Synopsis
Last issue Night Man was chasing the villain Chalk, a murdered man who appears only as the chalk outline that was drawn round his dead body. Chalk entered Dr Lao's Magic Shop looking for a new weapon. But a horned vision (who we know is Loki) appeared claiming that a certain yellow gemstone was the strongest weapon here, and that from henceforth Chalk would be his minion. But Chalk grabbed the gem instead and Loki destroyed him for it. Then NM arrived on the scene.
Now the horned man goes into a villain rant explaining his identity and plan. He says he's got rid of Chalk because he had the gemstone he wanted. He declares that he's a god Loki who ruled Asgard (with a few petty obstructions) but was dragged to this realm where he discovered the presence of gems like this which will allow him to rule this universe unopposed. Night Man counters that it's his job to stop people like him. He attacks but Loki hurls him away to land next to the thing which the Asgardian calls the Reality Gem. Johnny Domino picks up the Gem and faces Loki. But the villain asks if he really did that, and Johnny turns to see a duplicate of himself without the Gem. And the duplicate sees him as Loki who got to the Gem 1st, until the real Loki kills him.
Loki explains that reality is composed of multiple choices, and to the Reality Gem they're all equally real. So when he reached for the Gem he either got it or he didn't. And Loki just killed the version that failed. Night Man says he'll keep the Gem and leave. But then an alternate pops up who throws it down. It's Loki who leaves until NM sorts himself out. The number of Night Men keeps doubling as they keep making choices some of which get them killed. Until 1 of them uses the Gem to become all possibilities at once and become one with the universe - but he dissipates into everywhere.
Another version with the Gem decides instead that he must get rid of all the others. He chooses 1st to get rid of all versions without the Gem because they represent choices he would *never* have made. That happens to leave 7 copies who enter into a philosophical discussion over who is the original. But 1 declares that the real NM is the 1 who wants life the most and he starts a free-for-all. 6 of the Night Men are involved but the 7th watches as 1-by-1 they drop their Gems which all roll together. He leaps on that pile a commands all 7 Gems to destroy the other NMs. But nothing happens so all the others turn to fighting over the chance to try it for themselves, until for 1 NM it works and he's left alone with only 1 Gem.
The remaining JD says he now understands the power and peril of the Reality Gem, and he makes the final decision. To keep the Gem to fight Loki. To throw it away again. Loki returns to confront these 2 NMs, and this time he picks up the discarded gem and uses it to kill the 1 who kept it. He teleports away with the Gem. And NM doesn't notice another surviving copy of himself lurking in the shadows.