Unity 2000 Plot - Jim Shooter

8/2/2019 Unity 2000 Plot - Jim Shooter

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No One Is Sa fe

All Will Be One

Millennium Apoc a lypse

Apocalypse

Now and Forever

War of the Universes

Armageddon Is Absolute

UNITY 2000

By Jim Shooter


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UNITY 2000

Written By Jim Shooter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Plot for Teaser (Shadowman Vol. 3 issue #3) Page 4

Plot for Teaser part 2 (Shadowman Vol. 3 issue #4) Page 6

Unity 2000 Introduction Page 8

Unity 2000 #1 Page 9



Unity 2000 #4 Introduction Page 27




Jim Shooters Cover Sketches Pages 47-48


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Shadow Man # 3

UNITY 2000 Teaser

Plot for five p ag es

6/10/99

By Jim Shooter

TITLE: When Sha dows Fa ll

PAGE ONE:

Op en w ith an o rdinary, slight ly nerdy g uy, suit, no tie, knoc king o n Jac k Bonifac e s doo r, as

esta b lished in the ea rly VALIANT issues of Sha dow ma n d rawn b y David Lap ha m. This nerd ha s a

ha t on. As Jac k Bonifac e, in civvies, answe rs the doo r, the nerd has his ha t in one hand , held up

ag a inst his c hest-a p erfec tly norma l ge sture-exc ep t tha t his right hand and the g un it holds a re

hidd en unde r the hat. Big p ane l as the nerd b low s Jack aw ay. Jac k is taken c omp letely by

surprise. Whod expect this nebbishy-looking guy to be packing heat? Its broad daylight, by the

way.

PAGE TWO a nd on:

The nerd o pe ns a fold ga te a nd drags Jac ks bo dy through. Peop le ma y see, b ut theres

nothing anyone c an d o. Make it a p oint to show Nettie seeing a nd reac ting.

Cut to Master Darques palatial home. Darque is working on a plan-he has scrolls, maps, books

and a c om pute r on his desk. His sister Sand ria is wa tc hing him p oring ove r his wo rk. She s

d rinking a b rand y and otherwise relaxing . Darque is expla ining som ething of h is pla n. He

do esnt g et too far before the nerd show s up, drag ging the b od y.

Darque lead s him to the bo dy storag e room a nd o pe ns the d oo r for the ove rburde ned little

guy. In the b od y roo m w e see hundred s of d ea d Bonifac es. Som e a re in co stume, many a re in

c ivvies. Som e a re t he Bob Ha ll version a nd som e a re t he Lapham ve rsion. Som ew here in here,

Darque e xplains that the room mystic ally keep s the b od ies from de c omp osing. Keep ing bo dies

from d ec omp osing m ystic ally would ha ve to ha ve b een the first thing a nc ient nec roma nc ers

wo rked o ut, sinc e they d idn t have formaldehyd e o r refrige ration.

Anywa y, the nerd dep osits the b od y on a shelf and c hec ks one more o ff of a long list on a

clipboard. One more to go. Hes eager to get to it, because after he finishes, Darque promised

him tha t he d ge t the nerd b ac k tog ethe r with his estrang ed wife. Sandria a sks if she left him.

No, says the nerd, he left her be cause o f her psycho tic rag es. But itll be fine tha nks to Darque.

Only one more Bonifac e t o kill

We get the d rift in here that the nerd has be en c onvince d by Darque tha t these Bonifac es

aren t quite rea l-just som e kind o f c lones or dup lic a tes. So, it s no t rea lly murder, see ? We also

ge t the ide a tha t this guy isnt to o tightly wrap pe d.

Off he g oes aga in. Darque wa rns him tha t the last one ma y be the m ost d ang erous. Why?

Darque says som eth ing innoc uous to the nerd, b ut in his c onve rsa tion w ith the sister a fterwa rd,

we ga ther tha t it s the origina l VALIANT wo rld, where the origina l Solar lives-as op posed to

some of the less stable iterations.


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Darque reviews with h is siste r the vision he ha d (Ma ste r Da rque Vol. 1, Feb . 1998) in which he

saw a n Arma ge ddon-like c lash of w orlds, with him eme rg ing as a go d like figure. He a lso

revea ls tha t only one person c an stop him-Jac k Bonifac e. By eliminating e very iteration o f Jac k

in the multiverse, he c an insure his vic to ry.

The nerd show s up a t (a nothe r) Jac ks house. Jac k no long er lives there. Hmm.

Cut to Sola r-mine, p lease, red suit and a ll. I know you like the b lac k Jurgens suit, Jim, but wa it.

It s c om ing. Solar is in an odd plac e, say sitting on a n old c a r sea t in a junkyard. It s a nice ,

quiet place , and the d ogs are goo d co mpa ny. He s looking up from rea ding a bo ok as if

som ething just c aught his not ice .

The ne rd finds Nett ie. From Net tie, he gets the sto ry-verba lly, plea se, I don t do flashb ac ks. Jac k

wa s killed trying to swim ba ck through an und erwater ca ve (the o ne he went through to get to

UNITY, but t ha t s not imp ortan t here). He w as ea ten by an a lliga tor.

Cut t o Sola r, flying towa rd New O rleans, book und er one a rm. Note , my Sola r doe s not fly in

tha t a rms-out hero p ose. He flies more o r less up right, in a relaxed sta nd ing p osition. He ne ver

strikes any hero c lic h po ses. He should be looking a round here, as if trying to hom e in on

something hes sensing.

The nerd asks if there were a ny rema ins. Bits and p ieces, says Nettie. She we nt b ac k there e very

night w ith her friend , Mr. NDour, trying to find tha t ga tor. Finally got him. She herself cut o pen

its guts and too k out som e rotte d , half-digested flesh. (Alliga to rs let the ir p rey rot a little b efo re

de vouring it.) Never found the ga tors larde r, but nob od y c ould survive, missing w hat she

rec overed. He s de ad .

The nerd wa nts to know where the rema ins a re. Nett ie, ge tting susp icious, tries to c hase h im

out, b ut he says he s me t p lenty just like her (in other rea lities), and he know s tha t vood oo types

like her a re fussy ab out rema ins. Where are the y? She w on t te ll, so he shoots her and looks

a round for himself.

Cut to Sola r, closing in. He s p icking up the vib e from the nerd c learly, now , hurrying to find out

what s going on.

The ne rd finds the rem ains in an urn, p rote c ted , presuma b ly, by the sam e a nti-rott ing ma gic

Darque uses. He takes them and escapes through a fold gate

just a s Sola r ap pea rs! Sola r looks grim a nd dang erous.


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Shadow Man # 4

UNITY 2000 Teaser

Plot for five p ag es

7/8/99

By Jim Shooter

TITLE: Darque Designs

PAGE ONE:

In his storag e roo m full of dea d Jac k Bonifac es, Darque is ta king photos of t he b od ies. Lights, a

ba c kdrop and muc h other equipme nt is around. Some of the b od ies are arrang ed in an a rtful

c om position befo re the ba c kdrop . Othe rs still rest o n shelves. Darque is framing a shot using his

ha nd s in the c lassic m anner. He s saying, Too symm et ric a l.

In the bac kground, the Nerd is ente ring tenta tively, ca rrying the urn he stole from Ne ttie. Mister

Darque? Your siste r sa id Id find yo u he re.

Darque turns to the Nerd, his bac k to the c orpse-p ile. The Ne rd asks him wha t he s doing.

Darque says something cryptic, but FYI, hes doing an artful photo essay re: multiversal murder.

As they tw o ta lk, we see, b ut the y d on t, that the Bonifac es are m oving, zomb ie-like.

The Nerd sees the zom bies moving b ehind Darque , ap parently threa teningly. He sque aks a

warning

and b lows the Zom b ies to c orpse c utlets using the g lasses.

PAGE TWO a nd on:

Annoyed , Darque explains tha t the c orpses we re m oving b y his pow er-just striking a new pose,

as ordered. On the other hand, the splatter effect the Nerd wrought has a certain je ne sais

quoi

The nerd show s Darque the urn. Not m uc h in it, but som e of t he p a rts there a re key one s. The

rest of this Boniface is alligator poop on the bottom of the bayou, the Nerd says.

The Nerd plac es the urn w here to ld a nd returns the glasses. He s ea ge r to b e reunited with his

wife, a s Darque p rom ised . Darque says he s spoken with he r and she s wa iting for him. There s a

c a r outside tha t will ta ke him to her. The Nerd lea ves happy.

Darque puts the glasses into a box. His siste r ap pea rs a t the doo r. She says a me sseng er is here.

Goo d says Darque.

Darque and his sister have a d rink in the stud y. Rem em ber, they ha ve, or see m to have a n

ince stuous relat ionship, so h int at it. Da rque revea ls mo re o f his p lan. As Darque ta lks about the

multiverse a nd his c oming heg emo ny, he is po inting out the sigils a nd artifac ts of p ow er that he

ha s ga the red. He show s his sister a vision o f the multiverse (in w hich we get a glimpse o f my

Sola r). And , slow ly, during the c onve rsa tion, he transforms into the Sta rlin mo nste r version. She

says, What b ig tusks you have. He rep lies, The bette r to p layfully nip you w ith. Love b ites.

The Ne rd is in the c a r. He s c om p laining about the c ha uffeur driving too slowly. If po ssible, we


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see a messeng er va n p assing the m. The Nerd ta lks about his estrang em ent from his wife a nd

how ea ge r he is to g et b ac k tog ethe r with her. The c hauffeur sugg ests he stop for flow ers.

Later the Nerd walks up to his wifes door carrying flowers singing Ive been working my way

ba c k to you, b abe. He g oe s in. His wife is incred ible be autiful (but a psyc ho, whic h is why she

wo und up with a nerd). He s all happ y. Did she ta lk to Darque ? Did he c lea r things up for her?

Yep . He to ld her wha t a runa round the Nerd has be en, she says, op ening a fam iliar box. She

pu ts the glasses on a nd blow s him aw ay. A messeng er arrives and asks if she ha s a pac kag e to

go to Darque

Cut to Shad ow Ma n on t he a ir. (Explain to Jim, plea se, ab out the sta nda rd layo ut for the rad io

show page s.) Shadow Ma n says Darque , if you re listening , I know you re up to som ething . The

wo rd s around Dea dside , now tha t your ca ts pa w ha s turned up the re. Darque c alls in and

says c rypt ic things. Shadow Ma n ac knowled ge s tha t wha teve r Darque is up to see ms to b e off

of his b ea tbut som eo ne w ill stop him.

Darque laug hs and ha ngs up . Shado w Ma n, a little frustrated , rea c hes for a c iga rette . A voic e-

som eo ne s sud den ly beside h im-asks if he ne ed s a light. It s Sola r, extend ing a red hot inde x

finger

Sha dow Ma n is c oo l, of c ourse, but he s as surprised as he g ets.


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UNITY 2000

Issue # 1 Introd uc tion

Everything wa s all right until a ve ry da nge rous ma n c am e a long .

