Enter Marv Wolfman and his dream story.
Growing up in the 1960s, he was a fan of the Justice League comic, especially their yearly team-ups with the Justice Society. These stories were given titles like "Crisis on Earth-One" and "Crisis on Earth-Two", etc. He wanted to see a story featuring all of DC's heroes, past, present and future, in one big epic story. He even came up with a villain for it: The Librarian. Yeah, not the most intimidating supervillain name. As Marv Wolfman himself said in introduction to the 1998 trade paperback: "What's he gonna do? Charge the heroes a nickel a day for overdue books?"
Still, the idea stuck with Wolfman, even staying with him when he became a comic book writer. Further inspired by The Prisoner, he wanted to make his epic Librarian story a limited series, but it was the 1970s, and the Big Two felt such a thing would be impossible to sell. At the time, first issues of comics sold poorly, and readers liked big numbers on their covers. But then the 1980s would roll around, and by then, Wolfman was using his Librarian concept in the New Teen Titans series, renamed "The Monitor". While writing Green Lantern, Wolfman got a fan letter who was confused about a continuity question. This inspired Wolfman to bring back his idea with "the Monitor" as a way to clean up DC's continuity to make it more inviting to new readers.
You see, at the time, DC had a full-blown multiverse. There was Earth-One, the primary setting and the focus of much of DC's books. Earth-Two, which was the home of the Justice Society and various other heroes, including elder versions of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Earth-Three, the home of the Crime Syndicate, basically an evil version of the Justice League. Earth-X, an Earth where the Axis Powers won WWII, and a resistance stood against them (Uncle Sam, Phantom Lady, Human Bomb, etc.)
See what I mean? Quite a few Earths out there. Even though they didn't all get books focused on them, those various Earths had appeared in quite a few stories, mainly thanks to the yearly "Crisis" team-ups between the JLA of Earth-One, and the JSA of Earth-Two. DC also had acquired characters from other companies, like Charlton (Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Question, Nightshade), and Fawcett Comics (The Marvel Family and Dr. Sivana). Those characters got their own earths as well. Earth-Four and Earth-S, respectively. Old-time readers had no problem tracking it, as it was old-hat to them at this point, but new readers...yeah.
CoIE was announced at a comic convention in New York City in 1981, but due to the sheer volume of continuity research, not to mention Wolfman and Perez were also working on New Teen Titans, it was held off until 1985. Yup. Keep in mind, the Internet as we know did not exist in the early 80s. Wolfman couldn't just consult a wiki or Google the character's histories. The timing was a nice bit of serendipity as DC would be celebrating their 50th Anniversary that year. What better gift for such an occasion than an epic story that involves DC's history in such a manner?
The event truly did live up to its promise. It changed everything. Even thirty years later, Crisis still reverberates and echoes throughout the DC Universe.
And with all of that out of the way, let's take a look at the first issue of Crisis on Infinite Earths #1!
This cover is AWESOME. Seriously, it's simple but very effective. You got a string of Earths in a starfield, one about to explode. You got a bunch of characters just being sent flying, various expressions on their faces. Pariah (The guy below the old Superman) is having a really bad migraine. You got Harbinger (the blonde in the red helmet and blue number), just watching this impassively. Behind her is...Zordon? Well, that makes sense. In the trade, the energy erupting from the one Earth in the cover is pink. Too much pink energy truly is dangerous.
"The Summoning!"
Writer: Marv Wolfman, Robert Greenberger
Penciler: George Perez
Inker: Dick Giordano
Colorist: Anthony Tollin
Letterer: John Constanza
Editor: Marv Wolfman
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano
The story begins with basically a recap of the origins of the Multiverse. When the Big Bang hit, it created a variety of worlds, similar but different, only kept apart by differing vibrational rates.
We then next see a wall of white heading towards one of these many Earths, slowly consuming it. People in a city flee the wall of white, while a figure in a green cloak watches this. He laments that there is no escape for these people. They can run, they can pray, but there is no hope. Nothing can be done to save them. There are no heroes, there is no day for them to save. There is only oblivion.
The green-cloaked man tries to save a child, but to no avail. He wonders how much longer he has to suffer for his sins. He pleads to be consumed by the wall of white, but he only vanishes.
The wall of white next reaches Earth-3, the home of the Crime Syndicate of America. They were basically an evil version of the Justice League. The costumed criminals try to stop the destruction, but it's no good. You're probably thinking, "Wait, if they're villains, why do they care if the Earth gets destroyed?". Well, as Kingpin from the 90s Spider-Man cartoon said, "There's no profit in the destruction of the planet. It is very bad for business." Johnny Quick and Owlman lament that despite their abilities allowing them to be masters of their Earth, they can't even save themselves.
