CRISIS OF REBIRTH, PART 8: Those Who Keep Surviving...Lady Quark

Lady Quark, aka Tashana, was originally from Earth-6, a place where the United States had lost the Revolutionary War. Her husband was Lord Volt, and their marriage was an arranged one. She preferred women, and he preferred men, but they agreed to the marriage for the sake of their world and produced a child, a daughter they named Liana. They ruled together as a monarchy and loved their child unconditionally,despite their distaste for one another.

And then came CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. As anti-matter spread throughout their world, destroying it, Lord Volt and Lady Quark defended their home. However, Lord Volt was killed trying to save their daughter, who was also killed. The entire planet was destroyed, but Lady Quark herself was rescued by Pariah, a dimensional traveler. Once the Crisis was over, Lady Quark joined Pariah and Harbinger in exploring the new, sole Earth that had been created. She is eventually recruited by Vril Dox to join his L.E.G.I.O.N., a peacekeeping space force, and is seemingly killed in a later mission by a parasitic alien shapeshifter. However, she apparently survived the encounter and was captured by Alexander Luthor of Earth-3, who imprisoned her in his tower as a part of his plan to bring the core Earths back into existence. She soon escaped and joined Earth's heroes in defeating Luthor once and for all.

Because of the massive changes wrought by the Crisis, Lady Quark could no longer be from Earth-6. However, it was never revealed where she originated, but one can assume it was from some alternate dimension.

Thanks to FLASHPOINT, Lady Quark has been reintegrated into the current multiverse as a resident of Earth-48, a fusion of her original Earth-6 and pre-Flashpoint Warworld/Earth-48, home of the Forerunners. She, Lord Volt, and their daughter Liana are once again members of the royal family, alongside Viza'aziv, who had been the sole remaining Forerunner of pre-Flashpoint Warworld.

At some unrevealed point, Lady Quark ended up in the custody of A.R.G.U.S., but she was freed by the Justice League of America member, Vibe, during a mass breakout and has presumably returned to her homeworld.

CRISIS OF REBIRTH, PART 7: Those Who Keep Surviving...Pariah

Pariah was one of the greatest scientists of his version of a parallel Earth. His unorthodox experiments to view the creation of the universe itself resulted in opening a portal to the Dawn of Time, where he viewed Pandora's Hand of Creation.

However, this intrusion, also opened a portal to the antimatter universe and freed the Anti-Monitor from imprisonment. Discovering Pariah's existence, the Anti-Monitor wiped out Pariah's entire universe, but it was only through the intervention of the Anti-Monitor's benevolent counterpart, the Monitor, that Pariah survived the assault. And as a result of what had happened, Pariah developed the ability to travel to one alternate earth after another, forced to witness untold millions perish as the Anti-Monitor destroyed one world after another. Eventually, he assisted the heroes of various alternate earths to destroy the Anti-Monitor and keep the resultant reformed single earth safe from harm. Pariah then joined Lady Quark and Harbinger in exploring the new earth, hopeful of what the future would bring.

Pariah later returned to warn the heroes of Earth of the coming war between the Roman and Olympian gods, which would destroy the earth if not prevented. Simultaneously, the Egyptian, African, Norse, Babylonian, and Thanagarian gods attempted to recreate the world in their own images. Eventually, the heroes won and saved their planet.

As INFINITE CRISIS approached, Pariah attempted to warn Lex Luthor of a dangerous predator, but this Luthor was actually the Alexander Luthor of Earth-3 in disguise and he murdered Pariah.

Pariah was later resurrected by the evil Dark Angel, but he fought against her and helped the Kryptonian super-heroine called Supergirl face her true self.

Because of the Crisis, Pariah's homeworld was retconned into being an alternate world from another dimension, rather than one of the infinite number of earths that had existed prior to the event. But this has changed now that the original multiverse has been restored during the events of CONVERGENCE.

In the current reality, Pariah was somehow caught and imprisoned by A.R.G.U.S., a U.S. federal agency that deals with interdimensional beings they deem threats to Earth. The circumstances of this capture remain unknown, but Pariah was able to escape due to the intervention of Justice League of America member, Vibe. His role in Rebirth has yet to be revealed, but rest assured he will be there to witness it all. It's possible he may currently be a prisoner of the enigmatic Mr. Oz.

