Infinite Crisis is a seven-issue comic book limited series published by DC Comics, which began October, 2005. Written by Geoff Johns; art by Phil Jimenez and George Perez. Each issue features two different covers, one by George Pérez and another by Jim Lee and Sandra Hope.
Infinite Crisis, sequel to the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, revisits characters and concepts from that earlier series, including the existence of a multiverse with alternate versions of iconic characters (such as the Golden Age Superman). A major theme is the nature of heroism, contrasting "darker," conflicted heroes of recent years with memories of "lighter", more noble, collegial heroes of the past.
While the story's plot received its start in the 2004 limited series Identity Crisis, many subsequent tie-ins explored and expanded upon various Crisis-driven events. DC officially began leading up with the one-shot issue Countdown to Infinite Crisis, followed by four six-issue limited series tied into Infinite Crisis and culminating in Infinite Crisis. A trade paperback, Prelude to Infinite Crisis (June 2005), collects earlier tie-ins to Infinite Crisis.
After Infinite Crisis #5, most ongoing DC Universe series will jump forward in time to pick up "One Year Later." A weekly series titled 52 begins publication in May 2006 to fill in that missing year in "real time."
Leadups
Infinite Crisis was announced in March 2005. The event was kicked off with the release of Countdown to Infinite Crisis (which had previously been downplayed as the "DC Countdown" to keep the true title and nature of the upcoming miniseries a secret). Countdown to Infinite Crisis was followed by four six-issue miniseries, plus an additional one-shot special for each of those miniseries.
Countdown to Infinite Crisis
In Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Ted Kord (the Blue Beetle) discovers his former Justice League associate Maxwell Lord has been using Justice League files and Batman's Brother Eye satellite to spy on the metahuman community, which he considers a threat to the human race. Lord shoots Kord in the head, killing him.
The OMAC Project
The OMAC Project picks up directly from the events of Countdown to Infinite Crisis. The OMACs are modified humans who work as sleeper agents, a product of the Checkmate organization now led by Maxwell Lord, and rise to destroy metahumans.
Rann-Thanagar War
Rann-Thanagar War follows the war between Rann and Thanagar. At the end of the series the war has not ended, but Hawkwoman is dead and a rip in the space-time fabric emerges. The rip resembles similar rips seen in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Villains United
Villains United focuses on the new "Secret Society of Super Villains", organized by Lex Luthor. The Society is resisted by the Secret Six, a group brought together by a mysterious figure known as Mockingbird. The central revelation is that Mockingbird is actually Lex Luthor, and that the Luthor organizing the Secret Society is actually an alternate-universe version of Luthor.
Day of Vengeance
Day of Vengeance follows the Spectre's quest to destroy all magic and the magical heroes who oppose him.
Notable tie-ins
Though this article is not a complete checklist of Infinite Crisis tie-ins, the following list reports on key events in other DC titles that have crossed into the Infinite Crisis story. Several early tie-ins were re-printed in the trade paperback Prelude to Infinite Crisis.
- DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy #1-4. Donna is resurrected by the Titans of Myth. She is revealed to be the embodiment of all the Donna Troys who existed across the multiverse and now possesses all their memories.
- Hawkman #47-49 "Coalition in Crisis". After the Rann-Thanagar War, Hawkman, and Hawkgirl join forces with Adam Strange to battle alien invaders seeking to destroy the planet Rann.
- Nightwing #109-115. Nightwing infiltrates the The Society as a hitman for Deathstroke. The story sets up Blüdhaven's fate in Infinite Crisis #4 and Nightwing's role in the story.
- JLA #115-119 "Crisis of Conscience". This story covers the breakdown of relationships within the Justice League of America over events that occurred in Identity Crisis, and ends with the destruction of the lunar Watchtower, which leads directly into Infinite Crisis.
- JSA Classified #1-4 "Power Trip". Re-establishes Power Girl as the cousin of the Superman of Earth-Two.
- Superman/Wonder Woman: "Sacrifice". Max Lord takes mental control of Superman, forcing him to attack and injure Batman. Seeing no other way to end the threat Lord poses, Wonder Woman kills him in cold blood.
Editorial planning
Dan DiDio has stated that Infinite Crisis was being planned in some form for two years prior to its launch, starting with the "death" of Donna Troy.[1] The leadup was mostly understated until the release of the Adam Strange limited series in 2004, at which point industry press began to report that DC was planning a very large event, mentioning the titles Teen Titans, The Flash, and JSA, all written by Geoff Johns. [citation needed]
With Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Infinite Crisis began to visibly affect DC's editorial policy. Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison moved into editorial positions in addition to their writing duties, with Johns in charge of coordinating the coherence of the DC Universe and Morrison in charge of handling reimaginings of several characters. Mark Waid signed exclusively with DC, receiving a similar editorial role. DC replaced its decades-old logo with a new one that debuted on the first issue of DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy.
Aside from marking a major editorial shift within DC Comics, Infinite Crisis was a return to large company-wide crossovers of a sort that had been uncommon since the downturn of the comics industry in the 1990s.
Synopses
Infinite Crisis #1
The Justice League Watchtower has been destroyed, leading to a spat between Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. OMACs rampage across the world hunting down heroes and villains alike. Donna Troy gathers heroes to join her against a threat coming from a rift at the centre of the universe. Meanwhile, the Spectre's quest against magic peaks with the destruction of the Rock of Eternity. Villains of the world, led by a Lex Luthor imposter and banded together as the Society, kill and capture members of the Freedom Fighters.
In response to all this chaos, Kal-L, the Superman of Earth-Two breaks out of the "paradise" dimension in which he departed at the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths, accompanied by Lois Lane of Earth-Two, Superboy of Earth-Prime, and Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three.
Infinite Crisis #2
Society villains attempt to capture Power Girl but are defeated by Kal-L, who takes her to his companions. While the Luthor imposter cryptically assures the Society there is a "contingency plan" in place, the real Lex Luthor tracks the imposter's signal. After Kal-L relates to Power Girl the full nature of the Crisis, her memories of Earth-Two are restored.
Booster Gold attempts to find Blue Beetle's scarab, lost after the destruction of the Rock of Eternity. As several heroes join Donna Troy in space, the universe's native Superman is inspired by Batman's words to take a more active role in the world's current affairs. Batman learns from Brother Eye that the OMACs' current instructions are to exterminate the Amazons.
Kal-L declares his intentions to Power Girl: to reverse the result of the Crisis on Infinite Earths and bring about the return of Earth-Two, so that his Lois can recover from her sickly state, and so the world can return to what he sees as a past heroic and ideal state.
Infinite Crisis #3
The Spectre destroys much of Atlantis. At the same time, chunks of the Rock of Eternity fall in El Paso, Texas where a young man, Jaime Reyes, finds the Blue Beetle's scarab.
The OMAC attack on Themyscira intensifies. Wonder Woman learns Brother Eye is broadcasting the assault across the world to discredit her and her nation further. Diverting the OMACs away from the Amazon armies, Diana orders her sisters to retreat and calls on Athena to send Paradise Island into another dimension while she stays behind to fight.
While Power Girl struggles with everything she has learned, Kal-L visits Batman to enlist his support, stating that the mistrust and hostility Batman developed was because of the Post-Crisis Earth's inherent "bad" nature. Recognizing this plan's genocidal implications, Batman attacks Kal-L with a kryptonite ring. Immune to this universe's kryptonite, Kal-L incinerates the ring. After the encounter, Batman learns Earth-Prime's Superboy destroyed the JLA Watchtower.
The two Luthors confront each other, only to have one reveal himself as Earth-Three's Alexander Luthor. Power Girl learns Alex and Superboy have created a machine, using kidnapped heroes and villains specifically attuned to former universes as well as the remains of the Anti-Monitor—presumably to restore Earth-Two. However, Alexander and Superboy seem to have another agenda in mind. Alexander states, as Superboy attacks Power Girl, that Earth-Two is just a step along the way.
Infinite Crisis #4
The Brotherhood of Evil drops Chemo on Blüdhaven, killing thousands. Batman tells Nightwing this is a distraction and enlists his help. In a Gotham City morgue, the Spectre is forced into his new host, Crispus Allen. In Texas, Booster Gold discovers the Blue Beetle scarab has attached itself to Jaime Reyes.
Superboy-Prime confronts Kon-El for not appreciating the life he has, and attacks. The Doom Patrol, Justice Society, and Teen Titans intervene, but the powerful and out-of-control Superboy Prime kills several. Jay Garrick, Wally West and Bart Allen force him into the Speed Force, assisted by speedsters already in the Speed Force. Jay Garrick, the only speedster left behind, says the Speed Force is gone.
Alexander reveals to Power Girl that he and Superboy-Prime had been leaving their "paradise" earlier than Kal-L and orchestrating recent events to keep this universe's heroes distracted and to shift the center of the universe from Oa to where Earth-Two's center used to be, creating an 'access point' in space. Alex created the tuning fork using the Anti-Monitor's corpse and certain individuals (kidnapped by the Society and Superboy-Prime) who had vibrational frequencies of the former multiverse in their genes. Alex gave Brother Eye sentience to direct the tower's energy and remap the universe. For fuel, he had Eclipso tempt the Spectre into demolishing the framework of magic, leaving magic in a raw form. Alex obtains access to that raw magic by coercing Black Adam to speak Shazam's name, powering the tuning fork to bring about the return of Earth-Two, separate from the current Earth. All heroes native to it are transported there.
Consequences
Deaths
Although it has been suggested that cover art presented for pre-order solicitations confirms some deaths, it should be noted that, in an interview accesible at Newsarama.com, Executive Editor Dan DiDio would not confirm whether that was how the cover art would actually appear.
Leadup to Infinite Crisis
The following characters died in the six-month leadup:
|
|
Infinite Crisis
The following characters died during the events of Infinite Crisis:
|
|
Missing or presumed dead, but unconfirmed
|
|
Returns
Prior to and during the Infinite Crisis, the following characters along returned from death or long absence:
|
|
See also
- 52: Weekly storyline post-Crisis, and related events.