History ComicBook / ForeverEvil2013

** September 2013 was when ''Forever Evil'' debuted and was also Villains Month, in which all the heroic ongoing series were replaced with one-shot issues featuring various villains. While many were about [[OriginsIssue the origins of]] [[StartOfDarkness the villains]] ({{ComicBook/Darkseid}}, [[ComicBook/LightsOut Relic]], etc.), some were tie-ins to ''Forever Evil'' ([[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} Black Manta]], ComicBook/TwoFace), and some were [[TakeAThirdOption both]] ([[ComicBook/SuicideSquad Deadshot, Harley Quinn]]).

* RiddleForTheAges: It's ambiguous whether Luthor [[spoiler:really intended to save Dick Grayson. He claims to have fed the boy a cardioplegic pill, whose effects could easily be reverted with an adrenaline shot. However, Catwoman theorizes that he actually suffocated the victim and only resuscitated him to appease Batman]].

* TarotMotifs: In the first part of the crossover, Madame Xanadu does a tarot reading using a deck where the DC heroes are presented as tarot archetypes.

''Forever Evil'' also has three 6-issue tie-in miniseries: ''Forever Evil: [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Arkham War]]'', ''Forever Evil: [[ComicBook/TheFlash Rogues Rebellion]]'', and ''Forever Evil: [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica A.R.G.U.S.]]''. It has tie-ins in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague2011'', ''[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica2013 Justice League of America (2013)]]'', ''Comicbook/SuicideSquad'', and ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'', and would later be loosely adapted as the plot to ''VideoGame/LegoDCSuperVillains''.

An 18-part CrossThrough, ''Forever Evil: Blight'', focuses on John Constantine gathering allies in locating Zatanna, Madame Xanadu and the rest of the Justice League Dark who have disappeared since the arrival of the Crime Syndicate. However, they soon realize that the Syndicate's arrival has done much more damage to the balance of magical nature and leads to the threat of Blight, the concentrated evil in the human subconscious, who takes a human form and invades the material world. The story is told in ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueDark'', ''[[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} Constantine]]'', ''ComicBook/TrinityOfSinPandora'', and ''Trinity Of Sin: ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger''.

** Most of the villains under Lex's team have noble qualities. Notably, Captain Cold turns on the Crime Syndicate after being ordered to murder innocent civilians, and ComicBook/BlackAdam gets into a fight with Ultraman almost immediately due to his hatred towards tyrants. A major exception is Comicbook/{{Deathstroke}}, who's OnlyInItForTheMoney.

* BigBadDuumvirate: The Crime Syndicate: an [[ThePsychoRangers evil version of the Justice League from another universe]]. Its members are [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Ultraman]], [[Franchise/WonderWoman Superwoman]], [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Owlman]], [[Franchise/{{GreenLantern}} Power Ring]], [[ComicBook/FirestormDCComics Deathstorm]], [[ComicBook/{{Cyborg}} Grid]], [[ComicBook/TheFlash Johnny Quick]], and [[ComicBook/TheAtom Atomica]]. They claim to have killed the Justice Leagues and round up super-villains to TakeOverTheWorld.

%%** In a meta version, the crossover began by marking the arrival of a lot of big-name villains who hadn't appeared in comics since Flashpoint. [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Bizarro, Parasite]], [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Doomsday]], [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica the Royal Flush Gang]], [[Franchise/GreenLantern Mongul]], and more make their first ComicBook/{{New 52}} appearances, though many are just OriginsEpisode variants that do not connect to the event itself.

** [[spoiler:The Earth-3 Alexander Luthor and Lois Lane having a child together was pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} canon, and in Johns's own ''Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis'' that child did indeed usher in some serious darkness.]]

* TheOldestProfession: Justice League 23.4 makes reference to the [[MirrorUniverse Earth 3]] version of [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Leslie Thompkins']] Clinic: Thompkins' Brothels.

