Episode 88: Conqueror's Moon
Takes place 10-13 February 2012 (Earth 16), 26-27 December 2004 (Earth 50)
This is a primarily Renegade episode.
Short version
The Renegade returns to Earth 50, killing the local Grayven and rescuing Scott Free from imprisonment.
Longer version
While demonstrating his divine powers for Sunset Shimmer to analyse, the Renegade senses universe 50's Scott Free on board a thanagarian ship, leaving him concerned for Scott's safety. He travels to universe 50, making peaceful contact with the Justice Lords and semi-peaceful contact with Stormwatch, who let him know that Scott was helping the thanagarians to evacuate from Grayven 50's invasion.
The Renegade attempts a rescue, but is overpowered and captured by Grayven 50 and Doctor Impossible. Grayven 50 reveals that he plans to conquer Earth and experiment on its population to learn how to turn humans into New Gods, so that he can get more officers for his fleet. To demonstrate his power and break the Renegade's spirit, he destroys the Watchtower; the Renegade, believing his allies (including Sunset Shimmer) to have died in the blast, retaliates by activating the Anti-Life Equation fragment embedded in his soul, overloading the spiritual imprisonment system and causing Grayven 50 to flee.
With Scott, Barda and Lantern Rayner released, the Renegade then assaults Grayven 50 on the bridge. Though seriously wounded by Grayven 50's omega beams, he is eventually able to kill Grayven 50 with the Sword of the Fallen, along with Granny Goodness.
In the aftermath, Sunset is revealed to be alive, having gone to visit Themyscira (since there were no New Gods on the Watchtower for her to study), but the status of Batman 50 is unknown. The episode ends with the Renegade attempting to resurrect the wife of Kanto, New God of Assassins, in repayment for Kanto's non-interference in the duel with Grayven 50.
The title is a reference to "Hunter's Moon", a canonical episode on Earth 50.
- Dangerous Forbidden Technique: You know things are serious when the Renegade deliberately uses the Anti-Life Equation.
- Foil: Grayven 50 sees the Renegade, his quasi-counterpart, as one to himself, with the Renegade encouraging the comparison, and there is some truth to it. Grayven 50 favors direct conquest, hard and brutal conquering and assimilation of assets into his armies afterwards, and his godly abilities are on a higher level, affecting his entire empire and battering the Renegade in their God-speech fight. The Renegade, meanwhile, prefers to play the long game when possible, subtly undermining his enemies before striking fast and reaping greater rewards by converting people to his cause and uplifting them and enhancing their abilities so they can offer him greater help in the future. His god-speech is still developing, but he's learning ways to use it that New Gods don't consider, and he has more than one source of power to draw on, including the piece of the Anti-Life Equation in his soul.
- Heel Realization: Since the Renegade's last visit, Diana 50 has faced her mistakes - by tying herself up in the Lasso of Truth, which compelled her to be honest with herself.Diana: It is no easy thing to confront all of your assumptions about the way things are and have your self-deceits torn away.
- Never Found the Body: Grayven 50's hyperblaster left essentially no remains from the Watchtower, leaving it an open question who was actually on board at the time.
- Sunset Shimmer turned out to have taken baby Rex on a visit to Themyscira in search of gods to study.
- Batman 50 is missing, but Nightwing hasn't given up on him.Richard: He had a minute between the boom tube opening and the Watchtower being destroyed. There are dozens of contingencies he could have activated in that time.
- Offscreen Breakup: Grayven and Blackfire are apparently growing apart. This is surprising because at one point
Word of God was that they would marry, but then again, plans change. - Open Mouth, Insert Foot: The Renegade opens a boom tube to the Watchtower and boldly announces himself - while John Stewart is trying to get the baby to sleep, three hours in.
- Phlebotinum Overdose: Sunset placed sensors on the Renegade to measure what happened when he exerted his Conquest aura - except that when he did, he included the sensors themselves in the area of effect, burning them out.
- Summon Bigger Fish: When Grayven 50 is reinforced by a second New God, Doctor Impossible, the Renegade resorts to contacting the Ophidian for help - and unlike the Paragon timeline, she's not particularly friendly. However, she does seem to be more upset by Grayven 50, who "sounds like the gnat!", and attacks him first.
- Villain Respect: Grayven 50 chats with the Renegade about his plans, and marvels at how he's never before met anyone so much on his wavelength. He still plans to break the Renegade's soul and kill all his friends, but no hard feelings!
- Words Can Break My Bones: New Gods have a habit of doing this.
- The Renegade challenges Grayven 50's domain, and they compete by making God-speech statements about their nature and achievements, which ripple through the surrounding arcane networks. For example, the Renegade attacks with "Challenge The Hegemon", matching Grayven 50's existing layers of "Lead From The Van" and "Moved By My Design" woven throughout his empire, upon which Grayven 50 takes notice and retaliates with "ALL SHALL KNEEL", which the Renegade subverts with "All Shall Bow In Time".
- After Grayven 50 destroys the Watchtower, where the Renegade left several allies, the Renegade furiously retaliates by stating "Life=Pain", unleashing the piece of the Anti-Life Equation that is embedded in his soul. Grayven 50 flees in apparent suffering as if being physically attacked.
