lue >eetle %in the 6an 0arrett outfit(, Huestion %in his ori"inal white trenchcoat and blue suit?hat( and Peacemaker) Peacemaker calls them the ustice !ea"ue of 1merica %which is likel/ a comic book on this world() >eetle su""ests he Sentinels %as in the 1C Comics one-shot(, which "ets shot down) @e su""ests Ohe !aw, like the )[email protected] )[email protected] )i&ing @ssault Wea!on Wea!on miniseries at 6C) he president arrives and whispers to Huestion, indicatin" he knows his secret *6) @arle/ references his father, ince @arle/, which was also the secret *6 of the Bellow:acket in the +7&s comics in our world) *n the +7&s comics, @arle/ was a crime writer) *n this iteration, he was a comic book artist) @arle/ sa/s the Pa4 1mericana is Onot a hoa4) his is not an ima"inar/ stor/ or an alternate realit/)
Which, actuall/, it is) >ut that mirrors a million comic book cover blurbs) @e sa/s O!ookJ ut President @arle/ approaches approaches him confidentl/, confidentl/, even thou"h 1tom accidentall/ disassembles his do") P!ut itNs hard to love the pieces) Sometimes * feel that wa/ about 0rant .orrison storiesJ 1tom then creates a second, livin" do") >ut OitNs not the same) P!ut Captain 1tom sees future as well as past) 1s we're about to see, so does @arle/) he/Nre both ri"ht) @arle/ sa/s he understands the or"aniin" principle behind the world) @e sa/s he learned it at his fatherNs "ravesite) !ater, weNll see that it was a future Captain 1tom who showed it to him in the past) P!ut does this mean that @arle/ e4plained it to Captain Captain 1tom, so that a future Captain 1tom 1tom can "o back in time and e4plain it to @arle/I Chicken or e""I r :ust a circleI P!ack in time, we see terrorists terrorists holdin" Pres) 0eor"e W) W) >ush and 0ov) @arle/ %the veepI( hosta"e
in the White @ouse) @arel/ is unconcerned, mentions that his father kept doves) Peacemaker attacks, takes out all the terrorists, decides he must tr/ harder when a couple of them die) OBour world has :ust come to an end, @arle/ tells the terrorist) P!ack in the post-assassination time, Pres) Eden tells Peacemaker the same thin") OBou and /our kind are finished) We see it is Sar"e Steel as the enforcer, as a dru" forces Peacemaker to talk) Wh/Nd he do itI o save the world) O5rom whomI demands the Pre) Peacemaker makes a shootin" "esture at him, and dies) 5lashback to :ust before the assassination, where Peacemaker tells ;oraF O* asked him the real reason heNd chosen to become the sacrificial victim) * deserve it,N he said) !et the punishment fit the crime)N WeNll soon see what that means) P!eetle and he Huestion) %;oteF >lue >eetle and Huestion were never partners at Charlton, althou"h the/ sometimes shared a book) *t was Watchmen where the two characters were teamed up, b/ pro4/) So this is another Watchmen reference)( he two are ar"uin", and we know these ar"uments will eventuall/ separate them) 1lso of interest, Huestion raises the Om/ster/ of what happened to Bellow:acket, 1mericaNs first superhero) >eetle sa/s O@e disappeared) WeNve talked this into the "rave) P!ack in the past, /oun" @arle/ is sittin" at his fatherNs "raveside, as seasons pass) Captain 1tom appears, and sa/s Othe door has one side and opens both wa/s, echoin" anus, and :ust about ever/ other character at one point or another) P!odo" Sivana in the back"round)
P!i" Ded Cheese on the cover inform us that the main character will be more as he was in 5awcett Comics %+7&-83(, not as he is in he ;ew 82, with an altered costume and the name Shaam) @owever, unlike the Charlton characters in the previous issue, a "reat man/ 6C Comics additions to the m/thos are retained for this issue, as we shall see)
he pa"e is dominated b/ the Dock of Eternit/, a diamond-shaped rock) 1 late entr/ in the 5awcett books, the Dock was introduced in +7$ as a mountain floatin" at the center of time and space) *nitiall/ the spirit of the wiard Shaam %who "ave /oun" >ill/ >atson the Captain .arvel powers( was depicted as han"in" out in his under"round lair on Earth %accessible b/ ma"ic subwa/(, but after +7$ he was alwa/s han"in" around the Dock %likel/ the/ were one and the same() 5rom the Dock, the .arvel 5amil/ could "o an/where in space and an/when in time)
he Dock was initiall/ simpl/ a mountain floatin" in space) *t "ot its diamond shape in the 6C Comics "raphic novel and series /ower o' "hazam %+7-+()
Captions e4tol the wonder of the Dock) .orrison uses the phrase OEmp/rean peaks in his descriptions) Emp/real is the ad:ectival form of the word, so OEmp/rean isnNt describin" the peaks9 it means instead Opeaks of he Emp/rean, which in ancient 0reece was the hi"hest heaven, which was the domain of fire %one of the five natural elements, the other four bein" earth, air, water and aether() !ater Christian literature adopted the name and s/mbolism, as in the Bi&ine Comedy, where he Emp/rean is the home of 0od, a concept which retained the li"ht, if not the heat, of the 0reeksN fire) *n the +7 /ower o' "hazam, the Dock was created b/ combinin" a chunk of heaven and chunk of hell, "ivin" us both the hi"hest seat and the fire, so itNs an apt comparison)
n 0rant .orrisonNs map, the Dock of Eternit/ is located at the ver/ center of the multiverse) r, as the captions phrase it more poeticall/, Oon the R borderland that separates What *s from What .i"ht >e)
P!ill/?.arvel)(
he wiard addresses the reader directl/ %O@mm, itNs B< a"ain( and we learn that the
descriptions of the captions on the previous pa"e were actuall/ said b/ the wiard, who was Opracticin" m/ omniscient narrator voice) .ore .orrison breakin"-the-fourth-wall hi:inks)
he wiard discovers a new da/ between hursda/ and 5rida/, OSivanada/, as the Dock comes under attack)
P!or" cube, onl/ diamond-shaped)( *ts master is Captain .arvelNs arch-foe 6r) Sivana, who proclaims it, literall/, Oa new da/)
We also meet his children .a"nificus, 0eor"ia and haddeus r) 1ll were introduced in the 0olden 1"e, and havenNt chan"ed much) .a"nificus is ph/sicall/ perfect, althou"h a bit dim and vain) >oth 0eor"ia and unior resemble their father Q short, hunched over and scrawn/, with oversied spectacles and a hu"e overbite) ddl/, SivanaNs fourth child, >eautia, does not appear and is never mentioned) *n the 0olden 1"e she was the Aueen of enus, so perhaps sheNs bus/ with the affairs of state)
