Written by Geoff Johns.
Art by Phil Jimenez; George Pérez; Jerry Ordway; Ivan Reis; Andy Lanning; Oclair Albert; Marlo Alquiza; Marc Campos; Wayne Faucher; Drew Geraci; Jimmy Palmiotti; Sean Parsons; Norm Rapmund; Lary Stucker; Art Thibert; Jeromy Cox; Guy Major; Rod Reis; Tanya Horie; Richard Horie; Nick J. Napolitano; & Rob Leigh.
Collection Cover Art by (Uncredited – probably Phil Jimenez).
SUMMARY:
This 264-page hardcover is a 2023 re-release of DC Comics’ collected seven-issue Infinite Crisis series from 2005-2006. Intermingled throughout Infinite Crisis are scenes looping from numerous DC tie-ins: The Rann-Thanagar War; The OMAC Project; Day of Vengeance; and Villains United, among them.
At the end of 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, Earth-Two’s elderly Superman and his wife, Lois Lane; Earth-Three’s Alexander “Alex” Luthor; and Earth-Prime’s Superboy had willingly departed for a heaven-like limbo. Subsequently, they observed DC’s newly consolidated Earth for years, as dark events unfolded: i.e. the murders of Jason Todd, Superman (by Doomsday), Ted Kord’s Blue Beetle, and, most recently, Maxwell Lord. More so, Batman’s OMAC technology has been seized by Lord and an unknown enemy for worldwide terroristic purposes.
Feeling they have no other option, the four escape limbo to enforce supposedly positive changes. For Earth-Two’s Superman, it’s about somehow restoring a non-existent Earth-Two to save his wife from dying of old age. He is willing to sacrifice the current Earth to do so. Unbeknownst to this Superman and Lois is that Alex and the teenage Superboy-Prime have already been for months pushing forward their own ulterior motives. Among their crimes is the destruction of the JLA Watchtower and, with it, the abduction of the Martian Manhunter.
Hence, Alex’s impersonation of this Earth’s Lex Luthor has since egged the homicidal Secret Society of Super-Villains into trying to seize the world by force. With the leadership of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman currently at idealistic odds, DC’s heroes have never been more vulnerable.
Meanwhile, a recently resurrected Donna Troy leads a team into deep space to combat an interstellar crisis linked to the Rann-Thanagar War. Upon a corrupted Spectre’s killing of the wizard, Shazam, the selection of his new human host has begun. Booster Gold tracks down Ted Kord’s lost Blue Beetle scarab to find its new possessor: teenager Jaime Reyes. At the North Pole, Lex Luthor’s effort to confront his ongoing impersonator finds that he can’t match the enemy’s multi-universal technology. Superboy-Prime’s jealousy towards a passive Conner Kent finally erupts into a brutal showdown against an army of young DC heroes.
Unaware of Power Girl’s abduction (along with other beings once associated with other parallel Earths), Earth-Two’s Superman becomes desperate to save a dying Lois. Once Alex’s cosmic scheme is unleashed, DC’s super-heroes still on Earth must unite to face a simultaneously threefold challenge: an unhinged Superboy-Prime; the deadly OMAC robots; and a rampaging Secret Society. Heroes will fall and lives will be irrevocably altered (at least, for now), as DC’s possibly sole Earth faces its worst-ever crisis.
Note: This title has been re-released multiple times since 2006. The currently available formats are hardcover and trade paperback.
REVIEW:
Let me first acknowledge that I previously submitted a harsh critical review of Infinite Crisis on a different consumer website years before. By now re-reading Infinite Crisis, I sought to confirm whether or not my impression of utter disappointment still holds true. My assessment of Phil Jimenez’s penciling, in that regard, stands. Even if his handiwork isn’t as endearing as George Pérez’s one-man show from Crisis on Infinite Earths, this book’s best asset remains its high-caliber visuals.
As to writer Geoff Johns’ scripting, at times his effort proves better in various scenes than I remembered. Yet, DC’s tone-deaf enthusiasm to exploit the 1985 Crisis’ 20th Anniversary remains bewildering. Clearly, there was no intention of reaching the same all-ages audience as Crisis on Infinite Earths. What this project’s creative team (Johns & Dan DiDio, among them) instead concocted is a bloated, bloody, and ultimately hollow sequel unworthy of its predecessor.
Think of Infinite Crisis this way: its vastly complicated story and sub-plots collapse under too little substance and a reliance upon shock value to hide gaping plot holes.
