THE AMALGAM UNIVERSE

Type: Alternate Multiverse
Core Continuum Designation: Earth-9602

Environment: variable

Usual means of access: Access, transdimensional gateways

Locations: Al Forbush's Subterannean Diner, Arkham Tower, Armaghetto, The "Artsy-Trendy Section of New Gotham City, Apokolips, Atlantis, The Barrow, Baxter Building, Coast City, Daily Bugle, Fantastic Mountain, 53 Bridwell Street, Genosha, The Gotham Bugle, The Gotham Gazette, Gotham International Airport, Humanity, Krakoa the Living Dinosaur Island, Latkovia, Lenny's Bar and Grill, Mars, Metropolis, New Asgard, New Gotham City, New Gotham Police Dept,  New York City,  Oa the Living Planet, The Plains of Yggdrassil, River Drive, Skartaris, Suicide Street, Super Town, Tamojoran, Themyscira, Tomb of Orion, Universe-Two, Wakanda, WNGN, X-Building, Zenosha 

Dominant Life Form: Not Applicable (the life forms native to the Amalgam Universe are just as varied as those associated with their Marvel and DC Universe components)

First Appearance: DC Vs. Marvel#3 (February 1996)

History:

(DC vs. Marvel#2(fb)) - In the beginning, there were two genderless entities, the Brothers. 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.

(DCvM#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 is 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 loses the most battles would vanish forever.

(DCvM#3) - When the competition between the two entities finally concluded, the Marvel's Living Tribunal and DC's Spectre, two immensely powerful beings charged with maintaining balance in each of their respective multiverses, attempted to save both multiverses by joining forces and starting everything over again in one amalgamated reality. Hence, the Amalgam Universe was born.

(DCvM#4) - Access, the hero whose duty was to keep the Marvel and DC multiverses from merging, located the shards from the original multiverses that he hid inside Captain America and Batman before the Amalgam Universe was created. Access 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. The Amalgam Universe was no more.

(All Access#4(fb)) - Dr. Strangefate, an extremely powerful sorcerer and telepath of the Amalgam Universe, hid himself in the subconscious of the mainstream Marvel Universe's Dr. Strange when the Amalgam Universe was split into the two original multiverses again. 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.

(AllAcc#4) - With the help of Access, Dr. Strange was able to defeat Dr. Strangefate. Afterward, 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.

Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald, Mike Carlin, Ron Marz, and Peter A. David

 Key:
Marvel characters are listed in regular, or bold black type.
DC characters are listed in bold blue type.
Amalgam characters are listed in bold purple type.

Special thanks to Ron Marz for shedding some light on the creative forces behind the creation of the Amalgam Universe.

According to Mr. Marz, "Mark Gruenwald of Marvel and Mike Carlin of DC were the editorial team on DC vs. MARVEL, and oversaw other editors on the individual Amalgam titles. They were really the ones behind the Amalgam concept, and I believe they came up with the core characters who starred in the Amalgam books. Secondary characters, like the supporting characters in DR. STRANGEFATE, were the product of the individual writers on those issues . . . It's safe to say Mark and Mike were the architects of the whole thing, even though they had help."

In case you're confused, Amalgam Comics didn't really exist beyond those seen in the few DC/Marvel cross-over. The titles you don't recognize are amalgams of similar Marvel and DC comics--Snood.

Corto Maltese was mentioned in X-Patrol. This fictional island was featured in The Dark Knight Returns, and possibly elsewhere; although I don't remember the particular issue, I do recall Corto Maltese playing a role in a couple of the Batman issues in between the death of Jason Todd and the beginning of Tim Drake's tenure as Robin. I remember it had something to do with Batman allowing investigators to help him on a case in Corto Maltese.
--Tenzel Kim

If you like the Amalgam stuff, Skullogeist recommends these two sites:
http://www.geocities.com/schablotski.geo/Center.htm
http://www.io.com/~woodward/chroma/amalgam.html

Clarifications:

• too exhausted after working on this profile. Maybe next year! 

Armaghetto: (Bullets & Bracelets#1) - A district in Apokolips that houses Granny Harkness' Orphanage where the ruling elite of Apokolips are whipped into shape.

