Recaps

Kolon Novo worried that the Gene Extraction Repository would expose his connection to He-El, but He-El said the scan would reveal only information about New Fusion Universe 588. As the level-three Source Universe administrators examined that information, they identified the vortex as a wild, newborn Omniverse and recognized Doctor Manhattan’s presence within it.

• Kolon Novo asked He-El whether the repository’s scan would expose their connection, and He-El said it would extract only information about New Fusion Universe 588.
• He-El admitted that he had deliberately left the New Fusion Universe 588 information on Kolon Novo to help him qualify for promotion.
• The level-four chief administrator showed Kolon Novo’s extracted encounter to the level-three Source Universe administrators.
• The administrators observed the vortex’s independent energy and multiple kinds of universal operational logic, concluding that it was a wild, newborn Omniverse.
• The administrators recognized Doctor Manhattan’s information in the recorded encounter and objected to him obtaining the Lesser Omniverse.

Level Three Source Universe Overseers planned to lure Doctor Manhattan out and seize the Lesser Omniverse, believing he lacked the knowledge to use it effectively. The Level Four Chief Overseer put Nix Wutan in charge and began enhancing Kolon Novo so the two could work together against Doctor Manhattan.

• The Overseers decided they could not locate the Lesser Omniverse because Doctor Manhattan had left no traceable access point in New Fusion Universe 588.
• Several Level Three Source Universe Overseers proposed sending Doctor Manhattan advanced Monitor technology to entice him to reveal himself.
• The Level Four Chief Overseer ordered Nix Wutan to lead the plan and recruit fifty Level Three Source Universe Overseers.
• Nix Wutan requested Kolon Novo's cooperation, and the Chief Overseer approved it, intending to elevate Kolon Novo to Level Three.
• The Chief Overseer activated the Genetic Enhancement Repository and began enhancing Kolon Novo and his abilities.

Kolon Novo entered the Gene Extraction Repository expecting its enhancement to make him a Level Three Source Universe administrator, but the process empowered He-El instead. He-El took control of Kolon Novo’s body and replaced him, leaving the story with He-El wearing Kolon Novo’s identity.

• The Level Four chief administrator activated the Gene Extraction Repository’s enhancement effect while the Level Three administrators anticipated Kolon Novo’s breakthrough.
• Kolon Novo celebrated his coming promotion as the repository’s energy began enhancing his genes and Completion Gene ability.
• Kolon Novo realized the Completion Gene ability was He-El, who was growing stronger as the enhancement energy flowed into him.
• He-El fused with Kolon Novo’s genes, seized control of his body, and rendered Kolon Novo unable to move or speak.
• He-El used Substitute Peach for Plum to replace Kolon Novo, killing him and taking on his calm expression.

He-El completed Kolon Novo’s genetic enhancement and discovered that the Monitor body could merge with the universe’s operational logic. The Level Three Source Universe Overseers recognized Kolon as one of their own and eagerly offered him gifts, hoping to benefit from his ability.

• He-El felt Kolon Novo’s enhanced Monitor body wielding cosmic logic through its physical genes alone.
• The Gene Extraction Repository completed Kolon’s genetic enhancement, and the Level Three Source Universe Overseers acknowledged him as a qualified peer.
• He-El told the Overseers that he felt able to merge his body into the universe’s operational logic, shocking them with the prospect of his future power.
• The Overseers crowded around He-El and offered rare resources and information to help him build his Shapeshifting Ship.

He-El impressed the Level Four Chief Overseer by simulating 13% control of the universe's operating logic, far above the usual 3%–7%. The Chief Overseer praised him as a candidate to become a Source Universe master and led him and Nix Wutan to the Five-Dimensional Space Detention Area.

