ACCESSACCESS
Real Name: Axel Asher
Identity/Class: Extradimensional/temporal human mutant(?), originating from Earth-616
Occupation: Part-time graduate student/keeper of the transdimensional gateway between the Marvel and DC Multiverses
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Various heroes of the DC and Marvel multiverses, Morty (Axel Asher of Earth-42213); loose association with the Brothers; Ming Kuo-Fan (girlfriend on Earth-616); Caitlin Fitzgerald (girlfriend on the mainstream DC Universe)
Enemies: Darkseid and the evil New Gods, Two-Face (DC
Multiverse);
Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Scorpion, Venom (Marvel Multiverse);
Abominite, Dr. Strangefate, Skulk, White Witch; Jade Nova, (Earth-Amalgam)
another
future (Earth-98321) version of himself
Known Relatives: Unidentified sister
Aliases: "Cosmic Hall Monitor," "Man of Two Worlds"
Base of Operations: Various times and locations throughout the Marvel and DC multiverses;
formerly New York City, New York, USA of Earth-616
First Appearance (possible): DC Special Series I#27 (September, 1981) (see comments)
First Appearance (confirmed): DC Versus Marvel#1 (December, 1995)
Powers/Abilities: Access has the power to create inter-dimensional gateways between the Marvel and DC multiverses. He can also use his gateways to teleport to different locations within the same multiverse. It was later learned that Access can also time travel by means of his gateways. Access can sense whenever something from one multiverse is wrongfully present in the other multiverse. As the keeper of the Amalgam Universe, he can also combine inhabitants from each universe into one amalgamated being. If Access stays in one place too long, he can inadvertently cause spontaneous crossovers to occur.
Height: 5'10" (by
approximation) (see comments)
Weight: 200 lbs. (by approximation) (see comments)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
History: (DC Versus Marvel#2 (fb)) - In the beginning, there were two genderless entities. They were the Yin and Yang, Good and Evil, the Mainyu. Each entity encompassed the whole of everything, except each other. Once before they came together in battle, unleashing forces that ended and then began creation all over again. In the explosion of death and rebirth, the entities were blasted apart -- their shattered essence fractured the new-born universe into a pair of "multiverses". One entity became the embodiment of the "Marvel Multiverse" while the other became the "DC Multiverse". Fragments of their essence blew in all directions, and as the multiverses spread outward so did the entities. It took them eons just to remember they had consciousness, and after all that time their memory of each other had vanished.
(DC Versus Marvel#2 (fb)) - When Axel Asher was seven years old, he wandered into his parents' bedroom and found his younger sister playing with a gun. While attempting to grab the gun, he accidentally shot himself in the leg. The injury left Asher with a slight limp and was the most traumatic event that ever happened to him--until a pair of cosmic entities suddenly appeared in his consciousness...
(Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances#1) - The Silver Surfer, of the Marvel Universe (Earth-616, specifically), came across a recently destroyed world and its destroyer, the so-called Cyborg Superman. The Cyborg (as he is more commonly known now) was pulled from the DC Universe (DCU) by an unknown being. The two fought briefly, and the Cyborg learned that the Silver Surfer was once the herald of an all-powerful being called Galactus. This battle was interrupted by Parallax (Hal Jordan, the mad Earth-man), who wished to kill the Cyborg for his crimes. While the Surfer prevented this assassination until he could sort out the details, the Cyborg escapes. In the meantime, Kyle Rayner, the current (and only remaining) Green Lantern of the DCU, was attacked on his Earth by Terrax (another former herald of Galactus), who was attacked himself by Thanos, the Mad Titan (both from Earth-616 or MU). Thanos proceeded to befriend Green Lantern, convincing him that he had journeyed across dimensions to fight a threat to all realities, a man named Hal Jordan.
Parallax used the Surfer to power his own abilities to reconstruct the timestream, starting by restoring the planet destroyed by the Cyborg. Hal's plan to rewrite reality based upon his vision appeared as a chance for the redemption the Silver Surfer had long sought, and he initially helped the madman. Green Lantern was equally taken in by Thanos, who claimed that he needed Kyle's cooperation to power a weapon designed to stop Hal Jordan. They traveled to a reality breach at the former site of the planet Oa, where Kyle became trapped in Thanos' device, a machine designed to destroy all reality. Parallax and the Surfer arrived shortly thereafter and believed that Kyle was in league with the Mad Titan. As Parallax and Thanos competed against each other for the most cosmically unbalanced soul of two universes, the Silver Surfer rashly attacked the Green Lantern. The two heroes did, of course, learn that they were on the same side and teamed-up to stop the two demented demigods from unleashing total annihilation. Kyle used his ring to contain all the energies of Oa stolen by Thanos and, in turn, stored these energies within the body of the Silver Surfer. With the loss of these energies, the rift closed, drawing Thanos back to Earth-616 and plunging Parallax deeper into the DCU. The Surfer also escaped to his home dimension before the breach sealed completely, and Kyle Rayner returned to the Earth of the DCU, glad that the battle was over.
