While there were a number of exciting announcements at San Diego Comic Con, none got us quite as excited as one single image: the brilliantly detailed map of the DC Multiverse created by Grant Morrison and Rian Hughes.
After spending countless hours pouring over its contents, talking it over with fellow analysts, and scouring the internet for clues and connections, I am prepared to share my findings. Let’s dive in and take a deeper look at this wonderful example of infographics gone wild.
Hitchiker’s Guide to the Multiverse
With over half a century of myth and legend feeding into it, the DC Multiverse is an intimidating concept. Filled to the brim with bizarre characters and concepts, it’s no surprise that DC once axed the whole thing in fear that it was becoming too impenetrable.
The history of the Multiverse is fluid and ever changing, but there are a few key terms, stories, and ideas that always seem to pop up in modern incarnations. Before delving in deep, here’s a quick glossary of important terms pertaining to the Multiverse, as well as Grant Morrison’s overarching story.
| Term | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|
| Flash of Two Worlds | The first meeting of two worlds in the Multiverse. This infamous story, taking place in “The Flash” #123, saw the then current Flash Barry Allen meet his idol, the Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick. This story “revealed” that the heroes of the Silver and Golden Ages existed simultaneously, separated into different dimensions. This was the birthplace of the DC Multiverse, and the seed from which all other “worlds” were born. | |
| Crisis | Following the meeting of the Flashes, the hero’s respective teams, the Justice League and Justice Society, would often come together on occasion to fight a monumental threat in stories appropriately titled “Crisis on Earth-…”. These “crises” eventually lead to the great crisis: “Crisis on Infinite Earths”; think of this as World War I of the DC Multiverse. “Crisis on Infinite Earths” saw heroes from countless worlds collected by the omniscient Monitor to combat the Anti-Monitor, a being who was systematically devouring the Multiverse (eat your heart out, Galactus). While “Crisis on Infinite Earths” saw the entire Multiverse condensed into a single universe with no memories of its existence remaining in the characters of the DCU, follow ups “Infinite Crisis,” “52” and “Final Crisis” would bring it back in a big way. | |
| The Monitors | The Monitors are a race that exists outside of the Multiverse, watching over it and protecting it. Each world of the Multiverse is assigned a Monitor to protect it, a responsibility that is taken extremely seriously. It seems the Monitors were once a singular, faceless entity that became contaminated by the “stories” of the denizens of the Multiverse. The epic saga of the Monitors is best observed by reading Morrison’s “Final Crisis.” | |
| Nix Uotan | Arguably one of the most important Monitors in Morrison’s over aching story, Nix was once the Monitor of Earth-51 until the universe was destroyed under his watch during the events of “Countdown.” In truth, the destruction of Earth-51 was orchestrated by fellow Monitor Rox Ogama, but Nix was punished severely for it. Nix was banished to New Earth, where he was forced to live as a human. Nix eventually remembered his true form and took on the mantle of Judge of All Evil, a primal defense mechanism of the Multiverse. Nix was instrumental in the final victory of “Final Crisis,” a victory which left him the sole surviving Monitor, trapped once more on Earth. Interestingly, Uotan is derived from “Wotan,” the Germanic deity that parallels the Norse god, Odin. | |
| Orrery of Worlds | The encased multiversal machine, as seen by the Monitors. The Monitors observe the Orrery, watching over their appointed worlds and occasionally entering through the use of nanotechnological vessels and vehicles. | |
| The Bleed | A mysterious, blood like substance that separates the universes in the Orrery of Worlds. The term was first coined by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch in the pages of “Stormwatch” as a sort of hyperspace/worm hole that allowed for fast travel between any two points. After DC acquired Wildstorm, the concept was retrofitted as the space between the DC and Wildstorm universes. From there, it grew to become the space between all worlds of the Multiverse. | Continued below|
