INFINITE CRISIS #5 Megathread: Reviews & Spoilers

[Paul Newell]

This thread is for posting about the fifth issue of Infinite Crisis. Please put any thoughts and questions, about the actual issue, here. By limiting it to this particular thread we hope to head off the duplicate conversations which plagued the releases of Identity Crisis and Countdown. If you wish to post about something tangental to this issue then please feel free to start a separate thread. Any separate thread that deals directly with the issue will be merged here.

As with previous issues, if you do get your hands on a copy earlier than the release date, or come across spoilers online, then please use the [SPOIL ] [/SPOIL ] tags until the issue is available freely. NO NEED FOR SPOILER TAGS NOW.

And, as always, please be aware of the rules and guidelines of this board and stay on topic.

Thanks.

[Azrael52]

Man-o-man, I am so ready for Wednesday. I wanna read IC5, Batman Annual, and part 3 of the Superman story arc. Mainly, of course, I wanna get my IC fix. Thanks a lot, DC, you've made me a frickin' junkie!

[stealthwise]

It's out this Wednesday? Hell yeah, I mean... finally!

[slayer2005]

To those who have advance copies, any spoilers please? :D

[darkkeeperjr]

To those who have advance copies, any spoilers please? :D

something big will happen!!(how they gonna top #4 is beyond me)

[hitokiri_]

To those who have advance copies, any spoilers please? :D
hey musta ka?

[mohammedali]

I'm going to try hard to not come on to this thread again until I get IC5.

[Paul Newell]

Looks like we've lost the spoilers posted by the guy over at the DC Comics board. There's been a big moderation crackdown over there with every post being moderated.

[Sean Walsh]

Looks like we've lost the spoilers posted by the guy over at the DC Comics board. There's been a big moderation crackdown over there with every post being moderated.

One of the few bonuses of being heavily moderated: we who wish not to know 'til we read our comics don't wanna see the spoilers! :p

[Jor-el's Son]

If you don't want to be spoiled then stay away from the IC #5 spoilers thread!! That is simple!!

[Kid Kamikaze10]

Looks like we've lost the spoilers posted by the guy over at the DC Comics board. There's been a big moderation crackdown over there with every post being moderated.

If it's AngelofDeath, then I have good news.

If they got to him, then he will be going to the Renegade Comic Forum.

Here it is! It even has a section for Power Girl's boobs! (http://s15.invisionfree.com/Renegade_Comic_Forum/index.php?act=idx)

:p

[harborcoat]

Aaaarrrgh! I misread you and thought the spoilers were up.

[PatrickG]

Here's an image I found from a con presentation that nobody's mentioned:

http://www.comicsconspiracy.biz/crisis.jpg

[stillanerd]

^^^
I can just imagine it now. Alex Luthor looks skyward in total shock while Lex Luthor, imprisoned, laughs in his face.
LEX LUTHOR (to Alex): Smooth move, genius. Did you honestly think that by creating multiple Earths that every Earth would have it's own universe? Guess somebody forgot to tell you that you have to create multiple universes in order for that to work. And you call yourself a Luthor.

[MRMcDermott]

^^^
Heh. I started to wonder howcum one of the recent Superman (?) stories ended with a shot of Earth-2 in the night sky. Oopsie, this can't be good. And I don't know if we can count on the Spectre to hold two Earths apart as he did in the 60s, let alone a ton of them.

[Mulett]

Maybe this is the twist in IC - the reason there can be only one earth. Alex isn't re-creating the multiverse at all but simply drawing parallel Earths back into existence in the current universe so he can pick and chose which Earth will remain.

It's going to be pretty weird for people from other planets if they visit the earth and find it's gone from the current Earth to Earth-2 or whatever.

[slayer2005]

Here's an image I found from a con presentation that nobody's mentioned:

http://www.comicsconspiracy.biz/crisis.jpg

Alex: All right ladies and gentlemen. In order to fix our world we must destroy each evil and dirty world for all of us to live.

All of the DC heroes and villains: Ooohhh.

Alex: So you guys can team up with one another and destroy the planet of your own choice.

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Superboy-Prime: We call dibs on the Marvel Universe!

The rest: Dammit!

[LordEd1976]

Alex: All right ladies and gentlemen. In order to fix our world we must destroy each evil and dirty world for all of us to live.

All of the DC heroes and villains: Ooohhh.

Alex: So you guys can team up with one another and destroy the planet of your own choice.

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Superboy-Prime: We call dibs on the Marvel Universe!

The rest: Dammit!

Voice in the back: I call Image!

Someone else: I call Dark Horse!

Guy Gardener: DAMMIT! Forgot about the indies!

[FULLEFFECT71]

in 15 years this is the first time I am truly FIENDING to read a comic

congrats DC

[20yrslater]

Voice in the back: I call Image!

Someone else: I call Dark Horse!

Guy Gardener: DAMMIT! Forgot about the indies!

Looks liek they already got to Speakeasy...

[Maleficentogre]

speakeasy is way destroyed, along with idw and all of their zombies and avatar.

[darkkeeperjr]

Dang it!!!! i thought today was wednesday! i was ready to go to the comic store. :mad:

[Jor-el's Son]

Hey over at Newsarama boards some guy posted some spoilers...nothing jaw dropping though

[Murrocko]

Linkage please.

I won't be able to pick this up until maybe next Wednesday. I'll take whatever Spoilers I can get.

[Jor-el's Son]

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=61210

[titanfan]

Bleah. Either this issue is lackluster or the spoilers are totally made up based on the information that everyone already has. Nothing new.

[Kid Kamikaze10]

That spoiler was nothing.

Here's a phrase nobody in the DCU want's to hear:

"We couldn't hold him!"
-The Flash (Wally)

aka: Oh s**t! SBP's back! With the Anti-Monitor suit. But you guys knew that, right?


Here are the list of people from Earth-8!

Breach, Kyle Rayner, jason Rusch (Firestorm), and Helena Bertinelli (Huntress) were from Earth 8. Prior to the original Crisis. Breach is/was Earth 8's Capt Atom.


Guess who dies?

Earth-2 Lois on E2 Supes arms, right before the Supes vs Supes fight. Good timing, eh?


What's Alex's plan?

To bring back the multiverse, then mix and match to make the perfect Earth.

aka Playing God


GREAT ISSUE!!!!

:D

[Kid Kamikaze10]

Oh yeah

Wonder Woman speaks to her E2 counterpart.

[Paul Newell]

That spoiler was nothing.

*Sepulchural tone*

AND SO IT BEGINS....









;)

[LoneWolf21]

*Sepulchural tone*

AND SO IT BEGINS....









;)


I guess so Kosh, I guess so. ;)

[Maleficentogre]

oh super awesome. can't wait till tomorow.

[Xero]

Interesting, so basically there's a whole lot of predestination going on. If you were meant to become a superhero on an alternate earth, there's more of a chance that you will become one than the average joe.

[Paul Newell]

Interesting, so basically there's a whole lot of predestination going on. If you were meant to become a superhero on an alternate earth, there's more of a chance that you will become one than the average joe.
Not necessarily...As shown in the Return of Donna Troy and Wonder Woman. In an Infinite Universe "you" can be everything. It was shown that Donna Troy became Wonder Girl on Earth-1, but remained a normal woman on Earth-2. It was also shown that "duplicates" were merged into one being with a particular version dominant.

It's quite possible that Kyle could have become a Green Lantern on Earth-8 but remained normal on Earth-1. It depends on which "dominat" self remained.

[krammocon]

So how does/why E2 Lois died? What happened with them when they returned to E2? Did she died there? Why is Supes2 blaming Supes1? Are Power Girl shown or no show for all those that are in Alex's tower?

Thanks!

[Rutsah]

Does Alex bring in a bunch of suns to warm the other Earths? That picture, while being a neat image, seems like an impossibility to this hombre.

[Maleficentogre]

suspension of disbelief.

[Murrocko]

Nightwing?

[Nick Kal]

Nightwing and Superboy from our Earth met at Titans Tower and decided to team together when the multiple earths started to shake. also, apparently lex luthor may be teh one who hooked up Superboy Prime?

[slayer2005]

After reading the latest spoilers about IC and Batman Annual, Superboy Prime is the new Scarlet Witch.

Doom Patrol confusion? Blame it on Prime. Sue got raped? Blame it on Prime. Batdick? Blame it on Prime. Donna Troy's multiple personalities? Blame it on Prime. Jason's resurrection? Blame it on Prime...and Winnick.

[Supes35]

After reading the latest spoilers about IC and Batman Annual, Superboy Prime is the new Scarlet Witch.

Doom Patrol confusion? Blame it on Prime. Sue got raped? Blame it on Prime. Batdick? Blame it on Prime. Donna Troy's multiple personalities? Blame it on Prime. Jason's resurrection? Blame it on Prime...and Winnick.

Superboy-Prime is crazy! Really, he does. He's an over-powerful cry baby with an over-sized ego. I hope that SPB and Earth-2 Superman both will go away after IC, never to be seen again. I don't like either character at all.

[Supes35]

Nightwing and Superboy from our Earth met at Titans Tower and decided to team together when the multiple earths started to shake. also, apparently lex luthor may be teh one who hooked up Superboy Prime?

Where did you get this information. According to the spoilers, neither Nightwing or Superboy are in IC #5. However, I know both are in TT #33.

[Ian J.N.]

After reading the latest spoilers about IC and Batman Annual, Superboy Prime is the new Scarlet Witch.

Doom Patrol confusion? Blame it on Prime. Sue got raped? Blame it on Prime. Batdick? Blame it on Prime. Donna Troy's multiple personalities? Blame it on Prime. Jason's resurrection? Blame it on Prime...and Winnick.
That's exaggerating.

The idea does make sense to me, though. Superboy-Prime was conceived as the wide eyed fan who becomes a part of the story. Now, he's the bitter and irrational fanboi. When you take that metatextual aspect and combine it with the fact that he's essentially pre-crisis Superman (i.e. can do anything imaginable), it makes sense that he would be able to wreak havoc on continuity.

[botch]

Where did you get this information. According to the spoilers, neither Nightwing or Superboy are in IC #5. However, I know both are in TT #33.

he got it from IC #5. both are in IC #5.

[Joe-Dono]

So IC#5 is out today in America and tomorrow in England right.....?

[Nick Kal]

he got it from IC #5. both are in IC #5.

What he said... ;)

So how does/why E2 Lois died? What happened with them when they returned to E2? Did she died there? Why is Supes2 blaming Supes1? Are Power Girl shown or no show for all those that are in Alex's tower?

Lois dies because she was old and sick and returning to E2 really wouldn't save her. Alexander Luthor just used Superman of E2.

She did die on E2.

Superman of E2 thinks Superman of E1 brought the disease of his planet with him when he arrives. Earh 2 Superman is just really emotional and agry over Lois' death.

She isn't shown, I don't thinmk. But mentioned.

[botch]

this issue is weird. all the other ones had holy crap moments yet this one had just about none. i knew lois was going to die, it was pretty obvious, she was already old and nothing could be done to save her. The fact about Kyle being from earth 8 was more of an 'ohh yeah'. It just didn't feel satusfying, i expected more, especially since one year later starts soon and the next IC won't even be out yet, just feels weird. I did like the representation of doom and gloom, haven't felt that tense on the edge since the onslaught saga with marvel. it actually felt like the world was ending and that was awesome.

[ComicLibrarian]

I like the metatextual reading of this series far more than reading it as a straight-forward comic book crossover. I

[Sean Walsh]

this issue is weird. all the other ones had holy crap moments yet this one had just about none.

I almost felt the same way.

But that page with all the Earths crashing into each other over Titans Tower got a big "WHOA!" and was quite :eek: worthy.

[Sean Walsh]

Mr. Miracle makes a minor appearance in IC#5.

But is it Scott Free or Shilo Norman?

Judging by the costume, I think it might be the latter...!

[trickster]

That's exaggerating.

The idea does make sense to me, though. Superboy-Prime was conceived as the wide eyed fan who becomes a part of the story. Now, he's the bitter and irrational fanboi.

You mean they have Guts/Batman in IC5?

[josh straightedge]

The really sad thing for me is I was starting to enjoy some DC books for once until Infinite Crisis hit. I really don't like any of the monthlies anymore and seeing as how I don't know who anyone in the mini is, I just really know what's going on, not who anyone is. For the life of me, I've no idea who Pre-Crisis Superboy murdered in issue 4.

I'll just stick with the Vertigo DC stuff.

[trickster]

The really sad thing for me is I was starting to enjoy some DC books for once until Infinite Crisis hit. I really don't like any of the monthlies anymore and seeing as how I don't know who anyone in the mini is, I just really know what's going on, not who anyone is. For the life of me, I've no idea who Pre-Crisis Superboy murdered in issue 4.

I'll just stick with the Vertigo DC stuff.