And in an alley of Manhattan in the DCU, a large cardboard box begins to glow.
(DC Versus Marvel#2 (fb)) - Due to recent cosmos-shaking events that tore the fabric of the multiverses and redefined reality, the entities became aware of each other once more. Once again realizing that each was no longer "Me" but "Us", they could not exist with their lack of uniqueness. Nor was either one whole, for some of each of them wound up in each other's multiverse as a result of their battle millennia ago. But in observing and understanding the existence of their respective cosmic guardians, the Spectre of the DC Multiverse and the Living Tribunal of the Marvel Multiverse, the entities reached a solution. Based upon their beliefs that each of their respective multiverses was intrinsically superior to the other's, both entities desired to be "whole" and "unique". Realizing the futility of a head-to-head battle, the entities instead chose to pit their respective super-powered beings against each other in a war to end all wars and to end one multiverse. Whichever side lost the most battles would vanish forever.
(DC Versus Marvel#1) - Young Axel Asher, a native of Earth-616 in the Marvel Multiverse, was walking down a Manhattan back street when Spider-Man (Ben Reilly of Earth-616) was hit by a trans-dimensional beam of energy. The light show attracted the attention of Asher, who turned into the alley only to find a homeless man trying to keep the energy contained within his cardboard box. The homeless man recognized Asher and asked for his help, but a confused Asher declined and fled the scene. Meanwhile, Spider-Man found himself in a city by the name of Gotham (from the mainstream DCU). When the homeless man was unable to maintain the integrity of his box any longer, the trans-dimensional energy within came in contact with many more inhabitants of both the mainstream Marvel and DC universes.
(DC Versus Marvel#2) - Asher experienced hallucinations as a result of the cosmic entities fighting within his mind when a New York City police officer confronted him. Fortunately, Asher managed to slip away when a fight broke out between Wolverine (Earth-616) and Killer Croc (of the mainstream DCU) nearby. After an automatic teller machine refused to recognize his account, Asher realized that he was not in Manhattan any longer. He wandered into a strangely familiar alley where he found the homeless man that he left hours earlier. The alley was actually a nexus between Marvel's Manhattan and DC's Gotham City. The homeless man explained the history of the cosmic entities to Asher and revealed that he, the cardboard box, and Asher himself were all shards that fragmented from the cosmic entities in the Big Bang. That was why Asher became aware of the cosmic entities.
(DC Versus Marvel#3) - Asher became overwhelmed at the huge responsibility thrust upon him and began to doubt the homeless man's claims. But then the homeless man grabbed Asher by the wrist to unleash the power within him-- transforming Axel Asher into the costumed Access. The homeless man revealed that he had been the keeper of the trans-dimensional gateway between the two multiverses-- and now it was up to Access to take up the mantle and preserve the balance between the two multiverses. Later, after Batman (mainstream DCU) defeated Captain America (Earth-616) in the final battle to decide which multiverse won, the two heroes spotted the glowing box in the alley. Access attempted to recruit Batman and Captain America in a last-ditch effort to save both multiverses, but before he could the Living Tribunal and the Spectre attempted to do the same thing by starting everything over again and merging the cosmic entities into one Amalgam Multiverse.
(DC Versus Marvel#4 (fb)) - Access hid the last remaining shards of the DC and Marvel multiverses within Batman and Captain America prior to the creation of the Amalgam Multiverse. The homeless man helped Access jump to a state of consciousness in between the two entities when they merged into the Amalgam Multiverse.
