Multiversity Explores The Multiversity #1: Come With Us Now On a Journey

Hi, I’m Matthew Meylikhov. You may remember me from such annotation columns as Morning Glory Academy Study Hall and the first handful of Bridging the Gaps. Today I’m here to kick off our new annotations of “The Multiversity” in Multiversity Explores “The Multiversity”, because we’re great at names!

Those of you who read last week’s primer (see below) will know that there’s quite a bit of information we felt you should already know before going into this issue, so I’ll refrain from re-hashing it too much. Zach Wilkerson did an incredible job on it, and I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t already.

Those of you who have, though, grab your copies of “The Multiversity” #1 and lets dig right in. We’ve got 40 pages of fun to cover and no time to lose.

As a note, quite obviously, spoilers are abundant — not just for “The Multiversity” but for previous works as well that “The Multiversity” references, particularly ones written by Grant Morrison.

Previous annotations: #0

Part 1: The Earths We Knew

As you may have noticed, along the left side of the cover for “The Multiversity” #1 are 52 earths, 0-51. While most of them are a faded grey, quite a few are illuminated in white, inherently show their relevance to the issue. My inherent guess as to why this is, given the context of the issue, is that the Earths in question show us from which Earth various members of the Cosmic Neighborhood Watch are from — whether they actually appear prominently or not.

With that in mind, we’re going to start off our annotations of “The Multiversity” #1 with a look back at what Earths are purportedly going to be spotlighted in the issue. Here’s a list of all the ones we knew previously, as well as updated info regarding which member of the Cosmic Neighborhood Watch belongs to which Earth:

As a note, Mary Marvel appears on the cover but not in the issue, so I’m only assuming here her involvement. On that same thread, Abin Sur of Earth-20’s Society of Super Heroes appears on the cover but nowhere else in the issue, and Earth-20 is not one of the highlighted Earths. Why, I’m not sure — but Earth-20 is referenced in the issue, at least twice.

We’ll get more into the new Earths at the end of the column.

Part 2: Page by Page Analysis

While those familiar with my annotation work for “Morning Glories” know that I usually speak about it in general terms, I feel like that is not something that will work for this book. While there are things I will speak about in-depth, that kind of more generic writing doesn’t seem like it will be conducive to really getting deep into “The Multiversity” as much as I would like to, so I’m borrowing a page from a few others and choosing to instead go at it page by page.

At this point I would encourage you to grab a copy of the issue yourself and play along, and of course, spoilers will be in abundance here.

Page 1

We kick off with a 9-panel grid that zooms out from a smaller epicenter back to a larger scale. As I noted in my review, this is certainly an old trick Morrison has utilized in his work before, such as with the introduction of “Flex Mentallo.” In this instance, we begin with something similar to lice, but not quite; the organism that we observe is the lice that rests upon lice, which means it is microscopic at best — but it also illustrates the point. And is gross.

The book tells us, “Wherever life can take root. Wherever life can flourish. In every available niche. No matter how great. No matter how small. Life will thrive and life will prosper. Given the need.” It also notes that “they” have found a way in, as this is our first clue towards what is going on in the story — but everything we read inherently ties back to these first few lines: something has found its way into this world, and it doesn’t necessarily belong.

By now, if you’ve read the issue you probably have a lot of obvious guesses as to what has happened. I’ll save my writing on that aspect of the book for when we come to it later in the issue, but I suppose it is worth noting the last panel in which we see that these creatures that are similar to the lice in Nix’s landlord’s hair are thriving in a bacteria/fungal-esque environment in the outside world, which is the beginning of the infection. There’s a lot that we can assume from this based on the use of fungi as, to blatantly steal a quote from an interview I’ve not even published yet, here’s Ales Kot talking about mushrooms (which are a prominent element in his series “Zero,” as well as a bit in “Secret Avengers”):

Did you know that mushrooms are, according to our current science, closer to animals than to plants? And we don’t know what their biodiversity is like. The estimates are 1-5 million species. And these are just estimates based on our current understanding, which is limited.

Where are mushrooms? Mushrooms are everywhere. Look at the walls around you. Look at the ground. How many different types of fungi does your body currently contain? And speaking of, how do our bodies operate? How many organisms are operating us while we assume that we are operating “ourselves”?

Given all of the writing on this page and the way that the narration of the book will break past the fourth wall and talk to us (as the solicit for “The Multiversity” #1 reads, the reader — ie, you and me — is featured as a character within “the Multiversity”; this is how), at one point even asking who the voice in our head is. This seems pretty on point.