That's just why they were killed. They weren't famous characters.


But how did Superboy Prime get into that AM armor?

[Karl J. Barnes]

That's just why they were killed. They weren't famous characters.


But how did Superboy Prime get into that AM armor?


Lex Luthor of Earth-2(?) gave it to him.

[josh straightedge]

While I don't doubt they are minor characters, who the hell they were for those of us who haven't been reading DC since 1970 would be nice.

It's the fact it's written like every person knows who everyone is, is what seems to bother.

[trickster]

Lex Luthor of Earth-2(?) gave it to him.
You mean Mockingbird?



And also, did Mockingbird? get into the Titans tower to give Superboy - Conner that shard of whatever it was? And if, I understand correctly, NW and Conner want to go to the Pole by themselves?

[Sean Walsh]

While I don't doubt they are minor characters, who the hell they were for those of us who haven't been reading DC since 1970 would be nice.

Reserve Titans. :p

Seriously, though - he killed Pantha (chick with punched off head), Wildebeest (with punched hole thru chest) and Bushido (swordsman zapped in half). Pantha and Wildebeest were Titans introduced in the 1990's by Marv Wolfman, and Bushido was introduced in a Titans annual back in 1999/2000 or so.

[Sean Walsh]

And also, did Mockingbird? get into the Titans tower to give Superboy - Conner that shard of whatever it was? And if, I understand correctly, NW and Conner want to go to the Pole by themselves?

Yeah, that was Mockingbird - *our* Luthor. :p

And I believe it was Titans Tower he infiltrated to give Conner the shard. The Titans probably dropped Conner off there to recuperate while they headed back out to help people and stuff.

[DrthTater]

I can't be the only one to notice that that Flash wasn't Wally. Just look at the costume.

o_O

[Paul Newell]

Issues out. No need for Spoiler tags. Yay!

[Tennoarashi]

If anything in Infinite Crisis makes me cry, it's what I inferred to be Diana Prince-Trevor fading away into nothing (and not even giving us an idea if she was concerned or knew about Fury or not).

So long, spunky Golden-Age Wonder Woman. I will miss you greatly.

[enediol]

glad he's back (though its not Ted Kord :( )

so all it takes for Jaime to whip out the suit (so to speak) is for Booster Gold to smack him one?

[Adem]

Solid issue I just have one question what earth was the square one (we see it when Alex was creating them)?

[Guts/Batman]

Holy set-up issues Batman!!!

Outside of Superman vs. E2 Superman, nothing happened. The dialogue was good and all but I wished more would have happened in this issue. And here I thought 1 and 2 were going to be the only set up issues...

Art was good as always but this issue was lacking something to me.

[Guts/Batman]

You mean they have Guts/Batman in IC5?

I'm in too good a mood to be insulted by this...

[Paul Newell]

Solid issue I just have one question what earth was the square one (we see it when Alex was creating them)?
Bizarro World is back?

[Adem]

Bizarro World is back?

Crap can't believe I didn't think of that. :o

So no, Bizarro World hasn't returned. ;)

[DCKar2nist]

BIZARRO WORLD, I got a kick out of that, love all those Golden Age/Silver Age Refrences

[jadegiant77]

I can't be the only one to notice that that Flash wasn't Wally. Just look at the costume.

o_O

What makes you say that? Wally' s costume looks exactly like Barry's nowadays, so it could be him. I will be hella pissed if that IS Barry, unless it's a Barry who has come from a time right before he died and has seconds ticking away until he runs himself to death(this was Wolfman's original idea how to bring him back).

Those multiple Earths in the sky look silly. Sorry, I can't suspend my disbelief THAT much. I just hope Earth-D is out there somewhere(the Earth with a more ethnically diverse(sp) Justice Alliance of America).

Can't belive no one thought to put E2 Lois in the Lazarus Pit. It would have restored her, I know it!

I'm soory, but Superboy-Prime looks stupid as hell in that Anti-Monitor battlesuit--looks like a holdover from that Total Justice toyline/comic from a few years back where Batman, Flash, et al strapped on crappy looking battle armor. Not feelin' that Blue Beetle armor, either.

It sucks that E2 Wonder Woman had to cease to exist! Why?? With all the multiple reality shenanigans, why couldn't she be allowed to stay?

I brought the "Superman smackdown" cover by Perez--The Lee cover was OK, but the Perez one is cooler(AND he is a living god!!!).

When is "the Flip"(THE OYL jump) happening-- at the end of IC#6 or #7?

[Wannabe]

Question- Where is the square earth located. I've been looking everywhere, but I can't seem to find it.

And what did Luthor do with Superboy? We see a shot of his eyes opening, then he's with Nightwing.

[Darth Angelus]

Couple things upon first reading:

1) Superman-2's primal scream that the real Supes heard shattered the windows around him, but the frail withered bones of DeadLois seem to be fine? Suuuure (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know stupid fanboy wanking)

2) Absolutely loved the visual of Supes-2 lifting the car ala Action #1, just awesome.

3) The panels highlighting what Wonder WOman has gone through, the next to last panel before her killing Max Lord... what is that from? It looks like Kingdom Come, but that doesn't make any sense.

4) Props to the art team, the combination of busy panels (Wonder Woman), beautiful detailed splash page (the multi-Earths over San Fran), and my personal favorite shot of Nightwing alone in the Tower, just positively stunning.

[Adam Crocker]

so all it takes for Jaime to whip out the suit (so to speak) is for Booster Gold to smack him one?

Well I having seen the Blue Beetle preview and how the suit, scarab, whatever seems to have a mind of its own, or at least some defensive programming I suppose Booster's smacking Jaime kicked in the Scarab's defense mechanisms, activating the suit.

[DrthTater]

What makes you say that? Wally' s costume looks exactly like Barry's nowadays, so it could be him.

I thought Wally's "belt" came to a point.

Barry's "belt" was just straight across.


Unless I just missed something, which is entirely possible. :confused:

[Adem]

Question- Where is the square earth located. I've been looking everywhere, but I can't seem to find it.

The page after the one where the Supermen are screaming. The one where you see two rows of earths it is on left side third last.

[jadegiant77]

Hmmm...

You may be right, Drthtater. I hope that wasn't Barry....

[Chris Thomas]

yah the action 1 shot was awesome

1. seems like these worlds are not populated? so what is the point here? to find the earth with the correct '(un)natural laws to support perfection? clearly L4 is over the edge

2. I assume the supes battle is that we see going on in action/adventures and superman (the last issues of each) and they 'fill in' the disasterous battle they have. i.e. they are sandwiched in here.

3. superboy prime looks like one mean mutha. I wonder if living in the speed force he spent what amounts to be decades there... or centuries or more... and now he is angry. maybe supeprime was the antimonitor in some weird-twisted time-wrapping on itself way. maybe he combines with L4?

[Wannabe]

The page after the one where the Supermen are screaming. The one where you see two rows of earths it is on left side third last.


Ah. I see now. Thanks. I was looking on the page with all the exploding earths.

[Xero]

Mmmmm, Crisis is like the headrush you get after half a dozen Krispy Kremes.

[EyesWideOpen]

a Superman: Red Son appearance!!

[tozog37]

who is the girl in batman's squad (not canary)

who is with Terra, mr. miracle and katana?

same page, another flamebird? one in earth 2 and this one?

who is saying "i can't do this, etc" and the guy with the hood?

thanks for all

my fourth post. whoo hoo!!!! too bad my picture doesnt come up.... :(

[DCKar2nist]

It probably was Barry considering Kid Flash wasn't with him. Which F&%*^ sucks! But...

Wally's coming back it's already been confirmed, he might come back retired as some people speculate, but he'll be back.

[ClydeHaven21]

Lex Luthor of Earth-2(?) gave it to him.


is this just speculation? because to me it wouldnt make sense, where would luthor get the battle suit? how would he get into the speedforce?

[ultramandingo]

.......soooo booster gold reads the records from the future to find out whos going into space to fight the batalite.........but he misses the whole blue beetle/max lord/ wonder woman deathfest and the fricken crisis part or the records from the future!!!!! what did they leve that part out? the future must suck

[enediol]

.......soooo booster gold reads the records from the future to find out whos going into space to fight the batalite.........but he misses the whole blue beetle/max lord/ wonder woman deathfest and the fricken crisis part or the records from the future!!!!! what did they leve that part out? the future must suck

he didnt miss it - he just came back too late to save Ted Kord.

[Sean Walsh]

"who is the girl in batman's squad (not canary)" - I think that's Sasha Bordeaux (his old bodyguard/girlfriend, and the new OMAC-hybrid leader of Checkmate)

"who is with Terra, mr. miracle and katana?" - Geo-Force (in his old brown outfit, apparently), and next to him was Mirage

"same page, another flamebird? one in earth 2 and this one?" - that was Firehawk, an old Firestorm ally

"who is saying "i can't do this, etc" and the guy with the hood?" - the person in Raven's arms is Argent, a Titan from Jurgens' brief run on the title. The guy with the hood is Joto, another of Jurgens' Titans.

[Sean Walsh]

Mr. Miracle makes a minor appearance in IC#5.

But is it Scott Free or Shilo Norman?

Judging by the costume, I think it might be the latter...!

Looking further, I'm thinking it *is* Shilo.

Because in the panel next to that - on the submerged bus helping people - is Frankstein's Monster from Seven Soldiers!!

[Maleficentogre]

Superboy is back (the real one, not prime) yippee. that is all. I love what's going on.

[scratchie]

2) Absolutely loved the visual of Supes-2 lifting the car ala Action #1, just awesome.That was the visual highlight of IC so far, for me.

[daryldens]

My wordy thoughts on the issue.

Infinite Crisis #5 - I think this will be a polarizing issue. This issue had more character moments in it, and did not seem as action packed as the prior two. Things are definitely happening though, and I think Geoff Johns is doing a great job writing this series even if some things don't seem to fit or aren't fully explained. There is just so much going on that sometimes things happen too quickly, but it certainly makes for issues that are worth reading multiple times.

Plenty of things I loved about the issue, couple of things that seemed a little off. Taking the issue in order: The first two pages with the church scene. I liked the quiet character moments, especially the Blue Devil flaming bit and seeing Zauriel is always a plus, but I'm not sure these two pages do much for the story. I wonder if these were the add-ins Didio mentions. Seems weird to me that all the heroes would take the time to go to a church.

The Earth-2 pages were fun. I liked the 'perfectly manufactured' aspect. The scenes with E2 Supes and Lois were touching, and the flashback was nice. I have no problem with her passing away, but I wasn't thrilled with her snippets of dialogue where she was basically unable to complete a sentence or thought. I guess this is how we keep Kal in the dark so we can have the Superman fight by not letting Lois finish any of her thoughts. I did like the scream of anguish as it reminded me of the Chris Reeve scream when Lois dies in the first movie, and its a good way to get E1 Supes to fly to Earth 2.

The Blue Beetle/Booster Gold in the Batcave pages wedged in between this were fine and obviously set up the OMAC Special.

The Wonder Woman meeting was good to see, but man does Diana Prince look really old. The riot scene was good too and showed E1 WW the ramifications of her actions.

Now we get 3 pages of the Superman/Superman fight. Presumably the 3 issue Joe Kelly arc falls in here. Liked the Action Comics homage, and I can buy E2 Supes acting out in frustration.

Back to the Wonder Women, and a nice recap of the E2 one with appropriate golden age style art. She also gives E1 WW a nice line with the trying to be human bit. Johns has really delivered some great lines of dialogue in this mini series. I have to admit on the first read through I didn't catch that they flew from Earth 1 to Earth 2 as I was so taken in by the dialogue.

The end of the Supermen fight was ok. I liked E2 Superman's speech, but the end of the fight was missing something for me. I know it revolves around the perfect Earth, but I think something stronger should have been used. Maybe it should have been some sort of revelation resulting from the three issue Kelly arc as that pretty effectively (if in a confusing fashion) showed that neither Kal would have fared much better on the other's world. It just seems like in trying to create this conflict, they turned the E2 Superman into kind of a simpleton who was too easily duped. I must say though that the bottom three panels on the center fold page where it shows him realizing how wrong he's been are very well done with the art. You can really see the emotion of all three characters in their body language.

The next few pages are pretty rapid fire with a lot of switching scenes. I'm fine with the Breach explanation. I think Earth 8 is kind of a cool concept, but I can understand people who aren't in to the whole multiverse thing not digging it. I also like liked seeing the Alexander Luthor hands from both sides. The image of the multiple Supermans breaking apart was pretty cool in a fanboy way. Same with the multiplying Earths, especially with the nod to the cube shaped Bizarro World. I guess this is the effect we saw on the final page of a lot of last months issues.

