Table of Contents
Crisis on infinite Earths Review
Crisis on infinite Earths Story Breakdown
Top 5 “Crisis on Infinite Earths” Moments
Top 5 Dismaying “Crisis on Infinite Earths” Moments
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS REVIEW
“In the beginning, there was only one, a single black infinitude…” These are the first words of Issue # 1 of Crisis on Infinite Earths. An ominous start to such a weighty tome. It wouldn’t sound out of place as the first words to some ancient parable or religious manuscript. Or a renowned, well-worn fairy-tale. It sets a tone. It says that this story will be epic in scale and dense in content. It will tread confidently into unknown territory, but with a comfortable familiarity. And what we have always known to be sacred will be fair game.
This story came into being from lofty ambitions in mind. From the outset, it was always designed to be more than just a ‘compelling’ story to be told. Interestingly, this is not a “superman” story or a “Batman” story, or a story from any perspective of a familiar character from the DC library, but lends, purposefully, from as many characters available in the DC catalogue as possible. This opens up the scope of possibility for surprises far and wide and establishes early an adventure of many discoveries. It also makes for an excellent and attractive jumping on point for new readers. I imagine many Marvel readers would have tried this out based on the lack of a familiar protagonist. This isn’t a “Wonder Woman” or “Flash” book. It’s something new and all-together different.
There was no subtly to its intent. No secret was made of a need to weave a tale in continuity, that would give the DC Universe, DC readers and comic fans new and old alike a singular version of their characters. To no longer invite confusion as to what version of history of a certain character is being told. No more “Earth One Superman” or “Earth Two Batman”, just “Superman” and “Batman”.
Yes. That’s much better. Smiley face.
So, the challenge was set. Long-time comic book and top selling Teen Titans writer Marv Wolfman blew the dust off an old idea and moulded it into a solution for DC editorial.
Crisis on Infinite Earths.
A big, bold, brash title. The word ‘crisis’ leans strong into DC history as well as the origins of the problem, borrowing from previous popular stories the utilise the ‘crisis’ theme. What started with the Earth One and Two Flash’s meeting for the first time in “Flash of Two-Worlds!” and begun utilising the ‘crisis’ moniker with the like of the more well-known stories ‘Crisis on Earth One’ & ‘Crisis on Earth Two’. The reference to “Infinite Earths” hints at calling out the problem. The title’s reference of ‘crisis’ also holds true on many levels. Not only does the crisis exist for DC’s many universes but it can also describe (albeit hyperbolically) as a “crisis” for DC editorial and their readership at large. All these multiple universes were muddying some very deep waters.
So how do you solve a problem like Earths 1, 2, 3, X, etc…?
A multi-universal problem needs a multi-universal solution. Marv Wolfman starts with showing us the scope of the problem, the status quo, and bit by bit shrinks that scope through a process of elimination, culling down the universes to just the players we’re familiar with. As the ‘problem’ gets smaller (infinite amount of universes, down to 5 universes, then to 2 universes, and eventually down to 1 universe) the threat level increases (the targets get narrower). The ‘threat’ (the antimatter wave, shadow demons and the power of the Anti-Monitor) is all conveniently (purposely?) vague which allows for the flexibility of consequence to suit whatever outcome is necessary to push forward the plot. Marv Wolfman gets away with these Deus Ex Machina plot devices by leaning heavily into the drama of the threat level and the emotional toll on our favourite DC heroes.
Which brings us to another story element that allows a fresh freedom and uncertainty to the story: a brand-new set of central characters. As I mentioned, this is no singular DC Heroes’ journey. In fact, all of our familiar characters are reactive, not proactive. They are all necessary story elements that advance the plot. Levers to pull in service to machinations of others. It’s this new set of 6 players that establish the drama and motivates the secondary characters around them. And because these 6 are largely unknown, the readers are kept guessing at the roles each play and how they came to be involved in all this cosmic foolishness. Our new central cast are a lively and colourful bunch: The Monitor, The Anti-Monitor, Lyla / Harbinger, Psycho-Pirate (maybe not “new” but definitely previously under-utilised), Alexander Luthor and Pariah.
Our two main catalyst characters, The Monitor and The Anti-Monitor are, as you would wager from the names, direct and polar opposites of each other. And not just figuratively but literally, as their origins open up to us we learn they are mirror counterparts of each other. The theme of opposites or mirroring is synonymous throughout the series. Positive matter universe vs anti-matter universe. The Monitors technologically advanced satellite vs The Anti-Monitors castle on an otherwise barren rock asteroid. Naïve and loyal Lyla vs her powered-up counterpart, the confident and capable Harbinger. Even the anguished, guilt-ridden Pariah, often paralysed and pained from his perceived original sin is at odds against his actions when helping the heroes, finding a cause for redemption born out of fear and desperation that he would never have thought possible or believes he would deserve. The design of some pages even continue this theme with panel layouts mirroring one page aligned with another, the artwork juxtaposing one action against another or the drama of human reaction side by side with cosmic peril.
The Monitor and Anti-Monitor are games masters, playing a chess match, moving their pieces across the board. The Monitor has a strategy while The Anti-Monitor is all offense. They gather their players, wind up their motivations and watch their toys go.
Alexander Luthor is the wild card. The only survivor of Earth-3, his origins mirror (there’s that theme again) the origins of the Superman we all know and love. Sent off in a rocket away from a dying universe at the last second into a different dimension for a chance at a life in a strange land. His transportation at a young age across dimensions imbued him with both positive and negative energy, his development from an infant to adulthood accelerated at an enormous rate to an age that allows him to properly service the plot. His abilities are never explained and are often a mystery even to himself allowing him step up and bridge one plot line with another. When the story requires a device to explain a “how” or provide answers to a “why” we have Alex Luthor to provide that service, often with little or no explanation.
Pariah is such an intriguing character. He is the first of these new characters to appear in the series and is a genuine curiosity from the outset. His origins and the role he plays is wonderfully teased out throughout the story. The well-named Pariah is destined to appear on the Earth of the universe that the Anti-Monitor is about to destroy. Just as the universe is about to be completely absorbed he is whisked away to the universe that’s up next on the Anti-Monitors menu, forced to confront the terror before its end. He is the only living witness to the end of the multiverses, cursed to watch the confusion and panic of the different cultures and societies before the anti-matter wave takes the lot. Unable to affect the outcome, he is cursed to watch helplessly as civilisation after civilisation is destroyed in front of his eyes. Pariah is the character most closely associated with the reader. He is the one we empathise with and who shows us just how high the stakes are, and provides the context regarding how tense, dramatic and horrific the threat is. Without Pariah, the story lacks an emotional hook. Without Pariahs pain and angst, depictions of the end of each universe would be just another crazy comic book troupe. He is the readers emotional barometer throughout the story. His confusion is our confusion. His panic alerts us to danger. His guilt and doubt trigger sympathy and we want him to find redemption. He is pushed and shoved from one drama to the next, reacting to each new situation and trauma. His helplessness, his dire warnings, his constant pleading for help, his want for relief, for answers. He is our guide, our eyes, our narrator, our emotional pulse. He is the most important character in the series. Without Pariahs journey it’s just another comic book.
Harbinger / Lyla and Psycho-Pirate are opposites of each other, yet another example of mirroring in the series. Each works for their Monitor counterparts, each have a driving force to turn against their Monitor leader. Lyla is a loving, caring, loyal assistant, Psycho-Pirate is motivated by fear, intimidation and greed. Each have their role to play and for the most part used as tools against their alternate Monitor. Both treads very tragic paths and both come through with very different ends.
I recall as a child watching the old “Super Friends” cartoon in the early ‘80s. Even then I remember thinking it a bit corny. The heroes were vaguely familiar to me but the villains, they were always so much more interesting. They were all mostly unknowns to me compared to the heroes. Colourful costumes, unknown powersets, mysterious motivations and always up to no good. I remember the joy of discovery as these strange, flamboyant characters would unveil more about themselves, what they were capable of, their diverse origins. But most of all I loved the all-in brawls. The full roster of the Justice League vs the full complement of the Legion of Doom. So much action, so much going on and you were guaranteed to see your favourite characters! In Crisis of Infinite Earths, Marv Wolfman takes this concept to whole new levels. Every colourful character from DC’s rich, long history pops up in some way, shape or form. Marv Wolfman himself stated he wanted to include all the heroes created to that point (which he almost did, Green Lantern Hal Jordan being a major exception, strangely) and it’s safe to say you could find the majority of the reoccurring villains as well. That joy of discovery is truly alive here in this series. Only the most ardent of fans would be familiar with all characters represented. Even Marv and George did years of research to properly include and showcase so many.
And this is George Perez at his best. His attention to detail is well known as one of his strengths as an artist. Few other artists could possibly bring alive the sheer volume of characters here with the level of accuracy in their design and abilities, their vibrancy of their actions and their personalities. In fact, I have criminally understated so far the influence of the success of this book due to George Perez’s talents. It may have started with Marv Wolfman but it lives and breathes through the pencils of George Perez’s art. He is a master and this work showcases the high-end of his capabilities. Pick a random page from any issue and there is a good chance you’ll find a wide range of characters to explore.
This is the other “Major character” of the book. Everyone. Your personal favourite. They’re all in there, the entire DC Universe. The threat is real enough to affect all characters from all timelines and they all deserve a moment in the glow of the red skies. There are elements of nostalgia at play here. Even if this is the first comic you pick up, you would recognise Batman hunting his arch-villains, Superman feats of strength, Wonder Woman’s heroics. Or a familiarity to THAT comic you loved. And that joy of discovery is a true pleasure as you are led through these pages.
Let’s take a look at the story itself. Before I deep dive into the plot, I’ll break down the story first, and there is a hell of a lot of story. All of which is packed into 12 issues, including a few that have a higher page count than normal. The story was published about 35 years ago, so yes, this WILL be spoiler heavy.
The story of Crisis on Infinite Earths can be broken down in 4 key story plot points:
Plot point # 1 – The Monitor’s Plan. Issues 1 to 4.
Heroes are hand-picked to defend the Monitors’ ‘tuning forks’, devices that strengthen the dimensional walls of the different multiverses against the threat of the anti-matter wave that destroys everything, all matter that makes up the universe.
Plot point # 2 – Alexander Luthor’s Plan. Issues 5 to 8.
The most powerful of the heroes on the few remaining Earths are again recruited to confront the Anti-Monitor directly and destroy his machines which is causing the remaining Earths to merge (which isn’t a good thing) as well as his Anti-Matter Cannon. Like Batman, the Anti-Monitor was apparently big on corporate branding.
Plot point # 3 – The Spectre’s Plan. Issues 9 to 10.
All the Super-Villains band together and seize the opportunity to attack and are confronted by their Super-Hero counterparts. The Spectre steps in and sets them all on the path to save the universe with missions that require travelling back in the past. The Super Heroes follow the Anti-Monitor to the beginning of the multiverse as we know it to confront him from ending everything before it even begins. The Super Villains travel to OA and try to stop the creation of the Anti-Monitor.
Plot point # 4 – Harbinger’s Plan. Issues 11 to 12.
It’s not over yet. Just when you think the Anti-Monitor is down and out, he comes back, again and again and again… But the threat is finally over and we are left with one Earth, one history and one DC Universe in one neat little package. For now.
The story feels purposely set with episodic breaks, the tone formulaic, like an equation to be solved. The answers come in waves: Action, pause for plot advancement. Action, pause for plot advancement. Action, pause for plot advancement. Action, epilogue. The breaks within the story are pretty distinct yet not explicit in the chapter labels or titling.