Sivana has hi:acked the power of Eternit/, and the three children can now chan"e into Captain .arvel Qt/pe characters b/ sa/in" OSivana instead of OShaam and receivin" power from black li"htnin") While the /ellow ma"ic li"htnin" "ives the .arvel famil/ characters red, white and blue uniforms, the black li"htnin" "ives the Sivana children, /ellow, "reen and purple uniforms) he/ are all ma"nificentl/-proportioned adults as well, even unior and 0eor"ia) *n the 0olden 1"e, all of SivanaNs children were adults, althou"h the malformed 0eor"ia and unior didnNt look it) So the/ are like 5redd/ 5reeman and .ar/ >atson, who chan"e into Captain .arvel r) and .ar/ .arvel respectivel/, but remain the same a"e9 whereas the/ are unlike >ill/ >atson, who "oes from child to adult in his transformation) 1nother area of variance is 0eor"ia, who "rows a ma"nificent bustline and fi"ure, whereas .ar/ >atson retains her a"e after transformation and is therefore not full/ developed) .ar/ .arvel's white uniform was another 6C addition, arrivin" in /ower o' "hazam #2) @owever, .orrison didn't lift .ar/'s evolution entirel/ from err/ rdwa/'s series, as .ar/ turned into an adult version of herself %resemblin" her mother( after sa/in" her ma"ic word in /ower o' "hazam, but in Thunderworld she remains her true a"e, as she did while wearin" the red in the 0olden 1"e)
he .arvel 5amil/ is usuall/ thou"ht of as >ill/, .ar/ and 5redd/) he >lack .arvel 5amil/ introduced in 82 consisted of 1dam, *sis and siris) he Sivana .arvel 5amil/ follows this pattern, a bo/-"irl-bo/ trio) %Perhaps thatNs wh/ we donNt see >eautia)(
O;ow ma/be /our mother will take me back mutters Sivana) hatNs funn/ enou"h not to need an/ e4planation, but it actuall/ has one) *n the 0olden 1"e, Sivana was twice widowed) >ut in /ower o' "hazam, his e4-wife Q enus Q was still alive) *n later issues, the e4-wife was named Portia)
P!ill/ >atson is reportin" on an invasion from different time periods b/ the imeAuaker) his is a throwawa/ bit not related to the main stor/, and * can find no reference to imeAuaker in Captain
.arvel comics, past or present)
W@*G radio owner Sterlin" .orris asks rhetoricall/ about >ill/ O@ow does this kid do itI @owever, an unnamed tech answers literall/ Oloosel/ enforced labor laws) *tNs ille"al for .orris to hire someone as /oun" as >ill/ for adult work)
>ill/ refers to the Oold abandoned subwa/ station at >eck Street) >ill/ first encountered the wiard Shaam via an old abandoned subwa/ station in Whiz Comics #2) O>eck Street refers to co-creator, co-writer and lon"time artist of Captain .arvel at 5awcett, C)C) >eck)
1 newspaper blowin" b/ shows men landin" on the moon) n our world, that took place in +, which ma/ place this adventure at the same time)
1 future >ill/ >atson appears and warns the current one, then disappears)
P!ill/ OBou think /ouNre so clever, donNt /ouI >ill/ responds Oust clever enou"h) his line will be repeated)
>ill/Ns cleverness, which is in no doubt despite his modest/ %a nice contrast to the immodest .a"nificus(, dela/s the trio lon" enou"h for him to transform into Captain .arvel)
P!ill/Ns not the onl/ clever oneJ
P!ill/, @ill >ill/, 5at >ill/, ill/ >atson, and could chan"e into .arvel characters b/ sa/in" OShaam simultaneousl/) nl/ the/ had to split the power, with each onl/ one-third as powerful as Captain .arvel) he/ have appeared post-Crisis a couple of times, onl/ to lose their powers each time) hat appears to be the case here)
atsonNs secret, he tried to insinuate himself into the .arvel 5amil/ as ill/, an uncle no less)
awk/ awn/ is an anthropomorphic, talkin" ti"er who is une4plained in his introduction in +7$, but becomes a supportin" character whose adventures "enerall/ revolved around people freakin" out at the si"ht of a talkin" ti"er) *n /ower o' "hazam, awk/ was ori"inall/ a childrenNs to/ temporaril/ "iven sentience and human sie b/ >lack 1damNs power, and later %and permanentl/( b/ *bis the *nvincible) *n Final Crisis awn/ kills Lalibak and takes control of his i"ermen) awk/ appears in he ;ew 82 as a oo ti"er who is "iven sentience b/ >ill/Ns power)
here is no mention of how these characters all band to"ether %in Captain .arvel uniforms, no less( or where their eAuipment comes from)
P!lack Sivana, who is far stron"er than Captain .arvel, as he is usin" the power of Ofundamental forces like the Ovelocit/ of a photon)
P!ill/, discovers the time cr/stals, "oes back in time to warn himself, and we see the scene we saw on Pa"e from the opposite perspective)
Sivana sa/s, O/ou think /ouNre so clever, donNt /ouI >ill/ replies, Oust clever enou"h)
P! #1
C;VER
We see the 1tomic Lni"ht >atman of Earth-+$ %left( and the chibi >atman of Earth-72 %with lots of artistic license() he two >atmen are surrounded b/ four circular, planet-like vi"nettes of +( heads of man/ superheroes of various earths, 2( Lamandi, 3( the @ouse of @eroes under sie"e and 7( the .ultiverse map) 1ll four of these are addressed within, as are the two >atmen)
P!atman-72 puts out the flame on .anhunter-72 with an aerosol-sied fire e4tin"uisher, presumabl/ from his utilit/ belt) With him is @awkman-72 and 0reen 1rrow-72) We have seen >atman-72 before, in @ction Comics # %2&+2, also written b/ 0rant .orrison( where we also first met Calvin Ellis, the President Superman of Earth-23) *n that issue, we saw a Odemon-Superman %CalNs words( named Superdoomsda/ from a parallel world ca"ed in between dimensions) >ut in a two-panel flashback, we also saw somethin" that informs this workF he death of ptiman on Earth-3, and the death of chibi Superman on Earth-72J @ction Comics # also introduced the Otransmitter s/mphonic arra/, which the !uthor of that Earth said came to him while he was on dru"s) hatNs sort of a dream, ri"htI
@awkman-72 sa/s the/ have lost %chibi( Wonder Woman and %chibi( Steel to Othat bo4) @e appears to be talkin" about the transmatter cube) We have seen the Wonder Woman and Steel of this Earth on the @all of @eroes, where the/ had been summoned b/ the OS))S) in Multi&ersity #+, and now we know the/ "ot there b/ transmatter cube %if we didnNt know alread/() >atman-72 tells @awkman-72 and 0reen 1rrow-72 %who looks like the ;eal 1dams version of the late +$&s and earl/ &s( to leave) @e addresses @awkman-72 as OLatar, indicatin" that the alien ori"in of @awkman applies in this world, the one in place from the Silver 1"e @awkmanNs creation in ++ to the Crisis in +8-) !ecter Sivana is accompanied b/ human-sied robots, which he orders to kill the three chibis while he and the chibi Sivana leave via the transmatter cube) @e mentions that itNs wordcontrolled, and mutters some words we cannot Ohear) nce a"ain, sound Q vibrations Q activate the inter-dimensional transport) he O!ittle !ea"ue %>atman-72 calls his team that on pa"e ( is ineffective a"ainst the robots, but suddenl/ all the robots are "unned down)
P!atman of Earth-+$ arrives, from the 1tomic Lni"hts world) *t is he who shot the robots) @e arrives throu"h a sAuare Odoor Q likel/ a transmitter cube on Earth-+$) @e uses OLrakkinN E4 where we would use Oeffin" hell, or somethin" similar) @e mentions Othe 6ark ower of !uthe4, the OCosmic 0rail) We donNt know what these thin"s are %/et(, but we reco"nie references to !uthor and the @ol/ 0rail, or ersat versions of them, an/wa/)
P!atman-+$ sa/s he dreamed Othe rose that "rows in winter, entered Othe vault of a"es and saw Othe four-stone) 1"ain, we donNt know /et what these mean, and the/ donNt seem to have an/ specific reference to our m/tholo"/ or literature) here is a 5ourstones villa"e in ;orthumberland, and 5orestone manufactures musical eAuipment, but neither seems to appl/)
@e su""ests >atman-72 mi"ht be a Omutoid or Oone of 6arkseidNs crew) .utoid could be "eneric, but thereNs no missin" a 6arkseid reference) bviousl/, thereNs an 1pokolips in his universe) >atman-+$ also uses Ookerdammit where weNd sa/ O0oddammit) *Nm not even "oin" to "uess what that implies for his world) >atman-72 sa/s the/Nre on the Pacific *sland @H of Professor Sivana) * donNt know if Sivana ever had a Pacific *sland @H in an/ Captain .arvel comics Q he probabl/ did Q but it could also be a reference to olon" *sland) hat island be"an as the @H of OE"" 5u, an ine4plicabl/ "iant e""-shaped villain in Wonder Woman #+8$ %+8() %here were related stories involvin" E"" 5u the 5ifth and 6r) Bes)( 1fter Crisis on In'inite 4arths E"" 5u was revealed to be a product of 1pokolips) 1fter In'inite Crisis, a new E"" 5u appeared, callin" himself Chan" u, who was also an a"ent of 1pokolips) @e captured or coerced mad scientists to his Pacific island base, which was renamed olon" *sland) %Presumabl/ for the Chinese tea)( Eventuall/ that plan came undone, and olon" became a soverei"n nation, and is currentl/ under the protection of the 6oom Patrol) 0iven olon"Ns 1pokolips connection and >atman-+$Ns reference to 6arkseid, the/ could be related) >atman-72 calls >atman-+$ O>ruce and reveals himself as the 6ick 0ra/son of this world) Wh/ is >atman-72 6ick 0ra/son when all the other chibis are Silver 1"e versionsI
P!leed, and we catch him in mid-stor/ e4plainin" how the O!ea"ue of Sivanas came to be) he/ are the Sivanas of 28 parallel worlds) @e describes the transmatter cubes as Odoors between the worlds) @e also describes .ech-Eternit/ %*Nm callin" it that( as Osmaller on the inside than it looks on the outside, reversin" the line usuall/ reserved for tesseracts, ma"ic ba"s and 6r) WhoNs ardis) he Sivanas reveal their plan to conAuer the multiverse) >ut Sivana-72 is told b/ the snake Sivana that he and his earth are onl/ "ood for snacks) Deference is also made to 6r) @oot seein" the transmatter cube in a dream) 6r) @oot is a villain on Earth-2, Captain CarrotNs world)
P!atman-72 describes how the !ittle !ea"ue was trapped and mostl/ killed) @e describes his world as one where ever/one is Oonl/ pla/in" and nobod/ "ets killed) Even the villains onl/ use Ocra/ "ad"ets and mind "ames) *tNs almost like Silver 1"e 6CJ >atman-72 mentions that his Sivana, 6oc Sivana, learned about the transmatter cube in a dream) 1nother bad "u/, another dream, another transmatter cube) .eanwhile, >atman-+$Ns dream was of the ODose hat 0rows in Winter) ne assumes the villainsN dreams come from he 0entr/, but >atman-+$ ma/ be referrin" to 5lower, whom Lamandi M Co) are lookin" for on an island %probabl/ the same one( on Earth-8+) >atman-+$ canNt operate the transmatter cube, and he describes his 0otham as one with a Orad-pit and Omumdads turnin" into Oshamblers) .om and 6ads turnin" into mutantsI Perhaps his own .om and 6ad, inspirin" him to be >atmanI ust speculation on m/ part) >atman-72 finds the Multi&ersity uideboo, apparentl/ left behind b/ !ecter Sivana) >atman calls it a Opicture book Q there are apparentl/ no comic books on this childlike world, which is either commentar/ or iron/ Q and correctl/ fi"ures out the whole parallel Earth business) @e ma/ be tin/, but heNs still a >atman) 1s he speaks heNs lookin" at R
P!en >o4er and Prince uftan %from Aamandi comics( in a raft, arrivin" at Ohe *sland of the 0od Watchers) 1s * said above, this bein" a .orrison book, it is probabl/ the same Pacific island >atman-+$ and >atman-72 are on, :ust in a different universe)
P!i" >arda, .r) .iracle, @i"hfather, @imon, !onar, 5astbak, the *nvisible Woman 1via and !i"htra/, all ;ew 0ods from Lirb/Ns O5ourth World books) here is no rion, who is probabl/ wherever 1pokolips is, "iven that .r) .iracle is here Q that is to sa/, this is before or after Ohe Pact) he ;ew 0ods discuss 6arkseid and ;ew 0ods on other earths as reflections of themselves) he su""estion is that these ;ew 0ods are the primal ones, the ori"inals, the blueprints) 1s the/ watch >en >o4er decides to activate his C/clo-@eart) @e calls upon the satellite >rNer E/e to O.1C*1EJ
P!en >o4er becomes >i.1C, a combination of two Lirb/ concepts, the armored form of >en >o4er and .1C, the ne-.an 1rm/ Corps activated b/ the satellite >rother E/e, seen here and referred to as >rNer E/e) Earth-8+ is evidentl/ the Earth of Lirb/ LonceptsJ *n the ori"inal Aamandi, >en >o4er simpl/ turned into an armored form of himself %not .1C( after /ellin" 1C*1E and pressin" his C/clo-@eart)
P!o4er solves one m/ster/ b/ tellin" us who took 5lower Q Lan"arat Slavers) he trio discover hiero"l/phics that are essentiall/ a comic book on the wall) We know that comic books can be used to allow entr/ to he 0entr/, or to pass messa"es from one universe to another, so an/ Ocomic book in this stor/ could be dan"erous) 1s if to remind us of one of .orrisonNs themes, >i.1C sa/s, O>e careful, Lamandi) Stories can be dan"erous) he stor/ is a Opicture histor/ from Obefore the before, and is apparentl/ .orrisonNs >ook of 0enesis for the 6C<)
P!ut then an imperfection appeared) O1 flaw that isN Ever/thin" Perfection is not) %1musin"l/, the Ois in Auotes made me think of the Clinton attorne/
wantin" to know what the definition of Ois is)( he vast field of white, as .orrison has said in interviews, is the blank pa"e) 1nd the stories bein" drawn on it are the imperfection, which irritates the blank pa"e, which seAuesters the imperfection awa/, in what we now call the 6C .ultiverse, and the container we call the rrer/ of Worlds) he imperfection first appears as a red, electric-lookin" thin") *tNs ver/ small, thou"h, so perhaps weNre not seein" it clearl/) @owever, if it is a red, electric-lookin" thin", that su""ests he 5lash) Could this be the Speed 5orceI Perfection became aware of the flaw and in response named itself .onitor-.ind the veroid) his tells us somethin" importantF he outer Ouniverse containin" the 6C .ultiverse %the Over-oid( is sentientJ his is somethin" weNd naturall/ call O0od, but * donNt think itNs "oin" to work that wa/) 5or one thin", Perfection is prett/ imperfect in its actions) o witF Of the ver-oid is .onitor born and 1nti-.onitor, the Conflict "enerator, the Stor/ .achine) *tNs unclear here how the .onitor?1nti-.onitor come about) he passive tense indicates Perfection didnNt mean for them to come into bein", it :ust kinda happened, perhaps as a result of Perfection suddenl/ bein" less than Ever/thin" Q "ivin" itself an identit/ to separate itself from the imperfection) >ut the second half is more strai"htforwardF .orrison is once a"ain establishin" stories Q narrative Q as the drivin" force of the universe) ;ow we see the need for a Odevil, the 1nti-.onitorF @e brin"s chaos and conflict, from which stories sprin") Without him, the universe would be static) his, clearl/, is the theolo"/ that .orrison is establishin" here %and perhaps