CRISIS OF REBIRTH, PART 6: Those Who Keep Surviving...Power Girl

Power Girl. Cousin of the Superman of Earth-2. Survivor of the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, ZERO HOUR, INFINITE CRISIS, and FLASHPOINT. She's also a bit more popular than her main counterpart, Supergirl of Earth-0.

Born Kara Zor-L of Earth-2, Power Girl escaped the destruction of Krypton when she was a child via a rocket ship in which her parents placed her. Although she left at the same time her cousin, Kal-L, did, her ship took much longer to reach Earth-2. Once there, Kara discovered she had superhuman powers and became a protector of humanity. She behaves much older, more mature, and more level-headed than her Earth-0 counterpart, Supergirl. She was also a member of this world's super-heroic team, called the Justice Society of America, and her best friend is Helena Kyle, aka the Huntress.

And then came the Crisis. Power Girl survived, but Earth-2 was no more. She could still recall her true past, but eventually the multiverse adjusted her, and she came to believe she was the descendant of the Atlantean sorcerer called Arion and had been frozen in suspended animation for millennia until the present day. Once awakened, a spell Arion had placed upon her made her think she was Superman's cousin. At first, Kara was even much weaker than she originally had been, but over time she became just as strong as she used to be.

And then came ZERO HOUR. Her origin as the granddaughter of Arion was revealed to have been a lie concocted by her adoptive mother.

And then came INFINITE CRISIS. The evil Psycho-Pirate took advantage of the reality changes mucking about with the universe at the time and manipulated Power Girl into believing she was born a Daxamite called Laurel Gand in the 31st Century, sent back to the present day as a preemptive measure against the sorcerer called Mordru. He later manipulates her into believing she was actually from Qward and was the cousin of that world's Ultraman; the daughter of Conner Kent and Cassandra Sandsmark of the Titans Tomorrow reality; the daughter of Shazam; and the daughter of Ursa (born in the Phantom Zome). However, Power Girl ultimately remembers her true past thanks to the subconscious mental tether that connects her to the original Earth-2.

And then came FLASHPOINT. Power Girl is once again from Earth-2 and cousin to Superman. However, this time, Superman and his wife, Lois, adopted Kara when she was younger and raised her to adulthood. Although he is her cousin, Power Girl thinks of him more as a father figure, with Lois as her mother. He trained Kara to be a secret weapon against the coming of Darkseid, dubbing her Supergirl. Her best friend is once again Helena Kyle, aka Huntress, daughter of this Earth-2's Batman and Catwoman, like before. In addition, Power Girl has no knowledge of her history prior to FLASHPOINT, but this could be only a matter of time.

SIDE NOTE: It's possible the current Power Girl of Earth-2 is NOT the original remade. Another Power Girl appeared in the previous HARLEY QUINN series, where she was amnesiac, having fallen out of the sky without warning. This Power Girl was more reminiscent of pre-Flashpoint Power Girl. She eventually regained her memories back, but to what extent remains unknown. However, it is more likely this was New 52 Power Girl, having been knocked back to Earth-0 due to events in the EARTH 2: WORLD'S END series. But then, how did she return to the Earth-2 universe after this? Unless for Power Girl, this took place BEFORE her return to Earth-2 in WORLDS' FINEST #26. It's hard to reconcile to be sure, as HARLEY QUINN is a series that skirts around issues of continuity.

CRISIS OF REBIRTH, PART 5: Those Who Keep Surviving

Ever since CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, there are a handful of characters who just won't die. For one reason or another, they keep surviving and the mulitverse keeps adjusting itself for it. They get new origins. New looks. And new tragedies in their lives that just keep piling up. For one in particular, it has driven him insane, while another one you'd think would go nuts but has still managed to carry on. So, just who are these survivors?

Donna Troy: Before the Crisis, Donna was Wonder Girl. Her mother was an unwed teenager named Dorothy Hinckley and was given up for adoption to Carl and Fay Stacey. However, when she was a child, Donna's adoptive father was killed in a work-related accident. Unable to raise the toddler due to expenses, Fay placed Donna back into the adoption system. She became a victim to a child selling racket, with the racketeers killed in a fire. Donna was saved from burning by Wonder Woman. Unable to find her parents, Wonder Woman took the child with her to Paradise Island to be raised alongside other young Amazons. Eventually, Paula Von Gunther's Purple Ray gave Donna Amazonian powers.

