Icon Vs. Hardware (2022)

Two titans of the Milestone Universe clash — and in the process, set in motion a chain of events leading to a story bigger than you could ever imagine! When Hardware discovers a long-suppressed time machine hidden in a government warehouse, his obsession with righting the wrongs of the past — those of both American history and his own tragic family — will unravel the fabric of time for the Milestone Universe. But while there are many problems with Hardware's plan, there's one big one: wherever he goes in America's last two centuries, Icon is there, having lived through it! And a man as powerful as Icon knows the profound danger of the forces Curtis Metcalf is unleashing...and he'll do whatever it takes to put the genie back in the bottle! Icon Vs Hardware is the official kickoff of Act One of Milestone's WORLDS COLLIDE event — and if you think you know what that phrase means, you'd better not get overconfident! This is the ideal jumping-on point for those who've sat out the story of Dakota so far, because this ride is headed somewhere unexpected!

With time itself under Hardware's control, the hierarchy of power in the Dakotaverse has changed! Having altered events so the Big Bang never happened, Curtis Metcalf now finds himself as the head of Alva Industries—but the world is still on the brink of chaos! Can Hardware stop his alternate-timeline self from dooming us all? Does he want to? Because if he won't, it'll fall to Icon...and crossing Icon is never wise!

Hardware's rampant tampering with the timeline is weakening the boundaries of reality and unraveling not just his own history, but the history of the entire Milestone Universe...and as the cracks in the walls of creation start to show, a terrifying threat emerges from a most unexpected place! The ending of this issue will shock you!

Hardware fooled around...and now he's found out! From outside the walls of the known universe comes a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable, and deeply unexpected enemy...Brainiac?! The events of this issue will alter the course of the Multiverse forever!

It all ends here as Icon and Hardware's battle against Brainiac sets these two titans on a surprising new course...with implications for every character in the Milestone Universe! Their world just got a lot bigger--and a lot more dangerous!