Something is trying to break in, something is trying to take over. Heck, even the landlord is trying to break in, which is probably a metaphor in and of itself.

And see how the last panel breaks and all of the multiversal lice break out around the edges of the page? The infection has already begun.

(For more from Ales and the context for this quote, you’ll have to come back next week!)

Page 2

I like that the first narrative box asks, “Who is that knocking on your door?” Obviously we know who it is in the context of the series, but given the destruction of the fourth wall and the inclusion of us as a character in the series, this is a more pointed reference towards the infection that is happening here.

I also think it’s fair to say that we’re not on Earth-0. That would be the obvious guess, I suppose, but there’s a line later in the issue about how one Earth’s reality is another Earth’s fiction, and you’ll note that Nix has only Batman comics around him, implying that Batman is not part of his world. That and, well, he’s reading “The Multiversity: Ultra Comics,” which is the second to last issue of the series (and now we know the cover and that Doug Mahnke is drawing it).

So where is Nix? I don’t think he’s on Earth-0 anymore, and Earth-33 seems unlikely as that is our Earth, the one you and I are currently on, but that’s probably the best guess if we have to believe he’s on any Earth at all. He could be elsewhere.

“Ultra Comics”, by the way, seems like a very obvious reference to Ultraman, though I would guess not the one from Earth-3 that was a part of “Forever Evil” and all that hooplah. Grant Morrison did use Ultraman in “Final Crisis,” though, as an envoy of Mandrakk, and looking at Ultraman’s multi-colored eyes here I would guess that that’s a nod to the 3-D aspects of “Superman Beyond,” let alone a tease that this issue might be in 3-D itself. That’d be cool.

What happened to Ultraman, if you read “Final Crisis,” also seems like a nod to what will happen to Nix later. Foreshadowing and all that.

Of course, it’s also a very curious situation in that Nix is reading a comic book about what is happening around him. I have a theory for why this is that I’ll get into more in the next page (in that this is part of a hallucination), but Nix also describes the comic as a haunted/cursed comic, which could explain why he can see the events happening around him in four glorious colors. That or, well, who he really is — Nix Uotan, the Superjudge, Last of the Monitors, etc.

Also somewhat of note? All of Nix’s comments on the Cosmic Cosmos Forum are done by “JMS.” I breezed through “Final Crisis” to see if there was a reference to what his name was on Earth but didn’t find anything in particular, so that’s either referencing the famous comic writer JMS or something that I’m not entirely picking up on my own.

(I’ve been told another theory is that JMS is someone on the message board, not Nix himself. I suppose that’s possible too.)

Last but not least, the sketches that Nix has on his desk are by Grant Morrison of Abin Sur from Earth-20. That might be a clue as to what Earth this is, or it’s just Morrison inserting himself further into the story (the comic on Nix’s desk in panel 4 does seem to be a nod to “Flex Mentallo”; the colors kind of match.

I’d also point out the Rubik’s cube featured on Nix’s desk, which was what Nix used in order to become himself once more after his exile in the penultimate chapter of “Final Crisis.”

Page 3

“My review will be in the form of a live dissection.” I don’t know about you guys, but the first thing I thought of was the cut-up technique that was popularized by Dadists, in which you cut up and rearrange text in order to form something new. Given the nature of “The Multiversity” in which there are many “unrelated” parts that are supposed to tie together for a greater whole, it doesn’t seem completely out of place for this to be relevant towards the understanding of the series. Dadism is something that Morrison has worked with before (the Brotherhood of Dada in “Doom Patrol,” led by Mr. Nobody); that wouldn’t be out of left field at all.

We are also introduced to Mr. Stubbs here, who was a stuffed primate on the previous page and is now a very live pirate monkey. I could be wrong, but I don’t think that Mr. Stubbs has been seen before or is anyone in particular. However, it does seem noteworthy that it’s a) through him that Nix is allowed to break away from the constraints of his human form and b) that as soon as he comes alive and does this, the narration gets really erratic and starts breaking down, challenging us the reader.

I will posit a theory that I do not necessarily believe, but it feels worth saying. If you read “Joe the Barbarian,” you’ll remember that it’s a story of a child who went on a rather imaginative trip throughout his house because of withdrawals from his medication. It was a wonderful story, wild and imaginative, as all of Joe’s toys came to life and the world around him became a massive fantasy sequence. With that in mind and what I think is the ultimate point of “The Multiversity” (which we’ll discuss more at length later), I don’t think it’s unfair to theorize that in terms of construction, this story is about JMS/Nix having some kind of hallucinogenic trip through all of his favorite comic books due to not taking his medication.