** September 2013 was when ''Forever Evil'' debuted and was also Villains Month, in which all the heroic ongoing series were replaced with one-shot issues featuring various villains. While many were about [[OriginsIssue the origins of]] [[StartOfDarkness the villains]] ({{ComicBook/Darkseid}}, [[ComicBook/LightsOut Relic]], etc.), some were tie-ins to ''Forever Evil'' ([[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} Black Manta]], ComicBook/TwoFace), and some were [[TakeAThirdOption both]] ([[Comicbook/SuicideSquad Deadshot, Harley Quinn]]).

* VoodooShark: The Flash's KryptoniteRing is a lightning rod that Batman got from the future... but there's no mention of how or why he went to the future to get it in the first place. It's meant as a reference to the Legion of Superheroes' infamous lightning roulette which they've used several times over the years, but those adventures never happened thanks to [[CosmicRetcon the Flash's time travel rebooting reality]]... at least until Comicbook/{{DC Rebirth}} brought back that continuity...

* WolverinePublicity: Though it is more or less par for the course, Batman's exposure in Villains Month far outshines most others. In all of his ongoings taking place in the present day, he has four villain issues, making for a total of ''sixteen'' between ''Batman'', ''Batman and Robin'', ''Batman: The Dark Knight'', and ''Detective Comics'', seventeen if ComicBook/SupermanBatman counts. The next highest amount is Franchise/{{Superman}} at eight or nine following the same rules between ''Action Comics'' and ''Superman'' as his personal ongoings. The third member of the Big Three, Franchise/WonderWoman, has only two issues in her one ongoing, less than many of the other series going on. The Batman situation would not be so jarring but for the fact that some of the villains involved in it have no connection to ''Forever Evil'' (ComicBook/TheJoker being highly publicized, but one of these), are very new to Franchise/TheDCU ([[ComicBook/NightOfTheOwls the Court of Owls]]), are just being introduced at this time (Joker's Daughter) or are actually a rogue of another member of the Batfamily (Ventriloquist III). It can be explained, however, by the fact that many monthly series were skipped in the Villains Month, and their own villains got showcased in bigger, related titles that weren't skipped: a couple of Batman's Villains Month titles show bad guys whose main roles are ''not'' in said Batman titles, they're in related (even if ''loosely'' related) titles that were skipped for that month: Ventriloquist (''Batgirl''), League of Assassins (''Red Hood and the Outlaws''), Court of Owls (''Talon'') and Joker's Daughter (''Catwoman'') to name a few. And that is not a Batman-exclusive case: we also have Cyborg Superman (''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' villain showcased in ''Action Comics''), Dial E (villainous version of ''Dial H'' showcased in ''Justice League''), Deadshot, Killer Frost and Black Adam (''Suicide Squad'', ''Firestorm'' and ''Shazam'' villains, respectively, showcased in ''Justice League of America''), the Creeper (''Katana'' villain showcased in ''Justice League Dark''), among others.
* WorldHalfEmpty: All of the world's greatest superheroes "disappear" (i.e. the three Justice League teams) and the Secret Society unites most of the supervillains due to the finale of Comicbook/TrinityWar, and the entire planet immediately descends into anarchy and chaos. Looters and riots everywhere; villains wandering around murdering, framing, and torturing people at will with the [[MilitariesAreUseless government]] and [[PoliceAreUseless police]] being completely unable to do anything about it. They exist [[RedShirtArmy only to die]].
* TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed: Lampshaded in Arkham War Issue 2, regarding [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham City]].

* TheNightThatNeverEnds: At the end of issue, 1 when Ultraman creates a solar eclipse over where he is to counter his [[WeakenedByTheLight weakness to sunlight]]. [[spoiler:Sinestro and Black Adam move it back.]]

An 18-part CrossThrough, ''Forever Evil: Blight'', focuses on John Constantine gathering allies in locating Zatanna, Madame Xanadu & the rest of the Justice League Dark who have disappeared since the arrival of the Crime Syndicate. However, they soon realize that the Syndicate's arrival has done much more damage to the balance of magical nature and leads to the threat of Blight, the concentrated evil in the human subconscious, who takes a human form and invades the material world. The story is told in ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueDark'', ''[[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} Constantine]]'', ''ComicBook/TrinityOfSinPandora'', and ''Trinity Of Sin: ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger''.