Then came the Crisis, which radically altered her past. Now Donna was rescued from the fire by the Titan of Myth named Rhea and raised as a part of a group of twelve orphans from around the universe called the "Titan Seeds." These orphans were raised on New Chronos, intended to be the saviors of the Titans of Myth whenever the time came. They were each given powers and were named after ancient Greek cities. In Donna's case, she was named Troy. She was then stripped of her memories and reintroduced into mankind to await her foretold destiny. Aeter learning of her heritage, Donna took on the identity of Troia and adopted a costume that incorporated various mystical gifts given to her by the Titans of Myth.

Eventually, Donna married a man named Terry Long and had a son with him, Robert. However, both her husband and son perished in a car accident, devastating her.

And then came ZERO HOUR. Once again, Donna survived, and her past was rewritten. This time, Donna was created by the Amazonian sorceress named Magala to be a magical duplictae of the young Princess of Themyscira called Diana and also to be her playmate. However, mistaking her for Diana, the evil Dark Angel (an alternate reality duplicate of Donna from Earth-7's WWII era) kidnapped Donna and cursed her to live endless variant lives characterized by suffering. Wonder Woman eventually freed Donna from this curse, and Donna was restored to the way her friends thought of her. She also became the repository of knowledge of every alternate universe, including the original multiverse.

And then came INFINITE CRISIS. Once more, Donna's history was altered. This time, her origin was a combination of previous versions. She was the mystically created playmate of Wonder Woman. She was trained alongside Diana and the other Amazons and joined Wonder Woman in Man's World, taking on the identity of Wonder Girl, although she grew tired of the name and preferred to to be called by her real name, Donna Troy.

And then came FLASHPOINT. Like before, Donna's history was altered, this time more radically then ever before. This time Donna was created by an evil Amazon sorceress through the means of a ritual using the infant daughter of a nameless Amazon and the clay remains of the Amazonian queen Hippolyta that she boiled within a dark cauldron. Donna was meant to be used by Hippoltya's sister Derinoe as a weapon against the current queen of Amazons, Wonder Woman. Once Donna slayed Diana, she would become a queen Derinoe would be able to control. This plot was foiled, however, and Donna was killed in battle. Zeus later resurrected Donna and made her the new embodiment of "the Fate of the Gods."

And then came DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH...the affects of which have yet to be fully realized. However, we do know that Donna has recently retained a missing 10 years of her previous life as a Teen Titan. Exactly what memories she's gotten back have yet to be revealed.

SIDE NOTE: With the restoration of the original multiverse, which now exists beyond the current New 52 DC Universe, Donna Troy once again has alternate earth counterparts. There was one mentioned in Grant Morrison's MULTIVERSITY: THE JUST #1, and the Donna Troy of Earth-2 is called Fury there, daughter of Wonder Woman and Steppenwolf.

Coming up next, more survivors. Power Girl. Psycho-Pirate. Pariah. Harbinger. Superboy-Prime. Ultraman of Earth-3. Saturn Queen. Their stories will be told.

CRISIS OF REBIRTH, PART FOUR: Mr. Oz

The enigmatic Mr. Oz. Who is he? What are his goals? It would appear that he may actually be Ozymandias from the Watchmen. But is this really true? Or is he someone else? Someone sinister? Someone benevolent? Well, one thing we know for certain is that this Mr. Oz had been watching Superman for quite some time. Far longer than he, or anyone else, suspects. Some people, like me at first, thought he first appeared in DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1. But he did not. He first appeared in SUPERMAN I#32, a whole TWENTY issues prior to the publication of DC UNIVERSE REBIRTH #1.

So, what was this mysterious individual doing all this time? Watching. Watching and manipulating. Testing Superman for a purpose only he knows and we can only speculate. Let's examine these appearances and see if we can tell us what they mean. Beginning with SUPERMAN I#32...

It would appear that Clark has met Mr. Oz before and was some sort of student of his. And Oz, of course, knows Clark is Superman. Interesting.

From SUPERMAN I#34...