It d idn t sta rt with the M an in the Red Suit, but he sent it all sp inning out of c ont rol. On Ap ril

15th, 1991, he ma de a c ata strop hic mista ke that g enerate d a b lac k hole so p ow erful that it

tw isted timespac e into knots and wa rped realities a ll ac ross our ma ny-layered multiverse o f

whic h our universe is a pa rt.

Right aw ay, eve rything wa s different-and not long afte r the eve nt, things rea lly started to go

awry.

Now, the m illennium is nigh and it is time for the c hao s to c om e to an e nd time for a new

order.

UNITY 2000


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UNITY 2000 # 1

Plot for 22 pa ges

8/2/99

By Jim Shooter

INTRODUCTION PAG E: (Copy to fo llow w ith sc rip t)

(NOTE TO JIM[Sta rlin]: There see ms to b e a lot of explanation he re, but it nee d not take up as

muc h spa c e a s it wo uld seem. I wa nted it to b e c lea r to you, but you do nt ha ve to a llow for

pe da ntic exposition in the art. I c an b e suc c inct. Give me tha t Kirby p ac ing, and we ll be okay.)

TITLE: Absent Friends

PAGE ONE: Darque (huma n form) and his siste r a rduo usly sc a le a som ew ha t c rag gy hill

ove rloo king his pa latial hom e. It wo uldn t be arduo us for you, but Da rque , while c ap ab le

physica lly, ab hors exertion, a nd Sandria is we aring heels and her usua l dec ade nt a ttire. Jim, no

mo re b oo ks in this lad ys ha nd s, plea se. Think dec adent . I know tha t s ha rd fo r an up sta nd ing

Eag le Sc out like yourself, but ima gine you re m e. On sec ond thoug ht, not tha t d ec ad ent

Atop the hill, Darque pulls out a fold gate-close up, please-then tosses it out toward the

ma nsion. Im see ing this so fa r as three little panels ac ross the t op , lea ving 2/ 3 of the p age for

the m ain imag e-the g ate has expa nde d to vast size and is in the proc ess of e ngulfing the

ma nsion and environs. Darque and sister a re in the fo reg round , but sma ll, due to t he va st

sc op e o f this shot . Darque is d rama tica lly ge sturing as if guiding the p rocess of t he

transporta tion o f his hom e (to the Lost Land ).

(NOTE: Mike [Ma rts], this fold ma p / fold ga te stuff c onfuses me -som et imes the re see ms to b e a

ma p one sticks a pin in to travel to som e p oint, som etimes it see ms tha t g lowing rec ta ngular

po rtals just op en up . Im seeing some thing here that s sort of a n expa nda ble po rtab le ho le. If

it s inap prop riate to c all it a fold -som ething, I ll ma ke up a ne w ma gic thing to c ove r it.)

PAGE TWO and on: Darque , excited by t he fa c t tha t his p lan is c om ing a long so nic ely, hurries

ba c k towa rd the g round s so the fold w ill swe ep them up with it. He s p ulling Sa ndria a long b y

the hand so b riskly she s stum b ling . Sand ria w onders why he d rag ged her ou t here in the first

p lac e. To see how wo nd erful he is, he says, and how lucky she is to be h iswell, his. He says

things ab out his plan fo r the heg emo ny of Death.

Cut to an estab lishing shot o f the hom e o f the m ost rece nt version o f Shad ow Ma n (Ill ca ll him

LeRoi, from now on to minimize c onfusion). I und ersta nd its a rotting p ad dlew hee l boa t out in

the bayou som ep lac e. LeRois ca r is pa rked outside. Inside the house we find LeRoi, loo king like

he s just g etting ho me. Hes troub led , but fo r him tha t me ans just a very faint look of c onc ern.

He fac es a large ornate mirror (alrea dy esta blished , ask Mike). Nettie a pp ea rs, gho stly in the

mirror. Nettie and LeRoi discuss the situation. LeRoi will make reference to his conversation with

Sola r. Nett ie will ta lk about strang e ha ppenings in Dea dside. She s c a lm, but its c lear tha t she s

in grea t and grow ing dang er. The Dea d a re g etting fe isty-as if they know / sense the ir day is at

ha nd . LeRoi know s, too , tha t a universa l horror show is ab out to sta rt, and is p issed tha t the guy

in the red suit, who seem ed to b e o n the c ase, c omp ared notes with him and split-as if he,

LeRoi, wa s of no further interest. As they spea k, we c ut t o Dea dside. Net tie is being surround ed ,


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attacked by the various critters there, all chanting Hegemony of Death. LeRoi goes for his

be ar. Forge t m e, Nettie says as she s be ing overwhelme d . No wa y. This, at least, he c an do

some thing ab out, or g o do wn trying. He tumb les into Dead side, a rriving by Netties side, g uns

b lazing. Pull bac k to revea l armies of Dea d siders surround ing t hem . It s Custer s last sta nd with

wa y worse o d ds.

Cut to Solar arriving a t one of Gilad s hom es. Geoff the Geom anc er, now twenty-ish is the re

with Gilad . Solar ha s just c om e from the Lost Land , whe re he ha s witnessed Darque s

machinations. He explains what is happening-for this, Jim, I need some shots of other realities in

the m ultiverse som eho w p rojec ted by Solar. Im thinking yo u should lea ve som e b lank spac es

into w hic h Mike a nd c o. c an drop shots pulled from mem orab le m ome nts in the VH1 and VH2

stories-inc luding a t lea st one or two o f Sola r in a nother iteration. Time to go save t he universe

ag a in says Gilad . Geoff says he s alrea dy a rrange d for help, and we see or hint a t the arrival of

the rest o f the c ha rac ters who will rep resent my o ld universe here: X-O, Arc her (now mid-

twent ies), Armstrong , Sting, Chris, Flaming o and Zep p lin (a ll now mid-tw ent ies), and Blood sho t.

These a re a ll the VALIANT versions, Jim. Use Lap ha m referenc e w hen p ossible. Bloodsho t is the

RAI #0 ve rsion. Gilad says if only Magnus c ould join us. Geo ff says wo rd ha s bee n passed dow n

through time by Geomancers. Hell be there.

Cut to 4120 AD. This is the Utop ian future of m y Ma gnus. An old d ud e, 150 or so-b ut reme mb er,

eve ryone is p rett y sound in the future-is a t the ho sp ital bedside o f an o ld wo ma n. It s one of

those Ma nning hospital bed s that ha s a b ig g ad ge t at the hea d o f the bed that sort of fits

around your hea d. A robo t nurse is in the room. The w oma n has died c omfo rtab ly and as

sc hed uled . The m an go es home . Now w hat . Nothing left for him he re. He p ulls a ta ttered blue

c ostume (he w as we a ring it whe n c hew ed up b y an a lligato r) and ma sk out of a futuristic

draw er. Hint that its a Sha do wm a n suit.

Sha dow ma n, we aring the suit, visits Ma gnus, who a lso looks 150. Mag nus lives on G op h Lev,

but c omfo rtab ly. Shad ow ma n wa nts to know ho w to ge t to the Lost Land . He w ants to g o

hom e to New Orlea ns to spend his last days, and he c an ge t the re from the LL. Mag nus has

be en w a iting for him. He w arns him tha t he s in for troub le. Mag nus takes him to the c a ve

estab lished in Ma gnus # 12, and tells him to go throug h a nd wa it for him, Ma gnus on the othe r

side.

Shad ow ma n d oe s as told. Ma gnus show s up, b ut its the yo ung Ma gnus we re fa miliar with.

(Old Magnus reme mb ered this incid ent.) Sha dow ma n te lls Ma gnus his older self s instruc tions.

Ma gnus will tell Sha dow ma n the mission on t he w ay. If not for prior expe rienc e w ith the Lost

Land , Mag nus wo uldn t believe Shad ow ma n. He ll a lso g et a c ross tha t eve nts in the Lost Land

are not preorda ined , despite the fac t tha t in one t imeline, he, Mag nus must ha ve survived . Its

dusk, and g etting d a rk (Darque ?). Ma gnus has flying g ea r and , ca rrying Shado wm an, he soa rs

skyward.

Nigh t. Cut to a n esta b lishing shot of Da rque s house, wh ich is now the c ente r of a sky island

fortress-noth ing c lic h and c astle-like, p lease. An a rtist s fortress. And y Warhols fortress. Da li s

fortress-hovering a bove the Lost Land . Solar a nd c o. a re see ing it fo r the first t ime. It s

impressive. To t he at ta c k they g o.

Cut to inside. Darque is in the midst of c asting the spell tha t will solid ify the he gem ony o f Dea th.

Lots of ma gic a l artifac ts, pa raphernalia and mystic m ec hanism, p lease, Jim. There is, of c ourse,

a d ea th theme to the ma gic. Sand ria ha s som e role tha t is not to o ta xing. Avoid c liches,


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plea se. If you like, we c an d isc uss and p erhap s c om e up with som e ne w w rinkles on the old

sorce rer-ca sts-big-spell-sc htick. One tho ught I had wa s tha t c entral to the proc ess wo uld be a

c omp uter-a w eird Nec roma nce rs Ma c intosh, c alculating the Deaths and flow o f pow er be ing

used . Another thoug ht: ca sting the spe ll doe snt oc c upy him muc h. It sort of g oe s along by

itself, and he ha s time to ta lk, fond le Sand ria , joke , etc . As the spell prog resses, Darque

be c ome s the mo nster Da rque you estab lished before.

Solar and the UNITY Force b reac h the outer perimete r of Darque s fortress. Darque ha s som e

kind o f de fense. What? I don t know, but no thing tha t c an d ie. He nee ds prec ise c ontrol of

death right now. Maybe its something virtual-but-solid, generated by his Necro-Mac, or maybe

its stone a nd stee l ic ons of d ea th-or you think of som eth ing.

Quickly, Darque see s tha t Solar is the m a in prob lem. Using his ow n pow er-he ha tes to d o tha t-

he literally b lows Solar aw ay, o ver the ho rizon. Ma ke this som e fo rm o f the ta ttoo po we r we ve

see n from him in the p ast.

Now, the spell is reac hing a c ritic a l point, and Darque is mo re o c c up ied. The he roe s have

overcome his troops and are on their way in. Hmm. Darque animates the Boniface corpses and

send s them out t o fight.

Tha t doe sn t help fo r long. He tells Sand ria he s em pow ering her, and she s go ing to ha ve to

fight. Me?! She says. Dressed for the b oudoir, she m ee ts the heroes a t the gate to the inner

sanctum. By now, Archer, Bloodshot, and several others have been left behind, wounded or

incapacitated. We need Zepplin, Gilad and X-O. Confronted by this unwilling warrior in satin,

the he roes d on t qu ite know w ha t to d o. Zep plin tries to p ush pa st her. Sand ria swa ts her aw ay.

A b a ttle e nsues. She ha s imme nse p ow er, but no skill (or desire). At the risk of sound ing

anted iluvian, she fight s like a g irl-who ha s strengt h and ene rgy p ow ers tha t ma ke her more

than a ma tch for X-O. X-O has trouble with the ide a of c lob be ring a wom an, and gets

thumped . Gilad has fought everything a nd, though outma tched , bea ts the c rap out of her

be fore fina lly she c onne c ts the o ne time it takes to b rea k him b ad ly.

