Sacrifice

The relationships between DC's heroes have been gradually deteriorating since Identity Crisis.  This month would be the breaking point, as Wonder Woman would cross a line that would split the Trinity and divide the heroes.  Each of the covers to Sacrifice would depict the same fight pose, and the final cover of Wonder Woman #219 would also appear in the background of this month's OMAC Project #4. 

Superman #219

Sacrifice part 1

Superman finds himself in his new Mayan pyramid Fortress of Solitude with his hands covered in blood and he tries to recall what happened in the last 24 hours.  Clark Kent had gone to the Daily Planet to see Lois, but when he arrived at her office he found Brainiac there with her.  He bursts through the door but Brainiac is gone when he gets inside.  Superman finds Brainiac's ship at the bottom of the Marianas trench, but after he breaks the hull and the ship starts to flood, Brainiac reveals Lois, Jimmy, Lana, and Perry are trapped inside.  When they all drown, Superman abandons his oath not to take a life and attacks Brainiac.  Back in the Fortress, the Justice League contront Superman about what he's done to have blood on his hands, without revealing what happened yet.

Action Comics #829

Sacrifice part 2

Superman tries to tell the Justice League what had happened, but he remembers it differently now.  Instead of Brainiac in Lois' office, he now recalls it was Darkseid.  Clark Kent finds himself sucked into a Boom Tube to Apokalips where Darkseid has set up a boxing match between him and the Man of Steel.  Darkseid implanted a device in Lois' brain which turns her into one of his cheerleaders.  Superman beats Darkseid, but the evil god offers to remove the implant himself, killing Lois in the process.  At the Justice League Watchtower, his friends show him the horrible truth that the person he nearly beat to death was actually his best friend, Batman!

The fallen Brainiac can be seen in the background of the cover, even though the same pose replaces him with Darkseid.

Adventures of Superman #642

Sacrifice part 3

Wonder Woman uses the purple ray to keep Bruce alive while Superman tries to come to terms with what he's done.  Wonder Woman reminds him that Superboy recently turned on the Teen Titans under the control of Lex Luthor in another prelude to Infinite Crisis.  The Justice League puts together the surviving video and audio fragments of the fight between Superman and Batman, but now Superman tells them he thought he was fighting Ruin at the time.  The Martian Manhunter penetrates Superman's mind and discovers Max Lord has been controlling him.  John Stewart suggests they call Zatanna to fix this with a spell, but the Leaguers who know what she did in Identity Crisis absolutely oppose that idea.  Superman agrees to let the League put him in a teleportation loop while they try to find Max Lord, but before they can do it he starts to wonder if they're the ones really under mind control and not him.  Superman easily defeats the entire League and escapes.  Wonder Woman goes to Switzerland to find Max Lord, and Superman follows her.

Both Brianiac and Darkseid are now fallen in the background of this cover.

Wonder Woman #219

Sacrifice part 4

Max Lord controls Superman's mind and forces him to fight Wonder Woman.  Max makes it clear that he will never stop until one of them is dead, so Wonder Woman makes the difficult decision and snaps Max Lord's neck.

Greg Rucka, who also wrote Adventures of Superman, writes this chapter and also the OMAC Project that this continues into.  Regular Wonder Woman cover artist J. G. Jones paints a beautiful rendition of the story, now showing the truth with Wonder Woman fighting off Superman and the fallen Batman in the background.

Superman/Batman #21

With a Vengeance part 2

Superman and Batman fight the Atomic Skull on a motorcyle, who resembles Marvel's Ghost Rider (he even swings a chain).  The Atomic Skull stole something from Wayne Tech that Batman doesn't want Superman to know about.  The fight is interrupted when the Maximums arrive on this Earth to get their revenge on Superman and Batman for killing one of their teammates last issue.  The Maximums kill the Atomic Skull, but they didn't realize his powers were atomic, not satanic like the Skull Rider they know in their world.  Robot (the Maximum's Iron Man) finds it odd that Superman saves them all from the Atomic Skull's radiation, but the Maximums are still determined to kill them.  As Superman and Batman fight these Avengers knock-offs, Bizarro and Batzarro decide it's time for them to team up.