Recaps

He-El learned that General Zod had been sent by the Monitors to destroy the universe with Reality Missiles and urged him to evacuate New Krypton to the Phantom Zone. He-El refused, and Zod prepared to force him to comply.

• He-El recognized the Monitors and learned that they had empowered General Zod to pilot the Doomsday Warship and destroy the universe with Reality Missiles.
• General Zod explained that the Monitors targeted universes with malformed points because they spawned more Parallel Universes.
• Zod demanded that He-El and New Krypton escape to the Phantom Zone, but He-El rejected the plan and said he would not become anyone's subordinate.
• Zod revealed that he was soaking in nutrient fluid because he could not change Krypton's fate before, and declared he would not let He-El's Kryptonians perish.
• Zod's nutrient tubes snapped as his eyes glowed crimson, and he readied himself to fight He-El.

General Zod tried to force He-El and New Krypton’s Kryptonians back to the Phantom Zone, but He-El effortlessly overpowered him and revealed that hundreds of New Kryptonians were stronger. After Zod warned that the Reality Missile would erase the universe, He-El transported them and the Doomsday Warship into the He-El Universe.

• General Zod emerged from his nutrient tank and demanded that He-El take his people and New Krypton’s Kryptonians back to the Phantom Zone.
• General Zod attacked with Heat Vision, but He-El blocked it with one hand and stopped Zod’s punches with ease.
• He-El broke one of General Zod’s fists with a finger flick, then resisted Zod’s Freeze Breath with his Black Suit.
• He-El told General Zod that more than four hundred people in New Krypton were stronger than him.
• General Zod warned that the Reality Missile would erase every living being in the universe, and He-El transported them and the Doomsday Warship into the He-El Universe.

The Spectre emerged from Zeus after the Doomsday Warship and He-El vanished, and considered whether He-El was connected to Lucifer’s arrival in this universe. Unable to explain the disappearance, The Spectre hid inside Zeus again and waited for He-El.

• The Doomsday Warship and He-El vanished before Zeus, and Zeus lost consciousness as The Spectre emerged from his body.
• The Spectre recalled how Aztar became the Spirit of Vengeance and explained that he had entered Zeus to investigate Lucifer’s movements in this universe.
• The Spectre judged that He-El’s conquest and New Krypton’s rule brought order and protected many civilizations, so he had no grounds to punish him.
• The Spectre suspected that Lucifer had come to this universe because of He-El but could not understand why.
• The Spectre returned to hiding inside Zeus, while Zeus resumed waiting in space for He-El.

He-El brought General Zod to his own universe, severing the Monitor’s connection and causing the sun inside Zod to begin expanding. As Zod feared his transformation would kill He-El and Faora, He-El stopped time and removed the sun, leaving Zod restored.

• General Zod realized He-El’s transfer had severed his connection to the Monitor, and the sun inside him began its final transformation.
• Zod ordered Faora and He-El to flee before the expanding sun destroyed them and the Doomsday Warship.
• Faora tried to pull He-El away, but he told her they were in his universe; she chose to stay beside him.
• Zod grieved that his uncontrollable sun might destroy He-El and the future of the Kryptonians.
• He-El froze Zod in time, removed the sun from his chest, restored his body, and returned him to normal.

He-El removed the Monitors’ control of the sun inside General Zod and analyzed the Monitors’ technology in the He-El Universe. Zod explained that the Monitors had contacted him to help launch Reality Missiles, and He-El left him and Faora in Lucy’s care before returning to Doctor Manhattan.

• He-El extracted the sun from General Zod and brought Zod and Faora to the He-El Universe, where the Monitors could no longer control them.
• He-El used the universe’s laws to accelerate the sun’s life cycle until it became a black hole, then analyzed and erased the Monitors’ control within it.
• He-El sent the Doomsday Warship and its Reality Missiles to Lucy for analysis.
• General Zod told He-El that a Monitor had appeared in his mind and recruited him to launch Reality Missiles against aberration-created universes.
• He-El told Lucy to watch over Zod and Faora, then left the He-El Universe and looked toward Doctor Manhattan.

He-El questioned Doctor Manhattan about his goals and offered him a chance to explore universes beyond the Traversal Vortexes. Doctor Manhattan, intrigued by He-El’s mystery, agreed that becoming his subordinate might be worth trying.

