Chapter Summaries

He-El forced The Flash to accept the directorship of New Krypton’s Bureau for Earth Superheroes, Supervillains, and Metahumans, framing it as a means for superheroes and New Krypton to coexist. The Flash secured He-El’s promise not to kill superheroes or harm humans at will, and He-El left the Speed Force domain.

• He-El revealed that he knew The Flash’s secret identity and told him he had already made him director of New Krypton’s bureau for superheroes, supervillains, and metahumans.
• The Flash condemned He-El for slaughtering two hundred thousand people in Australia, and He-El defended his actions as necessary to establish New Krypton and end resistance.
• The Flash agreed to become director on the condition that he control matters involving metahumans and that He-El kill none of the superheroes present.
• He-El accepted The Flash’s conditions, warned him that his work would affect New Krypton’s relationship with Earth’s superheroes, and agreed that New Krypton would not harm humans at will.
• He-El offered the Justice League his help against extraterrestrial forces, then withdrew from the Speed Force domain.

He-El defeated the remaining heroes and declared the founding of the New Krypton Empire in Canberra. The heroes survived but were left unable to resist him as people across Earth watched.

• Aquaman threw the Trident of the Sea God at He-El, who caught it and hurled it back, pinning Aquaman to the ground without killing him.
• The Flash checked Aquaman’s injuries and left to capture Batman and Superman, explaining that he had agreed with He-El to keep the heroes alive.
• He-El redirected Green Arrow’s anesthetic arrow, flung Atom through the sky, and knocked Doctor Fate into a crater.
• Shazam charged He-El, who knocked him unconscious with a slap, while Stargirl obeyed his order to descend.
• He-El declared the founding of the New Krypton Empire above the former Capitol Building square in Canberra.

As the Justice League lost public trust over its opposition to He-El, Kara announced at the United Nations that the New Krypton Empire would expand free treatment for people with disabilities and others with serious conditions. Her speech shifted the world's attention from the superheroes to the Empire's promised aid and economic cooperation.

• The Justice League faced public backlash, political pressure, and internal division after The Flash joined the New Krypton Empire and its members attacked He-El.
• Disability organizations and people with disabilities condemned the superheroes for opposing the person they believed could restore their health.
• Kara represented the New Krypton Empire in talks with disability groups while public anger toward the Justice League intensified.
• At the United Nations, Kara announced that the Empire would increase its free-treatment quota from one thousand to at least twelve thousand patients annually beginning the following year.
• Kara announced economic cooperation plans, and people across Earth turned their attention from the superheroes to the New Krypton Empire.

He-El and Zero reorganized the New Krypton Empire, removing dissenters and replacing the continent’s cities with temporary housing and advanced infrastructure. The residents received Proton ID Cards and courses to help them prepare for the empire’s future, while their livestreams spread across Earth’s internet.

• He-El stopped targeting the defeated superheroes and continued implementing the New Krypton Empire’s plans.
• Kara stripped more than 340,000 protesters who opposed the empire’s sole faith of citizenship and arranged for floating assistant robots to send them away.
• Zero dismantled the continent’s cities overnight, then built temporary housing for eight million residents in half a day.
• Floating assistant robots moved more than seven million residents into temporary housing, where Zero issued Proton ID Cards and announced plans for eight controlled nuclear fusion projects.
• Residents explored courses and the empire’s network, and their livestreams began appearing across Earth’s internet.

He-El monitored the cosmic operational logic of Earth’s superheroes while the New Krypton Empire’s residents began building lives, learning, and creating virtual reality games. He asked Zero whether the Monitors had made any unusual moves.

• He-El watched the unrest among superheroes and supervillains, but grew mentally exhausted from observing the Source Universe’s cosmic operational logic.
• New Krypton Empire residents studied the New Krypton Language and joined construction projects, while others enjoyed the provided comforts and virtual reality games.
• A paid game featuring purchasable character skins and body customization prompted many residents to study harder and seek more He-El Coins.
• He-El reflected on how residents were pursuing their own goals and voluntarily developing the New Krypton Empire.
• He-El asked Zero whether the Monitors had made any unusual moves.

He-El confirmed that the Monitors had not detected his actions and decided to return to the He-El Universe through the Source Universe. He left Zero to prepare their data as he planned how to handle the Monitors, Lucifer, the Parallel Universes, and the New Krypton Empire.

• He-El stopped observing the Source Universe’s superheroes and asked Zero to check for any hidden passages or transit points used by the Monitors.
• Zero scanned with three-dimensional, four-dimensional, five-dimensional, Monitor, and self-developed methods and found no additional passages or transit points.
• He-El concluded that the Monitors still believed he was cultivating in seclusion and that he had time before the Parallel Universes fused with the Source Universe.
• He-El decided to return to the He-El Universe, which would serve as a transit station between the Source Universe and the New Krypton Universe.
• He-El organized his plans for the Monitors, Lucifer, the fusion of Parallel Universes, and the relocation of the New Krypton Empire’s people.
• Zero began gathering the data from her Shapeshifting Ship upgrade for their return to the He-El Universe.

He-El returned to the He-El Universe and discarded the Source Universe body he had been using. He planned to recalculate the Hyper-Adaptive Gene with the Monitors’ knowledge and create a body capable of adapting to every universe.

• He-El returned to his universe with Zero and destroyed the Source Universe body, leaving himself as pure psychic power.
• He-El considered using the universe’s computational power to design a body, but decided not to rely on his own calculations alone.
• He-El recalled rejecting the powerful Doomsday Ultimate Form because its potential was limited, though it could strengthen subordinates such as Ares.
• He-El also rejected the Gene Primarch, which could transform into any recorded creature but inherited that creature’s power.
• He-El decided to recalculate and improve the Hyper-Adaptive Gene using the knowledge and genes he had acquired from the Monitors.
• Doctor Manhattan, Ciri, Lucy, and the others appeared before He-El and addressed him as their king.

He-El, Zero, Ciri, Lucy, and Doctor Manhattan absorbed the Monitors’ genetic and technological knowledge, which revealed new ways to connect genes with universal logic. After halting the He-El Universe’s premature evolution, He-El examined the New Krypton Universe and saw something that darkened his expression.

• He-El ordered Zero to integrate the Monitors’ data into the He-El Universe’s operational logic, while he recognized that the Monitors’ path would eventually dissolve them into their Source Universe.
• Ciri studied the new genetic database and understood how Monitor genes could manipulate the operational logic of the universe.
• Lucy and Doctor Manhattan examined the Monitors’ technology, and all three gained new ideas from the knowledge.
• Zero merged with the He-El Universe’s operational logic, advancing beyond what the Monitors had achieved.
• He-El stopped the universe’s four-dimensional and five-dimensional changes because he believed it needed broader knowledge before evolving further.
• He-El inspected the New Krypton Universe, and his expression darkened at what he saw.

Ciri, Lucy, Doctor Manhattan, Zero, and He-El watched the New Krypton Empire descend into civil war despite its strength and preparations for another wave of Parallel Universe fusion. They concluded that someone had killed Zero’s clone and prevented the Lantern Corps from restoring communications, leaving them to suspect a deliberate attack on the empire.

• Ciri, Lucy, Doctor Manhattan, Zero, and He-El saw forty-five factions rise against the New Krypton Empire, spreading rumors that He-El had abandoned them and unleashing devastating weapons across its galaxies.
• Zero questioned how the empire’s administration had failed, since its clone and the empire’s defenders should have been able to prevent unrest.
• Zero concluded that his clone had died, collapsing the empire’s communications and command core.
• Doctor Manhattan deduced that the commanders of the Seven Lantern Corps, including Scarface, had failed to establish a replacement communications channel.
• Ciri, Zero, and Doctor Manhattan concluded that someone was targeting the New Krypton Empire.

He-El identified the Monitors as the force provoking civil unrest in the New Krypton Empire to lure him into a trap. Though he was too weak to confront the hidden Overseers safely, he refused to abandon his people and vowed to return.