As Mag nus and Shad owm an a pp roa c h, unseen b y the c omb ata nts, they see the end of Gilad s

figh t with Sandria. Wa it here says Ma gnus, rac ing to the a tta c k.

Nose b lood ied, Fac e m arked , sa tin torn, Sandria d usts her hand s and turns to stumb le ba c k

inside . Magnus ta c kles her, pound s her. Now she s ma d . Fight ing like a fury, if clum sily, she

weathers steel (and teeth) smashing blows and after a heroic effort on his part, clobbers

Magnus.

Ba tte red, blubbering , Sand ria e nters the spell roo m. She s d eva sta ted , wa iling ab out w ha t s

be en d one to he r fac e. Darque has to m ake her be autiful ag ain, etc. He s ac tually terribly

amused by this, and jokes ab out it. Possibly he e ven doe s som ething sad istic, like slap her aga in

to shut her up , or just tw ist he r broken nose p layfu lly. Doe s this hurt?

Sudd enly there seem s to be a problem. The c omp uter ca nt finish the ma gic program, b ec ause

one d ea th programmed into it doesnt seem to ha ve b een c onsummate d. Panicked, Darque

chec ks. Theres one m ore Jac k Bonifac e! How c an that b e?

Darque is deva sta ted . In sec ond s the sun w ill rise o n the New Millennium here in the ab solute

time o f the Lost Land , and the o pportunity will be g one for a tho usand yea rs. There s no time to


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find the Bonifac e. He c ould be anywhere in the multiverse. Just his be ing alive ruins eve rything.

Sandria b itter, hurting angry etc . laughs. He d oe s som ething horrible to her

Enter Jac k Bonifac e. Darque c an t believe his luck. All he s go t to d o is kill the o ld c oo t befo re

the imp end ing d aw n. Jac k isnt nimble, but the re s a shred of the old Shad ow ma n It s all jazz,

and I c an p lay left. He som eho w e vades and e ven (futilely) strikes at Darque . Darque rea rs

ba c k for the kill-and then , the sun p ee ks ove r the horizon.

Dam n. Defla ted , Darque just to sses the o ld g uy aw ay. He flips off the c om puter and sulks. Hmm ,

he thinks-the sun isge tting c loser?

It s Solar, of c ourse, reco vered , blazing like the sun, and zoo ming b ac k to the fray, hell bent.

Darque rea lizes tha t it isn t d awn yet-he ma de a mista ke. His pow er is fad ing. Uh-oh. He o rd ers

the fe w rema ining zom bie servants to q uic kly ga ther up imp ortant a rtifac ts and flees throug h a

fold. Sand ria sta gg ers a fter him, ba rely ma king it.

Solar a rrives. Jac k Bonifac e d ies in his a rms.

Cut to LeRoi and Nettie, ob viously having b ee n fighting b ac k to ba c k for a long time, sta nding

litera lly a top a mo unta in of d ea d things. It s ove r. The a rmies of t hings a re retrea ting, or slinking

awa y, ac tua lly, sensing tha t the ir heg em ony is dea d . LeRoi ha s a sense tha t this isn t a ll tha t w ill

co me o f Darque s plan.

Bac k at Da rque s house. Magnus is okay. He c an ha ve 40th cen tury sc ienc e b roug ht in to hea l

everyone.

La ter, Sola r destroys the floa ting island spec ta cularly.

Cut to the req uiem sc ene from RAI # 0. Everyone is sad a bout Sha dow ma n, but g lad it s ove r.

Ominously, Solar says its not over

HERE ENDETH # 1


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UNITY 2000 # 2

Plot for 22 pa ges

9/6/99

By Jim Shooter


TITLE: Death Warrant

(NOTE TO JIM: If possible, a t the end of issue # 1, have Darque revert to human fo rm a fte r failing

to c onq uer the multiverse. If its alrea d y draw n with him in mo nster form, do n t b othe r

c hang ing it. Ill cove r it in the c op y.)

PAGE ONE: Darque, in huma n form, is prac tica lly drag ging Sandria o ut of a fold g ate,

foreg round . Make this an upshot to show the full sc op e o f the plac e theyre a rriving, a n

und erground site where a n H-bom b wa s tested . This is a perfec tly spheric a l hollow in the

bedrock half a mile beneath the surface. Its thousands of feet in diameter, and its walls are

glass-like, perfectly smooth fused rock. In the center of the spherical hollow is a bunker-like

bu ild ing o f sorts, suspend ed by ma g ic (o r if you t hink it looks c oo ler, by m assive c ab les or

wha tever)-Darque s last red oub t. Sand ria , som ew ha t w orse for the we ar last issue, is asking

whe re the hell they a re. Darque gives a c ursory explana tion.

(ANOTHER NOTE: Im w a lking a fine line w ith Sand ria -Darque t rea ts her (and anyone else in his

po we r) with co mp lete d isrespe c t. She s no b imbo , though . She s d issolute, cynic al and jad ed ,

but c erta inly not stup id. She s as sarca stic a nd passively resista nt to Darque a s she c an get

aw ay w ith, b ut ultimate ly, dom inated by him. He d oe snt rea lize ho w m uc h she ha tes him.)

PAGE TWO and on: Darque strides into his sma ll, thic k-wa lled impreg nab le red oub t throug h a

huge, va ult-like d oo r. Sand ria stumb les and sc ramb les a long b ehind him. She s asking about

rad iation. He says he s immorta l, so no p rob lem, a nd , (c rypt ica lly) well, she is wha t she is.

Sandria wa nts Darque to use his pow er to hea l the d ama ge she suffered in the fight. As he g ets

himself a d rink-b randy, proba bly-lights up a Gitane s and relaxes, he expla ins tha t he c an t

afford t o w aste a ny po we r. What if Solar ca me c rashing in?

As if on c ue, we see a six-foot c irc le be ing c ut in the seve ra l-foo t-thic k wa ll-as if som eo ne

outside we re using a super po we rful cutt ing to rc h. Onc e the c irc le is finished , Solar d rama tica lly

kic ks in the c ut o ut sec tion. Darque c a lmly rises and ta kes off his jac ket (o r shirt), prep a ring fo r

his last sta nd . Sand ria shrinks away, terrified tha t she s about to rec eive mo re ab use. Sola r is

also calm and laid back. Hes supremely confident in his power. Darque puts out his cigarette

and ta kes another swig of his b rand y a s Solar a pproa c hes. (NOTE: Jim, I nee d this ad mitted ly

quiet shot for exposition.) Darque turns to monster form for combat.

Darque beg ins hostilities with a n a ll-out a tta c k-wha tever wa y you like, as long a s he uses

energy o f som e sort. It w ould b e g oo d if he used som e kind of ma gica l talisma n or a rtifac t, if

possible, a t som e p oint in his a ssault on Sola r, bu t no b ig d ea l if you c a n t w ork it in. Sola r,

relentlessly advancing, simply stops Darques energy and runs it through his fingers like water,

feeling it, trying to figure out wha t it is. He ll say some thing ab out ho w nec roma ntic energy


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14

seem s pretty muc h like other energy to him, And tha t he d oesnt be lieve in ma gic anywa y, and

that theres nothing spe c ial a bo ut the turn of the m illennium, etc .-all this ma gic c rap is a ll in

the m ind of the beho lde r. Sola r knoc ks Darque out in som e no n-violent w ay, like turning a ll the

oxygen in the air around him into nitrog en, or creating a n elec troma gne tic field tha t a ffec ts his

b ra in ac tivity. Solar forces Darque to revert to huma n form, as using va rious ene rgies and

frequenc ies, he a na lyzes Darque in som e visua l way. Sola r de termines tha t Da rque s pow er is so

intertwined w ith his essenc e tha t it ca nt be remo ved without killing him-and he s not rea dy to

do tha t. Yet. He feels tha t Darque is no long er a th rea t, thoug h, so he turns to lea ve. As he

doe s, Sand ria asks if Darque s unc onscious. Yes. Tha t see ms to ma ke he r evilly hap py. Onc e

Sola r is gone, Sand ria kic ks Darque.

Solar, dee ply troub led by a ll that ha s hap pe ned , lea ves by flying through the hole he m ad e

previously and d isappea ring in a b urst o f Wind sor-Smith p rism spa rkles.

La ter, Da rque w akes up , ba tte red a nd b ruised . Sand ria is loung ing, drinking a ma rtini, and

rea ding Elle ma ga zine-co mp laining ab out how old the issue is. Doesnt he e ver rep lac e the

magazines here?

Darque is surprised tha t Solar bea t him up while he wa s unc onsc ious and help less. He w ouldn t

have figured Solar for the sad istic typ e. Oh, we ll, he c an hea l himself. Me too , while yo u re a t it,

says Sand ria . Nag , nag , nag , he says, but d oe s it.

Darque know s Sola r isn t going to just let things lie. They ha ve to g et o ut o f here-but Darque

discove rs tha t Solar ap pa rently de stroyed his fold g a te (o r fold g a te p ow er). They re imp risone d

here! says Sandria. No, says Darque , op ening a panel to reve a l co ntrols tha t look like the y

might b e for de tona ting a nuke-he ll just ha ve to op en the skylight.

Cut to a nuc lea r blast in the midd le of the Neva da de sert.

Cut to Darque , in mo nster form, climb ing out o f the c ra ter ca rrying Sandria. He ha tes physica l

exertion , bu t it s ea sier in th is fo rm.

Cut to Sola r, pond ering t he m ultiverse. He s som ep lac e b eyo nd the m ultiverse, out side o f time

and spac e, looking a t a ll of existenc e. In c hapter 17 of UNITY, pa ge 12, Erica Pierce d esc ribes

existenc e a s a hurrica ne-a swirling ma elstrom o f timelines countless end ings and beg innings

c hasing ea c h othe rs ta ils. Plea se g ive m e some thing very drama tic looking that grap hic ally

rep resen ts this. (Don Perlin d rew a rather unim pressive swirl, so d on t fo llow his visua liza tion .)

Pull in to a c lose up of Sola r thinking g rim thoug hts. He senses som eth ing, a pow erful,

ma levo lent p resenc e (the C rea ture) b ut he c an t figure out w hat it is. He s go ing to look

around

Cut to a plump, p lea sant loo king Mike Hob son t ype-you remem be r Mike, right?-on the train

go ing hom e from a nother long da y at t he o ffic e. This is Lou Mo rningsta r, new c ha rac ter.

Rump led suit a nd tie, plea se, this guy s a midd le ma nag eme nt b urea ucrat. The c ar is c row de d.

Sudd enly, eve ryone but him ge ts up and leaves the c ar. Engrossed in his pa pe rbac k, he d oesn t

notic e. A vo ice says, Is this sea t ta ken? Morningsta r loo ks up to see Darque (huma n form)

smiling d ow n at him-and the em pty c ar. (Darque c lea red the c ar using his mind c ontrol po we r

so the y co uld spea k in private.)

Morningsta r greets Darque like a n o ld p al. There s a pa nel of how s-the-wife-and -kids, then


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Darque says he s here to c a ll an old ma rker. Sure, says Morningsta r-but only if you c om e fo r

dinner.