(Dr. Strangefate#1) - Re-emerging in the merged Amalgam Multiverse, Access was only one of three beings aware that the DC and Marvel multiverses ever existed. After a near-fatal altercation with the monstrous Abominite in the sewers of New Gotham, Access discovered he had the ability to teleport. Dr. Strangefate sensed Access' presence in the mainstream Amalgam Universe and realized that his presence threatened the fabric of his merged pseudo-reality. Access was apprehended by Strangefate's minions and taken to Arkham Tower where he was detained by Strangefate himself. In order to preserve the Amalgam Multiverse, Dr. Strangefate attempted to destroy Access, along with the shards of the previous multiverses which were the keys to undoing the Amalgam Universe. But when Strangefate realized that Access did not have the shards with him, he found himself unprepared and Access escaped in the confusion.
(DC Versus Marvel#4) - In an alley in New Gotham in the Amalgam multiverse, Access was reunited with his homeless mentor, who had aged considerably since the multiverses were merged. The homeless man sacrificed himself in a burst of light to attract the attention of Dark Claw and Super-Soldier, two heroes native to the mainstream Amalgam Universe. When Dark Claw and Super-Soldier arrived on the scene, Access revealed that he hid the leftover shards of the original multiverses within the amalgamated heroes. He gave the Living Tribunal and the Spectre access to the power of the shards, which they used to restore the original Marvel and DC multiverses. After the separation, Access found himself in the same alley where he started alongside Captain America and Batman. Finally separated, the cosmic entities were about to fight each other, which would mean the certain destruction of both multiverses. Access teleported Batman and Captain America to a cosmic state of mind outside the embodiments of both multiverses. Inspired by the heroic lives of Batman and Captain America, the cosmic entities looked at each other and stopped fighting-- each coming to the slow realization that they who encompassed the whole of reality had become smaller than the smallest of their components. The entities spoke to each other for the first time and congratulated each other on a job well done. The DC and Marvel multiverses separated once more.
(DC/Marvel: All Access#4 (fb)) - When the Amalgam Multiverse separated, Dr. Strangefate hid himself in the subconscious of the mainstream Marvel Universe's Dr. Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme. Strangefate subconsciously manipulated Dr. Strange to shift people from one multiverse to the other in an attempt to pave the way for Amalgam's return.
(DC/Marvel: All Access#1(fb)) - Back in his native Earth-616, Axel Asher attended graduate school at Empire State University and met his future girlfriend, Ming Kuo-Fan, in Chinese history class.
(DC/Marvel: All Access#1)- Six months later, a restless Axel Asher visited Ming at her family's Greenwich Village restaurant when he started experiencing violent flashbacks of the recent war between the cosmic entities that embodied the DC and Marvel multiverses. Asher came back to his senses, only to realize that Venom had somehow found his way into the mainstream DCU. Axel left on a mission to bring Venom back to Marvel's Earth-616, for even one person in the wrong universe might cause a fissure in the fabric of reality. If the fissure lasted too long, the multiverses could start merging again, and the Amalgam Multiverse could return forever. Asher entered a nearby alley, transformed into Access, and teleported himself to Metropolis in the mainstream DCU where he saved Caitlin Fitzgerald from Venom. Superman arrived on the scene and kept Venom occupied while Access transported back to Earth-616 to enlist Spider-Man's aid. Venom held his own again Superman and Spider-Man, but Access returned with a sonic generator from S.T.A.R. Labs and forced the Venom symbiote to separate from Eddie Brock. Access returned to Earth-616 with Spider-Man and Venom. Meanwhile, Dr. Strange plotted from his sanctum on Earth-616.
(DC/Marvel: All Access#2)- With everyone back in their proper universes, Asher enjoyed a romantic horse-and-buggy ride with Ming, only to be interrupted by Jubilee of Generation X. While most other heroes only had a hazy, cosmic recollection of Access, Jubilee kept a diary of her time in the mainstream DCU and remembered everything. She wanted Access to take her back to Gotham City so she could say good-bye to Robin, with whom she developed a relationship before the multiverses were separated again. Access reluctantly agreed and transported her to Gotham City in the mainstream DCU. With Jublilee and Robin reunited, Access took a walk to give the multiverse-crossed teens (top that Shakespeare!--Kyle) some privacy, only to be knocked unconscious by Two-Face. Pooling their resources, Robin and Jubilee were eventually able to take down Two-Face. But just as Access reunited with the child heroes, the Scorpion of Earth-616 attacked in Gotham City.
