Crisis on Infinite Earths #1

[history79]

"While writing Green Lantern I received a letter from a fan asking about a mixup in DC continuity. In my reply I said, “One day we (meaning the DC editorial we) will probably straighten up what is in the DC Universe ... and what is outside.” At this point in its history DC Comics had Earth-One, Earth-Two, Earth-Three, Earth-B, etc. There were super-heroes on each Earth and though old-time readers had no problem understanding DC continuity, it proved off-putting to new readers who suddenly discovered there was not one but three Supermans, Wonder Womans, Batmans, etc."

- Marv Wolfman




10.66 pages of 32

Comments

[riddler13]

This is a mess made to correct several messes. It's a good story but always gives me a splitting headache.

[matrix_dragon]

I always love the bit on that second page, where, even knowing it won't achieve anything, Pariah still tries to save that kid being swept up by the Wall.

[tcampbell1000]

DC's beautiful hot mess.

Beginning with the Crime Syndicate's death was an almost cost-free and wise choice. There was no way the Syndicate could survive if the object of the game was to end up with one Earth, because their gimmick isn't JUST to be the evil JLA but to rule their world as the JLA protect theirs. Of course, the "one true universe" policy only stuck at DC for so long, but that was the endgame here. And killing them off establishes, none too subtly, that this is a threat that can white out the Actual JLA just as easily.

I'm sorry, but Superwoman's death makes me chuckle. She's the only one not on board with the gravitas of these opening pages, but her humor isn't as forced as it often is with Wolfman's joker characters. Her last words are essentially, "Oh, now YOU'RE here too? FFS."

None of these characters except the Psycho Pirate were obscure when this book came out, but a few of them are real footnotes now. At the same time, a lot of big stars were passed over. We don't get much explanation for most of the Monitor's draft picks here, but it's still refreshing today to see a crossover that doesn't go RIGHT STRAIGHT to the most popular characters at the company and let everyone else hash out their roles in spinoff books.

The business with Killer Frost falling in love with Firestorm (thanks to Psycho Pirate manipulating her, because Harbinger told him to, because the Monitor told HER to... whew) is... I think "dated" is the best word. Presumably, the Monitor needed her cold powers and needed her to put aside her psychotic hatred of Firestorm and men in general long enough to get the job done (yeah, her character got a lot less cliched in more recent incarnations). Ethically iffy, but excusable given the stakes.

But the only reason she's not manipulated to just feel love for humanity in general is so we can get some reverse Pepe Le Pew action going. Firestorm's not directly responsible for her mental state, and she IS normally trying to kill him, so it makes sense his compassion is a bit thin. Still, that "She's not THAT bad-looking. Maybe..." is... too far. Even for a hormonally confused teenager, it's just too far.

"Hey, look! That 'Monitor' guy has the same silhouette as those shadow demons that just attacked us! KILL HIM!"

[bruinsfan]

We don't get much explanation for most of the Monitor's draft picks here, but it's still refreshing today to see a crossover that doesn't go RIGHT STRAIGHT to the most popular characters at the company and let everyone else hash out their roles in spinoff books.

I really liked the initial team of a dozen heroes that the Monitor picked before the event opened up to encompass all the DC heroes. Dawnstar and Arion were favorites of mine back in the day, and the first superhero comic book I ever recall reading featured the original Golden Age Superman drawn by Wally Wood, so it was a joy to see him with a prominent role in the action.

[scorntx]

An inelegant solution to a problem, this.
And the general end-result, the JSA, the JLA, the Fawcett characters and All The Rest living on the same earth, is a good move.
The means and methods used to get there... not so much.

The symbolism of little baby Alex being rocketed off by his parents in the face of total annihilation is kind of... not fitting, as such, but... there's a nice poetry to it.
(Even if his being the kid of a Lex and a Lois Lane causes a minor case of the oojahs. T'ain't natural!)
Really horrible what's in store for him, though.

And gosh, what a difference thirty odd years makes.
All these nobodies, like Solovar, and Arion.
Barely even a trace of Batman. He doesn't even have a major character arc through the event.
What a difference.

You almost get the feeling that Solovar's about to break out into a stirring rendition of "Apes Are Better Than People", with his constant going on about how apes are so much wiser and kinder and just better than those stupid, smelly humans.
"We're better than you. We just brainwash criminals, which is obviously so much more merciful than anything you primitive humans could do, with your beer and baseball and MTVs."

Not to slam against Perez, (unless it was Wolfman's choice), but the panel layout gets really jumbled at several points.
Like the page when Pariah shows up in front of Power Ring and Ultraman.
Really not a good choice.

