Publication history
The Bleed is an interdimensional realm that first appeared in the Wildstorm book Stormwatch (vol. 2) #7 (May 1998), which was written by Warren Ellis, and illustrated by Bryan Hitch. The Bleed was depicted as a realm through which characters such as the Authority could travel between any two distant points much faster than in normal space.
After DC Comics acquired Wildstorm in 1998, the Bleed was explained as the space between the fictional DC Universe and Wildstorm Universe, across which characters could travel, which first occurred when the Wildstorm character Mr. Majestic was transported to the DC Universe in his self-titled 1999 miniseries, with which the integration of the Wildstorm Universe as one of many among the DC Multiverse was established.
There were several minor crossovers until Captain Atom: Armageddon, in which Captain Atom nearly inadvertently destroyed the Wildstorm Universe. Void saved him but decided the Wildstorm Universe was not worth saving in its current form, triggering the "soft reset" of every series, known as "WorldStorm". In Ion #10, the Bleed appears for the first time in a mainstream DC book.
Fictional history
Discovery
The Bleed is not a universe in itself, but it is defined as the space between parallel universes. In the Wildstorm Universe, the most advanced beings can travel between parallel universes through the Bleed, or, simply, an arterial duct connecting to universes. Traveling through the Bleed is not without danger, though, and sometimes objects or beings get lost, appearing in times and places they were never meant to go. In addition, the Bleed has mutagenic properties that alter the make-up of any sentient being that enters it directly. The effects can be beneficial or detrimental, depending on the circumstances of the exposure.
The Bleed was officially discovered by a group of scientists working for Stormwatch. They managed to look through the Bleed at a parallel universe using an opening several atoms thick. This universe featured a Jack Hawksmoor in charge of Stormwatch and he observes the scientists. Later, it would be revealed that the Bleed had been discovered before; Jenny Sparks had had contact with the Bleed-travelers from Sliding Albion in the early 20th century and Planetary had catalogued numerous Bleed incursions. In Planetary , Elijah Snow speculated that extraterrestrials have so much interest in Earth because they accessed The Bleed "too early."
When The Authority obtained the Carrier, a vessel capable of traveling through the Bleed, Bleed incursions became far more numerous. To oversee the negative effects of these incursions, the Monarchy was created.
The series Majestic has shown that the Bleed also connects the Wildstorm multiverse to the DC Universe, an idea that Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth presented, as well as Captain Atom: Armageddon, which thus makes the Bleed perfect for contriving crossovers.
The Authority/Planetary crossover, All Over the World, revealed that there is a hostile force operating within the Bleed that seeks out and exterminates Earths. Its first known attack on the Wildstorm Earth was in 1931 in Rhode Island, involving eggs specifically designed to spawn Lovecraftian monsters when touched by humans; a second incursion occurred in 1999, involving killer robots that could self-replicate. The leaders of this force were a hideous reptilian version of the Authority. A storyline in the Monarchy reveals that this team is called the High Power and the world-killing force are Chimaera, an army made entirely of evil alternate Authorities created by the Authority's frequent travels in the Bleed.
Bleed-spawned alternate Authorities would show up multiple times in the realm of the Easter Bunny. This realm was inadvertently created by the powerful Authority member Jenny Quantum after she read a violent comic book. Most of these doubles were killed.
After the reboot
After the Infinite Crisis (DC) and the Worldstorm (Wildstorm) events, the Bleed is still connected to the rebooted universes and acts as the space between them. Captain Atom, after his stint in the Wildstorm Universe and brief return to the mainstream DC Universe, retreated into the Bleed. Upon this, he discovered that the Monitors (still aware of everything about the universes and the Multiverse itself), are unable to know what happens in the Bleed.
In Ion #10, Kyle Rayner makes his way into the Bleed with the help of the Tangent Comics Green Lantern's lantern. From there, he meets Captain Atom who sends him back to his Earth.
In Sinestro Corps Special #1, we learn the Bleed is the space between Earths of the new Multiverse, with the Source Wall separating the various Earths from the Bleed itself.
In Countdown , it is shown that Monarch (Nathaniel Adam) is building an army in the Bleed for the upcoming Final Crisis .
In Blue Beetle #23, Jaime Reyes learns to shift into the Bleed using his Blue Beetle Scarab, and observing that time moves differently there, he uses this to his advantage, so he can be in several places at the same time.
In Death of the New Gods #5, Metron and Source discuss that the Source Wall actually separates the New Earth universe from the Bleed instead of holding the source.
In Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1, it is revealed that the multiversal Monitors refer to the Bleed as the Ultramenstruum, and that the Authority's Carrier is a piece of Monitor nano-technology. The void is later described as the "blood of life itself," that cannot be bottled or contained by anyone else but the Monitors, and that Mandrakk the Dark Monitor strives to consume, ending life in the whole Multiverse. There, the Captain Marvel of Earth-5 is granted the personal Carrier of Zillo Valla, named the Ultima Thule, to warn the 52 Universes in the DC Multiverse of the upcoming invasion.
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999. Until it was shut down, the WildStorm imprint remained editorially separate from DC Comics, with its main studio located in California. The imprint took its name from the combining of the titles of the Jim Lee comic series WildC.A.T.S. and Stormwatch.
The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. DC superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Green Arrow are from this universe, and it also contains well-known supervillains such as Lex Luthor, the Joker, Brainiac, Reverse-Flash, Sinestro, Deathstroke, Cheetah, and Darkseid. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC continuity.
Planetary is an American comic book series created by writer Warren Ellis and artist John Cassaday, and published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics. After an initial preview issue in September 1998, the series ran for 27 issues from April 1999 to October 2009.
Captain Atom is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Captain Atom has existed in three basic incarnations.
Stormwatch is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by WildStorm, which later became an imprint of DC Comics. Created by Jim Lee, the team first appeared in Stormwatch #1. After the WildStorm imprint was retired and its universe was merged with the main DC Universe, the group was depicted as a secretive team of superheroes who tackle dangerous missions while remaining unknown to the larger superhero community.
The Authority is a superhero comic book series published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint. It was created in 1999 by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the adventures of the Authority, a superhero team mainly composed of Ellis-created characters from Stormwatch.
The Anti-Monitor is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He served as the main antagonist of the 1985 DC Comics miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths and later appears as an enemy to the Green Lantern Corps and The Justice League.
Apollo is a fictional character, a comic book superhero who first appeared in the Stormwatch series, but is best known for his role in The Authority. While visually distinct, Apollo is cast in the mould of the Superman archetype.
Midnighter is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books first published by WildStorm and later DC Comics once it absorbed the former. The character was created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Bryan Hitch. The character made his first appearance in Stormwatch #4, titled "A Finer World ", eventually appearing in various Authority books and other series, as well as his own eponymous ongoing series.
Caitlin Fairchild is a fictional comic book superhero, who appears in the Wildstorm series Gen¹³. She was created by writers Jim Lee and Brandon Choi, and artist J. Scott Campbell.
"Coup d'Etat" was a 2004 comic book crossover storyline published by Wildstorm Comics.
WildC.A.T.S/Aliens was a one-shot comic book and intercompany crossover event, published by Wildstorm and Dark Horse Comics in 1998. The comic was written by Warren Ellis, pencilled by Chris Sprouse, with Kevin Nowlan inking and Laura Depuy as the colorist.
Monarch is the name of three fictional DC Comics supervillains. The first Monarch is Hank Hall, formerly Hawk, who later renames himself Extant for the Zero Hour crossover event. The second Monarch is Nathaniel Adam, a U.S. Air Force Captain. The third Monarch is Captain Atom, a former superhero retroactively revealed to be a "quantum field" duplicate of Nathaniel Adam. Monarch was created by Archie Goodwin, Denny O'Neil, and Dan Jurgens, and first appeared in Armageddon 2001 #1, cover-dated October (1991).
The Monitors are a group of fictional comic book characters, who appear in books published by DC Comics.
The Wildstorm Universe is a fictional shared universe where the comic books published by Wildstorm take place. It represents an alternate history of the real world where ideas such as interstellar travel and superhuman abilities are commonplace. It is also the name of one of three brands launched by Wildstorm to help differentiate their titles set in the same universe from other, separate titles. Originally launched as part of the Image Universe, it broke off as its own separate universe during the "Shattered Image" storyline.
The Multiverse, within DC Comics publications, is a "cosmic construct" collecting many of the fictional universes in which the published stories take place. The worlds in this multiverse share a space and fate in common, and its structure has changed several times in the history of DC Comics.
Stormwatch: Post Human Division is an American comic book published by Wildstorm comics. It is the fourth volume to bear the name Stormwatch. It was first published in November 2006 and was written by Christos Gage with art by Doug Mahnke.
"Wildstorm: Armageddon" was a crossover event in the Wildstorm Universe, written by Christos Gage and drawn by various artists.
"World's End" is a 2008-2009 comic book crossover storyline published by Wildstorm and taking place in the Wildstorm Universe. The event takes place in the issues of all of Wildstorm's Wildstorm Universe ongoing series.
