Plot
During a party with the Authority, where King is increasingly annoyed with his former teammates and their methods, the Weavers contact King and inform him that the universe as they know it is threatened by Chimaera. To combat Chimaera, King and Trelane have to gather a group of unique individuals. King and Trelane accept, leave their jobs with the U.N. as liaisons to the Authority, get married and disappear. The U.N. orders FBI agent Morro to investigate their disappearance.
Over the next few months King and Trelane gather resources from all over the world; they resurrect the superhero Union, free the chaos-artist Condition Red from his imprisonment and enlist Professor Q. King and Treland then enlist Jon Farmer, who had been a member of a previous, alternate version of the Monarchy called the Throne. Farmer had been living as a priest for years, but King and Trelane convince him to join them. King and Treland then obtain some essential weapons: a Kheran Dream Engine and an unrevealed weapon in exchange for the spirit of Hitler, who had possessed a politician. Their next recruit is Addie Vochs, a Century Baby whose powers had been repressed by the Fever Men, evil creatures of pure thought. Vochs is rejuvenated and receives her powers.
King then investigates the former home of Henry Bendix, a genius and his former superior. He finds information on creating a powerful being by binding an ancient Native American god to the soul of a human. King follows the instructions, tying the spirit of Los Angeles to the failed superhero Bram Dusk, but the resulting creature turns on King and kills him. In the end, Dusk manages to take control and becomes the Metropolitan.
Chimaera notices the threat of the Monarchy while the Monarchy find out what exactly Chimaera is: due to the Authority's frequent travels through the Bleed, their characteristics and aggression were imprinted on many worlds, resulting in several alternate versions of the Authority banded together and went on to conquer other worlds, forming Chimaera, an ever-expanding empire of evil Authorities led by the Higher Power, a reptilian version of the Authority. Chimaera attacks the Throne, the base of the Monarchy. The Monarchy manages to escape thanks to the Jon Farmer’s sacrifice.
Trelane leads her people towards a sanatorium where Malcolm King, Jackson's younger brother, is staying. Agent Morro is questioning Malcolm, but finds Malcolm has the Kheran Dream Engine and is a member of the Monarchy. Morro suddenly starts to remember a hidden program Jackson King put in his mind: he's King's backup and has King's plans telepathically planted inside his mind. Christine arrives and greets Malcolm, while Addie Vochs calms Morro. The Monarchy regroups and opens their attack on Chimaera following the plans Jackson left in Morro's head.
Elsewhere Henry Bendix, somehow still alive and now allied with the Weavers, finds the spirit of Jackson King and resurrects him as an imaginary being; a being of pure willpower. He contacts the essence of Farmer and shapes it into a sword. Bendix also reveals the secret weapon they received in return for the spirit of Hitler: It is Fenris, the mythological wolf of Norse myth. King, Bendix and Fenris attack Chimaera as well.
Together they defeat the troops of Chimaera and Trelane leads Malcolm and Addie Vochs to combine their powers, curing Chimaera's corrupted center. Trelane recruits a young boy, Matt, with the power to create superhumans for the new Monarchy, starting their expansion of the team and takes them to their new Throne, a mobile world.
Jackson King appears in the Authority: Human on the Inside graphic novel, which takes place after the events of The Monarchy series, and appears to be alive in human form and not the being of pure imagination that he was at the end of The Monarchy series. In Stormwatch: P.H.D. #5, it is hinted that the events of The Monarchy were a drug-induced hallucination experienced by King that was caused by the Doctor. King says: "At that party on the Carrier, he dosed my drink with LSD or something. I felt like I was tripping for a year."
Read more about this topic: The Monarchy (comics)
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