But let us delve deeper into the story. Besides Heroes trying to stop the Bad Guy and the existential threat, we’re also introduced to new players, constant questions to the nature of the threat and how it all came to be. These sub-plots weave in and out of the main story unlocking questions as they unravel, making for compelling reading.
I go into the pages pretty deep here, and if you have no interest in what is basically an ongoing commentary of each scene, feel free to skip over this. I have more critical thinking in the back. However, if you enjoy a smart-arse rendition of a story with opinions shared like an episode of ‘drunk history’ with some casual yet amusing swearing, by all means enjoy.
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS STORY BREAKDOWN
Chapter #1
We’re introduced to the concept of the multiverse. An infinite number of parallel universes are all born at the dawn of time from that single black infinitude. Now we are familiar to that concept we’re immediately introduced to the Crisis, the event that is destroying all these universes one by one in the form of an anti-matter white wave wiping away what once was into nothingness. Here we meet Pariah, the unfortunate soul who is destined to appear as witness to each terrible event that marks the end of each universe. Phasing into each Earth to watch the terror and destruction only to phase out with the burden of the additional grief of what has just been lost. Who is Pariah and why is he tormented so? The seeds of this compelling puzzle are planted in these early pages.
The tragedy continues on an Earth similar to the one we know, yet different. Earth-3. The next universe fated to destruction by the Crisis and the first “universe” we are advised of in these pages with a designation. They pop up more. It can get confusing. Here, we glimpse at the magnitude of the threat as the Super-Powers on Earth-3 fight for survival but fail against the Crisis wave. In a storyline familiar with DC readers, just before the destruction of the planet a clever scientist and his wife send their infant son off to safety in a rocket ship designed to burst into a neighbouring parallel universe, saving the child from his universes fate.
The boy is Alexander Luthor, the parents being Lex Luthor and Lois Lane, heroes of Earth-3. The universe he was sent to is the one where the majority of the action will be set, Earth-1. (Skipping Earth-2, suggesting a Richostich theorem of a kaleidoscope type multiverse as opposed to a Marchistic theorem multiverse with a ladder-like parallel multiverse. And yes, I just made all that up). The migration of this Earth-3 refugee is not lost on another key player to this event, The Monitor. From his satellite above Earth-1 with his assistant Lyla for company, The Monitor plans a defence against the Crisis. We are only introduced to Lyla briefly before she is transformed by The Monitor, endowing her with Super-Powers becoming Harbinger. She is immediately tasked to collect an assortment of Heroes and Villains from different time periods and different universes to act as defenders of his grand plan.
One of these defenders is the Pyscho-Pirate, a low-level villain with emotion-manipulating powers. He’ll be a consistent throughout the story. As Harbinger goes about her bosses business, she is surprised and corrupted by a shadow demon which is absorbed into her and slowly influences her free will.
Our vanguard of familiar DC Super-Powered characters are gathered on The Monitors satellite and are suddenly attacked by those self-same shadow demons, presenting a clear and present threat for the gathered to defend against. The Monitor then casually rocks up and banishes the Shadow Demons with a burst of light from a push of a button. You couldn’t have done that earlier Monitor? Or was it part of the grand plan to expose your guests to the danger? And if they can be defeated that easily, why the need for heroes at all? But he’s an omnipotent being with his own satellite, who the hell am I to judge?
Chapter #2
The troubles start with some time displacement. From the pre-historic era to the 31st century, we witness elements of the past & future appearing side-by-side outside of their place in time. This apparently is due to The Monitor’s “tuning forks”, machines he established across Earth-1 and Earth-2 in different time periods to attempt to merge the two universes into one. Like the multiverse isn’t struggling enough.
In a nice little segue, Batman encounters a little time displacement of his own as the Flash appears, worse for wear, with a warning that the world is dying. Are the two time-displacements related? Dun Dun Daaaaaah! The suspense builds! The Monitor, meanwhile, explains to his gathered heroes that he needs them to protect his “tuning forks” for the good of all that is. So Harbinger sends the heroes forth to their devices spread over 2 earths and 5 different time periods with not even a motivational speech to take with them. The Monitor goes back to his study of the Luthor child from Earth-3 who is growing at an exponential rate.
The Psycho-Pirate has barely arrived to help defend The Monitor’s machine in King Arthurs medieval England when he is abducted by the Anti-Monitor for his own nefarious plans. And Pariah keeps popping up to fret about his lot in life and a little confused because he usually just watches universes die. Meanwhile, The Monitor is onto Harbinger’s infiltration and contemplates his own demise and what he expects will be by her hand. Harbinger dobs on The Monitor to the Anti-Monitor. Bitch.
Chapter #3
Alexander Luthor is growing at a spectacular rate. His trip across dimensions has had an impact on him and he is now imbued with both positive and negative matter, meaning he’ll definitely have an important role to play latter in the story.
The white wave is encroaching on the Earth (Earth-1) in all timelines (which doesn’t make a lick of sense, but we’ll roll with it). The Flash is abducted by the Anti-Monitor because he is deemed a threat as the only being capable of crossing dimensions (which also sounds a suspicious plot point, but moving on…) The Heroes (those not summoned by The Monitor to work “tuning fork” duty) do their best to save lives against raging weather, tectonic shifts, climate upheaval and all manner of disasters, all the while the white wall of death bores down on them (kinda making their heroics a little redundant. Or even more heroic, if you’re not as cynical as I am!) In the middle of the chaos a time-displaced Flash pops up again trying to warn them of the danger (duh!)
Meanwhile, Brainiac is traversing space in his souped-up cool-as-hell skull spaceship and twigs onto the threat. He calculates his chances of survival is zero to fuck-all but decides to go Earth anyway to enlist Lex Luthor’s help. More on this later.
It’s at this early juncture of the tale where writer Marv Wolfman begins his wholesale slaughter of familiar DC Heroes. During WWII, while defending one of these ridiculous tuning forks, every World War 2 hero ever mentioned rocks up. The military company known as The Losers are the first to go by the intangible ‘hands’ of the Shadow Demons. Before we can exclaim “Oh no! Not The Losers!”, the king of the apes, King Solovar is deemed redundant and is given a proper heroes farewell as he sacrifices his life for some talking caveman boy (who is Kamandi, for those possibly upset by my casual indifference regarding the Last Boy on Earth). Next one down is Nighthawk, a masked cowboy from America’s
‘Western’ era as he courageously does a runner from the anti-matter wave before being engulfed by the white nothingness. Even the 30th Century isn’t safe and they don’t even have a tuning fork to protect! While evacuating future London the disaster creates a building to fall on Kid-Psycho (???) and the wave gets him while he lays unconscious.
The Monitor realises the danger is imminent and he has only hours to enact whatever crazed, hair-brained scheme he’s concocted. But evil Harbinger turns up to confront him with murder on her mind and some deathly exposition. End Chapter 3!
Chapter #4
The skies have turned red, destruction reigns down across the globe and across all time periods (it just doesn’t make sense!) as the Heroes do what they can but lament the futility of it all.
Pariah arrives on Earth-6 to witness its final death throws. But before Pariah fades away, drawn to another tragedy, this time he decides to save one native, Lady Quark, one of the Heroes of this Earth, against her intensions as she is also forced to watch her family and her world succumb to the anti-matter wave.
Meanwhile, The Monitor is oblivious to the evil Harbinger’s ominously-exclaimed death threat from the final pages of the last issue because she wasn’t actually in his presence at the time but was watching The Monitor on, well, a monitor. Perhaps that was what her threat was directed at all along? Maybe there was just nothing good on TV?
But The Monitor senses the end is near and pulls out all the stops. It’s time to create a new warrior, one with enough power to possibly make a difference, a new, more heroic Dr. Light! In the midst of a hard day working in a non-descript lab in Japan on Earth-1, setting some strict work culture discipline by calling all her employees (including her Father) cowards, Dr. Kimiyo Hoshi is struck by a light blast that The Monitor instigated, changing her forever. Marv Wolfman giveth heroes after Marv Wolfman taketh away heroes.
But what are the bad guys up to? Anti-Monitor has Psycho-Pirate and evil Harbinger on his team, now he abducts the Red Tornado to manipulate for whatever fiendish deeds he has in store. Pariah gets a nice surprise as he pops in on The Monitor’s satellite as opposed to an Earth on the brink of destruction. But this can only mean that tragedy can’t be far behind! He must’ve lost Lady Quark somewhere along the journey because she’s not with him when he appears from nowhere. Much to Pariah’s surprise, The Monitor recognises him. In fact, he reveals that he saved him from death and is responsible for his current fate. Pariah is naturally upset with the news. The Monitor explains that Earth-1 and Earth-2 is set to perish next and that their fates are linked. The Monitor explains that he is aware of his impending death and asks Pariah to be kind to her. Before he can get an answer to who “her” is, Harbinger answers for him by appearing and killing The Monitor against her will.
Harbinger, having just killed her Father-figure, falls, distraught at her actions. Pariah sees what he believes was the final hope of the multiverse literally snuffed out in front of him. We see the universes of Earth-1 and Earth-2 spiral into each other as the anti-matter wave engulfs everything and we are left with nothingness. But because this is a 12-part miniseries and not a 4 parter, we know this is not the end. Unless the next 8 issues are just blank, white pages.
Chapter #5
The shadowy figure of the Anti-Monitor catches us up with some timely exposition. Earth-1 and Earth-2 have apparently been destroyed but the energies that would be released by their destruction and also from his dead counterpart haven’t flowed into him (which is also apparently a thing) so he figures something is amiss.
But! No Earth-1 or Earth-2, so, not to worry. Carry on. Only 3 Earths remaining. Now cease your prattling Psycho Pirate or you’ll cop a belting.
But what’s this? Harbinger’s alter-ego Lyla and Pariah are still alive on The Monitors satellite with his dead body. How can this be? Thankfully, all the tv’s turn on and the visage of The Monitor is there to explain everything. Ahh tv, is there nothing it can’t do? So as not to detract from what he knew his fate to be, The Monitor made a recording to explain everything once he was killed off. So we can assume at some point beforehand The Monitor grabbed his camcorder from his bedroom (yes, we know how you roll Monitor) and set it up on a tripod to tell the story of how he figured it would all go down.
Because he and the Anti-Monitor are the positive & negative aspects of the same entity The Monitor knew what was about to happen. Rather than rally against his pending death he accepted his fate and planned for the inevitable. And boy, his plan…! Wow! It’s a doozy! One may even go as far as to call ‘bullshit’ on it.
So, the plan. The Monitor knew Harbinger was going to kill him and knowing this he somehow set it up that his death (which would release his essence and his energies) would power his inter-dimensional tuning forks and trigger them to turn ‘on’ but also that, to directly quite The Monitor… “out of my very being was created a Netherverse…One which has temporarily absorbed your two universes”. Not only has “The Energies” from his death merged two multiverses together he has also absorbed them into his “Netherverse” but all Time has become one (again, WTF??!) and his powers have calmed the populace across two universes! That’s a Hell of a lot of energy in that one dude.
But! The Earths are still in danger! It looks like, those tuning forks aren’t doing their job properly and have just slowed down the Earth’s merging, not stopped them. And should the Earths both fully occupy the same space at the same time… Kablewy! And all the while the band played on. I tells ya, you can’t make this shit up. Marv Wolfman must’ve actually witnessed it.
Alexander Luthor steps up and takes the reigns as leader of the resistance. He gathers up all the super-powered heroes & villains onto The Monitors satellite and gives them all the lowdown. Some of the supes are critical of the players behind the plan, and fair, considering Harbinger admits to killing The Monitor. Some are cynics some are doubters, believing the danger but unsure of a plan based on hearsay. Some others, I assume, are just dickhead climate change deniers.
