Stories by @dc_multiverse

The Multiversity

There are worlds you have never imagined. Worlds beyond the ones you know. Worlds where heroes fight for truth and justice. Worlds where darkness reigns, and only a chosen few keep the light alive. Worlds of magic and science, comedy and tragedy, monsters and marvels. Fifty-two worlds. Infinite possibilities. And one threat great enough to destroy them all. This is The Multiversity.

Earth-51

A fragile Earth fighting for its very survival. After an unknown “Great Disaster” left in its wake a graveyard of a planet, a few hearty and resourceful human survivors struggled to make a home for themselves in a newly-wild frontier. One of these was Kamandi, the so-called Last Boy on Earth. Kamadi lives a rugged life of adventure and exploration. A dangerous existence for a boy, to be sure, but fortunately, he doesn’t have to face it alone. Kamadi’s accompanied by Prince Tuftan of the Tiger-Men, one of many intelligent, humanoid animals left in the wake of Darkseid’s machinations. Tuftan travels with Kamandi, guiding him. They are also accompanied by Ben Boxer, an astronaut who is connected to the Brother-Eye satellite surveillance network, which allows him to become the powerful biOMAC within seconds. Though Kamandi and his compatriots don’t know it, they’re also living and rebuilding their civilization under the watchful eye of the New Gods. Like the ancient Greek Gods of Olympus, the New Gods can only indirectly influence Kamandi’s fate and the direction this reborn world will take. Their numbers include Highfather, chief of the New Gods; Lightray, who can harness the power of light energy; Avia, Queen of the New Gods; Fastbak, who travels at super-speed; Big Barda, the warrior and weapon master; and Barda’s husband Scott Free, aka Mister Miracle, an immortal blessed with super-strength and agility.

Earth-50

One tragic event forever changed the course of history on Earth-50: President Lex Luthor publicly, and personally, executed the Flash. Superman, tormented by what Luthor had done, took violent retribution, using his heat vision to murder his long-time nemesis. This incident drove the angry and grieving Man of Steel to conclude that the only way to protect the world from super-villains like Luthor is by eliminating them, using violent means if necessary. He reformed the Justice League as the Justice Lords, determined to preserve peace on Earth by instituting permanent martial law, justifying their brutal actions as a temporary necessity to save the planet. Over time, Earth-50 descended into a fascist police state, ruled over by the tyrannical, super-powered and self-serving Lords. The Watchtower became a headquarters for worldwide surveillance, aiding the Lords in suppressing free speech and democratic elections. Only one Justice League member does not agree with the Lords’ schemes—Batman. Operating in secrecy from his cave, the Dark Knight follows his own personal code, forming the heart of the only significant opposition to Superman’s totalitarian plans for worldwide domination.

Earth-48

Imagine a world where everyone was a super hero, every home was a secret lair or a Fortress of Solitude and everything—the plants, the animals, the people—had an epically dramatic backstory. The world you’re imagining is Earth-48, sometimes known as “Warworld” (because it’s not a planet made up entirely of super-beings without a cool alter-ego name). This is the home of the Forerunners, a heroic race of titans bred by the benevolent Monitors and designed to protect the Multiverse from any threats. (Particularly those coming from Darkseid’s direction.) The result is a universe almost beyond comprehension, where every day is a crossover event, every problem is a cataclysm and even the birds have their own logos! Here the Royal Family of Warworld, led by the noble Lord Volt and Lady Quark, holds dominion. The family’s ranks also include Liana, Brother Eyes, Antarctic Monkey, Danger Dog and, of course, Kid Vicious.

Earth-47

Earth-47 is a stone groove, man. In this happening psychedelic scene, the flower power of the 1960s lives on forever. And even though eternally youthful Prez Rickard oversees a nation dedicated to turning on, tuning in and dropping out, there is still occasionally the need for super heroic feats of strength, endurance and detection. Enter the Love Syndicate of Dreamworld, some far out cats led into battle by the afro-sporting Sunshine Superman. Their ranks also include the Dark Knight avenger known as Shooting Star, the green-tinted Magic Lantern and the wily Speed Freak. Plus, they are sometimes assisted by a tailor’s mannequin brought to life after being struck by lightning, known as Brother Power, the Geek. Yeah, we know it all sounds a bit far out, but maybe this thought will help—if you can remember Earth-47, you probably were never there.

