Dark Forces of the Multiverse

The Dark Forces of the Multiverse, also known as Direct-Crisis Energy, Crisis Energy, or the Seven Hidden Forces of Creation, are the chaotic and disruptive energies of the Greater Omniverse, acting as the dark opposite to the Anti-Crisis Energy born of The Presence and The Source. The Dark Forces were most prominently wielded by the rogue Hand Perpetua.

History

Little is known about the true origins of the Dark Forces of the Multiverse. They are presumed to have originated from The Source eons ago, in parallel to the Seven Forces of the Universe.^[2]

In the beginning, the Source dispatched the Hand Perpetua to shape a Multiverse within the Greater Omniverse. When the Hands create a Multiverse, they use the Seven Harmonious Forces to shape a reality in which life is meant to evolve beyond selfishness and rise to higher truths,^[3] but Perpetua forged her Multiverse using the Dark Forces.^[4] She divided her creation into three primary realms, positive matter, dark matter, and antimatter, and created three sons, Mar Novu, Alpheus, and Mobius, to oversee them.^[5]

Some times after the Multiverse’s creation, Mar Novu discovered that Perpetua’s purpose had been fulfilled and that she was meant to either die or move on to create another Multiverse. Further investigation revealed that her Multiverse had been built using energies incompatible with the intended design of creation. Her sons alerted the greater cosmic order, and in response, Perpetua, her armies, and the powers she had accumulated were sealed within the Source Wall by the other Hands. The Multiverse was then restarted under the influence of the Seven Harmonious Forces.^[6]

The Hands hoped that by watching the Multiverse grow, Perpetua could learn to love it and return to The Source as she was originally meant to do, but instead she raged inside her cage, whispering to anyone who could hear, stirring them up with desires, greed and instigating Crises in her plans to break free from the Source Wall.^[7][8] The Anti-Monitor was the first to hear the whispers, setting him on a path that collapsed the Infinite Earths of the Multiverse into a singular universe and, unbeknownst to all, a crack formed in the Source Wall and Perpetua whispered to through the Multiverse to the ears of those powerful enough to shake the foundations of reality. Each time the heroes of the Multiverse pushed back against a Crisis, they were changed again and again, but their core essence remained, although unbeknownst to them, each time reality took its new form, a new crack formed in the Source Wall.^[9]

When the Justice League used Element X to seal Barbatos and the Dark Multiverse's forces, the Source Wall shattered and Perpetua was finally free. However, Perpetua was not entirely free as she needed to restore her corporeal form and past power. In doing so, she sent pieces of the Totality through time for Vandal Savage and the Luthor family to find, ultimately setting Lex Luthor and his Legion of Doom on a path to unlock the Seven Hidden Energies of Creation to restore the Totality's true form: the cosmic giant Perpetua.^[10][11] With Luthor's help and the Year of the Villain, Perpetua regained her full power and, as the multiversal psychic balance tipped in her favor, she was able to restore the Dark Forces of the Multiverse as the dominant energies in the Multiverse.^[12] In an effort to stop Perpetua in her desire to reshape the Multiverse in her image, the Justice League established a telepathic contact with the inhabitants of Earth to tip the psychic balance in their favor and create a Totality from their connection to each of the seven positive forces of the Multiverse to rival Perpetua, an action which was in vain as Perpetua's machinations divided the Multiverse by evil, and with such division came fear, anger, and loss of faith, allowing Perpetua to win.^[13] At some point, before the events of Death Metal, the Justice League harnessed all Connective Energy forces to challenge Perpetua again in a clash that burned out the Sun and exhausted both forces.

Still Force

The true opposite force of the Speed Force and the cosmic essence of stasis based around inertia. It is described as the drive towards stasis and death. With it the user can slow down and/or stop motion , create barriers and constructs as well as absorb life force from its victims and stop aging. It is the first force to be unlocked with the breaking of the source wall and it was keeping the other energies from bleeding in the universe.

Invisible Spectrum

The power of unseen light and hidden emotion. While the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum is controlled by its conduits the Invisible Spectrum controls them or at least those who resist. Its Emotional Entity is Umbrax, a sentient Black Sun that assimilates planets to its Phantom Galaxy to add to its immense army. It was the second force to be unlocked when Sinestro released Umbrax and using its light to create the biggest Lantern Corps in eternity dwarfing the collective sum of all the other Corps combined.

Tear of Extinction

The dark side of the Life Force. It acts as the inversion of life's connection. Described as the drive towards isolation and solipsism and anything coated by the Tear can kill easily any mortal or immortal ripping life from anyone hit by it.

Void Wind

The dark counterpart to the Sphere of the Gods which can snuff out magic and gods. It is the Tear's twin and its name is derived from the harsh winds that blow from the Graveyard of Gods. In addition to snuffing out magic and the lives of the gods, it has shown the ability to subjugate them as well as seen with Cheetah controlling the god Poseidon. It was unlocked when the key to the Graveyard of Gods was destroyed.

Black Apple

The dark counterpart to the Collective Unconscious, which is the force that grants telepaths their power. It is a dark force of forbidden knowledge unlocked by discovering the universes darkest secrets.

Sixth Note

The dark counterpart to the Dimensional Superstructure of the Multiverse, its powers are known to be beyond imagination. Unlocked when the impossible is glimpsed.