This world's only hero, Alexander Luthor, witnesses Superwoman get consumed by the wall of white, and mourns her death, and the end of his world. He heads to his home, and his wife Lois. They just had a baby boy, and Lois is heartbroken that he'll die before he ever got to have a life. But there is hope. As the Crime Syndicate vainly fight to save their world, Luthor puts his son in a pod. Ultraman flies into the wall, determined to go out fighting. As the wall consumes Earth-3, Alex's pod breaches the vibrational barrier between the Earths, ensuring their son may find safety somewhere else. The wall gets Alex and Lois as they share one last kiss.
You know, it always struck me as kind of funny that in this version of the Crime Syndicate's world, there's only one superhero, Luthor. You'd think an evil Wonder Woman would be opposed by a heroic Cheetah, or an evil GL facing off against a heroic Sinestro. Heck, an evil Flash fighting a heroic version of the Rogues would've been neat.
Anyway, Alex's pod reaches Earth-1, where it ends up in the remains of the Justice League's old satellite headquarters. A mysterious being in another satellite nearby observes the pod arriving. The unseen being then summons an equally mysterious blonde woman.
He tells her that she knows her assignment, and she knows who to get. She wonders why she doesn't just get the various Earths' versions of Superman and Wonder Woman for this, as they would bring a ton of raw power. The being explains he has analyzed various powered individuals and the ones he has chosen are best for the job. He orders while he retrieves the pod from Earth-3. She obeys, but reminds the "Monitor" that she is his equal, not his slave. In an incredible sequence, she heads out, seemingly splitting into various duplicates.
The woman, Harbinger, heads towards Gorilla City. There, King Solovar is overseeing some business. After sentencing a criminal to "conversion", he finds Harbinger in his private chambers, saying he is needed. Solovar tells her he is not going anywhere without an explanation. Some gorilla guards burst in and try to blast Harbinger, but she vanishes, taking Solovar with her.
In 30th Century Metropolis, Dawnstar of the Legion of Super-Heroes flies towards Suicide Slum in answer to a telepathic call. She's suspicious about it because it's not Saturn Girl calling her. Her ability to track things (Yeah, she's a Native American character, and her power is to track things. Go figure) to find the source of the call. She examines a warehouse door and...
Yup. Off Dawnstar goes. The scene then shifts to Earth-Two in 1942. A USO Bond Rally is being held, and a woman is fussing over a stove. A beautiful redhead tells her to find some matches, and she'll see what she can do. When the woman leaves, the redhead, one Danette "Firebrand" Reilly of the All-Star Squadron, secretly uses her pyrokinetic abilities to ignite the stove. Firebrand then hears someone calling her by her hero name, and notices everyone and everything is frozen in place.
And with that, Harbinger collects Firebrand. Next, the comic takes us to a city. A Detective Karp is talking on a megaphone to some hostage-takers. One of them, with a gun to a woman's chin, scoffs at this. He retorts that if they let the woman go, they'll get shot into paste by the cops. He demands some money and a fueled chopper. But these men would get a special visitor tonight.
Yup, it's Ted Kord, the Silver Age Blue Beetle! Hurray! He swings down from his flying Bug, and beats up the hostage-takers. He does it in a very Spider-Manesque style, throwing quips and fighting with an acrobatic style. It does make sense, as Ted's creator, Steve Ditko, also co-created Spider-Man. It's a shame that DC and Marvel don't do inter-company crossovers anymore, as Peter Parker and Ted Kord having an adventure together would be awesome. Heck, you could do a two-part team-up with Peter and Ted starting a case, and then the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle and the Miles Morales Spider-Man following up on it.
Anyway, Ted deals with the criminals and saves the hostage. Harbinger appears to him and tell him that like Solovar, Dawnstar, and Firebrand before him, the Blue Beetle is needed. Beetle, figuring that she won't take no for an answer, agrees to go with her. After all, there's nothing good on TV that night.
We next go back in time: 45,000 years in the past. Harbinger speeds across an icy desert in search of Arion, the immortal sorcerer who defends ancient Atlantis before it sunk under the waves. Unbeknownst to her, a dark being, a Shadow Demon, observes her. The Demon attacks, and before she can respond...
The demon seemingly overtakes the duplicate of Harbinger, her eyes solid black. The scene then shifts to the then-present 1980s of Earth-Two. Harbinger comes to an insane asylum, looking for her next chosen character, one Roger Hayden, aka the second Psycho-Pirate. Hayden is suffering from a bit of an imbalance due to his addiction to absorbing emotions thanks to the Medusa Mask. He tells Harbinger to go recruit Charles Halstead, his predecessor. Harbinger reminds him Halstead is dead. Harbinger makes his Medusa Mask reappear, and makes it fly onto his face in a really cool sequence.
Back in ancient Atlantis, Arion senses some strange energy, which is causing his own power to grow. He conjures an ice bridge and encounters Harbinger demands he come with her, but Arion thinks she's trying to attack him, and he tries to fight back. This Harbinger was possessed by the Shadow Demon from earlier, hence her more aggressive nature towards Arion. Arion plunges towards the icy mists below, but the possessed Harbinger saves him, thinking it's not his time to die...yet.