subscribes to himself() Perfection contains the imperfection in what we will someda/ call the rrer/ of Worlds) *t creates Science .onitor 6a4 ;ovu to stud/ it) ;ovu is infected and splits into two %the .onitor and 1nti-.onitor, presumabl/, of Crisis on In'inite 4arths( and in other stories, the .onitor splits into 82 to monitor each individual world) hat is not mentioned here, however, where instead ;ovu is Oblinded, corrupted b/ the 5lawNs li"htnin" dale) O1nd so be"ins all thin"s, reads Lamandi, Owith a 5lash R as he touches a s/mbol showin" a li"htnin" bolt splittin" a circle) hhhh, bo/) hereNs a lot to speculate on here) !etNs "et the obvious out of the wa/F he 5lash launched the Silver 1"e %"howcase #7(, and discovered the .ultiverse % Flash #+23(, so heNs present at the creation of those two seminal events) @e also pla/ed a central role in both Crisis on In'inite 4arths and Flash!oint ) So, /eah, it all be"ins with a 5lash Q >arr/ 1llen, to be precise) >ut thatNs metate4tual) Within the te4t, does it su""est that the Odale, the O5lash that blinds ;ovu, is the Stor/ En"ine, and therefore the 1nti-.onitorI r does it su""est that the Speed 5orce, from which all 5lashes sprin", is the ori"inal imperfection ver-oid contained in the rrer/, and is the wellsprin" of all stor/I r is it somethin" else entirel/I *t ma/ or ma/ not be si"nificant that the Oimperfection in the ver-oidNs perfect white e4panse looks like red li"htnin" Q like he 5lash) 5urther, the s/mbol is a li"htnin" bolt over a circle, similar to >arr/ 1llenNs first chest
s/mbol) @owever, the bolt isnNt l/in" over a circle, itNs splittin" it Q su""estin" that the Odale, the O5lash, %or perhaps the Speed 5orce( is what splits worlds into multiple worlds, i)e), how the multiverse "ets created) r ma/be it destro/s worlds) 6iscuss) .eanwhile, >i.1C discovers some comic books) Specificall/, the one we are readin") 1s we know, comic books are he 0entr/Ns entr/ into the multiverse, and?or are messa"es between universes) he comic book we are readin", however, seems beni"n %as opposed to Ultra Comics()
P!arr/ 1llen and the histor/ of the multiverse as revealed in comic-book stories, which is probabl/ si"nificant) .orrison does a brief overview of >arr/ 1llenNs discover/ of the multiverse, from a .orrisonian perspective) @e uses captions with little hands pointin" to thin"s mentioned in the caption, which Carmine *nfantino used to do in Silver 1"e Flash comics) .orrison sa/s 5lash can approach the speed of li"ht, but he doesnNt refer to it as the speed of li"ht R he :ust calls it Oli"ht) *s the Speed 5orce the Olet there be li"ht of 6CNs 0enesisI @e refers to Earth-woNs vibrational freAuenc/ as Oonl/ a bass tone) hat can also be read as Oonl/ a base tone Q because Earth-wo, the world of the 0olden 1"e heroes, is the basis for ever/thin" else) While the ori"inal stories alwa/s referred to 5lashNs abilit/ to cross the multiversal barriers as a matter of vibration, .orrison alwa/s uses the lan"ua"e of music to describe it) Since music is essentiall/ ordered vibration, thatNs prett/ clever) .orrison sa/s OR was >arr/ 1llen a fiction in some hi"her, as /et undiscovered worldI Well, /es, because .orrison has established that) Specificall/, >arr/ 1llen in is a fiction on Earth-3, and ma/be elsewhere) he fourth panel on Pa"e 27 is a reproduction of the cover to Flash #+23 %O5lash of wo Worlds, the first Earth-wo stor/() he fifth panel on Pa"e 28 is a reproduction of the cover to ?ustice )eague o' @merica #2+ %OCrisis on Earth-ne, the first !1?S1 crossover() he first panel on Pa"e 28 shows a variet/ of 5lashes from a variet/ of worlds) Some are familiar %a/ 0arrick of Earth-wo, a/ 0arrick of Earth-2, >arr/ 1llen(, but most are not) 5ront and center is a chibi 5lash, presumabl/ from Earth-72) he second panel on Pa"e 2 looks ver/ much like the wraparound cover of BC 1== /age "u!er "!ectacular # b/ ;eal 1dams, althou"h it isnNt drawn in the 1dams st/le) he third panel on Pa"e 2$ depicts the battle a"ainst the 1nti-.onitor from Crisis on In'inite 4arths)
he first panel on Pa"e 2 depicts a scene * do not reco"nie, of Paralla4 standin" triumphant over Superman while holdin" the empt/ uniform of >arr/ 1llen) @owever, it does sort-of s/mbolie the Paralla4 stor/) Panel two of Pa"e 2 depicts the Opoundin" of Superbo/Ns fists Q the Superbo/ of EarthPrime %Earth-33( who first appeared in BC Comics /resents #$ and was the central anta"onist of In'inite Crisis) @e is s/mbolicall/ shatterin" the barriers between universes) he third panel of Pa"e 2 depicts >ooster 0old, Dip @unter and ;ova from the last Dooster old series, where >ooster was essentiall/ a space?time repairman) he fourth panel shows .onitors observin" the rrer/ of Worlds, while the captions sa/ the/ kept a record of all the chan"es in the multiverse in the fictions of Earth-33 Q Earth-Prime) he first panel of Pa"e 2 sa/s ;i4 ut the panel shows him hu""in" his "irlfriend, also a monitor, which is a mi4ed messa"e) 1lso, this is as "ood a place as an/ to mention that .orrison said in an interview that arr/ 1llen and homas O>atman Wa/ne from Flash!oint ) he third panel depicts the open hand with the universe in it at the dawn of time, first seen in reen )antern #7&, which 6C has essentiall/ been tr/in" to e4plain ever since) @owever, in this depiction, we see the flaw?orrer/ of worlds in the center of the open hand) %*ncidentall/, one Crisis or another established that the hand was that of Lrona, who messed ever/thin" up, then that ofhe Spectre, reachin" back to the be"innin" of time to strai"hten ever/thin" out) * "uess .orrison is i"norin" that stor/)( *n the fourth panel >i.1C mentions that it is the Lan"arats who freed 6arkseid in some Obarbaric rite, answerin" the Auestion @i"hfather asked earlier) * have to sa/ itNs prett/ curious that the freein" of 6arkseid to proliferate throu"hout the universe has :ust happened in this book, when it clearl/ happened much earlier in Oour stor/lines) .orrison doesnNt e4plain it, and * have no "uesses) *n the final panel, >atman-72 twi"s to what Multi&ersity uideboo is, and sa/s the maps will Osave us all) >atman-+$ cannil/ sums the book and the stor/ as their Orealit/ from the outside) %Continue to ne4t comment( •
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Permalink Depl/ b/ Captain Comics on 5ebruar/ $, 2&+8 at F&+pm P!e/ond the Source Wall is not onl/ the ver-oid, but Ohe Source and Ohe unn/ and 1meth/stNs 0emworld) %@as 0emworld been revealed to be a dream of some kindI * know itNs been retconned a couple of times)( U @ell isnNt :ust the home of the Christian devil, but also comic-book devils?demons like Etri"an, the 6emons hree %1bne"aar, Dath and 0hast(, ri"on and ;eron) *f /our theolo"/ has a devil, heNs here) U Wonderworld is the home of Oprimal superheroes) * wanna see what .orrison thinks are primal superheroesJ
