Glossary:D

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Darkforce

Darkforce is the name given to a negative energy that is the counterpart to the Lightforce, drawn from a dimension nicknamed the "Darkforce dimension". Some mutants can tap into this energy naturally, while normal Humans may learn to call it up magically or even technologically such as Smuggler. Like other negative energies, Darkforce is easy to learn but hard to control. Darkforce can have a bewildering variety of effects, and its users can control differing aspects of it, so some time passed before it became apparent that all these phenomena had a single source.

The Darkforce dimension has no formal name, few known inhabitants, and no known points of reference. Its most obvious (and perhaps only) characteristic is darkness: not simply an empty place that has no light but a medium that absorbs light. This "dark matter" may only be what humans can perceive of an alien universe. Normal light sources are practically useless, and magical sources have limited range and power. The same absorption applies to heat and even life essence. Those who enter the Darkforce dimension without protection feel coldness and, in time, lethargy. Prolonged exposure to Darkforce in our dimension can have the same effects.

Those who can access Darkforce typically summon the dark matter of the Darkforce dimension. It appears in this dimension as darkness, but with varying consistencies. A weak field of Darkforce looks like a dark mist or shadow and can become camouflage, intimidation, or a smokescreen. A medium field behaves like a thick liquid and can impede or encase an opponent. A strong field, for most purposes, acts like a solid that can form shapes or carry things.

Others use Darkforce indirectly to teleport. They open a portal around themselves into the Darkforce dimension and open another portal out that appears in a different location. The process is instantaneous, so they do not physically move through the Darkforce dimension. Nightcrawler once believed that he teleported through the Darkforce dimension, and he does use the same process, but he teleports via a different dimension.

A disturbance in the Darkforce dimension at one point changed its properties relative to our dimension. Generally, this change has increased the powers of Darkforce users.

Neighboring realms to the Darkforce Dimension exist which have similar or familiar properties to it. The Spot draws his powers from a Spotted Dimension he accidentally connected to while trying to recreate Cloak's connection to the Darkforce Dimension.

• Appearances of Darkforce
• Minor Appearances of Darkforce
• Mentions of Darkforce
• Images of Darkforce
• Known Users of Darkforce

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Glossary:Death Glossary:Death (Entity)

Deities of Death and of the dead.

Glossary:Demon

Deus ex machina

A deus ex machina is a literary device, a way of ending a plot by bringing in an outside element to accomplish what the main characters have been unable to throughout the story.

To qualify as deus ex machina, the means of ending the story (defeating the villain, saving the world, etc.) must have been no more than hinted at during the story, or possibly not mentioned at all. It must be done by a person or element which is outside of the influence of the main characters (although bringing in a main character from another story would count- for example, if the Fantastic Four spent five issues fighting Dr Doom, then on the last page Wolverine arrived and stabbed him), and it must completely resolve the story.

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Dimension

A dimension is a portion of reality containing space, time, matter, and energy, and is separated from other dimensions by some physical difference in these elements. A dimension may be a universe, which contains a virtually infinite amount of space, or a pocket dimension, which is clearly finite and often relatively small. The term "realm" is used often to refer to dimensions, mostly of the second variety. Sometimes it is established that the main universe, while infinite, has en edge, but it presumably refers to a local and causally connected region (much like our "Hubble volume").

Dimensions can also be classified by their composition. "Earth-like dimensions" possess a similar makeup, physical properties, and laws of physics as the planet Earth; "Alien dimensions" have differing physical properties and laws than the Earth; and finally, "magic dimensions" which also have differing properties than the Earth, but are primarily governed by magic. Rogue describes them as places where everyone can magically breathe the atmosphere.

The collection of dimensions that make up a reality can be visualized as a spectrum based on their spatial magnitudes, and Earth's dimension can be arbitrarily placed in its center. Earth's universe possesses three spatial magnitudes. Close to Earth's universe can be encountered other dimensions which may still have three spatial magnitudes, but their natural laws may be different, like Polemachus. Outward of these can be found pocket dimensions like Asgard. Further outward there are universes whose number of spatial magnitudes is irrational and any human visual representation of these universes is necessarily distorted or incomplete. Among these are the Sixth Dimension and the Dimension of Dreams.

There are universes whose number of spatial magnitudes range between 2.̅7̅2̅6̅8̅4̅0̅9 and 6.̅2̅9̅8̅5̅9̅2̅3. Lower universes with fewer than the former digit or higher than the latter are vastly different than Earth's universe. The Dark Dimension is an example of this, since it possesses a greater number of spatial magnitudes than Earth's universe. In the Dark Dimension, gravity is weaker and electrical forces are inexistent due to the behavior of electrons. The Faltine in turn has an even greater number of magnitudes than the Dark Dimension, and it's only comprised of energy.

Known Dimensions

A full list of Dimensions can be found here.

(See Also: Reality, Universe, Pocket Dimension)

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Dimensional Travel

The process of leaving the space of our universe and entering that of another one, accomplished by physical, psychic, psionic, or magical means. The mechanics of dimension travel are unknown to all but a few.

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Divergence

The process by which parallel and virtually identical realities diverge in the unfolding of events upon reaching a certain point in time. At this point of divergence, an event occurs differently in each diverging reality, leading to different chains of causality in the separate realities. Divergence is similar to the "many worlds" theory of quantum mechanics, in which an event with two possible outcomes gives rise to two universes, one for each outcome.

(See Also: Alternate Reality)

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Glossary:Divergent Earth

Doom's Day

Doom's Day is a holiday in Latveria. It is an eclectic holiday that is celebrated whenever the ruler of Latveria, Doctor Doom, declares it. Thus, the exact date is variable. Apparently, the people of Latveria enjoy this holiday despite the fact that Doom has ordered them to.

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Glossary:Doppelgangers

Dust of Death
Name	Dust of Death
Owners
Current Owner(s)	Red Skull
Physical Characteristics
Type	Poison
Origin
Reality	Earth-616
Lead Designer	Red Skull
Creators and Appearances
Creators	Steve Englehart, Herb Trimpe
First	Captain America #184 (January, 1975)
First	Captain America #184 (January, 1975)

History

The Red Skull's most infamous personal weapon was his so-called "dust of death". It is a dust created by Red Skull with an unknown chemical composition, that kills his prey by making contact with the victim's skin, causing the skin on the victim's head to tighten, shrivel, and take on a red discoloration, while at the same time causing all the hair on the victim's head to fall out; as a result, the victim's corpse appears to have a "red skull"/"masque of the red death" for a head. The Red Skull would many times dispense "the dust of death" from a large cigarette holder, while appearing to have been smoking a cigarette immediately before blowing the "dust" at his intended victim. The Skull could also fire his "dust of death" from a special handgun. While committing murders with this weapon, the Skull often hummed, whistled, or played a tape recording of Chopin's funeral march, which was also the Skull's trademark music when he committed murders in the early 1940's.

Notes

• It is very similar to the Joker's Joker Venom or Laughing Gas

Links and References

References

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