Anti-Monitor
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The Anti-Monitor is a fictional comic book supervillain, the antagonist of the 1985 DC Comics miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. He first appeared in Crisis on Infinite Earths #2 (Although he remained in shadow until Crisis on Infinite Earths #5), and was destroyed in Crisis on Infinite Earths #12.
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[edit] History
[edit] Crisis on Infinite Earths
Billions of years ago, on the planet Oa, there existed a race of beings, blue-skinned and immortal. One of these beings, Krona, was a scientist obsessed with the origins of the universe, even though a taboo existed amongst the ancient Oans concerning the viewing of the origins of the universe. Krona created a machine that allowed him to see into the moment of creation. Somehow, his experiment disrupted the process of creation, with terrible consequences. The exact consequences have been rewritten over the years; originally, it was the unleashing of evil itself in the universe; later, it was assumed to be the creation of the evil anti-matter universe of Qward. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, it was also revealed to be the cause of the existence of all parallel universes in the Multiverse; several villains were sent back in time to stop him, but were defeated by Krona and the other Oans. In a final revision, it was established that it increased entropy in the universe, shortening its existence by a billion years (see heat death). In any event, two beings were created on both the moon of Oa and the moon of Qward. On the moon of Oa, the being known as the Monitor was instantly aware of his counterpart, the Anti-Monitor (although his official name is the Monitor, and he is often addressed as such, the name Anti-Monitor is used to distinguish him from his heroic positive matter counterpart). The two beings battled for a million years, unleashing great powers against each other, but to no avail. At the end of their stalemate, the two beings rendered each other inert for nine billion years with a simultaneous attack.
In more modern times, the alien being known as Pariah performed an experiment similar to the one Krona attempted long ago. The end result was the reawakening of both the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor, and the destruction of Pariah's home planet. The Anti-Monitor rebuilt his army, taking over Qward and using the Thunderers as his own private army, as well as creating the Shadow Demons from the Thunderers. He then released a massive anti-matter wave, absorbing the energies of the destroyed positive matter universes and growing stronger even as his counterpart grew weaker. The Anti-Monitor also employed the second Psycho Pirate, using his emotion control powers to terrorize the populations of the planets he sought to conquer and destroy. The Monitor, along with his aide Harbinger, gathered a group of heroes from various alternate universes in order to combat the threat of the Anti-Monitor.
After defeats from various heroes, including the Flash (Barry Allen) and Supergirl sacrificing themselves to destroy an anti-matter cannon and to save Superman respectively, the Anti-Monitor absorbed the entirety of the anti-matter universe and traveled to the beginning of time, intending to stop the formation of the positive matter multiverse and to create a multiverse where anti-matter prevails. However, the actions of the Spectre, backed by the heroes of all the remaining Earths and empowered by the sorcerers of the same Earths, brought the Anti-Monitor to a stalemate. The villains of said Earths, sent to stop Krona from viewing the origins of the universe, failed, allowing Krona to see the hand of the Anti-Monitor rising from the darkness, which shattered the current multiverse.
From the ashes rose a new, singular universe. While various persons adjusted to the newly singular Earth (Including those whose worlds and histories had been destroyed with the loss of the Multiverse), the Anti-Monitor, enraged, drew this new Earth into the anti-matter universe, intending to destroy this last bastion of positive matter once and for all. What followed was the Shadow Demon War, wherein many heroes and villains lost their lives against the Anti-Monitor's forces. Finally, the combined efforts of various superheroes... Doctor Light, the heroic Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three, Darkseid, Superboy of Earth-Prime, and Kal-L, the Superman of Earth-Two destroyed the Anti-Monitor by punching him into a star. The star went nova and caused anti-matter waves to erupt, threatening to destroy the entire anti-matter universe. Kal-L and Superboy-Prime were willing to resign themselves to their final fates, when Alexander Luthor, using his power to open dimensions, revealed that he had created a "paradise dimension", and he used it to prevent the Lois Lane of Earth-Two from being erased from existence when the post-Crisis universe was formed, as he foresaw how events would unfold and refused to allow Superman to have to deal with such a terrible loss. Using his own body as a portal, Alexander Luthor, Kal-L, and Superboy-Prime went into the "paradise dimension" alongside Lois.
[edit] Infinite Crisis
Superman (and Lois Lane) of Earth-Two, Superboy of Earth-Prime, and Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three, from their home in the hidden pocket universe, were revealed to be observing the events of the newly-formed universe, as well as the actions of its heroes. Upon observing the events leading up to Infinite Crisis, the heroes returned to the universe in an attempt to restore Earth-Two's existence, at the expense of Earth-One. The Anti-Monitor's remains were then used as part of a tuning fork, similar to the one's used during the first Crisis. The tower then created the vibrational frequency that Earth-Two was on prior to its nonexistence, which in turn recreated Earth-Two with no visible expense to Earth-One, save the movement of characters who originated on Earth-Two to the recreated Earth-Two. Alexander Luthor then recreated the other Earths with his tuning fork, with their respective heroes forcibly migrating to said Earths.
