Duel of the Double Crossers! - Recap

The Outsiders team up with Batman to take on the alien invader Despero. As he wrecks havoc across the city, the teen heroes take him on one at a time. Due to their lack of teamwork, they’re soon doing more damage to the city than Despero is. Batman finally gets them to work together and they join forces to bring down the alien. Batman reveals that the entire battle was a hologram simulation in the Batcave and tells them that they’re going to do it until they get it perfect.



A lone figure rides across the desert: bounty hunter Jonah Hex. He goes to a saloon in a small town and finds the place filled with aliens. Showing no surprise, Hex goes up to one alien, Arges, and tells him he’s on the “list.” The bounty hunter knocks Arges down and moves in, but the alien fires an eye-beam and knocks Hex into the street. Undeterred, Hex whistles for his horse—a robot—and it rides up to block the next blast. Hex slugs Arges unconscious and then activates a communicator, telling the person at the other end to teleport him back to War World.



Hex is greeted by Mongul, the ruler of the War World. Hex isn’t happy with his assignments and insists that he’s completed his end of the deal he has with Mongul. Mongul tells him he has one more person to collect before sending Hex back to his own time. He shows Hex a War World wanted hologram of his last target: Batman.

On Earth in the present, Batman takes on Zebra Man, who is robbing an armored car using his powers of magnetism. Hex arrives and Batman recognizes him from their previous encounter against the Royal Flush Gang. Hex shows him the wanted poster and tells him to come along quietly. Batman fights back but Hex’s energy six-shooters prove too much for him. Hex explains that Mongul saved his life and he owes him. Batman tries to escape but Hex captures him with an energy whip and calls for teleport back to War World.



The bounty hunter turns Batman over but Mongul insists that Hex is too useful and refuses to send him back to his own time. Hex threatens to shoot him but Mongul points out that if he’s dead, there’s no one to send Hex back through time. Mongul’s sister Mongal arrives, accompanied by her personal warriors Lashina and Stompa. Hex gives up and Lashina wonders how tough he is. The bounty hunter warns Mongul that when someone as powerful and arrogant as he goes down, he goes down big. Mongal wonders if Batman is as tough as her champion Steppenwolf and Mongul immediately arranges a match.



Batman, Arges, a Gordanian, and a fourth prisoner are taken into the arena. Batman tries to rally his fellow prisoners to work together but they’re unwilling to team up. Steppenwolf, an armored warrior wielding an energy axe, enters the arena. Hex, watching on a monitor, shoots out the screen and Mongal comes up behind him. She tells him that cheating is the only way to win in the arena is to cheat. She gives Hex a map to the time travel platform and a device that controls the time platform and the matter transporter. Hex wonders why she’s helping and she insists that it’s purely self-interest: if he can’t provide Mongul with warriors, her champion will remain undefeated.

Steppenwolf attacks Batman and the others, and the Caped Crusader tries to get Arges to help him by attacking while he delays Mongal’s champion. Arges seemingly agrees and Batman ducks and dodges to keep Steppenwolf busy. Batman entangles him with Batarangs but Arges flees rather than help. Steppenwolf breaks his bonds and prepares to dispose of his enemy. However, Hex rides in on his robot horse and comes to Batman’s aid. His guns prove useless against Steppenwolf and he quickly goes down. However, Batman gains enough time to don a pair of electrified brass knuckles and fight Steppenwolf face-to-face. He finally takes down Steppenwolf as the crowd cheers. Hex shoots out the monitor while Mongul chuckles at his sister’s loss of her champion.



Hex and Batman go to the cells but Mongal intercepts them and sends Stompa and Lashina to attack them. Hex disarms Lashina but agrees to fight her bare-handed, and they flirt as they battle. Batman uses exploding Batarangs to drop Stompa through a bridge where she falls to the ground far below. When Lashina rearms herself, Batman tosses her through the hole as well. Mongal attacks them but Hex summons his robot horse, lassos Mongal, and lets his horse tow her away.

Mongul is returning from the arena when Mongal gets pulled past. She manages to tell him what’s going before she is taken further into the citadel. Batman and Hex get to the time tunnel room, where the prisoners are held. They hate Hex for capturing them, but he tells them he’s freeing them. However, Mongul teleports in and attacks the heroes. Batman prepares to destroy the console holding the prisoners in their cells, but Mongul warns him that doing so will destroy the time tunnel equipment. Hex tells Batman to go ahead and Batman does, and the prisoners are freed. Mongul tries to turn them against Hex, but they want him instead. Mongal is towed in and released, and brother and sister both run for it with a horde of angry prisoners on their trail.



Hex prepares to use the control device to teleport Batman back to Earth. Batman offers to bring him along but Hex decides to remain on War World in the modern day. Batman teleports to Earth and Hex prepares to ride out. Lashina is waiting for him, and they ride off together over the horizon.



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