The montage cover of this issue appears to depict Earth and Moon with an asteroid heading towards them. Was an asteroid the catalyst of the deluge that turned Earth into Waterworld? "Children of Leviathan" Part 3 mentions that the subsurface Foundation had believed themselves to be the only human survivors of a "space-born" disaster. Also note that the earth on the cover appears to have only partially submerged continents, with half of Africa still seen. Yet this is seemingly before the asteroid will hit! Was the deluge a two-part disaster?

On page 1, the Mariner is sleeping, lulled by the rhythm of the endless ocean. The narration states, "Yet in such sleep, what dreams may come?" The phrase "what dreams may come?" is a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Panel 3 of page 1 depicts what appears to be the twin towers of the World Trade Center as a massive tidal wave looms towards it. The World Trade Center in New York City existed from 1973–2001 before it was destroyed by dual airliners colliding into it that had been hijacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001.

On page 3, the Mariner refers to the sea monster who harasses him as a whalefin. According to the Waterworld novelization, this is the same type of beast he killed to feed himself, Helen, and Enola in Waterworld.

    The Mariner has spent months constructing a new trimaran. This new one is armed with a mounted flame-thrower!

    In the "Notes from Dryland" behind-the-scenes section at the back of this issue, artist Kevin Kobasic suggests that this new trimaran was built partially from the fuselage of a jet fighter. 

On page 11, the Mariner dives down to Washington D.C., as evidenced by the Capitol Building and Washington Monument.

It is revealed that the Mariner has underwater treasure troves of old relics he's found. Partly, he uses them to barter for goods on the surface, but mostly he is trying to learn about the world's past and about how he himself came to be.

The human underwater dwellers are seen to wear old political buttons with slogans like ERA YES, FDR, and NIXON. ERA YES refers to the various proposed Equal Rights Amendments to the U.S. Constitution from 1923 to the current day; the ERA is meant to ensure equal rights under federal law regardless of gender, under the belief that women are often not treated equally to men in many legal circumstances. FDR is the initials of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States. NIXON refers to Richard Nixon, 37th president of the United States.

Richard carries what may be a tomato plant with him to greet the followers of Leviathan on page 18.

The boy the Mariner rescues from the sea is revealed in "Children of Leviathan" Part 2 to be named Carlos.

The ship known as the Church of Leviathan appears to be an old aircraft carrier.

This issue implies that the Deacon seen as the leader of the Smokers in Waterworld was just one of many Deacons who serve Leviathan. This also seems to be confirmed in "Children of Leviathan" Part 3.