The Plains of Yggdrasill : (Thorion of the New Asgods) - Where Enchanted Tigra, the former love of Thanoseid, was left as a stone statute after Thanoseid began wooing Lady Death.

Tomb of Orion: (Bullets & Bracelets#1) - A temple in Apokolips that housed the dead body of Orion, the errant son of Thanoseid who perished as a hero during the Secret Crisis of the Infinity Hour. However, Orion has since been resurrected as Thorion the Hunter by Highfather Odin.

Atlantis: (JLX#1)

The ancestral home of metamutantkind, the domed city of Atlantis exists at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Mariner, the rightful King of Atlantis and the self-proclaimed "first among metamutants" had been searching for the lost city and his people for his entire adult life. Atlantis was finally located by the JLX after Mr. X telepathically delved into Mariner's mind and retrieved his repressed memories of the legendary artifact known as the Serpent Crown, which contains encoded clues that reveal the location of Atlantis. But after arriving, the JLX were surprised to find that the city had since been abandoned. Nonetheless, they defended the ancient city from an attack by Dr. Will Magnus and his Sentinel robots.

 Coast City: (Iron Lantern#1)

The home of Hal Stark and his alter ego, the heroic Iron Lantern. Coast City is also the home of Stark Aircraft, which employs test pilot Pepper Ferris, pilot / engineer Stewart Rhodes, mechanic Happy Kalmaku, and secretary Janice Doremus.

Fantastic Mountain: (Spider-Boy#1)

Secreted away among the mountain peaks a short distance north of New York City is Fantastic Mountain, an underground base that houses the top-secret Cadmus D.N.A. Project and also serves as the headquarters for the world famous Challengers of the Fantastic. Headed by Dr. Tom Harper, the former Golden Age homefront hero known as the Guardian Angel, Project Cadmus houses an assortment of dangerous D.N.Aliens such as Bizarnage and King Lizard. At first, Cadmus' primary mission was Operation: Rebirth, a program to recreate Super-Soldier, who was seemingly killed in the waning years of World War II. But Operation: Rebirth was sabotaged by rogue scientist Dabney Donovan, and instead of creating a perfect Super-Soldier clone, the outrageous Spider-Boy was born instead. Fantastic Mountain is connected via an underground zoomway to the Baxter Building, Spider-Boy's base of operations in New York City.

 Genosha: (Magneto and the Magnetic Men#1)

Humanity: (Generation Hex#1) A town on the western frontier during Amalgam Universe's Old West era. Humanity was populated by fine, upstanding folk and was proud of its genteel reputation. However, Humanity did not permit malforms (metamutants) within its borders. Young Jono Hex spent some of his boyhood in Humanity before manifesting strange powers and being chased out of town as a malform. Years later, Jono Hex returned with his band of malformed outlaws known as Generation Hex to exact some revenge upon the fine citizens of Humanity.

Krakoa the Living Dinosaur Island: (The Magnetic Men Featuring Magneto#1) Krakoa is an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean whose very soil generates extinct life. It was once used as a base of operations by Dr. Will Magnus and his Sentinel robots before their location was discovered by Magneto.

Latkovia: (Magneto and his Magnetic Men#1) Latkovia is the island-nation of Dr. Doomsday stormed by the X-Patrol in X-Patrol#1 and home to the Tyranoids.

 Mars: (JLX #1)

The fourth planet from the sun and the former homeland of the race of aliens known as the Skrull. The Skrull were driven from Mars by the alien Kree but one lone survivor by the name of J'onn J'onzz fled to Earth. J'onn J'onzz has been hiding on Earth for years, using his shape-shifting powers to hide his true alien form from Earth's populace.

Metropolis: (Super-Soldier#1) Metropolis is the home of Super-Soldier. It's major newspaper is the Daily Planet, whose current editor-in-chief, James Olsen, began working at the paper in the 1940s as a cub-reporter covering the exploits of Super-Soldier during World War II. The Daily Planet also employs Sharon Carter and Clark Kent, Super-Soldier's alter ego. During the 1940's, Metropolis was the home of the Midtown Clubhouse of the All-Star Winners Squadron.