Faithlessness

Faith in the evil within people's hearts and their selfish cruel nature. It is unlocked when one loses the faith one possesses of their loved ones. This was the final force to be unlocked to fully revive Perpetua and it is closely connected to the concept of Doom.

Anti-Life Equation

The transcendental mathematical formula originally said to allow those who knew it to dominate the will of any sentient race. Although not part of the Seven Hidden Energies of Creation or "Forces of Doom", the Anti-Life Equation is part of the Crisis Energy.

Chaos Magic

A rare form of magic practiced exclusively by the Lords of Chaos, who are the cosmic opposites and enemies of the Lords of Order. Unlike ordinary magic wielders, chaos magic does not have cost or require specific methods such as pentagrams, sigils, chants, or rules to initiate spells. Instead, it is cast solely based on the user's will. Although not part of the Seven Hidden Energies of Creation or "Forces of Doom", the Chaos Magic is part of the Crisis Energy.

Powers

This energy represents the dark, chaotic aspect of the limitless force that flows from The Source of All Things. It regroups all destructive and consuming powers that disrupt balance and take rather than give, rooted in selfishness, greed, and predation. These include the Anti-Life Equation, Chaos Magic, the Still Force, the Ultraviolet Spectrum, and the Tear of Extinction. It severs all connection through fear, control, and the rejection of shared memory, directly opposing the unity and continuity that define its counterpart.^[14]

Unlike Connective Energy, which unites reality through memory and history, Crisis Energy distorts it by rewriting the past to serve the ego of the present. In the words of Wally West: “There is only now, there is only us, there is only me.” It elevates individuals above the greater whole, rejecting legacy and continuity in favor of self-empowerment and control over the now. Many Crisis-level villains channeled this force to raise themselves, drawing strength from the sacrifice of both what was and what could be.^[15]

Beings empowered by Crisis Energy —such as the Batman Who Laughs and Perpetua — gain vast destructive potential. The Batman Who Laughs was able to destabilize Hypertime with his mere presence and reshape reality according to his will. He created the Last 52 Multiverse, fifty-two twisted worlds born from terror and domination. Perpetua wielded Crisis Energy to annihilate entire universes, feeding on fear and suffering to grow stronger.^[16] At the height of her power, she sought to use these dark forces to remake the Multiverse in her own image, directly opposing the unity and order sought by the Hands whose purpose is to create and maintain balance throughout the Greater Omniverse.

Crisis Energy enables the resurrection and restoration of erased realities. The Batman Who Laughs used it to revive fallen Batmen from the Dark Multiverse and offered to restore Superboy-Prime's lost universe.^[17][18] Wonder Woman, believing in the potential of Crisis Energy, thought she could restore the Multiverse with infinite universes by wielding this power in her own way.^[19] Lex Luthor, empowered by the Hidden Forces, gained the ability to traverse infinite realities using this dark energy.

As noted by Wally West and Lex Luthor, all living beings serve as "batteries" for Crisis Energy, empowering it through universal chaos and slaughter. Crisis-level destruction generates this energy, feeding its destructive force.^[20]

Current Owners

• The Hands

Previous Owners

• Perpetua
• Lex Luthor (Formerly)
• Gorilla Grodd (Still Force)
• Turtle (Still Force)
• Sinestro (Invisible Spectrum)
• Ultraviolet Corps (Invisible Spectrum)
• Umbrax (Invisible Spectrum)
• Arion (Tear of Extinction) (Formerly)
• Black Manta (Tear of Extinction)
• Cheetah (Void Wind)

Notes

• Although most clearly expressed in Dark Nights: Death Metal, the name "Crisis Energy" was first introduced in The Flash Vol 1 751 as the temporal energy released whenever a change in time occurs.
• Each force is in some way rooted in the violent and predatory nature of humans. The Tear of Extinction, for example, has been described as a drive toward solipsism, the belief that the self is all that exists.
• Diana mistakenly believed that Crisis Energy was too powerful for Anti-Crisis Energy during her fight against Perpetua. Lex Luthor, however, told her that this was not the case, that during the fight, Perpetua told her that if Anti-Crisis Energy were to overcome Crisis Energy, everything would be brought to bear, all history would matter and time would unknot and many would die, which caused Diana to hesitate.
• It has not been confirmed whether the Anti-Death Equation wielded by the Gentry and the Empty Hand is part of the Crisis forces. However, it is very possible that this is the case since the Crisis Energies regroup all dark and raging powers in the Multiverse.
• The Alpha Effect is described as the Energy of Creation and as a flowing source of positive energy throughout the universe,^[21][22] closely reflecting the characteristics of Connective Energy. By contrast, the Omega Effect, as its antithesis, could correspond to Crisis Energy, functioning as a destructive force that restrains creation. This suggests that Alpha and Omega Effects may be either equivalent to, or deeply tied with, the Connective and Crisis Energies, both ultimately deriving from the Source.^[23][24]

Trivia

• The Batman Who Laughs referred to The Seven Forces of the Universe and the Seven Hidden Forces as Anti-Crisis and Direct-Crisis energies with the acronyms AC and DC. This is a reference to the Australian rock band AC/DC.^[1]

See Also

• Appearances of Dark Forces of the Multiverse
  
• Catalogued images related to Dark Forces of the Multiverse