• He-El left Zeus to prepare for the next fusion of Parallel Universes and teleported to Doctor Manhattan in the UNCOVER z-13 galaxy.
• He-El asked Doctor Manhattan what he wanted, and Doctor Manhattan explained that he mainly watched Superman and the recurring timelines of the DC Multiverse.
• He-El warned that the Monitors’ ability to manipulate a universe’s underlying logic posed a danger and suggested Doctor Manhattan could use his abilities more productively.
• He-El offered to take Doctor Manhattan to other universes where their futures would be unknown to him.
• Doctor Manhattan said becoming He-El’s subordinate might be worth trying because He-El had surprised him.

He-El accepted Doctor Manhattan as his subordinate and offered him entry into the He-El Universe, explaining that the universe had neutralized the fundamental force in Doctor Manhattan’s severed arm. After Doctor Manhattan gathered every avatar into one body, He-El prepared to take him into his universe.

• Doctor Manhattan agreed to serve He-El because he wanted to study He-El and his Source Universe.
• He-El told Doctor Manhattan to gather every avatar and all parts of his consciousness into one physical body.
• He-El offered to let Doctor Manhattan enter the He-El Universe, but warned that he would be a subordinate, not a partner.
• He-El explained that his universe had analyzed the universe-forming force in Doctor Manhattan’s severed arm to make him harmless to it.
• Doctor Manhattan accepted He-El’s terms and fused with all his avatars from across time, space, and universes.
• Doctor Manhattan asked to enter the He-El Universe, but He-El said there was no hurry.

He-El brought Doctor Manhattan into the Bleach Universe to retrieve its underlying operational logic. Doctor Manhattan’s unrestrained presence overwhelmed the Three Realms, and He-El warned that a single shocked glance could destroy the universe.

• He-El led Doctor Manhattan to Zero’s Traversal Vortex while Soul Reapers returned to the Bleach Universe and others prepared to shelter in his universe.
• Doctor Manhattan failed to sense the vortex and followed He-El through it into the Bleach Universe.
• The Senkaimon converted their energy into Reishi, but Doctor Manhattan’s immense Reiatsu crushed Soul Reapers across the Three Realms.
• Aizen Sosuke sensed the overwhelming pressure and realized the Bleach Universe could not withstand Doctor Manhattan.
• He-El placed a hand on Doctor Manhattan’s shoulder and warned him to restrain his energy and logic or destroy the universe with a glance.

Doctor Manhattan entered the Bleach universe and converted his power to Reishi before his Reiatsu could destroy the Three Realms. Astonished by the universe’s different laws, he pledged himself to He-El and agreed to follow him to other universes.

• He-El reminded Doctor Manhattan to restrain his power, and Doctor Manhattan converted his external energy into Reishi to keep the Bleach universe from breaking apart.
• Doctor Manhattan’s Reiatsu swept across the Three Realms, frightening the surviving vice-captains before it contracted back into his body.
• Aizen, Yamamoto, Ichimaru, Ichibe, and hundreds of thousands of captain-level Bleach gathered to greet He-El, who ordered everyone except Aizen to leave.
• Doctor Manhattan told He-El that the Bleach universe had opened his eyes, pledged his obedience, and said he wished to see more universes.

He-El questioned Doctor Manhattan about the Monitors and learned that their leader, Mandrak, embodied the universe’s evil and would seek to seize He-El’s Source Universe. Doctor Manhattan warned that He-El’s existence could upset the balance between justice and evil as He-El entered the Soul King Palace with Aizen and Doctor Manhattan.

• He-El asked Doctor Manhattan what he knew about the Monitors as they walked toward the Soul King Palace.
• Doctor Manhattan explained that the Monitors fed on Heavenly Blood, claimed a higher dimension, and used the universe’s operational logic through mysterious technology.
• Doctor Manhattan recalled briefly encountering Mandrak and described him as the embodiment of evil across the universes and beyond the Speed Force Wall.
• Doctor Manhattan predicted that Mandrak would target He-El’s Source Universe and suggested that Superman might embody the justice opposing him.
• Doctor Manhattan reasoned that He-El’s existence could disrupt the balance between justice and evil, then He-El entered the Soul King Palace with Aizen and Doctor Manhattan.