As we can see here, Oz has kept track of Superman's life, from the beginning right on up to now. He remarks about how Clark somehow still has hope, despite the number of tragedies that have been thrust upon him. This is also the first indication that Oz has been "collecting" prisoners for far longer than we knew about. Could the captive be Dr. Manhattan, who we all believe right now to be the instigator of REBIRTH? This is unlikely, but it Oz did have him captive, it would indicate someone else is the "mastermind" of what is going on. Someone else who wants hope, love, friendship, experience, and legacy eradicated from the DC multiverse, particularly from Earth-0.

Up next, SUPERMAN I#35...

The villain seen here, the Machinist, mentions here that he is working for Mr. Oz. This takes us as far back as the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths multiverse, when the Monitor was supplying carious villains with their tech. So, the Machinist is likely just another one of Mr. Oz's tests for Superman to see if he prevails and still has hope for the future.

Next is SUPERMAN I#38...

In this epilogue, once Superman prevails over his foe, Mr. Oz preps a mysterious package to be sent to Clark at the Daily Planet. Note the character sitting under the spotlight. Checking the issue, this is Ulysses, Superman's foe from the storyline. He has clearly been taken from military imprisonment (shown earlier in the story) and is now a part of Oz's collection of important inmates. Interesting.

And finally, we have SUPERMAN I#39...

A homeless woman mails the package for Oz, who rewards her with a nice, warm meal. By the end of the issue, Clark gets the parcel and opens it, only to find a blank journal...

Curiouser and curiouser....

CRISIS OF REBIRTH, PART THREE: Superboy-Prime

Ah, Superboy-Prime. Dreaded by most. Liked by some. Superboy-Prime came from Earth-Prime, the one that existed prior to CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. But his homeworld was destroyed, along with everyone he loved. After INFINITE CRISIS, he's been searching for his version of Earth-Prime, believing 100% that it is out there somewhere in the restored multiverse. And he doesn't care about the cost. He doesn't care what he has to do to find it. He'll even destroy other worlds, as he did with Earth-15 during COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS.

Prior to the rebirth of the DC Universe in FLASHPOINT #5, Superboy-Prime had been trapped within the Source Wall by Conner Kent and Supergirl in TEEN TITANS II#100. That's a tough place to be. The Source Wall is a wall that exists at the edge of the multiverse. It serves as a boundary between what we can observe and the Source, a vast cosmic power that controls and determines all of existence. Anyone who tries to pass through it ends up bound to the Source Wall for the remainder of time. However, thanks to events in GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #3 from 2014, everything and everyone from the Source Wall has been freed because of Black Hand. This includes Superboy-Prime.

So, where is he? He's likely not a happy little world-killer.

It should be noted that we did not actually see Superboy-Prime escape the Source Wall along with everyone else. But if everyone else escaped, then it is reasonable to assume that Superboy-Prime did as well. It is foolish to think otherwise. However, we may very well have seen him break free on-panel, specifically on the final page of GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #3.

Now, granted, that doesn't look anything like the hand belonging to Superboy-Prime, but it must be noted that the Source Wall has been known to mutate those exposed to it. A prime example of this was shown in JUSTICE LEAGUE #23.1 in a scene where Darkseid is transformed after exposure to the Source Wall and given his god-like powers. Perhaps this has happened to Superboy-Prime? If true, this could be looked upon as the next step in the evolution of the character. Then again, perhaps not. In any case, if everyone else was freed from the Source Wall in the annual, then so must Superboy-Prime have gained his freedom.

So, where is he? He's likely not a happy little world-killer.

It's certainly possible he could be working with Dr. Manhattan, the presumed architect behind the creation of the New 52 DC Universe. Superboy-Prime thinks the world, even the universe, should be a certain way. His way. He has suffered a rather intense amount of emotional trauma that has twisted his sense of justice. He sees the heroes of Earth as corrupted and ineffective. He even believes some of them should simply not exist because they didn't on his own world. So perhaps he decided to help rid this "false Earth" of its love, of its strong relationships, and of its legacies. He decided to weaken everyone on this "false Earth" in every possible way to make them even more ineffectual than he already sees them to be.

