.

King of the World-40
Hard times had fallen on the Daily Planet, and the owners reluctantly sell the great newspaper to Lex Luthor--who promptly closes the doors of the great old paper, firing nearly everyone. The employees gather together to toast the Planet as the building is closed down. After the Globe on the Planet is taken down, Superman has to go back into Kandor with Scorn. He meets Ceritak's father and sister, but his powers begin to fade without access to a red sun. He is even framed for the murder of Cerimul, Ceritak's father. He soon learns that the Cyborg Superman is there and attempting to usurp control of the city. Superman manages to defeat him again, banishing him into the dimensional portal around the city. Luthor opens a new media business, called LexCom, in Hypersector. Lois is given a job there (although she hates it), but Elijah is not. Out of work, Elijah decides to start a book writing career. He flies around to get some ideas, only to discover to his horror that his nightmare about a nuclear disaster has come true in Markovia. Convinced he is having prophetic dreams (and that the disasters being foreseen were getting worse), Superman's behavior begins to get increasingly erratic. He stays on patrol nearly constantly. Lois, his mother, Skaar, Jason, Supergirl, and Steel...all try talking to him, but no one can get through. Superman decides to take up a patrol of the Earth 24/7, essentially abandoning his life as Elijah Rolle and taking up residence in the Fortress of Solitude, building monitors that allow him to watch over the whole globe. Deciding this is not enough, he then proceeds to build an army of Superman Robots to help him keep peace and order. Believing that Lex Luthor is building synthetic Kryptonite, Superman slices the LexCorp Tower in half, casting the top half into outer space. The SCU tries to arrest him, but he will not allow them to do so, prompting the JLA to agree that he has crossed the line and must be stopped. The JLA are unable to defeat his army or breach through the defenses of his new and improved Fortress of Solitude. During the battle, the truth of his recent behavior is made clear--he has been manipulated by a new and powerful villain named Dominus! While the U.N. declares war on Superman, Lois Lane manages to enter the Fortress and free Superman from the spell Dominus has on him. Dominus quickly regains control, and while a horde of Superman Robots attack the U.N. Building, Luthor causes the orbiting half of his old tower (laced with the synthetic Kryptonite) to come crashing down on the Fortress, shattering its defenses and reducing it to ruin. Dominus soon emerges, disguised as Superman, and convinces the world that he is the real thing and that they must band together with him to locate Dominus, all as part of a ruse to track down Kismet. Luckily, the real Superman manages to win the day, banishing the supervillain to the Phantom Zone once and for all.

Broken Trust
Superman is back to normal--all but one of the Superman Robots have been destroyed, but the world is still uneasy. Many people no longer trust him, some questioning if he is indeed the real Superman while others fearing that he may lose control again. Superman realizes that he will have to win back people's trust one day at a time. An alien named Cognito captures Superman, taking him into space. The JLA rescues Superman, and they learn that Cognito needed help on his homeworld but did not think Superman would agree to do it. Naturally, Supes decides to help them anyway before returning to Earth. A woman named Strange Visitor next turns up in Metropolis, an energy being similar to Superman Blue (who even wears the same costume he did while in that state). Superman is dumbfounded as to who this being is, not suspecting her true origins are intimately connected with his own. Brainiac 2.5 returns to Earth, planning on destroying the planet, but Superman saves the day and firmly regains the trust of the world in doing so.

When Hell Freezes Over
When the rogue angel Asmodai seizes the Spectre Force and literally freezes hell over, unleashing a horde of demons onto the Earth, Superman flies to New York City to help in the stand against the demons. He leads a team of heroes into Hell to reignite the fires. While in Hell, Superman's soul was seized by the demon Neron, who inhabited his body in his own attempt to merge with the Spectre Force. Superman's soul was tormented, along with the soul of Lois, who was being held by the Silver Banshee. Their indestructible bond helped them survive and overcome Hell itself. Escaping hell, Superman's soul force Neron out of his body, and luckily Hal Jordan became the new Spectre instead of Neron.

Everything Back To Normal
Lex Luthor sold the Planet to Stewart Enterprises for $1, but did not publicly disclose the reason for doing so. The real reason was that Lois Lane made a deal with him, promising to bury one story--no matter what it was--in exchange for him allowing the Planet to return. Lois kept this secret even from Elijah. Everyone is hired back: Jimmy came back on as a photographer, Lois had her city beat back, and Elijah was assigned foreign correspondent. That same day, Mongul Jr. arrives on Earth, seeking help from Superman to deal with a threat facing the entire galaxy--the threat of Imperiex. Superman begins special training with Mongul while Jimmy discovers a photograph of Superman wearing a wedding band. Superman confides in Jimmy that he is actually married (though he does not say to whom) before going off into space with Mongul to battle Imperiex at Jupiter. The two succeed in destroying the construct Imperiex was building to destroy the Sol system. Predictably, Mongul then turns on Superman, but he had expected this and had a contingency in place. Superman turns Mongul over to Lobo before flying home to Lois--but unknown to him, the being defeated was not the true Imperiex, but merely one of his thousands of drones. As Elijah Rolle begins his job as a correspondent, a beautiful new villain named La Encantadora leads Superman on an around the world chase as she sells fake Kryptonite to villains all over the globe. Superman manages to capture her, but not before she delivers a kiss that is more than a simple sign of affection. La Encantadora escapes and encounters Superman again in Metropolis on Christmas Eve when the Demon, Etrigan steals her power. After Superman helps her, she expresses regret over their last encounter before escaping again. Despite being estranged from the Kryptonians, Superman cannot seem to escape its legacy. The Fortress still lay in ruins, but some of the alien technology was causing strange effect in the Antarctic. The last surviving Superman Robot alerts Superman to the disturbances, and Superman is able to contain the situation, but not solve it. While there, Lois recovers a Kryptonian artifact that secretly housed a smaller "copy" of the Eradicator software. The program activates in their apartment, recreating a form of Kem-L who attacks Superman. Fortunately, Lois is able to help him destroy the artifact, and the program with it. The Eradicator's original programming is not completely dead, however, and attempts to reassert control of the actual Eradicator body (still housing the mind of David Conner). Conner actually loses control briefly and attacks Superman in Metropolis, but is able to regain control.

Battle with Braniac-41
On New Year's Eve, Lex Luthor plans a spectacular party in Metropolis to usher in the New Year. Elijah, Lois, and their children all attend. Unfortunately, the arrival of Brainiac 2.5, who unleashes a computer virus that cripples the world's computers, leading all the world's heroes to desperately try to keep the peace as a worldwide blackout ensues. Superman and Green Lantern have to go into orbit to stop thousands of nuclear missiles launched when the blackout hits. Brainiac is nearly destroyed when a future version of himself arrives, Brainiac 13. Brainiac 13 begins to upgrade the entire world into a distant futuristic version of itself while Brainiac 2.5 survives by placing his consciousness into Lena Luthor. Superman is joined by the Metal Men in fighting Metallo before starting a desperate struggle with Brainiac 13. The Eradicator arrives to help Superman, warning him that if the virus reaches the Fortress of Solitude, the remnants of the Eradicator's programing may be able to utilize it. Flying to the South Pole, Superman and the Eradicator encounter a monstrous, alternate version of the Eradicator program using the ruins of Superman's Fortress as a body. The Eradicator (David Conner) merges with the other and flies off into space. Superman realizes Kryptonian technology is the key to defeating B-13. Superman is only able to stop B13 by utilizing a Kryptonian battlesuit--however, while his plan had been to trap B13 in the suit, Lex Luthor made a deal with the supervillain to hand over his daughter (still housing Brainiac 2.5's essence), allowing B13 to escape into space, in exchange for keeping Metropolis upgraded as the very real City of Tomorrow. Only Superman is aware of what happens, and angrily confronts Luthor, but Lex merely brushes him off. Superman vows to find Lena and rescue her--and to make Luthor pay.

Strange Illness
After the crisis, Superman works with Steel to build a brand new Fortress of Solitude, this one inside a tesserect, a pocket dimension. Superman spends some time in Smallville with his Grandmother, Mother, and Skaar trying to hide the fact that Lois has been acting very cold lately. No matter what he does, Lois continues to grow distant and even hostile towards him. Even a vacation to an alien planet where the depth of his love for her is manifested does not help the situation. A confrontation at home causes Lois to attack him--knocking him clear out of a window. Superman realizes then that it is not the real Lois. A running battle reveals that it is actually the Parasite, whose powers have been altered. He touched Lois during the blackout, finding out the truth, and had been disguised as her ever since. He had to keep her alive in order to keep up the disguise, however. During the battle, Parasite collapses, having contracted through Superman whatever malady had recently been affecting Big Blue. He dies before he reveals where Lois is located. Superman, who had in fact been ill since just after the blackout, begins to grow steadily worse. He had barely been able to fight when the Joker dropped by trying to kill Lex Luthor. As he literally begins to glow green from his illness, Superman turns to Batman(Damien Stewart) to track down his missing wife. Batman is successful, but the weakened Superman collapses just as they find her trapped in a cave. Superman is dying of a kind of Kryptonite based cancer. The Atom shrinks Steel, Skaar, and Supergirl down and they enter Superman's body to try and remove the tumor. Unfortunately, "Steel" turns out to be the Prankster in disguise, but the real John Henry arrives and is able to unmask the fraud. La Encantadora reveals she was paid to infect Superman with the virus, which she administered through her kiss during their first encounter. She will not say who paid her, however. Deathstroke has been hired to eliminate her before she could reveal this, but he is unsuccessful (although he nearly kills Lois while he's at it).

A Joker With The Power Of An Ace
The operation is successful and Superman is revived and restored to health. Superman decides to take a trip around the solar system with Green Lantern to ensure that he's back up to full health--near Pluto, they discover Maxima and her people meeting up with Grayven, all of whom are fleeing the coming of Imperiex. Mister Mxyzptlk makes his return shortly thereafter, causing his greatest disaster ever when he decides to visit the Joker at the Slab and is tricked into giving Joker 99.9% of his power. The Joker uses the awesome power of Mxy to remake the entire universe in his own twisted image. Superman tries to rally the JLA and his other allies in a desperate struggle against the Joker, who is committed to first torturing all of creation and then hoping to destroy it. He brutally kills Superman's friends and loved ones before his eyes. A surreal battle ensues before Superman manages to discover the "rule" that lets him defeat the Joker--the Joker cannot exist without Batman. Everything is put back as it was, with no one really remembering what had happened (save for Superman). Batman (who had been horribly tortured by Joker over and over) still remembers every minute of it at first, but Superman asks the Spectre to transfer the memories... into the Joker.

Protecting Metropolis At All Costs
Elijah Rolle manages to attend the wedding of Lucy Lane and Ron Troupe. Lucy gives birth to their baby shortly thereafter, with Lois at her side. Superman, unfortunately, gets drawn into an encounter with Lord Satanus, who is trying to steal the soul of Metropolis itself. Thorn and Rampage join with Superman to fight Satanus and rescue the soul of a boy named Cary. They are aided by a mysterious figure named Night Owl. Superman offers himself as a sacrifice, and Satanus takes him into Hell. This proves to be a trick, however, as Satanus corrupts the "soul" of the city, making all the citizens hostile and bitter towards one another. Satanus uses Cary to control the Adversary, tormenting Superman's soul. When Cary turns on Satanus and Superman realizes what has happened, they both manage to break out of hell, returning to Metropolis and restoring it to normal.

President Luthor
Lex Luthor was regarded as a national hero for his perceived role in the blackout and was elected President of the United States, with Pete Ross as his Vice President. Superman was very upset over the news. Batman confronted the President-elect and demanded the return of the Kryptonite ring, but Luthor called his bluff and did not turn it over. Lana vowed to keep Superman's secret no matter what, and Batman promised Superman that Luthor would be taken down in due time.

Godhood-42
Superman brooded over the turn of events all the way through the end of the year, although by Christmas Lois and he tried to make the best of the situation. After giving gifts to the members of the JLA, Elijah and Lois decided to take a few days off to visit Kandor, just the two of them. When they returned Superman, angry with Batman, did not seek his aid when Talia al Ghul arrived in Metropolis. Talia was estranged from her father, Ra's al Ghul, who was weak and sickly beyond any help from the Lazarus Pits. Ra's had kidnapped La Encantadora's younger brother to force her to use her powers. Ra's al Ghul was planning on ascending to godhood by merging with an aspect of Gaia, but she rejected him. Superman was offered godhood, but easily rejected it.

Visiting Krypton
Superman encounters a rocket ship in the field near his Grandmother's house. The rocket contains a message from Jor-El--a bizarre message that presents a totally different history of Krypton, with Jor-El explaining that he made up the harsh, brutal history because he wanted to fully embrace his new world. Superman has trouble reconciling this with everything he knows of Krypton, but Dr. Hamilton tells him that it may be possible to travel through the Phantom Zone back in time to Krypton and find out. Lois decides to accompany Superman on this adventure. Meanwhile, President Luthor names most of his new team: Lois's father, Sam Lane, is appointed Secretary of Defense; Black Lightning is named Secretary of Education; Cat Grant is appointed Press Secretary; and Amanda Waller is appointed Secretary of Meta-Human affairs. Superman encounters a very different Krypton than the one he ever imagined, but gets along wonderfully with Jor-El, his wife and their pet, Krypto, until all is wrecked by the fanatical General Zod. Superman and Lois flee back to Earth, accompanied by Krypto, who develops superpowers under Earth's sun. Krypto proves a little too much for life in Metropolis, however, and after a fight with Mongul where he almost kills the alien villain, Superman decides to take the dog to the Fortress and have a Super-Robot look after him.