| Source Wall | The outer edge of the everything. Essentially the farthest point that can be reached by any being in the DC universe. While the multiversal map depicts the Source Wall as existing beyond Monitor Space and the Orrery of Worlds, characters of the DC universe have often interacted with it, or at least aspects of it. What lies beyond the Source Wall isn’t entirely clear. It is often described as a void, known sometimes as the source. It is home to a omnipowerful, God-like being referred to at times as “The Presence” or “The Overvoid.” Morrison has likened this area to a blank page, upon with the stories and pictures of the DC universe are written, drawn, and told (which makes the pun of the “Source” rather clear). | |
| Speed Force | A mysterious dimension that empowers many of the “speedsters” of the DC universe, this realm is often involved with travel through time and dimensions. It is comprised of the purest concentration of energy within the Multiverse, which the speedsters tap into in order to perform some of their more fantastical feats. | |
| Limbo | A sort of pocket universe containing ideas and characters that have fallen out of public consciousness, lost to time. Think of it as DC’s version of the Island of Misfit Toys. When a being falls into limbo, it’s almost as if they never existed — though, as seen in books like Morrison’s “Animal Man,” they can be found again. | |
| Life Equation/Anti-Life Equation | Two opposing equations, these mathematical proofs hold supreme power over life and free will. The Anti-Life Equation has been long sought after by Darkseid. While often escaping his grasp, the evil god finally mastered the equation in “Final Crisis,” using it to enslave humanity to his will. Recently the White Lantern Kyle Rayner has made contact with the Life Equation, something that has not yet been fully explored. | |
| Rock of Eternity | The home of the wizard Shazam and prison of the Seven Deadly Sins, this nexus of magical power seems to have taken on a new layer of importance, as it sits directly in the center of the multiversal structure. | |
| Shift Ships | These vehicles, which are gargantuan by human perspective, are actually a form of nanotechnology used by the Monitors and other characters to traverse the Orrery of Worlds. Listed along the side of the map are five different types of shift ships, the most instantly recognizable being the Carrier, the iconic ship used by the Authority and, more recently, the New 52 incarnation of Stormwatch. The Explorer, one of the smaller ships, is best exemplified by the Ultima Thule, the Yellow Submarine-esque vessel used by Zillo Valla to round up various Supermen in “Superman Beyond.” Based on previews for “The Multiversity,” it seems the Ultima Thule is now captained by Nix Uotan. “Echo of Midnight,” a Destroyer class ship, was also featured in “Superman Beyond,” under the control of the Dark Monitor Mandrakk. | |
The Music of the Spheres
The map of the Multiverse is deceptively simple, a grouping of 52 worlds in a swath of technicolor. However, as with nearly everything Morrison touches, there’s more than meets the eye.
In the center we find the 52 worlds, separated by the Bleed and encased in the Orrery of Worlds introduced in “Final Crisis.” Interestingly, the map reveals that the Rock of Eternity, once home to the wizard Shazam, now sits at the center of the Orrery of Worlds. Notably, one half of the Rock of Eternity is bright, while the upper half is cloaked in darkness, though what this could refer to is unknown at this time. Along with the Rock is a place called the “House of Heroes,” which at one time was the subtitle for the first issue of “The Multiversity” and may be a clue as to what it is (although now the best guess that can be offered is some kind of eternal resting place).
Continued belowAt first glance the worlds of the Orrery appeared to be laid out in random order, with no reason to their location within the Orrery. However, there does appear to be some order; the worlds are laid out symmetrically, in concentric circles. Behind the worlds are faint spirals of varying color, connecting various worlds together in a bizarre sort of orbit. While each world is numbered, some worlds also bear distinctive markings, like the “X” of Earth 10 or the hammer and sickle of Earth 30, giving clues as to the nature of each world.
Finally, seven worlds bear a “?” and form the shape of the seven sided heptagon. Knowing Morrison’s affection for symbols and symbolism, any one of these factors could contain a wealth of hidden meaning. It’s easy to pick apart the standard symbolism of the heptagon and its seven sides, especially when we talk about religion or the occult. For example, the heptagram is used as a symbol for the seven days that it supposedly took to create the universe, and is used as a ward against evil. Seven in turn becomes the number of God. This certainly seems like something Morrison would play with, and it’s possible that those seven question-marked worlds have the biggest importance of all towards the existence of the Multiverse.
