List of The Authority story arcs
Here's a shorter, easy-to-understand guide to the main story arcs in The Authority's long run:
- Kaizen Gamorra and the first public clash
The Authority rise to stop Kaizen Gamorra, a Stormwatch foe turned enemy. He uses engineered supersoldiers to attack Moscow and then London. They fail to save London but predict a third attack in Los Angeles, which is avoided with heavy civilian casualties.
- The Sliding Albion parallel world
The Authority face an invasion from Sliding Albion, a parallel Britain. Jenny Sparks has met them before, and this world’s open contact between aliens and humans created a Victorian-style empire. After pushing back the initial wave, Jenny takes the Carrier into Sliding Albion to destroy London and Italy and the alien regime there. She broadcasts a stark message: “We are the Authority. Behave.” This arc also reveals Apollo and Midnighter’s relationship.
- The God arc and the late 1999 crisis
Strange alien structures appear in Africa and on the Moon as the old Doctors reveal a critical secret: the original creator of Earth has returned to reclaim humanity. The Creator (the “God”) is terraforming Earth to suit itself, preparing a moon-sized pyramid for its arrival. The Authority pilot the Carrier into the God’s brain, facing immune systems and centuries-old parasites. Jenny Sparks dies in the final moments of 1999, leaving Jenny Quantum as the Spirit of the Twenty-First Century.
- The rise of Jenny Quantum and Doctor Krigstein
Jenny Quantum becomes the new Spirit but is soon captured by Dr. Jacob Krigstein, who wants to shape the next century through her power. Swift makes a deal to gain custody for Jenny while Krigstein uses lab space aboard the Carrier to pursue his experiments and manipulate dictatorships.
- The Kursk-like pole shift and the reset of Earth
The Earth faces a dangerous reversal of its magnetic poles, driven by a renegade Doctor who loses his powers. The Authority evacuate humanity to alternate Earths in a desperate exchange for the Doctor’s full power. The renegade is overwhelmed by empathy for living beings and is killed by the Doctor and Apollo’s team; the world is saved, and Jenny Quantum grows into her role.
- Monarchy crossover and Seth’s takeover
The story moves toward a political turn as the G7 nations want a government more under their control. They unleash a weapon that creates a new, militarized Authority (a “Monarchy” version) with leaders patterned after the original team (e.g., Union Flag-colonel after Jenny Sparks, Rush after Swift, and others). The new team discovers thousands of refugees sheltering on the Carrier and tries to dump them into a realm called Re-Space. The refugees reimagine the world and overtake the new Authority, in a clash that ends with the original team being reasserted.
- Brave New World and the fall of the new Authority
The old Authority are mind-wiped and forced into humbler lives, while Midnighter infiltrates the Carrier to free his partner Apollo. Together they kill the rest of the new Authority, ending the regime after Seth’s thwarted control. The original members regroup, and the pair eventually marry and adopt baby Jenny, a landmark moment in superhero relationships.
- Viceworld, Reality Incorporated, and big crossovers
The Authority confront a massive threat from Viceworld, a casino-sized world, then inter-dimensional suicide bombers in Chicago. Reality Incorporated—an evil multiversal corporation—plans to enslave worlds for fossil fuels. The Authority defeats Reality Inc.’s fleet with a bomber’s sacrifice, restoring balance.
- The Sons of Liberty and Bendix’s rise
The old-guard heroes, the Sons of Liberty, rally against the Authority, led by a hooded man with his own Carrier. An aged Apollo warns Midnighter of a future where Authority rule becomes a dictatorship. In the White House battle, a nuclear blast destroys Washington, and Bendix, a former Weatherman, seizes power in the Authority’s absence.
- Three years later and Bendix’s reveal
The Wildstorm world has changed: Hawksmoor and the Engineer travel the multiverse for pleasure; Midnighter fights crime while Apollo guards their adopted daughter; Swift retires; the Doctor seems dead. Jenny Quantum, now a teen, discovers a “Garden of Ancestral Memory” and learns Bendix has been manipulating events. She travels to meet the past Jennies and Doctors, then returns to unite the Authority to face Bendix.
- The Bendix saga ramps up and Habib Ben Hassan
Bendix uses Rose Tattoo (the Spirit of Murder) and a young Palestinian suicide bomber named Habib Ben Hassan as part of his plot. Habib’s power is captured and hidden, but Bendix’s plan still spirals toward crisis. Jenny Quantum’s plan to reunite the Doctors and Jennies culminates in a final effort to stop Bendix.
- The Captain Atom crossover and the universe reboot
Captain Atom from the DCU appears in the Wildstorm world and destabilizes the universe. The Authority try to help him return home, but Atom’s presence triggers a catastrophe that costs the lives of several Authority members. Void, now in Captain Atom’s body, reclaims her power and destroys and reboots the entire universe.
- Parallel Earth, the Dead Carrier, and the parasite threat
The Authority’s Carrier ends up stranded on a low-energy parallel Earth. The Doctor realizes this world is parasite-driven chaos and that the Authority’s fate hinges on confronting a Lovecraftian parasite feeding on the planet’s population. Ken, a survivor, agrees to help, but sacrifices himself to power a desperate plan that ends in mass death on the planet before the Carrier can escape.
- World’s End and Unlondon
After the Number of the Beast events, Earth becomes a haunted, damaged place called Unlondon. The Authority fights to protect what remains. Swift transmits news and care for birds; Apollo and Midnighter live apart to survive; Hawksmoor and Angela Spica inhabit the Carrier’s wreck, now a ruined safehouse for survivors. The story closes with a battered, resilient team trying to pick up the pieces in a world changed forever.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:55 (CET).