Carl Rogers[]
Carl was an unimpressive man with very little accomplishments. He used to work at STAR Labs as a researcher, however he was soon fired due to a lack of experience. After this failure, he became broke and lost his home. He found a tiny apartment on the outskirts of Metropolis and later found a job at the Daily Planet, where he befriended Clark Kent and his wife, Lois Lane. Carl worked as the assistant to Perry White. He worked his way up and later became an investigative reporter. He worked with a woman named Savannah Woods. The two of them knew each other in grade school in Keystone City, however lost contact when she moved to Metropolis. After once again becoming close friends,they found a case in Gotham that dealt with an ongoing drug war. While they were there, Carl asked Savannah on a date and she agreed. They went to a fancy place in the middle of Gotham, but the date was not going to plan. Savannah admitted that she had feelings for Carl in the past, but she lost them later in life and now she just felt awkward. Carl knew that this date was a failure and stepped outside for some air. While he was out there, the streets were empty. He just sat on a curb for a little bit and spotted a small group of people waking in his direction. He started to get up, but one man grabbed him and slammed him against the wall. The group demanded money and continued to punch Carl until he gave them some, but Carl didn't concede. After they left him in a bloody mess, Carl felt something going into his neck. He didn't know it at the time, but a group of Exobytes had entered his system. The Exobytes were healing his wounds and giving him the powers of sorcery through an extremely painful process.
Brainiac's Ship[]
After the process was over, Carl could not move for he was spotted by a Brainiac Harvester Ship and brought on board. This ship was collecting Meta humans and harvesting them. He was dropped in a harvesting room with other people who were frozen in weird cages. Carl saw a Brainiac Sentry walk towards him and he used his new powers to get rid of it. After the sentry was destroyed, he took its duel axes and continued to fight his way off of the ship. Along the way, he met Superman, who recognized him instantly and promised to help him. Superman gave Carl a communicator that Oracle would use to contact him.
Superman and Carl fought their way off of the ship and saved everyone on it. When Carl got back to Earth in the Little Bohemia Police Station, he was alone with no knowledge of his past. Oracle educated him on the stations and the concept of Exobytes, but he still didn't know who he was. He just blindly followed the Justice League. He only did so because he believed he would find out he he was, but he came to agree with their ideas of justice and, thought various missions, started remembering bits and pieces.
Awesome Cheeks[]
The HIVE Queen was up to no good and the Justice League believed it to be because of Brainiac. They sent Carl, but also sent out another hero. This hero was very cocky and everyone called him Awesome Cheeks as a sort of insult. He took Carl to the Metrodome. This hero made an attempt to show Carl 'how to fight crime' but ended up getting killed by a HIVE Worker in the process. While he was dying, he asked Carl to take his armor. Carl did so. The armor was camouflage and everything was a demonic style except for the Antifreeze-style helmet. Carl fought and eventually defeated the HIVE Queen. When he got back to the police station, the Flash thought he was the hero that assisted Carl, but it was revealed that it was Carl himself. He told the Flash the bad news, and the Flash told the rest of the League. Carl was named the Vindicator after many other missions, but he was also commonly called Awesome Cheeks for putting on the hero's armor. Carl later took off the armor and painted it all black and added blades in the hand areas so he didn't have to carry two axes. He also added hand blasters.
Brainiac's Game[]
After a year and a half of fighting crime, Carl began remembering who he was. It was mostly due to the fact that he saved Savannah once. Savannah began to grow feelings for Awesome Cheeks, and Carl remembered his date with Savannah. He grew feelings for her as well as Awesome Cheeks. However, Savannah later grew feelings for Carl as well. She told him that he reminded her of Awesome Cheeks. The two were going to go on another date, but Awesome Cheeks was once again abducted by Brainiac.