Earth-45

During a trip to far-off Tibet with friends Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, the mild mannered Clark Kent developed an idea for a machine that could bring to life anything the user could imagine. The problem was that the only way to realize a project on the scale of this reality-bending device was to get financial backing from the greedy Overcorp, which proceeded to use the machine to create the evil entity known as “Superdoomsday.” (Think Doomsday plus Superman, but backed by the world’s biggest corporation.) Superdoomsday proceeded to wreak havoc across the Multiverse before his eventual defeat at the combined hands of the Supermen from Earth-0 and Earth-23. Nevertheless, the creation of Superdoomsday was devastating for Earth-45, as the entire planet gradually succumbed to the allure of corporate control, eventually devolving into a fascist reflection of the will of Overcorp and Superdoomsday himself. Today, the Superdoomsday logo and likeness cover just about every available surface on the planet.

Earth-44

Though Earth-44 faced its share of grave threats, it tragically was not graced with any native super heroes. The people of this planet were left vulnerable—an irresistible temptation to the malevolent forces found within the Multiverse. Enter the lonely, bipolar Dr. Will Tornado, a mechanical genius with a vision. Tornado focused his efforts on engineering his own super heroes from the ground up, and decided to base them on the comic books he had read and cherished as a kid. The results are a Justice League as powerful as all the others—only robots. And like the Metal Men of other worlds, each hero is forged of a different mineral, adapting many of its qualities. Gold—this world's reflection of Superman—serves as the team’s leader. The Earth-44 Batman is a robotic Dark Knight suit of Iron. Wonder Woman is made of Platinum, while the Flash’s role is embodied in Earth-44's speedster, Mercury. Tornado appropriately chose Nth Metal from which to construct Earth-44's Hawkman, inspired by his counterpart’s native planet, Thanagar. Elongated Man is here composed of Tin, giving him that much-needed malleable quality, while the slow and bulky Lead recalls the Justice League's Green Arrow. Together, they keep the people of their planet safe, a truly shining example of justice, heroism and teamwork.

Earth-43

In the chilling, grim world of Earth-43, undead, nearly invincible monsters stalk the night, driven by insatiable bloodlust, looking for new victims. And these are the heroes! Batman was the first to fall victim to the vampire curse, having initially sought out demonic powers in order to fight off a threat to Gotham from Dracula himself. After Bruce Wayne succumbed fully to the dark curse, the world of Earth-43 was plunged into a full-scale bloodsucker outbreak, watching as its greatest heroes succumbed to the scourge. The once-noble Justice League transformed into the twisted Blood League, losing all traces of its humanity. The League’s membership includes nearly unrecognizable vampiric variations of Batman, Ultraman, Green Lantern and others. They’re powerful and endlessly thirsty. In fact, the only hope for anyone they’ve chosen to target may be that their undead state has brought with it new weaknesses. Vampire Green Lantern cannot withstand contact with yellow sunlight, while Vampire Ultraman must avoid red sunlight at all costs. So greedy is the terrifying Blood League for fresh corpses, they have waged an ongoing campaign against the planet Rann, home base of the interplanetary hero Adam Strange. The discovery of alternate universes, chock full of potential new victims, would certainly capture the League’s attention.

Earth-42

You can’t judge a hero by his or her size—and we’re not just talking about the Atom—because on this world, the physics have taken on a new dimension. And that dimension is diminutive, to say the least. This is the world of the tiny heroes—exact duplicates of all the familiar champions and villains, but of a Lilliputian stature. Little was known of this Earth, and less did its inhabitants know of the perils of the other vibrations of the Multiverse. Their lives, while heroic, might be considered charmed as they were untouched by death itself. That is, until the day its Superman met a horrible fate at the hands of an otherworldly horror. Apart from that nightmare, the citizens of Earth-42 continue to live lives unburdened by fear. They frolic like children in a world of imagination and wonder. But when called upon to do their part to save the Multiverse, rest assured that they will answer that call as the true heroes they are.

Earth-41

A dark and often violent world, the nations and communities of Earth-41 vary greatly, existing largely independent of each other and standing united as a world only during rare times of great peril. Perhaps unsurprisingly, much the same can be said of its heroes, who all differ greatly in their look, philosophy and interests. In fact, one could say that it’s almost as if each one was dreamt up by a different individual to represent their image of an ideal super hero. How else to explain how the gruff, blue collar Dino-Cop’s workaday approach to preserving the peace could come to coexist alongside the bleak, otherworldly operations of Spore, Earth-41’s “necro floral” avenger? Along with the Nimrod Squad—made up of hard-light archer Fletch, the stone-with-a-soul Flintstein, actress-turned-hero Vague and more—they protect their people and their planet from threats that are almost as varied as they are, occupying a somewhat eclectic, but still unified corner of the Multiverse.

