Leviathan Theory - Clues In Event Leviathan #2

My Leviathan Theory basically is that Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle, is Leviathan.

The seed was all the Watchmen overtones I saw in the initial clues. That led me into thinking the Leviathan group is basically the Charlton Heroes of Earth-4 now united by Ted to be the Leviathan organization. Between Monarch-looking enforcers and a high ranking female Leviathan operative, I can easily see Captain Atom and Nightshade in the mix.

Moreover, I have this sense that this Ted has seen it all ... or remembers it all. He remembers being killed by Max Lord, at the time the head of Checkmate. He remembers the betrayals and the Crises. He is spurred to action.

And in last week's Event Leviathan #2, several clues were dropped which help bolster my opinion.

I already covered all the clues from the solicited cover here. Looks like my thoughts on the cover being an homage of Justice League #1 was on the money. On Twitter, artist Alex Maleev said it was not coincidence the cover looked that way.

Now, let's take a look into the issue and start a deeper dive. And get ready for a long read. Because conspiracy theories can be rambling.

We'll start out with one of the first exchanges in the Leviathan conversation with Plastic Man.

Of course Plas is quipping away, never taking anything seriously.

And look, Leviathan laughs! He says 'HA!'.

Now when I look at other theories - Roy Harper, Martian Manhunter, Jason Todd, and others - none of those guys seem likely to laugh at something as stupid as that comment.

But Ted Kord?

Well, he is as well known for his 'Bwa-ha-ha' as he is for his adventures.

More than any other clue in this issue, that simple 'ha' made me think I'm right.

But wait, there's more.

Leviathan knew who Batgirl was.

Now we learn he knows who Plastic Man is. He calls Plas 'Patrick'! How many people know what Eel O'Brien's real name is?

And this exchange makes it seem like they know each other from the Justice League. Now I don't know if Blue Beetle and Plastic Man have ever officially been on the roster.

But between all the continuities and all the reserves, they have crossed paths.

Of course all this assumes my theory that this Ted Kord somehow knows all the continuities, has seen all the timelines.

And this is shown when he rattles off all the groups that Plastic Man has been a part of in Plas' history, including the All Star Squadron and the Freedom Fighters. I doubt this Plastic Man has been around since WWII. But more importantly, I don't think those groups even exist in the current DCU continuity. Whoever this Leviathan is, he has seen the big picture.

That makes this exchange, where Leviathan admits he comes from a broken world which almost killed them. And that made Leviathan step back and reassess.

Maybe Ted Kord saw himself get killed by Max Lord and realizes that while that continuity is gone, the remnants remain. Maybe he realized that he had to stop that possible outcome from happening and the best way to do that was to destroy all the intelligence organizations (like Checkmate) and to take over peacefully.

Or maybe that broken world is the original Earth 4, the broken world almost destroyed before being molded into the main Earth? And maybe, given all the Watchmen overtones, he has peeked into that completely broken world reality, has seen himself as Dan Dreiberg, and has decided to make things better.

Some of Leviathan's agents gear is similar to Batman's tech.

Ted Kord ran a technology company. He created all the Blue Beetle gear and gizmos he used. And he worked with Batman in the League. Maybe he learned something from the Dark Knight.

It all adds up to Ted Kord.

But wait, there's more.

Let's look less at Ted and more into the Charlton side of things.

The Leviathan agent from ARGUS was Casey Klebba. Even Batman knows that is probably a pseudonym.

Trying my best to unscramble the letters, I can't help but notice that Black is in there. One of The Peacemaker's identities in comics was Mitchell Black. (Essay Black? Yes, as Black?)  I also see Blake in there. Blake was the last name of The Comedian, the Peacemaker analog in Watchmen.

In fact if you replace Casey with K.C. then you can squint and make Blake/Black.

Of course, Klebba is an established character, Agent Dale Gunn's husband as shown in Sterling Gates' Vibe comic. So I might be looking in a wrong place. 

Finally my good friend Mart Gray in his review even points out that the Leviathan costume even looks like the Peacemaker's.

Yes, some of these clues could be attributed to the Martian Manhunter (broken world, almost dead). Some of these point to an Earth X incursion (the Enforcer is the Human Bomb, knowing all of Plastic Man's history).

But it is clear, Leviathan is Ted Kord.

This time I'm right.