The whole Nightwing calling everybody and nobody responding but Superboy felt a little contrived. I have no problem with the next generation being the ones who have to fix things as hinted for next issue, but I think they could have come up with a better way to get the player's in place. I did like that Superboy knew what went down based on the crystal that Lex Luthor gave him. Kind of cool that no matter how much of a villain Lex is, his intellect seems to always be needed to help out in these storylines. The Titans Tower page with the multiple Earths was nice eye candy.

The big ending: The Flash reappearance and the ominous 'we couldn't hold him!" was pretty cool. I have no problem with the fact that we don't know which Flash it is. Nice mystery for next issue. As others have mentioned the last page's impact was spoiled a bit by the solicit for the DC Direct figures, but I have to admit that I'm not sure I would have caught the Anti-Monitor tie-in with that armor just from the page if I didn't know about it from solicit.

If you read through all that thanks for your perseverance. I pick apart at things, but overall this mini has been a hell of a ride for me, and I can't say enough about how great a job I think Geoff Johns is doing scripting this thing even when I express a negative opinion here or there. I think the multiple artists and delays are pretty unfortunate as I think its shameful DC is dropping the ball on this event that has supposedly been two years plus in the making, and for me it is detracting from my overall enjoyment a tiny bit. As for the story itself, I'm loving it. I didn't start reading comics until 1993, so I wasn't around for the multiverse, but I've done a lot of homework over the last 13 years so the multiple versions of characters and earths is great fun for me, and makes me feel like I'm getting a little treat of what I missed out on. I can certainly understand though why some would be turned off by it or feel left out. I go crazy waiting for each issue though, and enjoy reading each one multiple times when its released. So for me anyway I'd give this an 8/10.


-------
Daryl

[literally exaggerated]

I absolutely loved it. Infinite Crisis has yet to dissappoint. Best panel was the action comics #1 cover reinvented.

[Indefatigable]

The Flash's belt is sorta wonkey. It's not exactly like Barry's but not exactly like Wally's. His eyes do look green though.

[Maleficentogre]

My favourite scene is that little girl in the wonder woman get up being so sad that she had to leave wonder woman. and then the invisible plane. long time no see. man does old school WW look old though. She's the only hero I like more than their post-coie counterpart.

[DracoMalfoy]

Best Lines in the Comic:

E2 Wonder Woman: You've been a princess, a goddess, an ambassador, and a warrior. But you haven't been something for a very long time....HUMAN.

Superman: If this is a perfect world, why is there a Superman? A perfect world doesn't need a Superman.

[Maleficentogre]

April can't come soon enough. Now that lois is dead and Kal-l's head is clear again I can't wait to see some dual superman but whopping going down in IC#6.

[Steve Brady]

Looking further, I'm thinking it *is* Shilo.

Because in the panel next to that - on the submerged bus helping people - is Frankstein's Monster from Seven Soldiers!!

At first I thought it was Scott, because of the cape, which Shilo hasn't worn yet in his series. But the yellow lines on his chest - Scott's most recent costume (cf. Identity Crisis #1) has them crisscrossing, while Shilo's looks more like an "M." Of course, who knows what Morrison is up to in that book. It could be Scott Norman for all we know.

And yeah, that does seem to be Frank.

And there's this (http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=37770) :Seven Soldiers takes place one week before Infinite Crisis said Morrison. Geoff Johns said the Seven Soldiers will begin to show up in upcoming issues of Infinite Crisis.

[Mr. Truth]

Great issue! One question though, in the page that should the two rows of different Earths near the top of the left row there's a square earth, which Earth is that?

[Maleficentogre]

Bizarro World!

[Paul Newell]

BIZARRO WORLD! :D

[Paul Newell]

Missed it....By THAT much. :)

[Mr. Truth]

That's awsome!!! LONG LIVE BIZARRO WORLD!!

[Maleficentogre]

alright, so how awesome would it be if post-crisis everything got moved to bizarro world eh? okay, so maybe not.

[Paul Newell]

alright, so how awesome would it be if post-crisis everything got moved to bizarro world eh? okay, so maybe not.
Is that Bizarro-Speak? :)

[20yrslater]

That's a classic Act Two ending. Lots of explanation,no real "wow" moments, but it gives you a LOT to think about. Loved the HH E-2 to WW E-1 comment about being human, priceless. Like the fact that Batman accepted Booster in the Cave as an ally, and didn't go all BatDick on him. Loved the Elseworlds version of Supes when he's hit with Alexander's zappy, beamy thing.

The whole first scene was really cool. We don't see the characters interacting with each as HUMANS as much as we need to. The interchange between Terriffic and Ragman was excellent, Zauriel - great character, and hitting the nail on the Blue Devil's head was cool.

I think our Luthor/Mockingbird is setting up Conner big time.

At the end of the day, I think we have a couple of core Earths where the heroes interact with each other. But, the other side of sees ONE Earth with most of the main characters back, with their secondary version turning civilian. The "real" heroes will shine through, and the others will decide that this ins't their fight.

[SpartanX]

Who else thinks this new Blue Beetle is a deus ex machina. He is the only one who can see Brother Eye.

[Altraferne]

"We couldn't hold him! He escaped! He's coming!!" - Flash

Scariest thing I've heard all week. What a trully great and chilling moment. And best of all, my roommate has to eat his words cause he thought there was no way Superboy-Prime was coming back. Ha ha, looks like DC is in for the worst ride of its life. Man it's gonna be so cool, E1 and E2 Superman taking on Superboy-Prime who is presumably possessed by the Anti-Monitor. Holy crap. I can't wait.

Great issue, great series, Geoff Johns is the man! :D :D :D :D

[Core]

I like the metatextual reading of this series far more than reading it as a straight-forward comic book crossover.

I'm with you there, although one of the reasons I like the comic history comentary weaved into this narrative is that the story does work quite well regardless of whether or not one is reading for subtexts. Too often writers trying to write stories on multiple levels fail on one or both of them, but so far this one hasn't let me down.

That said, after just one read I don't get the feeling that this issue advanced the subtextual commentary as much as it just reinforced points brought up in previous issues.

Still a fun ride though, huh?

[converge241]

"We couldn't hold him! He escaped! He's coming!!" - Flash

Scariest thing I've heard all week. What a trully great and chilling moment. And best of all, my roommate has to eat his words cause he thought there was no way Superboy-Prime was coming back. Ha ha, looks like DC is in for the worst ride of its life. Man it's gonna be so cool, E1 and E2 Superman taking on Superboy-Prime who is presumably possessed by the Anti-Monitor. Holy crap. I can't wait.

Great issue, great series, Geoff Johns is the man! :D :D :D :D


didnt your roomate see the pictures a while ago of the Superboy prime figure in the AM armor? shame on him

[Maleficentogre]

aaaaa. throw me a bone here for a second. When Kal-L splits apart isn't it exactly the same sequence that most of the heroes have at the end of books? Batman in 650, arsenal in outsiders, robin, the others I don't remember right now? I'm guessing those fancy last pages were more than just eye candy things. any idea what's up with 'em? is it just a character being split?

[stealthwise]

Is it just me, or are Conner Kent and Dick Grayson being set up to, well, die?

[Damo]

I didn't like it.

I liked "a perfect world doesn't need a Superman".

I like the church scene.

I disliked good Dr. Light having her powers back without explanation.

I disliked (and I'm apparently the only one) "we couldn't hold him!" Big "scary" threats shouldn't make you want to give them wedgies for being whiny little girls.

I disliked the new Beetle being a deus ex.

I disliked just how little Wonder Woman ended up doing after all that build up. Maybe she does more in future issues, but her inclusion in the Superman-Superman fight seemed utterly pointless.

And I disliked that in the "funeral" no names of the fallen were given. Ouch.

Everything else... filler. Give me some meat!

[Guts/Batman]

Everything else... filler. Give me some meat!

This is what I'm feeling. This left me...unsatisfied by a fifth issue of a mini series only 7 issues long. I'd expect this kind of issue happening in the first or second issue of a mini...

[Altraferne]

didnt your roomate see the pictures a while ago of the Superboy prime figure in the AM armor? shame on him
Hey, he just didn't buy it. I showed him the pictures, he said they looked shopped, which I had to agree with, but still... Besides, he just couldn't believe anybody could break out of the Speed Force. I says to him I says: "Man, I think if anybody can do it, the Anti-Monitor could." "No way! No how!" says he, and thus the argument dropped. He's actually reading the issue right now, I can't wait til he gets to the end of it. :D

[botch]

If you read through all that thanks for your perseverance. I pick apart at things, but overall this mini has been a hell of a ride for me, and I can't say enough about how great a job I think Geoff Johns is doing scripting this thing even when I express a negative opinion here or there. I think the multiple artists and delays are pretty unfortunate as I think its shameful DC is dropping the ball on this event that has supposedly been two years plus in the making, and for me it is detracting from my overall enjoyment a tiny bit. As for the story itself, I'm loving it. I didn't start reading comics until 1993, so I wasn't around for the multiverse, but I've done a lot of homework over the last 13 years so the multiple versions of characters and earths is great fun for me, and makes me feel like I'm getting a little treat of what I missed out on. I can certainly understand though why some would be turned off by it or feel left out. I go crazy waiting for each issue though, and enjoy reading each one multiple times when its released. So for me anyway I'd give this an 8/10.


-------
Daryl

I didn't start reading DC till mid last year. My homework took me about two nights not 13 years. Thank you Wikipedia.

[Calamas]

I loved it.

Granted, the story wasn’t moved forward much, but I love character bits like this. They reveal facets and emotions we’ve never seen before in these heroes. It wasn’t fluff, it wasn’t filler. Sure, I could’ve done without any of the Blue Beatle stuff in the Batcave, but that was just a minor bad note, and a personal annoyance with the character really. And since Booster Gold was there too and his presence actually served a purpose, I could live with it. Even Batman got nice moment where he stopped and reevaluated Booster. It was good Batman was remembered, as the stage clearly belonged to Superman and Wonder Woman this time. I liked Diana’s first reaction to the E-2 WW, wanting it to be her mother. But all-in-all, Alex Luthor said it best: “Everything comes from Superman.” That's what this issue was all about.

Loved the art too. The cleanest it’s been since the start. Even the elaborate overlapping panels didn’t get in the way of the storytelling.

I even loved the ads that followed the story. A brief, rapid-fire introduction to One Year Later. Got to admit I felt the enthusiasm DC was going for, though probably jumping the titles I had no interest in help contribute to that reaction.

Still, in the end, I came away satisfied.

[Staredcraft]

I disliked good Dr. Light having her powers back without explanation.



DUde we are not done yet with the mini...wait until it is over...for all we know she's run into BLack Lightning or something and be asked "Didn't you loose your powers" and she'll explain...my bet is that it has something to do with monitor being responsible for her powers (NOTE: I did NOT say the Monitor will be DIRECTLY involved...it is just the fact he was RESPONSIBLE that is being played out)

[Barrister]

Do I still need to put up Spoilers? It's been out all day, so I'm sorry if I upset anyone...

I'm not a huge Flash fan or anything, so my frame of reference in terms of costumes may be off, but there are at least two different costumes on that page. The second one on the left's belt comes to a point, and the one in the forefront's belt is the one that continually zig-zags around.

I think this is obviously meant to trick the reader, b/c we aren't supposed to find out which Flash has come back. Barry could be the guy that popped up, by why would Wally, two figures back, also be popping up? Maybe the speedforce picked one of them randomly. I'm probably overthinking it.

But could someone explain how Earth 2 Wonder Woman showed up again? I haven't read COIE since high school, and I only vaguely recall this being saved by the pantheon thing.

Also, I haven't been paying too much attention to everybody's theories on the matter, but do the events in this issue pretty much disprove that the multiverse is back to stay? Because if Alex is just planning on picking and choosing the best of the best, and not letting all of the universes back just to have all the universes come back, then...they probably aren't going to be sticking around.

And why wouldn't Blue Beetle (or the scarab as it is attached to the kid) be zipped of to Earth-whatever?

I still think Wendy, Marvin and Wonderdog are behind all of this.

[handOFfate]

This issue wasn't as good as some others, but it was still entertaining and a great setup to the big finale.

1. I'm pretty sure that the Flash is Barry Allen. I don't expect him to stick around, since we know Wally will be coming back at some point. Or DC could go with the twist and make it an adult Bart Allen.

2. I was thinking earlier that Lois was Alex's secret partner, but i'm glad she wasn't. This was just what Kal-L needed to get his head back together. Now he and Kal-El can go kick Alex's ass.

3. Superboy-Prime looked freaky, almost zombie-like. He's obviously insane at this point, so I expect him to take out a few more B-listers.

4. The Psycho-Pirate almost sounds like he's regretting his alliance to Alex. I wonder if he'll turn back to the Anti-monitor's side if he promises him Power Girl.

5. Booster Gold is really getting a lot of spotlight. This may be the most important the character has ever been. I expect this subplot to be resolved in the O.M.A.C. special.