Earth-40

A “binary universe” within the Multiverse, the malevolent Earth-40 vibrates in harmony with its far more peaceful counterpart, Earth-20. But where that world gave birth to a Society of Super-Heroes, it’s the villains that reign supreme on Earth-40, uniting to form the merciless Society of Super-Villains: The immortal, sociopathic Vandal Savage, the macabre Doc Faust, the lethal, pitiless Lady Shiva, the brutal and brilliant Blockbuster, and the terrifying Count Sinestro. Together, they kill, conquer and pillage anything that strikes their fancy, with little to stand in their way. Hope, faith and laughter are in short supply. This is a world of despair, sadness and fear, where mankind’s darkest qualities are rewarded. On Earth-40, only the strong survive… but only the ruthless thrive.

Earth-39

Earth-39 has problems just like anywhere else, but this world can’t turn to a Green Lantern Corps whenever its citizens find themselves facing an existential threat. Instead, they tend to rely on the shadowy operatives known as the Agents of W.O.N.D.E.R. Working largely in secret out of an obscure branch of the UN, the Agents of W.O.N.D.E.R. (an acronym for World Organization of National Defense and Emergency Reserves) were like any other team of elite, morally questionable super-spies. That is, until they discovered the impressive technological designs of brilliant young inventor Happy DaVinci, a dizzying array of strange suits, weapons and curiosities with names like The Cycle-Harness, the Ghost Chamber, the LightWing and the CypherSuit. Utilizing DaVinci’s amazing gear—which grants abilities like invulnerability, super-speed, psychic ability and flight—the Agents took on new identities: Cyclotron, Doctor Nemo, Corvus, Accelerator and Psi-Man. But their incredible new powers come at a dangerous price. Extended use of these miraculous innovations can prove addictive, with the potential to collapse the user's identity and sense of self, ruining their lives—a shockingly clear indicator of the cost of justice in this world and many others.

Earth-38

The citizens of Gotham and Metropolis have learned to rely on Superman and Batman at all times, whenever villainous foes pose a threat to peace and prosperity. They are a constant. They are eternal. But on Earth-38, time moves as it does on Earth-Prime, ceaselessly forward, whether you are simply human or super-human. In this world, Superman first appeared to the public in 1938, and Batman followed one year later in 1939. From that point on, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne proceeded to age normally, growing old and eventually leaving the super heroics to their sons, daughters and grandchildren. Modern citizens of Earth-38 are familiar with a whole dynasty of heroes following in the footsteps of the original Batman and Superman. This includes Kara Kent, the daughter of Clark Kent and Lois Lane, who would go on to develop her own super powers and fight injustice as Supergirl. The title of Batman, taken on after Bruce Wayne’s retirement by the original Robin, Dick Grayson, is eventually passed down to Wayne’s son, Bruce Wayne, Jr. Even later, the grandson of Superman and Batman—Clark Wayne—develops a futuristic superhero identity: Knightwing. All of these heroes and more—including the offspring of other members of the Justice League—continue to fight evil down through the generations, though there is one determined enemy that none of them seem capable of opposing: Time itself.

Earth-37

Technology develops in fits and starts. Slow periods of theorizing and experimenting are often followed by concentrated bursts of breakthroughs. That pacing gives humanity time to breathe and adjust to the latest advancements. But it is possible for technology to progress at an accelerated rate, as it did on Earth-37—for better or worse. The momentum of discovery propelled this world through the latter half of the 20th Century. In the span of a mere three decades, the inhabitants of Earth-37 went from terra firma to the stars, from living in suburbia to residing in underground colonies on Mars, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Heroes such as Tommy Tomorrow, Manhunter 2015, and the Space Rangers have the led way to interstellar colonization. But despite the list of incredible achievements, Earth-37 is not a home to idealists. This is a place of reckless heroes who skirt the law and follow their own codes. Champions here don't fight with hope in their hearts, but with cynicism in their souls.

Earth-36

A hero by any other name is still a hero. Here on Earth-36, heroes took on names and identities evocative of more familiar beings and fought a never-ending battle for truth and justice. Red Racer was the fastest human alive. Flashlight bravely answered the alien call to join the Corp that protects his sector of the galaxy. The Iron Knight, War-Woman, Mer-Man, Cyberion. These heroes, and others, banded together to become the Justice 9. Chief among them was the strange visitor from another planet known as Optiman. Even with his powers and abilities far beyond those of humans and the Justice 9 by his side, he was unable to survive the Multiverse-spanning threat known as Superdoomsday. Satisfied by his victory, the monster left that universe behind in search of new prey, and what was left of the Justice 9 struggled to put their world back together again.

