DC All In Special #1 Reveals the Absolute Universe By Answering a Three-Year-Old Question
DC All In Special reveals how the Absolute Universe is tied to Dark Nights Metal and the Alpha World
DC All In ushered in a new era for the DC Universe, and while it will take a while to fully deal with the wreckage from Absolute Power, that's not the only challenge DC's heroes will face. As seen in All In, Darkseid has created a brand new universe, full of its own threats and possibilities, and it's called the Absolute Universe. Thing is though, this is actually the three-year culmination of a storyline Scott Snyder first set in motion in Dark Nights Metal, and now everything has finally come together in DC All In.
The Origins of The Absolute Universe
First let's start with what happens in DC All In Special #1, and we'll start with the massive battle between the heroes and Darkseid, who has absorbed the power of The Spectre and invaded this reality. The heroes are able to separate him from Spectre and take him down, and the resulting explosion presumably ends Darkseid but also causes a huge rip in time and space.
After the battle, Mister Terrific, Wonder Woman, Batman, Orion, and Superman are all meeting about the rift, but they've discovered there's more to it than initially thought. Number one, a doorway has been created to this other place after one of the Justice League Membership Cards at the center of the explosion absorbed some of the anti-life energies. As for what's on the other side, that's where things get interesting, as Terrific says a hidden world has now been activated.
What Is The Alpha World/The Elseworld
Terrific explains this is indeed the Alpha World, which is also called The Elseworld, and that will sound familiar to those who followed along with Dark Nights Death Metal. In that story, the heroes were able to defeat Perpetua and restore the timeline, and a new world was discovered in the multiverse. At the time Terrific said that our Earth was no longer the center of the multiverse, as there were now two centers. Not much was known at the time about the new world, but what was known is that it was opposite of our Earth and still very much forming, being described as unfinished.
What we learn in All In is that Darkseid's death and the massive energy he released afterward have affected this other world in a major way. Scans show that it is now a complete world, and it radiates the same kind of energy as Darkseid, and that is shown at the end of Darkseid's story in All In. We see him say "And as I end, I begin again, but this time...alone." He goes on to say that if the other world is driven by life, this one would be driven by challenge and turmoil, creating the Absolute Universe in his image and his alone.
Things have now come full circle, as the Alpha World has become fully formed in Darkeid's image, creating the Absolute Universe. As we see in the issue, the heroes we've known all this time are far different here, with glimpses at Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman, and more heroes are assuredly on the way as the universe starts to roll out new series. It's been quite a journey to get here, but one long-running thread has finally been addressed.
What Is DC All In?
Following the events of Absolute Power, the heroes of the core DC Universe have fought against the deep divisions in the world around them to usher in a new era of unity. And it's just in time, too – because Darkseid has returned! Superman gathers every DC Super Hero on Earth to hold the line against a vastly different version of the Lord of Apokolips as they raise our cosmic defenses and prepare for war. And when the first blows land, the shock waves will ripple across DC's core series, shaking the nature of their realities to their very foundation!
But a greater threat looms on the horizon in the Absolute Universe. Here, DC's biggest icons come of age with fewer advantages while facing greater opposition than ever before and retaining the immutable heroism that continues to inspire and entertain fans. But can they really protect the light that shines inside them when the world in which they live is hurtling toward a terrible destiny?
What did you think of All In, and what do you think of how everything ended up connecting? You can talk all things comics and DC with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