The Elite
Superman encounters an ultra-violent team of "heroes" called the Elite, led by Manchester Black, who believe that the best way to stop the bad guys is to terminate them. Superman, vastly underpowered compared to their team, forces a confrontation on one of Jupiter's moons where he is able to defeat them without killing anyone, proving his way is the better way. Black is taken into custody but swears he'll have vengeance.

Imperiex
A creature called Kancer goes on a killing spree, revealing itself to have been grown from the Kryptonite tumor extracted from Superman's body. Superman's investigation points to a figure in Pokolistan as being responsible for having La Encantadora poison him and then creating Kancer, so Superman and some allies head there for some answers. During a pitched battle with Kancer, Faora, and Ignition, Superman is sucker punched by a being known as the "General"--he is hit so hard that his jaw is actually broken. All signs point to an impending war: a distraught Eradicator returns to Earth ranting of a coming disaster (and is subdued when Superman fills his head with visions of the "other" Krypton); an alien armada shows up at Earth, preparing to make their last stand against Imperiex. Apokolips itself warps into earth space. President Luthor orders Superman not to attack Darkseid, claiming that they are working together to save the universe. Superman flies off, back to Pokolistan, for a chat with the General. A fight occurs between the two, during which the General identifies himself as Zod. Superman, having flashbacks to when he snapped Zod’s neck, refuses to believe that this can be Zod. Their fight is cut short when a massive energy beam levels Topeka, Kansas. Superman discovers an Imperiex probe in Kansas and manages to destroy it...but finds his home destroyed and his family missing. The JLA alert him that he is needed in orbit and he takes off. The Justice League rallies in space, but are taken down one by one by the onslaught of Imperiex probes. Superman watches several of his friends fall and also witnesses the apparent destruction of Atlantis. As a desperate battle is joined (where every team from the JSA to Young Justice takes up the fight) Superman travels to the Watchtower where he learns that Luthor sent the Suicide Squad to revive Doomsday. They were successful, although Doomsday trashed the team and seemingly killed Steel. After finding the ruins of the Watchtower and convincing Black Racer to spare John Henry, Superman then fights side by side with Doomsday, each destroying dozens of probes before the real Imperiex Prime arrives. With battles raging across the Earth, Superman witnesses what he thinks is Wonder Woman falling to the deadly onslaught. Going to her side, he is unavailable to fight off one of the probes at the White House, which results in the death of Sam Lane. Wonder Woman did not die, but rather it was her mother, Hippolyta, who was struck down after donning Diana's armor. Luthor and the Allies come up with one desperate plan: to merge a specially prepared Strange Visitor with Superman and assault Imperiex Prime himself. The plan is successful--Imperiex is seemingly destroyed (although Strange Visitor dies in the effort) but just then Warworld--under the command of Brainiac 13--arrives and absorbs the energy of Imperiex. He then causes LexCorp tower to fire on Apokolips, causing Darkseid to believe that Earth has betrayed him. He orders an invasion of his own. Superman, distraught over all the death and destruction, flies into the sun, becoming super-charged. He attacks Warworld itself, and learns that Imperiex is still alive, his energy being contained in Warworld and if it is released, the universe will be destroyed. Superman formulates a plan: using Darkseid, Wonder Woman, Tempest, Steel, and others, the Allies are able to boom tube Warworld to the beginning of time. The War is won, but at a high price with so many missing or dead, and so much destruction all over earth.

Return Of Skaar
Superman adopts a modified costume, one with a black background on his S-shield (instead of a yellow one) and a black S on the cape. Thankfully, his parents turn up alive and well, first his mother and Skaar then his Grandmother, although his Grandmother seemed to be suffering some memory lapses. Skaar then asks his father if there was any way he could get the gamma in him back out as he did not want to be a helpless target ever again. Elijah told Skaar that if he wanted his gamma powers back then he had to see Dr. Strange and with that Skaar went to seek out Strange.

Trial
Superman is put through a trial for his part in the Impereix War--a trial with the Quintessence as the judges, the Linear Men prosecuting, and the Spectre (Hal Jordan) representing Superman. The Linear Men say that Superman is too disruptive--having upset the intended "rebirth" of the universe, time will now progress completely unpredictably. The judges declare that is how it should be, that the true age of mortals has begun, and dismiss Superman from the hearing over the Linear Men's strongest objections.

Fear No Living Organism
The world slowly begins to rebuild, with Superman taking a minor role, though the rebuilding is soon interrupted by the Joker's Last Laugh. Among other threats, Superman would have to battle a "Jokerized" version of the Eradicator, Green Lantern, and Doomsday, the latter of which had now evolved to sentience. Superman defeated Doomsday again, this time on the grounds of the White House, telling the self-aware monster that he would never again be afraid of him.

Discovering his Long Lost Children
After this Elijah learned that Elektra gave birth to a son named Christopher, who was conceived during the last night they spent together in Shadowland. Elektra offered no apology for keeping their son a secret and tell Elijah that if he ever wants to meet him, Chris is in the care of a man named Abraham Whistler. She warns Elijah that he may not accept him as he has been hardened by this cruel world and that he’s living with a dark secret of his own. Elijah decides not to tell Lois right away and instead confides in Wonder Woman. After explaining his situation Elijah also discovered that he has twins a boy named Christian and a girl named Simone with Wonder Woman. They were conceived during the one night they spent together during the Legends event. Wonder Woman apologized for keeping them a secret and said everything happened so fast with her grandfather Zeus taking Christian to live on Mount Olympus and the Amazons not wanting to let go of Simone, she never found the right words or opportunity to tell him especially when they’re always so busy and Elijah went on to have a life and family of his own. Elijah tells Wonder Woman that he doesn’t understand her logic and for the moment can’t accept her apology. He does want to meet them though and asks Diana if she could set up a meeting.

Simone & Christian
Diana then gets their children in Themyscira, where Elijah meets them for the first time. Elijah immediately sees his daughter Simone and is amazed but also proud of her beauty. Elijah introduces himself and they do the same; with Simone remarking that she was surprised to see that her dad is really Superman. Elijah asks her if she’s enjoyed living in Themyscira and she responds that she truly has. Elijah said that he could never fully make up for lost time but will hope that she lets him in her life and Simone replies that she always wondered who her father was and would love to get to know Elijah. Elijah then speaks to his son for the first time and immediately comments about his physique saying that at such a young age Christian already looks stronger than him and could probably rival Hercules in strength to which Christian jokingly responds that his Grandfather wishes he was as strong as him. Elijah then takes a long look at his sons face and realizes that he was the boy he saw with Zeus when he was on Mount Olympus. Elijah says that this isn’t the first time they met and Christian says that he knows it’s not but he was not aware at the time that Elijah was his father. Elijah gives Christian a hug and says I’m glad we know now. They then spend the whole day together with Simone showing her father her great Archery skills and Christian surprising Elijah when he almost legitimately beats him in an arm wrestling contest.

Christopher
Elijah then heads out to find Abraham Whistler and his son Christopher. Elijah found the two in New York and Elijah went to Whistler and told him that he is Christopher’s father. Abraham was rightfully skeptical as to why Superman was claiming to be Chris’ father and performed a DNA test to make sure he was telling the truth. When the results came back positive, Abraham introduced Elijah to Christopher. When Elijah introduced himself as Christopher’s father he was expecting the same reaction he got when he met Christian and Simone. Instead Chris just looked at Elijah sideways and made a slick remark regarding Elijah wearing tights saying “I didn’t know it was Halloween already”. Elijah noticed a distant look in the boy’s eyes and thought it was weird how his son was so pale with his skin almost appearing grey. Elijah asked Christopher if he could sit next to him and Christopher reluctantly sat down. Elijah asks Christopher if he knew who he was and Chris looked at him and shook his head. Elijah stated “I’m Superman. I live in Metropolis with my wife Lois and your sister and brother. I fight crime all over the world and have saved the world on many different occasions. That’s what I like, I like to save and help people in need. What do you like Christopher?” Christopher didn’t respond to Elijah and just looked at him like he had six heads while slowly starting to perspire. Elijah then rephrased his question and asked Chris what he doesn’t like and Christopher swiftly responds “Vampires!”  Elijah states that he doesn’t like them either and that he even had to fight a few of them during his time of being a hero. Christopher’s eyes now light up as he finds great interest in their current topic of discussion. Elijah makes a remark that he doesn’t like nor trust Vampires and that they honestly freak him out and that he would rather stay far away from them at all times. Christopher ignores Elijah’s statement and asks Elijah how he killed them saying he’s trying to gain knowledge on different ways to kill them so he can wipe the whole species out. Elijah is taken aback by this and said that he never actually killed any of them and that killing is not really his thing. Christopher looks at Elijah in disgust of his statement and Elijah noticing that he’s losing his sons attention asks him how he would kill a Vampire. Christopher gets excited and talks about all the different ways and extreme methods he has to eradicate them but Elijah notices that Christopher is sweating bullets. Elijah asks Abraham if he could turn the heat off and puts his hand on Christophers arm. As quick as he puts his hand on Chris he takes it off as he is shocked to feel that Christopher’s body is ice cold. Elijah looks at Christopher in confusion and Whistler remarks that their little meeting is done for the day. He then takes and straps Christopher down in a chair and has him drink a bottle of red liquid. Elijah finds out that the red liquid is actually blood and Elijah looks on in horror. Elijah asks Abraham what happened and Abraham stated that Christopher is a Vampire but he’s different from anyone he’s ever encountered. Abraham said that he was born a Vampire instead of turned into one. Therefore he has all of their strengths and none of their weaknesses accept for the thirst that he craves for human blood. Whistler goes on that he has been giving Christopher synthetic blood and blood from the blood bank but his body is starting to reject it as he’s getting older and his cravings are becoming stronger. Whistler said that he’s been working on a serum to surpress his cravings for long periods of time but he hasn’t gotten close to coming up with the right formula. Elijah asks Abraham if he could hold a sample of Christopher’s blood and Whistler gives him one. Just then Christopher stops drinking and says “Surprise ‘Dad’ your son is a Vampire. Are you freaked out yet? Are you scared now?” as he shows his father his elongated canines. Elijah stood in silence as Christopher continues “how does it feel to know your son is the same thing you proactively try to stay away from? How about this ‘hero’? How about you leave and never come back here again and if you ever approach me again, I’ll make sure I have a feast on you, then let’s see how much you hate vampires once you become one.”  Elijah just looks at his son with shock and pity, he nods his head at Chris and says thank you to Abraham for the sample. Elijah then flies back to Metropolis and sends the sample to Dr. Hamilton and the two take a couple weeks to try to work on finding a cure for Christopher. Christopher unfortunately is too far gone in his Vampirism and cannot be cured but they do create a serum that would hold off his cravings for long periods of time. Elijah then went back to Abraham Whistlers warehouse and leaves a bottle of Serum along with the formula so he could create more. Abraham sees this and tells Christopher to thank his father. Christopher secretly admires this act and remembers it for the rest of his life.

Never Ending Battle
On the advice of the Martian Manhunter, Superman begins to have some therapy sessions with Dr. Claire Foster. The new Zod is weighing heavily on his mind, and he is concerned about his Mother, Children, and Lois. Superman is afraid of him--not just his power, but he is afraid of Zod's cunning. When Elijah Rolle is assigned to Pokolistan, he is afraid to go. He is afraid that Zod will recognize him and then Lois and his parents will be in danger. Nevertheless, when he finds Zod using Bizarro Superman as his punching bag, he is forced to intervene. Superman helps his mother open up a new general store in downtown Smallville. Meanwhile, President Luthor deduces that Elijah Rolle is Superman. Bizarro nearly exposes the truth as well, when Manchester Black uses his powers to temporarily switch the minds of Superman and Bizarro into the other's bodies. J'onn J'onnz learns that this Bizarro, like Gorgeous Gilly and Scorch, was saved by Mxyzptlk from the Joker universe. J'onn also learns that Ignition also survived the trip, although he was apparently not created by Emperor Joker, and Bizarro has been used by Zod these past months to prepare for a fight against Superman. After Bizarro and Superman are switched back, Bizarro hints that Zod may look like Superman himself. Luthor is not the only one to learn his identity--the creature Kancer does as well, but thankfully he sacrifices himself before he can alert General Zod as to what he knows. During this adventure, Superman learns that Guy Gardner was not killed in the War as was previously thought, and manages to rescue him from some trouble. Lois Lane uncovers proof that Luthor knew about the impending Imperiex invasion long before anyone else (which means he could have called for evacuations and saved more lives) but Luthor, per their deal, orders her to bury the story. Instead, Lois gives the story to Elijah and he writes it. Luthor denies the allegations, and a mind scan by Martian Manhunter seems to prove his innocence. Elijah is apparently fired over the incident, but secretly Perry keeps him on staff in order to secretly investigate Luthor. Superman is approached by a pantheon of ancient gods who want Superman to bolster their ranks. Not surprisingly, Superman refuses, but on the other side of Metropolis, Lois is transformed into a goddess by the same group, hoping this will convince Superman to join. Lois is tempted to use her new power to raise her dad from the dead, but a heartfelt talk with Wonder Woman helps her decide against it and surrender her power. Superman defeats the evil gods with some help from Zeus, who demands Superman never bring up the name Rao (a Kryptonian god) in his presence.