Earth-35

We all have our own stories to tell, but those stories still need inspiration. So what if it were possible to take all the ideas we could ever have and gather them in a single space that everyone could access? You could end up with a world like Earth-35, in which the use of its "concept space" led to the creation of a world analogous to others in the Multiverse, yet distinct... The ever-watchful Monitors built the "pseudoverse" that is Earth-35. “Ideominers” on harvesting stations gathered threads of ideas to design an artificial universe. Why? Their reasons, like so much about the Monitors, is unknown. The ideominers discovered the notion of super heroes in Earth-35’s concept space and gave the world a gallant team to look after its people. The Super-Americans are lead by the remarkable Supremo, who fights alongside Starcop, Mercury-Man, Miss X, Morphin' Man, Majesty—Queen of Venus, Olympian and the Owl.

Earth-34

The brightness of some locations in the Multiverse is too dazzling to be ignored, and Earth-34's Cosmoville is such a place. On the surface the city seems like any other, but take a closer look and you'll see it's a rich and lustrous environment that shines in no small part to the many super heroes who reside there. These remarkable men and women live and work within this urban metropolis, and when necessary, save the day from the many villains who also call its streets their home. One group in particular stands out among Cosmoville's super citizens: The Light Brigade. The team is led by Savior—the valiant last survivor of the ancient super-civilization of Mu. Savior was sent into the future in order to escape certain doom, forming the Light Brigade to keep his newly adopted home safe. Of course, the fact that he was practically surrounded by super heroes didn’t hurt and filling the team's ranks with a variety of skill sets and abilities proved much simpler than on other worlds. Herculina, Radman, Goodfellow, Formula-1, Ghostman, Master Motley, Cutie, the Stingray and many others stand tall and make Cosmoville proud and thrill its non-powered citizens with their exploits.

Earth-33

The problems facing the people of Earth-33 are serious and abundant—something that’s made all the more terrifying by its complete lack of super heroes. But before you write this world off as doomed, know this. Over the past 2,000 years, the people of Earth-33 have thrived. What they lack in power, they make up for in imagination and ingenuity. If they’ve been deprived of the good fortune of other worlds, worlds that have been graced by benevolent alien protectors, fortuitous lightning strikes and a powerful undercurrent of magic, Earth-33 has made up for it in dreams. These dreams have taken many forms, but most notable of all may be the visual storytelling medium we call comic books. In it, we’ve dreamed of super men who could fly, billionaires who fight crime and Amazon warriors who wield truth-bringing lassos—heroes who have filled up a whole Multiverse of worlds. So when that Multiverse is in danger, it only makes sense that we dream up one more: Ultra Comics, a super hero who exists on Earth-33 the only way he can, in the form of the very medium that birthed them. Will Ultra Comics be enough to keep the Multiverse from falling? Only time will tell. But it’s clear that the lives of millions of super heroes throughout the universe may now be dependent on the most unlikely of saviors: The only world in the Multiverse without them.

Earth-32

The Multiverse opens the door to a universe of possibilities, and that potential is on full display on the fascinating Earth-32. It is not a world of opposite reactions, as so many are, but instead one of unique amalgams. Here, super hero powers and histories have collided and transformed to create a different and powerful force known as the Justice Titans. Bruce Wayne is not only Batman, but he has been chosen by the Lantern Corps as Earth-32's Green Lantern. This brave Bat-Lantern uses his detective skills and his power ring to instill fear in the hearts of villains. He fights evil alongside his Justice Titans teammates, each of whom represents a combination of two familiar super heroes: Black Arrow is a fierce fighter and archer, Wonderhawk wields both a spiked mace and her faithful Golden Lasso, Aquaflash is the speedster of the sea, and Super-Martian possesses super strength and telepathic abilities. This formidable roster means Earth-32 is protected by champions both like, and truly unlike any other.

Earth-31

Picture a world where land is practically nonexistent. The ocean stretches from horizon to horizon as far as the eye can see, and time is measured by the position of the sun and stars. All of life takes place on or above the water. This is Earth-31. Citizens of this earth let industry and pollution get out of hand. They were unable to prevent global warming from taking hold and rising temperatures caused problems around the globe. Natural disasters wreaked havoc; continent-level tectonic events and mega-tsunamis sundered the land. Survivors of the cataclysm found themselves left on a post-apocalyptic world covered in water. Though they must face myriad challenges to stay alive on the drowned surface, Earth-31's residents are not unprotected. Super heroes sail the Seven Seas and do all they can to maintain peace and stop piracy. Captain Leatherwing, Robin Redblade and the crew of the Flying Fox fly their flag high and bring safety wherever the wind may carry them.