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.]] ''Infinite Crisis'' is a seven-issue Comic Book Limited Series published by DC Comics . Premiering October 2005, is written by Geoff Johns , with art by Phil Jimenez , George Pérez , Ivan Reis and Jerry Ordway . Each issue was released in two simultaneous editions — one with a cover by Pérez, the other with a cover by Jim Lee and Sandra Hope , but otherwise identical. ''Infinite Crisis'' is a Sequel to DC's 1985 limited series '' Crisis On Infinite Earths ''. It revisits characters and concepts from that earlier series, including the existence of the DC Multiverse , with Alternative Versions of such iconic characters as the Golden Age Earth-Two Superman . A major theme is the nature of heroism, contrasting the often dark and conflicted modern-day heroes with memories of "lighter" and ostensibly more noble and collegial heroes of American Comic Books ' earlier days. The story's plot started in 2003 with the death of Donna Troy in the Teen Titans / Young Justice crossover, ''Graduation Day''. The 2004 limited series '' Identity Crisis '' was not originally labeled as part of the story but the ''Prelude to Infinite Crisis'' special later labeled it as a tie-in. 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''. Beginning in March 2006, most ongoing DC Universe series jumped 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'' (previously referred to as "DC Countdown" to keep the true title of the upcoming limited series a secret). ''Countdown to Infinite Crisis'' was followed by four six-issue miniseries, plus an additional one-shot special for each miniseries. Countdown to Infinite Crisis See Also: 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 See Also: 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 See Also: 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 will become critical to events in ''Infinite Crisis'' #4.) Villains United See Also: Villains United ''Villains United'' focuses on the Secret Six , a group assembled by the mysterious Mockingbird to resist the new Secret Society Of Super Villains . The central revelations are that Mockingbird is Lex Luthor and the Lex organizing the Society is an alternate-universe Luthor. Day of Vengeance See Also: Day of Vengeance ''Day of Vengeance'' follows the Spectre 's quest to destroy all magic and the magical heroes who oppose him. (The scattered magic will fuel the interdimensional tuning fork in ''Infinite Crisis'' #4.) Tie-ins As is the norm for a large-scale comics crossover, ''Infinite Crisis'' featured a large number of tie-ins. Before the announcement of the event, books such as '' Adam Strange '' and '' Identity Crisis '' were often described as being tied into bigger plans. After ''Countdown'', a number of books began getting marked as tying into the four mini-series. Thus, although ''Infinite Crisis'' itself is only seven issues long, the actual number of related DC issues may number in the hundreds. Some of these books - such as the ''JLA'' "Crisis of Conscience" storyline which ended with the Justice League's lunar Watchtower being destroyed, leading directly into ''Infinite Crisis'' #1 - were of direct and major importance. Others have been criticized as being what comic fans call "red skies" crossovers, referring to a gimmick in the original '' Crisis On Infinite Earths '' where no events occur of importance to the overall storyline and the only relation is a vague and quick mention of the overarching, central concepts. SYNOPSIS .]] The story begins in the wake of the crises of the four lead-in Limited Series , with Superman , Wonder Woman , and Batman feuding, the JLA Watchtower destroyed, and the heroes of the world all facing a variety of menaces. Over this backdrop, Kal-L (the Earth-Two Superman), along with Earth-Two Lois Lane , Earth-Three Alexander Luthor , and Superboy-Prime escape from the Pocket Universe they were sent to in ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''. Kal-L seeks out his cousin, Power Girl , also a survivor of Earth-Two. Believing Lois's health will improve on her native world, he hopes to replace the current Earth with Earth-Two, which he considers perfect. Kal-L tries to enlist Batman's support, stating that the Post-Crisis Earth's inherent "bad" nature caused Batman's recent mistrust and hostility. Batman refuses. Afterward, Batman learns Superboy-Prime destroyed the JLA Watchtower. Alexander reveals to Power Girl that he and Superboy-Prime had been leaving their "paradise" for some time, manipulating events to help create an inter-dimensional tuning fork. Using the Anti-Monitor 's remains and captured heroes and villains specifically attuned to former universes (Power Girl among them), Alex restores Earth-Two, un-populated except for Earth-Two heroes mysteriously transported there. Superboy-Prime attacks Conner , this world's Superboy. Multiple super-teams intervene. Superboy-Prime kills several heroes before the Flash es and Kid Flash force him into the Speed Force , assisted by speedsters already within it. Jay Garrick , the only speedster left behind, says the Speed Force is now gone. Seeking a perfect world, Alexander restores many alternate Earths. The Earth-Two Lois dies, and an aggrieved Kal-L and the younger Superman Kal-El fight until Wonder Woman separates them. A Flash (wearing Barry Allen 's costume but unidentified) emerges from the Speed Force, warning that he and the other speedsters were unable to hold Superboy-Prime, who returns wearing armor that stores yellow sunlight to empower him. Batman's strike force destroys the Brother Eye satellite. Alexander selects and merges alternate Earths, trying to create a "perfect" world, until Firestorm blocks his efforts. Conner, Nightwing , and Wonder Girl release the Tower's prisoners. Fighting each other, Conner and Superboy-Prime collide with the tower, destroying it. The multiple Earths recombine into a "New Earth" as Conner dies in Wonder Girl's arms. CONSEQUENCES See Also: Character changes during Infinite Crisis AFTERMATH
Based on what has been revealed in ''One Year Later'' issues, the ultimate result of ''Infinite Crisis'' is not a Post-Crisis-like rebooting of the DC Universe, however the "New Earth" introduced in IC #6 may facilitate some Continuity changes. EDITORIAL PLANNING DC Comics executive editor Dan DiDio stated that ''Infinite Crisis'' was being hinted at in various stories for two years prior to its launch, starting with the "death" of Donna Troy . 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. 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, respectively to coordinate coherence of the DC Universe and to handle reimaginings of several characters. Mark Waid signed exclusively with DC, receiving a similar editorial role. DC replaced its official decades-old logo (the "DC bullet") with a new one (the "DC spin") 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. REFERENCES |
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