Superman & Batman: Generations - Plot Summaries - Generations 3

Generations 3 starts in the year 1925, with each subsequent issue jumping forward a century, except issues #7 and #8, which both partially dealt with the 26th century as well as the 19th century. The story features characters from the future timelines of the DC Universe, especially Jack Kirby's New Gods.

• Century 20: Crosstime Crisis — In 1925, Clark Kent, Pete Ross, and Lana Lang are surprised when Saturn Girl bursts into the Kent home looking for Superboy. A spaceship filled with strange armored creatures has crashed near Smallville. Superboy investigates and is attacked. The army, commanded by Captain Sam Lane arrives. Young Bruce Wayne learns of the crash and flies to Smallville to help, while Lana and a young Lois Lane enter Saturn Girl's time machine. Superboy destroys the aliens with a device provided by Bruce. A dying Saturn Girl uses her powers to erase knowledge of the event from everyone's mind. The time machine returns to the future, with Lois and Lana aboard.

• Century 21: Doomsday Minus 1 — As Knightwing introduces his twin daughters Supergirl Red and Supergirl Blue, the robotic brain of Lex Luthor escapes. Superman is troubled by memories of an alien invasion in 1925 that no one remembers. He travels to New Genesis to confer with Highfather, but when he arrives he sees the fire pits of Apokolips go out. The Supergirls and Omac fight Luthor and his mysterious allies, but he gains the upper hand and neutralizes Omac. Knightwing arrives, but Luthor's allies vanish before they can be caught. Luthor tells Knightwing this is the day the world ends and detonates some kind of bomb.

• Century 22: Out of the Ashes — 100 years ago Luthor activated a device that prevents all power sources on Earth or a thousand miles from it from being used. Now civilization is in ruins, and the survivors, led by Batman and his descendants, live in an underground complex. The surface is left to mutant animals and a few humans, including a man named Kamandi. Superman has not been seen in nearly a century. Knightwing, now posing as Superman, and the Supergirls are all that remain to fight the Parademons. Batman manages to revive the Brother Eye satellite. He has been keeping tabs on Kamandi, who is a descendant of Buddy Blank, aka Omac, and plans to revive the One-Man Army Corps as a weapon against the Parademons.

• Century 23: Return of the Warrior — Stephanie Trevor, the second Wonder Woman, is fatally injured while fighting Parademons, and the Supergirls take her to Paradise Island. Her mother, now Queen of the Amazons, is unable to revive Stephanie with the Purple Ray. Angered over her daughter's death, Wonder Woman returns to fight the Parademons before they can destroy the OMACs. Meanwhile, stranded on New Genesis, Superman has married Beautiful Dreamer, who manages to unlock his memory of the 1925 invasion that Saturn Girl had repressed.

• Century 24: Family Secrets — As Bruce Wayne, Jr. lays dying, Batman tells Wonder Woman the reason for his son's longevity. As seen at the end of Generations 2, the dying Mrs. Wayne gives her son and ex-husband a tape to play that reveals Bruce is not BJ's father. Analyzing the tape, they deduce it was recorded in London. BJ uses the Lazarus Pit to become young enough to aid Batman, and they travel to London to meet Cyril Sheldrake, the former Squire. Cyril takes them to a recording studio where they are attacked by one of the roving gangs infesting London. They manage to subdue the gang and listen to the tape. It reveals that BJ is Bruce's son; Mrs. Wayne lied to trick BJ into using the Lazarus Pit, something he had refused to do before. As BJ dies, the ghost of Kara Kent appears, and takes his spirit to the afterlife.

• Century 25: Love in the Time of Apocalypse — On Apokolips, Darkseid is revived by Desaad and other members of his elite guard. On Earth, Supergirl Blue is in love with Green Lantern Ator, but since her body is stuck at the physical age of 11, Ator is uncomfortable with the relationship. Several other Green Lanterns find the buried robot body of Lex Luthor, who goes on a rampage. While the Green Lanterns fight Luthor, Supergirl Blue uses gold Kryptonite to remove her powers, allowing her to age. Ator manages to stop Luthor, but Luthor uploads his mind into the city's computer, leaving Ator with an atomic bomb. Ator contains the explosion with his power ring, but is trapped inside with the radiation. The now powerless Supergirl Blue must stand by and watch Ator die.

