Big Twisted Bomb

Big Twisted Bomb is the 23rd episode of Justice League: Knights of Rao.

Featured Characters

 * Justice League
 * The Atom / Ray Palmer (first appearance)
 * Batman / Bruce Wayne (flashback and main story)
 * Flash / Barry Allen
 * Geo-Force / Brion Markov
 * Green Lantern / Hal Jordan
 * Star Sapphire / Carol Ferris
 * Stargirl / Courtney Whitmore
 * Supergirl / Kara Zor-El
 * Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-El
 * Wonder Woman / Diana of Themyscira
 * White Lantern / Kyle Rayner
 * Bat-Family
 * Batgirl / Barbara Gordon (flashback and main story)
 * Nightwing / Dick Grayson (flashback and main story)
 * Red Robin / Tim Drake
 * Robin / Damian Wayne

Supporting Characters

 * Alfred Pennyworth
 * Gotham City Police Dept (flashback and main story)
 * Harvey Bullock (first appearance)
 * James "Jim" Gordon
 * Renee Montoya (first appearance)
 * Lois Lane
 * Terra / Tara Markov

Villains

 * Project Cadmus
 * Professor Achilles Milo (single appearance) (dies)
 * Professor Hugo Strange (single appearance) (dies)
 * New Brainiac (single appearance) (flashback only) (dies)
 * Deformed Super-Soldiers
 * Brainiac Robots
 * Victor Zsasz (single appearance) (dies)
 * White Amazo (single apperance) (destroyed in this issue)
 * Lex Luthor
 * Red Hood / Jason Todd (flashback and main story)
 * Ninjas

Other Characters

 * Iris West

Summary
Project Cadmus' scientists attempt to create a new Brainiac using Lex Luthor's mind, Amazo's component and deceased Victor Zsasz's corpse in hopes of using him to rehabilitate the agency's trust in mankind, but their plan backfires when their new creation also adapts to Zsasz's mind and his immeasurable psychic powers to create an energy dome around himself in New Mexico desert, threatening the entire country. As the Justice League works to escort the citizens away from their incoming doom, Superman works his way to get close to the New Brainiac and stop him before it is too late as Luthor is closer than usual to lose everyone's trust in him. At the same time, Batman's proteges Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin and Red Robin take on a gang of outlaw ninjas trained by the Red Hood in Gotham City.

Plot
It all starts with a small flashback set two weeks ago, on which Batman, Nightwing and Batgirl were chasing after homicidal psychopath Victor Zsasz, who had escaped Arkham to go for a murderous rampage. Turned out that he was abducted by Red Hood, who had broken him out of the Arkham van he was being carried on and exacted to grant Zsasz a more worthy punishment. Batman, Nightwing and Batgirl managed to track Zsasz and lead Commissioner Gordon and his men in there, but they ended up finding the psychopath dead (offscreen). Spotting red daggers in the room, Batman only muttered: "Jason" (as he was aware that Red Hood did this), to his and their proteges' sad disappointment.

In present day, in a Project Cadmus facility located in a desert near New Mexico, scientists Achilles Milo and Hugo Strange find themselves the agency's only head members left after the others were exposed for their crimes and are working hard to rehabilitate Cadmus' reputation, which was damaged by the Knights of Rao after their battle with the Enchantress. They try by ordering their agents create a new powerful Brainiac clone using the original Amazo's components, Luthor's mind and the corpse of Victor Zsasz, which was scavenged, salvaged and collected by the Arkham Asylum staff, but later stolen by one of Project Cadmus' spies. The experiment appears to be an success, but unfortunately, the New Brainiac also adapts to Zsasz's twisted mind and conjures an explosion which obliterates the facility and kills Milo and Strange. Meanwhile, Nightwing and Batgirl have assembled Robin and Red Robin to deal with a clan of ninjas organised by Red Hood, who is working to eliminate crime in Gotham by any means necessary.

In the Watchtower, Superman watches as Batman and Wonder Woman train Terra until they are contacted by Green Lantern and Flash, who alert them of Project Cadmus robots and subjects going berserk and wreaking havoc around the world. As the trio and Terra join the fight, Geo-Force and Professor Ray Palmer (The Atom) work into tracking down the source of the subjects' activity and locate New Brainiac. In Gotham City, the Bat-Family confronts Todd and his clan and a fight issues. While the others keep the ninjas occupied, Nightwing battles the Red Hood himself. The fight is interrupted when a White Mark of Amazo storms in and attacks both sides, leading the two to work together. Just as the Justice League head into the New Mexico desert, New Brainiac creates an massive energy dome around himself which threatens to engulf the country. As the storm erupts and the Justice League work to shelter the citizens, Superman flies to the desert and struggles against extreme forces and wind generated by the field as he walks towards it. After going inside the energy field, Superman finds the New Brainiac, who is now a deformed, paralytic, but still psychotic looking version of Zsasz. Brainiac taunts that he will not stop his rampage because he and Lex Luthor do not want to.

Zsasz eventually shows Superman (and then the entire world) images of the monstrous beings Luthor wanted to be, including the Orange Lantern the Justice League and the Titans fought against. Another image and footage is Luthor merged with Brainiac as one god-like figure, as Luthor himself starts feeling humiliated. Just as New Brainiac mocks that Superman does not have the will to destroy him, the Man of Steel, claiming that he was already dead when he was created, flies him off Earth and freezes him in space, destroying him and saving the country. The super-soldiers are returned to normal as the robots are weakened, allowing the League to finish them off. Just as White Amazo is destroyed, Red Hood and his clan, deciding that Gotham is not worth saving anymore, vanish. As they work to salvage the destroyed robots, the heroes overhear the public voicing accusations on Luthor over the incident as Terra calmly concludes that Luthor is "starting to know how it feels to be framed." and is planning to make sure that there is no chance he can clear his name as a retribution for what happened until Lois wants her to calm down and assures her that even if he had, he would not make it.

Voice Actors

 * George Newbern as Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-El
 * Kevin Conroy as Batman / Bruce Wayne
 * Grey DeLisle as Wonder Woman / Princess Diana of Themyscira
 * Dana Delany as Lois Lane
 * Ashley Johnson as Terra / Tara Markov
 * Jason Marsden as Geo-Force / Brion Markov
 * Tara Strong as Supergirl / Kara Zor-El, Robin / Damian Wayne
 * Scott Menville as Nightwing / Dick Grayson
 * Kath Soucie as Batgirl / Barbara Gordon
 * Xander Berkeley as Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon
 * Roger Craig Smith as Red Robin / Tim Drake
 * Wally Wingert as Flash / Barry Allen
 * Kari Wahlgren as Iris West
 * Josh Keaton as Green Lantern / Hal Jordan
 * Jodi Benson as Star Sapphire / Carol Ferris
 * Sam Riegel as White Lantern / Kyle Rayner
 * Natalie Lander as Stargirl / Courtney Whitmore
 * Laura Bailey as Renee Montoya
 * Grant George as the Atom / Professor Ray Palmer
 * Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor
 * Cameron Bowen as Red Hood / Jason Todd, Professor Acchiles Milo
 * Steve Blum as New Brainiac, Victor Zsasz
 * Corey Burton as Professor Hugo Strange, Harvey Bullock
 * Dee Bradley Baker as White Amazo