Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1: Discussion and Review Thread

[Binker]

By Nathaniel Ruff (also known as Binker, Binker2 and Nate on many forums)

FINAL CRISIS SUPERMAN BEYOND #1

Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Covers by Doug Mahnke and J.H. Williams III
Edited by Eddie Berganza

PLOT:
To save the woman he loves, the greatest hero of all time becomes the pawn of ultra-dimensional forces when a wounded emissary from a world of doomed super gods comes to Earth on the eve of the Final Crisis. His mission: To recruit Superman's help against an epic, reality-spanning menace that originated in the Crisis on Infinite Earths!

REVIEW:
When you have an event, it is without a doubt you are going to get tie-ins. Sometimes, if not all the time, tie-ins out the ying-yang. In regards to "Final Crisis'" tie-ins, I wasn't going to get all of them, but those I felt good about getting and wanted to get. That explains "Legion of Three Worlds", even though it is not part of that event by any means despite "Final Crisis" in its title, but that also explains why I wanted to get "Superman Beyond". Just hearing about what the story is about can make you get excited awaiting its release, and that's what I felt about this one. A story where Superman travels the Multiverse, meeting and recruiting his counterparts, all in 3-D? Who wouldn't? You know what? Let's shut up and look at this thing and see, here is issue #1!

I know this is a two issue thing here, but I have mixed feelings toward this one-shot. At first, I was disappointed, but after reading it again I was still interested, yet felt down in the end. This issue had so much going for it, even with the announcement, but this first issue (and still is a first issue) just felt like it was trying too much. The story is still a good one to tell, but I felt that maybe I could've done better job. Superman teams up with the Ultraman of Earth-3, Captain Marvel of Earth-5, Overman, and Captain Allen Adam of Earth-4 (think Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan). Why them? Why not different versions of Superman who are still Superman in ever form? I can understand Ultraman, but why the others? And plus, the 3-D thing really got my head hurting. I hate 3-D because it doesn't work (well, IMAX 3D works, not the classic 3-D with the red and blue glasses). I didn't read it without the 3-D glasses, and most likely never will, because like all us we want our comics to still have that mint, brand-new feel as far long as five years down the line. But I had to and did try the 3-D glasses, but it didn't work, just like this issue.

Overall, I'm so sorry, Grant Morrison & DC, but it just didn't work. It was mixed, the 3-D wasn't all that good, my head hurt, and I not so sure I should get the second issue. I still ponder why the use of characters who could stand in for Superman, rather than actual Supermen (Kal-El, Kal-L, etc) from the different universe banding together. That was a huge flaw, because I just didn't care for these guys. Why not team-up our Superman with the Supermen of the "Red Son" universe, the "DKR" universe, or even taking the "Kingdom Come" Superman since everyone likes him on JSA? I just don't get why not use them instead of what they did instead. Why? I'm sorry, but this was mixed. The story is there, interesting, but I felt like even I could’ve done it a whole lot better. I'm not so sure I should get issue #2.

RATING: Blah

Next Issue: Superman’s Multiverse journey continues!

[joint venture]

Mahnke is superb. His art can't be questioned in this issue.

Still the stupid 3D gimmick might work on kids, or target audiences after these kind of products. Just not us, the ones who actually buy them.

Reinforcing the gimmick with comments inside the comic book like " you have to see in 4-d"....come on! That's just plain cheap and unprofessional.

Also, DiDio, get me an 8-year old that can get through that "messily compacted" plot and still enjoy the fun and novelty that 3D glasses bring to the issue and I will burn my house down.

If this is the reason or excuse under which you are making the strongest character in the DCU "disappear" while FINAL CRISIS is at hand...come on; I know it's a load of work but just try to do it well. We always reward you when you do.

3D lenses suck. I hope these 2 issues get fitted inside a TPB and they color them decently for the sake of art consistency.

Doug Mahnke again...unbeatable, really really cool illustrattions. Good job.

[General Grievous]

I loved this issue, I am still compiling an annotations document at home on my PC of all the cool stuff this issue presented to me, as a reader.

The King of Limbo! from the animal man run!

Art was impeccable. This is penciled by the same guy who drew that awesome black adam mini series last year, DC need to get this guy on a title full time.


A+

Next issue should be great.

[General Grievous]

I loved this issue, I am still compiling an annotations document at home on my PC of all the cool stuff this issue presented to me, as a reader.

The King of Limbo! from the animal man run!

Art was impeccable. This is penciled by the same guy who drew that awesome black adam mini series last year, DC need to get this guy on a title full time.