• Ciri, Zero, Doctor Manhattan, and Lucy recognized that someone was deliberately stirring unrest to force He-El to appear.
• He-El explained how the Monitors had learned the He-El Universe first appeared within the New Krypton Universe and suspected they were behind the crisis.
• He-El revealed that the Monitors might be using advanced technologies such as the Web Hole and Thought Machine to capture the Omniverse.
• Ciri, Lucy, Zero, and Doctor Manhattan feared confronting the Monitors while an unknown number of Level Three Source Universe Overseers waited in the New Krypton Universe.
• He-El, weakened and unable to safely enter the New Krypton Universe, refused to abandon its people and vowed to return.

He-El began creating a body that could preserve five-dimensional power while existing in three-dimensional worlds, so he could confront the Monitor administrators threatening the New Krypton Empire. He activated Hypertime with Ciri, Lucy, Doctor Manhattan, and Zero to begin the creation.

• He-El explained that ordinary Kryptonian and Doomsday bodies could not remain five-dimensional in three-dimensional space, and he needed a body adapted to worlds from one to five dimensions.
• Ciri worried the body would take too long to grow and offered to send her Pacific Rim organisms and the entire Pacific Rim Universe to delay the Monitors.
• He-El refused to attack the New Krypton Universe before the next Parallel Universe fusion, since the prepared Monitor administrators and their unfamiliar technology could detect him through the Traversal Vortex.
• He-El activated Hypertime and entered it with Ciri, Lucy, Doctor Manhattan, and Zero to create his new body using the knowledge and operating logic of all worlds.

Ciri, Zero, Lucy, Doctor Manhattan, and He-El spent the equivalent of hundreds of universe endings trying to create a body that could adapt to every universe, but their best design still failed to accommodate all universal operational logics. He-El realized they were missing a subject, and he rejected universal adaptability itself as merely passive.

• Ciri repeatedly tried and failed to create genes that could adapt to every environment.
• Lucy pursued the Creator's dream as a route to universal adaptation, but her calculations failed.
• Zero tested energy-and-space structures, while Doctor Manhattan explored quantum energy; both approaches proved inadequate.
• He-El and the others combined their research into a body capable of adapting across universal logics and dimensions, but it still could not accommodate every logic.
• He-El searched his knowledge and consciousness for the missing element and concluded that a subject was missing.
• Ciri, Lucy, Zero, and Doctor Manhattan asked if universal adaptability could serve as the subject, but He-El said that was passive.

He-El and his companions failed to create a gene that could adapt to every universe until they realized the Traversal Vortex was the key. After twelve hundred universe-ending spans of research, they created an adaptive body, and He-El entered it.

• Ciri, Lucy, Doctor Manhattan, and Zero concluded that no gene alone could adapt to every universe, even after they had pushed their research on the Monitors' genes to its limits.
• He-El realized that the Traversal Vortex, which coordinated with different universes, was the model they needed.
• He-El showed Ciri, Lucy, Zero, and Doctor Manhattan a miniature Traversal Vortex and gave them information about how it coordinated with the myriad worlds and universes.
• After twelve hundred universe-ending spans of research, He-El and his companions created a body capable of adapting to any universe.
• He-El transformed into a streak of light and entered the dreamlike drop of blood that formed the new body.

He-El was reborn as a fetus in the He-El Universe, where Zero, Ciri, Lucy, and Doctor Manhattan monitored his rapid development. After growing into a fully formed infant, He-El emerged from the placenta and stood in the universe’s starry sky.

• He-El's consciousness, psychic force, soul, and genes fused as the He-El Universe began forming his embryo.
• Ciri, Zero, Lucy, and Doctor Manhattan monitored He-El's growth as his organs, limbs, and human features developed rapidly.
• He-El's heartbeat echoed throughout the universe, alerting its inhabitants that something extraordinarily important had been nurtured.
• He-El continued growing until his body and organs were fully developed, and he gained complete control over himself.
• He-El broke through the placenta, stood in the starry sky at fifty-five centimeters tall, and smiled as his first cry echoed through the universe.

He-El and his companions created the He-El Physique, a body that adapts to different universes without losing its power. He-El gave Ciri, Lucy, Zero, and Doctor Manhattan First-Generation He-El Physiques, allowing them to travel through the Traversal Vortices and explore other universes safely.