Not willing to entertain any ridiculous arguments, Alex Luthor agrees the best proof is the reality and sends everyone back to their Earths to experience the dangers for themselves with the wild weather, the seismic upheavals, the rampant time displacement, and delaying the conclusion of this story arc by about 3 quarters of an issue.
But the Anti-Monitor isn’t done being a prick yet. To add to the heroes woes he plays the Red Tornado card. Taking any semblance of self-control from him, the Anti-Monitor winds up the Red Tornado like a toy soldier and sets him loose on the Earth forcing many of the heroes and magicians to bound together and stop him from ripping what is left of that Earth apart. With this latest threat averted, it is enough for the cynics, doubters and deniers to agree to participate in Alexander Luthors plans to save the universe.
Step 1 is to save the first of only 3 remaining Earths that exist outside of The Monitors Netherverse, 3 universes which apparently the Anti-Matter wave hasn’t hit up yet. There’s a lot of ”apparently”s going on… But before they can move the plan into action The Anti-Monitor blows up the satellite. As you do. But even the Anti-Monitor knows this is a delaying tactic. And for the first time this series our main antagonist steps out of the shadows to reveal himself to Psych-Pirate, The Flash and the reader to reveal himself as… The Monitor!
Which is strange because we know him as the Anti-Monitor, he has always been the Anti-Monitor and by the time the series is at an end he will be referred to as the Anti-Monitor. However, I guess he is in the anti-matter universe at the time. Makes sense to refer to yourself as “The Monitor” when you’re in there. Just like how in China, Chinese food is just called ‘food’ there. Yet what of this “Earth” that needs saving? We are briefly introduced to The Freedom Fighters, new heroes that will soon join the fray, who on that Earth have been fighting in a World War II that has lasted for decades.
Chapter #6
2 Earths down, 3 to go.
The Anti-Monitor is pretty pleased with himself. The Monitor is dead, his plan is working and he has the remaining heroes on the ropes. As he was a mirror-dimension negative-personality version of The Monitor and shared the knowledge of each other’s intentions, the Anti-Monitor is savvy to the plans for the heroes to save the last 3 remaining Earths (yet is seemingly ignorant of this whole ‘netherverse’ thing though, if only we the reader were as well…). To put the finishing touches on his master plan he decides that now is the time to blow up The Monitors satellite with all the heroes on board. And if that doesn’t work? He’ll amp the Psycho-Pirates powers up to 11 and let him loose on the populace of the last 3 remaining Earths. Nefarious. Clearly his hero-killing plan didn’t happen so onto plan B. Psycho-Pirate uses his emotion controlling powers to angry-up the natives, like shaking an ant farm.
Alexander Luthor just got around to convincing the heroes to, y’know, save the universe, when the Monitor’s satellite starts shaking and disintegrating. Earth-3 Luthor, in a common theme of self-sacrifice in this adventure, is prepared to use the last of his power to save everyone by triggering the next stage of his plan. However Harbinger, still anguishing over her role in The Monitor’s death, knocks out Alex and scatters the Heroes onto the 3 remaining Earths which we see are identified as Earths 4, 5 and X.
The Heroes suddenly appear, looking just as surprised as the native populace. Their main familiar focus point is a gigantic image of Harbinger’s visage looming high across all three remaining Earths. But the local heroes of these worlds are also alarmed at these new costumed strangers in their midst and with their blood all angered up by the Psycho-Pirate they’re all in a “shoot first and ask questions later” kind of mood.
So who are these new characters forced into a time consuming and senseless hero vs hero fist fight?
Earth X: Freedom Force – Heroes that have been fighting the good fight on an Earth that has been stuck in a World War II conflict for over 40 years and counting.
Earth 4: The Charlton Comics Heroes. Charlton Comics and their stable of characters were bought by DC Comics in 1983 and were introduced to the DC Comics universe conveniently through this convoluted yet very appropriate storyline. Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Peace-Maker, Nightshade, Judo Master and The Question amongst others.
Earth 5: Captain Marvel / Shazam and the whole Shazam family. They seem to be the only heroes of Earth 5.
While multiple fights breakout, the ominous sky-filled projection of Harbringer across the 3 Earths is quietly humming away in the background. She is using all her Monitor-given powers to bring the 3 universes into the Netherverse and be saved from the Anti-Monitors grasp. Once done, the fighting stops and Harbinger’s powers are all dried up leaving behind the powerless assistant Lyla, the very human, orphaned child adopted by The Monitor. Lyla is returned to Alexander Luthor, now without a satellite, who is on a floating rock with a great view of the 5 universes now swirling around the netherverse.
The 5 Earths, for now, are safe.
Chapter #7
The half-way point! My God, what an odyssey.
Sure, some universes were saved, some were lost, and we’ve all shared a few laughs… but we all still don’t know… WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON??!
This chapter, we finally get some answers to what is this crisis all about and how did we get here. Lyla decides it’s time to let everyone in on the low-down. So Lyla, Pariah and Alexander Luthor grab a representative of each surviving Earth for an explanation about all this death, destruction and fighting. These reps are supposed to be the best, most respected heroes of each Earth yet somehow Blue Beetle is in there. You know what you did, Ted. And where better to tell this story than on a floating rock that Alex and Lyla were trapped on! But I regress.
OK, there’s a bit of backstory here, and it’s all pretty cray cray, but I’ll do my best to boil it all down to the fundamentals. I’m sure it won’t be as eloquent as Alex Luthor’s speech explaining it all to the UN, but I’ll have a crack. It starts as all good stories do, 10 billion years ago. On the planet OA (what would go on to become the home planet of the Green Lantern Corps) OAians had evolved to a state of perfection, living now only in the pursuit of knowledge. Like a planet full of comic book bloggers
Arrogant upstart scientist Krona was determined to learn the origins of the universe, but while watching its formation in his lab, he witnesses a giant hand holding an entire galaxy in its palm. Having someone witness this was seemingly too much for the universe to bare and the universe “shuddered” with shock. And thus a mirror Anti-Matter universe was created. As if that wasn’t enough, the positive matter universe duplicated itself and continued to replicate creating a multiverse.
The blame for of this was laid at the shackled feet of Krona, exemplified in one of the best lines in comic book story-telling history: “Your forbidden experiments unleashed an evil universe. For that you must be punished”. Cruel, but fair. In fact, that should be the tagline on the front of the book jacket and posters. I’d read the fuck out of that story every time.
Meanwhile, in the Anti-Matter universe, the Anti-Monitor was born from within some rock on a moon for no particular reason. Shits and giggles I’m guessing. Like a spoilt child, the positive matter universe also had to have a Monitor of its own just because the negative matter universe had one. So The Monitor was also born.
Not one prone to fucking around, the Anti-Monitor went straight to work building an army of evil dudes. From the elite of his evil dude army, he created Shadow Demons. During the insatiable conquering of his negative-universe, the Anti-Monitor had what alcoholics refer to as a ‘moment of clarity’ (thanks Tarantino). He sensed his positive matter self, and vice-versa. Like a dog seeing himself in the mirror, he immediately went on the attack in a fierce battle that lasted one million years, give or take. It ended like a memorable boxing match, both opponents immobile and unconscious. Which leads us unto the origin story of that saddest of sacks, Pariah. He begins his story as a scientist, his race already evolved into immortality, as was the fashion of the time. It isn’t revealed here if his original name was “Pariah” or if he bestowed the title on himself later, but if it was indeed Pariah to begin with then he’s only got himself to blame. Just like Dr Otto Octavious, his fate was already set when his birth certificate was signed.
Working within the theme of parallels and mirroring, good scientist Pariah, just like bad scientist Krona, also sought out the origins of the universe. Also ignoring the warnings of the legends, not heading the myth of destruction, he also created a device to be able to witness the creation of the universe and also witnessed the giant hand holding a galaxy. Blinded by his arrogance, he stepped into his laboratory representation of creation, into the anti-matter void surrounding the beginning of everything. Positive matter met negative matter and a chain reaction was triggered which destroyed his universe and everything he’s ever known yet keeping him safely trapped within his anti-matter cube. The repercussions reverberated throughout the anti-matter universe which woke up the Anti-Monitor and strengthened him as he snacked on all that positive matter yumminess. After licking his fingers clean, he mused to himself, “I’ll have more of that” and set about destroying positive matter universes into bite sized morsels. Of course, whatever the Anti-Monitor does, The Monitor mirrors. Our positive matter Monitor also wakes up and discovers poor Pariah floating about aimlessly within his netherversal chamber. The Monitor figured, “I could use him later” and set about ensuring Pariah witnessed the death of every positive matter universe by the hand of the Anti-Monitors negative matter white wave. Because The Monitor is an arsehole, apparently.
But what of Lyla? What is her lofty origin tale? Super scientist from another dimension? Immortal cosmic being from the beginning of forever? An almighty God from the netherverse? Nah. Just a ship-wrecked orphan The Monitor found and took pity on. Nothing to see here.
So there you go. That’s what it’s all about. Feeling good? Feeling better for the knowledge? I know, it’s all bat-shit crazy. It feels as if the time Marv Wolfman took to think that one through was the time between his editor asking him to pitch the plot and him pitching said plot standing in front of his editors desk, seconds after being posed the question.
Anywho, we now have a convinced super-hero community and the multi-Earth collective is sent off to recruit the most powerful amongst them for an offensive attack against the Anti-Monitor. They all congregate on their favourite floating rock in space and with Alexander Luthor, who, we remember, inhabits both matter and anti-matter, is able to open a portal into the anti-matter universe using this vague, new super-power displayed to us with very little back story or context.
Using Pariah’s curse of constantly witnessing bad shit go down, they use him like a compass needle to find the Anti-Monitor and find him in a floating rock fortress in the middle of empty space, and it is here that shit gets real. The Anti-Monitor sees them coming a mile away (and some). He animates some rock formations and gargoyles (every bad guy fortress needs some gargoyles) within the foundations to defend his fortress against these intruders. Deeper and deeper into the cold rock structure the heroes fight on with the large contingent whittled down to a smaller group as heroes are either held up in battle or trapped as they go forward.
As the fight rages the Anti-Monitor remains elusive, but the younger Earth-1 Superman and the new Dr. Light stumble across the Anti-Monitors energy source which is reducing the vibrational differences between Earths. Should they no longer vibrate, the Earths would solidify in the same shared space threatening them all. Dr Light recognises the device as a solar collector, which is great to see that the Anti-Monitor is such a great advocate for energy conservation and shares a concern for climate change. Before Superman and Dr. Light can destroy the device the Anti-Monitor appears out of the shadows and attacks. Superman, who is more vulnerable now he is in the anti-matter universe, is knocked down and hurting. Supergirl, with her super hearing is instantly aware of her cousin Superman’s struggles, and it is on!
Aware of every blow against Superman, and angry and concerned with her cousins struggles she flies straight into the fray and pummels the Anti-Monitor relentlessly. What is depicted on the page is an enraged Supergirl, bloodied and beaten, but willing herself on with sheer emotion, pushing and punishing herself past all her limits knocking the Anti-Monitor all over his fortress. It is a powerful piece of storytelling as Kara draws out every inch of her strengths to bring the Anti-Monitor to the brink of defeat. The anger and defiance in the expressions on her face against a broken ragdoll in the Anti-Monitor in brilliant detail. As Supergirl is on the verge of victory, she yells a warning out to Superman and Dr. Light to leave. The brief distraction is enough for the Anti-Monitor to draw enough strength for one final all-powerful killing blow. With a blast of energy that crackles with destructive brilliance, her life force visually pouring out of her body.