Brainiac dropped Awesome Cheeks and a very large group of new heroes and villains in an arena that resembled Gotham City, where they were tasked to fight to the death until only one person remained. Awesome Cheeks found out in this arena that he was more powerful than the other people in the arena who also got their powers from Exobytes. He found that he had more Exobytes with more powers. So, he fought his way through the arena, being forced to kill others. However, though he thought he eliminated most of them, there was still a large group of villains that had allied to find him. He hid in Robinson Park and tried to devise a plan. He got broken transmissions from Oracle and Doctor Fate. Oracle told him to find a way out and Doctor Fate told him about a powerful spell that could destroy that arena. Awesome Cheeks asked him what to do if he was attacked and killed, and Doctor Fate tried to teach him a regeneration spell. He told him that it would take all of his energy to attempt either one. Awesome Cheeks agreed to perform these spells and he went to the middle of the park to do so. Unfortunately, the group of villains found him in the middle of the spell to destroy the arena. Awesome Cheeks was wounded and about to die, but then he started performing a regeneration spell at the same time he finished the other spell. It nearly destroyed him, but it worked and the arena was destroyed. Everyone believed that it claimed Awesome Cheeks's life as well, but, after six months, he showed up again. His body was still recovering, but he made it.
The Green Lantern Corp[]
When his body was fully recovered, his actions were recognized by the Green Lantern Corp. A ring off of a fallen Corpsman recognized his brave actions in the arena and chose him to be a member of the Corps. He would be the first Exobyte-powered hero to be given a ring. However, a Green Lantern Corpsman didn't believe that any hero with Exobyte given powers deserved anything other than a deputized ring, especially after a rumor that the new heros were trying to discredit the Justice League. He believed that Awesome Cheeks needed to prove his worth and dedication. He put him through a series of challenges and watched closely. Wonder Woman, however, believed Carl to be worthy of the ring and gave him god like powers in order to prove this. The Green Lantern was impressed and gave Awesome Cheeks the ring. He became a full fledged member of the Corps, which, in turn, allowed for more Exobyte-powered heroes to become members.
Hal Jordan then contacted Awesome Cheeks and told him about problems he may encounter with the ring. Awesome Cheeks decided to assist in investigating the issue. After defeating Parallax and Brainiac, the problem seemed to have resolved. Carl was able to return to his normal life. His Sorcery powers, though, were still there, so he used the remainder of the Exobyte energy to give himself invulnerability, super strength, and the ability to fly without using his Sorcery or Light powers.
He went on many dates with Savannah after that and the feelings for each other grew stronger. One day, they went for a long walk where Carl proposed. Savannah was overwhelmed with happiness and said yes, but shorty after, they were both captured by Bane. Bane took them into a lighthouse and was about to give them both venom and make them his soldiers. Carl resisted and Bane went to punch and kill him, but Carl caught his fist. When he did this, he put on a mask that generated his armor (courtesy of Wayne Tech). As he took battle to Bane, it was revealed to Savannah that Carl Rogers was Awesome Cheeks. When they escaped, Savannah was in shock and decided not to marry Carl. However, after two months, she forgave him and decided to get married. The wedding was held at the JSA Headquarters. Newlyweds, Carl and Savannah Rogers moved to Gotham and bought a large apartment.
Brainiac[]
After Carl and Savannah settled in, they faced many challenges, each one leading up to something very large. Each of the larger missions Awesome Cheeks was sent on had something to do with Brainiac. He investigated the Batcave first and found Brainiac had infiltrated it, so he and the league he had joined (the Zodiacs) defeated Brainiac there. After this, the Fortress of Solitude was also infiltrated by Brainiac, who was once again defeated. Brainiac then tried harnessing the Flame of Change, so Awesome Cheeks and a group of Zodiacs defeated Brainiac there as well. There were patterns that Awesome Cheeks recognized and he immediately knew that Brainiac was building something very large. He searched the bottled Gotham for where he was doing it, though. With the help of Oracle and Batman, he found a bottle where Brainiac planned on harnessing the power of the Earth's core. He realized that it was impenetrable, so he called upon the Tech heroes mentored by Batman