Hey everyone. So, I'm no Sentinels lore junkie. I've always wanted to get into the lore and understand it better, and I've been trying to piece together tidbits from the card art and flavor text, but it's been difficult finding absolute information out there to help me connect all the dots. The wiki helps a lot with a few references, but I haven't found a good source for getting up to date with the lore or finding past info, other than going through backlogs upon backlogs of forum posts.
So I apologize in advance if any of this information has already been discovered or thought up. I just got my Wrath of the Cosmos and have been reading through the cards; this is what I've found and what my thoughts are on the direction the Multiverse is headed.
Revelation 1: Captain Cosmic and Infinitor got their powers from Progeny.
On the Progeny description in the rulebook, it says that a cosmic object arced through space and drove into the heart of the planet Earth. In Captain Cosmic's bio, the description says that he and his brother, stargazers, saw a "brilliant purple energy in the sky" (much like the purple aura and eyes of Progeny) which then crashed into the hillside. Growing in its wake, they came across the crystals that would give them their power. Notice as well, they described it as a brilliant purple energy; not a comet or a meteorite. Being stargazers, they would be able to recognize what the object was, but instead, they call it a purple energy.
Revelation 2: Progeny is the precursor to Cosmic Entity's arrival (I know I'm pointing out the obvious here).
The word Progeny means a "descendant" essentially and we know that Progeny is a "creation" of its master. It's entire purpose is to become the harbinger of destruction and prepare for its masters arrival. I'd also assume that Progeny was sent to the earth years ago, but lay dormant beneath the surface for quite some time until "cosmic events transpired" which sparked it to life. Whatever these "cosmic events" are, they are referenced many times through Deadline, but more on that later.
Revelation 3: The Enclave of the Endlings is an order/realm that protects and preserves the last of extinct species
This shouldn't be a surprise, considering the word Endling means "something of the last of its kind/species". Their "leader" or mother figure, the Terminarch (another term for last of its kind), says that she has a soothing prescense to all of the endlings. We also know that the Enclave protects these creatures from all dangers, including Time itself. It is a realm that exists outside of any threat and remains so in the name of preservation. In the Hall of the Terminarch card, the flavor text says "Jansa vi Dero knew she would have a time with this young race, but not yet..." as she talks with a young Legacy and Black Fist. This could be either foresight i.e. the end is nigh and she knows of Cosmic Entity's arrival. Or it could be her simply observing the innevitable; that eventually all species will become extinct at some point.
Revelation 4: Deadline is an endling, and one who has suffered the same fate as the one that seemingly approaches the Milky Way Galaxy and Earth.
It says that he notices the Cosmic Events circling around the Milky Way and instantly knows it's another extinction event. Here are the interesting tidbits that have been drawing many questions: For one, he seems to think that the destruction of the Planet (he's not directly killing people, but is focused on destroying the planet itself through extreme courses of nature) is what will slow, if not stop, the Cosmic Events. Here are my thoughts: Either (a) he knows that Progeny is hidden somewhere beneath the Earth's surface, lying dormant and awaiting its master's arrival, and his destruction of the Earth is to draw out or kill Progeny. Or (b) Cosmic Entity is some sort of planet eater, like Galactus, a being that exists to consume planets and their energy. Perhaps he thinks that destroying the planet will disuade Cosmic Entity from consuming it? Either way, Deadline knows a lot more about it than we do.
Another interesting tidbit are the objects Deadline carries with thim. There is a metal ring and a few different sized metal balls along with (gasp) a Crystal! I'm wondering if this Crystal is a remnant of the destruction of his own planet. It seems to possess amazing destructive abilities; he can summon hurricanes, raise mountains into the city, erupt volcanos, and even reverse the planet's polarity. These crystals are definitely tied to the "end" that's to come, which he hints at in the flavor text. "To save the multiverse, I have become my greatest fear." He is using the very Crystal that helped destroy his own planet to pre-emptively end another planet. He has literally become the destroyer that haunts him; the one that killed off his entire race.
One more object in question is the Pandemonium Key. All we know is that there is a picture of the galaxy and some strange symbols on it. The flavor text is from the Terminarch who says "The truths seen in the key are not yet fully true..." Does this mean that the Pandemonium key is what allowed Deadline to see the "future" of what is going to happen to the Milky Way? Also, does the quote from the Terminarch mean that this future is preventable? That there is still time to stop what the Key seems to be predicting?
Interesting Connection 1: The Time Crazed Prisoner seems to know of these Cosmic Events; what else does he know? What is F.I.L.T.E.R.'s role in all of this?
The following is written on the walls of the Time Crazed Prisoner's cell: "No way out...it will be soon..." "All will end as one" "The future is gone" "It sends its servant" "The Guards know" "Concentric Worlds" "Each will fall" and of course "The Child is the center".
Frist off, "It sends its servant" is now an obvious reference to Progeny being sent by the Cosmic Entity to prepare the world for destruction. It's only purpose is to serve and destroy. Second, what does "The Guards know" mean? The guards are agents of FILTER and we know that the nemesis of Progeny is KNYFE an agent (ex agent?) of FILTER. There's a connection here that I'm not quite making.
Concentric Worlds is interesting as well. Concentric means two circular objects that share the same center, and we have seen a lot of reference to the cosmic events "circling" the multiverse, as if following a pattern. Last, The Child is the center could be referring to the Dreamer. The shattering of the timelines (if I remember right) was caused by Visionary going back in time and essentially helping to change the future. Could it be that the disruption of the Timelines is what is drawing Cosmic Entity to the milky way galaxy?
Interesting Connection 2: Multiple timelines means multiple ways for the world to end.
I think there are multiple ways the Multiverse can come to an end, and these are seen in Nightmist's cards. The first isd Astral Premonition, which shows a silhouette of Apostate, surrounded by fire. The text says "I will not allow you to ravage this world as you have others." This points to Apostate being a possible cause of the end of the world (also as evidenced in his Apocalpyse card).
In the card Mists of Time, events seem to transpire in different ways. The first panel shows Voss, but all gray with a stoney appearance, with glowing purples eyes. This is him returning from the Mists he was trapped in with new found abilities perhaps? Could he be another way the world is ended? Also, we see a panel of the entire Earth with a giant Akash'Bhuta face essentially composed of the entire planet. Another end could be Akash finally overcoming the Vituosso's attempt at subduing her and sending the entire world into chaos. Last, we see a being composed entirely of the stars, reaching out for a planet. I assume this is Cosmic Entity and is the way this current timeline is slated to end.
What does this all mean?
Well, I haven't the slightest. Like I said, my knowledge of the lore isn't very deep, but I'm trying to understand it all better and need help connecting the dots. I also would love for anyone to correct me on anything I said that was probably wrong. But regardless here is my speculation:
The Final Boss will be Cosmic Entity. His Nemesis? Everyone. All of the villains in the last SotM will be different villain decks for Cosmic Entity; think of this as a multiple part final battle that's drawn out over multiple phases, progressively getting harder and harder.
Also, I think a few Villains will be coming back as Promo cards, particularly Voss, Akash'Bhuta, and Apostate
I also don't really know what I'm talking about... so take this all with a grain of salt.