Cut t o the b urbs-sta rting with a n exterior esta b lishing shot p lease tha t show s one of t hose

Hellish, upsc a le midd le c lass deve lopm ents where a ll the houses are just a bit to o c lose

tog ethe r and loo k alike. Cut to the Morningsta rs dining roo m w here his ave rag e-loo king wife

is c learing awa y d ishes and the t hree kids a re b eing a nnoying. Darque is c om plimenting Mrs.

Morningsta r and tousling t he ha ir of the mo st bea utiful b londe four-yea r-old g irl child o n Ea rth.

This one looks like a n a ngel, says Darque. Yea h, says Lou, a s his w ife he rds the kids off to bed ,

she takes afte r her old da d. Every ninth o ne

(Were go ing to slowly realize-though it w ill neve r be expressly sta ted -that Morningsta r is Sa ta n,

retired and living in the suburbs. We ll ga the r tha t he s had ma ny lives, many wives, been

white, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Polynesian, etc. at various times-but always the Hobson type in

any c ulture. It s part of his pena nc e.)

Sitting a t the ta b le, smo king , drinking Johnny Walker Red , Darque and Morningsta r talk. Darque

ap pa rently has oc c asionally arrange d som e o utrageous hed onistic p leasures for Morningsta r,

who c an t d o things for himself with his ow n p ow er without starting a ll that up ag ain.

Darque says he ne ed s som e he lp. Transpo rta tion and a wa y to spy o n som eone. Morningsta r

wo uld love to he lp, butby the w a y, how is tha t lovely Sand ria?

Fine, says Darque . She s off t o the Spa , then p lanning t o test the limits of h is p latinum c a rd on

Rod eo Drive and Fifth Avenue . You know ho w va in she is. Morningsta r c an rela te. Hed , uh,

love to see Sand ria aga in. As soo n a s the c risis passes, says Darque .

Morningstar rumma ge s throug h a typica l, messy kitc hen junk drawe r and c ome s up with an

old p lastic m ea suring c up . Here, he says. This will help you c hec k up on whome ver. Then

Morningstar digs in the p oc ket of a trenc h c oa t hang ing o n a hook and co mes up w ith a

c rump led bus transfer. This ll ge t you where you re g oing.

Darque tha nks Morningsta r. Morningsta r is ac tua lly glad to he lp. He s a pe op le pe rson, and he

likes this amb itious young ma n, Darque . He s a little surprised tha t Da rque d idn t a t lea st try to

ma nipula te h im. Dec eive the De c eiver? Nah , says Darque . This is straight up . (Tha t s how

desperate he is.)

Oh, and heres one othe r thing you ma y need , says Morningsta r, hand ing Da rque a c ell pho ne.

What d oe s this do? Da rque w ond ers. It s a c ell phone , says Morningsta r. Ca ll me if you ne ed to

talk.

Darque asks Morningsta r to g ive his best to the fam ily, and uses the b us transfer to telep ort

aw ay. The transfer telep ortat ion effec t should b e visua lly muc h different than the fold ga te

effec t. Som ething Biblic al-loo king , mayb e?

Cut to a suite a t the Four Sea sons hote l in Los Ang eles. Uniformed deliverymen a re bringing in

do zens of fanc y shop ping bag s, dress bo xes and othe r results of a splurge on Rod eo Drive.

Sandria is d irec ting them . Darque suddenly a ppea rs, sta rtling the deliverymen. Sandria is totally

b las. Nothing Da rque doe s surprises her. One deliveryman asks Sand ria if Darque s a sta ge

ma gic ian. Som ething like tha t, she says, hand ing him a wa d of hund reds for their troub le. They

leave.

Sand ria holds up one o f her spec ta c ular new d resses in fron t of he rself, showing Darque . He isn t


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pa ying at tention-hes loo king for a b ow l or ba sin of som e sort. He finds a de c orative b ow l. He

fills the m ea suring c up (from a bo ttle of Avian, chilling a long w ith Cha mp ag ne in a b uc ket),

then pours it into the b ow l. While do ing this she s trying eve n ha rder to g et his a tte ntion,

da ngling som e d ec ade nt lac y unde r things in front o f him. He says she m ay ne ed those for

Morningstar. Far from be ing ap pa lled, she s ac tually thrilled tha t he s ma de her a d ate with

that de lightfully wicked ma n. Darque says some thing ab out b eing una ble to be jea lous whe re

she s c onc erned -but one suspec ts tha t the idea of Sandria preferring som eo ne else irks him.

In the b asin, mad e into a sc rying p oo l by the e mp ow ered w ate r po ured from the Devils ow n

mystic Rubbe rma id m ea suring c up , Darque see s Solar a rriving hom e

and we c ut to Sola r. Sola r lives in a sma ll b ut b ea utiful hom e in a sp ec ta c ular set ting in the

Roc kies som ew here. Ga yle is wa iting for him, doing som eth ing c raftsy, preferab ly throw ing a

po t. She w a s go ing to try to ma ke a ne w o ne to rep la c e his favo rite, which she b roke w hile

dusting . He see s the sha rds sitting o n a ta b le. Clea rly, thoug h tha t w ill wa it. He s up set . They sit

to ta lk. Solar makes the suit disap pe ar-Oma r c an give you referenc e for this-and bec om es

Seleski. Gayle lovingly g reets and c om forts her ob viously troub led husband . (NOTE: in the

Shoo terverse Seleski and Ga yle lived ha pp ily eve r afte r.) Seleski exp lains tha t he s bee n on a

little to ur of the multiverse and he s see n d isturbing things. He uses holog rap hic p rojec tions to

show Ga yle a few of these. There a re rea lities, he says, where the ir nice friend Gilad is an

ove rzea lous militant who c a lls himself Warma ster and Fist of som eth ing o r othe r. There s a

reality where two bozos with unlikely super powers (Quantum and Woody) talk nonsense to the

air as if they w ere p laying to an aud ience . Theres even a rea lity where she, Ga yle w ea rs a funny

c ostum e a nd flies around ac ting like a Sup er Friend . (There wa s an old VH1 Sola r where this

happene d , but fo rge t tha t. Just ma ke this visua l up, plea se.) There a re w orlds whe re the law s of

physics a re m ere sugge stions, where vo od oo , magic , gho sts and dem ons a re rea l things,

worlds that are childlike fantasies or bad parodies of comic books. Worse, there are worlds

whe re he , Solar, has go ne m ad and pe rpetrate d immense a troc ities. (Show the Jurgens Solar

destroying Ea rth, or the sta r field Sola r from the Ma n of t he A tom m ini series destroying Seo ul.)

Not to m ention the one s whe re he m erely beha ves irra tionally

Worst of a ll, troub le from these o the r wo rlds is sp illing o ver and threa ten ing to a ffec t the ir

wo rld. He c an t stand the idea o f his wo rld a nd Ga yle b eing harmed a ga in.

What is he g oing to d o? G ayle asks. He s not sure. He ll think it over. It ma y be tha t he ll ha ve

to e liminate the d op pe lgange r rea lities to p reserve the p rimary rea lity.

Cut to Darque . He w as a fra id o f tha t. This is no inco nsiderab le threa t-this is the orig inal Ma n in

the Red Suit ta lking. Darque loo ks hone stly sc a red for onc e. Sandria not ices his d isc om fort w ith

secret pleasure.

Cut b ac k to Seleskis home . Ga yle a sks if these o the r worlds are rea l. Seleski says yes,

unfortunately, but their lives are unreal parodies of existence in most cases. He pulls out the

Sola r co mic boo k tha t sta rted it all-the first Go ld Key issue o f Doc to r Sola r that insp ired him to

be c ome a physicist (and ultimately led to a ll this hap pe ning). Give me a p ane l or two of him

talking ab out the events that c aused the m ultiversal c hao s-his de stroying the wo rld and go ing

bac k in time to save it. Don t d o visua ls for this b it. He fee ls very muc h responsible for the me ss.

(NOTE MOSTLY TO SELF: Im going to try to get the point ac ross tha t in c om ic-b oo ky wo rlds, the

ordinary pe op le a re m ore o r less c annon fod de r for the super be ings. Tha t is, the w ay mo st


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c om ic b oo k worlds are p resente d, super beings essentially dec ide a ll outc om es and reg ular

pe op le are there to ap plaud , die, flee , be resc ued or otherwise serve a suppo rting role. They re

not no rma l worlds with a few ab normal p eo ple in them . They re w orlds where you shine the

Bat Signal whe n a c rime is c om mitted , where no o ne see ms to m ind tha t Dr. Doo m to ok ove r

New York ag ain, bec ause, afte r all, the FF save d them ag ain, and nob od y wo nde rs why

Superma n choo ses to c a tc h som e fa lling a irp lanes and ignore others.)

Solar adds tha t on to p of e verything else, he senses som ething horrible a nd pervasive in the

multiverse (the C rea ture) tha t he c an t pinpo int.

Cut t o Da rq ue. Hmm . He s sensed som eth ing od d , too. He tries to t une in on it, but t he fe eling

see ms to b e c om ing from e verywhere a t onc e. He c a lls Morningsta r.

Cut t o Mo rning sta r. It s late eve ning b y now Ea st Co ast time, a nd Morning sta r and his wife a re

in be d in the midst o f som e c ha rmingly kinky a c tivity. (NOTE TO ALL: My intention is for this to be

very mild and d isc rete -no nud ity, c ertainly, more humorous than stea my. Mayb e he s we aring

footb all shoulder pa ds a helmet a nd joc key shorts and she s holding p om po ms and we aring a

c heerlea de r costume, or wha tever. The foo t of their four poster bed c ould b e rigg ed to look

like a go a l po st. Anywa y, Darque says, I hop e Im not d isturbing you. Mo rningsta r says, we ll,

he w as ab out to go in for the sc ore, but no p rob lem, Darque. Hap py to help. He g oe s into

ano ther roo m for privac y lea ving his wife (tied to the go al po st?).

Hmm , says Mo rningsta r. Now tha t you me ntion it, I fee l it to o. He sta rts to te ll Da rq ue w ha t it is

and how to find it and how it might fit into his plan s-though it will be very da nge rous

The next mo rning, Seleski and Ga yle have brea kfast. She asks him if he s de c ided wha t he s

go ing to d o. He d oe snt know. She s c om pletely supp ortive, no m at ter wha t he d ec ides. She

wa nts him to know that even if he wa nted her to p ut on a funny co stume a nd a c t l ike a Super

Friend , she wo uld. Tha t s how muc h she loves him and trusts him. He fe els the same wa y a bout

her. They kiss. He p uts the suit bac k on. He wants to go f ind o ut m ore. He p rism-spa rkles out. She

sta rts to return to he r work-but sees tha t the sha rds of the b roken p ot ha ve b ee n reassem b led!

A fe w tell-ta le Wind sor-Smith spa rkles a round it suggest how

Sola r ente rs sub spac e e n route to visit Pierce . He senses the pervasive evil aga in, strong er tha n

ever, stronger as he approaches the wormhole.