• The Level Three Source Universe overseers offered He-El rare materials to help build a Shapeshifting Ship, and the Level Four Chief Overseer sent him to rest with a Universe Operation Logic Simulator.
• He-El secretly raised his simulator result to 13% and noted which six overseers had not brought him gifts.
• The Level Four Chief Overseer and Nix Wutan visited He-El, and He-El requested access to all Monitor information about Source Universes.
• He-El claimed that he had reached 13% on the simulator, then demonstrated the result to the astonished Chief Overseer and Nix Wutan.
• The Level Four Chief Overseer praised He-El as their future hope and led him and Nix Wutan toward the Five-Dimensional Space Detention Area.

He-El learned from Nix Wutan how Mandrak was created and why the Monitors imprisoned him. The fourth-level Chief Administrator brought them to Mandrak’s prison, where the story left them facing the sealed threat.

• The fourth-level Chief Administrator took He-El and Nix Wutan into a mysterious area, and Nix offered He-El constant stable matter for his Shapeshifting Ship.
• Nix Wutan explained that Mandrak had merged the Parallel Universes in secret after discovering a Wild Source Universe, then transformed under the gathered negative forces.
• Nix told He-El that the Monitors had designed Mandrak to absorb the Source Universe’s negative information, and that third-level administrators could survive the mutation.
• Nix explained that Mandrak had become obsessed with destroying the Source Universe and was imprisoned, but continued absorbing negative information that could eventually break his seal.
• The fourth-level Chief Administrator stopped the vessel at the place where Mandrak was imprisoned.

The Level Four Chief Administrator led He-El and Nix Wutan into the Monitor Domain’s Fifth-Dimensional Prison, a region also known as the Phantom Zone that connected to many mysterious realms. Inside, they became ghostlike and could communicate only telepathically as they traveled deeper toward Mandrak.

• The Level Four Chief Administrator identified the dark passage as the Fifth-Dimensional Prison and explained that it was also called the Phantom Zone and connected to multiple regions.
• He-El recalled Krypton’s use of the Phantom Zone to imprison criminals and his past encounter with General Zod after Zod emerged from it.
• The Chief Administrator said the prison connected to the Source Universe’s Phantom Zone but could not be used to pass between them.
• The Chief Administrator led He-El and Nix Wutan inside to meet Mandrak, where their bodies became translucent and they could no longer communicate physically.
• Nix Wutan asked about the prison’s unusual operating logic, and the Chief Administrator explained that it was a collision of multiple universes, spatial regions, and powerful existences.

Mamadal Novo, He-El, and Nix Wutan discovered that Mandrak was absorbing negative information inside the Fifth-Dimensional Prison and nearing escape. Mandrak revealed his plan to consume all fifty-two Source Universes, but Mamadal Novo challenged his claim that he had discovered a Source Universe.

• The fourth-level chief overseer led He-El and Nix Wutan through the polluted prison after they sensed an aura that could penetrate their souls.
• They found Mandrak in a tank overflowing with negative information, and Mandrak was shocked by the unfamiliar cosmic logic he saw in He-El's body.
• Mamadal Novo confronted Mandrak about absorbing negative information, while Mandrak insisted that he had no other way to survive and meant to become master of all universes.
• Mandrak announced that he would break free and destroy the fifty-two Source Universes, and Mamadal Novo replied that Mandrak had never discovered a Source Universe.

Mamadal Novo told Mandrak that the universe he had discovered was a newly born Omniverse, not a Source Universe, and explained how Kolon Novo had been affected by it. Mandrak became consumed by greed for the Omniverse, while Mamadal Novo left with Nix Wutan and He-El before secretly returning to offer Mandrak a partnership.

• Mandrak insisted that Kolon Novo had encountered the Source Universe he had discovered and accused Mamadal Novo of trying to deceive him.
• Mamadal Novo said the Monitors had confirmed the universe existed but had not obtained it, and that its influence had helped Kolon Novo break through the Completion Gene shackles.
• Mamadal Novo revealed that Mandrak had actually discovered a newly born Omniverse, and Mandrak reacted with shock before declaring it belonged to him.
• Mamadal Novo realized Mandrak could not recognize the Omniverse's operating principles in Kolon Novo and judged that Mandrak had not grown enough to see Kolon Novo's value.
• Mamadal Novo took Nix Wutan and He-El out of the Fifth-Dimensional Prison, then secretly returned to Mandrak and proposed they work together.

Mamadal Novo asked Mandrak to cooperate in taking the Lesser Omniverse from beings of God's Domain, while promising it could help Mandrak recover. Mandrak accused Mamadal Novo of pursuing the same old ambition to seize the Source Universes, then agreed to cooperate while anticipating his release.

• Mamadal Novo asked Mandrak to cooperate and said the Lesser Omniverse might be his only chance to recover from the negative information he had absorbed.
• Mandrak rejected Mamadal Novo's appeal, accused the Novo branch of Monitors of destroying Source Universes, and said Mamadal Novo wanted to use him to seize the Lesser Omniverse.
• Mandrak accused Mamadal Novo of targeting Kolon Novo and bringing Mandrak's son to manipulate him.
• Mamadal Novo revealed that the Lesser Omniverse first appeared in the New Krypton Universe, where beings from God's Domain had established themselves, and said they must cooperate against them.
• Mandrak mocked Mamadal Novo for wanting the Monitors to rule the coming era despite their creator's mission, then agreed to cooperate and said he looked forward to being released.

He-El agreed to help Nix Wutan lure Doctor Manhattan with the Blood-Cleansing Instrument while secretly planning to keep Doctor Manhattan away from New Fusion Universe 588. After receiving rare materials and studying the Monitors’ technology, He-El decided to transform Zero into a Shapeshifting Ship.

• Nix Wutan told He-El that the Monitors would use the Blood-Cleansing Instrument in New Fusion Universe 588 to lure Doctor Manhattan and asked He-El to stand by.
• He-El accepted Nix Wutan’s materials and learned that Mandrak was Nix Wutan’s father before returning to Kolon Novo’s home to study the Monitors.
• Third-level Source Universe overseers visited He-El after learning that the Universe Operation Logic Simulator had reached 13 percent, bringing him rare materials and Shapeshifting Ship blueprints.
• He-El considered the demands of building a five-dimensional Shapeshifting Ship and recognized that the He-El Universe would struggle to produce the necessary materials.
• He-El decided to turn Zero into a Shapeshifting Ship so Zero could become a powerful mobile base.

He-El entered the lifeless New Fusion Universe 588 as bait while the Monitors prepared to build a Heavenly Blood purification base and lure Doctor Manhattan into acting. Just as He-El waited with the Level Three Source Universe Overseers, a vortex appeared above the Blood-Cleansing Instrument.

• The Level Three Source Universe Overseers welcomed He-El and advised him to take his time designing Zero’s Shapeshifting Ship.
• He-El had told Zero and Doctor Manhattan to lead the He-El Universe’s inhabitants in designing Zero’s new body, intended as a hub that could handle any universe’s operational logic.
• He-El entered New Fusion Universe 588 and found it empty of life, with traces of the Reality Missiles that had killed its inhabitants.
• He-El informed the Level Three Source Universe Overseers that he had arrived, then oversaw the installation of Blood-Cleansing Instruments while Monitors equipment was transported into the universe.
• He-El waited in New Fusion Universe 588 and discussed Shapeshifting Ship construction with the Overseers, believing Doctor Manhattan would not come.
• A vortex appeared above the Blood-Cleansing Instrument, shocking He-El.

He-El noticed an illusory vortex forming above the Blood-Cleansing Instrument and suspected an unknown powerful actor was imitating Doctor Manhattan’s previous operation. Nix Wutan organized the third-level Source Universe overseers to seize the Lesser Omniverse, and they attacked as a massive azure hand reached from the vortex.

• He-El saw the illusory vortex form and wondered who had created it and why.
• The third-level Source Universe overseers identified the vortex as powered by Doctor Manhattan’s Lesser Omniverse and eagerly proposed ways to capture him.
• Nix Wutan ordered Rego Schwanitz, Elsa Bryce, Holt McKendy, and Alvis James to stop the vortex and control Doctor Manhattan while the others seized the Lesser Omniverse.
• As the vortex solidified, a massive azure hand extended from it toward the Blood-Cleansing Instrument, and the overseers launched their attack.

He-El watched Level Three Source Universe Overseers attack a vortex and a hand resembling Doctor Manhattan’s, only to see their abilities rebound against the seemingly invulnerable Fake Doctor Manhattan. After He-El rescued the injured Rego Schwanitz, Nix Wutan led the remaining Overseers down from the “Blood Vessel.”

• Rego Schwanitz froze time across several dozen galaxies, trapping the vortex and Doctor Manhattan’s hand, while Elsa Bryce sealed them inside a Spatial Prison.
• Holt McKendy failed to control Doctor Manhattan’s mind and was badly wounded by the backlash.
• Alvis James failed to alter Doctor Manhattan’s particle-state body and was torn apart inside a black hole.
• He-El concluded that Fake Doctor Manhattan was beyond the Overseers’ power and rescued the badly injured Rego Schwanitz.
• Nix Wutan led the remaining Level Three Source Universe Overseers in descending from the “Blood Vessel.”

Nix Wutan and the third-level Source Universe overseers tried to contain Fake Doctor Manhattan, but his power left their forces gravely injured and destroyed his own arm in a blast. As the stabilized vortex remained, He-El recognized the universal operating logic of the New Krypton Universe within it.

• Nix Wutan ordered the overseers to rescue the unconscious Alvis James and take over the failing restraints held by Rego Schwanitz and Elsa Bryce.
• The third-level Source Universe overseers took over, while Rego Schwanitz and Elsa Bryce's Shapeshifting Ships fractured and both were left gravely wounded.
• He-El retreated with the four injured overseers as Nix Wutan ordered others to stabilize the vortex and attack Fake Doctor Manhattan's hand.
• Fake Doctor Manhattan withdrew his hand from the Blood-Cleansing Instrument, but detonated it when the overseers tried to stop him, blasting most of them away.
• He-El sensed familiar universal operating logic coming from the stabilized vortex and recognized it as the New Krypton Universe.

After the vortex opened onto the New Krypton Universe, He-El suspected Lucifer had exposed it to the Monitors to stop him from moving the New Krypton Empire. Nix Wutan led twelve overseers through the vortex, and they discovered it led to an ordinary Parallel Universe, not the Lesser Omniverse.

• Nix Wutan ordered the Cleaners, Transporters, and Collectors to return the seriously wounded and unconscious overseers to the Monitor Domain.
• He-El recognized the cosmic operating logic beyond the vortex as that of the New Krypton Universe and suspected Lucifer was behind the attack.
• He-El told Nix Wutan they had succeeded while worrying that the Monitors would focus on the New Krypton Universe and obstruct his plans.
• Nix Wutan warned the thirteen mobile overseers that Doctor Manhattan might be waiting beyond the vortex, then led twelve of them through while He-El stayed behind.
• The overseers entered the vortex and exclaimed that it led to an ordinary Parallel Universe rather than the Lesser Omniverse.

Nix Wutan and twelve Level Three Source Universe Responsible Ones entered the New Krypton Universe, discovered it was an ordinary Parallel Universe with an inexplicably high weight, and withdrew. Back in New Fusion Universe 588, they sealed the vortex and speculated that an existence from God's Domain was responsible, while He-El watched them misunderstand the situation.