to try to penetrate it. The power of the Watchtower wasn't enough at the time, however, because Brainiac had found out their gained knowledge and sent out many of his robots to attack the Watchtower. Awesome Cheeks devised a plan. He told Superman and Wonder Woman to take their Meta and Magic heroes to defend the Watchtower. They were assisted by the Green Lantern Corp. Because all of the energy of the Watchtower was going to Brainiac's bottle, Superman held the Watchtower up while the others fought. Batman and his Tech heroes attempted to penetrate the bottle. Awesome Cheeks flew back to Earth and powered up his lair in his home. He beamed up all of his Lair's energy to the Watchtower to get to the bottle, where he led a group of 7 other heroes (as that was how many could walk through the teleporter to the bottle). They went unnoticed by Brainiac for a while, but when they entered the Prime Battleground, Brainiac activated his Prime Avatars. Awesome Cheeks, six other heroes, and his closest friend took battle to the Prime Avatars, destroying the Prime Avatar of Magic first, then Tech, then Meta. The battles were long and tiring and gruesome, however the heroes refused to give up. When they finally brought down Brainiac's shield, Brainiac attacked immediately. He targeted Awesome Cheeks because he knew that he had organized this. Awesome Cheeks was protected by Liberty Torch, his closest, fire-powered friend. Brainiac knew of their friendship and attacked Liberty Torch instead, ignoring everyone else who attacked the robots that spawned around them. Though the two fought Brainiac, their efforts were not enough and Liberty Torch was killed by Brainiac. This caused Awesome Cheeks to go in an angry frenzy. While another hero distracted Brainiac, Awesome Cheeks used all of the energy in his ring to annihilate Brainiac. Brainiac put up a fight and nearly killed Awesome Cheeks, but Awesome Cheeks delivered the final blow that defeated Brainiac. After this happened, Awesome Cheeks passed out as Future Lex Luthor and Future Batman jumped into the Nexus of Reality. Awesome Cheeks was lifted out of their and brought back home by Doctor Fate, Jon Stewart, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter. All of them attempted to heal Carl's wounds. Luckily, they did, but the wounds were so deep that he was put into a coma for a week.
Origin Crisis[]
One year after the Brainiac incident, Carl and Savannah had a baby boy and named him Clark after Carl's mentor. Carl and Savannah didn't know if Clark would inherit any of Carl's powers, but after two years, they realized that he inherited Carl's old Sorcery powers. Little Clark began to learn to control these powers and became mostly in control by his fourth birthday. he knew not to expose his powers or his father's powers to others. With that under control, the Rogers were able to have a real family. There was four years of peace (well, as peaceful as it can be with new villains). Carl hardly used his ring, barely put on his armor, and never charged his ring for these four years. This, however, came to a stop when he received a call from Future Batman. He told him about the alternate future and what really happened. Batman educated Carl on Future Lex Luthor and how he would target Carl after he defeated Brainiac. Carl didn't know what to do. He just started a real family, and now he has to watch out for Lex. He began improving his armor and retraining himself. His son occasionally asked what was going on, but Carl told him that he just needed to repair his suit. He didn't want to scare little Clark. It was Carl, however, who got scared. Someone had discovered Carl's secret identity and kidnapped him, Savannah, and Clark when they went on a vacation in Metropolis. The kidnappers took them to the top of the Science Spire and told Carl that he would kill his family unless Carl killed himself. Unfortunately, Carl left his suit-generating mask and Green Lantern ring at Bruce Wayne's place in effort to be completely normal for the vacation for Savannah. Carl agreed to jump off of the Spire, but then called for Superman at the last moment. As Superman was flying in, Carl fought the kidnappers. Superman joined in and saved Savannah and little Clark. Just as Carl started to thank Superman, he started noticing some abnormalities with little Clark. He had a cane with him and was missing a foot. The leg started to disappear as well, and his arms. He gradually disappeared until he was completely gone. Carl, Superman, and Savannah searched the whole area but knew he wasn't anywhere to be found. Future Batman called in and told Carl that Future Lex Luthor had travelled back in time and prevented the birth of his child. Carl fell to his knees and cried, but then told Future Batman to find Lex. Carl organized a group of people from the Zodiacs to fight Lex.
