The conflict is resolved when Joker reveals that he was using the standoff as a distraction while other members of his group snuck up behind Luthor and Lawton. Meanwhile Catwoman is seen observing the situation from afar after somehow being freed of the virtual reality prison she was last seen in (Catwoman #76).

Elsewhere on the prison planet, Vandal Savage and Lady Flash had finally arrived at their personal Garden of Eden. The two discuss their plans for the utopian society they will build on the planet. Unfortunately for Lady Flash, Vandal's plan involved using her as well as every other female on the island as mere "breeding stock" to spread his immortal genes to all future inhabitants.

Catwoman is revealed and brought before Luthor and Joker. In order to save her own skin she drops the dime on the shape shifting Martian Manhunter who had previously been posing as Blockbuster. Martian Manhunter reveals himself to the tribe and begins to fight them all off, pleading for them to see things rationally.

The villains surround Martian Manhunter and deliver a concentrated burst of energy causing him to drop like dead weight from the sky. Surviving the fall, Martian Manhunter uses his last conscious breaths to crush the communicator device he was using to keep in touch with Batman back at the Hall of Justice. Catwoman flees the scene not waiting to find out what happens to her former ally. Luthor uses the victory over Martian Manhunter as a rallying cry to unite the warring tribes to help him continue to build his Boom Tube.

Watching all of this from afar is the nefarious Desaad. The planet which Earth's villains have been relegated to is training planet for all of Apokolips' parademons. According to Desaad, Earth's humans will be the perfect provide the perfect training for the finest crop of Apokolips in decades. The new troops are to begin shipping out to Salvation Run immediately...

NOTE:
For obvious reasons, Desaad's appearance in this issue appears to mean that all of Salvation Run (as well as the corresponding arcs in the issues of Catwoman and JLA) takes place prior to Countdown to Final Crisis #9.