Fifteen Worlds of the DC Implosion
(Michelinie's aborted 1970s cosmology)
Context
During the mid-1970s, DC Comics launched a large batch of new titles to conquer market shares – the DC Explosion.
One of the new writers, David Michelinie , had several of his books share a cosmology called the Fifteen Worlds.
However, the DC Explosion was a failure and had to be dramatically scaled back. Which led comic book enthusiasts to name this era the DC Implosion .
This article summarizes what is known about the Fifteen Worlds. It also discusses the implications for other fictional worlds. Since Michelinie’s creations popped back in an unlikely range of places, implicitly tying these realities to the Fifteen Worlds lost cosmology.
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Fifteen Worlds
These are a system of 15 proximate dimensionsOther realms of existence that are not our universe. In DC Heroes RPG terms, the Dimensional Travel Distance between those is a single AP.
There are various ways to interpret what we’re told about the 15 worlds. Here are the known facts, and hypothetical frameworks, to tie all of this together.
Define “fifteen”
The most likely — but not stated — organisation is that there are 8 dimensions who are floating into an interdimensional “void”.
This void is divided between seven Shadow-Gods, meaning seven “worlds”. It is aligned with chaos.
It’s not “void” in the sense of being a vacuum – actually it’s full of stuff. But in the sense that nothing is structured or long-lasting, and in the sense of a moral void.
This interdimensional void has teratogenic properties. That is, even brief exposure will mutate living beings into developing demonic-looking traits.
Making mistakes while handling magical forces within the Fifteen Worlds has a definite tendency to rip the dimensional fabric – and expose the experimenter to one of the void worlds. Many of the mutated, chaotic-looking monsters in Claw the Unconquered’s world — such as N’Hglthss the Damned — seem to be unique results of such accidental exposure. Rather than local fauna.
Alternative take
The more straightforward interpretation is that the Fifteen Worlds are 15 distinct entities. Rather than 8 plus 1 divided into 7.
This is not the impression I got when trying to understand how the void hells were depicted in the story. But it has the advantage of being simple.
One illustration seems to support that view, showing what may be 15 planets.
Law and chaos
Seven of the eight non-void dimensions are said to be worlds of law. These are dominated by the Gods of Elder Light.
It seems that the world “law” should be taken more literally than one would expect, and in the same sense as in the phrase “rule of law”. That is, these places have a formalised society where everybody is expected to behave according to a set of clear and documented rules.
Apparently this has magical implications. Being law-aligned allows these worlds not to become like the interdimensional void.
One of the 7 worlds is named Awadaka and is Ghilkyn’s home world.
The Shadow-God and the Lords of Elder Light cannot fight directly, since that would destroy their multiverse.
In balance
The fifteenth world includes the kingdom of Pytharia, the heroic-fantasy land of Claw the Unconquered. It is repeatedly described as being in balance between chaos and law.
This manifests as it having a primitive society, where those rules and laws that exist are crude and fragile. Most people seem interested in twisting them or dodging them for immediate, personal benefit.
Society might thus crumble under the weight of naked greed and impulses. Or it might eventually grow and consolidate.
As such it is the lynchpin of the 15 worlds, and having it swing more clearly toward law or toward chaos would provide that side with a tipping point advantage in making all 15 worlds theirs.
“Pytharia” is but a kingdom on this world. But the word has sometimes been used to designate the whole world. A proper name for the world might be “Terra Arcana” — read on for more — though the only name given by Michelinie was the Known World.
One brief view of the Fifteen Worlds shows Claw standing on a planet looking like a simplified depiction of Earth. This might imply that the Known World is a parallel Earth – or the past or future of Earth.
Cosmology and crossovers
Two other David Michelinie works from the 1970s (Starfire and Star Hunters) exist within this multiverse. These are of the worlds of law. Or perhaps the future or past of one or two such worlds.
In Star Hunters, both Claw and Starfire are referenced as “Champions of the Sornaii”. This seems to mean a collective of pro-law divine entities. The Sornaii may be the same thing as the Gods of Elder Light.
Donovan Flint also becomes a Champion of the Sornaii just before Star Hunters ceases publication.
Champion unknown
A third flashback in the Star Hunters scene picturing the Champions of the Sornaii depicts what seem to be a WWII-era combat scene. But is not identifiable.
My No-Prize Hypothesis — since all works referenced are Michelinie’s own — is that the unidentifiable Champion of the Sornaii was the Unknown Soldier. He’s the one World War II hero Michelinie got to write during his early career.
It would also make sense that the Unknown Soldier would be the unidentifiable, faceless one on the page whereas Claw and Starfire are clearly visible.
Unless, of course, the battle scene was meant as a generic example not starring any particular character.
Since Michelinie’s work of that time is explicitly influenced by 1960s Moorcock works (particularly the law vs. chaos aspect), one may imagine that the Champion of the Sornaii is a figure like Moorcock’s Eternal Champion . But this is purely speculative.
Adνеrtisеmеnt
Other realities and the Fifteen Worlds
Stalker’s world and Beowulf’s world might be among the fifteen worlds.
The multi-dimensional Oracle knew of Beowulf and Claw as well as of Stalker. And travel between the DCU and these three heroic-fantasy worlds was quick and easy using a shard from the Rock of Eternity.
We’ll note that :
- Stalker’s world had a backstory identical to that of Starfire. That is, advanced human space colonists are overwhelmed by magical aliens and thrown back into low-tech slavery until they can rebel and exile their magical alien masters.
Starfire’s era could easily be the distant past of Stalker’s world, and hers the rebellion of legend in Stalker’s world history.
Claw is later seen operating in a milieu with the same backstory – see his profile. - While in Starfire’s era law was ascendant, in Stalker’s time the world seemed to be well on its way to become a void world. The hell-lord Dgrth was quite powerful and the world itself was being slowly drained of beauty.
Stalker’s world may have been the world in balance at that point, or it might have been a “mild” void world – lawless and breaking down, but not a sanity-blasting reality smudge. - Dgrth didn’t just threaten Stalker’s world, but numerous dimensions including the DCU. If Stalker’s world was the one in balance (and losing to chaos), then Dgrth’s plan was presumably to finish winning the war there. Then take on the seven dimensions of law with ease and massacre billions using the advantage given to him by tipping the balance.
- Beowulf’s world was also concerned with issues of an emerging society vs. chaos and evil. Interestingly, it was but one AP of Dimensional Distance away from an underworld ruled by Satan and full of monsters and chaos. And Satan was toying with the world and using monsters such as the Blood-Beast Grendel to weaken the rule of law.
That Beowulf’s world might have been the world in balance is therefore a credible hypothesis.
Other worlds such as the one of Crystar the Crystal Warrior could be part of the fifteen worlds as the world-in-the-balance of their time. Since they also use a strong framework of law vs. chaos as their central conflict. And, speaking of Marvel worlds…
The world of Stalker.
Mighty thews and sandaled feet
Hyborea (home to Conan, Red Sonja and others) exists among the Fifteen Worlds. When Sonja and Claw met, it seemed to them that they lived on the same world.
The caption specifies that there exists a “lawless wasteland” between the Hyborian kingdoms and Pytharia, which does sound like one of the Voids.
Though it looked like a mostly-normal, bandit-infested wasteland, this land was rife with corruption, breeding mutated monsters was simple, there was little law and the life expectancies were as bad as you’d expect, and so on. It didn’t match the standard image of a demon-infested warped insanity, but presumably not all the seven voids are identical.
It therefore may have been a “mild” chaos plane.
Sailing Marvelward
Hyborea is part of the Marvel Universe. It is in the past of Earth-616The main Marvel Comics version of Earth. Natives from that era such as Conan, Sonja, Kulan Gath, etc. have interacted with persons from the far future such as the X-Men or Spider-Man (Peter Parker).
This would lead to the conclusion that the Marvel Universe is or was one of the seven worlds of law. Perhaps existing at the very edge of the 15 worlds system and thus not as implicated in the law vs. chaos war and not as concerned with corruption by the void.
There’s little to refute this hypothesis. The Marvel Universe has its share of action tied to a war between chaos and law, such as the 2011 Chaos War or the various clashes between Lord Chaos and Master Order.
For instance, the Chaos War might have been the result of a defeat of the forces of law on the world in balance, strengthening chaos among the fifteen worlds.
The tiny void realm of Mahan K’handa.
Jewelled thrones of the Earth
However – the Red Sonja who met Claw the Unconquered could have been from an alternate version of Hyborea, existing on a Earth parallel to Earth-616.
Even meta-fictionally, it’s hard to tell. This Hyborea was depicted by another publisher, which is usually a clue of a parallel world.
