Several supervillains start having recurring nightmares where Earth is destroyed by a nuclear armageddon that the
Justice League of America fails to prevent. Believing that the League's overconfidence in their abilities and the exaggerated faith humanity has in them will be their ruin, the villains decide to band together to destroy the Justice League and save the world as they see fit.
Toyman,
Scarecrow,
Poison Ivy and
Captain Cold help solve the world's greatest problems, like hunger and physical disabilities, which turns public opinion against the Justice League.
Lex Luthor and
Black Manta capture
Aquaman and take him to an alien city located within a black sphere at the bottom of the sea, where he is left under the care of
Brainiac.
Martian Manhunter locates him, as Aquaman has telepathically instructed the oceanic wildlife to form lines visible from space that point to his location. Before he can free Aquaman, Manhunter is ambushed by
Gorilla Grodd, who incapacitates him. The rest of the Justice League members -
Red Tornado,
Wonder Woman,
Green Lantern,
Green Arrow,
Black Canary,
Hawkman,
Hawkwoman, and
Atom - are ambushed by the Legion of Doom's members. Red Tornado finds clues that could lead to Aquaman's location, but is attacked and destroyed by an unknown traitor in the League. signing copies of the hardcover collected editions at
Midtown Comics Grand Central in Manhattan. Superman's call for help is answered by
Captain Marvel, who singlehandedly dispatches Superman's aggressors. Marvel takes Superman to the
Batcave and discovers that Superman and Batman have been infected with mechanical worms, which had forced Batman to destroy Red Tornado. Captain Marvel throws Superman into the Sun, destroying the worms. They head to the
Watchtower to get some answers, but it explodes before they can board it. Martian Manhunter regains control of his body and calls
Zatanna to help save Aquaman and Red Tornado. They retrieve Aquaman's body from Brainiac's city and take it to the
Chief, who saves him and returns him to life. The League recovers Red Tornado's remains from the destroyed Watchtower and has them repaired by
Will Magnus, leader of the
Metal Men. The League members warn Hawkman and Hawkwoman, who had defeated Toyman, that his hideout is located in Midway City, where they find out that he is building robotic bodies for Brainiac, and have the
Phantom Stranger rescue Green Lantern. Green Arrow, Black Canary, Atom,
Plastic Man,
Elongated Man,
Metamorpho, the Metal Men, and the
Doom Patrol are all called to Superman's
Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic. Batman is found by Wonder Woman, who is able to return him to sanity with her magic lasso. They capture Captain Cold, who reveals the truth: The dream was fabricated by Luthor, Brainiac and Grodd to create a Legion of Doom and use them to destroy the Justice League. The mechanical worms were stolen designs from
Dr. Sivana, based on
Mister Mind's powers, and Brainiac lobotomized Aquaman to find out if his brain could be used to control Grodd. In the ensuing battle, most of the villains are defeated, but Brainiac, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy,
Cheetah, and Black Manta escape. The
Green Lantern Corps manages to prevent the nuclear armageddon. ==Continuity==