The misconceived Infinite Crisis starts with its primary multi-universal refugees. Aside from Earth-Two’s Lois Lane, how Johns warps Alexander Luthor, Superboy-Prime, and, to a degree, an implausibly misguided Earth-Two’s Superman into villains is a major disservice to their valiant prior incarnations in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Note: Reading DiDio’s introduction and the post-game round-robin interview spells out that DC’s creative team had few, if any, qualms over Infinite Crisis’ dubious content.
Make no mistake: various scenes (i.e. Power Girl’s family reunion with Earth-Two’s Superman and Lois Lane; Earth-Two Superman’s failed recruitment of Batman; the anti-OMAC counterstrike mission; and Earth-Two Superman’s last scene with Power Girl) are still generally excellent. Unfortunately, they are overwhelmed by bloodthirsty fight sequences more akin to senseless ‘shooter’ video games than DC’s lost reputation for classy storytelling. Infinite Crisis’ gratuitous violence, suffice to say, is appalling – no matter the generation reading it.
Battles, such as the Freedom Fighters massacre; Superboy-Prime’s panic against the Teen Titans and their reserves; Black Adam’s two-finger dispatching of Psycho-Pirate; and the Earth-Two Superman’s senseless demise come off as grisly excuses for supposedly ‘ain’t it cool’ moments. Considering Marvel and DC’s icky zombie projects, such unrepentant gore isn’t a shocker today, as opposed to two decades ago.
Given the release of 2004’s questionable Identity Crisis before Infinite Crisis the following year, DC’s cynical money-making strategy becomes exposed. Its stoking of tasteless controversy for the sake of controversy is no different than the same desperate junk that the WWF/WWE and the now long-defunct WCW deployed in that era’s pro wrestling. Cheap publicity, therefore, becomes priceless – it all just depends on the bait being used.
Despite teasing nostalgic nods to the original Crisis (i.e. welcome cameos from Barry Allen and Earth-Two’s Wonder Woman; the current Flash’s disappearance; the death of one of Superman’s protégés), Johns falls far short on co-mingling coherent plot complications with plausibility.
An initial red flag is the sanctimonious dialogue exchange between Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman on the decimated JLA Watchtower. Pitting them against each other’s ideals for dramatic purposes, Johns conveniently ignores why they made recently controversial decisions. Instead, their verbal face-off is a three-way blame game over being smugly perfect heroes.
Another example: Gardner Fox’s dubious Silver Age depictions of science (i.e. Batman punching anti-matter) are practically real-world physics … as compared to the ludicrous sight of Alexander Luthor’s climatic ‘perfect’ Earth-shopping. Or devolving Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor into whiny brats in this epic’s second half to sell them as being corrupted beyond hope of redemption. This list could stretch awhile – I prefer not to completely rehash my prior critique.
No matter how stellar Johns’ DC gems (i.e. Green Lantern: Rebirth; JLA: Crisis of Conscience; Wally West’s Flash, etc.) previously were, this time he foolishly squanders the art team’s excellent work. All Johns conjures up is a super-hero dumpster fire promising a ‘can’t miss’ epic again resetting DC’s status quo. Unlike the practical reasons necessitating the first Crisis, its sequel aims for little more than blowing stuff (and various characters) up.
In conclusion, my prior assessment hasn’t shifted: Infinite Crisis, as designed, too often crosses the ‘good taste’ line into the territory of being both unnecessary and repugnant. Its classy epilogue scene with Diana Prince, Clark Kent, and Bruce Wayne setting up the weekly 52 series is one of this would-be epic’s few saving graces. Unfortunately, this smart bridging scene proves far too little too late.
Note: As fair warning, Infinite Crisis doesn’t include a much-warranted parental advisory label. It’s unsurprising, given that DC expressed the same stance towards its controversial 2004 Identity Crisis.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Preceding each issue are full-page renditions of the variant followed by the primary cover. The cover art teams are George Pérez & Tom Smith (variants), and Jim Lee, Sandra Hope, & Alex Sinclair. DC’s then-Senior VP/Executive Editor, Dan DiDio’s two-page introduction penned in August 2006 for this compilation’s first release is included.
A sketch art gallery includes: the first issue’s Jim Lee cover and a quartet of panels (Issue # 3 – Lee; Issue # 4 – Lee; Issue # 5 – Pérez; and Issue # 6 – Lee). Entitled ‘Infinite Discussions,’ DC’s Collected Editions Editor, Anton Kawasaki, hosts a roundtable interview with Geoff Johns (via speakerphone); Phil Jimenez; Group Editor Eddie Berganza; and Assistant Editor Jeanine Schaefer to review the project. Including artwork (both in color and sketches), this insightful behind-the-scenes group discussion goes on for twelve pages.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 3 Stars
