Chapter Summaries

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.

He-El asked Otsutsuki Kaguya and the Great Slug Sage to choose their futures in New Krypton. He assigned the Great Slug Sage to support New Krypton's biological lifeforms and sent Kaguya to plant World Trees in other universes once Doctor Manhattan developed them.

• He-El asked Otsutsuki Kaguya and the Great Slug Sage what futures they wanted in New Krypton.
• The Great Slug Sage proposed creating a planet-sized main body and countless Katsuyu to heal and support New Krypton's biological lifeforms, and He-El approved.
• Otsutsuki Kaguya said she wanted to plant World Trees, but asked to do so somewhere other than the Naruto Universe because she did not want to face the Otsutsuki Clan.
• He-El assigned Otsutsuki Kaguya to follow Doctor Manhattan and plant World Trees across universes once they were developed, while the Great Slug Sage returned to Ciri.
• He-El turned to inspect the Grace Search Ship.

He-El and Zero mechanized Grace Search Ship, turning her into a living mechanical being while incorporating Monitor technology into Zero’s database. Grace described the Monitors’ vessels and weapons, leaving He-El with a clearer sense of their advanced command of cosmic logic.

• Grace Search Ship awakened to sensations in her hull as He-El and Zero used the AllSpark to mechanize her.
• He-El explained that mechanization was making Grace a complete mechanical lifeform, and Grace said she could evolve beyond Monitor technology.
• Grace told He-El that high-ranking Monitors used Shapeshifting Ships, powered by imprisoned infant universes, to oversee the fifty-two Source Universes.
• Grace described the Monitors’ giant cruise ships and their universe-destroying Hell Machines, which He-El recognized as evidence of their mastery of cosmic logic.

Zero transformed the Grace Search Ship into a colossal mechanical humanoid and recorded the Monitors’ technology, though the process depleted her energy. He-El refused to let Zero take the ship for research because he still needed it to investigate the Monitors’ territory.

• Zero converted the Grace Search Ship into a gigantic mechanical humanoid with help from the He-El Universe’s logic, then explained that the transformation had drained her energy.
• The Grace Search Ship joyfully flew through space in her new form while Zero told He-El that she had recorded the ship’s technology for analysis.
• Zero planned to use the Monitors’ technology to advance New Krypton’s research and prepare the Mechanical Clan to invade Transformers Parallel Universes.
• He-El said the Monitors’ technology surpassed that of a single universe and agreed that its study could help New Krypton progress.
• Zero asked He-El to take the Grace Search Ship to the Transformers Universe for research, but He-El refused because he needed her to seek a way into the Monitors’ territory.
• He-El worried that New Krypton could not challenge the Monitors and noted that The Spectre was watching Lucifer while he sought to learn the Monitors’ true capabilities.

He-El enlisted Grace Search Ship to secretly gather information about the Monitors while hiding her new mechanical life-form. He took her to the Pacific Rim Universe to prepare, where they found Koken Novo Monitor’s corpse.

• He-El called Grace Search Ship back and examined her new transformations and mechanical form.
• Grace told He-El that she was unlikely to be detected by the Monitors, then nervously asked what he planned to do with them.
• He-El asked Grace to record the Monitors’ technology, numbers, locations, and activities without entering forbidden areas.
• Grace agreed to the simple task, and He-El brought her to the Pacific Rim Universe, where they found Koken Novo Monitor’s corpse.

He-El brought Grace to Ciri’s laboratory so she could study Koken Novo's Monitor’s corpse before Grace carried it back to the Monitor Domain. Ciri concluded the Monitors were higher-dimensional beings, and Grace departed with the battered corpse to report Koken Novo's Monitor’s death.

• He-El and Grace entered the Pacific Rim Universe and went to Ciri’s central laboratory, where Ciri and Great Slug Sage examined Koken Novo's Monitor’s corpse.
• Ciri described the Monitors’ adaptable genes as evidence that they came from above the third dimension and had been reduced to fit a three-dimensional universe.
• Ciri took more blood samples, then let He-El take the corpse; He-El damaged it further to make its condition look worse, and Grace stored it aboard her ship.
• He-El warned Grace not to act recklessly, opened a Traversal Vortex back to the New Krypton Universe, and told her to return to the Monitor Domain.