Our entire world, our reality, is transforming into the broken, deranged, physical expression of a monstrous, alien will, and we all have to fight it. 
Final Crisis: Submit #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of December, 2008.
Synopsis for "Submit"
Black Lightning is being chased by war hounds and Justifiers. While at the same time Mark Richards, aka the Tattooed Man, and his family are trying to remain hidden from Darkseid's forces. Mark and his son Leon eventually run into Black Lightning and are forced to save him, and bringing him back to their hideout, which is an abandoned school.
Once Black Lightning wakes up, Mark is having an argument with his wife Michelle about harboring Black Lighting on the basis that he would bring trouble, especially driven by Mark's experience with superheroes. Despite Mark's misgivings, Black Lightning thanks him for saving him, and explains to everyone that he was heading for the Hall of Justice when he had heard an S.O.S. broadcast that brought him into his situation with the Justifiers. Now he request the Richards to prepare to leave as the Justifiers will certainly find them. Everyone except for Mark consent with Black Lightning and prepare to ride out on a school bus. Mark insists that their hideout is safe enough as he and his family had survived for at least two weeks; however, Black Lightning informs him that their location is compromised because he had heard of their S.O.S. signal and that Darkseid's forces will likely heard it as well. Mark draws his pistol on Black Lighting, believing that he had led their enemies to them. But Michelle admits to Mark that she was actually responsible for sending the signal out by using a computer without his knowledge. Mark relents and joins his family and Black Lightning in their escape, just as the Justifiers led by Killer Croc arrive.
Black Lightning and the Richards are forced into a chase. After Black Lightning temporarily stop their pursuers, they parked their damaged bus near the mouth of a traffic tunnel before fleeing into it on foot. Black Lighting urge the Richards to head down the other side of the tunnel where they will meet a S.H.A.D.E. relief chopper that will take them to Watchtower 6 while he stay behind to delay the Justifiers. Mark refuses to leave him but Black Lightning tells him that they don't have much time and that he needs his help to memorize "The Circuit" that is drawn on his glove. Black Lightning is then shot by Leon, who mistaken that he and Mark are fighting each other when in fact they were arguing, but manage to show Mark "The Circuit" before being overwhelmed by the Justifiers, whom they then convert Black Lighting into a Justifier.
Mark's family manage to escape with S.H.A.D.E. and Michelle explaining to Thunder of what had happened and apologizing to her of Black Lightning's fate. Mark had chose to journey to the Hall of Justice to carry out Black Lightning's message, in which Michelle remarks that Mark, becoming humbled by Black Lighting, had finally realized that he was neither a criminal or a villain, but a hero.
Appearing in "Submit"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Tattooed Man
- Michelle Richards
- Leon Richards
- Laurel Richards
- Thunder
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Final Crisis and Final Crisis New Edition.
- This issue leads directly into Final Crisis #4, in which Black Lightning is again seen as a Justifier.
Trivia
- As he burns the books that the Richards had attempted to rescue, Black Lightning muses that "What disagrees with Darkseid is heresy. What agrees with Darkseid is superfluous." This is a paraphrasing a famed quote by the Caliph Umar as he ordered that the Library of Alexandria be burned after the Arabs captured the city of Alexandria in 642 AD (The original quote was, "They [the books] will either contradict the Koran, in which case they are heresy, or they will agree with it, in which case they are superfluous.")
- While Black Lightning is talking to Tattooed Man, he says that the Final Crisis isn't just a "superhuman war". This may be a reference to Marvel Comics's Civil War event which ran at around the same time.
See Also
Links and References
 
One-Shots
Grant Morrison's Recommended Reading Order
Final Crisis #1 • Final Crisis #2 • Final Crisis #3 • Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1 • Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #2 • Final Crisis: Submit #1 • Final Crisis #4 • Final Crisis #5 •Batman #682 • Batman #683 • Final Crisis #6 • Final Crisis #7 |