WAR OF THE GODS crossed over into various titles over several months; unfortunately, some of those titles were mis-numbered, the numbering was left off and, in a few cases, they weren’t even branded as part of the crossover. Comparing information from various websites, the order of the issues below should be correct.
Below are the issues that ran between WAR OF THE GODS #1 (Part 1 of the story) and WAR OF THE GODS #2 (Part 13)
WONDER WOMAN #58 (Part 2)
Though this is Part 2, some of the events in this issue take place before, during and after WAR OF THE GODS #1.
Following the disastrous excursion to man’s world, Wonder Woman prays on Themyscira for guidance from the gods before being alerted to Iphthime’s calls for war (see WAR OF THE GODS #1)
In the US, Steve Trevor and Etta Candy are hauled before General Yedziniak to face an investigation into the recent Amazon attack. Elsewhere, Amazon prisoners are rescued from the US Army by the Bana-Mighdall acting under Circe’s orders in order to frame the Themysciran Amazons.
Back on the island, Pythia leaves in order to try and rescue her “daughter” Julia Kapatelis who is held by the sorceress. Travelling through the realm of Chaos, she is struck by Hermes and Mercury who are plummeting through Chaos following their battle (again in WAR OF THE GODS #1) and ends up in Circe’s castle.
Having stayed behind after Wonder Woman left for Olympus, Heracles discovers that Atlas has taken position below the island and is threatening to destroy it. However, he and Atlas realise they are from different pantheons, Heracles the Greek and Atlas the Roman, but before they can work out what is going on, Atlas vanishes as Billy Batson calls on his strength from Olympus (again in WAR OF THE GODS #1) forcing Heracles to try and hold up the island.
Thrown from Chaos, Wonder Woman eventually arrives in the apartment of her friend, Inspector Indelicato who promises to help her.
SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL #3 (Part 3)
The island of Tattamalia is in upheaval – a corporation named Cerberus is attempting to take it over while Lexcorp are trying to do the same; revolutionaries are trying to stop both organisations from ruining their land. During negotiations held in Metropolis, Superman stops a band of revolutionaries planting a bomb in Lexcorp buildings which is hosting negotiations. Unseen by Superman, Phobos, god of fear and willing lackey of Circe, hears the revolutionaries’ cries to Quetzalcoatl and attempts to wake the long dormant god. Phobos divines that Superman’s Fortress of Solitude holds a crystal that can raise Quetzalcoatl and heads to Antarctica where he raises the serpent god and sends him to metropolis.
In Tattamalia, however, the Cerberus organisation launches an attack, prompting Superman to head to the island. As the natives cower, calling out to Quetzalcoatl in fear, the god hears their cries as he heads to Metropolis and diverts his journey. He destroys the Cerberus forces as Superman arrives and the two battle before they realise they have more in common than not. In order to quell the fires that had been caused by Cerberus, Quetzalcoatl transforms himself into a thunderstorm, sacrificing himself for his people and allowing Superman to return to Metropolis.
HAWKWORLD #15 (Part 4)
Hawkman and Hawkwoman are co-hosts at a function at the Edwards Museum. The Thanagarian exhibit is struck by energy from Circe’s spell (see WAR OF THE GODS #1) and the artefacts activated.
Thanagarian gods – collectively called the Celae – are allowed to possess the bodies and minds of those attending the function but due to his own faith in his god, Hawkman manages to repel the spirit that tries to take him over. Everyone else, however, is not so lucky and they quickly fall.
Outside the police have gathered and Hawkman advises them of this situation. He tries to re-enter the museum but is confronted by a possessed Hawkwoman who tries to kill him. Battling through, he manages to find the two main gods of the Celae and appeals to their mercy. He explains that they are not, as they believe, on Thanagar and the gods realise that were they to remain on Earth, they would dwindle and die due to a lack of belief. Convinced by Hawkman, the Celae are recalled and their hosts released unharmed.
After order is restored, they realise one artefact is missing and that Dr Konrad Kaslak has not been in attendance. The police mention reports of other pantheons and how they may be connected with Wonder Woman who is wanted by the police.
STARMAN #38 (Part 5)
On a film set, Phantom Lady stars as Helen of Troy in a commercial for a new fragrance, a favour she’s doing for her friend, Starman. With the mystical energy released by Circe, Achilles appears, convinced that Phantom Lady is actually Helen and that Starman is his enemy, Agamemnon.
