Animal Man #20

Buddy Baker must deal with the imaginable--his wife and two children are dead. Will a devastated Buddy be able to go on with his life?

Buddy wakes and begins to tell Ellen about the terrible dream that he just had. He then really comes to on his kitchen floor; his wife and children murdered. His friends Roger and Tricia are there trying to comfort him. Roger convinces Buddy to go upstairs to his room and lie down. As Roger goes back down to talk things over with Tricia, Buddy reminisces about his family.

Somewhere in Washington, Lennox(the murderer of Animal Man's family) is walking through a series of hallways. He enters through a giant metal door, into a darkened room. Three men sitting high atop what looks like a judge's bench. Lennox tells the men that the job is finished and he's a little concerned about possible retaliation. The men tell him not to worry about that and ask him to turn around. Lennox does so, and sees a giant, robotic suit of armor named "Bug-Man".

At Arkham Asylum, the Psycho Pirate is giving his guards cause for concern by becoming agitated and shouting out that "they're coming back! They're all coming back!".

Back at Buddy's house, days pass and various friends do their best to console him. At the funeral, he tells the Martian Manhunter that he's going to have to take a leave of absence from the Justice League Europe. Later, Buddy accompanies the detectives as they investigate the scene of the crime. The detective notices Buddy's JLE transporter tube and tells him ab out "surfers"- hackers who are able to access government and superhero transporters. The detective believes that this is how the killer gained access to the house.

Back in Washington, the men are showing off their "Bug-Man's" capabilities. These include napalm, flamethrowers, enhanced strength, enhanced vision, and hypodermic needles containing acid and nerve agents. According to the men, they have nothing to fear from Animal Man.

Meanwhile, Buddy sits on his stairs and sadly tells his dog that he can't take anymore. He walks into the bathroom and opens the medicine cabinet. He takes out a bottle of pills and pours them into his hand. He stares into the mirror, and in a final instance of helpless rage , he bashes his head into the mirror; shattering it. His phone begins ringing, though he doesn't realize it at first. Finally, he notices the ringing and answers it. A voice on the other line tells Buddy that he has some names he might be interested in hearing...