Part of an ongoing series revisiting graphic novels and collected editions from days gone by....

The gods of Olympus have returned and, despite some losses, have put Superman in his place. Or so it seems.

But wheels continue to turn, with Superman foe Batman and Superman ally Wonder Woman conspiring at the onset, only to be surprised by the sudden arrival of Aquaman, who has been content to sit out of the conflict and keep Atlantis free of Superman's interference. But when Poseidon turns the oceans against the Amazonian homeland of Themyscira in defiance of Zeus, the conflict ramps up several notches.

Meanwhile, what will the world's religions do when an actual pantheon of gods suddenly appear demanding worship and outlawing all other faiths?

And did Harley Quinn, who has been a key character throughout the series, really get snuffed out by Zeus in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene?

Don't worry, it appears that even a quick death and a trip to the underworld of Tartarus is insufficient to keep Harley and her companions Billy Batson -- now depowered and no longer able to transform into Shazam -- and Queen Hippolyta out of the fray for long. When Ares himself seeks to trap them, they find another way out ... and find themselves on the distant world of Apokolips, where Darkseid plots the world's end.

Superman, banished from Earth by Zeus, is pissed.

And Batman, largely outgunned when gods are in the mix, still has cards to play.

While I enjoy reading about the adventures of Earth's garishly costumed heroes and villains, I have never enjoyed it as much when gods and aliens get too much involved. In this case, certainly, the intrusion of the Greek pantheon lifted me largely out of the story.

But the writing and the story overall remains solid, and the overall plot continues to push toward a conclusion that ... well, let's be honest, I have no idea how things will shake out in the three volumes of Year Five. In this book, it was nice to see the original writer, Tom Taylor, return for the final chapter to set the stage for the end game ahead. In it, Plastic Man breaks his son out of Superman's super prison and, in the process, frees a lot of supervillains.

Let's see how it all works out, shall we?