Glossary:D
From Marvel Database
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Darkforce
An unknown form of extradimensional energy that manifests itself in our universe as a non-reflective, highly opaque, black substance. Certain adepts use psychic, psionic, or magical means to draw this energy into our dimension and use it in various ways.
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Daywalker
In Earth-19980821 continuity, Daywalker is a term used to describe a rare person who is born half-human and half-vampire. The term is conterminous with the Balkan folklore legend of a dhampir. The benefit of being a Daywalker is that they have all of a vampire's strengths, but none of their weaknesses. The term has also been used in Earth-616 continuity.
(See Also: Earth-19980821; Blade; Eric Brooks (Earth-19980821))
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Death
The cessation of all life functions in a living being, causing its life essence (also known as consciousness, spirit, or soul) to depart the physical body. Certain life essences have temporarily continued to exist in known realities after death, clad in the astral body. An astral body whose physical form has died is called a ghost. The final fate of the life essence or soul after death is not known to science.
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Death (Entity)
The quasi-physical ectoplasmic being who embodies death.
(See Also: Death (Cosmic Entity))
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Death Gods
Superhuman beings who generally dwell on extradimensional worlds and who have at least temporary control of certain ghosts. These beings are sometimes physical and sometimes ectoplasmic.
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Demon
A godlike being whose form and functions have degenerated to the point that it preys upon the living in some way.
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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.
Dimension
A universe or realm containing space, matter, and energy which is separated from our own universe by some physical difference in the space, matter, and energy itself.
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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 a single reality splits into two nearly identical realities 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.
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Divergent Earth
An Earth with a history identical to ours up to a critical event, which has an outcome different from the one in our world (see Divergence above). There is an infinite number of possible divergent Earths, but the actual number is unknown (and possibly unknowable). Divergent Earths exist in the same location in other realities. A divergent Earth is an alternate Earth but not a parallel Earth.
- Actually, having an infinite number of possible divergent Earths would require one of (1) time to be infinite going backwards (its not), (2) there are events with an infinite number of possible outcomes (unlikely), (3) there are an infinite number of events (impossible, time is quantized). At which point, the number is incredibly large, but still finite.
- Further, given the universe has a finite amount of mass, the total possible number of configurations of the universe is finite, even if the number is incomprehensibly large. Thus, since divergent earths are merely alternate arrangements of matter, they are limited to a finite set.
Glossary:D
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.
Doom's Day is not related to Doomsday (End of the World).
(See Also: Domains of Doom)
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Doppelgangers
A doppelgänger is 'the ghostly double of a living person'.
In the vernacular, "Doppelgänger" has come to refer to any double or look-alike of a person—most commonly an "evil twin". The literal translation of the German word is "doublewalker", meaning someone who is acting (e.g. walking) the same way as another person. The word is also used to describe the sensation of having glimpsed oneself in peripheral vision, in a position where there is no chance that it could have been a reflection. They are generally regarded as harbingers of bad luck. In some traditions, a doppelgänger seen by a person's friends or relatives portends illness or danger, while seeing one's own doppelgänger is an omen of death. In Norse mythology, a vardøger is a ghostly double who precedes a living person and is seen performing their actions in advance.
(See Also: Doppelganger)
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