World's End

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**World's End** was a mega-event across Wildstorm titles, lasting close to three years between 2008 and 2011 and greatly reshaping the Wildstorm Universe. It ended four months before the Flashpoint event merged the Wildstorm characters into the mainstream universe.

## History

### The "How"

Various heroes of Earth receive a warning, purporting to be from the heroine Void (Nikola Hanssen), several years in the future. She shows them a post-apocalyptic world, and requested them to help prevent it from happening.

As a result of this visitation, the Kherubim warrior Nemesis coerces Savant and the new Backlash (Jodi Slayton) to research possible endings of the world. As a result, they investigate various superhuman factions, usually violently. As a result of their investigations, Department PSI, which holds the remains of the High, decides to place it somewhere safe, and hands it over to the Number of The Beast (NOTB) Program.

The NOTB Program is a virtual-reality network built in the 1940s from Daemonite technology. Its original purpose was to "warehouse" an army of posthumans from that period, and train them to fight against the Apocalypse of Christian (notably Protestant) mythology. But instead, the program essentially became a prison.

However, the High's corpse had already been used by Department PSI to create the Reaper ballistic missiles, whose warheads contained cloned versions of the High. These clones were programmed to attack superhumans. When the High's presence in the NOTB program destabilized the whole scenario (since he had been present in the 1940s but had also been missing from the scenario) and the escaped inmates were captured by the Authority, the Reapers were let loose to eliminate the prisoners. However, denied easy access to their targets who were in the Bleed, the Reapers went berserk, fighting posthumans and superheroes all over the planet.

The Reapers were also designed to explode after use, as a plausible-deniability measure. When they exploded in orbit, they wreaked havoc on the Earth, inciting warming in the arctic regions, ice ages in the tropics, stripping away key parts of the atmosphere and starting fires that generating vast smog clouds. In addition to this, the Authority's Carrier crashed into London, creating a dust cloud that blocked out the Sun across most of Eastern Europe.

### The "Why"

The origins of the disaster is unclear. Comments made by a Daemonite, named Slyxx, who worked in the NOTB Program, indicate that his species originally sent the humans the technology because they intended for some disaster to happen, but how much of it was planned is unknown.

Although, the supervillain known as Tao was clearly prepared for the disaster as well. He has been seen preventing access to time-travel and reality-altering technology and power to keep the world in its present, easily-conquerable state. He has implied that he started the whole affair as he revealed to a captured Providence that he manipulated and control Void allowing Nemesis to cause a chain of events to allow Armageddon to happened.

### The "What"

The Authority are active from London (currently called "UnLondon"). Jenny Quarx went missing trying to contain the power source for the Carrier, and the current Doctor vanished after her. The electromagnetism of the crash has disabled the Engineer's powers, the smog means Apollo can act on Earth only for brief periods (since he needs sunlight to survive), and Jack Hawksmoor, is confined to a wheelchair since there are no cities to sustain him. However, the heroes are trying to reactivate the Carrier's technology and fight off the machinations of groups who want that technology.

The Wildcats are operating from a Halo Corp building in Los Angeles. The forward planning of Hadrian, their former benefactor, means they were well-placed to survive the devastation, but they cannot make anymore HALO batteries and need to be wary of over-extending. As well as this, a legion of Daemonites have moved into Los Angeles claiming homesteading rights, while Mister Majestic, unhinged by the disaster, has set up a kingdom in Hawaii based on Kherubim social mores and technology.

From their satellite headquarters, Stormwatch have inherited the original role of the Authority: to build a "finer world". However, they can only process so many refugees, and are stretched thin across an entire world. As well as this, Battalion, their leader, has grown harsh and unyielding under the pressure.

Off the radar, Gen13 stepped through a malfunctioning teleporter before the disaster, and came out a month after the disaster. They are still traveling, trying to find shelter and sustenance in the wasteland. Along the way, they must fight rabid posthumans and hard-edged survivor bands.

As this is going on, the villains make their moves. Kaizen Gamorra prepared his nation against the disaster, and became the leader of a veritable superpower. Tao possessed an army, and planned to use them for his own ends. Lord Defile is preparing to push the WildC.A.T.s out of Los Angeles. The Night Tribes are hunting the remaining human population of Eastern Europe under the perpetual cloud cover. Lorenzo of Sliding Albion has allied with the remains of the British government. And in space, a militant faction of Kherans known as the Knights of Khera make plans to conquer Earth.

### Wildcats

The Wildcats came into battle with Mister Majestic after discovering that he kept his own daughter Savant captive and blackmailed Nemesis and Backlash to be kept as breeding mares to populate his "heirs". Nemesis was apparently killed after she makes a hard decision in attempting to kill Majestic, forcing the Wildcats to be chased back to the Halo building where Daemonites, led by Lord Defile and Lady Decadence, have invaded the building defended by Ladytron. All parties clashed and ended with the Wildcats escaping with the building's refugees, Defile and Decadence apparently banished into Otherspace, the Halo building destroyed, and Majestic giving up his chase.

After settling the refugees at other refuges, the Wildcats later corresponded with John Lynch and members of Team-7 who were intent on stopping Tao and his organization from allowing him becoming a god. The Wildcats joins Lynch's cause after learning that Tao was the mastermind behind Majestic's insanity. Both teams assaulted Tao's headquarters in Salt Lake City where they were underestimated with Tao's powers from absorbing Void's and Providence's powers. Even Spartan, who later again became Jack Marlowe after gifted again from Void's remaining power, was no match against him. Providence vainly sacrifice her life in delaying Tao and allowing Team-7 and the Wildcats, along with Void, to escape. The group then later sought Max Faraday, who still has the power of the Creation Equation and responsible for saving some of Earth's millions of survivors, to help in their endeavor, but discovered that he has given up all faith on superhumans, including the heroes, for failing to actually help normal people and especially for causing Armageddon to happened. However, Faraday was convinced to help the group after learning the Syndicate had traced the group's energy signatures to Faraday's island resort, which his wife and family are there, and are attacking there. Faraday, the Wildcats, Team-7 and a joined Majestic clashed against Tao and his followers and only to end with Tao finally obtaining his goal. Fortunately, Faraday's wife Susannah and Void stifle Tao by pointing out Tao's flaws as a god and his reason for destroying existence as a source of lacking the feeling of love and caring as a child. This forces Tao to briefly frustrate over his revelation and was subsequently shot in the head by Grifter, causing Tao to disappear and losing all his powers. Faraday and Void both receives their powers back, but completely minor for them to repair the Earth. Faraday, regained his faith on superheroes after what everyone had done to stop Tao, decided to have the surviving refugees he saved be safely put in the Hollow Realm and tasking the Wildcats and Team-7 to save what is left of the world.

### The Authority

The Authority were able to gain help from Stormwatch, who had secretly observed the team, and provided solar power from Skywatch and channeled into the Carrier. The team later had to imprisoned an Warhol Virus-infected Apollo into cold stasis after being infected during a previous Incubite outbreak. Midnighter soon left the team on a personal quest that could cure his husband. Following a week later, Kaizen Gamorra brought his flying island to UnLondon and laid siege on the Carrier. Jack Hawksmoor was captured and tortured on Gamorra Island, while the Engineer was forcefully brought to the Rendelsham facility by Lorenzo Slzfi into creating a workable shift-door after the Swift was tossed into the Bleed. The Engineer managed to convince The Golden into helping her stopping Lorenzo and saving Swift and the Golden's missing member, Stuart. Hawksmoor was eventually made himself freed and reunited with the Authority and defeated Kaizen Gamorra by releasing a infected Apollo on Gamorra Tower.

The combined Authority later helped Midnighter in battling a crazed Habib Bin Hassan, who believed that "curing" the Earth by wiping out humankind. Following the Doctor's apparent death, Midnighter was gifted a apple containing the cure to Apollo by the Century Baby Gaia Rothstein.

### Stormwatch

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## Issues

* **Authority (Volume 4)**
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #1
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #2
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #3
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #4
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #5
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #6
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #7
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #8
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #9
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #10
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #11
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #12
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #13
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #14
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #15
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #16
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #17
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #18
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #19
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #20
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #21
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #22
	+ *The Authority* (Volume 4) #23

* **WildCats (Volume 5)**
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #1
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #2
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #3
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #4
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #5
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #6
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #7
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #8
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #9
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #10
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #11
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #12
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #13
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #14
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #15
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #16
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #17
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #18
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #19
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #20
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #21
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #22
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #23
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #24
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #25
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #26
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #27
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #28
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #29
	+ Wildcats Vol 5 #30

* **Stormwatch: Post Human Division**
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #13
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #14
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #15
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #16
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #17
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #18
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #19
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #20
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #21
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #22
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #23
	+ Stormwatch: P.H.D. #24

* **Gen 13 (Volume 4)**
	+ Gen13 #21
	+ Gen13 #22
	+ Gen13 #23
	+ Gen13 #24
	+ Gen13 #25
	+ Gen13 #26
	+ Gen13 #27
	+ Gen13 #28
	+ Gen13 #29
	+ Gen13 #30
	+ Gen13 #31
	+ Gen13 #32
	+ Gen13 #33
	+ Gen13 #34
	+ Gen13 #35

* Wildstorm: After the Fall
* Wetworks: Mutations

## Notes

* Wildstorm editor Ben Abernathy described this storyline as a new direction for the Wildstorm Universe:

"[T]his direction evolved following our WorldStorm launch a few years ago. Looking at the landscape of the industry, we realized we needed to move our universe in a different direction, something that the "Big Two" couldn't, or wouldn't, do for a long period of time. And we decided that direction should be toward a sci-fi/horror direction of a post-apocalyptic setting (to a degree, an almost logical extension to where the WSU has been headed for years). There have been "visions" of a devastated, bleak future in other mainstream super-hero books, but nothing with the lasting impact or direction that the World's End books will be tackling."
## Trivia

* It was confirmed that only roughly 650 million people still remained after the the World's End event, killing 90% of the Earth's population.

## Recommended Reading

* Wildstorm: Armageddon
* Wildstorm: Revelations
* Number of the Beast

## Links and References

1. ↑ *Number of the Beast* #8
2. ↑ *Authority* (Vol 4) #7
3. ↑ NYCC '08: LIVING IN THE RUINS: WS Editor Ben Abernathy on 'Worlds End', Newsarama, April 19, 2008
4. ↑ *Wildcats: World's End* #22

 This page uses content from **Wikipedia**. The original article was at World's End. The list of authors can be seen in the **page history**. The text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.