(DC/Marvel: All Access#3)- Batman showed up and made short work of the Scorpion. As Access sent Scorpion back to Earth-616, he explained to Batman that he was not responsible for the crossing over of Venom and Scorpion to the DC Multiverse. Batman agreed to travel back to Earth-616 of the Marvel multiverse with Access to help find out what was causing the spontaneous crossovers. Access dropped Batman off on a rooftop and teleported Jubilee back to the X-Mansion in Westchester. On the roof of a Manhattan building in Earth-616, Access told Batman about Dr. Strangefate and the Amalgam Multiverse when he noticed that the windows on a particular Greenwich Village building were the same as the windows that adorned Strangefate's Arkham Tower in the former Amalgam Multiverse.
Batman and Access entered the Greenwich Village building, which was the sanctum of Dr. Strange, and confronted the Sorcerer Supreme. Dr. Strange denied any knowledge of the Amalgam Multiverse. Batman was about to forcibly take Dr. Strange back to the DC Multiverse to have his subconscious probed, when Jubilee entered the sanctum with the X-Men. Phoenix probed Dr. Strange's mind but found nothing unexpected or out of the ordinary. But Batman, still insisting that Dr. Strange was the cause of the inter-dimensional disturbances, got into a fight with the X-Men. Access returned with the Justice League to even the odds.
(DC/Marvel: All Access#4)- Despite Access' efforts to keep the peace, the Justice League and X-Men soon got into a huge fight within Dr. Strange's sanctum. Meanwhile, Dr. Strange felt a presence taking over his own mind and collapsed. The battle between the JLA and X-Men raged on and stopped only when Dr. Strange reemerged as Dr. Strangefate. Strangefate clung to a shadow existence within Dr. Strange until he had the strength and opportunity to take physical form. Strangefate imprisoned Dr. Strange's astral form and caused it to careen from one dimension to another, never allowing Dr. Strange enough time to effect an escape.
Meanwhile, Strangefate used Strange's body for his own purposes. Strangefate began to reshape the separate multiverses back into the Amalgam Multiverse by merging the JLA with the X-Men. Access managed to escape and free Dr. Strange's astral form. They returned to Earth-616's Greewich Village only to find that Strange's sanctum had already been replaced by Strangefate's Arkham Tower. Dr. Strange's astral form merged with Strangefate and regained control. Victorious, Dr. Strange allowed a semblance of Strangefate's Amalgam reality to exist within a contained vessel and gave the vessel to Access for safe-keeping. With the crisis averted, Access returned the Justice League to the mainstream DCU.
Asher then started a relationship with Caitlin Fitzgerald of the mainstream DCU.
(Batman/Spider-Man#1 - BTS? (see comments)) - The story opened with scenes of violence and disasters being broadcast on television. The channel changed to Cable Access 6, where a man was preaching the need for a savior "from the firestorm that's coming." Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime (Earth-616) in NYC, had been dealing with Ra's al Ghul's terrorist organization the Demon's Head (DCU) for 18 months. He then discovered that Ra's had the ability to cure his wife, Vanessa Fisk, of a particularly resistant strain of cancer. Ra's' daughter Talia offered this cure in exchange for Fisk's cooperation in a plot to commit mass destruction, starting with New York City. Fisk traveled to Tibet, discovered the full scope of Ra's' vision, and betrayed him to Spider-Man and Batman, who had been following the terrorist organizations recent activities. This betrayal amused Ra's, who then offered everyone a free ride home (?!). Spider-Man was certain they would not be allowing Ra's to walk away scott free, but Batman told him that, should they fight Ra's al Ghul on his home turf, none of them would leave alive (although Batman was perfectly willing to take on the Demon's Head on his own every other time they met).
(Green Lantern#87 [occurs simultaneously with Unlimited Access #1]) - Access showed up in the DCU, looking for Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern. When he discovered that Rayner was not there, he went to look for "that guy on the surfboard."
(Unlimited Access#1)- Access returned to Earth-616 after sorting out the mess involving Spider-Man, the Kingpin, Batman, and Ra's al-Ghul. Upon his return, Access' girlfriend Ming was attacked by the Apkoliptan Evil God known as Mantis (a native of the DC multiverse). Access escaped with Ming while Spider-Man took on Mantis and his new partner, the Juggernaut. Access teleported back to the scene with Wonder Woman (of the mainstream DCU) to even the odds. After the villains were defeated, Access could not seem to locate the exact location in the DC Multiverse from which Mantis originated. But before he could figure it out, both Mantis and Juggernaut were struck by a beam of light and removed from the Marvel Multiverse altogether. Access had no idea from where the beam came.
