Decoding Convergence With Jeff King: The Finale

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Convergence #8, on sale today.

Today, the DC multiverse changed dramatically with the apparent reintroduction of an infinite multiverse following the conclusion of Convergence.

And while we missed last week due to the birth of my child (yeah, it's been a busy month), series writer Jeff King still did join us to discuss the last two issues of the series -- and to take some fan questions, to boot.

If you aren't caught up on our previous installments yet, covering Convergence #1-6 and the first issue of Convergence: Booster Gold, check them out below:

Convergence #1
Convergence #2Convergence #3
Convergence #4
Convergence #5Convergence #6

Convergence: Booster Gold #1

Reminder: These interviews are spoiler-heavy. If you haven't read the final two issues of Convergence yet, you can pick #7 up here and #8 up here, and read along with us.

What, ultimately, was the idea behind bringing the stone Oracle and the New 52 heroes in? Was it just about establishing for readers that this "counts?"

Aurakles, The Oracle is as old as the Universe. His presence at times of great flux in the time space continuum always signals something momentous is about the happen. He is there to observe, assist if he can. In the past Aurakles used his ability to see through time to help the JLA. So its being in our Universe as Telos threatens to disturb or destroy it, while the Monitors and Darkseid look on felt like a cool choice. Consistent with others we made in this series to use characters from DC's past that might not have been seen in a while.

Is Telos' true identity important? Do you know what it is personally?

I do, but I am not at liberty to share it.

What went into the decision to have the force battling for good so full of "forgotten" heroes who haven't been published, or who have been radically altered, in the post-Flashpoint DCU?

At heart, Convergence is about redemption. For Dick Grayson, a father of a missing son and murdered wife, Thomas Wayne who lived when his son died; and to a greater extent all the Earth 2 heroes; Val Zod, Alan Scott, Jay Garrick and Yolanda Montez who 'lost' a fight for their Earth. They all get a second shot to make things right in Convergence. In the same way, heroes from pre-Flashpoint and in some cases pre-Crisis get a shot at redemption too. The battle to save not one, but two multiverses in Convergence provides it.

Obviously Parallax ultimately had his redemption in The Final Night. Was it kind of threading a needle to make him the "savior" here without turning him "good?"

In some ways, killing Deimos is the opposite. Parallax motivation is selfish "My Universe. My Coast City..." if he's a savior it's only because it serves him, there's no nobility in it. But I always wondered if there is a part of Hal Jordan just beneath the surface fighting against the rage that fuels Parallax.

Is it safe to assume that the Oracle is dead following the blast that tore it apart?

No

"The countdown has begun" struck me. Was that a sly wink and a nod to Countdown, or just a coincidence?

Coincidence but you could say that the events of Convergence flow into the stories that begin anew in FCBD Divergence.

Waverider is also off-model here, but because of the timeframe of Booster Gold being different than the rest of the books, I have to wonder whether that's on purpose.

Whether the Wave Rider who arrives in Convergence 8 is the one directly from the end of Convergence: Booster Gold #2, or from elsewhere, is a story for another day.

What do you see as Brainiac's ultimate endgame?

The Brainiac in Convergence is a hologram of the entire DCU. The Ultimate Brainiac we meet in Convergence that is a living record of every story that one of his iterations has, or will, experience. He possess knowledge of every hero, villain, city or time line that has or will ever exist.

His goal as god machine was to be a receptacle of that knowledge starting with the beginning of time and extending out forever, in every universe and every time line. But Crisis changed that, derailed it if you will. This uber Brainiac became obsessed with restoring the balance of creation and destruction that was present at the beginning.

So he began collecting the doomed cities and timelines in an effort to understand them and use that knowledge to reverse the Crisis and restore the natural order of the Universe. That change from observer to player corrupted him, because the timelines that he absorbed to gain the knowledge of them were corrupted themselves. The convergence of all time lines back into one has been his goal since Crisis. His endgame if you will.

What happens to the people who died on Telos? WIll they (and/or their cities) remain dead in the reconstituted multiverse?

That's for future storytellers to decide. However if their city survives being replanted back in the Multiverse, it is possible that new iterations of them could be reborn even if they died during Convergence.

Is there a story to be told in the adventure of the "doomed" heroes who went back to Crisis on Infinite Earths?

Absolutely. I'd look for at least one, maybe more.

That asked, do you see them as being basically like the survivors of the first Crisis? Particularly with the Superman/Lois coupling, I could be happy with those characters still being out there somewhere.

They are. Post-Convergence, Superman, Lois and Jonathan Kent are on an Earth somewhere, right now, resuming their lives that were on hold since Flashpoint.

Is it safe to assume that there is an infinite mutliverse again rather than just 52 worlds? And if so, even if the primary worlds are "evolved" into their New 52 counterparts, does that suggest that there's probably another one just like it out there somewhere?

Yes, In Convergence #8 we reference Multiversity and show you some of the Post-Convergence worlds that make up the reconstituted DC Multiverse. In many ways, the number of Worlds is now infinite. There may even be more than one Multiverse.

"I have knowledge they existed," says Brainiac of the Earth-2 heroes as he tries to wipe them out. Is that a bit meta? When DC wipes out a world from the multiverse the response of creators is often "nobody took those books off my shelf; it's still there."

Convergence speaks to that directly. In his way, Brainiac represents a collected experience of all the creators, and by extension readers, of DC Comics. Ever. I've said this a few times during panels and interviews and his is what I meant: Post-Convergence, every character that ever existed, in either Continuity or Canon, is now available to us as storytellers. You may not see them right away, but they are out there. And of course, when you get to the end of Convergence you understand that is more than meta, it is concrete as well.

There are two covers to Convergence #8 with heroes on them. Andy Kubert's wonderful Superman, Lois, and Jonathan Kent with Supergirl, Barry Allen and Hal Jordan Parallax cradled in the palm of Brainiac. And then Tony Daniel's variant with Telos and the survivors of Earth 2, Green Lantern, Flash, Superman, Wildcat and Dick Grayson who is on his way to becoming his new world's Batman looking off past camera into a new, hopeful future. You will see them next in Earth 2: Society from Daniel Wilson and Jorge Jimenez. I will let you draw your own conclusions about the pre-Crisis characters on Andy's cover ;)

From our readers...

I've noticed a few apparent continuity errors. When we last saw the Guardians in Green Lantern #40 they were in their green and brown outfits; however, in Convergence #6 they make a cameo wearing the red and white robes of the old Guardians. Also, in Convergence #6, Guy Gardner is a Red Lantern, but in Convergence #7, he's in his old Green Lantern uniform. Are these simply things that the artists and editors missed or is it a sign of some of the changes that Convergence is going to have on Prime Earth? - John Baumeister

When Convergence #6 and #7 were being drawn, the Red Lanterns were still alive! They aren't now but might be again. Guy Gardner is certainly a fan favorite. Our plan always was the breakdown of reality the arrival of planet Telos heralds was already subtly affecting the heroes on the Watchtower, Guy Gardner in particular, hence the subtle variations in their appearance and of course, we really see it deeply affect those three heroes in #7 (Martian Manhunter, Superman and Supergirl).

How much did the Convergence story and its aims change over your work on the series? - Noah Greenberg

I knew it would start with the survivors of Earth 2 arriving on Telos and end with their survival and re-entry into the Multiverse to reunite with their lost fleet. The #0 issue came after I started writing #1, but the events within the story and the [SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS] were part of my and Dan and Marie and Geoff's plan all along.

What is your favorite moment or character you've written in Convergence?

Dick Grayson.

How did your plans for the Earth 2 heroes interact with those of Daniel H. Wilson for Earth 2: World's End and Earth 2: Society?

Daniel Wilson, Mike Cotton and their DC editorial group and I stayed in touch. Especially about things like Dick Grayson's evolution from everyman to Batman and Yolanda Montez re emergence from death not as an Avatar of the Red, but as Wildcat.

How did The Multiversity's story and ideas impact Convergence?

Grant Morrison is a genius. The principle of an infinite Multiverse and Brainiac as god machine emerged from his story and a conversation that he and Dan had, I was party to. And of course, if you look closely in Convergence #8, you will see how closely the Multiverse map and Ultimate Comics are connected to Convergence.

What was Geoff Johns's role in the story process?

From the start I was standing on the shoulders of giants like Dan Jurgens, Brian Azzarello, Scott Snyder and Scott Lobdell writing this book. Because they started laying the ground work months and in some cases years before I came on to write.

The artists who came to play like Carlo Pagulayan, Stephen Segovia, Andy Kubert, Aaron Lopresti and Ethan Van Sciver brought the books to life. But Convergence would never have been what it is without the creativity and support of Dan Didio, Marie Javins, Brittany Holzherr, David Pina and especially and when it counted, Geoff Johns.

Do you have any comics related plans at DC after Convergence or any material following up on the series?

Stay tuned!