He-El extracted the Bleach universe’s underlying operating laws to help strengthen his expanding universe and prepare for the coming merger of Parallel Universes. He promised Aizen Sosuke that the Bleach forces would soon join campaigns to conquer other universes.

• He-El examined the Soul King Palace and began pulling the lynchpin star down to gather the Bleach universe’s operating laws.
• Doctor Manhattan recognized He-El’s work, and He-El said he would need help collecting the laws of other universes.
• Aizen Sosuke offered the Bleach forces for He-El’s future conquests and reminded him that they were ready to serve.
• He-El reassured Aizen Sosuke that he would soon lead a team to conquer other universes.
• He-El extracted a blood-red sphere containing the Bleach universe’s underlying logic and prepared to strengthen his universe before it merged with the Source Universe.

He-El discussed the Bleach-specific instrument for detecting a universe’s underlying operational logic and asked Doctor Manhattan to develop a universal version with Zero. Doctor Manhattan agreed, and He-El took him into the He-El Universe to begin the work.

• Doctor Manhattan judged the instrument for detecting the Bleach universe’s operational logic to be rudimentary because it detected the universe’s pulse through the Soul King’s role as its stabilizing wedge.
• He-El explained that the instrument was good enough for the Bleach universe but could not be used in other universes, which he still examined through clones and universe-specific methods.
• He-El said New Krypton urgently needed a universal instrument because researching separate devices consumed Zero’s computing resources while the Three-Body Problem universe prepared to restart.
• Doctor Manhattan agreed to work with Zero on a universal instrument, and He-El led him into the He-El Universe with the Bleach-specific device.

He-El brought Doctor Manhattan into the He-El Universe, showed him its growing ability to unite the underlying logic of many universes, and recruited him to study two more. The chapter left Aizen Sosuke discovering that the He-El Universe let beings use energy according to the rules of different universes.

• He-El brought Doctor Manhattan into the He-El Universe, where its combined universal logic overwhelmed him with its depth and future potential.
• He-El added the Bleach Universe's underlying operational logic to the He-El Universe, further enriching it.
• He-El introduced Doctor Manhattan to Lucy and assigned him to develop a machine for studying the Chronicle Universe and the Psycho-Pass Universe.
• He-El opened a Traversal Vortex to Bleach, and Aizen Sosuke entered the He-El Universe.
• Aizen Sosuke discovered that he could transform Reishi into other forms of energy within the He-El Universe.

He-El established Lucy as steward of the He-El Universe and prepared to wage war on another universe, bringing in Aizen Sosuke’s Death Legion and the Mechanical and Speed Legions. After learning his son had not yet reached Rangiku Matsumoto in Hell, He-El left him to continue training and closed the vortex to the DC universe.

• He-El appointed Lucy steward of the He-El Universe and ordered Aizen Sosuke to bring the Death Legion over and prepare for a conquest war.
• Aizen Sosuke deployed Bleach soldiers to the newly created planet, and He-El learned his son had not yet reached Rangiku Matsumoto’s level of Hell.
• He-El decided to leave his son’s rescue mission and training to continue without intervention.
• He-El opened a vortex to the DC universe and brought Zero’s universal mothership, seven Marshal-class Battleships, over a hundred million Mechanical Clan members, and the Speed Legion into his universe.
• He-El confirmed Hela and Ciri were aboard Zero’s mothership, then closed the Traversal Vortex to the DC universe.

He-El ordered Zero to develop a detector for the underlying operational logic of universes, then searched the DC universe for the mysterious man who had replaced Trigon. Clark Kent approached He-El, who responded to his greeting by asking why he would not call him Dad.

• He-El ordered Zero to share research with Doctor Manhattan and build a general-purpose universe-logic detector.
• He-El left Zero and Doctor Manhattan to test their instrument on the Chronicle and Jumper universes.
• He-El scanned Earth and the Solar System but found no trace of the man who had emerged from Raven's seal and replaced Trigon.
• He-El reflected that the Speed Legion, Death Legion, and Mechanical Corps had been safer in the He-El Universe than amid the merging parallel universes.
• Clark Kent flew up to He-El and greeted him, and He-El asked why Clark would not call him Dad.