New Asgard: (Bullets & Bracelets#1)

New Asgard is a gleaming realm ruled by the benevolent Highfather Odin. New Asgard exists across the Bifrost Bridge from its twin realm, the seething Apokolips. New Asgard formed an uneasy truce with Apokolips years ago that was sealed when Highfather Odin bartered his own flesh and blood, L'ok D'saad, to Thanoseid in return for the hammer of the Old Gods with which Highfather resurrected Thanoseid's dead son, Orion, as Thorion the Hunter. Notable inhabitants of New Asgard include Bald'r Lightbringer, Big Sif, the Jade Enchantress, Heimron, and Thorion the Hunter.

Super Town: (Thorion of the New Asgods#1) - A settlement in New Asgard inhabited by the Un-People: Vykin the Black Bolt, Dream Crystal, Big Gorgon, Medusa Moonrider, and Triserinak.

New Gotham City
(Dr. Strangefate#1)

A dark city protected by vigilante superheroes such as Dark Claw, Sparrow, and the Huntress; anti-hero assassins such as Dare and Catsai; powerful mystics such as Dr. Strangefate and Myx; and even a mutated swamp creature in the form of Bat-Thing. New Gotham's mayor is Edward Nigma Fisk, also known as the Big Question. Fisk is a convicted felon rumored to have "had his teeth pulled" by the very mysterious Dr. Strangefate. Some speculate that the only reason the Big Question won the election was so that Strangefate could play puppet master, an allegation that Fisk vehemently resents.

Arkham Tower (Dr. Strangefate#1) - A massive skyscraper that towers above the other buildings in New Gotham, Arkham Tower is a literal tribute to bureaucratic madness. New Gotham City's fathers built the new city center atop the remains of New Gotham's infamous asylum. But the inmates were never officially relocated to a new facility. Instead, it was deemed politically correct for the "psychologically different" to interact with day-to-day society (and it was altogether cheaper than building the inmates a new cage). Thus, the lower levels of the towering building are populated with the most blood-thirsty sociopaths to ever wear a straitjacket, such as Lethal, Deadeye, Wired, Hyena, and the Omega Beast. Mayor E. Nigma Fisk's office is on the 107th floor. At the top of Arkham Tower is Dr. Strangefate's sanctum.

The "Artsy-Trendy Section of New Gotham":

(Legends of the Dark Claw#1) -

Home of the penthouse loft / art studio of Logan Wayne, the "techno-wizard, painter, sportsman, and walking enigma" who secretly moonlights as the vigilante Dark Claw. A secret passage and pneumatic tube hidden behind Logan Wayne's closet wall leads to the Burrow, Dark Claw's secret lair.

53 Bridwell Street: (Bat-Thing#1) - The apartment building of Francie-Ellen and Kelly Sallis, the former family of the creature known as Bat-Thing.

The Barrow:

(Legends of the Dark Claw#1) -

Dark Claw's secret lair deep below the bedrock of New Gotham. The Barrow is a subterranean cavern outfitted with the latest technological crime-fighting equipment which houses trophies from Dark Claw's previous victories, his assortment of vehicles, and the Danger Cave, where Dark Claw hones his skills against robotic likenesses of his most deadly foes.

The Gotham Bugle: (Assassins#1) - A New Gotham newspaper run by J. Jonah White.

The Gotham Gazette: (Legends of the Dark Claw#1) - A New Gotham newspaper whose printing plant was nearly sabotaged by the maniacal Hyena.

Gotham International Airport: (Legends of the Dark Claw#1) - New Gotham's major airport where Hyena attempted to gas the President's Air Force 1 with sodium cyanide.

Lenny's Bar and Grill: (Dark Claw Adventures#1) - A New Gotham "dive" that holds a poker game every night of the year. Dark Claw, in his guise of "Patch Malone" attends the game once a week so he can put his ear to the street, listening and waiting in hopes that the man who shot his parents will come.

New Gotham Police Department: (Bat-Thing#1) - The base of operations for New Gotham City's finest, including Detective Christine Montoya and Detective Clark Bullock.

River Drive: (Bat-Thing#1) - Where the brown water meets the gray edge of the city and the stink of the New Gotham fish market mingles with the downwind traces of the sewage treatment plant. A "nether-realm of winos, junkies, and urban walking-wounded".

WNGN: (Assassins #1) - A New Gotham television station that employs Jimmy Urich, a reporter who is very critical of the Fisk mayoral administration.