Sola r finds the c incture wo rmhole whe re Pierce is imprisoned and enters. Pierce is a c rumb ling

ha g-tha t s how the wo rmho le a ffec ts its victims. Solar resto res her to her go ssame r fatigue s

huma n self so he c an ta lk to her. He d oe sn t restore her po we r, of c ourse-she s still wea k and

limp . Solar a sks he r about her p lans for UNITY. She exp lains.

He seems as though hes considering it.

Mea nwh ile, Darque w end s his wa y through sub spac e. He stop s pours wa ter from a flask into

the c up , then into t he a ir. No vessel req uired here in subspa c e, where eve rything sort of floa ts.

In the d rifting w a ter, he see s Solar ta lking to Pierc e, finding o ut ho w to un ite the multiverse.

He s surer than e ver tha t Solar me ans to destroy a ll but the primary rea lity. He must find the

Creature

Darque c an fe el the Crea tures p resenc e b ut c an t see it. He tries the c ell pho ne a ga in. To his


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ama zem ent, it wo rks. AT&T, says Morningsta r. Ac tua lly, Darque is c loser to him in sub spac e tha n

he wa s in Ca lifornia. And the y have a great p ayme nt plan

Cut to Morningsta r at his desk at his hellish offic e job in one of those p lac es with hund reds of

ide ntic al c ubicles. He s explaining to Darque tha t w hat he s loo king for is a c rea tion of the

subconscious, so hell have to look for it with his inner eye. Morningstars boss suddenly starts

yelling a t him, so he says I go tta go . You re on your ow n. Be c areful-you ha ve no idea how

po we rful a thing you re me ssing w ith

Cut t o Da rque. He c onc entra tes, shifting his vision to enc om pass things of the m ind

and sud denly, the stup ifyingly huge, loa thsom e Creature looms befo re him. Even Da rque is

awed. Its a manifestation of Pierces hateful subconscious grown to multiverse-threatening

proportions.

Darque tries to c onvinc e the Crea ture tha t Solar is its ene my-and of c ourse, anathem a to

Darque , he s telling the truth. The Crea ture is simple a nd instinctua l, but no t easily ma nipulate d .

It req uires worship from Darque . It is a Go d. It rega rds his en trea ties as a praye r. Darque is

inward ly furious, but he c an fee l the C reatu re s raw p ow er, sense its destructive p ote ntial

rippling outw ard w ith eve ry minute mo veme nt. It simply exude s po we r. Da rque has to p lay

along . It c ould de stroy him w ith a shrug.

In the wo rmhole, as Sola r listens to Pierc e rave a bout UNITY and the destruc tion o f the

superfluous multiverse, the ide a be gins to sicken him. He (a nd we ) also g et t he ide a from her

psychot ic ramb lings tha t som e subc onsc ious ma nifesta tion has oc c urred from Pierc e s

dementia.

Sola r sta rts to leave. Pierc e p itifully b eg s him to sta y. He g oe sbut t ipp ed of b y som ething she

said, hes wary.

Therefore, he is not utterly d estroyed by the Crea tures surp rise a tta c k. How do they fight? Im

not sure, maybe w e c an d isc uss. The C reatures pow er is psychic a s we ll as shee r ene rgy, and of

c ourse, it has c rea ted a rmies of sub -dem ons. We ne ed a brief but visua l ba ttle. Solar can t

rea lly hurt the thing, but he ge ts in a shot tha t c auses it som e p a in-and its pa roxysm shakes a ll

rea lities. Solar takes ad vanta ge of the b rea k to e sc ap e. He rac es ba c k to his Ea rth. The

Multiversa l shud der has c aused ea rthqua kes, tidal wa ves, and on his and G ayle s mo unta in-an

avalanche!

Their house is flattene d. Gayle is buried . He q uickly moves tons of rub le and deb ris off o f her.

She s not brea thing. Crushed . Dead .

Solar be nd s dow n beside he r in ang uish. He d oe s som ething to her that resem b les wha t he d id

to Darque whe n he wa s ana lyzing him a nd fo rc ing him to c ha nge forms at the be ginning. With

treme ndo us effort and c onc entration, he p uts her atoms ba c k where they w ere.

She o pens her eyes and smiles to see her beloved . He w ee ps.

Later, as he slowly rec onstructs their house, Ga yle, sitting at a p icnic ta ble with c offee a sks him

wha t he d ec ided to d o. He says grimly that he s go ing to wipe a wa y the multiverse. Get rid o f

the mista ke.


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Mea nwhile, Da rque slips awa y from the now -quiet Crea ture. As he a rrives bac k on Ea rth, he

c a lls Morningsta r, who s a t G rand Ce ntral. I think we re in troub le now , says Darque . Yep , says

Morningsta r. We re in trouble

The End


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UNITY 2000 # 3

Plot for 22 pa ges

10/13/99

By Jim Shooter


TITLE: Pa inful Truth or Apo c a lypt ic Conseq uenc es

PAGE ONE: Flap jac k pa nel-a shot of o uter spa c e. In the distanc e, we see a planet (the Ea rth o f

this parallel rea lity) that, even from he re, we c an tell has be en rava ge d . The oc ea ns have b een

bo iled aw ay; the surfac e is entirely brown a nd desert-like, etc . In the fo reg round , we see a few

Wind sor-Smith p rism spa rkles, ind ica ting Sola rs imp end ing a rriva l.

Big pa nel-a shot o f the surfac e o f the p lanet . It was deva sta ted by the Solar of this pa ra llel

reality (some time ago) and its a nightmare of death and destruction. We see a prism-sparkle

burst, ba c kground , from whic h Solar ha s ente red t his rea lity, and Solar swo op ing over the ruins,

appa lled a t wha t he s see ing. His tho ug ht-na rra tion w ill te ll us it s like this everywhere. (NOTE:

Not even a rat stirring , please. There is no life wha tsoe ver in th is rea lity. Even the viruses have

bee n wa sted.)

PAGE TWO: Cut to Darque (a lways human fo rm unless otherwise noted ). He s sitting in a c a r (a

renta l-proba bly a full size Am eric an c a r) in the p arking lot o f a o ne story Mote l 6 or other chea p

mote l out on a highw ay some whe re nea r the b ed roo m c omm unity whe re Mo rningsta r lives. He

doe s not look ha ppy. Try to sugg est t ha t he s bee n sitting there for hours. (Ashtray full of b utts,

emp ty c offee c ontainers?)

Suddenly, a m ote l roo m d oo r right in front o f the c ar op ens and Sandria, half dressed , pee ks

out, mo tioning to Darque to ente r. She looks hap pily sate d. The num be r on the d oo r, by the

wa y, is 66, but a p pa rently, at some time, som e va nda l ad de d a third six with a pa int ma rker.

(There should b e o the r graffiti in ev idenc e, to o. This is a d ive.)

Ente ring, Darque , failing to hide tha t this bothers him, ac erbica lly asks Sandria how her da te

wa s. She d rea mily says she s neve r felt so humiliated , ab ased and used . It w as wonde rful.

Yippee ki-yay

Inside, as the a glow and c ontent Sandria d resses, Morningsta r c om es out o f the b a throom

wrap pe d in a tow el, sc rubb ing d ry his hair with ano ther. Darque is ba c k to b eing his c oo l and

b las self. They nee d to ta lk. Darque says she ll see Sand ria late r. Using the bus transfer, Darque

transpo rts her awa y.

As Morningsta r dresses (oc c asiona lly ma king som e annoyingly com p limenta ry reference to

Sand ria s ta lents), Darque exp lains (and rec aps for the read ers) how they re in troub le. (NOTE TO

JIM: I d p refe r no flashbac ks or spec ial explana tion p anels. In gene ral, I favor show ing the

reader wha t he w ou ld see if he w ere the re.) Let s look in on Sola r, says Mo rningsta r. Did you

bring the m ystic me asuring c up?


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PAG E THREE: Cut to mo me nts later. Darque is filling one o f the c a rs wheel c overs with w a te r

using the c up . He and Morningsta r loo k in on Solar a mo ng the ruins. Oh, d a rn, says Morningsta r.

Sola r wo uld ha ve to c om e a c ross tha t rea lity. Sta y with Darque a nd M orningsta r, but show

glimpses of the ima ge in the w a te r. As they ta lk and view Sola r, Morningsta r is putting items he

used with Sand ria into a gym ba g. No d ildo s or anything to o b latant, p lease-things like rop e,

spurs, a c ow bo y hat, toy sheriffs ba dg e, etc . (We proba bly should ha ve c aug ht a glimp se o r

two of this stuff lying a round the room be fore.) Darque c ould b e lighting a c igarette a nd

looking susp iciously at the to ys Morningsta r used . Show a shot of t he w a ter in the w hee l co ver

in which w e see a c lose up of Solar, ang ry, loo king up a t a 45 ang le at som ething .

Cut to Sola r. The c ame ra s still fac ing Sola r as he asc ends a ma rble sta ir. His ang er is g rowing

with eac h step . Move the c am era so w e finally see w hat he s looking a t-a throne ato p a

ma rble Ma yan-style p yram id on w hic h the de ad , withered bo dy of the Solar of this rea lity

slump s. Its the Jurgens Sola r. His c ostume is a ltered som ew ha t, still rec og nizab le a s a Sola r suit,

but a litt le mo re b efitt ing a go d.

PAG E FOUR: Cut b ac k to the m otel room . Morningsta r is exp laining t ha t the rea lity Sola r is in is

one w here an iterat ion of Solar went ma d, wipe d o ut all life a nd c omm itted suic id e.

Morningsta r is hone stly move d by this. He s a peop le pe rson, b asic a lly a nice guy-far from the

c lic h c a rica ture of Sa ta n as the na stiest, most p ernic ious of d em ons.

(ASIDE TO JIM AND OMAR: Sa ta n/ Morningsta rs on ly sin wa s p ride-which ma de h im wa nt to be

Numbe r One. All he w ante d w as go od things for peo ple [w hic h, by the w ay, in his op inion

include d hed onism a nd every pleasure ima ginab le].) Darque lam ents the w aste o f all that

necromantic energy.

Bac k to Sola r. He looks less ang ry and mo re resolute now. Thoug h this rea lity is a night ma re, it s

the p erfect test site. He thinks for a m inute a bo ut how to d o w hat he ha s to d o-then sta rts to

shrink. He bec om es mic rosc op ic

then sub -atom ic. Sola r bec om es so sma ll he c an see (using som e energy-sense to simulate

vision) q uantum pa rticles. He sta rts ma king a ltera tions in the ene rgy levels of an a rray o f

pa rticles. A c ha in rea c tion sta rts

Bac k to the mo te l. They re not sure what Sola r is up to . Sud den ly, energy bursts ou t of the

makeshift scrying pool in the wheel cover like Vesuvius erupting, blowing the roof of the motel

roo m to q uarks, prob ab ly flaring to the ed ge of spa c e.

PAGE FIVE: The room is a wrec k. There s a smo king ho le in the c eiling . What the he ll was tha t?

