The Crime Syndicate’s battle with the Justice Legion leaves a clear party in control of one of the most famous worlds in the DC Multiverse.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Crime Syndicate #6 from DC Comics, on sale now
Earth-3 is one of the darkest worlds in the DC Multiverse, a reality where the villains win out and the heroes are pushed to the brink by enemies they can never truly even match. Now, their world has reached a new plateau thanks to major victories on the part of the Crime Syndicate.
The ending of Crime Syndicate #6 by Andy Schmidt, Kieran McKeown, Dexter Vines, Steve Oliff, and Rob Leigh reveals how the villains have more or less taken over Earth-3 — and hints at the heroes who remain who could fight them.
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EMERALD KNIGHT’S CHOICE
Of the primary figures typically associated with the Crime Syndicate, Emerald Knight has been the largest wild card. Despite his power ring trying to convince him to ally with the more dangerous elements of the world, the John Stewart of Earth-3 was more tempted to join the Legion of Justice. A collection of heroes for this reality, Sinestro was able to briefly convince John to join their side — with Emerald Knight even killing Johnny Quick mid-battle. Calling himself a hero, John ends up on Demon’s Island alongside Sinestro and a construct-constrained Donna Troy.
When Donna mentions his daughter though, John lashes out in rage and kills some of Donna’s fellow Amazons. While Donna is impressed with his conviction, this convinces John isn’t prepared to deal with the Emerald Knight’s ring. But John proves himself in command enough to summon the ring even after it (and his finger) are severed from his hand — sending it shooting through Sinestro’s back as it returns to him. As Sinestro dies, John proclaims that he’ll change the world — standing beside Superwoman as an ally.
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THE CRIME SYNDICATE RISES
The Crime Syndicate — Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Emerald Knight, and Atomica — end the issue more or less in control of Earth-3. They’re able to defeat most of their enemies, with even Ultragirl proving incapable of standing up to the entire team. While she’s strong enough to fight Ultraman to a stand-still and can hold her own against Superwoman and Emerald Knight, Atomica is able to kill her by simply shrinking down, sneaking into her head through her ear, and deploying a massive injury to the Kryptonian.
Afterwards, the Crime Syndicate announces their control of the world, reminding everyone of the fates that befell their enemies. On the outside, it appears that the Crime Syndicate has taken command of their entire planet. However, there are some cracks in the team that could lead to their downfall: Ultraman is furious with Atomica for killing Ultragirl, while Atomica is livid that Emerald Knight is a teammate. Emerald Knight doesn’t trust any of them. Superwoman prepares to arrange a conflict while Owlman secretly amasses his Talons. Meanwhile, a tell-tale lightning strike hints Johnny Quick might not be as dead as everyone believes.
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THE LEGION OF JUSTICE
Meanwhile, the Legion of Justice might have been the best chance at justice for Earth-3. But while many of their numbers have been defeated, some of them are still alive. Notably, two have been more or less captured by the Crime Syndicate. Lonar has seemingly been deposited on the Moon, where he can do little but survive alone. Likewise, Lex Luthor has been trapped all on his own. However, Luthor has the additional pain of being Atomica’s personal torture pet, with her back-up story ending as she crawls into Lex to torture him.
However, there are still some out there who’d fight against the Crime Syndicate. This includes the Earth-3 variant of the classic Justice League villain Destro, who is seen donning the yellow ring once used by the now-dead Sinestro. Meanwhile, Red Hood, Power Tower, Venus, and Savanna — the apparent Earth-3 versions of Harley Quinn, Giganta, Poison Ivy, and Cheetah — can be seen approaching another potential leader: the Jester, the Joker of this reality who Red Hood claimed had been killed off-panel.
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