Countdown: Arena Vol 1 1
From DC Database
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What's your story, anyway? You're some kind of vampire, right? The type that sucks blood, turns into smoke, doesn't go to church on Sunday? Right. We all know the drill. Gestapo's watching. Let's do this before the radiation in this joint cooks the juice out of all of us. 
Appearing in "The Blood-Soaked Sands"
Featured Characters:
- Nightshades
- Eve of Shadows
- Nightshade (deceased)
- Female Shade - Source Earth is unspecified (deceased)
- Batmen
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
Other Characters:
- Superman (Earth-30)
- Superman-16
- Jay Garrick (Earth-2)
- Johnny Quick (Earth-3)
- Lia Nelson (Earth-9)
- Diana Trevor (Earth-34)
- Diana Prince (Earth-18)
- Diana of Paradise Island (Earth-21)
- Hal Jordan (Earth-5)
- Hal Jordan (Earth-12)
- Bruce Wayne (Earth-32)
- Theodore Kord (Earth-33)
- Daniel Garrett (Earth-39)
- The Scarab
- Ray (Earth-10)
- Apollo
- Ray (Earth-6)
- Starman of the Black Planet
- Starwoman (Earth-7)
- Starman (Earth-17)
- Quantum Storm (Earth-37)
- Captain Atom (Earth-38)
- Breach
- Robin (Thrillkiller) (deceased)
- Batgirl (Thrillkiller) (deceased)
- Brigadier Atom
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "The Blood-Soaked Sands"
Monarch appears in the skies above Earth-31 as that world's older Superman prepares for battle against Braniac. Startled by the Monarch's appearance, the Earth-31 Superman is transported away from his source Earth to re-appear on the Monarch's satellite. The Earth-31 Superman meets with the assembled other superpowered beings and is told by the Monarch for the reason why they have been captured. The Monarch has selected several versions of the superpowered beings from across the known 52 multiverses to battle with each other in the life threatening radioactive arena designated as the Bleed. They will fight to determine the most powerful of the assembled beings, who will then be forced to join the Monarch's army in a war against the Monitors. He tells the assembled (while fighting, and beating, three Supermen) that "I've chosen each of you from throughout the fifty-two universes ... I need only the strongest of each of you, therefore, you will do battle with your counterparts." According to his rule, a single Arena battle will be pick for each counterpart, as well in providing a view screen of the battle to the superpowered audience. Monarch lastly forewarn warns them that if they try to escape from him, there will be consequences "far more severe than you can possibly imagine."
The first of the assembled counterparts to fight are the Nightshade/Shades. Eve of Shadows and a Nightshade of Earth-4 introduce to each other, and Eve tries to reason and analyze their situation. However, the third Shade (The Shade), reveals herself as a villain of her reality, attacks her counterparts. The Shade kills Eve by severing her limbs and prepares to kill a subdued Eve of Shadows. Fortunately, Eve of Shadows use her powers in bringing the evil Shade and herself to the Shadowlands. Within the Shadowlands and fully powered by its reality, Eve of Shadows kills her evil counterpart by decapitating her. After finishing her, Eve use the opportunity of the Shadowlands to escape to her home reality. After arriving in front of her home, Eve is shock to discover Monarch carrying her motionless husband, Brigadier Atom. Monarch tells her that she should have taken his consequences seriously, and then destroys Earth-13's North America with his power. Monarch then take a deeply shocked Eve back to his satellite as he coldly tells her that the destruction of her country were her fault if she hadn't escape from him, and declares her to be a part of his army, to Eve as a punishment.
Back at the Monarch's satellite, Monarch retells to the stunned superpowered heroes and villains of the consequences given the devastation of Eve of Shadows' country and coerce their option of fighting in his Arena. The gather beings are at a dire predicament, but the alternate Batmen (with the exception of the Vampire Batman) and Supermen tries to reason with the group of working together and plan of overthrowing Monarch. Monarch return to the beings' prison and drops the corpse and remains of Earth-4 Night Shade. Monarch then chose the second group to fight, which is composed of the Batmen, worthwhile noting: "Shrewd. Tactical. Realistic. This should be one for the grandkids."
Once in the Arena the Batmen of Earth-19 and 40 work together in battling the Vampire Batman. Batman-19 sends two knives plunging into the Vampire Batman's eyes, after which he breaks his neck as Batman-40 puts a cyanide pill into the vampire's mouth. After Batman-40 attempts to stake him through the heart, the Vampire seems to flee by dissipating into smoke, leaving the two men to battle against each other, as they swear to a "gentlemen's agreement" without weapon or tricks, "only skills".
Unfortunately, the Vampire Batman had no such concerns, appears and bites the throat of Batman-40 as he saved his counterpart from the Vampire. Vampire Batman then prepares to feed on Batman-19, but only for the Monarch to intervene, pushing the Vampire aside and teleporting the other Batmen from the Arena. Vampire Batman is then declare as part of Monarch's army.
Back in Monarch's satellite, Monarch briefs to the heroes and villains of which combatants will participate in the third battle. Having disgusted with Monarch's brutality, Earth-31 Superman refuse to comply with Monarch and declares to his fellow prisoners of joining him in his stance.
Notes
- The other unnamed characters that were obliterated by Monarch are Earth-26 (animal) Teen Titans, alternate Firestorms, alternate Batgirls and Robins with one pair appearing to be based on Batgirl and Robin Thrillkiller while the other Robin matches the appearance of his Pre-Crisis Earth-Two counterpart, an alternate Lobo, Ultraa, L.E.G.I.O.N from the Legion Elseworld story L.E.G.I.O.N. 90210, Justice Society of America members (Mister Terrific I, Black Canary I, Hourman I, Doctor Mid-Nite I) from JSA: The Liberty Files, and JLA members (Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, and the Atom) from what resembles to be from the universe of JLA: The Nail.
- This issue also shipped with a retailer incentive variant cover illustrated by Dale Eaglesham and Mick Gray.
- Includes DC Nation editorial #90 by Dan DiDio which is only two sentences as a prelude to a larger commentary.
Trivia
- The evil Shade who appears in the former Starman series is a man though here is reconfigured into a female version who is shocked at the true ruthlessness of her Earth-13 counterpart who casually pulls the female Shade's head off of her body to win the tournament. Though The Shade's world is unspecified, but is likely possible that she is actually a female version of Shade from the gender-reversed world Earth-11.
- The aftermath of the Arena fight between the Batmen is shown in Countdown to Final Crisis #20.
See Also
Recommended Reading
- None.
Links and References
- No external links.