• He-El tested his infant body's strength and explained that he had used all his power to create a physique capable of adapting to myriad universes.
• He-El named the new body the He-El Physique and described how it would become the ultimate physique within the He-El Universe.
• He-El offered Ciri, Lucy, Zero, and Doctor Manhattan drops of blood containing First-Generation He-El Physiques, which they could merge with their current selves.
• Ciri, Lucy, Zero, and Doctor Manhattan accepted He-El's gift and thanked him for the chance to travel to other universes while retaining their powers.

Ciri, Zero, Lucy, and Doctor Manhattan each chose a different way to use the First-Generation He-El Physique blood to travel between universes. Doctor Manhattan discarded his quantum body and powers to become a pure First-Generation He-El Physique.

• Ciri swallowed the blood and gained a highly adaptable physique that integrated her many biological abilities and could grow into a cosmic organism.
• Zero fused the blood into the Shapeshifting Ship, making it part of its body so it could adapt to and travel through other universes.
• Lucy fused the blood into her brain, allowing her to adapt to other universes while detecting attempts to assimilate her.
• Doctor Manhattan decided to pursue the purest form of adaptability and discarded his quantum body and powers.
• Doctor Manhattan condensed his will and soul, fused with the blood, and became a pure First-Generation He-El Physique.

He-El prepared his assistants for travel between universes while reconsidering the coming conflict. After Doctor Manhattan assured him that the Monitors were no real threat, He-El decided Lucifer and The Spectre were the enemies he needed to watch.

• Ciri, Zero, Lucy, and Doctor Manhattan fused with the First-Generation He-El Physique in different ways, and Doctor Manhattan gave up his former powers to begin again as an ordinary person.
• He-El offered to send Doctor Manhattan into Hypertime to cultivate, but Doctor Manhattan declined and chose to grow by experiencing different universes.
• He-El and Doctor Manhattan discussed the Monitors' plans against the New Krypton Empire and agreed that He-El could eventually gain enough strength to overcome them.
• He-El concluded that the Monitors were not his true enemies and identified The Spectre and Lucifer as threats worth his attention.
• He-El recognized Lucifer as the true enemy because Lucifer was curious about him.

He-El ordered his forces to prepare for war against the Monitors and allowed his allies to travel to other universes to train or investigate. He then entered a Traversal Vortex to find a fast-flowing Physical Body Universe and cultivate his strength.

• He-El recognized Lucifer as his true enemy and decided to focus on the Monitors while waiting for Lucifer to reveal himself.
• He-El ordered Ciri, Lucy, and Zero to ready their forces and logistics for war against the Monitors and rescue the New Krypton Empire’s citizens.
• He-El allowed Doctor Manhattan to choose a universe for cultivation and Ciri to seek organisms for research after preparing for war.
• Zero chose to investigate the Transformers Universe’s Source Universe, while Lucy planned to visit another universe after arranging logistics.
• He-El entered a Traversal Vortex to find a Physical Body Universe with an extremely fast flow of time and cultivate his body.

He-El adapted to a prehistoric universe and found himself falling from the sky above a dinosaur-filled forest. He clung to a pterosaur for a ride, but it crashed into a boulder, leaving He-El to continue his descent toward the forest.

• He-El adapted to the universe and sensed ki nurturing his infant body as he fell hundreds of meters above a forest.
• He-El recognized the oxygen-rich environment as a possible mutated Jurassic era after seeing a strange blue, featherless flying creature and a pterosaur.
• He-El grabbed the pterosaur’s wing and dodged its attempts to peck him as it flew.
• He-El struck the pterosaur in the eye, causing it to crash into a boulder and die.
• He-El rolled down the pterosaur’s body, using its softer flesh to cushion his fall.

He-El survived the night in the forest after killing a pterosaur and feeding on its remains. The next morning, he found an orange sphere marked with five stars inside the pterosaur’s belly.

• He-El drank the pterosaur’s blood and ate its flesh and grass to recover from his fight.
• After sensing carnivores approaching, He-El covered himself in mud, climbed a tree, and kept watch as a large predator fed on the corpse.
• Smaller animals scavenged the remains, and He-El waited until morning before climbing down.
• He-El ate the scraps left on the pterosaur’s body and pulled a smooth orange sphere with five stars from its belly.