A+

Next issue should be great.

[hippy fascist]

By Nathaniel Ruff (also known as Binker, Binker2 and Nate on many forums)
I still ponder why the use of characters who could stand in for Superman, rather than actual Supermen (Kal-El, Kal-L, etc) from the different universe banding together. That was a huge flaw, because I just didn't care for these guys. Why not team-up our Superman with the Supermen of the "Red Son" universe, the "DKR" universe, or even taking the "Kingdom Come" Superman since everyone likes him on JSA? I just don't get why not use them instead of what they did instead. Why? I'm sorry, but this was mixed. The story is there, interesting, but I felt like even I could’ve done it a whole lot better. I'm not so sure I should get issue #2.


You really need to bone up on your continuity

1. You say they should use Kal-el rather than an analogue. Kal-el IS in the comic. He's new earth's superman! :confused:

2. Kal-l died at the end of infinite crisis taking down prime

3. Red Son Superman died on earth 51 at the end of the monitors/monarch war in countdown when that universe got wiped out. It wasn't actually shown on panel but the implication was that at the very least everyone on earth 51 at the time died. The only reason prime survived is the excess power he got from absorbing a guardian.

So...yeah...hope that answers your question...:tongue: ;)

[NotSuper]

Great comic. It's rare that I want to read a comic multiple times after finishing it, but this time I did.

Morrison is one of the few writers who understands and makes full use of the DCU. He doesn't portray it as Marvel-Lite; instead it's a giant, living organism where literally anything can happen. The 3-D was a nice touch, both retro and progressive, and it was appropriate for this story, where the boundaries between worlds are cracking. While reading it, I felt like I was actually IN the story, rather than just an outsider looking in.

[barryallenfan]

Am I wrong about this, the imagery Morrison uses for the DC Multiverse is its a woman having a menstrual period? We are byproducts of a gigantic period? Tell me I'm wrong

[vitruvian]

Overman *is* a Clark Kent (probably Klaus Kenner or something, but you get the idea)/Kal-El alternate/analogue. He's even got a teenage cousin, Overgirl, who is seen in Final Crisis #1 and that he's searching for.

So, yeah, he's basically 'What If Kal-El's ship had landed in Nazi Germany' with a side of 'What If Nazi Germany had won WWII'. The only thing better would have been if Red Son Superman was still around, so you could have a Superman for each of the three major ideologies of WWII.

I'll agree though that having a Captain Marvel and a Captain Atom/Dr. Manhattan as the other two Superman analogues falls a little flat, but I think perhaps Grant is aiming more at 'most powerful of their world'.

[Sean Walsh]

I enjoyed this issue, even though it was the one unsure Final Crisis tie-in. But when I heard it was rather important to the structure of the FC miniseries (it introduces Mandarkk) I grabbed.

Mahnke's art - awesome.

The story - dense, but I was able to make sense of it.

And the 3-D - not bad. Usually I get headaches, but I got through the issue with none. Read it without the glasses and it was quite fine - it was the right mix of regular art and 3-D art. Plus Mahnke's style almost seems to work better than most people's art in 3-D.

[carabas]

I'll agree though that having a Captain Marvel and a Captain Atom/Dr. Manhattan as the other two Superman analogues falls a little flat, but I think perhaps Grant is aiming more at 'most powerful of their world'.I don't think so. Captain Marvel was a superman clone (or close enough to one that DC sued for copyright infringement back in the forties). And Captain Atom was very much the Superman of the Charlton universe before DC apropriated it and downgraded him.

[Jamie]

So, yeah, he's basically 'What If Kal-El's ship had landed in Nazi Germany' with a side of 'What If Nazi Germany had won WWII'. The only thing better would have been if Red Son Superman was still around, so you could have a Superman for each of the three major ideologies of WWII.

*cough*Japan*cough*

I'll agree though that having a Captain Marvel and a Captain Atom/Dr. Manhattan as the other two Superman analogues falls a little flat, but I think perhaps Grant is aiming more at 'most powerful of their world'.

I think that's exactly what he was going for. In Fawcett, Captain Marvel was the Superman analog -- that's why DC went after him, both in court and then as a property to purchase. Likewise, Captain Atom was the closest analog for Charlston. They are the Superman-equivalents from other universes that have been absorbed into the DC ultramenstruum, rather than just alternate versions of Superman.

[Kelson]

I think that's exactly what he was going for. In Fawcett, Captain Marvel was the Superman analog -- that's why DC went after him, both in court and then as a property to purchase. Likewise, Captain Atom was the closest analog for Charlston. They are the Superman-equivalents from other universes that have been absorbed into the DC ultramenstruum, rather than just alternate versions of Superman.

