Crisis on Infinite Earths

Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March 1986. As the main piece of a crossover event, some plot elements were featured in tie-in issues of other publications. Since its initial publication, the series has been reprinted in various formats and editions.

The idea for the series stemmed from Wolfman's desire to abandon the DC Multiverse depicted in the company's comics—which he thought was unfriendly to readers—and create a single, unified DC Universe (DCU). The foundation of Crisis on Infinite Earths developed through a character called the Monitor, introduced in Wolfman's The New Teen Titans in July 1982 before the series itself started.

At the start of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Anti-Monitor (the Monitor's evil counterpart) is unleashed on the DC Multiverse and begins to destroy the various Earths that it comprises. The Monitor tries to recruit heroes from around the Multiverse but is murdered, while Brainiac collaborates with the villains to conquer the remaining Earths. Eventually, both the heroes and villains are united by the Spectre; the series concludes with the establishment of a single Earth in place of the Multiverse after Kal-L, Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor Jr. have defeated the Anti-Monitor. Crisis on Infinite Earths is noted for its high death count; hundreds of characters died, including DC icons Kara Zor-El (the original Supergirl) and Barry Allen (the Flash of the Silver Age). The story's events resulted in the entire DCU being rebooted, dividing the fictional universe's timeline into "pre-Crisis" and "post-Crisis" eras.

The series was a bestseller for DC. The story is credited with popularizing the idea of a large-scale crossover in comics. It was followed by Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! (1994), Infinite Crisis (2005–2006) and Final Crisis (2008–2009). Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (2022) also served as a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Publication history

Background

DC Comics is an American comic book publisher best known for its superhero stories featuring characters including Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The company debuted in February 1935 with New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine. Most of DC's comic books (as well as some published under its imprints Vertigo and Young Animal) take place within a shared universe called the DC Universe (DCU) allowing plot elements, characters, and settings to cross over with each other. The concept of the DCU has provided DC's writers some challenges in maintaining continuity, due to conflicting events within different comics that need to reflect the shared nature of the universe.

The DC Multiverse concept was expanded in later years with the DCU having infinite Earths; for example, the Golden Age versions of DC heroes resided on Earth-Two, while DC's Silver Age heroes were from Earth-One. Over the years, various writers took liberties creating additional parallel Earths as plot devices and to house characters DC had acquired from other companies, making the DC Multiverse a "convoluted mess". According to ComicsAlliance journalist Chris Sims, "the [DC] multiverse . . . felt old-fashioned. . . . Marvel, on the other hand, felt contemporary and when you stack them up against each other, there's one difference that sticks out above anything else: Marvel feels unified."

Writer Marv Wolfman became popular among DC's readers for his work on The New Teen Titans. In 1984, Pérez entered into an exclusive contract with DC, which was later extended one year. Although The New Teen Titans was a major success for DC, Wolfman pitched Crisis on Infinite Earths as The History of the DC Universe, seeing it as a way to simplify the DCU and attract new readers. The History of the DC Universes title was changed to Crisis on Infinite Earths because its premise, involving the destruction of entire worlds, sounded more like a crisis. "I knew up front, and they did too, how big this was going to be," he said. "But, no-one knew how well it would sell, or whether it would sell at all. It was a risk DC was willing to take, because my thoughts were that DC needed a lot of help at that time, and they did too." Wolfman also said he saw it as an attempt to improve DC's reputation for storytelling which many readers at the time saw as old-fashioned. In 1982, DC hired a researcher to go through their library and read every comic the company had published, a task that took two years. and again to 1985 when it was still not ready for 1983 As an event like Crisis on Infinite Earths had never happened before, those working on it met for around two hours a week, which was uncommon at the time. One of the greatest challenges for Wolfman and Giordano was coming up with a story. Wolfman cited making use of every DC character and creating a plot that was fun to read and as filled with surprises as difficulties, as the series needed to sell well; if it did not, it could have caused a disaster for DC. Plotting became easier once a beginning and an ending had been determined and when Pérez became involved. Crisis on Infinite Earths was DC's first mainstream maxiseries, which was still a relatively new concept. Wolfman wanted to make the series unforgettable; he said that many writers had expressed interest in simplifying DC's continuity and he wanted to be the one to do so. DC initially did not know Pérez would want to work on it. According to Pérez, he was motivated by the fact that DC did not know if the series was going to be a success. He also wanted "to draw everybody I could get my hands on" and called illustrating the series some of the most fun he ever had. Pérez was excited because not only did he get to draw the Teen Titans again, but also obscure characters he was not familiar with, saying he could possibly have never gotten another chance. Wolfman has said one panel in Crisis on Infinite Earths shows the Marvel Universe being destroyed. When Giordano (the series' initial inker) had difficulty meeting deadlines while continuing as DC vice president and executive editor, editorial coordinator Pat Bastienne reassigned the inking to Jerry Ordway despite Giordano's objections.

The series began in January 1985 and lasted for twelve issues, ending in December 1985 (issues cover dated April 1985 through March 1986).

Tie-ins

thumb|300px|Superman #415 was a tie-in issue to Crisis on Infinite Earths, indicated by the banner at the top of the cover. The cover art is by [[Eduardo Barreto.]]

Elements to set up Crisis on Infinite Earths were put in DC's comics years before the crossover took place; The following comic book issues were labeled as part of the crossover; their covers contained a banner that read "Special Crisis Cross-Over", along with the logo for DC's fiftieth anniversary.

All-Star Squadron #50–56
Amethyst (vol. 2) #13
Blue Devil #17–18
DC Comics Presents #86–88
The Fury of Firestorm #41–42
Green Lantern (vol. 2) #194–195; #198
Infinity, Inc. #18–24; Annual #1
Justice League of America #244–245; Annual #3
JLA: Incarnations #5 (released in 2001)
Legion of Super-Heroes #18
The Losers Special #1
The New Teen Titans (vol. 2) #13–14
The Omega Men #31
Superman #414–415
Swamp Thing #46
Wonder Woman #327–329
Legends of the DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 (released in 1998)

Collected editions

{| class="wikitable"

!Title

!Material collected

!Published date

!ISBN

|Crisis on Infinite Earths

|Crisis on Infinite Earths #1–12

|December 1998

|Crisis on Infinite Earths: The Absolute Edition

|Crisis on Infinite Earths #1–12, Official Crisis on Infinite Earths Index #1, Official Crisis on Infinite Earths Cross-Over Index #1

|November 2005

|Crisis on Infinite Earths: 35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

|Crisis on Infinite Earths #1–12, History of the DC Universe #1-2

|October 2019

|Crisis on Infinite Earths Companion Deluxe Edition Vol. 1

|All-Star Squadron #50-60, DC Comics Presents #78, The Fury of Firestorm #41-42, Green Lantern #194-198

|November 2018

|Crisis on Infinite Earths Companion Deluxe Edition Vol. 2

|DC Comics Presents #86, Swamp Thing #44, Losers Special #1, Legends of the DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, Infinity, Inc. #18-25, Infinity, Inc. Annual #1, Justice League of America #244-245, New Teen Titans (vol. 2) #13-14 and material from Detective Comics #558

|May 2019

|Crisis on Infinite Earths Companion Deluxe Edition Vol. 3

|Amethyst #13, Blue Devil #17-18, Wonder Woman #327-329, Swamp Thing #46, Legion of Super-Heroes #16, 18, Superman #413-415, DC Comics Presents #87-88, 94–95, Justice League of America Annual #3, The Omega Men #31, and material from The Omega Men #33

|October 2019

|DC Finest: Events – Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One

|Swamp Thing #39, Batman #389-391, Detective Comics #555-558, Justice League of America #244, Green Lantern #194, Wonder Woman #327, DC Comics Presents #78, Infinity, Inc. #18-19, The Fury of Firestorm #41, All-Star Squadron #50-52, Crisis on Infinite Earths #1-4, and The Losers Special #1

|October 2025

|978-1799503040

|Crisis on Infinite Earths Box Set

|Crisis on Multiple Earths vol 1 (Justice League of America #21, 22, 29, 30, 37, 38, 46, 47)

Crisis on Multiple Earths vol 2 (Justice League of America #55, 56, 64, 65, 73, 74, 82, 83)

Crisis on Multiple Earths vol 3 (Justice League of America #91, 92, 100, 101, 102, 107, 108, 113)

Crisis on Multiple Earths vol 4 (Justice League of America #123, 124, 135, 136, 137, 147, 148, 159, 160)

Crisis on Multiple Earths vol 5 (Justice League of America #171, 172, 183, 184, 185, 195, 196, 197)

Crisis on Multiple Earths vol 6 (Justice League of America #207, 208, 209, 219, 220, 231, 232, All-Star Squadron #14, 15)

Crisis on Infinite Earths (Crisis on Infinite Earths #1-12)

Crisis on Infinite Earths: All Star Squadron (All-Star Squadron #50-60)

Crisis on Infinite Earths: Green Lantern (Green Lantern #194-198, Legion of Super-Heroes #16, 18, Omega Men #31, 33)

Crisis on Infinite Earths: Justice League (Fury of Firestorm #41, 42, Detective Comics #558, Wonder Woman #327, 328, 329, New Teen Titans #13, 14)

Crisis on Infinite Earths: Legends (The Losers Special #1, Swamp Thing #44, 46, Legends of the DC Universe: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, Blue Devil #17, 18, Amethyst #13)

Crisis on Infinite Earths: Infinity Inc (Infinity Inc #18-25, Annual #1, Justice League of America #244, 245)

Crisis on Infinite Earths: Superman (DC Comics Presents #78, 86, 87, 88, 94, 95, Superman #413, 414, 415, Justice League of America Annual #3)

Crisis on Infinite Earths: Behind the Crisis (The History of the DC Universe #1,2, various Monitor appearances, more)

|November 2019

|978-1401295172

Synopsis

The conflicting stories of the DCU are explained as a Multiverse, containing many parallel universes and alternate versions of the characters, with the primary DC continuity referred to as Earth-One. They were created after renegade scientist Krona built a machine and used it to look back into the beginning of time. A cosmic being from the beginning known as the Monitor catalogues these realities, but he has an evil counterpart, the Anti-Monitor, who comes from an antimatter universe. After Pariah causes an accident with antimatter in his universe, the Anti-Monitor is released and begins destroying many of the realities with a wave of antimatter, planning on becoming sole ruler of all realities. On Earth-Three, Alexander Luthor and Lois Lane teleport their son Alexander Luthor Jr. to another reality as Earth-Three is consumed by the antimatter wave. To combat this, the Monitor recruits heroes and villains from across time and space to set up five towers, to help merge the multiverse back into one to make it stronger.

The Monitor dispatches a team of heroes across time and space to defend mysterious machines that could be the key to saving the remaining universes. Meanwhile, it is revealed that the Flash was transported to the future, and Pariah, constantly witnessing the destruction of worlds, arrives on the doomed Earth-1.

Barry Allen of Earth-One encounters the antimatter wave before being captured by the Anti-Monitor. On Earth 1, various heroes attempt to save people from the approaching antimatter wave. During WWII, the Monitor's towers appear during a battle in which Sgt. Rock, Haunted Tank, and the Losers are fighting together against Nazis.

The Monitor gives powers to Kimiyo Hoshi, turning her into Doctor Light. He is murdered by Harbinger, who is possessed by one of the Anti-Monitor's shadow demons. However, the Monitor knew this would happen and his death releases enough energy to project two of the last five parallel Earths into a protective limbo that nullifies the wave. The Anti-Monitor recruits Psycho-Pirate to his cause, infusing him with part of his power to manipulate the heroes of Earth-4, Earth-S and Earth-X against the rest; this fails when all five Earths enter the limbo universe.

Harbinger then recruits heroes from the remaining Earths to lead an assault on the Anti-Monitor in the antimatter universe, using the powers of Alexander Luthor Jr., the last survivor of Earth-Three, to open a portal between the limbo and antimatter universes. Pariah tracks down the Anti-Monitor at his fortress, and the heroes destroy a converter, powered by stellar energy, used to destroy the last five Earths; the injured Anti-Monitor retreats and Supergirl dies from his attacks after a distraction from Hoshi. The Anti-Monitor creates a new body for himself and tries to use an antimatter cannon to penetrate the limbo universe and destroy the five partially merged Earths. The Flash dies stopping this attempt by using his speed to channel energy.

During a lull in the war, the villains unite under Brainiac. He kills Earth-Two's Alexei Luthor while recruiting the Earth-One Lex Luthor to conquer the remaining Earths. A furious Anti-Monitor absorbs the energy of millions of worlds and vows to travel back through time to prevent the creation of the multiverse. The Spectre unites the heroes and villains by warning them about the Anti-Monitor's plan; the heroes travel back in time to stop the Anti-Monitor, while the villains travel back in time to the planet Oa to prevent Krona from creating the technology necessary for the Anti-Monitor's plan to succeed.

The villains fail, and Krona continues his experiment. The Anti-Monitor waits for Alexander Luthor Jr. to reopen the portal between the positive and antimatter universes, capturing the heroes, but a magically empowered Spectre creates an energy overload which shatters space and time. The five Earths merge into a single shared universe, and the superheroes return to the present; only those present at the dawn of time remember the original realities.

A cosmically empowered Anti-Monitor attacks again, transporting the new Earth to the antimatter universe and summoning a horde of shadow demons who kill Dove, Lori Lemaris, Green Arrow of Earth-Two, Prince Ra-Man, Clayface, Bug-Eyed Bandit, Kole, Huntress, Robin, Sunburst, and Ten-Eyed Man. He falls in a carefully-planned counterattack, culminating in a battle with Superboy of Earth-Prime, Kal-L, and Alexander Luthor Jr., with help from Darkseid. In this final battle, the Anti-Monitor, reduced to a flaming head, crashes into a star and is killed by Kal-L. Before the star explodes, Alex sends Kal-L, Earth-Two Lois Lane, Earth-Prime Superboy and himself to a pocket "paradise" dimension while Wonder Woman of Earth-Two is taken to Mount Olympus by Zeus. This leaves the heroes of the remaining Earth, none of whom remember the original past, to sort out the aftermath of this crisis. Only Psycho-Pirate, who is locked up in Arkham Asylum, remembers the multiverse.

Alternate versions

Tales from the Dark Multiverse

After the Anti-Monitor's defeat, it was the Justice League who were forever trapped fighting in Ragnarok. The Justice Society/All-Star Squadron came in to rescue the team but were outmatched by Surtur. Alan Scott then sacrificed himself by becoming the pawn of Surtur known as the Dread Lantern, leading Surtur to other worlds in exchange for his promise that he will always spare Earth.

Reception

Despite relatively limited marketing Fellow IGN writer Jesse Schedeen named Crisis on Infinite Earths one of the best DC crossovers, agreeing it was unprecedented and dramatic.

Marc Buxton of Comic Book Resources named "Crisis on Infinite Earths" the greatest comic book crossover ever, saying that no crossover has been bigger or as ambitious: "where some events seem hesitant to actually leave a mark on their respective universes, Crisis did it with aplomb". He praised the series for exploring the entire DCU and felt it was a fitting event for DC's fiftieth anniversary. Nerdist News noted that many of the series' central events—such as the deaths of Supergirl and Barry Allen—have become iconic moments in DC's history.

Not all reviewers have been as positive. Chris Sims wrote the series was messy and built awkwardly, describing it as "a textbook definition of style over substance". Sims said it was far from the best work of Wolfman and Pérez; however, he still thought it was groundbreaking, saying, "It's the first time in comics history that EVERYTHING was in danger". In 2008, WizKids issued a toy pack centered around the Anti-Monitor as a part of its DC HeroClix toy line. The pack came with a large Anti-Monitor figure with LED-lit eyes, several smaller figures, and a map. An exclusive variant, based on the Sinestro Corps, was available at San Diego Comic-Con and Gen Con Indy conventions that year.

DC Collectibles (then called DC Direct) released three series of action figures between 2005 and 2006. Based on the George Pérez artwork, the figures had a base with the logo of the series and certain figures included an accessory. The first series included Earth 2 Robin, Harbinger, Monitor, Psycho-Pirate, and Supergirl. Later series included the Anti-Monitor, Earth 2 Superman, Flash, Battle Armor Lex Luthor, Brainiac,  Earth 1 Batman, Doctor Light, Earth Prime Superboy, Earth 2 Huntress, and one of the Weaponers of Qward.

Legacy

Though it was not the first large-scale comic book crossover,