Infinite Crisis

While the creative team involved has made every effort to echo the themes of the original mega-crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis reads less like a multiverse spanning epic and more like just another Superman story, albeit with more guest stars than usual. To explain why this story could have easily fit into the monthly Superman or Action title would be to give away too much of the plot. Suffice to say, that the major antagonists are all "Super"-related as is much of the action.

Yes, Superman is the "first and geatest hero of all". And the original Crisis on Infinite Earths certainly gave Superman and his 'family' their due. But the scenes in CoIE spotlighting the other denizens of the DC Universe didn't seem like filler as they do in Infinite Crisis. The Flash scenes are nice, for example, but they seem to this reader like the sort of action given to a guest star in someone else's story. "Yes, guys, thanks a lot. But I'll still need to finish him off," I can almost here Supes saying.

When Infinite Crisis was announced, I had such high hopes. For Heaven's sakes, look at that creative team! And the final product is good. But it should have been great. Therefore, it's only mediocre . Y'know what i mean?

If you enjoyed Crisis on Infinite Earths, you will love Infinite Crisis! I enjoyed this one even more than the first Crisis, and now, I need to read Final Crisis. The story is beautifully tragic and the perfect sequel to the first.

There is no perfect Earth.

The DC universe is corrupt? Let's see...Joker actually turns out to be a hero (I know, he's not presented as one, but he offs AL, so he's a hero). Wonder Woman kills someone? Yeah, right. Batman actually points a gun at someone? Yeah, right again. The big blue schoolboy saves the universe? Hack, ptooey.

Everybody makes mistakes (the big idea from the series along with there's no perfect Earth). It's too bad that DC didn't realize that this series was one of them.

PROS: An excelent read, Gripping storylines and excelent hommage to the old universes. Hardcover makes for easy transport and lasts longer. Truely an Epic. my heart wept over the Earth-2 superman and really makes you question many of the morals and ethics Superhero's have.

CONS: a tad confuseing if you have not been keeping up to date in your DC universe or not read all of the backstories (OMAC, Villians United Etc.) if you remove the jacket, the hardcover is filled with pictures, so its kind of hard to store conspicuously (as i did with my Idenity Crisis Hardcover)

Bottom line: a must read for anybody who loves the DC universe.

What. The. F@#$? These three humble words were what came out of my shell-shocked mouth after I finished the enigma of comics called Infinite Crisis. Good Lord how the mighty have fallen. I previously read Crisis on Infinite Earths. Sure, it was complex and confusing BUT it also happened to be amazing. It was a frickin' masterpiece for God's sake. It is a perfect example (that no comic company seems to follow) of how to write event comic books well. Infinite Crisis pays `tribute' to Crisis on Infinite Earths by being a direct sequel. . .and raping the legacy `part one' established.

So what is Infinite Crisis about? You got me. It supposedly involves the select group of characters who survived the multiverse' eradication in Crisis on Infinite Earths (Superboy Prime, Alex Luthor from Earth 3, Superman from Earth 2 and Lois Lane from Earth 2). The problem though is that these heroes have now become monsters bent on ethnic/earthly cleansing. People that we actually cared for have become murdering, fascist bitch faces. Geoff Johns, the writer of Infinite Crisis, fails to make a tribute to Crisis on Infinite Earths by taking his wiener out and peeing all over the 20 year historical impact of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Every plot point stinks of `we're really stretching here readers. . .but take our word for it'.

I suppose the whole thing could be forgiven (well, okay, probably not) if the story itself was complete. Crisis on Infinite Earths did have a lot of crossover books that tied into the story but the original 12 issue series was self contained: you, in now way, had to read any of the side stories to `get' Crisis on Infinite Earths. Infinite Crisis, on the other hand, suffers from the 21st century marketing machine of the comic industry in which a label with the event title is placed on top of hundreds of issues of separate comics and, insultingly, are directly connected to the eventual limited run of the actual event.

