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The Cover to the Final Crisis Hardcover

Brian Cronin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:00:21 +0000

It is certainly quite a bit of a spoiler, but otherwise, wow, J.G. Jones does a great job on the cover for the Final Crisis hardcover.

Check it out (courtesy of Wired.com)...

Pretty darn cool looking.

11 Comments

At March 23, 2009, Randy wrote:
Awesome!
At March 23, 2009, MichaelCrisis wrote:
I love this. Saw it a few days ago in the Robot 6 blog.
At March 23, 2009, B Smithy wrote:
nice - but really, they should have done one of 3 things:

1) kept JG on Final Crisis covers only, with ...
At March 23, 2009, Strong Guy wrote:
Beautiful, I always love J.G. Jones' work.

But why does he always have so much trouble with the Superman logo? At ...
At March 23, 2009, Squashua wrote:
SPOILE... WHOOPS!
At March 23, 2009, R3D RJ wrote:
First Kara, then Kon-El, and then Bruce-El..oops, Batman. =)

Great cover!
At March 23, 2009, Rohan Williams wrote:
Something's wrong here. That's two images of Superman cradling Batman's body now, but he's not crying in either one. It's ...
At March 24, 2009, That guy again... wrote:
Call me crazy but I just don't want to see the grinning corpse of a pop culture icon on the ...
At March 24, 2009, Mike wrote:
It may be a spoiler, but I still wouldn't understand it... what the cover needs is an explanation
At March 24, 2009, kevin wrote:
For a skeleton, Batman sure has a lot of muscles.
At March 24, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:
More a teaser than a spoiler....

Quite a nice image, it will look good on my shelf!

Final Crisis "Cliffs Notes"

Brian Cronin — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:30:52 +0000

Okay, so I did the Final Crisis FAQ, where I answered everyone who sent in a question about Final Crisis, but I thought it'd be nice to re-format the answers a bit and just give you a sort of "Cliffs Notes" explanation of the parts people professed difficulty understanding, in a chronological look at Final Crisis.

Enjoy!

READING ORDERS

I'll give you both reading orders. The first is the official Grant Morrison "This is how you should read Final Crisis" reading order, using just the issues he wrote, while the rest is where the other ones "tie-in" (quotes because they really don't).

Morrison Reading Order

Final Crisis #1-3
Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1-2
Final Crisis: Submit #1
Final Crisis #4-5
Batman #682-683
Final Crisis #6-7

The Entire Reading Order

Final Crisis #1
Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns #1
Final Crisis: Requiem #1
Final Crisis #2
Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge #1-3
Final Crisis #3
Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1-2
Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1-5
Final Crisis: Revelations #1-5
Final Crisis: Resist #1
Final Crisis: Submit #1
Final Crisis #4-5
Final Crisis: Secret Files #1 (any time, really, but I guess around this time makes the most sense)
Batman #682-683
Final Crisis #6-7

As a side note, DC Universe: Last Will and Testament #1 was originally a Final Crisis tie-in but was released without the name, and I think that likely has to do with the fact that it really does not tie in to the story at all - so just pretend that it is just some unnamed OTHER crisis that the heroes are all talking about in hushed terms - DC must have those a lot, I guess, maybe, I dunno.

GENERAL ART CREDITS FOR FINAL CRISIS #1-7

I could be off on a few pages here and there, but I think this is basically all correct…

Issues #1-3 - All J.G. Jones

Issue #4 - Carlos Pacheco drew the straight superhero scenes while JG Jones got the darker stuff with Darkseid and the Flashes.

Issue #5 - Pacheco drew the opening with the Green Lanterns and the two-page spread of the heroes charging. Marco Rudy drew most of the last pages of the book, including Darkseid taking control of the three billion humans. JG Jones drew the rest.

Issue #6 - Opens with a couple of Pacheco pages, then Rudy draws most of the issue, except for a few major scenes drawn by JG Jones, namely the Supergirl/Mary Marvel fight, the Talky Tawny fight, the Flashes attack Darkseid and the Batman/Darkseid fight. Closes with a few Doug Mahnke pages.

Issue #7 - All Doug Mahnke, although with a gazillion different inkers.

COLLECTIONS OF FINAL CRISIS

DC has already collected the Last Rites issues of Batman (#682-683) in the Batman RIP trade that is out.

Soon they will be coming out with the following collections:

JUNE

Final Crisis Hardcover (Final Crisis #1-7, Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1-2, Final Crisis: Submit #1)*

Final Crisis Companion (Final Crisis: Requiem #1, Final Crisis: Resist #1, Final Crisis: Secret Files #1 and the extras from the Director's Cut of Final Crisis #1)

JULY

Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge

Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns (will include the Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns one-shot plus the respective issues of Green Lantern dealing with the Red Lanterns and their rage)

AUGUST

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds

Final Crisis: Revelations

* Note that this is just based on my deductive reasoning. DC originally solicited the Final Crisis Hardcover as $25 and a hundred pages shorter, with Superman Beyond and Submit being in the Companion trade. Then they re-solicited the Companion trade withOUT Superman Beyond and Submit, and suddenly the Final Crisis trade was a hundred pages larger and $30 instead of $25.

COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS, DEATH OF THE NEW GODS, DC UNIVERSE #0 AND SEVEN SOLDIERS: MISTER MIRACLE

Countdown to Final Crisis and the Death of the New Gods were both mini-series designed to set up Final Crisis plot points. However, due to the fact that they were written well before Final Crisis was fully written, a number of inconsistencies popped up. Since Grant Morrison already had his story, he was not going to change his story to match up with inconsistencies in comics that were intended to match up with HIS story, so if there are any inconsistencies between Countdown and Final Crisis, presume that Final Crisis is the "official" position.

The basic plot points that Countdown was to get across were:

* Mary Marvel turns evil… because of Darkseid!
* There is a society of Monitors who disagree about how to be Monitors. At least one of these Monitors is evil.
* Earth-51: Destroyed, then turned into Kamandi-world!
* There was a war of the New Gods, and they all die except Orion (well, and Metron, because he is considered to be beyond the Fourth World).

Quite a few of these plot points contradict Final Crisis in some way or another, but the BASIC ideas got across, for the most part.

In any event, when it came to the war of the New Gods, Countdown and Death of the New Gods both came up with different depictions of how it all went down, and neither of them matched what Morrison wanted to have happen.

Morrison's take on it is that the Death of the New Gods is an approximation of the "war of the heavens" that leads into Final Crisis, and therefore, any such battle would be incomprehensible to regular people, which explains why there were different takes on it. That's a clever enough solution.

Okay, so there was supposed to be a "War of the Heavens" that would end the Fourth World and begin the Fifth World. However, Darkseid is way too stubborn to let that happen, so he escapes death by traveling through time and space.

During DC Universe #0, we see him fall through time and space and end up in the past. In that same issue, the "higher beings" also return Barry Allen to the living to bring Darkseid back to where he was supposed to be, which was dead.

Darkseid fell through time and space all the way back to the Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle mini-series from a few years back. There it is established that Darkseid is staying alive by taking on a human host body. Darkseid also brought all his minions with him and they have human host bodies, too (they all still died in the war of the heavens, but as Jack Kirby established, Darkseid can recreate his minions just through his memories of them - think of them as basically extensions of Darkseid's self). In the Mister Miracle mini-series, we discover a new twist on Darkseid's classic Omega Beams, which can transport people across time and space (usually killing them in the process). Here he uses his "Omega Sanction" on Mister Miracle, which "kills" Mister Miracle, but basically it forces Mister Miracle to re-live his life over and over in some otherly dimension. Being the world's greatest escape artist, however, Mister Miracle "escapes Death."

Still, now Mister Miracle is aware that Darkseid has something planned for Earth.

FINAL CRISIS #1

Metron gives Anthro a sigil, but Anthro at first thinks he is just giving him the fire that was used to engrave the sigil. Anthro uses the fire to, in effect, become the world's first "superhero" (with fire being his "power").

Vandal Savage is a jerk in Anthro's time, too.

Mirror Master is working for Libra in this issue, but soon decides not to work for him (along with the other Rogues) in Rogues' Revenge #1-3.

In this issue, a new "League of Titans" consisting of Sparx, Empress and Mas y Menos debut and are attacked by Libra's crew, who recover Metron's chair. The four Titans COULD be dead, but it is left intentionally vague, so basically, if some future writer wants to use any of them, then they were just knocked unconscious.

The Tattooed Man works for Boss Dark Side, but that's just because we've established he's a typical super-villain goon at this point in time.

Libra is an old Justice League villain who developed a device that could steal people's powers. He turned his device on the universe and basically got absorbed into the cosmos. He drifted through the universe for years until finally recorporalizing on Apocalypse, where he was enlisted as Darkseid's agent on Earth. He's really powerful, powerful enough that he could fight the Spectre! It say a lot that his gimmick was that he strove for "balance," yet when he met Darkseid, he knew that Darkseid outweighed everything and that balance was useless in the presence of Darkseid. Darkseid must be pretty darn bad!!

The Justice League appears somewhat unfamiliar with the New Gods. This was a bit of a retcon by Morrison that turned out to be more or less completely ignored by DC in the lead-up to Final Crisis. Morrison wanted the New Gods to regain a bit of their original Kirby mystique, where it would be a really big deal if a New God showed up on Earth. Part of this involved a request on Morrison's part that DC not do anything with the New Gods for a couple of years before Final Crisis. That did not happen. In any event, that is why the League seems somewhat unfamiliar with the New Gods, although do note that the way it is written (and this is almost certainly intentional), you could read Batman and Superman as just informing the members of the collected Justice League who ARE unfamiliar with the New Gods, people like Red Arrow and Hawkgirl.

Reader Gauss wrote me to point out that Morrison made a comment about the bum with the red hair who is nearby Orion's death. He asks whether that could be a resurrected Orion. I suppose it could, but I think more likely it is just Morrison tossing in an Easter Egg for Seven Soldiers readers, as that looks like it could very easily be Aurakles, who Mister Miracle freed in Seven Soldiers #1 (and who was addle-minded enough at the time that he could easily still be walking around dressed like a red-haired bum).

Kamandi appears to Anthro at the end of the issue as a time fluctuation (think of it as a temporal vision), courtesy of the Monitor Nix Uotan, who is banned from the society of Monitors in this issue and forced to live among the humans (or "germs" as the Monitors call them).

FINAL CRISIS: RAGE OF THE RED LANTERNS #1 and FINAL CRISIS: REQUIEM #1

Both are extremely straightforward comics.

FINAL CRISIS #2

Alpha Lantern Kraken is possessed by Granny Goodness and she assaults John Stewart. Before she attacks, she mocks the Guardians (who created the Alpha Lanterns to be infallible but that did not work, as Kraken was still possessed). This is later evidenced when Kraken and Batman are in the Hall of Justice and Batman notices an imprint on Kraken from where John tried to fight back. Batman remarks that John sure has a nice right hook. While trying to fight off the control of Granny, Kraken mentions something along the lines of "tell them our weapons don't work." While it is not made explicitly clear, I think it is likely she is referring to the Alpha Lanterns as a whole as "the weapons," as the Alpha Lanterns were created by the Guardians to be infallible weapons of justice to police other Green Lanterns.

Kamandi appears to Turpin in the issue as a time fluctuation (think of it as a temporal vision), courtesy of the Monitor Nix Uotan.

Jay and Wally meet the revived Barry Allen at a strip club that was once a community center where Jay first met Barry years earlier. This is likely a commentary by Morrison about how the DC Universe has become "grimmer and grittier" since then.

FINAL CRISIS: ROGUES' REVENGE #1-3

Pretty straightforward mini-series.

FINAL CRISIS #3

The digital hand at Boss Dark Side's hideout is a take-off on the Uni-Friend, the messenger of the Source, which manifests in the form of a hand writing out messages from the Source.

Overman's cousin (Overgirl?) shows up, having been forcefully removed from Earth-10. We do not learn what it is that killed her exactly - was she hurt BEFORE she "fell from the sky" or was the expulsion from Earth-10 that killed her? Since it was her going missing that compelled Overman to go on the mission in Superman Beyond, it's possible that the Monitor Zillo Valla schemed for her to be sent away to provide a motivation for Overman to help her. But that's just supposition.

Superman says that his heat vision is keeping Lois's heart beating, but what he means is his infra-ray vision (this is made clear in Superman Beyond). He is using his infra ray vision to massage her heart.

Oracle cuts off the internet, keeping the Anti-Life Equation from being ingrained in computer systems everywhere. Just a glimpse of the Anti-Life Equation, though, almost turns her into a thrall of Darkseid.

The "Female Furies" at the end of the issue are Wonder Woman, Batwoman, Catwoman and Giganta.

FINAL CRISIS: SUPERMAN BEYOND #1-2

In this story it is established that the multiverses each have a specific tune. That becomes important later in Final Crisis.

In the story, Zillo Valla collects a team of Superman analogues, namely Superman, Ultraman, Overman, Captain Marvel (of Earth-5) and Captain Adam (a Dr. Manhattan take-off).

During this story, it is suggested that perhaps the "Crisis" that Darkseid is causing on Earth is just one of many crises that have come about because of a larger problem with the Multiverse, that perhaps each Earth in the Multiverse is going through their own version of the Darkseid problem. It is also very possible that all the other crises are caused by Darkseid mucking around with the Multiverse.

Superman Beyond provides an origin of the Monitors. Here it is...

There was once a being, I do not know if he even has a name, let's call him the "Over-Monitor." This being discovers the multiverse and sends a probe to explore the multiverse (the Monitor). However, the multiverse is a lot more complex (and quite a bit seductive) than he expected, and the probe was split into two equal and opposite probes, one good one evil, the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor.

After the death of the first Monitor and the defeat of the Anti-Monitor in Crisis, the Over-Monitor created a society of Monitors who lived in basically the ether of the multiverse. Their existence was discovered post Infinite Crisis.

The very first one sent by the Over-Monitor was called Dax Novu. There is some debate whether Dax is intended to be first Monitor sent to create the society of Monitors or if he is the first Monitor sent by the Over-Monitor PERIOD, in which case he would be the Monitor of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the "good" side of the original probe. I do not think Morrison makes it definitive either way, but certainly it is a more interesting story if Dax Novu IS the first Monitor (the one from Crisis on Infinite Earths).

Okay, so as this society of Monitors begins to grow, it slowly becomes apparent to Dax that the Monitors have an almost parasitic (one could call it vampiric) relationship with the Multiverse. They sort of feed off of the stories of the worlds they monitor. The other Monitors do not wish to believe him, so they shun him and imprison him "forever." Before they do so, he leaves behind a thought-robot designed to defeat himself if he is ever freed, because he knows that cut off from society that he is going to go mad. Dax slowly descends into madness and becomes Mandrakk, a flat out evil jerk who wants to consume the universe.

Secretly, he gains a disciple named Ogama who bans Nix Uotan to Earth to clear the way for Mandrakk to escape (which is what Zillo Valla is trying to stop by collecting all these Supermen).

Superman uses the thought-robot and defeats Mandrakk in the Nil (what they call the ether of the multiverse).

During this story, Captain Marvel of Earth-5 is sent by Superman to collect other Superman analogues to help defend the Multiverse from Mandrakk.

FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS #1-5

This story is really its own thing, not really tied to Final Crisis.

But here's a timeline of Superman's travels during Final Crisis...

SUPERMAN'S TIMELINE DURING FINAL CRISIS

Final Crisis #1-3 - Takes part in some Justice League stuff, is here for the death of the Martian Manhunter, gives a speech at the funeral of the Martian Manhunter. The Daily Planet blows up and Lois gravely injured.

Superman Beyond #1-2 - He goes off on his multiverse mission and returns and heals Lois, returns to Earth.

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1-5 - He returns just in time to be taken into the future.

Final Crisis #4-most of 6 - His adventures in the Legion of Three Worlds mini-series.

Final Crisis end of #end of 6-7 - Back on Earth and directly involved in the end of Final Crisis.

FINAL CRISIS: REVELATIONS #1-5

This series really does not tie in with Final Crisis. It exists more to let Greg Rucka do some good work with some characters he enjoys, namely Renee Montoya, The Huntress and Crispus "The Spectre" Allen. Rucka also debuts a new character called The Radiant.

One debated aspect of the comic came when Cain shows up in Vandal Savage's body. It is not made explicit where Cain POSSESSES Savage or if Vandal Savage just WAS the guy who became the basis for the Biblical person known as Cain. I lean towards the former.

Since it is never made explicit WHEN The Spectre kills Dr. Light, I suppose it is possible that you could squeeze the recent Justice League of America storyline into the gap between Final Crisis #1 and Final Crisis #2. More likely than not, it just does not fit. And for the most part, it seems that Final Crisis: Revelations, as a series, takes place between Final Crisis #3 and 4.

FINAL CRISIS: RESIST #1

In this issue, Sasha Bordeaux began to be infected with the Anti-Life Equation. The cybernetic part of her body shut herself down so that she would not be enthralled to Darkseid. However, Mr. Terrific needed her to reboot to use her connections to the Checkmate computers, thus fully infecting her with the Anti Life Equation. Once again, her body shut herself down so she could not be used by Darkseid, but if when/if she woke up, she'd be fully infected with the Anti-Life Equation.

In this issue, Snapper visits the Justice League Satellite before the remnants of the League end up hiding out there themselves.

FINAL CRISIS: SUBMIT #1

This issue is quite straightforward, except the question of who gave Black Lightning the sigil/circuit. Since he is captured and enslaved before he can tell anyone, it is left a mystery. A theory I like is that the temporal vision of Kamandi gives it to him (as Kamandi had received it from Anthro at the end of Final Crisis #1), but it is never said for sure. That being said, the sigil/circuit appeared plenty of places (as established in Final Crisis #3), so it's not like there weren't opportunities to find the sigil/circuit.

FINAL CRISIS #4

While some people were able to keep themselves from listening to the Anti-Life Equation (especially as Oracle cut off access to the internet), quite a few people were "captive," like in subways, airplanes, cars, etc. and they were all turned. They, in turn, turned as many people as they could, zombie-style.

Mr. Terrific is back at the Checkmate Castle after being in Antarctica at the end of Final Crisis: Resist #1. The the likely argument is that the "time distortions" mentioned in the next issue explain how he was able to travel back to Switzerland is so little time. As for HOW he was able to get there without getting caught, the OMACs that pop up at the end of RESIST are likely how he got back to Switzerland. And since we don't see a lot of them, he likely lost most of them along the way to Darkseid's forces.

"Time distortions" is also the explanation for how Renee Montoya is able to get from Gotham City to Switzerland from Final Crisis: Revelations #5 to Final Crisis #4.

By the way, there were not just "time distortions," but there were also "space distortions" (thing got closer/further away), which would also tend to explain how people traversed great distances in short periods of time.

In the Justice League trophy room, there is a bottle with miniature versions of the Justice League. I have no idea what that is there for - perhaps just an in-joke by Carlos Pacheco?

Barry Allen cures Iris Allen of the Anti-Life Equation through some combination of the Speed Force and love.

FINAL CRISIS #5

A lot of the heroes in the double-page spread are riding vehicles made up of the Metal Men.

In this issue, we get the first hint that Desaad has possessed Mary Marvel.

Iman's dialogue is basically "What hit me? Ah, $&#*! My armor's useless. Weighs a ton... what would Superman do...?"

The person with the ape hands in this issue is never explicitly named, although the best theory I've heard is the typewriting monkey from Grant Morrison's Animal Man run. Note that the monkey is even referred to in Superman Beyond. And like the typewriting monkey, the character in Final Crisis #5 knows a whole lot about the power of stories. Heck, this very well could be the origin of the monkey (a being experimented on in Command-D)! But really, that's just a theory. It is mostly a mystery who the ape hands man is.

Nix Uotan finds the "magic word," which is "Weeja Dell", the name of the Monitor that he was in love with (we met her in Final Crisis #1 and Superman Beyond #2).

FINAL CRISIS: SECRET FILES #1

As you would hope, this Secret Files is pretty straightforward.

BATMAN #682-683

Batman is tortured by Simyan and Mokkari, as they are using the telepathic creature known as The Lump to attempt to mass-produce Batman's powerful mind into an army of Batman clones to serve as soldiers for Darkseid.

The story mixes real memories of Batman with false memories, which allows Morrison to play fast and loose with various aspects of Batman's career. Since that "not all of the memories are real" disclaimer is added, the question of Kathy (Batwoman) Kane's existence is an interesting one. Kathy Kane was "erased" by Crisis on Infinite Earths. The current Batwoman, Kate Kane, alludes to having an older relative named Katherine Kane, so Kathy Kane MAY have already been back in continuity. So the question is, when Batman recalls Kathy Kane in Batman #682, is that Morrison bringing Kathy Kane's career of Batwoman back into continuity? I don't think it is a question we can answer for sure (although, really, with the return of the Multiverse, does it really matter?).