So, what about all those worlds? What are they like? Who lives there? Through promotional material for “The Multiversity,” interviews with Morrison and such, we know the identities of a quarter of the worlds. While the rest remain unconfirmed, a little digging into recent DC history, particularly Grant Morrison’s own works, gives a lot of clues to who’s who in the DC Multiverse.
List of Known Worlds:
| World-## | Occupants | |
|---|---|---|
| Earth-0 | The current mainstream DC universe, these are the stories you’ve been reading since the start of the New 52. As was the case in the post-“Infinite Crisis” nomenclature, this world is known as “New Earth.” (Source: DC Comics) | |
| Earth-2 | Once a reincarnation of the Golden Age DCU, now the world we’ve all come to know and love, thanks to the work of James Robinson, Tom Taylor, and Nicola Scott. (Source: “Earth 2”) | |
| Earth-3 | The world of the Crime Syndicate, once a place of fearful order, now decimated by the Anti-Monitor. (Source: “52,” “Forever Evil,” “Justice League”) | |
| Earth-4 | The world of “Pax Americana,” this world features analogues of Charlton characters like Blue Beetle and The Question, viewed through the lens of “Watchmen.” (Source: “52,” “Final Crisis,” “The Multiversity”) | |
| Earth-5 | A revisiting of the pre-Crisis “Earth S,” this world features Captain Marvel and his family, as witnessed before they were absorbed into the DCU. (Source: “The Multiversity”) | |
| Earth-6 | The world seen in Stan Lee’s “Just Imagine,” a series which saw the famed Marvel creator re-envision DC’s characters. (Source: Newsarama) | |
| Earth-8 | Another Marvel influenced world, this one features analogues of the Avengers known as “The Retaliators.” Also home to the villainous Lord Havok and the Extremists. (Source: Comic Book Resources, solicit text from “The Multiversity” #1, DC Comics) | |
| Earth-10 | “Earth X,” a world in which the Nazis won WWII, and now have Superman at their side. This incarnation of the Man of Steel, known as Overman, was last seen in “Superman Beyond.” Fighting against the Reich are the Freedom Fighters, a diverse team of, well, freedom fighters. (Source: “52,” “Final Crisis,” “The Multiversity”) | |
| Earth-16 | World of “The Just,” a world in which crime has been eliminated and the descendants of Superman, Batman, and others play at superheroing while living like celebrities. (Source: “The Multiversity”) | |
| Earth-18 | A world based on the Elseworlds tale “Justice Riders.” Features Wild West reimaginings of DC heroes and heroines. (Source: solicit text for “The Multiversity” #1) | |
| Earth-20 | Home of the “Secret Society of Super Heroes,” a pulp-esque team featuring Lady Blackhawk, Doc Fate, and Abin Sur. (Source: “The Multiversity”) | |
| Earth-23 | Home of President Superman, as seen in the pages of “Final Crisis” and “Action Comics” #9. Their Lex Luthor is totally not racist. (Source: “Final Crisis” #7, “Action Comics” #9) | |
| Earth-26 | Home of Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew, a super team of anthropomorphic animals that somewhat mirror the Justice League. (Source: “Captain Carrot and the Final Ark,” “The Multiversity” #1 variant cover) | |
| Earth-33 | The modern incarnation of “Earth-Prime,” the fourth-wall breaking representation of our own world. (Source: Newsarama) | |
| Earth-40 | Home to a team of villains led by Vandal Savage, set to come into conflict with the heroes of Earth- 20. (Source: solicit Text for “Secret Society of Super-Heroes”) | |
| Earth-43 | Home to a vampiric Batman and a Vampire Justice League, possibly the same world seen in “Batman/Dracula: Red Rain.” (Source: solicit text for “The Multiversity” #1) | |
| Earth-51 | As seen in the final pages of “Final Crisis,” this devastated world once watched over by Nix Uotan is now inhabited by various creations of Jack Kirby. (Source: Final Crisis, Newsarama) | |
The “New” 52
Anyone reading DC comics circa 2006-2007 may feel a sense of deja vu looking at the previous list. Many of the worlds, Earths 2-5 and 10 to be exact, were featured prominently in the finale of “52,” the weekly series that spun out of “Infinite Crisis” and established the foundation for the modern DC Multiverse. Each of these worlds had a strong tie to the pre-“Crisis on Infinite Earths” world of the same number. Debuting alongside those worlds were the post-apocalyptic Earth-17, the “Kingdom Come”-esque Earth-22, and Earth-50, home to the Wildstorm characters. Earth-17 would later appear briefly in Morrison’s “Superman Beyond” mini-series and Earth-22 was featured prominently in Geoff Johns’ “Justice Society of America.”