What you get then are hundreds of `unimportant' comic books with nuanced, detailed story-lines followed by the actual important event that is so generalized and reliant on those previous issues that readers of the main event will have NO IDEA what is going on. You want background? Buy our other seventy five tie-in issues! Sure, I could have purchased other books and got the whole story but the question I'd be asking myself as I forked over $20 after $20 is WHY? Infinite Crisis is supposed to be a self contained, seven chapter series. But it isn't. The book makes no sense. . .but not because it didn't want to but because DC's wallet said so.

A lot of things happened in Crisis on Infinite Earths that effected the DC universe forever (supposedly) including character death. But all the characters that die seem to be back (i.e. Supergirl and Flash). Explanation? No. . .just guess. Infinite Crisis is a sequel to a story that is upended by DC's own mythology. But we could go on and on about Infinite Crisis' issues with it's connection to the story it so called gives tribute to. But there are other issues that make the book worthy of holding up your lopsided table (and that's all).

The most glaring example is, of course, the violence. I don't see why the authors felt that seeing people being beheaded, de-limbed, torn in half, vaporized, and pumped full of bullets was worth looking at. I'm all for some realism in comics but a book that contains a giant red head's hands reaching into the galaxy to pluck planets can't also have someone punching a hole through someone's abdomen. When did we go from comic book (something of high fantasy) to a gore hound's wet dream?

And, to add to that, the writers take characters once thought good and, for no reason whatsoever, changes their personal ideology to one of peace to acceptable mass annihilation. Alex Luthor, a man so dedicated to saving the universe in COIE, suddenly wants to re-ceate that which he tried to destroy and then destroy it all over again in some OCD-Nazi rage in the form of the `perfect' model. Superboy, the boy of Steel, who idolized Superman and wanted to be him in all ways, decides to become a homicidal maniac who basically says `they made me do it!' while teeing off superheroes skulls. And even Superman of Earth-2, a man who selflessly gave his life to keep Earth 1 safe in COIE, decides to eliminate that Earth and bring back his old one. . .thus murdering billions of people so that he can a)restore his love and b)secure peace and the `perfect' model. He has no moral qualms about this. None.

Who are these people???? I literally don't know them. And DC characters have trouble being grey. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman are pretty black and white. To add to them conflicting attributes is a bit silly. . .and further adds to the grime Infinite Crisis places on your eyeballs. Plus. . .and future writers please take note of this. . .Batman does not belong in space. Ever. It's just stupid.

The whole book is stupid. . .I'm done talking about it.

I found this particular event story line fantastic. Not because of an amazing, intricate plot, or a cerebral end message, but because of the atypical villains who have now become two of my favorites. I know that reason doesn't merit much critical value, but aside from that, it's still Geoff Johns, and again, he does not disappoint. Some may complain about the intricacy of the plot and the obscurity of some of the characters used, but a little research can clear up any questions and allow any reader to continue with this fantastic story.

Unless you read DC comics religiously, you will not enjoy this book. One of the main complaints I hear from people that try to read these massive DC events is that they are inaccessible to regular people. Nothing in this book will make sense to you unless you know about 30+ years of DC comic history. If you excuse the lazy writing, the art is pretty good. The only other problem is that you won't care about any of the characters in the book because you wont know a thing about them....Except maybe the 3 different versions Superman. You did know there were 3 of them right?

The original Crisis in 1985 ruined the DC Universe. It lead down a path to darker and darker, more miserable storylines, in an attempt at "realism" in comics. It effective drove away a generation of readers. I know the horrific series made me buy each and every issue, but I thought by the end, that things would be repaired. They were not. They were damaged beyond recognition or in most cases, destroyed.

Infinite Crisis HAD the opportunity to RIGHT the wrong done 20 years before. It did not. It heaped on MORE misery. The original superhero that stared the entire GENRE, dead. In such a meaningless fashion. Superboy, relegated to being an insane mass murderer. Shame DC. Shame. You've crapped all over everyone's youth and fond memories. I waited 20+ years for a retraction of the MESS that destroyed my favorite comic company. You can bet I'm pretty ticked it didn't happen.

Do not waste more money on this collection. Write DC and tell them to reverse 22 years of the WRONG universe and bring BACK the Multiverse.

