In response to the leak, the originally-intended ending was changed at the last minute: Monarch was revealed to be, not Captain Atom, but rather the Hawk. The final panel of the issue showed Waverider about to touch Captain Atom, who had just returned, and a text box stated that the story would be concluded in the second issue of Armageddon 2001. Waverider had seen the futures of various Justice League Europe members but had not scanned Captain Atom, who was away at the time. The conclusion of the Annual for Justice League Europe, the final crossover issue before the conclusion of the story, seemed to confirm this leak. Response and last-minute changes Īt some point during the crossover it was revealed Captain Atom would be the hero who became Monarch. In the World War II era, they stumble onto an atomic test (which Atom is aware of, but Monarch is not) and Atom is blasted into the present, while Monarch's fate is left unknown. late 1890s), and finally into World War II (estimated near 1945 - as they are testing atomic power). Once awake, Monarch follows Atom through Nero's Rome, the "Old West" (approx. Monarch allows the aliens to place him in stasis with an alien companion and a device that will awaken them when it senses Captain Atom. Monarch strikes a bargain to retrieve the trigger if the aliens agree to place him back in his own time. Captain Atom next causes an explosion on the primitive Earth, which propels both him and the trigger forward in time to Emperor Nero (A.D. The creation of the wormhole hinged on a sophisticated, bowling ball-shaped "trigger". The wormhole's creation would destroy the universe in which the primitive Earth existed, but would allow the aliens to freely travel. When hostile aliens encounter Monarch and Atom in the past (sometime between 230 and 65 million years ago), they attempted to enlist both (without either's knowledge) to assist them in creating a wormhole. The battle caused Atom's energy and Monarch's suit to clash, creating a portal that sent both of them back in time to the Age of Dinosaurs. Upon seeing Monarch's dead body and the device he was building to enslave humanity, he mused that Earth would need someone to keep the balance, so he put on Monarch's armor and continued building his machine.Įventually, the Justice League found him, and Captain Atom, feeling guilty he let Monarch slip through the timestream in the first place, decided to fight him one-on-one. He beat Monarch to death, only to learn the horrible truth: he was the one who would be the Monarch of the future. Being created as two beings whose natures were supposed to be in balance, Hank became enraged when his partner's pacifist nature could no longer contain his warlike spirit. Hank Hall (the Hawk), who was also a captive, watched as Monarch killed the Dove in front of his own eyes. In Armageddon 2001 #2, in a subsequent battle with the Justice League, Monarch retreated, taking Dawn Granger, the current Dove, with him. The Dove's power interacts with Waverider's, allowing him to see a multitude of futures to the point Waverider comments "No matter the future they fought him but never became him" Waverider finally touches both Hawk and Dove to see their daughter Unity alter Monarch's mind. In Hawk and Dove Annual #2, Waverider looked into Hank Hall's future to see him fight and die at the hands of Monarch in 2001. As he travelled through the rift, his body mutated into a form of living temporal energy, and upon arriving at his destination, he took the name Waverider. Ryder was determined to find out who the Monarch really was and, if possible, kill him before he could rise to power. Because Monarch always appeared in a suit of full body armor his prior identity was unknown.Ĭhosen by Monarch to take part in a time-travel experiment, Ryder traveled back to 1991, the year in which the series was published, and 10 years before Monarch's massacre of Earth's heroes. In the year 2001 this hero had killed all of his comrades, assumed the identity of Monarch, and began his rise to global domination. He learned that in the late 20th century one of Earth's superheroes had become evil. The people were unhappy with his rule, particularly a scientist named Matthew Ryder, an expert on temporal studies, who was convinced he could use his technology to travel back in time and prevent the maniacal ruler from ever coming to power. Monarch was an oppressive tyrant from a bleak, dystopian Earth 50 years in the future.
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