Millennium (DC)
The Millennium is an event that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
The Millennium was an event that impacted the Earth which began when the Guardians of the Universe and their immortal female counterparts the Zamarons announced their decision to depart this plane of existence to create a new cosmic race. To accomplish this, they chose ten ordinary humans from Earth to become their successors, known as the Chosen. The Guardians summoned the Green Lantern Corps to Earth to safeguard the process, while the Manhunters that were their ancient robotic enforcers turned enemies had mobilized their sleeper agents hidden across Earth. Upon this revelation, there was a shift in alliances among Earth's superheroes as many trusted friends and allies were revealed to be Manhunter infiltrators. The conflict quickly escalated from revelation to violence, forcing Earth’s heroes to defend the Chosen while grappling with betrayal. (Millennium v1 #1)
The Guardians identified and began gathering the Chosen, a diverse group including Celia Windward, Betty Clawman, and Takeo Yakata. The heroes of Earth were dispatched in teams to protect them from Manhunter attacks, who sought to kill or capture these individuals before they could ascend. The activities revolved around action on multiple fronts: Superman, Batman, the Green Lanterns, and the Flash fought waves of Manhunter forces, while simultaneously working to secure the humans identified by the Guardians. The betrayal theme deepened here, with sleeper Manhunters sabotaging operations and striking at personal levels, challenging the trust between heroes and their allies. The scale of the war widened, with the Manhunters engaging openly and Earth’s defenders struggling to hold the line. (Millennium v1 #2)
The gathered Chosen were placed in sanctuary to begin their transformation under the watch of the Guardians. The Manhunters intensified their offensive, coordinating large-scale assaults that forced Earth’s heroes into constant combat to hold their ground. The Justice League and Green Lantern Corps bore the brunt of the fighting, while individual heroes like Batman and Superman engaged directly against Manhunter leaders. This issue showcased the simultaneous defense of multiple Chosen across different regions, with the stakes growing clear: if any were killed, the Guardians’ plan would fail. The war expanded into a global crisis, with ordinary civilians caught in the crossfire as Manhunters unleashed destructive campaigns to weaken Earth’s defenders. The tone here shifted from shock to grim endurance, as heroes accepted they were fighting a war of attrition against an enemy with deep roots in human society. (Millennium v1 #3)
The scope of the Manhunter infiltration was dramatically brought home to Superman. This came after the chilling revelation that Lana Lang, Clark Kent's childhood friend from Smallville, had actually been a Manhunter android for a number of years. The activation signal for the global Manhunter network caused this android to turn on the Kents, attacking Martha and Jonathan Kent at their farm. Superman intervened and confronted the android, which explained its programming and how the real Lana had been taken decades prior. As part of its final function, the android self-destructed in a powerful explosion, a clear demonstration of the Manhunters' insidious reach into the most intimate parts of the heroes' lives and their willingness to sacrifice their agents in the pursuit of their goals. (Adventures of Superman v1 #436)
With all eight of the surviving Chosen assembled at the Green Lantern Citadel, a Guardian of the Universe and a Zamaron offered them a final opportunity to withdraw from the Millennium Project, which they all declined, allowing their instruction to begin. Concurrently, Batman, dissatisfied with the heroes' inability to counter the widespread Manhunter threat effectively, investigated the connection to Mark Shaw, a former Manhunter then imprisoned at Belle Reve, which was located near the Manhunters' secret stronghold in the Louisiana bayou. At that very moment, the Manhunters were gathering at their base, where the recently converted Firestorm was among them, leading Wade Eiling to dispatch Captain Atom to confront the nuclear man. Meanwhile, at Belle Reve, the Suicide Squad received their briefing, assigning them to find and destroy that same nearby Manhunter base, with Mark Shaw among their ranks. No sooner had the Squad departed than Batman arrived at the prison, only to be informed by the warden that Shaw had served his time and was released, a deception the Dark Knight saw through, immediately pursuing the Squad into the swamp. In New York, the Manhunters launched an attack on Madame Xanadu, which drew Jim Corrigan, Kim Liang, and the Spectre into the conflict as they, too, independently deduced the location of the main headquarters. (Millennium v1 #4)