P!atman-+$ references the O6ark ower a"ain) Perhaps thatNs 6arkseidNs tomb on his world, located on the same Pacific island as on Earth-8+) >atman-72 reveals that )iGl otham #+2 is connected to Multi&erse) he cover blurb OWhoNs that knockin" on the door isnNt :ust a reference to an old Dod Stewart son", but also to he 0entr/) he ne4t panel puts an unsolved DubikNs Cube front and center) BouNd think that with >atman-72 pulin" out the comics and transmatter cubes, it would be a solved cubeJ >atman-+$ also makes the same reference in panel three of Pa"e 33, OWe donNt have timeJ he/Nre knockin" at the doorJ 1lthou"h he ma/ be referrin" to SivanaNs robots) Either wa/, itNs a reminder that he 0entr/ are still out there, tr/in" to access all 82 universes) >atman-72 refers to the 82 worlds as Othe local multiverse) hat implies a broader one out there, be/ond the 82 universes we know)
P!atman books and one een itans book) While Wonder Woman is depicted, she has /et to appear in an/ Earth-ne "raphic novels) Earth-2F he updated Earth-wo, currentl/ bein" depicted in the books 4arth93, WorldsG Finest and 4arth936 WorldGs 4nd ) Earth-3F @ome of the Crime S/ndicate of 1merica, the version that recentl/ appeared in the O5orever Evil stor/line) 1nother version first appeared in ?ustice )eague o' @merica #2-3&) Earth-7F @ome of the ori"inal Charlton characters) Peacemaker and Captain 1tom are depicted as alive and well, despite the events in /a @mericana. Earth-8F @ome of the ori"inal 5awcett characters, as depicted in Thunderworld ) Earth-F 1 parod/ of .arvel, includin" a Secret *nvasion %of 6urlans instead of Skrulls( and a Civil War, but usin" variations of 6C characters) 5irst appeared in Final Crisis6 "u!erman Deyond #+) Earth-$F hinl/ veiled version of .arvelNs ehemoth %@ulk(, >u" %Spider-.an(, Wunda:in %hor(, etc) Earth-F he characters from the an"ent line of books) 5irst appeared in Tangent6 The @tom #+) Earth-+&F 5ormerl/ Earth-K %K bein" +& in Doman numerals(, a world where the ;ais won World War **, first seen in ?ustice )eague o' @merica #+&$-+&) he familiar 6C superheroes are the bad "u/s, while the characters from Hualit/ Comics %omb, etc)( are the "ood "u/s, known as the 5reedom 5i"hters) *t appears the ne4t issue of Multi&ersity will focus on this world) Earth-++F 0ender-reversed world) 5irst seen in "u!erman*Datman #23) Earth-+2F @ome of >atman >e/ond and ustice !ea"ue >e/ond) Earth-+3F 1 supernatural variation, where the superheroes are monster-ish) >ecause, /ou know, +3) 5irst seen in Countdown6 @rena #+) Earth-+7F atman-+$ referred to earlier) Earth-+F OEarth-.e, the world of the bored and privile"ed sons and dau"hters of the 6C heroes, as seen in Multi&ersity6 The ?ust ) arious characters have been ascribed to this world %some later un-ascribed(, such as >ob @ane/Ns Super-Sons, the Eoung ?ustice cartoon and Christopher Lent) *t also seems to represent the 6C loodw/nd is in the ustice !ea"ue, etc)() Earth-+$F @ome of the 1tomic Lni"hts of ustice, led b/ Captain 1dam Stran"e) 1 variation on the old 1tomic Lni"hts stories, complete with a nuclear war in +3) %hatNs .orrison tippin" his hat to ohn >roome, * ima"ine)( Eath-+F @ome of 6C Western characters, like Superchief, El 6iablo, Cinnamon, etc) his world was first seen in the Elseworlds ?ustice +iders) Earth-+F @ome of ictorian?Edwardian versions of 6C heroes, some of which were seen in the Elseworlds otham by aslight and Datman6 Master o' the Future) Could include Wonder Woman6 @mazonia and ?)@6 @ge o' Wonder ) Earth-2&F he pulp era Earth, as seen in Multi&ersity6 "ociety o' "u!er9Heroes) Earth-2+F he 5L-era ustice !ea"ue, as seen in 6arw/n CookeNs New Frontier ) Earth-22F he Aingdom Come Earth) Earth-23F @ome of Calvin Ellis, President Superman) *t appears on this Earth that black is the dominant skin color?race, as all of the ustice !ea"ue %e4cept >atman, for some reason( are black) President Superman was the star of @ction Comics %second series( #, and his first official appearance is listed as Final Crisis #$) @owever, he 5lash ran into a black ustice !ea"ue back in Crisis on In'inite 4arths ) *f a black Superman appeared in the "roup shot Q * donNt remember if one did Q thatNs too much of a coincidence, so * would consider that his first appearance) Earth-27F iarro world) %Ba/J( Earth-3&F he Earth of "u!erman6 +ed "on )
Earth-3+F @ome of the privateer Captain !eatherwin" %>atman(, first seen in Betecti&e Comics @nnual #$) Earth-32F 1 !1-in-a-blender world, riffin" off the Elseworlds Datman6 In Barest Night %in which 1bin Sur "ives his rin" to >ruce Wa/ne() >arr/ 1llen, Clark Lent and 6iana of hem/scira are also "iven 0reen !antern rin"s on that Elseworlds, which is not the case here Q instead, alon" with the >atman?0reen !antern mash-up called >at-!antern, /ou have a Super-.artian %Superman?.artian .anhunter(, >lack 1rrow %>lack Canar/?0reen 1rrow(, Wonderhawk %@awkman?Wonder Woman( and 1Auaflash %1Auaman?5lash( as members of the ustice itans %ustice !ea"ue?een itans() * have to sa/, some of those blended superheroes seem a lot more useful than the ori"inalsJ %*Nm lookin" at /ou, Wonderhawk)( Earth-33F Earth-Prime, where Ultra Comics comes from) ri"inall/ Earth-Prime was our planet, and real people like ulius Schwart, Car/ >ates and Elliot S) .a""in were depicted in various issues of Flash and ?ustice )eague o' @merica. 1nd we had our own Superman, briefl/, called /rneNs "u!erman and Datman6 enerations characters) Earth-3F @ome of ower Comics characters, called 1"ents of W));)6)E)D) %)@)<);)6)E)D) 1"ents() he/ include C/clotron %6/namo(, 6octor ;emo %;o.an(, Corvus %Daven(, 1ccelerator %!i"htnin"( and Psi-.an %.enthor() Earth-7&F 1nother pulp era world, where the ma:or characters are all villains, as seen in Multi&ersity6 "ociety o' "u!er9Heroes) he 0uidebook sa/s Earth-7& and Earth-2& form a Obinar/ universe that resonates in Ocatastrophic harmon/) *ncidentall/, the characters who met a fatal end in ".:.". are shown hale and whole here) Earth-7+F he *ma"e universe, with 6ino-Cop %Sava"e 6ra"on(, ;imrod SAuad %Boun"blood(, ;i"htcracker %6arkhawk(, Spore %Spawn(, etc) Earth-72F he chibi world, which the "uide sa/s Ohides a "reat and terrible secret) We know from later in the stor/ that part of the secret is that the !ittle !ea"ue %and perhaps the entire population( is made up of robots) 1s mentioned, the Superman of this world was Okilled b/ Superdoomsda/ in @ction Comics %second series( #)