The art and colours do justice to such a powerful moment in comics history, enough for us to all believe there is enough raw power in this fight that a Supergirl can die. The Anti-Monitor escapes defeated, his solar machines destroyed. The surviving heroes gather to take stock of the situation and grieve the loss of one of their own.
Returning to their respective Earth’s, the news of Supergirls death spreads fast and the world mourns. With that, Supergirl is gone with a finality that is rare in the world of comics.
Chapter #8
Spotlight on… The Flash!
The Anti-Monitor has had The Flash strung up and held captive in the Anti-Matter universe. Psycho-Pirate tells the captive Flash he believes that the Anti-Monitor will kill him when he returns and hopes the Anti-Monitors battle with Supergirl will have killed him as well. But no such luck, as the Anti-Monitor appears much to Psycho-Pirates dismay and in a shiny new suit know less.
Meanwhile, Marv Wolfman desire for Superhero blood is not yet sated. The JLA attempt to restore the Red Tornado back to life but all they manage to do is trigger an explosive device that sees the end of the Red Tornado along with what was left of the JLA Satellite. But hey, Firehawk gets a new costume so it’s not all doom and gloom.
The Anti-Monitor has returned to Qward and has been overseeing the construction of his Anti-Matter cannon(tm). Apparently, this thing will be able to obliterate the five remaining Earths. So, no fancy plans or tricks, no spiffy tuning forks for him, just good old-fashioned shoot the problem away. And because he’s a bad guy, he of course has slave labour building the thing with his Qward minions overseeing the slaves as their evil overlords. All this toiling away right under the oblivious noses of the 5 remaining Earth’s heroes. Surely this will spell the end of our protectors and the multiverse as we know it? But there is one hero who knows what is up, and this lone hero is unfortunately strung up like a fly in a spiders web. And while we’re at it, where the Hell are the other heroes in the universe? Earth can’t be the only planet with super-powered do-gooders?? Slack bastards.
But you can’t keep a good Flash down. Or strung up, as the case may be here. After slowly building up his inner-vibrational speed power, Flash breaks free of his “gelatin jail”. Pyscho-Pirate tries to subdue him by overwhelming the Flash with fear, but it only enrages The Flash and he reacts very violently toward Pyscho-Pirate, beating him to a pulp. He then drags him around at super speed from Qwardian guard to Qwardian guard, forcing him to use his emotion-manipulating powers to turn them all against The Anti-Monitor which distracts him enough for The Flash to take out the cannon. To do this however, it involves running around it very fast to draw the cannons power in on itself which eventually destroys it. But the effort requires an enormous amount of speed and the anti-matter universes natural negative-influence is at the same time sapping The Flash’s strength. His speed and the powers at play here combine to send his visage back in time, as he attempts to warn other heroes of the danger to come as shown in earlier issues. Which aptly explains THAT particular early mystery. The Flash continues to run and run until the cannon explodes no longer able to be used. But the effect was too great and The Flash withers away into nothingness. Barry Allen, The Flash, is no more. Sacrificing himself to save the Earth and everyone he has ever loved. A sacrifice perhaps humbler, as it occurs outside of all the heroes’ knowledge acted out alone in the harshest of environments with no one left to mourn him.
So, The Anti-Monitor turns to Plan B (or C now? D maybe?) which involves drawing in all the anti-mater from millions of worlds within his universe empowering him enough to ensure the multiverses destruction. But The Spectre is onto that wily Anti-Monitor and is finally brought into the fray…!
Chapter #9
Villains United!
Over the past few issues Brainiac and Lex Luthor have been transporting away Earth’s mightiest bad guys to take advantage of the current dire situation. This is what has been going on while The Flash saves the multiverse…
The bloodshed continues! Concerned with the involvement of The Guardians of OA, the Anti-Monitor strikes! All the Guardians save one are killed!
There is a strange status-quo happening on all remaining Earths. The immediate threat has disappeared but all 5 remaining Earths are still intricately and dangerously linked. There are “warp zones” where one Earth touches another causing a mixture of time periods, past, present and future. The bad guys band together and figure this to be a good time to conquer all remaining Earths.
Earth 2 Lex Luthor argues HE should be the one running the show and is casually killed by Brainiac for his counter-position and comfortably ends any further argument across the group
While there’s a break in the drama, Alexander Luthor, Lyla and Pariah explain the situation on Earth-1 at the United Nations, which is quite considerate of them, given that most Super-Heroes operate as vigilantes with no control mechanism. Of course, such a public spectacle demands a trigger of drama… Pariah disappears mid-speech with a delightful “It’s happening again!” squeal as he evaporates to dangers unknown. With the assembled world leaders still in shock, we’re confronted with the floating head image of Brainiac claiming the subjugation of Earths 4, 5 and X, and demands the surrender of Earths 1 & 2. Then evil Luthor appears with an ultimatum: hand over 2 Earths or he blows up all of them. Hmm, makes sense. The ol’ ‘if I can’t have ‘em, no one can’ trick.
Well the collective Earth’s Heroes are having none of that and band together to take the fight to the villains. What we get is a fun mismatch of Super-Heroes facing off against unfamiliar bad guys and some quirky team-ups. The scenes are quick and punchy, not allowing much space for any insightful character development or relationship building. We do get the odd death though, with Aquagirl meeting her untimely demise by the chemical giant Chemo.
But Brainiac and Luthor have a serpent in their midst. Psimon stealthily stayed behind on Brainiac’s skull ship and launched a surprise attack on Brainiac. Is there no trust within the Super-Villain community anymore??
Chapter #10
This issue always throws me a bit as the presentation format of the story changes. 3 quarters of the comic page is dedicated to our main story with the combined power of our positive matter universe up against the unstoppable might of the Anti-Monitor. But at the bottom of every page is a whole different story. Lyla has discovered The Monitor Files, The Monitors extensive recordings of the history of all that has occurred since the beginnings of the Crisis, which Lyla commits to continuing. Here, Lyla answers the question: “What has the rest of the Universe been doing while Earth does all the heavy lifting?” She fills us in while adding to… The Monitor Tapes!
It’s a strange read, following two different narratives at once. Reading one narrative first may provide spoilers for the other, so reading the entire page as opposed to each storyline in turn would be my recommendation.
The Monitor Tapes is a fun, quick read, entertainingly cramming in characters, races and cultures that didn’t get to feature in the main story. Familiar faces will only get their own panel or two which although tantalizingly touches on a greater story that if represented as a spinoff mini-series or one-shot it would be a great read. But as a larger plot outline it is very simple. It’s just Lyla contemplating the Crisis, the courage and resolve of fringe characters and highlighting the value of what is at stake. It does come across somewhat as a last-minute ditch to ensure everyone’s favourite character has some representation, but it is at least tactfully done.
The main story however continues unabated. Super-Hero vs Super-Villain on an epic scale with the fate of 5 Earths at stake. The story jumps to multiple clashes with each skirmish allocated their own page or two. It’s fun to see your favourite villain square off against an unfamiliar hero and also ponder on who might that obscure, vaguely recognisable bad girl or guy might be.
These series of brawls continue for about half the issue before The Spectre steps in and puts a stop to the squabbling to set them on the path to the final showdown. But more on that later. First, the body count. Marv Wolfman wants his blood thirst quenched!
Psimon gets spectacularly shot through the back of the head. To be fair, it does make a tantalising target. Chemo gets shattered into non-existence. The Shaggy Man is inexplicably blown up by an explosive arrow shot off by Speedy. (If only it was that easy in future incarnations of the character!) Aquagirl (or Tula) dies (eventually) after the effect on her by Chemo poisoning the seas.
Even Lyla’s recap of The Monitor Tapes isn’t safe. 5000 Thangarians (Hawk-people) are killed during mad rioting. Starman was swallowed up in the Anti-Monitor wave. Three Gods of Olympus fall to the Anti-Monitors shadow warriors. And the Immortal Man finally met a fate even he couldn’t resurrect from, taken by the Anti-Matter wave.
There’s blood on your hands Wolfman!
So The Spectre, the all-powerful Spirit of Vengeance, has decided it’s time to represent. However his all-powerfulness needs a little help. He puts forth an ultimatum to the squabbling super-powers: A truce or oblivion in the form of the Anti-Monitors anti-matter wave. Even with the stakes as high as they are, Luthor still weighs up his options and barters for his support.
With everyone agreed, the Heroes & Villains alike set together for one of the most creative uses of combined super-powers ever. The Spectre advises the super-community on the current situation. The Anti-Monitor has had enough of all this “human interference” bullshit and decides to take all Earths out of the equation by going to the beginning of time itself and ensuring that there was never a ‘positive matter’ universe. But The Spectre has a plan. A bunch of Super-People are to confront the Anti-Monitor at the beginning of Time and a separate bunch go back in time to OA and make sure Krona doesn’t accidently create the multi-verse and with it, the Anti-Matter universe.
We’ll let slip that The Spectres plan is a direct contradiction to Superman’s observation “changing history can’t be done, God knows I’ve tried” (which should be an alarmin statement of itself to anyone within earshot) but Mr All-Knowing does come back with “It can be done Superman, but only at the Dawn of Time”. So the Super-Heroes are set on their path to confront the Anti-Monitor at the beginning of Time itself and the Super-Villains are also sent back in time to OA to confront Krona, apparently a fools errand if using The Spectres logic. But how they get there is truly a brilliantly rationalised piece of writing and an incredibly creative example of a combination of powers. Luckily, the group has some Heroes & Villains that have time travelling capabilities and they are able to utilise Rip Hunters Time Sphere, The Lord of Time’s Temporal Transporter and the Legion of Super-Heroes Time Bubbles. The Villains simply take off in the temporal transporter but the Heroes time jump is a little more elaborate. The Metal Men join together to form an energy conductor connected to the time sphere and time bubbles. Electricity generating based and magnetic based super beings generate the power required and funnel this through the Metal Men channelled into the time ships. Kid Flash & Golden Age Flash run at hyper-speed creating a ‘time door’ for the team to go through. Such a fun and practical joining of super-powers.
The team makes it to the Dawn of Time, a barren white Limbo, to find the Anti-Monitor waiting (tapping his feet and constantly looking at his watch) with a captured Pariah. He taunts Pariah that his failed experiment didn’t actually cause his universe to die, but did allow the Anti-Monitor access to it and feed on enough positive matter to free himself and feed on the rest of his universe. The taunt had the opposite effect though. Pariah is relieved to know he wasn’t responsible for the death of his people.
With the boasting and finger-pointing done, it is on. The Heroes attack with everything they’ve got. Those that fire energy blasts shoot away. Those that can fly and have incredible strength punch away. Those that have no powers ‘share their courage’ and ‘give them hope’. In other words Batman, fuck-all. You can do fuck-all and it was a waste of everyone’s time bringing all you non-powered heroes on this particular cosmic adventure. But hey, who would turn down a trip to the beginning of time itself?
Meanwhile the Villains arrive ten billion years in the past and immediately wreak havoc on a bemused planet full of OAians. The Villains of course fail in their mission due to their own internal squabbling, proving history can’t be altered after all. (Maybe Batman would have been handy on this mission? Hmmm)
The Anti-Monitor absorbs the new life energy the Heroes have provided to create a singular Anti-Monitor universe and reveals that it’s actually the Anti-Monitors hand Krona sees poking up out from the creation of the universe. With the Anti-Monitor on the cusp of victory, The Spectre grabs the raised hand of The Anti-Monitor. With the magical assistance of all the hero mages and sorcerers The Spectre engages in a cosmic arm-wrestle eventually dragging the Anti-Monitor back down just as every universe, the 5 remaining as we know them, explodes into splintered shards of reality.