** A version of the Doom Patrol, [[CListFodder comprised of members of the less popular versions of the old teams]], gets killed off by Johnny Quick & Atomica.

** The April solicitations gave away that [[spoiler:Lex Luthor & Captain Cold will be joining the Justice League]] following ''Forever Evil''.

* PlasticSurgery: Lex Luthor is missing his notable facial scarring in the first issue. His Villains Month tie-in issue reveals he had facial plastic surgery after getting out of prison.

** Lex Luthor gradually moves to the side of the angels throughout the series. This is best shown in contrasting the scenes where he deals with Kord Industries; in the first scene, Luthor threatens to kill Kord's CEO if he doesn't hand over the company, while the second scene has Luthor reassure the CEO he is more than capable at handling the company and LexCorp will no longer be attempting to purchase it. [[spoiler:And since Luthor did save the world, he gets a shot to join the Justice League.]]

** Almost all the villains under Lex's team fall under this, most notably Captain Cold and ComicBook/BlackAdam. A major exception is Comicbook/{{Deathstroke}}, who's OnlyInItForTheMoney.

** Also, in the Crime Syndicate, Owlman does not aim to be evil, only to have control over the world and order, and has a FreudianExcuse in the form of his mother's abuse.

* BadassBoast: Captain Cold claiming to be the man who mastered absolute zero and then backing it up.

* BittersweetEnding: The crisis is over, but [[spoiler:Element Woman and Vibe are missing, Owlman escaped, Nightwing's identity is still exposed, the world will still be recovering, and the world trusts the Justice League a little less.]]

* CanonImmigrant: One of Luthor's minions from the first [[Film/{{Superman}} Superman movie]], Otis, makes an appearance as a panicked security guard working for Luthor. Unfortunately for him, he's guarding an experimental clone of Superman, [[WeHardlyKnewYe who isn't as gentle as the real thing.]]

* OffModel:
** In ''Forever Evil'' #1:
*** Nightwing is wearing a completely different costume to the one he was currently wearing in his on-going series, specifically the costume he hasn't worn since before ''ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily''.
*** In the single panel Kid Flash appears in, he manages to have short blonde hair instead of brown AnimeHair; and the Flash's ChestInsignia on his chest when he not only doesn't ''have'' the logo there, but the version on his costume is flipped.
*** In the CrowdedCastShot: Harley Quinn has pink skin instead of chalk white, the Trickster's right arm is normal instead of an {{Artificial Limb|s}}, Grodd looks more like a Sasquatch than a gorilla, and Black Manta doesn't have his notable facial scars.
** In the second issue, White Rabbit is depicted with blond hair instead of white hair.
** In Issue #3, Bizarro's costume keeps going back and forth between Kryptonian armor and the t-shirt design from Issue #2.
** In ''Justice League'' #26, all throughout Johnny Quick and Atomica's origin, Atomica has white skin and black hair instead of her brown skin and brown hair like she's supposed to have.

* LovecraftianSuperpower: Power Ring's ring acts like a GreenLanternRing, but it is taking over his body and when it runs low on power, it opens a portal to an EldritchAbomination and Power Ring's fear recharges it. In Forever Evil #5, Johnny Quick refers to the ring as a curse.

''Forever Evil'' also has three 6-issue tie-in miniseries: ''Forever Evil: [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Arkham War]]'', ''Forever Evil: [[ComicBook/TheFlash Rogues Rebellion]]'', and ''Forever Evil: [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica A.R.G.U.S.]]''. It has tie-ins in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague2011'', ''[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica2013 Justice League of America (2013)]]'', ''Comicbook/SuicideSquad'', and ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'', and would later be adapted as the plot to ''VideoGame/LegoDCSuperVillains''.

** Black Manta hates the idea of someone other than him killing Aquaman.

** The Injustice League, especially Lex Luthor, has gained high public approval and might in some cases get pardons.

* CruelMercy: At the end, [[spoiler:weakened from sunlight and Kryptonite withdrawal, Ultraman begs Lex Luthor to kill him. Lex, instead, chooses to let him live as the weakest man in the world, both in body (since he's depowered) and in mind (see DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything).]]

** Hilariously, the TropeNamer himself gives the option at the end of the series to the Injustice League, saying the members would likely get presidential pardons for saving the world. Black Adam and Sinestro fly away laughing, Black Manta disappears, and Catwoman refuses to consider it after Batman rejects her advances again.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Villains on both the side of the Crime Syndicate and the Injustice League have this as their motivation.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: The whole premise of the main series.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: The Crime Syndicate is perplexed by the idea of justice.
** DeliberateValuesDissonance: Earth 3 is an entire ''world'' where heroism, justice, and the basic good are considered foreign concepts. Johnny Quick doesn't even know what the word "karma" means, guessing that it's an object rather than an idea.

* EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily: Averted. Not everyone wants to take over, nor does everyone have the same darkness, desire, and drive. This causes confrontations; even amongst the Crime Syndicate.

** In Issue 6, Black Manta kills Outsider this way.
** In Issue 7, [[spoiler:Alexander Luthor of Earth 3 dies of this kind of wound]].

* KilledOffForReal: Several.
** The first major player to bite it was [[TheFriendNobodyLikes Power]] [[CowardlyLion Ring]], the man who's powered by his own cowardice, who's blown to bits by Sinestro, the man who's powered by the cowardice of others.
** Johnny Quick and Atomica kill the Doom Patrol, mostly offscreen with the exception of two members.
** The Outsider is stabbed to death by Black Manta, and Atomica seems to have been killed off along with [[NeckSnap Johnny Quick]] by their hooded prisoner. While she actually did survive, she was later stepped on while shrunken by Lex Luthor, killing her and marking the end of the chaos she caused by bringing the Crime Syndicate to Earth.
** [[spoiler:Martin Stein of Earth 3, a.k.a. Deathstorm, is [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt "fed"]] to Alexander Luthor by [[TheMole Superwoman]].]]
** [[spoiler:Alexander Luthor of Earth 3 is killed by the "lightning rod from the future" and Lex Luthor's use of his own [[ByThePowerOfGrayskull Mazahs]] against him.]]
** In one case, subverted. [[spoiler:Bizarro gets his internal organs smashed in by Alexander Luthor. But as soon as Lex Luthor returns home, he fires up the UterineReplicator and begins the lengthy process of creating a ReplacementGoldfish.]]

* LegionOfDoom: The Secret Society of Super-Villains, working under the Crime Syndicate.

* TheLoad: Played straight with the Earth-3 Martian Manhunter, who was abandoned by the Crime Syndicate because with his blindness and missing arm, they felt he would be a burden. Subverted with Power Ring, who is a cowardly asshole in a state of constant physical and psychological horror but still wields a ring capable of creating powerful energy constructs.

* MirrorUniverse: Played around with Earth 3. While all of the heroes are villains, the villains are not quite as good either. It's more complex than a simple reversal of moralities in general. With any heroics only being attempted through "evil" means.
** To explain, the Earth-3 Joker, a WellIntentionedExtremist, [[spoiler:killed Talon, cut his body up, and wrapped the severed limbs inside Christmas presents for Owlman to find.]] The Earth-3 versions of the Rogues were all police officers, with Len Snart and Mick Rory (counterparts to Captain Cold and Heat Wave, respectively) deciding that they would wait until they could find and arrest Johnny Allen's (Johnny Quick) girlfriend and bring her to jail so they could kill them together as revenge for how the murderous duo killed their partners on the force.

%%** Quite literally, villains Captain Cold and Black Manta free the hooded prisoner, the Crime Syndicate's greatest foe.

** Likewise, Ultraman gets one when he realizes Black Adam made him bleed.
** Atomica when [[spoiler:she finds out they've taken off Alexander Luthor's gag.]]

* OriginsEpisode:
** Several of the Villains' Month tie-ins are this.
** ''Justice League'' #24-26 focus on the origins of the Crime Syndicate.

