Welcome back to Elemental Crisis Book III, last time, Malefic J'onzz caught up to Martian Manhunter and Sentinel, and we finally got an explanation for why he joined Malefor. In his world, J'onn was patient zero for a zombifying virus developed by the White Martians and transmitted via the Martian collective consciousness, which Malefic was still not connected to. So he was immune, and reverse engineered the virus so it would effect the White Martians, leaving Mars a world of the living dead. Malefor then promised to restore Mars to the way it was before, if Malefic joined him. His story over, Malefic prepared to do battle. But before we catch up with them, we've got more villains to cover. So, who's next? Read on to discover...

(Our scene picks up with Superman and Cynder in one of the corridors, not encountering anyone for a few moments until they run into Batwoman)

Cynder: Ryan!

Batwoman: Finally! I wondered when I was going to run into somebody.

Cynder: Is this entire part of the base abandoned or something?

Batwoman: Last I saw them, they were heading to the main computer, something hacked into the system.

Superman: Luthor if I had to guess.

Cynder: Any sign of the others?

Batwoman: Caught some glimpses from the shadows, Barry's already got Spyro and Kara, and J'onn and Alex were heading towards the main computer.

Superman: Sounds like we should join them.

Cynder: Good idea. There's no way that Luthor punk could beat all of us.

Batwoman: If I know anything about Luthor, we still need to be cautious. But I'm with you. I'll get us there.

(With that, Cynder and Superman take Batwoman's hand as they all step through her shadow, only to emerge behind a crate behind General Luthor's position. He doesn't seem to have noticed them yet.)

Batwoman: Perfect, we can sneak up and take him out.

Superman: I don't know. This seems to easy.

Cynder: Clark, in a war like this, I would be doubtful too. But in this situation, we need to pounce.

Superman: (Begrudgingly) Alright, but I don't like this.

(With that, the trio sneaks around in Batwoman's shadow, nearing General Luthor before, Cynder sees the perfect opportunity)

Cynder: NOW!

(And just as the trio leaps out of Batwoman's shadow to ambush General Luthor, he whips around and hits them with some kind of stasis field, causing the trio intense pain when it hits)

General Luthor: Did you really think I didn't see this coming, Clark?

Cynder: (Through intense pain) What... is this...?!

General Luthor: It's called the Agony Matrix. A little something I borrowed form Darkseid, poor devil. One of the only things that can contain Clark here for an extended period of time. (Extends the Dark Gem gauntlets Myriad installed in his Warsuit) And just in case you do get out, I have these.

Cynder: What have you done to the others?!

General Luthor: Your friends? They never got up here. Myriad and Malefic have them covered.

(At this point, Superman tries to break free from the Agony Matrix, and General Luthor just stomps on his hand as it breaks out)

General Luthor: Not a chance, Kryptonian. The last time I left you unchecked, you destroyed the world. I'm not going to let that happen again.

Batwoman: What are you babbling about?!

General Luthor: Babbling? What I'm "babbling" about is the reason I'm in this mess at all. (Glares at Superman) And it's all because of you, Clark.

(Now General Luthor flashes back to the Metropolis of his world, where him and his version of Superman are shown fighting crime together)

General Luthor: I wasn't always your enemy, Clark. On my world, we were actually friends since we were children, when Ma and Pa Kent took me in after my parents died. We bonded over being the strange ones in Smallville. You and I understood each other, we were like brothers

(The scene shifts to a dedication for a statue of Superman and General Luthor, with Superman looking slightly different this time, a little more... power hungry perhaps?)

General Luthor: When we hit Metropolis together, nobody could stop us. Intergang, Metallo, Brainiac, even the forces of Apokolips, none of them stood a chance against us! But that's when something began to change in you. I thought I noticed something was different. You started being less merciful with the people we dealt with, where I was trying to pick up the moral slack. The exact opposite of our usual relationship.

(Now we see Superman and General Luthor fighting, their usual state in most realities)

General Luthor: It was almost too late before I saw the problem. Evidently you didn't take after Ma and Pa Kent as much as we thought. Your power had corrupted you. I was outmatched in our first fight, after which you kicked me back to Smallville and took over our city, proclaiming you would bring about a brave new Metropolis.

(Next, the scene shifts to General Luthor building his current Warsuit on the Kent farm)

General Luthor: The army was called in, but they couldn't stop you. I knew your powers well, they didn't stand a chance, even with that nuclear bomb the leveraged against you. I knew I had to step in. I engineered a new armored suit with some relics from our fallen foes, knowing what could stop you.

(Now the battle rages between Superman and General Luthor in his modern Warsuit, with the ominous view of a nuclear warhead about to fall on them)

General Luthor: I convinced the army to let me stop you. But despite the fact that I was winning, they dropped that nuke. And in that battle, the most unlikely thing happened.

(The scene is then lost in a bright light)

General Luthor: When that bomb detonated, the sky caught fire. Oppenheimer's nightmare scenario had come true.

(As the light subsides, we see General Luthor is the last one standing, crushing the head of a carbonized Superman)

General Luthor: My suit was made from the same alloy as Metallo's body with a bit of Brainiac operated nanotech for added durability, allowing me to somehow withstand the blast. In the end, you were defeated, but a what cost?

(Fast forward a while, to see Malefor's paw reaching out to General Luthor)

General Luthor: That's when Malefor found me. He promised to restore my world, my family, the you I knew, so long as I helped him out. I figured this was my chance to do it all over, to make sure you didn't go wrong this time. So I accepted.

(And now we return to the present day)

General Luthor: When I saw you were in this world, I wanted to spare it the chance of you going rogue again. (Extends his Dark Gem gauntlets) And now, I've got you right at my mercy...

(And as General Luthor is about to use his Dark Gem gauntlets on Superman, our tale ends for today)

And that looks like a good spot to end for now. And now we get General Luthor's origin, clearly based a bit in Injustice. But it seems all too... easy. Doesn't it? Well, I won't reveal too much, but keep in mind, this is Lex Luthor talking here. So ask yourself this, can we take him at his word? We'll get back to that in due time. In the meantime, we've got one more Dark Knight to catch up with. So, tune in next time to see that clash! Same time... same channel!