As a result of their killing the Flash, Captain Cold, the Mirror Master, Abra Kadabra, and the Weather Wizard had been sent to the planet first. After two weeks of fighting, they were starting to snipe at each other, and the minor injuries were beginning to mount. They were searching for a mythical
Salvation Run is a DC crossover event tying into Countdown to Final Crisis. Amanda Waller and Rick Flag, through Checkmate and the Suicide Squad, launched a campaign to round up all of the world's most harmful super-villains and deport them off planet, the idea being that they would not be unlawfully jailed or sentenced to their deaths, but merely exiled to a planet thousands of light years away, where they would be incapable of continuing to hurt people. They were left with their weapons and equipment and the planet chosen was specifically identified as being a harmless environment and with adequate resources for the villains to begin their own civilization if they choose to get along and work together.However, factors beyond Checkmate's control showed the planet to actually have been a dormant, almost mechanical world filled with dangerous killer beasts. The villains were forced to deal with their circumstances, and confront a community entirely composed of dangerous and/or psychotic criminals, where the greatest danger to them was a difficult tie between the world trying to kill them and they themselves.
History
As a result of their killing the Flash, Captain Cold, the Mirror Master, Abra Kadabra, and the Weather Wizard had been sent to the planet first. After two weeks of fighting, they were starting to snipe at each other, and the minor injuries were beginning to mount. They were searching for a mythical "safe zone" free from killer biomechs, which the primitive native life forms were also searching for. They were then joined by the group that attacked the Green Arrow and the Black Canary's wedding, as well as the Joker. The new arrivals did not believe how bad the situation is (except for Psimon), but upon being attacked they wised up. Unknown to them, the planet's situation was due to the machinations of DeSaad, who had his own plans for the villains.
The villains formed a rough camp, and new prisoners were sent. The new arrivals were sent to find food and information. This not only integrated them into the community, but also weeded out the less capable villains. They were divided on a plan - several villains wanted to go home, while some wanted to remain and build a civilization. However, when Psimon proposed the second course, in a plan which would force the (numerically inferior) female super-villains to remain constantly pregnant by different fathers, the Joker killed him with a rock. This act of casual brutality put him in a position of power, and enforced the position that they should stay and do nothing.
On Earth, the Suicide Squad had captured Lex Luthor, the criminal mastermind. Sending him to the prison planet along with several members of the Squad who were considered too dangerous for normal society, he quickly cemented his position by promising to get the villains home. This put him at odds with the Joker, who was content to live off the work of others. Grodd, unwilling to serve under Luthor, sided with the Joker, and used his mental powers to plan a coup. However, Luthor had planned for this, and the Joker eventually ended the coup by taking his group out of the camp and setting up his own camp. Luthor was rather pleased with this, since it both removed rogue elements from their own camp and gave them someone to blame when things go wrong. Catwoman, however, remained in the background.
The Brain and Monsieur Mallah of the Brotherhood of Evil tried to convince Grodd to join them in staging another coup, but he rejected them, insulting Mallah. Enraged, the two great apes attacked each other, and in the end Mallah and the Brain were killed and Grodd was critically wounded. The Joker then double-crossed Grodd, kicking him into a ravine. Meanwhile, Vandal Savage had taken four female super-villains to his latest find - the safe zone. Here, he said, they would "build Paradise".
The Joker's camp decided to live off the other camp's efforts, and staged a raid. This ended in a standoff, where both men had guns to their heads. Catwoman, nominally part of Luthor's group but rarely in the camp, was looking at the situation from a tree when she was spotted and captured by the other villains. Luthor began to set her up as a scapegoat, trying to divert both groups' rage against a common target, but she ducked their efforts, revealing her trump card - the Martian Manhunter had infiltrated the prisoners disguised as the Blockbuster. Both camps unite, as Luthor had planned, and they incapacitated the Martian Manhunter. DeSaad decided that this was the time to execute his plan: to use the united villains as the perfect training tool for his Parademons.
