Anti-Monitor
The Anti-Monitor is a cosmic being who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
The Anti-Monitor was an ancient, evil being that arose billions of years ago on a moon of the planet Qward, in the Anti-Matter Universe. The Anti-Monitor came into existence simultaneously with his matter counterpart, the Monitor. Unlike the Monitor, the Anti-Monitor needed to surround himself in a sort of containment suit to survive- without it, his body would destroy itself. He conquered much of his anti-universe, using his Thunderer troops, the best of which he transformed into Shadow Demons. The Anti-Monitor eventually became aware of his "brother," and the two fought a million-year war. It ended with both combatants striking each other at the same time, rendering both unconscious.
Millennia later, a scientist named Kell Mossa, from the parallel Earth known as "Earth-Omega," attempted to see the origin of the universe. In doing this, he connected the matter and anti-matter universes, giving both Monitors enough energy to escape their hibernation. The Anti-Monitor then proceeded to send a wave of anti-matter into Earth-Omega's universe, destroying it utterly, with Mossa- now the Pariah- the only survivor.
Learning that his power grew with each universe destroyed by anti-matter, while his brother's weakened, the Anti-Monitor began to destroy the multiverse, one universe at a time. This became known as the Crisis on Infinite Earths. By the late 20th century, only a handful of worlds remained. The Monitor organized some of the superbeings of these worlds into several forces, which he dispatched to protect Earth-1 and Earth-2 in several time periods from the Shadow Demons. However, during this, he also captured the Psycho-Pirate, the Flash, and the Red Tornado for his use.
The Anti-Monitor also managed to take control of the Monitor's aide, Harbinger, and used her to kill his brother. The Monitor planned for this, though, and the energies of his death helped form a netherverse, where Earth-1 and Earth-2 were placed, safe from destruction. Anti-Monitor sent the transformed Red Tornado to attack the imperfectly transferred, overlapping Earths, but the elemental was defeated.
With these worlds lost to him, the Anti-Monitor determined to destroy the remaining three Earths (Earth-4, Earth-X, and Earth-S), and amplified the powers of the Psycho-Pirate so that he could inspire paranoia, fear, and blind rage (respectively) in the entire populace of the worlds. He also destroyed his late brother's satellite base. Thanks to Harbinger, however, the three remaining universes were also pulled into the netherverse.
Relentless in his goals, the Anti-Monitor used a machine to begin reducing the vibrational differences between the five universes, causing them to slowly merge. When they all occupied the same space at the same time, they would destroy one another. A strike force of superheroes, led by Pariah and Alexander Luthor, last survivor of Earth-3, invaded the Anti-Matter Universe and attacked the Anti-Monitor's fortress. The device was destroyed, but Supergirl was slain battling its creator. He, too, was damaged badly, and was forced to retreat and form a new suit for his body.
To finally annihilate the last universes, the Anti-Monitor built an anti-matter cannon, which was destroyed by the Flash (with the help of a very unwilling Psycho-Pirate). Enraged, and fed up with his constant defeats, he absorbed the energy of his entire universe and began travelling backwards, to the Dawn of Time. He was pursued there by nearly every superhero remaining, where they discovered that he planned to subvert Creation itself, making it so only his reality ever existed. He was opposed by the Spectre, who disrupted his attempt enough that, instead, the former multiverse became a single universe, constructed from the five remaining worlds.
Back in the present day, the heroes made one final stand against the Anti-Monitor and his Shadow Demons. The villain was destroyed after a desperate battle, thanks primarily to the new Doctor Light, Darkseid, Alexander Luthor, Superman of Earth-2, and Superboy of Earth-Prime.
Post-Crisis
The Anti-Monitor's goal was to break down the barriers between time periods, compressing all of the universe to a single point of time. He would then use the anti-matter cannon to obliterate that compressed universe, making the Anti-Matter Universe all that exists. Other than that point, events mostly occurred as they had pre-Crisis. Since the Anti-Matter Universe survived the Crisis and was not an alternate timeline per se, it's unlikely (but not impossible) that the Anti-Monitor still exists somewhere in hypertime.
