Gnarrk is a fictional character in DC Comics . He is a caveman who has been a member of various versions of the Teen Titans in the comic books in the early 1970s.
93-570: Prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths , Gnarrk is a time-displaced Neanderthal stranded in the present, where Lilith teaches him human language and customs. The two retire from the Teen Titans to live together, apparently as a couple. Later, Gnarrk and Lilith briefly join Teen Titans West before it disbands. Several years later at Donna Troy 's wedding, Lilith mentions that Gnarrk has died under unspecified circumstances. Post- Crisis , Gnarrk
186-471: A "must have" rating. Fellow IGN writer Jesse Schedeen named Crisis on Infinite Earths one of the best DC crossovers, agreeing it was unprecedented and dramatic. Marc Buxton of Comic Book Resources named "Crisis on Infinite Earths" the greatest comic book crossover ever, saying that no crossover has been bigger or as ambitious: "where some events seem hesitant to actually leave a mark on their respective universes, Crisis did it with aplomb". He praised
279-577: A Crisis Event, and using the crisis energy which would form, restart and bring back the infinite earths lost in the original Crisis. Nightwing and the Titans work to protect the world from the Secret Society, while Hal Jordan investigates the deaths of the Justice League. Final Crisis " Final Crisis " is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily
372-505: A carefully-planned counterattack, culminating in a battle with Superboy of Earth-Prime, Kal-L , and Alexander Luthor Jr., with help from New Gods adversary Darkseid . In this final battle the Anti-Monitor, reduced to a flaming head, crashes into a star and is killed by Kal-L. Before the star explodes, Alex sends Kal-L, Earth-Two Lois Lane , Earth-Prime Superboy and himself to a pocket "paradise" dimension while Wonder Woman of Earth-Two
465-523: A desperate attempt to stop the upcoming onslaught. In 2022, a new DC Comics Crisis event occurred, named Dark Crisis On Infinite Earths which began in June 2022 and ended in December 2022. This series was written by Joshua Williamson and art by Daniel Sampere and Alejandro Sanchez. Following the death of the Justice League in issue #75 Pariah has tasked Deathstroke and the Secret Society of Supervillains to start
558-530: A disaster for DC. Plotting became easier once a beginning and an ending had been determined and when Pérez became involved. Crisis on Infinite Earths was DC's first mainstream maxiseries , which was still a relatively new concept. Early in planning for Crisis on Infinite Earths , a list was made of characters that were part of the DCU; characters from other universes, such as those that formerly belonged to Charlton Comics , also were used. According to Wolfman, one of
651-493: A distraction from Doctor Light . The Anti-Monitor creates a new body for himself and tries to use an antimatter cannon to penetrate the limbo universe and destroy the five partially merged Earths. The Flash dies stopping this attempt by using his speed to channel energy. During a lull in the war, the villains unite under Brainiac . He kills Earth-Two's Alexei Luthor while recruiting the Earth-One Lex Luthor to conquer
744-477: A home in Final Crisis ." According to Grant Morrison, work finally began on Final Crisis #1 in early 2006 , with the intention of the series being a thematic and literal sequel to Seven Soldiers and 52 , two projects that Morrison was heavily involved in at the time. References to Infinite Crisis as the "middle Crisis" gave readers the impression there would be at least one additional major follow-up to
837-784: A map. An exclusive variant, based on the Sinestro Corps , was available at San Diego Comic-Con and Gen Con Indy conventions that year. DC Collectibles (then called DC Direct) released three series of action figures between 2005 and 2006. Based on the George Pérez artwork, the figures had a base with the logo of the series and certain figures included an accessory. The first series included Earth 2 Robin, Harbinger, Monitor, Psycho-Pirate, and Supergirl. Later series included Anti Monitor, Earth 2 Superman, Flash, Battle Armor Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Earth 1 Batman, Doctor Light, Earth Prime Superboy, Earth 2 Huntress, and Weaponer of Qward. Though it
930-553: A meeting attended by president Jenette Kahn , Paul Levitz , vice president and executive editor Dick Giordano and DC's editors. In 1982, DC hired a researcher to go through their library and read every comic the company had published, a task that took two years. The series was delayed to 1983 due to the time for research, and again to 1985 when it was still not ready for 1983 and to coincide with DC's fiftieth anniversary. As an event like Crisis on Infinite Earths had never happened before, those working on it met for around two hours
1023-431: A new character: the shadowy, potentially villainous Monitor ; this laid the foundation for Crisis on Infinite Earths . In 1981, Wolfman was editing Green Lantern . He got a letter from a fan asking why a character did not recognize Green Lantern in a recent issue despite the two having had worked together in an issue three years earlier. Soon afterward, Wolfman pitched Crisis on Infinite Earths as The History of
SECTION 10
#17328549408141116-483: A series of one-shots , all designed to examine the question "What happens when evil wins?" Four Final Crisis Aftermath six-issue limited series were announced at New York Comic Con 2009: In the 1997–1998 JLA story arc "Rock of Ages" a future where Darkseid had enslaved the human race using the Anti-Life Equation was shown. This story arc resembles some similarities to events shown in Final Crisis and
1209-579: A symbol from the alphabet of the New Gods that will break the equation's control over minds; it had been gifted to the cave-boy Anthro by Metron in prehistoric times. Meanwhile, a huge battle erupts between the superheroes and the Justifiers in Blüdhaven, during which the equation-controlled Wonder Woman infects the heroes with Morticoccous, which strips the heroes of their powers. However, the loss of these troops
1302-450: A way to make the character seem more interesting and hopefully spare him. Wolfman wanted to make the series unforgettable; he said that many writers had expressed interest in simplifying DC's continuity and he wanted to be the one to do so. Pérez says he was not the intended artist for Crisis on Infinite Earths , but was excited when he learned about it, seeing it as an opportunity for "revenge" against Marvel, which he blamed for blocking
1395-402: A week, which was uncommon at the time. The groundwork for the series was laid the year before it was published. One of the greatest challenges for Wolfman and Giordano was coming up with a story. Wolfman cited making use of every DC character and creating a plot that was fun to read and filled with surprises as difficulties, as the series needed to sell well; if it did not, it could have caused
1488-532: Is a Cro-Magnon who gains enhanced intelligence from a comet shard embedded in his chest. Soon afterward, the shard protects him from a volcanic eruption by encasing him in ice for centuries. However, he remains conscious and uses the shard's abilities to cure disease and control the forces of nature to benefit mankind. The Titans later free Gnarrk, and Lilith establishes a mental rapport with him. However, he begins dying shortly afterwards for unknown reasons, with his crystal acting as life support. After Gnarrk dies,
1581-453: Is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book crossover series published by DC Comics . Written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez , it was first released as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March 1986. As the main piece of a crossover event, some plot elements were featured in tie-in issues of other publications. Since its initial publication, the series has been reprinted in various formats and editions. The idea for
1674-606: Is an American comic book publisher best known for its superhero stories featuring characters including Batman , Superman , and Wonder Woman . The company debuted in February 1935 with New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine . Most of DC's comic books (as well as some published under its imprints Vertigo and Young Animal ) take place within a shared universe called the DC Universe (DCU) allowing plot elements, characters, and settings to cross over with each other. The concept of
1767-402: Is not present are told from a third-person perspective. It also added some details, including internal monologue and updates to make the story more modern, such as characters having cell phones. In 2008, WizKids issued a toy pack centered around the Anti-Monitor as a part of its DC HeroClix toy line. The pack came with a large Anti-Monitor figure with LED-lit eyes, several smaller figures, and
1860-583: Is resurrected from within the Speed Force by powers unknown and races back in time alongside Wally West in an attempt to outrun the Black Racer and stop the bullet that will kill Orion. Turpin's search for the missing children leads him to the Dark Side Club, where he is confronted by Darkseid's human host, Boss Dark Side. Darkseid transfers his essence into Turpin's body and brings him to Command D, where
1953-602: Is soon mitigated by the turning of Libra's Justifiers, control over whom is usurped by Lex Luthor and Doctor Sivana so they can help defeat Darkseid. These twists and turns are observed by Nix Uotan, whose powers and memories of his true nature are unlocked with the help of Metron and a mysterious ape-like figure in a robe. Escaping confinement in Command D, Batman uses the Radion bullet to mortally wound Darkseid, while Darkseid in turn kills Batman with his Omega Beams. Superman returns to
SECTION 20
#17328549408142046-429: Is still dragging all of reality into nothingness along with it. Time and space break down as the effect worsens, until eventually, only Superman is left in the darkness at the end of creation, struggling to complete a copy of the "Miracle Machine", a wish-granting machine shown to him by Brainiac 5 during his trip to the future. Darkseid's essence re-emerges to claim the machine, but Superman destroys him for good by using
2139-520: Is taken to Mount Olympus by Zeus . This leaves the heroes of the remaining Earth, none of whom remember the original past, to sort out the aftermath of this crisis. Only Psycho-Pirate, who is locked up in Arkham Asylum , remembers the multiverse. After the Anti-Monitor's defeat, it was the Justice League who were forever trapped fighting in Ragnarok. The Justice Society/All-Star Squadron came in to rescue
2232-473: Is where we see the final fate of Batman." While not an official tie-in, the Terror Titans mini-series takes place during the events of Final Crisis and deals heavily with the Dark Side Club and the Anti-Life Equation. In a move Dan DiDio described as "inspirationally tied to Final Crisis ," in early 2009, the villains took over the main DC Universe titles and some were featured in " Faces of Evil ,"
2325-506: The History of the DC Universe limited series to summarize the DCU's new history. In the post-Crisis history, during the "Crisis" many heroes fought the Anti-Monitor's army. He attempted to collapse the positive universe's past and future into a single point in time to destroy it, leaving only the antimatter universe. Many of DC's characters had their histories rebooted . Wonder Woman's comic
2418-476: The JLA/Avengers crossover he had been working on. He enjoyed working with Wolfman again, and took a leave of absence from The New Teen Titans to draw the series. DC initially did not know Pérez would want to work on it. According to Pérez, he was motivated by the fact that DC did not know if the series was going to be a success. He also wanted "to draw everybody I could get my hands on" and called illustrating
2511-727: The Anti-Monitor (the Monitor's evil counterpart) is unleashed on the DC Multiverse and begins to destroy the various Earths that it comprises. The Monitor tries to recruit heroes from around the Multiverse but is murdered, while Brainiac collaborates with the villains to conquer the remaining Earths. Eventually, both the heroes and villains are united by the Spectre ; the series concludes with Kal-L , Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor Jr. defeating
2604-567: The DC Extended Universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe , said "We look at it as the multiverse. We have our TV universe and our film universe, but they all co-exist. For us, creatively, it's about allowing everyone to make the best possible product, to tell the best story, to do the best world. Everyone has a vision and you really want to let the visions shine through ... It's just a different approach." The storyline inspired
2697-525: The Flash Rogues ). Following the final battle of the New Gods , Darkseid 's spirit tumbles through time itself, coming to rest on Earth , where he, along with the spirits of the other evil gods of Apokolips , manifests himself in the body of a human being. Darkseid's "fall" has sundered reality, creating a singularity at the heart of creation, into which all of space and time are slowly being drawn, setting
2790-453: The Human Flame ). The original intent was for Jones to pencil the whole series. Due to delays, however, Carlos Pacheco drew issues #4–6 with Jones and issue 7 was drawn entirely by Doug Mahnke . Jones said that "Any problems completing the series are my own. I love Doug Mahnke's art, and he would have probably been a better choice to draw this series in the first place." In addition to
2883-758: The 2019 Arrowverse crossover, also titled " Crisis on Infinite Earths ", with the original date seen in the pilot episode of The Flash having been moved up by five years as a side effect of time travel. The comic book series was adapted as a novel by the original writer, Marv Wolfman. This novelization was then performed as an audio drama marketed as a "Movie in Your Mind" by publisher GraphicAudio. The story serves as inspiration for " Crisis on Infinite Earths ", an Arrowverse crossover event consisting of an episode each of Arrow , The Flash , Supergirl , Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman . An animated film adaptation, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths ,
Gnarrk - Misplaced Pages Continue
2976-543: The Anti-Monitor and the creation of a single Earth in place of the Multiverse. Crisis on Infinite Earths is noted for its high death count; hundreds of characters died, including DC icons Kara Zor-El (the original Supergirl) and Barry Allen (the Flash of the Silver Age ). The story's events resulted in the entire DCU being rebooted , dividing the fictional universe's timeline into "pre-Crisis" and "post-Crisis" eras. The series
3069-431: The Anti-Monitor is released and begins destroying many of the realities with a wave of antimatter, planning on becoming sole ruler of all realities. On Earth-Three , Alexander Luthor and Lois Lane teleport their son Alexander Luthor Jr. to another reality as Earth-Three is consumed by the antimatter wave. To combat this, the Monitor recruits heroes and villains from across time and space to set up five towers, to help merge
3162-568: The Antimatter wave before being captured by the Anti Monitor. On Earth 1, various heroes attempt to save people from the approaching Anti Matter wave. During WWII, The Monitor's towers appear during a battle which Sgt. Rock , Haunted Tank , and the Losers are fighting together against Nazis. The Monitor is murdered by Harbinger who is possessed by one of the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons. However,
3255-700: The DC Multiverse a "convoluted mess". DC's comic book sales were also far below those of their competitor Marvel Comics . According to ComicsAlliance journalist Chris Sims, "the [DC] multiverse . . . felt old-fashioned. . . . Marvel, on the other hand, felt contemporary and when you stack them up against each other, there's one difference that sticks out above anything else: Marvel feels unified." Writer Marv Wolfman became popular among DC's readers for his work on Weird War Tales and The New Teen Titans . George Pérez , who illustrated The New Teen Titans , also began to rise to prominence in this era. In 1984, Pérez entered into an exclusive contract with DC, which
3348-437: The DC Universe , seeing it as a way to simplify the DCU and attract new readers. The History of the DC Universe ' s title was changed to Crisis on Infinite Earths because its premise, involving the destruction of entire worlds, sounded more like a crisis. Wolfman said when he pitched the series to DC, he realized it was going to be a completely new beginning for the DCU. "I knew up front, and they did too, how big this
3441-517: The DCU has provided DC's writers some challenges in maintaining continuity , due to conflicting events within different comics that need to reflect the shared nature of the universe. " Flash of Two Worlds " from The Flash #123 (September 1961), which featured Barry Allen (the Silver Age Flash ) teaming up with Jay Garrick (the Golden Age Flash) was the first DC comic to suggest that
3534-603: The DCU was a part of a multiverse . The DC Multiverse concept was expanded in later years with the DCU having infinite Earths; for example, the Golden Age versions of DC heroes resided on Earth-Two, while DC's Silver Age heroes were from Earth-One. Since "Crisis on Earth-One!" (1963), DC has used the word "Crisis" to describe important crossovers within the DC Multiverse. Over the years, various writers took liberties creating additional parallel Earths as plot devices and to house characters DC had acquired from other companies, making
3627-449: The Flash on the show, has said he thinks the goal of the series is to reach "Crisis on Infinite Earths": "Obviously we'd have to go, I think 10 years to reach that, so there's a possibility for sure. It'll be fun to get there." The concept of a multiverse has been explored several times throughout the history of the franchise. Talking in 2014, Geoff Johns , when discussing the difference between
3720-464: The Flash, the Justice League's roster was changed, and characters DC acquired from other companies, such as Fawcett Publications and Charlton Comics, were integrated into the DCU. The practice of re-envisioning characters in the new DCU lasted well into 1989, with properties such as Green Lantern , Hawkman , Black Orchid , and the Suicide Squad all being rebooted. The revamp raised sales 22% in
3813-631: The Flashes lead both the beams and the Black Racer straight to Darkseid, finishing the job Batman had begun to kill him. Simultaneously, The Ray traces the Metron symbol across the face of the Earth in beams of light, liberating all those under the equation's control. The freed Wonder Woman uses her lasso of truth to release Darkseid's consciousness from Turpin's body. Although physically bested, Darkseid's dying essence
Gnarrk - Misplaced Pages Continue
3906-525: The Guardians to proceed further with their attempted containment of the light". The limited series comprise Superman Beyond (a two issue mini-series also written by Grant Morrison ), Legion of 3 Worlds (a five-issue limited series focusing on the different incarnations of the Legion of Super-Heroes ), Revelations (a five-issue limited series ), and Rogues' Revenge (a three-issue mini-series focused on
3999-435: The Monitor knew this would happen and his death releases enough energy to project two of the last five parallel Earths into a protective limbo that nullifies the wave. The Anti-Monitor recruits Psycho-Pirate to his cause, infusing him with part of his power to manipulate the heroes of Earth-4, Earth-S and Earth-X against the rest; this fails when all five Earths enter the limbo universe. Harbinger then recruits heroes from
4092-633: The appearance of an army of Supermen from all across the multiverse. Nix Uotan joins the clash, using his Monitor powers to summon the Green Lantern Corps, the Zoo Crew , the Super Young Team, the armies of Heaven itself and more for a final battle with Mandrakk that culminates in the Corps spearing him with a stake made of pure light created by the combined energy of their rings. The heroes drag Earth out of
4185-454: The black hole that is Darkseid, and Nix Uotan returns to being human as the other Monitors cease to exist in accordance with the wish Superman had made: a wish for a happy ending. In the distant past, Anthro dies of old age in a cave. His body is discovered by Bruce Wayne—not killed, but having been sent back in time by the Omega Beams. He picks up where Anthro left off, drawing a bat symbol on
4278-545: The body of 'Boss Dark Side', the gangster from that story." To help readers identify events pertinent to Final Crisis and other major DCU events as the crossover approached, a "Sightings" cover banner appeared on various DC comics as "signposts, marking important storybeats and moments throughout the DC Universe." The first such headers appeared on Justice League of America (vol. 2) #21 and Action Comics #866, respectively (the JLA issue featured Libra's return and his recruiting of
4371-553: The cave wall. The first issue of Final Crisis went on sale May 28, 2008. Final Crisis was seven oversized issues released over nine months starting in May 2008. Morrison explained that the sequence of stories in the main series and tie-ins is Final Crisis #1–3, Superman Beyond #1–2, Final Crisis: Submit , Final Crisis #4–5, Batman #682–683, and finally Final Crisis #6–7. Several one-shots and mini-series were released as tie-ins to Final Crisis; three series ran in parallel to
4464-435: The characters, with the primary DC continuity referred to as Earth-One. They were created after renegade scientist Krona built a machine and used it to look back into the beginning of time. A cosmic being from the beginning known as the Monitor catalogues these realities, but he has an evil counterpart, the Anti-Monitor , who comes from an antimatter universe. After Pariah causes an accident with antimatter in his universe,
4557-544: The coming war. With Batman and Jordan removed from play, the New Gods continue to eliminate the greatest threats to Darkseid's plan. Wonder Woman , while investigating Bludhaven, is infected by the Morticoccous bacterium by a DeSaad -possessed Mary Marvel . Superman departs for the future to obtain a cure for Lois Lane after a bomb in the Daily Planet building mortally wounds her. The Silver Age Flash , Barry Allen ,
4650-579: The company "wonderful stepping-stones" for new characters and comics. The series was marketed with the tagline "Worlds will live, worlds will die and nothing will ever be the same". The series began in January 1985 and lasted for twelve issues, ending in December 1985 (issues cover dated April 1985 through March 1986). The close spacing of Crisis on Infinite Earths and Marvel's similar crossover Secret Wars caused some fans to create conspiracy theories about idea theft . According to writer Steve Gerber ,
4743-478: The continuity established by decades' worth of stories to weave together a cohesive, metatextual tapestry that both appealed to long-time readers and brought in massive amounts of money". The series' success inspired DC to begin a tradition of "summer crossovers"; some of these include Invasion! (1988–1989), Armageddon 2001 (1991), Zero Hour: Crisis in Time ! (1994), and Identity Crisis (2004), and some mention
SECTION 50
#17328549408144836-592: The core limited series the larger storyline includes a number of tie-ins , including one-shots and limited series. The one-shots comprise "Requiem," "Resist," "Secret Files" and "Submit". Also " Rage of the Red Lanterns " is the start of a storyline of the same name, that picks up on events in " Green Lantern: Secret Origin " and continues in Green Lantern #36–38. It starts as a tie-in because, according to writer Geoff Johns , "events in Final Crisis have motivated
4929-562: The crystal loses its powers. In post- New 52 continuity, Gnarrk is a member of the original incarnation of the Teen Titans. During the Heroes in Crisis storyline, he is killed by Savitar , but eventually resurrected. Being a Cro-Magnon, Gnarrk possesses greater strength, dexterity, and endurance. He possesses limited psychic abilities derived from the crystal embedded in his chest. Crisis on Infinite Earths Crisis on Infinite Earths
5022-475: The detective is subjected to bio-genetic restructuring to transform his body into a replica of Darkseid's original form. Concurrently, Darkseid's agents release the Anti-Life Equation through all of Earth's communications networks, spreading it across the entire planet. The two Flashes, having failed to prevent Orion's death, emerge from the time stream one month after the equation's release and discover that
5115-505: The events of Crisis on Infinite Earths . The second part of one of DC's later crossovers, Convergence (2015), heavily references the series and sees DC's superheroes travel back to its era. The writers of Convergence all had fun writing stories set during Crisis on Infinite Earths , calling the series an exciting time for DC. The series had an immediate effect on DC, dividing the company's history into two eras: "Pre-Crisis" and "Post-Crisis". Wolfman and Pérez teamed again to produce
5208-644: The first year, and DC beat Marvel in direct market sales for the first time in August and September 1987. The Man of Steel #1 was the bestselling comic book issue of 1986. Crisis on Infinite Earths has been referenced several times in the various television series that comprise the Arrowverse , starting with the first episode of The Flash which aired in October 2014. It features a newspaper from 2024 that reads "Flash Missing, Vanishes in Crisis". Grant Gustin , who plays
5301-569: The inking to Jerry Ordway despite Giordano's objections. The idea for Crisis on Infinite Earths was first noted in the December 1981 issue of The Comics Journal , which mentioned a twelve-part maxiseries scheduled for 1982. The series was announced in Giordano's "Meanwhile..." column DC ran in its titles cover dated June 1984. Giordano warned readers that "odd occurrences" would begin to happen throughout DC's comics. He also clarified it would commemorate DC's fiftieth anniversary and would provide
5394-435: The investigation by framing Hal Jordan for the murder; when Batman deduces her true identity, she captures him and teleports him to Command D , a government bio-chemical weapons facility beneath the city of Blüdhaven that has also fallen under the control of Darkseid's minions. Slowly becoming aware of the threat the evil gods pose, Alan Scott enacts "Article X", a superhero draft that readies Earth's metahuman forces for
5487-515: The last of his super-powered breath to sing, countering the vibrational frequency of Darkseid's life force. With Darkseid's end, however, the evil behind evils emerges: Mandrakk , the Dark Monitor, fallen father of Nix Uotan, who waits at the end of all things to consume what remains. Superman uses the solar energy in his own cells to power the Miracle Machine and makes a wish that is granted by
5580-616: The limited series describes its story as "the day evil won". The series deals with alien villain Darkseid 's plot to overthrow reality, and the subsequent death and corruption of various DC characters and their universe. Final Crisis came out of several ideas Grant Morrison had when they returned to DC Comics in 2003. Morrison said, "I pitched a huge crossover event called Hypercrisis, which didn't happen for various reasons. Some of Hypercrisis went into Seven Soldiers , some went into All-Star Superman , some went into 52 and some of it found
5673-476: The main one and the one-shot , DC Universe: Last Will and Testament , was planned to fit in the "break" between Final Crisis #3 and #4. Morrison, who wrote one of the "final" Batman stories in " Batman R.I.P. ," stated, "First it's R.I.P. , and we'll see how that winds up for Batman. Then the two-parter mentioned ( Batman #682–683) goes through Batman's whole career, in a big summing up of everything that also ties directly into Final Crisis . And Final Crisis
SECTION 60
#17328549408145766-528: The minds of nearly the entire population have fallen under Darkseid's control, with its super-human victims having been transformed into a military force of "Justifiers". With the help of the Tattooed Man , the Super Young Team and former allies of the New Gods of New Genesis Shilo Norman and Sonny Sumo , small cells of super heroes who have managed to resist the equation discover a possible salvation:
5859-429: The multiverse back into one to make it stronger. The Monitor dispatches a team of heroes across time and space to defend mysterious machines that could be the key to saving the remaining universes. Meanwhile, we learn Flash didn't disappear after his trial, but rather traveled to the future, and Pariah, constantly witnessing the destruction of worlds, arrives on the doomed Earth-1. Barry Allen of Earth-One encounters
5952-434: The multiverse using the Anti-Monitor's remains as a generator. Meanwhile, Superboy-Prime, having become disillusioned with the surviving Earth, engages in a destructive rampage after confronting the modern Superboy, Connor Kent. The battle culminates in the two Superboys colliding with Luthor's multiverse generator, restoring the Earth (with slight alterations to continuity) and recreating the lost multiverse. The conclusion to
6045-469: The original Crisis on Infinite Earths . A May 2007 teaser poster confirmed this speculation with the tagline: "Heroes die. Legends live forever." Final Crisis was preceded by Countdown , a year-long weekly series which was meant as a follow-up to 52 . Halfway through, the series was renamed Countdown to Final Crisis . However, the artwork met with delays. To keep the release on schedule, Countdown wrapped with issue #1 and its planned final issue (#0)
6138-482: The present and tears Command D apart to recover Batman's corpse and faces off against Darkseid as the Flashes come racing into Blüdhaven, the Black Racer hot on their heels. As the heroes reach super-luminal velocity, time warps around the Flashes, creating the temporal eddy into which Darkseid fires the bullet, sending it back in time to kill Orion. Outpacing Omega Beams fired from the eyes of the humans in Darkseid's thrall,
6231-408: The purposes of Crisis on Infinite Earths was to showcase all the characters DC had. The series is infamous for its high death count. Hundreds of characters died; among the most noted was Barry Allen's. Wolfman has said he did not want to kill Allen, but DC ordered him to because it perceived the character as dull. Therefore, he conceived Allen's death—in which he runs through time before vanishing—as
6324-460: The remaining Earths to lead an assault on the Anti-Monitor in the antimatter universe, using the powers of Alexander Luthor Jr. , the last survivor of Earth-Three , to open a portal between the limbo and antimatter universes. Pariah tracks down the Anti-Monitor at his fortress, and the heroes destroy a converter, powered by stellar energy, used to destroy the last five Earths; the injured Anti-Monitor retreats and Supergirl dies from his attacks after
6417-414: The remaining Earths. A furious Anti-Monitor absorbs the energy of millions of worlds and vows to travel back through time to prevent the creation of the multiverse. The Spectre unites the heroes and villains by warning them about the Anti-Monitor's plan; the heroes travel back in time to stop the Anti-Monitor, while the villains travel back in time to the ancient planet Oa to prevent Krona from creating
6510-475: The series "got virtually no promotion ... How many handouts did you see? How many posters did you see in people's windows? How much information was really distributed to the press and how much was gotten just by individual reporters going to Marv Wolfman and [ Crisis artist] George Pérez?" Elements to set up Crisis on Infinite Earths were put in DC's comics years before the crossover took place; an example of this
6603-401: The series as "a crucial turning point for DC Comics" and credited it with saving the company. Goldstein called Wolfman's idea to simplify the DCU bold and unprecedented, noting the story's exceptional size and saying the story was "unbelievable", if somewhat aged. He also praised Pérez's detailed artwork, saying no other artist could have possibly illustrated it as well as he did and gave the book
6696-440: The series for exploring the entire DCU and felt it was a fitting event for DC's fiftieth anniversary. Nerdist News noted that many of the series' central events—such as the deaths of Supergirl and Barry Allen—have become iconic moments in DC's history. Not all reviewers have been as positive. Chris Sims wrote the series was messy and built awkwardly, describing it as "a textbook definition of style over substance". Sims said it
6789-628: The series some of the most fun he ever had. Pérez was excited because not only did he get to draw the Teen Titans again, but also obscure characters he was not familiar with, saying he could possibly have never gotten another chance. Wolfman has said one panel in Crisis on Infinite Earths shows the Marvel Universe being destroyed. When Giordano (the series' initial inker ) had difficulty meeting deadlines while continuing as DC vice president and executive editor, editorial coordinator Pat Bastienne reassigned
6882-638: The series stemmed from Wolfman's desire to abandon the DC Multiverse depicted in the company's comics—which he thought was unfriendly to readers—and create a single, unified DC Universe (DCU). The foundation of Crisis on Infinite Earths developed through a character called the Monitor , introduced in Wolfman's The New Teen Titans in July 1982 before the series itself started. At the start of Crisis on Infinite Earths ,
6975-401: The series. When Wolfman and Giordano reiterated this in a 1984 meeting, some editors were not pleased; one was so miffed he did not speak for the rest of the meeting. Tie-ins for Crisis on Infinite Earths were published in DC's ongoing series . Unlike the 1991 Marvel crossover storyline The Infinity Gauntlet , where Marvel only published tie-ins in titles that needed a boost in sales,
7068-405: The seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison . Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones ; artists Carlos Pacheco , Marco Rudy and Doug Mahnke later provided art for the series. The storyline directly follows DC Universe #0 after the conclusion of the 51-issue Countdown to Final Crisis weekly limited series. Promotion about
7161-517: The stage for the evil god's final victory, to be claimed in his inevitable death. Through his agent Libra , he arranges for a huge army of super villains to be gathered, who capture and kill Martian Manhunter as the opening salvo of the conflict. Coinciding with the Manhunter's death is the arrival on Earth of Nix Uotan , an exiled member of the cosmic Monitors , who has been sentenced to become human as punishment for failure in his duties. Following
7254-484: The superheroes return to the present; only those present at the dawn of time remember the original realities. A cosmically empowered Anti-Monitor attacks again, transporting the new Earth to the antimatter universe and summoning a horde of shadow demons. There are casualties ranging from Dove , Lori Lemaris , Green Arrow of Earth-Two, Prince Ra-Man, Clayface II, Bug-Eyed Bandit , Kole , Huntress of Earth-Two, Robin of Earth-Two, Sunburst, and Ten-Eyed Man . He falls in
7347-467: The team but were outmatched by Surtur. Alan Scott then sacrificed himself by becoming the pawn of Surtur known as the Dread Lantern, leading Surtur to other worlds in exchange for his promise that he will always spare Earth. Despite relatively limited marketing and DC being unsure if the series would be successful, Crisis on Infinite Earths was a bestseller. IGN ' s Hilary Goldstein summarized
7440-409: The technology necessary for the Anti-Monitor's plan to succeed. The villains fail, and Krona continues his experiment. The Anti-Monitor waits for Alexander Luthor Jr. to reopen the portal between the positive and antimatter universes, capturing the heroes, but a magically empowered Spectre creates an energy overload which shatters space and time. The five Earths merge into a single shared universe, and
7533-492: The trail of a group of missing child prodigies, detective Dan Turpin discovers the dying body of Darkseid's son, Orion . The Justice League of America liaise with the Green Lantern Corps to investigate the murder, deducing the cause of death to be a bullet of Radion (a substance toxic to New Gods) fired backward through time from the future. New God Granny Goodness , possessing the body of Green Lantern Kraken, stymies
7626-404: The trilogy, Final Crisis , began in May 2008 and ended in January 2009. The series was written by Grant Morrison , with art by J. G. Jones , Carlos Pacheco , Marco Rudy, and Doug Mahnke . In Final Crisis , Darkseid arrives on Earth and begins a conquest to overthrow reality, as part of a plan by Libra to conquer the Multiverse. The Justice League and Green Lantern Corps join forces in
7719-426: The trilogy, the seven-part Infinite Crisis , was written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez , Pérez, Ivan Reis , and Jerry Ordway . It was published from October 2005 to June 2006, with a number of tie-in issues. In the series, Kal-L, Alexander Luthor, and Superboy-Prime escape from the pocket dimension they were left in at the end of the original series; Luthor, having gone insane, attempts to recreate
7812-410: The vast majority of DC's comics featured events that directly tied to the crossover. The following comic book issues were labeled as part of the crossover; their covers contained a banner that read "Special Crisis Cross-Over", along with the logo for DC's fiftieth anniversary. The conflicting stories of the DCU are explained as a Multiverse, containing many parallel universes and alternate versions of
7905-406: Was a bestseller for DC. The story is credited with popularizing the idea of a large-scale crossover in comics. Crisis on Infinite Earths is the first installment in what became known as the Crisis trilogy. It was followed by Infinite Crisis (2005–2006) and Final Crisis (2008–2009). Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (2022) also served as a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths . DC Comics
7998-464: Was far from the best work of Wolfman and Pérez; however, he still thought it was groundbreaking, saying, "It's the first time in comics history that EVERYTHING was in danger". A novelization of Crisis on Infinite Earths was written by Wolfman and published by iBooks in 2005, with cover art by Pérez and Alex Ross . The book follows the events of the original series; most of the story is presented from Barry Allen's point of view , while parts where he
8091-418: Was going to be," he said. "But, no-one knew how well it would sell, or whether it would sell at all. It was a risk DC was willing to take, because my thoughts were that DC needed a lot of help at that time, and they did too." Wolfman also said he saw it as an attempt to improve DC's reputation for storytelling which many readers at the time saw as old-fashioned. The crossover was fleshed out and coordinated at
8184-458: Was later extended one year. Although The New Teen Titans was a major success for DC, the company's comic book sales were still below Marvel's. Wolfman began to attribute this to the DC Multiverse, feeling "The Flash of Two Worlds" had created a "nightmare": it was not reader-friendly for new readers to be able to keep track of and writers struggled with the continuity errors it caused. In The New Teen Titans #21 (July 1982), Wolfman introduced
8277-409: Was not the first large-scale comic book crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths is generally credited with popularizing the idea. Comics historian Matthew K. Manning wrote that Crisis on Infinite Earths paved way for all future crossovers of similar scale, and Andrew J. Friedenthal said " Crisis showed the two major superhero comic book publishers (DC Comics and Marvel Comics) how they could utilize
8370-457: Was relaunched entirely by Pérez, Wein, and Greg Potter . Superman was first re-envisioned in the limited series The Man of Steel by John Byrne ; his comic was retitled The Adventures of Superman to make way for a new Superman series . Batman was minimally affected by the reboot, and his comic was not relaunched. However, he was still given an updated origin , courtesy of Frank Miller . In addition, Wally West replaced Barry Allen as
8463-410: Was released in three parts during 2024, beginning with Part One on January 9. Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! is a follow-up to Crisis on Infinite Earths , and Identity Crisis also adheres to the continuity changes of Crisis on Infinite Earths and Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! . Crisis on Infinite Earths is the first installment in what became known as the Crisis trilogy. The second part of
8556-459: Was revamped as a 50 cent one-shot special called DC Universe #0. Besides hyping upcoming storylines such as " Batman R.I.P. " and " Blackest Night ," the issue was narrated by Barry Allen and featured Libra leading a group of super-villains in prayer for the "god of evil", Darkseid . The result is, as described by Morrison, that "we're watching him fall back through the present, into the past of Seven Soldiers where he finally comes to rest in
8649-497: Was the Monitor's appearance in The New Teen Titans . In a January 3, 1983 memo, Giordano, Wolfman, and Len Wein instructed editors and writers to use the Monitor twice in the coming year but not to show him: "Because this series involves the entire DC Universe we do ask that each Editor and writer cooperate with the project by using a character called The Monitor in their books twice during the next year". This served to set up
#813186