History

Before any universe existed, Ultimate Darkness was there. The first universe came forth like a tiny burp in its guts. Then that universe multiplied. That's about when the Darkness woke up.

Now, universes are like gut bacteria to Ultimate Darkness... though sometimes they give it indigestion. So the Darkness has had some attitude, for as long as humans have trafficked with it.

Personality

On some occasions, humans have approached Ultimate Darkness. This always surprises it. It may respond lovingly (as for Pam Brown, the Bride of the Ultimate Darkness), or with a howl (as against FOAD or Imperilus), or anything in between. But in general, it's kind of like a cranky old man - the oldest one ever.

Powers and Abilities

Ultimate Darkness does not have to swallow any universe. It's already swallowed them all. However, it may digest anything within any universe within it. When that happens, a new fractal partial universe comes out.

Ultimate Darkness may of course interact with any universe anywhere. They all live within it.

When some creature from within a universe contacts the Ultimate Darkness, that creature may obtain powers of energy, navigation within the Darkness, or summoning bits of the Darkness itself. Some Earth-humans have done this, as have some from other universes.

Those who navigate within the Darkness, hardly ever go farther then their own worlds. The Darkness grants to spit them out upon those, without paying attention where. This is the origin of many teleportation powers. Some, however, go between universes. Again, this is of about as much consequence to it as single-celled organisms copulating.

However, any who consciously approach the Darkness and are confident in their own powers (of light or whatever), will often find their powers absorbed, smashed down, irrelevant, etc. Ultimate Darkness is a force of nature; one does not carelessly navigate it and survive, any more than one carelessly survives upon the ocean.

Appearance

If you should ever find yourself suspended within Ultimate Darkness, and if you are calm enough, you will find that the Darkness has eyes to gaze upon you. It may also have veins in the distance; these stretch between its many universes which may interact. It may even grant you bear your own light, so as to navigate within it.

When viewed from within one of its universes, any part of the Ultimate Darkness is just dark. Superheroes with enough inherent light-bearing power may briefly function, before the Darkness drains them.

Publications

• Earliest Appearance and First Published: Genesis 1:2
• Observed: DC Comics, Swamp Thing Vol 2 #49 (June, 1986)
• Observed: The Balance #1, 1990 (Ellipsis and the Mighty Tim vs. the Ultimate Darkness)
• Observed: World Journal Monthly, 2004 (Bride of the Ultimate Darkness)
• Most Recent Publication: Powernaut 2006 #13 (the Powernaut vs. the Ultimate Darkness)
• Observed: They Dreamt That Evil Died Today, 2006 (Wyatt Ferguson vs. the Ultimate Darkness)
• Observed: The Coming of the Super-Mage, 2011 (the Super-Wizard From Space vs. the Ultimate Darkness)
• Last Observed: Stay Dead!, 2011, Legion of Net.Heroes (dead heroes of the LNH vs. the Ultimate Darkness)

Author's Notes

Thanks to the current comic Powernaut 2006, it becomes important to describe the behavior and power of Ultimate Darkness. This wouldn't be so important, if the Darkness weren't so moody...

In all my stories about Ultimate Darkness, I've tried to stay true to the quote of the Swamp Thing: "Where is evil, in all the wood?" Darkness may be used by evil, but Darkness does not equal evil.

(signed) Scott Eiler, 10 September 2016.