Every positive energy in our Universe-- the Speed Force, the Emotional Spectrum, the Forces of Justice-- they are in essence connective. They link us to each other and to our past, reminding us we are part of one epic generational story.
The Energies of Creation, more commonly known as the Seven Forces of the Universe and also referred to as Anti-Crisis Energy or Connective Energy, are the fundamental energies from which harmony arises across all Multiverses. They encompass every positive energy in Existence— including the Speed Force, the Emotional Spectrum, and the Forces of Justice— and are in essence connective, linking people through memory and history, and reminding them that while they may be small, they are part of a vast, generational story.. The Energy of Creation, also collectively referred to as Alpha Effect by the New Gods,[2] is born of The Source/The Presence, and wielded by The Hands to configure and give birth to each Multiverse within the Greater Omniverse.
History
In the beginning of All Things, long before the Divine Continuum came into existence, there was only The Source. From The Source came the raw materials to create Systems of Life.[3] Shortly thereafter, The Source sent its celestial offspring — the "Hands" — throughout the Void to use its own Energy of Creation and shape Multiverses.[3] These beings would birth a whole new Creation and then die, giving themselves to the infant Multiverse. The bad seed among them, Perpetua, refused to die and defied her function, creating the First Multiverse using the Seven Hidden Energies of Creation, the dark reflections of the Harmonious Forces.
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 newly-born Source Wall.[5] Perpetua's Multiverse was erased and, eventually reborn through Seven Harmonious Forces, with Perpetua forced to watch the Multiverse grow without her taints.[6] For ages, after the first Multiversal Reset, the Multiverse thrived in harmony with the Seven Forces of the Universe as the underlying energies that governed it.
Speed Force
The Speed Force is part of the Harmonious Forces and is the energy field that gives the universe motions and grants the Flash Family and all Speedsters their power. Based on velocity and movement, it is the representation of reality in motion, being the very cosmic force that pushes space and time forward. The opposite to the Speed Force is the Still Force which is a cosmic force based around entropy and inertia, capable to negate motion, baring the potential to induce and accelerate the force of entropy.
Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum
The Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum is part of the Harmonious Forces and is the energy field that gives the universe feelings and emotions and grants the Lantern Corps their power and is fueled by the emotions of all sentient beings. It governs the Red/Rage, Orange/Avarice, Yellow/Fear, Green/Will, Blue/Hope, Indigo/Compassion, Violet/Love, Black/Death, White/Life with each emotion having its own Emotional Entity such as Butcher, Ophidian, Parallax, Ion, Adara, Proselyte, the Predator, Nekron and the Life Entity. Outside the known colors of the Emotional Spectrum, there is the Invisible Spectrum, which is opposite to the Emotional Spectrum and part of The Seven Hidden Forces, which includes Ultraviolet, which feeds on buried primal emotions, especially hatred and has its own Emotional Entity called Umbrax.
Life Force
The Life Force represents quasiversal Harmonious Uniformity and is part of the cosmic force that allows life to flourish, interconnecting every living being down to their very souls. It is wielded by those like Aquaman or Poseidon who are connected to the nurturing oceans, the font of all life. Those touched by this force, whether it be through an object or through the energy itself, retain a connection to all life and can communicate in a telepathic manner. Its opposite in The Seven Hidden Forces is the Death Force which brings death to any and all things, even immortals like the gods, sending them to the Graveyard of Gods. Items that can channel this force, such as the Tear of Extinction, are what drive people & worlds towards isolation and solipsism. Pushing on entropy levels of sociopathic individualism as well as the inevitable collapse of life itself.
Sphere of the Gods
The Sphere of the Gods is the cosmic force that gives the universe magic and grants the gods and those who have godlike abilities their power. Beings such as the New Gods and other pantheons such as the Gods of Olympus, the Angels, and the Demons, wield this power and are mostly considered multiversal singularities. The Void Wind is opposite to the Sphere of the Gods and part of The Seven Hidden Forces: it's a cosmic dynamism, which is the twin force of the Tear of Extinction, that snuffs out magic, divinity and the like. It is derived from the harsh gales that blow from the Graveyard of Gods.
Dimensional Superstructure
The Dimensional Superstructure of the Multiverse is a power that governs everything imaginable and unimaginable. Wielded by those put in place to monitor all creation: Mar Novu who rules the positive matter realm which is firm and constant, Alpheus who rules the dark matter realm which is rich and full of potential, and Mobius who rules the antimatter realm which is corrosive and all-destroying. The Sixth Note, opposite to the Dimensional Superstructure in The Seven Hidden Forces, is the cosmic force beyond imagination and is unlocked when the impossible is glimpsed.