* ThePsychoRangers: The Crime Syndicate to the Justice League. Also, Luthor's Injustice League to the Crime Syndicate; though less directly.

* SerialKiller: [[spoiler:Alexander Luthor of Earth 3]] appears to be this, as he concentrates his efforts on [[spoiler:his YouKillItYouBoughtIt powers to steal power from other super beings]].
* ShockAndAwe: [[spoiler:Alexander Luthor by way of the magic of Mazahs. It's voice activated, though, so [[HoistByHisOwnPetard it can be used against him by Lex]].]]
* SlasherSmile: Johnny Quick's default expression, it would seem.

* StrappedToABomb: Dick Grayson is strapped to what's called the "Murder Machine", a bomb that only stops if Dick's heart stops beating. [[spoiler:Lex stopped it by having him suffocated and Batman promptly flipped out. However, Lex says it's not too late, and revives Dick with a shot of adrenaline]].
* SuperpowerLottery: [[spoiler:Alexander Luthor has the power of Mazahs (implying magic fuelled FlyingBrick powers) and can steal the powers of others.]]

* WhamEpisode:
** Issue 1: The Justice Leagues are missing, the power grids in cities are down, The Crime Syndicate has freed and gathered all the super-villains to take over the world, and Nightwing's secret identity is publicly revealed.
** Issue 4: Sinestro returns to save Batman from Power Ring, after seemingly [[NoPlaceForMeThere leaving the universe to its fate]] after ''ComicBook/WrathOfTheFirstLantern''.
** Issue 5: Sinestro kills Power Ring, leaving his ring to seek out others. The now-freed Ring of Volthoom sends out a ''multiversal'' pulse to bring in the entity that destroyed Earth 3 to Prime Earth.
** Issue 6: The man with the hood is [[spoiler:Earth 3's ComicBook/LexLuthor, who calls upon the powers of Mazahs and is set on destroying both sides of the conflict to become Prime Earth's greatest hero.]]
** Issue 7: [[spoiler:Luthor's team saves the Justice League and kills the Earth 3 Luthor, Superwoman's child is revealed to be that of Earth 3 Luthor's and Bizarro ends up dying fighting the Earth 3 Luthor. At the end, Vibe and Elemental Woman disappear, Luthor and Captain Cold accept a presidential pardon for their crimes for their actions, Luthor realizes Bruce Wayne is Batman... oh, and while Superman thinks that Darkseid is the one who destroyed Earth 3, it isn't -- it's the [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Anti-Monitor]] and he's gunning for Darkseid once he's strong enough!]]
* WhamLine:
** In Issue 6 of the main series, the hooded prisoner reveals his powerset and which character he is a MirrorUniverse version of by screaming that character's name backwards:
--->'''Hooded Prisoner:''' [[spoiler:Mazahs!]]
** In the very last panel of Issue 7 (combined with WhamShot), the one who destroyed Earth-3 is revealed to be someone quite familiar to the DC Universe:
--->... but I will find you another universe to consume, [[spoiler:Anti-Monitor]].

[[caption-width-right:350:Hope won't save the world. But maybe together... we can.]]

''Forever Evil'' also has three 6-issue tie-in miniseries: ''Forever Evil: [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Arkham War]]'', ''Forever Evil: [[ComicBook/TheFlash Rogues Rebellion]]'', and ''Forever Evil: [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica A.R.G.U.S.]]''. It has tie-ins in ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague2011'', ''[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica2013 Justice League of America (2013)]]'', ''Comicbook/SuicideSquad'', and ''ComicBook/TeenTitans''.

* WorldHalfEmpty: All of the world's greatest superheroes "disappear" (i.e. the three Justice League teams) and the Secret Society unites most of the supervillains due to the finale of Comicbook/TrinityWar, and the entire planet immediately descends into anarchy and chaos. Looters and riots everywhere; villains wandering around murdering, framing, and torturing people at will with the [[MilitariesAreUseless goverment]] and [[PoliceAreUseless police]] being completely unable to do anything about it. They exist [[RedShirtArmy only to die]].

[[redirect:ComicBook/ForeverEvil]]