“There will be a reckoning…a Crisis!” Lex Luthor uttered those words at the end of Superman/Batman #6 in February 2004, and they’re exactly what DC Comics is counting on to bring them out of the fortress of solitude and back to the top of the comic book heap.

It’s called Infinite Crisis, a mega crossover that extends across all of the books in the DC universe, sure to effect continuity and the future direction of all DC heroes for years to come. The best part is…it has been building for months. When Luthor’s words were written at the end of the first storyline of Superman/Batman, no one knew just how far they would go, let alone that they would spark a story that has promised to rock the foundation of the comic book world.

If the words “Infinite Crisis” sound familiar, it is because they’ve been used before, in the very first universe wide mega crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths, from 1985. This story spread across the DC books in an effort to clean up their convoluted and confusing universe, full of multiple earths and parallel dimensions.

These multiple earths allowed heroes from the 1940s and 1980s to co-exist undisturbed and explained why a golden age Superman could live on one earth (earth-2) without knowing the current silver age Superman existed on another earth (earth-1).

It was Crisis on Infinite Earths that eliminated the need for multiple earths and multiple versions of the same superhero, allowing continuity to run smoothly and making DC Comics easier to follow. It also created the current post-crisis universe comic fans enjoy today. The lasting impact of “Crisis” is that its effects on continuity are still being felt today, something that DC hopes to repeat with Infinite Crisis, so it’s appropriate they paid homage to the original in the title. It seems DC’s gamble on Crisis will pay off, as comic fans are lapping up all the stories that are part of its prologue, under the banner of Countdown to Infinite Crisis. If you’re looking to read about the events that will soon send the DC universe into a tale spin. They are:

Day of Vengeance
The Spectre, spirit of vengeance, goes on a crusade against all magical beings in the universe, convinced that magic is the root of all evil and injustice. A rag tag group of misfit magicians, that includes Night Shade, Blue Devil and Detective Chimp, must find a way to stop him before all magic, and those who harness it, are destroyed.

OMAC Project
Batman invented a universal spy satellite system called Brother I, code named the “OMAC Project,” after being mind wiped by the Justice League. He invented the system to spy on every hero on earth so could never cross that ethical line again. Years later, Brother I is put in the hands of a corrupt secret government organization known as checkpoint, and now they are using it to destroy all super powered beings on earth as a matter of national security.

Villains United
Lex Luthor has reformed the old justice society and is recruiting villains to put the screws to the justice league. However, behind his back, a group of lesser-known villains are now on a secret mission to defeat him and the society.

Rann/Thanagar War
After the planet of Thanagar, the home of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, is destroyed, the planet Rann, home of Adam Strange, evacuates the refugees and brings them to their world. Soon, suspiciousness and paranoia take hold of the thanagarian elders and it blossoms into an all out war that could bring both races to their own permanent apocalypse.

The Countdown to Infinite Crisis also includes many tie-ins and the special Return of Donna Troy, which literally ushers in the dominant era of DC Comics, with the new “Spin” logo on its cover. This logo replaces the more geometric DC logo of old, the one with the four stars of a compass, inside a perfectly round ring that circles the DC letters. This seal is replaced with blue tornado winds that surround a more futuristic version of the DC letters that are centred by the finishing touch of a single star. DC president Paul Levitz says he needed a logo that reflected a brand doing great things across all media.

“With the introduction of our new logo and a comprehensive branding program, we’re inviting our fans in all media to continue to count on the DC brand standing for the best comics, classic characters and a fantastic creative experience,” he says.

A key step in moving across all media and an integral part of DC’s plan to dominate the comics field, is re-launching the pillars of their superhero universe on film, starting with Batman Begins. After being the kings of the superhero genre all the way through the 1980s and into the early 90s, with the Superman and Batman films raking in a combined gross of $1.2 billion, DC dropped off the map in the worst way. Even though, combined, the Superman and Batman movies made a lot of money, the last two Batman movies were critical laughing stocks. Soon after, Marvel Comics became the new dominator of the silver screen in the late 90s and into the 21st century. They broke box office records with the Spiderman and X-Men movies, pumped out comic book movie after comic book movie with Blade, Punisher, Hulk and now, Fantastic Four. In addition, they single-handedly breathed life into the comic book movie genre, to the point where virtually ever comic book property, superhero or otherwise, is now being snapped up by Hollywood.

After a long hiatus from movie theatres DC Comics is finally making a comeback, Batman Begins has grossed $70 million since its release, and DC is currently filming the movie that they believe will resurrect the long dormant superman franchise, Superman Returns. Constantine, which grossed $200 million worldwide, and the upcoming V for Vendetta are also DC properties.

So far, DC’s new company makeover is actually working, their film is doing well and the “Crisis” books are into their third and fourth printing. The jury is still out on the logo, but with so many new projects in film, television and video games upcoming, maybe we should take Levitz’s last line, in a recent letter to the fans, seriously: “stick with us, the best is yet to come!”






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