Atlas of the Multiverse: The Numbered Earths

Suggested as some for the name of the post-ZERO HOUR DC Universe.

While called Earth-One this is more correctly is the second world that DC has chronicled. The original Golden Age stories as published are considered to have happened on Earth-Two with the Silver Age stories occurring on Earth-One. The exact dividing line between the two can be hard to pin down, while SHOWCASE #4 is a definite dividing point stories before that fall into three categories. Those definitely on Earth-One such as appearances of Martian Manhunter, Captain Comet and Superboy who were all solely Earth-One characters. Then there were the definite Earth-Two stories of the Justice Society and its members. Between these two eras is a period that some call the pre-Silver Age which were mostly Earth-One western stories but there are some oddities that can be gathered together as Earth-E (see below).

After the western heroes of the Nineteen century (Jonah Hex, et al.) there were a few scattered heroes such as Zatara, the Guardian and the Paul Kirk Manhunter. The scene was amazingly transformed by the arrival of a small rocket ship form the planet Krypton carrying the infant Kal El. When he became first Superboy and then Superman a whole new generation of heroes were born. These are the tales of the Silver Age, of Barry Allen, Ray Palmer, and Hal Jordan. However as well as their superheroes this was also the age of the atomic bomb so science fiction was also a major component to the stories. Adam Strange, Rip Hunter and the Challengers of the Unknown called this place home, while in the future the Legion of Superheroes, the descendants of Superman, the Space Museum all had their part.

It is possible to trace Earth-One even further than the 1960's Silver Age into the 1970's where we see a new wave of characters such as Swamp Thing, the Creeper, the Outsiders, the Teen Titans and then the Titans gaining ground. For thirty years from 1955 to 1985 Earth-One was the land of imagination for generations of comic readers.

When the heroes of the Justice League gained their own cartoon show in the form of the Superfriends it was inevitable that they would in turn spawn a spin off comic called THE SUPERFRIENDS. Written by E. Nelson Bridwell the stories while possibly meant to be in Earth-One were a little to different for inclusion there. This Earth saw the first appearance of the various heroes that would go onto become the Global Guardians (a real Earth-One group). This Earth was set aside from Earth-One by the inclusion of Earth-Two characters such as Plastic Man and T.N.T and Dyne-Mite.

"While World War I was entering its closing years on Earth Two, the planet Krypton Two was exploding. Jor L sent his only son Kal L to safety in a rocket just before his planet was destroyed. Kal L was adopted by John and Mary Kent and raised to live as an Earthman and to conceal his mighty powers, which he would someday use for the cause of justice. Upon their deaths circa 1938, Kal L alias Clark Kent, became the original Superman, prototype for all the heroes that came after him."

"Superman was not the first super hero of sorts on Earth Two, Doctor Occult having scooped him (at least in an active career) by some three years. He was succeeded, on October 31, 1938, by the Crimson Avenger, a non superpowered hero. Then came Batman, the Sandman, Doll Man, Doctor Fate, Uncle Sam, Midnight, the Human Bomb, The Spectre, Wonder Woman, the Black Condor, Johnny Thunder, the Flash, Liberty Belle, Johnny Quick, the Green Lantern. . . not only those appearing in the DC Comics of the 1940s, but also those whose exploits were depicted in Quality Comics. (This last was revealed in the Eighties in All Star Squadron.)"

"In 1940, the attempted invasion of Britain by the Nazis brought the Justice Society of America into being. Then, in the wake of the Pearl Harbour bombing, virtually all the super heroes in America became members of the All Star Squadron. Some of these were siphoned off by Uncle Sam to become the Freedom Fighters, who battled the Nazis on the parallel Earth X where the Axis won World War II. But on Earth Two, as on most other Earths, the Allies defeated Hitler and his minions, and the All Star Squadron presumably disbanded following V J Day. The Justice Society continued as a fighting unit until 1951, when Senator O'Fallon caused them to resign after questioning their vigilantism. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman remained semi-active throughout most of the Fifties, each of the three getting married eventually."

"In 1961, Jay Garrick, the Flash, was visited by Barry Allen, the Flash of Earth One. Barry's visit coincided with a crime spree conducted by the Shade, the Fiddler and the Thinker, and both Flashes teamed up to bring the villains to justice. Jay returned to semi active status as the Flash after the adventure. Within two more years he was joined by the bulk of his Justice Society comrades. (Several Earth Two heroes, such as Zatara and Robotman, were said to have moved to Earth One earlier. . . presumably without the knowledge of the Justice Society members. Other All Star Squadron alumni not in the JSA may have died or simply stayed retired in the interval.) Several JSA members were kidnapped by Vandal Savage in 1963. Not long after that, the Justice Society teamed with the Justice League for the first time to defeat the Crime Champions, a team of villains culled from both Earths. When it was discovered that their Earths became particularly accessible to each other at that certain time, they began a practice of continual team ups every years, even travelling to other Earths in the process."

"The Seven Soldiers of Victory, a 1940s hero team similar to the Justice Society, had become lost in time somewhere in the early 1950s and were rescued in 1972 by the JLA and JSA. Robin had already become an adult crime fighter and taken Batman's place in the Justice Society by this time. He was joined, four years later, by the Star Spangled Kid of the Seven Soldiers and by Power Girl, the counterpart to Earth One's Supergirl, in a short lived Super Squad of young heroes which was gradually amalgamated into the Justice Society. The JSA assumed an increasingly active status during the 1970s, culminating in the deaths of Mr. Terrific and Batman."

"Then, in 1983, the existence of the offspring or godchildren of several JSA members was revealed. Together with the Star Spangled Kid, Power Girl, the Huntress (Batman's daughter), and Brainwave, Jr., son of the JSA's greatest enemy, they formed Infinity, Inc., an updated and improved Super Squad. Infinity, Inc. continues to this day, not so much a successor to the Justice Society as an entirely different sort of team."

"Earth Two had several future time lines revealed, including one in which Brane Taylor became the Batman of the 30th Century and one from which the "last criminal," Knodar, returned to bedevil Green Lantern. All of these time lines have been subsumed into the one time line of the new DC Earth (since July of 1985), meaning that events shown in earlier DC comics pertaining to them have been altered or eliminated. "

The third Earth was the home to evil versions of the Justice League members, in the form of the Crime Syndicate: Ultraman (Superman), Power Ring (Green Lantern), etc. This group of villains would battle the Justice League time after time. In the post crisis universe it has been stated that the evil counterparts actually came from the Anti-Matter universe. If the heroes are villains then it follows that the villains are heroes, so in this world Lex Luthor III was actually a good guy and helped the Justice League defeat their counterparts. Traces of this Lex Luthor can be found in the Luthor from the pocket universe that was created by the Time Trapper in post-crisis and pre-Zero Hour comics.

"This Earth has only recently come within the bounds of the DC comics Multiverse; prior to 1985, its heroes were the property of Charlton Comics. Their most famous crusaders were Captain Atom, the Blue Beetle, Nightshade, Thunderbolt, Son of Vulcan, the Question, and the Peacemaker, all of whom originated in the 1960s."

"There have been heroes who predated the Silver Age Earth Four group, but very few of them. It is possible that the Hercules who starred in his own Charlton Comics series is indigenous to Earth Four, and he may have been one of the Olympians who helped create the Son of Vulcan. The Gunmaster, a masked hero, helped preserve justice in the Old West of Earth Four with a young sidekick named Bullet. Judomaster helped fight the Japanese invaders in the Pacific during World War II, before being yanked into the present by the time warping effects of the Crisis. The Olympians, for a brief time, endowed a youth with power over fire, earth, air, and water, turning him into Nature Boy in the 1950s. Other short lived heroes, such as Mr. Muscles and Zaza the Mystic, appeared in the decade preceding the new era of super crusaders, and even Ibis and the Golden Age Blue Beetle appeared in some Charlton Comics. But the latter two cases probably only depicted incidents happening on Earth S and on Earth Fox, respectively."