This issue places Final Crisis #1 as directly following the events of R.I.P. in Batman #676-681.

FINAL CRISIS #6

We have our tie-in with Legion of Three Worlds here. We are spoiled that Brainiac 5 and Superman do not die in Legion of Three Worlds. We also learn that the time distortions have ruined the Legion's promise that they could return Superman back to the time he left. Instead, issues #4, 5 and most of #6 go by before Superman returns to Final Crisis.

Black Adam makes a comment about his powers fading due to "his gods" being "far, far from here." This is most likely a reference to the fracturing of the multiverse (his gods might actually be far, far from there, thereby cutting off the access to his powers).

This is also where we get confirmation that Desaad IS, in fact, possessing Mary Marvel. It appears as though Morrison's intent was that Mary Marvel's heel turn was all due to being possessed by Desaad, but that does not appear to be how DC has decided to play it, at least not based on recent issues of Justice Society of America.

Iman’s dialogue translates to “Something approaches. Like the sound of horses.” This is the arrival of the Tiger Men, who Morrison shows here how the Tiger Men were sent on the way to their noble attitude in the Kamandi stories of the future.

Shiloh Norman is mis-colored in this issue. He appears almost Caucasian. That is a mistake and it will be fixed in the Final Crisis hardcover.

The two Atoms, Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi, are attempting to bridge a highway from the universe of New Earth/Earth-0 (Morrison seems to refer to the "main" DC Earth as Earth-0, while after Infinite Crisis, it seemed to be called New Earth - I'm fine with either term) to another universe (so as to escape the possible destruction of this Earth).

Lord Eye is based on the brain of Maxwell Lord, founder of this current version of Checkmate.

Batman shoots Darkseid with a gun containing a Radion bullet. It was established during Jack Kirby's original Fourth World stories that Radion can kill the New Gods. This is the bullet Darkseid used to kill Orion. Batman shoots Darkseid in the shoulder.

The great thing about the Omega Sanction is that there is no precise explanation for what it does and does not do, so anything pretty much goes for it, particularly when you add in the fact that Darkseid was shot by Batman before the beams hit Batman (in fact, you could read the panel as suggesting that Darkseid was shot AS he let loose the Omega Sanction) - who knows what kind of odd effect that would have on the effects of the beam? I imagine we'll get more specific answers when Morrison returns to Batman in June.

That said, in extremely general terms, the Omega Sanction transports people across time and space, usually resulting in their deaths.

Here, the odd effect is that we have a corpse of Batman while Batman is actually somewhere in time and space, managing to survive what would have killed almost any other human alive.

Towards the end of the issue, we begin to see the effects of the power-stealing virus on a number of the superheroes who managed to stick around this far.

FINAL CRISIS #7

THE CHRONOLOGY OF FINAL CRISIS #7

A word about how this story is told. If you've ever watched The Godfather Part II or Memento (to choose two particularly notable films that I figure most of you have seen), you are likely familiar with the concept of telling a story non-sequentially. Directors figure that if you show an audience a scene set in the past after you show a scene set in the present, the viewers will figure out in their mind where to place the scenes, chronologically. Therefore, if you were to determine what order to view The Godfather Part II in to get the chronological order, you would get a very silly looking thing like:

Minutes 10-20 then Minutes 40-55 then Minutes 76-80, etc.

Not to mention the fact that the movie ends with a scene set at the beginning of the first Godfather!

So as long as you acknowledge that any time you put a non-sequential work in chronological order, it WILL look silly, I will provide the chronological order of the pages in Final Crisis #7 for those of you who cannot figure it out:

Pages 8-12

Roughly the same time - Pages 14, 15 and the bottom panel of 16 and Page 18, bottom four panels of 19, middle panel of 20, middle panel of 21.

Pages 5-7, top of 16, top of 19, Page 13, Top and Bottom Panels of page 20, Bottom Panel of Page 21.

Around that same time Pages 1-4, All But the Last Panel of Page 17

Pages 22-35, with likely the Top Panel of Page 21 and the Last Panel of Page 17 taking place around the time of Page 30.

Pages 36 and 37 are of indeterminate time. Likely Pre-Historic Past, but who knows?

While that's the chronological order of the comic, I am going to address the various plot threads in the order they actually appear in the comic...

Captain Marvel is using the Ultima Thule, the multiverse-traversing vehicle of Superman Beyond, to travel the multiverse picking up versions of Superman. He was put on this mission by Superman in Superman Beyond #2. He hooked up with The Question on Earth-51, which is where she and the folks of Checkmate ended up.

Darkseid shoots the Radion bullet that kills Orion through time, all the while knowing that this bullet will later be used by Batman to kill him. Effectively, he is committing suicide. An interesting question is could Darkseid choose NOT to do this? It really comes down to what school of time travel theory you belong to. Some would say he could choose not to fire it, some would say he would not be able to avoid it, since it has been established AS happening.

The Flashes arrive, and they basically finish the job Batman started with the Radion bullet. Here we get why Barry Allen "had" to be the one that the powers that be released from Death's grasp. Only he and Wally could outrun the Black Racer long enough to take it to Darkseid and finish off what was intended to happen to Darkseid a long time ago. So the Black Racer hits Darkseid and drives him out of corporeal form.

As the "second" of Darkseid's death takes place, we are formally introduced to the fact that Aquaman is back. Morrison here is just looking to return a back-to-basics Aquaman to the DC Universe because he figures someone is going to do it ANYways, so he might as well help out future writers and say, "There, there you have a back-to-basics Aquaman. Do with him as you will." The whole "Arthur of Atlantis is prophesized to return to his people in the time of their greatest need" is not an actual established Aquaman plot point, but rather a play on the King Arthur story.

Iman is saying “He’s going to start time, is all I’ve heard. To live in the world with a man like this.”

We see our first real connection to Final Crisis: Resist, as the OMACs make an appearance. They are in Switzerland, so I think that lends credence to the notion that they took Mr. Terrific back to Switzerland from Antarctica. And the fact that there are not that many of them in Final Crisis #7 suggests that the journey was a hazardous one (lots of Justifiers out there, after all), so they dwindled in numbers, which is why they were not a bigger factor in Final Crisis #4-6.

Black Canary and Green Arrow are floating in space with their life support on critical terms. They are saved before they die, though. And they do get to see The Ray burn the sigil/circuit on to Earth.

Ray's sigil/circuit freed all the people on Earth within the sigil/circuit, which was a significant amount of people, although we have no way of knowing HOW many.

While Checkmate and Lord Eye are using the "interdimensional highway" that the Atoms have rigged up, the highway begins to fall apart due to the instability and fracturing of the Multiverse. Lord Eye malfunctions and decides to close the tunnel with everyone in it. To avoid this, Hawkman figures he has to destroy Lord Eye. Hawkgirl does not let him do it alone. They destroy Lord Eye, but are killed in the resulting explosion. Mister Miracle's motherboxx then manages to teleport the rest of the folks to Earth-51.

A note on Hawkman and Hawkgirl's deaths. They died definitely. This was clearly done with the intent of Morrison of them simply being reincarnated by whatever other DC writer who wanted to use the characters, and here Morrison's point is to basically give the future writer a blank slate to do whatever he/she wanted to do with Hawkman, as we have established that the Hawks reincarnate. Morrison alludes to his last issue, where Hawkman is almost welcoming of death. So they die in Final Crisis #7. This is made evident by the two feathers later in the issue symbolizing their deaths.

HOWEVER, DC has decided to retcon their deaths, so they did not actually die. But if you were to ask me, "Did Wolverine kill Magneto in New X-Men #150?," I would say, "Yes." Marvel, however, then retconned Magneto's death as not being Magneto but an imposter Magneto. Which is fair enough, they can do whatever they want. As can DC, who has determined that the Hawks are alive (badly injured, but alive). Fair enough. But that is a retcon of Final Crisis #7. In Final Crisis #7, they are dead (and annoyingly, their deaths are designed to specifically NOT be permanent, but even THAT had to be retconned, apparently).

There is great debate over how Wonder Woman ended up being free from Darkseid's control, and to what extent Frankenstein was involved, especially as Morrison makes a point of establishing that Frankenstein was immune to the morticoccus virus.

It is unclear if he DID save her. But if he DID, it would have something to do with the fact that he was immune to the effects of the morticoccus virus. Honestly, it could be just as simple as "Frankenstein defeated her by, allowing the good guys to cure her with an antidote to the morticoccus virus off-panel." I mean, the morticoccus virus was artificially made, and the "good guys" did have some of the greatest mad scientists in the universe on their side, so it's not unreasonable to think that they could come up with a cure for the morticoccus virus, ESPECIALLY since all the villains had been inoculated against it. In addition, as we saw at the end of Final Crisis #6, heroes were beginning to lose their powers, so Frankenstein's immunity could be as simple as Morrison's way of saying "This is why he was able to fight her without losing his powers."

Another theory is that Wonder Woman was within the range of the sigil that the Ray placed on Earth, so THAT freed her.

But really, the "true" answer is that Morrison leaves how Wonder Woman was freed up to the reader's imagination.

When freed, Wonder Woman binds Darkseid's "body," which is now non-corporeal, and releases his grasp on anyone who was not already freed by The Ray.

While Superman is trying to build the Miracle Machine to fix Earth, he proceeds to use a shrinking ray and then cryogenics to store the population of Earth while he is working, as he does not know how long he needs to work on the Miracle Machine. This leads to a great meta-commentary line where Lois mentions that when Superman is finished, he will take her "back from the fridge." This is a clear reference to the "Women in Refrigerators" critique, which talks about a specific plot device that afflicts female characters in superhero comics (generally speaking, it is when a female character is killed/raped/mutilated/etc. simply to affect change in the life of a male character, with the charge being that it is unfair to treat female characters as though they are props in the lives of male characters).

Superman is confronted by the last non-corporeal vestiges of Darkseid, who is now sort of clinging to the Multiverse itself. As established in Superman Beyond, the multiverse exists on different levels of tonal vibrations, so Superman extinguishes Darkseid once and for all (until someone brings him back, of course) by singing a particular note to create a vibration that cancels Darkseid out.

The silence after the great song (so loud that it almost broke Superman's vocal cords) allows Superman to discover the hum of Element X. There is some debate about the connection between Element X (which is an established DC supernatural element) and the Worlogog, the powerful map of space/time from Morrison's JLA run. I see it like this - the Element X Superman finds is not the Worlogog. Howver, the Worlogog might very well have been made out of Element X. We just don't know.

Mandrakk shows up, and we see basically the only direct connection to Final Crisis: Revelations, as we see the Spectre and The Radiant (from Revelations) drained by Mandrakk. Likely, things were just now getting serious enough for the gods like Spectre to get involved. To wit, when it was just Darkseid as the bad guy, they were content freeing Barry Allen from death's grasp to take care of Darkseid for them. But when Mandrakk showed up, they really were in trouble, as Mandrakk eats universes, for crying out loud! So The Spectre and the Radiant get involved and they get defeated.

The Green Lanterns, who have been stuck in a holding pattern since they arrive outside of Earth at the end of Final Crisis #5, finally find a way into Earth by the pathway created by Mandrakk's destroyers.

Nix Uotan shows up and he brings Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew back to their normal selves. They did not end up actually doing anything, but Nix was basically bringing out anything he could to intimidate Mandrakk. This is equalled later on the same page when Zauriel and the Pax Dei show up. Again, Mandrakk is a much bigger deal than Darkseid, so Mandrakk is a big enough deal for the heavens to get involved. But really, they are there more as "Look at everyone I have with me, Mandrakk, you are done."

We learn here that Nix is Mandrakk (Dax Navu)'s son.

Let's take a quick tangent to look at the Who's Who of Monitors in Final Crisis:

WHO'S WHO OF MONITORS

Over-Monitor - The dude who got everything going.

Monitor/Anti-Monitor - Two halves of a probe the Over-Monitor sent into the Multiverse to study it. One became good, the other became evil. The Anti-Monitor is still running around somewhere.

Dax Novu/Mandrakk - The founder of the society of Monitors who was shunned when he figured out that the Monitors were actually cosmic vampires feeding off of stories, eventually was corrupted into Mandrakk while in exile. He likely is the Monitor mentioned above.

Nix Uotan - Soon of Dax, the good Monitor who was banished to Earth by the evil Monitor Ogama. He later becomes the only Monitor left on Earth (who is still a Monitor). He is the direct connection to the Over-Monitor.

Weeja Dell - Nix's love, and the way he was able to access his powers on Earth.

Zillo Valla - Lover of Mandrakk (mother of Nix?).

Rox Ogama - The evil Monitor who organized Nix's banishment and who later serves Mandrakk.

There's some other ones, but their names are unimportant (incompetent leader #1, ineffectual leader #2, etc.).

Back to the issue...Nix calls forth the Forever People of the Fifth World, who are the Super Young Team.

Superman, the Green Lanterns and some others drag Earth-0/New Earth back from the abyss and then they repopulate the planet (the Miracle Machine has fixed all the damage done by Darkseid).

Superman's wish for a "happy ending" has internal limitations placed on it by Superman himself, mostly he does not mess with things he does not think are his call to change, stuff like Martian Manhunter's death and Batman's "death."

Earth-51 is now the place for all the Kirby characters.

The Monitors now fade away, to be reborn as human beings, with only Nix remaining (as a human) as the connection to the Over-Monitor. The Anti-Monitor is not connected to these Monitors, so he is still out there. The question remains of whether Superman's wish for a happy ending included the Monitors. I don't think it did, but I can easily see how it could have, especially since Superman would certainly think they'd be happier as humans than as cosmic vampires, right? The only downside would be that Weeja and Nix would be apart, but really, if they're both humans, who is to say that they do not reconnect AS humans?

One of the big changes in the status quo is that everyone in the world is aware that there is a multiverse now. It is common knowledge. It will be quite interesting to see if "serious" DC comic books will try to downplay this revelation as much as they can.

We end the series with Anthro, when and what Earth, I do not know.

Batman takes over from Anthro, and again, where, when and what Earth is unknown until Morrison returns to Batman in June (and even then, it is unknown if he will get right on Bruce's adventures or if Morrison will be concentrating on whoever the "new" Batman is).

Batman is so bad ass that he can project the shadow of a cowl without wearing one.

Okay, that about does it! I hope you folks found this a bit more straightforward.

69 Comments

At February 26, 2009, Spiffy wrote:
Nice. I mean anything which helps sort out the confusing jigsaw puzzle that is Final Crisis is probably a ...
At February 26, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:
Did you say "Cliff's Notes?"

Why don't you publish this as an unofficial guide-book to F.C.?
I'm sure DC wouldn't mind. ...
At February 26, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
I dropped the "s"!

But it is back in there now!
At February 26, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
Brian, don't you feel that any story which needs to be explained over and over again is inherently bad?

I know ...
At February 26, 2009, Spiffy wrote:
Try try try, Sean, but I don't think you are going to move him on this. People seem to ...
At February 26, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
For a second there, Spiffy, I almost thought you were taking Sean's comment seriously. You really had me there for ...
At February 26, 2009, Ranald wrote:
Sean; you realise lots of books have had annotations published about them, don't you? Are they all inherently bad?
At February 26, 2009, Eric TF Bat wrote:
I'm sure it wasn't your intention, but this blog entry has probably done more than any event other than the ...
At February 26, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Ranald, Sean was joking.
At February 26, 2009, Spiffy wrote:
Hey, whatever I think about Final Crisis is kind of irrelevant. If this is modeled on Cliffs Notes, then ...
At February 26, 2009, Joe Rice wrote:
Or if readers should be that less complicated.
At February 26, 2009, aneerietapestry wrote:
Interesting read. Wonder if the miniature copies of the Justice League in the bottle are the ones that once attacked ...
At February 26, 2009, Richard Pachter wrote:
Nice, Brian!

Just add illos, interviews etc. and you've got your book. Call Plume (or DC).
At February 26, 2009, Rob Schmidt wrote:
Re "don’t you feel that any story which needs to be explained over and over again is inherently bad?"

Answer: ...
At February 26, 2009, Nick Marino wrote:
wow this is great. thx B.
At February 26, 2009, Gimp wrote:
Re: The Miniature JLA --
http://the-gold-in-us.blogspot.com/2009/02/forever-objects-who-are-those-tiny-jla.html
At February 26, 2009, Squashua wrote:
I suggest outright stating a list of which characters were possessed by which New Gods of Apokalips.
At February 26, 2009, Squashua wrote:
"and Captain Adam (a Dr. Manhattan take-off)."

Rather a Dr. Manhattan meets Captain Atom take-off.

I know Manhattan was originally derived from ...
At February 26, 2009, Lynxara wrote:
52 and Kree-Skrull War are not complex stories, they are merely complicated (and pretty arguably so at that). To be ...
At February 26, 2009, David wrote:
I !KNEW! I had seen those tiny JLA'ers before. Couldn't place them for the life of me tho. ...
At February 26, 2009, Scavenger wrote:
So 30 comics in the "Entire reading order" (I am counting Last Will and Testament. It was sold on the ...
At February 26, 2009, logomatic wrote:
So, I read FC (the Morrison list) for the first time this past weekend. I wasn't going to, but ...
At February 26, 2009, logomatic wrote:
oh, I forgot: the marketing was really disingenuous, and I can totally see people being irritated about that.
At February 26, 2009, Tanzim wrote:
Thanks, Brian. I was having a little trouble with issue 7, and your notes really helped. I re-read the whole ...
At February 26, 2009, Timothy Burke wrote:
I suppose one problem I have, besides the metacritical debate about whether the story is too complicated, is about the ...
At February 26, 2009, Timothy Burke wrote:
P.S. on Morrison's argument that versions of the Death of the New Gods contradict because mere mortals can't understand that ...
At February 26, 2009, Craig wrote:
Excellent... and very helpful! Thanks for doing all this work, Brian.
At February 26, 2009, Lynxara wrote:
@David:

Your definitions are correct in general use, but in my experience, "complex" and "complicated" have very different connotations in ...
At February 26, 2009, Bryan Levy wrote:
Timothy-

I completely agree with you on the "contradictions". However, there are many comic fans who won't accept that as ...
At February 26, 2009, Michael Mayket wrote:
Why are you people even still discussing this? Did you all somehow miss that Rob Schmidt has declared it ...
At February 26, 2009, Squashua wrote:
"Shiloh Norman is mis-colored in this issue. He appears almost Caucasian. That is a mistake and it will be fixed ...
At February 26, 2009, Andrew Collins wrote:
Annotations and indexes are fine and all, and I applaud Brian for his efforts, but this is turning into less ...
At February 26, 2009, Michael Mayket wrote:
That must be why James Joyce can't get new readers either. People write entire books about his books.

Obviously, I'm ...
At February 26, 2009, Lynxara wrote:
You know, it is a fair point that basic issues like "What's the reading order for Final Crisis?" would've been ...
At February 26, 2009, Rob Schmidt wrote:
Re "you realise lots of books have had annotations published about them, don’t you? Are they all inherently bad?" ...
At February 26, 2009, Stephen wrote:
"Or at the very least, DC could have done a better job of laying out the reading order for the ...
At February 26, 2009, Michael Mayket wrote:
Rob -

1) Lynxara already explained what they meant by their use of complex and complicated that way. ...
At February 26, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:
QUANTUM BLUNDERBUSS, people. Get some perspective.
At February 26, 2009, Michael Mayket wrote:
Oh, and while I think I made this clear while I enjoyed Final Crisis I certainly didn't think it was ...
At February 26, 2009, Ethan Shuster wrote:
Wow. All of these explanations and lists and FAQs... Just telling me I really don't wanna bother with any of ...
At February 26, 2009, Oinkman wrote:
QUANTUM BLUNDERBUSS, people. Get some perspective.

Yeah, FC was still lightyears more enjoyable than Secret Invasion.

