Final crisis for a Newbee

[cap5]

Im not realy a DC reader I just read Batman Robin and Detective
Can I jump into Final Crisis and be up to speed,I know theres Countdoun and 52 that came before it but i relly dont want to get that

[Jack Zodiac]

Just read it. Don't worry about reading anything to "get" it. In fact, reading anything before it would probably just make it more confusing, so just enjoy it on its own.

[Babylon23]

Agreed. You probably won't understand everything that's in the first issue, but from the looks of things, it should all begin to make sense as the series progresses.

[Elitehaxxor]

What was the deal with that guy who got demoted to live with the mortals, uoatako or something I can't remember the name right now I don't have the book next to me...Also in the same area what was that thing that looked like it was holding a bunch of planet earths and they said something like "new earth the one that matters" (again I don't have the issue nearby so I can't say the exact quote)

[IvCNuB4]

Nix Uotan was the Monitor of Earth-51's universe. His universe was destroyed twice during "Countdown" so he was banished to New Earth as a mortal.

The Orrery is the configuration of the 52 universes. New Earth is the foundation for the current multiverse because they were all originally exact copies of New Earth. Once Mr Mind mutated in "52" he chewed up the history of the 51 other universes and caused them to have alternate histories from New Earth. If New Earth is destroyed all the other universes will collapse as well ...

[Von Zombie]

I don't know a thing about the events prior to Final Crisis, and after reading the first issue I'd say it's reader friendly. I imagine Final Crisis will be a good starting point for anyone looking to get into the DCU once it's all said and done.

[jv2k]

Countdown was utter garbage and 52 has nothing to do with FC.

As for whether or not you should get into it, that is hard to say. My first few voyages into the DCU outside of batman were Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis. I found them both to be enjoyable and despite the fact I didn't have a total grasp of what was going on I managed to enjoy the stories. After IC I even managed to jump onto the current DCU and read some back issues.

That said, I know that the same can not be said for everyone. I know I've read comments from people who kept up with the DCU who didn't understand IC(which is ridiculous but to each his own). Currently people are scratching their heads and wondering what is going on in FC. I can't say how you'd react but it certainly isn't a very straight forward book.

The book so far is interesting, but it is moving at a slow pace. That is the way Grant Morrison writes; he weaves a story slowly and allows all the pieces to come together at the end. The story gives heavy vibes that it is building to a more meaningful reading experience than your standard comic fare, but at issue 2 it still isn't clear whether the story will deliver or not. It can either be a classic or a huge disappointment and only time will tell.

Regardless of how it turns out, based on the speed story is moving, I think it'll read a lot better when it comes out in trade paperback form. I say hold out a bit until the story is done.

If you want to get into DC you shouldn't wait for a jumping point and just jump in now.

For superman: Read the One Year Later story arc "Up up and away" and then read Busiek's run on Superman and Geoff Johns' run on Action comics. I'm pretty sure chunks of their runs have been put into trade paper backs already.

Green Lantern is the easiest. Just read Green Lantern Rebirth, then Green Lantern Recharged, and then collect various volumes of the current Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps books. The Sinestro Wars story was particularly good.

Justice Society is another good book. If you can I'd suggest getting trade paper backs for the previous Justice Society book which went by the name of JSA. If you don't feel like spending that much just hop onto the current book that just rebooted a little over a year ago.

If you want to get into Justice League I'd suggest reading trade paperbacks of Morrison's run on the book. The book recently relaunched but it's only had two writers on it and the first one was pretty mediocre and the current one isn't able to do his thing thanks to dangling plot thread made by the previous writer and crossovers.

I'd suggest checking out Checkmate(no pun intended). The book is only two years old and it's about a United Nations run program that monitors metahuman affairs. I personally think it's one of DC's best comics out right now. Only issue I actually disliked was the one that crossed over with the Outsiders, even then it wasn't that bad.

I could list more but I'm getting tired of writing and I've already procrastinated enough from my studying. In short just jump in. FC isn't going anywhere and it really isn't crossing over with much of anything so it's a bad jump on point.

[xnef1025]

I think there are really only three realitively simplified things a complete newbie may want to know when jumping in on Final Crisis in order to get it:

1. There were superbeings that lived in space called the New Gods. There was a good side that lived on the planet New Genesis, and an evil side that lived on the planet Apocolypse. Darkside was the leader of the evil gods. They weren't just powerful aliens like Superman. They were gods(little 'g'), like Zeus and Neptune and shit. Not omnipotent, but virtually immortal and uberpowerful. All of the New Gods except good guy warrior god Orion were seemingly destroyed in some cosmic event, but this may not be true.

2. There were 52 universes and 52 Earths in the multiverse. New Earth is the cornerstone of the multiverse and the universe our in-continuity heroes live on. If New Earth is destroyed, the multiverse is destroyed. The monitors are 52(now 51) beings that live outside of the known universes and there is one assigned to the maintainence of each individual Earth. Earth-51 was destroyed once in a battle with an interdimensional army. It was restored by the monitors, but then the entire universe-51 was destroyed by a supervirus that was unwittingly unleashed by dimensionally displaced heroes.

3. Grant Morrison books generally require 2 or more re-reads in order to fully understand what the frack you just read. This can be unsettling, but remember, JG Jones art is quite pretty to look at, so it's not like a punishment or anything.

There's maybe an optional fourth thing to know which is, don't read Death of the New Gods(the cosmic event where the New Gods died) or Countdown(the destructions of Earth-51). Editorial totally screwed the pooch with those, and the details of how everything ocurred in those books really make not a lick of sense when connected to Final Crisis or even each other. Better to leave the build up as either a mystery or a fan wank of your own design.