6. I think that of all the major superheroes likely to die, Wonder Woman and Superboy top the list. I'm undecided on who at this point. I do think that Connor is not himself. I wouldn't be surprised if he's a disguised Lex.

[garin]

1) Superman-2's primal scream that the real Supes heard shattered the windows around him, but the frail withered bones of DeadLois seem to be fine? Suuuure (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know stupid fanboy wanking)
I was struck more by the fact that he heard it from a different planet. Did Alex fill the space between the Earths with air? oh well, I don't think IC is the place to look for anything approaching realism.

I thought it was the weakest issue so far, all build-up and no payoff. The next issue should be good though.

[Apathy Boy]

This is what I'm feeling. This left me...unsatisfied by a fifth issue of a mini series only 7 issues long. I'd expect this kind of issue happening in the first or second issue of a mini...Actually, this is exactly the point where you expect this to happen. Effective story structure does not have steadily rising action with each consecutive chapter; it has rising action, a peak, decreasing action, rising action, a higher peak, etc. At this point in the story, you're still recovering from the mid-point peak and preparing for the final peak, which shoud be somewhere around the end of issue 6.

Having said that, I didn't care much for the issue. The cliffhanger was lacking: dramatic returns are generally more effective if the character is actually, you know, absent for more than an issue. And while I like the Nightwing/Superboy team-up, I do not like the pretense for that team-up (come on, no one answered Nightwing's call? Gee, glad Batman's faith in Dick's leadership abilities wasn't misplaced).

I also found the game of musical artists really grating. I generally like Ordway's work, but his stuff in this book looked awful. Really cross-hatchey. Jarring, too; future fill-in artists should have a style closer to that of Jimenez, as was the case with Reis and Perez.

I am very glad that Mr. Terrific's an atheist again, though.

[Mr. Sued]

Who else thinks this new Blue Beetle is a deus ex machina. He is the only one who can see Brother Eye.

I don't think it's a deus ex at all. Ted Kord was the one who stumbled upon the whole Max Lord/Brother I conection WAYYYYYYYY back in COUNTDOWN, the book that kicked this all off. It's a nice tribute to the late Mr. Kord that his successor is the one who can bring the whole OMAC mess to an end. I just hope Ted's ghost comes back, jumps up in Batman's face and screams "I told you so, you dick!"

I also think the Flash who came back is Barry Allen. Not only is the belt Barry's old-style "straight" belt, but he has wings on his boots. Wally hasn't had wings on his boots for a very long time.

[Be Stiff]

Maybe it's the new Flash?

[Psiberian]

I also think the Flash who came back is Barry Allen. Not only is the belt Barry's old-style "straight" belt, but he has wings on his boots. Wally hasn't had wings on his boots for a very long time.

On top of that, Wally wasn't "holding" Superboy Prime - he dissapeared before Prime was pushed into the Speedforce - it was Barry, Max and Johnny that said they could take care of Prime....Which in my mind leaves no doubt that this Flash must Be Barry...why else would he say "We couldn't hold him"?

[David O Burcham]

I love how this comic is using, for lack of a better term, "special guest artists". George Perez handled the flashback sequences as well as the Flash sub-plot from the earlier issues in tribute to Crisis on Infinite Earths. In this issue, Jerry Ordway handles all of the art dealing with the happenings on the newly recreated Earth-2, scene of the Supermen confrontation. This is a nice nod to Ordway's long runs on All-Star Squadron and Adventures of Superman.

I'm sure there are some pesimists who will dismiss the guest artists as a lack of cohesion on DC's part. For me, the scenes that Perez and Ordway has drawn seem to have been tailor made for them from the start.

[Logansmiddleclaw]

On the subject of Flash...in the panel where he's about to come back, take a close look at the costume(s). The image looks like they're switching back and forth between Wally Flash and Barry Flash....is it possible that the Flash who confronted Dr. Light is a combination of Wally and Barry?? I'm thinking a la Hawkman from Zero Hour *shudders*

[zombieclone]

On top of that, Wally wasn't "holding" Superboy Prime - he dissapeared before Prime was pushed into the Speedforce - it was Barry, Max and Johnny that said they could take care of Prime....Which in my mind leaves no doubt that this Flash must Be Barry...why else would he say "We couldn't hold him"?

Wally and Barry have different belts on their costumes. The Flash that returned had Barry's belt on. Also Wally has green eyes and Barry has blue. I couldn't tell with the energy glow, but it looked like that Flash has blue eyes. Looks like Barry is back (for a year).

[Chris Thomas]

been thinking about IC quite a bit--2 questions:

1. is there enough batman? coie was certainly batman-o-penic but since coie batman has been right there with supes in terms of exposure and, I would say, power (even though he is not powered.) but IC has a suprising paucity of batman. any comments?


2. what, exactly, is the difference between e1 and e2 supes? I mean--what did e2 supes convince himself that e1 did wrong? look at the three supes titles this month--this is all I can figure out:
a. e2 supes prefers phantom zone banishment (which must be hell) to lobotomies. also, in order to clean things up, he is willing to side with some rather suspicous character (manchester, luthor.)
b. e2 supes didn't think e1 supes should have died. huh? what kind of critique is that? so e2 supes --just wouldn't have died? I just don't buy that.
c. e1 supes on the other hand just thinks e1 should have just taken care of everything so the other heroes didn't have to exist? i.e. took all the burden on his shoulders? is that really different than what e2 supes did? what?

right now--I am not buying the conflict, as presented, between e1 and e2 supes. it just doesn't quite make sense

and please--more bats.

and I am sticking to my story that supesprime is actually going to fuse with Luther 4 and become the antimonitor then travel back in time to start the whole cycle again.

[IPW]

I love how this comic is using, for lack of a better term, "special guest artists". George Perez handled the flashback sequences as well as the Flash sub-plot from the earlier issues in tribute to Crisis on Infinite Earths. In this issue, Jerry Ordway handles all of the art dealing with the happenings on the newly recreated Earth-2, scene of the Supermen confrontation. This is a nice nod to Ordway's long runs on All-Star Squadron and Adventures of Superman.

I'm sure there are some pesimists who will dismiss the guest artists as a lack of cohesion on DC's part. For me, the scenes that Perez and Ordway has drawn seem to have been tailor made for them from the start.

I liked all the homages to past art
When E2 Superman is holding Lois body, it is the same position as COIE #7 cover
and when E2 Superman hits Superman with the Car, that is straight off of Action comics #1
And I think the scene with Batman's Strike Force at Ted Kord's Hanger
strikes me as reminiscint of a scene from Watchmen?

[Maleficentogre]

That is very much pulled from watchmen

[lucasb]

I was struck more by the fact that he heard it from a different planet. Did Alex fill the space between the Earths with air? oh well, I don't think IC is the place to look for anything approaching realism.

Not to mention: judging by the size of Earth-2 in the sky, it's about as far away as the Moon. Which is to say, about a quarter of a million miles. At the speed of sound, it would have taken roughly two weeks for the scream to reach Superman's ears even if there WAS air.

But if I had to venture a guess, I'd say both Supermen are more-or-less linked telepathically on some level (they ARE the same guy, after all, in a sense). And they were experiencing each other's lives whenever they touched.

So most likely it was the mental anguish at Lois' death rather than the physical sound that Superman "heard".

[Mr. Sued]

On the subject of Flash...in the panel where he's about to come back, take a close look at the costume(s). The image looks like they're switching back and forth between Wally Flash and Barry Flash....is it possible that the Flash who confronted Dr. Light is a combination of Wally and Barry?? I'm thinking a la Hawkman from Zero Hour *shudders*


I think that's an artist goof. While the belt does look like Wally's, that figure still has wings on the boots (as do they all). I'm sticking with it being Barry, but I don't think he'll be around after IC is over.

[Darth Angelus]

Not to mention: judging by the size of Earth-2 in the sky, it's about as far away as the Moon. Which is to say, about a quarter of a million miles. At the speed of sound, it would have taken roughly two weeks for the scream to reach Superman's ears even if there WAS air.


Thing is, this has been an issue with the Superman archtype from the beginning, and if I remember correctly, Kurt Busiek addressed it a bit in the Superman: Secret Identity mini.

The character there (pretty much a Superboy-Prime, sans Crisis) questions how his powers allow him to see for hundreds of miles while the Earth curves, how he can hear things immedately instead of having to depend on the speed of sound to reach him, and so on. Basically I took it at Kurt pointing out that there will never be a viable explanation other than the fact Superman can just do it.

[Steve Brady]

Wally and his family all become a big lightning bolt and shoot into the Speed Force while the others are grappling with Prime. After all that about his family staying with him, it'd be a little weird for him to come back alone.

Even if it is Barry, he might not stick around. We never see the energy around him dissipate, and he seems pretty insistent on having Dr. Light warn everyone, when he could easily do it himself.

[Evan Lanctot]

I'm going to go with Flash being an adult Bart.


Evan

[Super Samurai]

Great Issue.

I too also think that Superboy will die.

[Kevinroc]

I'm going to go with Flash being an adult Bart.


Evan

I think that would surprise people if that were the case since most people are predicting that it is Barry. A grown-up Bart makes sense but isn't the most obvious choice like Barry or Wally.

[soda]

great, great issue.

I agree with everyone that there wasn't as much action in this one as in the last two, but I like character moments in between my action packed comics, and this one had some truly sweet character moments in it. The line that will stick with me is:

"If your from this earth, than it can't be perfect, because a perfect world doesn't need a superman."

Totally summed up, in one cool soundbite, the entire point of the "never ending battle", and why Superman fights it, instead of just using his power to end it.

Also like that Bizarro world, and the invisible jet, are back, those are two things that should have never left.

Was a little miffed that Nightwing issued a call to action, and that no one heard him. I love Nightwing, personally, and I hope that Dick gets his due before all this over.

I've never liked Conor Kent, as a character, personally, I kinda share Superboy Prime's point of view on this. However, I felt the big "unanswered question" of IC #5 is how Superboy got let go by Luthor, what Luthor did to him (you know Lex, so you know there's no good at work here, and you know Lex didn't just "let him go"), and what it is that's he's carrying. That will be interesting to see.

Okay, okay, so the BIG unanswered question is: which Flash is it anyway? I think Barry Allen, but I think Barry and Wally will switch places after IC is over, and the flash going forward will eventually be Wally.

Seeing the Earth two Wonder Woman again was cool.

To me, my big problem with this issue (and again, I'm nitpicking) is what happened to Nightwing (although he's supposed to have a big role in the next one, so I'm suspending judgement), The blue beetle as deu ex machina (but I'm guessing there's more to this story, that we aren't hearing, than that, so I'm suspending judgement), and the limited screentime for the E2 WW (love Diana Prince, would have liked to seen more of her).

The death of the E2 Lois Lane, tragic, and foreseeable, but still tragic nonetheless.

Great job with the art, and the cool homages to the past that others have already picked up on. Particularly liked the homage to action #1, the "granddaddy of them all".

And finally, Superboy Prime looks pissed. Prime looks like Kal-L did in IC #1, mad as hell, focused, determined, and committed to the taking of names and the kicking of rear ends. I foresee an action scene with a fight like all hell broke loose in the next two issues. Can't wait to see Anti-Monitor Superboy Prime in action!

[Psyco panda]

I think that would surprise people if that were the case since most people are predicting that it is Barry. A grown-up Bart makes sense but isn't the most obvious choice like Barry or Wally.

This is my theory too. Superboy prime looks much older, and he's got a new suit. So obviously something must have happened in the Speed force.

[Super Samurai]

So is next issue one year later?

[K'Nort]

And what did Luthor do with Superboy? We see a shot of his eyes opening, then he's with Nightwing.

It seems like he got him out of the tube, briefed him on the situation, particularly in terms of Alex, gave him that shard with the data, and sent him to find Nightwing. And Luthor's number one priority right now is going to be taking down Alex, so he's using Connor to that end, not just letting him go.

I don't think Luthor had anything to do with Prime, however.

[Lex]

So is next issue one year later?No. Here's the chronology:

Infinite Crisis #6
Intinite Crisis #7
52 Weeks 1-52
One Year Later titles (like Aquaman:Sword of Atlantis, Detective Comics and JSA this week)

So while all the monthly books are taking place one year after IC #7, the main IC mini series is still set "in the past."

[Ian J.N.]

It seems like he got him out of the tube, briefed him on the situation, particularly in terms of Alex, gave him that shard with the data, and sent him to find Nightwing.
No, Luthor puts the shard in Connor's pants pocket and leaves. I'm assuming those "b-deep b-deep b-deep" sounds are from Connor's Titans communicator, which explains why he went to see Nightwing. Since the shard displays images based on "emotions and needs" (IC#2), there isn't a need for a briefing.

[Ian J.N.]