At the Green Lantern Citadel, the Guardian Herupa Hando Hu and the Zamaron Nadia Safir began instructing the eight assembled Chosen, who had all committed to the Millennium Project. Batman, Superman, and other heroes congregated, discussing the outcomes of their recent battles against the Manhunters, though some details, such as the existence of the Suicide Squad or the sacrifice of Karin Grace, were kept secret. The heroes' brief sense of accomplishment after destroying the Louisiana Manhunter base was cut short when Aquaman and Aqualad arrived with a salvaged Manhunter spaceship, which suggested an endless supply of enemy reinforcements from space. A new immediate threat arose when Looker received a telepathic distress call from the hidden land of Abyssia, the source of her powers; the Outsiders, minus Batman, departed to respond to this new attack. As Wonder Woman abruptly vanished, the remaining heroes realized they needed a proactive plan. A strike force of ten prominent heroes was assembled to take the battle to the Manhunters' homeworld, Orinda. This group, including Superman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Captain Atom, Firestorm, various Green Lanterns, and Doctor Fate, used the latter's magic to instantaneously transport across the cosmos, while back on Earth, the remaining heroes prepared to guard the planet against further incursions. Concurrently, on the distant planet Orinda, Harbinger was rescued by the alien Green Lantern Driq, who, though deceased, was animated by the sheer energy of his power ring. (Millennium v1 #5)
The contingent of space-based superheroes had pursued the Manhunter Highmaster from the wreckage of the planet Orinda, but the Highmaster easily overwhelmed them in a fight and vanished, intending to find the original Guardians of the Universe. A novice Doctor Fate attempted a spell to send the heroes after him, but his inexperience meant the heroes nearly died in an extra-dimensional realm, forcing their life-forces to be concentrated into only Superman and Hal Jordan, who then set out alone to complete the mission. Back on Earth, at the Green Lantern Citadel, the "Chosen" were meditating as part of their training to become the new immortal Guardians of the Universe. Wonder Woman returned from her netherworld adventure and was confronted by a dismayed Batman, who had received news of the Outsiders' downfall; after apologizing for snapping at her, Batman and Guy Gardner wrongly concluded that Booster Gold was the traitor within their ranks and confronted him, but Booster overpowered them and escaped. The Floronic Man, initially believed to be a Manhunter agent who had captured one of the Chosen, actually had a change of heart; he captured a Manhunter agent instead and turned him over to the heroes. Blue Beetle, Mister Miracle, and Kilowog examined a captured Manhunter ship and made a crucial discovery: the vessel was not designed for space travel, but for travel to the center of the Earth, leading them to believe the Manhunters' main stronghold was located at the planet's core. (Millennium v1 #6)
Overview
In appearance, Millennium was an eight-part weekly comic book event structured as both a Green Lantern-centric saga and a DC Universe-spanning crossover. It was defined not by a single character but by its framework: the Guardians’ departure, the selection of the Chosen, and the war with the Manhunters. The format blended cosmic themes with street-level betrayals, placing heroes from Superman to Blue Beetle into a unified storyline. The event unfolded through its core limited series as well as tie-ins across DC’s publishing line. (Millennium v1 #1)
The event took place across multiple locations within the universe, anchored primarily on Earth but extending into outer space. Central hubs included the Guardians’ citadel, the temporary sanctuary where the Chosen were kept, and key battlegrounds spread across cities where the Manhunters staged their assaults. Locations significant to individual heroes, such as Metropolis, Gotham, and Coast City, also became fronts in the larger conflict, making the event touch nearly every corner of the shared universe. (Millennium v1 #2).
The impact of Millennium was considerable a it established the Manhunters as a formidable hidden threat within Earth’s society, introduced the Chosen who would go on to become the New Guardians, and reshaped relationships between heroes and their supporting casts after betrayals were revealed. It also provided major developments for Green Lantern lore, deepening the mythos of the Guardians and their legacy. While the Chosen/New Guardians did not become lasting central figures in DC continuity, the revelations of sleeper agents and the expanded reach of the Manhunters reverberated in later Green Lantern and Justice League stories. (Millennium v1 #8)
Participants
- Herupa Hando Hu :
- Nadia Safir :
- Rocket Red #7 :
- Pan :
- Manhunter Grandmaster :
Notes
- The Millennium was created by Steve Englehart, Joe Staton and Ian Gibson where it made its first appearance in Millennium v1 #1 (January, 1988).
Appearances
- Millennium v1: (1988)
External Links
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