Darque wo nders, som ew ha t b rushed ba c k. Morningsta r (ama zingly ca lm, considering ) says he

see s now Sola r ha s c ollapsed tha t a lternate universe b ac k into w hiche ver ite ra tion it sp rang

from by unraveling its quantum field. There wa s som e energy leaka ge through their view

po rt. Morningstar ma kes a ge sture and ma gica lly g enerates a visual a id tha t d emo nstrate s one

universe collapsing into another, sort of the way a telescope or one of those collapsible

c amp ing c ups wo rks. (NOTE TO JIM: If you c an think of a go od visua l wa y to ac tua lly show

Solar c ollapsing tha t universe ba c k into the universe it branc hed off from, fee l free .) Solar ha s

learned to c ollapse universes bac k into t heir pa rent universes. He stop ped at one this time, a

de ad one. Prob ab ly he w as just testing o ut the te c hnique . Now , though, in theo ry, he c an

c ollap se a ll of them b ac k to the o rig inal from w hich the y a ll sprang . (NOTE TO SELF: I tho ught

you didnt d o ba ld-fac ed m ag ic a nymore, says Darque. Well, I didn t have a p en and pa pe r,

says Morningsta r.) So d o som ething, says Darque . You ha ve the p ow er! Morningsta r says no, it s


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up to you. I can t violate my p rob ation-in a ny ob vious wa y, anyway-no ma tter what. How

long d o w ill it ta ke him? Asks Darque. Mo rning sta r says Sola r ll ha ve t o d o som e p rephe

ma kes some joke a bo ut it taking a we ek to ma ke the da mn thing

They hear sirens (cop s and fire d ep a rtme nt c om ing to investiga te the ap parent e xplosion in the

roo m.) Hurrying o ut the d oo r (while still pulling c lothes on) Morningsta r says he has to get out of

here. If his wife ever found out he d b ee n in a mo tel roo m w ith som e slut, she d ma ke his lifeHell. Com e b ac k here, Darque ye lls, follow ing Mo rningsta r out.

PAGE SIX: This c an t b e a ll up to me ! Yells Da rque . Mo rningsta r flees in his Ford Taurus. Frustrated ,

Darque sma shes his fists dow n o n the hoo d of his c a r, trashing it. (He s very strong !) Then, as

cops arrive he transfers away.

Cut to Sola r returning hom e. Ga yle is the re, but is strangely quiet , just sitting , wa iting fo r Sola r.

When Sola r enters, transforming t o Seleski at tire in the usua l wa y, she stirs as if from a tranc e

and wa rmly g reets him. He te lls her his little e xperiment we nt w ell. There s still a lot to do. He ll

start on it later. He a sks how her da y we nt, wha t she s be en d oing. Not muc h He no tices

theres no foo d in the ho use. Didn t she ha ve a nything to ea t all day? Why didnt she g et in

the c ar and go to the ma rket? She just shrugs it off. She s fine, she says (and appa rently she iswhe n he s a round , but w e suspe c t som ething s very wrong ). Solar says he ll ta ke c a re o f

d inner. He c an ge t to the m arket a t the spee d of light . He lea ves in a b urst of spa rkles-and

Ga yle sits dow n, ap pa rently ba c k in her tranc e-like sta te.

PAGE SEVEN: Cut to Darque sitting a lone a t a ta b le in an artsy Soho-typ e b ar. These pla ces

usua lly ha ve expe nsive, mod ern-but -plush e asy c hairs instea d of the norma l ba r furniture. He s

d rinking a bsurdly expensive Co gna c and he s tha t g rim, simmering kind of d runk. There a re

artsy wa it sta ff type s and a few other well-hee led p a trons of this pom pously upsc a le

estab lishment in evidenc e. In the b ac kground w e see Sandria ente ring c arrying a very big, very

fluffy pillow . She p uts the very b ig, very fluffy p illow und er her and sits a t Da rque s ta b le. At first

he w on t ta lk-he s in a fo ul, de fea tist mo od . She s sup portive. She s insistent. Soo n, she s lifted

Darque out of his despa ir a b it. He s sta rting t o suc k it up a b it. First, he says, he ll nee d to dosome resea rc h, find out a ll he c an ab out Solar. He know s a few pe op le he c an c onsult.

Darque wo nders why Sandria s so c onc erned , so suppo rtive. She usua lly isn t. He d idn t t hink he

pu t tha t in her. Theirs is a love/ ha te relationship, she says, and whe n he s dow n, som eho w her

loving, nurturing side ta kes ove r. She m ay vomit

Darque ta kes her in his a rms and kisses her. Ca reful, she says, Im still a little tend er from p laying

c attle rustler-espec ially where he b rand ed me . Darque sta rts to ravish he r. This is rathe r

indisc ree t, she says, not rea lly c a ring. With a thoug ht c om ma nd (as see n in the Ma ster Darque

spec ial) he send s all the wa it sta ff and pa trons running towa rd t he e xit. Oh, rec laiming m e,

says Sand ria . How ma le. How juvenile. Hownic e.

(NOTE TO JIM AND OMAR: I know wha t you re thinking . No, I ve neve r playe d c a ttle rustler. I

ma ke th is stuff up . Hone st. Rea lly. Stop laug hing. Cut it o ut.)

PAGE EIGHT: Cut to Sola r and Ga yle finishing a c and lelight d inner. Theres a knoc k at the d oo r.

It s Ma gnus, but d ressed in c ivvies-flanne l shirt, hiking boo ts and jeans. Sola r introd uc es him to

Ga yle, tha nks him for help ing and d irec ts him to the guest c ab in up the hill a w ays. Solar

me ntions tha t the res wo od for the firep lac e b ut Ma gnus will ha ve t o sp lit it. (NOTE: It s ea rly

Janua ry, of c ourse, a nd it shou ld b e c old out . I know we ha d it loo king summ ery last issue-


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maybe that c an b e c hanged -but d efinitely make it cold here.)

After Mag nus leave s, Solar tells Ga yle tha t he a sked Magnus to c om e he re to wa tc h ove r her.

Ma gnus is the trustwo rthiest g uy he knows-maybe tied with G ilad . (But M agnus is toug her.) He

wa rns Ga yle no t to tell Ma gnus the truth a bo ut w hat he, Solar, is up to. Hes wo rried tha t he

might not und erstand . He ha tes to d ec eive him, but

Sola r kisses Gayle, then lea ves in a burst o f spa rkles.

PAGE NINE: Up the hill, Mag nus looks inside the c ab in at the firep lac e q uizzica llythen (ea sily)

holds in one hand a fo ot-and -a-half thic k log from a stac k on the p orch, staring a t it

quizzica llythen figures out w ha t the hell Sola r me ant a nd sp lits it with a ka rate -like b low.

Soo n he s sitting b y a roa ring fire thinking how q ua int.

Later, Magnus looks in on Gayle whos sitting as if in a trance. Magnus is concerned. He asks if

she s a ll right. She c om es out o f it a b it and says she s fine. As Ma gnus leaves, though, he

notices with concern that shes vegged out again.

Cut to a n ap artment in one of those low-inc ome housing p lac es. Darque a nd Sand ria ha ve

c ome to see the Lorema ster, who has the d oo r opene d a c rac k, still cha ined , and is c autiously

pe ering out. (The Lorema ster is a new cha rac ter-Im pic turing Pete r Sande rson-but feel free to

de sign. He s a referenc e/ resea rch nut, one of Da rque s many sources of info. He s the typ e w ho

wo uld p ut on tw o p a irs of glove s be fore hand ling a c omic b oo k-a p air of surgic al gloves, then

a pa ir of c otto n g loves over those. Supe r neat, very co nc erned fo r the we ll being o f his bo oks

and stuff. Is the tem perature ide al? Is the humidity low enoug h? Etc . He p rob ab ly wea rs a

surgic al ma sk, lest he brea the o n a b oo k. If so, he c an pull it d ow n to ta lk to Darque .)

PAGE TEN: He let s Darque and Sand ria in and we see the p lac e is wa ll-to-wa ll, floo r to c eiling

files, bo oks, video ta pes, and sta c ks of tho se w hite c om ic b oo k bo xes. There s ha rd ly roo m to

wa lk. At a little d esk or tab le, we see that he ha s a few c om ic bo oks sprea d o ut a nd a la rge

led ge r-type bo ok op en. He w as c ata log uing a rea lity he d isc overed when Darque a rrived -i.e.,

ana lyzing the c om ics and jotting no tes in the big b oo k. Lorema ster po litely offers the o ne sea t

in the house to Sand ria . No! she says.

Darque tries to c on/ threa ten/ ma nipulate Lorema ster into providing info, but Lorema ster is

wise to Darque and his know ledg e m akes himself ind ispe nsab le, so he s not wo rried. Ma ybe , he

says, if Da rque t rades him Mo rningsta rs me asuring c up he ll p rovide info

Darque ta kes the measuring c up out. Lorema ster sta res coveto usly. Darque asks for wa ter. In

here? says Lorem aster? Neve r. The three t hings he fe ars a re wa ter, fire a nd boo kwo rms. While

Lorema ster is ranting a bout the t hings he p rohibits in his p lac e a nd ha s his bac k turned to

Darque , Darque fills the c up in a w ay we c an t show . Lorema ster turns to see Darque sp illing a

yellow ish liqu id on the floo r. Lorema sters having a po p lexy as the pudd le sp rea ds nea r his

c om ics boxes. Darque ligh ts up a smo ke. In the pud d le he show s Lorem aster Sola r, who s

prep ping the multiverse for co llapse-do ing the sam e thing we saw him d oing on p a ge four,

but on a grand er sc ale. Darque ha s no c omp unc tions ab out laying w aste to Lorema sters store

of knowledg e, be c ause if Lorema ster doe snt c oo pe rate , everything w ill soon be qua ntum

dust. Lorema ster is terrified . He ll do w ha teve r he c an to help.

PAGE ELEVEN: Darque says he need s to know a ll there is to know about Sola r. Lorem aste r says,


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funny, he wa s just add ing a few notes to his c a ta logue entries for that rea lity. We see now tha t

on the desk the c om ics inc lude the first Go ld Key Doc tor Solar issue a nd Solar Ma n o f the Atom

# 1 from VALIANT. Darque not ices one o f the c om ics on the desk-Super Ma rio Brothers-and says,

this is a reality? No, that ones just to read, says Loremaster. It takes a special set of

c irc umstanc es to g enerate a rea lity from a wo rk of ima gination. He ll do resea rc h and ge t the

deta ils re: Sola r for Darque. Get on it, says Darque. Hurry.

Outside , Sand ria says to Da rque , now w ha t. Darque p ulls out a list (show it, but ha ve the

bottom of it off p anel) of name s: Blood shot , Qua ntum, Woo dy, The Trinity, Ninjak, X-O,

Harb ingers, Warma ster I ve g ot p eo p le to see , says Darque , that I d be st see a lone. See you

at the Westp ort ma nsion.