Achilles attacks Starman, trying to get to Phantom Lady who, in turn, attacks Achilles. As Starman holds the fort, Phantom Lady changes into her costume, complete with lasers, and attacks the Greek hero, firing at his heel.
As the fight goes outside where a storm rages, Achilles calls on Hera for strength and is granted mystical armour and a sword but as he strikes a killing blow, lightning hits his sword. Somehow super-charging Starman, the lightning allows him to hold Achilles to a stalemate until, in a burst of light, he disappears.
Convinced he’s accidentally killed Achilles, despite Phantom Lady’s protests, Starman flies to STAR Labs where he sees his friend Dr Kitty Faulkner who is just receiving a message from Cave Carson. She gives him the coordinates to Carson’s expedition in the Antarctic and Starman flies off to help, passing Superman on the way.
LEGION #31 (Part 6)
As LEGION welcome back Stealth, Lobo decides that he has had enough of hanging around the headquarters and heads off to find a bar. Vril Dox, LEGION’s leader, insists that he takes Telepath with him even though the latter is none too keen on the idea.
Arriving at the bar, Lobo begins to drink but his revelry is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Captain Marvel who is somehow drawn subconsciously to the place by Telepath. Thrust out of the realm of Chaos by the battle between Hermes and Mercury, Marvel lands on top of Lobo, giving him the excuse he needs for a fight.
Marvel, though, is determined to talk things out, seeing violence as a last resort only much to the annoyance of Lobo. When Marvel discovers another bar patron has been needlessly hurt by Lobo, it’s enough to make him angry, calling Lobo out on his bullying and finally giving him the fight he wants.
Before he can finish the fight, however, Marvel is mysteriously transported away, leaving Lobo and Telepath in the bar with Lobo pledging to track Marvel down.
HAWK AND DOVE #28 (Part 7)
As the villain Azure is being transported from Washington to Belle Reve, Circe’s spell causes Huitzilopochtli to appear and free Azure from the transport. He is unhappy that she has taken his name and attacks but she is able to absorb his power, convincing herself that she is the true Aztec war god before heading off to find Hawk and Dove. She finds Hawk being attacked by the Wildebeest and quickly turns them to stone so that Hawk will have to face only her.
Elsewhere, Senator O’Neill – whom Hawk attacked and is being hunted for – congratulates himself for turning the country against Hawk and works with Barter to consider a presidential run.
Dove finds Hawk battling Azure and together they manage to take her down with the help of the police. They then head to Senator O’Neill’s house to confront him but are in turn confronted by Uncle Sam himself. As Hawk’s anger at O’Neill causes him to attack Uncle Sam, Dove takes after the Senator who is actually possessed by the spirit of the the Flash villain, the Top. She manages to defeat him but in the meantime Hawk has come to his senses and surrenders to the police.
With Hawk released on bail pending trial, his long time girlfriend proposes to him, while Dove finally confides her secret identity to Captain Arsala.
(As an aside, this was the final issue of the HAWK AND DOVE series due to the impending ARMAGEDDON 2001 summer event that would forever change the pair.)
CAPTAIN ATOM #56 (Part 8 – no mention of WAR OF THE GODS on the cover, nor the part number)
In the Quantum Field, Captain Atom is happy in a world that he has created and which he controls; should anything happen that he dislikes, he can simply recreate the world. Unknown to him, there is a dark counterpart of his which is being fed each time Atom recreates his world.
In Africa, the being known as Shadowstorm that claims to be a god, returns to the Earth in order to claim it for his own and to take control of it.
Back in the Quantum Field, the dark version of Atom temporarily remakes the world, forcing Atom into the body of his seven year old self and making him confront memories of a difficult childhood which revolve around his absent father, alcoholic mother and loving, caring elder sister. Only when he embraces his own helplessness during the car crash that caused the death of his mother and sister does Atom revert to his older self. He then has the power to once more attack his dark self.
(For what it’s worth, Shadowstorm’s two page appearance is the only tie-in to WAR OF THE GODS making this the most tenuous of crossovers yet.)
DR FATE #32 (Part 9)
Wonder Woman arrives in Salem searching for Dr Fate and is bemused to find the town full of people from various time zones that have recently been freed by Fate.