Brian seems to be the master ...
At February 26, 2009, Squashua wrote:
"“Additionally, mentioning that Countdown established the placement of the Zoo Crew on Earth 0 during “CC&HAZC - The Final Ark” ...
At February 26, 2009, Thok wrote:
Lynxara, it seems to be like you have the assessment of FC backwards. The plot to FC isn't complicated: ...
At February 26, 2009, John Trumbull wrote:
I found the first four issues of Final Crisis to be nigh-incomprehensible, and I've been reading DC Comics for 30 ...
At February 26, 2009, Lynxara wrote:
Thok, I don't really agree that your synopsis of FC indicates a story told in a non-complicated fashion. There are ...
At February 26, 2009, Matt Bird wrote:
It seems like what's going on here is that different people have entirely different preconditions about what the job of ...
At February 26, 2009, Cass wrote:
Brian: Excellent piece (the other one too). You've clearly and concisely spelled out all the key plot points, so for ...
At February 26, 2009, Stephen wrote:
"There are entire issues of the work concerned with story material your synopsis doesn’t consider, and Mandrakk’s appearance during the ...
At February 26, 2009, benday-dot wrote:
For the little things I missed, for an eye toward all the side stories I passed on, for the pre-history ...
At February 26, 2009, Omar Karindu, back from an Internet Thogal ritual wrote:
I have to agree with the small number of people here who seem to have "gotten" the themes of Final ...
At February 26, 2009, the shpongelettes wrote:
- finnegan's wake is quite complicated.
--so, it's bad
--- the bible?
--bad
---- pilgrim's progress?
-- bad
- how about king lear?
-- ultra-bad
---how can you ...
At February 26, 2009, Convergence » links for 2009-02-26 wrote:
[...] Final Crisis “Cliffs Notes” (tags: comicbooks DC FinalCrisis) [...]
At February 26, 2009, T. wrote:
Omar, i agree with you totally. Ever since Morrison left Marvel after New X-Men, he seems unable to just ...
At February 27, 2009, ZZZ wrote:
Matt Bird above goes a long way towards putting into words something that's been bothering me about the debate over ...
At February 27, 2009, ZZZ wrote:
And I apologize for misspelling Rorshach at the end there. I blame my upbringing. In my defense, I misspelled it ...
At February 27, 2009, SKFK wrote:
"Ever since Morrison left Marvel after New X-Men, he seems unable to just write a story about something happening to ...
At February 27, 2009, John Seavey wrote:
I would say that yes, the story did have a job to do, and it failed at it because it ...
At February 27, 2009, Ranald wrote:
Honestly, I think whether most people see FC as understandable or not has less to do with their ability to ...
At February 27, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
You know, the best criticism of Final Crisis that I've heard so far, was by comparison to Watchmen...

They pointed ...
At February 27, 2009, Joshua Balog wrote:
Wow. I'm really glad to see the discussion of this step up a level.

Personally, I think the ...
At February 27, 2009, ParanoidObsessive wrote:
>>> So the question becomes: Does every story have a (inherently implied and promised) job to do, regardless of whether ...
At February 27, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:
You may have discovered the literary masturbation metaphor on your own, but you hardly coined the term. I've heard ...
At February 27, 2009, RedEyedJedi wrote:
Check out the Comic Geek Speak podcast of Final Crisis 7 (The synopsis) for a page by page disection of ...
At February 28, 2009, Rohan Williams wrote:
Timothy Burke said...

"Mere mortals garble the story of the “war in heaven” in various ways, but they’re somehow able to ...
At March 5, 2009, Comics Fanatic : Final Crisis Collections, Review to Come wrote:
[...] Comics Should Be Good by Brian Cronin: COLLECTIONS OF FINAL [...]
At March 19, 2009, PCJ14 wrote:
In a way, I liked Final Crisis because it provides lots to mysterious events and people you have to go ...
At June 15, 2009, David wrote:
In regards to saying Nix was just summoning all these different heroes as a way to intimidate Mandrakk...isn't an alternate/cooler ...
At September 15, 2009, Talmerian wrote:
I'd still like to see some of the stories of what actually happened in final crisis. I don't recall the ...
At September 16, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
I'd still like to see some of the stories of what actually happened in final crisis. I don't recall the ...

Final Crisis Resources

Brian Cronin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:16:32 +0000

Richard Pachter made an excellent point, and honestly, I was planning on doing this BEFORE the FAQ came out, but just plum forgot.

Here are a list of great annotations of Final Crisis, as well as links to Grant Morrison's Newsarama interviews for Final Crisis (plus his exit interview at Newsarama and IGN).

Douglas Wolk's Final Crisis Annotations

David Uzumeri's Final Crisis Annotations

Mindless Ones' classic "annocommentations"

Timothy Callahan and Chad Nevett's Final Crisis discussions

Newsarama interviews with Grant Morrison

Interview leading up to Final Crisis

Final Crisis #1

Final Crisis #2

Final Crisis #3

Final Crisis Exit Interview Part 1

Final Crisis Exit Interview Part 2

I have no idea how to link to Dan Didio's 20 Answers, 1 Question thing he does on Newsarama. Does it have a category I can link to? Not every installment is on point, but a lot of them are.

Over on IGN, Dan Phillips did a great post-Final Crisis interview with Morrison which you can read here

6 Comments

At February 24, 2009, Blockbusterspent wrote:
I just wanted to say Well Done! Mr. Cronin on your Final Crisis FAQ. I read the whole and ...
At February 24, 2009, David wrote:
I can't imagine this was an easy feat but your efforts are appreciated. Too bad a lot of this ...
At February 25, 2009, Richard Pachter wrote:
I'm old school, so an actual compendium — dead-trees or digital — would be nice, too.

Come on, Brian; what else ...
At February 25, 2009, Kirk Warren wrote:
@Richard Pachter - I did my own annotations in a magazine format if you're interested. You can download a ...
At February 25, 2009, Richard Pachter wrote:
Thanks, Kirk. I will definitely take a look at it.
At February 26, 2009, Joshua Balog wrote:
The IGN interview with Grant Morrison was great! I really like reading about his higher ambitions with the story ...

Final Crisis FAQ

Brian Cronin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 10:27:51 +0000

Here it is!

I'm responding to the questions in the order that they were asked.

If you would prefer a more stream-lined look at Final Crisis, chronologically from issue to issue, I have a "Cliffs Notes" of sorts here that is a bit more straightforward.

Otherwise, enjoy!

Adam Jones asked:

Was that exiled Monitor reawoken as that black kid who worked at the burger joint? Or was that supposed to be Orion? Was Orion even reborn at all?

Yes, that was the Monitor.

No, Orion was not reborn in Final Crisis. He may still be reborn in the future, but not as of yet.

Also, in the first issue we saw a Green Lantern construct as a monkey with cymbals (with a big HAHAHAH!), did they ever reveal who did that attack on John Stewart? Was it that Alpha Lantern Granny Goodness hid in, or was it just forgotten? I always thought it was supposed to be the Joker, who got his hands on a power ring, but hey, that’s why I don’t write comics.

It was the Alpha Lantern. This is shown later in the same issue when we see the imprint of John's ring on her hand.

Matt asked:

How did FC actually tie into Death of the New Gods? The two events seemed to cover the same events (such as the death of Orion) but in vastly different ways.

Of the two depictions of the downfall of the New Gods (Countdown and the Death of the New Gods), Jim Starlin came closer to what Grant Morrison wanted to achieve, but yeah, there were still definite contradictions.

This came as a natural consequence of Starlin writing his series before Morrison wrote his.

Morrison had a few plot points he wanted established for Final Crisis (well, honestly, he likely did not even "want" them established, it was more a "Grant, what plot points can we establish so that we can honestly call this a prelude to Final Crisis?"), and only a few of them were actually done according to his specifications. The Death of the New Gods didn't exactly work, but Starlin really came as close as anyone did with his take.

I believe Morrison's take on it is that the Death of the New Gods is an approximation of the "war of the heavens" that leads into Final Crisis, and therefore, any such battle would be incomprehensible to regular people, which explains why there were different takes on it. That's a clever enough solution.

Why couldn’t the Guardians simply wave a finger and shut down Boodika the Alpha Lantern from getting anywhere near the Central Power Battery? We’ve seen them shut down power rings before, should be no reason they could not do it (or something similar) this time around.

That was why they made a big point of them being "Alpha Lanterns." The same precautions were not taken against the Alpha Lanterns, because the whole POINT of Alpha Lanterns was that they were infallible.

In the future, I presume they will not make that same mistake again.

Nick Marino asked:

why was Shilo Norman suddenly colored as Caucasian in some pages of Final Crisis #6? mistake or actual story reasoning? it’s Morrison here so I wouldn’t put it past him…

I'm going with mistake.

You could make some argument for the sigil having some odd effect upon him, but I think mistake is more likely. I suppose we'll find out for sure in the hardcover.

EDITED TO ADD: Yeah, it was a mistake. Dan Didio has said as much, and it will be corrected in the hardcover.

can the events in Final Crisis be directly linked to the Mister Miracle mini? i read that back when it came out, and i understood it (somewhat!) for what it was. then i read the first issue of FC and i didn’t necessarily see how they connected to each other.

Yes, what happened was that after the Death of the New Gods, Darkseid fell through time (in an attempt to escape death) and the events of the Mister Miracle mini-series took place, including introducing the human disguises for Darkseid and his cronies (note they are not alive, in the typical sense of the world - Morrison is going under the assumption that, as established by Jack Kirby, that Darkseid can basically recreate his cronies just based on his memories of them - so view his cronies almost as an extension of Darkseid's will rather than "Darkseid and a bunch of other evil New Gods escaped death").

is there any connection between the New Gods appearance in the final issues of Firestorm and their actions in FC?

No.

okay, wait, so Batman did die… he didn’t die… OKAY, what is his status as can best be described RIGHT NOW.

Lost in time and space.

Where and when is unknown.

is there any significance to the strip club we see in the ending of FC #1? (i feel like this one might be obvious but i just can’t remember…)

Do you mean the ending of Final Crisis #2?

If so, it was just as it was explained in the comic. That was where Barry Allen and Jay Garrick first met (as good a place for Barry to return as any, right?), but it was once a community center and is now a strip club, likely intended by Morrison as a statement about the whole "grim and gritty" nature of the DC Universe that Final Crisis is intended to counteract.

P_B asked:

I’d like to see an attempt at tracing Superman chronologically through the whole thing.

It depends on whether he is taken to the future by the Legion once or twice, and apparently Morrison has confirmed that it is just the once.

So in that case, it is:

Superman Beyond #1-2 - He goes off on his multiverse mission and returns and heals Lois, returns to Earth.

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1-5 - He returns just in time to be taken into the future.

Final Crisis #4-most of 6 - His adventures in the Legion of Three Worlds mini-series.

Final Crisis end of #end of 6-7 - Back on Earth and directly involved in the end of Final Crisis.

David asked:

The story starts with Darkseid’s fall to Earth after a war in heaven. What happened there?

The Fourth World was intended to be destroyed for the sake of the Fifth World. There was a war in heaven (one approximation of this was the events in Jim Starlin's The Death of the New Gods mini-series) that ended up with Orion being the last god standing. Darkseid, however, could not abide by this, so he escaped by falling to Earth through time and space to the Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle mini-series. Since that point, he had been planning to take over Earth. It was all part of his plan to avoid the Fifth World ever coming about, for as long as he was still around, it could not exist. So he figured if he could not rule the Fourth World, he'd rule Earth instead.

Craig B. asked:

Who the heck was Libra?

Basically just an agent of Darkseid's on Earth.

What was the relationship between the Darkseid story that took up most of the series and the Mandrakk story that took up the Superman Beyond side-series and the last half of the last issue of the main series?

The machinations of Darkseid cause a breakdown of the multiverse, allowing Mandrakk's story to take place.

Did Hawkman and Hawkgirl die? Why? What were they doing?

Yes, they died. In an attempt to save people, Checkmate created a dimensional tunnel between universes. It began breaking down, and Lord Eye tried to close it, which would have killed all the people still in the tunnel. The Hawks blew it up, but died in the explosion that destroyed it. Luckily, Mister Miracle was able to save the remaining folks with a last second Boom Tube. Interestingly enough, Hawkman's fiery death was actually foretold in last year's Hawkman Special by Jim Starlin. Odd that that special actually ended up being tying into Final Crisis like that.

What was going on with the Atoms? What were they doing? Did it work? What did it do?

They created the pathway that the aforementioned dimensional tunnel used.

It worked for a while, before it collapsed as the multiverse was suffering through way too much turmoil to hold up.

Why is the Legion of 3 Worlds series still going, and what is its connection to the main series?

It's still going mostly because it really is NOT connected to the main series in any significant fashion, so it is not on the same deadline as the main series.

What was the point of the whole Question and Spectre side series? What exactly did any of that accomplish?

For Final Crisis, nothing of note. But Greg Rucka got a lot of good work with some characters he liked done.

Neal K. asked:

When Superman used the Miracle Machine to wish the world back into existence, why didn’t he wish for the fallen heroes such as Martian Manhunter, Batman (at least Superman believed him to be dead), etc. to be resurrected, or to make any other perfecting changes to the world? Did it have to do with Superman’s own internal limitations (i.e. he thought that those kind of changes were things he should not mess around with), or with external limitations of the Miracle Machine’s capacity?

The former (Superman's own internal limitations).

Will asked:

Final Crisis was supposed be about Darkseid’s fall and rebirth and the transition of the universe from the Fourth World to the Fifth World. If that’s the case, who is Mandrakk the Dark Monitor and why did he show up in Superman Beyond & FC #7? What was his part in the story?

Mandrakk the Dark Monitor was able to make his move because Darkseid caused great turmoil in the multiverse due to his refusal to go away and allow the Fifth World to take place. Darkseid's machinations gave Mandrakk his opening.

Dave asked:

Seriously, why did Shilo Norman a turn into a white man for issues #4-6?

As mentioned earlier, until I hear otherwise, I'm going with "coloring mistake."

Verdammt asked:

If Batman is not dead and stuck in time/somewhere in the multiverse, then whose charred corpse was Superman holding? (This may be explained if we get a concise explanation of just what it is the Omega Sanction does and does not do.)

The great thing about the Omega Sanction is that there is no precise explanation for what it does and does not do, so anything pretty much goes for it, particularly when you add in the fact that Darkseid was shot by Batman before the beams hit Batman - who knows what kind of odd effect that would have on the effects of the beam? I imagine we'll get more specific answers when Morrison returns to Batman in June.

That said, in extremely general terms, the Omega Sanction transports people across time and space.

10FootBongz asked:

How about an arts credit listing (who drew which pages)?

Okay, I could be off on a few pages here and there, but I think this is basically all correct...

Issues #1-3 - All J.G. Jones

Issue #4 - Carlos Pacheco drew the straight superhero scenes while JG Jones got the darker stuff with Darkseid and the Flashes.

Issue #7 - All Doug Mahnke, although with a gazillion different inkers.

Da Fug asked:

What’s going on with the Bruce Wayne situation? I assume that the world does not know Batman is dead thus The Battle for the Cowl in which a secret replacement is chosen. But what about Bruce Wayne? Is Bruce dead with public acknowledgment and funeral? Missing? Gone to Europe?

The world is beginning to suspect Batman is dead, which leads into Battle for the Cowl.

As for Bruce Wayne, currently, Hush looks just like Bruce Wayne and has been seen around since Batman died, so that should assuage any "Hey, wait a sec...is Bruce Wayne Batman?" rumors. But yeah, I think they're likely going with "Bruce Wayne is on vacation somewhere he can't be reached," but that will be addressed for sure in Battle for the Cowl, I presume.

Billy F. asked:

What finally caused the Justifiers to be released from Darkseid’s control? Luthor? Metron’s sigil being placed on Earth by Ray?

Some from Ray, the rest from Wonder Woman using her lasso of truth on Darkseid.

Barry Allen releases Iris from the control of anti-life by kissing her. How exactly did this work? Does the antidote to anti-life reside within Barry Allen? The Speed Force? is it love?

A mixture of the second and third options, with a heavy stressing on the third option.

The Eagle Host of the Pax Dei shows up at the end of Final Crisis for the showdown with the Dark Monitor. Was their appearance foreshadowed anywhere, or were they just included to drive home Morrison’s literal usage of a Deus Ex Machina?

More the latter.

Most likely it was a bit of "If this is the end times, then we really ought to get involved."

Was the fire that Superman found in Metron’s chair some version of the Worlogog from his JLA run?

I see it like this - the Element X Superman finds it not the Worlogog. Howver, the Worlogog might very well have been made out of Element X. We just don't know.

Who was that ape man that was imprisoned with Nix Uotan and the rubicks cube solver (Metron?) in Darkseid’s lair?

One interesting answer I've heard was an experimented on Himon, as Himon was the creator of the motherbox, so it would follow that he would create the motherboxxx that was contained in the Rubik's Cube, no?

However, Morrison I believe has stated that no New Gods survived (until the Fifth World, of course), so that likely rules Himon out.

That leaves the type-writing monkey from Animal Man as the leader, which is possible enough, as the monkey sure would know about the power of stories, wouldn't he?

Wouldn't it be a kick if this was the "origin" of the typewriting monkey from Animal Man? That he was created in Command-D!

In any event, basically it is unknown for sure.

What role was the Spector and the Radiant playing at the end?

Same as the Pax Dei. The end times are coming, so they thought it was time to get involved.

Conor E asked:

What was up with Renee Montoya? I understand that Revelations took place around the gap between issues 3 and 4 of the main series (since we see “evil winning” during that series), but wasn’t she recruited by Checkmate before then, and still hanging out with them after?

This is one of the "time distortions" that are mentioned in Final Crisis, because as you mention, there is not enough time for Montoya to travel around the world the way she does.

Also: Submit and Resist (since I forget which is which). The one with Black Lightning is extremely simple to place, but the one with Mr. Terrific is pretty confusing in regards to the main series.

Resist is between #3 and #4, with the likely argument being "time distortion" for how Terrific is able to get back to Switzerland from Antarctica in the time given between #3 and 4. The OMACs that pop up at the end of RESIST are likely how he GOT back to Switzerland. Note in Final Crisis #7, the OMACs are in Switzerland. So just presume the OMACs got him back but then are off-panel until Final Crisis #7.

Patrick C. asked:

Why were people being “frozen” or whatever was happening with everyone that wasn’t Superman or Supergirl during Final Crisis #7?

The population of Earth was being put into "storage" (via a shrinking ray and cryogenics) while Superman fixed the Earth.

What did Iman say in Final Crisis #7? In fact, how about translations for all the non-english dialogue?

David Uzumeri and Douglad Wolk did translations for Iman.

Here's David:

In Final Crisis #7:

As far as I can figure, what Iman’s saying is “He’s going to start time, is all I’ve heard. To live in the world with a man like this.”

In Final Crisis #6:

Iman’s dialogue translates to “Something approaches. Like the sound of horses.”

Here's Douglas:

In Final Crisis #5

His dialogue translates roughly as "What hit me? Ah, $&#*! My armor's useless. Weighs a ton... what would Superman do...?" (I might be wrong about that last bit.)

What did Ray drawing the Metron symbol on Earth really accomplish?

It saved roughly half of the world's population from Darkseid's control. It also might have freed Wonder Woman from Darkseid's control, which turned out to be a big deal.

Is Dan Turpin dead?

No, just wounded.

What exactly happened to Checkmate, I guess some of the heroes ended up on Earth-51, while others (Mister Terrific and the Hawks died?

Mr. Terrific makes his way to Earth-51. The Hawks die. Checkmate ended up on Earth-51. What they do next will likely be explored in the Final Crisis Aftermath mini-series dealing with them.

Are Ogama and Solomon the same Monitor? Should we just not bring up Countdown in this FAQ?

No, they're different guys.

You CAN bring up Countdown, but the answer is likely going to be something along the lines of "Morrison did not take into account what happened with Countdown when he wrote Final Crisis, as he was under the impression that he would not have to worry about Countdown contradicting his work. So when it often did, he was not too worried about it. "

Is Mandrakk the original Monitor from COIE?

No.

The whole attack on John Stewart in FC#1 could use some clarification, the art didn’t do a good job of conveying the action. I guess Kraken (with Granny inside her) made herself look like Hal Jordan, created the laughing monkey to distract the other GL, then attacked John. John was able to get off a punch, which left the impression of his ring in Kraken’s hand? Even though in the panel right before we see John’s right hand without a ring on it? I’m not even sure this is really a question anymore.

Yeah, that is basically what happened.

mightygodking asked:

Man, Resist opens up so many questions re: timing it’s probably going to be retconned out as not having actually happened. How did Mr. Terrific manage to be in Antarctica AND the Castle at the same time? Why was Amanda Waller (who got fired from Checkmate) show up at the Castle? When did Snapper Carr teleport to the JLA satellite - before the League got there, or after? What happened to Enslaved Firehawk, while we’re at it?

Time distortions. He was in the Castle then Antarctica then back to the Castle (via the OMACs).

As for Waller showing up, I presume she is part of Checkmate expanding its scope to a Global Peace Agency.

Snapper teleported up there before the JLA got there.

Presumably she either escape or the Justice League took care of her when they showed up at the satellite.

Neal K. asked (in an odd question format - why not just say "What order do the tie-ins go in?"):

I think any good FAQ should have an attempt to place all the tie-ins with respect to the main series. Some are obvious, like Batman 682-83, but others are a bit iffier, such as Revelations.

Morrison Reading Order

Final Crisis #1-3
Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1-2
Final Crisis: Submit #1
Final Crisis #4-5
Batman #682-683
Final Crisis #6-7

The Entire Reading Order

Billy F. asked:

So is Vandal Savage Cain, or was Cain hiding out in Vandal Savage, or what? I don’t quite understand his situation.

I'm reading it as Cain is possessing Savage via the Mark of Cain.

Does Final Crisis: Resist fit into the greater Final Crisis framework at all?

Yeah, the OMACs show up fighting against the bad guys in Final Crisis #7. Beyond that, it was just a chance for Rucka and Trautmann to wrap up their Checkmate series.

What was the panel that Morrison said DC asked him to add in Final Crisis 7?

He wanted to hint that Batman was not dead, but DC made him make it more explicit.

So, by Wally West believing that the Black Flash and the Black Racer are in fact the same entity, is Grant Morrison claiming that every embodiment of death is just a different version of the same destroyer god? How about Death from the Endless? …actually, there is no way for you to answer this question unless you are Grant Morrison, so…forget it.

Forgotten.

McFly asked:

Who was the character with the monkey hands with Metron in a wheelchair and the guardian?

As seen above, unknown, but the typewriting monkey from Animal Man is a possiblity.

Wasn’t Anthro alive in the DCU? How’s it possible that he died as an old man in prehistory? Or is it another Anthro from a different dimension?

Yeah, with all the various Earths in play, you can read that Anthro as being any number of different Anthros. To wit, what if the Anthro at the end of Final Crisis #7 is on Earth-51? I dunno, I think it is all up in the air.

What happened with the Spectre and the spirit of hope? When did Mandrakk defeated them? Was it supposed to happen in Revelations?

Revelations just sets up each of their respective status quos. They then show up in Final Crisis #7 because everyone gets involved in Final Crisis #7.

Is Mr. Terrific dead?

No.

How exactly did Darkseid’d death worked? Batman killed him, but later Flash and the omega rays over-kill him?

Hehe.

Batman weakens him enough for the other stuff to happen. The Flashes then basically kill him, but this is Darkseid, so he manages to last awhile longer and in fact, when he loses corporeal form, that is almost WORSE, as it begins to tear apart the fabric of the universe.

It’s not exactly Final Crisis, but is a Crisis tie-in: In the two-part episode just after Rip, in Batman’s flashback, the original Kate Kane appears, is she supposed to be a) just a dellusion, b) the same Rucka’s Kate Kane, c) a parallel Kate Kane, d) nothing. It was an error that slipped through the cracks?

Basically A, but of course what it really is a statement about how Kane DID exist before she was wiped out by Crisis.

McFly asked:

What happened to Scott Free and Barda, by the way? Is he dead?

They died, but they might have returned. That remains to be seen, basically.

The Mutt asked:

What I need is a box score. Who is dead? Who is new? How many Earths are there? Has the past been changed? Etc.

Martian Manhunter, Hawkman and Hawkgirl were killed (plus a bunch of various heroes like Empress and Sparx and Negative Woman COULD have been killed, but I believe their deaths were left intentionally vague).

Batman is believed dead and is currently lost in time and space.

The Monitors are all gone, except for Nix Uotan, who remains as the link between the "Over-Monitor" and Earth.

Actually, I honestly do not know how many Earths there now are. My best guess is 52, but we might once again have a limitless multiverse. A big deal is the fact that people now KNOW that the multiverse exists.

The past has not been changed.

McFly asked:

I don’t quite follow Superman Beyond. Could you explain the monitors story to me, please? As I understand, in the beginning there was one monitor, then the imperfection, then parallel earths and the bleed, no? So the monitor created that metallic superman, am I right? So, after that, how did the monitors became a little race (compairing it with the original one), and who was the one that got corrupted and why? That one was the one that get locked behind that door? Then what happened with the other monitor, the one that betrayed Nix Uotan?

And who is the one monitor from the crisis on infinite earths, then?

I'll try to make this as straightforward as I can (it is tough)....

There was once a being, I do not know if he even has a name, but above I call him the "Over-Monitor," so let's go with that. This being discovers the multiverse and sends a probe to explore the multiverse (the Monitor). However, the multiverse is a lot more complex (and quite a bit seductive) than he expected, and the probe was split into two equal and opposite probes, one good one evil, the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor.

The very first one sent by the Over-Monitor was called Dax Novu. There is some debate whether Dax is intended to be the Monitor of Crisis on Infinite Earths. It's possible.

Okay, so as this society of Monitors begins to grow, it slowly becomes apparent to Dax that the Monitors have an almost parasitic (one could call it vampiric) relationship with their respective worlds of the Multiverse. They sort of feed off of the stories of the worlds they monitor. They do not wish to believe him, so they shun him and imprison him "forever." Before they do so, he leaves behind a thought-robot designed to defeat himself if he is ever freed, because he knows that cut off from society that he is going to go mad. Dax slowly descends into madness and becomes Mandrakk, a flat out evil jerk who wants to consume the universe.

Secretly, he gains a disciple named Ogama who bans Nix Uotan to Earth to clear the way for Mandrakk to escape.

The big reveal is that Nix is the son of Dax.

As for the first Monitor - he could be Dax, he could be just one half of the probe and long dead. I think Morrison leaves it intentionally vague.

Aqualad asked:

Aquaman returns in his kingdom’s time of need. Was this a plot point that had been hinted at in some other comic, or was Morrison just making the obvious King Arthur parallel?

The latter.

Also- could you explain Superman Beyond to me? I really didn’t get it, but I can see how important it is to the Final Crisis story.

Basically see above, except to note that Superman uses the "thought-robot" that Dax created and he defeats Mandrakk back in the ether of the multiverse, but Mandrakk survives, along with Ogama and a now vampiric Ultraman to fight again another day (that other day being Final Crisis #7).

Snapper and Rogue both asked previously asked questions (Mutt's quick recap question and Neal K.'s "question" about the reading order, respectively).

Paradox Factor asked:

A timeline would be helpful placing everything. I mean, I’m still not sure if the current Justice Leage of America arc takes place during or after FC. In it, Dr Light is dead, urned into a candle. But Batman is called Bruce by Wonder Woman.

McDuffie's Justice League of America arc does not fit in with Final Crisis. Just a mix-up there.

Also, what was up with teh alternate earth Nazi Supergirl from issue one. She just kinda showed up out of nowhere and was forgoten about until her body was seen in issue 6. Was that ever explaned at all how she got to the main DC earth, what killed her, ect.?

The upheaval in the multiverse basically flung her out of her universe and the trauma of being forcefully expelled from her universe likely killed her, but we do not know for sure what did it to her. We didn't see her because she was in Checkmate custody, as they prepared to do an autopsy on her, as seen in Final Crisis #6. Her expulsion was also the impetus for Overman to join up with the other folks in Superman Beyond, so perhaps Ogama and Mandrakk purposefully killed her to give Overman incentive to go along with them?

BrianC (great name!) asked:

Two questions - Morrison mentioned in his “exit interview” on Newsarama that “Apart from one scene at the end, which I included at DC’s request, and contrary to online rumours, there were no rewrites on Final Crisis.”

Was that the Aquaman scene he alludes to- seemed pretty random, and a good way for DC to never have to publish “Aquaman: Rebirth”.

No, it was the last page where he makes it explicitly clear that Batman is still alive. I expected Morrison to address Batman still being alive, but I'll admit I expected something a bit less clear, and it's good to know that that WAS his original intention, but DC asked him to make it clearer so it could be seen by the cheap seats.

Also, what were they doing to Overman’s cousin? She was being experimented on by Checkmate?

Yep. Just basic autopsy stuff, I think. Those Checkmate folks can be pretty devious sometimes.

AW asked:

Ok so in FC:Resist we see the OMACs activated and whooping ass, but in FC:6 there’s hardly any mention of them at all and it seems like checkmate and Mr. Terrific are in a tough spot yet again! So how do the events of FC: Resist tie in?

Since the OMACs began whooping ass in Antarctica and then traveled all the way to Switzerland, I think it's fair to say that they lost most of them along the way so they only had a few by the time they got back to the Castle. Those few OMACs were used in Final Crisis #7.

David asked:

How was Wonder Woman saved by Frankenstein? Also how did her “binding” Darkseid with her lasso free the three billion people who were under his sway>

It is unclear if he DID save her. But if he DID, it would have something to do with the fact that he was immune to the effects of the morticoccus virus. Honestly, it could be just as simple as "Frankenstein defeated her, allowing the good guys to cure her with an antidote to the morticoccus virus off-panel." I mean, the morticoccus virus was artificially made, and the "good guys" did have some of the greatest mad scientists in the universe on their side, so it's not unreasonable to think that they could come up with a cure for the morticoccus virus, ESPECIALLY since all the villains had been inoculated against it.

But really, the "true" answer is that Morrison leaves how Wonder Woman was freed up to the reader's imagination.

And yeah, her binding of Darkseid freed whatever people were still enslaved.

Chris Buckley asked:

1) the way the happy ending came about, and what it actually means about the “Earth” where the mainstream DCU stories will be set.

Namely: Did the DCU successfully evacuate to a parallel world, leaving New Earth ruined in Darkseid’s wake, or did they manage to restore New Earth itself when Superman wished for a happy ending?

I took it that Checkmate’s alternate-Earth escape hatch “Black Gambit” failed when the graviton bridge collapsed under the Atoms, and that only a handful of Command-D/Bludhaven refugees were successfully transferred, along with the Super Young Team. The abandoned Earth-51 therefore became a new Great Disaster Kirbyverse complete with Kamandi, Forever People and the reborn New Gods. In this reading, New Earth itself was rescued by Superman’s wish. But if that’s the case, why the freezer pops full of DCU survivors?

But in a different reading, the Monitors in their epilogue spoke of a black hole at the base of creation, where Darkseid fell through into void. Since New Earth WAS the base of Creation in the new multiverse, and it was sunk under the weight of Darkseid’s personal singularity, that makes it sound like New Earth was indeed left ravaged in Darkseid’s wake, and Superman’s wish was to make a new home for the survivors of the DCU elsewhere in the multiverse. Hence the freezer pops. But if that’s the case, then where is the new Kirby-world they showed us?

Add to that the confusing use of both “New Earth” and “Earth-0? in the script, and I need some cliff notes!

It's the first one. The Green Lanterns and the Supermen drag New Earth/Earth-O out of the abyss, Superman takes everyone off of it and freezes them, he wishes the Earth back to normal and then they unfreeze everyone and put them back on Earth.

The new Kirby world is where you expected it, the Earth-51 world.

Is Earth-0 just what we’re calling New earth after Final Crisis, or are they separate places? Whatever it’s called, do DC Comics still take place on the world once known as “New Earth,” or did we just get a change of address notice?

I don't think we know yet if they're going to call it Earth-O, New Earth or just "Earth." But yeah, they're all the same.

2) Where was this Sonny Sumo from?

The talk about him being from a parralel universe confused me. Was this, somehow, the Earth-51 Sonny who escaped back into New Earth after his world’s great disaster? Or was this the original Kirby Sonny who had escaped back to the present from his medieval Omega Sanction back in the original Forever People?

Yes, this is Earth 51 Sonny Sumo.

3) The generations, and family connections, of the Monitors
We had the original COIE Monitor.
Then we had a reconstituted “race” of Monitors after 52, around whom narratives “crystallized,” giving them individuality.

We also have the mythological Monitors:
-Dax Novu (is HE meant to be the original COIE Monitor?), and
-Mandrakk (apparently the shadow side of Dax Novu, so are they BOTH aspects of the original COIE Monitor?)

In the 52 generation, we have:
-Prime Monitor Tahoteh (Is HE the original COIE Monitor?! What Earth does he monitor?)
-Monitor Ogama (He’s bad, and in league with Mandrakk. Is he “Bob?” What Earth does he monitor?)
-Nix Uotan (Earth-51. Exiled to New Earth/Earth-0. The “son” of Mandrakk…? If so, then also of Dax Novu?!)
-Weeja Dell (His main squeeze. What Earth does she monitor?)
-Zillo Valla (the vampire Monitress. What Earth does she Monitor?)

But the big question is the relationship between our original COIE Monitor, and the Dax/Mandrakk Monitors. Is the Mandrakk reveal a bigger deal than it seemed, because he was actually the original Monitor from 1985?

The Crisis on Infinite Earths Monitor either died as we saw him in Crisis or he was Dax.

Either reading can be justified. Morrison left it intentionally vague. I like it better as Dax being the Crisis Monitor.

As for that other stuff, I don't believe we've been given answers to any of that particular stuff, except Ogama and Zillo Valla, who monitored the Vampire Batman world and the Dark Knight Returns world, respectively (that was a nice little touch having Ogama actually monitoring a vampire world, making him much more susceptible to falling prey to a vampiric being like Mandrakk).

ticknart asked:

Who killed Hawkman and Hawkgirl?
Does this mean there are no more Hawks in the DCU?

Lord Eye, basically.

So Maxwell Lord killed Blue Beetle and his brainwaves killed Hawkman and Hawkgirl!!! Bummer!!

And no, there will certainly be more Hawks. Morrison goes out of his way to play up the fact that the Hawks resurrect

Rob asked:

If Bruce Wayne was put through the “Omega” Experience when he was shot by Darkseid’s rays, who was the body that Superman was holding. Apparently, the rays make a person live the darkest moments of their lives as they could have been. People are physically transferred to these events and it looks like they disappear. The events are supposed to be so bad that they wind up dying. There was a body left behind: who was it? Bruce Wayne apparently survived this: how?

Likely this will be explained when Morrison returns to Batman in June (likely not IN June, but somewhere in his run).

And yes, the Omega Sanction does that to normal people, but Batman is not normal, hence him surviving.

And as I mentioned before, with everything going on (including just having been shot), I think it's fair to say the Omega Sanction had odd effects this time around, namely a corpse being left behind.

On another subject:

Why did Barry have to return? Was he outrunning the god-of-death into Darkseid and that is how the big bad is defeated? I thought Batman shot him with a hyper-time-bullet or something? Or did Wonder Woman bind Darkseid and the magic lasso took him out? I don’t understand why it had to be Barry, AND how Darkseid actually died.

The "gods" released Barry because they needed someone to bring the Black Racer to Darkseid. Well, if you're going to release someone from the Black Racer, you need someone who is not going to just get caught by the Black Racer right away, right? So that's why they chose Barry - he literally was outrunning death.

As for who killed Darkseid - Batman shoots him and weakens him enough that the Flashes are able to get close to him, which basically kills him as a corporeal being. While holding on to the corporeal body, though, Wonder Woman binds him and breaks the bond he had over however many billions of humans. Finally, as a non corporeal being, he is ultimately vanquished by Superman.

For a dude as evil as Darkseid, you needed a LOT of people to stop him, in this case, you needed possibly the four most famous superheroes in the DC Universe (them and Ambush Bug would be the Top Five).

Rob also asked:

The original Crisis was about condensing infinite worlds into one.

Infinite Crisis was about expanding the amount of worlds into at least 52.

What was Final Crisis’ overarching story about? Was it to end the works of Jack Kirby in the DCU? Did it expand or condense the amount of worlds in the multi-verse?

Final Crisis was about expanding the multiverse and getting rid of the Monitors, basically "freeing" the stories of the DC Universe from those who want to suck the life and joy out of them.

Angus asked:

How did Black Lightning know the sigil that he showed to the Tattooed Man (who showed it to the Ray, who put it on the Earth)?

Unknown, as Black Lightning never got a chance to explain where he got it from before he was captured by the Justifiers.

Let's say he got it from....hmmmm....Moe.

muffinpeddlar asked a whooooooooole lot of questions:

just read to try not to repeat questions. Lots of people seem to share my Mandrakk confusion.
Morrison has a history of fiction about fiction. The limbo in Superman Beyond seems to be the same one from Animal Man. That being said, do the monitors represent writers? Is Mandrakk a “dark writer” writing the end to everything, but since Superman is so pure he is able to defy the writer and make it a happy ending?

Most likely, yes.

They say that Frankenstein was important because he was immune to Morticoccus, a disease that steals super-powers. But no one seemed to have lost their powers at all.

Snapper Carr lost his powers in Final Crisis: Resist! But yeah, for the most part, we didn't see many people lose their powers. My best guess is that for a story with this much story to be packed in, they felt it wasn't worth showing the people withOUT powers.

How can Catwoman be a justifier when it took her “months” to recover from Hush taking her heart, even though “Heart of Hush” is directly before R.I.P?

I would say "time distortion" (which fits here unlike Justice League of America), but really, it was just a mix-up on Paul Dini's part. I doubt he was particularly following Final Crisis closely.

Dr. Light is killed during Final Crisis. How can his remains be central to what seems like a pre-crisis JLA arc?

Mix-up on the part of Justice League of America.

Did the Supermen and the GL Corps literally rebuild the earth? How is that possible?

They just dragged the Earth back from the abyss. Superman rebuilt the world with the Miracle Machine. It is possible because the machine does miracles.

Were Green Arrow and Black Canary supposed to have died?

They looked close to death, but they were most likely saved after they passed out and were then revived.

When Darkseid fell through time, did he land during or around Infinite Crisis? That would account for 7 Soldiers and with the Dark Side Club being on earth for two years and make some sense with countdown.

Sounds about right, time-wise.

When did Boss Dark Side die? Did i miss it?

Between issues #1 and #2 of Final Crisis.

How exactly did Barry Allen return to life?

If there is any "exact" explanation for how he came back, I'm sure we will learn it in Flash: Rebirth. For now, his return was anything but exact.

Are Manos and Menos dead?

I think this was left intentionally vague. If no one wants to ever use them again, yes. If someone wants to use them again, no, they were just knocked out.

Why is Mirror Master working for Libra? In Rogues Revenge he’s dead set against it.

Rogues' Revenge is set after he worked for Libra. Presumably he had a change of heart.

What the hell is Command D?

It's where Darkseid's minions do experiments on people and animals.

Why does everyone act like they barely know the New Gods? Some of them were JLA members.

Some of the Justice League DO barely know the New Gods.

But yeah, that was a retcon Morrison wanted for Final Crisis, that while the New Gods still did interact with the Justice League (and they don't say otherwise in Final Crisis #1), they were seen as a lot more distant than, say, Lightray palling around with Blue Beetle.

When and why was Earth 51 destroyed? Was that in countdown?

Yeah, that was in Countdown.

That was one of the plot points that Countdown DID set up nicely for Morrison and Final Crisis.

It was destroyed by Monarch and Super(boy? man?) Prime and was replaced by a new Earth-51, which was then decimated by a virus.

Are the monitors messed up because story has entered their world? Zillo Valla says “Time has entered our timeless world. Beginnings and Endings.”

They are messed up because they're obsessed with stories, yeah.

Why did Anthro get transported to Kamandi’s world? Why was it never touched on after issue 1?

He didn't, that was Nix Uotan manipulating the multiverse, allowing Kamandi to visit Anthro in #1 and Dan Turpin in #2 in a failed attempt to avert Final Crisis.

Just explain everything with Superyoung Team. They confuse me.

They're just a team of young Japanese heroes. That's really it.

Did Nix Uotan ever find the “Magic word that would take him home?” What was it?

Yeah, it was "Weeja," the name of the woman he loved.

Why is Bludhaven around? Didn’t Monarch turn it into a crater?

It still basically is a crater, just a crater that still houses Command D.

How is Superman keeping Lois’ heart beating with heat vision?

When he says "heat vision," he means "infra-ray vision." People often conflate infra-rays with heat anyways.

In any event, Superman is using his infra-ray vision to massage her heart, keeping it beating.

Mary Marvel infected Wonder Woman with some kind of disease. Was that Morticoccus?

Yes.

“Darkseid is sitting at the center of a personal singularity.” Okay….that means what?

In this sense, think of a singularity like a black hole. So Darkseid existing (when he was intended to be dead) is like a black hole existing in one person in the middle of the Multiverse, which is why it is causing so much havoc in the Multiverse.

How did the GL Corps wind up in the bleed in issue 6?

They fell into the bleed at the end of Final Crisis #5.

Can the panels in issue 7 be put into a chronological order?

Yes.

So are the New Gods on Earth 51?

Yes.

Sylar Wesker asked:

OKay after re-reading some teases and interviews this is what I need to know:

1) DC #0, how does that show Darkseid falling through the Multiverse? I mean honestly, unless you read that somewhere else in a Morrison interview, how were supposed to know that?

There is a drawing of a dude who looks like Darkseid "falling" through the pages. There are even "gaps" in the pages where the dude "falls through."