All the Heroes are no more, including Super Boy, who inexplicably turned up this issue from a different Earth, Earth Prime, which was apparently destroyed off panel or possible in a crossover title. I can only assume he was crammed in when the editor realised that after this event Super Boy would cease to exist and they couldn’t have that. And so over the course of 3 panels: Super Boy. But it’s all moot now because they everyone dies at the end of this issue anyway.
Chapter #11
Last issue’s climatic cliff-hanger left us with the Anti-Monitor & The Spectre throw-down over who has the biggest dick at the Dawn of Time with an army of super-heroes watching on. Then the universe explodes. “It was the end of all that was” were the last words of the issue.
But how could this be?? We still have 2 issues to go!
The first page of Chapter 11 is a reflection of the 1st page of Chapter 1. Same imagery, same panel structure same use of lettering. But the main difference we see one universe, not a multiverse. A literal reset. We are now in a new reality.
The story reset begins with Clark Kent (the older one) waking up from ‘a horrible dream’. The contrast is fantastic here. This is great storytelling, the stuff cinema is made for. From lofty, highly dramatic and high concept cosmic end of all things to such a simple, pedestrian, domestic new starting point, the beginning of a brand new day. It’s gripping, classic writing.
The confusion flowers out from the point of view of one Superman to the introduction of a second Superman and spirals out to include a Flash and eventually, all Heroes who were present and bore witness to the end of all that is during the fight at the beginning of time.
Clues are collected, stories are shared, the pieces are put together and suddenly Harbinger appears to confirm all their suspicions. All the Earths that they knew are no more. In their place is one Earth that is shiny and new. One that also takes all the convenient, popular bits of all the heroes back stories and creates a new singular, linear, comprehensive easy to understand Earth. With the revelation of this freshly laid foundation of their brave new world, the group experience an onset of grief of their prior lives, their loved ones, everything familiar to them, the complete sum of their experiences… Everything that made them “them”.
Amongst all this angst, trouble is afoot. The ominous red skies are back, those pesky shadow demons are up to mischief and our most recent saviour, The Spectre, is in some sort of coma. But if The Spectre survived the climatic battle last issue then where is his adversary the Anti-Monitor?
A storm of pure energy detected miles beneath the Earth rumbles up and grows enough in size to envelope the entire Earth, swallowing it into the Anti-Matter universe arranged by our host, the Anti-Monitor.
Like Wile E. Coyote, this guy just won’t stay down!
Chapter #12
Crisis of the Infinite Deaths of the Anti-Monitor!
You just can’t keep a good villain down. Or the Anti-Monitor, apparently. The Anti-Monitor isn’t a very fleshed out character. He was created as the antagonist for this story alone with the single-minded goal to eat up all the positive matter in the multiverse. We really don’t know much more than that. We don’t have much knowledge of his down time, if he has any hobbies, etc. Does he brush up on his Excel skills? Does he collect spoons from all the different universes he consumes? Does he binge-watch multiverse Netflix? The fact that he is such a single minded, two-dimensional bad guy makes it easier to feel ok should the good guys break their “no kill” rule.
But I’m skipping ahead.
We begin our final chapter with the big, floating head visage overlooking the Earth as he envelops it into the Anti-Matter Universe. A darkness blankets the planet but not before long, cracks appear within the black veneer and the blackness cracks apart to reveal that the black envelope around the Earth is actually millions of Shadow Demons joined together. The Shadow Demons go about causing all sorts of mayhem as they attack anyone and everyone. We see lots of B and C grade heroes jump on the defensive, and not without a share of death. Dove from Hawk & Dove is killed whilst saving a child. Mermaid Lori Lemaris is killed in an underwater battle. Prince Ra Man is no more, Kole from the Titans is killed (off panel!), Rising Sun from Japan falls in battle and Green Arrow’s trick arrows won’t save him from death this time.
Earths Mightiest Magicians come together to wrap-up all the demons together trapped within a ball of Green Lantern fire energy (or pyro-sorcery, as referred to by our narrator) and then thrown into space. Yep, that should do the trick!
Meanwhile, DC’s most powerful band get back together for another round of ‘beat up the Anti-Monitor’ and Dr. Light finally gets her chance to shine. While the most powerful good guys beat up uselessly on the anti-monitor, Dr Light absorbs the energy of a nearby sun that the Anti-Monitor is feeding off, draining his power source. This is the moment the good guys give their all to put him down, while he’s at his weakest. The final blow is from Dr. Light who channels all of this enormous power into one focused blast at the Anti-Monitor and he is struck down into the rock of his stone fortress with flames smouldering from his chest, his eyes dark and blank.
So that’s it, that’s the story. All the players past have been played. Alex Luthor opens a portal to the positive universe for the Earth to return to and all the superheroes celebrate and rejoice with dance and song with the Ewoks on the forest moon of Endor. But wait! There is an ominous glow from the anti-monitors empty eye-socket. Suddenly the tied-up shadow demons are being drawn down to the Anti-Monitor and absorbed by him. And with a blast of splintered rock the Anti-Monitor is back! Like having that one drink too many after scoffing down a kebab, the Anti-Monitor gives a mighty spew of energy which burns away a distracted Wonder Woman into non-existence.
With most of the heroes already back on Earth there is only a scant few remaining to make a final stand. Firestorm takes an unconscious Kid Flash and Psycho Pirate back to Earth but promises to return. Young Superman and Lady Quark are ready to rumble after the surprise of the sneak attack. But elder Superman is having none of it. With no Earth of his own to go back to, he sends Young Superman and Lady Quark back to Earth with Superboy. After squabbling amongst themselves Elder Superman faces off against a patient Anti-Monitor. Suddenly the Anti-Monitor wreaths in pain. It seems those shadow demons he devoured were poisoned by the sorcerer hero group and the shadow demons are now destroying him from the inside. This leaves Superman to destroy him from the outside by throwing a moon and other asteroids at him. Superboy, returns to assist after leaving the unconscious young Superman and Lady Quark on Earth and is greeted with an enormous energy blast. Superman continues the bombardment until he is now, finally, defeated. The universe, safe once more thanks to the brave actions of Superman and his young partner, Superboy.
But wait! The rock bursts open once more, driven by anger and hate, the Anti-Monitor once again rises, no longer in his armoured form, charred flesh burnt onto his skeletal remains and absorbing the energies within his own negative universe, the Anti-Monitor lashes out at Superman & Superboy, squeezing out their life with his burning hands… and salvation comes from the most unlikely of places. Darkseid’s technology allows him to watch the ensuing battle through Alexander Luthors perspective due to flimsy and dubious reasons. As the Anti-Monitor is busy killing both Superman & Superboy, Darkseid unleashes powerful energy beams with the push of a button from Alex Luthors eyes which disintegrates what is left of the Anti-Monitors badly burnt remains into a nearby dark star. With that, we complete the final enduring, gritty end of the Anti-Monitor, leaving Superman, Superboy and Alex Luthor to survey the damage done around them, hold a press conference and apologise to their family, fans and football club.
But wait!
From out of the dark star his lifeless body was pushed into, and now just a ball of fiery energy from whatever passed of his remaining persistent, poisoned soul, the Anti-Monitor pushes outward through sheer willpower and roars out one last attack. Lashing out at the Man of Steel, his entire focus now bent on killing him. An exhausted Superman puts his all into one last punch and it is enough to explode the manifestation of the last ounce of will of the Anti-Monitor.
With his end, the dark sun he expelled himself from implodes, causing a ripple effect of destruction. Completely spent, the elder Superman and Superboy recognise that this final threat is beyond their abilities to escape and accept their fate, that their end is near, but comforted by the fact that the Anti-Monitor is no longer a threat. Alex Luthor though is having none of it. He reveals to Superman that he had Lois Lane, Supermans wife, secretly tucked away for safe keeping and reunites the two lovers. And yes, even though Alex Luthor could shunt an entire planet back to the positive matter universe through a portal of his creation like he did earlier this issue, Luthor is unable to shift these abandoned few back to Earth. Yet he can tunnel them to another beautiful, different place of everlasting peace. Sounds like a trick to me, but off they go to their own private Idaho just moments before the wave of destruction engulfs their asteroid perch.
So that’s it. Crisis averted. The Anti-Monitor (finally) destroyed. The only casualties were an infinite number of universes and a long laundry list of super-powered heroes and villains.
Yet some remanent of these losses are at least reflected in the one remaining universe. Not one to waste time, Marv Wolfman (and DC editorial) jump straight into retconning, of which there would be a lot of in the years to come. The first retcon of our brave new world is Wonder Woman, who was killed off only 10 pages earlier. Only she didn’t die, she de-evolved back into clay and returned back to Paradise Island waiting for her story to begin anew, which occurs a few shorth months further along. The Flash also gets a new beginning, with Wally West promoting himself from Kid Flash to just The Flash, in honour of his mentor and friend Barry Allan.
Earth’s heroes mourn their dead and provide memorials to honour the fallen, even if, apparently, the cause of their deaths will be forgotten. Our epilogue shows a shattered Psycho Pirate locked up in an insane asylum claiming to be the only one who remembers the Anti-Monitor and the crisis that took place. But this isn’t quite true. Lyla has been documenting the crisis and its aftermath, completing the “Monitor Tapes” for posterity and agrees to join Lady Quark and Pariah in exploring their new Earth.
In the final pages, Marv Wolfman writes “much of what has happened defies explanation” and truer words have not been written, but as Lyla’s final words say “I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring”. The wrap up can feel a little abrupt, but there is an overwhelming sense of excitement for the stories that will spill out from all of this. Just like there is a merging of histories, memories, storylines and character origins in New Earth, there is a merging of nostalgia, anticipation, relief and genuine enthusiasm for a new universe of comic stories to come.
The Writing
Before choosing to review this weighty tome, I must have read this story 3 or 4 times. I seem to revisit it every 3 or 4 years. Strangely, every time I would read it, I forget how the story unfolds. I remember the big tuning forks at the beginning, I remember certain milestone scenes and key moments but the details are always fuzzy. I struggle to explain the whys and hows of the story.
This, I feel, says a lot about this particular story. Clearly, I enjoy the read. To keep coming back to it, it is a story that lends itself to multiple reads. It’s fun, it’s entertaining, it’s comfortable. There is so much going on in there, it feels like I gleam something new from every fresh read. However, that I can’t clearly recall the detail of the story after 3 read throughs is equally telling. There is A LOT of story elements that just… happens with no explanation. Characters exhibit powers with no definition. Events occur based more on story convenience rather than any rationale. The plot seamlessly roles on and ofttimes not always from a foundation of logic. The heroes are gathered to defend this or destroy that because if they don’t! bad things happen, and the result is often out of their control, win lose or draw. It’s ok Heroes, I will use THIS power which will allow you to do THAT thing you need to do. The pantheon of DC characters is just flotsam in this maelstrom of a story. It asks you to just roll with a lot for a comic book. To ask of the reader to suspend their disbelief often enough that takes you out of the story to ask yourself “wait, what??”, there is a lot of stretching going on.
Marv Wolfman says he first thought of the story in 1981 while waiting for a train to a convention in Pennsylvania. Wolfman says, “Because we decided to hold it back until DC’s 50th anniversary, in 1985, I had a lot of time to slowly layer in the plot and find and fix all the problems, showing it pays to take the time to do it right rather than doing it fast.