It would add up, potentially. There’s pills on his desk on the previous page, specifically Zoloft, which could be a clue as to some sort of disorder. Given the contents of his room he’s obviously very fascinated with things out of this world, and there’s a definite hint of paranoia in the air throughout the entire issue. If nothing else, him not taking his pills and locking himself in his apartment could potentially be used as an explanation for everything that’s about to happen and everything he sees.

This could also technically clarify why Abin Sur of Earth-20 is seen as an illustration on Nix’s desk in the previous page. Abin Sur is on the cover and Earth-20 is not one of the highlighted Earths, but the Cosmic Neighborhood Watch is something that Nix/JMS could be designing in his non-fevered state to save comics. Depends how much you buy this theory, I suppose.

Granted, I believe more in the whimsy of comic books where everything is make believe all the time always, and that this is actually the Nix Uotan from “Final Crisis” back to save the day and not just some trouble kid in Brooklyn, but this explanation could potentially make sense, given that this is a comic book about comic books. It would honestly explain a lot, if true.

Page 4

Nix Uotan triumphant, now known as the Superjudge, Last of the Monitors. I’ll be interested to see what part if any other Monitors play into this story. We see him through the hands of Mr. Stubbs though, the glasses that he was making over his eyes on the previous page, which definitely expresses some kind of visual distortion between what we’re seeing and what is ostensibly real — something that I think the book brings up as a frequent element throughout. What is real? Whose voice is this speaking your head anyway?

Of note: in the background we see not just “Ultra Comics” but also “The Just” and the Chris Burnham variant for “The Multiversity” #1 as well. Interesting that he has the variant, to say the least; if we’re going with the troubled-kid-forming-a-team-of-his-favorite-comics theory, it would explain why Captain Carrot is here. Or, you know, just a clue as to why Nix Uotan would be thinking about him at all.

Keep in mind what is behind Nix as well. We’ll discuss it more later.

Page 5

“Continue to read. Do as we tell you.” Dammit, book, stop bullying me!

This page brings back the Ultima Thule, the device used for inter-universal travel in “Final Crisis” that is powered by music. We even see the harp that is used for this here, though the explanation for it all (which I love, by the way, as a much more fleshed out version of what was in “Final Crisis”) comes later.

Also of obvious note is that in the background of the last panel, the sky says “We need your help.” I would imagine that this is pointed at you and me directly, and that this transmission is some kind of lingering remnant of the narration from the past. That there is a standard narration box in the previous panel would imply to me that the voice talking to us is fading, should it be the same voice. That, or there is another party trying to get in touch, perhaps one that was already trying to communicate to someone visiting this Earth. Oooo…

Page 6

A huge shot of the destroyed Earth-7. Man, what a mess.

Now, here’s where things to me get kind of tricky and confusing. Based on who we’ll meet here on the next page (the Thunderer) and that this is “his” world, what this place actually is is kind of confusing to me. We’ll later end up at Earth-8, which is like Thunderer’s Earth but a little bit different — and Earth-8 is the home of the Retaliators, ie the DC iteration of Marvel’s Avengers. So, this would in turn mean that Earth-7 is also some kind of variant of the Retaliators, right?

Well, no. What makes it confusing to me is that in the sky, burning in the sun that looks to be like some kind of demon bear, are faces that are very clearly members of the Justice League as we know them. You can make out Hawkman pretty easily, as well as someone that looks like she could be Wonder Woman, and another that would be the Martian Manhunter in his regular form. So that says to me that this is not some kind of variant on Earth-8, because it has more in common with DC characters than it does Marvel ones.

And there’s, y’know, the giant destroyed elongated man stretched out over the city. (though I suppose this could be a variation of Mr. Fantastic, if we have to split hairs on dudes that stretch).

There’s more that will echo this sentiment on the next page, but Earth-7 is most likely some kind of Earth where DC and Marvel characters existed together. Between the mix of DC characters and the Marvel analogues we’ll see on the next page, this seems like the most likely explanation.

Of course it’s the first one to be destroyed, right?