With a fair bit of overlap between the known worlds of “The Multiversity” and the ones coming out of “52,” it’s probably pretty safe to assume that much of the original plans remain intact. After all, Morrison himself was one of the architects guiding “52.”
Looking into Morrison’s other works, we find reference to even more alternate realities. There are also some clues on the Multiversal Map that should instantly click with long-time DC fans. With this information we can also compile a “List of Possible Worlds.”
| World-## | Potential Occupant | |
|---|---|---|
| Earth-1 | It could easily be debunked given that the books don’t intertwine in any way themselves, but the potentially obvious choice for this Earth would be the Earth One line of graphic novels DC has been releasing for Superman, Batman, the Teen Titans and Morrison’s own upcoming Wonder Woman book. | |
| Earth-17 | A world existing post-nuclear apocalypse (Source: “52,” “Superman Beyond” #1) | |
| Earth-22 | A world similar to the one seen in Mark Waid and Alex Ross’ “Kingdom Come.” (Source: “52,” “Justice Society of America” Vol. 3) | |
| Earth-29 | This earth immediately calls to mind the home world of Bizarro, which has often been portrayed as cubical. Morrison himself used the oddly shaped world in “All-Star Superman.” | |
| Earth-30 | The hammer and sickle insignia seems like an obvious callback to Mark Millar and Dave Johnson’s “Superman: Red Son,” a world in which Superman’s ship landed in Soviet Russia. (Source: “Superman: Red Son”) | |
| Earth-44 | A world featuring a robotic version of the Justice League, reminiscent of the Metal Men. (Source: “Final Crisis”) | |
| Earth-50 | The Wildstorm universe. The continued existence of this world is brought into question, due to the New 52 folding Wildstorm characters into the DCU proper. However, if Captain Marvel can exist in “pure” form on his own earth, I see no reason the Wildstorm characters can’t do the same. (Source: “52.”) | Continued below|
If one wants to delve deeper into the apocryphal writings of “Countdown to Final Crisis,” one can find even more clues to the identity of mystery worlds. However, it should be noted that “Countdown” and its various tie-ins often directly contradicted Morrison’s own works, and should therefore be taken with a grain of salt. One major contender is the “Tangent Comics” world of Earth-9, last featured in the pre-New 52 miniseries “Tangent: Superman’s Reign.” While these designations are the least concrete, here are a few more of the worlds we may see in “The Multiversity.”
| World-## | Potential Occupant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earth-9 | The previously mentioned “Tangent” universe, this reimagined world takes established DC characters and reimagines them in wildly different ways. The world is characterized by a slightly altered history involving the Cold War and Soviet Russia as a world power. (Source: “Tangent: Superman’s Reign,” “Justice League of America” Vol. 2 #16, #50) | |||
| Earth-11 | A world in which all of the heroes and heroines are gender-swapped, i.e. Supewoman and Wonderman. (Source: “Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer – Superwoman/Batwoman” #1) | |||
| Earth-12 | A world that closely mirrors the Bruce Timm and Paul Dini animated universe, particularly the future depicted in Batman Beyond. (Source: “Countdown” #21, “Countdown Arena” #1) | |||
| Earth-13 | A world that encompasses many of the DC properties that were shunted over to the Vertigo line during the 90’s, i.e. Swamp Thing and Hellblazer. (Source: “Countdown Arena” #1) | |||
| Earth-19 | The “Gotham by Gaslight” universe. (Source: “Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer – Gotham by Gaslight” #1) | |||
| Earth-21 | Similar to the “DC: New Frontier” mini-series. A world in which DC’s Silver Age occurred more or less in line with actual publishing dates, with the Justice League appearing in the midst of the Cold War. (Source: “Countdown Arena” #1) | |||
| Earth-31 | The Frank Miller Batman universe, consisting of “The Dark Knight Returns,” “The Dark Knight Strikes Again,” and “All Star Batman and Robin.” (Source: “Countdown Arena” #1) | |||
| Earth-32 | A world in which Bruce Wayne becomes Green Lantern instead of Hal Jordan, similar to the Elseworld “Batman: In Darkest Night.” (Source: “Countdown Arena” #1) | |||
| Earth-34 | Inspired by the Elseworld “Wonder Woman: Amazonia,” which stars Wonder Woman in 19th century Britain, ruled by Jack the Ripper. (Source: “Countdown to Adventure” #1) | |||
| Earth-37 | The world seen in the Elseworld story “Batman: Thrillkiller.” (Source: “Countdown Arena #1) | |||
It’s a Small World After All
I’ve spent a lot of time looking at the worlds of the Multiversal Map, but that’s not even the most intriguing part of the map.
Moving outside of the Orrery of Worlds, we come to the “Sphere of the Gods.” Contained in this sphere are four groups of two dichotimic realms. Some are very specific, such as the Fourth World-ian New Genesis and Apokolips or the realms of Dream and Nightmare from Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman.” The others are a bit more vague. Incarnations of the Judeo-Christian Heaven and Hell have been featured heavily in Vertigo books like “Lucifer” and more recently in books such as “Demon Knights” and “Phantom Stranger,” while the more paganistic “Skyland” and “Underworld” are even more obtuse; I’m not sure the term “Skyland” has ever been used in a DC comic. However, its description along with its counterpart, suggest connections to Wonder Woman’s Greek pantheon and other cultural mythologies. Morrison casts a wide net with these realms, effectively encompassing most every god-like being seen throughout DC’s publishing history.
The inclusion of the Dreaming into the DC Multiversal structure is a subject that, quite honestly, warrants an entire article to itself. It’s no secret that “Sandman” is one of the most beloved and well respected series in DC’s back catalogue. With “Sandman: Overture” slowly trickling out, a “Dead Boy Detecitves” ongoing holding up Vertigo’s monthly line and a high profile film in the works, it’s certainly no surprise they would look to tie the franchise more closely to their mainstream titles. This seems to already be happening as Gemworld, the magical home of Amethyst last seen in the ill-fated “Sword of Sorcery,” is included as a part of the Dreaming (next to Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, no less). Could we expect to see the Endless show up in “The Multiversity?” It wouldn’t be the first time Morrison has dabbled into the dreaming, having featured Daniel Hall in his run on “JLA.”
Continued belowMoving out of the Sphere of the Gods we reach the Monitor Sphere, presumably the world inhabited by the guardian race of the Multiverse. What form this space will take in the aftermath of “Final Crisis,” which saw the apparent death of the Monitor race, remains to be seen. One could argue that, as the Monitors exist outside of the Multiverse, their end may not be so definitive. As Morrison has stressed multiple times, these are all just stories. Stories coexist simultaneously in their entirety, stretched from beginning to end in an ever growing but tangible line. The tales of the Monitors and the DC universe could be viewed as parallel lines, but they’re not necessarily concurrent or even relative. Even more, these stories are constantly changing, evolving and shifting. So, basically, just because we’ve seen the end of the Monitors, doesn’t mean it’s actually the end.