Even if it is Barry, he might not stick around. We never see the energy around him dissipate, and he seems pretty insistent on having Dr. Light warn everyone, when he could easily do it himself.
That's a good point. Also, I think the scene was meant to be reminiscent of COIE, which had Barry's apparition appearing before other heroes and foretelling doom. I think it's a jump to say that this is more than just a warning, but we'll see.

[Sean Walsh]

That's a good point. Also, I think the scene was meant to be reminiscent of COIE, which had Barry's apparition appearing before other heroes and foretelling doom. I think it's a jump to say that this is more than just a warning, but we'll see.

Well, if it was meant to be nothing more than just a foretelling of doom, they should've had him start to fade out as he pointed Superboy Prime out to Dr. Light.

It also seems odd that they'd pop up in Tokyo...Unless they're setting up the horrific death of Dr. Light II next issue... :-/

[Tennoarashi]

It also seems odd that they'd pop up in Tokyo...Unless they're setting up the horrific death of Dr. Light II next issue... :-/
.............Damnation!

[Sean Walsh]

.............Damnation!

I sure hope they don't kill her.

I mean, in the course of a month or so she'd have gone from "horribly depowered" to "miraculously repowered" to "brutally murdered." Not cool.

[Ian J.N.]

Well, if it was meant to be nothing more than just a foretelling of doom, they should've had him start to fade out as he pointed Superboy Prime out to Dr. Light.
No, no. See, first he has to give his expository spiel about what happened with Superboy-Prime. Then he'll disappear.

Really, it could go either way. I will concede that the "I... I made it. I'm back" comment might indicate that whoever he is made it and is, in fact, back. :)

It also seems odd that they'd pop up in Tokyo...Unless they're setting up the horrific death of Dr. Light II next issue... :-/Maybe Tokyo just happened to be the place where he emerged. It's a credible way of bringing another Crisis-related character into the action.

[Sean Walsh]

No, no. See, first he has to give his expository spiel about what happened with Superboy-Prime. Then he'll disappear.

Really, it could go either way. I will concede that the "I... I made it. I'm back" comment might indicate that whoever he is made it and is, in fact, back. :)

Someone commented yesterday (early in this thread I think) that the segment with Flash yelling about and pointing toward S-P was a really terrifying moment. And I agree - *very* tense moment.

But Flash starting to disappear at that moment would've made it (for me at least) even MORE scary. Like he wanted to help fight but couldn't - because S-P was responsible for him disappearing, say?

[Steve Brady]

No, no. See, first he has to give his expository spiel about what happened with Superboy-Prime. Then he'll disappear.

Really, it could go either way. I will concede that the "I... I made it. I'm back" comment might indicate that whoever he is made it and is, in fact, back.

I think this line weighs against Wally. Wally's escaped from the Speed Force before, right? Barry, on the other hand, being dead at all, would be more likely to be astonished that he'd managed to "make it back," not only out of the Speed Force but to the land of the living.

Add in that I doubt Wally would come back w/o his family, and the costume, I'm pretty convinced that it isn't Wally.

[titanfan]

I think this line weighs against Wally. Wally's escaped from the Speed Force before, right?

The deal was that Wally could always escape from the Speed Force because Linda was his anchor. The thing is--this time Linda is there with him...what now?

[lonewolf23k]

On the subject of Flash...in the panel where he's about to come back, take a close look at the costume(s). The image looks like they're switching back and forth between Wally Flash and Barry Flash....is it possible that the Flash who confronted Dr. Light is a combination of Wally and Barry?? I'm thinking a la Hawkman from Zero Hour *shudders*

So.. it's JLU Wally West? (Who is a combination of Wally and Barry, by the looks of recent episodes)

[JuanJohnboy]

Very nice issue :) altho it didnt have a lot of moments like other previous >< btw where is Darkseid!!!

[Mulett]

I found this issue to be a little empty. It didn't have nearly the emotional impact I was expecting. The fact that Earth-2 was completely empty just made the situation even worse. To an extent, without the people, how would you even know it was Earth-2?

Nice to see Earth-2 Wonder Woman appear (something I predicted in these very forums a couple of months back!!!). All the advice she gave the current Wonder Woman made me think the current Diana will survive the crisis and continue on as Wonder Woman, and that her new story will be about trying to be more human (perhaps even taking up the Diana Prince secret ID). I'm also not sure why E2 WW ceased to exist while E2 Superman didn't.

I do have one question though - have I missed the explanation about who/how Luthor was beamed to safety when Superboy and Alexander were going to kill him?

I've assumed I don't need spoiler tags for any of this as no one else seems to be using them and this whole thread is labelled **spoilers**.

[Staredcraft]

Well, if it was meant to be nothing more than just a foretelling of doom, they should've had him start to fade out as he pointed Superboy Prime out to Dr. Light.

It also seems odd that they'd pop up in Tokyo...Unless they're setting up the horrific death of Dr. Light II next issue... :-/

Don't Even Joke...besides...as I keep pointing out she was created by the monitor in COIE so maybe that'll play a factor....but I SOOOO hope you are wrong.

I sure hope they don't kill her.

I mean, in the course of a month or so she'd have gone from "horribly depowered" to "miraculously repowered" to "brutally murdered." Not cool.

Agreed....nice to see someone else agrees she was horribly depowered

[Wheel Of Fate]

^^^
I can just imagine it now. Alex Luthor looks skyward in total shock while Lex Luthor, imprisoned, laughs in his face.
LEX LUTHOR (to Alex): Smooth move, genius. Did you honestly think that by creating multiple Earths that every Earth would have it's own universe? Guess somebody forgot to tell you that you have to create multiple universes in order for that to work. And you call yourself a Luthor.

"Smooth move, Lex-lax..."

[Sabrinaset]

You know...I can't help but wonder WHY the books are being moved up one year later...really, what's the point of doing it besides giving "52" a reason to exist?

[Super Samurai]

You know...I can't help but wonder WHY the books are being moved up one year later...really, what's the point of doing it besides giving "52" a reason to exist?

Money of course.

[Lorendiac]

I don't think this has come up in this thread yet, so I'll mention it:

Over on DC's own boards (http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?forumID=2000000043&threadID=2000065727&messageID=2001976330#2001976330), someone who appears to know what he's talking about asserts that the lineup of Supermen-analogs that we see in a panel on Page 23, all slamming their hands over their ears at once, is supposed to be the following, according to Ordway's notes. I've cut-and-pasted, and added some extra explanatory comments.

From left to right, with some of them only slightly visible:

1. Atticus Kent of the Civil War era (from Roger Stern's "Superman: A Nation Divided" Elseworlds). We can't see much more than his elbow in the finished product, apparently.

2. Nova (a version of Clark Kent who had no powers and fought crime with gadgets, kinda like Batman)

3. Overman (a "very dark" version of Superman, on an alternate Earth, driven mad by disease, who appeared in Grant Morrison's "Animal Man" way back when)

4. Tangent Superman

5. Ultraman (Presumably the Pre-Crisis, Earth-3 version of Ultraman?)

6. Sovereign, Last Son of Crypton, from the medieval fantasy Elseworlds "League of Justice"

7. Superman Red

8. Superman Blue (the Pre-Crisis versions of S. Red and S. Blue were both featured in the same old Imaginary Story of the Silver Age era, after Supes got split into two guys, one of whom married Lana and one of whom married Lois)

9. "Red Son" Superman

10. Sunshine Superman (also from Morrison's "Animal Man" run)

[jadegiant77]

so...when Alex finds the perfect Earth, what's he gonna do? Remerge all the earths with that one as a base?

why does "our" Luthor get so wonky around Alex? Their brainwaves shouldn't be THAT similar: after all, isn't Alex the son of the anti-matter universe's Lex Luthor?

I was thinking the Flash is an adult Bart as well(that would be cool).

Wonder Woman hasn't been human in awhile..let's bring back Diana Prince, Freelance PI/boutique owner.

[Gentlegamer]

I'm not sure which Flash they intended it to be, but the costume clues point to Barry Allen. He has the continuous lightning belt, bolts on the calves of his boots, and wings on his head (Wally has lightning bolts on his head).

[mohammedali]

Big question. Where's the Joker. We haven't seen him since IC#1. He should be here by now.

Mohammed Ali

[DCKar2nist]

I was wondering that too, but I think the core Batman title has/had him a little busy.

[DCKar2nist]

I too also think that Superboy will die.

It was already confirmed that Superboy will survive the Crisis, he's getting a name change and stepping out of Supermans shadow OYL, ala Nightwing... Remember?

[Sean Walsh]

Don't Even Joke...besides...as I keep pointing out she was created by the monitor in COIE so maybe that'll play a factor....but I SOOOO hope you are wrong.

Me too.

Agreed....nice to see someone else agrees she was horribly depowered

Oh, a LOT of people share that opinion. I don't think I've seen anyone who was in favor of it, that's for sure.

[Lorendiac]

so...when Alex finds the perfect Earth, what's he gonna do? Remerge all the earths with that one as a base?

why does "our" Luthor get so wonky around Alex? Their brainwaves shouldn't be THAT similar: after all, isn't Alex the son of the anti-matter universe's Lex Luthor?

Alex was the son of the Alexander Luthor of Earth-3 in the Pre-Crisis multiverse. That world had no superheroes, apparently, but did have the Crime Syndicate of America, the evil analogs of the Silver Age characters Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Flash (called Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Power Ring, and Johnny Quick, respectively). In contrast, Earth-3 Luthor was a very good man who wanted to fight them, instead of being a megalomaniac like some Luthors I could mention :)

But there was no anti-matter involved at the time. Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-3 . . . all of them were in "positive matter" parallel universes before and during COIE.

[Guts/Batman]

Big question. Where's the Joker. We haven't seen him since IC#1. He should be here by now.

Mohammed Ali

Joker just got blowed up in Batman #650...

[Buried Alien]

And of course, just why *is* Superboy Prime wearing Anti-Monitor style armor?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Guts/Batman]

And of course, just why *is* Superboy Prime wearing Anti-Monitor style armor?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

The Anti-Monitor isn't dead!!!:D

Am I the only feeling stagnant reading this? These next two issues will be very fast paced...

[Evan Lanctot]

The reason "Earth 2" appeared without any people.....


IT AIN'T REALLY EARTH TWO. Just a clever simulation. Lois Lane was trying to tell Kal-L that before she died.

[Maleficentogre]

I thought the reason there were no people is because they're empty shells. Lois was going to tell kal-l that the right earth is wherever they are. awwww. (I don't know maybe? it's mushy enough). The earth's are real it's just that everyone there is "folded" into earth one (read: dead) and so it's just there. but y'know what. I think you're right and they are just clever simulations because there's no way they all survive on one sun.

[Guts/Batman]

I just got sinking feeling that E2 Superman is sooooooooo dead. Just thinking this after thinking to myself what Alex said about for reason's he can't explain, it all revolves around Superman.

For this to end, E2 Superman will have to die. And probably Alex will go down too...

[Buried Alien]

Still unresolved: if the "Earth-One" Superman is *really* the same Superman as the one we saw in DC Comics during the Silver/Bronze Age. So far, meeting and fighting Kal-L hasn't triggered any memories of their old friendship (or any other experiences unique to the Pre-COIE Earth-One Superman).

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Maleficentogre]

Alex is toast. I still want to know if what happened to kal-l is the same thing that happened to all the characters at the end of their books.

[JuanJohnboy]

I just got sinking feeling that E2 Superman is sooooooooo dead. Just thinking this after thinking to myself what Alex said about for reason's he can't explain, it all revolves around Superman.

For this to end, E2 Superman will have to die. And probably Alex will go down too...


yes e2 superman looks like dead in next issue :( or in last one... i mean lois is already dead >< i guess he will have to sacrifice in the battle vs AntiMonitor SuperboyPrime o.O?

[Buried Alien]

Not that INFINITE CRISIS hasn't been entertaining or shouldn't have been done, but it's kind of sad: prior to INFINITE CRISIS, Kal-L and Superboy Prime had been unimpeachable heroes...good examples for the modern DCU's heroes to follow. Now, both characters are proving more fallible than the modern heroes they've been so critical of.

I wonder if there's still a chance to save either of their good names.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Guts/Batman]

I wonder if there's still a chance to save either of their good names.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

With "Retcon Punching Superboy Prime" this week in Batman Annual #25, I would say no. That's such a good joke about now over in Rumbles. :D

Alex...not really either. It's kinda late in the game for him as well.

[Ian J.N.]

I just got sinking feeling that E2 Superman is sooooooooo dead. Just thinking this after thinking to myself what Alex said about for reason's he can't explain, it all revolves around Superman.
"It's not going to end" is what Lois was trying to say. The Golden Age Superman will be folded into—will become—the modern day Superman. That's my prediction. And perhaps that's how they'll take out Superboy Prime.

[Guts/Batman]

"It's not going to end" is what Lois was trying to say. The Golden Age Superman will be folded into—will become—the modern day Superman. That's my prediction. And perhaps that's how they'll take out Superboy Prime.

