The Status of the Antimatter Universe

[redsycorax]

Here's an interesting question. Is there only one antimatter universe in the DC multiverse?

This would seem to be the case. Qward and its Weaponers appeared early in the career of the Silver Age/Earth-One Green Lantern (Green Lantern 2:2: October 1960). Green Lantern's nemesis Sinestro was deposed as Green Lantern of Korugar and exiled to Qward  (Green Lantern 2: 7: August 1961), where he obtained a yellow power ring of his own. An Antimatter Man of giant proportions almost provoked a collision between Earths One and Two in Justice League 49 (September 1966).  In Justice League 73 (August 1969), the insane 'living star' Aquarius attacked Earth-Two, disincorporating it and creating the circumstances in which the Justice Society and League fought one another, leading to the tragic death of Black Canary's husband, Larry Lance. Hal Jordan and Alan Scott pursued Aquarius into the antimatter universe, which Hal had recognised en route to Earth-Two's universe, although this portal didn't resemble the earthbound one he usually transited when he entered in within his own series.  Presumably, the death of Aquarius from a matter-antimatter chain reaction didn't significantly affect Qward.  The Qwardians launched at least one invasion of Earth-One, with some assistance from Green Lantern's maritime adversary The Shark (Green Lantern 125 (February 1980), but the invasion proved unsuccessful.  The Qwardians temporarily created their own Anti-Green Lantern Corps, but with inferior power rings and neurological damage to its wielders (Green Lantern 150: March 1982). 

The fact that there's also a post-Crisis  anti-matter Earth, which appears to be a reincarnation of the pre-Crisis Earth-Three, saved by the Anti-Monitor, doesn't emerge until Grant Morrison's Earth-2, in which we're reintroduced to the Crime Syndicate of Amerika.  Later, this incarnation of the CSA attacks and destroys Qward, but this is reset by the restoration of the postive-matter Multiverse, at which point it metamorphoses back into Earth-3 v2, presumably now within a positive matter universe. Within Qwardian society, the Weaponers and Thunderers are at enmity with one another. 

There seems to be much greater affinity between Earth-One and the antimatter universe, given that there were only two occasions in which the Justice Society came into conflict with the antimatter universe, namely the aforementioned Antimatter Man and in the confrontation against Aquarius. I could find no references in the 1940s-50s and 1970s Justice Society series otherwise.  Which does leave some interesting questions about Earth-4 and Earth-S. Did Captain Atom or the Marvel Family ever encounter antimatter opponents? Having perused 5E's Earth-Four timeline, it would seem not- nor the THUNDER Agents either, which is intriguing. Given the greater fantasy orientation of the Marvel Family, Earth-S doesn't seem to have encountered antimatter at any stage of its development either. Sivana, Mr Mind and Mr Atom don't seem to have contemplated its use.  On Earth-4, it's still plausible there might be an untold story or two lurking around, probably in Captain Atom or the THUNDER Agents backstories. 

[jonclark]

The description in Crisis was that the original split was into two universes; one matter and one anti-matter. It was that single matter universe that then splintered into the multiverse while the anti-matter part reamined as a single universe. The Anti-Monitor then increased the size of the anti-matter universe by destroying each matter universe one at a time. So there was never more than a single antimatter universe, although that was increasing in size.

Of course, Crisis also stated there was only a single Oa which makes any universe with a Hal Jordan as Green Lantern counterpart difficult to reconcile (unless the Guardians were busier than we thought and the Corps was multiversal)

[dans]

I liked it way better when the Crime Syndicate came from a 'parallel but nearby' universe, but I suppose that when all the 'parallel' universes (nearby and far away in whatever contaied all of them...) were destroyed but one, DC had to come up with some other way to return the Crime Syndicate, some of their most popular villains... I never liked Qward taking the place of Earth 3. Glad we do it different...

Had a story idea... I wonder how many DC heroes have really contemplated the idea of their evil counterparts on Earth 3, particularly when the counterpart is the genetic equivalent rather than just some other person with similar powers? I wonder if any 'good' person who became aware of their 'twin' counterpart on Earth 3 might ever have become obsessed with what it was that made the counterpart evil, what made the life of evil more attractive, what events might have caused the twin to choose a different path, how much more satisfying it would be to fully use their powers instead of restraining them, etc.? I could see such a deep contemplation actually leading to jealousy and temptation... and take it from there....