Braniac Baby
A strange baby with super powers is born in Metropolis. Superman, upon getting hold of the baby, takes him to the Fortress of Solitude for some testing. Unfortunately, he is attacked there by Ultraman, Superwoman and Owlman, who have come to destroy the baby. During the fight, it quickly becomes apparent (mostly when the baby speaks) that he is the new host for Brainiac. While Superman and Kelex fight the others, Brainiac manages to take control of the Fortress itself. He brings the entire Fortress to the skies of Metropolis and begins expanding it to huge proportions, threatening the world itself. Owlman manages to trick Brainiac into fleeing to the Phantom Zone, however, and Superwoman goes after and smothers the baby, stopping Brainiac. The three villains return to their own time and Superman returns the Fortress to its proper place. Superman also makes a return trip to "Krypton" via the Phantom Zone, only know he learns the truth--it is merely an illusion created by Brainiac 13 intended to trap Superman there. Nevertheless, Superman felt a real connection with his father and mother in a way that he really hadn't before. The phantom Krypton had been based on a historical era that Jor-El had admired. Superman felt better about Krypton as a whole, too, as he had previously been feeling more estranged from it than ever. Also, Krypto was still present on the Earth.

Long Live The Queen
When Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) returns to life, Superman meets him on the Watchtower with the rest of the JLA. Afterwards, Ollie has Elijah meet him at a secluded spot in the wilderness where his grave had been. Elijah tells Ollie that Perry White managed to buy all the photos someone managed to take of Ollie's funeral. He hands them over to Queen, who can account for everyone in the pictures except one face. Superman does not know who it is either, and he parts with Ollie to help with an earthquake. Manchester Black then returns, using his vast mind powers, Black manages to control/convince an entire legion of super-villains to attack Superman--starting with everyone he cares about. Before it's over, Superman has to engage virtually every enemy he has, all while desperately trying to save all his friends and family. Superman has Lois rally most of his friends and family at Steelworks, but she herself slips out and is cornered by Black at their apartment. Superman also learns that Lex Luthor knows his secret identity. In the end, Black makes Superman think that Lois has been murdered in an attempt to force Superman to kill Black (and thereby prove Superman is no better than he is). Black fails, however, for even in his grief Superman refuses to kill him (although he is seriously tempted). Black's ruse is then up, revealing Lois is alive. Before Black kills himself, he removes the knowledge that Elijah Rolle is Superman from Luthor's mind and files.

Kryptonians Vs Apokolips-43
Superman restores his original, red-and-yellow S-shield. While Elijah's investigation of Luthor begins to border on obsession, Steel dons the Entropy Aegis and disappears. Recruiting a team of all Kryptonian heroes (including Elijah’s daughter Simone); Superman leads an assault on Apokolips. He challenges Darkseid to a one-on-one battle for the life of John Henry Irons. While they fight, the rest of the team battle Darkseid's forces on Apokolips. Doomsday, who was handed over to Darkseid, joins the fray as well, but he is stopped by Steel. Superman defeats Darkseid and everyone returns home alive and well.

War With Zod
The final conflict with General Zod finally occurs. After meta-humans begin to pop up all over the country, General Zod approaches in a feigned gesture of peace, implicating a foreign nation as responsible. He reveals himself at last--he looks just like Superman. He announces a plot to change the sun from yellow to red--a plot that seemingly succeeds, which of course he is really responsible for, as his suit really transfered yellow sunlight to red and made him as strong as Superman. With the sun red, he no longer requires the suit, and after taking down a depowered Superman, he masquerades as Big Blue and seizes control of a secret U.S. facility, forcing President Luthor to flee. As most of the Justice League and other heroes are rounded up (as Zod's plan also involved a way of inhibiting the powers of most of Earth's heroes), Superman and Luthor join together with an army of villains from the orbiting prison facility. Luthor makes it clear to Superman that he blames Big Blue for his recent mind wipe and that it served to only reaffirm his hatred for the Man of Steel. While Superman takes on Zod, Luthor manages to work with Metallo and return the sun to its proper color. Zod tries to get Superman to kill him, but Superman refuses. As the sun turns yellow, restoring Superman to full power, Zod charges full on. His powers fade as he connects, so he is fatally injured and dies shortly thereafter. The day is won, but with his dying breath Zod is unrepentant, mocking Superman about how they share the same face.

The Vanishing
Superman befriended a priest named Daniel and explains a story of his own pride. One day, after being called out into space to help Green Lantern, Superman returned to find one million people missing from Earth--including Lois. Superman refers to this event as the "Vanishing" and says that it originated in the Middle East. Flying there, Superman found a city in the midst of a civil war. A man named General Nox and his henchman, Equus, are responsible for the civil war. Superman battles Equus and discovers the machine responsible for the Vanishing. Equus activates the machine, and along with himself, General Nox and another three thousand people disappear. A man claiming to work for the government, Mr. Orr, demanded that Superman turn over the device, but he refused. After a short chat with the Justice League, Superman headed back to Metropolis to fight off a giant water based monster. The water monster is soon joined by three others (each based upon an element) and attempt to get Superman to leave the planet. After bluffing that he will destroy the planet if they carry through their threat to wipe out all human life, the elementals disband. Superman takes Fr. Daniel to the Fortress of Solitude, even as Wonder Woman heads there to stop Superman. Wonder Woman seeks to prevent Superman from activating the Vanishing machine, thinking it will be the equivalent of suicide. As Fr. Daniel is taken back by Orr and treated for cancer, Superman activated the machine and disappears. Superman realizes that the Vanishing was caused by a device he originally created should anything ever happen to earth--it created a "perfect" city inside a pocket of the Phantom Zone and would teleport some people there (including Lois). Superman finds Lois and the others living in a city there--but the city is under siege by Equus and his new master, an all-new General Zod. Zod had managed to activate the device to draw Superman there. After a battle with Zod involving Fr. Daniel (who has been turned into a Borg thanks to Orr), Superman manages to return everyone lost in the Vanishing back to Earth.

Liquid Kryptonite
Superman builds a new Fortress of Solitude in the Amazon Jungle. Elijah resumed his job at the Daily Planet--but had suffered a demotion. Jack Ryder was his replacement. Elijah was angry at Lois, for she had known about it beforehand and did not tell him. Trouble was brewing for Superman, however. Darkseid dropped by Metropolis, announcing that Doomsday had escaped his custody and was presumably back on Earth. Over in Smallville, Gog shows up and attacks Elijah’s son Superboy(Jason) and some of his friends, hoping to draw Superman's attention. It worked, and Superman showed up to battle Gog (and seemingly did not recognize him). After a massive brawl, Gog manages to inject Superman with some liquid Kryptonite, nearly killing him. Superboy manages to take him to STAR Labs for treatment. When word of his injuries gets out, STAR is attacked by several villains, causing Wonder Woman, Superboy, and other heroes to defend the injured Superman. Supes is cured but still weak, so he is promptly injured again by Weapons Master. He and his allies manage to turn the tide, however, before he collapses again from his injuries. Lana helped him as he slowly recovered (Lois being overseas at this time) and she told him she was divorcing Pete because she had settled for him and that Lois settled for Elijah but really loved Superman. Elijah is visiting his mother in Smallville when he learns Sue Dibney, wife of the Elongated Man, has been murdered. Superman attends her funeral in Central City before getting to work at helping tracking down her killer. Like most of the other superheroes, he is shaken at the murder. Sue was killed in her home, a place covered with League certified alarm systems. When one group goes after Doctor Light and is taken down by him and Deathstroke, Superman arrives afterwards wondering what prompted the team to go after light in the first place (though they do not disclose everything they know). When the Atom's wife, Jean Lorring, is nearly hanged, Superman is the first on scene and identifies the knot used, though it ends up being a red herring. After the attack on Lorring, someone sends a note to Lois hinting she will be next (and that the killer knows who her husband is). No attack comes, however, as it was merely a ruse while Jack Drake ends up being the real next victim. Superman's role in tracking down the killer is minor, though he does assist in bringing down Deadshot and some other thugs.

Fractures
Per his demotion, Elijah is assigned to "the Shack," working a graveyard shift covering the Special Crimes Unit. He meets the new S.C.U. team leader, Lupe, who makes it clear that she thinks of Superman as one of her deputies. On his first night out Superman has to turn up and battle Replikon, who does not seem totally in control of himself, and once defeated the Replikon auto-destructs. Meanwhile, Lois gets herself assigned to cover a U.S. led invasion of Umec. She and Elijah spend a last night together before she goes overseas (and before she goes, she asks Wonder Woman to check on Elijah if she ends up being gone too long). With the help of Green Lantern, Superman investigates Replikon and finds one of his children murdered and another missing. The child turns up as a new Replikon, being controlled by an unknown party, and although Superman manages to defeat him, Replikon's weapons are shown to interfere with Superman's powers. Going over to Lupe's house to discuss the situation, the lieutenant unabashedly tries to hit on him.

Ruin
Replikon then turns up with the villain manipulating him, Ruin, as they take hostages and force a confrontation with Superman. During the battle, Elijah is teleported to the 5th dimension by Mister Mxyzptlk, who warns him about an impending doom and that he should be sure to look after Lois. Mxy then teleports Superman back to the exact instant he left, where Ruin's beam manages to drain Superman's power. Superman manages to free Replikon from Ruin's control, and subsequently manages to capture Ruin, who is turned over to the S.C.U. (although he escapes, murdering several officers, before his identity can be revealed). In Umec, Lois and the squad she is assigned to cover get trapped in a war zone and a sniper shoots her in the chest. Superman is there a moment later--to catch her as she falls from the injury. He flies her to the nearest medical encampment, where he waits while she undergoes hours of surgery. Luckily, the Justice League becomes aware of the situation, and Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter get to work. Once Lois is stabilized, the JLA teleport her to the Watchtower where Doctor Mid-nite works on her further. Elijah stays at his wife's side after the surgery. Lois recovers at home for a couple of months, surrounded by friends and family. Ruin, meanwhile, has transformed a brother and sister whom he had held as hostage into new version of the Parasite. The twins attack Lois at home, where Mxyzptlk tries to intervene, but is unsuccessful. Superman borrows a suit of armor from Steel to confront the pair, who are recklessly endangering lives. Lupe is desperate to stop them, and find Ruin, who murdered some of her crew. Superman learns Ruin's location and flies off alone to face him. Ruin manages to best Superman with lamps that use red sunlight and escapes for a meeting with Lex Luthor, who tells him to start spilling blood. Tension had been growing between Lois and Lana, which nearly boils over while Elijah and Lois visit his grandmother’s farm. A fight breaks out when a Repo Man (literally, a man who is there to repossess Cherie's truck, despite her protests that she made every payment) suddenly grows super-strong and attacks Superman and Superboy. Repo Man's powers suddenly fade away, and Superman knocks him out. Repo had made comments about getting his powers from a "strange white haired guy" who also apparently gave him a chunk of kryptonite. Superman, apparently aging somehow, heads to the local S.T.A.R. to have himself checked out. He was apparently poisoned by the liquid K injected in him by Gog. After going to the Watchtower, a visibly aged Superman has to battle Preus, who has captured J'onn J'onzz and Jimmy Olsen. Superman is able to defeat him, but collapses from the effort. Gog arrives--not just a single Gog, but many of them. Gog explains that he was a young boy whose family and home was destroyed when Imperiex leveled Topeka (making him similar, yet distinct from The Kingdom's Gog). Becoming a master of time, he had tried for two centuries to save his family, but when that failed, he decided to kill Superman for letting it happen. Realizing that he could not do it himself, he recruited an army of himself from different points in time. The dozens of Gogs overwhelm Superman, but then Doomsday arrives and declares that no one will kill Superman but him. Gog successfully fights off Doomsday and apparently kills Superman. Cut to the future, where for centuries, Gog has Superman in chains, while a reformed Doomsday lead a League of Supermen (heroes inspired by the Man of Steel) in a neverending battle against Gog. In the end, Superman's nobility wins over Gog, and he travels back in time with the future Doomsday to set things right, stopping the battle before he can win it and healing Superman. Before the future Gog and Doomsday disappear, they warn Superman about an upcoming crisis. Superman flies to the Fortress of Solitude for a meeting with Batman and Wonder Woman, where he confesses that he knew what the League had done to Doctor Light and Diana speculates that the only way to stop Ruin may be to kill him. Batman theorizes that Ruin must be someone who knows Superman's identity and hates him very much. Lois, meanwhile, believes that she was hot in Umec just to get Superman to come and stop the war and begins to investigate who would be behind such manipulation. Ruin shows up at the Shack and attacks Jimmy Olsen and the S.C.U. but Superman manages to save them--but Ruin teleports away before he can be unmasked. Elijah gets two surprises that same day: the first is from Pete Ross, who wants him to talk to Lana and the other is from Lois, who announces she thinks they should have another baby. Elijah tries to talk to Lana about stopping her divorce, but she is not interested in listening to it. Ruin then shows up at Steelworks and attacks both John Henry and Natasha, but Superman again is on scene and this time manages to unmask the villain--the world is shocked to find it is none other than Pete Ross! Thrown in jail, Pete is beaten by Lupe, who lies to Superman when he shows up and says that Ross was trying to escape. Talking to Pete alone, Superman learns that Pete knows Superman's secret identity (having learned from Lex while he was president and before he "forgot") and that he has been set up. Superman vows to prove Pete's innocence. The prison then suffers a power outage, resulting in the twin Parasites being freed--but then they are attacked by an Omac Unit. When the dust clears, one of the twins is dead and the other missing--and so is Pete Ross. Superman discovers Brainiac manipulating Lois--or so he thinks. After a battle with Brainiac in the Fortress of Solitude, Superman discovers blood on his hands: then the JLA and the JSA turn up, ordering him to surrender himself for what he has done. Superman tries to remember what happened, but instead of a battle with Brainiac, this time he recalls a fight with Darkseid. The JLA concede that it seems like Superman is being manipulated. When he asks whose blood is on his hands, the team takes him to the Watchtower and show him the badly beaten body of the Batman. The League determines that Maxwell Lord is responsible for manipulating Superman with the false memories, but before they can put Superman in a transporter tube, Max begins his manipulations anew and compels Superman to flee the Watchtower, with Wonder Woman hot on his heels. Superman, believing that he has just seen Doomsday murder his wife, attacks Diana with all his might. Diana puts up a good defense, and proves to be a match for Superman pulling out all the stops. She manages to stun and even injure him, and then proceeds to wrapping Lord up in her Lasso of Truth, demands to know how to free the Man of Steel from his control. Max replies the only way to do so is to kill him (Lord). Diana snaps Max's neck--an event recorded by the Brother Eye satellite and broadcast around the world. Superman is freed--but at a terrible price. Superman is called away from the scene to deal with a nuclear missile. After pitching it into space, he has to fight off two OMACs and discovers that they are really people inside the metal suits. He flies to the Batcave to talk to Batman about what has happened, but Batman is not interested. Superman returns to Metropolis, where even Lois agrees with what Diana did. Superman can't help but think of everything that's happened, so he goes to see Zatanna. She tells him that she altered the Toyman, and together they find him, locked in his own fantasy world. Zatanna clears his delusion just before he apparently dies in a collapsing building. In Metropolis, the world is unsure of how to react to the tape of Wonder Woman killing Lord. Lois goes to Umec to figure out who was behind the hit on her and deduces that it must have been Lord himself. Lex Luthor shows up at the Daily Planet, trying to get information on Ruin. Ruin himself then shows up for a fight, teleporting all throughout the battle. Superman realizes he is using the Phantom Zone to teleport. Before he can unmask Ruin again, the villain flees. Superman responds to his JLA alert, flying to the Watchtower--only to find it in ruins. Shifting through the ruins of the Watchtower, Superman can find no trace of J'onn J'onzz. Wonder Woman and Batman both turn up. Batman coldly tells Diana to leave, that she has no business there after killing Lord. They are interrupted by Mongul, and they are so fractured that they barely are able to take him down. Afterwards, Batman tells Superman how the whole world is afraid of them because of Wonder Woman, and that the last time he truly inspired anyone is when he died. All three go their separate ways. Coming back to Metropolis, Superman finds Mister Mxyzptlk in the form of an old man lying in the gutter. Mxy's magic is not working right and Elijah takes him to a diner to talk. With some cues from Mxy, Elijah begins to piece together who Ruin could really be: a scientist, access to the Phantom Zone, knowledge of red sunlight--it must be Emil Hamilton. With Mxy's help, Superman finds his lair. It is well guarded, however, and Superman has to contend with red solar lamps. Mxy sacrifices himself, taking a Kryptonite arrow meant for the Man of Steel. He whispers his name backwards and disappears. Superman confronts Ruin--who is indeed Prof. Hamilton. Ruin taunts Superman, showing him a scene playing out across town: he has Pete Ross tied up in one of his suits, standing over a machine that will kill Lana Lang and her baby son. Det. Lupe is at the scene and has a gun aimed at the back of Pete's head, thinking he is the real Ruin. Weakened though he is, Superman tears across town to stop it--but he arrives too late to stop the bullet. Lupe did not aim for Ross, however, knowing that she was being set up. Pete and Lana are freed and escape, although Lupe is injured saving them in the process. Ruin arrives and battles Superman for the last time. Superman forces him outside, destroying his teleporter and his weapons. Hamilton reveals that his suit has a bomb that will take out half the city. Superman rips the suit off him and lets it detonate high in the air. After Hamilton is taken in, Elijah Rolle has a talk with Lana and Pete (now they both know his secret), and promises Pete he will clear his name. Soon after, Superman's powers seemed to be gone out of nowhere. He consulted with scientists, Zeus, and other superheroes in an attempt to get his powers back, but he finally accepted that he was just a normal human now. In reality Lois wanted to spend more time with Elijah and she made a deal with Mr. Mxyzpylk for him to take away Superman’s powers for a year with a clause that she couldn’t tell Elijah about the deal during the year he was powerless.

Best Decision in a Worst Case Scenario-44
During this time Lois became pregnant and gave birth to Elijah’s third set of twins, a boy named Kevin and a girl named Jasmine. The babies were not born healthy however as they were born infected with an extremely rare virus that they dubbed the Techno Organic Virus. Unfortunately the virus was so rare that doctors didn’t have a cure for it and the babies would eventually die when the Virus spreads over they’re entire body. All hope seemed lost until the time traveling Justice League member Booster Gold told Superman that there is a cure for the virus in the future and with his and Lois’ permission, booster would like to take them to live in the future so they could survive. Elijah asks Booster if there is any way he could go to the future and receive the formula for the cure himself or get a sample of it so his children could stay with him. The doctors shut that idea down as the virus was spreading quickly especially with Kevin and they would surly lose him before Elijah gets back to their time. Though sadden, Elijah and Lois want to save their children’s lives and allow Booster to take them to the future so they have a chance to survive.

He's Back
After living a normal human life as Elijah Rolle for a year, his powers unexpectedly began to come back, bit by bit. When he returned to action as the Man of Steel, there was much public speculation as to whether or not he was an imposter. However, his daring actions, broadcast across the globe, while driving the Auctioneer from Earth convinced the world that he was the real deal. The sorceror Arion came to Metropolis to implore Superman to stop fighting for the benefit of mankind, saying that he was disrupting the proper course of human history by pushing back an inevitable devastating event, and in the process, causing that event to be much worse, resulting in the end of civilization. This revelation troubled the Man of Steel, and caused him to consider his place in the world.

The True Brainiac
The Daily Planet is having a meeting introducing the new members of the Daily Planet when Elijah hears a mysterious noise with his super hearing and goes to investigate as Superman. He discovers the noise was a Brainiac drone, sent to try to locate Superman. Superman promptly defeats the drone and takes it back to the Fortress of Solitude. With help from Supergirl it is revealed that Superman has never fought Brainiac before, and all earlier encounters Superman has ever had with Brainiac has been with one of his probes. It is also revealed that Supergirl was on Krypton when Brainiac stole Kandor, and because of this is terrified of Brainiac. After visiting his mother, Superman then goes flying all through the galaxy in an attempt to track down Brainiac. He discovers his probes on one planet, and witnesses Brainiac capture a city like he did with Kandor. Brainiac also fires a missile into that planet's sun, causing the sun to explode and destroy the planet. The explosion knocks Superman unconscious and he is brought upon Brainiac’s ship. When Superman awakes he escapes and makes his way around Brainiac's ship. There he discovers a room full of thousands of bottled cities, including Kandor. At this point the true Brainiac reveals himself. It is revealed that Brainiac has been collecting information of all the planets he has been destroying and the next planet he decides to attack is Earth, including capturing Superman and Supergirl as the last remnants of Krypton. The Brainiac ship arrives over Metropolis and sends out probes to attack Metropolis, while everyone, including Supergirl, does their best to fend them off. Meanwhile Superman fights with Brainiac. After knocking him out, Superman hears a voice that sounds distinctly like Jor-El’s, it turns out it is the voice of Zor-El, who is alive inside the bottled city of Kandor. As Superman and Zor-El talk, Brainiac attacks Superman from behind. Supergirl is also caught at this point and brought upon Brainiac’s ship just as Metropolis is encased in a bottle and a solar-aggressor missile is fired towards the sun. Superman is unconscious and held captive by the ship, being hooked up to all the bottled cities, hearing their cry for help. Superman escapes and attacks Brainiac, before taking the bottled Metropolis and Kandor, he then frees Supergirl and convinces her to stop the solar-aggressor from hitting the sun, which would cause it to go Supernova. Superman then attacks Brainiac and knocks him out of the ship, forcing Brainiac to land on Earth. Brainiac is overwhelmed by Earth bacteria and micro-organisms. As a result he cannot control anything on Earth and is promptly defeated by Superman. However, Brainiac reveals that the cities cannot be sustained outside of the ship, and Superman flies off and returns Metropolis before flying to the Arctic and releasing Kandor to its normal size. Supergirl also manages to stop the Sun being destroyed.

New Krypton
The entire city of Kandor now resides near the Fortress of Solitude in the North Pole, populated by 100,000 Kryptonians. Superman attempts to aid the Kryptonians in their assimilation with the rest of the Earth, something very few Kryptonians seem interested in, including the city’s leaders, Zor-El and Alura, Supergirl’s parents. After the first televised meeting between the President of the United States and a delegation from Kandor is interrupted by a rampaging Doomsday, Zor-El and Alura form a task force determined to preemptively end any future threat to Kandor by capturing Superman’s worst villains and trapping them in the Phantom Zone. However, several human police officers are killed when they refuse to hand over the Parasite, enraging Superman. At the same time, Lex Luthor, who has been recruited by General Sam Lane to halt the Kryptonian “invasion,” gains control of Brainiac and unleashes his robot army from within the depths of the alien’s spaceship, currently being held in Kandor. During the fight, Metallo and Reactron, who are working for Luthor and General Lane, are brought into Kandor as Trojan horses containing Kryptonite. Reactron manages to kill Supergirl’s father, Zor-El. Alura’s anger causes her to denounce humanity. Members of the Justice League and Justice Society arrive in Kandor, lead by the Guardian demanding the city turn over those who murdered the police officers, and a large-scale battle erupts, with Superman in the middle. It only ends when Kryptonian scientists manage to use Brainiac’s technology to lift Kandor off the Earth and grow an entirely new planet underneath it, called “New Krypton,” on the other side of the solar system, directly opposite the Earth, and therefore hidden by the sun. Alura tells Superman that he is not welcome on New Krypton, although Supergirl takes up residence there with her mother. In the end, Alura frees General Zod from the Phantom Zone to help her lead their people.

Reuniting with his Daughter-45
Soon a new Supergirl named Jasmine, who claims to be the daughter of Superman and Lois from the future, arrives and helps Superman battle a nuclear powered villain called Radion. She claims to have been sent back in time by a group called the Futuresmiths. Lois is already feeling conflicted over the possibility of Jasmine being her daughter she sent to the future, but she is angry when she learns that Elijah has secretly been working with Perry for months to try and bring down Luthor. Superman breaks into LexCorp, where he finds Hope a prisoner (and having been badly tortured) and rescues her. Lois then announces she is quitting to work for Channel 3 News. Superman is nearly killed by Gaki, now Byakko a vengeful wraith-like being who stabs Superman in the chest. Barely conscious, he escapes and encounters Girl 13, who takes him to Lana Lang's new apartment in Metropolis. Girl 13 is under the impression Lana is Superman's girlfriend. They are quickly joined by Natasha Irons, controlling a giant robotic body (a la the "new" Steel, although it can change sizes), and Jasmine. Byakko and her gang of ninjas attack the group, but Girl 13 and Natasha are able to briefly hold them at bay. Byakko wants revenge against Superman for the death of her husband, Gunshin, who was murdered by Kojiro. The girls get Superman to the Fortress of Solitude, but Byakko follows them there. She maintains the upper hand until she stumbles across a room in the Fortress where thousands of letters sent to Superman are kept--many loving him, many hating him. She leaves voluntarily. Superman is completely healed and thanks the girls for their help.