• Nix Wutan and the twelve Level Three Source Universe Responsible Ones scanned the New Krypton Universe and found it was a Parallel Universe derived from the Source Universe Dax Wutan had managed, with three fusions and a Fusion Logic Alteration Index of zero.
• The Responsible Ones realized the universe's weight was extraordinarily heavy and Nix Wutan ordered everyone to retreat from it.
• Nix Wutan ordered the vortex sealed, and the Responsible Ones used five-dimensional high-stability devices to block passage.
• The Responsible Ones debated whether the Lesser Omniverse or Doctor Manhattan explained the universe's abnormal weight, but found no evidence to support their ideas.
• Nix Wutan declared that an existence from God's Domain was inside the Parallel Universe, and the Responsible Ones speculated that Doctor Manhattan had lured them there to escape it.
• He-El silently listened to their guesses, then led cleaners, transporters, and collectors to meet Nix Wutan and the returning Responsible Ones.

After the Monitors sealed the vortex in New Fusion Universe 588, He-El visited the injured Level Three Source Universe Overseers and received fifty-one baby universes filled with valuable resources and data. Nix Wutan explained that a powerful unknown entity from God's Domain was hidden in the Parallel Universe beyond the vortex, which the Monitors would keep sealed while the Chief Overseer investigated.

• The Level Three Source Universe Overseers returned to the Monitor Domain, sealed the vortex, and classified New Fusion Universe 588 and the New Krypton Universe as Monitor secrets.
• He-El visited the injured Overseers and offered to return materials, but they gave him baby universes filled with resources instead.
• He-El received fifty baby universes from the injured Overseers, then Nix Wutan gave him another filled with materials and data.
• Nix Wutan told He-El that the universe beyond the vortex was where the Lesser Omniverse had first appeared and that an unknown entity from God's Domain had hidden there.
• Nix Wutan said the Level Four Chief Overseer would seek out the unknown entity, while the Monitors observed and kept the Parallel Universe sealed.
• He-El returned to his room in the five-dimensional space and opened a passageway to the He-El Universe.

He-El abandoned his plan to fuse the Doomsday Ultimate Form with the Hyper-Adaptive Gene body and decided to pursue a body that could adapt to unfamiliar universes’ operational logic. He reviewed the modular design for Zero’s Shapeshifting Ship, leaving its baby-universe power core as the main unresolved problem.

• He-El canceled the He-El Universe’s calculation for fusing the Doomsday Ultimate Form and the Hyper-Adaptive Gene body after reconsidering his goals in light of what he learned in the Monitor Domain.
• He-El recorded the Monitors’ genes, technology, ship data, and other information in the He-El Universe’s database.
• He-El decided to build Zero’s Shapeshifting Ship before studying the Monitors’ genes to create his own universe-adaptive body.
• Doctor Manhattan explained that the team had designed Zero’s Shapeshifting Ship around interchangeable modules for different power systems, with a baby universe as its core.
• He-El considered the difficulty of making the baby universe power the ship’s many modules, since it could not match the He-El Universe’s universal energy output.

He-El ordered the creation of modules to help Zero’s baby universe accommodate multiple systems and explained that Zero’s ultimate evolution could lead her to become a Source Universe. Zero accepted his plan and prepared for her new evolution.

• He-El assigned Doctor Manhattan, Ciri, Lucy, Aizen, Savitar, Reverse-Flash, Zero, and Hephaestus to create modules and energy sources for Zero’s baby universe.
• Zero questioned whether she was suited to becoming all-encompassing, since her strengths lay in being an intelligent life-form.
• He-El explained that the Monitors’ Level Three Source Universe administrators could never become a Source Universe because they lacked the power and recognition of one.
• He-El told Zero that he intended for her to regulate the Source Universe that would eventually emerge from the He-El Universe.
• Zero accepted He-El’s purpose for her and prepared to undergo a new evolution.

He-El began transforming Zero in the Fifth Dimension, using creations from several universes and allies to give her a body that combined spirit, machinery, biology, and multiple power systems. Zero remained inside the Intelligent Bio-Manufacturing Device as a developing Shapeshifting Ship with room to evolve.