2) All this hype about Libra, yet nothing explains (a) how he was immune to the Spectre? (b) There were interviews where Grant said “What’s going on under mask will be revealed (ALL STAR GRANT MORRISON I: Final Crisis, Comic Book Resources, April 15, 2008)” yet we get some origin that seemed rushed, and not in the main series nonetheless. Does that mean there was a a GRANDER scheme or idea for him? I mean what about that JLA #21 reference of him being an alien warlord?

A. Yep, you're right, that was never explained. Libra will likely return, so we may learn then!

B. No, no grander scheme, besides Libra's likely return in the future!

3) THose comics with the SIGHTINGS were supposed to have a connection somehow right? in “DC Nation” #110 thats what they said, yet I think only one was tied in.

Yeah, that was a mix-up by DC. They dropped the SIGHTINGS thing soon afterward, right? Justice League of America #21 was pretty big, though, as it featured the Human Flame.

4) What about all that information the Final Crisis scrap book provided?

They came up with more ideas than they ended up using in the project, yes.

5) Granny Goodness was in a fat black lady, then a green lantern, and then back in a black lady right?

Not in Final Crisis, she wasn't.

6) What happened to Infinity Man? Where does he fit into all this? And the SOurce, has a personality in DOtNG but none in FC?

As mentioned above, Death of the New Gods does not really fit in with Final Crisis, besides the basic "all the New Gods died" part.

7) Gog of the 3rd world had no influence in FC? Why not?

Morrison did not want to use Gog of the 3rd world in this story, likely as Geoff Johns and Alex Ross were doing plenty with him in Justice Society of America.

8 ) What about all the other gods? Why weren’t they involved?

The other gods began to get involved at the end of Final Crisis #7. If things got worse, they might have ALL had to get involved. Luckily, it did not get to that point.

9) That Aquaman scene seem to come from nowhere, why?

To return an old school, unencumbered by continuity Aquaman to the DC Universe.

10) All this hype about Barry Allen coming back, yet all he really did was runaway from the Black Racer. And that is the grand re-entrance that will displace Wally? Please tell me there was supposed to be more?

He was the only one who COULD run away from the Black Racer and not get caught.

And yes, there will be a whole mini-series written by Geoff Johns explicitly detailing the changeover from Wally to Barry (if that is what happens at all).

11) How is this what Grant said “The final fate of the multiverse”? It seemed like just another Darkseid story.

Is this even a question?

In any event, this got rid of the Monitors (it was THEIR "Final Crisis") and returned the multiverse of old, thereby giving what Morrison would term "the final fate of the multiverse."

12) Wasn’t the first page supposed to have Anthro and the last page have Kamandi? What happened there?

Morrison changed his mind.

13) If there was a war in heaven, and evil won, how/why did Darkseid fall from heaven? Does that mean then that good really won? Or is his defeat in FC #7 the event that made him fall to begin with and heaven was on Earth where he was reborn after Orion killed him a 2nd time…

Evil won by Darkseid escaping death, forestalling the creation of the Fifth World.

14) What exactly is the Anti-Monitor’s connection then to the Monitors?

He was one-half (the evil half) of the original probe that the Over-Monitor sent into the Multiverse.

Since he is apart from the following group of Monitors, when they ceased to exist, he remained, thereby allowing future Geoff Johns stories to be told.

Rob R. asked:

Will this really be the “final” crisis? At least for the next year or so?

That's the thing about the title, this IS the final crisis - for the monitors. As for the heroes of Earth, if you view "Crisis" as having to do with restructuring the multiverse, then this likely WILL be the last crisis for the foreseeable future.

capt__proton asked:

I have two very straight and simple question:

1) What happened to the New Gods and the Forever People of New Genesis? Why couldn’t or didn’t they appear in the main narrative? Why was it that Darkseid and all of his cast/minions (i.e. Kalibak, Granny Goodness, Desaad, etc.) were are able to inhabit host bodies, but the audience never saw the New Gods of the ‘Fifth World’?

They all died.

As mentioned earlier, only Darkseid escaped - his minions exist only as aspects of Darkseid himself.

We will meet the New Gods of the Fifth World now that the Fifth World was allowed to come into existence.

2) What was the role of Mister Miracle in Final Crisis? If he could overcome the Omega Sanction placed on him in ‘Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle’ Miniseries, presumably as a result of discovering the Life-Equation/ the ‘Source’, then what need would Mister Miracle have for Metron’s symbol?

I only ask because in the Final Crisis Skectchbook, there were a ton of illustrations of the New Gods, and then the only time we get to see them is in a single panel in the last issue.

Mister Miracle was fine HIMSELF, but he wanted to help the people of Earth, as well.

And as for the sketches, those never got used as Morrison and Jones came up with more ideas than they had room to use.

Dave asked:

Related to the Final Crisis sketchbook, what was the point of devoting it almost entirely to characters that never actually appeared or were alluded to in the series itself, such as the redesigned versions of Desaad, Granny Goodness and the Forever People (like Big Bear with a Darkseid T-Shirt,) not to mention the Japanese heroes like Ultimon, Cosmo Racer, Boss Bosozuko, Hammersuit Zero-X and basically anybody in this book that wasn’t Mister Miracle, Darkseid, Turpin, Libra, or the Super Young Team?

I mean, were these character supposed to be featured at one point, and Morrison had to write them out, or did he just sell a book largely consisting of sketches and biographies for characters he never actually intended on using?

It was as it was advertised, a sketchbook that they came up with. In fact, BECAUSE they did not end up having room for these characters that they spent time designing thinking of, they likely figured it made sense to share these ideas and characters with people through a different format.

In addition, while these ideas and characters did not make it into Final Crisis, they likely will all be factors in future appearances of said characters, especially the Japanese Heroes (who will be starring in their own Joe Casey-penned Final Crisis Aftermath mini-series!).

mentalpatient asked:

Did the GLs spend the better part of the second half of the series perpetually flying towards Earth, only to be summoned at the end by Nix Uoton?

They basically were stuck in a holding pattern from the end of #5 to the end of #7, but they seemed to free themselves on their own by my reading.

I agree with a who’s who of the monitors is needed.

Here's a who's who of the Monitors that you need to know in Final Crisis:

Over-Monitor - The dude who got everything going.

Monitor/Anti-Monitor - Two halves of a probe the Over-Monitor sent into the Multiverse to study it. One became good, the other became evil. The Anti-Monitor is still running around somewhere.

Weeja Dell - Nix's love, and the way he was able to access his powers on Earth.

Zillo Valla - Lover of Mandrakk (mother of Nix?).

Rox Ogama - The evil Monitor who organized Nix's banishment and who later serves Mandrakk.

There's some other ones, but their names are unimportant (incompetent leader #1, incompetent leader #2, etc.).

I also don’t see how Frankenstein was able to heal WW. By having her get bitten by a huge dog?

It is not explained, but you know what's interesting? Remember when I mentioned that they likely just gave her an antidote off panel? Wouldn't it be kinda cool if the "huge dog" (looks like Fenris to me) was the delivery system for the antidote? You know, like they knew conventional needles might not work, so they used a dog's bite to deliver the antidote! That would be cool, and that really establishes what "really" happened, which was that Morrison left it up to the reader's imagination to determine exactly how Wonder Woman was cured.

Why is it that when Batman shot Darkseid, the bullet didn’t go back in time? Was it because when Darkseid was shown shooting the gun, it was at the Flashes? Did the Flashes send the bullet through time and accidentally kill Orion?

It was Darkseid who caused the bullet to travel through time, so Batman shooting it wouldn't do anything (time-wise).

The scene in #1 with Kamandi and Anthro (whose identity I only know because of the internet) still needs to be explained to me.

Multiverse fluctuation by Nix Uotan allowed Kamandi to show up to warn Anthro in #1 and Dan Turpin in #2.

I concur with the artist breakdown.

See above.

Not that I expect an answer from this, but I would like to know how much of the story was changed in progress (which has to have happened; see @Sylar Wesker #12) as well as how much is attributed to Jones leaving the book.

Morrison says he only changed one thing (the Batman page).

Time will tell if that is the whole story.

Grico asked:

Just some basic:

So Libra was just the one-shot Libra villian from an old Justice League issue? Did we get any clarification of where he was during that time or was working on being reconstituted the whole time? How exactly did he fit with any idea of balance when Darkseid seemed to want total victory for evil? What important role did Libra have other than distracting people a bit while Darkseid and friends got reconstituted in human bodies?

Yes, that was the same Libra. Len Wein wrote a story in Final Crisis: Secret Files explaining how Libra hooked up with Darkseid. I believe his "balance" take was that Darkseid is so powerful he overpowers the very idea of balance.

So I am right in the Human Flame doing nothing after getting Martian Manhunter killed?

Yep.

Now he will be running for his life from heroes looking for revenge.

Do we have any indication of time/history changing or should we just see this as a point in history where bad things happened but everything got restored to normal afterwards?

Yeah, the latter option.

I feel like the delay in issues really killed my ability to follow what was going on besides the general themes and general plot. I’m going to read everything sequentially with the tie-ins included in one sitting once I get the time.

Okay.

See the above reading orders to see what order to read them in!

CharlyAR asked:

What happened to Batman?

Lost in time and space.

What happened to Darkseid?

He died.

Who or what was Libra?

He is basically just Darkseid's agent on Earth.

Why did Superman “sing” some note?

To achieve the perfect pitch to counteract the multiverse vibrational waves that Darkseid was existing on (Darkseid's last grasp at avoiding death).

What is the Omega Sanction?

This power of Darkseid, it has unpredictable qualities to it, but mostly it transports people through time and space (usually killing the person it zaps)

What’s going on with the monitors? Why were they like vampires? Where do you find information about them? The last time I saw them, they were fighting Monarch (Captain Atom)??? I don’t understand anything about Superman Beyond.

The Monitors secretly have been feeding on the worlds they are monitoring, parasite/vampire-style. Superman Beyond explains it all, and I explained Superman Beyond above.

What is the bleed? Where is Captain Atom?

The Bleed is just another term for the multiverse.

I am pretty sure Captain Atom's whereabouts are unknown at the moment.

What did Batman mean when he said to Kraken “he has a nice punch” or something like that in the beggining of Final Crisis?

Batman noticed the imprint of John's ring on Kraken's hand, which allowed him to realize that it was Kraken who assaulted John. His remark about John having a nice right hook shows that he knows that John managed to punch her before she took him down.

What did just happen with Vandal Savage history? He was a cromagnon man. Now is something related with the bible?

One interpretation is that Savage is considered to have been the original Cain of the Bible, but I don't think that's definitive. Feel free to just view him as you always have.

What finnaly happened with the New Gods?

The New Gods of the Fifth World appear at the end of Final Crisis. We shall see what they are in the future.

And above everything: Is there a “final” COHERENT read order with ties-in? I mean, I still don’t know what happened with Aquaman, Wonder Woman, the Atoms, and half the DCU…

The tie-in reading order I give you above works decently, but not perfectly.

Only the Morrison-written comics really read together coherently.

Even there, certain aspects of the comic are left to the reader's imagination (or future writers) to fill in what happens.

Chris Jones asked:

Are ALL of the Monitors parasites, or just a few of them? It seemed like it was just a really small group that was feeding off of the Multiverse in Superman Beyond.

They all are, some of them are just more aggressive than others. Ogama, Zillo Valla and Mandrakk being the main "culprits."

muffinpeddlar asked:

I just read that Mary Marvel was posessed by Desaad. Did anybody catch that? and if we’re blaming her “dark streak” on Desaad, how do you explain countdown, and the current JSA arc?

Yeah, Final Crisis #5 hints that Desaad is possessing her and Final Crisis #6 confirms it. Morrison seems to suggest that he wanted that to fully explain her actions (again, with Countdown just not matching up to what he wanted very well).

However, as of right this very second it appears as though, based on her Justice Society of America appearances, she was already "bad" when Desaad took control of her body. HOWEVER, the Justice Society of America arc just began, so we don't know for sure what will happen there. It could all be a ruse of some kind.

looseleaf asked:

A timeline / reading order would really help -I only read the main series and it didn’t make a lick of sense…

See above.

Matt asked:

Why was Black Adam so weak against evil Mary Marvel and how could his gods be ‘far away’ like he stated and why would that even matter?

Likely, fluctuations with the multiverse are affecting Black Adams's attachments to his gods. It is admittedly left vague.

Did Final Crisis happen at the same time as Reign in Hell or is there another reason the DCU magic users weren’t seen much (if at all) during FC?

They might have been at the same time. Besides that, a number of magic-users did show up, and it is likely that if things got worse, more would have showed up (a la the Pax Dei).

Myskin asked:

1-Who is the hodded monkey-shape guy who talks to Nix Uotan in #5? Perhaps the type-writing monkey who wrote the Book Of Limbo?

It is kept vague, but besides Himon, the typewriting monkey is the next best guess (or possibly THE best guess, depending on your viewpoint). It certainly would explain how he knows so much about the power of stories.

2-In #7, Montoya is travelling through the Multiverse to collect the Supermen. Does that mean that the earth Ultima Thule was abandoned on - at the end of Superman Beyond 2 - is Earth-51 (where is recovered by Montoya)?

That sounds correct.

3- What’s the PRECISE timeline of Kamandi? In #1, Anthro sees him through a Miracle Machine graffiti - induced hallucination (doesn’t he?). But in #2, He is among the imprisoned guys in Bludhaven, and in #7 he makes some strange comments about a vision he had in a Bunker In addition: which vision is he talking about?. Which earth does Kamandi originally come from?

He is manifesting throughout time via fluctuations in the multiverse courtesy of Nix Uotan. So his timeline is anything but precise. As to what Earth, presumably Earth-51.

Sprout asked:

Is Earth 51 the Earth where all the Kirby 70s DC Comics (Fourth World, Kamandi, OMAC) happened ?

Basically, yes.

olokin asked:

Is Final Crisis the first appearance of the god killing radion?

No, it's from Kirby's Fourth World comics.

How was Wonder Woman turned to thralldom?

Anti-Life Equation, same as everyone else.

suedenim asked:

When the anti-life equation was first unleashed on Earth’s communications networks, the series of tubes, etc., what exactly determined who fell to it and who didn’t? Was it pure chance? Making a saving throw against willpower? (If simply being heavily-networked made you vulnerable, for example, you’d think Oracle and Checkmate would be the first to go, not the last.)

Length of exposure.

People who were "trapped" (like those shown in airplanes and subway stations) were screwed. If you could quickly tune out, you were saved. Oracle helped save a great deal of the world by "killing the net" at the end of Final Crisis #3. Even then, just a glimpse almost turned Oracle.

After that, it was just zombie style. If you got caught by an infected person, they would try to infect you.

(Oh, and speaking of that, what happened with Sasha Bordeaux after the Crisis was over?)

The notion was that she cut herself off so that she would not be enthralled to Darkseid. However, Mr. Terrific needed her to reboot to use her connections to the Checkmate computers, thus infecting her with the Anti Life Equation. She shut down again and if she ever woke up, she'd be infected with the Anti-Life Equation.

Since a cure was found, she is likely okay whenever she reboots.

We see later that a few people (and apparently *only* a *very* few, like Nix Uotan) were completely “immune” to anti-life, so that’s not it.

Agreed.

The Kize asked:

I’d like to echo the previous question(s) about the meeting between Anthro and Kamandi in issue #1.

Kamandi echoed through time via multiverse fluctuations courtesy of Nix Uotan.

Also, Morrison said in a pre-Final Crisis interview that his story would explain what the red skies were that appear during every DCU crisis. Was this explanation given in Final Crisis, and if so, what was it?

It is the "Bleed" from Warren Ellis' Authority, which is now part of the DC Universe, so Morrison is tying that to the DC Multiverse.

When the Multiverse is out of whack, the bleed is visible and the bleed is red (as you would imagine).

Ryan Frank asked:

Wow…thank you for attempting this; I share the confusion on most of these, and here are a few more (sometimes slight variations on prior ones) that are confusing the heck out of me:

1) At the end of the story, have the Monitors ceased to exist or have they all been changed into humans like Nix Uotan? If they’re all humans, I’m not sure why Weeja Dell would be acting like she was saying a Final Goodbye to Nix Uotan. Is Nix Uotan a human now, or does he still have the Vykin-like identity and powers?

They're all humans except for Nix, who still has his connection to the Over-Monitor.

2) How does Morrison’s conception of the Monitors fit in with their very-different portrayal in Countdown?

Basically, it doesn't.

Again, Countdown was meant to tie in to Final Crisis, not the other way around. However, due to the impracticality of writing a year-long comic well before the book it is intended to tie into, there were some contradictions. I would say that the Final Crisis conception would be the overriding one.

3) How does Morrison’s conception of the Monitors address the Anti-Monitor? You could say he’s just the Monitor of the anti-matter universe, but that doesn’t seem to fit in the Earths 0-51 scheme and it doesn’t seem likely that the other Monitors would accept one in their ranks whose goal was to destroy the rest of the Orrery. Was he erased from existence/turned into a human at the end as well? If so, how does that square with him being the power source for the Black Lanterns?

The Anti-Monitor was created before the rest of the Orrery, and he exists on a separate plane of existence than the rest of the Orrery and he remained around when they all vanished.

And most importantly…
4) Quoting from DC Universe 0, by Morrison and Johns (meaning that here we’re not talking about “it’ll set the direction of the DCU for years to come” marketing hype, we’re talking about in-story words by Final Crisis’ own author or at least written by Johns with Morrison’s presumed consent): “The first Crisis brought death to nearly all of creation. One lone universe was spared. A second crisis witnessed the resurrection of 52 new parallel universes. And so begins the Final chapter in the saga of the multiple earths. The Final Crisis.” Building off of Rob’s question about the overall multiple-earths story, how was this “the Final chapter in the saga of the multiple earths”? It must be in there somewhere and I’m just not finding it in the story, but how is the multiverse status quo different after Final Crisis than before it? You could maybe point to the removal of the Monitors (and a side question on that: if the Monitors are gone and their goal is to prevent an overabundance of travel between universes because that could cause another Crisis, as said in Countdown, wouldn’t their absence mean that the multiverse is now in imminent danger of collapse?) but, since the Monitors were only introduced as part of the buildup to Final Crisis, I have a hard time seeing their absence as a result of Final Crisis to be a real change in the status quo. It doesn’t really seem like it changed anything.

The first Crisis basically ended the Multiverse.

Infinite Crisis brought it back.

This Crisis effectively reversed the first Crisis.

It is the final chapter in the Multiverse (as much as anything is the "final" anything) because it re-establishes the DC Universe as it existed prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Effectively, all of the stories of the DC Universe are now "free" to be used.

Francisco Gonzalez asked:

Issue 1: Tatooedman takes Turpin to the Dark Side Club and later is part of the resistance. What’s his relation to Darkseid????

None. Tattoed Man is just working as a typical bad guy for a gangster (he didn't know said gangster was Darkseid in human flesh).

Kamandi comes (and goes) to Anthro for the weapon that Metron gave him against the gods. What was the point of this???? What does Kamandi does with it????

Presumably tried to give it to people at later dates to help stop Darkseid.

Submit: How did Black Lightning got the drawing of Metron’s mark????

Since Lightning is captured before he can tell anyone, the answer is unknown. A very likely theory is that Lightning was also visited by Kamandi with the sigil.

Superman Beyond 2: ?????????? A robot Superman with the conscience of the real one???? The Tomb????

Yeah, that was the robot that Dax built to defeat himself. It looks like Superman because Superman is, meta-fictionally, the first superhero story, and that has a lot of power in the world of the Monitors.

Issue 6: Lord Eye. Is this just a gratuitous remaking of Kirby’s OMAC or it did have any importance?

More likely it is just a fleeting idea, but it very well might show up in future stories of the Checkmate characters.

A cool re-design of Darkseid just to show him here wearing jeans and a fat belly?

Yes.

How was Wonder Woman liberated?

We do not know for sure. Possibly Frankenstein. Possibly the Ray.

Issue 7: The whole issue. Lord Eye and the Atoms. The Hawks. Where and why is Mr. Terrific.

He got transported to Earth-51 with the rest of the Checkmate folks.

Was the Earth shrunk, transported or re-made????

The second and third options.

Whose corpse was Superman carring if Batman is in the past????

We do not know yet. Morrison is back on Batman in June. We may learn then.

MRUDY asked:

Could you please provide the current status of the of those who took part or where effected by Final Crisis, specifically who at the end of this crisis is dead, missing, incapacitated, sent to a parallel world, etc . . .

Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter are dead.

Batman is lost in time and space.

The New Gods have returned to the Fifth World.

We shall see what became of the members of Checkmate.

HammerHeart asked:

Can somebody explain how the hell Superman was keeping Lois alive with his vision powers? I know it was Grant’s wafer-thin justification for keeping him out of the conflict until the climax, but HOW exactly did that work?

Infra-ray vision massaging her heart.

How are readers who only read “Final Crisis” (and none of the spinoffs) supposed to know who Mandrakk was when he appeared on the last issue?

Basically, you're not. Superman Beyond is "necessary" for the full story. That is why it is included in the Final Crisis hardcover, as it is part of Final Crisis proper.

sgt.pepper asked:

I would also like to know who Libra was. And if your answer is “the Anti-life equation personified,” then I want a better one. What the heck does that mean exactly and how did it happen?

Final Crisis: Secret Files gives his origin. He is basically just a super-powered guy who becomes an agent for Darkseid on Earth.

I think I know the answer the to this, and I’m not sure it matters in the grand scheme of things, but I’d like to know exactly when that Anthro meets Kamandi scene was supposed to be taking place.

In the past for Anthro, likely the future for Kamandi. Kamandi is appearing to Anthro as a sort of temporal vision.

And for that matter, is Anthro’s world just the past of Earth 0 (or whatever the regular DC universe earth is called), or is it another universe entirely? Is Kamandi from the future of Earth 0 or is he in a different universe entirely. And how does if they’re all from different universes, how does it make sense that they all would meet up? These things aren’t really necessary for understanding the series, but I’m curious as to how they would all line up.

It is unclear which world everyone is on, except to note that Kamandi likely is now, at least, on Earth-51.

As to how they would meet up, it was all through fractures in the multiverse. As for the odds, you could suggest the same higher beings who let the Flash loose had something to do with it.

Did the Zoo Crew actually do anything in that final showdown? Would the result have been the same if Nix hadn’t summoned them?

No, they were likely just there in case they were needed.

Nix there was basically just trying to come up with whatever he could to scare Mandrakk into backing down.

Also, why were Zauriel and the Pax Dei summoned? I don’t see them actually doing anything on panel. Would the end result have been the same if they hadn’t shown up? Was it just an intimidation thing?

Yeah, it was an intimidation thing.

Here’s another: is there any significance to the specific universes that each monitor supposedly monitored? For example, I’ve read some people argue that some monitor and his monitored earth was supposed to be a comment on Frank Miller’s affect on the DC universe. Any truth to this? Are there any other monitors that offer some kind of meta comment like this? For example, was Weeja Dell supposed to be the monitor of the Marvel Universe? Is her final conversation with Nix supposed to be some kind of meta conversation between the Big Two?

I would not be surprised if there was intended to be some meta-commentary there (and Weeja Dell sure does work as a Marvel character, doesn't she?), but it is not explicit in the text.

MarkMc asked:

“Final Crisis” is supposedly the culmination of a chain of events that started way back when Jean Loring took a walk on Sue Dibny’s brain in “Identity Crisis,” isn’t it? That series ended with Batman unsure of how Jean was motivated to do the deed, wondering “Who profits?” Was it Eclipso, manipulating a new potential host? Was it Darkseid, able to direct a simple incident that led to the creation of 52 entire universes (as more fuel for Anti-Life perhaps?) It was through his eyes that Al Luthor saw an escape from the collapse of the Anti-Monitor, problem being it ran through Apokalips, and decided better to hide in the crystal universe. Can all these event series of the past five years be tied together with Darkseid as the prime mover? Way back in COIE, He did choose not to take part in the battles, perhaps realizing an opportunity for a long-range plan.

Could be!

Unlikely (as I don't believe Grant Morrison viewed Final Crisis as the culimination of a chain of events that started way back when Jean Loring took a walk on Sue Dibney's brain in "Identity Crisis"), but surely possible!

What the hell is on Earth-1? The original Silver versions of the DCU?

I don't believe it has been established as of yet.

Dan Larkin asked:

Are the Super Young Team the “Forever People of the 5th World”?

It certainly appears that way, doesn't it?

But I think that's intended by Morrison to be left to later writers to make explicit.

Gimp asked:

I’m interested in an examination of every Final Crisis plot point that was lifted by Countdown. For instance:

* Mary Marvel turns evil… because of Darkseid!
* There are 52 Monitors and they are evolving at a rapid rate!
* Orion: Killed by Darkseid!
* Earth-51: Destroyed, then turned into Kamandi-world!
* A war devastates Apokalypse!
* There is an evil Monitor!

It’s possible that Morrison actually revised bits of Final Crisis/Superman Beyond to reflect Countdown, but I’m sure most of it was the other way around.

That sounds about right. And yeah, I also am sure that Morrison is unlikely to have changed any of his bits to match Countdown. I think he was diametrically opposed to such an idea.

Ryan Frank asked:

I’d also join in the call for a coherent reading sequence for FC #7. I think most of my difficulties in deciphering the plot of that issue came from trying to piece together the chronology.

You guys are going to be the death of me!

All right, all right, I'll put the issue into chronological order. Note that this likely will sound a lot more complicated than it really was, but fair enough, if you want it, you got it!

Pages 8-12

Roughly the same time - Pages 14, 15 and the bottom panel of 16 and Page 18, bottom four panels of 19, middle panel of 20, middle panel of 21.

Pages 5-7, top of 16, top of 19, Page 13, Top and Bottom Panels of page 20, Bottom Panel of Page 21.

Around that same time, Pages 1-4, All But the Last Panel of Page 17

Pages 22-35, with likely the Top Panel of Page 21 and the Last Panel of Page 17 taking place around the time of Page 30.

Pages 36 and 37 are of indeterminate time. Likely Pre-Historic Past, but who knows?

sgt pepper asked:

Did Darkseid use the bullet that Batman shot at him to fire back in time to shoot Orion (I’m guessing yes—was this what Superman meant when he told Darkseid it was suicide? That firing the bullet into the past would guarantee that Batman would find it and would then use it against him? And if so, could Darkseid have chosen not to fire the bullet, and what would the results of that decision have been?)? So Darkseid got the bullet from Batman, and Batman got the bullet from Darkseid (from the past)? So where did the bullet come from in the first place? What about the gun? Did Batman build the gun that Darkseid eventually fired?

It really depends on what your particular theory of time travel is, isn't it? Some say he could choose not to fire it, some say he would not be able to avoid it.

Why was Barry Allen necessary? If Darkseid was dying, wouldn’t the Black Racer have come after him even if the Flash hadn’t led him there (Batman and Superman found Darkseid, but Death couldn’t?)? And why would the Black Racer stop chasing Barry just because Darkseid got in the way? Wouldn’t Death continue after Barry once Darkseid was dispatched?

Darkseid avoided the Black Racer already, so the "gods" needed someone to bring the Black Racer to him, and the only guy who could outrun the Black Racer would be Barry.

And Death was apparently sated with just the one "person who should be dead" meal.

How did the Japanese heroes get to that final battle with all the Supermen? And why are they there at all? What purpose do they serve in that final battle? They’re not supposed to be the Forever People from the 5th world summoned by Nix are they? The Japanese heroes actually show up before Nix summons the Forever people with the word, “Taaru.”

Looks like they are intended to be the Forever People of the 5th World. Note that no one else gets summoned when he says it, so he's likely just saying what he had just done.

What is the significance of the Green Lantern cymbal monkey? Whose ring created it and what is it doing there?

I believe it is just Granny Goodness' bizarre sense of humor. Note that it is not just a monkey, but a monkey dressed as a Guardian. She is mocking the Guardians as she uses one of their "infallible" weapons of truth to assault an honored member of the Green Lantern Corps.

In issue two, when Kraken momentarily regains control of her mind, she says “Tell them our weapons don’t work.” Who is “them” and what weapons is she talking about? I can’t think of any failing weapons being significant to the plot of this story.

Presumably the Alpha Lanterns are the weapons created by the Guardians who do not work against the evil of the evil Gods.

How does it make sense that Kamandi is in the cages in Comand D saying “They’re making us slaves” in issue two? How did he get there? Isn’t he from the future? Is Morrison writing the origin of Kamandi here? Is it consistent with the old Kamandi stories?

Temporal vision of Kamandi via Nix Uotan.

How is it that in the final issue, we see Wonder Woman crush the mask she’d been wearing to dust, but in another panel, the mask is being displayed in the JLA trophy room?

Remember, the story is told out of sequence. She later takes the mask from the trophy room and crushes it.

Willie asked:

At what point chronologically did Wonder Woman put the kids in freezer pops. Was that before or after she smashed her mask and bound darkseid…

Before she smashed the mask (but possibly RIGHT before she smashed the mask, although I believe it was well before she smashed the mask) and after she bound Darkseid.

Mike Loughlin asked:

Do you think Morrison left some of the minor plot points (e.g. what the Hawks and Atoms were up to) vague intentionally because part of the Final Crisis reading experience was that the reader creates his own version of the story to go with what’s on the page?

Partially, yes, I think that was exactly what he was doing at times.

Amy Grayson asked:

At the risk of repeating a question (I tried to read as many up there already), how were the Justifiers “recruited”? Were they “possessed” and then they just worked together? Was that Elasti-Girl or Giganta?

Yeah, they were possessed and then they would recruit other people by exposing them to the Anti-Life Equation.

That was Giganta.

Overgirl, according to FC: Secret Files, was the first successful *experiment* using genetic material from Overman, but then is referenced as his cousin, making her seem more like an alternate Kara Zor-El than “Kon-El”. Which is it?

It could very well be both - she was an experiment that he viewed as his cousin, just like Conner Kent was like part of Superman's "family."

I never picked up Superman Beyond, I just thought I’d actually be able to know what was going on in the series itself, I guess I was wrong, but how did that “Legion of Supermen” happen, how was Earth-5 Captain Marvel recruited etc.

Yeah, you more or less need Superman Beyond for the whole story. Luckily, it will be in the Final Crisis hardcover!

Earth-5 Captain Marvel was recruited in Superman Beyond.

With regard to Countdown, I get the Monitors connection, and the anti-life thing, but was there supposed to be anything further with Harley and Holly? What happened with Pied Piper?

Those plots basically went nowhere for now, at least. Pied Piper popped up in Rogues' Revenge, though!

Did Barry Allen never actually die if he became part of the Speed Force, and either way, how is that explained anyway? I never understood how if Barry was “dead” but Wally and Family lived there and grew up, and the same with Bart?

They did not live in the Speed Force, but some other dimension they accessed via the Speed Force.

And merging with the Speed Force is basically like death.

Finally, and I don’t really expect an answer to this, but what is Morrison’s beef with the whole BDSM gear stuff … I mean why did he feel that gear should be attributed to all things evil? Darker than “the norm” I can understand, but it offends me if it’s put out as evil. Not to mention that Desaad was supposed to wear high heels under his robe, it’s like he’s saying cross dressers are deviant or just weird enough for Darkseid kind of thing.

I do not know.

Loren asked:

In Final Crisis #1, it’s said that Nix Uotan’s negligence is responsible for the loss of Earth 51, and Uotan responds that he “arrived too late to save Earth. There was sabotage, I swear.” A couple of pages later, Zillo Valla says “Ogama fears we have become contaminated during contact with the obscure lifeforms that grow within the workings of the orrery.”

In Final Crisis #7, Nix Uotan says “And here: the plan I used to reconstruct Earth 51, destroyed by Ogama’s treachery.”

I think these are the only references to “Ogama” or “Earth 51? in Final Crisis, even though these details seem kinda important to Uotan’s plotline. So who is Ogama? What happened to Earth 51? What was Uotan’s supposed negligence? And what treachery of Ogama’s led to the destruction of Earth 51? And why should any of this make a lick of sense?

Basically a case of Countdown not syncing up with Final Crisis.

Just imagine that Ogama was behind Solomon doing the messed up stuff to Earth-51 in Countdown.

Whose hairy hands were handling the drawings (of Weeja Dell and the Nazi Superman) at the end of Final Crisis #5?

Best guesses seem to be Himon or the Monkey from Morrison's Animal Man.

Basically, he is unknown.

Amy Grayson asked:

Oh yeah, one last thing, when the Monitors first appeared way back when now, we saw in the center, an Anti-Monitor. Is that THE Anti-Monitor, and if so, how was it that he was just there and the other Monitors didn’t care, and allowed him to be exploited for use by Sinestro, and then is the heart of the Black Lantern? If Harlequin/ Joker’s Daughter was such an aberration needed to be killed, wouldn’t A-M’s departure figure in as pretty big too? Is Blackest Night really a Crisis sequel considering that we know now that two heroes who have died during two Crises are confirmed as Black Lanterns?

The Anti-Monitor is not tied in to the other Monitors, so they wouldn't view his existence the same way as people like Harlequin/Joker's Daughter.

sgt. pepper asked:

The monkey-behind-the-typewriter’s hairy hands?

Very possible!

Linda D asked:

Did Trinity take place before Final Crisis? Is New Krypton after? In Teen Titans we see Wonder Girl in a new costume, and Tim leaving apparently due to R.I.P., but in Wonder Woman, she is seen in her prior costume? Does that mean ‘Olympians is before R.I.P; and thus before Final Crisis? It seems like all over the place!

Final Crisis is intended to be set in the "recent past" of the DC Universe, but beyond that, it is really up to the respective DC books to figure out where it lands in respect to each title. There will certainly be some contradictions - there always are.

But specifically, I imagine Trinity predates Final Crisis while New Krypton follows it.

Oh by the way, someone asked about SIGHTINGS earlier, apparently that is intended for books that are just important to DC Comics PERIOD, not Final Crisis specifically.

Ronn K. asked:

I echo the requests for a reading order for FC tie-ins.

Okay.

And as I asked elsewhere in a similar vein, will the FC TPB, supposedly scheduled for release in April, be just a compilation of the 7 issues or will the other FC tie-in titles like “Rogue’s Revenge”, “Legion of Three Worlds”, “Superman Beyond”, etc. be included as well?

The Final Crisis Hardcover will include: Final Crisis #1-7, Superman Beyond #1-2 and Final Crisis Submit #1.

ZZZ asked:

This might not ring a bell with anyone, and I wish I could give an issue number (I want to say 2 or 3, but I could be wrong - heck, it could have been in one of the tie-ins and I’m completely misremembering) but at one point fairly early on, I could swear there was a scene on the JLA satellite, and in the foreground, unseen by the characters in the scene, we see what appear to be shrunken heroes trapped in bottles. At the time, I remember thinking that was supposed to be an explanation of where the heroes who were missing at the time were, and that later we’d find out how they got there … Did I just imagine that, or was there some explanation?

No, you didn't imagine that, it was in Final Crisis #4.

It was in the JLA trophy room, so my best bet it was some tribute to a past case.

But maybe it is some secretive clue to a future story!

Oh, and how did Batman escape while he was Darkseid’s minions’ prisoner? When I read it, I just chalked it up to “he’s Batman” and assumed a panel of him slipping his bonds was just implied, but from what I’ve seen online, that was actually explained somewhere. Could someone sum it up in a sentence or two?

In Batman #682-683, Batman is being tortured by Darkseid's minions using the mind-thief The Lump. Batman basically turns the table on the Lump, and the bad guys have to basically kill the Lump. However, as the Lump dies, Batman (who is still linked to the Lump telepathically) gets the Lump to agree to help him (in return, Batman will avenge the Lump's death) and so Batman gives the Lump a telepathic boost to allow it to make one last movement before it dies. Said movement is to release Batman from captivity.

Juisarian asked:

Where did Captain Marvel come from? Last I heard he was hanging in limbo doing the wizard in his white costume.

This is the Captain Marvel from Earth-5. He first shows up in Superman Beyond.

ticknart asked:

Did anything actually change for the main DCU because of Final Crisis? (And Batman “dying” doesn’t count.)

Is it actually the “5th world,” even though all the New Gods are alive again?

The Hawks and Martian Manhunter are dead and the Multiverse is now known to the world.

Mika Oksanen asked:

Exactly what happened to the Monitors in the end? Ryan Frank already asked this, and Morrison’s exit interview answers part of his question, but as far as I can see leaves a lot still unclear.. Morrison says in his exit interview that “Monitor-Mind has worked through its own Ultimate Story and spared Nix Uotan to be its sole representative and interface with the Multiverse”. Does this imply (along with statements in the last issue like “make your peace” and “this really is the last day”) that the rest of the Monitors were destroyed? Or does it just imply (along with Nix’s mention of withdrawal in his speech to the Circle of Monitors) that the Monitors are cut off from interacting with the Multiverse but remain in existence? If they are destroyed then how does this happen? Do they destroy themselves (as Nix’s reference to what they have to sacrifice suggests, though how could the rest of the Monitors agree to go along with a suicidal plan?) or does the Monitor-Mind wipe them out? In either case, if they are all destroyed, then how can Nix Uotan say to Weeja Dell that Superman “wished only the best for all of us…He wished for a happy ending”? If the Monitors except for Nix are all destroyed it is surely not a happy ending for them. Genocide is not a happy ending! In either case it is not a happy ending even for Nix, as he loses Weeja for ever. Does this just imply that there are limits even to the Miracle Machine’s power so that it can provide a happy ending for others only at the cost of a bad ending for the Monitors? Is Nix’s last speech with Weeja meant to be a bit ironic?

They are not destroyed, they are reborn as humans, with only Nix, however, regaining his connection to the Over-Monitor.

And yes, there definitely are limitations to what a "happy ending" can provide (note that Superman does not bring Batman or the Hawks or J'onn back).

That said, I don't think it was meant to be ironic because I don't believe Superman's wish destroyed the Monitors. I think the Over-Monitor determined (through Nix) that the Monitors were to end. I think that was not connected to Superman's wish for a happy ending, so when Nix told her what Superman wished, I'm sure Superman (had it been in control) would have wanted a happy ending for them, as well.

That said, it is certainly left open to interpretation whether Superman's wish directly led to their vanishing or not.

Of course, if Weeja is reborn as a human, there is always the opportunity for Nix to find her out there among the germs, Zauriel-style.

179 Comments

At February 24, 2009, Manglr wrote:
Great googaly-moogaly. Make mine Marvel, thanks.
At February 24, 2009, Ranald wrote:
That was... long. A couple of corrections: Legion of Three Worlds clearly starts after Superman Beyond but before the Anti-life ...
At February 24, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
Great job, Brian!

I'll just say this since it's right at the end of the FAQ; I assumed that Superman's wish ...
At February 24, 2009, Ranald wrote:
A couple of other points:

Was that Elasti-Girl or Giganta?
That was Elasti-Girl.
I'm pretty sure Morrison said that was Giganta in ...
At February 24, 2009, Rohan Williams wrote:
That was amazing. Bravo!
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

That was… long. A couple of corrections: Legion of Three Worlds clearly starts after Superman Beyond but before the Anti-life ...
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Was that Elasti-Girl or Giganta?
That was Elasti-Girl.
I’m pretty sure Morrison said that was Giganta in a Newsarama interview. Giganta ‘the ...
At February 24, 2009, Rohan Williams wrote:
"I believe Morrison’s take on it is that the Death of the New Gods is an approximation of the “war ...
At February 24, 2009, Ranald wrote:
I dunno, you can certainly argue for it there, but “clearly”?

There are red skies in Final Crisis #3 while Final ...
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Not disagreeing, per se, (as I note, it really does come down to whether you think it is once or ...
At February 24, 2009, Rohan Williams wrote:
Given the smile and wink Clark gives the reader as he leaves Lois' hospital room, Brian, that seems more than ...
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Hehe, it WAS awhile ago, wasn't it?
At February 24, 2009, D. Eric wrote:
Hmmm...we may have to disagree on a few points...I thought it was fairly clear that Mandrakk WAS the original monitor ...
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
I thought it was fairly clear that Mandrakk WAS the original monitor from COIE who had been created as the ...
At February 24, 2009, Tanzim wrote:
Thanks a lot for all the hard work, Brian.
At February 24, 2009, David Uzumeri wrote:
I thought Morrison straight up confirmed that LO3W took place after SB in an interview?

Oh, he did! http://www.newsarama.com/comics/010928-Grant-Final-Crisis.html

GM: The Monitrix ...
At February 24, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:
B.C.: I certainly hope you got a nice "bonus" for undertaking such a detailed blog of answering everyone's questions ...
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
As for the Darkseid/Mandrakk thing, I thought Mandrakk caused Darkseid, not the other way around - the Magical Monkey mentions ...
At February 24, 2009, Michael wrote:
All I can say is, Empress damn well better not be dead.
At February 24, 2009, Giles wrote:
I thought that the "Bat Corpse" was one of the clones from the Last Rites issues. Although I doubt ...
At February 24, 2009, Michael wrote:
Oh, and do we know where/if "Last Rites" is being collected?
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
It's currently collected in the Batman RIP hardcover.
At February 24, 2009, Wesley wrote:
Great job, Brian!

Unfortunately, just the fact that the series needed something like this to make some sense of it, ...
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Great job, Brian!

Unfortunately, just the fact that the series needed something like this to make some sense of it, shows ...
At February 24, 2009, D. Eric wrote:
Sorry...by Anthro's sigil, I meant I had thought Anthro had spent his life writing what Metron had shown him, which ...
At February 24, 2009, Nathan Bethell wrote:
Great job, Brian! In what issue / page is the Vandal Savage-Cain connection drawn?
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Aha, I gotcha, Eric.

Yeah, that could very well be true. It all comes down, I suppose, to who Black Lightning ...
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Great job, Brian! In what issue / page is the Vandal Savage-Cain connection drawn? Gracias.

That was in the Final Crisis: ...
At February 24, 2009, Joe Rice wrote:
The amount that some people didn't understand amazes me.
At February 24, 2009, fernald wrote:
I don't think Shilo's coloring was a mistake, I think it was an effect of Motherboxx since the same thing ...
At February 24, 2009, David Uzumeri wrote:
Shilo's coloring was definitely a mistake, Didio said it in one of his pre-NYCC 20 Questions video interviews, apologized, and ...
At February 24, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
Despite what Dan DiDio may have said, I thought the same as fernald...

There seemed to be a general ...
At February 24, 2009, moon wrote:
You say a few times that you can only assume the color switch on Mr. Miracle is a mistake or ...
At February 24, 2009, Simon wrote:
Fantastic bit of work, Brian, really good to see some of the small niggly things with the Monitors clarified.

As far ...
At February 24, 2009, Richard Pachter wrote:
DiDio acknowledged the Shilo coloring mistake (in a Newsarama video) and said that it would be corrected in the collected ...
At February 24, 2009, Matt D wrote:
Thinking all this through, the only two scenes I would have really loved to see expanded would be the Wonder ...
At February 24, 2009, MarkAndrew wrote:
16, 185 words total.
At February 24, 2009, Jeff Holland wrote:
Woooooooow. Good for you, Brian, you really gave it your all on this one.

I think Morrison concocted an interesting experiment ...
At February 24, 2009, Colin.ynwa wrote:
Incredible job Brian. That was a lot to get through and some people seemed to demand answers as though you ...
At February 24, 2009, Matt D wrote:
Re: Barry,

Thematically, I think he's important because he's really that last untainted, un-deconstructed Silver Age character(save for that one Identity ...
At February 24, 2009, Stephen wrote:
"As far as the Bleed being the multiverse, though, just to get nitpicky for a sec - isn’t it the ...
At February 24, 2009, Stephen wrote:
"Batman meets the same fate. So Superman finds the corpse of ‘our’ Batman but because he’s not dead per-say he’s ...
At February 24, 2009, Dan Felty wrote:
"Was that exiled Monitor reawoken as that black kid who worked at the burger joint?"

At first, I thought Raekwon was ...
At February 24, 2009, NYJ wrote:
Don't forget that Barry came back chasing the bullet; he knew where and when it was fired (because he saw ...
At February 24, 2009, Thok wrote:
Wait, are the new Monitors supposed to represent writers or the editors? The latter makes more sense, since in ...
At February 24, 2009, bad_trotsky wrote:
Anyone that says FC was easy to understand need to look at the length of this FAQ.
At February 24, 2009, alastair wrote:
surely contridiction are not just the fault of the teams on individual books, the jla team needs to say ...
At February 24, 2009, Lynxara wrote:
My reading on the importance of the Zoo Crew was that Nix needed Captain Carrot to complete the army of ...
At February 24, 2009, Squashua wrote:
Comprehensive, but could certainly do with some organization.
At February 24, 2009, Sprout wrote:
Thanks for answering Brian and congrats for the impressive work displayed here !
At February 24, 2009, Pennyforth wrote:
The fact that a FAQ for a comic book limited series results in a page this large is pitiful. ...
At February 24, 2009, ejulp (John) wrote:
"As mentioned earlier, until I hear otherwise, I’m going with “coloring mistake.”

I dunno if anyone has answered this yet, but ...
At February 24, 2009, DC Guy wrote:
Per the Feb. 13th "20 Questions with Dan DiDio" on Newsarama (http://www.newsarama.com/comics/020913-DiDio20.html), Hawkman and Hawkgirl did *not* die:

"4. When will ...
At February 24, 2009, Black Manta wrote:
Wait....Hawkgirl is dead? I could have sworn she was in JLA last week.

I realy wish someone who understood the book ...
At February 24, 2009, egorw wrote:
this made my brain bleed
At February 24, 2009, Paul McEnery wrote:
Strip club/community center:

I reckon there's some subtle commentary going on here. Where the Flashes met used to be a community ...
At February 24, 2009, Nathan wrote:
In relation to which Earth Kamandi came from, I was under the impression he came from New Earth, as he's ...
At February 24, 2009, chass wrote:
Amazing work Brian.

But in defense of Morrison, you suggested above that the inconsistencies between Final Crisis and Death of the ...
At February 24, 2009, fireboy wrote:
If I were Grant Morrison, Dan Didio, etc. I would be embarrassed that a FAQ like this existed. ...
At February 24, 2009, Pops Gustav wrote:
Jeezum Crow, what a mess. You know a story is over-convoluted if even online summaries can't explain what the Hell ...
At February 24, 2009, Richard Pachter wrote:
There are a number of fine FC annotations on the intertubes (esp. the ones by a href="http://www.funnybookbabylon.com/category/reviews/annotations-reviews/">David Uzumeri and Dougla ...
At February 24, 2009, pznic wrote:
The Hawks are dead?!? Does DC know this? According to Didio, they were just wounded...
At February 24, 2009, Dave wrote:
"Not to mention that Desaad was supposed to wear high heels under his robe, it’s like he’s saying cross dressers ...
At February 24, 2009, Mike wrote:
On the topic of the Hawk-folk, I think their status is a bit more up in the air than "declared ...
At February 24, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
Actually Hawkman and Hawkgirl are recuperating right now from the events of Final Crisis
Given the history of the Hawks, that ...
At February 24, 2009, B Smithy wrote:
Correction: I'm certain that the original Monitor from COIE IS Mandrakk. Superman says as much in Superman Beyond.
At February 24, 2009, Stephen wrote:
"Wait….Hawkgirl is dead? I could have sworn she was in JLA last week."

As noted above, writers of the individual series ...
At February 24, 2009, Spaz Monkey wrote:
This is what I think to be the biggest question --

Isn't the necessity for a page like this proof ...
At February 24, 2009, Stephen wrote:
"You know a story is over-convoluted if even online summaries can’t explain what the Hell happened…. "

Darkseid tried to conquer ...
At February 24, 2009, pznic wrote:
This Q&A perfectly illustrates what an embarrassing, colossal boondoggle the whole FC series was. It was so damn stupid... I ...
At February 24, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
Nice one, Stephen!
:D
At February 24, 2009, RedEyedJedi wrote:
I heard Mandrakk IS the original monitor, that after he "died" in the 1st crisis, he came back knowing he ...
At February 24, 2009, Michael wrote:
"It’s currently collected in the Batman RIP hardcover."

Oh. Well, I'm going to be getting that, so that takes care of ...
At February 24, 2009, JG wrote:
As David Uzumeri pointed out above, Brian misplaced LoTW. Should look like this according to Grant:

The Entire ...
At February 24, 2009, Pop-Monkey wrote:
Wait -- I thought the FINAL CRISIS HC was only going to contain FC #1-7 with none of the supplementary ...
At February 24, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
Isn’t the necessity for a page like this proof of a near-total narrative failure?

Maybe it was necessary for everyone. It ...
At February 24, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
That should be IF it was necessary for everyone. Goddamn lack of edit feature.
At February 24, 2009, Omar Karindu wrote:
A couple of possible alternatives, not quite "corrections:"

Re: Libra's role, Tattooed Man and the Dark Side Club. Given that ...
At February 24, 2009, IvCNuB4 wrote:
Nathan
February 24, 2009 at 12:40 pm
In relation to which Earth Kamandi came from, I was under the impression he came ...
At February 24, 2009, Eric wrote:
I appreciate the effort that went into this, but the FAQ was almost as incomprehensible as the mini-series it's about. ...
At February 24, 2009, Lynxara wrote:
The inevitably detail-oriented nature of a FAQ built from questions submitted by individual users means a lot of the focus ...
At February 24, 2009, kf wrote:
Possible solution to the hairy handed Rubik's Cube solver is that it might be Aurakles, the immortal caveman superhero recreated ...
At February 24, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
I appreciate the effort that went into this, but the FAQ was almost as incomprehensible as the mini-series it’s about.

No ...
At February 24, 2009, Zak wrote:
Great FAQ, thanks for all the data
At February 24, 2009, Richard Jones wrote:
The only quibble I'd have is that I think Morrison intends for the original Kathy Kane Batwoman to have genuinely ...
At February 24, 2009, JG wrote:
Yea, Kathy Kane Batwoman does exist in New Earth Continuity. No delusion, no wiped-out-Earth-1 Kathy.
At February 24, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:
I thought asking some questions and seeing how you'd answer them was supposed to be fun--and reading your responses was ...
At February 24, 2009, Snapper wrote:
Good work, mate!
I knew everything that was being questioned, but this was still an entertaining read!
I really, really like the ...
At February 24, 2009, Nick Marino wrote:
Brian, thx for answering my questions! i think the strip club i asked about was actually at the end of ...
At February 24, 2009, tcraven wrote:
I wouldn't say that the length of this FAQ means that the whole series was a failure. Many of ...
At February 24, 2009, Final Crisis FAQ. « Hellions Magazine wrote:
[...] Final Crisis FAQ. Posted on February 24, 2009 by hellionsmagazine Click HERE. [...]
At February 24, 2009, OM wrote:
...Just want to go on the record that this, quite franky, was the best and most concise attempt to do ...
At February 24, 2009, Aqualad wrote:
Wow, judging from these comments there sure are a lot of comic book editors reading this! Oh wait, ...
At February 24, 2009, Ryan wrote:
For those hoping for a more exact explanation of Batman's whereabouts...

I read the final panel as referencing Anthro. Anthro ...
At February 24, 2009, Hartley! wrote:
I'm pretty sure that Didio stated neither Hawkman nor HAwkwoman are Dead.
They aren't shown killed just caught in what appears ...
At February 24, 2009, T. wrote:
First they demand that someone explain the thing to them, because it sucks.. Then, once it was explained, they say ...
At February 24, 2009, J Cemi wrote:
One addition/clarification to your "red skies" answer. Morrison, in both the main FC book and Superman Beyond, expands on ...
At February 24, 2009, Toby Baldwin wrote:
Hello All,

Need some advice. Final Crisis sounds confusing but intriguing (I have enjoyed Morrison's work in the past).

I am ...
At February 24, 2009, Trey wrote:
Just to chime in on the Shilo Norman coloring issue.
In Seven Soldiers of Victory, He does appear to have a ...
At February 24, 2009, Preston wrote:
"Did Hawkman and Hawkgirl die? Why? What were they doing?"

"Yes, they died. In an attempt to save people, Checkmate created ...
At February 24, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:
I'll amend by saying that any of these answers that came from the Morrison interviews are unfair and completely irrelevant. ...
At February 24, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:
...if any of these *are* answers that came from...
At February 24, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:
No, it's better the first way. Sheesh.
At February 24, 2009, Black Manta wrote:
OK, I've read this thing a few times and I'm still not really sure on most of it. But I'm ...
At February 24, 2009, Mike Loughlin wrote:
Thanks for doing this FAQ, Brian! It added to my appreciation of the series, and clarrified a couple story points.
At February 24, 2009, Aqualad wrote:
Worst comic ever made? Really? Worse than this: http://www.geocities.com/nenslo/pageview/heavenpage.html

Or this: http://www.geocities.com/nenslo/p2/pigeon.html
At February 24, 2009, Jack Tango wrote:
I like how Nix Uotan is Dax Novu's son. Not because it was ordained to be so, but because, as ...
At February 24, 2009, Jack Tango wrote:
Oops, the IGN interview definitively says they're on Earth 51. You can ignore my last statement re: the New Gods.
At February 24, 2009, Paul Moses wrote:
Just to make the point: Countdown ran 52 issues, an entire year, then half a dozen lead-up books at ...
At February 24, 2009, Aaron Walther wrote:
Brian, I don't have my issues with me otherwise I'd look myself, but where in Final Crisis did you get ...
At February 24, 2009, DanLarkin wrote:
I had to buy a guidebook to help understand Ulysses better. James Joyce should be embarrassed.
At February 24, 2009, T. wrote:
I had to buy a guidebook to help understand Ulysses better. James Joyce should be embarrassed.

If Ulysses was meant to ...
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Brian, I don’t have my issues with me otherwise I’d look myself, but where in Final Crisis did you get ...
At February 24, 2009, Didn’t Understand Final Crisis? Check the FAQ | Meltdown Comics and Collectibles' Blog wrote:
[...] hurt, CBR’s Comics Should Be Good Blog is here to help. Brian Cronin has created a running FAQ to ...
At February 24, 2009, Joshua Balog wrote:
Calling Final Crisis a failure as a comic book because some people don't understand it, or because it can lead ...
At February 24, 2009, Joshua Balog wrote:
Damn. Someone beat me to my Ulysses reference.
At February 24, 2009, Chewbacca wrote:
To Toby:

FC is a kind of culmination of ALL Morrison's DCU work. eg It returns to and re-examines some ...
At February 24, 2009, Joshua Balog wrote:
RE: "If Ulysses was meant to be a top-selling mass market blockbuster popular novel, than yet he should be. But ...
At February 24, 2009, fanboi wrote:
Um When did Hawkman and Hawkgirl die? I missed that.
At February 24, 2009, Toby Baldwin wrote:
Chewbacca -

Thank you very much for the suggestions! That definitely helps me know what to pick up and what ...
At February 24, 2009, T. wrote:
I’m sure Mr. Joyce wasn’t interested in commercial success at all. Right.

Yes Joyce wanted it to be successful and make ...
At February 24, 2009, Joshua Balog wrote:
Ulysses was originally published as a serial in a monthly magazine. I think the goal of telling a story ...
At February 24, 2009, Ted wrote:
"The goals of each are not comparable"

I think that depends on what the goals really were. Final Crisis was never ...
At February 24, 2009, muffinpeddler wrote:
Wow Brain. Thanks for doing this. I know i had lots of questions. Turns out i knew half the answers. ...
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Final Crisis also happened to be DC's best-selling comic book title last year (EDITED TO ADD: Posted this at the ...
At February 24, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
And yes, muffinpeddlar, I believe that's exactly what he is saying with regards to the Zoo Crew.
At February 24, 2009, Spike wrote:
There are so many errors and opinions in this so-called "FAQ" I think it was somewhat irresponsible. I hope ...
At February 24, 2009, Pat wrote:
Hi Brian,

I'm a retailer in Largo, Florida. I have a couple of questions. Primarily, I'm wondering where you got this ...
At February 24, 2009, Premium wrote:
Brian, nice work. Two things. I thought Libra turned out to be the anti-life equation. As in ...
At February 24, 2009, Omar Karindu, back from an Internet Thogal ritual wrote:
The digital hand is a reference to the Uni-Friend, the fiery hand that writes on the wall on New Genesis ...
At February 24, 2009, Rob wrote:
Brian - THANKS for the FAQ!

Spike - how is trying to answer questions people have about a comic book irresponsible? ...
At February 24, 2009, Sijo wrote:
...I was going to comment on some of the answers, but in the end felt that there are way too ...
At February 25, 2009, Jim wrote:
I have a question: The villains set off a bomb in the Daily Planet to take Superman out of the ...
At February 25, 2009, Tammany Hall wrote:
Brian, it's official: I like you WAY more than I like Morrison. There's still that teensy-weensy question of just what ...
At February 25, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
I have a question: The villains set off a bomb in the Daily Planet to take Superman out of the ...
At February 25, 2009, Jack Tango wrote:
Two more things:

1) Hawkman and Hawkgirl didn't die; at least not in Dan DiDio's eyes.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/020913-DiDio20.html

2) Although Final Crisis might ...
At February 25, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
That's fascinating, Jack, about the drop-off, thanks.
At February 25, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
1) Hawkman and Hawkgirl didn’t die; at least not in Dan DiDio’s eyes.

Well, in his defense, Didio's a busy ...
At February 25, 2009, Moorish wrote:
I think the fact that there have been so many questions that needed clarifying about this series (with even more ...
At February 25, 2009, Paul Moses wrote:
I'm a fanboy as much as anyone. I bought all the FC issues, all of Countdown, and all of ...
At February 25, 2009, Graeme White wrote:
Wait, Kathy Kane's back in continuity? Does that mean that Flamebird was the original Batgirl as well?

I ...
At February 25, 2009, Graeme White wrote:
James Joyce is seen as a literary giant because of Ulysees, he wasn't beforehand.

But you're right, they can't ...
At February 25, 2009, Joshua Balog wrote:
So, because Final Crisis is a comic book, and Grant Morrison is a comic book writer, his artistic endeavors are ...
At February 25, 2009, Sean W wrote:
Wow, FINAL CRISIS needed this kind of FAQ, Brian. Thanks very much for the effort - most especially in clarifying ...
At February 25, 2009, Barry Reese wrote:
Not sure about Hawkman being dead -- DiDio has mentioned that he's back and I've seen him in JSA since ...
At February 25, 2009, Graeme White wrote:
I wasn't criticising Final Crisis - I actually like it. I was just pointing out how a previous thread ...
At February 25, 2009, Graeme White wrote:
Oh yeah, and I though that the Captain Marvel that fought Mary was Earth-0 Freddie Freeman, not Earth-5 Billy
At February 25, 2009, Jono11 wrote:
"Unfortunately, just the fact that the series needed something like this to make some sense of it, shows how poorly ...
At February 25, 2009, Joshua Balog wrote:
Graeme White-

Most of that was not directed at you, just a reaction to the negative response to this story.
At February 25, 2009, layne wrote:
Yeah. Never mind that some of the great classics of literature have entire semester-long courses devoted to dissecting, discussing, and ...
At February 25, 2009, Joshua Balog wrote:
layne,

I can accept your argument about tie-ins being necessary for full understanding of the narrative. However, I'm willing to ...
At February 25, 2009, Russ wrote:
WOW.... thank you for taking the time to do this!!!!!!
At February 25, 2009, Black Manta wrote:
There have been many great comics that are extremely great art. Yes there are classes that center on certain works ...
At February 25, 2009, Jim wrote:
I think they’d be fine with it killing Lois. The idea was just to keep Superman occupied one way or ...
At February 25, 2009, Jim wrote:
Sorry, I don't know how to quote a previous post properly.
At February 25, 2009, Pop-Monkey wrote:
Nobody seems to have seen my question the first time I posted it, or you don't care to answer, so ...
At February 25, 2009, joshschr wrote:
Pop-Monkey, this was mentioned last week: http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/02/17/thank-you-dc-for-the-final-crisis-hc/
At February 25, 2009, Joe Rice wrote:
"Yeah. Never mind that some of the great classics of literature have entire semester-long courses devoted to dissecting, discussing, and ...
At February 25, 2009, Pop-Monkey wrote:
Thanks so much, joshschr! This bit of news completely escaped my attention, and it didn't seem to be widely ...
At February 25, 2009, joshschr wrote:
Yeah, the solicits I saw didn't explicitly say that SB was going to be included, but I agree with BC's ...
At February 25, 2009, Aaron Walther wrote:
Thanks, Brian.
At February 25, 2009, Jack Tango wrote:
Brian - Hey, my pleasure. I'm always up for stealing sales data and reposting it here.

Now, one thing I wanted ...
At February 25, 2009, Joshua Balog wrote:
Jack Tango -

Great summary! Really, was that so difficult? I've decided to be done with rant about the ...
At February 25, 2009, T. wrote:
Yeah. Never mind that some of the great classics of literature have entire semester-long courses devoted to dissecting, discussing, and ...
At February 25, 2009, Jeff wrote:
>>I see in this FAQ both comic writers and editors mentioned, but the way I read it, I believe it’s ...
At February 26, 2009, Ted wrote:
"Those classics you mention? If you read the books, you can understand the book on a very basic level."

