At the other pole, the opposing power rages. I have come to call it... Crisis Energy. Anti-Life, Chaos Magic, the Forces of Doom. All power that disrupts, that takes instead of gives, power based in selfishness, greed, predation. Crisis Energy looks to shatter connection and make only one moment important. There is only now, there is only us, there is only me. 
The Seven Dark Forces, more properly known as "The Seven Hidden Forces of Creation" and also referred to as "Crisis Energy" or "Direct-Crisis Energy", are the dark reflections of The Seven Forces of the Universe that were used by The Hand Perpetua to create the original Multiverse prior to her imprisonment in the Source Wall by her sons.
History
Not much is known about the origins of the Dark Forces of the Multiverse, except that they were used by the rogue Hand, Perpetua, to create the first Multiverse before the current one.[2] When Perpetua's children, the Brothers Three, learned of their mother's plans to twist the Multiverse into a self-sustaining weapon to challenge The Source with her transformed army of Apex Predators, they alerted The Hands whose response was to sent the Cosmic Raptor to imprison Perpetua, her Great Army and the Totality of the power she had selfishly hoarded in the Source Wall. Perpetua's Multiverse was then restarted, but this time with the brighter Seven Forces of the Universe as the underlying energies that governed it,[3] with Perpetua forced to watch the Multiverse grow without her taints.[4]
The Hands hoped that by watching the Multiverse grow, Perpetua could learn to love it and return to The Source as she was originally meant to do, but instead she raged inside her cage, whispering to anyone who could hear, stirring them up with desires, greed and instigating Crises in her plans to break free from the Source Wall.[5][6] The Anti-Monitor was the first to hear the whispers, setting him on a path that collapsed the Infinite Earths of the Multiverse into a singular universe and, unbeknownst to all, a crack formed in the Source Wall and Perpetua whispered to through the Multiverse to the ears of those powerful enough to shake the foundations of reality. Each time the heroes of the Multiverse pushed back against a Crisis, they were changed again and again, but their core essence remained, although unbeknownst to them, each time reality took its new form, a new crack formed in the Source Wall.[7]
The Forces of Doom
When the Justice League used Element X to seal Barbatos and the Dark Multiverse's forces, the Source Wall shattered and Perpetua was finally free. However, Perpetua was not entirely free as she needed to restore her corporeal form and past power. In doing so, she sent pieces of the Totality through time for Vandal Savage and the Luthor family to find, ultimately setting Lex Luthor and his Legion of Doom on a path to unlock the Seven Hidden Energies of Creation to restore the Totality's true form: the cosmic giant Perpetua.[8][9] With Luthor's help and the Year of the Villain, Perpetua regained her full power and, as the multiversal psychic balance tipped in her favor, she was able to restore the Dark Forces of the Multiverse as the dominant energies in the Multiverse.[10] In an effort to stop Perpetua in her desire to reshape the Multiverse in her image, the Justice League established a telepathic contact with the inhabitants of Earth to tip the psychic balance in their favor and create a Totality from their connection to each of the seven positive forces of the Multiverse to rival Perpetua, an action which was in vain as Perpetua's machinations divided the Multiverse by evil, and with such division came fear, anger, and loss of faith, allowing Perpetua to win.[11] At some point, before the events of Death Metal, the Justice League harnessed all Connective Energy forces to challenge Perpetua again in a clash that burned out the Sun and exhausted both forces.
Still Force
The true opposite force of the Speed Force and the cosmic essence of stasis based around inertia. It is described as the drive towards stasis and death. With it the user can slow down and/or stop motion , create barriers and constructs as well as absorb life force from its victims and stop aging. It is the first force to be unlocked with the breaking of the source wall and it was keeping the other energies from bleeding in the universe.
Invisible Spectrum
The power of unseen light and hidden emotion. While the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum is controlled by its conduits the Invisible Spectrum controls them or at least those who resist. Its Emotional Entity is Umbrax, a sentient Black Sun that assimilates planets to its Phantom Galaxy to add to its immense army. It was the second force to be unlocked when Sinestro released Umbrax and using its light to create the biggest Lantern Corps in eternity dwarfing the collective sum of all the other Corps combined.
Tear of Extinction
The dark side of the Life Force. It acts as the inversion of life's connection. Described as the drive towards isolation and solipsism and anything coated by the Tear can kill easily any mortal or immortal ripping life from anyone hit by it.
