So, what happened next? Was the Anti-Monitor finally foiled? Did the heroes succeed in saving what was left of the Multiverse? Will I enjoy this comic? Well, let's take a look at the penultimate issue of this miniseries: Crisis on Infinite Earths #11!
The cover is...an interesting one. It really is a gigantic spoiler of what we'll be seeing in the comic. In the center of it all is Harbinger, looking rather intense. She's dealing with a LOT on that cover. Not as much as some of those heroes there, I can tell you.
"Aftershock"
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Penciler: George Perez
Inker: Jerry Ordway
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Letterer: John Constanza
Editors: Len Wein, Robert Greenberger, Marv Wolfman
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano
The story begins with the origin of...the universe.
It's a beautiful sunny morning in the city of Metropolis. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, everything is hunky-dory. One Clark Kent, aka Kal-L, aka the Earth-2 Superman, awakens in his apartment. He had this weird dream about a crisis and the end of everything...yeah, he really needs to stop eating pepperoni wraps before bed. He recognizes his apartment, but everything looks different. He wonders if Lois did some redecorating, then realizes that he doesn't really remember where he's been lately. Totally not strange or anything. But then again, considering Kal-L had been doing superhero work for about 50 years by that point, it probably isn't that strange for him.
He gets dressed and heads out to the Daily Star, the paper he's the editor of. He picks up a newspaper, and reads through it as he heads to his office. He takes a seat at his desk...but gets a surprise.
Kal-L realizes that he's on Earth-1, he's in the Daily Planet building, and he's in Perry White's office. His Earth-1 counterpart finds him and gives the excuse that the elder Superman is his uncle. Kal-L is confused as to how he ended up on Earth-1. The two Supermen fly off to New York, where there is a warp zone bridge that'll take him back home. On the way, Kal-L advises Kal-El to settle down with his Lois. Were they dating at the time?
The two Supermen remember being at the dawn of time, the Spectre and the Anti-Monitor doing the whole weird arm wrestling thing, but then the Earth-1 Superman woke up in his office at the Daily Planet, like nothing ever happened. Nobody remembers the crazy weather, but there is reference to Supergirl's death. However, nobody seems to know how she died. It's weird. The two Supermen arrive at the warp zone in Washington Square.
There's no police cordon, and the warp zone appears to be gone. Kal-El asks a police officer where the cordon went, but the cop explains there was nothing here that needed one for months. The officer doesn't recognize Kal-L, thinking he's an old cosplayer who got the "S" on his costume wrong. They head to Central City. The Barry Allen Flash kept his Cosmic Treadmill there. Kal-L realizes that nobody really knew where Barry went to after he was cleared of murder. I think this was in Flash #350 (October 1985).
While flying to Central City, they notice a sign saying "Welcome to the Twin Cities. Central and Keystone." This really confuses both the Supermen, as Keystone City, the Jay Garrick Flash's traditional stomping ground, was on Earth-2. They arrive at the home of said Flash and his wife Joan. Joan, who is grilling some steaks, recognizes the Earth-1 Superman...but not the Earth-2 one...even though Kal-L is an old friend and he and Lois have had dinner with them a dozen times. Thankfully, Jay Garrick knows who they are.
Jay takes them to his lab, where he and Wally West are fixing up the Cosmic Treadmill. They know something weird is going on with this world. Barry Allen existed, and his trial was in the news. Jay tried calling Kal-L in Metropolis, but his phone number was nonexistent. It's almost as if this world...has combined aspects of both Earths 1 and 2. Hmmm...
The four heroes board the Cosmic Treadmill and start to run. They break the barrier to take them to Earth-2...but there's a problem.
There's no Earth-2. It's gone. Vanished. Kaput. Went bye-bye. The heroes are horrified, and Jay realizes that the Multiverse no longer exists. There's only one Earth, one universe. Kal-L realizes that this was why no one remembers him anymore. He tries to throw himself into the void in despair, screaming that's where he belongs. Kal-El restrains his elder counterpart, despite the older Kryptonian lamenting he has no home. The heroes are able to return to the now single Earth, destroying the Cosmic Treadmill in the process. Kal-L heard the void calling to him, like he belonged there.
Out in the time stream, the Forgotten Heroes (Animal Man, Dolphin, Adam Strange, Captain Comet, Atomic Knight, and Rip Hunter) discover that time has been realigned. The group encounter Brainiac's skull ship and investigate it. Adam Strange notes that the metal looks alive. That's because it is. They find Brainiac, and he seems...inert. Like he's dead.
The heroes gather at Titans Tower to discuss the odd changes to this world. Captain Marvel remarks he tried to get back to Earth-S, but it was gone. Uncle Sam notes the same thing happened when he and the rest of the Freedom Fighters when they tried to return to Earth-X. It's revealed that Harbinger gathered the heroes together because this new world is still in danger. She was thought to have lost her powers, but somehow got them back when this universe was formed. Many things have been changed and altered.
Kal-L asks how he could still exist, despite his entire life being wiped off this combined Earth's history. Well, he was there at the dawn of time. His presence there allowed him to continue to exist, despite his no longer being part of this new universe's history. Helena Wayne, the Earth-2 Huntress, remarks that some of the JSA are remembered, like Flash and Green Lantern...but she wasn't. She found someone else in her apartment. She checked around, and found that there's no record of her existing. Dick Grayson, the Earth-2 Robin, also did the same thing. He found there were records of him existing...as a 19-year-old living in Manhattan...his Earth-1 counterpart.
He went down to Wayne Manor, and found a teary-eyed Helena. There's no gravestone for her father, the Earth-2 Batman. You'd think there'd be one for the Earth-2 Catwoman as well, considering she was Helena's mother and a Wayne by marriage. She laments that this new Earth is a mixture of Earths 1 and 2...but she's a nonperson.
This actually makes sense. How? Well, look at this from a meta perspective. The Earth-2 JSA's Flash and Green Lantern? Jay Garrick and Alan Scott. The Earth-1 JLA's? Barry Allen and Hal Jordan. Distinctive characters, different people. This new Earth had room for both of them. But the two Supermen and Robins? Nope. Both of them were just different versions of the same character. They were both Clark Kent and Richard "Dick" Grayson, just the Earth-2 version were older. They were redundant.
Also, keep in mind this. Earth-1 was DC's "default" Earth at this point. Most of its characters came from there. Most of its stories were set there. Adaptations of DC characters in other media were based on the Earth-1 versions of characters. The cartoons, the movies? All based on Earth-1. So, it makes sense that the Earth-1 versions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Robin would be kept around. As for Helena Wayne, well...she was the daughter of versions of Batman and Catwoman that were no longer "canon". So, yeah. She had to go, too.
This confuses Helena Wayne. If this Earth had no "Golden Age/Earth-2" Batman or Catwoman...how does she still exist? Harbinger herself isn't sure. But she does know one thing: the Multiverse is no more. In fact, it never existed. There was one Earth, one universe. Always was now. She then goes on to give a basic primer of the history of this new combined world.
It's a great little primer, which shows various characters at their appropriate place in time, from Anthro at the dawn of humanity, Jon the Viking Prince at the Age of Vikings (If you ever watched the Justice League Unlimited episode "On Another Shore", you should be familiar with the Viking Prince), Bat Lash in the Old West, and Hans von Hammer, the Enemy Ace, in WWI. However, when this new Earth reached its WWII, things got really interesting. Many heroes who were active on various Earths during this era...now were all active together at the same time in the same place. The JSA, Sgt. Rock and Easy Company, the Blackhawks, the Freedom Fighters. All active in the same world.
Decades later, a rocket would flee the exploding planet Krypton. In it would contain the planet's last hope...and sole survivor. A prominent Gotham family was out walking, when a criminal would end that night in bloodshed.
Kal-L is in anguish. His Krypton never existed. But mostly...his Lois, his beloved wife of decades...is gone. He flies off in anguish, Kal-El going after him. After all, there are things he doesn't know...
Somewhere else, Deadman and the Phantom Stranger are talking, and they found the Spectre. The Angel of Vengeance clearly was knocked for several loops arm-wrestling the Anti-Monitor. In Las Vegas, Nevada, a detective convention is going down. Which is an appropriate place for a crime to go down. A cleaning lady discovers a dead body in a cloud of smoke. Jonni Thunder discovers an odd triangle near the corpse. Harvey Bullock recognizes the object as the Angler, the trademark weapon of the Wonder Woman villain known as the Angle Man.
In Salem, Massachusetts, Dr. Fate and Etrigan sense a great darkness coming. Fate then sees Amethyst, the Princess of Gemworld, being chased by villagers. Evidently, this village is stuck in the 15th century. However, she would get a savior.
Etrigan and Dr. Fate arrive and are able to destroy the demons. Dr. Fate looks over the wounded Amethyst, who has ended up blind. Fate goes over to help her, but sees something in her. He then opens a portal to Gemworld. He helps her over, as he says her destiny is there. This leads to the events of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld #13 (February 1986).
Back in New York, Kal-El is able to catch up with Kal-L and help him through his grief. In Paradise Island, the Earth-2 Wonder Woman and her daughter Fury find themselves confused, as this is not the Paradise Island they know. However, the Earth-1 Wonder Woman is able to find them and talk to them. Back at Titans Tower, the heroes also discuss some of the quirks of this new combined Earth.
One is Power Girl. She states that she is remembered, but Kal-L is not. Again, meta perspective. Power Girl may have been Earth-2's Supergirl, but she ended up being very distinct from her character-wise. This would cause problems for her down the line, but more on that next issue. Batman thanked Lex Luthor in jail, but Luthor denies ever doing it. In fact, he has no memory of ever being at Oa in the distant past. Since only the heroes were at the dawn of time, only they remember the old Multiverse. Beast Boy observes some bad weather coming.
Gorilla City ends up being besieged by Shadow Demons. This is just a little aside to check in on the injured Solovar, who is recovering from the events of issue 3. In Peru, the Challengers of the Unknown are collaborating with Cave Carson and his spelunking team to investigate some strange vibrations. And they find a warp zone.
Man, I hope it doesn't send them back a level. That would utterly suck. The electrical storms are covering the world. Pariah feels evil tugging at him, but he's not disappearing. It's cold. Cold as death. The antimatter effect overcomes Alex Luthor. A shadow covers the planet like a cloak. The sky gets dark and starry. The heroes realize where they are. They're in the anti-matter universe. Which means only one thing.
The Anti-Monitor is still alive. And he's going to get his revenge on the Earth and its heroes for foiling his dreams of the destruction of the positive universe.
This issue was actually really good. We get to see some of the aftermath of the Crisis and hints about the history of this new combined Earth. The scenes with Kal-L and the Earth-2 Robin and Huntress are rather heartbreaking, as after all they went through, their home is gone. Not only gone, but it never existed. That must really suck for them. You can tell they haven't quite got all their ducks in a row when it comes to the post-Crisis world's history yet as Superman talks about this world knowing about Supergirl. And that would lead to other problems for certain characters down the line, but more on that next issue.
This is definitely the most meta issues of the series, as keeping certain characters around while ditching others does make sense. As I said, the multiple versions of Superman, Robin, and Wonder Woman were redundant, so they had to go. It really shows that Crisis was not meant to be a full-on reboot, just do some housecleaning for the sake of simplicity.
George Perez's art is...well, what can I say about it that everyone else already has said about it? I don't think I can compliment it better than anyone else has ever had. It's awesome.
Next time, as I'm still in a Crisis mood, we're going to take a look at an earlier tale of inter-Earth adventures. Join me as we take join the JLA and JSA as they take on the Secret Society of Supervillains...
No comments:
Post a Comment