So, in meta terms, we have the "supermen" of DC, Fawcett, and Charlton. I'm not sure if there's an appropriate character from Quality, but Overman is from Earth-10, which is based on Earth-X, which is where DC put the Freedom Fighters. Logically, Majestic ought to be in here as well. (There are several Superman analogs from WildStorm, but I think he's the most, um, still alive?)

[Jeff O.]

Just as an interesting side note, Charlton once showed an even closer analogue to Superman on the same Earth as Blue Beetle and Peacemaker back in the sixties.

SUPERGUY


http://www.oddballcomics.com/covers/sinistroboyfiend03-superguy.jpg (http://www.oddballcomics.com/covers/sinistroboyfiend03-superguy.jpg)


http://www.oddballcomics.com/covers/sinistroboyfiend03-artistic.jpg (http://www.oddballcomics.com/covers/sinistroboyfiend03-artistic.jpg)


http://www.oddballcomics.com/article.php?story=archive2005-07-08 (http://www.oddballcomics.com/article.php?story=archive2005-07-08)

(Other heroes on Charlton Earth actually included the Green Spider and Captain USA.)

Don't know if DC got the rights to Superguy when they acquired his better-known contemporaries from Charlton, but I don't think Superguy had a direct analogue in WATCHMEN. :smile:

[Jamie]

So, in meta terms, we have the "supermen" of DC, Fawcett, and Charlton. I'm not sure if there's an appropriate character from Quality, but Overman is from Earth-10, which is based on Earth-X, which is where DC put the Freedom Fighters. Logically, Majestic ought to be in here as well. (There are several Superman analogs from WildStorm, but I think he's the most, um, still alive?)

I think DC left Wildstorm out for two reasons:

1) They're already doing DC/Wildstorm crossover with Dream War;

2) Wildstorm has its own Big Event going on right now.

Also, there's at least three Wildstorm Supermanalogues to choose from -- Apollo, Majestic, and The High. And they're all pretty involved in the World's End event that's going on.

[Paul McEnery]

I think DC left Wildstorm out for two reasons:

1) They're already doing DC/Wildstorm crossover with Dream War;

2) Wildstorm has its own Big Event going on right now.

Also, there's at least three Wildstorm Supermanalogues to choose from -- Apollo, Majestic, and The High. And they're all pretty involved in the World's End event that's going on.
That, and they're all cannon fodder.

[IvCNuB4]

I loved this issue, I am still compiling an annotations document at home on my PC of all the cool stuff this issue presented to me, as a reader.

Art was impeccable. A+

Next issue should be great.

I agree. And it was a fun read. Took me a few times before I understood it all but that's okay.

[spidervenom]

I really liked this issue, it was fantastic and helped raise my interest toward's the upcoming issue's of final crisis. The only downside was the 3d pages in the middle involving the infinite page felt a little weak. Also, If anyone know's what overman was saying in german. Could you share.

[Dark Master]

So far this Dark Monitor sounds like an AM rip off to me. And I thought the bad guy of FC was supposed to be Darkseid? Libra is fine because he's sort of the herald of Darkseid. But why do we need another godly powered Monitor in the mix?

[Kelson]

Also, there's at least three Wildstorm Supermanalogues to choose from -- Apollo, Majestic, and The High. And they're all pretty involved in the World's End event that's going on.

I thought the High died way back in Warren Ellis' run on Stormwatch. :confused: Did he get better, or is this a new one, or am I getting him mixed up with someone else?

[FanboyStranger]

Very interesting issue-- far more than Final Crisis has been thus far, in my opinion. It seems that Morrison is using this series to tie his previous work into this notion of an "sentient, evolving DC universe" that he's been tossing around in interviews the past few years-- the Limbo of Animal Man (with Merryman as its king!), the Ultramenstruum from The Invisibles (which was responsible for Mason Lang's interface with the higher reality/Barbelith, Lang being The Invisibles' Batman analougue), etc.

Manhke's art was good, but I could have done without the 3D sections. I understand their purpose within the overall story, but it seems somewhat gimmicky. Of course, I felt the same way about Ray Zone's work in The Black Dossier, so it may just be that I hate throwing on those goofy glasses.

[Xero]

BTW Earth 6 is the Marvel Universe, they seem to be fighting Civil War and Secret Invasion at the same time, with Durlans standing in for Skrulls.

There are analogs of Captain America, Iron Man, Giant Man, Thor, Spider-Man, and Mister Fantastic and more in the Civil War panel, with Iron Fist and Hawkeye in the Secret Invasion panel.

[Paul McEnery]

So far this Dark Monitor sounds like an AM rip off to me. And I thought the bad guy of FC was supposed to be Darkseid? Libra is fine because he's sort of the herald of Darkseid. But why do we need another godly powered Monitor in the mix?

Ah no.

It has been strongly hinted that there's a Very Big Bad behind Darkseid.

[Ungenesis]

BTW Earth 6 is the Marvel Universe, they seem to be fighting Civil War and Secret Invasion at the same time, with Durlans standing in for Skrulls.

There are analogs of Captain America, Iron Man, Giant Man, Thor, Spider-Man, and Mister Fantastic and more in the Civil War panel, with Iron Fist and Hawkeye in the Secret Invasion panel.

That's funny, because Earth-8 had a Marvel-esque Earth in Civil War as well. It was fleshed out in a Countdown miniseries that I don't remember the name of ... of course much of Countdown was rather forgettable.

[Dark Master]

Ah no.

It has been strongly hinted that there's a Very Big Bad behind Darkseid.

Where was this?

[Jamie]

I thought the High died way back in Warren Ellis' run on Stormwatch. :confused: Did he get better, or is this a new one, or am I getting him mixed up with someone else?

At the risk of derailing the thread and spoiling, I believe there's been at least suggestions of the High still being around somewhere as part of the World's End event.

[vitruvian]

I thought the High died way back in Warren Ellis' run on Stormwatch. Did he get better, or is this a new one, or am I getting him mixed up with someone else?

Real quick answer - he got better in the Number of the Beast miniseries that actually started off the World's End post-apocalyptic version of Wildstorm. Turns out he was splattered into a gooey mess that was still alive and eventually regenerated. Only problem is, there were a bunch of High clones as well that got weaponized into WMDs that blew everything up; the real High is pretty busy trying to clean things up, although I suppose the vampire Monitor could have offered him the restoration of his world or a chance to travel back in time in return for his assistance.

[vitruvian]

There are analogs of Captain America, Iron Man, Giant Man, Thor, Spider-Man, and Mister Fantastic and more in the Civil War panel, with Iron Fist and Hawkeye in the Secret Invasion panel.

You pegged the guy in the crown and robes like a medieval king as Iron Fist? I was debating between Fist and Dr. Strange, given the bearded look. Good call on the Durlans, that makes more sense than demons, which was what it looked like to me at first.

I find it amusing that *this* Iron Man *is* a Skrull, excuse me, Durlan (subtle commentary, perhaps?), and that we see a Hank Pym-analogue punching out a Wasp-analogue.

[Xero]

You pegged the guy in the crown and robes like a medieval king as Iron Fist? I was debating between Fist and Dr. Strange, given the bearded look. Good call on the Durlans, that makes more sense than demons, which was what it looked like to me at first.

I find it amusing that *this* Iron Man *is* a Skrull, excuse me, Durlan (subtle commentary, perhaps?), and that we see a Hank Pym-analogue punching out a Wasp-analogue.

I'm not sure that's a crown, but he is chinese complete with a 18th-19th century queue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queue_(hairstyle)). Thanks I completely missed Iron Man as a Durlan.

[Paul McEnery]

Where was this?

In interviews and previews.

[pprdguy]

Loved the fanboy Merryman

[vitruvian]

Fanboy? Merryman is (was) a real comic character in the Inferior Five before being consigned to Limbo.

Of course, the Limbo he's in isn't really Limbo per se anymore, because Grant has now set *multiple* stories there.

[vitruvian]

I'm not sure that's a crown, but he is chinese complete with a 18th-19th century queue. Thanks I completely missed Iron Man as a Durlan.

It really looks a lot like a crown to me, although I guess it could also be a strangely peaked hat. Hey, maybe he's both Chinese *and* a medieval king - I think I'll call him Prester John.

And he can be a master of both mysticism and the martial arts, considering that Dr. Strange and Iron Fist have in some ways almost the same origin; it just depends which mountain in the Himalayas you decide to climb, or come from originally.

[IvCNuB4]

I did my best to translate Overman's word baloons. The syntax may be slightly off.
Page 9: we will become victims of the explosion. This machine will immediately explode
Page 17: Great Krypton
Page 18: all these universes vibrate on different frequencies
Page 20: what is that ? I cannot remember why I would make that; the entire technology is (like animal fur?)

[Dark Master]

This issue for me was out of nowhere and convoluted. It's symbolic of everything people have a problem with in FC. I was a big fan of Morrisons work in JLA, and the early half of his stuff on X-men, but in the last few years he's really turned me off. I only wish he had given Apocalypse the kind of treatment he's giving Darkseid only better written obviously.

[Splatt]

The biggest problem I have with Morrison is that he has all this fascinating ideas but doesn't know how to present them in a comic. All he does is make a mess.

[bfrank]

Did I read that right? New Earth = Earth 0? hmmm

[NeonZ]

That's funny, because Earth-8 had a Marvel-esque Earth in Civil War as well. It was fleshed out in a Countdown miniseries that I don't remember the name of ... of course much of Countdown was rather forgettable.

And that Earth has been changed to the point of being unrecognizable as a Marvel Universe spoof, so it's nice to have an Earth closer to it.

[Jeff O.]

Fanboy? Merryman is (was) a real comic character in the Inferior Five before being consigned to Limbo.

In fact, before going to Limbo, Merryman was even a fourth-wall-breaking DC Comics corporate insider!

As seen in THE INFERIOR FIVE No. 6, one of the most revealing comics in all of DC history, and surely an issue Grant Morrison must have loved reading.

http://www.oddballcomics.com/article.php?story=2006-10-16 (http://www.oddballcomics.com/article.php?story=2006-10-16)


Supes could be a bit tough on Merryman back then, though. (http://www.oddballcomics.com/images/articles/2006-10-16_1_original.jpg)

[berk]

Page 20: what is that ? I cannot remember why I would make that; the entire technology is (like animal fur?)I thought "fur den Hund" was "... for the dog," which I'm not sure I understand. Maybe it's an idiomatic expression, something like the English "for the birds"?

[Captain Smith]

Nay - I regard the new metaconcept of the universe - germs in menstrual blood of some supercosmic whatever and a new race of supermonitors as just pulled out of the author's butt.

Also, silly stuff - if Supes and Ultra touch they would blow up - why? If Ultra is antimatter, the air around him would blow him up.

The whole FC is just a crisis scramble that really doesn't make much sense in the context of the past DCU. Blood and germs, 52 universes puked out by a bug, here comes the New Gods or Newer, Newer Gods.

It really doesn't hang together for me.

[TysonSL]

Loved the art. I'm not a fan of 3d comics, but some pages worked very well with the glasses on.

Unfortunately, I hated the writing so so much. Without sounding cocky, I'm an intelligent, well educated person, and I have no idea what some of Grant Morrison's comics are about sometimes. This is the case to a lesser extent in Final Crisis and Batman RIP, where I can follow the story and am lost at times.
I honestly have no idea what was going on for the most part here.

I've read interviews where Grant has said he doesn't like spoon feeding the reader and giving all the answers at once, but there's a big difference between clever writing and this mess. I don't like to feel stupid that I haven't "got" what's going on, but I really don't have time to re-read a comic 3 or 4 times to follow it. Grant said that he wanted to write a comic with no boring bits. If this is his idea of excitement, then he must a very boring person, because I couldn't wait to finish this tripe.

$4.50? Never again will I spent that kind of money on a Grant Morrison comic. What a rip off!

[Dark Master]

I knew what it was about, it was an overly convoluted story to bring in a secondary villain to the story because for some reason Morisson doesn't think Darkseid is enough.

Not only did I find this issue boring and badly written, for years people have waited to see a real kick ass powerful Darkseid be the main villain and now he's playing second string to "Anti-Monitor 2.0".

[40footwolf]

I got a really big "Yellow Submarine" vibe from the comic, both in the way that their adventures spanned and also because their ship looks a lot like the Yellow Submarine.

Also, did anyone else notice that the supermen were all from the last earths from the first Crisis(Normal, Crime Syndicate, Shazam, Uncle Sam and Charlton)?

I really liked it. I'm actually sort of surprised they let Morrison write this, seeing as how it gives the Superman mythos such a kick in the ass.

[Dark Master]

It sure gives it a beating in one form or another with this drivel.

[40footwolf]

Okay, you didn't like the comic. We get it. Go somewhere else now.

[dotdotdot]

I knew what it was about, it was an overly convoluted story to bring in a secondary villain to the story because for some reason Morisson doesn't think Darkseid is enough.

