Recaps

More than eighteen parallel universes merged into He-El’s New Krypton Universe, and the incoming He-Els learned that they would have to kill their counterpart to preserve their own identities. He-El stood before the Miracle Wish Machine as the newcomers panicked, then dismissed them as too weak.

• The New Krypton Universe won the weight contest, absorbing the operating logic and inhabitants of more than eighteen parallel universes.
• A dozen or so alternate He-Els appeared, including versions with Doomsday traits, an Obsidian Throne, and Spectre-like powers.
• The incoming He-Els realized they could remain independent only by killing their counterpart before the merger finished.
• Several alternate He-Els recognized the Miracle Wish Machine beside He-El and lost hope of resisting him.
• He-El told the newcomers they were too weak.

As more than twenty parallel universes began merging into New Krypton, masses of phantom counterparts threatened to plunge Earth into chaos. Clark Kent appealed to his Superman counterparts for help, but they divided between allies, enemies, and apparent neutrals before an enormous phantom appeared in the sky.

• New Krypton residents and the Kryptonian Army struggled to manage the sudden arrival of numerous phantom counterparts as the universe merged.
• Clark Kent urged nineteen Superman counterparts to help him preserve order and protect New Krypton.
• Several Supermen agreed to support Clark Kent, while others openly threatened to kill him and seize his place in the universe.
• Counterparts of Justice League heroes and other people crowded Earth as Zero's clone counted more than twenty-three counterparts for one Metropolis resident.
• An enormous phantom appeared in the sky, prompting people to wonder if it was a god.

The merged universes brought rival pantheons and stellar-class counterparts into the New Krypton Universe, forcing its defenders to prepare for battles across the Divine Realm and beyond the Milky Way. As eight Darkseids appeared and the defenders ran short of fighters, He-El declared that he would act.

• Thoth, Anubis, Horus, Amon, and other Egyptian gods confronted the Olympian Pantheon as rival pantheons gathered for war.
• Athena opened and sealed the Divine Realm, trapping the arriving gods inside for battle on New Krypton's prepared ground.
• Zero directed first-level stellar-class combatants through a Space Bridge to fight beyond the Milky Way, while Mongul and Brainiac reported their counterparts.
• Stellar-class powerhouses planned to stall their hostile counterparts until the Parallel Universes merged, while Guardians of the Universe debated how to protect Earth.
• A Guardian of the Universe spotted eight Darkseids, and He-El announced that he would act.

He-El annihilated the alternate He-Els who attacked him as parallel universes merged into the New Krypton Universe. The merged Darkseids discovered that Earth was the universe’s center and prepared to destroy it to reach the Antimatter Universe, but He-El appeared before them.

• Doomsday He-El and several alternate He-Els attacked He-El at the Miracle Wish Machine, but he froze time and reduced them to particles without using the machine.
• New Krypton’s stellar-level forces led many merged powerhouses away from Earth, while gods from other universes besieged the Olympian Pantheon.
• Several Darkseids gathered near Earth and realized that the local Darkseid was dead and that Earth was the universe’s center.
• The Darkseids agreed to destroy Earth and enter the Antimatter Universe to seek the Anti-Life Equation.
• He-El appeared before Earth as a Darkseid prepared to attack it.

He-El defeated and killed all eight Darkseids by turning their Omega Effect against them and absorbing its information. He then teleported through the gateway to the Divine Realm to aid the Olympian Pantheon, leaving Earth engulfed in slaughter.

• One Darkseid fired the Omega Effect at He-El, who countered with Heat Vision and absorbed its energy and information, blasting out the attacker’s eyes.
• The Darkseids attacked together with their Omega Effect Rays, but He-El’s Heat Vision absorbed their differing information and pushed their combined attack back.
• He-El split his Heat Vision into fourteen beams, pierced the seven Darkseids’ eyes, and killed them along with the wounded Darkseid farther away.
• He-El looked toward Earth, saw it overwhelmed by an immense crowd and war, then teleported to the Divine Realm to help the Olympian Pantheon.

He-El arrived in the Divine Realm and rescued the New Krypton Olympian Pantheon by killing the attacking universes’ supreme gods and destroying the thunderstorm. New Krypton won the costly divine war as the universal fusion ended, while a Monitors exploration ship entered the universe.

• He-El entered the Divine Realm and found the Olympian gods under siege by gods from other universes.
• He-El killed the Jade Emperor and Amaterasu, struck down Shakyamuni, and killed Burning Heaven, Odin, and other mythological rulers.
• He-El destroyed the thunderstorm and the Thors sustaining it, then the attacking gods turned their attention toward him.
• The Magic Main God's Light Orb helped the Olympian gods recover, and Zeus rejoined the battle at He-El's command.
• The New Krypton Olympian Pantheon defeated the invaders at great cost as the universal fusion ended.
• A Monitors exploration ship entered the New Krypton Universe.

Koken Novo and the Monitor exploration ship Grace arrived at the boundary of the New Krypton Universe and discovered that it had absorbed thirty-two Parallel Universes without retaining any trace of them. Koken Novo suspected it might be the Monitors’ fifty-third Source Universe, and ordered Grace to scan it.

• Grace arrived at the New Krypton Universe’s boundary and reported that it had merged with thirty-two Parallel Universes without preserving any of their logic or scenery.
• Koken Novo admired the Heavenly Blood at the universe’s edge and recognized the New Krypton Universe’s extraordinary weight.
• Koken Novo believed the universe might be the fifty-third Source Universe and hoped to earn a Shapeshifting Ship by finding it.
• Grace suggested that New Gods from God’s Domain might have caused the universe’s immense weight, but Koken Novo angrily rejected the idea.
• Koken Novo ordered Grace to perform a full scan of the universe, and Grace agreed.

After the universes fused, Superman Clark Kent urged the newly returned superheroes to join New Krypton’s Peace Enforcement Department and accept wartime control. Wonder Woman Diana Prince refused, but Superman declared that every place she might flee belonged to New Krypton, leaving her with nowhere to go as He-El sensed a scanning fluctuation at the universe’s edge.

• The completed fusion reduced Earth’s population by ninety-five percent, while bringing back heroes and others who had died or never existed.
• Superman Clark Kent invited the returned superheroes to join the Peace Enforcement Department, but Wonder Woman Diana Prince rejected him because he was not the Clark she knew.
• Wonder Woman Diana Prince said she would leave Earth with the Amazon warriors rather than accept New Krypton’s rule.
• Superman Clark Kent proclaimed that the Solar System, galaxy, and entire universe belonged to New Krypton, shocking the superheroes and silencing Wonder Woman.
• Superman urged the heroes to accept wartime control and promised to apply for Proton ID Cards for them.
• He-El noticed a scanning fluctuation beginning at the edge of the universe.

After the fusion of dozens of Parallel Universes, New Krypton reasserted control, purged newcomers who refused to join, and prepared for the next fusion. The chapter leaves the New Krypton forces strengthened overall, but the Olympian Pantheon weakened by its devastating divine war.

• New Krypton restored order after the fusion and forced new arrivals to join or face purging.
• He-El inspected Kal-El's strengthened Kryptonian Army and saw General Zod join New Krypton and lead forces against dissenters.
• Scarface, thirty Guardians of the Universe, and General Zod massacred rebellious Lanterns, while the slaughter drove Hippolyta and the Amazons to join New Krypton.
• The Olympian Pantheon nearly fell to a coalition of gods until He-El helped it defeat its supreme ruler and break the other pantheons' suppression.
• The Olympian Pantheon's Divine Legion suffered the greatest losses and received no reinforcements, leaving it weaker than New Krypton's other forces.

He-El inspected the devastated Divine Realm after saving the Olympian Pantheon from gods of dozens of Parallel Universes, while investigating a mysterious scan of the New Krypton Universe. Athena broke down over the Pantheon’s inability to survive future mergers, and He-El said he had come to discuss its future with her.

• He-El surveyed the damaged Divine Realm as its legion, teachers, and students worked to rebuild it, and considered the mysterious scan reaching even that hidden realm.
• Athena approached He-El, exhausted and grieving, and worried that the Olympian Pantheon could not recover before another, even larger universe merger.
• He-El absorbed the scan into his body for analysis and learned it operated through shallow logic, though its unfamiliar method still made him wary.
• Athena apologized for failing to protect the Divine Realm, then wept as her divine tears formed rivers and lakes.
• He-El comforted Athena and praised her defense against the invading gods, but Athena said the Olympian Pantheon would fail next time.
• He-El told Athena he had come to discuss how to handle the Olympian Pantheon.

He-El offered Athena and the Olympian Pantheon a way to escape the danger of being replaced in future universe mergers by leaving their divine authorities behind and joining his He-El Universe. Athena was overwhelmed by the offer but asked how New Krypton would handle incoming gods without them.

• Athena feared the Olympian Pantheon would be destroyed in the next Parallel Universe merger after its Divine Legion and Magic Corps were crushed.
• He-El proposed that New Krypton's gods take new identities because their Divine Realm and divine authorities left them vulnerable to future mergers.
• Athena insisted that the Olympian Gods would keep their divine authority and sacrifice themselves if necessary, while regretting she could not bear He-El's child.
• He-El told Athena she could sever her connection to the New Krypton Universe and enter his He-El Universe, where she could become a goddess in her own right.
• Athena reacted with shock and gratitude, then asked how New Krypton would face gods arriving from other Parallel Universes.

He-El told Athena that the New Krypton Universe was doomed to merge into a Source Universe, so he planned to move the Olympian Pantheon to the He-El Universe. Athena accepted his decision and vowed to conquer a greater universe for him, while He-El warned her that a mysterious being resided inside Zeus.

• He-El dismissed Athena's worries about the New Krypton Universe and explained that its eventual merger into a Source Universe could not be prevented.
• Athena wondered whether He-El planned to abandon New Krypton for her and resolved to conquer a broader universe for him.
• He-El used the He-El Universe to keep their conversation private and told Athena not to inform Zeus about his plans for the Olympian Pantheon.
• Athena asked what was wrong with Zeus, and He-El revealed that a mysterious existence was inside him.
• Athena agreed to prepare the Olympian Pantheon's entry into the He-El Universe.

After returning to the He-El Universe, He-El summoned Doctor Manhattan to examine a scan that had detected the New Krypton Universe. Doctor Manhattan suspected the Monitors were responsible, but He-El delayed moving New Krypton because two even stronger mysterious entities were hidden there and planned to make the two sides clash.

• He-El recreated the shallow-logic scanning method in the He-El Universe and asked Doctor Manhattan to identify it.
• Doctor Manhattan calculated that the scan could assess a universe’s matter and energy, and concluded that an outsider was likely using it.
• He-El explained that an unknown being had begun scanning the New Krypton Universe after parallel universes fused into it.
• Doctor Manhattan warned that the Monitors might have noticed New Krypton and advised moving it into the He-El Universe.
• He-El said two mysterious entities stronger than either of them were hidden in New Krypton and revealed his plan to make them clash.

He-El brought Doctor Manhattan to the New Krypton Universe to investigate the mysterious presence inside Zeus and prepare for a possible clash with the Monitors. He-El sent Zeus on a dangerous mission, promising him independent free will if he returned.

• He-El told Doctor Manhattan to prepare without using the local DC Universe, and Doctor Manhattan hid an avatar in He-El's shadow.
• He-El returned to New Krypton with Doctor Manhattan concealed and confirmed that the Monitors' scans reached even the Divine Realm.
• He-El summoned Zeus and rebuked him for failing to defend the Divine Realm against gods from other Parallel Universes.
• He-El told Zeus that the Olympian Pantheon would have to leave New Krypton after completing assigned missions.
• He-El warned Zeus that his mission could cost his life and promised him independent free will if he returned, and Zeus eagerly accepted.

Koken Novo brought the Grace Search Ship to the New Krypton Universe seeking to claim a new Source Universe, but its unexplained weight baffled him. He concluded that the fifty-third Source Universe was hidden there, just as a bolt of electricity tore through the ship’s data display and shot toward him.

• Koken Novo examined the Grace Search Ship’s scan and wondered why the New Krypton Universe outweighed the other universes in their fusion.
• The Grace Search Ship suggested that the New Krypton emperor’s power might explain the universe’s strength, but Koken Novo rejected the idea.
• The Grace Search Ship proposed that someone from God's Domain was hiding in the universe, while Koken Novo insisted that the fifty-third Source Universe was there.
• The Grace Search Ship asked Koken Novo to scan for the Source Universe, but he ordered her to obey him instead.
• A curtain of light split the data waterfall, and a bolt of electricity shot toward Koken Novo.

Zeus attacked Koken Novo aboard the Grace Search Ship but was quickly overpowered and killed. As the ship hesitated to dispose of Zeus’s body, a green-hooded phantom emerged from it.

• Zeus breached the Grace Search Ship and hurled lightning at Koken Novo, who absorbed the attack with a device.
• Koken Novo identified Zeus as a clone of Zeus from the Olympian Pantheon and seized him, draining away his divine power.
• Koken Novo crushed Zeus’s neck and body, then told Grace to melt him down for nutrients.
• Grace refused, and Koken Novo saw a phantom in a green hood spreading from Zeus’s body.

The Spectre emerged from Zeus’s corpse and confronted Koken Novo, who recognized him as God’s Wrath and feared his judgment. Koken Novo denied his guilt and blamed the Monitor administrator’s transformation into Mandrak, while Grace Search Ship suffered under The Spectre’s power.

• Grace Search Ship excitedly claimed that a god’s main body had entered a Parallel Universe as Koken Novo saw The Spectre emerge from Zeus’s corpse.
• Koken Novo recognized The Spectre as God’s Wrath, the Spirit of Vengeance, and recalled his origins and the limits on his power in Source Universes.
• The Spectre accused Koken Novo of unforgivable crimes, silenced the search ship’s scans, and caused Grace Search Ship pain.
• Koken Novo denied being guilty and told The Spectre that Mandrak, the embodiment of evil, was the one he should judge.
• Koken Novo admitted to himself that he did not know whether the Monitor administrator had truly become Mandrak, though many Monitors believed it and awaited Mandrak’s emergence.

The Spectre judged Koken Novo for his unauthorized actions in the New Krypton Universe and burned away his soul. He disguised Koken Novo’s corpse and Zeus’s body to make it appear that Zeus had killed the Monitor, then sent Zeus’s body into the Divine Realm.

• The Spectre explained that Koken Novo’s independent actions in the New Krypton Universe had made him a suitable target for judgment.
• Koken Novo accused He-El of possessing a Source Universe, but The Spectre declared the Emperor of New Krypton innocent.
• The Spectre questioned Koken Novo, who confessed that his superior, high-ranking Monitors, and Mandrak knew he had entered the universe.
• The Spectre burned Koken Novo’s soul to ashes, leaving his corpse intact as Grace Search Ship pleaded for its life.
• The Spectre damaged Koken Novo’s corpse and Zeus’s body to suggest Zeus had killed the Monitor, then sent Zeus’s body through a Space Bridge into the Divine Realm.

He-El and Doctor Manhattan identified the being hidden inside Zeus as the Spectre, but could not determine why the Spectre had approached He-El. He-El feared the Spectre’s power and considered abandoning the New Krypton Universe if necessary.

• He-El watched Koken Novo’s corpse and discussed with Doctor Manhattan the Spectre’s appearance inside Zeus.
• Doctor Manhattan concluded that the Spectre was likely hiding his main body in Zeus and was far beyond their ability to confront.
• He-El and Doctor Manhattan speculated that the Spectre might be investigating the He-El Universe’s ability to travel between worlds.
• He-El realized he could not know what the Spectre was capable of or whether it knew the truth about his universe.
• He-El considered abandoning the New Krypton Universe so he could return to developing the He-El Universe.

He-El and Doctor Manhattan discussed The Spectre’s power and speculated about the mysterious man who had replaced Trigon in Raven’s body. Unable to identify the man, He-El went to see Zeus.

• Doctor Manhattan reasoned that The Spectre could not enter the He-El Universe without He-El noticing and suggested The Spectre might not know where the Source Universe was.
• Doctor Manhattan explained that even powerful beings such as Darkseid could not enter a universe in their true bodies without destroying it, and estimated Darkseid’s standing in God’s Domain.
• He-El suspected that the man who had emerged from Raven’s body might be as powerful as The Spectre, and Doctor Manhattan agreed that only an exceptionally powerful being could have replaced Trigon.
• Doctor Manhattan searched his records but could not identify the man, so He-El went directly to see Zeus.

He-El learned that The Spectre had killed Koken Novo Monitor and was using Zeus's corpse to infiltrate his court, then tried to take control of the Grace Search Ship. The ship revealed that it remembered The Spectre, leaving He-El and Doctor Manhattan uncertain about what The Spectre could perceive.