World of New Krypton
Superman then apparently agrees to a deal with Alura that he renounce his allegiance to Earth and severs ties there in order to live on New Krypton with his people. He does not truthfully renounce all ties to his home, as he tells his wife Lois Lane. He instructs his friend Mon-El to "take over for him," and has conversations with the Guardian and Jimmy Olsen before disembarking for New Krypton. Superman intends to live amongst the Kryptonians in the hopes of easing tensions with Earth and teaching them to use their powers responsibly. When he arrives on the planet, he receives a lukewarm welcome from members of the Kryptonian military. He is openly welcomed by Alura, who asks him to pick a guild with which to be employed while on the planet. While he is deciding this, it is revealed to him that General Zod has been released from the Phantom Zone and is lauded as a great leader and a hero. He is given his previous job as the head of the Kryptonian military, and Superman finds this alarming. Zod maintains that he no longer has any reason to hate his fellow Kryptonians, as they have now accepted him. While deciding which guild to register for and having an argument with Zod, he is assaulted by Jor-El's former friend and lobotomized disciple of Zod, Non. Superman disposes of him quickly, and makes it clear that while the New Kryptonians hostile to him are steadily learning their powers, Superman has had his for years and demonstrates his vastly superior fighting skill and capability with his powers. When Alura asks Superman which guild he has chosen, he admits that he is not comfortable with any, even going so far as to liken the Kryptonians' working conditions to slavery. However, Superman ultimately is assigned to be a member of the Military guild and is referred to by General Zod as "Commander El”. On Oa, the Guardians of the Universe discuss New Krypton, fearing that the Kryptonians while under the leadership of General Zod will return to a military expansion that the Guardians feared long ago before Krypton's destruction. On New Krypton, Zod boasts of a recently redesigned rifle made to kill native Kryptonian species. He puts "Commander El" in charge of the "Red Shard," a unit responsible for law enforcement and civic defense. As his second, Superman is assigned Lieutenant Asha Del-Nar. Together, they find members of their new unit forcing Non, a recent transfer into the unit, to fight against a vicious Torquat. Superman reprimands the unit and later shares a conversation with Alura about the Kryptonian guilds. Avoiding Zod, Superman runs into his servant of the labor guild who speaks of unrest in his guild. Zod then arrives and orders Superman to kill a stampede of beasts that threatens a colony. When the Red Shard prepares to kill the animals with their new rifles, Superman orders them to put the weapons away and instead teaches them how to wrangle the beasts without killing them. Zod compliments Superman on handling the situation, but admonishes "Commander El" for challenging his authority. Their conversation is stopped when news of a Labor Guild member taking hostages, including Alura, emerges. Commander Gor, a man responsible for killing several human police officers, arrives and threatens to kill them all if the hostages are not released. This leaves Zod pleased and Superman concerned that there could be a loss of life on his watch. Superman tries to talk General Zod out of allowing Commander Gor to execute the Labor Guild prisoners. Zod is undeterred, but Superman convinces him to allow him to try to quell the situation without further violence. As a sign of good faith, Superman allows himself to be blasted with the red solar energy of an Archer rifle, which negates his powers for thirty minutes. Superman goes into the Galla where Labor Guild leader, Tam-Or, is keeping the provisional government captive. He appeals to Alura, and asks her to consider the Guild's needs should they agree to set them free. Alura allows Tam-Or to air his demands. Tam-Or says that as Earth's sun precludes the need for rest or food, the Labor Guild has been working literally non-stop since New Krypton has been formed. They want time to rest and see their families. Additionally, there is some unknown disease spreading through the Labor Guild ranks, even though that shouldn't be possible, and they want the Science Guild to find out why. Finally, they want a representation on the new Science Council being formed. Alura agrees to the first two requests, but points out that the Labor Guild has never had a seat on the Science Council in Kryptonian history, to which Superman points out that this is New Krypton. Alura finally agrees to consider the third demand if the Labor Guild agree to stand down. The Labor Guild surrenders and sets down their weapons. Superman has resolved the situation peacefully before General Zod's deadline. Commander Gor however, having not received the order to stand down, sits with a sniper rifle above the square where Alura and the others were being held. He fires a shot aimed at Tam-Or, but Supergirl rushes in and catches the bullet before it can strike its target. Superman returns to Military Guild headquarters and gives Zod an update. Commander Gor, having nursed a dislike for Superman for quite some time, kicks him in the back. By Guild protocol, an official duel is conducted. Since both men have super powers, Superman relies upon his combat training to win the day. As the fight concludes, Superman turns his eyes upward to see three members of the Green Lantern Corps hovering above them. Green Lantern Hal Jordan tells Superman, "It's time we talked". Based on the recent arrival of New Krypton, the Guardians of the Universe have sent a fact-finding mission. Their first contact, Kal-El, is pleased to see his old friends, but General Zod arrives within seconds. He remembers the Earthly Green Lanterns that fought him skilfully when they last met, and he orders Kal and Tyr to give them a tour of New Krypton. Flying over the city, Tyr-Van gives the Green Lanterns a rundown of the city's founding, before moving on to encompass the whole planet - using the tech they were able to steal from Brainiac, they have made a new planet. Currently they are building an atmosphere, then a moon. Within a year, they will be finished. Kal is proud and happy. He and Sodam Yat chat briefly about Mon-El. Lieutenant Nar arrives to get Kal for an emergency briefing. Thirteen criminals were brought to New Krypton from the Phantom Zone, and adapted to their powers faster than the other Kryptonians. They have been on the run, but they have a lead on one of them. Orders are to bring them in, but the Red Shard has been ordered to escort the Green Lanterns on their tour. The Green Lanterns are surprised, and a little unsympathetic, to find that New Kryton is building a fleet of space ships. Tyr tells them that they are billed as a security deterrent, but Hal Jordan believes Zod is planning something. Kal cannot vouch for Zod, but he asks Hal to trust him. Suddenly, an explosion occurs at the other end of the yard. A group of the criminals were meeting here, and when they were ambushed by the Military Guild, one of them ruptured a fuel line to cover the escape of all the others. There were no deaths, and no apparent leads. But Kal points out that the Kryptonians can hear someone flying away very fast. The chase is on. The fugitive is identified as Val-Ty, alias Greyline, a notorious murderer who fought Tomar-Re. They chase him into the scaffolding around one of the unfinished ships, where he steals welding equipment and uses it as an explosive. Nar takes the Red Shard around the other side and Kal and the Green Lanterns are to herd him there. However, Zod has his own plans - when Nar has him in custody, she is to execute him. Kal overhears her from the other side of the scaffolding, and asks her to ignore Zod's last order. The plan is a success, and Greyline is taken into custody. The Green Lanterns prepare to take him back to Oa to be imprisoned for past crimes, but Zod arrives and points out that New Krypton has jurisdiction - and Oa has no extradition treaties with New Krypton. Hal is set to argue, but he backs off on the condition that Zod not execute Greyline, and the Green Lanterns go home to make their report. That night, Greyline is behind a force field, already swearing revenge on Kal (who is surprised to see Zod kept his word) and the rest of the Military Guild. Zod is impressed at his skill, but he orders Kal and Nar to be taken into custody and charged with treason. Kal-El meets his court-appointed attorney, Dyn-Xe. They discuss the details of Kal-El's upcoming trial and his defense. Kal is facing the death penalty if found guilty. Dyn-Xe plans to argue in court that Kal-El's arrest and prosecution is just part of a pattern of behavior reflecting Zod's long-standing vendetta against the house of El. The trial begins with the introduction of the jury. (They are called arbitrators on New Krypton.) It is revealed that arbitrator selection is based on the guild system, so that the major guilds are equally represented. As the courtroom drama unfolds, Dyn-Xe, as planned, alleges that that Zod's actions are motivated by the desire for vengeance against the El family. In response to those charges, Zod withdraws as the prosecuting attorney against Kal-El, but stays on for the initial phase, the prosecution of Lieutenant Nar. Nar and Kal-El both show mutual loyalty and selflessness during the trial. Nar claims sole responsibility for disobeying Zod's orders; attempting to take the fall and protect Commander El. Meanwhile, Kal-El unselfishly speaks up; confessing that he was the one to countermand Zod's order; and asserting that Nar is completely innocent. On those words, Nar is acquitted, and Kal-El's situation grows more dire. The trial recesses for the day, and we see reactions from Dyn-Xe, Asha Del-Nar, and Tyr-Van, Superman's friend from of the Labor Guild. Dyn-Xe, who hates to lose a trial, is miffed at his client's confession in the courtroom. Nar and Tyr-Van are gravely concerned that Kal-El likely will face execution. Nar again shows great loyalty to her commander, offering to deliver a message to Commander El's troops, saluting, and wishing Kal-El Rao's blessings. After Nar leaves, Tyr-Van reveals he has smuggled in a device which will allow Kal-El to escape his prison cell and leave New Krypton. It is immediately clear that Kal-El will not take this option; preferring to remain and stand by his principles. Kal-El feels deeply that he did nothing wrong; so he is not inclined to flee like a guilty fugitive. After Tyr-Van leaves, it is revealed that Tyr-Van has acted on behalf of Zod and Ursa who secretly want Kal-El to try to escape. Tyr-Van has essentially been a spy for Zod and Ursa since the beginning. Tyr-Van feels remorse for betraying his friend; as if Zod is compelling that betrayal through coercion of some sort. Kal-El's restraining force-field is disabled, and Kal stayed put to face his trial, as Zod and the others look on with great interest. Zod orders Ursa and Tyr-Van out of the room; and seems to be in deep thought as he carefully considers his next move. At his trial the next day, Kal-El is found guilty. It is a split decision, as one juror dissents. In his closing words, Kal-El expresses the strong feeling that he did the right thing by refusing to kill the criminal Val-Ty. He asserts that New Krypton was not harmed in any way. Kal's execution seems imminent. Yet there is another plot twist, as Zod suggests that the religious guild consider exercising their option to pardon Kal-El. The scene switches to a holiday celebration. The Nova Cycle is a major holiday on New Krypton celebrating birth and rebirth. Kal-El and Zod are walking together, discussing recent events. The discussion focuses on why Zod prosecuted Kal, why Zod now seems to want Kal alive, and what Zod is learning about Kal-El's character. Zod, as a military man, seems to admire that Kal-El declined to flee to safety, and chose instead to stand by his principles and face death. Zod asserts that Kal-El's presence makes the New Krypton army stronger. Supergirl and Alura arrive. Supergirl expresses great joy that her “cousin” is safe. This implies that the religious guild has acted favorably on Kal-El's behalf. At the celebration, the ceremonial removal of the dome over Kandor begins. This is possible now that the atmosphere on New Krypton has regulated. Intermittently, a mysterious individual is seen lurking about. He wears a hooded robe. His face is hidden but appears to be glowing. He carries a staff with a sharp pointed end that appears to be a weapon. He was an ominous presence during Kal-El's trial; and may have been the executioner or perhaps the security guard in the courtroom. He appears menacing; and looks sort of like the angel of death. The crowd at the celebration chants Zod, Zod, Zod in obvious adulation for their military leader. But someone in the crowd screams "Death to Zod", and fires an Archer rifle at Zod, causing what appears to be a critical injury; as Superman, Supergirl, and Alura look on in shocked disbelief. Zod is lying in his own blood, the wound is still smoking, and Commander El calls for a medic. In the crowd, the shooter shouts "For my people"; his gun still smoking. Members of the crowd converge on him and attempt to capture him. The shooter fights back using his heat vision; but there are just too many people fighting him, and the shooter is taken down rather forcefully. Kal-El exclaims that the crowd may tear the shooter apart; and moves in to prevent that. Commander El and the Red Shard disperse the angry mob; and then discover the shooter lying in his own blood, looking half dead. The Kryptonian chain of command dictates that leadership falls to the commanders: Kal-El, Gor, and Ursa. But Ursa seems too upset by Zod's shooting, and only wants to be by his side. So Kal-El and Gor are in charge of the military; with Kal-El appearing to take the lead. Kal-El and Gor disagree about what to do with the shooter. Gor wants to throw him back to the mob, so they can continue ripping him apart. Kal-El wants to interrogate him, to ascertain if the shooter is part of a larger conspiracy. Kal-El convinces Gor that interrogation, not annihilation, is the right course of action. We learn that the shooter's name is Ral-Dar. When Kal-El and Gor ask him if he acted alone, he is evasive. When Kal-El is summoned by Alura, he tells Gor to put Ral-Dar back in his cell, for further questioning later. At the medical facility, Kal-El learns from Alura that Zod's condition is not good. Whatever he was shot with did tremendous damage on a cellular level. The doctors' efforts to arrest this effect only seem to amplify it. They have had to put Zod in stasis to keep his health stable. Alura says that Zod regained consciousness just before he was put in stasis, and asked for Commander El. Kal-El seems surprised by this news. Alura is told by a subordinate that the crowd is growing fearful due to the assassination attempt on Zod. That fear is amplified by memories of Brainiac's attack on their city. Alura goes outside to speak to the crowd; to calm them and allay their fears. Kal-El compliments her on her speech; and in a moment of candor, Alura admits that she hates public speaking. Alura looks to Kal for assurance that the shooter acted alone. Kal-El indicates that they are still trying to make that determination. Alura asserts that if it is revealed that the attack originated from outside of New Krypton, things could get ugly. At Alura's urging, Kal-El heads back to continue the interrogation of Ral-Dar, with Kara by his side. They discover that Ral-Dar has escaped, using the same Sunstone device that Tyr-Van used to disable Kal-El's prison cell. Kara observes that the device may have been used outside Ral-Dar's cell; implying that he had assistance in his prison break. Nar indicates that, using their surveillance hardware, they spotted Ral-Dar. He was seen leaving New Krypton and heading on a course towards Earth. Relations between New Krypton and Earth are already fragile; and Kal-El is concerned that an appearance by Ral-Dar on Earth could move things closer to war. Kal quite sensibly orders the Red Shard to stand down; since an appearance on Earth by a Kryptonian military unit will inflame things. He indicates that he and Kara will handle this mission alone. Kal also correctly observes that appearing on Earth dressed as Commander El will be inflammatory. So he heads back to his apartment; reaches for the familiar costume; and utters very familiar words, that "This is a job for Superman". Superman and Supergirl pursue Ral-Dar to Earth. A pair of fighter jets intercept them and Ral-Dar destroys them. Superman, Supergirl and Mon-El rescue the pilots while Ral-Dar escapes. Superman and Mon-El meet Guardian and the SciPol to explain Ral-Dar's plot and the attempted assassination of Zod. Guardian listens and is very cautious of Kara who is still on the planetary blacklist. Superman brings up his past relationship with Jim and Earth but Lois arrives to break up the tension. Mon-El provides an excuse for Lois and Elijah to share some time together and during their strained reunion Lois reveals much to Elijah's shock that Skaar is back in Smallville. Superman and Guardian go to brief the Science Police about Ral-Dar. Superman pursues Ral-Dar all the way to Markovia, where the United States President is meeting with the Markovia president. Superman stops Ral-Dar, only to be confronted by General Lane with members of Squad K and his own troops, with kryptonite infused weapons and Kryptonian battlesuits. Lane orders them to open fire, and the hail of bullets kills Ral-Dar. Superman demands answers, but is called away by Alura. Superman takes Ral-Dar's body and returns to New Krypton. Superman is heading back to New Krypton quickly, due to an urgent request from Alura. On New Krypton, Commander Gor is calling for war with the planet Earth. He argues that the weapon that was fired at Zod was apparently from Earth. Gor's words cause spirited discussion on the Kryptonian ruling council. Several members refute Gor's angry rhetoric, and point out that the shooter was Kryptonian, not Terran. Superman arrives, and lands in the middle of this discussion. Superman of course argues passionately for peace. He warns that such a war could lead to genocide, either for New Krypton or Earth. He also points out that even if some on Earth have been acting against New Krypton, it is unfair to punish all for the actions of a few. The Council continues to argue the pros and cons. Concern is expressed that there are spies and saboteurs undercover on New Krypton. There is some squabbling between the different guilds represented on the Council. General Zod, although extremely weakened from the assassination attempt, arrives to join the spirited conversation; and specifically to make two key points. (1) He promotes Commander El to the temporary rank of General and Commander of the Armies of Krypton; pending the return of Zod after his convalescence. (2) Zod declares that New Krypton must not make war with Earth (at least not yet). Zod passes out and is returned to stasis before he can explain his "not yet" comment.

