The DC Comics multiverse is absolutely huge, and the heroes of the Justice League have tried to explore a lot of it. But one forgotten villain is absolutely obsessed with learning how the universe was created, and his search may have inadvertently caused the DC’s darkest Crisis-level event. When the Dark Multiverse invaded Earth, it might very well have been the fault of the forgotten villain Krona.
The DC Universe was invaded by dark nightmares during the events of Dark Nights: Metal. This event saw evil, nightmarish versions of Batman crawling out from the Dark Multiverse to invade Earth. While this was due to the machinations of Barbatos, he might not hold the sole blame.
Throughout the issue there are several references to the villain Krona and his quest for knowledge. It’s strongly implied through the writing of Carter Hall’s journal that Krona, viewing the Hand of Creation, created the Dark Multiverse, which would make him “the most hated man in the multiverse,” as Carter himself writes.
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DC’s Dark Multiverse Exists Because of the Forgotten Villain Krona
Dark Nights: Metal #2 by Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion, and FCO Plascencia
The DC Universe was originally created by the Hand of Creation, but viewing this event is strictly forbidden. According to DC lore, simply viewing the act of creation can influence it, and that seems to be exactly what Krona did. By viewing the act of Creation, Krona “opened up millions of worlds.” It’s very possible that the forgotten villain Krona is not only responsible for the Multiverse, but also the Dark Multiverse, meaning that Krona would be responsible for DC’s darkest Crisis, which nearly ended the entire Omniverse.
Because of Krona viewing the Hand of Creation, the Batman Who Laughs came into existence through the Dark Multiverse reality. The Batman Who Laughs then went on to very nearly destroy the Multiverse several times and continues to have a massive effect across the central DC Universe. This is all because of Krona’s insatiable desire to know how the universe was created, which led him to stare into the Hand of Creation. Because of this one act, Krona set off a domino effect that quite literally almost ended all existence in the DCU.
Krona Has Been DC Comics’ Ultimate Villain Since His First Appearance
Green Lantern (1960) #40 by John Broome, Gil Kane, Sid Greene, and Gaspar Saladino
Krona is a villain that isn’t brought up much in contempoary comics. He was responsible for the Justice League and Avengers crossover, but after that event he really didn’t appear much. DC mostly moved onto other cosmic villains like Imperiux-Prime or Perpetua, but Krona’s influence still seems to linger as his thirst for knowledge is what created the DC Multiverse, including the Dark Multiverse. If it wasn’t for DC Comics’ ultimate forgotten villain, the heroes wouldn’t have had to face their worst nightmares, and Krona wouldn’t be the multiverse’s most hated man.
Dark Nights: Metal #2 is available now from DC Comics!