But E2 Superman is not Golden Age Superman though...

[DCKar2nist]

Am I the only feeling stagnant reading this? These next two issues will be very fast paced..

I liked the pacing but your right the pacing was that of a 12 issue maxi-series, how are we going to wrap this up in 2 issues??? Here's hoping the ending doesn't feel too rushed or tacked on.

[DCKar2nist]

Still unresolved: if the "Earth-One" Superman is *really* the same Superman as the one we saw in DC Comics during the Silver/Bronze Age. So far, meeting and fighting Kal-L hasn't triggered any memories of their old friendship (or any other experiences unique to the Pre-COIE Earth-One Superman).

I may be way off base on this but my understanding was that e1 superman had no connection to the silver age Superman. SA Superman had power levels e1 and e2 couldn't hope to achieve. e1 as depicted in the current "Superman, this is your life" arc is the Shuster Seigel Superman of 1938 (can't fly) before the multiple earth crossovers.

Now Superboy Prime has pre crisis Silver Age Superman power levels correct?

[Staredcraft]

Me too.



Oh, a LOT of people share that opinion. I don't think I've seen anyone who was in favor of it, that's for sure.

Trust me...I have...from people who like Arthur to be #1...I've seen more people say they wish he killed her... :mad:

Well...now I can laugh in their face.

Besides...I realized something...Kimiyo once said the Monitor made her to kill the Anti-monitor (Which, if you recall, she almost did...she did the most damage) and now Superboy is wearing the Anti-monitors armor and could be PART of him too...what if that old mission comes back into play? Or somethig like that? This goes back to my conversation once with Greg Rucka

Me:ah...well if she DID have her powers...would Brother I know her full extent (IE her use in COIE 12) and consider a high level threat or does it not know about that and consider her a lower lever threat? hypothetically speaking
Greg: Can't answer that--it's an IC-related question. Sorry! :-X

Hmmm....

OH and one possibility that it could be Barry Allen Flash that appear...he never called out to her or said her name so we don't know if he really knows her or not. She called out ot him though so that's probably why he told her to warn the others.

[Ian J.N.]

Not that INFINITE CRISIS hasn't been entertaining or shouldn't have been done, but it's kind of sad: prior to INFINITE CRISIS, Kal-L and Superboy Prime had been unimpeachable heroes...good examples for the modern DCU's heroes to follow. Now, both characters are proving more fallible than the modern heroes they've been so critical of.

I wonder if there's still a chance to save either of their good names.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)
Superboy-Prime was always a minor character, so no big loss. IMO, he didn't deserve the honor of joining the Golden Age Clark and Lois in Meaningful Happy Ending Land. In a weird way, I feel satisfied now that he's become the villain of the piece.

Kal-L was a chump, but he hasn't crossed the line. He hasn't done anything, really. Two conversations and a fist fight—that's it. In fact, this ordeal with Lois' illness has made him more sympathetic.

EDIT: One of the messages of the series is that the modern heroes aren't inferior characters. "He kept telling me I was a failure." "He's not just talking about you. They're judging all of us." I don't think it's an insult if the old icons prove to be on equal footing as the modern.

[Ian J.N.]

But E2 Superman is not Golden Age Superman though...
Conceptually, he's the original, Golden Age Superman: DC's first superhero. That's why he's the key from which everything comes.

[PatrickG]

Not that INFINITE CRISIS hasn't been entertaining or shouldn't have been done, but it's kind of sad: prior to INFINITE CRISIS, Kal-L and Superboy Prime had been unimpeachable heroes...good examples for the modern DCU's heroes to follow. Now, both characters are proving more fallible than the modern heroes they've been so critical of.

I wonder if there's still a chance to save either of their good names.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

According to Dan Didio, they are.

Apparently, the Man of Steel reboot happened because Earth-Prime Superboy threw a temper tantrum that warped reality. And his temper tantrums, punching the boundaries of the paradise dimension, seem to be responsible for all the reboots and continuity errors in the DCU since Crisis.

[DarthAstuart]

Apparently, the Man of Steel reboot happened because Earth-Prime Superboy threw a temper tantrum that warped reality. And his temper tantrums, punching the boundaries of the paradise dimension, seem to be responsible for all the reboots and continuity errors in the DCU since Crisis.

let's give THAT a meta-look.

superboy-prime seems to be the "fanboy" of the piece, right? simpering, childish, immature.

every "hit" creates a new retcon, reboot, error, etc. because he--aka, we--make it happen. i guess because "we" demand continuity in the first place.

so the message of IC: continuity sucks, and it's our fault! :)

[Guts/Batman]

According to Dan Didio, they are.

Apparently, the Man of Steel reboot happened because Earth-Prime Superboy threw a temper tantrum that warped reality. And his temper tantrums, punching the boundaries of the paradise dimension, seem to be responsible for all the reboots and continuity errors in the DCU since Crisis.

One stop shot for retcons...

Superboy Prime. Who knew, oh boy, who knew?

Yay for temper tantrums.

[Gentlegamer]

But there was no anti-matter involved at the time. Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-3 . . . all of them were in "positive matter" parallel universes before and during COIE.When Alexander Luthor crossed over to Earth-1 he somehow became infused with half matter and half anti-matter, acquiring his spatial warping abilities.

[stealthwise]

I can't wait to see how this series turns out. Love it or hate it, I'm sure that everyone else feels the same way at this point.

I still maintain that the mastermind at the end will prove to be the (thought-to-be-dead) Lex Luthor of Earth-2.

[Buried Alien]

let's give THAT a meta-look.

superboy-prime seems to be the "fanboy" of the piece, right? simpering, childish, immature.

every "hit" creates a new retcon, reboot, error, etc. because he--aka, we--make it happen. i guess because "we" demand continuity in the first place.

so the message of IC: continuity sucks, and it's our fault! :)

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you... :rolleyes:

Here's another spanner for the works: Superboy Prime was from, of course, Earth-Prime. That Earth was once considered to be *our* Earth (Earth-Reality).



Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Okay, let me chime in with what has no doubt already been mentioned, discussed and dissected in mind-numbing detail already in the previous 10 pages of the thread that I simply couldn't slog through before posting...

Earth-1 & Earth-2 - Loved the two different art styles. The little touches about there being no polution on Earth-2.

Superman vs. Superman - Nicely handled. Essentially, a man fighting himself for what he views as his own failures. And the homage to Action Comics #1 was really cool.

Gathering of the Bat-army - Really digging Booster Gold and the new Blue Beetle, that costume design is great. Obviously, this was just set-up for the big fight with Brother Eye next issue, but it didn't feel necessary or gratuitous.

The Infinite Earths - That's a beautiful shot no matter how you cut it. Just gorgeous.

The return of The Flash - I think my theory of a Merged Flash were confirmed in this issue, but I'll have to wait to be sure, I guess.

The return of Superboy Prime - Dang, I wish I hadn't seen the action figure before, 'cause that woulda been a much cooler moment had it been a surprise.

[(A)//(E)]

Very nice issue :) altho it didnt have a lot of moments like other previous >< btw where is Darkseid!!!

Remember the end of COIE when Darkseid is all like "...but one day you will pay."

I'm hoping he makes good on that in 6 or 7.

My guess is he's gonna get all "Creepy Uncle" on Super AntiMonitor Prime. :eek:

[botch]

Not to mention: judging by the size of Earth-2 in the sky, it's about as far away as the Moon. Which is to say, about a quarter of a million miles. At the speed of sound, it would have taken roughly two weeks for the scream to reach Superman's ears even if there WAS air.

But if I had to venture a guess, I'd say both Supermen are more-or-less linked telepathically on some level (they ARE the same guy, after all, in a sense). And they were experiencing each other's lives whenever they touched.

So most likely it was the mental anguish at Lois' death rather than the physical sound that Superman "heard".

suspension of disbelief dude, don't look so deeply into it. I mean the dude wears underwear on the outside.

[Mulett]

You know...I can't help but wonder WHY the books are being moved up one year later...really, what's the point of doing it besides giving "52" a reason to exist?

I can't help but being VERY cynical on this point and agree that (a) it's partly money and (b) it is so they can fudge any continuity problems or storylines that actually don't make sense. So when we readers say 'hang on . . what about ABC?', the DC writers can say 'Oh, yes . . er . . . that's an untold tale from the year in between. We'll cover that soon."

Also, having read the first couple of 'One Year Later' comics that are all ready out, it's obvious they are being written in such a bland, un-detailed way that we have no idea what's gone on. The JSA, for instance - could be Earth-1, could be Earth-2. Who knows?

Sad thing is, as this series continues I'm beginning to care less and less.

[DCKar2nist]

what about ABC?

What do you mean by ABC?

[Mulett]

What do you mean by ABC?

I was just using a generic phrase to mean that if readers have any questions, the writers will be able to blur the issues because the next round of comics are set a full year later.

In as much as, if a reader asked about ABC or XYZ, the writers can just say "ah, but that's all in an untold story from the year in between" etc etc.

[G.O.K.I.]

If Joker isn't used again, he'll just seem like a plot hole from IC #1...It'd be hard to use him after what happened in Batman, though...

[MRMcDermott]

So how does Al Luthor judge a worthy Earth when he creates 'em without the people in 'em? Looks like only the characters who didn't merge with any counterparts in COIE will be drawn to their respective Earths. I don't know what Al expects to find, but we already knew he a few green cherries short of a fruitcake.

We do know from the current OYL JSA that Jay-Flash is still at least somewhat speedy, though whether still he has Speed Force connections is not established. As has been mentioned, it's not sure whether they're on a separate Earth-2.

I presume Al Luthor created Earth-2 first to ensure Supes-2's cooperation. There was a thread back when all this started the weighed the possibility of a return to Earth-1 as separate from post-Crisis Earth. Anyone want to suppose Al will take a look at that Earth, too?

I too suspect Wonder Woman will be our Princess Diana, with no ties to the gods or the amazons, no diplomatic portfolio, at least until a future editor decides to bring them all back. She will still have the killing of Max Lord to contend with, but that will probably be dealt with in 52.

So far, only the readers are aware of the retcoms and reboots caused by Superboy's tantums (but we saw S-2 pounding the barrier like Doomsday in the first issues of Superman-Batman too, didn't we?). I'm waiting for Rip Hunter to announce, "You remember when we thought we had discovered Hypertime? Well, it seems..."

The longer they hold off on Darkseid and the Joker, the less of a surprise they'll be.

[superhornet34]

an early 1990's costume with the armor and everything. It looks lame.

[Yoda]

Darksied isn't supposed to play any role in IC at all, at least according to Johns and Didio. But Joker is supposed to turn up at some point in IC #7. I could see him being the big monkey wrench in Alexander Luthors plans, since when he last showed up he was pissed off at not being included in the Society.

[slayer2005]

I'm surprised E-2 WW didn't spanked current WW.

[Maleficentogre]

E2 WW did her job. and she did it very well.

[Rollo_Tomasi]

Just read this issue last night, and I have a question.

What the hell was with that scene with Luthor (Mockingbird Luthor) and Superboy in that containment tank. What was going on??? It looked like Conner was in there, since his clothing was on that bed. But how did Luthor get Conner? And what the hell was he doing to him? And then, Conner shows up later to meet Nightwing, and we get no mention of him being with Luthor.

I don't buy other theories that the Superboy in that tank was Superboy Prime. Prime would've never been able to be contained long enough in order for Luthor to do all that. Plus, if it was SBP, how did Luthor get a hold of him? Is there a tie-in issue of another comic that isn't out yet that explains this scene?

Another gripe I had was with the scene where Earth 1 Supes meets Earth 2 Supes. I'm supposed to believe he just flies over to Earth 2 and goes, "Hey what's up?". If I was Superman of E1, I would be a little more surprised to suddenly see a dopelganger of myself.

[Yoda]

What the hell was with that scene with Luthor (Mockingbird Luthor) and Superboy in that containment tank. What was going on??? It looked like Conner was in there, since his clothing was on that bed. But how did Luthor get Conner? And what the hell was he doing to him? And then, Conner shows up later to meet Nightwing, and we get no mention of him being with Luthor.

Superboy was recuperating from his battle with Superboy Prime at Titan's Tower. How he got from the battle to the tower is explained in Robin & Teen Titans. He wasn't awake when Luthor was there, and we know Luthor has teleportation tech from IC #3 so thats how he got into the tower. Luthors gone in the wide shot right before Superboy's eyes open.

Given that he was in pretty bad shape when Wonder Girl grabbed him from the Superboy Prime fight, it's obvious enough for this minor of a plot point, that it can be infered that thats whats going on.

[lucasb]

suspension of disbelief dude, don't look so deeply into it. I mean the dude wears underwear on the outside.
Huh? What's wrong with wearing your underwear on the...wait...