Access then returned Wonder Woman to the mainstream DCU when he was attacked by the original savage Hulk. The Green Lantern known as Hal Jordan came to Access' rescue, causing Access to come to the conclusion that he must have somehow traveled back in time because Hal Jordan was currently dead in the mainstream DCU. Access teleported the savage Hulk back to the Marvel's Earth-616, but, after teleporting again, found himself stranded in the Old West era of the mainstream DCU. Access met up with the bounty hunter Jonah Hex (of the DC Multiverse) and the Two-Gun Kid (of the Marvel Multiverse). Access teleported Two-Gun Kid back to his proper time and universe and later teleported with Jonah Hex to prevent the bounty hunter from getting ambushed in a gunfight. But Access lost Jonah in the limbo realm between the two multiverses. When Access reemerged, he found himself in the "Days of Future Past" alternate future timeline of the Marvel Universe.
(Unlimited Access#2)- In the "Days of Future Past" timeline, Access was attacked by one of the government's mutant-hunting Sentinel robots, only to be saved by Apparition, Brainiac 5, Cosmic Boy, Ferro, Saturn Girl, Spark, Triad, Ultra Boy (collectively known as the Legion of Superheroes of the 30th century in the mainstream DCU). The heroes met up with Wolverine of the "Days of Future Past" era and were led to an underground mutant refuge. At the refuge they were introduced to Storm, Magneto, Shadowcat. Colossus, Rachel Summers, and Franklin Richards (collectively known as the X-Men in the "Days of Future Past" timeline). Access teleported the Legion of Superheroes back to the DCU just as Sentinels attacked the "Days of Future Past" X-Men.
When Access reemerged from his portal, he found himself in Gotham City with a young Batman and the original yellow Daredevil. Access lost control of his powers, causing eras to morph and merge and change, as he increasingly and uncontrollably careened back and forth through time. Both the Time Variance Authority (of the Marvel Multiverse) and the Linear Men (of the DC Multiverse) were tracking Access, who they viewed as a massive time anomaly, when he was suddenly pulled out of the timestream by Morty, the homeless man who was the previous keeper of the trans-dimensional gateway. Morty explained that they were in the mainstream Marvel Universe ten years in the past-- so Morty had not sacrificed himself yet at this point in time. Morty explained that he was actually an older version of Axel Asher--since Access had the ability to time travel, there only needed to be one of them (the story Morty told Access earlier about there being a "long line of keepers of the trans-dimensional gateway" was only a lie to help Axel keep his sanity). Morty explained that crossovers would spontaneously occur if Access ever stayed in one place for too long.
Morty was about to reveal more when he realized that the both of them being in the same place had caused an inter-dimensional "floodgate". Morty escaped through a portal just as Darkseid (mainstream DCU) led an Apokoliptan invasion force into the mainstream Marvel Universe, Earth-616. Darkseid made Access an offer: if Axel joined with Darkseid, he would not die as a homeless man. Before Access answered, the Apokoliptan invasion force was attacked by Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man, and the Wasp (the original Avengers from ten years in the past of the mainstream Marvel Universe). The Avengers were slowly picked apart by Darkseid's forces when another inter-dimensional portal opened up and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), the Flash (Barry Allen), Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, and Aquaman (the original Justice League from ten years in the past of the mainstream DCU) entered the battle. The combined forces of the JLA and Avengers overpowered Darkseid's minions, but the Apokoliptan Amazing Grace used her mind control powers to persuade the male members of the JLA and Avengers to fight each other as Darkseid's forces retreat.
(Unlimited Access#3)- The original Avengers and the original Justice League continued to fight each other. Meanwhile, Darkseid's invasion force reemerged on Magneto's Asteroid M. Darkseid made a deal with Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to join forces. Back on Earth, Access teleported Superman (in his former, short-lived energy form at the time) to the scene of the battle. Using his electricity-based powers, Superman shocked the Avengers and Justice League out of Amazing Grace's mind control. Darkseid's Para-Demons attacked the rehabilitated heroes while Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Mastermind, and Toad (collectively known as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants) attempted to kidnap Access. Access summoned Superboy, Impulse, Robin, Wonder Girl, and Captain Marvel Jr. (from the mainstream DCU) to help him fend off the Brotherhood's attack. Juggernaut, Mystique, the Blob, and Sabretooth soon arrived to back-up the Brotherhood. Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Beast, and Angel (the original X-Men of ten years ago) arrived on the scene and turned the tide of battle. The Evil Mutants escaped through the teleportational device known as a Boom Tube back to Asteroid M, as Magneto and Darkseid let their alliance be known to the world. After disagreeing over what step to take next, Robin and Angel got into a fight. When Access pushed both of the heroes away to break it up, he found that he amalgamated them into one being -- Redwing.