Page 7

To help clarify how Marvel and DC came together, there’s a line here that this Earth is “so badly out of tune, the laws of physics have been disabled. It’s like all of reality has been… …snapped.” So either there’s an Earth where Marvel and DC have always gotten along, or there’s some weird rift that brings the two universes together. Given that Morrison is a fan of Jonathan Hickman and Hickman has been working with the incursions of planets in his current “Avengers” run, it could be a nod do that. I’m not sure.

Here we also meet the Thunderer, who apparently did not call for help. Thunderer is someone that has existed in the DCU before, though not like this; there’s been three to carry the name from New Earth, one from the Antimatter Universe and one from Earth-One, but this Thunderer is more clearly a reference to Thor. Thunder, the lightning charged classical weaponry, standing over the body of not-Captain America — it’s not hard to figure out.

Page 8

And here is our Big Bad, the Gentry. I have so many thoughts on the Gentry, as I’m sure you do, but I figure we can spell it all out here and then hit a few more points as they come up in later pages.

The clearest thing here about the Gentry is that they are a reference to gentrification, ie, when upper class residents or businesses take over a lower income neighborhood. The benefits to something like this could be economic growth and development of community, but the more obvious negative to come out of it would be that the current population has to get out, becoming displaced so that the “better” population can come in. And, hey, here we have a giant creature coming from “behind” the Rainbow (ie the Source Wall, according to the Map of the Multiverse — which would be, by the way, where we are as creators of this environment) coming in to destroy the old and make way for the new.

This is probably the singularly most obvious metaphor ever present in any Grant Morrison comic ever, though why the first member of the Gentry (notice he says “we” and then shows off several other members in a couple pages) is a black winged eyeball is still up in the air. Morrison does like Batman and bats, I suppose? And you could argue that he represents a vampire bat sent to suck the life out of the world, though I’ll posit another theory about who the Gentry are in a bit.

And thus, the central element of “The Multiversity” is inherently revealed. We already knew that this was a comic book about comic books, but now it’s a comic book where something from our side of the veil has broken in and is destroying these universes, these places that we’ve created from our imagination. The things that we used to love are being brutally taken apart in order for something new to exist, something better, something more expensive and profitable that can come in and take its place — whether that’s a completely new universe, or a movie franchise. But the point of the story, the point of the inclusion of the Gentry, is that it’s our fault, a sentiment that will be echoed before the issue reaches its conclusion.

I’m actually a bit astonished this got through DC editorial, since it’s just as much a criticism against them as it is anyone.

Page 9

Not too much to point out here, other than Stubbs giving Nix tips on how to be a superhero (“look authoritative for crying out loud”) and the Gentry refering to him as a ‘supergod,’ which is also the title of Grant Morrison’s book about superheroes and their mythology.

Page 10

More from the Gentry about their intent, which we already discussed. It’s pretty clear:

I feel like I should also point out that the Gentry’s attitude here is something that Morrison has expressed absolute opposition to before. In a clip from the film about him (broken up here via tumblr if you want to get your reblog on), Morrison criticizes folks like Alan Moore, who wrote superheroes as if they needed to be “burdened with real world problems.” That it’s so abundantly spelled out here seems a clear inclination that this series really is the apex of his work towards the notion that superheroes are the best idea we ever had, and we should celebrate their magical world for what it is — not inundate them with our problems.

I mean, how much more obvious can the metaphor get here, you know?

Page 11

A bit more information presented about the Gentry here that we already discussed. If you weren’t sure who the “pitiless ones from behind the invisible rainbow” were already, it should be pretty obvious now.

This is where we get our first reference to the title of this issue, by the way, with the “House of Heroes.” It should be noted that the House of Heroes is also home of the Orrery, which is where all 52 Earths are contained, and that the House of Heroes is also known as the titular Multiversity. As if things weren’t complicated enough, this damn place has about five names total throughout the entire issue.

But now the epic question is upon us: the formation of the Cosmic Neighborhood Watch, in which the greatest heroes of fifty worlds will band together to save all of creation.

“There are things beyond gods.” Our creation is actively rebelling against us as we try to crush their spirit.

Unless this is just JMS/Nix in his apartment freaking out reading comics while off his meds. But even then, the message is still poignant.

Page 12

My favorite bit on this page is Nix Uotan battling against the panels, really solidifying the aspect that this is a comic about comics since he is in a comic. To Nix, this is the “edge of space and the end of time,” but on the other side it’s a merciless comic writer and artist torturing their creation in a way that the character can’t fight back against.