PAG E TWELVE: Cut to Mo rning sta rs home , la te r, where Mo rning sta r is in the mid d le o f pa inting

a roo m. He s on t he c ell phone just finishing a c a ll to som eo ne. One of his c hild ren, the

be autiful one who looks like a n a nge l, is playing w ith the pa int a nd is ma king a mess

unno ticed by Morningsta r. The kid says, Daddy! What s tha t? Morningsta r turns to see a huge

(mystical) fiery clock face hovering in the air. It shows one minute after eleven. Morningstar is so

aw ed and sc a red he d rops the roller. I ll tell you later, dea r, he says. Dont tell your mother or

anyone that yo u c an see that. Only you a nd I ca n. Now run along. She d oes.

Cut t o p osh, high -ce ilinged d raw ing room in Darque s Westp ort ma nsion. There is an orna te

bo wl, pe rhap s on a tripo d o n the ta ble, and be side it we see the mea suring c up. Darque ha s

rigge d som e kind o f mag ic al co ntrap tion that wo rks like an ove rhea d p rojec tor that is

projecting the ima ge in the w at er onto one of those b uilt-in drop d ow n sc reens (the kind yo u

use to show slides). Darque is looking in on Ga yle. The c ell pho ne ring s. It s Morningsta r. He te lls

Darque tha t the Arma ged do n Cloc k has ap pe ared. It s c ounting d own to the end of all

existence.

PAG E THIRTEEN: Now will you he lp? says Darque. I c an t, says Mo rningstar. You d on t

und ersta nd . It s like Im in prison, see ? You c an t imag ine the c onseq uenc es for me if I b rea k my

c ove nant. Even if it is the e nd , I d ra ther c ea se to exist a long w ith everybo dy else tha n risk the

a lterna tive. But, I have g ott en you som e he lp. They ll be a long soo n.

Darque sta rts to a rgue, but he hea rs Morningsta r s wife sc ream ing a t him, a loud c rash

and he s c ut off.

Sand ria enters. You ha ve two visitors, she says. Behind Sand ria we see Grigori the Gian t. Hes

not q uite as ta ll as Don Mc Grego r and a verag e b uild . He s a nic e looking guy, d ressed in

c asua l clothes. He c arries a bac kpa c k or sports bag . Where s the othe r one? a sks Darque . Loo k

up , says Sandria as she wa lks awa y.

Darque looks up and see s Ana nsi cling ing to the c eiling. Ana nsi is b lac k, thin a nd wiry, long -

limbed, but not freakishly so. Hes a handsome guy. He has those Ricky Williams short dreads

that g ive the ap pe aranc e that o ne has a ta rantula on o ne s hea d. He mo ves like the old Ditko

Spider-Ma n. He s dressed in a c ostume tha t a n Afric an spide r man-god might w ea r-use spider-

typ e markings or Afric an (Sierra Leone) mot ifs or, preferab ly, both. He s a t ric kster-but a basica lly

go od guy. He s c lever, sly, sma rt a nd a little na sty. He has a (ma gic ) silk rop e. He c an stick one

end and flip o ne end be twe en tw o p oints and trave l along it like a spide r, desc end on it like a

sp ider, etc . Take pa ins to ma ke his use o f it spidery-i.e., he uses both hands and bo th feet, limb s

be nt a t knees and elbo ws whe n he c rawls along it. It stretches end lessly, so he c an we ave a


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we b out o f it, but he ha s to a c tually we ave it. Avoid the swinging-on-it-like-a-rop e thing tha t

Sp ider-Ma n d oe s. Ana nsi is very strong , very, very quic k, very stea lthy and very limb er/ ag ile. He

has a w ea po n-a g ad get o n his hand or wrist that ha s two curved fangs that he c an b ring to

be ar whe n he wa nts. When he stab s an enem y with this fang -wea po n, po ison is injecte d that

pa ra lyzes them tem porarily. He s more likely to sp ring suddenly on an enem y, wrap himself

around them a nd bi te them w ith his wea pon than punch them.

Ana nsi desc end s on his rope like a sp ider, and hang ing upside d ow n tells Darque tha t he

admires som e o f his wo rk, if not the end s he s soug ht. Whate ver.

PAGE FOURTEEN: Morningsta r asked him a nd Grigo ri to c om e he lp so he re they are. Darque says

hes heard of Anansi. His talents may be useful-but what is Grigoris contribution. Grigori says

wa tc h-and starts to g row . He b ec om es huge , so ta ll tha t he ha s to c rouc h to fit in the room .

His clothes shred off in the process, but hes wearing some kind of very minimal (very elastic)

c ostum e und ernea th. (The rea son he c arries a bag is spare norma l size c lothes in ca se he has to

change size quickly, without stripping down first.) At his huge size, Grigori is powerfully built,

Sc hwa rzene gge r-musc ular and a little m onstrous. As Sta n used to say, ma ke him mo nstrous bu t

glamo rous. Fea rsom e but no t rep ulsive.

Oh, says Darque.

PAG E FIFTEEN THROUGH TWENTY-TWO: Wha t s the p lan? Anansi asks. Wa tc h, says Darque ,

po inting a t the sc reen. On the sc reen we see X-O em erging from a transfer ga te a nd roc keting

tow ard Solar s c ab in. Cut to the c ab in. X-O rips the front o f it off. Gayle loo ks up , but d oe sn t

rea c t muc h (due to he r tranc e-sta te). X-O tries to g rab her

But Ma gnus c om es to the resc ue. Big b a ttle. If you ne ed sugge stions, let me know.

In the midd le, at a pp oint where X-O is winning, cut to Darque a nd c omp any. How did you g et

X-O to go a fter Ga yle? a sks Ana nsi. Simple, says Darque-thoug h it pa ined me grea tly, I told him

the truth. Ive be en d oing tha t a lot late ly, and it wo rries me

Bac k to the ba ttle. Ma gnus is one of tho se g uys who finds a w ay t o w in ag ainst a lmo st

anything. He s go od at finding m ec hanic al we ak p oints, too. He w ins d ram a tica lly. Id like it to

be a ba ttle to the d ea th, please-not tha t Ma gnus wo uld w illingly kill, but p retty muc h the o nly

wa y to sto p X-O is to kill him.

Just a s Ma gnus wins, Solar c om es zoo ming in. He c ame as quick a s he c ould.

They look around warily. Mag nus wa nts answers. Sola r, ha s to lie. (G ayle, of c ourse, p erks right

up when Sola r arrives.)

We cut to Darque and c om pa ny. Perfec t! Says Darque . Grigori doesn t get it, but Ana nsi figures

it out right awa y. Da rque e xpec ted X-O to fa il. Besides, there a re p lenty of X-O s, a w hole

multiverse full. Plenty mo re w hen they ne ed another.

Now wha t? Why they sue fo r pea c e, strike elsew here a t Solars wo rld and friends, beg and

plea d, ta ke hosta ge s, offer to b arga in, stab him in the b a c k and run, send wa ves more

wa rriors a t him, lie, che a t, de lay a nd wa it for an o pening . This is wa r


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Not the end , but eno ugh for this issue.


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UNITY 2000

Issue # 4 Introd uc tion

The whole o f existenc e is a multiverse m ade up of m yriad universes existing side by side . The

Ma n in the Red Suit, ca lled Sola r by some , reg a rds a ll other universes, or rea lities, as d isto rted

ec hoe s of his, the true reality-mere q uantum shad ow s, yet rea l eno ugh to breed e vil and p ose

a threa t. To insure its sa fety, he see ks to destroy a ll unive rses save his ow n.

Nec rom anc er Alexand re Darque , who ha s, indee d , posed a threa t to Solars rea lity in the p ast,

finds himself thrust into the unlikely role of Defender of the Other Realities, orchestrating a

guerrilla w a r ag a inst Sola r using c a tspaws to strike a t Sola rs friend s, family a nd wo rld.


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UNITY 2000 # 4

Plot for 22 pa ges

11/20/99

By Jim Shooter


TITLE: Touc hed By a Fallen Angel

NOTE: The VALIANT heroe s, as they would ha ve b ee n if I d sta yed with the m, i.e., the c ha rac ters

in the origina l UNITY seven years old er, will be referred to as the VALIANT c ha rac ters. The

c harac ters that are from the universe w e re g oing to end up w ith, i.e., the c harac ters that

sha re Darque s rea lity, will be refe rred to as Prime Universe c ha rac ters. All others a re from the

misc ellane ous iterat ions of t he VH1, VH2 and Ac c laim Universes.

PAGE ONE: Full page sp lash. In a pa rking lot o f a sub urba n shopp ing m a ll, the VALIANT Pete

Sta nc hek, or Sting-now in his mid-tw ent ies, rem em ber-is in pitc hed ba ttle a ga inst the

Armorines. Sting ha s wide-rang ing me nta l pow ers. He c an levita te himself, other peop le and

things, rea d others minds, ma nipulate others minds, shield himself with te lekinet ic fo rce , and

ge nerally use va st amo unts of me nta l energy to a c c om plish physica l effec ts. You ll have to ask

Oma r wha t the Armo rines do. They see m to b e a po or man s Iron Man c lones with sort of

Ga rd ner Fox Green Lantern po we rs to b oo t-i.e., ma king b ig axes or claws and suc h out o f

ene rgy. Rem em ber, Sting b ehaves in a na turalistic w ay. He flies in a more o r less up right

posture. He d oe sn t strike super hero p oses. He isn t a ll tha t w ell built. Chec k the o ld Lapham

stuff. He m ay no t eve n be w ea ring h is c ostume -it s up to yo u and Oma r. The Armorines, by

cont rast, are very co mic-book super hero-ish. They d o every clich .

PAG ES TWO AND THREE: The Armorines are trying to capture Chris (Sting s g irlfriend ) and Sting ,

who we re shop p ing a t the m a ll. As Sting fights, she s sc ramb ling a round , trying not t o g et

c aug ht or killed . She ha s no p ow ers, but she o ffers sug ge stions to Sting a bout w ha t to d o-

ac tua lly, she b a rks orders. They re at t he e nd of their relationship a nd the fric tion shows. He

ba rks ba c k at her telepa thica lly. They re having a hell of a n argum ent a bout the ir rela tionship

(mostly la id betw ee n the lines) in the m idst of this c ha os, so g ive me a few ang ry/ hurt loo king

c lose-up s. Chris is the tough one, so no tears or very sad fac es on her, plea se.

The Armorines are c ausing e normous c ollateral d ama ge and injuring , pe rha ps killing c ivilians.

Sting is p reve nting the m from d oing w orse. He ha s the upper hand -but, suddenly, Prime

Universe Blood shot appe ars through a transfer ga te a nd ge ts in a snea k att ac k. Sting s in

trouble

PAGE FOUR: Cut t o a dec k or te rrac e o f Prime Universe Da rque s Westp ort ma nsion. Darque

and Morningsta r are in the hot tub . Morningsta r has the day off, sort of-the wife is visiting her

ba ttleaxe mo ther. Morningsta r and Darque a re ta lking ab out ho w w ell its all go ing. Darque

takes the m ea suring c up, w hich is sitting w ithin rea c h, sc oo ps som e w a ter out o f the tub and

po urs it b ac k in-turning the w a ter around the tw o into a stea ming sc rying p oo l. The ima ge

visible in the wa te r is of Bloo dsho t figh ting Sting . Sting , ap pa rently, is on the rop es. They look in


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at tw o other ba ttles go ing on-the Trinity Ang els (as they a ppea red in their bo ok-not the ne w

Prime Universe version w e wa nt t o end up with) fighting VALIANT Arche r and Armstrong in a

nuc lea r p lant , and Ninjak fighting VA LIANTs Gilad in a sub urba n d iner. Show Sola rs friend John

Vee rhusen (NOTE TO JIM: Hes essentia lly John Veerporten) in the background .

