With the DC New 52 behind us and the Post-Convergence DC You upon us, many fans have wondered just what its going with DC’s multiverse? Well writer Grant Morrison and DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio have tried to explain what’s the deal with the multiverse; is it locked at 52 Earths or is it infinite or both?
Spoilers follow.
Grant Morrison is now referring to the post-Multiversity and post-Convergence DC DC Comics multiverse as the DC Multi-Multiverse:
- Grant Morrison is calling the new DC approach to continuity the “DC Multi-Multiverse,” and said the concept has opened the door for him to create “weird” and “strange” versions of DC characters in his two upcoming series, Multiversity Too and Batman: Black & White…
…”[DC Co-Publisher Dan DiDio] just said, you’ve got to do something with this. You can’t just say there’s another Multiverse and then do nothing with it,” Morrison said, then explained that he told Dan DiDio that actually, there are an endless number of Multiverses in the DCU. “It’s not just another Multiverse — it’s as many as we need. You know? There’s, like, little champagne bubbles in a glass.”
Dan DiDio seems to indicates that all of the new DC Comics mini-series and new ongoing series rolling out over the coming months take place on what Grant Morrison calls Earth 0 and what Dan DiDio calls Prime Earth:
- …when you look at books like Titans Hunt and Lois and Clark, these are building blocks that are starting to integrate aspects of the pre-Flashpoint continuity into the current continuity moving forward, that we established since the launch of the New 52…
…I think the one misconception that came out of Convergence that we didn’t really get too deep into is this idea that we’re going to have all these books set in various numbered worlds. That was never going to be the case. Really, what we wanted to use was all those various worlds, to add to our storytelling, have places to go to in different types of adventures — to visit rather than just to basically set up where every book has its own world and own direction. I don’t think that would make the strongest line, diversifying that fast, because it feels like all those things are competing with each other to get attention.
What we want to do is create the sensibilities we had leading into the Crisis on Infinite Earths — the multiple worlds and opportunities that could be weaved into one big story, or tapped into to help support and move ideas forward…
Dan DiDio further indicates that there are two multiverses: one finite one (the 52 Earths one) and a parallel infinite one (although Grant Morrison seems to alluded to a lot more multiverses, but infinite is still infinite). At the same time, DiDio also tries to explain DC You’s continuity using… circles.
- So with Multiversity, Grant announced that there was a second infinite Multiverse out there, and now we’re creating brand new worlds to populate that with the same hope — that they have the same weight and gravitas that ultimately make them a part of our existing lore and continuity…
…I describe it (continuity) in three concentric circles. At the center, you have the core continuity that drives the story, drives the characters, that really defines what the universe stands for — basically, the films and TV shows strive for it too, that connective world.
Then you move out from there and you have the stories that are associated with that core continuity but are able to move into directions where they stand alone, but they still feel connected to the core universe, because they share a lot of the basic conceits of the shared universe.
And then you move out to the furthest circle, and that’s where you find a lot of the more fringe ideas, the more risk-taking, and different types of approaches — being able to try different things with different characters, with different artists, with different voices, different tones. And although they share the names of characters that you’re familiar with, they really take on a life and a direction of their own, and we let them move in that direction so that they can breathe and take their own form.
So, do these explanations of the post-Convergence DC You multiverse and continuity help you or confuse you? Let us know.