Here we also meet some of the Gentry’s friends. If my theorizing is correct, each one here is a reference to a specific comic company, which became a bit more obvious when I wrote that “Lord Broken is a house of eyes” — which, I think we can see as a reference to the House of Ideas that Marvel proclaims it to be (say it outloud).

Using that as a jumping off point, I think “Hellmachine” would be Dark Horse, though I’m a bit at a loss as to who “Dame Merciless” would be — Dynamite? Zenescope? Whoever you want to see as the publisher of comics that suck the life out of women in skimpy outfits, I’d imagine.

As for “Demogorgunn” and “Intellectron,” we get very little to work off of there. I’m just guessing here, but the giant bat-eye is most likely “Intellectron,” as I’d reckon that a giant “eye” would be Image, probably? Given that Image has been the company making waves the most in the industry, with Morrison himself having an upcoming series there soon with Chris Burnham, it does seem that Image would lead the takeover of destroying the superheroes.

That still leaves Demogorgunn up in the air, though. Your mileage may vary on the theory here.

Page 13

First, it’s worth noting that the lice from the first page have returned here and are beginning to surround Nix before he breaks back out of the comic in the second to last panel. There’s a lot of emphasis from the Gentry towards homogenization, that everyone believes and does the same things, and it’s clearly seeping into Nix.

By the way, on that same idea, take a look at this panel:

in which the Gentry challenge Nix to choose his “weapons,” and his weapons are his bottle of pills, his comic and his Rubik’s cube dropping here, which we saw in “Final Crisis” as Nix’s ultimate weapon. This is Nix/JMS losing. Perhaps the theory about Nix just hallucinating in his bedroom is more palpable than I originally thought when I first wrote it down?

For me, though, the big “oh shit!” moment of this page was the mentioning of the anti-death equation. This is a reference and inversion to the famous “anti-life equation,” the thing that Darkseid spends his entire life as a villain attempting to figure out, eventually succeeding in “Final Crisis.” The anti-life equation allows for total control over the mind; the anti-death equation would seem to fall in line to the homogenized angle that the Gentry seem to be keen on, in that there is nothing alive enough to have its own decisions; all is one under a single, monotonous banner.

Pages 14-15

Welcome to Earth-23, home to President Superman. He was seen in the last chapter of “Final Crisis,” his story was expanded upon in “Action Comics” #9 in another story that dealt with metaphoric ideas about how comics are policed by editorial boards (that I also can’t believe made it past DC editorial), and here he is taking down a massive robot of unknown origins. So what does he do? Tosses it into space, duh. Come on.

I would elaborate more on this Superman, but really, I can’t imagine most people interested in “The Multiversity” haven’t read Morrison’s “Action Comics” run, let alone “Action Comics” #9. There’s not a lot you need to know in this context either, aside from what is explained on Page 17, which can in turn be boiled down to “Lex Luthor is way more despicable on Earth-23, and pretty racist at that.”

With that in mind, lets skip Page 16 and get right into the next fun bit.

Page 17

So one thing that becomes a bit more clear on this page is that whatever the robot was that Superman destroyed, it doesn’t belong in this universe. The walls between worlds are starting to degrade, and wherever that robot is from (I imagine there’s an actual explanation, though I’m not entirely sure what it is), it doesn’t belong on Earth-23.

This is also where the only really relevant bit of “Action Comics” comes into play, in the return of Lex Luthor’s transmatter cube, a gateway to alternate Earths. This is later explained in a couple pages as something that appeared on most Earths originally designed by villains of Sueprman equivalents, though where they came from is a bit more positive than what it existed as before in “Action Comics” #9.

We also learn that our Justice League here is pretty aware of the multiverse, if not the full implications of what it’s capable of by the sheer fact it exists, as fallout from the events of “Action Comics” #9. So, really, if you haven’t read “Action Comics” #9, treat yourself.

Also, check out the Justice League of this world, all of whom are black. We’ve got Red Tornado, Steel, Batman, Green Lantern, Vixen, Black Lightning, Cyborg and the Guardian and Zatanna, the last two of which are part of Morrison’s “Seven Soldiers of Victory.” It’s great to see The Guardian back in comics, even if it’s only in two panels.

Page 18

While this page is otherwise unremarkable other than to show how Superman winds up in the House of Heroes, one thing that stood out to me was the use of red. Looking back to page 4, when Nix Uotan became the Superjudge, the similar twisting DNA structure present in the cube along with lots of shades of red was behind him. This was the SOS that drew Nix to Earth-7, and it is a similar one that appears to summon Superman here into the cube and into another place.

