Part 1
Superman and Martian Manhunter are far from Earth, near Saturn, trying to prevent an asteroid from continuing on a path that will cause it to collide with Earth when something goes wrong. They have attached two giant rockets to the asteroid to move it. When the rockets are ignited they cause a chain reaction which causes the asteroid to explode. The two heroes are knocked unconscious.
Superman and Martian Manhunter are picked up by aliens and taken to War World. The planet is ruled by Mongul who seems mostly interested in the gladiatorial fights. Superman and Martian Manhunter attempt to escape from the prison under the arena after Superman defeats a giant crocodile. Martian Manhunter escapes thanks to his phasing ability but Superman is unable to break through the force field that .surrounds the arena
Hawkgirl was on the Watchtower at the time of the explosion and in contact with Superman and Martian Manhunter. She tells Green Lantern what she knows about their missing friends. The two heroes go looking for their missing friends. They start with the site of the explosion. They find an ion trail indicating that another spaceship was in the area. The ion trail leads them to a refueling space station. There they learn about War World and convince one of the aliens they meet to lead them there.
Superman is forced to fight, Draaga, the gladiatorial champion of War World. Draaga is no slouch but in the end Superman is victorious. Mongul orders Superman to kill the defeated former champion. Superman refuses so Mongul has his robots attack the Man of Steel.
Part 2
Superman is spared after the crowd in the arena starts chanting his name. Superman becomes the new champion. The other gladiators want to help him escape but he refuses to go without his friend, J'onn J'onzz. He asks them to help Draaga escape in his place.
Hawkgirl and Green Lantern get double crossed by the alien who was going to take them to War World. He knocks them out and dumps them on a run down planet. There they meet Draaga who has branded his chest with the letter S. He offers to lead them to War World. He double crosses them when they arrive on War World and runs off.
Superman is forced to fight Mongul in the arena. Mongul threatens to destroy Draaga's home planet with a planet destroying weapon if Superman doesn't let him win. J'onn J'onzz is sneaking around and overhears Mongul's threat. He heads to the giant cannon and first attempts to use subterfuge to destroy the giant gun. He disguises himself as Mongul and orders the weapon destroyed but that doesn't work when he accidentally changes shape in the middle of giving the order. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl show up and help him finish the job, through more conventional means.
Superman fights Mongul in the arena. Draaga shows up in the middle of the fight. He seeks to regain his honor by defeating Superman. Superman tells him about what Mongul has threatened to do if he doesn't win. The other three heroes show up and fill Draga and Superman in on what they just did. Draaga defeats Mongul in hand-to-hand combat.
Thoughts
I really enjoy deep space adventures like this one and In Blackest Night. I love how they expand the universe in which he show takes place.
This story also sees the first team-up of Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. There will be further developments in their relationship in this series and in JLU.
Once again it feels as if the story was a little over-stuffed. There wasn't quite enough room for everything that they tried to pack into this story.
Not a perfect story but a fun one. For a different take on this story I recommend reading this review from The World's Finest web site.
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