“We needed to do something big and surprising to show the readers that this was a new DC Comics,” he says. “If you don’t take risks and try something new the readers, inundated with more media than ever before, will give up and turn their attention elsewhere.”
He may not have been ‘fix all the problems’ but it IS a comic book. The story makes as much sense any most other complex comic stories. To his credit, for Wolfman to be able to sell these random deus ex machina situations shows how well he can utilise his incredible abilities as a storyteller. The drama is so cosmically large-scale and the characters so genuine with their reactions, and the story so compelling, it is easy to accept in the reading.
To not reference the art as a major contributor to conveying the necessary scale and scope of the drama is doing George Perez a major disservice. The way he interprets the conflict and the stakes in his art decisions and his panel layouts raises the work above the usual comic book standards. Themes of opposites and mirrored images appear regularly throughout to great effect. The equal and opposite of the good and the bad is a major constant and Perez reflects this with his art. For these themes to work so succinctly together, there just clearly a true collaboration between writer and artist, not surprising for this regular team of Wolfman and Perez.
Some examples:
Early in the first issue a solar eclipse is shown as some kind of ominous warning. Moon and Sun. Dark over light. Night against day.
Issue 2. A scene set in pre-historic Earth collides with a future Earth. Past vs Future. A clash of extremes. Issue 4. The multiverse ends. The multi-coloured line of planets spirals into oblivion. From colours to white to black. The emotion of Pariah juxtaposed to the harsh destruction of reality. The personal anguish of a single individual vs the cosmic-level end of everything. Pariah’s image is diagonally split across the page with the panelling the front layer of images. The horror of the Heroes revelation that their efforts are in vain are the second level of imagery with the destruction of multiple Earths the background images. This is all very reflective of the micro and the macro. It speaks louder than any text Wolfman could write.
My favourite example: Issue 11. The multiverse is merged into one universe, one Earth. Page 1 of issue 11 has the identical layout and imagery than Page 1 of Issue 1 of which the first page of the story introduces us to the multiverse. The first page of Issue 11 shows the birth of One Earth. The layouts, panelling and descriptions are a direct and obvious reflection of each other. The wording, the imagery is similar. Everything old is new again.
This ‘rebirth’ story is an important industry touchstone for a few different reasons. It’s the first major limited series crossover “Event”. (I know Marvel’s “Contest of Champions” & “Secret Wars” were already released, but I’m choosing to define “Major” and “Event” as more relevant for this body of work). This proved to all that this integrated crossover format can be successful and created a template for the summer blockbuster story events going forward.
It hit the ‘reset’ button on the DC Universe and set up an excellent jumping on point for new readers. It also spelled the end of some very recognisable and beloved characters. There is a long laundry list of characters that met an untimely end, however none as surprising and confronting as the fates of Supergirl, the Flash and Wonder Woman. The series would however arguably be most remembered for the death of Supergirl: An editorial decision to return to Superman the title of the true “last survivor of Krypton”. This brings back the uniqueness of Superman being the last of his kind, a true orphan with no connection to a world long lost from him. There would be no place for another Kryptonian survivor in this new Earth. Supergirl finally met her match at the hands of the Anti-Monitor within the pages of Crisis and also so ended the daring adventures of Supergirl at issue 23 of her own title.
Credit to Marv Wolfman for making this sacrifice so memorable. She certainly went out fighting. In the build-up, we get a few small cameo scenes of Supergirl, little minuets of her character, her values, her heroism. Then, like a stark warning of dark times ahead, we see her defeated, cradled in the arms of a crying Superman in that now widely recognisable issue # 7 cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths, powerfully drawn by George Perez.
Diving into issue 7, the reader is drawn to Supergirl. The spotlight is hers. As the heroes’ fight is brought to the Anti-Monitor, Supergirl ‘commentates’ the action for us. And when she is one on one with the big bad, it is fierce. The drama brought on by the stakes being so high, also given the previous issues build-up of the character, added with the knowledge of her fate from off the cover, plus the iconic status and history of Supergirl, this is the tensest a super-hero comic book can get. There is real emotion in these pages and the severity of the attack is so unrelenting as we watch the end of one of comics most beloved characters. Supergirl is taken from us with such heroism and dignity, heightened by Superman’s grief, the loss that is shared amongst her super-powered community, and the world at large. It may have been the editorial decision that killed her, but Marv Wolfman gave her the send-off she deserved. It would be over 20 years until we see Kara Zor-El return back into our local comic book stores.
The Flashes death however, was not as emotionally charged, but certainly just as heroic. Barry Allen’s death was more in service to the plot than Supergirl’s sacrifice to dramatic weight. His sacrificial heroism wasn’t as publicly displayed as Kara’s. It was also a death written with some uncertainty. Marv Wolfman writes in the Collected Editions Introduction that he purposefully wrote in a plot devise to allow DC to bring him back should they want to at a later date. Ironically, Barry Allen became one of the ‘untouchable’ deaths in comics, for years it would seem that to bring him back would be some kind of heresy. Until it wasn’t.
But Wolfman does give both Supergirl and Flash the respect and reverence these characters deserves, given their decades of history, growth, character development and incredible adventures written by extraordinary creators. He showcases them, gives them moments to shine and puts their heroic deeds on a pedestal. In truth however, their storylines are layered over the main plot, their involvement manufactured for the sake of killing them off. But the story and its place in comics history wouldn’t be what it is today without it.
It is also worth mentioning Superboy and Wonder Woman, given their equally long and noteworthy histories. As strong as Supergirl and Flash’s stories were told, other popular characters conclusions weren’t as revered. Superboy is the more confusing entry. He doesn’t appear at all up until issue 10, thrown in almost as an afterthought. It reads like someone stuck their head into Marv Wolfman’s office while he’s typing away and said “Hey, you gonna fit Superboy in there?” and he slaps his forehead and says “of course!”, rips out the page he was working on from his typewriter and starts again with “Suddenly, Superboy appears”. He comes across as an abstract, tacked on character, dragged to his finality because he can’t exist if Superman is to be “the one true Kryptonian”:
“Please… I’m Superboy, from Earth-Prime. You’ve got to bring me too!” Superboy pleads to the collected heroes of the DC multiverse.
“Earth Prime? Never heard of that Earth” says Sensor Girl. “I thought there were only five Earths left” says Brainiac 5, echoing the readers thoughts.
“There are – It’s been destroyed”.
And that’s that. Welcome aboard! Superboy is part of the crew now. Although Superboy appears predominantly in the final episode with his own moment in the sun, it is far from the build-up Supergirl and Flash received. To be fair, it is hard to squeeze in 50 years of DC history into 12 issues and THIS Superboy is a variant of the Superboy template, as shown in DC Comics Presents # 87. And here, at least, we get one of the few editorial references to one of the many, many crossover issues where the story loosely interconnects. Clearly, I’m not reviewing any of the crossovers, the series is self-contained enough.
The other crowbarred in milestone event is the death of Wonder Woman which occurs on the 13th last page of the series, in a panel of which her back was turned. However, as it turns out, as explained on the 4th last page, the last, desperate projectile bile-vomit of power from the Anti-Monitor didn’t so much as kill Wonder Woman as de-evolve her back into her original clay she was formed from. Zeus judged this act a grave injustice and gave Wonder Woman and her husband Steve Trevor a place in Mount Olympus to live happily ever after. This gives DC a good place to reboot a Wonder Woman that starts her adventures in 1987 and our previous Wonder Woman the fans had become accustomed to with a nice, final, resting place. Even though it is in direct contrast to the whole reason for the series to end all trace of the old DC and begin anew. Here, the cracks in DC’s grand plan starts to appear and will splinter completely in time.
For its faults though, this story is a bold, huge undertaking. To take all the threads of all past DC (and Charlton) stories and weave them into a coherent narrative is a substantial feat. Yes, the road forged had a few plot holes and some convenient justifications but Marv Wolfman was able to pull off what would have seemed an impossible task at the time. To bring a one truth to the DC Universe.
There exists an entertaining re-readability with this story, partly due to the vast supporting cast of DC characters, but mainly due to the convoluted adventures of our new group of cosmic players. I’ve read this book multiple times and always have a sense of discovery in the pages. It cements Wolfman as a giant within the comic book industry and comics history in general. If you’re a fan of comics, you need a copy of Crisis on Infinite Earths on your bookshelf.
The Art
I won’t speak much about the standard or intricacies of George Perez’s art as I’m not an artist and not the right guy to analyse a page or panel based on the penciler, inker or colourist. I will recognise that we (I) often credit the penciler for the final product, yet inkers Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo & Jerry Ordway and colourists Anthony Tollin, Tom Ziuko and Carl Gafford all contribute enormously to the end result.
I will comment on some aspects of the art with regard to Perez’s decision making in his choice of presentation which adds texture and scope to the story. Some of his iconic covers, pages and panels that live with us years beyond the last issues publication. His incredible attention to detail.
Issue # 1, Page 12 & 13 – New York City St
George Perez’s attention to background detail within wide panels combining so many faces makes his work very recognisable. Here he represents a ‘typical’ New York City Street under attack of the anti-matter wave. It’s important that we, the reader, connect with a sense of familiarity of the setting if only from movies or tv. This helps us immediately associate with the threat for us to better imagine the panic. He nails it here.
Issue # 2, Page 58 – Close up of the dimensional tuning fork.
Kamandi, smack-bang in the middle, provides the sense of scale.
Issue # 4, Page 102 – Lady Quarks world is destroyed.
Quick panels of almost frame by frame of a scene lends to a kinetic pace. The actions zooms out to a global scale, showing how close the escape was. The square edges of the panels move to a more rounded panel of a monitor screen, segueing into the next scene of the Monitor in his satellite.
Issue # 4, Page 118 – End of the multiverse
On the last 3 pages of issue # 4, we see the collapse of the multiverse. Here, we see juxtaposed the personal emotion of the characters against the destruction of our familiar universe and all the majesty, wonder and possibilities then fade out of reality, along with the frozen grief of Pariah, to a blank whiteness in an empty panel. The background shows the wide shot, the spectacular disaster of planets destroyed, the middle images are the startled heroes, realising all hope is gone, their efforts futile. The foreground images are the personal, the expression of human grief, the realisation of the End. Macro, Meso & Micro.
Issue # 4, Page 119 – End of the multiverse
Long vertical panels to better show the universes fading into nothingness. We get destruction on two levels: The ‘In-Universe’ end of the cosmos as it is eaten by the anti-matter, draining like water into a plughole. Also the ‘Ex-verse’ end, the story on the page evaporating. The vibrant colours dull into inks and finally to a blank page. Very meta.
Issue # 4, Page 120 – End of the multiverse
Nature abhors a vacuum. From nothing, something fills the void. Is it a new possibility? An opportunity? Matter where Anti-matter was? Or a visual queue of a finality as a blackness? A ‘fade to black’?
Issue # 6, Page 128 to 129 – Superheroes ahoy
Classic Perez. A collection of heroes. Perez’s greatest skill. Managing to not only represent such a wide range of characters but to give them their due respect representing them properly with each their own unique designs and convey their personalities and attitudes. Even showcasing a glimpse of backstory through each character’s expressions, statures and interactions.
Issue # 7, Page 193 – into the negative universe.
The maelstrom of energy, the raging storm of chaos, the immediate danger and the need for urgency is very palpable in this image. A very visceral, kinetic, tense panel. The art does A LOT of heavy lifting here.
Issue #7, Page 209 to 213 – Supergirl dies
I’ve shown plenty of panels of this fight, and Wolfman has done a marvelous job of setting up Supergirl as a character with admire and empathise with. Her end becomes the more tragic for it, but the ferocity shown of her end makes her death one of the most courageous in comic history.