PAGE FIVE: Mystic m inions wa it on Darque a nd M orningsta r, b ring ing the m d rinks, etc . Darque

and Morningsta r look in on Solar, who s busy ma king q uantum level changes in the multiverse,

set ting up t he d om inoe s as it we re, for the b ig imp losion he p lans. Sola r is missing his left ha nd

and pa rt of his left forea rm-theres a glow ing stump whe re it oug ht to be . (We ll see in a

minute, he s given his hand to G eo ff the Ge om anc er. He d id the same thing in the old UNITY # 0

boo k. Othe r slivers of a rm w ill turn up late r.) (NOTE TO SELF: Darque ma kes a joke about Sola r

spread ing himself too thin.) As we wa tc h Solar, we see him o pe n a wa rp to c hec k in on Ga yle.

We see tha t Ga yle is now g uarded by Ma gnus and Geo ff, who ha s the hand . Cut to that sc ene

and show tha t Ga yle is perky and seemingly her old self (due to the presenc e o f Solars hand).

She s do ing some kind of c hores, cha tting with Geo ff and Mag nus.

PAGE SIX: Ma gnus and Geoff a re rea ssuring , co nfident. As Ga yle go es about her business,

thoug h, lea ving Geo ff and Ma gnus alone for a mome nt, thoug h, their de mea nor c hang es.

Ma gnus is having m a jor susp icions about this who le thing. G eo ff ha s unrelent ing fa ith in Solar,

buthe ha s noticed Solar ac ting a little funny. And theres some thing wrong with Ga yle.

Magnus ag rees, but she seems fine no w. Geoff says som ething a bo ut the ha nd. Anyway, there s

something b ad go ing o n with Gayle. He c an t-or won t-say w hat.

Morningsta r gets out of the tub , roiling the imag e a s it fad es. Brea k time s ove r. He s go ing to

ge t b ac k to it. He s go t to finish up befo re his da ughter Luc y ge ts here. He ha sn t see n her for a

while. She s one of the spe c ial children-the o ne o f eve ry nine that s like him. He c an t see her

usua lly be c ause his c urrent w ife d oe sn t know a bout a ll the p ast lives he s lived . Da rque

do esnt m ove, but says he s go t to get ba ck to work, soon, too-c onning m ore pe op le into

serving him b y te lling the m m ore o r less the truth. Morningsta r co mm iserate s. Wrapped in a

tow el, he hea ds ba c k into the ho use.

Morningsta r enters a posh bed roo m w here Sand ria, wea ring on ly a b lind fold, a grass skirt a nd a

lei is tied up sprea d-ea gled , stand ing be twe en the be dp osts-and smiling ab out it. Putting on a

Hawa iian-type hea dd ress, Morningsta r says, now let the sac rifice t o the volcano g od resume!

PAGE SEVEN: Cut b ac k to the ho t tub . Darque is out o f the tub now , wra pp ed in towels

broug ht b y minions. He s wa tc hing (in the hot tub wa ter) Morningstar a nd Sand ria starting to

play a ga in. This really irks him. A vo ice ove rhead c auses him to look up . Ana nsi is dangling from

his silk rop e just a bove Darque. He s laug hing a bout wha t Mo rningsta r is d oing t o Sand ria-

d isc ree tly out of o ur view , of c ourse. Darque says som ething about it not b eing so funny if it s

your sister. Anansi says ba loney. He see s through Darque s dec ep tion. Sandria s a p iece o f you

tha t you sp lit o ff to c onta in your wea knesses and fra ilties, he says. It s a lot of the ge ntle a nima

side of yo u, and bec ause yo u re a misog ynist, self-worshipp ing ego tist, it s in the fo rm o f a

wo ma n. Tha t ma kes it worse, sa ys Darque, a nd wha t if Morningsta r found out? He know s and

he loves it, says Anansi. Now, whats up? Come with me, says Darque. Were going to do

some more recruiting.

Cut to Sting and Bloo d shot. Sting is on the g round ab out to b e g iven the c oup de grac e b y

Blood shot . Chris is sc ream ing a t Sting-and the re s a b it of a c c usa tion o f fa ilure in her wo rds-to

do som ething . An A rmorine is seizing C hris.


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PAGE EIGHT: Sud den ly, reinforce me nts arrive-Flam ingo, Quasi and Zep p lin. Zep c arries a sliver of

Solar. Qua si, with p rodig ious streng th d isma ntles an Armo rine. O the r Armo rines wa it pa tiently

for their turn to g et c locked by Qua si-like b ad guys in a Kung-Fu film. He te ars anothe r one

ap a rt wh ile othe rs wa it, etc . Fla mingo p ulls Chris aw ay b urning/ me lting the a rmo r of the

Armorine w ho ha d her. Zep go es a fter Blood shot.

PAG E NINE: With Solar-typ e ene rgy from the slive r of Sola r, she sava gely b lasts Bloodsho t,

da ma ging him seve rely, horribly. He sta rts sc rea ming ma yda y into a Sec ret Service-type mike.

Cut to the g ate of the Westpo rt ma nsion. A fa ncy c ar is pulling o ut. Darque and Ana nsi are in

the ba c k. Grigo ri is d riving , pe rhaps we aring a n inco ng ruous c hauffeurs ha t. Grigo ri says

theyre getting a mayday call. Darque uses the bus transfer to open transfer gate, which hovers

in mid a ir nea r the d rivew ay a s they d rive a wa y. Darque explains that some of the c om ba ta nts

are multiversa l c annon fodd er-pa le, ofte n lud icrous itera tions of p eo ple. If they d ie, they d ie.

Those from his wo rld, how eve r, he m akes a spec ial effort to he lp if theyre in troub le. Not t ha t

he g ives a d am n ab out the m. It s just go od PR while he need s c oo pe ration.

PAG E TEN: Me anw hile, Zep p resses he r a ttac k. Bloo dsho t d rop s Sting (or loses tha t a rm). A

transfer ga te appea rs. As Blood shot d ives throug h it, Chris sc ream s som eth ing a bout wha t a

loser Sting is. Close up of Sting , with suic ide in his eyes. Sud den ly, Sting prop els himself through

the ga te right b ehind Blood shot , just a s it c loses!

Blood sho t a rrives, stum b ling , hurt. Sting thud s on to the ground b ehind him. Blood shot wh irls,

gun b lazing-but the re s nob od y there. He shrugs and stumb les awa y.

Pull bac k to reve a l that Sting is hovering fiftee n fee t o verhea d . He w hisked himself straight up -

the quickest w ay to hide. He s hurt, suicida lly depressed and a mess. He w a tc hes Blood shot

lea ve-thinking a bo ut swo op ing do wn o n him a nd renew ing the fight. That s why he fo llowed

him. But-hes not up to it. No fire left in his guts.

PAG E ELEVEN: Pulling h imself togethe r a b it, he set tles dow n to e a rth and looks a round . Weird.

It see ms to be Earth, butit s not. He ta kes a step tow ard the ma nsion-but his ordea l ca tc hes

up with himhe sta rts to c rump le.

Som eo ne c a tc hes him as he fa lls, low ers him to the ground ge ntly and c rad les his hea d . He

looks up . It s the mo st b ea utiful young wo ma n he s ever see n. (Luc y, FYI.) (NOTE: If it s no t to o

la te, Lucy should b e a different rac e o r ethnic ity than Mo rningsta r and his c urrent fa mily.)

Cut to w herever Quantum a nd Woo dy ha ng the ir hats. (I have a c oup le of old Q&W sc ript s,

but I don t know if theyre up to da te. Help, Omar! It wo uld be nice if we co uld give them a bit

of b usiness tha t d em onstrate s the ir pow ers, too , but we ll nee d to ta lk.) Darque is finishing his

pitch for help. Quantum takes him seriously, Woody says smartass funny stuff, but bottom line,

they ll awa it instructions-says Qua ntum. Da rque leave s them having a p leasant d isc ussion

be twe en themselves.

PAG E TWELVE: Outside , Darque is joined b y Grigori and A na nsi. Grigo ri wonders why the y nee d

to ta g a long . For protec tion, says Darque. You re my b od ygua rds. And wha t wo uld w e d o

aga inst Solar? G rigori asks. (NOTE TO SELF: Foresha dow in c op y Grigori s power.) Buy me a

sec ond or two with yo ur dea ths says Darque, so t ha t I have a one -in-a-million shot to kill him.


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Oh. (NOTE TO SELF: Besides, Darque says, up c lose and persona l murd er isn t like Solar. Wiping

awa y the multiverse by futzing w ith the quantum field is d ifferent-sanitized . He s unlikely to

att ac k. It wo uld b e, in a w ay, ac knowled ging tha t we re real, Darque says.)

There are a numb er o f iterat ions of Solar in the Multiverse, says Ana nsi. Mayb e you shou ld e nlist

som e o f them. There s eve n one he re (in the Prime Universe). No, says Darque. They t end to be

unstable.

Cut to Luc ys pa d, a hip, Soho loft. Sting is lying on he r co uc h a nd she s tend ing his sc rapes and

bruises. He s in love a t first sight. She says she ha s tha t e ffec t o n a lot o f men. But, she s

a ttrac ted to him, too . Tha t s rare. She w ond ers if he s not o ne o f her kind.

She e xplains tha t she w as on he r wa y to m ee t he r dad , but w hen she saw him, she knew she

had to help him. Destiny? Providence? Whatever. Hes enraptured. Youre the mind reader,

she says, smiling , ga zing into his eye s, but you re thinking ve ry loud -yes, let s ma ke love .

PAGE THIRTEEN: Cut t o the Westp ort ma nsion. Darque, ineffec tively hiding the fa c t tha t he s

d isg runtled , sits in the pa rlor with M orningsta r, now c lothe d , and Sand ria , still in he r now-

ta tte red g rass skirt and lei, but with a shee t hapha za rdly wrap ped a round her. She looks

extreme ly disheveled , ba bb ling ha pp ily ab out how the vo lca no kept erupting and erupting.

Morningsta r says, yea h, we ll the universe m ay we ll be o ver soo n, might a s we ll ha ve som e fun.

Morningsta r ma kes the A rmag ed d on C loc k ap pea r. It show s 13 minutes to m idnight . Time is

running out .

Spea king of fun, Mo rningsta r says, how wa s the Ma squerade last night? (NOTE TO JIM: As Oma r

ma y have mentioned , Darque wa s used in a c oup le o f issues of Shad ow Man, so w e re

ac knowledg ing the m for co ntinuitys sake. Just a mention or two -you w on t nee d referenc e.)

Darque says he g athe red an imme nse a mount o f po we r there. It ma y co me in hand y, but it

isn t e noug h to fight Solar. Aga in, Darque asks Mornin

Unity 2000 Plot - Jim Shooter

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