For Superman, like most of the heroes in the DCU, 2019 was not an easy year. He dealt with the line-wide Year of the Villain event along with the mysterious new character initially known only as Leviathan. In Action Comics #1018, as promised in the last panel of Event Leviathan #6, Leviathan has returned to Metropolis with new allies: Apex Lex and the Legion of Doom.
Action Comics #1018 kicks off the next chapter in the Leviathan storyline. Even before Leviathan revealed himself, his impact on the DC comics universe sent shockwaves as he and his organization eliminated the major spy networks such as Checkmate, A.R.G.U.S., Spyral, and S.H.A.D.E. This process of elimination was met with little difficulty and resistance as Leviathan was able to convince the major intelligence players in the world to join his cause or be destroyed.
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Following these events, a group of the best and brightest detectives from the superhero community led by Batman, attempt to uncover Leviathan’s identity during the events of the Brian Michael-Bendis and Alex Maleev Event Leviathan miniseries. When the identity of Leviathan was revealed, it was Mark Shaw, the former hero Manhunter, who was orchestrating the chaos in an attempt to remake the world by revealing all the government's secrets to the world and rebuilding something based on truth. Leviathan appealed to Superman and other heroes to join him, but the series ended with Leviathan's identity being exposed. He vowed to come back stronger than before.
As Action Comics#1018 begins, the battle of Metropolis between the heroes and the Legion of Doom, which started in issue #1017, continues to rage as the Trinity are only heroes left battling Apex Lex and the Legion of Doom. The issue, which jumps around in time, also reveals how reporter Robinson Goode became Red Cloud is revealed along with Clark revealing to Fire Chief Moore that he is Superman before his public announcement. As Clark reveals his identity to Fire Chief Moore, the Hall of Doom shows up in the skies of Metropolis, and Superman flies off to confront Apex Lex. The cliffhanger final splash page is the moment just before the battle began, with Leviathan revealing that he has joined forces with the Legion of Doom after he tried to reason with Superman to exonerate himself from his ultimate goal.
Given this reveal at the end of Action Comics #1018, the next is sure to be action-packed as Superman must make his stand against the combined might of Leviathan and Apex Lex and the Legion of Doom. The supervillains are in the process of tipping the Multiverse’s cosmic scale away from justice towards that of “doom.”
Action Comics #1019 is scheduled to be released January 29, 2020