• He-El brought Zero into the Monitor Domain and warned her that the futures she perceived there could change as others acted on their own visions.
• He-El placed Zero in the modified Intelligent Bio-Manufacturing Device and used Aizen’s unconscious Soul King as her initial physical form.
• He-El combined Zero with Ciri’s genetic repository and Lucy’s illusory brain, shaping her into a mass of flesh with spirit, machinery, and biological components.
• He-El added Doctor Manhattan’s energy seed, the Speed Force source sphere from Savitar and Reverse-Flash, and Hephaestus’s mystical rune to Zero’s body.
• He-El added minerals and dimensional genes, then sealed Zero in the device to begin forming her into a Shapeshifting Ship.

He-El asked Mamadal Novo for permission to create his Shapeshifting Ship, and Mamadal Novo agreed despite his doubts about He-El’s usefulness and the mysteries surrounding the New Krypton Universe. After freeing Mandrak from the Fifth-Dimensional Prison, Mamadal Novo saw Lucifer emerge from the darkness.

• He-El told Mamadal Novo that he had prepared the Zero Shapeshifting Ship embryo and wanted to begin creating his Shapeshifting Ship.
• Mamadal Novo agreed to take He-El to the Creation Dimension House in two days and told him to bring the necessary materials.
• Mamadal Novo went to the Fifth-Dimensional Prison and opened Mandrak’s enclosure.
• Mamadal Novo declared Mandrak free, and Mandrak flew into the darkness of the prison.
• Mamadal Novo saw Lucifer emerge from the depths of the darkness.

He-El entered the Creation Dimension House to build a Shapeshifting Ship and sensed that Mamadal Novo had changed, so he resolved to stay wary. He summoned Zero and began forging it a new body, setting it on the path to become the He-El Universe’s first Source Universe consciousness.

• Mamadal Novo brought He-El to the Creation Dimension House and said he would take He-El to assume control of Mandrak’s abandoned Source Universe once the ship was finished.
• After Mamadal Novo left, He-El sensed that something was wrong with him and decided to remain cautious, while keeping the option to return to the He-El Universe through a Traversal Vortex.
• He-El summoned Zero to inspect the Creation Dimension House’s laws and technology, and Zero said it could eventually reproduce the facility inside the He-El Universe.
• He-El brought out materials from fifty-one baby universes and began fusing Zero with a baby universe to create its new body.
• He-El planned for Zero’s baby universe to become a Source Universe within the He-El Universe, with Zero as its first Source Universe consciousness.

He-El completed Zero's transformation into a powerful Shapeshifting Ship using the Creation Dimension House, giving her the potential to become a Source Universe. After studying the Monitors' technology, He-El and Zero prepared to leave the Creation Dimension House and face Mamadal Novo's reaction.

• He-El used the Creation Dimension House's operational logic to create the Zero Shapeshifting Ship and transform it into armor.
• He-El and Zero studied the Monitors' technology and reverse-engineered its operational logic.
• Zero told He-El that the AllSpark, souls, genes, energies, and other materials had fused into her infant universe and that she could grow alongside him.
• He-El prepared to flee if Mamadal Novo discovered the foreign elements he had incorporated into Zero.
• Zero said her mastery of universe operational logic made her stronger than the other fifty-one Level Three Source Universe Overseers.
• He-El and Zero decided to leave the Creation Dimension House and see how Mamadal Novo reacted.

He-El was appointed as Level Three Source Universe Overseer Kolon Novo and assigned the Source Universe once managed by Mandrak. He took over Mandrak’s Monitoring Station and learned that more than a million Level One Monitors were waiting for assignments.

• Mamadal Novo praised He-El’s success and appointed him Level Three Source Universe Overseer Kolon Novo.
• Mamadal Novo assigned Kolon Novo the vacant Source Universe formerly managed by Mandrak and gave him its data sphere.
• He-El examined the data sphere, then went to Mandrak’s Monitoring Station in the Fourth Dimension to take up his post.
• Level Two managers helped Kolon Novo take over the Monitoring Station and its staff.
• Kolon Novo learned that more than a million Level One cleaners, transporters, and collectors were on standby after the Parallel Universes merged.