[redsycorax]

Actually, I'm not sure that was valid for the pre-Crisis multiverse. Earth-32 had a Hal Jordan married to Carol Ferris and wore an identical uniform to the Earth-One version, which suggests it might've had its own Green Lantern Corps and OA. As for Earth-D and it's Green Lantern, there was a definite reference to its own Guardians and probably an OA-D. In other words, Crisis does contradict itself.

[redsycorax]

I'm not sure that the original Crime Syndicate was all that popular, too, Dan. After "Crisis on Earth-Three', there was a fourteen year pause between the next appearance of some of the syndicate (Power Ring, Superwoman and Johnny Quick) in "One Earth Too Many" and "Crisis on Earth Three (Reprise)" in Secret Society of Super Villains 13 and 14 (March/ April-May 1978). The next appearance was four years later, when Ultraman escaped, teamed up with Lex and Alexei Luthor and fought the Supermen of Earths One and Two, as well as Alexander Luthor of Earth-Three ("Crisis on Three Earths" DC Comics Presents: Annual 1: 1982), before their final pre-Crisis excursion after Per Degaton tricked them into stealing nuclear missiles from Cuba and the United States in October 1962 and turning Earth-Prime's Cuban missile crisis into a full-fledged nuclear war (Justice League of America 207-209: October-December 1982: All Star Squadron 14-15 (October-November 1982). That was their last appearance before Earth-Three, Alexander and Lois Lane-Luthor and the Crime Syndicate were erased from existence in Crisis on Infinite Earths 1 (July 1985). Certainly, their post-Crisis incarnations are more popular, but most of their pre-Crisis appearances occurred in a very thin series of stories. Added to which, how did they escape the interdimensional bubble between 1982-1985)? Alexander Luthor isn't surprised to see the Crime Syndicate assisting him in their futile quest to save Earth-Three, so an untold story is probably in order.

[johnreiter902]

Jun 29, 2024 5:50:30 GMT jonclark said:

The description in Crisis was that the original split was into two universes; one matter and one anti-matter. It was that single matter universe that then splintered into the multiverse while the anti-matter part reamined as a single universe. The Anti-Monitor then increased the size of the anti-matter universe by destroying each matter universe one at a time. So there was never more than a single antimatter universe, although that was increasing in size.

Of course, Crisis also stated there was only a single Oa which makes any universe with a Hal Jordan as Green Lantern counterpart difficult to reconcile (unless the Guardians were busier than we thought and the Corps was multiversal)

My own theory, as regards Oa, is that while there are multiple alternate versions of Oa in the multiverse, only one of them spawned the Monitor, since there is only one of him.

[redsycorax]

Sounds like an excellent idea, John, but then there's the contingent question why Oa-One and none of its alternate versions produced the Monitor. Or did the Anti-Monitor intervene to stop his emergence on those alternate Oas? In the cases of Universes-32 and D, there were Oas with Guardians and Green Lantern Corps, and there might possibly have been others. Which suggests that many alternate universe Guardians fought the Anti-Monitor and resisted him sufficiently to insure that the Guardians existed and in some cases, Green Lantern Corps also subsequently emerged. In others, the Manhunters may have remained uncorrupted and serve as their interstellar police force instead.

It might also explain the paradox that although the Anti-Monitor is extremely powerful, he is not omnipotent. Therefore, he cannot have destroyed all of the universes within the multiverse, which may be attributable to successful and effective resistance in some universes. In Crisis on Infinite Earths, perhaps we only witnessed the universes which he did succeed in erasing from existence. Egotism and selective censorship may have meant they were not featured in CIE, because that would have upset his narrative of vast power and deadliness.

[dans]

I wonder if maybe originally every universe had an Anti-Monitor, and all the various Anti-Monitors were somehow aware of and jealous of each other, and before the Crisis story, each universe's Anti-Monitor tried to kill all of their analogs and finally only one was left?

What an epic story THAT would be!!