Superboy-Prime (followed soon by Bart Allen) then returned from the Speed Force wearing what appeared to be select elements of the Anti-Monitor's armor, using it as a yellow sunlight collector. How he obtained it is still unrevealed, although evidence suggests that he built it himself while he was imprisoned and it merely resembles the Anti-Monitor's armour, although whether by intention or coincidence is unconfirmed.
Ultimately, the tower was destroyed when Kon-El, the modern Superboy, and Superboy-Prime crashed into it while fighting each other, Kon-El dying in the arms of Wonder Girl as Superboy-Prime fled.
[edit] Post-Crisis Impact
The Anti-Monitor, despite only being in the Crisis on Infinite Earths mini-series and one issue of Wonder Woman, left a far-reaching impact on the DC universe post-Crisis. The Swamp Thing storyline "American Gothic" revolved around Swamp Thing, John Constantine, and various allies (including Phantom Stranger, the Demon, Baron Winters, Deadman, Doctor Occult, Doctor Fate, Cain and Abel, the Spectre, Sargon the Sorcerer, Zatara, Zatanna, and Mento of the Doom Patrol) attempting to stop a group of male witches known as the Brujera from using a Crisis-induced mystical disturbance to awaken a cosmic being (known as "the Primordial Darkness") to destroy God. This "Primordial Darkness" is revealed to be the Anti-Monitor's hand from the battle at the beginning of time in Crisis on Infinite Earths #10, reaching up out of what is apparently Hell. At the climax of the storyline in Swamp Thing #50, Swamp Thing convinces God and "the Primordial Darkness" to compromise, although Zatara and Sargon are killed, Zatanna's relationship with Constantine permanently damaged, and Mento driven insane.
The entity involved in this story was also revealed to be the source of power behind many superheroes and supervillains in the DC universe. Called both "the Shadowlands" and "the Primordial Darkness," the hand empowers Obsidian, Ian Karkull, the Shade, Shadow-Thief, Eclipso, and others, either directly or indirectly.
The anti-matter universe still exists, now with both Qward (said to be the counterpart of Oa) and an alternate Earth populated by counterparts of the positive matter heroes and villains (each taking the opposite role).
The heroes and villains killed by the Anti-Monitor or his agents affected many of the survivors, with the impact being felt even today, especially with characters such as the Flash. Barry Allen's death is considered by many to elevate him to a sort of martyrdom, with some proclaiming him the first saint of comics, and is one of the main reason why he, unlike other heroes, has never been resurrected, as many feel this would cheapen his sacrifice. His successor, Wally West, still struggles with living in the shadow of such a hero. Other point to the death of the first Supergirl as being highly emotional and devestating to readers, both in her demise and the fact that any memory of her was wiped clean post-Crisis.
Perhaps the most notable impact the Anti-Monitor had on the post-Crisis universe was the elimination of the multiverse aspect of the DC Universe. Previously, there existed an infinite number of Earths, each one with a unique history, that could be accessed through various means, the most common being vibrational attunement. Post-Crisis, with the destruction of all but one Earth thanks to the machinations of the Anti-Monitor, a simpler, more streamlined DC Universe seemed imminent, with characters acquired from Charlton Comics, Fawcett Comics, and Quality Comics all becoming incorporated into the new DC Universe.
[edit] Brave New World
At the end of DC Comics' 2006 special "Brave New World" it is revealed that there are five figures calling themselves "the Monitors" watching over the new post-Infinite Crisis Earth. Four of the figures resemble the original Monitor from Crisis on Infinite Earths. However, a fifth figure appears to be possibly identical to the original Anti-Monitor. Since the character has its back turned on the page, this cannot be totally confirmed yet.
[edit] Other versions of the Anti-Monitor
In the "Chain Lightning" arc of the Flash comics, history is altered when Barry Allen is killed before the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths. This forces Wally West into a timeline where the Anti-Monitor was never defeated and only the Antimatter Universe remains.
[edit] Appearance In Other Media
The Justice League Unlimited episode "The Once And Future Thing, Part 2," Chronos's disruption of the timeline nearly results in history being erased with a "white field" effect similar to the anti-matter wave of the Crisis. Also, Batman and Green Lantern chase Chronos to the beginning of time, where they view the Anti-Monitor's hand.
