Wonder Woman asked the Justice League to help her form a covert action team to stand ready to oppose a growing threat to magic. When they didn’t help her, she formed her own team with Detective Chimp, Man-Bat, Swamp Thing and Zatanna as the new Justice League Dark!
Weeks have past since the events that led to the group’s formation that pitted them against Doctor Fate, the Otherkind and the incredibly creepy Upside-Down Man. This new threat also revealed Wonder Woman’s own never-before-seen magical abilities. But when did she gain the mark of Hecate? And what does it mean for the fate of magic itself?
The title of this event references the Bronze Age era horror series of the same name.
Crossovers: This a five-part crossover event, spanning across four titles.
Must-Reads: In the Fallout section, story arcs/issues marked with a ✔ are the ones most heavily impacted by this event.
Spoilers: The issue descriptions and fallout section contain spoilers, so be warned!
Previous events that directly impact this story:
- NO JUSTICE (2018) – The Justice League head in new directions
- THE DARK GODS (2018) – Olympus is Abandoned
- NEW JUSTICE (2018-2019) – Magic comes under threat
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the chronological reading order without story descriptions, or spoilers; bold issues are ‘must-reads’:
- Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1
- Wonder Woman #56
- Justice League Dark #4
- Wonder Woman #57
- Justice League Dark/Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1
| Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1 Years ago, the 12-year-old Diana of Themyscira was given the mark of Hecate for spying on her followers. Hecate killed her followers and removed the memories of these events from Diana and her mother, Hippolyta. In the present, weeks after Wonder Woman and her freshly-formed team – now known as the new Justice League Dark – faced the Upside-Down Man, the group alert the Justice League to the threat of the Otherkind (see NEW JUSTICE, 2018-2019). Diana doesn’t tell them about the Witchmark on her brow that signifies her own unknown magical abilities. At the Oblivion Bar, Hecate triggers the Witchmark in Witchfire, causing her to burn the place down, killing most of the Sisterhood of the Sleight of Hand. Hecate then attacks the JLD beneath the Hall of Justice, but they escape to the Oblivion Bar where John Constantine warns them that the Witching Hour has begun! 1st appearance: Justice League Dark/Dark Justice League, Manitou Dawn (unnamed), Sisterhood of the Sleight of Hand, Jonni Thunder (unnamed), Witchfire/Rebecca Carstairs |
| Wonder Woman #56 The Justice League Dark arrive on the island Aeaea with new/returning member John Constantine. Circe – a patron of Hecate – hugs her recurring foe Wonder Woman when she sees the Witchmark on her head! Despite being mortal enemies with Diana, Circe insists on working with her, only for Zatanna to announce Batman was right not to trust Wonder Woman. Deadman tracks down the JLD and alerts them to an all-out assault on Nanda Parbat as the hands of the Witchmarked Manitou Dawn! Circe channels Wonder Woman’s magical powers in an effort to confront Manitou Dawn! 1st appearance: Doctor Chaos, Manitou Dawn (named) |
| Justice League Dark #4 Wonder Woman transports the JLD to Nanda Parbat, just in time to protect Rama Kushna from Hecate/Manitou Dawn’s assault. Detective Chimp (Bobo) uses the Sword of Night to open a rift to get Rama Kushna to safety. But Swamp Thing senses the Hecate-controlled Black Orchid at the Parliament of Trees. And Hecate fully transforms Wonder Woman into her murderous agent! |
| Title, Issue & Synopsis |
| Wonder Woman #57 Wonder Woman’s consciousness wakes on a Witch Moon while her possessed body fights the JLD on Earth! John Constantine reveals to Zatanna that the recent extraction of his demon blood (by the Upside-Down Man during NEW JUSTICE, 2018-2019) has allowed his cancer to return. Constantine uses an exorcism spell to free the Witchmarked, but Wonder Woman isn’t freed. Instead, the magic of those released from Hecate’s control is transferred to Wonder Woman. The immense power of four fifths of Hecate’s power will inevitably kill her body! 1st appearance: The Collective Unconscious/The First Mystery |
