ENCROACHIVERSES

Type: Alien worlds

Environment: Varied

Usual Means of Access: Unique (see History)

Dominant Life Forms: Varied

Significant Inhabitants: Varied; see individual entries

Significant Locations: Baloney-verse, Dimension of Suicide, Don't-Worry-Be-Happy-Verse, Insipiverse, Media-verse, Narcissi-verse, 976-Verse, Noriega-verse, Puppet-verse, Trashi-verse

First Appearance: Sensational She Hulk I#13 (March, 1990)

History: (Sensational She Hulk I#14-15 (fb))- Encroachiverse is the name given for any number of failed universes which were condensed and placed into Compaction Receptacles by unknown means and beings. The alien worlds compressed in cosmic frames that warp the space-time continuum around them. Isolated beyond the confines of the Earth's dimension, these frames were freed ten years ago when the villainous Doctor Angst utilized the magical Plunger of Patooti just before going to prison. The spell reversed the suction of a distant singularity in the universe within a black hole and caused the collection of Encroachiverses to be fired upon the Earth in speeds in the excess of light. The alien Critic, belonging to a splinter race of Watchers, witnessed the entire incident as he monitored the objects being sucked into the black hole.

(Sensational She Hulk I#13 (fb) - BTS)- The first Encroachiverse arrived on Earth ten years after being released and landed near Mount Pressure, Vermont. Its arrival attracted the attention of Pastor Wildmoon who was bathed in its energies as a denizen from the world (the Baloneyverse) within it escaped and entered him. Not realizing all that had really occurred, Wildmoon discovered that that he had been given the power to stop all the indecency that occurred in his town. Believing it to be an act of divine will, he began leading his followers into destroying and burning all bookstores, libraries and discount appliance outlets which he considered indecent. Under his power, he converted the town to a state of propriety within his satisfaction.

(Sensational She Hulk I#13)- On their way for a skiing trip in Vermont, the She-Hulk and Louise Mason came across Mount Pressure as the She-Hulk's flying car was hit by a magnetic anomaly that robbed it of power and sent it crashing to Earth. Noticing the peculiar behavior of the locals, she investigated and encountered Pastor Wildmoon at the source. As he tried to subvert her to his will, the energies he summoned empowered the explorer from the Baloneyverse, who tore free from his form. The She-Hulk then destroyed the explorer by turning his power against him.

(Sensational She Hulk I#14)- Locating the fallen Compaction Receptacle that had affected Wildmoon, the She-Hulk took it to be analyzed by Professor Brent Wilcox at Empire State University. By now, the Critic had enlisted Howard the Duck on account of his non-human characteristics to help the She-Hulk. The untimely arrival of Howard, however, caused Wilcox to be sucked into the Encroachiverse as he was studying it and the She-Hulk and Howard entered it as well to save him.

(Sensational She Hulk I#15)- Howard and the She-Hulk ended up within the Baloney-verse that affected the gamma radiation in her body and reduced her to her non-superhuman form of Jennifer Walters. Attacks by the denizens of that world caused Jennifer to eventually transform into a far more massive gray She-Hulk bereft of her normal intelligence. Wilcox found her in this form as the Critic anonymously pulled them out of it. Back on Earth, the gray She-Hulk reverted back into the non-powered Jennifer Walters, and realized the gamma radiation in her body was now being controlled by sunset as her cousin Bruce Banner's transformations into the Hulk had once been controlled. Fearing the devastation a uncontrolled gray She-Hulk could cause, Jennifer followed her cousin's experiences by having Louise take her, Wilcox and Howard out to one of the Hulk-proof vaults Banner once used in the beginning of his life as the Hulk. Once locked up, Jennifer realized that she unwittingly locked herself up with two kids named Jason and Cara hiding from the public. As this occurred, Dr. Angst escaped from prison in order to take advantage of the Encroachiverses now falling to Earth.

(Sensational She Hulk I#16)- While contained, Jennifer transformed into the more bestial gray She-Hulk again and started trying to free herself. Jason and Cara revealed they were hiding because they had acquired Secret Warts from playing with the gamma ray altered lizards in the desert. Their warts gave them together the power to blast the vault open holding them. Angry at Wilcox and Louise for imprisoning her, the bestial gray She-Hulk looked for them at the nearby Gamma Ray Dude Ranch and Spa where the reduced gamma levels in the hot springs restored her intelligence and decreased her mass to normal levels. Once more in control of her She-Hulk persona, but still retaining her gray skin, Jennifer Walters reunited with Louise and Wilcox as the Encroachiverses rained upon Earth and started expanding. The Critic meanwhile confronted Laslo Pevely, who had once been the costumed character known as the Terror, as his last defense against the infestation of Encroachiverses. Doctor Angst re-gathered his former allies Tillie the Hun, The Spanker, Sitting Bullseye and the Black Hole into his schemes.