In present time Earth-One Gotham, Firestorm (The Ronnie Raymond/Martin Stein version) flies towards a prison. Using his powers, he goes through the wall, and finds his quarry: Louise Lincoln, aka Killer Frost. She's imprisoned in ice because she is a body heat vampire, and despite her cryokinetic powers, being in cold places can make her dormant.
Firestorm melts the ice to free her. Frost is confused for a moment. Firestorm tries to explain why he freed her, but decides "Don't care, wanna kill you". Harbinger and Psycho-Pirate arrive, and Pirate uses his power over emotions to make Lincoln fall in love with Firestorm.
Yeah, it's played for laughs, but I can see why some would see it as rather creepy. Harbinger's boss watches this on a monitor. He thinks about how he rescued Lyla (Harbinger's real name) as a child floating lost at sea. He recalls how he raised and nurtured her over the past twenty years. He sees her as the daughter he could never have...and she's going to kill him. Yeah, he knows about one of Harbinger's duplicates being possessed by the Shadow Demon. However, he is more worried about Harbinger, as the fate of the cosmos will be in her hands.
Harbinger brings Psycho-Pirate, Killer Frost, and Firestorm back up to her boss's big golden Death Star-like satellite, where the rest of the heroes and villains she has gathered are waiting...and wanting some answers.
My tablet hates trying to scan these double-age spreads. In addition to the earlier characters, she also gathered Psimon, Cyborg, Geo-Force, Obsidian, the Earth-Two Superman, the John Stewart Green Lantern, and the Neal Emerson Dr. Polaris. Cyborg and Psimon were part of Wolfman and Perez's New Teen Titans run at the time they were making this, so I bet they could not resist bringing some elements of that into this, heh heh. In a minor funny moment, Arion inquires about Dr. Polaris's powers, thinking he's a sorcerer, but Polaris basically tells him to not touch him or else. Interestingly, John Stewart thinks about the owner of the satellite, the mysterious "Monitor". He also recalls this "Monitor" was selling weapons to various supervillains and criminals [See my review of Vigilante #6 (May 1984)], and is wondering why he's brought this ragtag group of misfits here.
The group talk amongst themselves, observed by a shadowy being. Psimon offers a truce to Cyborg and Geo-Force. Cyborg tells him to shove it. Psimon exclaims that he senses danger, and the group is about to be attacked.
A group of Shadow Demons come at the Monitor's little assemblage. Let's call them the "Harbinger Group". Green Lantern tries blasting them with his Power Ring, but has no effect. Lyla reintegrates her duplicates, feeling very weakened from having separated for so long. As such, she is unable to help. She seemingly falls asleep, but the narration hints she will wake up changed. The group of heroes and villains try to fight off the Shadow Demons, but they're not having much of an effect. Obsidian notices that the Shadow Demons can't seem to harm him in his own shadow form, and he presses his advantage.
Despite this, the Harbinger Group still can't seem to make much of a dent in the Demons, only slowing them down at best. A flash of very bright light sends them fleeing. A figure assures the heroes that this attack was not unexpected, but also unplanned for. He also tells them this attack wasn't Harbinger's fault. You see, several of the group are convinced Harbinger set them up, like E-2 Superman and Psimon. The figure dims the lights so the Harbinger Group can see again, and they get a good look at Harbinger's benefactor.
The Monitor stands revealed for the first time, and he brought this group together because they are the only hope of saving their worlds from imminent destruction.
This issue is rather enjoyable. It is mainly a set-up issue, but it does the job well. The group of heroes and villains that Harbinger brings together are a rather fascinating bunch, with a variety of superpowers. The issue also does a good job establishing how dangerous these Shadow Demons are. The Earth-2 Superman, one of, if not the, most powerful heroes in DC's canon at the time can't hurt them. Except for Obsidian, none of the gathered heroes and villains could do much good against them...and even Obsidian could only do so much.
I do have one complaint about the story, though. If the Monitor knew Lyla would eventually kill him, why did he not try to stop her? He clearly cares about her, and the issue clearly hints that she may not do it willingly, so why not at the very least warn the heroes that this would happen? I get the villains would not likely care, but the heroes would.
As for the artwork, well...it's George Perez. What can I say? It's detailed, dynamic, expressive, it's just a joy to look at. His art always makes my eyes happy. Some of the layouts and sequences are amazing to look at, and I highly recommend you get this comic to experience them yourselves. Trust me. My tablet would try to murder me if I tried scanning some of that for you here. Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 is a great start to the mini-series, quickly giving the idea that this story is going to be of epic scope, showing stakes the likes of which the heroes of the then-DC Multiverse have never encountered before. Next time, we'll take a look at the debut of the Hobgoblin...
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