Linear Men
Encyclopedia
The Linear Men are fictional character
s, a fictional superhero team in the DC Comics
universe. They first appeared in Adventures of Superman #476 (March 1991).
, Travis O'Connell, Liri Lee, Rayak the Ravager and Rip Hunter
, although other members of the Linear Men have been seen from time to time. An alternate Matthew, one who was once employed by Lex Luthor
, became part of the team.
They operate in a base that exists during the last possible moment in the universe, the last nanosecond before entropy ends everything, called Vanishing Point.
Their name is taken from the premise that after the Crisis on Infinite Earths
, time is strictly linear and paradoxes can unravel the sole remaining timeline. Thanks to Rip Hunter, they remain blissfully ignorant of Hypertime
.
Before the Crisis
, O'Connell perishes when he detonates the moon in 2995 A.D. This is exactly what was supposed to happen and O'Connell's sacrifice keeps the timeline on track.
The Linear Men help Superman fight the threat of Dominus
. They are featured heavily in the comic book title Chronos
, which featured Walker Gabriel. Gabriel is accused of the murder of a Linear Man agent. Another Linear Agent pursues the protagonist throughout time, including the town of Smallville during its very early 'Wild West' days. This agent is also opposed by a small, time-traveling troupe of entertainers. This series also noted a rather important fact to the Linear Men: they are not aware of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, while this small group does know about the former multiverse, as noted by the villain Konstantin Vyronis.
Rip Hunter eventually locks the Linear Men away for unknown reasons. In the Time Masters: Vanishing Point limited series
, it is revealed that Rip and the Linear Men were never in agreement about how to handle time and that Rip, tired of the Linear Men's interference, locked them away in a cell at Vanishing Point. Later, Matthew Ryder and Liri Lee are freed from their imprisonment by the Time Stealers: Black Beetle
, Despero
, Per Degaton
and Ultra-Humanite
. Black Beetle intends to use the Linear Men to bring Waverider to life. But Supernova
prevents Black Beetle from dystopia and sends the Time Stealers back to the present. However, Black Beetle is able to escape, and the Linear Men go with him. They then teleport through time to search for Waverider's corpse in the earth's future desolate wasteland. After Black Beetle finds Waverider's corpse, he double-crosses them, revealing his plan to use Waverider's power to become invulnerable. Black Beetle attempts to fuse with Waverider's corpse's power but is thwarted by Supernova. Instead, Liri fuses with Waverider's corpse to become Linear Woman, after which Black Beetle escapes. Rip and the rest of the Time Masters arrive but Linear Woman refuses to agree with Rip's rules of time travel and teleports herelf and Matthew through the timestream.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s, a fictional superhero team in the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
universe. They first appeared in Adventures of Superman #476 (March 1991).
Fictional history
The Linear Men are a team of men and women who police time and work to resolve time paradoxes. The core team consists of Matthew Ryder (the leader and founder), an alternate future version of Ryder known as WaveriderWaverider (comics)
Waverider is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics universe, a time traveler who was merged with the time stream. Waverider first appeared in Armageddon 2001 #1 and was created by Archie Goodwin and Dan Jurgens....
, Travis O'Connell, Liri Lee, Rayak the Ravager and Rip Hunter
Rip Hunter
Rip Hunter is a DC Comics character who first appeared in Showcase #20 . Following three more appearances in Showcase , Rip Hunter was given his own series, which ran for 29 issues . He later starred in the six-issue Time Masters series , written by Bob Wayne and Lewis Shiner...
, although other members of the Linear Men have been seen from time to time. An alternate Matthew, one who was once employed by Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
, became part of the team.
They operate in a base that exists during the last possible moment in the universe, the last nanosecond before entropy ends everything, called Vanishing Point.
Their name is taken from the premise that after the Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
, time is strictly linear and paradoxes can unravel the sole remaining timeline. Thanks to Rip Hunter, they remain blissfully ignorant of Hypertime
Hypertime
Hypertime is a fictional concept presented in the 1999 DC comic book series The Kingdom, both a catch-all explanation for any continuity discrepancies in DC Universe stories and a variation or superset of the Multiverse that existed before Crisis on Infinite Earths.- The Kingdom :The basic premise...
.
Before the Crisis
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
, O'Connell perishes when he detonates the moon in 2995 A.D. This is exactly what was supposed to happen and O'Connell's sacrifice keeps the timeline on track.
The Linear Men help Superman fight the threat of Dominus
Dominus (DC Comics)
Dominus is a fictional character and a DC Comics supervillain who first appeared in Action Comics #747. He appears primarily as an opponent of Superman.-Fictional character biography:...
. They are featured heavily in the comic book title Chronos
Chronos (comics)
Chronos is the name of several fictional characters of DC Comics, both supervillains who take their name from the Greek personification of Time and have the ability of time travel and can manipulate history.-David Clinton:...
, which featured Walker Gabriel. Gabriel is accused of the murder of a Linear Man agent. Another Linear Agent pursues the protagonist throughout time, including the town of Smallville during its very early 'Wild West' days. This agent is also opposed by a small, time-traveling troupe of entertainers. This series also noted a rather important fact to the Linear Men: they are not aware of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, while this small group does know about the former multiverse, as noted by the villain Konstantin Vyronis.
Rip Hunter eventually locks the Linear Men away for unknown reasons. In the Time Masters: Vanishing Point limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, it is revealed that Rip and the Linear Men were never in agreement about how to handle time and that Rip, tired of the Linear Men's interference, locked them away in a cell at Vanishing Point. Later, Matthew Ryder and Liri Lee are freed from their imprisonment by the Time Stealers: Black Beetle
Black Beetle (comics)
Black Beetle is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics.-Publication history:Black Beetle first appeared in Booster Gold vol. 2 #5, and was created by Geoff Johns, Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, Matthew Sturges and Carlo Barberi...
, Despero
Despero
Despero is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Justice League of America #1 Despero is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Justice League of America #1 Despero...
, Per Degaton
Per Degaton
Per Degaton is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain who can travel through time. Per Degaton made his first appearance in All Star Comics #35 and was created by John Broome and Irwin Hasen...
and Ultra-Humanite
Ultra-Humanite
The Ultra-Humanite is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #13 , and was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster...
. Black Beetle intends to use the Linear Men to bring Waverider to life. But Supernova
Supernova (comics)
Supernova is an identity used by three characters in the , all related to the Carter bloodline. The first appearance of this character was in the weekly DC Comics series 52 where the mystery of his true identity and purpose was one of the recurring themes of the series.-52:The character of...
prevents Black Beetle from dystopia and sends the Time Stealers back to the present. However, Black Beetle is able to escape, and the Linear Men go with him. They then teleport through time to search for Waverider's corpse in the earth's future desolate wasteland. After Black Beetle finds Waverider's corpse, he double-crosses them, revealing his plan to use Waverider's power to become invulnerable. Black Beetle attempts to fuse with Waverider's corpse's power but is thwarted by Supernova. Instead, Liri fuses with Waverider's corpse to become Linear Woman, after which Black Beetle escapes. Rip and the rest of the Time Masters arrive but Linear Woman refuses to agree with Rip's rules of time travel and teleports herelf and Matthew through the timestream.