1-year DC comic book series
52
is a weekly American
comic book
limited series
published by
DC Comics
that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the
Infinite Crisis
miniseries. The series was written by
Geoff Johns
,
Grant Morrison
,
Greg Rucka
, and
Mark Waid
, with layouts by
Keith Giffen
.
[1]
52
also led into a few limited series spin-offs.
52
consists of 52 issues, published weekly for one year, each issue detailing an actual week chronicling the events that took place during the missing year after the end of
Infinite Crisis
. The series covers much of the
DC Universe
, and several characters whose disparate stories interconnect. The story is directly followed by the weekly limited series
Countdown to Final Crisis
. It was the first weekly series published by
DC Comics
since the short-lived anthology
Action Comics Weekly
from 1988 to 1989.
Format
[
edit
]
The use of a weekly publication format is unusual in the North American comics industry, traditionally based upon a monthly publication.
52
and
Batman Eternal
(2014/2015) both hold the top position, of being the longest-published serialised weekly comic, published by a major North American publisher. The record was previously held by
Action Comics Weekly
. The story was originally conceived as being a chronicle of what happened in the "missing year" between the end of
Infinite Crisis
and the beginning of
One Year Later
. It would especially focus on how the world dealt with the disappearance of the "big three" heroes in the DCU,
Superman
,
Batman
, and
Wonder Woman
. As the series went on, it became more of a platform for which to set the stage for upcoming storylines in the DC Universe.
Back-up stories
[
edit
]
History of the DC Universe
[
edit
]
A backup story titled
History of the DC Universe
appears in Weeks 2 through 11, with the creative team of
Dan Jurgens
and
Art Thibert
.
[2]
Reminiscent of DC's earlier
History of the DC Universe
limited series, in this story,
Donna Troy
explores the history of the
DC Universe
with the help of
Harbinger
's recording device. In the final chapter, both the device and a
Monitor
inform Donna Troy that she was supposed to have died instead of
Jade
.
Secret Origins
[
edit
]
Weeks 12 through 51 feature
Secret Origins
, written by Mark Waid with a rotating team of artists.
[3]
Plot
[
edit
]
In the aftermath of
Infinite Crisis
,
Clark Kent
,
Bruce Wayne
, and
Diana Prince
temporarily retire their costumed identities and do not attend a memorial for
Superboy
in
Metropolis
. Time traveler
Booster Gold
is shocked to not see the three heroes there, as this contradicts Skeets' historical data. Other contradictions, prompt Booster to search for answers in time traveler
Rip Hunter
's bunker, which is littered with
notes
and photos of Gold and Skeets surrounded by the words "his fault". Booster later discovers that his reputation and fame is diminishing. He tries to regain the spotlight by containing an exploding
nuclear submarine
, but seemingly dies in the attempt. Skeets regains access to Hunter's lab and realizes the photos and arrows are pointing at himself. He goes after Hunter and eventually finds him with Booster Gold, who turns out to have faked his death to help uncover Skeets' true intentions. Hunter and Booster attempt to trap Skeets in the
Phantom Zone
, but Skeets appears to consume the sub-dimension and pursues his two adversaries through time.
Ralph Dibny
, the Elongated Man, is told that the gravestone of his dead wife
Sue
has been vandalized with an inverted
Kryptonian
"S", a symbol for resurrection. This was done by a cult that believes that
Superboy
can be resurrected, but would like to try first with Sue. Dibny and his friends disrupt the ceremony, and the effigy of Sue crawls to Dibny, calling out to him as it burns; he suffers a nervous breakdown as a result. Ralph seeks out the helmet of
Doctor Fate
, which promises to revive Sue if he makes certain sacrifices. While preparing a spell for Nabu, Dibny reveals the helmet is not the one talking to him, but sorcerer
Felix Faust
. Faust was posing as Nabu to give Dibny's soul to the demon
Neron
in exchange for his freedom. Neron kills Dibny, but realizes too late that Dibny's spell has trapped him and Faust inside a circle of binding. With Ralph's death, Neron and Faust are seemingly trapped together for all eternity. Ralph and Sue Dibny are reunited in death and become ghost detectives.
[4]
Lex Luthor
announces the
Everyman Project
, a program designed to give ordinary people superpowers.
Natasha Irons
(Steel) wants to join the Project, but her uncle
John Henry Irons
forbids it. She enrolls anyway and becomes a member of Luthor's superhero team
Infinity, Inc.
During a battle with the third
Blockbuster
, Luthor deactivates the powers of one of Natasha's teammates with fatal results. The death of her friend prompts Natasha to question Luthor's motives. Angered by reports that he is incompatible with the treatment, Luthor deactivates the powers of the majority of the Everyman subjects, resulting in many of them falling from the sky to their deaths. After learning the reports were falsified, he gives himself the powers of Superman. John and the
Teen Titans
attack LexCorp and bring him to justice with Natasha's help.
Beast Boy
offers Natasha membership in the Teen Titans, but she declines in favor of forming a new team with her uncle.
Animal Man
,
Starfire
, and
Adam Strange
are marooned on an alien planet after the events of
Infinite Crisis
. They are pursued through space by agents of
Lady Styx
, whose forces are conquering and overrunning planets on a path of destruction toward Earth. With some help from Lobo, the
Emerald Eye of Ekron
and the Emerald
Head
of Ekron, the heroes defeat Lady Styx. During the fight, Animal Man dies. The aliens who gave him his powers later revive him with new powers. He now has the ability to gain powers from any sentient being in the universe. He uses it to return to Earth.
Black Adam
, the superhuman leader of Kahndaq, forges a coalition with several other countries against the
United States
and their metahumans: the Freedom of Power Treaty. He stops when
Adrianna Tomaz
, a former slave, shows him how he can use his abilities more peacefully to help his country. Adam convinces
Captain Marvel
to give Tomaz the power of Isis. Adam and Isis free enslaved children across
Africa
. Meanwhile, the
Question
and
Renee Montoya
start investigating
Intergang
. Following a lead, they fly to Kahndaq and prevent a
suicide bombing
at Black Adam and Isis' wedding. Adam awards them one of Kahndaq's highest honors. The four uncover Intergang, which is inducting children into a religion of crime based on its Crime Bible. Black Adam finds Isis' crippled brother Amon among the children and shares his power with him. Amon is reborn as
Osiris
. Osiris befriends a seemingly timid anthropomorphic
crocodile
named
Sobek
, who joins Black Adam's
Black Marvel Family
. Adam and Isis inform the Freedom of Power Treaty member nations that Kahndaq is no longer interested in consolidating power or in executing superhumans.
Will Magnus
, creator of the
Metal Men
, is abducted to Oolong Island, where Intergang and
Chang Tzu
force kidnapped scientists to form the
Science Squad
and develop new weapons for them. There, Magnus is ordered to build a Plutonium Man robot. The scientists activate three of their Four Horsemen, which target Black Adam. Suspicious of him,
Amanda Waller
maneuvers Osiris into killing the
Persuader
and leaking footage of the incident to the media. With his reputation destroyed, Osiris retires from the public eye and acid rain ravages Kahndaq. Convinced that he is the cause of Kahndaq's new miseries, Osiris asks Captain Marvel to remove his powers. Isis and Black Adam stop him and the three return to Kahndaq. Sobek tricks Osiris into turning back into Amon and devours him, revealing himself to be the fourth Horseman, Famine. The other Horsemen join the battle. Isis is poisoned by Pestilence and dies while asking Adam to avenge her and Osiris' deaths.
Grief-stricken and enraged to the point of madness, Black Adam destroys the country of Bialya, base of the Four Horsemen, murdering the country's entire population. He then attacks Oolong Island. The
Justice Society of America
invade the island to arrest him and subdue the scientists, but Adam escapes and embarks on
a week-long rampage across the globe
, during which he kills several superhumans. Captain Marvel convinces the
Egyptian pantheon
to revert Adam to Teth-Adam and changes Adam's magic word from "Shazam" to a new phrase. Teth-Adam goes missing in the resulting explosion and wanders the Earth powerlessly, trying to guess the secret word.
The Question and Montoya train with
Richard Dragon
in
Nanda Parbat
, where Montoya learns that the Question is dying from lung cancer and wants her to replace him. After they discover a prophecy in the Crime Bible about
Batwoman
's death, the two join her fight against Intergang in Gotham City. When the Question's condition worsens, Montoya journeys back to Nanda Parbat in a failed attempt to save his life. Shortly after they leave Gotham, Intergang discovers Batwoman's identity and attempts to sacrifice her to fulfill the prophecy. Montoya, as the new Question, tries to save Batwoman, who gets stabbed by Mannheim with a ceremonial dagger. Batwoman fatally wounds Mannheim and survives. After she recovers, Montoya shines the restored
Bat-Signal
to call her back to work.
Skeets is revealed to be
Mister Mind
, who has been using Skeets' metallic body as a cocoon to metamorphose into a gigantic, monstrous form that feeds on
time
itself. Rip Hunter and Booster escape to the end of the
Infinite Crisis
and witness the secret creation of 52 identical parallel universes. Mister Mind intends to consume them. The Phantom Zone is restored, and Mister Mind alters events in the 52 universes, creating new histories and a new status quo for each. The heroes trap him in the remains of Skeets' shell and send him back in time to the beginning of the year, where he is captured by Dr. Sivana, trapped in a time loop for all eternity. Will Magnus later rebuilds Skeets, using a copy he had made of the robot's memories.
World War III
[
edit
]
Week 50 of
52
and the four-issue
World War III
limited series
, which was released the same week, depict the superhumans' battle with Black Adam.
World War III
also depicts
Aquaman
's transformation into the
Dweller of the Depths
,
Martian Manhunter
's change in outlook,
Donna Troy
's assumption of the
Wonder Woman
mantle,
Supergirl
's return to the 21st century,
Jason Todd
pretending to be
Nightwing
, and
Cassandra Cain
being drugged to turn evil and join
Deathstroke
.
Secret message
[
edit
]
Dan DiDio
included a hidden message in his "DC Nation" column in the back of Week 37. The message is spelled out using the first letter of every third word: "the secret of fifty-two is that the
multiverse
still exists".
Collected editions
[
edit
]
The lead stories of the series are collected, with commentary from the creators and other extras, into four
trade paperbacks
:
- Volume 1
(collects #1?13, 304 pages, May 2007,
ISBN
1-4012-1353-7
)
[5]
- Volume 2
(collects #14?26, 304 pages, July 2007,
ISBN
1-4012-1364-2
)
[6]
- Volume 3
(collects #27?39, 304 pages, September 2007,
ISBN
1-4012-1443-6
)
[7]
- Volume 4
(collects #40?52, 304 pages, November 2007,
ISBN
1-4012-1486-X
)
[8]
All 52 issues were also available in the
52 Omnibus
hardcover (1,216 pages, November 2012,
ISBN
978-1401235567
).
The collection has also been made available in a two-volume edition that includes bonus material after each chapter:
Other connected collections include:
- 52: The Companion
(224 pages, October 2007,
ISBN
1-4012-1557-2
)
[9]
- DC: World War III
(collects
52
Week 50 and the entire four-issue
World War III
limited series
, 128 pages, December 2007,
ISBN
1-4012-1504-1
)
- 52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen
(Collects #1?6, 144 pages, May 2008
ISBN
978-1401217815
)
- The Question: The Five Books of Blood
(collects "Crime Bible ? Five Lessons of Blood" #1?5, 128 pages, June 2009,
ISBN
978-1401223359
)
- Wizard
#184
Spin-offs
[
edit
]
Taking advantage of the popularity of the series, DC issued several series of comics based on the individual threads of
52
that began several months after
52
ended.
Booster Gold
(vol. 2) is an ongoing series that sees the eponymous hero and Rip Hunter travel through time to fix history as "the greatest superhero never known". The six-issue
52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen
miniseries covers the Four Horsemen's battle with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
Black Adam: The Dark Age
, another six-issue miniseries, follows Teth-Adam's quest to restore his powers and bring Isis back to life; it takes place between the end of
52
and
Mary Marvel
's corruption in
Countdown to Final Crisis
.
Two strands of the
52
story were taken and put together with back-ups from the new
Countdown to Final Crisis
story.
Countdown to Adventure
looks at the fate of space-travelers Adam Strange, Animal Man, and Starfire in their new roles after their journey over the course of eight issues, with a back-up story following Forerunner.
Countdown to Mystery
is another eight-issue series looking at the new Doctor Fate and a back-up story focusing on
Eclipso
.
These include:
- Booster Gold
vol. 2 #1?47 ? The further adventures of Booster Gold, Supernova, and Rip Hunter as they try to preserve the fractured timeline.
- Black Adam: The Dark Age
#1?6 ? In the aftermath of
World War III
, Black Adam tries to recoup his losses, for both his powers and his personal life.
- Infinity Inc.
#1?12 ? Steel and the remaining members of Luthor's Everyman Project team together to form a new Infinity Inc.
- 52 Aftermath: Crime Bible ? Five Lessons of Blood
#1?5 ? The Question and Batwoman investigate crimes, leading them deeper into the Crime Bible.
- 52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen
#1?6 ? Follows
Superman
,
Batman
, and
Wonder Woman
against the Four Horsemen of Apokolips.
- Metal Men
#1?8 ? Follows
Dr. William "Will" Magnus
and the new version of the Metal Men as they battle Will's brother, David, who wants to destroy them.
- Detective Comics
? Follows Batwoman and the Question.
- The Great Ten
#1?9 ? Follows the Chinese superteam.
In other media
[
edit
]
Action figures
[
edit
]
In September 2006,
DC Direct
premiered a line of
action figures
based on
52
. The first wave, featuring figures based on Batwoman, Isis, Booster Gold, Animal Man, and Supernova, was released in May 2007.
[10]
Novelization
[
edit
]
Ace Books
, under the imprint of the Berkley Publishing Group and published by the Penguin Group, released a
novelization
written by
Greg Cox
, with cover art by J. G. Jones and Alex Sinclair, and its design by George Brewer.
The novel primarily adapts the weekly limited series and the
World War III
tie-in miniseries. The novel deals with the plotlines of Montoya, the Question, Black Adam, Booster Gold, Skeets, and the 52 Earths, dropping the Luthor/Steel/Everyman Project, Ralph Dibny, and space plotlines completely and including only part of the "Science Squad" storyline, keeping in the evil geniuses and their work for Intergang but leaving out Will Magnus' ongoing plot; in his introduction, Cox explains that it was not possible to adapt all the plotlines of
52
within a novel of reasonable length. Outside of the loss of these various storylines from the book, events play out in an essentially identical manner, with most of the dialogue itself even lifted from the comics verbatim. There are some minor cosmetic changes along the way (for instance, on Week 3, Black Adam kills
Intergang
thug Rough House as opposed to
Terra-Man
), but in the final chapter, a
lot
of the specifics of Mister Mind's cross-time battle with Rip Hunter, Booster Gold, and Supernova are altered. The villain reveals himself in front of a gathered group of heroes in Metropolis, rather than to just Booster and Rip in the
Fortress of Solitude
; the rebirth of the multiverse is credited to Mister Mind's transformation, rather than the Crisis; and the weapon stolen from Steel by Booster during World War III is actually put to use against Mind, which it was not in the comic, and is the cause of his unexplained-in-the-comic shrinking.
Audiobook
[
edit
]
In December 2007, GraphicAudio released the first half of a full cast audiobook adaptation based on the novel by Greg Cox. Like GraphicAudio's
audiobook of Infinite Crisis
, this spans two volumes (each 6 hours long) with 6 CDs and features a full cast, music, and sound effects. Volume 2 was released in February 2008.
Voice cast credits as follows:
- Ken Jackson : Black Adam, Skeets, Mr. Mind
- Barbara Pinolini : Renee Montoya
- Bruce Rauscher : The Question, Phantom Stranger, Dr. Cyclops, Leonard Akteon
- Colleen Delany : Isis, Wonder Woman, Superwoman
- David Coyne : Booster Gold, Boss Mannheim, Daniel Carter, Captain Boomerang, Beefeater
- James Konicek : Clark Kent, Count Vertigo, First Beast-man
- Nanette Savard : Lois Lane, Whisper A’Daire, Zalika
- M.B. Van Dorn : Katherine Kane, Batwoman
- Michael Glenn : Osiris, Richard Dragon, Hourman, Beastboy
- Terence Aselford : Captain Marvel, Jay Garrick, Captain Marvel Jr., Mind-Grabber Kid
- Susan Lynskey : Mary Marvel, Plastique, Madame Xanadu
- James Lewis : Nightwing, Kyle Abbot, Baron Bug, Agent Rogers, Jimmy Olsen
- Karen Carbone : Power Girl, Claudia Lanpher
- Ted Stoddard : Aristotle Rodor
- Eric Messner : Atom-Smasher, Dr. Death
- Erika Rose : Amanda Waller, Natasha Irons
- Michael John Casey : Persuader, Dr. Kim, Zorrm
- Elisabeth Demery : Zatanna, Stargirl, Mallory, Veronica Cale
- Jeff Baker : Alan Scott
- Elliot Dash : Mr.Terrific, Steel
- Dylan Lynch : Waverider, Col. Harjvati, Electrocutioner
- Thomas Penny : J’onn J’onnz, Rigoro Mortis, News Anchor, Black Lightning, Bike Boy
- Tim Carlin : Perry White, Jim Corrigan, Benny the Mover
- Cate Torre : Lady Sivana, Mildred Heiny, Yellow Peri, Carjack Lady
- Jim Lawson : Metamorpho, Louie the Mover,
Fred Farrell
, Panic Dad
- Arianne Parker : Firehawk, Firefighter, Kahndaqi woman
- Christopher Graybill : T.O.Morrow, Roggra, Noose, Mirage
- Michael Replogle : Dr.Tyme, Manthrax
- Christopher Walker : Strauss, Kahndaqi dissident, Aged servant
- Jacinda Bronaugh : Vicki Vale, Bobbi Bobbins
- Richard Rohan : Dr. Sivana, Rip Hunter, Sabbac, Azraeuz, The Blimp
- Mort Shelby : Sobek, Wildcat, Mammoth, Tawky Tawny, Rough House
The Flash
[
edit
]
In
the CW
series
The Flash
, the term '52' is often used as an
Easter egg
. For example, in the episode "Things You Can't Outrun", the Flash team opt to incarcerate criminal metahumans in "Area 52" at
S.T.A.R. Labs
.
[11]
In the second season, inter-dimensional breaches are made between
Earth-One
and
Earth-Two
, and 52 separate portals are located.
[12]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Cowsill, Alan; Dolan, Hannah (2010). "2000s".
DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle
.
Dorling Kindersley
. p. 325.
ISBN
978-0-7566-6742-9
.
The title was masterminded by writers Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid, with Keith Giffen providing art breakdowns.
- ^
"DC Comics Solicitations for Product Shipping, May 2006"
.
Comic Book Resources
. February 13, 2006.
Archived
from the original on October 26, 2008.
- ^
"5.2 (or so) About 52: Week 30"
.
Newsarama
. December 1, 2006. Archived from
the original
on December 10, 2006.
- ^
Beatty, Scott
(2008). "Elongated Man". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.).
The DC Comics Encyclopedia
.
New York
:
Dorling Kindersley
. p. 114.
ISBN
978-0-7566-4119-1
.
OCLC
213309017
.
- ^
"
52 Volume 1
profile"
.
DC Comics.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2013-06-21.
- ^
"
52 Volume 2
profile"
.
DC Comics.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-02-08.
- ^
"
52 Volume 3
profile"
.
DC Comics.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-02-08.
- ^
"
52 Volume 4
profile"
.
DC Comics.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-02-08.
- ^
"
52: The Companion
profile"
.
DC Comics.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-02-08.
- ^
DC Comics.com DC Direct
"Action Figures ? ALL"
, accessed April 14, 2011.
- ^
"The Flash: Easter Eggs and DC Comics References in "Things You Can't Outrun"
"
.
comicbook.com
.
Archived
from the original on 13 March 2016
. Retrieved
9 May
2018
.
- ^
"Possible New 52 reference in the Flash: Flash of Two Worlds - moviepilot.com"
. Archived from
the original
on 2016-03-12
. Retrieved
2016-03-12
.
External links
[
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]
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