As Awesome Cheeks, he travelled to alternate timelines, finding Future Lex Luthor once and nearly killing him. Future Batman tracked Lex into the Nexus of Reality, where the group headed next. After fighting their way through, they got to the heart of the Nexus, where Carl tried to find his son and almost killed the whole council of Luthor doing so. He ended up killing Cybernetic and Space Commander Lex, but they returned through a hole in the fabric of time. After the Lexes were defeated, Carl got another call from Future Batman. He told him about the Paradox Wave. Batman told him that he might be able to save his son through the Wave if he acts quickly and defeats the Paradox Tyrant. He agrees, but Future Batman warns that is will be a very dangerous mission as the Paradox Tyrant is unbeatable and, for some, the Paradox Wave might just consume them altogether. Future Batman and Awesome Cheeks get every powerful Exobyte Hero in the Watchtower, ready to be phased into the Paradox Wave by Future Batman. The first 8 go in, leaded by Awesome Cheeks. They camp out for a day (but it's only been ten minutes in real time) observing the Paradox Tyrant's behavior. The Council of Batman phase in and they help close the tunnels in the Wave. Several heroes die and are replaced by a waiting hero from the Watchtower. After 6 deaths, the tunnels are closed and the Tyrant is weakened. The group fights the Tyrant and damages it, but the Tyrant manages to trap the whole group. Awesome Cheeks is about to break free from the 'jail cell' but he finds his Little Clark. Clark looks sad and tries to reach for his dad, but he is getting pulled in by the Paradox Wave. Awesome Cheeks has the choice to jump in and save him, risking the death of himself, his son, his group, and the whole timeline, or using his escape plan, leaving his son to die. He knows that the obvious choice is to save his group members. After saying a final goodbye to his son, he watches in horror as little Clark is consumed by the massive Paradox Wave. He breaks free of the cage, frees his group, and turns his attention toward the Paradox Tyrant. The whole group shot beams of fire, ice, light, and other powers towards the Tyrant, destroying it. Everyone got out quickly and Carl and Savannah mourned the loss of their child. Carl made a vow to never stop looking for a way to get little Clark back.
During the events of the Origin Crisis, many heroes discovered new versions of themselves. Carl had found a Council of Carl Rogers and stored this information in his computer at his Lair in case he needed any assistance. His other selves include Angry Cheeks, Divine Cheeks, Batman Rogers, Evil Cheeks, General Rogers, and Atomic Cheeks.
The War of the Light[]
Carl was hoping to have a perfectly normal Christmas, but it was the first one after the loss of his son, which happened on New Years Eve the year before. Savannah had been fighting depression and decided that they should host a Christmas party. Carl agreed and invited many of the new heroes, as well as the original members of the Justice League. Just to be sure that nothing would disturb them, Carl went to the Watchtower to check everything. Unfortunately, he found trouble. It was Larfleeze and he was traveling in the direction of Earth. Awesome Cheeks and some heroes from the Zodiacs found him before he reached the Earth and took battle to his Orange Lanterns. After they defeated Larfleeze, Guy Gardener was called in and assisted Awesome Cheeks in escorting him to the Sciencells on Oa. The two of them questioned Larfleeze, but he refused to talk to them. Awesome Cheeks decided to just leave it for after Christmas. He went back home and planned the party with Savannah. It was supposed to take place on Christmas Eve and they were planning on having thirty or more guests. Planning this kept them busy, but Larfleeze was planning in his cell. He decided to create as many orange constructs possible to overcrowd the cell and break down the security system. As more Orange Lanterns flooded the cell, Kilowog was called to keep an eye on him. When the system broke and the doors were down, Kilowog fought the Orange Lanterns, but needed backup. When more Corpsmen arrived, though, Larfleeze had already escaped. He headed for Earth and built a base in an abandoned warehouse in Metropolis, where he released his Orange Lanterns around the city while he travelled around the universe stealing green, yellow, blue, and red power rings. Meanwhile, Carl's party was in full swing until he got a call from Oracle. She told the heroes about Larfleeze and the house suddenly filled with power as the heroes suited up and went to Metropolis to fight the Orange Lanterns. Awesome Cheeks, however, searched for Larfleeze. When he and a group of three other heroes reached the warehouse, they found Larfleeze who had just returned after stealing power rings. The heroes defeated Larfleeze once again, but this time for good. When the Green Lantern reinforcements arrived, Awesome Cheeks questioned Larfleeze. He told Awesome Cheeks that he had eavesdropped on Atrocitus foretelling a prophecy about a War of Light and Larfleeze had been trying to sabotage for his own gain in the impending war. This, however, didn't happen for five months.