Elsewhere Kent and Inza Nelson argue about her treatment of a corrupt businessman, Thomas Bridge, whom Fate had rendered as an imbecile. The argument is cut short when Inza hears Wonder Woman wishes to see her. She meets Diana and, as Wonder Woman wants to talk in private, with a snap of her fingers, takes them to the moon. Wonder Woman tells Dr Fate of the various pantheons that have emerged and are acting erratically before Fate receives dozens of messages from the people of Salem, all stating there is an urgent problem.
Returning to the town, they find the Egyptian god Thoth rampaging through the streets and between them manage to stop him, though Wonder Woman is concerned by the mystical energy that Thoth has released. With the town repaired, they return to Inza’s home only to find in the time they were away, Kent has left Inza to join an archaeological expedition, using it as a time-out from their relationship and taking Thomas Bridge with him.
(I know this is the third footnote in a row, but for a Wonder Woman-centric crossover, it struck me as odd that it takes this long before Wonder Woman actually appears in a different series than her own.)
FLASH #55 (Part 10)
The Greek god Hermes races with the Flash, taunting the speedster into making mistakes, making him angry enough so that Hermes can get hold of him and steal his speed. Too late, Flash remembers that he had entered the race after Hermes had done the same thing with the Kapitalist Kouriers, stealing the speed from them and Lady Flash before goading Flash into racing him.
Recovering quickly, Flash contacts his friend Chunk to lay a trap before racing off to find Hermes now racing and battling his Roman counterpart, Mercury who is intent upon killing him. Flash attempts to separate them at first before drawing Mercury away towards the trap he has planned. Right on time, Chunk arrives and, as Mercury is distracted by the defeated Flash, grabs hold of him and swallows him, Chunk being a living black hole.
Even this is not enough to defeat the god, however, who climbs back out only to find Flash has used the intervening time to run off to get enough momentum up to deliver a knock out blow, Mercury vanishing in a burst of light.
Hermes returns and tells Flash of the War going on in Olympus and of Troia’s captivity, and asks him to help.
WONDER WOMAN #59 (Part 11)
Having told Inspector Indelicato of the War of the Gods, Wonder Woman has him take her to Salem so that she can meet with Dr Fate (as seen in DR FATE #32 above). On her return, she literally bumps into the Silver Swan who wants to help her, but she refuses her aid. She then has the Inspector take her to Gotham to meet with Batman.
In Circe’s stronghold, Mikos takes a call from Dr Psycho who wants to warn Circe that she has a traitor in her ranks but, as the sorceress is weak from casting the Hellfire Web spell, Mikos refuses to wake her. Elsewhere, Dr Kaslak is forced by Pythia to take her to where Julia Kapatelis is being held; after overcoming some of the Bana-Mighdall Amazons, Pythis rescues Julia.
Back in Gotham, Batman heads off to investigate Wonder Woman’s claims, annoying the Inspector who feels useless and abandoned.
Back at Circe’s fortress, Kaslak slips away from Pythia and manages to get hold of the artefacts used by Circe in her spellcasting, while Pythia discovers the Amazons the Bana-Mighdall had captured from the US Army.
And in Julia’s home, the Cheetah waits.
DR FATE #33 (Part 12)
The gods of ancient Egypt conspire among themselves to destroy both Inza and Kent Nelson, taking advantage of Kent being in Iraq on an archaeological dig and Inza being less experienced as Dr Fate.
At the dig, Thomas Bridge finds the tip of a black obelisk built thousand of years ago as part of a mystical barrier to keep the Greeks and their gods out of Persia. Though the pillars were lost in the sand, Kent’s expedition has now found them with Bridge’s help.
Back home, the ancient Egyptian gods appear above Salem and begin laying waste to the area, forcing Dr Fate and her friend Debbie to attack them.
At the same time, the gods appear to Kent as well, admitting that it was they who had blocked his access to their powers and instead given it to Inza, knowing she would be easier to defeat.
Fate’s helmet appears to Debbie’s uncle who has recently purchased books on ancient Egyptian gods and directs him to a specific passage; it then appears to Thomas in Iraq before returning to Inza and informing her of the plan. The incantation from the book allows Fate to act as a conduit to Iraq and the basalt pillars, draining the gods of their powers and saving the city. With peace restored, Dr Fate heads off to help Wonder Woman in her battle against Circe.
Crisis on Earth-Prime 