Until now, details on "Convergence" – DC Comics' summer event – have been rather sparse.
We knew that Brainiac takes major cities from across time and the multiverse – in other words, the multiple continuities in the DC universe from before past crises and other events – and places them on a single planet outside of time and space.
We knew that these domed cities would end up in conflict with one another. And, well... That's about it.
In a new promotional video, DC Comics' co-publisher Dan Didio talks up Convergence and finally reveals some details about what's really going on in this eight-part weekly series.
Here's the video — but if you don't have time to watch, scroll down to find out what it reveals.
Here's what we learned from the video:
• The heroes living within the various cities are fully aware that reality has changed around them — but they have no idea why. So it's not a "somebody reset time-and-space and nobody knows it" kind of deal.
• The story jumps ahead to a year after all the cities were collected by Brainiac. So the citizens, heroes and villains of these disparate cities have been living under their respective domes for a full year by the time the story begins — and they haven't turned up any answers as to what's going on or why. But they want out.
• Here's a bombshell: All of DC's superheroes trapped under the domes have lost their powers. Woah. We're guessing that will tip the balance of power in favor of characters like Batman, Green Arrow and Lex Luthor, who didn't have superpowers in first place.
• Even though they're powerless, some of the heroes are soldiering on, trying to maintain order. Others have outright quit superhero work altogether.
• When the story begins, Brainiac vanishes — and we won't find out why for a while. The mystery of where he's gone, and more importantly why he's brought 40 cities together on a single world, are major parts of the overall story. DiDio claims that Brainiac's reasons for his actions "will shock every generation of DC fans."
• After Brainiac disappears, the planet itself takes control. This is no ordinary planet — it has the ability to conjure a physical, humanoid form that can interact with those living there. It's called Telos, and DiDio says he's a major new villain "Convergence" introduces to the multiverse, suggesting that Telos is going to stick around beyond this series.
• Telos understands Brainiac's needs and motivations, but he has a plan of his own and it's very different. Without warning, Telos drops all of the domes simultaneously, putting every one of the 40 cities into direct conflict with the others.
• In case you were wondering if "Convergence" might be a self-contained story, fear not. DiDio says the events that occur in this series "will impact the entire future of the DC multiverse" with "stories we'll be playing out for years to come."
Intrigued yet? "Convergence" kicks off on April 8, 2015.
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