[locuatico]

I do like the E-3 luthor death (and really, this is not Lois Lane, this is E-3 Lois Lane). It is clearly a parallel to Superman's origin using a version of one of his most iconic nemesis. It subtle says something interesting: that Luthor, had he used his intelect and resources for good, would have been as much as a brilliant scientist as Jor-El. and that's a parallel i wish more works used rather than him and Superman.

[zylly]

There's a fantastic sequence, late into the series, where all the fliers and strongmen and zappers are fighting the Anti-Monitor, while the non-powered and such just look on.

Jason asks Batman what they can do in such a situation.

And Batman basically says, "Pray."

Yep. Batman just admitted there wasn't a damn thing he could do.

[locuatico]

I really, really like this story.
However, I also think it is a sort of Original Sin for DC. This is the story that will being DC's tendency to try to cosmically alter reality and overcomplicate things to justify what, ultimately, are retcons plain and simple

[lizard_of_aus]

Almost fitting, then, that the plot should all centre around Krona's Original Sin that created the antimatter universe.

[idiotalchemist]

This story's got its faults, but my gosh I don't think its sheer scale has ever been equaled. The scope of it, the display of the vastness of the DC Universe, the intricate and detailed art of George Perez that allows the eye to see everything without being bogged down into a mess, this is what an event comic should be.

Yeah, it's still a mess, but it's a glorious one. It doesn't spit on the characters or make them OOC in order to hammer in some inane point, it lets them shine and really shows why we love these comics, warts and all.

And Perez art did I mention the Perez art because the PEREZ ART.

[an_idol_mind]

Perez has a lot of good qualities, but he's sort of the ultimate go-to guy if you need a lot of details on that page that each stand out in their own way.

It's a shame Peter David work is banned here, because I would love to show off the trophy room from Future Imperfect.

[idiotalchemist]

Why is he banned?

[dcbanacek]

Long story short, Peter David doesn't like people posting his work where he won't get paid for it.

[bj_l]

That's not even correct.

[bj_l]

Because the people who run this place hold grudges for a looooong time.

[amaniwolf]

No matter what, still an all time fave of mine, just the sheer grandeur of it. Nothing like it had been tried up to this point and that art, still epic.

[remial]

wait, weren't the Crime Syndicate living in an anti-matter universe? then why would an anti-matter wall destroy everything?

[zylly]

It's a beautifully drawn series, with some truly amazing moments of writing, and it operates on a scale never seen before.

But I have never bought the idea that they needed to simplify the universe because it was "too confusing."

Even as a youngster, reading my dad's old comics, the idea of there being more than one Superman or characters like Hourman or Doctor Fate who only existed on one Earth wasn't confusing. And besides, any time a parallel Earth did show up, there were a couple of panels explaining it.

And even weird stuff like the occasional appearance of an Earth-One Wildcat, or characters like Zatanna and Air Wave being the kids of what were ostensibly Earth-Two characters didn't bother me.

Consolidating the Earths did turn DC (eventually) into a universe defined by Legacy, which generated some amazing stories. But I don't buy for a second that "confusion" was the reason it needed doing.

[scorntx]

They don't mean the confusion of fans.
They mean their confusion.

They were making it easier for them to understand.

[zylly]

Now that's an angle I hadn't considered before...

[wizardru]

I think it was more a recognition that you had depression-era heroes running around side-by-side with heroes who had been introduced after the end of the Vietnam war and nobody was talking about how or why Wonder Woman and Batman and Superman still appeared to be functionally 30-ish and how their supporting casts also hadn't aged. The glaring social and technological differences were noticeable and only slated to get MORE noticeable. While I didn't have a problem with it, it did make for some odd story issues, with characters and story elements solidly bound to a time/place that receded into the past while the characters didn't. Some fans were hyper-sensitive about that stuff and Marvel's relatively tight narrative control reflected badly on DC, for some.

So it's not surprising that on their 50th anniversary, after years of flagging sales (and losing their top spot), DC would do something drastic. The story of how that happened and what happened is about as interesting as the comic itself, IMHO.

[zylly]

Now that's a point too. DC had resorted to various explanations to explain the JSA on their parallel Earth alone (such as various rejuvenations to outright saying that time didn't pass on the different Earths on a one to one basis). And the different stances on just how long any one character had been around were broadly inconsistent.

None of which bothered or bothers me, but Marvel was certainly a very different place at the time.

Which, of course, has been the problem ever since the FF debuted, in that DC wants to be Marvel oh so badly.