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Transcript of 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 #2 Page 13
Unity 2000 #3 Page 20
Unity 2000 #4 Introduction Page 27
Unity 2000 #4 Page 28
Unity 2000 #5 Page 34
Unity 2000 #6 Page 40
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
INTRODUCTION PAG E: (Copy to fo llow w ith sc rip t)
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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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
INTRODUCTION PAG E: (Copy to fo llow w ith sc rip t)
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
INTRODUCTION PAG E: (Copy to fo llow w ith sc rip t)
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