Not only did I find this issue boring and badly written, for years people have waited to see a real kick ass powerful Darkseid be the main villain and now he's playing second string to "Anti-Monitor 2.0".

i was pretty excited about it and blazed through it the first time and thought it was a nice looking mess
then i thought about it and read it again, and it's a damned good issue. i wish you seemed willing to either bother to think about its implications or reread, but oh well.

[Dark Master]

I read it in detial and I think it's a pretty bad looking mess. And why is it people always think with their egos? Yes I read and fully understood it, and yes I think it is poorly written tripe. One can do both.

[Alpinemaps]

Also, did anyone else notice that the supermen were all from the last earths from the first Crisis(Normal, Crime Syndicate, Shazam, Uncle Sam and Charlton)?

That's a good theory, but Earth-3 (Crime Syndicate) got destroyed in COIE. It was Earth-2 that was in the mix with Earths-1, 4, S and X.

[Kid Kamikaze10]

That's a good theory, but Earth-3 (Crime Syndicate) got destroyed in COIE. It was Earth-2 that was in the mix with Earths-1, 4, S and X.

Yup, that was the first one taken out.


But then again, it could be because it's a replacement for the now dead Earth-2 Superman.

[40footwolf]

That's a good theory, but Earth-3 (Crime Syndicate) got destroyed in COIE. It was Earth-2 that was in the mix with Earths-1, 4, S and X.
Shoot. Well, they were still AMONG the most important earths from COIE.

[dotdotdot]

I read it in detial and I think it's a pretty bad looking mess. And why is it people always think with their egos? Yes I read and fully understood it, and yes I think it is poorly written tripe. One can do both.

its because your posts haven't really backed that up, no offense intended.

[Paul McEnery]

why is it people always think with their egos?

Yes I read and fully understood it, and yes I think it is poorly written tripe.
.

It's always interesting to see how people's unconscious knows better.

And no, I can't say as it looks like you have fully understood it, to be honest. I think you're complaining because it doesn't fulfill the conventions you want it to. And fair enough, I suppose.

But yes, a bit less ego, and a bit more "not my cup of tea" would be quite welcome.

[DestructionOfTheUniverse]

I thought "fur den Hund" was "... for the dog," which I'm not sure I understand. Maybe it's an idiomatic expression, something like the English "for the birds"?

That's strange, there is no such idiom, only "für die Katz'" (literally "for the cat"). But then again I don't live on Earth-10, fortunately, so maybe language evolved there differently. In any other book I wouldn't have given it a thought, but it's Grant Morrison, so I assume it's not just a mistake.

At least they got the Umlauts right this time, not like in FC#3...

[Zenith23]

Doug Mahnke's art was just plain gorgeous, the guy is f***ing awesome. More fine story telling from Morrison, only problem was the 3D stuff gives me headaches so gave it a go then went with my mundane downgraded 2D and enjoyed it much more.
I just wish they had used Mahnke on Final Crisis instead, he's clearly much capable at putting across this epic sort of story telling.

[THEDOC]

That's a good theory, but Earth-3 (Crime Syndicate) got destroyed in COIE. It was Earth-2 that was in the mix with Earths-1, 4, S and X.

See that's the confusing thing, you have Earth-2 (The anti-matter universe and has the Crime Syndicate) then in the 52 you have Earth-3 (which has the Crime Society), and Earth-2 (the JSA) .
I don't think The Captain Atom (Superman) is related to the Charlton character at all.
are you saying the German Supes is from the Earth-X type world in the 52? I thought that and the Earth with the Freedom Fighters were different earths.
Man I am getting a multiverse-size headache

[berk]

Doug Mahnke's art was just plain gorgeous, the guy is f***ing awesome. More fine story telling from Morrison, only problem was the 3D stuff gives me headaches so gave it a go then went with my mundane downgraded 2D and enjoyed it much more.
I just wish they had used Mahnke on Final Crisis instead, he's clearly much capable at putting across this epic sort of story telling.Apart from the 3-D, which, like a lot of readers, I never particularly like, I thought Mahnke's art was a little hit & miss. Ultraman for example was a miss for me, visually. The constant grimace I suppose was meant to convey an effect of hatred and intensity, but it looked more silly than menacing to me. Although it was interesting that how he made Superman himself look quite similar in the flash-forward scene in the first two pages, and aslo when he & Marvel are trying to lift the book: a comment on the difference/similarity b/n the two? Anyway, the final full-page shot of Ultrman was very poorly drawn, IMO.

OTOH, most of the other characters were very well done, except for the Monitors, who suffer from a bad visual design, I think. Some nice spaceships, and I really liked the Earth-17 panel - maybe a bit of Moebius or Caza influence in the alien shouldering the rifle-thing?