Typically, the use of red in DC comics was the sign of the incoming crisis, as the sign of destruction of to come. However, the later explanation was that it was the Bleed breaking through the typical walls of reality. Here it’s used an alarm, which is pretty typical, but I think it perhaps worthwhile to look for recurring instances of red throughout the series in similar situations as a linking element, perhaps a direct reference to the Bleed. I mean, it’ll be a direct reference to the Bleed in a couple pages, but it never hurts to keep our hearts open to other recurring aspects of DC Comics, right?

Look for “Oa beyond!” to be shouted by Ron Burgandy in Anchorman 3.

Page 19

Welcome to the House of Heroes. We saw this on the Multiversity map at the center of the Rock of Eternity, and just like on the map it stands worth noting the duality of it — the side of light and the side of dark. It could be based on whatever star it orbits around, though I’d wager that the House of Heroes is more what everything orbits around given its placement on the map.

Still, never count out obvious visual elements with known thematic intent. While I kind of doubt that there’s too much duality present inside the House of Heroes as it seems pretty clearly on the side of the angels, it is pretty decimated on its exterior, suggesting that some kind of crucial battle has taken place surrounding it — perhaps as fallout from the Final Crisis? It is referred to as the former station of the Monitors.

Page 20

Say hello to Captain Carrot, the hero we deserve and the one we need right now. I’m a big fan of Captain Carrot personally as I love characters of this variety, goofy animal analogues who don’t have to play by the rules of normal comics (see: “District 14,” “Cerebus,” “Howard the Duck”) so he’s always been a very welcome addition to the series for me — even if he’s all oddly bulked out like this. It’s also nice to see that K’rot or whatever that was that popped up in DC’s Cosmic book isn’t the only iteration of Rodney Rabbit that still exists in comics. Insert me dramatically wiping non-existent sweat off my brow here.

What’s important to note here is that Captain Carrot seems to remember what happened in regards to the “Final Crisis.” While President Superman was involved in “Final Crisis,” the hero we met in “Action Comics” seems to not be the same character we met back then, as he rebuffs Captain Carrot’s mention of a previous meeting with confusion. So some element of what happened pre-“Flashpoint” clearly does exist somewhere in the Multiverse somewhere; that, or perhaps its safe to say that only the main DC Earth, Earth-0, was affected by the storm that erased history?

It’s tough to figure out, as many have tried and none have succeeded. But given that the DC Multiverse is now different from what was explored in “Countdown,” it’s possible to believe that not all Earths were hit by the storm that changed everything when Barry Allen apparently messed up everything by trying to save his mother.

What I’d posit as a more likely theory, though, is that if we’re staying with the theory that everything we read is Nix having a mental breakdown in his room, then perhaps on Earth-33 (his assumed home), comics pre- and post-New 52 exist. If all of this is Nix’s doing, then of course Captain Carrot can remember “Final Crisis” because that was a comic that was released — but with President Superman of “Action Comics” not being the same President Superman of “Final Crisis,” it’s simply a case of two forms of continuity being mixed and matched, since both exist for us.

That’s the explanation I’m going with, anyway, because continuity is atrocious.

Page 21

I love pretty much everything about this page, from Captain Carrot hopping through panels while talking about comic books and Dr. Hoot (the most nefarious owl you’ll ever meet). This is the first page where the characters seem to acknowledge their predicament in a meta fashion; it’s not quite breaking the fourth wall, but Carrot seems to be aware of the contradictions of life and existence long before it becomes a direct reference in a couple pages.

But here the Bleed and Bleedspace is really explained. We knew what the Bleed was from “The Authority”/”Planetary,” which became part of the DCU when DC absorbed Wildstorm, and that using it is how we travel through the multiverse to other Earths. It’s also what fuels the House of Heroes, and it’s very red.

We also get reference to Spore and Dino-Cop from Earth-41. Dino-Cop will be easy to recognize in a page; Spore, less so. There’s a New 52 character called Spore that was featured in the second arc of “Justice League,” but the only character I’d imagine as being Spore in this book does not look anything like that character.

Also, note that Captain Carrot mentions that the Thunderer sent out an SOS. Earlier in the issue, Nix Uotan believed Thunderer put out an SOS on Earth-7, but it turned out to be the Gentry. Here I would wager that Thunderer actually did send out an SOS.

