The series opens with a battle against several supervillains in Kansas. Though Superman of the JLA tries to defuse the crisis, a new generation of antiheroes causes the fight to descend into chaos. The harsh and violent crimefighter Magog faces off against the villains' leader, the Major Force. When Major Force is wounded, his subsequent rampage sees Kansas devastated and much of the American Midwest left an irradiated waste.
During his ten-year retirement from superheroics, Clark Kent lives at a new farm with Lois on the borders of the Kansas ruins. During this time she befriends minister Norman McKay, who is undergoing visions of a coming superhuman conflict. Norman is the narrator of the story with a unique connection to the Spectre, who stands by passing judgment on the human and superhuman world.
The new and violent generation of antiheroes eventually causes Clark to rethink his retirement. In this case, his successor Superwoman (formerly Supergirl) has kept up the fight and become rivals with not just Magog, but the roguish Manchester Black. Black, a violent vigilante who has nothing but contempt for "relic" heroes of the past, sees violence as the quick and simple solution to fighting crime and acts as a toxic influence on the more popular Magog. Returning to action, Superman dons a black 'S' shield in mourning of the Midwest disaster, allying with Superwoman and Wonder Woman to rebuild the JLA.
