Qward
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Qward is a fictional world existing within an antimatter universe that is part of the DC Comics universe.
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[edit] History
Qward was created when Krona, an alien scientist from the planet Maltus, performed a forbidden experiment to try to see the origin of the universe. Somehow, this disrupted the process of cosmic creation, resulting in an additional, opposite universe. Qward is that universe's counterpart to Oa.
Qward was ruled by their universe's version of The Monitor (that would come to be called the Anti-Monitor by Earth's heroes). It was this entity that created the organization of warriors known as The Weaponers of Qward. Although the Anti-Monitor was defeated and imprisoned by his counterpart from the normal universe, the Weaponers themselves continued to rule their world.
Qward's universe has been described as a "universe of evil". However, this might just be a wrong impression on the part of those heroes from the positive universe that have clashed with them. Qwardian society seems indeed to be dominated by a philosophy of selfishness and greed. This could be just the effects of millennia of inescapable rule by the tyrannical Weaponers. There do exist Qwardians who rebel against their society's morality, however.
Qwardians resemble humans, except that they are totally hairless and have large, sunken eyes. The Weaponers seem to have a military structure. Their most noteworthy warriors are The Thunderers, flying warriors that are equipped with throwable weapons shaped like lightning bolts that turn into a form of energy called "Qwa" when thrown. This energy is the Weaponers' primary weapon, and is somehow able to hurt even Superman. (The Qwardians have legends of fierce energy-creatures called Qwa-angels; whether these exist or not is unknown.) The Weaponers also possess advanced technology, the development of which was motivated over the centuries by their attempts to develop a weapon powerful enough to open a mysterious artefact called the "Golden Obelisk of Qward." They were able to create a yellow "power ring" for the villain Sinestro, their ally against their long-time foes, the Green Lantern Corps from the normal universe, who have opposed their attempts to conquer their universe several times (including kidnapping Olivia Reynolds on more than one occasion, in attempts to harness her U-Mind to access the Ergono power). The Weaponers have also clashed with the Justice League of America and other DC comics heroes.
In order to travel into, and out of, the anti-matter universe, one must pass through special "portals" that instantly reverse the polarity of subatomic particles as they pass through them, since any contact between normal and anti-matter would result in a tremendous explosion that would disintegrate both.
One noteworthy figure within the Weaponers was one General Fabrikant, who was a tactical genius as well as being midget-sized. Fabrikant entered Earth, disguised himself as a child, and insinuated himself into the private life of the greatest Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. He was discovered, however, and his plans of conquest were undone.
When the Anti-Monitor reawakened, he reestablished his rule over Qward, and transformed several of the Thunderers into "Shadow-Demons" that he then used to help him in his plans to destroy all positive matter universes, so that the antimatter universe would increase in size, making him even more powerful. Eventually, however, the Anti-Monitor was destroyed by the heroes of Earth, and the Weaponers recovered control of Qward.
[edit] Supervillains
The Shadow-Force is a team of supervillains who banded together with the goal of becoming wealthy. They are comprised of Deadeye, Elasti-Man, Element-Man, Fiero, Frostbite, Scarab, and Slipstream. Their main foes are the New Conglomerate and the Justice League.
In one story, the group of supervillains called the Crime Syndicate of America, evil counterparts of the Justice League from a parallel universe, were rewritten as being from Qward, since at the time, parallel universes were no longer supposed to be used in DC Comics stories. However, since then, the Syndicate has been reintroduced as coming from a parallel Earth within the Qwardian universe. It's unclear whether the Qwardian version will ever be used again.
[edit] Nero
During Kyle Rayner's tenure as Green Lantern, the Qwardian Weaponers again sought to oppose the remains of the Guardians by empowering an agent with a yellow power ring. After a disastrous attempt involving Fatality, the Qwardians then found a more suitable servant in Alexander Nero.
As Nero grew more powerful by subconsciously siphoning the burgeoning Parallax energy within Earth's sun, it was shown that the Weaponers had developed an almost cultlike fascination with him. During a battle with Nero in which the Weaponers intervened, Kyle learned that it was their secret desire to be destroyed by their creation.
[edit] Syndicate Rules
In the JLA storyline "Syndicate Rules," written by Kurt Busiek, the mythology and culture of Qward were greatly expanded upon, clarifying their Post-Crisis status. The storyline detailed a coup d'état in which the Thunderers were united under Irik Roval. Roval slew First Weaponlord Varnathon of Q'Uld, ending the Weaponers' reign over Qward. Claiming the Weapons of Rengar, he was crowned the new Highlord of Qward. Roval then located the prison of Erdammeru, the Void Hound, an ancient weapon of the Qward who in the intervening centuries had been misconceived of as a dark god.
Roval piloted the Void Hound through an ancient Qwa-portal into the positive matter universe, where he did battle against the Justice League in search of the ancient scientist Krona, who had nearly obliterated Qward during the JLA/Avengers crossover event. Though Roval was eventually forced to retreat by the destruction of the Void Hound, Qward remains a potent threat to the Justice League, revitalized under their new leader. Another interesting note is that in this story the inhabitants of Qward referred to themselves as "Qwarda-jin".