Pages 22-23

So, there’s a lot of characters here, and I’ll do my best to identify them correctly, though no promises I’ll do it right.

From left to right, there’s what would appear to be a variant on Swamp Thing, most likely the aforementioned Spore character, though I’m not sure where he’s from; we’ve got Red Racer and Power-Torch from Earth-36 over his shoulder; there’s Dino-Cop from Earth-41, who is very obviously a riff on Savage Dragon; below him we have Bloodwynd and Gypsy, though no good idea of what Earth they’re from; there’s Hawkman from Earth-44 and Aquawoman from Earth-11; below them are chibi iterations of Wonder Woman and Steel from the Li’l Leaguers (not sure what Earth they’re from, but Earth-42’s symbol looks a bit cartoony, so maybe there?); and last but not least we have Lady Quark and Lord Volt in the background from “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Given who from “Crisis” shows up on the next page, I’d imagine Quark and Volt are mainstays of the Hosue of Heroes.

Page 24

The computer program of the House of Heroes is Harbinger aka Lyla Michaels, who is from “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Her dialogue here seems to imply once again that everything pre-New 52 happened in some form or another, as she seems to note a recollection of previous events including the death of the Monitors in “Final Crisis.” I feel like I should also point out that at this point, where our heroes are now has five names: Monitor Watchstation Infinity, Valla-Hal (an obvious play on Valhalla, the final resting place of heroes in norse mythology), the Multiversity, the House of Heroes and the Orrery of Worlds. Five things, all representing one place. Make up your damn mind, Morrison.

“Great Vathlo” would be a reference to Vathlo Island, which was the Kryptonian equivalent of Australia and was populated by a “highly developed black race” of Kryptonians. Apparently on Earth-23 that was the dominant sect of the planet.

Page 25

Earths-4, 5, 10, 16, 20 and 33 are the six Earths that we will be visiting in the following issues of the series. Not much else to mention here, but if you’re wondering how the one-shots of “The Multiversity” all tie together, boom, explanation given.

Page 26

Here we meet Red Racer officially, and get what is arguably one of the most important lines in the comic: “I always suspected that one world’s reality is another’s fiction.” We already referenced this line earlier in the annotations, but it still rings true as the most relevant talking point in the whole “this is a comic about comics” discussion, because we literally have comic characters discussing each other as comic characters now.

Pages 27-28

The Justice 9 being referenced here, along with the identification of Red Racer’s pal Hank as Power-Torch, is completely unique to this comic as far as I can tell. Morrison likes to pull from other books all the time, but I can find no references to any of these characters before “The Multiversity” — which, honestly, to me suggests that there’s something important about Red Racer to be seen. After all, there’s a tradition of speedsters sacrificing themselves in crises for the greater good; perhaps the reason Hank is so worried is because he knows this.

“Major Comics” is a rather obvious gag towards the competition, of course.

I also love the idea of frozen music and the explanation we get of Earths vibrating in different frequencies from another. There’s a lot that you can read about planetary harmonics, let alone multiversal theory, but I love that everything ties together in the Ultima Thule to the extent that Superman ends up playing jazz on a multiversal harp. It’s an idea so wonderfully comic book, and I love that just like in “Final Crisis”/”Superman Beyond,” it’s all up to Superman to lead us.

Page 29

This page is a bit tough to fully figure out, if only because most of the panels and relevant information seem to be obscured. The creature in the middle of it all probably will have some kind of explanation later in the series, but I’d believe it to be related to the Gentry and the infection that is spreading throughout the multiverse. If we go back to what we talked about earlier with fungi, this does seem to be some kind of organic parasitic infection within the space between universes.

Also, of note in these panels is the clock slowly ticking to midnight. This could be a reference to “Watchmen,” or it could be a direct reference to what “Watchmen” referenced with the notion of the eleventh hour, the point in time where it’s almost too late to have any success.

Not sure about most of the other panels. The one with Hawkgirl could be important, but I would wager that most of these panels have hidden meanings as of right now. My best guess would be that they are related to the other Earths we will visit during the span of the series, but I don’t have much to back that up. If a lion is prominent in any of those books, you’ll know I was right.

Page 30

Welcome to Earth-8, DC’s faux-Marvel Earth, home of Lord Havok aka Doctor Doom. Earth-8 was confirmed to be a Marvel analogue, as we discussed much earlier in these annotations, and here we have Lord Havok brandishing his Omni-Gauntlets (referencing the Infinity Gauntlet, no doubt), Genesis Egg (Cosmic Cube) and the Lightning-Axe of Wundajin (Thor’s hammer). Talk about over-powered.