Issue #1, Page 1 vs Issue #11, page 1 – Multiverse vs Single universe
Everything old is new again. Page One of Issue #1 vs Page One of Issue # 11. It’s official. We have no more multiverse and just the one earth. Welcome to the new DC Universe.
TOP 5 “Crisis on Infinite Earths” Moments
#5 – The Death of Lex Luthor of Earth 2 by Brainiac
After a rousing speech from Brainiac to the caste of kidnapped villains, only Lex Luthor of Earth Two is bold enough, arrogant enough, to be the loudest voice in the room. “Wait one bloody second!” he chimes up with what I imagine to be a heavy cockney English accent. One second is what he is barely given before Brainiac coolly, coldly, logically atomises Luther to ash, a poignant full stop to his call to arms. Amongst a stunned audience of super-villains Earth One’s Lex gets on with business. Don’t worry about the mess boys and girls, Brainaic will arrange to have that cleaned up…
#4 – The Death of the Monitor and the Apparent End of Earth’s 1 & 2
The arrival of Pariah to the scene should have been a big clue, but it is startling none-the-less. His death was foretold to us by The Monitor himself earlier in the series, but for it to occur in issue 4? How will the worlds survive without the architect of their salvation?
A possessed Harbinger killing The Monitor may not have been a surprise, but the resulting crumbling, fading of two Earths into blank white nothingness is a stunning cliffhanger. Pariah watches it all unfold in anguish on the Monitors, well, tv monitors as the universes last hope disappears from existence. How can there possibly be an issue 5??
George Perez does some amazing work here, particularly these last 4 pages as Harbinger falls exhausted, leaving a long energy trail and with Pariah’s shock of the dead Monitor at his feet, possibly the only one who could answer the questions regarding his torturous, ever going existence from tragedy to tragedy. Pariahs shock, despair and anguish gives emotional weight to what is at stake here, beautifully rendered with Perez’s pencils. It’s panels like these that draw attention to the important works of the colourers and inkers. The varied coloured planets and cosmic litter spiralling as if down a drainpipe to nothingness gives a glaring finality.
“And now there is nothing… And the man called Pariah can only cry!” Pariah doing what he does best. Truer words were never spoken!
#3 – Psimon is Shot in the Head
A lot of death happening in this Top 5 list, and in the Crisis on Infinite Earths in general, but this one was one of the more entertaining, or at least as amusing as seeing visualised someone’s brains blown out can be. CoIE # 9 ends with a cliffhanger. Brainiac and Lex Luthor’s plans of multiple world domination was going as well as they could hope, until Brainiac suddenly explodes and a gleeful Psimon steps out of the shadows, intent on killing Luthor next and ruling in their place.
This little melodrama is quickly resolved in the first few issues of CoIE #10. Psimon, like any good Supervillain worthy of the title, is happy to gloat over his helpless victim and detail out his masterplan. He should have just jumped to the killing, because he’s allowed Brainiac to piece together a fresh metallic body to get around in, all the better to blow the head off Psimon, spraying shards of glass and organic brain matter all over his nice clean shiny ship
That big, round, clear skull and that pulsating brain of Psimons makes for such a tantalising target…!
#2 – The Death of The Flash
The mystery of The Flash is punctuated throughout the series as early as issue # 2, when the visage of his frail, weak body appears before Batman pleading for help. Kidnapped by the Anti-Monitor because of the possible threat The Flash poses due to his dimensional hopping capabilities, The Flash is trapped and tortured by the Psycho-Pirate with his emotion-manipulating powers.
The Flash is in a dark place, both literally and figuratively, alone with nowhere to escape. He has learnt of a threat to his Earth and he’s helpless to do anything about it. Added to this, Psych Pirate keeps filling him with fear. Barry Allen is at his most hopeless. But good heroes find a way. And The Flash is a good one. He breaks free of his prison, overcomes his fears and although exhausted and overwhelmed, pushes on, fighting back. He stumbles across the Anti-Monitors super-weapon aimed at the remaining Earths and knows what he must do. Run.
Creating a vortex to push the anti-matter against itself, he crushes the cannon. However, he knows that what is required from him will take him too far to come back from. He knows what he must do will be the death of him. He knows he must sacrifice himself to save everyone he loves. And he does it regardless. He dies alone, in an alternate dimension in a struggle no one will even know happened. He dies as he lived, a true hero.
#1 – The Death of Supergirl
This is the centrepiece of the entire series and a death that echoed across a generation throughout the comic industry. The sacrifice on the altar of a new DC Universe that had to happen. Sure the final blow came from the Anti-Monitor, but the true killers sat amongst the staff of DC editorial. Potentially the most meta-death in the history of comics?
Marv Wolfman spent the previous issues of CoIE highlighting the virtues of Supergirl, giving us that lasting impression of the innate goodness we would soon be robbed of. There isn’t too much more to say that I haven’t already detailed earlier in this review. But to reiterate, a lot of the credit for the impact of this scenes lies at the feet of the great George Perez, who’s panels showcased the ferocity and power of the blows, the emotion in the struggle, the anguish and grief of the aftermath.
It could be argued no other characters death depicted in Super-Hero comics has the emotional weight that is presented here. Also, in context to the story, the stakes become very personal and permeates a sense of fear and anxiety throughout the rest of the series. Maybe we just may not survive this one?
TOP 5 dismaying “Crisis on Infinite Earths” Moments
#5 – The Sacrifice of Kole
Kole’s abilities are attributed to her parents, who through experimentation attempted to turn people into bug / human hybrids so they could survive a nuclear Armageddon, but instead accidentally gifted Kole with crystal-spinning powers. Her true origins, however, are even more depraved.
You see, Marv Wolfman created her solely to be killed off within the pages of Crisis. He knew his fellow writers and editors wouldn’t be happy with him killing off THEIR characters. So he would have to offer up one of his own, like a King sacrificing his loyal subjects to appease angry Gods.
Now here we have Kole, fighting evil, saving lives, being a hero with her Titan teammates, before the bitter end of her short, sad life.
At least she made it to the final issue before being killed off by Shadow Demons, shattered like so much broken crystal.
#4 – Pariah cries and cries and cries and cries…
The guy has been forced to watch countless worlds die by a relentless anti-matter wave. What else is the guy to do? He’s the guy people would whisper to each other “don’t mention the war” about. The guy who isn’t happy unless he’s not happy. It takes a while, but Emo-Boy does find some semblance of backbone as the story grows, and some peace.
#3 – The Luthors go to the U.N.
Even in a Super-Hero crammed world, this would be an unusual day at the UN.
LANA LANG – “Live at the United Nations in New York. At the podium is Alexander Luthor, no apparent relation to the criminal Lex Luthor of our Earth. Even though he shares the same name and looks just like him.”
ALEXANDER LUTHOR – “…even my body, previously half anti-matter, has reverted to its normal positive matter state.”
LANA LANG – “Hmmm. No idea what THAT means, but please do go on.”
LYLA – “I have at my disposal information gathered by The Monitor.”
LANA LANG – “Hmmm. Strange that she would refer to her computer as ‘The Monitor’, but ok.”
LYLA – “I have already placed much of that knowledge in the hands of the Secretary General to share with all the surviving worlds.”
SECRETARY GENERAL – “I have no – ZERO – idea what the hell these people are on about. I’ve been handed pages of nonsense.”
LANA LANG – “Apologies Secretary General, the guy in the cape with the purple hair is about to speak.”
PARIAH – “The danger appears over, for I remain here on Earth and have not been summoned elsewhere.”
LANA LANG – “Well that’s… reassuring?”
SECRETARY GENERAL – “As you know Mr. Pariah, the nations of this Earth never agreed on…”
LANA LANG – “It seems that the Secretary General hasn’t noticed that Mr. Pariah seems to be under some duress…!”
Pariah disappears in a flash of green lightening. A gigantic holographic image of Brainiac’s metallic skull appears over the entire startled sitting council.
LANA LANG – “Brainiac has now appeared and is addressing the UN body unannounced in what can be described as a flagrant disregard for protocol.”
Lex Luthor appears as a hologram and demands total surrender of all Earths or threatens total and complete annihilation.
LANA LANG – “And with that, this concludes one of the more interesting days at the UN, and yet, true to form, nothing is accomplished.”
#2 – Robin says the quiet part out loud: Batman vs the Anti-Monitor at the beginning of time
The heroes are brought back in time to “a time before time. Before thought. Before creation” and are seemingly floating in a white, limbo nothingness. The energy casting super-heroes all blast the Anti-Monitor while the gravity defying super strong heroes all pummel him with their fists, all with very little effect.
“Batman, we haven’t got any powers. What can we do?” asks a perplexed Robin.
“We can share our courage. We can give them hope.”
So nothing Batman. You can’t do a goddamn thing. You had no business taking them there in the first place Alexander Luthor! They are all absolutely tits-on-a-bull useless. I’m just as perplexed as Robin appears to be.
#1 – Superman has tried to destroy life as we know it on Earth
“What you’re talking about Spectre is changing history. That can’t be done. Lord knows I’ve tried to.”
“It can be Superman, but only at the dawn of time.”
Wonder Woman nudges Batman. “Go on! Go talk to him!”
“Ok, ok, geez!”
Batman approaches Superman. “Uh, Superman, a quick word?”
“Sure, what is it Batman?”
“Well, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and I were talking… and well, we couldn’t help but overhear… Did you say you’ve previously tried to change the course of history??”
“Well certainly, yes.”
“Yeah… um. Can you like, not go and do that? Please? Not unless you’ve talked it through with us first?”
“Huh”
“I mean, we’re kinda glad it didn’t work cause we’ve tried really hard and put in a lot, like A LOT, of work to improve this place and we would hate to lose it all cause you stepped on a bug in the Jurassic Age or something.”
“Yeah, ok. I see where you’re at. Good notes. Fair point.”
“OK, so… we cool?”
“Yep, absolutely. Good chat” Fist bump.
Best Cover
How can you go past this iconic masterpiece??!
The cover image that spawned a thousand tribute covers. Not a Hoax! Not a Dream! You will believe a Supergirl can Die! How many covers show the apparent ‘death’ of a Superhero? Well, this one is the real deal, which makes Superman’s outpouring of grief here more poignant and all the more memorable.
Best Cover Runner Up
Attack of the Villains! Tight race for runner up. This one though is not only incredibly detailed but perceptively clever. Again, his attention to detail here is without peer, but the confronting image of the reader’s perspective being face to faces with DC’s most evil is alluring and compelling. Except for maybe Dr. Shivera. He looks like someone you could easily bully some lunch money out of.
NOTABLE QUOTES
“In the beginning there was only one. A single black infinitude.” THAT’S how you start a crossover event! – Issue #1
“Don’t you people understand that there is no hope in running?” Pariah is his upbeat self – Issue #1
“I am… The Monitor! And I have summoned you here because your universes are about to die!” Melodramatic much Monitor? – Issue #1
“Only movie you’ll ever make Joker is the sequel to ‘The Prisoner’! And I don’t mean the one in that village!” Oh Batman, you’re such a card. – Issue #2
“I witness tragedy. And my being here means disaster is soon to strike!” Um, does anyone want to swap seats? Pariah is making friends – Issue #2
“Destroy the Luthor child. The Dead can present no threat!” Anti-Monitor’s election promise. – Issue #3
“WGBS, as well as other communications services, will remain on air during this entire crisis” Film at eleven. Lana Lang in the thick of it. – Issue #5
“Pirate, on a world where life has evolved little from its Amoebic state, you are its lowest specimen!” Anti-Monitor can expect a call from Human Resources. – Issue #6
“Your forbidden experiments unleashed an evil universe. For that you must be punished”. The OAians send Krona to the naughty corner. – Issue #7
“We can still have some leverage. A world or two for our participation.” Lex Luthor clutches at straws. – Issue #10
“Even I don’t know how I disappeared. But I’m here.” About as much explanation for Superboy’s involvement that we can expect. – Issue #10
“I’m not the daughter of Earth-2’s Batman for nothing. I checked the phonebook.” Huntress: Earth-2s greatest detective – Issue #11
“We can’t let Kid-Flash run riot over Quard. West’ll have the Anti-Monitor to deal with.” Kids. Am I right Superman? – Issue #12
SO WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT?