(Sensational She Hulk I#17)- The falling Encroachiverses started opening as the worlds within them took the place of areas on earth, effectively compacting all space in the universe in on itself. Traveling from New Mexico back to New York, Jennifer's flying car took her, Louise, Wilcox and Howard through the areas of several Encroachiverses as well as compacted areas of the Earth to the point that the Atlantic Ocean, Ireland and Wales were reduced out of existence and New York City and London occupied the same area. Doctor Angst's spells allowed him to mystically contain a few areas for himself as he prepared to convert the Earth into a world to match his own insipid personality. The Critic meanwhile brought Pevely to aide the She-Hulk and Howard in stopping Angst whose spells had masked his activities so far. Recognizing the tedious pattern of the areas Doctor Angst was protecting, Howard identified his former foe as behind the expanding Encroachiverses as the Angst's allies clashed with the She-Hulk and her friends in a field. Pevely became the Terror once more and defeated Sitting Bullseye as the She-Hulk knocked Tillie the Hun into Big Ben now within New York City. The Spanker attacked and was beaten by Louise Mason who used Howard's cigar to distract him. Wilcox meanwhile realized that the Black Hole could be used to contain the expanding Encroachiverses as the Critic used his cosmic Watcher-powers to reach out to all the Encroachiverse compaction frames and feed them into the Black Hole in order to cancel out both forces. With the universe restored to normal, the Critic induced selective amnesia in everyone of what happened and then took the Black Hole into his custody to keep the Encroachiverses from ever being released again.

(Sensational She Hulk I#47 (fb) - BTS)- An overlooked Encroachiverse landed in the cell of Phillip Masters, the Puppet Master, out on Ryker's Island. He escaped into it to begin his life anew, but a guard named Anderson at the prison took the compaction frame home as the Puppet-verse within it started spilling into and taking over his neighborhood. The Puppets coming out of it started getting bigger and causing trouble by setting fire to a neighbor's house and tipping a car into a nearby creek, drowning a dog trapped inside it. Anderson was placed at the center of the disturbances and taken in for questioning.

(Sensational She Hulk I#47)- She-Hulk was called in to defend Anderson on his charges. The She-Hulk started investigating as the characteristics of the Encroachiverse renewed her memories of her past experiences with them. She, Louise Mason and the Phantom Blonde investigated as the Puppet-verse had now taken over Anderson's DeKalo street neighborhood. They invaded it to stop its expansion and discovered Masters to be at the source at the disturbance. The Critic then reappeared and revealed that the compaction frames expand due to human contamination and with the Puppet Master returned him back to prison, the effects of the Puppet-verse on earth would return to normal. He then vanished taking the frame to the Puppet-verse with him.

Comments: Created by Steve Gerber, Bryan Hitch and Jim Sanders III.

According to Brent Wilcox in Sensational She Hulk I#14, The Encroachiverses are a loose collection of alien worlds and dimensions whose boundaries are established within the dimensional borders of other worlds. Contained within compaction frames that compress and confine their respective space-time continuums, these worlds once breached can break free of their perspective frames and expand as they replace the dimensional boundaries of other dimensions and compress them out of existence.

Considering the magnitude of these events, it's curious as to why the Fantastic Four, the Avengers or even the X-Men did not get involved. Even during the Infinity War and Inferno, the teams joined forces against a common goal.

Doctor Angst and the Spanker are parodies of Doctor Strange and the Punisher.

Although the story involving the Puppet-verse occurred in Sensational She Hulk I#47 (in the middle of the She-Hulk's encounter with the Carbon Copy Men), it actually occurs chronologically between issues#26 and#27 since#26 promises a story on puppets, but actually went on to do a story on Dragon Man, the Grey Gargoyle and the appearance of Surge the Dragon Killer in#27. One can assume the story ran late and had to be replaced and then was used as filler when part of the story on the Carbon-Copy Men ran late.

The location of the Puppet-verse storyline although near New York City is uncertain, but the locations of DeKalo Street and its nearby Newtown Creek could be in the area of Queens or out on Staten Island.

by Will U

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Encroachiverses are not to be confused with:

• Any other "universe" in the confines of the Marvel universe.