When the war started, Carl and Savannah were in Metropolis, sitting on a building top on a picnic. They were unaware, though, that the ground below them had been covered in a crimson mist. It was Savannah who discovered it after hearing riots below them. When Carl noticed this, he used a personal teleporter that he had built to teleport her back in their home in Gotham City and put on his armor. He reached the ground and had no choice but to fight the angry citizens. Eventually, as he was fighting them, Red Lanterns joined the fight and he suddenly received a supercharge on his ring. He looked over and saw Saint Walker helping with the fight, draining the Red Lantern's powers and supercharging Awesome Cheeks. Saint Walker surrounded the two of them in a blue light shield and used a transportation device. Awesome Cheeks was now on Mogo with many other high ranking Green and Blue Lanterns. He asked Hal Jordan what was going on and Hal responded by telling him that they had been preparing for a war of light and allied with the Blue Lantern Corps. He went on to tell him that there were different colored mists in Metropolis and the Red Lantern and Sinestro Corps had come to investigate. So, for 9 months, Awesome Cheeks fought in this war, only returning home to assist in analyzing the mists. He eventually found a violet colored mist, but Hal ordered him to block it's signal so the Star Sapphire Corps didn't come to Earth. Awesome Cheeks led assaults on Ranx, battles against villains effected by the mists and battles against opposing Corps.
The violet mist found its way into Carl's home, though, and a love-driven Savannah came to Metropolis to be with Carl. When she reached the city limits, she was attacked my a Sinestro Corps Tormentor. Luckily, Awesome Cheeks came in just in time and took it out, but it had broken his filter he used in his suit to be immune to the mists. He was angered by the Corpsman attacking his wife. He asked what she was doing, but she had no idea herself as the effects of the mist had worn off. He started taking her home, using a construct mask for her when they flew through the mists. This didn't do anything for Awesome Cheeks and he had no knowledge of the broken filter. After they flew through the red mist, he stopped on the freeway and fell. He felt only rage, thinking only of the Sinestro Corps attacking his wife. He told Savannah to leave and she did so as Awesome Cheeks watched his green power ring slowly turn red, developing the symbol for the Red Lantern Corps. He tried to stay strong, but the amount of mist that had entered his system was too much for him to handle. His ring had turned red and he threw up plasma. After John Stewart had found Awesome Cheeks, he subdued him and took him to Mogo. When Awesome Cheeks had woken up, he found that he was In a blue light cage with Saint Walker trying to heal the rage. This made him very angry and he created red construct bolt cutters and escaped. After escaping, he flew to Gotham to seek his wife to be sure she was okay. As he traveled, he decided to call himself Angry Cheeks. Angry Cheeks flew right into an area that was populated by Bane's thugs. They knew who he was, but didn't take notice of the red ring, and attacked him. Using red constructs claws, he defeated most of them and dealt with the rest by vomiting plasma to burn them. The police took notice to this and started attacking Bane's thugs, but Angry Cheeks, blinded by rage, thought that they just got in his way. He attacked the police, as well as Bane's street soldiers, becoming an instant threat. As they battled, Kyle Rayner gained Angry Cheeks' attention and lured him away from the police by attacking him. It was a short battle as Angry Cheeks didn't know how to control the red light, so when he was knocked out, Kyle brought him to Mogo, where Saint Walker used him blue ring to heal Angry Cheeks. After he was Awesome Cheeks once again, Saint Walker told him what had happened as he had no recollection. After recovering from the red mist, he started to play a larger role in the war. Unfortunately, this wasn't the only time his ring changed color. As he fought in the war, he focused mainly on the Sinestro Corp. Awesome Cheeks split up the officers and took them down individually after questioning them for information. He never killed them and sent them back with the guilt of knowing that they gave the enemy valuable information. This made Awesome Cheeks one of the most feared enemies of the Sinestro Corp, and for this, a yellow ring chose him to be a part of the corp. A member of the Sinestro Corp found this ring and searched for Awesome Cheeks to make sure that he got it so they could use him in the war. Mogo warned Awesome Cheeks that the Sinestro Corp was looking for him, so he decided to visit their safe zone to question them. When he arrived, Amon Sur took the yellow ring and told him how he was chosen. Awesome Cheeks attacked Amon Sur, but Amon Sur didn't fight back until he reached for a canister of yellow mist and sprayed Awesome Cheeks. Awesome Cheeks was then drafted into the Corp and was forced to put on the yellow ring. Right after this, the villain base was attacked by a Willful version of Arkillo. Awesome Cheeks used his new ring to repel Green Lantern Arkillo and instantly became trusted by Sinestro and Hank. Shortly after, Hal Jordan found out about Awesome Cheeks being effected by the yellow mist and decided to attack Ranx directly to get him back. Meanwhile, Awesome Cheeks assisted Sinestro on a planned assault on Mogo. As he organized the villains that would go on Mogo, a large group of Green and Blue Lanterns appeared and attacked the Sinestro Corp. Hal Jordan went after Awesome Cheeks and attacked him, but Sinestro stood between them and attacked Hal. Awesome Cheeks, however, had been fully aware of his actions and had set everything up in order to weaken the Yellow Lanterns. He attacked Sinestro from behind, knocking him out and leaning Hank Henshaw to deal with him. In a large battle, Awesome Cheeks and Hal Jordan attacked Hank and eventually defeated him. When Sinestro woke up, the mist that had been infused in Awesome Cheeks left him and went into Sinestro, turning Awesome Cheeks' ring Green again. The heroes left Ranx and Hal found out that Awesome Cheeks had planned on Hal attacking Ranx and set everything up to give the Green Lanterns the upper hand.