Well Monitor, if your grand plans included your death and to utilise the powers embodied in an infant child whilst being sent just in the nick of time from a parallel Earth on the verge of a collapsing continuum, an encounter that in your own words “I could not have expected”, then good job.
Perhaps a little less time spying on people and selling weapons to bad guys and instead use the millions of years you’ve had, and come up with a plan that doesn’t all hinge on lucky coincidence? I mean seriously, you could have ended this unnecessary shit fight a millennia ago.
Anti-monitor, enough with the Psycho-Pirates, Red Tornados and shadow demons, just get it done already.
Deciding to do a ‘reboot’ is like starting a war: you should always have an exit strategy or the messy repercussions last for decades. Get all your creatives on the same page from the get-go.
And we still don’t know what the fuck a “Netherverse’” is Wolfman!
MAIN CHARACTERS
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
RELATED STORIES
Prior to the release of the mini-series, there was an editorial mandate that characters and plot points from CoIE be introduced to all titles currently being published across the DCU comics line. The idea was to build up the event and create hype for the coming changes. To this end, there was a large range of lead in and tie-in comics, both with and without the Crisis on Infinite Earths masthead. I’ve obviously not included any of them in this already comprehensive review, but a complete list can be found here: Tie-ins.
DC’s next crossover event “Legends” was originally intended as a sequel with a working title “Crisis of the Soul” or some such, but the sequel concept was abandoned focusing on just the heroes in this ‘New Earth’. Not a bad idea, considering Crisis on Infinite Earths was established to create a new ‘normal’, so best to leave the ‘Crisis’ behind and start playing in the new space.
“Zero Hour: Crisis in Time” was dubbed a ‘follow up’ to CoIE and not as much a sequel per se, as an attempt to clean up some of the fallout continuity damage from CoIE. The results, it can be argued, made more damage than it was able to clean up.
The true sequel was ‘Infinite Crisis’ by Geoff Johns who revisited characters CoIE introduces such as Alexander Luthor, Superboy Prime and Earth One Superman. The plot and main storyline spin directly from events that took place in Crisis on Infinite Earths but it’s very much its own beast.
It takes a darker turn and doesn’t have much of the original tone, emotional pull or gravitas. It is very much a new story based on original CoIE characters as opposed to a direct continuation of the characters we recognise. Without much tweaking, you could change the main antagonists to original characters and still keep the same story. Still, similar to CoIE, it has many tie-ins and crossovers, but has its own strengths, passions and punch.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
In the few years after CoIE, remaining original characters such as Harbinger, Lady Quark and Pariah had few and floating appearances before fading into obscurity until fresh appearances in the post-New 52 era some 25 plus years later. But we did get small stories for Harbinger and Pariah in issues of New Titans, Animal Man, Infinity Inc. and Lady Quark as a reoccurring character in L.E.G.I.O.N. There is at least some answers to what happened to these characters out there if you are keen to hunt them down.
Notable appearances
Harbinger / Lyla:
- Millennium (miniseries) (1988)
- New Guardians (#1 to #12) (1988)
- Green Lantern (The Third Law) (#32 & #35) (1992)
Lady Quark:
- Starman (#8) (1989)
- L.E.G.I.O.N. (#16 to #63) (1990)
- Infinite Crisis (miniseries) (2006)
Pariah:
- Starman (1989)
- New Titans (1991)
- War of the Gods (miniseries) (1991)
Psycho-Pirate:
- Infinity Inc / Outsiders Specials (1987)
- Animal Man (#22 to #24) (1990)
And now we have a new DCU. The Multiverse hit the “reset” button and we’re left with the one shiny new universe, fresh for new readers to jump on board. At the time, this would have been a little confusing to new readers. There wasn’t a new line of “Issue #1s” released like the New 52 (although this concept was floated). This feels like the right direction as it offered a degree of respect to the stories and creators that added to the mythology beforehand. It also works in continuity, as the events in CoIE recognises the worlds and stories that did exist, and there are still characters in the “New Earth” that still hold memories of the multiverse that is no more. However retrospectively, if a new reader wanted to begin reading the DCU from the post-crisis world, where to begin?
As a device to attract new readers, it was an unbridled success. Crisis on Infinite Earths was a huge seller. But now that we have your attention, what do we do with it? Unfortunately the ‘Post-Crisis’ reality isn’t clear cut and the question “when does the new post-Crisis DCU begin?” is fraught with contradictions. It would be easy to say it begins after issue 12 of CoIE. This would have been the ideal month to have all titles lean into a fresh jumping on point. CoIE Issue 12 was cover dated March 1986, so this would be cover date April 1986. But it seems not all writers and editors got the memo as many titles either continued with pre-crisis characters and storylines, and some directly referenced the events that occurred during Crisis, an event that all characters we’re told had seemingly forgotten.
Cover date Jan 1987 would’ve been a nice, clean starting point and also begins new adventures of Superman starting with John Byrne’s run with freshly minted Superman #1. However, many titles are in the middle of storylines on Jan ’87, including the current LEGENDS mini-series. Based on this crossover event alone, calling out 1987 as the new beginning of the DCU is just plain in error. So what is the answer? Where is the line in the sand?
Unfortunately, that line in the sand isn’t a straight line, and it’s wide open for interpretation. The new reality has the post-crisis DCU starting at different cover dates for each title. Some writers / editors ignored the ‘post-crisis’ concept all together, but others, like All-Star Squadron writer Roy Thomas did his best to pay proper respect to the widespread changes triggered by CoIE and incorporate the ‘New Earth’ into his storyline. It’s this title that alludes to the idea of an ‘alignment period’, where the outcomes from Crisis on Infinite Earths occurred, yet the new, singular DCU took some time to align, re-write and correct itself into the ‘New Earth’ of the post-crisis DCU. (Antagonist “Mekanique” reveals that she had been holding back the “sweeping effects” of the Crisis on Infinite Earths from taking place until her mission has been fulfilled). This clever devices allows writers to tie up their storylines and provides opportunity to offer defence to inconsistencies in continuity. OK, but enough already you non-descript, over analytical, comic book blogger! I hear you say. Give me something to work with! At what point do I begin to obsessively start buying up comics that I can confidently identify as ‘post-crisis’? *sigh* I’m working on it. Around this period I breakdown the comics into 4 different distinct categories: Pre-Crisis, The Crisis Event, Post-Crisis Alignment and Post Crisis. To identify MY version of what is the post-crisis DCU, click here. This is my interpretation, I’m happy to debate any choices I’ve made, and I’ll happily add corrections where necessary. I have yet to add to my collection all comics published after their crisis tie-ins, but I’ve done my best to verify with the information available on the internet (the collecting however is ongoing).
Some of the more obvious new DCU starting points:
The History of the DC Universe (Issues #1 and #2)
Written by Marv Wolfman. Art by George Pérez & Karl Kesel.
This gives a detailed history of the new DCU up to the published books. This would be the definitive starting point of the post-crisis DCU reality.
Superman: The Man of Steel (Issues #1 to #6)
Written by and art by John Byrne.
The re-telling of the Superman legend up to the point of Superman title publishing.
Superman #1, Action Comics #584 and Adventures of Superman #424
Written by and art by John Byrne (Superman & Action Comics)
Written by Marv Wolfman, Art by Gerry Conway (Adventures of Superman)
Legends Mini-series (Issues #1 to #6 plus tie-ins)
Written by John Ostrander and Len Wein, art by John Byrne and Karl Kessel.
Batman #401
Written by Barbara Kesel, art by Trevor von Eeden.
Wonder Woman #1
Written by Greg Potter and George Perez, art by George Perez.
Flash #1
Written by Mike Baron, art by Jackson Guice.
Justice League of America #1
Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, art by Kevin Maguire.
Some key continuity problems
With this amount of change some properties didn’t make it out unscathed. Here are some characters that struggled in the brave new DCU:
Legion of Superheroes
With the erasure of Super-Boy, so was the deletion of the Legion of Super-Heroes identity. Early popularity of the Legion was the membership of Super-boy and his many early adventures with the futuristic Legion. With Superboy no longer ever existing, the Legion book struggled to introduce this new change into its continuity and what was once a flagship title of DC comics slowly but surely slipped further and further into obscurity.
Hawkman
Hawkman and Hawkgirl had already looked to integrate conflicting origins into a singular narrative. Egyptian mythology, resurrections and alien policemen and women were already part of a convoluted history and post-crisis it only got messier. In hindsight the ‘New Earth’ would have been the perfect milestone for a clean-up, but the opportunity slipped by. Zero Hour was the attempt to right these wrongs, but it can be argued this only exacerbated the issue.
Aquaman
The origin of Aquaman is like a ‘choose your own adventure’. Which path would you prefer to pick? 1986 introduced another attempt to give us an Aquaman in a ‘bold new direction’, steeped in magic, a rich underwater culture, community and mythology of its own and a brand-new costume. It didn’t stick and is largely ignored. I’ve relegated this version into the ‘post-crisis alignment’ category. A few years later Peter David introduced “The Atlantis Chronicles” which was the ongoing history until the New 52.
Superman in Booster Gold intro
In Feb 1986 Dan Jurgens introduced us to Booster Gold, time displaced hero from the future. His first issue was cover dated with the same date as CoIE #11, but it would be safe to call out Booster as a ‘post-crisis’ creation. Booster Gold settled in Metropolis to make a name for himself as a Super-Hero, so he was always destined to encounter the Man of Steel at some point. Website “DC Fandom” represents Booster Gold issue # 6 as the first appearance of post crisis Superman, but John Byrnes Superman: The Man of Steel mini wasn’t due for release for another 2 months. This Superman doesn’t recognise the Legion of Super-Heroes flight ring, so safe to assume he wasn’t a legacy Superman. But to be very nit-picky, I can’t help but feel Byrne had earned the right to give us the first new Superman appearance, so I’ve chosen to allocate the first 7 issues of Booster Gold into the “Post-crisis alignment” category. Basically, I see the first seven issues as “post-crisis, just don’t pay too much attention to the Superman bit”.
CONCLUSION
OK, that’s it. Enough’s enough. Crisis review all said and done. Welcome to New Earth. If you made it this far, well done. It was fun for me to dive deep into this tome and explore all the fascinating corners of the story, its importance to the DC Universe and the comics industry in general.
I have a lot of love for this book. It’s a comfort zone and has been great fun flipping through its pages as I review it. It’s my hope that you’ve been inspired to crack into this story for the first time if you haven’t already (sorry for the spoilers) or pick it up for a re-read with a fresh perspective. Marv Wolfman and George Perez should be commended for weaving together such an incredible tale from what was an audacious challenge. It isn’t without some holes or dangling threads but give it another go. I think you’ll find it holds up pretty well. Any comments, suggestions, thoughts or corrections please leave them in the comments.