On the Cusp of War-46
Over a week has passed, and we see the emblem of the House of El flying over the headquarters of the Military Guild. This is not Kal-El's idea. Rather, it is a Kryptonian tradition for the General who leads the Military Guild to be honored in this way. Since Kal-El is still in charge, we know that Zod's recovery is proceeding slowly. Lieutenant Nar, Commander Gor, and others leave on an important mission in space. The leaders of New Krypton have determined that their young planet needs a moon. Since creating a moon from scratch is not feasible, the Kryptonians are planning a very ambitious and tricky maneuver; to capture one of Jupiter's moons, transport it, and place it in orbit around New Krypton. Councilor Qin of the Science Guild has done the math himself, and confirmed that gravitational consequences of this maneuver for the surrounding bodies in our solar system will be negligible. The mission to relocate a moon of Jupiter is called: Operation Callisto. General El has summoned Tyr-Van, his friend from the Labor Guild. Tyr-Van was Kal-El's first friend when he initially arrived on New Krypton. Kal-El reveals that he knows that Tyr-Van has been a spy for Zod since the beginning. Kal-El explains how he was able to figure this out; and expresses that he feels betrayed by this revelation. Kal-El breaks off the friendship, and requests that Tyr-Van not see him anymore. This is an emotional moment for both of them. Suddenly, General El is told that Operation Callisto has hit a major snag. The Kryptonians have been attacked while carrying out the mission. Details are sketchy because the enemy is jamming communications. But it appears that the size of the attacking force is quite large and intimidating, that there have likely been casualties, and that Commander Gor was injured in an explosion. General El gives the command for several military units to leave immediately on a rescue mission. Kal-El joins them as they head out into space. All members wear oxygen masks to allow them to breathe while in the vacuum of space; but as Kryptonians, they need no other protection from extreme temperatures and other conditions as they travel through the solar system towards Mars, the vicinity of the ambush. Without warning, General El and his soldiers come upon the scene of the attack, and immediately find themselves in the thick of battle. We learn that the attackers are Thanagarian. Superman mops up a few Thanagarians while reconvening with Lieutenant Nar. She tells Superman that the Thanagarian attack disrupted the guidance system for transporting Callisto; and as a result, the Jovian moon is out of control and hurtling directly towards New Krypton. The skirmish between the Kryptonians and the Thanagarians continues. The Thanagarians are a very militaristic and aggressive society. In battle, they tend to refer to their adversaries as "meat". They dislike and distrust the Kryptonians. They allege that the Kryptonians were the ones to attack first. The Thanagarians have disabled the Kryptonian lead ship which was guiding Callisto, the Jovian moon, on its course towards an intended orbit around New Krypton. The moon is now out of control and hurtling towards a collision with New Krypton. A Kryptonian strike on Dae's ship, the Gryfalcon, initiates a chain reaction in the engine's power core that will soon cause an explosion which will destroy the ship. Out of loyalty and military honor, Dae and her subordinates express their intention to stay put and go down with the ship. Meanwhile, General El and members of his team have boarded the Thanagarian space craft. Under Kal-El's orders, the Kryptonians have managed to cool the reactor and avert the impending explosion. Wing-Master Dae goes to confront the Kryptonians. Dae asserts that it was foolish military strategy for the Kryptonians to rescue their adversary (and thus forgo an easy victory). However, she takes it for the good will gesture that it is, and orders that the Kryptonians are no longer prisoners. General El insists that the Kryptonians bear no hostility towards the Thanagarian people. He is told that the Kryptonians attacked first. Superman pledges that the Kryptonians will act peacefully, and negotiates an end to the hostilities. After Kal-El and his team leave, Wing-Master Dae is told that the Kryptonians lost control of Callisto only because the Thanagarians disabled the ship that was controlling the Jovian moon's trajectory and acceleration. Back out in space, General El and his troops attempt to use their own brute strength to slow Callisto down, but find it to be a monumental task. Suddenly, the moon slows, thanks to some help from the Thanagarians using beams that transmit Nth Metal energy. Superman heads to New Krypton and returns with perhaps every inhabitant of the planet. The combined might of 100,000 Kryptonians is enough to control Callisto and place it in proper orbit around New Krypton. Kal-El and Alura talk. She reassures him that updated math calculations again indicate virtually no gravitational consequences from Operation Callisto. When asked, Kal-El says he thinks he knows how the battle with the Thanagarians started; he just has no proof yet. Wing-Master Dae is invited to speak before the Kryptonian ruling council. Overtures are made toward establishing diplomatic relations between the two planets. Suddenly, we see the arrival of Jemm, Son of Saturn, and his henchmen. They are members of another super-powered race. They muscle their way into the council chamber and confront the Kryptonians, speaking words that are hostile and arrogant.

Last Stand of New Krypton
As Brainiac's warship flies overhead, the Kryptonians remember Brainiac's attack on old Krypton years ago. A recovered Zod ruminates about that first Brainiac attack, and how the knowledge from that defeat will make him more prepared this time around. He also acknowledges that their yellow-sun-induced powers will make the Kandorians much more formidable than last time. Zod vows to lead his people to victory over Brainiac. The Kandorians' initial shock turns to determination, and the citizens rise up and use their powers against Brainiac's robotic "probes". Commander El takes time out to rescue Lan-Drom, a young teenage boy who is under attack from several of the probe bots. A couple of his Red Shard team members are there to help out. Zod gives orders for the Red Shard to stay away from Brainiac's ship, so as not to interfere with Zod's plan. Kal-El, watching from a distance using his telescopic vision, is horrified to see Zod giving the order to arm his Global Defense Canons; horrified because so many soldiers in the vicinity will likely be killed if that WMD is fired. Zod does fire the weapon without hesitation, looking very self-satisfied. But when the smoke clears, the soldiers have become the victims of collateral damage, but Brainiac's ship does not even have a scratch. Zod's reckless behavior sets Kal-El into a bit of a rage. Without hesitation, Kal-El flies to Zod and unleashes a verbal assault, scolding Zod for his recklessness and murderous actions. Kal-El holds nothing back. Zod chides Commander El for his "insubordinate" remarks. But Kal-El, still furious, resigns his military post; tossing his military insignia on the ground. Then, Kal-El rips off his military uniform in defiance, to reveal a familiar outfit underneath. Gone for good is Commander El, replaced by the famous hero, Superman. Superman explains to Nar his plan to get past the force field on Brainiac's ship, using a technique based on his knowledge from past encounters with Brainiac's technology. Alura speaks to Zod in an attempt to get military protection for the members of the Council that are still alive. Supergirl, wondering why her battle with the bots is not easier, discovers that the probe bots are using red sunlight in battle to weaken the Kryptonians. Help arrives for Supergirl in the nick of time, in the form of Superboy (Jason Rolle), Mon-El, and the Legion of Super-Heroes. But when Zod shows up, he sends Kara off to help elsewhere, and Mon-El tags along. With them out of the way, Zod orders the arrest of Superboy and the Legionnaires, calling them "maniacs". Superman breaches Brainiac's ship and is inside doing considerable damage until he gets slowed down by a burst of kryptonite radiation. Superman looks up and gets a very unpleasant surprise in the form of Brainiac standing alongside Lex Luthor, who is holding the smoking kryptonite weapon. Superman and Mon-El continue to try and free the trapped cities and break out. Brainiac however re-energizes and fights Superman. During the brawl, Superman is able to get hold of the telepathic Lanthian's but Brainiac teleports away with all the others. The Legion manages to enter Brainiac's ship thanks to Brainiac 5's help. But even this does not seem to help and New Krypton is put back into a bottle. Superman is pummeled by Brainiac's weapon's system and is declared dead. But Zod says that Brainiac has lost. Superman recovers and tries to fight Brainiac again. During the fight, Brainiac's ship is damaged and begins falling towards New Krypton. Eventually, with the help of several Kandorians, the ship is destroyed before hitting the ground. However, Luthor has begun growing one of Brainiac's bottled cities. Superman is also mortally wounded by pieces of Brainiac's ship, but manages to fully recover with the help of Brainiac 5. The attack on New Krypton ends when Zod defeats Brainiac and steps on to kill him, but Brainiac 5 appears and teleports Brainiac and himself away. Later, Zod gathers the entire Kryptonian army to finally attack Earth.

War of the Supermen
Superman has come to stop Zod, after he just told 100,000 Kryptonians to declare war on Earth. Zod tells him that his opinion doesn't matter to him, since he gave up his position in the Kryptonian Military Guild. Superman punches Zod, but other Kryptonians come and help him up. Zod then has his wife Ursa attack him. She uses a Kryptonite knife and slashes Superman in the chest. She reveals to him that even though it hurts, it gives her a lot of satisfaction. Superman shatters the knife by using his heat vision. Just as Superman is about to continue his attack on Zod, Non crashes through the roof on top of Superman, and manages to hold him down, with Ursa putting the Kryptonite knife right by his neck. Zod tells Kal-El that he is no longer a superman anymore, now that there is a whole planet full of people with the same abilities as him, which has leveled the playing field between him and New Krypton. He reveals to Superman that when he first came to New Krypton and renounced Earth, he allowed Kal-El to join the Military Guild, so that he could keep an eye on him, which was exactly what Superman was trying to do, get close to Zod so that he can spy on him. He also tells Superman that he is going to level Earth and kill everyone on the planet, especially the one he loves the most. Kal-El tells Zod that he was wrong on one thing, he never renounced Earth and breaks free and attacks Zod, but Ursa and Non hold him down again. He tells Zod that a war between Earth and New Krypton would spell the destruction of both worlds, and that he will stop him from attacking Earth. However, Zod asks Superman how he's going to stop him from attacking Earth, when he has already sent the order to attack, as the Kryptonian military is descending on Earth. Superman frees himself from Ursa and Non's hands and goes into space to fight them. Meanwhile, in Zor-El's tomb, where Alura is torturing Reactron for information about what Earth is planning against New Krypton. Her daughter Supergirl walks in on her actions, realizing what her father's last words meant about her mother. Both discuss the current actions. Then Reactron then tells both of them that it was planned that he be brought to New Krypton, also telling them that they could have killed Supergirl in Los Angeles, but did not do it so that she captured him and bring him to their planet. Also during the battle against Brainiac, Lex Luthor went to find him and left a present for him, which he tells that it already feels  like it is about to go off. Alura quickly puts her daugther into a safe room to protect her while she tries to stop this. But it is too late, and the explosion not only destroys the city of Kandor, it destroys New Krypton completly along with the Kryptonians on the planet, all of this being watched by a stunned Superman, Zod, Ursa and Non. Superman searches in the debris of New Krypton, managing to find a sad Supergirl, devastated by the destruction. She grieves with Superman as she holds up a piece of Alura's shield. Alura perished along with the rest of New Krypton. After finding the weapon that Luthor brought to the planet drifting in space in the form of a gold skull, enraged Kara grabs the Kryptonian flag, heading for war. Meanwhile in the Kryptonian fleet carrying the remaining members of New Krypton, are filled with grief about what has happened. Zod comes forth and declares that even though their planet is lost, they are still there and the war against Earth shall continue and they will win it. Up in space, Supergirl and Superman tussle through the field of kryptonite meteors until they crash into Callisto New Krypton's moon. Kara cries it's her fault, and Superman sadly reveals she's the Last Daughter of New Krypton. They realize they are the only two that stand between Earth and the Zod's forces and decide they will do whatever it takes to save them both. Sam flips a switch to see Lex on a video screen. Luthor reveals he's harnessed the power from Jax-Ur's botched Rao corpse and the government's time pool technology to launch their counter attack. He then launches a missile housing a huge store of red kryptonite to the sky through the black hole/time pool tech directly into the sun making it a huge red sun. This strips the Kryptonians of their powers. Flamebird turns the sun yellow again. This gives Superman and Supergirl their powers back, but several Kryptonians die in space. Zod and his army attack Earth, but Superman begins to fight him above the Daily Planet. As Superman and Zod clash, Superman refuses to allow Zod to destroy humanity while Zod has resolved to turn "Earth" into a new Krypton. Superboy manages to recover the Phantom Zone projector from the Fortress of Solitude, stating that the Phantom Zone "got better" in response to Zod's claims of having destroyed it, using it to send Non to the Zone as he attacks the Justice League. After narrowly defeating Ursa, Supergirl flies into the military base to confront General Lane, willing to kill him in revenge for the death of her people, much to Lane's satisfaction as it would prove him right about the Kryptonians, only for Lois to talk Supergirl down. Refusing to face judgement for his crimes, Lane commits suicide. As Superboy arrives at Superman's fight with Zod, Superman attempts to drag Zod into the Zone with him, willing to sacrifice himself to ensure that Zod is imprisoned for good, only for Skaar to interrupt his efforts, sending his father back to Earth so that he can continue to defend it while remaining behind using his oldstrong power to ensure that Zod remains trapped. In the aftermath, Elijah and Lois reflect sadly on the loss of Skaar and on how New Krypton's appearance resulted in such a pointless war, Elijah expressing his uncertainty about whether any Kryptonians are left in hiding on Earth while Lois promises to write the truth about her father's actions despite the media portraying him as a hero for his 'defensive action', hoping that someday humanity will be ready for interaction with other alien races. Superman returns from a meeting with Congress about the situation with New Krypton. As he's answering questions from reporters, a woman slaps him. She berates him for spending time on New Krypton, because in the time Superman was gone, her husband died of a brain tumor. She tried to reach him, but Superman was off doing something "important." Superman looks at the man's picture, and others tell the woman that Superman can't be everywhere at once. Superman flies off without answering any more questions. Superman and Batman look down on Earth from a satellite, where Batman indicates they can now see through cloud cover. Superman ponders this, and leaves suddenly. Superman stands under a tree as the Flash goes by. He asks Flash what it's like to see the world around him at superspeed, and Flash indicates that it's a blur unless he slows down to look. Superman goes into space and examines the photograph of the man he couldn't save. He recalls his father telling him that crops have to be rotated, and that you have to do things differently to bring things back to where they belong. Superman lands next to a game of baseball being played by kids, picks up some dirt, examines it, and starts to walk. Superman's first stop is Philadelphia and the media are following him every step of the way. Amongst the journalists and bewildered public is Elijah Rolle's wife Lois Lane. She asks Elijah for his cover story at the Daily Planet, after all he's been on 18 months bereavement leave. They decide he'll also be 'on the road' covering Superman's soul search. Elijah does a few good deeds; with the past few years of cosmic level threats he hasn't really paid attention to the more 'mortal level' threats since he first put on the cape many years ago. He helps a messy diner clean up, kicks a drug gang out of town, urges a sick man to seek medical attention and talks a woman down from a suicide drop. Then Superman leaves town for his next destination. Superman walks through a neighborhood, and a man nods off on his porch and completely misses him. Some kids playing basketball are ragging on one of their friends; Markey G. Superman arrives and starts to play without using his powers. Markey G gets a basket on Superman, and earns the approval of his friends. Superman then hears a vibration and approaches a seemingly normal looking man at his house. The man is revealed to be an alien, and when he leads Superman into the house a large, black creature attacks Superman. Superman defeats the creature, and they plead with Superman not to reveal them to the public, given how hard their life is back home. Superman points out that it's a bad time to immigrate illegally in the United States. The alien points out that they're self-sufficient, and have enough gold to not make an impact on Earth. Superman asks them what they're giving back to their community. He decides to think for a while before making his decision. Superman encounters an old shut down factory, and meets an elderly man who provides security. He describes the plant as it used to be, and asks to see Superman fly. Superman obliges, then as he's leaving, the man collapses. Superman takes him to the aliens, who heal him, and then he has them open up the factory again with the technology to kill two birds with one stone, employing all of the workers who were formerly at the plant.