[aeastwic]

Not that INFINITE CRISIS hasn't been entertaining or shouldn't have been done, but it's kind of sad: prior to INFINITE CRISIS, Kal-L and Superboy Prime had been unimpeachable heroes...good examples for the modern DCU's heroes to follow. Now, both characters are proving more fallible than the modern heroes they've been so critical of.

I wonder if there's still a chance to save either of their good names.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)


Kal-L yes. He never wanted to hurt a soul by bringing back Earth-2. From the way that Alexander did it and the way that everyone is splitting apart - no one is dying and really being hurt. Being taken in by someone who is a master villian is not fallible...everyone has been taken in at some point.

Superboy Prime -- Oh boy. Never thought that they would make him a villian. He's pretty unredeemable now.

[DCKar2nist]

So how does Al Luthor judge a worthy Earth when he creates 'em without the people in 'em?

I thought the same thing. Maybe he has a way to bring back the various inhabitants (pre COIE). Has he mentioned anything or is he basing his judgements purley on landscape.

[Maleficentogre]

maybe he has a secret dc guide to the multiverse that tells him what was previously on every earth. That's my guess.

[Chris Thomas]

I don't think this really reflects badly on supes prime or kal-l. they are being manipulated by someone who is clearly exceedingly good at manipulation and also clearly insane. this is an age-old plot that I am sure just about every dc icon has fallen prey to.

and who cares about luthor 4? a character that literally grew from infant to man in 1-2 issues and was a character fabricated for a single event and not heard from before or after.

[Evan Lanctot]

This is really confusing....


The modern day Superman is the Byrne revamp version, who DID have memories of E2 Supers at the end of Crisis, but now does not. Batman had those memories too. I can only figger that those memories must have faded.

[Buried Alien]

This is really confusing....


The modern day Superman is the Byrne revamp version, who DID have memories of E2 Supers at the end of Crisis, but now does not. Batman had those memories too. I can only figger that those memories must have faded.

The Superman who returned home to Earth at the end of the Crisis On Infinite Earths did not yet have the Byrne-revised characteristics and history. As of the time that Kal-L disappeared into the paradise dimension, Kal-El still had his Silver/Bronze Age history and personal data intact (and would for weeks or maybe even months after the Crisis event ended).


Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Buried Alien]

Another gripe I had was with the scene where Earth 1 Supes meets Earth 2 Supes. I'm supposed to believe he just flies over to Earth 2 and goes, "Hey what's up?". If I was Superman of E1, I would be a little more surprised to suddenly see a dopelganger of myself.

Not necessarily. In recent years, Superman has met a handful of doppelgangers of himself (most notably the KINGDOM COME Superman), so what's one more?

The fact that he doesn't recognize Kal-L as an old friend, however, suggests that today's Superman isn't the same as the Silver/Bronze Age Superman who was called the Earth-One Superman in COIE.


Buried Alien (TheFastest Post Alive!)

[bfrank]

he hasn't gotten his memories back, like changeling and donna, and the doom patrol have...

[fuaak]

an early 1990's costume with the armor and everything. It looks lame.
Isn't that Anti-monitor's armor, or something that looks like it?

[Buried Alien]

I may be way off base on this but my understanding was that e1 superman had no connection to the silver age Superman. SA Superman had power levels e1 and e2 couldn't hope to achieve. e1 as depicted in the current "Superman, this is your life" arc is the Shuster Seigel Superman of 1938 (can't fly) before the multiple earth crossovers.

Now Superboy Prime has pre crisis Silver Age Superman power levels correct?

The Earth-One Superman, as originally introduced, was indeed the Silver/Bronze Age Superman that was the primary Superman of the comics from the 1950s until 1986. This Superman survived the Crisis On Infinite Earths, but soon afterwards, one of these two things happened:

A). He was erased from history and replaced with the current Superman.

B). He was transformed retroactively into the current Superman.

It's not clear exactly which of these two scenarios played out.

Superboy Prime, apparently, has the powers of the Silver/Bronze Age Superman.


Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Chris Thomas]

my understanding is that superboy prime is basically a copy of the silver/bronze age superman (although to make is so we could get rid of that superboy and also have him in the coie storyline, he was fabricated around the same time/slightly earlier in that giant size dc issue to be actually al superboy from a earth with only 1 other superhero as stated above multple times--sorry to be redundant.)

so superboy prime is ridiculously powered. i.e. he can move planets around at faster-than-light speed.

the current superman is not silver age/bronze age in reality since even though we were made to believe that the e1 heros for the most part survived intact/the same after coie, most authors actually took the opportunity to revamp them into a more modern versions.

what I mean is: coie was meant to get rid of e2 but keep all the heros the same (except transplant some over.) but it didn't really do that.

[bannermanonemillion]

OK, is it official that S-Boy Prime is in fact the Anti-Monitor returned?

Remember when E2 Supes was rehashing the original COIE for Power Girl? He mentioned how Krona cracked reality creating the multiverse and since it shouldn't have existed in the first place it created an imbalance that birthed the Anti-Monitor.

Alexander just recreated the multiverse, and not long later we see S-Boy Prime, free of the Speed Force (which led to Barry Allen popping out to warn everyone) wearing bits of A-M armor, looking PO'd.

Alexander Luthor has been played all along while he's been playing everyone else.

I think A-M has been hiding inside of SBP all along.

Just my $0.02

[Chris Thomas]

OK, is it official that S-Boy Prime is in fact the Anti-Monitor returned?

Remember when E2 Supes was rehashing the original COIE for Power Girl? He mentioned how Krona cracked reality creating the multiverse and since it shouldn't have existed in the first place it created an imbalance that birthed the Anti-Monitor.

Alexander just recreated the multiverse, and not long later we see S-Boy Prime, free of the Speed Force (which led to Barry Allen popping out to warn everyone) wearing bits of A-M armor, looking PO'd.

Alexander Luthor has been played all along while he's been playing everyone else.

I think A-M has been hiding inside of SBP all along.

Just my $0.02

I'm sticking with my theory that Luthor 4 and supeprime will merge to create the antimonitor. who will then be warped back into time to be a counterpart to the monitor. or something like that.

or maybe joker will just show up and kill everyone. go joker. go.

[Drifter]

I cant wait to see what Nightwing and Superboy have cookin... it would kick ass for these two to single handedly save the universe.... i have a bad feeling about our superboy though.... not sure if he'll make it throught this crisis

[Sabrinaset]

he hasn't gotten his memories back, like changeling and donna, and the doom patrol have...

Clearly, his memories were erased when Superboy with Retcon-Punching Action!(R) blew them away.

[Rollo_Tomasi]

Clearly, his memories were erased when Superboy with Retcon-Punching Action!(R) blew them away.

that's too funny.

[shrike]

You know I just thought of something...

at a time when villains are sucker punching heroes left and right, do you think it was a good idea for a huge gathering of them at a church? I mean, it's like a turkey shoot....

[Sibian]

Well i loved this .. the whole series has brought me back to dc from marvel...
The fact that SBP is back from the speed force is amazing i wonder how much damage was done to the Speed force?
Seriously one of the coolest fanboy things i have ever seen in comics was 3 Flashes yelling "WEGOTHIM" and grabing on to SBP that alone trully told me how bad things were when it takes ALL the Flashes to get him into the speed force.. i would love a side view poster of all the flashes moving at topspeed with SBP in their grasp make it 5 ft tall and 10 ft wide
and as for Nightwing wasnt it said that during 52 he was going to step up to the plate and lead the heroes much like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman has ? kinda like everyone just always seem to look to those three for guidence and everyone follows their lead?
if this is true then Nightwing the Defacto unoffical leader of both the Outsiders and the Titans is finally going to become an "A"lister for the whole damn DCU.
I also really love the fact that the Titans are becoming a true force on the lvl that the JSA, JLA, All Star Squadron have been.

as a very old school comic fanboy this series has been a wet dream... i can remember when waiting for the next issue of COIE to come out was almost unbearable... im at the same feeling now... it feels like im reliving a part of my childhood. seeing the Titans in such a prominent role now when as a child i had Wolfman and Perez's entire run of New Teen Titans... those stories left me drooling for the next issue.. its a nice feeling to have back.

[Sibian]

Oh and i want to address the whole gathering at the church..
It made sense, things had calmed down a bit and people usually find soliace in places of worship they also needed an accounting of who was left this was the best way... it also showed a very human side to a bunch of superpowered people.

[ColdFury]

The Earth-One Superman, as originally introduced, was indeed the Silver/Bronze Age Superman that was the primary Superman of the comics from the 1950s until 1986. This Superman survived the Crisis On Infinite Earths, but soon afterwards, one of these two things happened:

A). He was erased from history and replaced with the current Superman.

B). He was transformed retroactively into the current Superman.

It's not clear exactly which of these two scenarios played out.

Superboy Prime, apparently, has the powers of the Silver/Bronze Age Superman.


Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

From everything that's been said I would say it is B. Now, Superman/Batman aside (who can figure that series out, anyway) it's always been pretty evident, despite some rough edges, that the earth one characters are the ones we see today.

Everything got smooshed into Earth One, and I seem to recall hearing about some mini series that explained the retroactive continuity about some robot holding back the effects of the crisis... when that failed that would explain Batman/Superman not remembering Kal-L. There never HAS been a multiverse from their POV, so they would have no reason to remember him as their old buddy from Earth 2.

As for the retroactive continuity changes to his power levels... eh. I doubt there's many stories that are worth keeping in continuity that it really effects immensely.

Nothing has been said or written that would suggest that there is a set of 'Original E1 Heroes' out there in any way shape or form (Superman/Batman's weird Superman Man of Tomorrow being the exception, but again, I shrug.), or that they ceased to exist. They merely became what we have today.

I say the best you can hope for would be for them to get their memories back a la Power Girl, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that, as it'd be really confusing and the readers already know what's going on, so there's no real point.

[Apathy Boy]

If Joker isn't used again, he'll just seem like a plot hole from IC #1...It'd be hard to use him after what happened in Batman, though...I'm assuming that Joker's only purpose in this story is to kill Alex Luthor, after Alex gets depowered but mistakenly thinks he's escaped to plot another day. It'd seem like a fitting payback for the Joker getting left out of Alex's Society.

[Buried Alien]

There's also something wrong with this Multiverse that Alexander Luthor has created in a physical sense: the various Earths all exist in the same universe...all within physical proximity to each other and attainable by conventional space travel (a DC character could probably fly a space shuttle from Earth-One to Earth-Two right now). That's not how the old Multiverse worked at all; in the old Multiverse, all the parallel worlds occupied the same space, but vibrated at different frequencies from each other.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Justin D.]

I'm assuming that Joker's only purpose in this story is to kill Alex Luthor, after Alex gets depowered but mistakenly thinks he's escaped to plot another day. It'd seem like a fitting payback for the Joker getting left out of Alex's Society.

That would be hilarious.

All of these cosmic-level heroes and who saves the day by killing Alex Luthor? The Joker. Would that be the ultimate joke?

[cactusmaac]

It was a hoot to see Tangent Superman.

Liked the issue but all the artist changes were pretty jarring.

[DCKar2nist]

I thought it added a level of depth to the story.

There never HAS been a multiverse from [our Superman/Batman's] POV, so they would have no reason to remember him as their old buddy from Earth 2.

exactly all of Superman's adventures pre crisis never happened.

[ratzo]

There's also something wrong with this Multiverse that Alexander Luthor has created in a physical sense: the various Earths all exist in the same universe...all within physical proximity to each other and attainable by conventional space travel (a DC character could probably fly a space shuttle from Earth-One to Earth-Two right now).

That can't be true, can it? Seeing that shot of the multiple earths, I was reminded of the scene from JLA/Avengers where Superman and Iron Man saw Krona trying to smush Earth-Marvel and Earth-DC together. Supes said the vision they saw was just their minds trying to interpret the uninterpretable, or words to that effect. That's what I thought when I saw the multiple earths over Titans Tower - that it wasn't meant to be literal, but interpretive.

[Chris Thomas]

didn't they explain it by saying the machine was keeping the planets from ripping each other apart?

[DDM]

There's also something wrong with this Multiverse that Alexander Luthor has created in a physical sense: the various Earths all exist in the same universe...all within physical proximity to each other and attainable by conventional space travel (a DC character could probably fly a space shuttle from Earth-One to Earth-Two right now). That's not how the old Multiverse worked at all; in the old Multiverse, all the parallel worlds occupied the same space, but vibrated at different frequencies from each other.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

The various Earths are literally empty, virtual ghost Earths too (besides the heroes from the main Earth vanishes to their former ghost worlds). I believe the multiverse will not come back at all. Alexander Luthor will never create a perfect Earth because it can never exist in the corporeal universe until after death...

[bannermanonemillion]

Have we gotten a definitive answer as to whether or not the Flash we saw in #5 was Barry Allen?

Personally, I think it's Barry but I could be wrong.

