Blackest Night #1 (September, 2009)

Batman: Skull unearthed from the grave by Black Hand. "--No one escapes death. That includes you. The dead will rise. And you are connected to them all."

Coast City: Green Lanterns Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and Guy Gardner performed for the crowds at a heretofore unmentioned memorial holiday for deceased super-heroes.

Smallville: Clark Kent, his Ma, and Connor Kent mourned Pa.

Pittsburgh: Professor Martin Stein, Jason Rusch and Gehenna visited the grave of Ronnie Raymond.

San Francisco: The Teen Titans mourned their dead.

Central City: The secret graveyard of super-villains was seen to by the Rogues.

Chicago: Ted Kord was missed.

Metropolis: More of the same with the JSA.

Amnesty Bay: Two men named Arthur Curry once lived and died here. Mera and Tempest remembered them. Garth argued that Aquaman should have been buried in an Atlantean tomb, but the hero's mercurial widow disagreed.

Aquaman: Origin once more altered in an attempt to consolidate the Silver Age and Post-Crisis versions. Now Arthur only threatened to be left to die on Mercy Reef by superstitious Atlanteans. Instead his mother returned him to his father's island lighthouse. Also, Atlanteans only wanted to cut out Garth's purple eyes, not kill him, so that his origin wasn't as obviously stolen by his mentor.

Gotham City: Alfred discovered that Bruce Wayne's grave had been desecrated.

Washington D.C.: Green Lantern Hal Jordan and the Flash (Barry Allen) were at a morgue within Justice League of America headquarters designed to secure the remains of super-villains from tampering. Barry noted that in his lengthy absence, "The guilty have gotten guiltier? And Batman, Aquaman, and the Martian Manhunter are dead because of it? So who else? Who else died while I was gone? I need to know, Hal." A power ring construct revealed a sea of heroes gone to the great beyond, among them Elongated Man, Sue Dibny, Vibe, Steel II, others previously mentioned, and more besides. "Ronnie? Oh, no. God, please, no... not them. Not Ralph and Sue too. How, Hal? Why?"

Alfred Pennyworth alerted the pair via hologram about Batman's grave robbing.

St. Roch: Ray "The Atom" Palmer tried to talk Hawkman into going with him to visit his deceased ex-wife's grave. In light of Jean Loring having murdered Sue Dibny by reason of insanity, Hawkman pointedly refused. Hawkgirl tried to convince him otherwise.

Space Sector 0: The Guardians of the Universe recognized that the war of light had erupted, a conflict amongst several agencies which derived power from the primeval color spectrum tied to emotion. The corrupt Guardian Scar then attacked her fellows, ripping out the heart of one with her hands and teeth. Black Lantern power rings rained down on Oa, pentrating the main battery, and resurrecting the copses of the Green Lantern Corps dead.

The rings were then everywhere...

J'Onn J'Onzz of Mars... Ronnie Raymond of Earth... Arthur Curry of Earth...

RISE

Gotham City: A voice came from behind Green Lantern and the Flash at Batman's grave. "You shouldn't be back. You should both be dead."
"J'Onn?"

St. Roch: Just as Hawkgirl was finally admitting she loved Hawkman, a spear tore through her breast. A mace then battered the Winged Wonder.

Black Lanterns Ralph and Sue Dibny: The abhorrent, ghoulish remains of the lovers had been resurrected to kill the Hawks. Sue had stabbed Kendra, while the former Elongated Man worked Katar over, physically and emotionally. "They were never as close as us. Were they, bun?" The Hawks hearts were ripped from their chests. Black Hand was also present. "You won't escape death this time.

Carter Hall of Earth. Kendra Saunders of Earth. Rise.

"Blackest Night" was by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert.