Limited DC Comics crossover series
"
Final Crisis
" is a
crossover
storyline that appeared in comic books published by
DC Comics
in 2008, primarily the seven-issue
miniseries
of the same name written by
Grant Morrison
. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by
J. G. Jones
; artists
Carlos Pacheco
, Marco Rudy and
Doug Mahnke
later provided art for the series.
[1]
[2]
The storyline directly follows
DC Universe
#0 after the conclusion of the 51-issue
Countdown to Final Crisis
weekly limited series.
[3]
Promotion about the limited series describes its story as "the day evil won". The series deals with alien villain
Darkseid
's plot to overthrow reality, and the subsequent death and corruption of various DC characters and their universe.
Publication history
[
edit
]
Final Crisis
came out of several ideas Grant Morrison had when they returned to DC Comics in 2003. Morrison said, "I pitched a huge crossover event called Hypercrisis, which didn't happen for various reasons. Some of Hypercrisis went into
Seven Soldiers
, some went into
All-Star Superman
, some went into
52
and some of it found a home in
Final Crisis
."
[4]
According to Grant Morrison, work finally began on
Final Crisis
#1 in early
2006
, with the intention of the series being a thematic and literal sequel to
Seven Soldiers
and
52
, two projects that Morrison was heavily involved in at the time.
[5]
References to
Infinite Crisis
as the "middle Crisis"
[6]
gave readers the impression there would be at least one additional major follow-up to the original
Crisis on Infinite Earths
. A May 2007 teaser poster confirmed this speculation with the tagline: "Heroes die. Legends live forever."
Final Crisis
was preceded by
Countdown
, a year-long weekly series which was meant as a follow-up to
52
. Halfway through, the series was renamed
Countdown to Final Crisis
. However, the artwork met with delays.
[
citation needed
]
To keep the release on schedule,
Countdown
wrapped with issue #1 and its planned final issue (#0) was revamped as a 50 cent
one-shot
special called
DC Universe
#0. Besides hyping upcoming storylines such as "
Batman R.I.P.
" and "
Blackest Night
," the issue was narrated by
Barry Allen
and featured
Libra
leading a group of super-villains in prayer for the "god of evil",
Darkseid
. The result is, as described by Morrison, that "we're watching him fall back through the present, into the past of
Seven Soldiers
where he finally comes to rest in the body of 'Boss Dark Side', the gangster from that story."
[5]
To help readers identify events pertinent to
Final Crisis
and other major DCU events as the crossover approached, a "Sightings" cover banner appeared on various DC comics as "signposts, marking important storybeats and moments throughout the DC Universe."
[7]
The first such headers appeared on
Justice League of America
(vol. 2) #21 and
Action Comics
#866, respectively (the
JLA
issue featured Libra's return and his recruiting of the
Human Flame
).
The original intent was for
Jones
to pencil the whole series. Due to delays, however,
Carlos Pacheco
drew issues #4?6 with Jones and issue 7 was drawn entirely by
Doug Mahnke
. Jones said that "Any problems completing the series are my own. I love Doug Mahnke's art, and he would have probably been a better choice to draw this series in the first place."
[8]
In addition to the core limited series the larger storyline includes a number of
tie-ins
, including one-shots and limited series.
The one-shots comprise "Requiem,"
[9]
"Resist,"
[10]
"Secret Files" and "Submit". Also "
Rage of the Red Lanterns
" is the start of a storyline of the same name, that picks up on events in "
Green Lantern: Secret Origin
" and continues in
Green Lantern
#36?38. It starts as a tie-in because, according to writer
Geoff Johns
, "events in
Final Crisis
have motivated the Guardians to proceed further with their attempted containment of the light".
[11]
The limited series comprise
Superman Beyond
(a two issue mini-series also written by
Grant Morrison
),
Legion of 3 Worlds
(a five-issue limited series focusing on the different incarnations of the
Legion of Super-Heroes
[12]
),
Revelations
(a five-issue limited series
[13]
), and
Rogues' Revenge
(a three-issue mini-series focused on the
Flash Rogues
[14]
).
Plot
[
edit
]
Following the final battle of the
New Gods
,
Darkseid
's spirit tumbles through time itself, coming to rest on
Earth
, where he, along with the spirits of the other evil gods of
Apokolips
, manifests himself in the body of a human being. Darkseid's "fall" has sundered reality, creating a
singularity
at the heart of creation, into which all of space and time are slowly being drawn, setting the stage for the evil god's final victory, to be claimed in his inevitable death. Through his agent
Libra
, he arranges for a
huge army of super villains
to be gathered, who capture and kill
Martian Manhunter
as the opening salvo of the conflict. Coinciding with the Manhunter's death is the arrival on Earth of
Nix Uotan
, an exiled member of the cosmic
Monitors
, who has been sentenced to become human as punishment for failure in his duties.
Following the trail of a group of missing child prodigies, detective
Dan Turpin
discovers the dying body of Darkseid's son,
Orion
. The
Justice League of America
liaise with the
Green Lantern Corps
to investigate the murder, deducing the cause of death to be a bullet of Radion (a substance toxic to New Gods) fired backward through time from the future. New God
Granny Goodness
, possessing the body of Green Lantern Kraken, stymies the investigation by framing
Hal Jordan
for the murder; when
Batman
deduces her true identity, she captures him and teleports him to
Command D
, a government bio-chemical weapons facility beneath the city of
Bludhaven
that has also fallen under the control of Darkseid's minions. Slowly becoming aware of the threat the evil gods pose,
Alan Scott
enacts "Article X", a superhero draft that readies Earth's metahuman forces for the coming war.
With Batman and Jordan removed from play, the New Gods continue to eliminate the greatest threats to Darkseid's plan.
Wonder Woman
, while investigating Bludhaven, is infected by the Morticoccous bacterium by a
DeSaad
-possessed
Mary Marvel
.
Superman
departs for the future to obtain a cure for
Lois Lane
after a bomb in the
Daily Planet
building mortally wounds her. The Silver Age
Flash
,
Barry Allen
, is resurrected from within the
Speed Force
by
powers unknown
and races back in time alongside
Wally West
in an attempt to outrun the
Black Racer
and stop the bullet that will kill Orion.
Turpin's search for the missing children leads him to the Dark Side Club, where he is confronted by Darkseid's human host, Boss Dark Side. Darkseid transfers his essence into Turpin's body and brings him to Command D, where the detective is subjected to bio-genetic restructuring to transform his body into a replica of Darkseid's original form. Concurrently, Darkseid's agents release the
Anti-Life Equation
through all of Earth's communications networks, spreading it across the entire planet. The two Flashes, having failed to prevent Orion's death, emerge from the time stream one month after the equation's release and discover that the minds of nearly the entire population have fallen under Darkseid's control, with its super-human victims having been transformed into a military force of "Justifiers".
With the help of the
Tattooed Man
, the
Super Young Team
and former allies of the New Gods of
New Genesis
Shilo Norman
and
Sonny Sumo
, small cells of super heroes who have managed to resist the equation discover a possible salvation: a symbol from the alphabet of the New Gods that will break the equation's control over minds; it had been gifted to the cave-boy
Anthro
by
Metron
in prehistoric times. Meanwhile, a huge battle erupts between the superheroes and the Justifiers in Bludhaven, during which the equation-controlled Wonder Woman infects the heroes with Morticoccous, which strips the heroes of their powers. However, the loss of these troops is soon mitigated by the turning of Libra's Justifiers, control over whom is usurped by
Lex Luthor
and
Doctor Sivana
so they can help defeat Darkseid. These twists and turns are observed by Nix Uotan, whose powers and memories of his true nature are unlocked with the help of Metron and a mysterious ape-like figure in a robe.
Escaping confinement in Command D, Batman uses the Radion bullet to mortally wound Darkseid, while Darkseid in turn kills Batman with his Omega Beams. Superman returns to the present and tears Command D apart to recover Batman's corpse and faces off against Darkseid as the Flashes come racing into Bludhaven, the Black Racer hot on their heels. As the heroes reach super-luminal velocity, time warps around the Flashes, creating the temporal eddy into which Darkseid fires the bullet, sending it back in time to kill Orion. Outpacing Omega Beams fired from the eyes of the humans in Darkseid's thrall, the Flashes lead both the beams and the Black Racer straight to Darkseid, finishing the job Batman had begun to kill him. Simultaneously,
The Ray
traces the Metron symbol across the face of the Earth in beams of light, liberating all those under the equation's control. The freed Wonder Woman uses her lasso of truth to release Darkseid's consciousness from Turpin's body.
Although physically bested, Darkseid's dying essence is still dragging all of reality into nothingness along with it. Time and space break down as the effect worsens, until eventually, only Superman is left in the darkness at the end of creation, struggling to complete a copy of the "Miracle Machine", a wish-granting machine shown to him by
Brainiac 5
during his trip to the future. Darkseid's essence re-emerges to claim the machine, but Superman destroys him for good by using the last of his super-powered breath to sing, countering the vibrational frequency of Darkseid's life force.
With Darkseid's end, however, the evil behind evils emerges:
Mandrakk
, the Dark Monitor, fallen father of Nix Uotan, who waits at the end of all things to consume what remains. Superman uses the solar energy in his own cells to power the Miracle Machine and makes a wish that is granted by the appearance of an army of Supermen from all across the multiverse. Nix Uotan joins the clash, using his Monitor powers to summon the Green Lantern Corps, the
Zoo Crew
, the Super Young Team, the armies of Heaven itself and more for a final battle with Mandrakk that culminates in the Corps spearing him with a stake made of pure light created by the combined energy of their rings. The heroes drag Earth out of the black hole that is Darkseid, and Nix Uotan returns to being human as the other Monitors cease to exist in accordance with the wish Superman had made: a wish for a happy ending.
In the distant past, Anthro dies of old age in a cave. His body is discovered by Bruce Wayne?not killed, but having been sent back in time by the Omega Beams. He picks up where Anthro left off, drawing a bat symbol on the cave wall.
Format
[
edit
]
The first issue of
Final Crisis
went on sale May 28, 2008.
[15]
Final Crisis
was seven oversized issues released over nine months starting in May 2008.
[16]
Morrison explained that the sequence of stories in the main series and tie-ins is
Final Crisis
#1?3,
Superman Beyond
#1?2,
Final Crisis: Submit
,
Final Crisis
#4?5,
Batman
#682?683, and finally
Final Crisis
#6?7.
[4]
Tie-ins
[
edit
]
Several one-shots and mini-series were released as tie-ins to
Final Crisis;
[17]
three series ran in parallel to the main one and the
one-shot
,
DC Universe: Last Will and Testament
, was planned to fit in the "break" between
Final Crisis
#3 and #4.
[18]
Morrison, who wrote one of the "final" Batman stories in "
Batman R.I.P.
," stated, "First it's
R.I.P.
, and we'll see how that winds up for Batman. Then the two-parter mentioned (
Batman
#682?683) goes through Batman's whole career, in a big summing up of everything that also ties directly into
Final Crisis
. And
Final Crisis
is where we see the final fate of Batman."
[19]
While not an official tie-in, the
Terror Titans
mini-series takes place during the events of
Final Crisis
and deals heavily with the Dark Side Club and the Anti-Life Equation.
Aftermath
[
edit
]
In a move
Dan DiDio
described as "inspirationally tied to
Final Crisis
," in early 2009, the villains took over the main
DC Universe
titles and some were featured in "
Faces of Evil
," a series of
one-shots
, all designed to examine the question "What happens when evil wins?"
[22]
Four
Final Crisis Aftermath
six-issue limited series were announced at
New York Comic Con
2009:
[23]
[24]
- Final Crisis Aftermath: Run!
#1?6 featuring the
Human Flame
, written by
Lilah Sturges
,
[25]
[26]
[27]
with art by
Freddie Williams
- Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance
#1?6 featuring the
Super Young Team
, written by
Joe Casey
,
[28]
with art by
ChrisCross
- Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape
#1?6 featuring
Nemesis
, written by
Ivan Brandon
, with art by Marco Rudy
[29]
[30]
- Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink
#1?6 featuring the
Tattooed Man
, written by
Eric Wallace
, with art by
Fabrizio Fiorentino
[31]
- The Flash: Rebirth
#1?6, written by
Geoff Johns
with art from
Ethan Van Sciver
, addresses
Barry Allen
's return in
Final Crisis
.
- Battle for the Cowl
#1?3, written and drawn by
Tony Daniel
deals with the aftermath of the apparent death of Batman and the selection of his successor.
- When Worlds Collide
, a storyline serialized in the
Justice League of America
#27?28 and 30?34 and written by
Dwayne McDuffie
with art from
Ed Benes
,
Rags Morales
, and
Eddy Barrows
, deals with the arrival of the
Milestone Media
characters on New Earth as a result of
Final Crisis
.
- The Red Circle
event written by
J. Michael Straczynski
deals with the characters of
Red Circle Comics
, who arrived on New Earth following
Final Crisis
. One-shots were released for The Hangman, The Inferno, The Shield, and The Web.
- Milestone Forever
#1?2, a
prestige format
limited series written by Dwayne McDuffie with art from
Denys Cowan
,
John Paul Leon
,
ChrisCross
, and
M.D. Bright
, goes into greater detail about the merger of the Milestone and DC Universes after Final Crisis.
[32]
- Blackest Knight
, the third story arc in Grant Morrison's
Batman and Robin
#7?9, deals with the revelation of the truth regarding the supposed "body" of Bruce Wayne left behind at the conclusion of
Final Crisis
#6.
[33]
- Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne
#1?6 deals with Bruce Wayne making his way back to the present after being sent to the distant past by
Darkseid
's Omega Sanction.
[34]
- Multiversity
: Mastermen
#1 is an indirect sequel. However, Overman, one of the Nazi
alternative versions of Superman
resident on Earth-10 is still mourning the death of his "cousin" Overgirl, one of the Nazi
alternative versions of Supergirl
, killed while trying to cross the Bleed between alternate universes of the DC Multiverse, in 2015
[35]
Connections to previous titles
[
edit
]
In the 1997?1998
JLA
story arc "Rock of Ages" a future where Darkseid had enslaved the human race using the Anti-Life Equation was shown. This story arc resembles some similarities to events shown in
Final Crisis
and was also written by Grant Morrison.
Collected editions
[
edit
]
Title
|
Material collected
|
Published date
|
ISBN
|
Final Crisis
|
Final Crisis
#1?7,
Final Crisis: Superman Beyond
#1?2,
Final Crisis: Submit
#1
|
June 2009
|
978-1401222819
|
Final Crisis
(New Edition)
|
Final Crisis
#1-7,
Final Crisis: Submit
#1,
Final Crisis: Superman Beyond
#1-2,
DC Universe Zero
,
Batman
#682-683
|
April 2014
|
978-1401245177
|
Absolute
Final Crisis
|
Final Crisis
#1-7,
Final Crisis: Submit
#1,
Final Crisis: Superman Beyond
#1-2,
Final Crisis Sketchbook
,
Final Crisis #1: Director's Cut,
Batman
#682-683
|
November 2012
|
978-1401235116
|
Final Crisis Companion
|
Final Crisis #1: Director's Cut
,
Final Crisis: Requiem
#1,
Final Crisis: Resist
#1,
Final Crisis: Secret Files
#1
|
June 2009
|
978-1401222741
|
Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds
|
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds
#1?5
|
October 2009
|
978-1401223243
|
Final Crisis: Revelations
|
Final Crisis: Revelations
#1?5
|
August 2009
|
978-1848563513
|
Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge
|
Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge
#1?3,
The Flash
(vol. 2) #182 and 197
|
July 2009
|
978-1401223335
|
Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns
|
Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns
#1 and
Green Lantern
#26?28, 36?38
|
July 2009
|
978-1401223014
|
Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance
|
Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance
#1?6
|
February 2010
|
978-1848565456
|
Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape
|
Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape
#1?6
|
March 2010
|
978-1401226084
|
Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink
|
Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink
#1?6
|
March 2010
|
978-1848565470
|
Final Crisis Aftermath: Run
|
Final Crisis Aftermath: Run
#1?6
|
March 2010
|
978-1848566354
|
Final Crisis Omnibus
|
Batman
#676-683, 701-702,
Birds of Prey
#118,
DC Universe
#0,
DC Universe: The Last Will and Testament
#1,
Final Crisis
#1-7,
Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds
#1-5,
Final Crisis: Requiem
#1,
Final Crisis: Resist
#1,
Final Crisis: Revelations
#1-5,
Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge
#1-3,
Final Crisis: Secret Files
#1,
Final Crisis: Submit
#1,
Final Crisis: Superman Beyond
#1-2,
Flash
#240-241,
Justice League of America
#21,
Superman/Batman
#76,
Teen Titans
#59-60,
Terror Titans
#1-6
|
October 2018
|
978-1401285036
|
In other media
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Carlos Pacheco Joins JG Jones on Final Crisis
,
Newsarama
, June 16, 2008
- ^
Review of
Final Crisis
#5
, comiXtreme, December 13, 2008
- ^
SDCC '07: DC's 'Countdown...To The End?' PANEL
Archived
August 29, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
,
Newsarama
, July 26, 2007
- ^
a
b
Brady, Matt;
Morrison, Grant
(28 January 2009).
"Grant Morrison: Final Crisis Exit Interview, Part 1"
.
Newsarama
. Archived from
the original
on 21 May 2020
. Retrieved
30 January
2009
.
- ^
a
b
Brady, Matt;
Morrison, Grant
(9 June 2008).
"Grant Morrison on Final Crisis #1"
.
Newsarama
. Archived from
the original
on 16 August 2019
. Retrieved
8 August
2008
.
- ^
Justice League of America
#9: "
The Lightning Saga
, Chapter Three", July 2007.
- ^
"DC Nation" #110
- ^
Renaud, Jeffrey (2008-10-21).
"J.G. Jones Apologizes For Unfinished Final Crisis Work"
.
Comic Book Resources
. Retrieved
2008-10-21
.
- ^
a
b
Remembering the Martian: Tomasi on FC: Requiem
,
Newsarama
, July 9, 2008
- ^
a
b
Resistance Leaders: Rucka, Trautmann on Final Crisis Special
,
Newsarama
, October 29, 2008
- ^
a
b
Geoff Johns on Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns
,
Newsarama
, October 27, 2008
- ^
a
b
INFINITE GEOFF JOHNS II: Action Comics
,
Comic Book Resources
, April 2, 2008
- ^
a
b
Rucka Reveals Final Crisis: Revelations
,
Comic Book Resources
, June 5, 2008
- ^
a
b
Back With A Flash: Johns & Kolins Talk lash: Rogue's Revenge
Archived
2009-02-18 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Newsarama
, January 11, 2008
- ^
"DC Comics' solicitation for
Final Crisis
#1"
. Dccomics.com. 2010-04-21
. Retrieved
2011-02-03
.
- ^
Phillips, Dan (2008-02-11).
"Dan DiDio on DC's Future"
. IGN
. Retrieved
2008-02-16
.
- ^
Final Crisis: Secrets and Truths with Geoff Johns
[
permanent dead link
]
,
Newsarama
, May 9, 2008
- ^
a
b
Meltzer Bridges Final Crisis with "Last Will and Testament"
,
Comic Book Resources
, June 4, 2008
- ^
Phillips, Dan (2008-08-26).
"Killing Batman And The DC Universe"
. IGN. p. 6
. Retrieved
2009-01-19
.
- ^
NYCC '08: DC's Final FINAL CRISIS PANEL
Archived
2009-02-18 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Newsarama
, April 20, 2008
- ^
Drawing the Rage: Shane Davis Talks Red Lanterns
,
Newsarama
, October 20, 2008
- ^
January Sees 'Faces of Evil' at DC ? Dan DiDio Spills
,
Newsarama
, September 18, 2008
- ^
NYCC '09 ? DC Universe Panel
,
Newsarama
, February 7, 2009
- ^
Ian Sattler on the Final Crisis: Aftermath Titles
,
Newsarama
, February 11, 2009
- ^
Behind the Page ? Matthew Sturges, 2
,
Newsarama
, February 10, 2009
- ^
The Most Powerful? Matt Sturges on The Human Flame and Run!
,
Newsarama
, February 16, 2009
- ^
On the "Run!" with Matthew Sturges
,
Comic Book Resources
, March 10, 2009
- ^
Joe Casey "Dances" with Super Young Team in "Final Crisis Aftermath"
,
Comic Book Resources
, March 5, 2009
- ^
Brady, Matt (March 13, 2009).
"Getting Away from Electric City: Ivan Brandon on Escape"
.
Newsarama
. Retrieved
March 14,
2009
.
- ^
Renaud, Jeffrey (March 13, 2009).
"Ivan Brandon Siphons Secrets in "Escape"
"
.
Comic Book Resources
. Retrieved
January 7,
2010
.
- ^
Ink to Paper: Eric Wallace on Final Crisis Aftermath: Ink
,
Newsarama
, March 4, 2009
- ^
"DC Universe: The Source ≫ Blog Archive ≫ Prepare for MILESTONE FOREVER in 2010"
. Dcu.blog.dccomics.com. 2009-11-05
. Retrieved
2011-02-03
.
- ^
Batman and Robin
#8
- ^
Geddes, John (December 9, 2009).
"Grant Morrison on return of original Batman"
.
USA Today
. Retrieved
December 10,
2009
.
- ^
Multiversity: Mastermen
(February 2015)
External links
[
edit
]
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