• The Spectre-controlled Zeus returned to the Divine Realm, convincingly acted gravely wounded, and claimed he had killed Koken Novo Monitor before Demeter took him for treatment.
• He-El and Doctor Manhattan concluded that The Spectre could not see into the He-El Universe, but agreed to prepare for the threat and use genuine evil to draw The Spectre out.
• Doctor Manhattan warned that the black-suited man who replaced Trigon in Raven's body might exploit the conflict, and He-El suspected that man was targeting him.
• He-El went to the Grace Search Ship, where Grace asked to leave the New Krypton Universe, but he refused and said the ship had to join New Krypton.
• Grace explained that He-El could not become her master without her control technology and recognition system, then confirmed that she remembered The Spectre, silencing He-El and Doctor Manhattan.

He-El realized The Spectre wanted to use him to find the man who had replaced Trigon within Raven, then claimed the Grace Search Ship and moved it into his self-contained universe. The Spectre concluded that God had sent him to protect He-El, and appeared before him when He-El called.

• He-El inferred that The Spectre had left the Grace Search Ship and Koken Novo's Monitor corpse as gifts so they could cooperate against the man hiding in the New Krypton Universe.
• The Grace Search Ship agreed to accept He-El as her master under conditions, but He-El admitted he could not understand the Monitors' systems and decided to study them.
• He-El moved the Grace Search Ship into the He-El Universe, cutting off its connection to the Monitors' technological support network and delighting the ship.
• The Spectre realized He-El's Source Universe could grow to rival God's and believed God had sent him to stop Lucifer from harming He-El.
• He-El ordered Doctor Manhattan to summon Ciri and Zero to study the ship and Monitor data, then called for The Spectre, who appeared from Koken Novo's Monitor corpse.

The Spectre discovered that He-El was the He-El Universe itself and asked him to help find Lucifer, who sought to seize a Source Universe. After He-El rejected the Spectre’s commanding attitude and threatened to leave the DC Universe, the Spectre apologized and sincerely proposed cooperation.

• The Spectre emerged from Koken Novo’s corpse and was astonished to find that He-El was the He-El Universe itself.
• The Spectre asked He-El to help find Lucifer, and He-El recognized him as the man who had replaced Trigon inside Raven’s seal.
• He-El showed the Spectre footage of Lucifer replacing Trigon but refused to be ordered around.
• He-El said he would move New Krypton into the He-El Universe and leave the DC Universe rather than cooperate on the Spectre’s terms.
• The Spectre admitted his attitude had been too hasty, apologized, and invited He-El to work with him to find and stop Lucifer.

He-El agreed to cooperate with The Spectre in exchange for the Spectre sharing his knowledge of the DC Universe, while refusing to let him carry information about He-El back to the DC Universe. The Spectre warned that Lucifer must be confronted before the New Krypton Universe merges into a Source Universe, a process expected to take about two more Parallel Universe mergers.

• He-El asked The Spectre what he could offer, and The Spectre agreed to share his knowledge of the DC Universe to help enrich the He-El Universe.
• The Spectre warned He-El not to cooperate with Lucifer, who intended to devour him, and promised that he would not do the same.
• He-El agreed to cooperate but told The Spectre to contribute his knowledge in the He-El Universe and not return to the DC Universe with information about him.
• The Spectre said He-El would need to find Lucifer before the New Krypton Universe merged into a Source Universe, since that merger would limit his ability to act.
• The Spectre estimated that about two Parallel Universe mergers remained before the New Krypton Universe merged into a Source Universe.

He-El brought Ciri and Zero to study the Koken Novo Monitor’s corpse and the Grace Search Ship. He assigned Zero to convert Grace into a mechanical body and Ciri to decipher Monitor genes, then kept Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and the Great Slug Sage from leaving with her.

• He-El summoned Ciri and Zero to the Koken Novo Monitor’s corpse, where Ciri began examining its unusual genes.
• Zero offered to dismantle the Grace Search Ship, but He-El ordered him to record its technology and convert it into a mechanical body instead.
• He-El made Grace his servant, and she agreed to let him and Zero alter her control systems.
• He-El told Ciri to decipher Monitor genes and ideally develop a genetic bomb, so she took the corpse away to study it.
• Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and the Great Slug Sage tried to follow Ciri, but He-El stopped them.