Clark Kent reflected on how He-El had killed the Justice League and transformed Earth into a peaceful world, leaving him torn between resentment toward his father and gratitude for the life New Krypton had created. He continued to protect Earth as Superman, even as its people credited He-El for their peace.

• Clark Kent remembered that He-El had altered his origins, making him He-El's son rather than Jor-El's, and had killed the Justice League.
• Clark Kent struggled with guilt over his father's violence and admiration for the peace New Krypton brought to Earth.
• Clark Kent acknowledged that the Justice League could never have created the stable world He-El had established.
• Clark Kent continued watching over Earth as Superman, protecting the peaceful world the Justice League had once hoped to build.

Superman Clark Kent confronted He-El over New Krypton’s lethal response to people who had suddenly appeared on Earth. He-El defended the crackdown and ordered Clark to protect New Krypton’s citizens first, leaving their disagreement unresolved.

• Superman Clark Kent learned that another Earth’s Justice League had been killed by a different He-El and hurried to question his father about the newcomers and the killings.
• Clark asked He-El to explain what was happening and argued that New Krypton should treat the suddenly appeared people more cautiously.
• He-El said New Krypton’s law enforcers were protecting its citizens and that newcomers who accepted control would be spared.
• He-El accused Clark of misplaced kindness, told him to protect New Krypton’s subjects, and asked whether he had lost his brain.

He-El reflected on Superman Clark Kent’s repeated interference with New Krypton’s laws and recalled how his traffic-policy proposals worsened reckless behavior before New Krypton’s original rules changed public conduct. Clark eventually recognized the limits of rescuing people from the consequences of their choices and began to see that New Krypton’s long-term policies were building the peaceful world he wanted, though he still struggled to explain himself.

• He-El questioned Superman Clark Kent’s judgment and recalled how Clark’s earlier policy suggestions had affected New Krypton.
• After Clark proposed making drivers responsible for most pedestrian deaths, New Krypton’s traffic bureau adopted the change, and staged accidents and reckless crossings increased.
• He-El dismissed the officials who had approved the change, restored the previous traffic rule, and warned New Krypton’s administrators not to let any individual dictate its civic values.
• Clark protested the policy and rescued lawbreaking pedestrians, but his interventions encouraged more violations, and he could not save everyone.
• Over five years, people learned to follow traffic regulations, and Clark realized that shielding them from consequences had made them more reckless.
• Clark observed New Krypton’s long-term education and acknowledged that its empire was becoming the peaceful world he wanted, then began explaining himself to He-El.

He-El told Superman Clark Kent that the sudden arrivals on Earth came from merging Parallel Universes, a process that would continue until only one universe remained. He explained that New Krypton’s Thought Imprints could help its citizens retain their identities, but left the cause of the mergers unanswered.

• Superman Clark Kent objected to New Krypton’s harsh treatment of people who had suddenly appeared on Earth, while He-El stopped searching for the man who had replaced Trigon inside Raven’s seal.
• Superman Clark Kent demanded to know what was happening, and He-El revealed that other Parallel Universes were merging with theirs.
• He-El explained that duplicate counterparts could appear and that one might have to kill the other, revealing that Doomsday He-El had slaughtered the Justice League from his universe.
• Superman Clark Kent panicked when He-El confirmed that the mergers would continue until only one universe remained.
• He-El said that New Krypton’s identification cards stored citizens’ Thought Imprints to help them preserve their identities, then began to explain why the mergers were happening.

He-El told Superman Clark Kent that the universes were merging because others coveted him, and said the fusion could not be stopped. He urged Superman to protect New Krypton Earth from the chaos ahead, and Superman flew down to help its people coexist peacefully.

• Superman Clark Kent asked He-El what he had done to cause the universes to merge, and He-El explained that others were merging them to find and obtain him.
• Superman asked how they could stop the fusion, but He-El said neither he nor New Krypton could travel to other Parallel Universes or prevent their merger into a Source Universe.
• He-El told Superman to focus on protecting New Krypton Earth from chaos instead of trying to stop the inevitable fusion, and criticized him for interfering with New Krypton's policies.
• Superman admitted that Earth had not needed his protection since becoming part of New Krypton, but vowed to help the newcomers coexist peacefully and flew toward Earth.
• The Traversal Vortex swallowed He-El, returning him to the He-El Universe.