Telekeniman[]
Seven months after this, Awesome Cheeks and many of the other exobyte heroes that had been assisting in the war was replaced by a new group of heroes so that they could return home. Carl returned to his wife in Gotham and eventually found out that one of his best friends, Tom East, had gained mental powers and double swords (which appeared in a belt, even if his swords were lost or broken) from a fallen hero. Tom was unaware that Carl was Awesome Cheeks, who happened to be Tom's role model. He found out when he went over to Carl's house and saw Carl in his armor (without the helmet). After freaking out, he asked Carl to mentor him. Carl remembered that he had previously turned down an offer to mentor new heroes by Superman, so he agreed but told Tom to keep it a secret. After picking a costume, Tom decided to call himself Telekeniman on account of his mental powers. He trained with Awesome Cheeks, who made Telekeniman strong and skilled and powerful. He did his best to teach him how to control his powers. After he had learned, Tom moved to Metropolis, where he was attacked by Red Lantern Gorilla Grodd. Gorilla Grodd overpowered Telekeniman and used mind control to make him believe that Awesome Cheeks was the bad guy. He even taught him how to teleport with his powers. Telekeniman moved back to Gotham and decided to try to get Awesome Cheeks' attention by creating a commotion at Ace Chemicals. Meanwhile, Carl had invited Bruce Wayne over for dinner. As they ate, Nightwing called Bruce and told him about an unknown threat at Ace Chemicals. Bruce told Carl and the two went over to investigate. Awesome Cheeks and Batman investigated the area and found Telekeniman, who attempted to kill them both. Telekeniman led the two to Arkham, where he released some of the criminals and ran. Batman told Awesome Cheeks to go after Telekeniman and gave him a staff that would erase Tom's memory so he wouldn't go after Savannah. Telekeniman and Awesome Cheeks fought, damaging a large portion of Gotham, but ending up at Wayne Tower. As they fought there, Awesome Cheeks knocked out Telekeniman with a large green boxing glove construct and then struck him in the chest with the staff that Batman gave him, erasing his memory. This worked, but a few weeks later, Telekeniman went back to Metropolis and used his mental powers to terrorize citizens in the yellow mist, which caused him to be drafted into the Sinestro Corp. When he reached Gotham, he was given an actual ring. Carl, however, had other issues. He had received a message from Hal Jordan that indicated that Mogo was attacked and they were in desperate need for help. When Awesome Cheeks started flying to Mogo, he was attacked by a Yellow Lantern Telekeniman. They fought once again, but in the end, Telekeniman ran out of power in his ring and retreated. Awesome Cheeks also ran out of power right after his retreat, but was able to recharge. He flew to Mogo only to realize that everything was fine. Apparently, Hal didn't send a message. Awesome Cheeks took the recording of the message to Batman and he analyzed it and found shocking results.
The New Gods[]
When Batman analyzed the recording Awesome Cheeks had given his, he found that the transmission had been sent from Apokalypse via Apokalyptian technology. Superman recognized the code that it was in and decoded it. Once decoded, a video transmission of Darkseid was shown. In the video, Darkseid told the heroes that they were 'doomed' before cutting out. Martian Manhunter and the Flash gathered all of the heroes in the Watchtower to tell them about the new threat. When Superman educated them on the threat and who Darkseid was, everyone freaked out but there was one hero who suggested that Awesome Cheeks should lead them against the New Gods of Apokalypse. His reasoning was that Awesome Cheeks led many attacks in the war of Light and defeated Brainiac, causing everyone to see exobyte heroes in a different light. Awesome Cheeks agreed to lead them and told everyone that they should spend time preparing. When he got back home to Savannah, he connected his home to the Watchtower so that he would be given the benefit of the wireless technology and information of the Watchtower. For the next three months, Carl never left the house. He spent most of his time in the basement, forging armor that could stand against the New Gods and creating powerful weapons. He manipulated some of the Watchtower's technology and gained some equipment from STAR Labs and Wayne Tech. Be also gained charms from the Sentinels of Magic that made his armor more flexible, but still incredible durable and protective. He created new weapons, including reinforced blades that came from his wrists (capable of creating a violent electrical shock), a powerful bow, grenade launchers from his shoulders, and powerful laser beams from his hand blasters. He also contacted Mister Miracle and Big Barda to assist in finding Darkseid's plans and stopping them.