(Unlimited Access#4)- All of the heroes gathered together to form a plan of action. An astral projection of Professor X revealed that the forces of Magneto and Darkseid were amassing in Earth's orbit on Asteroid M. Using his newfound power of amalgamation, Access merged the DC and Marvel heroes together and teleported the Justice League Satellite over to the Marvel Universe to use as transportation. Meanwhile, a mysterious cloaked figure under the employ of Darkseid was amalgamating the villains in anticipation of Access' attack. Access and his amalgamated "X-League" attacked Asteroid M, only to be met by an amalgamated "Brotherhood of Evil Gods". Meanwhile on Earth, the remaining unamalgamated heroes continued to battle Darkseid's invading armies. While the battle between the X-League and Brotherhood of Evil Gods continued on Asteroid M, Access was confronted by Darkseid and his mysterious cloaked associate. The cloaked figure revealed himself to be a future version of Access who decided to join Darkseid. Darkseid's Access attacked the mainstream Access, causing the two to tumble through a multitude of bizarre alternate Amalgam Universes. Realizing that he was losing, Access decided to merge with his evil counterpart. Reemerging on Asteroid M, the amalgamated Access refused to join forces with Darkseid. Darkseid threatened to have Mantis and Juggernaut kidnap Ming in the future if Access did not comply, but Access revealed that the two villains were already beaten by Spider-Man and Wonder Woman. After Darkseid made a derogatory statement about mutants, Magneto and the Brotherhood turn on the Evil God. Darkseid effortlessly cast the mutants away and announced his desire to be sent back to his proper time and universe, although he vowed to one day break Access and re-make him in his own image. Access undid all of the amalgamated heroes and villains and returned them to their proper times and universes.
(Superman/Fantastic Four - BTS) - When Superman (Clark Kent) discovered that Galactus may have been responsible for the destruction of his home planet of Krypton, he sought the Fantastic Four's aid to bring Galactus to justice. But unbeknownst to the heroes, the evil Cyborg Superman (Hank Henshaw) had plans of his own for Galactus--plans that took an unexpected and dire turn... (Superman mentioned that he had tracked down Access in order to travel to Earth-616.)
Comments: Created by Peter David and Ron Marz (and Mark Gruenwald?); additional character development by Karl Kesel
Since the New Universe's Earth was physically removed and taken to the universe of the Earth-616 Marvel universe that may explain why it became a part of the Amalgam universe. Also, since they used the idea that "Morty" was actually an older version of Access, they stole an idea from Starbrand, when the Old Man turned out to be a time-traveling Ken Connell--Per Degaton.
Thanks to Ivan Schablotski for providing synopsis for UNHOLY ALLIANCES, BATMAN/SPIDER-MAN and GREEN LANTERN#87. Ivan notes of the Batman/Spider-Man crossover that "The story is largely inconsequential in the life of Axel Asher. Everything occurs in a 'Shared-Earth' environment, and the scope of this crossover goes quite beyond the typical 'shunting' of a character (or even a whole city) from one reality to another. The reference to this story in UNLIMITED ACCESS#1 was likely thrown in merely to acknowledge the recently published crossover. One can infer (though not verify) that this story was the result of a prolonged phase-shift that caused the Earth-616 Manhattan Island (and all residents thereof) to overlap that same portion of the Earth in the DCU for a period of no less than 18 months. Access would then have been charged with 'disconnecting' the parallel Manhattans from each other to end the crossover. Again, this is only speculation, and such a feat seems beyond the level of control Access exhibits at the beginning of UNLIMITED ACCESS#1."
Referring to the Green Lantern / Silver Surfer crossover, Unholy Alliances, Ivan mentions "Cyborg learns that the Silver Surfer was once the herald of an all-powerful being called Galactus. This knowledge becomes his motivation for luring Superman to Earth-616 in SUPERMAN / FANTASTIC FOUR, a book published four years later. Gotta' give DC credit for keeping track of the continuity of these crossovers."