"When Captain Nathaniel Christopher Adam became Captain Atom in 1961, he ushered in the new age of heroes on Earth Four. He was followed some three years later by Earth Four's first Blue Beetle, Dan Garrett, an archaeologist who gained super powers from a mystic blue scarab. They were joined within three years by the Son of Vulcan, an American who was endowed with the might of the Olympian gods; by Thunderbolt, who had been trained by Tibetan monks to harness the energy of his entire brain to perform amazing feats; the new Blue Beetle, who lacked super powers but followed in the footsteps of the dead Dan Garrett; the Sentinels, a trio of youths who were given super abilities by special devices; the Peacemaker, a diplomat who devised weaponry to be used against the perpetrators of war, the Fightin' Five, a team of specialists who fought would be world conquerors; the Question, a crusading reporter who ferreted out facts by assuming a faceless identity; and the lesser known Shape, Tyro Team, and Spookman, all of whom had only one adventure apiece depicted in Charlton Comics. Nightshade, the daughter of a United States Senator and an other dimensional princess, had the power to become a living shadow, besides her considerable martial arts expertise, and became first the partner of Captain Atom and then a solo heroine in her own right."

"The history of Earth Four was, of course, considerably changed when it was merged with four other Earths in the Crisis. Earth Four also possessed several different future time lines. In one of them, the Prankster, a harlequin like hero, fought against a repressive world-wide dictatorship. In another, a duo named 13 and Jinx came to 1967 to stop Captain Atom's enemy, the Ghost, from endangering their time line. But these and any other possible Earth Four futures have been altered and subsumed into the future time lines of the new DC Earth, and, if they exist, do not do so exactly as previously depicted."

Supposedly an Earth that appeared in the opening pages to Crisis #1.

The sixth Earth first appeared in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, it is a global monarch that was ruled by the partners Lady Tashana Quark and Lord Karak Volt with their daughter Princess Liana Fern. All three were born with natural superpowers. This world was destroyed by the waves of antimatter unleashed by the Anti-Monitor. In the reformed DC universe Earth-6 was just a planet in uncharted space that was destroyed in the Crisis, Lady Quark is the only known survivor.

"Earth-12 is the world on which the Inferior Five live, and, possibly, where all the DC humour comics not involving funny animals occur. Earth-12 has its own Plastic Man and Superman, as shown in issues of Inferior Five, and, if Jerry Lewis's comic adventures take place there, it also boasts its own Flash, and Wonder Woman. If the 15's statements in one issue that the Justice League, the Doom Patrol, and the Teen Titans could outdo them is taken literally, that could establish more parallels. A songwriter who visits the 15 in one issue claims to have written fight songs for all these teams and also for the Blackhawks, the Sea Devils, and the Legion of Super Heroes (he is shown being kicked out of the Legion clubhouse by Invisible Kid). DC's Plastic Man of the 1960s undoubtedly lives on Earth-12, which would underscore the feasibility of his cameo in an Inferior Five adventure."

"The heroes who helped fight World War II on Earth 12 were the Freedom Brigade, a group of superhumans who intermarried upon retiring and had children who, as Merryman, the Blimp, Awkwardman, Dumb Bunny, and the White Feather, formed the Inferior Five. During their careers, they encountered several bizarre dopplegangers of Marvel heroes, such as a red bearded Thor, the Egg's Men, the Kookie Quartet, Man Mountain, Prince Nabob the Sunk Mariner, the Cobweb Kid, and Iron Pants. Thus, it is possible that Earth 12 is a skewed version of Crossover Earth. (Its Marvel Universe counterpart is Earth Marble, as presented in Not Brand Echh.) "

"Earth 12 was destroyed in the Crisis, and the Inferior Five were shown tumbling into the dimensional world of Oz in Oz Wonderland War #3 and later appeared in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12. The last appearance implies that the Inferior Five still survive, trapped on an Earth they never made, which will probably never make sense of them (except in Plastic Man's Acme City)."

Grant Morrison in his early run on Animal Man, referenced a lot to the Crisis and at one stage, a character is shown a purple butterfly and is told that it came from Earth-Fourteen

Overman et al (numbered as such by Morrison in an AMAZING HEROES PREVIEWS SPECIAL).