[bfrank]

And why is it people always think with their egos?

I don't know why you think with your ego, but it's wasting our time......

[Agent_Torpor]

By Nathaniel Ruff (also known as Binker, Binker2 and Nate on many forums)

FINAL CRISIS SUPERMAN BEYOND #1

Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Covers by Doug Mahnke and J.H. Williams III
Edited by Eddie Berganza

PLOT:
To save the woman he loves, the greatest hero of all time becomes the pawn of ultra-dimensional forces when a wounded emissary from a world of doomed super gods comes to Earth on the eve of the Final Crisis. His mission: To recruit Superman's help against an epic, reality-spanning menace that originated in the Crisis on Infinite Earths!

REVIEW:
When you have an event, it is without a doubt you are going to get tie-ins. Sometimes, if not all the time, tie-ins out the ying-yang. In regards to "Final Crisis'" tie-ins, I wasn't going to get all of them, but those I felt good about getting and wanted to get. That explains "Legion of Three Worlds", even though it is not part of that event by any means despite "Final Crisis" in its title, but that also explains why I wanted to get "Superman Beyond". Just hearing about what the story is about can make you get excited awaiting its release, and that's what I felt about this one. A story where Superman travels the Multiverse, meeting and recruiting his counterparts, all in 3-D? Who wouldn't? You know what? Let's shut up and look at this thing and see, here is issue #1!

I know this is a two issue thing here, but I have mixed feelings toward this one-shot. At first, I was disappointed, but after reading it again I was still interested, yet felt down in the end. This issue had so much going for it, even with the announcement, but this first issue (and still is a first issue) just felt like it was trying too much. The story is still a good one to tell, but I felt that maybe I could've done better job. Superman teams up with the Ultraman of Earth-3, Captain Marvel of Earth-5, Overman, and Captain Allen Adam of Earth-4 (think Watchmen's Doctor Manhattan). Why them? Why not different versions of Superman who are still Superman in ever form? I can understand Ultraman, but why the others? And plus, the 3-D thing really got my head hurting. I hate 3-D because it doesn't work (well, IMAX 3D works, not the classic 3-D with the red and blue glasses). I didn't read it without the 3-D glasses, and most likely never will, because like all us we want our comics to still have that mint, brand-new feel as far long as five years down the line. But I had to and did try the 3-D glasses, but it didn't work, just like this issue.

Overall, I'm so sorry, Grant Morrison & DC, but it just didn't work. It was mixed, the 3-D wasn't all that good, my head hurt, and I not so sure I should get the second issue. I still ponder why the use of characters who could stand in for Superman, rather than actual Supermen (Kal-El, Kal-L, etc) from the different universe banding together. That was a huge flaw, because I just didn't care for these guys. Why not team-up our Superman with the Supermen of the "Red Son" universe, the "DKR" universe, or even taking the "Kingdom Come" Superman since everyone likes him on JSA? I just don't get why not use them instead of what they did instead. Why? I'm sorry, but this was mixed. The story is there, interesting, but I felt like even I could’ve done it a whole lot better. I'm not so sure I should get issue #2.

RATING: Blah

Next Issue: Superman’s Multiverse journey continues!

The guy who YAY's everything gives this a BLAH? You, sir, are Hannibal Tabu to me. The exact opposite of my tastes.

[robbieglenn]

Right ill firstly say that im loving the tie ins for FC...but this tie seemed abit of a let down. The story just seemed very forced and the character interaction was strained. However....4D Glasses? Success.

[G. Wayne]

The biggest problem I have with Morrison is that he has all this fascinating ideas but doesn't know how to present them in a comic. All he does is make a mess.

My friend and I talk about Morrison's execution of his ideas when a new "big" Morrison project comes out. Sometimes they're good, sometimes they're a mess.

[G. Wayne]

... for years people have waited to see a real kick ass powerful Darkseid be the main villain and now he's playing second string to "Anti-Monitor 2.0".

I thought Morrison's plan was to have like 10 uber-bads attacking at the same time during FC, or is this separate from that?

[IvCNuB4]

Those are the Evil Gods referenced in #1. I think they appear in #5 (http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=10318) ...

[Harding Prime]

I thought Morrison's plan was to have like 10 uber-bads attacking at the same time during FC, or is this separate from that?

I took this as a story where time stands still in the DCU while Superman does this mission for the ability to save Lois' life.

[Will.S]

I was finally able to read the whole thing today and I must say that I enjoyed it.

Lots of meta stuff going on with the Monitor's explanation of the Monitors and the Bleed and all that stuff and very cool rendition of all the different "Supermen". I especially liked Overman's designs which work well with Overgirl in Final Crisis #3, Doug is just an awesome artist so I hope he does more in the future with Morrison since his Frankenstein was amazing too.

It also looks like the dude blasting the crap out of armored Superman is Mandrakk but I could be wrong. I didn't expect Zillo Valla to kill Overman like that either which was a shame since I liked Overman but it should be interesting to see what happens with her. I also liked seeing Earth-51 being the Graveyard Universe since it's gotten annihilated twice now. Anyway all in all, it's a bit confusing at first since Grant goes in and out with the meta commentary regarding the Monitors/infinite pages book as well as the ship going through each Universe is so off the wall but with a couple of re-reads it gets clearer to me.

As I said on another thread, I didn't like the implementation of the 3-D glasses since it wasn't even done for the whole book so shame on them for using that lame gimmick.

I know I broke my own promise in saying that I would just be buying the main mini but I'm glad I did. Can't wait for the second part.

9.5/10

[Harding Prime]

As I said on another thread, I didn't like the implementation of the 3-D glasses since it wasn't even done for the whole book so shame on them for using that lame gimmick.

I didn't rip mine out, I just slipped the whole card out and slipped it back in, save value. :biggrin:


I know I broke my own promise in saying that I would just be buying the main mini but I'm glad I did. Can't wait for the second part.

9.5/10

This is the only one I am going to buy besides the main book as well, at least all the way through (I bought Revelations to see Dr. Light get his). Good thing it's only two issues long. :wink:

[Will.S]

I didn't rip mine out, I just slipped the whole card out and slipped it back in, save value. :biggrin:
Yeah I was about to just leave them in and use the Action Comics 3D glasses but eh, screw it.

This is the only one I am going to buy besides the main book as well, at least all the way through (I bought Revelations to see Dr. Light get his). Good thing it's only two issues long. :wink:Requiem was pretty good too.

So far I've gotten:

Final Crisis #1-3
Legion of 3 Worlds
Final Crisis Requiem
Superman Beyond

Gonna trade wait Rogues Revenge and Revelations since they're sorta better that way since they're longer running.

[Harding Prime]

Yeah I was about to just leave them in and use the Action Comics 3D glasses but eh, screw it.

Requiem was pretty good too.

So far I've gotten:

Final Crisis #1-3
Legion of 3 Worlds
Final Crisis Requiem
Superman Beyond

Gonna trade wait Rogues Revenge and Revelations since they're sorta better that way since they're longer running.

I got Requiem too, but that was just a one shot...and I really liked it. I got the "Revelations" story on JLA, which was a good segway into FC #1.

[Samuraixsithlord]

Revelations was my least favorite of the tie-ins. Still liked it though

[4thHorseman]

For some reason, Morrison seems to be doing his own version of Countdown in a way IMO. We had a death of a new god in FC, we have someone recruiting heroes from other worlds in Superman Beyond (similar to what Monarch had done, just not on such a large scale), and there were a few other things that I can't recall that seemed to be similar in ways to Countdown, just not as crappy.

[Harding Prime]

For some reason, Morrison seems to be doing his own version of Countdown in a way IMO. We had a death of a new god in FC, we have someone recruiting heroes from other worlds in Superman Beyond (similar to what Monarch had done, just not on such a large scale), and there were a few other things that I can't recall that seemed to be similar in ways to Countdown, just not as crappy.

Or as mind bendingly as stretched out.

The only story to grow its own legs and have a chance of being a part of larger continuity was Salvation Run.

[Paul McEnery]

I didn't rip mine out, I just slipped the whole card out and slipped it back in, save value. :biggrin:



This is the only one I am going to buy besides the main book as well, at least all the way through (I bought Revelations to see Dr. Light get his). Good thing it's only two issues long. :wink:

I used the one's from The Black Dossier.:biggrin:

[Xero]

Here's something to think about, what if All-Star Superman is in continuity? In issue #10 Superman creates a parallel universe complete with it's own earth to see what would happen if he never existed.

[Samuraixsithlord]

I thought Morrison's plan was to have like 10 uber-bads attacking at the same time during FC, or is this separate from that?

I think when Darkseid was falling through the realities he somehow woke Mandrakk up from his imprisonment, and as Darkseid's continued presense weakens reality Mandrakk's prison gets weaker.

Look's like Darkseid's hubris has woken up something worse then even him.

maybe even wors then black mage from 8-bit theatre!!!