Void Wind
The dark counterpart to the Sphere of the Gods which can snuff out magic and gods. It is the Tear's twin and its name is derived from the harsh winds that blow from the Graveyard of Gods. In addition to snuffing out magic and the lives of the gods, it has shown the ability to subjugate them as well as seen with Cheetah controlling the god Poseidon. It was unlocked when the key to the Graveyard of Gods was destroyed.
Black Apple
The dark counterpart to the Collective Unconscious, which is the force that grants telepaths their power. It is a dark force of forbidden knowledge unlocked by discovering the universes darkest secrets.
Sixth Note
The dark counterpart to the Dimensional Superstructure of the Multiverse, its powers are known to be beyond imagination. Unlocked when the impossible is glimpsed.
Faithlessness
Faith in the evil within peoples hearts and their selfish cruel nature. It is unlocked when one loses the faith one possesses of their loved ones. This was the final force to be unlocked to fully revive Perpetua and it is closely connected to the concept of Doom.
Anti-Life Equation
The transcendental mathematical formula originally said to allow those who knew it to dominate the will of any sentient race. Although not part of the Seven Hidden Energies of Creation or "Forces of Doom", the Anti-Life Equation is part of the Crisis Energy.
Chaos Magic
A rare form of magic practiced exclusively by the Lords of Chaos, who are the cosmic opposites and enemies of the Lords of Order. Unlike ordinary magic wielders, chaos magic does not have cost or require specific methods such as pentagrams, sigils, chants, or rules to initiate spells. Instead, it is cast solely based on the user's will. Although not part of the Seven Hidden Energies of Creation or "Forces of Doom", the Chaos Magic is part of the Crisis Energy.
Powers
The Dark Forces of the Multiverse are the darker side of the multiversal pole of power, opposed to the Seven Forces of the Universe. Every power that disrupts and takes instead of giving is based on selfishness, greed, predation, and while the Harmonious Forces connect all history, all lives as one generational story, the Dark Forces look to break the connection and make only one moment important. According to Cheetah, these counter-energies can remake the Multiverse, which is what Perpetua threatened to do with the same energies.
With the Crisis Energy forces, the Batman Who Laughs had become the most powerful god in the Multiverse, whose newfound omnipotence shook reality, and created the Last 52 Multiverse, a reality composed of nightmarish counterparts to all fifty-two universes of the New 52 Multiverse, using the fears of Earth-0's population.[12] With the Forces of Doom, Lex Luthor harnessed each of the Seven Hidden Forces and was able to travel across infinite realities.[13] The dark energies can supposedly restore dead realities like Superboy-Prime's universe.[14] All beings in the Multiverse are batteries for Crisis Energy and its opposite. A collective drive towards fear, anger and any self-desire of being all that matters, to change history to make the present more important, generates Crisis Energy.[15]
Current Owners
Previous Owners
- Perpetua
- Lex Luthor (Formerly)
- Gorilla Grodd (Still Force)
- Turtle (Still Force)
- Sinestro (Invisible Spectrum)
- Ultraviolet Corps (Invisible Spectrum)
- Umbrax (Invisible Spectrum)
- Arion (Tear of Extinction) (Formerly)
- Black Manta (Tear of Extinction)
- Cheetah (Void Wind)
Notes
- Each force is somehow based in the center of the violent and predatory nature of humans. The Tear of Extinction, for example, has been described as a drive toward solipsism, the belief that the self is all that exists.
- It has not been confirmed if the Anti-Death Equation used by the Gentry and the Empty Hand was part of the Crisis Energy, but given that all the powers in the Multiverse gather around two poles of nature opposite, it is very likely.
Trivia
- The Batman Who Laughs referred to The Seven Forces of the Universe and the Seven Hidden Forces as Anti-Crisis and Direct-Crisis energies with the acronyms AC and DC. This is a reference to the Australian rock band AC/DC.[1]
See Also
- Appearances of Dark Forces of the Multiverse
- Catalogued images related to Dark Forces of the Multiverse
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Dark Nights: Death Metal #1
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal #1
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #20
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #22
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal #1
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal Multiverse's End #1
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal Multiverse's End #1
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #39
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #29
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #37
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #39
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal #5
- ↑ Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #1
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal The Secret Origin #1
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal #5