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""Life is but a Nightmare."": Catwoman spies on Martian Manhunter in the woods, learning his secrets. Martian Manhunter is revealed to be reporting back to Batman with his communicator, although he doesn't know if Batman can pick up the signal from that far away.

Quote1 Take Grodd and Joker, for instance. One of them is certain to betray the other--in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one or both of them were already dead. Those lunatics will be roasting each other and worshipping pig skulls within the year. Quote2
Vandal Savage

Salvation Run #4 is an issue of the series Salvation Run (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 2008.

Synopsis for "Life is but a Dream Nightmare."

Catwoman spies on Martian Manhunter in the woods, learning his secrets. Martian Manhunter is revealed to be reporting back to Batman with his communicator, although he doesn't know if Batman can pick up the signal from that far away.

Luthor is still having to soothe tensions in his camp, this time between the Body Doubles, and Bane and Deadshot. His camp distrusts them because of the role they played in the Salvation deportation, but to show he trusts them, Luthor hires Deadshot and Bane on as his personal security detail, offering them 1 million dollars apiece when they get back to Earth.

Tensions are even higher in Joker's camp, Joker of course proving to be an irresponsible and ineffective, if fearsome leader. He is attacked by Bolt, angry at the lack of food their camp has, but the minor insurrection is stopped by Kid Karnevil. Brain and Monsieur Mallah arrive at Joker's camp, and Mallah asks Grodd to speak with him away from the others.

Mallah proposes to Grodd that as fellow gorillas, the natural kings of the jungle, they should team up, surely through their combined might being able to rule the entire place by themselves. Grodd laughs at Mallah for considering himself, an "absurd science experiment," comparable to "a proud child of Gorilla City." Mallah strikes Grodd and calls him a beast, causing Grodd to fly into a rage and try to kill him. Although Mallah also has a gun, and shoots Grodd several times, Grodd still has the upperhand, and is about to kill Mallah when Brain interjects, pleading for Mallah's life. Thinking better of it, Grodd picks Brain up, and beats Mallah to death with Brain, smashing Brain's protective hull in the process, and killing him as well. Before eking out his last breath, Mallah says he dies happy, taking solace in that he and Brain will finally be able to be together forever.

Shortly afterwards, after admiring his handiwork and admitting his respect for Grodd, Joker pushes the fatigued Grodd off of a cliff into a very deep and rocky chasm, because he hates "sharing."

Afterwards, on a separate part of the planet, Vandal Savage and four other ladies (Lady Flash, Nocturna, Cheetah, and Phobia) are walking through the wilderness alone. Vandal explains why he believes the respective camps of Luthor and Joker will both fail and collapse in on themselves, and then shows the ladies he has brought them to the rumored "safe zone," a beautiful-looking paradise, as they reach the top of a hill.

Appearing in "Life is but a Dream Nightmare."

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Notes

  • Includes DC Nation #100 editorial by Dan DiDio.

Trivia

  • Vandal Savage's sarcasm about Grodd and Joker "worshiping pig skulls" is a reference to the allegorical novel Lord of the Flies in which is about a group of school boys that are stranded on a deserted island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results, much akin to the villains' situation.


See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

DC Universe
Countdown Crossover
The events from this issue or series are related to the Countdown to Final Crisis. Countdown was a weekly series spanning exactly 52 issues, and tying in with plots across many story arcs all over the DCU. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the Countdown Crossover category.
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