Qward
| Race(s) | Qwardians |
|---|---|
| Notable characters | Weaponers Thunderers Sinestro Corps |
| First appearance | Green Lantern (vol. 2) #2 (October 1960) |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
Qward is a fictional world existing within an antimatter universe that is part of the DC Comics Universe. It was first mentioned in Green Lantern (vol. 2) # 2 (October 1960).
Qward was created when Krona, an Oan 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 within the race known as Qwardians. The Qwardians are antimatter counterparts to the Guardians of the Universe. Although the Anti-Monitor was defeated and imprisoned by his counterpart from the positive universe, the Weaponers themselves continued to rule their world. In one of the earliest JLA/JSA crossovers a being from the antimatter Universe, called Anti-Matter Man, appeared, who was an explorer who was travelling through warp-space towards Earth-1 and 2, apparently not aware that contact with them would make them blow up. This being was tens of metres high with blue skin and had some resistance to magic, along with strange powers which could warp positive-matter. He was sent back to his Universe using shock-waves caused by the Spectre and Atom.
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 the effects of millennia of inescapable rule by the tyrannical Weaponers. There do exist Qwardians who rebel against their society's morality, however. In the first appearance of Qward, Green Lantern met a Qwardian who had escaped to the Positive-Matter Universe, as he was part of a group that wanted to escape the Society of evil. They identify themselves with the Pilgrims fleeing to America to escape oppression. The Qwardian was killed when he pushed Green Lantern out of the way of a yellow weapon thrown by a Weaponer that wounded him. Green Lantern was able to travel to Qward and helped the other members of the group, who the Qwardians were attacking, escape to the Positive-Matter Universe, leaving them on an asteroid from where they can build their lives.
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