At some point, he was reborn where he returned to the Anti-Matter Universe and secretly began building his forces for another attack on Earth as the Multiverse had been recreated. He came to be the patron of Sinestro and his Sinestro Corps where he served as their 'guardian of fear'. With the Yellow Lanterns gathered, he had them free the Cyborg Superman Hank Henshaw, release Superboy-Prime and use Kyle Rayner as the host of Parallax to be his heralds. (Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special v1 #1)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version o reality was created with a different history of events. According to a new account, the Anti-Monitor was once a being known as Mobius who was one of three sons of Perpetua. She was a member of a race of celestial superbeings that was charged in creating a Multiverse that existed within the confines of the greater Omniverse. Her children were made to watch over the three realms of this Multiverse with Mobius responsible for the Anti-Matter universe, his brother Mar Novu the Monitor charged with the positive-matter universe and finally Alpheus the World Forger being the custodian of the Dark Multiverse that underlaid it all. (Justice League v4 #22) In time, he became a seeker of knowledge and a noted scientific genius that built a device known as the Mobius Chair that he intended to learn the secret of the creation of his universe. During this ruthless pursuit of knowledge, he became a killer who had murdered many people in order to achieve his goals. (Justice League: Darkseid War Special v1 #1) Such was his single-minded focus for knowledge that he decided to seek out that which was forbidden leading to him seeking out the Anti-Life Equation. This discovery came to curse him forever leading to his transformation into a living embodiment of the Anti-life Equation where he took on the name of the Anti-Monitor. (Justice League v2 #48)
He came to reform once more where he witnessed events occurring in the Multiverse that included his mother Perpetua being freed from her imprisonment. When the Sea Gods attacked Earth, Aquaman sought to stop their Death Kraken and seemingly sacrificed his life in the process but he was saved by the Anti-Monitor. He recruited the Atlantean to aid him in stopping Perpetua and knew that a piece of the Totality resided in the past. Thus, he dispatched Arthur Curry there to aid his Justice League allies. At this point, he was sought out by his brothers and the Justice League in stopping his mother who similarly sought to recruit her errant son. Perpetua believed Mobius would side with her but he instead worked alongside justice and battled against his mother. During the fight, he merged with his kin in forming the Ultra-Monitor after being empowered by Starman and fought against Perpetua. (Justice League v4 #33) At first, they managed to match their mothers power but her allies managed to achieve their objective thus restoring the totality of her might. With it, she moved the Multiverse towards doom and infected Mobius with Anti-Life thus turning him into his full Anti-Monitor form so that he would stand by her side. (Justice League v4 #34)
With his brothers trapped within him, the Anti-Monitor was dispatched by Perpetua to eliminate one of the few threats to her which were the wings on Kendra Saunders back as they had ties to the Totality. Mobius pursued his quarry through space where he found Hawkgirl's ship where he nearly killed her. However, he was interrupted by John Stewart with the Green Lantern smashing his ship at high speeds into the Anti-Monitor. The crash was with such force that it separated Mobius from his brothers who were angered at his betrayal. Outnumbered, the Anti-Monitor called for his mothers aid but Perpetua rather than support her son decided to throw Earth-44 at their location in order to eliminate all of them. She was thwarted when the World Forger decided to use the last of his strength to strike at the crashing planet and use the resultant power to open a gateway to allow his allies to escape. (Justice League v4 #37)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers and abilities
The Anti-Monitor can shoot waves of antimatter which torch souls and unmake matter from his hands and can drain the life force out of others to gain more power. He has also the ability to create life forms and bestow them some of his powers like he did with the Thunderer Quardians and turn some of them into Shadow Demons.
One aspect of his biology was his astral brain that was able to channel Multiversal energies. (Dark Nights: Metal v1 #2)
As the Anti-Monitor, he came to be cursed with the Anti-Life Equation that flowed through his body. (Justice League v2 #44)
As an individual, he could only harness the power of his respective domain but he could merge with his brothers the Monitor and the World Forger where they could become a combined being known as the Ultra-Monitor with strength that rivalled their mother Perpetua. (Justice League v4 #33)
Notes
- The Anti-Monitor was created by Marv Wolfman, George Pérez and Jerry Ordway where he made a cameo appearance in Crisis on Infinite Earths v1 #2 (May, 1985) before making his first full appearance in Crisis on Infinite Earths v1 #6 (September, 1985).
- In Forever Evil v1 #7 (2014), the character was given a real name which was Mobius
Alternate Timelines
In a post-Crisis alternate timeline created when Cobalt Blue killed the second Flash before he destroyed the anti-matter cannon, and the Anti-Monitor was victorious. As the only survivor of the original timeline and final embodiment of all positive matter, the third Flash, Wally West, was the target of the Anti-Monitor's wrath. He escaped into the timestream, and after several failed attempts, he managed to save the second Flash and repair the damage that had been done to history.
In other media
Television
- In Green Lantern: The Animated Series, the Anti-Monitor appeared as an antagonist in the animated television series second half where he was voiced by actor Tom Kenny. This version had a vastly different story with him being built eons ago on Maltus by the renegade Guardian of the Universe known as Krona. Krona became obsessed with constructing the ultimate being that was so powerful that it could accomplish anything including time travel. Upon activation, the giant machine became cognizant it considered itself superior and used its power to control anti-matter to consume all matter. Krona banished it into another dimension in an attempt to imprison it but the giant robot simply consumed that entire realm before attempting to return to the universe of its origin.
- In the Arrowverse, the Anti-Monitor made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting:
- In Batwoman, he made his first appearance in the live-action television series in the Crisis of Infinite Earth's crossover where he was portrayed by actor LaMonica Garrett. He was revealed as the true cause of the anti-matter wave that was destroying all realities with him taking control of Harbinger.
- In The Flash, the character was identified as Mobius where he appeared in the live-action television series as part of the Crisis of Infinite Earth's crossover where he was portrayed by actor LaMonica Garrett. It was shown that Nash Wells had been transformed into Pariah as a result of the Anti-Monitors power and forced to witness the destruction of the Multiverse. Through Harbinger, he attacked his positive-matter counterpart and succeeded in destroying the Monitor and consuming Earth-1.
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, the Anti-Monitor appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game as a boss level antagonist.
Appearances
- Crisis on Infinite Earths v1:
- Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special v1:
- Blackest Night v1:
- Brightest Day v1:
- Justice League v2:
- Justice League v4:
