Chapter Summaries

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.

He-El assigned Ciri to lead a conquest of the Pacific Rim universe, supported by Aizen Sosuke, Hela, and the Mechanical Clan. As he opened a Traversal Vortex for their departure, he sensed a strange mental reaction within it.

• Ciri volunteered to conquer Earth, and He-El instead tasked her with reclaiming and conquering her original universe.
• He-El appointed Ciri overall administrator, Aizen Sosuke strategic commander, Hela war marshal, and the Marshal-class Battleship Honesty in charge of Mechanical Clan support.
• Ciri asked whether Hela was He-El's wife, and He-El denied it before sending her to prepare.
• Ciri returned with Aizen Sosuke and about 120,000 Death Legion soldiers, Hela, the Marshal-class Battleship Honesty and around 10,000 engineers, and Groot.
• He-El used Ciri's genetic information to open a Traversal Vortex to Pacific Rim and sensed a strange mental reaction inside it.

He-El sensed an eternal dream linked to the Pacific Rim universe and warned Ciri and the others to wait while he investigated alone. He found Earth and the Solar System reduced to steel ruins beneath a dying Sun, where a psychic face resembling his own greeted him.

• He-El sensed dream-like psychic energy coming from the Pacific Rim universe and suspected Edward had become its ruler of dreams.
• He-El told Ciri, Aizen, Hela, and the Marshal-class Battleship Honesty to wait while he crossed the Traversal Vortex alone.
• He-El entered the Pacific Rim universe and saw that Earth and the other planets were ruined, while the Sun had turned dark red.
• A golden psychic face resembling He-El appeared in space and told him, "You finally returned."

He-El recognized the Dream King as Jor-El, the psychic avatar he had left behind in the Pacific Rim universe, and explained why Jor-El mistook his physical aspect for weakness. He-El offered Jor-El three choices: serve him, attack and be destroyed, or remain ruler of the universe’s dreams while leaving He-El’s people unharmed.

• He-El realized that the Dream King was his former psychic avatar projection, not Edward, and regretted that Jor-El had killed Edward in the dream.
• Jor-El introduced himself by name and, after connecting to He-El’s psychic power, judged He-El weak and coveted his power.
• He-El explained that Jor-El could see only his physical aspect, while his true power also included the He-El Universe.
• He-El offered Jor-El the choice to become his minister, attack him and be destroyed, or remain the universe’s ruler of mind and dreams without harming He-El’s people.
• He-El demanded that Jor-El choose whether to serve him, attack him, or stay in his universe.

Jor-El considered following He-El or devouring him to take his place, while He-El asked what had become of the Solar System after his departure. After Jor-El recounted humanity’s wars and flight into the Milky Way, He-El challenged him to demonstrate his power.

• Jor-El’s desire to become He-El overcame any wish to remain ruler of the Pacific Rim universe, but he hesitated because He-El seemed unusually weak.
• He-El recognized Jor-El’s ambition and asked about Earth, the He-El Empire, and the Solar System.
• Jor-El explained that the Empire fell after seventy years, triggering wars among human factions that devastated Earth and the Solar System.
• Jor-El said humanity drained the Sun, built Planet Motherships, and fled into the Milky Way after destroying their enemies’ settlements.
• He-El remarked that war had driven technological progress and challenged Jor-El to show him his power.

Jor-El attacked He-El with the psychic power of living beings across the Pacific Rim universe, hoping to replace him, but He-El absorbed the assault through the He-El Universe. Jor-El begged to become He-El's subordinate, but He-El destroyed him completely.

• Jor-El raged against being a psychic avatar and hurled the minds of living beings throughout the Pacific Rim universe at He-El.
• He-El opened a traversal vortex to the He-El Universe and absorbed Jor-El's psychic attack.
• Jor-El realized He-El was consuming his power and accused him of never intending to spare him.
• He-El told Jor-El that he was too weak to threaten or replace him and explained that he would have allowed Jor-El to remain in Pacific Rim if he had not attacked.
• Jor-El begged He-El to spare him and offered to become his subordinate, but He-El crushed him completely with the He-El Universe.