One of the most ballyhooed story arcs in comics history, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS divides fans to this day, some 20 years after its initial publication. If nothing else, CRISIS is one of the few stories in comics history to live up to its billing: it really DID change everything in the DC universe and nothing has been the same since. Whether that is good or bad...ah, that's the rub, isn't it?
As a pure story, CRISIS is incredibly epic in scope and packed with high drama and multiple climaxes. Anti-matter is eating up the DC multiverse, destroying entire universes (and their sometimes long-standing characters)without mercy. Ultimately the Monitor's evil doppleganger, the Anti-Monitor, is revealed as the ultimate menace to all life, and virtually every surviving hero and villain in DC's expansive continuity is swept up in this titanic struggle between good and evil, life and death.
Originally spanning twelve issues of varying length, CRISIS is scripted with admirable dexterity by Marv Wolfman, who does a yeoman's job and then some handling the scores of heroes and villains involved in his sweeping tale. You get everyone from the usual headliners like Batman and Superman and Green Lantern to WWII heroes like the indomitable Sgt. Rock and Charlton crossovers like Captain Atom and underused Golden Age icons such as the terrible Spectre and the World's Mightiest Mortal himself, Captain Marvel. Some characters come off better in CRISIS than they had for years previously--notably Supergirl, who famously (and unfortunately) fights her last fight in perhaps the arc's most unforgettable moment (though Barry Allen's ultimate, fatal race against destiny itself is right up there). Characterization is surprisingly good considering the size of the overall cast and the limited space available to individuals. Despite its great length, CRISIS never slows down and holds interest chapter after chapter til the bittersweet end. And no appraisal of CRISIS would be complete without a tip of the hat to some truly awesome artwork by industry stalwart George Perez. Perez captures the essence of each myriad hero and villain flawlessly, and the current edition of the series features an absolutely gorgeous wrap-around cover by Mr. Perez that guarrantees CRISIS will be one of the more prominently displayed graphic novels in your collection.
All that's the good. Unfortunately, there's a lot of bad, too.
On a simple dramatic level, CRISIS has several flaws. The cast of virtually every character in the DC comics canon may be altogether too huge; a smaller cast (such as in Marvel's SECRET WARS) would have allowed for perhaps more detailed characterization and hightened drama. Because of its sheer size, the eventual battle on multiple earths between literally ALL of DC's heroes and villains lacks punch--a series of scattershot fight scenes with no beginning or end to create a context of excitement. And while Mr. Wolfman makes the Anti-Monitor deliciously evil, might it not have been better to utilize an existing villain from DC's impressive canon, perhaps Darkseid or Trigon? Much like Doomsday from the Death of Superman story a few years ago, the Anti-Monitor sometimes comes across as more of a gimmick than a character.
But ultimately the negatives of CRISIS are not about such trivialities--they're about the much wider issue of whether or not CRISIS should have even been written.
DC wanted a more streamlined continuity with a single mainline universe--like Marvel's. DC also wanted to recreate its stable of heroes and villains into what was considered a more "mature" and "realistic" format--as was generally perceived to be the case at Marvel. The solution writer Wolfman hit on was to essentially wipe out over four decades of characters and story-arcs, so that DC could start over from nearly scratch and recreate itself in Marvel's image.
Fan reaction at the time was highly mixed, and has remained so to this day. On the one hand there's no question CRISIS was the impetus for a new wave of creativity at DC, with several bold new storylines taking off almost immediately in the maxi-series' wake. But while there were short-term benefits, the long run has perhaps not been what DC was hoping for. While DC's heroes were generally made-over in more "Marvelesque" fashion, the result was often disappointing. Take Superman, for instance. The original superhero was de-powered and much of his Kryptonian heritage written out his backstory; Superboy ceased to exist, as did Supergirl and Krypto. No bottled city of Kandor, either. And those of us who were eagerly looking forward to the ultimate showdown between Superman and the evil Lex Luthor armed with an awesome warsuit and a rejuvenated hatred for his archenemy...well, we'll wait forever, now. That Luthor no longer exists, either, replaced by a corrupt businessman named Luthor whose hatred for Superman stems from little more than being reduced to number two status in Metropolis with Superman's arrival there. The recreated Brainiac, revamped not long before CRISIS himself, makes his final appearance in the series as well. And as for the "World's Finest," forget it. Now Superman and Batman spend as much time at each other's throats as they do fighting side-by-side. This was supposed to be progress. I call it all a big, big mistake.
And there were others. The most unfortunate victims of CRISIS proved to be not the heroes who were killed in action--but the ones who survived to be re-written to the core. Not just Superman, but Batman & Robin (Jason Todd was turned into a delinquent so unlikeable the fans voted him killed off, if you remember), the Marvel Family, the Spectre...and let's not even talk about Hal Jordan.
CRISIS is also blamed by many for ushering in the more violent, darker tone that seems to dominate comics as a whole now. True, CRISIS did pave the way for that, but the trend had already started. Titles such as SWAMP THING and THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS were taking comics to more supposedly "adult" places already, and it's unlikely CRISIS really did more than accelerate the process a little. The result, ten years later, would have been the same.
But did CRISIS actually achieve any of its central objectives? Not really. The DC universe continues to struggle with its various lines of continuity, despite multiple attempts to streamline and simplify it to everyone's satisfaction and understanding. And Marvel has largely continued to dominate DC in terms of industry sales (with some notable exceptions)and respect among modern fans, who still somehow find DC's characters too cartoonish, too good to be true. Indeed, much of CRISIS has been flatly ignored by many writers to come after the series--probably wisely. Many of those writers have created great stories--you'll find I've favorably reviewed many of them--but the greater context in which those stories exist just isn't the same.
Ultimately, then, is CRISIS worth your money? For all that's bad in it, and for all that it wrought, I'm glad I own a copy. It is a true milestone, for good or ill, and as a story it is actually very good, even if its long-term ramifications aren't. The script is fun and melodramatic--if sometimes heartbreaking--the way comics are for the most part supposed to be, and Perez's art is beautiful work. My final rating for CRISIS is a compromise--five stars for the actual content, about two for its ramifications, for a final grade of three stars. Take it for what its worth, but that's the way I see the CRISIS--swan song of the Silver Age of comics.
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Marcel The Loser
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I was actually expecting the novelization, not the graphic novel, but overall still satisfied
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