Grounded-47
Elijah Rolle, on assignment to cover Superman's walk, writes an article on the whole thing. Lois talks with Superman on the phone about this as he keeps walking. Unknown to Superman, he is being watched by Batman. Superman holds an ex-convict at mid-air, forcing him to stop stalking a waitress. Later, Batman meets Superman and the two talk in a rooftop. Batman believes Superman is endangering innocent lives in his journey. The two go separate ways. Later, Superman flies to Cincinnati to investiage a piece of debris from New Krypton that fell nearby, thanks to information received from Lois. Superman talks to a police officer about the debris, but he is attacked by Willy Trask, a town drunk that obtained superpowers. After a short fight, Superman subdues him, and Trask's powers disappear. However, the city has been left devastated during their fight. Although Superman rebuilds it, this leads the public to make negative comments against him. Superman finds Lois as she walks across Rushmark, waiting for his arrival. There, she admits that she has been having doubts about her choices in life and asks if he needs her. Superman replies that one of the reasons he’s able to keep his humanity is her. With her spirit rekindled, Lois kisses Superman and he takes her to Chicago. Superman walks across Chicago, and he sees that people are uneasy about his stay in the city, due to the incident in Ohio. He is also aware that Jennings is spying on him. Superman then meets with Lois in a park, and they go to an apartment to spend the night together. He then dreams about a three-headed creature destroying Chicago, and of Jennings taunting him with his failure to protect the people. Superman wakes up and sees that his face has real injuries from his fight against the three-headed creature in his dreams. Lois covers his injuries and Superman leaves the apartment without being seen. Later, Superman walks across a neighborhood and sees a boy and his mother being brutally beaten by his father. Superman captures the father and takes him to the police station. There, he is informed that mother and son will be taken by child protective services to a safe places and the police will file charges against the father. Superman gives a phone number to the boy, telling him to call him every day. Superman then leaves Chicago, but not before telling the police that the only thing needed to stop the violence was "someone, anyone, with a pair of eyes, a voice, a phone and ten cents' worth of compassion." Superman later hears about the Daily Planet's recent problems with the blog Urbanitis and decides to help. Meeting Perry White in the Planet's rooftop, Superman asks him if there is anything he can do to help. Perry declines his offer, saying that Superman's involvement would only make things worse. Superman accepts this and flies away. Perry would later solve things with Jack Hoffman, the creator of Urbanitis, and offer him a job at the Planet. Superman arrives to Des Moines, Iowa, and does several heroic deeds. However, the people still distrust him. He calls Lois to and confides in her his doubts about what he is truly fighting for. When she replies that he is fighting for "Truth, Justice, and the American Way," Superman replies that things are not as simple as they used to be. Suddenly, Lois hears an explosion, and she sees that a chemical plant is burning. Superman quickly saves the workers and puts out the fire. As he goes to see if the workers are injured, Superman sees that Manuel, Lois's friend, arguing with one of the plant's owners. Lois explains that Manuel used to work at the plant, but he was fired when he started raising a stink about the lax environmental standards. Manuel says that the plant is polluting the environment, and its environment protections have been used since the 1950s. Whenever new standards are put in place, the plant owners bribe the inspectors into letting them use the old ones rather than make any changes. However, the workers claim that the plant is the only major employer in town, since Lexcorp shut down the aircraft factory and shipped the jobs overseas. While Superman and the others are talking, they are being watched by the mysterious Lisa Jennings. Superman says that not everything is all black and white as it seems. Even though he is not happy about the environment, Superman does not want to put an entire town out of work either. He promises to leave the workers alone if they make a better job at cleaning up after themselves. He also says that he will be checking in on them. Lois and Manuel are surprised by Superman's decision. The workers also say that if Lois publishes her story, the authorities will shut the plant down. Superman tells Lois that she cannot publish her story. Angry, Lois and Manuel walk away, while the workers praise Superman. Later, Superman tries to call Lois, but she doesn't answer. Superman decides to continue his journey, when he is suddenly met by a mysterious group of people dressed like him, calling themselves the "Superman Squad." The Superman Squad take Superman to their home base, the Fortress of Solidarity, in the future. There, they explain that the Superman Squad is formed of several superpowered beings inspired by Superman's heroic acts. Some members include Superman's own descendants, either through blood-relation or adopted; beings that share his Kryptonian heritage, and unrelated beings who all decided to fight for justice. Some of them include non-human or non-Kryptonian members, such as Titano, protector of the Gorilla Galaxy; Superstar, a sentient star system, and Superego, a "good idea" who protects the realm of the collective unconscious. The Superman Squad explain Superman that his recent emotional crisis is not just a matter of indecision, he is actually in danger of losing himself. During the events of New Krypton, Superman recovered the Kryptonian people and lost them again. In the aftermath, he suffered a depression and began doubting his own ideals and principles. Making matters worse, an outside influence is reinforcing that depression. The Superman Squad are confident that Superman will move past his doubts and be the hero he was. The Superman Squad then leave Superman in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the present, where Superman will have an encounter with a woman who will be inspired by his heroic actions. Superman then flies to Lincoln, where a devastating storm is happening. Superman saves a school bus full of children, as he is being watched by Wonder Woman. Then, Superman notices that the storm is creating a flood. Also, a tornado is coming to town, forcing Superman to choose between stopping the tornado or saving the people from the flood. Fortunately, Diana appears and Superman asks her to save the people while he goes to stop the tornado. Although confused, Diana agrees. Superman uses a powerful clap to create a supersonic boom that dissipates the tornado. After the people are safe, Superman thanks Diana for helping him. Although Diana admits she wasn't here to help since she is on a quest for vengeance, she was inspired by him to act like a hero. Diana then flies away, but not before warning Superman of a woman in black. Superman thinks that the woman in black may be the one he saw in his dream in Chicago. However, Superman puts those feelings aside so that he can help the panicked citizens. He is watched by Jennings, who says that Superman's descent is only beginning. As Superman reaches Boulder, Colorado, he helps Saganowahna catch two criminals. After delivering the two criminals to the police, the two part ways, but not before Saganowahna tells Superman that the Manitou Stone may be Kryptonian in origin. Superman then reaches the city and a blur suddenly puts a Kryptonian armor on him. Superman takes the Kryptonian armor off and watches as the blur establishes Kryptonian structures across the city. Using his superhuman senses, Superman discovers that the one behind all of this is the Flash, who is wearing a Kryptonian headband. Apparently, the headband is making Flash put Kryptonian structures over the city. Superman reaches the Flash and manages to take the headband off him. With the Flash free of the headband's influence, the two get the city back to normal. The two go to a restaurant, where they see the race between Superboy and Kid Flash. Superman explains to the Flash that the headband he was wearing contains a Kryptonian sunstone. During his time in New Krypton, Superman saw an interrogation device that could extract memories directly from a prisoner's mind. The Flash believes that the device was not meant to be worn by anyone other than a Kryptonian. The Flash explains to Superman the he found the headband in a crater in Central City. As he put the headband on, his mind was overwhelmed by Kryptonian knowledge. The Flash knew that Superman was the only one who could help him, so he made several references to the House of El while he was in Colorado. As the Flash finishes his explanation, Superman remarks that the Kryptonians believe morality to be a natural law. As Superman and Flash leave the restaurant, Superman asks the Flash if he has wondered if he is doing the right thing by leaving a legacy behind. Flash admits that it was a little overwhelming at first, but now he is comfortable with the fact that if something happens to him, there will always be a Flash. He also says that Superman will also leave a legacy. Before the Flash leaves, Superman reminds him of what he said earlier, that he only saw a blur when he ran. Flash admits that he was joking. When he runs, he actually sees everything and everyone. Superman admits his recent feelings of self-doubt to Flash, who tells him that everything will be alright. The Flash then leaves, but not before telling Superman that he let Superman catch him and that he is still the Fastest Man Alive.