Collective Unconscious
The Collective Unconscious is the cosmic force that gives others knowledge and wisdom and is part of the Seven Harmonious Forces. It is responsible for granting telepaths their power and is also wielded by the greatest of minds. The force that is opposite to the Collective Unconscious and part of The Seven Hidden Forces is the Black Apple which involves forbidden knowledge.
Faithfulness
Faithfulness is the seventh harmonious force and is tied in the nature of Faith in Justice which is mostly relied on the goodness within people's hearts and their heroic natures. The dark counterpart to Faith and the last of The Seven Hidden Forces is the Faithlessness which is a force based on faith people have in Doom as it relies on the evil within people's hearts and their selfish and cruel nature and is unlocked when one loses the faith one possesses of their loved ones. These two forces have to be balanced in the Multiverse (and any other Multiverse in the Omniverse) in order to avoid the shift toward Justice or Doom and, as a consequence, prevent The Hands' Cosmic Judgment.
Powers
This energy represents the limitless creative force that flows from The Source of All Things and serves as the connective essence of existence. It brings together all positive forces that govern the Multiverse — such as the Speed Force, the Emotional Spectrum, the Life Force, the Sphere of the Gods, and the Collective Unconscious — and that unites through memory and history. Beings such as the Hands — cosmic beings like Perpetua — have used this force to create entire Multiverses within the Greater Omniverse.[3]
Users of this energy —such as Doctor Manhattan, Wally West, and Wonder Woman — can perceive all points in time simultaneously, experiencing the past, present, and future as one.[3] It grants multiversal awareness, allowing individuals to access the thoughts, memories, and abilities of their alternate counterparts across the Multiverse. The Batman Who Laughs demonstrated this by integrating traits from various versions of Batman into his own mind.[7]
Wally West, while imbued with this power, was able to erase a dark matter incursion, create galaxies, and repair fractures in the timeline caused by past Crises.[8] These abilities mirrored those of Doctor Manhattan, whose influence reshaped reality itself. Wonder Woman also accessed this energy during her battle against Crisis forces, gaining cosmic insight and temporal awareness.
This energy opposes Crisis Energy, which feeds on fear, chaos, and selfishness. In contrast, it is fueled by unity, goodness, and collective memory. Perpetua explained that if this Anti-Crisis force prevailed, all history would matter, time would untangle, and the full weight of continuity would be restored—a prophecy fulfilled when the Hands remade the Multiverse after the final battle.
Among the New Gods, this power is known as the Alpha Effect and is wielded by Highfather, who uses it to alter the fundamental nature of matter. As noted by Wally West and Lex Luthor, all living beings serve as "batteries" for this energy, empowering it through acts of courage and shared experience across the Multiverse.[9]
Current Owners
- The Hands
- The Watchman (Clark Dreiberg) (All Anti-Crisis Forces)
- Flash Family (Speed Force)
- Lantern Corps (Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum)
- Atlanteans (Life Force)
- Magical Creatures (Sphere of the Gods)
- The Monitors (Dimensional Superstructure)
- All Telepaths (Collective Unconscious)
- All the Greatest Minds (Collective Unconscious)
Previous Owners
- Perpetua (All Anti-Crisis Forces)
- Doctor Manhattan (All Anti-Crisis Forces)
- Flash (Wally West) (Unknown level of Anti-Crisis Energy)
Notes
- The Energy of Creation had already been featured since the Silver Age in Fourth World stories, beginning with New Gods #1, as the limitless power of The Source of All Existence. In the Pre-Flashpoint continuity, it eventually made its first full appearance in Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #62. After the events of Flashpoint, the Energies of Creation were first referred to as "Seven Forces of the Universe" in Justice League (Volume 4) #1, and as "Connective Energy" in Dark Nights: Death Metal #1.
- It has yet to be confirmed whether Elemental Realms and the Life Equation are part of the Connective forces. However, it's very possible that this is the case since the Anti-Crisis Energy regroup every positive energy in the Multiverse.
- It is very likely that Superman's energy of Hope is part of the Seven Forces of the Universe since some of Earth's greatest heroes are connected to these energies and it has been implied that Superman is connected to the Faithlessness during the Justice/Doom War.
- The Darkest Knight told Diana that she can't create worlds with Anti-Crisis Energy but he can with Crisis Energy. This claims, however, is a false since The Hands uses Anti-Crisis Energy to configure and birth Multiverses across the Void. It is possible that the Darkest Knight lied to Diana in an attempt to convince her to let him kill The Hands.
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 pun on the Australian rock band AC/DC.[3]
See Also
- Appearances of The Seven Forces of the Universe
- Catalogued images related to The Seven Forces of the Universe
- ↑ Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #62
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The New Gods #5
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Dark Nights: Death Metal #1
- ↑ Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom #1–Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom #6
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #22
- ↑ Justice League Annual (Volume 4) #1
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal Legends of the Dark Knights #1
- ↑ Flash Forward #6
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal #5