Dr. Claw's Judgment-O-Vision

Last time, I hypothesized that Countdown to Infinite Crisis was a "Zero Issue" to Infinite Crisis. Countdown and issue #1 of Infinite Crisis that it launches with a completely different status quo from where we left off last time. In fact, I felt so lost after reading this week's issue that I did some cursory research in my totally legit database that I swear to Zeus isn't wikipedia (full disclosure, it was wikipedia) and found out that Countdown wasn't the launching point for Infinite Crisis, but instead launched four six-issue mini-series that lead into Infinite Crisis. Even worse, last week's read is also referred to as Prelude to Infinite Crisis. Uh-huh. DC Comics, someone needs to sit you down and explain what the words "Countdown" and "Prelude" mean.

Foolish me. I was emphatically wrong. So much shit apparently went down betwixt

Yeah, if it seems like this revelation is abhorrent to me, then congratulations on your basic ability to pick up context clues. The fact that the issue which was supposed to launch an event actually launched four separate series that you need to read to follow what's going on here is on the one hand evil genius, provided the entire fanbase follows all the series and nobody is cherry picking their titles. On the other hand, it's a pretty dumb move. The four mini-series are six issues long and the main event is seven. That means this entire narrative from Countdown to the conclusion took over a year to tell. And keep in mind, that events usually drag the entire existing publication line with them. Cross-over exhaust can drive away an audience just as easily as bad story-telling... which tends to be a frequent companion of company-wide events in shared universe comics, surprisingly enough.

But on the other hand, this blog's mission statement is diving into the deep end with these giant events and trying to suss things out with as little additional reading as possible. So from that perspective, this is DC giving me a gift. We thank you for this bounty we are about to receive.

We start the issue with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman arriving at the Justice League's lunar base, The Watch Tower, which has been left in ruins following attack. Like I mentioned, there has been six months' worth of stories between where we left off in Countdown, so as easy as it would be to postulate that this was an attack by Luthor's united villains (in fact one of the mini series leading up to this was called Villians United), until the story tells me otherwise, I'm just going to assume that this was the result of a structural problem, maybe even termites. "Termites on the moon" sounds like a hilariously awful B-Movie from the 50s that MST3K would have screened, now that I think of it.

Batman and Superman appraise the damage, and Batman finds the Watchtower's black box. They determine that Martian Manhunter wasn't on-site when the assault happened. They don't state whether anyone else was around, but to be fair, despite having multiple cover identities on Earth, J'onn tends to be treated like an extension of the Watchtower.

And yes, her cape game is slaying it. 

Batman and Superman are not pleased that Wonder Woman is in attendance, declaring that she doesn't belong there. I think they're going all "he-man woman haters club" because she's horning in on their cape game and out-doing the both of them, but the reason they cite for their hostility is because she kind of had this oopsy daisy moral event horizons in which she snapped the neck of arch villain and career manipulator, Maxwell Lord.

You'll remember him from my last entry as the man who coordinated the complete ruination of Blue Beetle's life, then shot him square between the eyes when he refused to join up with his clearly evil organization. I really don't think I'm going to loose any sleep over this.

They treat this like this was a severe betrayal of the ethics of the justice league and throughout the issue, there will be a lot of discussion between these three. Yup. The holy trinity of DC comics are going to spend the premiere issue of this major event going having the worst group therapy session. It's threaded throughout the issue, but the summary of it is that Bats and Supes think Wonder Woman has lost her way because she took a life.

Now, I do acknowledge that the popular conception of Superman and Batman is that they both hold true to the belief that they do not kill. That being said, both characters actually have killed. Granted, at least in the post-crisis instances, these weren't done lightly. But none of these instances were grounds for the other Justice Leaguers to subject her to a good old-fashioned Amish shunning and it only serves to make Clark and Bruce look sanctimonious and preachy.

In fact, I think they care less about her killing than the fact that she did it on live television where the entire world could see. One of the most legendary members of the League committing homicide for all the world to see is probably hell on their PR. I'm assuming the Justice League is a lot like the Avengers and whenever there is a major re-working of the lineup, there is a press field day and a public reveal, so more than likely they are just on edge at the thought of having to field pesky reporter questions about ethics and excessive force. Also, since I didn't read the mini-series that occurred in, I'm going to go out on a ledge and say that, being a poor man's Lex Luthor, Lord managed to do enough to provoke Wonder Woman without ever being publicly outed as a supervillain.

Then, still in the wake of this abysmal election cycle, I can't help but note that Wonder Woman is being held to a higher standard that Batman or Superman. It reminds me of how the Grand High Oompa Loompa was laughably unqualified to run around the block, let alone for the presidency (and the revelations since the elections have only made that clearer), whereas Clinton was basically put through the wringer basically because she was less than perfect. I really feel like that's what's going on here. Batman has had some really dark chapters and Superman has been know to kill as a last resort, too. And yet it is beyond the pale when Wonder Woman does it because girls are supposed to run around with their little lassos, play nice, and set a good example. Seriously, fuck that noise.

Still less damning that Trump's "grab 'em by the pussy."

Their discussion ends up devolving into just a general airing of grievances and they all decide the effort isn't worth it. Before they can all go on their separate ways however, they are ambushed by Mongul. I only vaguely remember him from Young Justice (which is sad in light of the fact that he was voiced by Keith David), but the general gist I got was that he is an alien conquering warlord type with a history of getting repelled by the Justice League. I didn't see the need to do too much research on him because honestly, he's really only here because the heroes need something to hit.

In another era, giving them a common enemy to vanquish would be a good way to bring them together towards a common goal and help them put their differences aside, but in this book, once the fight is over, they just resume their pithy argument. It's actually pretty Whedonesque how very little Mongul factors in once he's gone. He might as well have been a whack-a-mole that they could have knocked down repeatedly over the course of their spat.

Ugh. Action? Didn't anyone tell you this is a debate issue, Mongul?

For the sake of brevity (I know, I know. I'm working on it), the key arguments against each character is as follows:

• Wonder Woman has grown too hard-lined and alienating to the world.
• Batman's paranoid mentality has made him even harder to work with than usual
• Superman is too human and doesn't seem like the god-like optimistic beacon of hope he once was. 

The arguments on all three sides are heated, albeit contrived, but they abruptly stop for no real reason. They just say "we're done here?" Thus, they peel off. Again, a forced ending to a forced argument. 

The narration, mind you, is someone who has been watching this and everything else that happens as though he's watching in a room full of surveillance monitors and he's pretty disheartened that not only have the world's three greatest heroes found themselves in such a dark place at present but they've lost faith in each other.

This is the A Plot of the issue. Yup. The selling point of the for-real for-real launch of this major company-wide crossover is a passive aggressive peer review between the three biggest names in DC. All I can say is, shrug. 

Of course, there is a cohesive B Plot in the story, which I will get to in due course, but there is also a few glimpses we get of the rest of the DC universe that I want to cover first. Many of these things touch of the many ongoing plot threads as well as the results of the mini series that all feed into this narrative. 

My boyfriend has a lot of emotional investment in seeing
Conner's arms and this issue let him down so hard...

Conner Kent seems to be in semi-retirement at the Kent Farm, watching footage of the Teen Titans fighting an army of Lord's O.M.A.C.s and is almost tempted to fly off when he has a crisis of confidence and buttons his shirt back up. My guess is that the events of the Titans/Young Justice crossover, Graduation Day immediately preceded this. I haven't read it, but if memory serves, both teams lost a few members and ended up disbanding. I think the two teams to be to be folded in together and relaunched later, but for now Superboy is feeling to shell shocked and burnt out to throw himself back into the mix. His Aunt Martha (I find it very cute that he calls her that) is supportive of him and tells him, "the world needs a Superboy. And right now you're all they've got." 

Hmm... that doesn't seem like something to keep tabs on, does it? 

Elsewhere Supergirl and Nightwing meet up with the Titans. Mainly this scene serves to set them up on their respective courses. Supergirl and the Titans are off to recruit as many as possible to help save the universe (and remind the audience that Donna Troy has been newly revived) and Nightwing is off to do some street-level heroing. 

Do you mind, narrator? They're having a moment, here.

Again, that narrator sounds incredibly judgmental about Dick and Kory's on-again, off-again relationship. Who is this asshole just observing everyone from the shadows à la Dr. Claw and making incredibly judgmental about people's interpersonal relationships? What a dick. 

Also, lest we forget that we're moving on, the Titans are off the save the freaking universe. And yet this is only a sub-plot here. It pales in comparison to the thrilling story of Supes, Bats, and WW airing out their dirty laundry, right?

As Nightwing swings across the city, we catch a glimpse of a homeless man apparently being forcibly transformed into an O.M.A.C. then join a throng of others who are swarming in the skies above. This version of O.M.A.C. certainly does seem to be derivative of the Prime Sentinels from Marvel's "Operation: Zero Tolerance" storyline...

Elsewhere, the Green Lanterns are struggling to stop the fighting of the Rann/Thanagar conflict, but it's a struggle. It seems like the Guardians aren't as effective as they ought to be, according to the characters. I personally think the Guardians' leadership is about as useful as the Time Lords, the Watcher's Council, or the attendees at any town hall meeting on Parks and Recreation. Apparently, their home planet of Oa is no longer the center of the universe and that is effecting their ability to effectively aid in the crisis. I guess it's effecting their connection to the power source of the green aspect of the emotional spectrum. 

Nothing to see here, folks, we'll get you back to that
riveting pissing contest in a moment. 

Over in Gotham, the Riddler's latest showdown with the police gets upstaged by the Spectre, who has killed the wizard Shazam. The Wizard Shazam is one of the mightiest sources of magic in DC and the Guardian of the Rock of Eternity. He's a fundamental being in the DCU. Killing him is about on par with destroying gravity. Yeah, that's sounds like it has to be a fairly huge deal. And yet we only get a glimpse of that. Because Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman's rendition of the blame game is the real reason you shelled out the money for this issue, amirite?

Finally, we arrive upon the B Plot: the Freedom Fighters. In case you don't remember who these guys are, they are a team of heroes from a different reality who were folded into the main continuity at the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths. And they are led by Uncle Sam. Yes, the symbolic embodiment of the United States is a DC character. And he's one of the rare DC characters with ridiculous origins who doesn't have a newer, darker, edgier redesign in this era. He still pretty much looks like he hopped right off a military recruitment poster. 

A whole bunch of heavy hitters... and Dr. Light. I just don't get it.

Don't get attached to these guys because they are super doomed. Apparently, Uncle Sam got a hot tip about criminal activity going on in this dark and clearly secluded, closed in place that screams "TRAP!" Surprisingly to them, it turns out to be a trap and they are besieged by Lex Luthor's Secret Society of Super Villains. And the kid gloves are off. This entire issue keeps hammering in the fact that the modern world of superheroes is darker, more violent, and unpleasant and this fight does more to illustrate that than the pages upon pages of the Big Three constantly telling each other how they've lost their way. We see some pretty graphic deaths. Human Bomb literally gets pummeled to death by Bizarro. Phantom Lady gets completely run through by Deathstroke the Terminator (I don't know if "Sorry, darlin', just business," makes it better or worse). 

Giving his faceplate a smile only makes him
creepier.

The only two who aren't decisively killed by the end of this issue are Uncle Sam, whom we last see getting blasted by Sinestro, but not definitively killed, and Ray, who is psionically subdued by the worst piece of trash villain from the last DC Crisis I read, Psycho-Pirate. You'll remember him as the one villain in all of the multiverse who sided with the primordial villain who threatened to wipe out every single dimension in existence. He's an opportunist, sadistic, and a pathological narcissist, so while I'm displeased at the sight of him, maybe I'll have fun watching the shit beat out of him. 

*Correction: Uncle Sam is confirmed dead during the end of the triumvirate's squabble. Because that's where it will get the attention it deserves. 

I didn't even notice it on my first read-through. That's how poorly placed it is. It's only because reading on Comixology in the guided panel-to-panel format that I saw it. Now that I have, however, all I can say is, really guys? That's laying the symbolism on a little too thick, isn't it? Just as communication finally breaks down completely between the trinity, it is then that it is revealed that the living embodiment of freedom is dead. Oh, you guys are are just so clever. You wove that in like a quilt. Pat yourselves on the back. Then ram your heads into a wall. What? Did you all learn subtlety from the films of John Waters?

Speaking of Crisis On Infinite Earths, perhaps you were wondering who is his who have been omnisciently narrating the proceedings. Well, it turns out he is one of four observers and the consensus in the private extra-dimensional screening room is that the DCU has turned into a shit show and the only recourse is for some audience participation. To that end, the narrator begins punching the view screen. Ah, I can recall being but a wee bairn and not quite understanding that the cartoons I watched were only projections on a screen and wondering how I could get past the glass to join them. Fortunately, I never tried smashing my way through. I'm sure my mom is happy that I never needed stitches for that reason, at least. 

This character is more successful than I would have been and by breaking through the weird wall of view screens, he has burst through a dimensional barrier, bringing him and his cohorts into the main DC Universe and at last we see who our observers are, good old Kal-L, the elderly Superman of Earth-2, his wife Lois Lane, Alexander Luthor, the son of Earth-3's heroic Lex Luthor, and the Superboy of Earth-Prime. That's the Earth WE THE READERS live in, mind you. Yup. Shit's gonna get weird. 

Yup. Everything is going to pot and our supposed rescuer
just broke reality. That's a good sign

If you'll recall, for reasons that I cannot remember right now, these four were stranded outside reality in an effort to stop the Anti-Monitor once and for all from destroying the newly squished together New Earth at the ending of Crisis On Infinite Earths. Alexander Luthor used the remnants of his tapped out anti-matter powers to create a pocket dimension (and also managed to spare Lois-2 from being wiped out of existence) so that the four of them could have  a happy ending together. 

Of course, nobody said anything about them being forced to sit in a dark room and seemingly do nothing but watch life unfold in the main reality in their happy ending. And not only did they have to watch what was happening, they had to watch the 90s. Think of all the horrors they witnessed. The death of Superman. Bane breaking Batman's spine. So many bad battle armor redesigns... If you were Golden Age Superman, you'd think the 90s and 00s were the dystopian future you'd usually be called upon to save, too. 

I feel like this book had a lot of material to kick off an event, but they didn't have said materials in the right proportion. The story is overwhelmingly dominated by the defining rift that has formed between Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, but instead of dynamically dramatizing it, they basically just stand around talking and thus failing one of the crucial tenants of dramatic story-telling: show, don't tell. The book keeps weaving some interesting threads into the fabric of the story, but instead of following through with what could have been exciting, we keep defaulting back to the Bickersons on the Moon. Even the B-plot of this story would have generated more interest if we had seen more of it, as it isn't presented to the reader until fairly close to the end. What I'm seeing here, illustrated both in the two main plots of the issue as well as the sub-plots we touch upon, is that this event seems to be more or less the result of a lot of smaller events that happen to be happening at the same time, as opposed to in Crisis on Infinite Earths where there was one all-consuming plot that drove the over-arching narrative and whose subplots were either a by-product or a reaction to the driving narrative. This isn't horrible, but it also isn't very promising for the trajectory of the story-telling. 

See Barry. See Barry Run. Run, Barry, Run!

So yeah, after weeks of Crisis causing me nothing but terminal misery and snark, last issue was the equivalent of a post-coital cigarette. By narrowing the lens while maintaining the scale of their storytelling, Wolfman and Perez managed to tell a story in which  the noble sacrifice of one character is given more weight and meaning that they've so far managed to give to the potential destruction of the multiverse. The question now becomes was last issue a case of Wolfman and Perez finally hitting their stride or was it a glorious apex? With that in mind, let us examine Crisis on Infinite Earths #8.

The cover is not quite as good as the previous issue's, but it's still quite impressive. It's one of those covers which, like last time, is a bit of a classic. I don't think it's become quite as iconic as the death of Supergirl, but I think it's a motif that is repeated enough that it feels classic. We see The Flash in what appears to be a devastated cityscape with smoky red and yellow sky, standing over a knocked out Psycho-Pirate as he faces down an opponent. Said opponent dominates the foreground, his legs arching high over the Flash. Perhaps the perspective is a bit too low because  so that it appears like Barry is checking out his foe's package. Then again, the alternatives would have been to make the Flash look bigger, which would have taken away from the menace of the sheer size of his adversary, or lower the perspective, which would have resulted in there being a giant ass smack dab in the middle of the cover, which I suspect would not have met with CCA approval, as opposed to as it is, obscured by the title.

Could you at least face up while you
rant incessantly at him?

We open up on the Anti-Monitor's ship, and boy does it seem like Anti-Monitor's interior decorator must be getting tons of overtime. After Anti-Monitor finally found the light switch, it at first looked like your standard space ship with panels and view screens. Then last issue looked like a combination of ancient Middle Eastern ruins and Notre Dame de Paris as drawn by M.C. Escher. Now his hideout is composed of stone bricks, cyberpunk support beams and Kirby crackle. Like, 50% Kirby crackle. It makes you understand why Anti-Monitor had the lights off for the first 5 issues because that must be one burdensome electrical bill.

Not only does the Kirby crackle provide illumination, but it also seems to now be a method of containment, presently pinioning Flash with a series of glowing yellow tentacles that tether him into place in a doorway high overhead of his present jailer, Psycho-Pirate. Psy-Pi seems to be pre-occupied about his job security (and by that we mean "odds of survival"), blathering on to the Flash about how fearful he is about having failed Anti-Monitor in the one job he's been kept around for.

Misery is Psy-Pi's voice.

The Flash looks like he's in a state of constant misery. Whether it's because he's in full-body lockdown or because he has to listen to Psy-Pi's ramble on is purely up for speculation. Psy-Pi's prattling finally starts to eke out the very beginnings of a plan to turn on Anti-Monitor when who should appear at just the wrong part of the conversation but the Anti-Monitor...

You'll need to take him down before you can beat Crash Man...

And oh my god, he needs to fire his tailor because he looks ridiculous. I'll admit, I wasn't completely sold on his original design, but at least it had the virtue of being menacing and imposing. The more I look at his newly designed look, the more I think it's Air Man from Mega Man II trying desperately to look imposing. He seems to be aware of how silly he looks by reminding us that he needed to construct a new form since Supergirl broke his previous one. Because there's nothing classier than pinning your bad sartorial choices on your victims. It also doesn't explain why he just didn't build a better reinforced version of his previous look instead of asking Dr. Wiley to design something for him.

He allays Psy-Pi's fears, as though his new clown suit wasn't killing the tension enough, by telling him he still has his uses, so he won't be killed yet. That last word is probably pretty pivotal. Although, since he still loathes Psy-Pi, Anti-Monitor cannot help but mention that he would rather find anyone else with his specific talents if time weren't a factor. Seriously, I bet his employee evaluations are nothing but backhanded compliments. Under the "attendance and punctuality" heading, he'll write, "this pathetic, mewling worm would not dare be late or absent if he hopes to survive his employment."

In a battle of DC vs Coherent Continuity, DC wins every time.

We now turn our attention to Apokalips. I think cutting directly here from the previous scene does Anti-Monitor a huge disservice. The New Gods, and Darkseid in particular, are the DC's crowning representation of Jack Kirby's design aesthetic. Anti-Monitor was designed trying so hard to be Kirby-esque, but he didn't quite hit the mark before and certainly doesn't now. The subtext of this scene might as well be, "yes, this is what a real cosmic-level villain looks like." Now back to the Mega Man level boss... This scene's purpose is two-fold. Firstly, Darkseid explains that he is not taking an active part in this story What is it with characters appearing to explain why they aren't appearing? First Lois in Superman III, then the Amazons during the first half of Crisis, even Spider-Man when I recapped Uncanny Avengers. Do writers think they're pleasing us by showing us what would have been good? A tip for any writers out there: don't make references to much superior works in your stories. It just makes the audience regret the fact they are reading your works instead of theirs.

Secondly, Darkseid makes a statement that I cannot possibly imagine could be read as anything other than meta commentary. I imagine by now, DC's offices had been deluged with fan mail in protest of rebooting the entirety of the DCU and Wolfman was really having fun trolling them.

Back on Oa, we have finally caught up with the immediate aftermath of the explosion that happened two issues ago. Because the Oans are an efficient lot. Rather than get to business about the multiversal threat, the blue man group devolves into finger-pointing and bureaucratic squabbling about parliamentary procedures. The self-appointed Guardians of the Universe, ladies and gentlemen...

Bureaucratic quibbling from the folks who broke the multiverse. Well played...

Meanwhile, sort of, in the 30th Century, Brainiac-5 is cranky about the current predicament and none of his teammates can get through to him. That is all.

At least someone gets it. 

Back in the present of Earth-1, everyone's least favorite fire-headed misogynist Firestorm looks out across his (also my) home city of Pittsburgh's skyline. I can't honestly say I recognize it. Taking into consideration, I only relocated here in the early 00's, mayhaps it looked different in the 1980s... [checks the interwebs] Nope. So my guess is that either 1. Pittsburgh is different on Earth-1, 2. Perez didn't know Firestorm lived in a real world city when he was drafting (DC does have A LOT of fictional US cities, to be fair), or 3. Perez didn't have access to pictures of Pittsburgh's skyline because these were the pre-internet days.

Anyway, he's hanging out on a water tower, totally ignoring a pterosaur when he is joined by what appears to be his distaff counterpart (and possibly lover, unless "Hello lover" is just being used as a casual expression), Firehawk, who has finally broken the curse of unsettling theriomorphic themed costumes in this series. She has a feather-like wing cape and a bird's head emblem on her chest. That's all you need. I'm thankful at least one character knows that less is more. Firehawk might not be the brightest light in the heavens as doesn't grasp the point of pin the tail on the donkey hinges upon being blindfolded. But at least she seems to acknowledge Firestorm for what he is, and to be honest, I'm surprised CCA policies allowed for the word "jackass."

Put some ice in that wound, 'Hawk. (I regret nothing)

80s Fashion Maven

She teases him for his former power couple status with Killer Frost when she should be calling him out on what a jerk he was to her when convenient for Robby, he gets a message from Vixen, who has caught Red Tornado's evil inventor, T.O. Morrow. Important to note-- Vixen has hella Wolverine hair in this era. She honestly looks pretty fashionable overall. She more or less looks as she does today, but where her appearance differs is so very patently 80s. She has the aforementioned big hair, ankle boots, and a belt that seems to be a red low-slung circle belt. I think my mom wore one of those except in turquoise green. I know that red on yellow is probably a bit too garish today, but she's rocking it.

I've really only encountered her at this point through her appearances on JLU, although she has a solo tv animated series that's on my bucket list. I really didn't know what the scope of her abilities until I did a bit of research. I honestly feel a bit ashamed that I'm not better versed in her background. She's one of DC's most prominent DC heroines of color and at one point was positioned to be the first DC heroine of color until the DC Implosion of '78. As for powers, she basically has the same power modus operandi as White Tiger, granted animal-themed powers from an ancient mystical totem, but with the range of Beast Boy, and thus she can basically adopt and/or mimic the attributes of the entire animal kingdom both in existence or exctinct.

The three of them meet up on the Justice League's now-reinstated satellite along with the Teen Titans' Cyborg and Martian Manhunter, who are working on getting Red Tornado back up and running after the Anti-Monitor suped up his abilities to uncontrollable levels and and unleashed him on his friends. The Atom is shrunken down trying to help solve this problem from inside Red Tornado.

Loincloths over bodysuits
are all the rage in Europe.

For some reason, Ray Palmer's costume includes a long, flowing loincloth with an ornate gold belt hilted with a sword scabbard and complemented with gold jewel encrusted gauntlets. It looks like something out of a Swords and Sorcery narrative. It honestly piques my interest in the Atom (or at least the Atom story immediately preceding this, Sword of the Atom Special #1-2, because I have a fondness for the odd alchemy that happens when you throw a character into a genre that is clearly not their bailiwick and see what happens, such as a science hero in a Conan story (see also: the X-Men in Asgard; Captain America as a werewolf).

That being said, why is he wearing these things over his normal costume? He's clearly wearing pants. I assume he wouldn't be bothering with them if the crotch area had lost its integrity. In fact, it probably is a hindrance in combat because it's added weight that probably throws off his balance in normal fighting style. And probably gets stuck in doors and elevators all the damn time. Don't get me wrong, as a gay reader, I'm all for equal opportunity fanservice and comics can always use a few more scantily clad buff guys (not boys like Komandi and Anthro, whose loinclothedness makes me feel mildly uncomfortable) to even out the number of female characters running around in glorified bikinis, but this is just... incredibly odd stupid poorly thought out. What would have been an interesting redesign is a complete genre-specific redesign where the D&D elements were expanded upon. I think Ray Palmer would make a pretty good Paladin.

I also notice that the Atom is referring to Ray Palmer both as though he were another person and in the past tense. Sometimes, I forget that DC clings much closer and much longer to the secret identities notion much more stringently than Marvel.

Cyborg hates Tony Stark T.O. Morrow.

Atom can't quite grasp the tech he's seeing inside Red Tornado, causing Morrow to brag-- and ye gods does T.O. Morrow resemble early Tony Stark! I'm seriously wondering whether that was intentional, considering he appeared within 5 years of Iron Man's debut, they both are robotics geniuses, and both futurists. Is he supposed to be DC's evil Tony Stark? 'Cause Marvel's good Tony Stark does some pretty morally dubious shit on a whim... like, a lot. So evil Tony is kind of a scary notion.

This is why no-one likes you, Robby.

The visual Atom is transmitting on the projection screen surprised Morrow as it doesn't resemble what he built. Professor Stein tries to warn Robby, but Firestorm, as I've mentioned, is a freaking asshat and responds with snark. Ye gods, as much as I love Victor Garber on The Flash, at least going by his appearances in Crisis, I do not want to read more Firestorm stories.

Adorkable.

We cut to the beaches of LA and probably my favorite sub-plot of the issue. Green Lantern (John Stewart, to be precise) has come to recruit Blue Devil, who is laying out at the beach under and umbrella in teeny tiny swim trunks. Now, from what I understand, Blue Devil's whole deal is that he's pretty much a normal guy stuck in a special effects "blue devil" exosuit that grants him strength and an array of powers. So, it causes he to feel pretty baffled by a lot of the choices here. Wouldn't it be hot in the Summer sun in that thing? Why is he trying to tan his blue exosuit? Why is he wearing shorts? His whole body is a suit. Why would he want additional clothes on at the beach? Is his suit anatomically correct or is it just a way of feeling a bit closer to normal? These questions are never to be addressed. BD admits he thought that the Crisis was over, and to be fair, at that point, the average mini-series rarely surpassed five or six issues, so his confusion is understandable. It is a little endearing that he seems a little sheepish about it... that or being caught by effectively his co-worker in naught but a pair of thigh-high trunks.

Yeah, he probably wouldn't.

One costume change later and they are up on the Watchtower, where Morrow has recruited him as a last resort, since BD's self-designed bio suit is comparable to the sentient artificial life form in need of medical attention. Apples to apples, right? Having Blue Devil around would have been a good thing if Morrow actually had listened to him because BD picks up on something off just as Morrow removes Tornado's head causing his body to explode. Devil manages to save the not-so-good doctor away from the blast, while Firestorm manages to rescue Martian Manhunter. Firehawk's uniform is burnt up, but she's fine because this is a comic and fanservice is just something we've all learned to live with. She tells Firestorm to turn around what her powers materialize a new and more impressive outfit. Morrow breaks free of Blue Devil and makes a run for it, vanishing, and while chasing him down Blue Devil gets sucked into a wormhole. So much for that calm day on the beach he'd hoped for...

That'll make you think twice about coming in on your day off.

He winds up in the Vegan star system on-board the bridge of the Omega Men's ship. They seem to have been sucked into a wormhole and ended up here, too. I have no frame of reference for these guys, but I have to admit they do a fairly good job of letting you know what kind of person each of them is in pretty short order. Rynoc is the resident Worf, Shlagen is the Snarf, and Zirral is... um... she has really big hair, so I guess she's Jem. We don't have too much time to get used to them however when their space vessel starts to fall apart fairly rapidly, causing Devil to wonder how he's going to get out of this scrape, and obliging DC editorial to tell readers where to find the next chapter of his story. I really do miss the days of comic book footnotes.

I'm not even supposed to be here today!

Back in the Evil Anti-Matter Universe (EAMU), the Anti-Monitor is overseeing a cannon that will destroy all five of the remaining realities. The logistics of a cannon that will destroy five entire dimensions simultaneously is probably something I should not spend too much time dwelling on, but suffice to say that is sounds really imposing the first time you read it, especially when coupled with the menacing closeup of the Anti-Monitor (stupid new costume notwithstanding), but with each successive pass the idea sounds increasingly implausible. Not only would the cannon need a profoundly wide range, but it would require a blast that vibrates on 5 different dimensional frequencies.

After six issues of captivity, this is satisfaction distilled.

I seriously wish he was rattling off a string of profanities
he learned from The Old Man. 

Despite some pretty worried thought balloons, Psycho-Pirate is being his usual flippant, cocky self towards Flash. I'm starting to think he might be a textbook case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. He is utterly self-interested and self-motivated, has consistently shown exactly zero interest in others' feelings or how his actions impact others (which is doubly impressive when you consider the fact that his powers are by nature empathic), and is pretty theatrical about pretty much everything he does, and always making himself the center of attention by playing to an audience whether or not one exists. Granted, he's a villain, but even by the metric of villains, he seems to exist solely to be a jerk. Darkseid is an imperious, master strategist with his entire planet and literally matters of life and death on his mind. Villains closer to Psycho-Pirate's pay grade have vendettas and objectives that bring them into conflict with do-gooders, such as fellow Monitor recruits, Dr. Polaris and Psimon, who still have their villainous flourishes in terms of methodology and dialogue (in this era, they tend to call people fools and dolts), but still manage to work cooperatively with the heroes when called upon in this series, because, well, the Earth is where they keep all their stuff. Psycho-Pirate seems to be driven solely out of a need for attention and/or sustenance. And considering he feeds off others' emotions, his sustenance is effectively attention.

Barry ain't fuckin' around.

Psy-Pi is about to go into another one of his sessions of taunting/emotionally torturing Flash when the scarlet speedster catches him by surprise, having freed himself from his captivity, he spins off his yellow tentacle bindings and manages to both sucker punch Psy-Pi and knock out the Thunderer (Anti-Monitor's home grown caste of overseers) on guard duty. Psy-Pi attempts to put the psychic whammy on Flash again, but after days and days of torment, it causes something in the Flash to snap and goes on a full-on "Ralphie vs Scut Farkus from Christmas Story" freak out, pummeling Psy-Pi in a flurry of fists and fury.

#Teapartiers #Trumpsupporters. 

Psy-Pi begs for mercy, offering to do anything he wants and Flash already has a plan in mind. He rapidly carries Psy-Pi around Anti-Monitor's lair, and inflicts Psy-Pi on each and every one of Anti-Monitor's Thunderers, turning each and every one of them violently against their master. During the distraction, Fearful of Anti-Monitor's retribution, Psy-Pi begs Flash to save him, as usual throwing himself in with whichever option is most convenient. But after weeks of torture, Flash doesn't have too many qualms about knocking Psy-Pi out and leaving him to his master's tender mercies.

Normally, this would make me think he's
being possessed or mind controlled.

Admittedly, this struck me as a bit of a dick move for his character. I'm so used to Wally (or live-action Barry with Wally's personality) being a hero that tries to see the good in others and is a bit quicker to forgive than he ought to be, especially when someone is already defeated or at their lowest ebb that I was genuinely taken aback by this jerkass moment. It seems to go against the "big damn hero" to kick your opponent when he's down, but then I consider how long he has not only been subjugated but psychologically tomented and effectively psychically raped by Psy-Pi using him as a source of sustenance. It's understandable why he doesn't give any fucks about him at this point.

A profound mixture of determination and resignation

Flash speeds across the base and finally comes to the anti-matter cannon, which looks like a cyberpunk gyroscope spinning around a globe of kirby crackle. I doubt I would have pieced together what, if anything, this was supposed to be. But as a practitioner of comic book science, Barry Allen knows right away what a huge threat this is (even if again, it is conceptually pretty silly) and concludes that he has to do whatever he has to in order to destroy it. And so the Flash turns to his signature problem-solving tactic: running. He pushes himself harder and faster than he ever has before in order to repel the energies of the cannon back into its source.

I think we could have subbed out Joker for
someone else he cares about in this kind of moment.

It's actually pretty impressive that even with all he's suffered since this series began and with being in the middle of what he he's doing he still manages to be both incredible introspective as well as keep himself focused on the mission. As a reader, you suddenly realize that he knew that this was both a Hail Mary play and a suicide mission from the moment he broke free of his bonds. He knew how heavily the deck was stacked against him. He's outnumbered, at least had to know he was far beyond reach of Earth, let alone his home reality, and considering the display of power the Anti-Monitor had shown thus far, he could only get so far by distracting him before getting caught again. What he's doing is going out on his terms, after days or weeks of subjugation, he's using his final moments as a defiant assertion of his own agency.

He successfully destroys the casing of the weapon, causing the energies to escape. Still his task is not at an end as he pushes himself so hard that time becomes askew and he starts getting flashes from the past of Kid Flash, the Joker, and Batman (the latter two were from their earlier scene way back in issue #2). I think this moment could have been expanded upon (we're coming up shortly on what could have been cut to make room) by seeing significant moments from his past, such as his marriage to and death of Iris, kissing Reverse Flash, gaining his powers, or mentoring Wally. What we see does reflect where he's popped up before during Crisis but they don't have the extra oomph that a "past flashing before my eyes" kind of moment ought to have.  I figure Wolfman and Perez opted for images that would tie it into the event better, which is understandable, since otherwise those previous ghostly appearances of him feel like big-lipped alligator moments.

Dying on his own terms in a just cause rather than
on his knnes at the Anti-Monitor's hands.

He succeeds in his mission, causing the mission to explode, but it seems that in the process that Flash pushed himself too far to save himself as we see him panel by panel become emaciated and ultimately vanish. I believe he'll later be said to have become one with the Speed Force, but I don't know if that's the original intent or a retcon.

Barry's sacrifice lacks the grand outpouring of mourning that Kara had, which is a shame for a character who had been such an integral part of the DCU for decades at that point. You think of the deaths of big A-listers, especially in DC, and you imagine the full pomp and circumstance funeral of a hero/funeral of a friend story, just as we had last week with Kara, but this time his death goes unsung. It's both sad and noble. Where it lacks the news coverage and a eulogy from Batgirl, the narration and the visuals provide an insight that let the reader know that this sacrifice will be felt even if it goes unknown, its impact will not go unnoticed.

This narration is almost as good as a big funeral with the entire Justice League. Almost.

Anti-Monitor is most displeased and gives the most stock of stock villain speeches. It might as well end with "Next time, Gadget! Next time!" It's indicative of one of the major failings of the character. As I said before, he's less of a character than he is a concept. He's the crux around which this story hinges, but his basic dossier of "more evil than the worst villain you can think of" pretty much sums it up." He's scary and foreboding, but I don't know what makes him tick, other than evil for evil's sake, which doesn't make for a very dynamic or all that interesting an antagonist.

And i would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids!

Elsewhere on Earth-1, the Challengers of the Unknown, for whom I have no frame of reference and who serve no purpose other than acting as a Greek chorus to this issue's epilogue, are using their equipment in their non-evil mountain lair to scan for... stuff... in space... I guess. One of them asks about subspace readings that Superman had asked about. I don't think that was covered in a previous issue and I don't know if it will pay off later. Regardless, their ears are suddenly assailed by a scream of fantastic might that is something otherworldly. We turn the final page of the issue and there, looming massively over the five Earths of the remaining multiverse  is the Spectre, surrounded by Kirby dots and lightning, mourning for the fate of the multiverse and his impotence in the face of its doom.

Effectively, I think this issue should have ended two pages earlier. You had the noble sacrifice coupled with some beautiful narration, plus a coda for the silly foreboding threat of continual presence and greater danger from the primary antagonist. It was if not perfect, then at least incredibly good. But the story sticks around for another page and a half longer than it needs to and really feels like when you're hosting a party and want to go to bed around, but there are people who refuse to leave, and not even people you know-- friends of friends of friends. Even if I hadn't been reading the latter half of this issue later in the evening, I would have still been put off by the creative team stepping on the toes of the loss of a major character by scotch taping this bunch of randos as far as the reader is concerned for a requisite ominous final splash page. Hm. It just occurs to me that the previous issue (aka #7 aka the best issue thus far) is the only one that didn't feel compelled to include a cliffhanger final splash. Funny that...

This issue had an incredibly tough act to follow. Just like last time, it isn't a perfect issue, but again the highs of the issue as well as its sense of consequence in the actions of its protagonists make up for the issue's less impressive moments. That being said, I don't think this issue reaches neither the apex of Supergirl vs Anti-Monitor nor the nadir of 10 solid pages of primordial backstory. It is a solidly good example of storytelling.

Supergirl's last gleaming

One of comics' most iconic covers.

Before I say anything else, I think after slogging through the first 6 issues of this series with my opinions of them being decidedly in the mixed category, I can happily say that this issue was fantastic. It's focused, has a sense of purpose, and has a sense of stakes and consequences that feel real. More importantly, I felt an emotional reverberation that the first 6 issues honestly lacked. The previous issues all seem like they are constantly at risk of buckling under the weight and scope of the sprawling narrative that ranges across time, and space, and realities. With this issue, however, the story zeroes in on characters in a way it hadn't before. Oh, don't get me wrong, the gratuitous size of the cast is still there, but the POV doesn't shift quite so often. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the old beat-by-beat...

Lyla and Alexander are floating around in space on an asteroid. Lyla is pretty much tapped as far as powers and Alexander is pretty much being kept to the rear for some sort of final trump card because he is made of both matter and anti-matter. Pariah appears insists that Lyla must know why the Monitor set up his “eternal life/appear at mass misery” powers. She says she does and says that perhaps it is time for explanations, but first she tells him to take the three of them to earth, where “all will be enlightened.”

Cut to Earth-S, home of Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Uncle Marvel, and presumably Fetus Marvel. Also, an anthropomorphic tiger because Earth-S is the best place in the DC Multiverse.

This looks like the beginning of furry slash a beautiful 
friendship.

Two characters I’m assuming are part of Captain Marvel’s rogues gallery are having a discussion. Sivana is your run of the mill 50’s mad scientist. Short, bald, round glasses, lab coat. Ibbac seems to be his designated hired muscle. Big, not too bright, doesn’t wear a shirt (very hairy chest—woof),and has a short proto-mohawk. Sivana thinks he’s ahead of the curve. He tells Ibbac of his plan to take over all five Earths before anyone knows what has happened. Captain Marvel appears, totally interrupted the supervillain monologue because I’m assuming Captain Marvel, his alter being only a kid, lacks proper superhero/villain etiquette. Before that gets too far Sivana and Ibbac vanish.

The Murky and Lurky of Earth-S

             
We see that Psycho Pirate’s hold on the heroes of Earth-4, Earth-S, and Earth-X has dissipated and they’re playing nice with the Earth-1/Earth-2 heroes who were sent there to help.

Meanwhile, the heroes of Earth-2 commiserate over their maimed comrade, Wildcat. They are secretly observed by someone who was on the scene when it happened, Yolanda Montez. She seems to know who his secret identity is. Her thought bubbles say she regrets never having told him about her own powers and regrets that they would have made a good team. In this issue, she has donned his costume, which really must have been taken in to be such a snug fit on a woman. She’s the new Wildcat. If this proves important is anybody’s guess.

The Exposition station has been downsized to Exposition asteroid.

               Back to the whole universally-significant plot, Lyla, Alexander, and Pariah have gathered up six characters, one from a different Earth, only five of them from a still extant Earth: the Superman of Earth-1, the Superman of Earth-2 (the older one), the Blue Beetle of Earth-4, Lady Quark of Earth-6 (the sole survivor), Uncle Sam (yes that Uncle Sam) of Earth-X, and Captain Marvel of Earth-S. Also, Alexander is from Earth-3 and Pariah is, safe to assume, not from one of the main Earths either, but the writers seem to have forgotten that. Lyla is telling these representatives the big explanation in the hopes that they will explain it to the rest of the population of their respective earths.

Elections were not held, I'm taking it.

Ages ago, there was only one universe and the people of the planet Oa (distinguished by their blue skin, white hair, and penchant for robes) were the sole residents (or sole residence of consequence) and were an immortal, scientifically advanced utopia. That is… until one of them who is selfish about his scientific discoveries, named Krona, scienced too hard and created both the Evil Anti-Matter Universe and the multiverse. Oa seems to be the only planet without duplicates in the other dimensions with the exception of the exception of the EAMU, where it is known as Qward (Oa being the one from the Positive Matter Universe). As punishment for his actions, Krona is turned into immortal incorporeal energy… because no comic book character has ever come back from an eternal prison or anything like that. Oh, when he’s sentenced he’s totally saying “you will suffer for this,” putting him firmly in General Zod territory.

   The Oans get hypervigilant about maintaining the integrity of the multiverse and anti-matter universe, since one of their own was responsible. At first they created the Manhunters, which were machines, but later abandoned them in favor of creating the Green Lantern Corps. [Quick case of backtracking for something I forgot to mention in an earlier recap. GL John Stewart and other corpsmen have been having trouble using their rings. A trip to present-day Oa in issue 5 or 6 revealed that the Guardians are trapped in a stasis field. These two facts will probably tie into this somehow.]

The GLC’s rings are powered by an energy source the Oans generate. I don’t see how this really fits into the multiverse, since the GLC acts more like intergalactic cops than interdimensional ones. But I digress… Not all Oans were satisfied with the GLC, which led to an Oan civil war, resulting in half the Oan population to an alternate dimension, where they built destructive weapons and evolved into a race known as “The Controllers.” I’ll hazard a guess and say they’re bad news.

I wonder if they shrank and went nearly bald as a species from dealing with the likes of Kilowog.

               Over the course of the millenia, it's probably important to note, they evolved from fairly  humanoid with blue skin into blue yoda-sized guys. 

Anti-Monitor might as well be a space zombie.

               On the moons of Oa and Qward, respectively, the Monitor and Anti-Monitor sprang into being. The Anti-Monitor took control of Qward and created an army of “thunderers” (no idea what those are), the elite among them he changed into the shadow demons who have been plaguing the heroes on the various Earths in the COIE series thus far. With these, he conquered the EAMU.

            Meanwhile, the Monitor was basically going the route of asceticism—meditation and learning the secrets of the universe. Running out of things to conquer, Anti-Monitor sensed the Monitor across the multiverse, recognizing him both as his other self and as something to be conquered, resulting in a million years of stalemated warring between them until they both blasted each other into a very long comatose state for 9 million years. It turns out that Pariah was the one who woke the Anti-Monitor. He considers it 1 of 3 of the sins he must atone for. Thought we were done with the info dump? Ah, such optimism…

Unreliable narrator?

           Pariah can’t even tell us which Earth he’s from, it’s just a foggy memory for him. Like most of the major players riding COIE’s backstory asteroid, he was a brilliant scientist who created wonders that damn near created a perfect world—he was like Jesus, DaVinci, and Caesar Augustus all rolled into one. Then he discovered the existence of the multiverse, which was frowned on by his people because they have a damnation prophesy regarding learning the origins of the universe, but he (like most comic book scientists, I now realize) is made up of 99% hubris. He builds an anti-matter chamber to explore the multiverse and destroyed his universe in the process because matter and anti-matter cannot co-exist. Whoops.

This is what we in the professional world call a "whoopsie daisy."

       He was kept alive in solitude for 1 million years. The explosion of his world caused the Anti-Monitor to awaken and feed upon the energies of Pariah’s world, making him stronger and more powerful than the Monitor.

To Summarize Pariah’s Three Sins:

1.      Exploding his own universe.

2.      The Explosion awakening the Anti-Monitor.

3.      The Anti-Monitor increasing his powers by feedings on the energies of the exploded universe.
Conclusion: So, he didn’t really commit three sins. He committed one sin that had compounded levels of bad results.

               Lyla chimes in to mention that he also woke up the Monitor. Silver linings… Being more proactive this time, and made Pariah into a being with the ability to sense and be drawn to dimensionally cataclysmic events and he would follow Pariah to them. But with every universe the Anti-Monitor destroys, the Monitor’s powers wane. The Monitor looked for heroes to aid in his mission and in the process, he found Lyla as a girl drowning at sea and takes her as his own and raises her as his daughter.

Isn't this the same backstory for Fury and/or Troia?
Pretty homogeneous origin story for Amazons not named Diana, huh?

                Now that we’re done this, Lady Quark is about ready to pounce on Pariah for his part in all this, but Captain Marvel holds her back while Uncle Sam exhorts them all the band together instead of resorting to in-fighting. Master strategist, that Uncle Sam…

Calling her "ma'am" is actually kind of charming.

               Next, we are treated to a page where each row of panels includes different heroes across different Earths are discussing their situation, having presumably been caught up on the details. Earth 1: Spectre, Deadman, and The Phantom Stranger are having a meeting of the Spooky Club. Earth 2 has Power Girl and Huntress [sidebar: Earth-2’s Huntress is the daughter of Bruce and Selina Wayne and she’s all kinds of cool].

Possibly a callback to Supergirl and Batgirl's scene from issue #4

Earth-X has clearly the most important characters ever: a pink “Dead Pirate Roberts” lookalike named Firebrand, a guy in a hazmat suit named Human Bomb, and Dollman. He seems to be about 10”, wears red ankle boots, and Dr Strange’s cape. Earth-4 has Blue Beetle, who must have since returned from the Exposition Asteroid, talking to Nightshade and Peacemaker. Earth-S features the Marvel family worrying about Captain Marvel, but it cannot go without saying how fun it is to see Beast Boy, who was one of the Earth-1&2 characters sent there last issue,  fluttering about as a pterodactyl, as is appropriate behavior for any megamorph when extinction is nigh.

               We return again to the Storytime Asteroid, where a large fighting force of heavy hitters has been gathered. It is explained that while Pariah can go to the next cataclysmic event, he can’t take people with them (that time he teleported Lady Quark to safety must have been a one-time deal), so Alex, being composed of both matter and anti-matter is the residential transit macguffin of COIE. Monitor instinctively knew this, which is why he sent for him in the first place. Sidebar, Alexander has grown to manhood and has a curly red mullet. Alexander opens a portal and the narration compares it to the parting of the Red Sea.

Christ imagery is heating up.

In this moment, Alexander, who like Kal-El, was put into a rocket as a baby and shunted off into space in order to avoid a genocidal event, officially becomes more of a Moses analogue than Superman. Pariah spells out what he said a page ago by saying that as part of his atonement, it’s his job to lead the heroes to the Anti-Monitor.

Moses powers are a go!

               The assembled heroes fly through the “cosmic membrane” and the narration is in full congratulatory tones. You can almost hear the intense orchestral John Williams music playing in the background. They arrive at fortress that looks like an ancient near eastern ruin floating in space. The heroes regard it as having never seen anything like it.

An evil lair as built by an ant colony.

               Inside, Anti-Monitor knows all, sees all and wants Psycho Pirate to use his powers to enslave the oncoming heroes, however, PP is tapped out from having used his abilities on the entire Earths of three different realities. Anti-Monitor is most displeased and smacks PP around before deciding it’s time to take matters into his own hands.

I get the feeling that Prof Stein is fucking with him.

               The heroes enter the outermost extremes of the fortress. Characters notice a) their powers don’t work here the same way as they do back in their world, b) they got into the fortress way too easily, c) they’re all feeling afraid of what is to come. Light appears in the mouths and eyes of the gargoyle-like statuary of the fortress and the very stone and mortar of the building shapes itself into limbs and stone golems assaulting the heroes. Lady Quark is beseeching the spirit of her husband to help her blast their foes to pieces. Earth-2 Superman is shocked to discover himself bleeding following a direct hit—Kryptonians, it seems are vulnerable here. They are barely holding their own. The only hero who seems to have an edge is Captain Atom. And it’s not even that great an advantage since his ability to smash them to bits is counteracted by their ability to reform themselves.

This either raises the stakes or belies the color of the sun.

               The party is split in the chaos. Superman-1 is looking for Pariah. Pariah needs to forge ahead along with Dr. Light while Superman-2 holds off the stone golems. Pariah is crushed by the very infrastructure of the fortress seconds before Superman-1 catches up. Timing is everything. Dr. Light suddenly has a really good focal point for her pent up irritation. “The Anti-Monitor is going to pay,” and flies off. She didn’t get the memo about Pariah’s immortality, but Superman did. He’s not entirely certain if she’s a hero or villain, but she seems to have the morally right agenda, so he chases after her.

Dr. Light has mastered both English and empathy in a short time.

               Supes reaches DrL. She’s vengeful not stupid, so she waited for him outside a chamber containing a solar collector, a massive machine she deduces Anti-Monitor is using to reduce the vibrational differences between the Earths. He asks if she’s certain. Come on, Clark. You’re a reporter. She’s got a PhD. A PhD in Science. Omni-disciplinary comic book science. She’s got this. She wants to take this tech home to study, but Superman is feeling pretty punchy. Before either can act on those urges, Superman is hit from behind with a powerful blast of bright white energy. His pain is so intense and so visceral, his scream appears as a sound effect instead of a word which Supergirl hears with her superhearing and flies off to his aid knowing full-well that she might be killed by something that can cause Superman to scream that way. Again, the narration might as well be giving the superheroes one big collective blowjob. EVERYTHING IS EPIC.

And I am not using that word lightly. Everything from this point and forward in the issue is worthy of viking songs or Klingon opera. The narration is beautifully purple and gives this half of the issue the emotional weight is richly deserves.

Idealism vs 80s grim-dark

               Anti-Monitor is smacking Superman around. Dr L intercedes and declares how murdery she’s feeling. Anti-Monitor either freezes her or teleports her away in an honestly cool looking silhouette panel. Supergirl catches up with Pariah, who senses tragedy is about to unfold and Supergirl rushes forth, determined to save her cousin, determined to take up the torch for him if she fails to save him.

           She catches her foe by surprised and gets in a few good punches, thrashing him about as she harangues him over all those lives now lost. He smacks her away sending her flying into a wall with only one hit. She grabs the stone floor and literally rips it out from under him, then resumes wailing on him and destroying his “life shell,” and destroying the solar collector in the process.

               Anti-Monitor’s proverbial kid gloves are off and he transforms into a creature of glowing red and white energy as he declares, “You, your cousin, your friends, your worlds all shall die with you!” The fortress shakes and Supergirl tasks Dr. L (whom she manages to really impress, which should not going unmentioned) with getting Clark out of there to safety and getting the heroes out of the EAMU. She flies directly into the glowing form of the Anti-Monitor, smashing him and soon she is consumed, glowing like the same red energy.

She turns around, telling Dr. L to make a run for it and Anti-Monitor takes the advantage, killing her. Without a body, that took a lot out of Anti-Monitor. He blasts off screaming “you’ll pay for this next time” like a Captain Planet villain.

               The building is crumbling to bits. While the rest of the heroes regroup out front, Superman-1 is still in the solar collector chamber surrounded by Dr. L and a few others, holding the dying body of Supergirl. She tells him how much she loves him and was inspired by him until her final breath. Superman-1 assumes the “scream at the heavens” position declaring he’ll kill Anti-Monitor for this while Superman-2 comforts him and preaches against vengeance for Supergirl’s sake.

               The fortress is still crumbling (it’s like quicksand—it really does take a while) and they need to escape before Alexander’s powers give out. They don’t want to end up like the Egyptians at the end of The Ten Commandments and that Red Sea is a bitch to get caught in. They fly back through, Superman-1 still carrying his cousin’s body.

EPILOGUE
               The five Earths are no longer at risk of destroying each other and the weird time anomalies have stopped, but they’re still interlocked and frozen in time and space.  A memorial is held in Chicago on Earth-1, news coverage airing. Batgirl delivers a eulogy intercut with images of the Daily Planet folks watching from their offices as well as heroes from multiple earths mourning for her in attendance.

               Superman takes her body, wrapped tightly in her cape now repurposed as a burial shroud, to the Fortress of Solitude. He reflects on all the hope and optimism of her when she first arrived on Earth, a young girl of 15 with nothing but her future ahead of her. From there, he takes her body out past Earth’s atmosphere and just lets it float around in the vacuum of space for eternity. Good lord, Superman—cremation is your friend. It wouldn’t surprise me if an alien villain had found her body and used it to reverse engineer an anti-Kryptonian weapon or zombifies her. Minor Spoiler: However, that didn’t happen. After this event, Supergirl is literally erased from existence. She never happened. That heroic sacrifice is utterly trivialized and her heartfelt requiem is obviated from memory.

DC probably didn’t realize quite what a “fuck you” it was to their audience, but it was hardly their last. As meaningful as the second half of this issue was, DC’s perennial tug of war it has between its need to sustain the iconic status quos of their major character and its creative teams’ need to have the space to tell new stories is one that invariably results in the status quo winning out. The impact of the stories they don’t tell are immaterial compared to the wills of an often capricious EiC. Part of what was decided when Crisis was planned was that they decided that there was simply too many Kryptonians running around, which diminished both the mysterious nature of Krypton and the isolated “god amongst men” aspect of Superman’s character. Of course, this didn’t last because nobody remains editor in chief forever. Jay Edidin of Jay and Miles X-plain the X-Men (listen to them, they are one of the best comics podcasts out there) once pointed that you can tell what the status quo was when a new editor-in-chief first started reading by what regressive changes s/he makes. However, inevitably, the next wave of creative talent comes into the different with a different status quo crystalized in their minds and can just as readily make their own resets in whatever contrived methods they choose based on a precedent that has its root right here. Such mentality in creative leadership is capricious and cyclical, and really puts on display creators’ unwillingness to grasp the fact that continuity and characterization marches on and their job is to be the torchbearers and not the gatekeepers of modern myth.

Despite that angry rant, I have to say that this issue is without a doubt the best so far in the series.  The issue does carry out some of my grievances from before during the first half of the issue, but it synthesizes them into something more cohesive. There is still a massive weight of DC cosmology exposition, but the writing doesn't try to fight against it like it has in previous issues. Yes, the Pariah and Lyla's exposition from the dawn of time is unwieldy, but it's finally providing some real, concrete answers so that the reader is finally given some solid footing in the narrative instead of just being told that the destructive force is the bad guy. Yes, there are the cast of thousands, but we most of them are largely left in the background and we narrow our focus on only a handful of characters so we feel engaged in the narrative. Then, once the narrative transitions to the raid on the anti-matter universe, the narrative transcends into something that truly feels epic, the narration becomes swells with the purpleness of its prose and you realize pretty quickly that out of the fodder of the first six issues has risen a truly standout piece of work that is a match for its iconic cover. Wolfman and Perez hit their stride with this series when they realized that one character's emotional experience and self-sacrifice and the resonance of her loss is more potent storytelling than checking in with hundreds of characters we don't have time to invest in. Taken out of the context of what came after, this is probably one of the most moving and earned comic book deaths I've ever read.