On the prison planet, Luthor had led a development team consisting of Doctor Sivana, Professor Ivo and General Immortus to put the finishing touches to the teleportation device which would get them back to Earth. However, when Thunder and Lightning were caught sneaking food to the Martian Manhunter, the Joker and Luthor disagreed on how to deal with them. This argument led the two men to fight. After a shaky first round, the Joker emerged triumphant, and was about to kill Luthor when the Parademons arrived. Once again the villains united against a common foe. However, the teleportation device was endangered by the fight, so Catwoman convinced Luthor to use Warp's teleportatin ability to move the device to Vandal Savage's camp in the safe zone - which was in danger of falling apart due to Savage's habit of manipulating those around him. Luthor set up the device, and it was revealed that he had been working with Grodd. As they set up the device, Warp said he "needs to do something" and flew away. Soon afterwards, Luthor activated the device and the villains were all set to go back to Earth. Luthor opted to go last, and used this period to open the machine up - to reveal that it drew power from several of the prison planet's inmates, enslaved by Grodd's telepathy. They accused him of destroying their lives, and he responded by blaming the "heroes" who sent them here; he, meanwhile, had saved as many lives as he could. He then left, taunting the Parademons to approach the teleporter, and passed through it just before it exploded, killing most of the Parademons and the inmates. The view then shifted around the planet, taking in the destruction of the safe zone, the burning ruins of the camp, and the Martian Manhunter, imprisoned in a cage surrounded by flames, doomed to permanent exile. This was juxtaposed with a monologue by Captain Cold, remarking that, in a disaster, villains lasted longer than heroes because villains always "find a way."
Camps
Camp Luthor
- Lex Luthor
- Bane
- Black Spider
- Blockbuster (actually the Martian Manhunter in disguise)
- Bloodsport
- Brain
- Catwoman
- Chemo
- Deadshot
- Doctor Light
- Doctor Sivana
- Hammer and Sickle
- Ibac
- Iron Cross (of the Aryan Brigade)
- Lady Vic
- Metallo
- Mister Freeze
- Mister Terrible
- Monsieur Mallah
- Neutron
- Professor Ivo
- Rock
- The Rogues
- Silver Swan
- Tapeworm
- The Body Doubles
- Shadow Thief
- Thunder and Lightning
- Shimmer
- Splitshot (of the Superior Five)
- Stranglehold (of the Hangmen)
- Warp
Camp Joker
- Joker
- Bolt
- Brutale
- Cicada
- Effigy
- Giganta
- Girder
- Gorilla Grodd
- Hyena
- Jewelee
- Jinx
- Jongleur (of the Superior Five)
- Kid Karnevil
- Killer Croc
- Killer Frost
- Leather
- Magenta
- Mammoth
- Man-Bat
- Manticore
- Poison Ivy
- Rag Doll
- Skorpio
- Solomon Grundy
- Sonar
- Tar Pit
- Tremor (of the Superior Five)
- Two-Face
Camp Savage
Issues
Issues in event have not yet been added.
Notes
- Salvation Run is one of many offshoot miniseries from Countdown to Final Crisis.
- Catwoman (Volume 3) #75-77 occurs during the miniseries.
Deaths
- Hellhound II - Fed to the "Lion-Lizards" by the Body Doubles.
- Psimon - Killed by the Joker.
- Iron Cross - Killed when Lex Luthor blew up the teleporter that he was powering.
- Brain - Killed by Gorilla Grodd.
- Monsieur Mallah - Killed by Gorilla Grodd.
- Hyena - Killed by a Parademon.
- Neutron - Killed when Lex Luthor blew up the teleporter that he was powering.
- Plasmus - Killed when Lex Luthor blew up the tepelorter that he was powering.
- Heatmonger (of the Aryan Brigade) - Killed when Lex Luthor blew up the teleporter that she was powering.
- Thunder and Lightning - Killed when Lex Luthor blew up the teleporter that they were powering.
- Solomon Grundy - Killed by a Parademon.
- Warp - Killed when Lex Luthor blew up the teleporter that he was powering.
Links and References
 
One-Shots
Grant Morrison's Recommended Reading Order
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