Earth-73F 1 world riffin" off the Elseworlds "raphic novels Datman Bracula6 +ed +ain, Datman6 Dloodstorm and Datman6 Crimson Mist ) *n those books >atman was a vampire, but in the illustration, it appears the entire ustice !ea"ue is vampiric) Earth-77F 1 sort of ustice !ea"ue-.etal .en mash-up worldF 0old Superman, *ron >atman, Platinum Wonder Woman, etc) *n a cute twist, the onl/ robot ustice !ea"uer %Ded ornado( is the onl/ human here Q Professor Will ornado %the 6oc Will .a"nus analo"() he 6C wiki sa/s these characters Q .etal ustice, ma/beI .etal @urlantI Q appeared in Final Crisis #$ and ?ustice )eague o' @merica %second series( #73, but * donNt remember them) Earth-78F he world where imm/ lsen, Clark Lent and !ois !ane came up with thou"ht technolo"/, which was used b/ vercorp to create Superdoomsda/, who killed the Superman analo"s of Earth-3 and Earth-72 before bein" destro/ed b/ President Superman of Earth-23 and he ;ew 82 Superman of Earth-&)U * donNt know of an/ other super-chararacters from this Earth, and Earth-78Ns one-e/ed !ois !ane is now livin" on Earth-23 %the Clark and imm/ of Earth-78 are dead() U >rief di"ressionF * do think of he ;ew 82 Superman as :ust another Superman, and not O@E Superman) * think @E Superman went awa/ with Crisis on In'inite 4arths , and we have been sub:ected to a parade of pretenders ever since) hatNs because *Nm an old fart, of course, but also because of stories like this, which reinforce the idea that ever/ world has its own Superman, which the/ think of as @E Superman, so wh/ should * think of an/ of them as the ori"inalI Earth-7F atmen are on, on Earth-72) *n the second panel, the fier/ hand appears, writin" on the wall) his looks identical to the .ovin" @and of he Source that would "ive instructions to Lirb/Ns ;ew 0ods in the +$&s) nl/ in this scenario it doesnNt appear to be beni"n) *t is writin" O* 5ound Bou as Lamandi, uftan and bi.1C flee, because the walls are shakin") @i"hfather, still watchin", sa/s the walls of all the worlds are shakin") hat 6arkseid is :ust one theme in a s/mphon/) %1 s/mphon/ of evil, one ima"ines, that is comin" to crescendo)( @i"hfather mentions ;i4 ecause the/Nve been copied to 8+ other earthsI atman reads the line in the 0uidebook about Earth-72Ns Oterrible secret, but doesnNt know what it is) @ow do /ou not know /ouNre a robotI >atman-72 fi"ures out how to activate the transmatter cube :ust as SivanaNs robots break in) >atman-72 sees the Odead Nonn Non, whose robotic parts are showin", revealin" the Oterrible secret) r part of it, at least) >atman-+$ hears his friends throu"h the transmatter cube, so it is likel/ tuned in to Earth-+$) >atman-+$ throws >atman-72 throu"h the cube, but he sta/s to fi"ht the robots) %@e does know how to activate it now, so he has a chance)( >atman-72 reaches >atman-+$, where Captain 1dam Stran"e, and the 1tomic Lni"hts 5lash and Wonder Woman %all ridin" "iant do"s, like the ori"inal 1tomic Lni"hts( want to know where their >atman is) >atman-72 is carr/in" the flower that came from Earth-8+, which Stran"e declares is the Dose hat 0rows *n Winter) Could that simpl/ mean an/ flower that "rows R in a nuclear winterI !ike the one on Earth-+$I *n the final panel of Pa"e $&, the skies turn red) bviousl/, bad news is on the wa/ here, too)
P!atman-+$ escapes Earth-72 and ends up in the @all of @eroes) We see 6ino-Cop of Earth7+, !ord olt of Earth-7) >loodw/nd of Earth-+ and Steel of Earth-72) he/ sa/ the characters sent to Earth-$ %back in Multi&ersity #+( have failed to return) %hat would be Superman of Earth-23, hunderer of Earth-$, Ded Dacer of Earth-3, 1Auawoman of Earth-7+ and Captain Carrot of Earth-C)( he/ sa/ the entire multiverse is under the attack %e4plainin" the red skies, * "uess( and that the/ are on the front lines) *ncidentall/, !ord olt was killed in his introductor/ stor/, Crisis on In'inite 4arths #7) * "uess he "ot better)
P!ack on Earth-72, 5our of the Odead !ittle !ea"uers %5lash, 1Auaman, C/bor" and .artian .anhunter( are to O0et up and Oreset b/ R 1; E.PB @1;6J OBou have died before, and /ou will die man/ times more before * am done with /ou) See how m/ hand is empt/) he four robots "et up, sa/in" OEmpt/ is th/ hand in unison) So now we know the Oterrible secret of Earth-72J
P!ut it's more likel/ a relative or descendant, as we shall see) @itler is depicted as bein" constipated, and refers to himself as Owrithin" in a"on/) @itler suffered from man/ chronic ailments, amon" them constipation, stomach cramps, diarrhea and uncontrollable flatulence)
P!undists %1merican ;ai s/mpathiers( threatened imel/ Comics for its anti-;ai stories) he ;ais, as this reference indicates, were no fans of 1merican comic books) he last panel is a scene-setter for a place called Peenemunde, which is a port cit/ on an island in the >altic Sea near the coast of 0erman/) Peenemunde translates literall/ to OPeene .outh, as the cit/ is located at the mouth of the Peene Diver, where it debouches into the >altic Sea) 6urin" World War **, Peenemunde was home to 0erman/Ns most advanced rocket research, and developed the er"eltun"swaffe %Detribution Weapon( 2, known colloAuiall/ as the -2 rocket) he scientists at Peenemunde, which included the famous Werner von >raun, were referred to as OPeenemunders) arious voices are raised sa/in" O@ail @itlerJ, which is the literal translation of the ;ai salute O@eil @itler)
P!raun appears as a rocket en"ineer at Peenemunde, as he was in real life)
P!ismarckNs famous speech about 0erman unification in +2 was titled O>lood and *ron) ur own culture boasts *ron .an the superhero and *ron .an triathlons, as well as the Oiron fist in a velvet "love
P!ut the time is +8, onl/ a few /ears after mass comic-book bonfires in 1merica b/ 1mericansJ roken, one of he 0entr/, is in the back"round)
1 panel informs us that it is now & /ears later %2&+()
P!roken has achieved some influence here) !ena tells him he must be Ostron", a ver/ ;ai-like thin" to sa/)
P!atman, 5lash, .artian .anhunter, Wonder Woman and 1Auaman) his represents the foundin" members of the ustice !ea"ue in +&, with the curious e4ception of a 0reen !antern analo") f special interest are the 5lash analo", who is female here, and the Wonder Woman analo", who is decked out in >avarian "ear Q she obviousl/ is connected to the ;orse?eutonic "ods instead of the 0reek "ods) %* would think she would be connected to the Doman "ods, since *tal/ was a member of the 14is, and the/ are the 0reco-Doman "ods after all) >ut * didnNt write or draw the book)( We also see what looks to be ;ai-world versions of imm/ lsen and 1lfred Penn/worth) 1 memoir be"ins, obviousl/ bein" written /ears after the events we are seein") *t refers to the 5all of .etropolis and the wili"ht of the ;ew Deichsmen) he latter is an obvious reference to Da"narok, loosel/ translated to Owili"ht of the 0ods, which in ;orse m/tholo"/ is the death of the "ods)
P!ut as we discover, he betra/s verman and the Deichsmen) Wh/ is never made clear) lsen makes mention of vermanNs Oseemin"l/ a"eless consort) hatNs not >runnhilde as /ouNd e4pect, but !ena, who does not a"e due to a serum from a planet Onow dust %p) 3() omb of this world appears) he female 5lash is referred to as O!i"htnin") hat makes sense, as li"htnin" Q >lit Q was a favored word of the ;ais, as in >litkrie" %li"htin" war()
P!lit also has a st/lied SS li"htnin"-bolt insi"nia)
P!ormann for 1dolf @itlerNs 8&th birthda/ above >erchtes"aden in the >avarian 1lps)