I for one WANT to see the Golden Age Superman, fighting BESIDE his latter day counterpart, the JLA and JSA teaming up, Barry Allen and Jay Garrick running together and all the other wonderful little suprises that came from the multiple realities that crossed into each other on occassion.

If everyone write in, they'll HAVE to change their minds.

I hated the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. It was too long, too convulated, the conversations bordered on cheesiness etc...the only redeeming factor in my opinion was that it cleaned out the multivese and set foundations for a more coherent continuity. Fast forward 20+ years and the Crisis has returned. This book has a lot going for it and has foundations based on many previous events. The plot is not simple but I will try my best to provide a synopsis.

After the original Crisis, the four surviving memebers were Superman and Lois Lane of Earth 2 (from The Golden Age type comics ); Superboy from Earth Prime (the Superboy from the early Superboy stories) and Alexander Luthor of Earth 3 (son of Lex Luthor who is actually a good guy amongst the CSA which has evil versions of the JLA, Owlman, Ultraman, etc). After surviving and playing pivotal roles in the original crisis, these folks have been on a self-imposed exile in "paradise" and have been watching Earth 1 (this is the Earth with our regular characters). But much to their disappointment, despite their sacrifices, the heroes of Earth 1 have lost their ways...i.e. Batman being mindwiped, JLA is disbanded, Superman can't lead, Wonder Woman kills Maxwell Lord, Batman's Brother I satellite turning on the superheros etc.). They decided to break out and return to Earth 1 to teach the Earth 1 heroes what it means to be heroes...at least that's what Earth 2 Superman wants. Superboy Prime simply misses his old world, his parents, his girl and wants to return home. The real culprit here is Alex Luthor who channels these emotions as a fuel to get what he wants....a perfect Earth.

We also find out that Alex has been impersonating the real Lex Luthor and creating the Society of Villains to round up heroes such as Powergirl, Black Adam, Martian Manhunter to fuel a tower he is building to restore the multiverse and then pick and choose the Earths he wants and combine them to form the perfect Earth.

That's as far as I am going to go with the synopsis, since I felt that this was the ultimate motivation for Infinite Crisis going off the ground.

There's many more stories going on. You have Superboy prime vs. everybody, Superman Earth 1 vs. Superman Earth 2, Supermen of both Earth 1 & 2 vs. Superboy Prime, Batman vs. Bother Eye, Alex Luthor takes on the Titans...it's basically an epic battle where every DC characters are thown into. There are also changes that occur as a result of the Crisis. The big three, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are taken back to their roots. I can go on but there's too much stuff and trust me that it's well worth the read.

The story is very well done. As someone who was not very familiar with the original Crisis, Geoff Johns does an excellent job of filling in new readers on the stuff that has gone on before. And he manages to tie up almost all the loose ends from The Omac Project, JLA: Crisis of Conscience, etc. This is not an easy task to do but Geoff manages to do it and excels at it.

And let's not forget the art. Phil Jimenez and George Perez are masters at drawing small panels featuring hordes of superheroes in action and they are pushed to the limit. I also love that the had Jerry Ordway for the Supermen vs. Superboy sequences. I have heard complaints with the art when it was originally issued in the monthly format but the editors went back and corrected and added a lot of new art work to make the story flow smoothly.

If you managed to read thorough all of this and are still here....go get this book. "Add to shopping cart" right now and read an excellent epic story with excellent art. Highly recommended.

