It started off with Warren Ellis citing a Jonbar Hinge in Do Anything 012 (his Bleeding Cool column). I was interested in where the phrase had come from so there was only one recourse: Wikipedia – the fountain and end point of all pointless knowledge. Well the Jonbar Hinge (a small seemingly random event that causes a branch or divergence in history) page led to the Alien Space Bats page. These are plot device aliens that are also used to explain or to create a branch and divergence in history and like the Suicide Squid they originate on usenet (maybe somebody needs to do a Usenet Bestiary). The difference between the Jonbar Hinge and the Alien Space Bats is that the latter creates a branch point that no longer relies on any sense of logic or science (e.g., what if magic suddenly reappeared).

Now think back to the events of DC’s 52 comic where Mister Mind, in Hyperfly mode, is rampaging through the Multiverse. This flight/feeding creates divergent histories in each of the 52 parallel universes.Well, those wings look more Bat-like than Moth-like to me. Could Mister Mind be a literal Alien Space Bat, a tip of the hat prehaps?