[net.comics] COIE #8 questions

boyajian@akov68.DEC (JERRY BOYAJIAN) (08/09/85)

> From:	bunker!allen	(Allen Grabert)
 
> Now, some comments/questions:
>   1) "On the other-dimensional world of Apokolips..."  According to
>	 the Legion/Darkseid series, Apokolips is in the Earth-1
>	 universe.  Does it get moved in this series, or is it other-
>	 dimensional compared to the setting of the previous panel
>	 (which was in the Anti-Matter universe)?

It's been said a few times in Kirby's "Fourth World" series that New
Genesis and Apokolips were in another dimension. This seems especially
true if you hold the opinion that the "Old Gods", as referred to in NEW
GODS #1 & #7 (old series --- I'm not such which of the reprint issues
contained the "The Pact"), are the Asgardians.
	That I can recall, there is no reason to assume that Apokolips
was in the Earth-1 universe in the Great Darkness storyline.

What gets me, though, is that Apokolips was destroyed in THE HUNGER DOGS
graphic novel. So why does it still exist in CRISIS? Does DC have it in
mind that the NEW GODS "resolution" and the graphic novel take place after
CRISIS? (I refuse to accept the SUPER POWERS series as canon, since they
seem to be based more on the Super Friends series than mainstream DC).

>  6) Re: the anti-matter cannon: Of what significance is "anti-matter"
>	 in an anti-matter universe??  Absolutely none.  However, when the
>	 Flash refers to "concentrated anti-matter", PERHAPS he means that
>	 this is anti-matter plasma or some such.  This raises the related
>	 question: What happened when Flash, Psycho-Pirate, and everybody
>	 else from the positive-matter universes went to the anti-matter
>	 universe?  They certainly couldn't remain positive-matter, so
>	 they must have been "converted" to anti-matter.

I don't think that anti-matter hasn't any special significance as such in
the Qward universe, but things would get rather confusing terminology-wise
if no distinction was made between the matter found in the Qward Universe
with that found in the other Universes. I treat this in the same way that
I treat the different-languages problem that, in comics, defies all logic.
	As for the latter half of the question, that's one point that's
been bothering me, too.

>  7) I don't quite understand what happened to the Flash.  He says he's
>	 moving back in time, but at the same time he appears to be aging
>	 super-quickly.  Did the A-M open a hole to the positive-matter
>	 universe, so that the Flash is dying of matter-antimatter interaction?
>	 (But his costume wasn't affected.)

No, he was traveling back in time, but was pushing his speed to such limits
that his body was disintegrating from, probably, the overwhelming physical
forces involved. Remember, whenever Flash or Superman or whoever has traveled
back in time before, they didn't get younger, so why should there be a conflict
between Flash's traveling back in time and his apparent aging?

> Now, a conjecture on the ENTIRE DC Universe.  It appears that COIE is not
> affecting ALL the existences that appear in DC magazines.  Mr. Mxyxptlk
> (sp?), Earth-Prime, possibly others seem to be outside of the Earth-1, 2,
> etc. multiverse.  But, the latter are separated by variations in internal
> vibrations, whereas (traditionally) universes are separated by differences
> in physical laws.  Perhaps that is the case here.

Good distinction. I've always wondered what the difference was thought to be
between parallel worlds such as Earth-2, etc. and different dimensions, such
as Phantom Girl's Bzgtl (or however it's spelled), Mxyzptlk's Fifth Dimension,
Bat-Mite's dimension, etc. and just where does New Genesis/Apokolips fit into
this? Are they in another "dimension" or another "universe"? CRISIS seems to
be treating it as the latter, whereas everywhere else, it seems to be treated
as the former.
 

--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA)

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jagardner@watmath.UUCP (Jim Gardner) (08/12/85)

[...]

There is no contradiction to Apokolips being in either another universe
or dimension.  As COIE #8 clearly establishes, Darkseid has put all his
effort into hiding the existence of Apokolips.  It could therefore be in
a sixth universe that either the Anti-Monitor doesn't sense or it could
be somewhere in the five universes that are still known to exist.  For
example, it could be in the Shazam universe...that's a different universe
from Earth-1 and Earth-2, which justifies anything that has been said
about the place.

				Jim Gardner, University of Waterloo

gdave@ubvax.UUCP (Dave Guertin) (08/15/85)

In article <16157@watmath.UUCP> jagardner@watmath.UUCP (Jim Gardner) writes:
>[...]
>
>There is no contradiction to Apokolips being in either another universe
>or dimension.  As COIE #8 clearly establishes, Darkseid has put all his
>effort into hiding the existence of Apokolips.  It could therefore be in
>a sixth universe that either the Anti-Monitor doesn't sense or it could
>be somewhere in the five universes that are still known to exist.  For
>example, it could be in the Shazam universe...that's a different universe
>from Earth-1 and Earth-2, which justifies anything that has been said
>about the place.
>
>				Jim Gardner, University of Waterloo

	Now wait a minute. The Shazam universe is refered to as Earth-S if
	I'm not mistaken. It is not another universe but a Parallel earth
	like Earth-1 & 2. I also believe that Apokolips resides in our
	universe since Darkseid is always trying to conquer (sp) our earth
	and also the boom tubes that have been used in the past have never
	been refered to as having bridging dimisions only bridging space
	between Apokolips and Earth.

	Now the reference is COIE #8 probley means that Darkseid is hiding
	the exsistence of Apokolips from the Anti-Monitor so as to avoid
	a confrontation with him while he is at his strongest.

		Dave Guertin, Forever Stranded on Earth-UB