He also provides a fuller synopsis and comments on Green Lantern#87: "The opening scene of this book has Axel Asher arriving through a portal into Kyle Rayner's Greenwich Village apartment in the DCU. He is seeking Green Lantern's help (to battle Mantis and Juggernaut in UNLIMITED ACCESS#1, though this is not mentioned in this issue). Instead of Kyle Rayner, Access finds Jade, Kyle's green-skinned superheroine girlfriend. Axel states that Jade's powers are not similar to Kyle's (a revelation for Jade) and departs, hoping to find somebody else. "Maybe that guy on the surfboard." These first three pages are the only part of this comic relevant to ACCESS, and do not tie directly into the main story. That Access is equally unsuccessful in locating the Silver Surfer is confirmed in UNLIMITED ACCESS#1 page 16 panel 4. These pages therefore take place between Axel's appearance on UA #1 page 8 and his arrival on the West Coast of the DCU Earth four years in the past to enlist Wonder Woman's aid (behind the scenes)."
Crazy Ivan even has more to offer--a POSSIBLE, alternate first appearance for Access:
Just re-reading the Bat-Man vs. the Incredible Hulk reprint [originally the treasury-edition "DC and MARVEL Present Bat Man vs. the Incredible Hulk"], and I noticed at one point the Hulk is about to beat the snot out of some punk in an alley in Gotham City. The guy's name is Morty, which is a known alias of Axel Asher.
Could this be Access, at some point after UNLIMITED ACCESS#4, traveling back to the Silver Age to fix a crossover the way he did the BATMAN / SPIDER-MAN crossover (i.e., behind the scenes)? This particular Morty has black hair, and appears to be a mugger, but this could have all been a cover Axel devised to insert himself into the scenario without alerting anyone to his presence. Why should he need a disguise, when everyone usually forgets him after the crossover is over? Because one of the players in this tale is the reality-altering Shaper Of Worlds, and such a cosmic wild card could allow Batman, Joker, or the Hulk access to knowledge they would normally not keep[ in a crossover universe].
OK. Here's the "official" deal.
Thanks to Per Degaton for pointing out the mention from Superman/Fantastic Four.
Access' height and weight have never been given, but he is seen in All
Access#1 standing next to Spider-Man and is the esxact same height as
him so Access' height/weight have been approximated for this profile. -
Copeinator123
Profile by Skullogeist
Edited/Updated by Kyle Sims & Copeinator123
CLARIFICATIONS:
Access has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
DC/Marvel: All Access#1, front cover (main image)
Unlimited Access#4, p27, pan1 (Access of Earth-98321)
DC Versus Marvel#3, p16, pan4 (Morty of Earth-42213)
Appearances:
DC Versus Marvel#1 (December, 1995) - Ron Marz (writer), Dan
Jurgens, Claudio Castellini (pencils), Joe Rubinstein, Paul
Neary (inks), Mark Gruenwald, Mike Carlin (editors)
Marvel Versus DC#2 (March, 1996) - Peter David (writer), Dan
Jurgens, Claudio Castellini (pencils), Joe Rubinstein & Paul
Neary (inks), Mark Gruenwald & Mike Carlin (editors)
DC Versus Marvel Comics#3 (April, 1996) - Ron Marz (writer), Dan
Jurgens & Claudio Castellini (pencils), Joe Rubinstein & Paul
Neary (inks), Mark Gruenwald & Mike Carlin (editors)
Marvel Versus DC#4 (May, 1996) - Peter David (writer), , Dan
Jurgens & Claudio Castellini (pencils), Joe Rubinstein & Paul
Neary (inks), Mark Gruenwald & Mike Carlin (editors)
DC/Marvel All Access#1-4 (December, 1996 - February, 1997) - Ron Marz (writer),
Jackson Guice (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Mike Carlin (editor)
Green Lantern#87 (June, 1997) - Ron Marz (writer), Tom Grindberg
(pencils), Romeo Tanghal (inks), Kevin Dooley (editor) -- DC Comic
Batman/Spider-Man#1 (October, 1997) - J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Graham
Nowlan (pencils), Karl Kesel (inks), Scott Peterson & Darren
Vincenzo (editors)
Unlimited Access#1-4 (December, 1997 - March, 1998) - Karl Kesel
(writer), Pat Olliffe (pencils), Al Williamson (inks), Tom Brevoort
(editor)
Superman/Fantastic Four (April, 1999) - Dan Jurgens (writer/pencils),
Art Thibert (inks), Mike Carlin & Bobbie Chase (editors)
First Posted: 11/28/2002
Last updated: 02/27/2021
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
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like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