Final Encounter with Lex Luthor-48
Superman saves Helen Phelps, an archeologist, from being hit by a truck in Ogden, Utah. He takes her to her trailer near Mt. Krowak. There, she and her crew had begun a dig on the mountain to find artifacts left by a civilization that established itself in the mountain before Paleo-Indians had. However, their research is being hampered by Centum Industries, a company that recently bought the montain, wanting to use it as a radioactive waste site. Suddenly, Superman sees an S-signal in the sky, only visible to those who can see the ultraviolet end of the spectrum. Superman flies to the source of the signal and finds Batman, who says that they haven't had the chance to talk after his return. They remember the time when they met in Bhutran. There, Elijah and Bruce met with Terri, Elijah's friend. After her father's death, Terri had become the new Rhana Bhutran. She had asked for Elijah and Bruce's help to defend Bhutran from a group of Chinese soldiers led by Vandal Savage. Vandal Savage had received information from Hassan-I-Sabbah, another immortal. Vandal believed that the inhabitants of Bhutran knew the location of Nanda Parbat, and he also believed that the monks of Rama Kushna could cure him from his cancer. To stop Vandal, Elijah used rocks to block the pathway to Bhutran while Bruce used hypersonic speakers to summon a group of bats and attack the soldiers. After defeating the soldiers, Elijah and Bruce expressed hope in working together again. Superman and Batman then discuss about Superman's recent emotional crisis. Batman believes that Superman can get past his doubts. Also, Batman says that he just bought Mt. Krowak, allowing Dr. Phelps and her crew to continue their research. Superman compliments Batman for creating Batman Incorporated, and Batman replies that Superman can also create his own squad of supermen. Batman then says that he will work in the shadows while Superman works in the light. The two then part ways. The mayor of Provo, Utah, then gives Superman the key to the city. Suddenly, Superman hears a frequency emitted by Jimmy Olsen's watch. Superman goes to Las Vegas, where Jimmy is, and sees that Livewire has trapped hostages within an electric field. Among them are Iron Munro and Lisa Jennings. Superman gives Jimmy the key he received from the mayor and goes to stop Livewire. Superman is confused on why Livewire has returned to open villainy when she decided to begin a new honest life after helping Superman defeating the Auctioneer. Superman tries to reason with her, but Livewire attacks him with lightning bolts. Also, she transforms into pure energy and moves through the city's power grid to escape from Superman. To help Superman, Jimmy calls Dr. Serling Roquette of S.T.A.R. Labs and asks her for a way to stop Livewire. Dr. Roquette tells Jimmy that Livewire's increased power is affecting her mind and that the only way to stop her is using a containment suit to dissipate Livewire's excessive power. Superman intercepts the call with his super-hearing and goes to the Fortress of Solitude. There, he finds the suit he used when he was an energy being. He takes the suit to S.T.A.R. Labs, and Dr. Roquette modifies to suit to contain Livewire. Livewire attacks Jimmy, but he straps the key to a wire and throws it to her. This weakens Livewire and dissipates the electric field, allowing the hostages to escape. Jennings escapes in the confusion. Livewire tries to attack the hostages, but Iron Munro protects them with his invulnerabilty. Superman then puts the modified suit on Livewire, which returns her power levels to normal. Livewire is arrested, but she may not receive a hard sentence since she was only damaged property and there were not wounded people, and also Superman spoke in her favor. Iron Munroe also chooses to use his influence in the justice department to help Livewire. Jimmy asks Superman why he is helping Livewire, and Superman answers that in America, everyone deserves a second chance. Quickly speeding towards Metropolis, Superman arrives and quickly asks for Doomsday's whereabouts. Lois confronts Superman and tells him of Doomsday's fight with Steel. Though Lois worries about the fact that Doomsday killed Superman before, he reassures everyone he'll win this fight. Then, Luthor brings Superman to space for a final fight. Superman notices that where they are has very little in terms of civilization and that Luthor's infused with Phantom Zone energies. Realizing that last bit, he finds a portal and attempts to enter it (to save Skaar), only for Luthor to pull him back. Asking where Luthor got this power, Luthor revealed the power's origin - that of a creature that was harmed by negative emotion and was freed by Lex, intending on purging that emotion. Luthor shows his displeasure at Superman still "ignoring him" and roars that he should not turn his back on him. Binding him, Luthor decides to finally bring justice to Superman, inflicting him with human emotion (which he believes Superman does not possess). Luthor brings Superman back to the day he died and shows him Lois' grief. Superman snaps at him and tells him he knows how that feels. Luthor brushes it off and tries the destruction of Krypton, thinking that the reasoning for doing what he does is nothing. Superman yells out in anguish at that scene and starts breaking down as Luthor shows him scenes of Skaar sacrificing himself to put away Zod and New Krypton exploding. In anger, Superman tells him that if he looks deep inside enough, he'll see what causes him the most pain. Luthor starts to brush it off as another world exploding, only to find out it's losing Lois Lane and his children Christopher, Simone, Christian, Jason, and Athena Rolle. As he realizes who he's seeing, Luthor finally puts it together: Superman is Elijah Rolle. When Superman tells him that they're both similar Luthor snaps; vowing to finally break Superman for apparently mocking him all these years. When Superman dares him, Luthor lashes out to strike him, only to find out Superman isn't dead. Mister Mind, warns Luthor that the Zone Child has woken and is limiting the power Luthor has. Luthor brushes it off and declares he's going to get back that power and use it to kill Superman. In space, Luthor battles the Zone Child. The Zone Child tells Luthor he came to eradicate negative emotions, but learns it's much more different here. He tells Luthor he can have his power, but only do with it as he would. With that full power, Luthor creates eternal bliss. On Earth, Death talks to a man who would have died at the moment and reveals that this was what the child wanted - to end entropy. Everyone - from Vandal Savage to the Red Lanterns to the Thangarians; to Batman, the Daily Planet crew, Larfleeze, Deathstroke, Gorilla Grodd and Braniac - are experiencing this bliss. Superman tries to tell Luthor that things have to change, that he can use the power he has to do what he should have done so long ago. Mister Mind explains to Luthor that to keep the power, Luthor cannot do anything negative, like destroy Superman. Sadly, Luthor's ego refuses to listen to that train of thought. Even as Superman apologizes for everything he's done to him, Luthor still wants Superman dead. With the Zone Child dead, Mister Mind is free and he bails on Luthor. When Superman realizes Luthor is getting weaker as he gets angrier, he allows him to keep attacking, draining him of his power. When Superman refuses to fight back, Luthor attempts to provoke him to do so. Superman, in turn, tells Luthor that the way he does things will never work and that he had the power to do good and heal, but he didn't have the courage to change. Superman's fight with Luthor finally causes the man to lose the power forever. Even worse, Luthor had lost his memories, unable to remember who he was. As Luthor starts coming to, his ramblings cause Superman to realize he was behind the Doomsday attacks. However, before Superman can pull him away, Luthor falls into one of the Phantom Zone holes, seemingly forever.

Tragedy at the Daily Planet-49
A year later, tragedy struck for Superman in which he was too late to save the staff members at the Daily Planet(excluding Lois) from a gas attack by the Scarecrow. Scarecrow released a lethal dose of the fear toxin; which caused the staff to either kill each other or kill themselves. Superman arrived to find that his wife has survived the attack due to her concealed gas mask. Lois sees the murderous intent in Elijah’s eyes and she makes the visibly murderous and angry Superman promise not to kill the Scarecrow in retribution; he solemnly agreed. Trying to maintain his faith in humanity, he arrested the Scarecrow, but only for the villain to be killed by a new superhero named Magog. Although Superman had Magog put on trial for his murder, Magog was acquitted for his cold-blooded act as the people accepted him for permanently ridding a very dangerous criminal. This act shattered Superman's faith in general goodness over the general populace's acceptance of murder as a reasonable way to deal with the criminal problem while overtly grown weary of superheroes like Superman whose refusal to kill allowed super-villains to terrorize the populace again and again once they escaped or were paroled. Feeling defeated by the public's perception, Superman gave up his heroic ways. Superman then works as a hero for hire for the United States Government; aiding them in stopping attacks from Russia, who the United States are engaged in a second Cold War with.

Superman Vs Batman-50
Concerned for his cousin, Batman returning back to crime-fighting and being targeted by the media, Superman visited Gotham City, and talked Batman into keeping a low profile. Elijah was later sent by his government to the South American country of Corto Maltese in support of the island nation's resistance against communist influence. In response to Superman's actions, the Soviet Union launched a nuclear warhead called Coldbringer into the United States. Superman manages to divert the missile to an uninhabited desert area before it detonates, but damage is done nonetheless as the warhead was designed to disrupt all electronics and communications in the Western Hemisphere as well as throw millions of tons of dust and debris into the atmosphere. Deprived of the sunlight that gives him his powers, Superman nearly dies, but somehow manages to use the solar energy stored in plant life to revive himself. In the aftermath of the nuclear attack, the government then sent Superman to apprehend Batman for undermining their authority and to the actual extent, embarrassing them for ensuring Gotham City as one of the best-fed and restored city in America. Soon Superman and Batman became embroiled in a powerful battle, and, when Oliver Queen shoots Superman using an arrowhead loaded with Batman's synthetic Kryptonite, Batman emerges the winner. However, Batman dies of a heart attack shortly thereafter. Superman later attends Batman's funeral as Elijah Rolle, ravaged with guilt and sadness. Just as he turns to leave, however; he hears a faint heartbeat coming from Bruce's interred coffin, revealing that he faked his heart attack. Clark then winks to Bruce's protege Carrie Kelley in approving Bruce's charade and leaves. Superman then quits being the governments pawn and doing their bidding. Superman tells them "if you want a lap dogging, yes man, You should get Captain America! I'm done!"

Kingdom Come-52
Elijah retreated from the world at large by spending his time in the Fortress of Solitude, where he merely observes the acts of humankind rather than acting, until new events inspired his return 2 years later. During Superman's absence, he intentionally failed to realize his importance as a constant inspiration/role model to other heroes. Other heroes, equally disturbed at the public's overwhelmingly positive reaction to Magog's actions, withdraw from the world at large, leaving a power vacuum that is soon filled by the new generation of "heroes" Magog represents. Without the moral restriction on superpower actions provided by Superman and his generation even the aggressive though still non-lethal Batman, there is little or no distinction between 'heroes' and 'villains' in the new superpowered combatants. Metahumans battle openly in the streets without true cause, concern for collateral damage, or innocent passersby. Average humans, demoralized by the loss of their true heroes, the disregard for them the new generation displays, and their inability to do anything about the state of affairs, had fallen into a societal depression. Efforts that celebrate human achievement, like professional sports, the Olympics and Nobel Prizes, have been abandoned. The dark state of the world comes to a head when the Justice Battalion, led by Magog, attacked the Parasite with excessive and unnecessary force, which indirectly resulted in the irradiation of the entire state of Kansas and parts of the surrounding states, taking out a large portion of America's food production. Superman was coaxed back into action by Wonder Woman, who convinced him to return to Metropolis and reform the Justice League. The yellow aspects of his costume replaced by black as a badge of mourning for those lost in the Kansas disaster, Superman intended to enforce morality upon the metahumanity by offering them a choice: Join his League and abide by a code of ethics, or be made a prisoner by it. He managed to collect former heroes (including Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkman and his brother Joshua Rolle, now known as Red Robin) and reformed "new heroes," such as Avia (Mr. Miracle and Big Barda's daughter). But Batman, one of the most prominent of the old guard, refused to join Superman's crusade. Batman believed Superman's idealist notions are outdated and that his interference will only exacerbate the problem. He interpreted Superman's plan as an example of the strong exerting their will upon the weak, something to which he will not be a party. He instead began to organize a third group of heroes, made up largely of non-powered heroes like Green Arrow and the Blue Beetle, as well as second and third generation heroes like Jade, daughter of the first Green Lantern, and Zatara, son of Zatanna and grandson of the first generation hero whose name he shares. Superman's Justice League gathered more captives than converts, and his requests to build a prison safely away from humanity were refused by both Aquaman, who wants no part of the coming war to reach his undersea kingdom, and Orion, who has wrested control of Apokolips from his father Darkseid, and saw the inherent flaws and inevitable collapse in Superman's plan. Superman and the League end up building the Gulag, a massive penal colony in the Kansas wastelands. Security for the Gulag is designed by Scott Free, the universe's ultimate escape artist. The prison was filled to capacity almost as soon as it is built. Superman designated Captain Comet as warden and works to persuade the inmates that their methods are wrong-headed and dangerous, but his entreaties fall upon deaf ears. With hostile hero-villains like 666, Kabuki Kommando, and Von Bach locked up together, pressure builds. Meanwhile, Superman, urged on by Wonder Woman, reacts with increasing inflexibility toward the inappropriate behavior of the metahuman community. He learned that Wonder Woman's ardent militant stance may be influenced by her recent exile from Paradise Island: In the eyes of the Amazons, her mission to bring peace to the outside world has failed. At the midst of this, Superman's nemesis’ son, Lex Luthor III, had organized the Mankind Liberation Front, which the MLF work to wrest control of the world away from the heroes. To proceed in this plan, Luthor captured Captain Marvel months earlier, had him under his thrall, and planned on using him to exacerbate the conflict between the League and the inmates by setting Captain Marvel against the League, the Gulag and Superman. The ensuing chaos will afford Luthor an opportunity to seize power. However, Batman, after appearing to make an alliance with the MLF, turned his forces on Luthor and his co-conspirators, but were unable to restrain Captain Marvel. When the Gulag's inmates riot killing Captain Comet, Wonder Woman convinced the members of the League to use deadly force to deal with the inmates of the Gulag. Superman was the only one who objected, and later finds Batman and forces him to recognize that they may very well be facing the end of the world. Superman knows that Batman will act, because his entire crime-fighting life was based upon the desire to prevent the loss of human life. Upon arriving at the Gulag, Superman and Captain Marvel battle. As conditions worsen the United Nations, fearful of the superhuman war and community in general, decided to drop a nuclear bomb on the site of the superhuman battle. Superman was able to break Captain Marvel free from his brainwash and attempted to stop the bombing, but Captain Marvel sacrificed himself in Superman's place. However, the blast still killed most of the superpowered fighters in the immediate area. Enraged at what became of his friends, Superman proceeds to the United Nations, where he was intent on bringing down the building with all foreign dignitaries in it. He is intent, that is, until he is stopped by Norman McCay and shown how to see compassion and to remember what he once stood for. Elijah immediately ceased his rampage and was then stunned to see his old friends enter the building alive and was handed Captain Marvel's cape, the only remnant of the hero, and then announcing to the U.N. that he will use his wisdom to guide, rather than lead, humankind. Superman tied Captain Marvel's cape to a flagpole and raises it among the flags of the member nations of the U.N. Elijah retreated to Kansas and spends the next few months creating a great memorial to those who died, as well as the innocents who lost their lives. It is here that Lois Lane arrived and presented Elijah with a duplicate round pair of glasses he wore in his Elijah Rolle identity.

Finally Happy
When Elijah goes to bed that night he wakes up back in Olympus, where Zeus tells him that he has accomplished what Zeus brought Superman back to achieve; he helped prevent the genocide and total annihilation of the Metahuman species. Zeus stripped him of his powers and Elijah who proclaimed that he was “tired” was finally happy in his life without powers. Elijah says goodbye to Zeus and when he really wakes up he looks over next to him and sees Lois, then he looks at his night table and sees pictures of him with all of his children. Elijah smiles and lays back down in bed holding his wife as he looks forward to a peaceful future.