Bates, Infantino, McLaughlin
This comic occurs before the Crisis, and
involves the end of a long and complex storyline. F2 had been accused of
murder, but it turned out many events surrounding his trial were being
manipulated by two beings from the future. One was the villainous Abra Kadabra,
who was trying to get Flash found guilty, and the other was Flash's resurrected
wife, Iris, who was living in the 25th Century. Ironically, Abra was trying to
"cheat destiny", by having Flash abandon the 20th Century, thus
avoiding the terrible fate history said awaited him. In the end, Flash actually
did make that choice, but Abra was in jail and unable to appreciate
it. The issue (and the series) ended with Flash and his rediscovered wife
happily living in the future. But, destiny refused to be cheated...
4 issues
Pozner, Hamilton
Aquaman returns to New Venice, and finds
it under attack by the Ocean Master. He gets beat up by OM, abandons New Venice
and his wife, and hunts down OM, nearly killing him. There's more to it than
that, but you get the gist. Introduces Nuada Silverhand as an "ally"
for Aquaman, and the temporary blue costume. This miniseries is not part of
post-Zero Hour continuity.
March '85 through April '87
26 issues of 32 pages
Wein, Wolfman,
various
This massive work was considered the companion piece to Crisis,
and was intended to clearly define the characters of the DC Universe. It
failed, as the WW editors simply had no idea how many characters would be
greatly changed by the Crisis. There may be a major character whose WW'85 entry
is still valid, but they're few and far between. It is, however, a wonderful
reference to the
pre-Crisis DC Multiverse, except towards the end, where the Byrne
Superman and Pérez Wonder Woman are clear examples of post-Crisis-isms
creeping in. It catalogs approximately a thousand different characters, teams,
places, and items, and (unlike the more recent loose-leaf
Who's Who) was intended to be exhaustive. Each character is done
by a different (and, where possible, appropriate) artist, with the more
important characters getting two-page spreads. The letter column is a
fascinating mine of facts as to what The Powers That Were were thinking during
those years, and overall it is an absolute must-have for the DC fan with any
interest in that company's rich history.
1986
2 issues of 48 pages
Wolfman, Pérez
This was
intended to be the bookend to the Crisis, last of the "trilogy" that
redefined the DC Universe. It was a reasonably accurate presentation of the
major events in that universe's history, covering comics published up through
about Legends. Its inner premise is that it is a text assembled
by Harbinger in her attempt to chronicle and understand the new post-Crisis
universe, and, as such, plays a role in Millennium. It remained
more-or-less valid (Brainiac silliness notwithstanding) up through about the
time of Invasion!, when ill-conceived continuity changes such as
Hawkworld began ripping holes in it. Its value to today's reader
lies mostly in that it is a very pretty book, with an abundance of
gorgeous Pérez art that is not obliged to carry a plot.
Ward, Mougin, Waid, Pérez
Contains a history of the Multiverse
concept, a near-complete list of alternate Earths, and extremely detailed info
on each issue of the series. (Cover description, credits, feature characters,
guest stars, villains, guest appearances, other characters, synopsis, etc.)
Incredibly detailed; includes things like "Guest Star: Guardians of the
Universe (appearance here same as Green Lantern (second series)
#194, page 15; appear next, imprisoned, in Green Lantern (second
series) #195, page 19, to be freed in issue #5, page 13." Positively
intimidating to a casual annotater like myself.
The cover deserves a
mention. It's by Pérez, and is merely gorgeous at first glance... until
you realize what all those characters have in common. Notable emotional impact.
Ward, Mougin, Waid, Duursema
Contains even more detailed histories of
even more alternate Earths, a list of Monitor appearances, synopses of all the
crossover issues, and a list of every character who appeared in Crisis,
and what issues they appeared in. (Yoicks.) Plus selected chronologies, and a
four-page flowchart of the Crisis.
Peyer, various
A brief introduction to the many, many crossovers that
have marked the last 14 years of DC's history. It also contains a discussion of
the original crossover between Earth-1 and Earth-2, and of the Crisis. As a
bonus, the splash page is the cover to Crisis #7. Not much
detail, but an adequate quick-n-dirty reference, and the art on p34-35 isn't
bad.
12 issues
Shooter, Zeck, Layton
Technically, the title was Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, and, technically, it wasn't a crossover. It had no tie-ins to regular titles, and was entirely self-contained. It is of debatable quality; the writing is stilted and the heroes are frequently out of character, the art is unremarkable (though competent), and the long-lasting repercussions are few (Spider-Man's costume is the exception, leading as it did to Venom). Nevertheless, I consider it a guilty pleasure. It's got some scope, pretty good villainy, and an undefinable Marvel-ness about it that I like. Fun Fact: In all twelve issues, there are less than a dozen lines of dialogue that end with a simple period.
Dreck. Avoid.
The last (imaginary) pre-Crisis Superman story.
Superman
#423 and Action Comics #583, September '86
Moore, Swan, Pérez,
Schaffenberger
A wonderful, nostalgia-ridden story of Superman's final days.
It takes place after the Crisis - Supergirl is dead - but before the continuity
changes introduced by Byrne. I can't say much about it without ruining it, but
it is a must-read for anyone purporting to know anything about Superman and the
Silver Age.
The last (in-continuity) pre-Crisis Superman story.
Gerber, Veitch,
Smith
Possibly the only comic ever advertised specifically as a "Pre-Crisis
Universe" tale; it has those very words on the cover! It's a weird, dark
history of the Phantom Zone, including its discovery by Jor-El, its use as a
prison, the revelation that the zone is, in some way, sentient, and its eventual
destiny. Along the way Bizarro World is destroyed, Mxyzptlk demolishes his home
dimension, the space-city of Argo is dropped on Metropolis, inundating the city
in kryptonite and the corpses of Argo's residents, and Washington is devastated
by an army of Kryptonian criminals. This was the last issue of DCCP.
The last pre-Crisis Batman story.
Monech, various (introduction by
Stephen King)
Though published several months after the conclusion of
Crisis, this giant-sized anniversary special takes place in pre-Crisis
continuity. It features the last appearance of the pre-Crisis Catwoman II,
friend and ally to the Batman, the last appearance of a Jason Todd whose parents
were killed by Croc (as opposed to the post-Crisis Todd whose father was killed
by Two-Face), and the last appearance of many Batman villains, freed from
captivity but never seen again. (It is also an excellent story in its own
right.) It is a turning point, and the creators knew this. I quote from the
epilogue: "And so the night of resurrection nears its end, but when next he
strides forth from this dark womb of bats... it all begins anew.
'Hello again. Beware... forever.'"
Batman
#401 was a Legends crossover, and is the beginning of the
post-Crisis Batman.
The end of the second era of the Justice Society.
Thomas, Ross,
Gustovich
A complex, time-and-dimension-hopping tale involving Hitler's
final attempt to destroy the Earth with the Spear of Destiny. The JSA travels
to Asgard to do constant battle, preventing the end of the world. Includes the
funerals of Robin I and Huntress II, discussion of the other JSA'ers lost in the
Crisis, and the (temporary) deaths of most of the JSA (some several times over).
This was intended to be the end of the JSA, and they did not reappear until
Armageddon: Inferno #4 (1992).
Infinity Inc. #30
is a coda to this story.
The last Supergirl story.
Brennert, Giordano
The ghostly hero
Deadman is moping about how he's invisible to all the people he helps, when a
young blond woman shows up and sets him straight. "We don't do
it for the glory. We don't do it for the recognition... We
do it because it needs to be done. Because, if we don't, no
one else will. And we do it even if no one knows what we've
done. Even if no one knows we exist. Even if no one remembers we
ever existed." "I... I don't even know your name..." "My
name is Kara. Though I doubt that'll mean anything to you."
The first truly post-Crisis Justice League.
Giffen, DeMatteis, Maguire,
Austin
Though Justice League of America lingered for several
months after the Crisis, it was clear that its spirit was broken, and Legends
finished it off. Out of that crossover came the new Justice League,
a very successful humor title that spawned many spinoffs and imitators, and
lasted through two name changes and ten years before its recent (as of 1996)
cancellation and replacement by JLA. Justice League
#1 was the first post-Crisis Justice League, as its membership included Doctor
Fate of Earth-2, Captain Marvel of Earth-S, Blue Beetle of Earth-4, the
Monitor's creation Doctor Light II, Guy Gardner (who finally got his ring for
real during the Crisis), Mister Miracle and Oberon of Kirby's Fourth World
(which had never been considered a source for League members before), and former
JLA members Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, and Batman. A scant three issues
later Booster Gold, the first post-Crisis superhero, was added to the team.
With Justice League #1 the Justice League was radically redefined,
and it is only with
JLA that this new archetype was discarded in favor of a return to
the "big guns" definition. For many people, however, the "Giffen"
League will remain the League.
Stern, Castrillo, Wojtkiewicz, Jurgens
Includes a rare - and true to the
legend - glimpse into the few months before his death that Barry Allen spent in
the 30th Century. He's depicted as noble, caring, honest, brave, and wise.
Further, I remain confident that, if Jenni had told him of his fate,
he would not have refused to meet it. Would that all Silver Age heroes were
treated this well. It also answers one of the biggest lingering questions about
Flash's death: What color was his hair at the time?
Barry Allen's death is discussed in Secret Origins Annual #2, The Flash Secret Files #1, and The Life Story of the Flash, making it the most-mentioned part of the Crisis.
On separate page.
On separate page.
On separate page.
Busiek, Anderson, Blyberg, Sinclair, Ross
To quote Jason Borelli's
letter in the back: "An entire time epic... in the span of two pages.
...That's what it felt like to me." And, indeed, that's what it is. The
entire story is only 16 pages, and the key, Crisis-like pages are
only two pages and seven panels in the middle. The Time-Keeper (a minor
time-manipulating crook) battles Eterneon in the chronal realm, and world is
thrown into chaos, with heroes and cities vanishing, time-lost warriors striding
the streets, and fierce, epic battles to save All That Is. The protagonist, a
man who has lost his wife to the reformations of the universe, asks if anyone
ever chooses to forget those who have gone. The Hanged Man replies: "No
one forgets. No one." Heroes and universes may come and go, but someone
must always remember.
Waid, Wingham, Tanghal
A rare post-Crisis mention of the Crime
Syndicate. We hear this from Green Lantern II (Hal Jordan):
In the early days of the League... we fought a gang of super-villains from the anti-matter universe of Qward. They called themselves the Crime Syndicate. They modeled themselves after Earth's super-heroes... but they were much more powerful. Together with the Justice Society, we brought them down... just barely. The original five Syndicate members are long gone...
They are depicted on a monitor screen as typically Qwardian - all are wide-eyed, and the men are bald - but their costumes and names are unchanged.
Jimenez
The Syndicate are included in the giant shot of League villains.
They have Qwardian eyes, but Ultraman and Power Ring have hair. (Johnny Quick
II and Owlman may have hair, but they wear cowls.) Superwoman still
has hair as well.
Randall, Greenberger, Mandrake, Heck
Superman teams up with Harbinger,
Lady Quark, and Pariah to battle the Volt Lord. Lady Quark briefly suspects he
may be the Earth-Sigma incarnation of her lost husband from Earth-6. An
interesting treatment of post-Crisis trauma and the reactions of three
characters introduced in Crisis to the new world. Cover blurb declares this
issue to be "A Post-Crisis Blockbuster".
Byrne, Giordano
Contains a rare flashback to the Crisis, concerning
Negative Woman's destruction of Chemo in 10.3-4.
Also has some commentary: "Where once there had been as many worlds as
there might be minds to imagine them, now there remained but one."
Comprising Cosmic Boy #1-4, Superman #8, Action
Comics #591, and Legion of Super-Heroes #37-38.
Byrne,
Levitz, various
Post-Crisis, Superman never was "Superboy", as he
first donned his cape as a young adult. However, Superboy was integral to the
origin of the Legion of Super-Heroes, who had not been changed by the Crisis.
In the Cosmic Boy miniseries, Cos took a "vacation" in the 20th
Century, and met the post-Crisis Superman. Stunned by the fact that Superman
didn't know him, he and Night Girl investigated, and found that the continuum
was being manipulated by the foe of the Legion's known as the Time Trapper. It
was eventually found that the Time Trapper had created a "Pocket Universe",
in which Superboy existed, and that the Legion had been journeying to this past
whenever they traveled in time. Superboy sacrificed his life to defeat the
Trapper.
It should also be noted that in Superman #8 Superman
makes reference to the Superboy of Earth-Prime seen during the Crisis, as
distinct from the Pocket Universe Superboy.
Gillis, Foglio
A spoof by Marvel of DC's mystical characters, this story
includes an appearance by "The Aunty Monitor!" (looking roughly like
the Anti-Monitor in his second suit of armor, plus gray wig and pink apron). To
quote: "We've decided that this universe has become entirely too
complicated!" "You're gonna get rid of us?" "No
-- we're just going to change everything around!" [poof] "The first
six pages of this story no longer exist! It's the way we do things here!"
Amusingly, the What The--?! series (in its various DC parodies)
made fun of both the silliness of having multiple Earths, and
the silliness of fixing 'em. Issues 1-4 are recommended for giggle value.
Messner-Loebs, LaRocque, Chien
The para-dimensional super called the
Chunk sends a scientist on a quick trip through the different universes he can
access through his internal singularity. Upon returning, the scientist confers
with his colleague: "It's as if an infinite series of worlds,
just like Earth... all inhabiting the same space-time continuum, had
been crushed together and destroyed in some unimaginable
cataclysm!" "...And somehow, Chunk's singularity gives him
access to the remains! But if such a cataclysm had
happened, we'd have some record of it." "You're right, of
course. There must be some other explanation." Fanfic writers take note.
(Thanks to Earl J. Woods for calling this
bit to my attention.)
Moore, Veitch, Gibbons, Kilroy
The League-like Tomorrow Syndicate
travels cross-dimension, meeting the the Golden Age do-gooders of the Victory
Vanguard, and discovering the Lobby of Alternity, where all realities intersect.
"I'm the blur of Earth Alpha, by the way! This is Blur-Boy, and the Blur
of Earth Beta. We've just concluded our annual team-up and we need to go back
to our own worlds!" "Earths Alpha through Gamma are currently
inaccessible due to an infinite crisis! Wait over there, please!" Guest
stars abound.
Swan, Anderson, Ecker, Carlson, Adams, Brozman
A wonderful
nostalgia-fest set on the twin worlds of Earths "A" and "B",
in which the Golden Age "Knights of Justice" and Silver Age "Round
Table of America" team up to keep the villainous Doctor Binana (the most
sinister simian of two worlds) from plundering - or destroying - the Earths.
Robinson, Williams II, Grey, Blevins, Hamilton, Snyder
The story of
Starman II (Prince Gavyn), and his death in the Crisis (casually mentioned in
10.9.7) is told here by "super-villain"
the Shade. Gavyn died trying to stop the anti-matter wave from consuming his
world, and apparently succeeded, but the truth is that he died moments before
the worlds of Earth-1 were transported to safety in the Netherverse at the end
of Crisis #4. Shade also mentions - mournfully -
the death of Flash II.
As always, there is constant improvement on this page.
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