P!atmanNs name here is !eatherwin") he pirate world features a Captain !eatherwin") %* "uess die 5ledermausmann was too unwield/)( !eatherwin" refers to his ="randfather von @ammer,= meanin" the Col) von @ammer who found verman's rocket ship in +3 could have been his father) 1AuamanNs name is runnhilde, the name of a character in eutonic m/tholo"/ made famous in Dichard Wa"nerNs O6ie Din" des ;ibelun"en tetralo"/, confirmin" her connection to a different pantheon than on our world)
P!runnhilde confirms that En"lish is not onl/ banned, but a Odead lan"ua"e) >lit picks up a weapon from another universe and detects Oweird vibrations) his correlates to what we know, that the different dimensions vibrate at different speeds and that those connected to the Speed 5orce are especiall/ sensitive to those vibrations)
P!runnhilde makes some t/picall/ ;ai remarks about stren"th and weakness)
P!iblical end times, as ehovahNs Witnesses tend to do) lack Condor, he Da/, 6oll .an and 6oll 0irl) hese are all variations of Hualit/ Comics characters)
P!a/reuth) >a/reuth is a cit/ in >avaria) verman makes e4plicit reference to Wa"nerNs ODin" c/cle Q formall/ known as O6ie Din" des ;ibelun"en, which * referred to above)
P!rone 1"e concept that essentiall/ did the same thin" as Oima"inar/ stories in the past) P!atmanNs ori"in() @is dialo"ue Oake that, >usterJ, would be prett/ t/pical of the two-fisted 0olden 1"e) Panel 2 is sort-of Silver 1"e-/, with rone 1"e?*ma"e era, or at least post-Crisis, with a sufferin", "rim-n-"ritt/ hero standin" over a dead sidekick shoutin" OWh/III Panel 7 represents the more brutal, anti-hero-ish, post-Wolverine .odern 1"e, with o4, which is a pun referencin" both lon"bo4es %atman, an unknown "iant, Superman, 0reen !antern and 5lash, with *ce in the center) hree of the bu"s Q representin" 6CNs Otrinit/ Q sa/ what the/ want to eat, and each case itNs referencin" what the/ derive their power from or what the/ represent) SupermanF sun, >atmanF darkness, Wonder WomanF life) >u" !antern "ibbers and then sa/s the clich, Ohis ends now) he sidekick refers to the bu"s as Ocrawlies and complains the/ Osa/ the same thin" over and overJ he/ sa/ the same thin"sJ 1nother commentar/ on clichs?herd-think in comics) P!atman m/thos, as a possible ori"in for he oker, as the Ded @ood 0an" in both comics and on the otham show and as the current nom de "uerre of resurrected e4-Dobin ason odd) *tNs possible she is the >atman analo" of this world, which would coincide with fellow 0uardsman >o/ >lue bein" the Superman analo" %Superman has been referred to as O>i" >lue or Othe >lue >o/ Scout at times() n /et another hand, there was a Ded @ood in both Aingdom Come and ?ustice )eague6 eneration )ost that would be a"e-appropriate for this character) 1nd one of the 0uardNs members looks a lot like >rookl/n of the ;ewsbo/ !e"ion) * "uess this kid "an" could be populated b/ various kids from various eras or parallel worlds) Ded Didin" @ood describes the /ear as Owhatever-and-8) ;ot onl/ is that true in stor/, but itNs also a possible reference to he ;ew 82 havin" been established as havin" e4isted for onl/ five /ears on a slidin" scale) >ut there was a O5ive Bears !ater run in )egion o' "u!er9Heroes, so are these kids analo"s of the !S@I he/ are the Okids of tomorrow Q tomorrow as in the 3+st centur/I hat would make Ded Didin" @ood Saturn 0irl, and >o/ >lue !i"htnin" !ad, and uh R well, ma/be that doesnNt work) P!rone 1"e) atman %>atman( of Earth-+$) he le"end at left, which usuall/ tells us on what Earth the interior stor/ is set, shows all Earths eAuall/) P!ut :ust when /ou thou"ht it was all overJ he stor/ continues "oes on, with or without /ou) * think weNve established that .ultiversit/ is commentin" on comics while bein" a comic, and this appears to be a commentar/ on how comic-book characters continue indefinitel/, comin" back from
the dead over and over, repeatin" the same themes and stories over and over, and outlivin" their creators and readers) * donNt know whose voice this is) *f itNs the traditional omniscient narrator, then we can ascribe it to .orrison himself) 1 second voice appears) *t is the @arbin"er computer s/stemNs 1)*) *t is tr/in" to "et someone to listen to her, probabl/ the collected characters at the @all of @eroes) >ut it could be the first speaker, or the reader) 1 third voice appears) *t is also a narrator, but one with a florid touch) 1 fourth voice appears) *t turns out to be ason >lood on the ne4t pa"e, mutterin" rh/me) P!lood %who is wearin" a priestNs collar( continues mutterin" in verse) he captors are vampires) P!lood ransforms into Superdemon %Etri"an is the Superman analo" of Earth-+3() @e strikes down his captors, freein" his fellow captives, the Shadow !ea"ue, which include a Cockne/speakin" ohn Constantine %in superhero "ear, which is prett/ funn/(, 1nnata %=Gatanna= backwards(, Witchbo/, Swamp-.an %Swamp hin"(, 5ate %ared Stevens(, Da"man %who looks like a mumm/(, 6eadman and Enchantress) P!ut he sa/s that :ust as he is shot in the head, so itNs kind of a let-down)( We see the ustice Diders %ustice !ea"ue( of Earth-+, which consists of %from left( the ri""er wins %5lash(, Super-Chief %Sa"anowana, the Superman analo"(, omahawkman %@awkman(, 5irehair, El 6iablo %>atman(, .adame )77 %Wonder Woman(, Cinammon, Stron"bow %0reen 1rrowI(, Pow-Wow Smith and ohnn/ hunder) he third voice from pa"e one resumes monolo"in") P!atman, Wonder Woman, 1Auaman and C/bor"() Earth-8+ %Lirb/ world(F 5rom left, >en >o4er, Prince uftan, Lamandi) Earth-2&F %5rom left( !ad/ >lackhawk and the >lackhawks, 6oc 5ate, *mmortal .an, .i"ht/ 1tom) Earth-3F %5rom left( War-Woman, C/berion, bad "u/ %ombie mnimanI(, *ron Lni"ht) Earth-2F %5rom left( 5astbak, he Crash, Wonder Wabbit, Pi" *ron, Super-SAuirrel, >at-.ouse, 1merican Ea"le, Bankee Poodle, Dubber 6uck, Elon"-0ator, 1lle/-Lat-1bra) Earth-7F @ard to sa/, since ever/one has super-powers) *Nm "oin" to sa/ that the "irl in red is !iana, one of the few heroes from this world whose name * know, and the one do" we see is 6an"er 6o") he third voice from Pa"e ne continues monolo"in", referencin" Crisis, 6oomsda/ %6eath of Superman(, ud"ment 6a/ and other comic book events) he second voice %@arbin"er( also chimes in, announcin" arrivals %to the @all of @eroes( from Earths 2, 23 and 3) P10ES +7-+8 1 "roup of heroes, as @arbin"er keeps announcin" arrivals) We see %from left( a Ded ornado analo" %Earth unknown(, >loodw/nd %Earth-+(, a 5lash analo" %Earth unknown(, a Wonder Woman?.a4ima %Earth-32I(, a 0reen !antern analo" %Earth unknown(, two other "u/s, 1bin Sur %Earth-2&(, near his le"s a 5lash analo" %Earth unknown( and 1tomic Lni"ht >atman %Earth-+$(, Saturn 0irl %Earth unknown(, >iarro 1dam Stran"e %presumabl/ Earth-2(, >lack 1rrow and hunderhawk %Earth-32(, !ad/ Huark and !ord olt %Earth-7(, above them .ar/ .arvel %Earth-8( and Plastic .an %Earth-+&(, 6inocop %Earth-7+(, 5lashli"ht and a C/bor" analo" %Earth-3(, two unknowns, o/ %Earth unknown(, a ;i"htwin" %Earth unknown( and several unknowns) P!atwoman %Earth-&I() Panel 7F !ad/ Huark mentions the