He-El surveyed the forces and preparations in the He-El Universe as New Krypton prepared for war and planned future conquests. Zero sent He-El good news from the Zero Research Facility.

• He-El judged the missing man who had replaced Trigon in Raven's seal to be his greatest concern and prepared for war while Mandrak of the Monitors merged Parallel Universes.
• He-El watched Aizen train the Bleach forces and considered which universes would best suit their Reishi-based abilities and Gigai.
• He-El observed the Mechanical Clan building a metal planet and left them to construct their home themselves.
• Savitar and Reverse-Flash led the Speed Legion in training and marking locations within the He-El Universe's Speed Force Space.
• He-El reflected on the many fundamental forces and growing complexity of his universe, then received good news from Zero at the Zero Research Facility.

Zero and Doctor Manhattan discovered that the AllSpark contained about ten percent of the Transformers universe’s underlying operational logic. He-El decided to pursue operational logic from universes he had already visited and asked whether a universal detection device could be built.

• Zero told He-El that research with Doctor Manhattan had revealed the AllSpark contained part of a universe’s underlying operational logic.
• Doctor Manhattan explained that the AllSpark had reacted to their detection algorithm, allowing them to decode about ten percent of the Transformers universe’s operational logic.
• He-El realized he needed to strengthen the He-El Universe before the Parallel Universes merged into the Source Universe.
• He-El identified the Transformers and Pacific Rim universes as targets for gathering operational logic, while ruling out a return to the Marvel movie universe.
• He-El asked Zero and Doctor Manhattan whether they could manufacture a universal device to detect operational logic across multiple universes.

He-El, Doctor Manhattan, and Zero investigated why their universal underlying operational logic detector failed in the Chronicle Universe and the Jumper Universe. He-El concluded that their shared material foundations could not overcome the universes’ distinct traits, leaving the detector’s approach temporarily abandoned.

• Doctor Manhattan explained that the initial detector failed to account for differences between the Chronicle Universe and the Jumper Universe.
• He-El reviewed the detector’s design and learned that the Chronicle Universe’s spiritual telekinesis and the Jumper Universe’s mind-and-space traits caused mutual rejection.
• He-El explained that a universe’s underlying operational logic could be understood and guided but could not be changed without causing its collapse.
• He-El concluded that basing a universal detector on common material foundations was the wrong approach.
• He-El, Doctor Manhattan, and Zero declared the universal detector a temporary failure.

He-El halted research into a universal underlying operating logic after Doctor Manhattan discovered that even similar universes had fundamentally different foundations. He sent Doctor Manhattan to study the Chronicle and Jumper universes separately, while Zero prepared to merge with the AllSpark and lead the Mechanical Clan to conquer the Transformers universe; Ciri continued her mission in Pacific Rim.

• Doctor Manhattan concluded that the Chronicle and Jumper universes had no identical foundational matter, despite their apparent similarities.
• He-El paused research into universal operating logic because it consumed too much energy and ordered Doctor Manhattan to create separate detection instruments for the Chronicle and Jumper universes.
• He-El permitted Doctor Manhattan to enter both universes for on-site research, provided he did not provoke their operating logic.
• He-El ordered Zero to merge the AllSpark into his core consciousness, since its underlying operating logic had been deciphered.
• He-El directed Zero to lead the Mechanical Clan into the Transformers universe, occupy it, and detect its remaining operating logic.
• He-El continued assigning Ciri the task of conquering and ruling Pacific Rim.

Ciri beat He-El 320 for tampering with the Doomsday regenerative genes she had cultivated, then learned that He-El planned to conquer her former universe. He-El asked whether she wanted to lead the invasion, leaving the decision to her.

• Ciri battered He-El 320 until He-El teleported them before him and asked what had happened.
• Ciri explained that He-El 320 had altered her Doomsday regenerative genes, then continued punishing him as he complained to He-El.
• After Ciri finished beating He-El 320, she eagerly offered to mate with He-El and have children.
• He-El stopped Ciri from removing her lab coat and asked whether she would return to her former universe.
• He-El told Ciri he was preparing to conquer her universe and offered her command of the campaign if she wished.