Great continuing story of the Crisis. This explains the origins of Superboy prime and more regarding the merging of DC storylines into one continuous storyline. Even better than Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Let me preface this review by saying that Infinite Crisis along with Marvel's "Civil War" are the two series that succeeded in completely destroying my love of comics. It begins with the big three of the DC Universe (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman)having given up. Understandable since the writers of all these series have heaped so much misery on 'em that anyone would wash their hands of any "neverending battle." Enter the "Original" Superman who, manipulated by the now-corrupt Alex Luthor and Superboy Prime, embarks on a "misguided" mission to restore the original DC Universe. Of course, Luthor has his own agenda and etc. etc, resulting in a convoluted story that destroys any hope of long-time fans making any sense of DC continuity from this point on. OH! And lest we forget, DC tries to sever all ties with that outdated "Truth, Justice and (it's not a dirty phrase, folks) THE AMERICAN WAY" stuff by killing off the original Superman and Lois. Great. I'm sorry, but was I the only one who wanted Alex Luthor to succeed in creating a more perfect world, or at least in his defeat, the return of the original DCU? Call me a radical here, but what's so wrong about super-heroes INSPIRING people rather than all being dark avengers or constantly in a state of despair because they made a villain's nose bleed or something, and therefore spend the entire issue whining to their wife (CURRENT Superman, the Hamlet of comicdom). But no, we're going to get more of the same. Oh, you don't like it? Well here's more of it until you do! This, along with Marvel's atrocious Civil War was one of the two titles that forever made me wash my hands of the comics medium. They made the "passe" ideals that made comics worthwhile irrelevant (Y'know, stuff like aspiring to be more than what you are). And worst of all, they took all the fun out of comics. I'm sorry if I seem a little venomous here, but I'm disillusioned with some childhood friends right now and I need to vent.

This book is the cumulation of build-ups that lasted about two years in the real world. All in all, it was one of the best comics I've read. It has anything you could want; action, humor, suspense, drama, tragedy. Now, one of the main reasons I loved this book is that it had a very clear underlying theme: the fact that comics have become MUCH darker in recent years: is that a good thing? Can we really call the current characters heroes? This comic answers yes. This comic shows characters who have been torn to their bare core due to recent events, and that a real hero is someone who gets up regardless. Beyond that, it shows the progression of a character called 'superboy-prime'. His character arc in this story is one of the most realistic and tragic aspect to me. Beyond that, anyone who finds the concepts of the multiverse (hundreds of parallel worlds) interesting will like this story. Now, this book isn't perfect. There are a lot of plot holes- but I believe that the pros outweigh the cons- and that this book is a worthy read.

A crisis that spans the entire Dc Universe was not a new idea at this point. But leading up to the anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC knew they had to do something to honor it. Make a piece of writing that built on the previous comic, wowed readers everywhere, had a meaningful sacrifice and affected every comic they were publishing at the time. How could they possibly pull it off? Who would have such guts to even think about doing something like this? I'll tell you who: Geoff Johns. Quite possibly the best comic writer of the 21st century. But to pull it off, he still needed an artist who could capture George Perez's style of writing in their own unique way. So they called Phil Jiminez. I don't know what other comics he drew for, but damn did he pull it this off. Not only did they include major characters from the original storyline(I won't say who) but they packed in several references and nods to their rich history. Hell, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters are main characters in the 1st issue! And it all led to the inevitable return of the DC multiverse. Which laid the groundwork for amazing storylines like the return of the Crime Syndicate in JLA: Earth 2. There have been times in the past where a creative team has written an extremely popular book for DC and then gotten upset when they try to build on it later on, but George Perez even drew a few pages of this comic book! And most of the covers! Probably because he's not as snobby as some people(*Cough, Alan Moore! Cough*), but I won't get into that. DC wanted to honor one of their most famous comic books and chose the right people. Those people The did exactly that, while finding a place for most of their characters at the time(Fan favorites such as Animal Man, Power Girl, and Radio Wave?!), and making a big multiversal story that doesn't get over-convoluted with Monitors, Miracle Machines, vampire Ultraman, and such(Grant, c'mon. You wrote a story about the return of the Flash, the death of Batman, and Darkseid taking over the world. You didn't have to include a Miracle Machine). Johns also provided amazing character development for the DC's "big 3", where Batman was getting paranoid and angry, Wonder Woman had just killed Maxwell Lord, and Superman was unable to be an inspiration to the public. If those 3 can't work together during a Crisis, then we're screwed. Anyway, this comic did exactly what it intended to and more. It is a fan favorite around the world, an instant classic to rival its predecessor, it is Infinite Crisis. READ THIS BOOK!