O>atman archetrope) Evidentl/, 1n"or is more knowled"eable about the .ultiverse than others) 1nd it seems .orrison :ust coined a new word, tooJ Panel 8F 1 black-haired 1Auaman %Earth unknown() Panel $F Dobot @awkman %Earth-77() P!o/ and !i"htnin" !ad appear, alon"side the previousl/ seen Saturn 0irl) here is no !e"ion of Super-@eroes Earth in .orrisonNs .ultiverse map, so the/ must be from one of the unknown worlds) 1lso seen are are two new, unknown characters) 1t a "uess, *Nd sa/ the woman in purple and oran"e is the 6uo 6amsel of Earth-+, and the "lowin" "reen m/stical-lookin" "u/ could be Witchbo/ or 6eadman of Earth-+3 %whom *'ve never seen clearl/(, or an unknown 0reen !antern analo") P!ehemoth %@ulk(, Ded Dacer %5lash of Earth-3(, Crusader %Captain 1merica(, .achinehead %*ron .an( and Superman of Earth-23) Super:ud"e is holdin" the Cosmic Cube analo" that came from the =Cosmic E""= in issue #+, which is a DubikNs Cube) P!u", who is female) P10E 2+ Panel +F .achinehead makes reference to the >lue >oarder, obviousl/ a Silver Surfer analo") Panel 3F he dead are risin", but it's the superhero dead of other worlds, as one of them appears to be the Captain 1merica analo" of Earth-$) %Olack Widow analo" makes her first appearance this issue) Panel 3F Stubbs sa/s Odoors open both wa/s, which echoes a line from the president in the Pa4 1mericana issue) Panel 2F he DubikNs Cube sli"htl/ resembles itans ower, but * donNt think itNs intentional) Panel 8F hunderer reveals he is O!i"htnin" >rother of the .owan:um people) he .owan:um are an abori"inal tribe in Western 1ustralia) P10E 28 1Auawoman sa/s On Earth-++N the stron"est native life form Q is .EJ hat mi"ht be true of 1Auaman as well, if Onative life form means a non-enhanced, natural born creature native to Earth, which would eliminate characters such as Superman, .artian .anhunter, @awkman, 5lash, C/bor", Wonder Woman and 0reen !antern) 1lthou"h, as far as * know, our 1Auaman canNt shoot li"htnin" out of his trident, as 1Auawoman can) P10E 2$ Panel 2F 1AuawomanNs OTcan chan"e /our tune ma/ be considered literal, "iven that .orrison has established the universe as operatin" on vibrations, read Omusic) Chan"e the tune, chan"e the person %or the world() Panel 7F We see two elastic fi"ures fi"htin" in the back"round) * think we can assume the/ are the .r) 5antastic analo"s of Earth-$ and Earth-, one alive and one dead) P10E 2 he florid narrator be"ins narratin" a"ain) *f we're supposed to know who this is, * am failin") P10E 2 he opportunistic, vermin-like life of he >leed, seen in issue #+, is allowed access to @ellmachine b/ the .arvels usin" the .echano-Dock of Eternit/ as a weapon) *t eats @ellmachine) P10E 3& Panel 8F Captain Carrot sa/s OWho dares "et in our wa/I What power triumphs over sheer absurdit/I !ikel/ another meta-commentar/ on comics, but it also he Empt/ @and's onl/ weakness) P10E 3+ Ded Dacer, the 5lash analo" of Earth-3, was revealed in issue #+ to be a comics fan, :ust like >arr/ 1llen in his various manifestations) When Captain Carrot "ives him the entire Multi&ersity series to read, he demurs, sa/in" O*Nm not that much of a nerdJ >ut, like an/ of us, he reads them an/wa/) >ecause he is, like all of us, that much of a nerd) P10E 32 Panel +F 5lash realies the Omaster word to control the transmatter cubes is OS))S), a word?phrase that has been used liberall/ since the first issue) Panel 2F Ded Dacer knows that 5lashes alwa/s make the ultimate sacrifice in Crises, because the/ have in 6C Comics, which e4ist on his world %and, bein" a nerd, he has read them() he @ank he refers to is 5lashli"ht %0reen !antern(, whom he appeared to have a romantic attachment to in issue
#+) Panel 3F ;i4 loodw/nd %Earth-+( and !ad/ Huark %Earth-7( char"e, but in the back"round is a new character, a @uman >omb analo", likel/ from Earth-+&) Panel 2F 1 host of 5lashes, one of them the robot 5lash %.ercur/I( from Earth-77) he one in the forefront, mostl/ in /ellow, is the same one we saw prominentl/ on Pa"e +7, which leads me to believe * should know what Earth heNs from, but * donNt) P10E 7& 1n arm/ of superheroes arrive, most of whom weNve seen before) 1t top we see our first 5irestorm of the issue, and what appears to be a .artian .anhunter?Chemo amal"am Q possibl/ from Earth77) P10E 7+ Panel +F We see the 0reen !antern of Earth-+2) 1lso, Ded Dacer and 5lashli"ht embrace, confirmin" their relationship) Panel 7F he heroes "o throu"h the front door of !ord >roken) >ecause, as established, doors open both wa/s) P10E 72-73 Earth-$ is the world destro/ed in the first issue, an analo" of .arvelNs i" >ad, and he is a "iant, shadow/ fi"ure with antlers and?or horns, sittin" on his oft-mentioned throne) @e looks va"uel/ like ri"on and other devil-esAue characters) @e means write Othe final chapter of /our never-endin" stor/, makin" him a meta-villain, wantin" to end all the endless stories) he Empt/ @and reveals that the entire series has been a feint9 he is :ust assessin" the stren"th of =our= multiverse's defenders before invadin") he 0entr/ are revealed as representatives of various races9 there are clusters of *ntellectrons fl/in" around, clumps of !ord >rokens, various @ellmachines) he Empt/ @and reveals the source of their powerF .ultiverse-2) his confirms what we alread/ knew, that our .ultiverse %often referred to as Othe local .ultiverse( is part of a lar"er .ultiverse, which is part of an even lar"er .ultiverse, and so on) P10E 7 Superman of Earth-23 calls a meetin" at a circular table, reminiscent of a :illion ustice !ea"ue scenes %and man/ from the 1ven"ers as well() We have seen most of these characters before, althou"h * donNt have names for them all) ne standout is a sort of 6oomsda/->lue 6evil combo, probabl/ from Earth-32) P10E 7$ Superman identifies Earth-33, OEarth-Prime, as the source of all trouble) We alread/ know from the .ultiverse .ap that Earth-33, despite havin" no superheroes, somehow influences the events on all other Earths) P10ES 7-7 Superman announces peration ustice *ncarnate, which appears to be a proper team, includin" %from left( .ar/ .arvel from Earth-8, Captain Carrot from Earth-2, >atman from Earth-+$, .achinehead from Earth-, 1Auawoman from Earth-++, Superman of Earth-23, hunderer from Earth-$, 1bin Sur from Earth-2& and Ded Dacer from Earth-3) *f /ou sAuint, /ou can see the ustice !ea"ue, with *ron .an and hor tossed in) Pa"es 8&-8+ Panel +F 1 "atherin" of heroes reminiscent of a similar scene in Crisis on In'inite 4arths ) WeNve seen most of these characters before, but there are a few new ones, includin" a Phantom !ad/ %presumabl/ from Earth-+&(, Wonder .an %from Earth-++(, Super-.artian %Earth-32( and the Wonder Woman-Platinum mash-up from Earth-77) Panel 2F @arbin"er notes that the heroes present represent 8& worlds) he two missin" worlds %of the local .ultiverse( are, presumabl/, Earth-33, which has no superheroes, and Earth-+8, where Superbo/-Prime killed ever/one) Panel 8F ;i4