They were soon distracted by Intergang and the less experienced heroes were about to handle it, but Mister Miracle and Awesome Cheeks decided that it's best if they handled it due to Intergang's affiliations with the New Gods. Mister Miracle decided to stay back and Oracle helped Awesome Cheeks. His league, Zodiacs, organized a small group and they attacked Intergang. When they reached Oolong Island, Oracle told Awesome Cheeks the layout of the island and how Intergang was using it. After recovering gold and technology, the group found Chang Chzu and Bruno Manheim and attacked them. The armor that Awesome Cheeks developed was performing very well. After the two were defeated, Oracle found that the Parademons were attacking the Zodiacs' league hall via Boom Tubes. When they arrived, they were able to recover stolen data, repel the Parademons, and save the league hall, but they were soon faced by Mantis. As they attacked Mantis, the power levels of the League Hall was dropping, so they had to defeat Mantis before he gained all of their power. Mantis eventually left and the Zodiacs were left to recover. As the higher ranking Zodiacs repaired the Hall, Carl returned home, where he kept an eye on New God activity. When he decided to stay home with Savannah for a normal day, he was contacted by Oracle, who noticed a very large spike in power in his area. He decided to arm himself with just his ring and investigate the area. He found many Boom Tubes opened above and below his apartment building. Soon, an army of Parademons entered his home and Carl and Savannah hid to observe their behavior. They seemed to be weaker than most Parademons, meaning that they didn't know Carl's secret identity. More importantly, it meant that he could take them down singlehandedly. He noticed that they placed a strange device near his mainframe, which they attached and used to open Boom Tubes. Carl used his ring to attack the Parademons while Savannah stayed hidden in their bedroom. The Parademons were strong, but Carl's will was stronger and he was able to defeat most of them, causing many to retreat. They questioned who Carl really was and Carl lied to them and stated that he had been effected by the green mist in Metropolis. They retreated and Carl used his Mainframe and the Apocolyptian device to close the Boom Tubes. He then reversed the function of the device so that any Boom Tubes that opened in his area would automatically close, so no Parademons would get inside his base. Walking into the basement, he found there was still one Parademon left. He questioned it. The Parademon eventually revealed that the New Gods were planning on using his base to invade the Watchtower because they knew it was connected. He asked why, and it responded that Darkseid was trying to distract the heroes while he retrieves artifacts from the Necropolis.
After learning these plans, Mister Miracle, Awesome Cheeks, and Big Barda decided to take action. Barda and Mister Miracle met the Zodiacs in their League Hall. From there, they travelled to the Necropolis of New Genesis to recover artifacts and defeat Kallibak. After this, they travelled to the Necropolis of Apokalypse to recover a powerful artifact. After recovering this, the league received a call from Oracle, stating that their League Hall ws being invaded. The lrague shut down the hall and battled the oncoming forced of Darkseid. In the middle of the fight, a Parademon tricked Awesome Cheeks into entering a Bopm Tube, which led to Apokalypse. The Boom Tube closed and he was forced to fight for his life while a technician from the league opened it back up. When they finally did, he entered the Moon league hall and found it in ruins with the Zodiacs still fighting with everything they have. Awesome Cheeks took out a piece otechnology he stole from the Parademons. This was used as a teleporter so that the atrifacts on the remainder of the league hall were transported to a base of a league mate.
While Awesome Cheeks was fighting for the League Hall (and Earth), Savannah was visited by Hal Jordan in Gotham. Hal told Savannah of further developements on the war of light and insisted that Awesome Cheeeks returns. She tells him that he cannot, but Hal insists. After Savannah told him what was happening, Hal travelled to the moon to contact Awesome Cheeks and recruit him once more.