• Century 26: History Lesson (Part 1) — Metron of the New Gods opens a portal that returns Superman to Earth, where he is attacked by Supergirl Blue and a superpowered Batman. Eventually Superman convinces them of his identity, and Batman tells what has happened. In addition to the Parademons returning every 100 years to attack Smallville, civilization had been destroyed by Lex Luthor. At one point he blanketed the Earth in green Kryptonite radiation, killing Clark Wayne and Supergirl Red. Luthor manages to destroy all the OMAC soldiers, including the original Buddy Blank. Supergirl Blue uses Luthor's serum to restore her powers, and convinces Batman to use it as well. The two find they are immune to Kryptonite, and finally defeat Luthor. Superman takes Batman and Supergirl to Smallville, where they find the body of Saturn Girl. He tells them the answer to the Parademon attacks lie in the future, and flies off to the 30th century.

• Century 19: History Lesson (Part 2) — Seconds after Superman leaves, Supergirl hears a signal from underground. She digs up a box which contains Superman. His attempt to reach the future was blocked, and he was hurled into the late 19th century. There he meets Mister Miracle (who is the sheriff of Smallville) and Metron, as well as a young Jonathan Kent. Kent is seeking revenge against Jonah Hex, a bounty hunter Kent claims killed fourteen innocent men. A young Martha Clark begs Kent not to face Hex, but Kent is determined. In a showdown, Hex easily disarms Kent, then breaks Kent's glasses instead of killing him. Just then the criminal that Hex was hunting appears and fires at Hex. Hex kills the criminal, but the shot meant for Hex hits Martha instead. Superman forces Metron to bring a doctor to save Martha's life, but her injuries mean she will never have children. Jonathan tells Martha they will get married as soon as she is well. Metron tells Superman he cannot reach the future under his own power, and places him in a suspended animation chamber underground. Meanwhile, Darkseid reveals his greatest weapon: Parademons with the power of independent thought.

• Century 27: A Soldier's Story — During a Parademon attack on Earth, one is separated from his squad. He hides in a small house, where he meets the owner, an elderly blind woman. The Parademon tells his history. Centuries ago, Apokolips was destroyed in the final battle between Orion and Darkseid. Darkseid's essence was preserved by special machinery hidden in the heart of the planet. When Darkseid was revived, he developed new Parademons with the ability to think for themselves. Their mission is to travel back in time to defeat the heroes of Earth. The old woman, actually Supergirl Blue, kills the Parademon so that no one will learn they are sentient. In the future, the time machine with Lois and Lana finally materializes.

• Century 28: Gods and Monsters — On Earth, Batman and Supergirl Blue bury their son Thomas. A dying Metron appears and gives Superman a device that will allow him one round trip to New Genesis. He activates it, and is met by Lar-el and Vara, his children with Beautiful Dreamer. Parademons attack, followed by Darkseid. All the New Gods are killed, leaving only Superman and his children. Darkseid captures Beautiful Dreamer, and kills Superman's children when they try to rescue her. Darkseid leaves, but not before breaking Beautiful Dreamer's neck. Superman returns to Earth to tell Batman what has happened.

• Century 29: Little Girls Lost — Lana Lang and Lois Lane are in Smallville in the year 2825. In a Superman Museum they discover that Clark Kent is Superman, and that Lois will one day marry him. Outside they stumble across Superman fighting a troop of Parademons. They are almost attacked, but are saved by Supergirl Blue. Batman realizes they can use the time bubble to reach the final Parademon attack in 2925. The heroes first return the two girls to 1925 and rescue Saturn Girl. Superman has Saturn Girl wipe the memories of everyone for a thousand miles before taking the time machine to the future. They land in 2925 as energy beams strike all around them.

• Century 30: Time and Time Again — With Darkseid's forces attacking the Earth, the heroes fan out. Supergirl Blue destroys a weapon called the Sky Scorcher, but is fatally injured. The dying Supergirl tells Batman the only way to stop Darkseid is to destroy him just after his resurrection, changing the timeline. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern Jordan Kelley go back in time to Darkseid's space station. Green Lantern and Wonder Woman are killed, but Batman causes Granny Goodness to overload the station's power supplies. Superman attacks Darkseid, who fires his Omega Beams at the Man of Steel. Superman throws Desaad into the beams, and begins pummeling Darkseid. The space station explodes, and the energy wave reboots the timeline. The new timeline is similar to that at the end of the first Generations, with no sign of Darkseid and the Earth at peace. Batman and Superman briefly recall Supergirl Blue, but the memory fades away.