But how could he help do this? Well, Superboy-Prime is extremely powerful in his own right, as he once literally punched reality, creating a chain reaction that altered various events. In addition, since he was once fused to the Source Wall, he may have obtained some of the power of the Source itself, as Darkseid did. With this power, he could have assisted Dr. Manhattan in restructuring reality during FLASHPOINT #5.

I've mentioned before that Superboy-Prime thinks that certain people shouldn't exist for one reason or another. Most certainly the top choice is Superman. Superman had it all. A loving wife, close friends, and a heroic life, all things Superboy-Prime would covet for himself. Superman even has legacy. So the first thing he would do is eliminate everything in Superman's life that made him who he was. And that's what happened. In the aftermath of FLASHPOINT #5, Superman was no longer married. He didn't even have an intimate relationship with Lois Lane. His ties were mostly destroyed. Oh, some of them were still there, like Lana Long, but greatly the bonds were diminished. He was younger, a whole lot less experienced than he was before. And with his most important ties severed, his legacy was gone.

Wally West is certainly another top choice. Wally led the other speedsters against him during INFINITE CRISIS. They pulled him into the Speed Force to trap him there. So eliminating Wally would aid him considerably. All speedsters in the DCU have ties to the Speed Force, in some manner. Since super-speed is one of Superboy-Prime's powers, there's a connection there. Just different. And since he had been pulled into the Speed Force physically, Superboy-Prime could have used it to entrap Wally West within it, thus ridding himself of not only a powerful foe, but also the world of a greatly loved hero. In addition, a great many other speedsters have seemingly been eliminated: Johnny Quick, Max Mercury, Jesse Quick, Impulse, and each and every descendant of theirs.

Supergirl is another good choice. In the New 52, Supergirl is much angrier than she was prior to FLASHPOINT. At first, she didn't like being around humans, although in time that changed. Her anger was so great that she ended up being sought by a Red Lantern ring and made a member of their corps in GREEN LANTERN I#28 (New 52) for a short time.  She also had a very rocky relationship with her cousin, Superman. Superboy-Prime likely hates Supergirl, not only because of her ties to Superman -- ties he never had -- but because she still exists in the DCU despite having been killed during CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS.

It should be noted here that Supergirl's alternate earth counterpart Power Girl of Earth-2 has also been vastly changed since FLASHPOINT #5. Like Superboy-Prime, she survived CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS. She survived, ZERO HOUR, INFINITE CRISIS, and more. But unlike then, Power Girl no longer remembers who she truly is, that she was the lone survivor of a world that no longer exists.  She was the sole legacy of her world, and she always will be. Even when her ties are restored after each multiversal reset, they still aren't the same as they originally were. But presently, Power Girl is a different woman living in a different universe, and she has yet to have her true memories restored, if such a thing will even happen at this point. Another character diminished in Superboy-Prime's eyes.

Oh, but then along comes pre-Flashpoint Superman and his wife, Lois, thanks to events in CONVERGENCE #8. And with them is their young son, Jon, who has recently become Superboy. Jon is a great symbol of hope, and with him, Superman and Lois live happy, fulfilling lives. Jon is mostly definitely someone Superboy-Prime would hate and want gone for good.

Only time will tell if any of this has happened or will come about. But Superboy-Prime is out there somewhere. You can be certain of that. And it's only a matter of time before he stops watching and finally begins to act.

CRISIS OF CONVERGENCE, PART SIX: Earth-462

Little is known of Earth-462. It was the home of versions of Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, and Batman from the television shows in the 60s and 670s. During WWII on this world, Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl fought alongside Green Arrow, Robin, and the Flash against Per Degaton and Baron Blitzkrieg. Several decades later, while Wonder Woman continued to fight crime all over the world for the Inter-Agency Defense Command, Batman and Robin were active in Gotham City. Just moments prior to the collapse of this universe in INFINITE CRISIS, Brainiac stole a piece of it and placed it underneath a dome on Telos, alognside various other cities from across time and space.

COMMENTS: The only appearance of the city of Earth-462 was in FUTURES END #41. Nothing else was shown of this city in any of the CONVERGENCE books. The Batman of this world was among the characters seen by Hawkman in Brainiac's grid, putting this in continuity.

I'm not sure who the character is being pinned by Wonder Woman in that first image, nor the one just above her leaving the energy trail.