[Choppa]

This might be a stupid question, but how could the AM be hiding inside SBP? Didn't he get desroyed when he flew into the sun at the end of COIE?

[David O Burcham]

I'll take a Superboy Prime Retcon over a Crazy Scarlet Witch Retcon any day. :D


And as far as Doc light II getting her powers back up to full... why not? Superboy Conner got his heat vision back and Wonder Girl's lasso got its power back. So did everyone else who had their light-based powers stolen by Doc Light I in Teen Titans.

[bannermanonemillion]

This might be a stupid question, but how could the AM be hiding inside SBP? Didn't he get desroyed when he flew into the sun at the end of COIE?

Well, we've seen badguys slip into an unsuspecting person's mind at the last sec to avoid total death.

See: Cassandra Nova in Morrison's New X-Men.

And I think that AM has been playing everyone by letting Luthor do the one thing that he never should have: start remaking multiple Earths. We saw how the AM first manifested because of the multiverse. Now just when Alex fractured reality and made a gaggle of other Earths, whaddaya know? SPB shows up again wearing bits of AM armor. Whoda thunk, huh?

[Sabrinaset]

Why are some of the Earths above Titans Tower breaking up or having lightning sparking from them? Has that been answered yet?

[Joe Acro]

Why is there a Bizarro Earth? It was never part of the Multiverse. It existed within the Earth-1 reality. And how exactly did Brother Eye cloak itself from its creator? Did Alexander cloack it? And how? This is unclear. Why must Johns incorporate time travel into yet another thing he writes? How do the Olympian gods just disappear? Where was Earth-2's Wonder Woman when the current Wonder Woman became a goddess? Was she hidden from her so as to know cause confusion? How is Barry back? Where did he come from? And where did Superboy-Prime find more of the Anti-Monitor's armor? Doesn't Alexander have all that? And are we ever going to find out what that huge hole in the universe is?

[Sabrinaset]

Why is there a Bizarro Earth? It was never part of the Multiverse. It existed within the Earth-1 reality. And how exactly did Brother Eye cloak itself from its creator? Did Alexander cloack it? And how? This is unclear. Why must Johns incorporate time travel into yet another thing he writes? How do the Olympian gods just disappear? Where was Earth-2's Wonder Woman when the current Wonder Woman became a goddess? Was she hidden from her so as to know cause confusion? How is Barry back? Where did he come from? And where did Superboy-Prime find more of the Anti-Monitor's armor? Doesn't Alexander have all that? And are we ever going to find out what that huge hole in the universe is?


None of these questions, and LESS, will be answered in the exciting NEXT ISSUE of IC! Get in line today!

[ShaggyB]

Why are some of the Earths above Titans Tower breaking up or having lightning sparking from them? Has that been answered yet?

I went with the ohhh they are forming right before their eyes approach in regards to the spark/fire coming off them.

BTW, dont take my spot in line im gonna go grab some food and a blanket

[wellsoul2]

From everything that's been said I would say it is B. Now, Superman/Batman aside (who can figure that series out, anyway) it's always been pretty evident, despite some rough edges, that the earth one characters are the ones we see today.

OK.


Everything got smooshed into Earth One, and I seem to recall hearing about some mini series that explained the retroactive continuity about some robot holding back the effects of the crisis... when that failed that would explain Batman/Superman not remembering Kal-L. There never HAS been a multiverse from their POV, so they would have no reason to remember him as their old buddy from Earth 2.

The Earth 2 solution for the old characters worked for me..I see the assimilation of COIE as causing more confusion and bad continuity
in hindsight.


As for the retroactive continuity changes to his power levels... eh. I doubt there's many stories that are worth keeping in continuity that it really effects immensely.

I vote that we kill em all and move on to Earth Four..call it DC Ultimates


Nothing has been said or written that would suggest that there is a set of 'Original E1 Heroes' out there in any way shape or form (Superman/Batman's weird Superman Man of Tomorrow being the exception, but again, I shrug.), or that they ceased to exist. They merely became what we have today.

Really they should just do a "Year Zero" and do that. Have a golden,
silver and modern age sets of heroes. Would the confusion be worse?


I say the best you can hope for would be for them to get their memories back a la Power Girl, but I wouldn't hold my breath for that, as it'd be really confusing and the readers already know what's going on, so there's no real point.

I say it's still a huge mess. E1 and E2 worked well for me.
Seriously you'd never have a thread dealing with all this confusion over at
Marvel. I doubt they will do it but if they put the multiverse back it would
solve much confusion at DC.

All the problems creeping back in after COIE proves to me that you need
the flexability of multiple universes/timelines.

I hope in the last issue they send all the dumbest characters to
Earth-Boredom and depower them. Maybe bring back the Shazam
wizard guy to have a nervous breakdown and shout :

"No More Pretending this isn't a big mess..Oy! "

[Og_110]

Not necessarily. In recent years, Superman has met a handful of doppelgangers of himself (most notably the KINGDOM COME Superman), so what's one more?

The fact that he doesn't recognize Kal-L as an old friend, however, suggests that today's Superman isn't the same as the Silver/Bronze Age Superman who was called the Earth-One Superman in COIE.


Buried Alien (TheFastest Post Alive!)

Remember the Silver-age Earth-one superman, his Father had died and there was a Supergirl who died in the crisis and the world remembered her being killed, they just don't know how. Supermans charactered was made over

[Guts/Batman]

If we get the old, PC Darkseid back from the bar he has been sitting at for the last 20 years on the other side of the 4th Wall, I might consider it not a complete waste of time but pretty close. So far with this mini almost nothing meaningful has happened.

I know what this issue was supposed to be but damn, this felt like a #1 of a mini series. There's almost no substance here. #6 and 7 better kick some serious ass to make up for the last 8 monthes (especially the last 4)/

And it's just getting more and more incoherent with each passing issue. That Superboy Prime punching continuinty in the nuts didn't help all that much.

[joint venture]

Just got issue 5. Quick delivery for a guy who's in Costa Rica.

Dunno what to say. It's like everybody knew that lame plot excuse Earth-2 Lois Lane had to die to trigger ANY action. And so it did, the art was nice.

Someone else could have said to Wonder Woman "she hasn't been human for a while" EXCEPT a character that comes out of the nothing, and has had no important background in COIE or IC per se. I'm personally sick and tired of stories recriminating WW for not being human enough, she is not human.(Greek mythology, Ares and Otrera-The first Amazon, are parents to Hippolyta, which makes WW their grand-daughter; a goddess and a warrior)

Lots of nostalgia and eye-candy for fanboys and fangirls in this issue. Nothing worth elaborating on plot-wise. That souped-up Superboy Prime is more crash and burn material, his action figure was posted in the Previews a month ago or more I think.

I usually never like Booster Gold, but I'm starting to like him. Maybe he's the final villain, he knows about aftermaths, outcomes and what he has to do now to be popular and rich. Oh, and maybe bring Ted back. The new Blue Beetle seems like an idiot, a Peter Parker wannabe (and PP is a really lame standard); but the character design, the suit and the beetle are something really forward looking and cool.Beautiful.


The last 9 pages of advertising are a theft.

Again #5 has 1 writer, 3 pencillers, 3 inkers, 3 colorists.
#4 had 1 writer, 3 pencillers, 7 inkers, 2 colorists.
#3 had 1 writer, 2 pencillers, 3 inkers, and 2 colorists.
#2 had 1 writer, 1 penciller (surprise!), 4 inkers, 2 colorists.
#1 had 1 writer, 1 penciller, 1 inker, 2 colorists.

Congrats to Nick J. Napolitano for a consistent work I have very much liked. His lettering is good work.

[joint venture]

i don't want to sound lik the grumpy guy. I'm still buying and so far I have liked it a lot. But the money I earn deserves a little respect. I am a fan of Phil Jimenez and George Perez. If it says Phil is drawing it, I am paying for PHIL JIMENEZ art.

when you buy a lou reed cd, what is your reaction when you play it and it plays david bowie music?...you return it, you go and make a claim. its not what you paid for. in our case we're stuck.

Just imagine the mega event this thing might have been, professionally and artistically. If the whole mini-series had been consistent. This ain't worth an Eisner or an anything, it's the Ragman of comic books.

I'm sure there are lots of discarded Phil Jimenez,George Perez & even Jerry Ordway pages drawn that might have been destroyed or hidden, they'll come out in a few years. "What might have been" they will call it. Just wait on DC to make anyone involved in the original project angry or resentful enough to talk.

haha.

i reall wish for issues #6 and #7 to shut my mouth. :)

[Jkid099]

And how exactly did Brother Eye cloak itself from its creator? Did Alexander cloack it? And how? This is unclear.
More than likely going to be addressed in the "The OMAC Project - Infinite Crisis Special." Furthermore, it's completely plausible that Max Lord took measures to ensure it was hidden ... after all, he knew eventually Batman would figure out it's been taken from him. Why leave it where he expected it?

Where was Earth-2's Wonder Woman when the current Wonder Woman became a goddess? Was she hidden from her so as to know cause confusion?

Nope, Wonder Woman of Earth-2 was pretty much ignored in the last 20 years of continuity. Even though it was stated she was in Olympus now, there were more than likely no plans to have her show up whenever. ESPECIALLY when Diana was a goddess. She adds to the story now, and finally acknowledges the plot point established in the original COIE.

How is Barry back? Where did he come from?

Y'know, I'm still waiting for it to be shown WHERE it was stated that the Flash that showed up is Barry Allen. It wasn't IN the issue, so I'm presuming someone said it in an interview. Could someone provide me a link or an explanation as to why everyone thinks it's Barry?

And where did Superboy-Prime find more of the Anti-Monitor's armor? Doesn't Alexander have all that?

Well since Superboy-Prime's appearance at the end of the issue is a cliffhanger, I presume we'll find this out in the following issue. However, my theory is that THAT isn't Superboy-Prime anymore ... but the Anti-Monitor resurrected. The Multiverse was never supposed to exist ... and one could suppose that the Anti-Monitor has been thrust back into existence as a means of "checks & balances." The armor looks way too small to feasibly BE the same incredibly massive armor that is incorporated into the tower, so perhaps it was just formed around the "possessed" body. Who knows. Just a theory, we'll have to wait and see.

And are we ever going to find out what that huge hole in the universe is?

Already been established as an effect of Alexander Luthor's tower as he began to push the Universe into a Multiverse again.

[PatrickG]

Well, aside from some visual cues that it's Barry...

Barry Allen was the only guy in a Flash costume in the Speed Force when Superboy-Prime broke out.

Also, over ten years ago, we learned that Barry didn't so much die as he became one with the Speed Force.

So with the Speed Force gone, Barry either had to go somewhere or die off-panel.

Meanwhile, Wally and Bart apparently went somewhere OUTSIDE the Speed Force after the events of #4 if you read the dialogue closely.

Barry, Max and Johnny were holding Superboy-Prime. Superboy-Prime gets loose and the Speed Force gets destroyed, Barry makes the most sense as the one to track him down on earth. It's uncertain as to whether he could return under normal conditions but if Superboy-Prime destroyed the Speed Force, that could well equal the return of Barry Allen.

At the very least, Barry Allen is not dead and we've known this for years. So either he died off panel last issue, he's slated to really die this go around or he's back.

(Yes. He has shown up in Heaven. But then again, so has Hourman. And by certain accounts, DCU Heaven is filled with illusions and people posing as other people. Nothing can be taken at face value in Heaven. Heck! Jim Corrigan killed God once and God not only got better but apparently had no problem letting Jim Corrigan chill there.)

[Evan Lanctot]

I have to agree, they were obviously short on time to finish this issue, so filling the last 9 pages with advertising and yet charging the same price as the last issues is not cool.


Evan

[Gingold]

I have to agree, they were obviously short on time to finish this issue, so filling the last 9 pages with advertising and yet charging the same price as the last issues is not cool.


Evan

Um..There were more pages of story in IC#5 than the previous issues.

[Buried Alien]

In INFINITE CRISIS # 5, Kal-El showed no visible surprise at finding another, older version of himself (Kal-L).

Granted, Kal-El has met older doppelgangers of himself before (THE KINGDOM; SUPERMAN/BATMAN), but his instant acceptance of Kal-L for what he was suggests that Kal-El might subconsciously recognize Kal-L...perhaps residual Pre-COIE memories kicking in?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Tennoarashi]

That's actually... Wow, that slipped over my head. I didn't even realize this was the first time to Supermen met.

How was he NOT suprised? Was he briefed beforehand? Was he suprised in another book? Buh?

[Lex]

I have to agree, they were obviously short on time to finish this issue, so filling the last 9 pages with advertising and yet charging the same price as the last issues is not cool.I believe those ad pages at the end were necessary. It's to promote all the One Year Later books that are coming out this month. If it gets the huge ammount of IC readers to check out some monthly books, then that's worth it.