Pages 31-33

Page 31 teases this a bit, but 32-33 introduce to the Retaliators, aka the Avengers of another world. Wundajin would appear to be this world’s analogue to Thunderer, who is an analogue to Thor, and while the jury is still out on who Hyperious is supposed to be, the rest of the Retaliators are pretty easy to figure out: there’s American Crusader (Captain America), Machinehead (Iron Man), Doctor David Bibble aka the Behemoth (Hulk) and unnamed characters who seem to represent — clockwise — the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Spider-Woman. This is the modern Hickman Avengers, for sure.

Also of note is that the Thule could not take them to Earth-7, Thunderer’s world, which tells us that this world is completely closed off now, something that Mr. Stubbs had made reference to as he looked at his gadget watch while Nix confronted the giant bat-eye. I would imagine the Earth is still there, but it’s no longer accessible — which, y’know, is another rather potent metaphor for the state of Marvel and DC, if that Earth is in fact a place where Marvel and DC are together as one.

Page 34

Once again we get a reference to Major Comics, ie the Marvel Comics that Red Racer was familiar with. He lists off quite a few analogues for us; aside from the ones we already figured out, there’s the Future Family (Fantastic Four), the Bug (Spider-Man), the G-Men (the X-Men) and Stuntmaster (Daredevil, I’d assume).

Page 35

Nothing insightful to add for this page other than that I adored this sequence:

and I love that Superman shouts “We’re here to help!”, looking directly at the reader as he does it.

Pages 36-39

The Marvel connection here should be pretty obvious at this point, though now we see the Future Family and get a reference to the Power Eternal, which seems to be the Power Cosmic equivalent.

One thing that I only picked up on while sitting down to write this column, though, is that the Mr. Fantastic of this world is being murdered in the same way that we saw the giant stretched out man on Earth-7, which seems like history repeating itself. Given Lord Havok is beyond super-powered and his actions seem to be ones that threaten all of reality around these characters, it’s perhaps fair to assume that whatever happened on Earth-7 to break the walls of reality and let in the Gentry will happen here now. After all, when Lord Havok is taken over by the Power Eternal, he claims “I saw their faces,” which I believe would be a reference to either the Gentry or us.

But whatever doom has come, Lord Havok brought it upon this world with his own selfish actions.

Page 40

And here is Nix Uotan, now more closely resembling Mandrakk the Vampire Monitor from “Final Crisis,” the creature out to destroy stories, than his true self as the Superjudge. Infected by the Gentry, infected by the multiversal lice that spill all over the gutter of the page, Nix Uotan the last Monitor has become a cruel and twisted thing, foregoing his duty to help protect and serve the creative landscape of the multiverse and instead help it destroy itself. The Gentry is winning.

We could tie this into the theory that Nix/JMS is just having his breakdown still; the ideas from the Gentry that everything needs to toe a company line has infected him to the extent that he feels like he is now part of the action.That’s the curse of the comic mentioned in the opening sequence: you become used to the stagnation of it all to the point that it is your norm, it is what you start to believe in as the only thing that could or should exist. In the same way that new writers will come to Marvel and DC to rehash ideas prevalent a decade or two ago in comics by Alan Moore and Frank Miller, Nix is now a servant of the Gentry, ready to help his comics all become gritty and real and lose the magic that they once contained.

Oh, and it’s all our fault, according to the comic. I’m so sorry.

But, well, it is. The metaphor here is obvious. In a comic about comics in which something is coming to insert realism into the world of fantasy and, in turn, allow that initial seed to sow and fester and grow and destroy everything that made the fantasy wonderful, “The Multiversity” is the last stand in the battle of comics against us, the readers who have ruined it all by supporting a toxic comic environment that promotes boring ideas instead of ones full of magic and wonder.

It’s incredibly biting, to the point that this is almost Morrison doing a variant of Jonathan Swift’s “Modest Proposal,” but I think the message is pretty clear. It is our fault.

Part 3: The New Earths

There were quite a few Earths featured on the cover of this issue that we didn’t know their origin. We know a few now, though a couple are in the dark. Here’s our new information as we attempt to figure out all the Earths of the Multiverse:

That’s all for this month’s annotations. If there’s anything important that I missed, please do sound off in the comments below. Together, we can save the universe!