Finally, marking the boundary of the Multiverse is the source wall, the great cosmic structure that traps any who touch it. While talking with MC co-conspirator Matthew Meylikhov in preparation for this article, he off-handedly questioned why the Source Wall is now a rainbow. As I mentioned before, I don’t think any design choice here is unintentional; I could be way off here, but I can’t help but see a connection between the multicolored Source Wall and the events currently transpiring in the Green Lantern titles.
For those who aren’t familiar, a quick crash course: the emotional spectrum created by Geoff Johns and others is actually finite, and exists outside the boundaries of the Source Wall. During the “Lights Out” crossover, White Lantern Kyle Rayner travels through the Wall, seemingly sacrificing himself to replenish the reservoir. The Source Wall and the Life Equation, anti-thesis to the Anti-Life Equation sought by Darkseid, have since played a prominent role in “Green Lantern: New Guardians.” Starting in September, the Lantern books will crossover once again, this time in the New God-centric “Godhead.” The seems like far too many coincidences to be thematically irrelevant.
It also stands worth mentioning that each cover of “The Multiversity” features a top down listing of worlds by number, all of which fall somewhere in the basic color spectrum as seen in the Source Wall’s rainbow and the various Lantern corps. Considering that with Morrison’s work there are few coincidences, with as hands-on in the design process as he has been it seems highly unlikely that this would be anything but explicitly on-purpose as a noid to what Johns developed — especially when noting that Morrison has admitted to being a big fan of Johns’ Green Lantern run, hence their pivotal inclusion in the finale of “Final Crisis.”
What relationships the world’s have to their place within the color spectrum is yet to be seen, though.
“The Culmination”
With “The Multiversity” poised as one of Morrison’s final works at DC for the foreseeable future, he has referred to it as “the culmination of his DC work.” There’s definitely an obvious thread that runs from “52” and “Seven Soldiers of Victory” through “Final Crisis” and “Action Comics,” all the way to “The Multiversity”; however, looking at the map, we find that things go back even further.
Fans of “JLA” may recall Wonderworld from the “Rock of Ages” story-line, an arc that foreshadowed much of Morrison’s later works. Tucked into a corner of the Speed Force is Kwyzz, a Radioland seen in Morrison’s brief run on “Flash,” home to the adorable and tragic Krakkl. Limbo, the land of forgotten stories and ideas, seen in “Animal Man” and “Final Crisis,” is spaced intermittently between the Monitor and God Spheres.
Even the Overvoid, the abstract primal god of the DC universe, existing on the blank white page on which all stories is written, bears a striking resemblance to the Scotsman. It wouldn’t be the first time Morrison has written himself into one of his stories, having appeared in “Animal Man” and “Seven Soldiers,” but it would certainly be the most striking.
With all the references to various worlds and pocket universes from Morrison’s long DC Comics legacy, its extremely surprising to see no mention of Qwewq on the Multiverse map. Qwewq is a baby universe seen in the pages of “JLA,” “JLA: Classified,” and “All-Star Superman.” Qwewq eventually grows and gains sentience, becoming the being Neh-Buh-Loh, a.k.a. Nebula Man, villain of “Seven of Soldiers of Victory.” If this is truly the culmination of Morrioson’s long story, I have a hard time believing we’ll make it through “The Multiversity” without some reference to little Qwewq.
Continued belowAfter rambling for 3,000 words, I feel we’ve only just scratched the surface of the secrets and mysteries presented in this single spectacular image, especially as there’s still quite a bit to decipher and find explanation for. I would imagine that some day we’ll have the answers to all of the questions, and we’ll be able to look back on this in hindsight and see how it all fits together.
In an age where comic book events occur multiple times a year, “The Multiversity” feels truly special, with a scope and history stretching back decades, it’s probably easy to see why we here at Multiversity are particularly excited about this series. That and, well… you know.
This is just the first of many long looks at this groundbreaking series, so keep checking back here as Multiversity covers “The Multiversity.” Feel free to join in in the comments below as well as we attempt to unlock the secrets of “the Multiversity.”