New York City
(Spider-Boy#1, X-Patrol#1)

Al Forbush's Subterranean Diner:

(Lobo the Duck#1) -

A local Manhattan eatery frequented by bounty hunters such as Ambush the Lunatik and Lobo the Duck.

Baxter Building:

(Spider-Boy#1) -

Spider-Boy's headquarters, where his business manager Rex Leech and his secretary Betty Brant are employed. The Baxter Building is connected to Fantastic Mountain via and underground zoomway.

The Daily Bugle:

(Spider-Boy#1) -

Where Spider-Boy (with the help of a matter-transformer provided to him by Cadmus scientist Professor Yatz) works as a newspaper photographer in his secret identity of Pete Ross. Headed by J. Jonah Jameson, the Daily Bugle also employs ace reporters Tana Moon and Jack Ryder.

New York Special Crimes Unit:

(Spider-Boy#1) -

A team of law-enforcement officials trained to handle the more unique threats that the city faces on a daily basis. Unit members include Captain Sam Makoa, "Flash" Thompson, Roxy Leech, and "Brooklyn" Barnes, former member of the Young Commandos and mascot of the All-Star Winners Squadron during World War II.

Suicide Street:

(Spider-Boy Team-Up#1) -

A dangerous New York City neighborhood where the Yancy Legion hangs out.

X-Building: (X-Patrol#1) - The current East River headquarters of Niles Cable's X-Patrol. Originally built for a World's Fair long ago and then left abandoned while New York City crept up around it, the X-Building was purchased and rehabilitated by Niles Cable.

Skartaris:

(Spider-Boy#1)

A distant realm ruled by Ka-Zar.

Tamojoran

(X-Patrol#1)

Tamojoran is the sub-atomic homeworld of X-Patrol's Shatterstarfire. Not content to serve as a puppet ruler, Princess Koriand’r, heir to the throne of Tamojoran, added her sword and her fire to the rebel cause. Later betrayed by members of her own rebel band to the evil Gordanian warriors, Koriand'r was rescued from an ambush by Spider-Boy, who was accidentally shrunk down to sub-atomic size by Dr. Palmer's White Dwarf Star Device, and brought back to Earth.

Themyscira: (Amazon#1, Bullets & Bracelets#1)

Themyscira is the mystic island home of the ageless Amazons. It also became the adopted home of Ororo (a.k.a. Wonder Woman, a.k.a. Amazon) when she was rescued from a sinking mortal ship by the Amazon Queen Hippolyta as an infant.

 

Ororo and Diana were raised side-by-side as step-sisters and taught the ways of the Amazon warriors.

Universe-Two: (Challengers of the Fantastic #1) An alternate universe that exists just beyond the continuum of the mainstream Amalgam Universe. Universe-Two is almost exactly like the mainstream Amalgam Universe except it's "Heroic Age" began during World War II with groups such as Spitfire and the Blackhawks and continued into present day with certain descendants playing professional sports as Infinite Kickers Inc. Universe-Two was discovered by Reed "Prof" Richards in Challengers of the Fantastic#1.

 

Wakanda: (Bullets & Bracelets#1) An African nation ruled by the Bronze Tiger. Diana Prince's service to the Wakandan king helped forge her bracelets of adamantium. Wakanda was most recently embroiled in diplomatic dispute with Gorilla City, which previously fell to the communists. Kragoff, the Secretary of State of Gorilla City, now claims sovereignty over Wakanda.

Zenosha: (The Exciting X-Patrol#1) An island-nation which Brother Brood and his Cult of Brood planned to use as a staging ground for their takeover of Earth. Fortunately, Brother Brood and his Broodlings were soundly defeated by Niles Cable and his X-Patrol before they even emerged from their subterranean lair in the caverns beneath Zenosha.

images: (without ads)

Other appearances:
DC vs. Marvel#2-4 (March-May, 1996) - Peter David (writer), Claudio Castellini & Dan Jurgens (pencils), Paul Neary & Joe Rubinstein (inks), Mike Carlin (editor)
All Access#4 (February, 1997) - Ron Marz (writer), Jackson Guice (pencils), Joe Rubinstein (inks), Mike Carlin (editor)

First Posted: 01/13/2003
Last updated: 10/11/2005

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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