| Justice League Dark and Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1 The Parliament of Trees has been destroyed, but the new Parliament of Flowers need to destroy Swamp Thing to fully take their place! Wonder Woman’s body now holds four fifths of Hecate’s power and is burning out. Hecate herself controls almost all magic on Earth and transforms Nanda Parbat into the Great Necropolis. Circe transports the JLD to Aeaea where she tells them they need to kill Wonder Woman. On the Witch Moon, a fragment of Hecate reveals how, despite being the first magical being, her imprisonment by men and the betrayal of Hades opened the doorway to dark magic which she ‘gifted’ to humanity. Wonder Woman’s possessed body destroys the vacated Olympus (abandoned by the Gods during THE DARK GODS, 2018), despite the JLD and Sisterhood of the Sleight of Hand opposing her. Wonder Woman regains enough control to tell Zatanna to open the door to the Otherside, enabling the Upside-Down Man’ through’s return to Earth. He attacks Hecate, allowing the heroes to escape and Hecate’s power to leave Wonder Woman’s body. Diana uses the last of her magic to close the gate to Olympus forever. Three days later, Zatanna shares her concerns with Wonder Woman that the power of Hecate shared by the four Witchmarked must’ve flowed into the fifth by now. Though they’re unaware that it’s Circe who now wields all of that power! 1st appearance: Loki (unnamed), Parliament of Flowers, Ultrapsychopomp |
| Must Reads | Issue(s) & Fallout | Event / Crossover |
| ✔ | Justice League Dark #5-6 (2019) The Justice League resume their conflict with Nabu when they take a trip to Myrra in search of allies; Nabu opens the door for the Otherkind; how Detective Chimp gained the Nightmaster role is revealed. | NEW JUSTICE |
| ✔ | Justice League Dark #7-12 (2019) More of the Otherkind emerge from the Otherside; the Justice League Dark briefly become the Lords of Chaos while battling the new Lords of Order. | NEW JUSTICE |
| ✔ | Justice League Dark Annual #1 (2019) Oleander Sorrel becomes the avatar of the Parliament of Flowers; the Swamp Thing tries to guide the Sorrel in a positive direction; Sorrel is absorbed by the Floronic Man and recruited by Circe. | THE WITCHING WAR |
| ✔ | Justice League Dark #14-19 (2019-2020) With a power boost from Lex Luthor, Circe resumes her battle against Wonder Woman and the Justice League Dark; the JLD ally with the Upside-Down Man in order to oppose Circe’s Injustice League Dark; Khalid Nassour takes over the Helmet of Fate as the new Doctor Fate; Witchfire’s spirit is destroyed. | THE WITCHING WAR YEAR OF THE VILLAIN |
| Justice League #30 (2019) Magic’s place in the Sphere of the Gods is explained | YEAR OF THE VILLAIN | |
| ✔ | Justice League Dark #23 (2020) The Parliament of Flowers is destroyed by Abby Arcane; the Parliament of Trees is restored. | |
| Dark Nights: Death Metal – The Last 52: War of the Multiverses #1 (2021) John Constantine does get to get drunk at a bar during the apocalypse, with an evil version of himself! | DARK NIGHTS: DEATH METAL | |
| ✔ | Dark Nights: Death Metal #7 (2021) Wonder Woman dies again, this time sacrificing herself to save the multiverse. | DARK NIGHTS: DEATH METAL |
| Justice League #70-71 (2022) The JLD have their final battle with the Upside-Down Man. | ||
| Justice League Incarnate #5 (2022) The Upside-Down Man is recruited into Pariah‘s Dark Army. | ROAD TO DARK CRISIS | |
| Lazarus Planet: Alpha #1 (2023) Witchfire is revealed to be alive again. | LAZARUS PLANET |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour | Justice League Dark #4 Justice League Dark/Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1 Wonder Woman #56-57 Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1 |
| Collected Edition Title | Includes… |
| Justice League Dark: Rebirth Omnibus | Justice League Dark #4 Justice League Dark/Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1 Wonder Woman #56-57 Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1 |
Reading Order © Omniverse Comics Guide 2025
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