But on the other hand the goal was to channel the classic stories published by Marvel back in the days where mighty-thewed (and occasionally also mighty-bosomed) barbarians were an important part of their répertoire. For instance, Sonja was wearing the, hmm, scalemail bikini that is a signature visual of that Marvel era.
Back to DC
The DCU is more clearly touched by Claw, or more precisely his descendants.
Putting aside one joke appearance at The Oblivion (the otherdimensional bar frequented by magical types from all eras and dimension of the DC Universe), there was an important encounter between Wonder Woman, Claw, Stalker and Beowulf. But not just that !
Primal Force
There is a Claw the Unconquered among the XXth century Primal Force on New Earth. This was a Hong Kong man called John Chan, with a demon hand.
In 1994 Dr. Mist says that he hadn’t seen the demon hand in 800 years, so Claw’s lineage has presumably been on the DC Universe’s Earth since at least the Middle Ages.
Terra Arcana
There is a Claw the Unconquered on Terra Arcana (appearing in the 2000s Creature Commandos Limited Series). This story — which occurs “in the future” — is impossible to place in a continuity. It is often considered an Elseworld .
The Claw there introduces himself as Claw of Pytharia, Son of Kregar. Though Pytharia later becomes “Pythana”.
It could be the original after some dimensional travelling to another of the Fifteen Worlds. Or it could be a parallel version.
The hypothesis we’ll use here is that, since the story occurs “in the future”, this man is a descendant of Valcan. And that the family has a tradition of naming male children after their grandfather. But it’s definitely not stated in the material.
The Claw of Terra Arcana claimed to have battled the Shadow-Gods and won. He also seemed to exist in symbiosis with his demon-claw, freely using its magic even while wearing an oraculum gauntlet. The demon paw’s magic was much more overt and powerful, of the “casting large eldritch bolts” variety.
Still, this Claw had to beware the influence of the hand or act in a brutal, bloodthirsty fashion. He occasionally succumbed to the hand’s influence, taking off his gauntlet and acting like a demon until he was forced to wear the gauntlet again.
Sorcerers around him knew that the gauntlet was a gift from the Gods of Elder Light. They thought that its demon-dampening power was weakening due to the rise of evil on Terra Arcana. The story was taking place in the greater context of interdimensional consolidation and invasion by lawless forces.
Therefore, it seems possible that this setting was the distant future of the Fifteen Worlds. And that “Terra Arcana” was the world in balance.
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More DC Universe stuff
Like the MU, the DCU might be one of the seven worlds of law in the Fifteen Worlds cosmology.
Since the clash of law and chaos play a greater role in the DCU than in the MU (the Lords of Chaos and Order, Doctor Fate, Hawk and Dove, etc.), the DCU might be a wee bit more included in the main system.
Maybe Nekron (not that one) is originally one of the seven Shadow-Gods. Or maybe the rise of the Black Lanterns was the result of a defeat of law on the Known World. Whereas, say, the capture of the Starheart would have been made possible by early victories of the forces of Elder Light on the Known World.
A 2010 story (Time Master : Vanishing Point) featured both Claw and Starfire. This *might* indicate that Claw’s time is the distant past of New Earth and Starfire’s time lies somewhen in the future.
However, both encounters took place due to a sabotaged time jump. Notably, Rip Hunter’s databases couldn’t identify either time period. It is thus entirely possible that these forays were lateral (in another dimension) as well as vertical (in the past and future of New Earth).
These events might imply that the “world in balance” always has been the DC Universe’s New Earth. With the realities and the state of the chaos vs. law conflict changing during the aeons to become different from those of Claw’s time.
One could even postulate that all these settings are actually New Earth at various point in its history.
- Starfire’s world could be in the very distant future or past after one of the Great Disasters that punctuate Earth’s history.
- Beowulf may have existed during roughly the historical time of the poem. At a point where the Shadow-God Satan was making a push to anchor his void to Earth.
- Claw’s Pythara could exist in a “lost age” like Conan’s world, cementing him as the DCU’s equivalent of the Cimmerian.
- Even the flat world of Stalker could be New Earth. Way back during the reign of the Pre-Dead the Earth had a different physical shape as a result of magic.
But Time Master : Vanishing Point doesn’t mention anything about that.
Helper(s): Darci.
Writeup updated and expanded on the 7th of May, 2011.