Really? Have ...
At February 26, 2009, Colin wrote:
"Comic book fans are the biggest threat to comic book stories. Resistant to change, always trying to bottle up our ...
At February 26, 2009, Joshua Balog wrote:
T. -

If you pick up any mainstream comic book, you need to have read something else to "fully" appreciate it. ...
At February 26, 2009, Dreggor Gade wrote:
Maybe this is neither here nor there, but since Libra took half of each of the JL's powers, would Libra ...
At February 26, 2009, layne wrote:
Jack Tango - I appreciate where you're coming from, but a detailed plot summary of FC #1-7 isn't what I ...
At February 26, 2009, Matt Adler wrote:
Brian, this is very informative, but also very difficult to read through. Could you possibly organize this like a traditional ...
At February 26, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
You should read the "Cliffs Notes" version, Matt!
At February 26, 2009, Jim DeLorenzo wrote:
It's taken quite a few years, and quite a number of efforts, but Grant Morrison finally did the unthinkable (to ...
At February 27, 2009, Episode 78 - We are Massive and Everywhere wrote:
[...] CRONIN ATTEMPTS FINAL CRISIS FAQ [...]
At March 1, 2009, Tammany Hall wrote:
Brian: You should definitely think about publishing a hardcopy book of annotations for FC when it is published as a ...
At March 6, 2009, Anonymous wrote:
"Thank you, Grant Morrison, for ruining comics for me. Enjoy the multiverse. I’m out!"

Ruining comics for you? That's just sad.

Seriously, ...
At March 9, 2009, panthergod wrote:
basically, If you're well read can can deal with narrative ambiguity, then Final Crisis was a flawed but still excellently ...
At March 9, 2009, Jim DeLorenzo wrote:
I'm so thrilled I made any comment, to get the flaming I've since received. It justifies my decision further. ...
At June 28, 2009, kenoyer130 wrote:
The first time I read FC, I hated it. There didn't seem to be a coherent structure to the story. ...

Making a Final Crisis FAQ

Brian Cronin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:50:56 +0000

I see that quite a few people have some questions about the events of Final Crisis that they'd like to see answered, so I thought it'd be a nice idea to do a FAQ.

So if you have a question about Final Crisis that you'd like to see answered, ask it in the comments and I will compile a bunch and make a FAQ!

Note: The here comments section is a snark-free zone. Just ask questions about stuff from the comics that confused you/you weren't sure about.

103 Comments

At February 3, 2009, Adam Jones wrote:
Hey Brian, thanks for doing this:

Anyway my questions go all the way back to issue 1. Was that exiled ...
At February 3, 2009, Matt wrote:
How did FC actually tie into Death of the New Gods? The two events seemed to cover the same ...
At February 3, 2009, Nick Marino wrote:
why was Shilo Norman suddenly colored as Caucasian in some pages of Final Crisis #6? mistake or actual story reasoning? ...
At February 3, 2009, P_B wrote:
I'd like to see an attempt at tracing Superman chronologically through the whole thing.
At February 3, 2009, David wrote:
The story starts with Darkseid's fall to Earth after a war in heaven. What happened there?
At February 3, 2009, Craig B. wrote:
Who the heck was Libra?

What was the relationship between the Darkseid story that took up most of the ...
At February 3, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
A question about format - would folks prefer I answer all the questions as they come and then later format ...
At February 3, 2009, Neal K wrote:
When Superman used the Miracle Machine to wish the world back into existence, why didn't he wish for the fallen ...
At February 3, 2009, Neal K wrote:
Brian: My vote is to aggregate the questions and answer them all at once in a separate post. ...
At February 3, 2009, Will wrote:
If you're up for it, I think this should be like any other FAQ. It should be a post ...
At February 3, 2009, Dave wrote:
Seriously, why did Shilo Norman a turn into a white man for issues #4-6?
At February 3, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Okie doke, that's what I'll do.

I'll give this entry say...hmm...let's say a week, and whatever questions are asked by then ...
At February 3, 2009, Verdammt wrote:
If Batman is not dead and stuck in time/somewhere in the multiverse, then whose charred corpse was Superman holding? (This ...
At February 3, 2009, 10FootBongz wrote:
How about an arts credit listing (who drew which pages)?
At February 3, 2009, Da Fug wrote:
Even though I probably won't be reading FC forever and am trying to keep relatively spoiler free (though of course ...
At February 3, 2009, Billy F wrote:
What finally caused the Justifiers to be released from Darkseid's control? Luthor? Metron's sigil being placed on Earth ...
At February 3, 2009, Conor E wrote:
What was up with Renee Montoya? I understand that Revelations took place around the gap between issues 3 and 4 ...
At February 3, 2009, Patrick C wrote:
Why were people being "frozen" or whatever was happening with everyone that wasn't Superman or Supergirl during Final Crisis #7?

What ...
At February 3, 2009, mightygodking wrote:
Man, Resist opens up so many questions re: timing it's probably going to be retconned out as not having actually ...
At February 3, 2009, Neal K wrote:
I think any good FAQ should have an attempt to place all the tie-ins with respect to the main series. ...
At February 3, 2009, Billy F wrote:
So is Vandal Savage Cain, or was Cain hiding out in Vandal Savage, or what? I don't quite understand ...
At February 3, 2009, Stephen wrote:
"I assume that the world does not know Batman is dead thus The Battle for the Cowl in which a ...
At February 3, 2009, McFly wrote:
Who was the character with the monkey hands with Metron in a wheelchair and the guardian?

Wasn't Anthro alive in the ...
At February 3, 2009, McFly wrote:
What happened to Scott Free and Barda, by the way? Is he dead?
At February 3, 2009, The Mutt wrote:
What I need is a box score. Who is dead? Who is new? How many Earths are there? Has the ...
At February 3, 2009, McFly wrote:
I don't quite follow Superman Beyond. Could you explain the monitors story to me, please? As I understand, in the ...
At February 3, 2009, Aqualad wrote:
Aquaman returns in his kingdom's time of need. Was this a plot point that had been hinted at ...
At February 3, 2009, Snapper wrote:
I agree with The Mutt...
At February 3, 2009, Rogue wrote:
I think a list of what order to read Final Crisis and all of its tie ins would be extremely ...
At February 3, 2009, Paradox Factor wrote:
A timeline would be helpful placing everything. I mean, I'm still not sure if the current Justice Leage of America ...
At February 3, 2009, Omar Karindu, back from an Internet Thogal ritual wrote:
I've also started a forum thread for this sort of thing, and I'd be obnoxiously happy to drop some of ...
At February 3, 2009, BrianC wrote:
Two questions - Morrison mentioned in his "exit interview" on Newsarama that "Apart from one scene at the end, which ...
At February 3, 2009, AW wrote:
Ok so in FC:Resist we see the OMACs activated and whooping ass, but in FC:6 there's hardly any mention of ...
At February 3, 2009, David wrote:
How was Wonder Woman saved by Frankenstein? Also how did her "binding" Darkseid with her lasso free the three ...
At February 3, 2009, Chris Buckley wrote:
After reading Grant Morrison's intended reading order (which even he messed up!), I am only confused about three things:

1) the ...
At February 3, 2009, ticknart wrote:
Who killed Hawkman and Hawkgirl?
Does this mean there are no more Hawks in the DCU?
At February 3, 2009, Rob wrote:
If Bruce Wayne was put through the "Omega" Experience when he was shot by Darkseid's rays, who was the body ...
At February 3, 2009, Rob wrote:
The original Crisis was about condensing infinite worlds into one.

Infinite Crisis was about expanding the amount of worlds into at ...
At February 3, 2009, Angus wrote:
How did Black Lightning know the sigil that he showed to the Tattooed Man (who showed it to the Ray, ...
At February 3, 2009, muffinpeddler wrote:
i just read to try not to repeat questions. Lots of people seem to share my Mandrakk confusion.
Morrison has a ...
At February 3, 2009, Sylar Wesker wrote:
OKay after re-reading some teases and interviews this is what I need to know:

1) DC #0, how does that show ...
At February 3, 2009, Sylar Wesker wrote:
12) Wasn't the first page supposed to have Anthro and the last page have Kamandi? What happened there?
At February 3, 2009, Sylar Wesker wrote:
13) If there was a war in heaven, and evil won, how/why did Darkseid fall from heaven? Does that mean ...
At February 3, 2009, Sylar Wesker wrote:
14) What exactly is the Anti-Monitor's connection then to the Monitors?
At February 3, 2009, Rob R. wrote:
Will this really be the "final" crisis? At least for the next year or so?
At February 3, 2009, capt__proton wrote:
I have two very straight and simple question:

1) What happened to the New Gods and the Forever People of New ...
At February 3, 2009, Dave wrote:
Related to the Final Crisis sketchbook, what was the point of devoting it almost entirely to characters that never actually ...
At February 3, 2009, mentalpatient wrote:
Did the GLs spend the better part of the second half of the series perpetually flying towards Earth, only to ...
At February 3, 2009, Grico wrote:
Just some basic:

So Libra was just the one-shot Libra villian from an old Justice League issue? Did we get any ...
At February 3, 2009, Craig wrote:
Kudos, Brian, for tackling this project.
I can't think of any questions that haven't been covered above, but perhaps it would ...
At February 3, 2009, CharlyAR wrote:
What happened to Batman?
What happened to Darkseid?
Who or what was Libra?
Why did Superman "sing" some note?
What is the Omega Sanction?
What's ...
At February 3, 2009, Da Fug wrote:
"Detective 852 picks up that particular thread, FWIW. Although, like a lot of these Batman-related questions, I suspect we’re not ...
At February 3, 2009, Chris Jones wrote:
Are ALL of the Monitors parasites, or just a few of them? It seemed like it was just a really ...
At February 3, 2009, muffinpeddler wrote:
I just read that Mary Marvel was posessed by Desaad. Did anybody catch that? and if we're blaming her "dark ...
At February 3, 2009, looseleaf wrote:
A timeline / reading order would really help -I only read the main series and it didn't make a lick ...
At February 3, 2009, Innocent Bystander » Blog Archive » Weekly Comics Haul/Reviews - 30th January 2009 wrote:
[...] I could write these down, but instead I'll direct you to The Final Crisis FAQ project over at Comics ...
At February 3, 2009, Matt wrote:
Why was Black Adam so weak against evil Mary Marvel and how could his gods be 'far away' like he ...
At February 4, 2009, Myskin wrote:
1-Who is the hodded monkey-shape guy who talks to Nix Uotan in #5? Perhaps the type-writing monkey who wrote the ...
At February 4, 2009, Sprout wrote:
Is Earth 51 the Earth where all the Kirby 70s DC Comics (Fourth World, Kamandi, OMAC) happened ?
At February 4, 2009, olokin wrote:
Is Final Crisis the first appearance of the god killing radion?
How was Wonder Woman turned to thralldom?
At February 4, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:
Lord have mercy, so many questions, so little time.
I pity the fool who tackles this project, s/he has their work ...
At February 4, 2009, Martin Gray wrote:
Tom Fitzpatrick wrote: 'Couldn’t we all just enjoy FC for just the story (and perhaps the art as well) and ...
At February 4, 2009, muffinpeddler wrote:
I concur.
At February 4, 2009, suedenim wrote:
When the anti-life equation was first unleashed on Earth's communications networks, the series of tubes, etc., what exactly determined who ...
At February 4, 2009, The Kize wrote:
I'd like to echo the previous question(s) about the meeting between Anthro and Kamandi in issue #1.

Also, Morrison said in ...
At February 4, 2009, Ryan Frank wrote:
Wow...thank you for attempting this; I share the confusion on most of these, and here are a few more (sometimes ...
At February 4, 2009, Francisco Gonzalez wrote:
Issue 1: Tatooedman takes Turpin to the Dark Side Club and later is part of the resistance. What's his relation ...
At February 4, 2009, MRUDY wrote:
Could you please provide the current status of the of those who took part or where effected by Final Crisis, ...
At February 4, 2009, HammerHeart wrote:
Can somebody explain how the hell Superman was keeping Lois alive with his vision powers? I know it was Grant's ...
At February 4, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:
I would also like to know who Libra was. And if your answer is "the Anti-life equation personified," then ...
At February 4, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:
Ah, here're some more:

Did the Zoo Crew actually do anything in that final showdown? Would the result have been ...
At February 4, 2009, CharlyAR wrote:
The Kize said:
"I’d like to echo the previous question(s) about the meeting between Anthro and Kamandi in issue #1.

Also, Morrison ...
At February 4, 2009, MarkMc wrote:
All right, how about this one:
"Final Crisis" is supposedly the culmination of a chain of events that started way back ...
At February 4, 2009, CharlyAR wrote:
Hey MarkMc, good one!
At February 4, 2009, DanLarkin wrote:
Are the Super Young Team the "Forever People of the 5th World"?
At February 4, 2009, Gimp wrote:
I'm interested in an examination of every Final Crisis plot point that was lifted by Countdown. For instance:

* Mary Marvel ...
At February 4, 2009, marco4 wrote:
I'll echo any and all of the previous comments requesting both a coherent reading sequence of all FC-related books and ...
At February 4, 2009, Ryan Frank wrote:
I'd also join in the call for a coherent reading sequence for FC #7. I think most of my ...
At February 4, 2009, Sylar Wesker wrote:
I totally forgot, MarkMc is right. I remember Grant at last year's NYCC saying that this would tie into all ...
At February 4, 2009, Sylar Wesker wrote:
The closest source I can cite for that interview was from this:

I am actually loving the series and think that ...
At February 4, 2009, I’m Just Sayin’…#46 | Comics Nexus wrote:
[...] is the volume of discussion and analysis they generate, and there is still plenty to discuss - and plenty of questions ...
At February 4, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:
More:

Did Darkseid use the bullet that Batman shot at him to fire back in time to shoot Orion ...
At February 4, 2009, Dave wrote:
According to his latest interview with Newsarama, Morrison's explanation for Kamandi appearing throughout the series was that Nix Uotan was ...
At February 4, 2009, Willie wrote:
At what point chronologically did Wonder Woman put the kids in freezer pops. Was that before or after she smashed ...
At February 4, 2009, Mike Loughlin wrote:
Do you think Morrison left some of the minor plot points (e.g. what the Hawks and Atoms were up to) ...
At February 4, 2009, Amy Grayson wrote:
Thanks so much Brian for attempting to do this, it's a shame that someone HAS to, and that it was ...
At February 4, 2009, Loren wrote:
In Final Crisis #1, it's said that Nix Uotan's negligence is responsible for the loss of Earth 51, and Uotan ...
At February 4, 2009, Loren wrote:
Whose hairy hands were handling the drawings (of Weeja Dell and the Nazi Superman) at the end of Final Crisis ...
At February 4, 2009, Amy Grayson wrote:
Oh yeah, one last thing, when the Monitors first appeared way back when now, we saw in the center, an ...
At February 4, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:
The monkey-behind-the-typewriter's hairy hands?
At February 4, 2009, Linda D. wrote:
Did Trinity take place before Final Crisis? Is New Krypton after? In Teen Titans we see Wonder Girl in a ...
At February 4, 2009, Ronn K. wrote:
I echo the requests for a reading order for FC tie-ins. And as I asked elsewhere in a similar vein, ...
At February 5, 2009, Geralex wrote:
Final Crisis: Frequently Asked Questions:

Eh?
What just happened?
At February 5, 2009, ZZZ wrote:
This might not ring a bell with anyone, and I wish I could give an issue number (I want to ...
At February 5, 2009, ZZZ wrote:
Oh, and how did Batman escape while he was Darkseid's minions' prisoner? When I read it, I just chalked it ...
At February 5, 2009, sgt pepper wrote:
Yes. Batman defeated Darseid's minions by using his memories.
At February 5, 2009, Juisarian wrote:
Where did Captain Marvel come from? Last I heard he was hanging in limbo doing the wizard in his white ...
At February 5, 2009, adam! wrote:
they'll probably do a hardcover with a separate book of annotations or scripts or something. it'd be great if they ...
At February 9, 2009, Juisarian wrote:
See BATMAN #682 and 683

S&M were using Batman's brain as a template to program an army of unstoppable clone warriors, ...
At February 9, 2009, ticknart wrote:
Did anything actually change for the main DCU because of Final Crisis? (And Batman "dying" doesn't count.)
Is it actually the ...
At February 11, 2009, Nick Evans wrote:
Ooh, I can answer the Captain Marvel question: the one in FC came from Earth-5, as he's the Earth-5 (essentially ...
At February 11, 2009, Mika Oksanen wrote:
Exactly what happened to the Monitors in the end? Ryan Frank already asked this, and Morrison's exit interview answers part ...
At February 22, 2009, Da Fug wrote:
Did Brian's Final Crisis FAQ post answering these questions ever appear on the blog? Just curious (since I probably ...

Final Crisis Review Archive

Brian Cronin — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:52:22 +0000

With the series over, I thought it would be a good idea to give an archive of my reviews for each of the issues of the series (admittedly, I had to write the #4 and the Submit #1 review just now, which was odd - why didn't I write reviews that day?). In addition, I added a "Final Crisis" category, so you can find almost all the blog entries about Final Crisis via the following category link here.

Okay, here are the reviews:

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #2

Final Crisis: Submit #1

Final Crisis: Resist #1

Batman #683

Enjoy!

4 Comments

At February 1, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
Why not include Batman #682? It had The Lump, and hinted at an Omega Sanction-style thing going on too...
At February 1, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
I think the review for #683 more or less represents the entire two-parter, or else I'd do a retro review ...
At February 1, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
Fair comment!
Think I'm going to have fun re-reading all of these and the reviews!

Cheers for all your hard ...
At February 1, 2009, Sijo wrote:
...I'll just read the Cliff Notes version, Thank You. ;)

Superman Is Awesome

Brian Cronin — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:38:35 +0000

As evidenced by turning your Final Crisis #7 cover on the side...

25 Comments

At January 29, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
I think it's cause Kryptonians have an awesomeness organ instead of a human appendix.
At January 29, 2009, stealthwise wrote:
OW MY JAW!
At January 29, 2009, Doron wrote:
I get it, you love the cover! enough already. just kidding, Superman and J.G Jones are indeed awesome
At January 29, 2009, mightygodking wrote:
I eagerly await the post where Brian posts the cover upside down to illustrate how Final Crisis works on so ...
At January 29, 2009, edc wrote:
kryptonians actually have two fully functional appendixes. [I think waid's birthright]

and yes, superman is awesome.
At January 29, 2009, logomatic wrote:
If you rotate it 180 degrees, you see that he is so awesome that he can fly ON HIS BACK!!
At January 29, 2009, JFleece wrote:
Isn't the plural of appendix appendices?
At January 29, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
I eagerly await the post where Brian posts the cover upside down to illustrate how Final Crisis works on so ...
At January 29, 2009, Dan Felty wrote:
"Isn’t the plural of appendix appendices?"

Not for books. For body parts, the plural can take either form. Nouns ...
At January 30, 2009, Dunc wrote:
Well, that I can't disagree with.
These covers have been great.

BUT when he's upsidedown he looks oddly like an acrobat. A ...
At January 30, 2009, Mallfunction wrote:
2 bad the story sucked
At January 30, 2009, Inside Joke wrote:
Yeah, I'm still waiting for the post defending Final Crisis, because, even though I love Grant, that was just awful. ...
At January 30, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
Yeah, I’m still waiting for the post defending Final Crisis

Then you probably want the Final Crisis #7 review article from ...
At January 30, 2009, Rob Schamberger wrote:
I totally loved the whole ride of Final Crisis. I re-read the series in anticipation of the last issue ...
At January 30, 2009, Aaron Walther wrote:
Stop drumming up interest for this cover Brian! I haven't gotten my issue yet, and if I go to ...
At January 30, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:
I don't get this post, but I'm going to assume it's my fault rather than that of its creator.
At January 30, 2009, Ryan Frank wrote:
I also don't get this post, so I'll go ahead and ask and try to keep it snark-free...what are you ...
At January 30, 2009, SplintChesthair wrote:
This just made me realize how obviously clone-stamped the "debris" coming off the "L" in the logo is.
At January 30, 2009, joshschr wrote:
It's like this: you get it or you don't. People who don't get it aren't dumb, and people who ...
At January 30, 2009, joshschr wrote:
Crap! But you get my drift.
At January 30, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
You know, with all the rest of the cover text "distressed" shouldn't they have done a one-off distressed DC logo ...
At January 31, 2009, Jack Tango wrote:
Seriously, is that the point? Just some joke about how if you don't get the "joke" you're dumb?
At January 31, 2009, Alan Coil wrote:
Final Crisis is so awesome I can't understand all of it. I get most of it, but it feels as ...
At January 31, 2009, Cass wrote:
I think the point of this post is that

1) Superman is awesome.
2) The cover of Final Crisis 7 looks better ...
At February 3, 2009, Mallfunction wrote:
I'm more a Spider-Man guy to be honest.

Not Exactly Much of a Choice, No?

Brian Cronin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:33:39 +0000

(Click to enlarge, but why you would want to enlarge the second is beyond me)

In a 50/50 split, can you imagine anyone choosing the second one?

29 Comments

At January 29, 2009, Bill Reed wrote:
I get whichever one DCBS feels like sending me. I'm hoping for the Superman one, but...
At January 29, 2009, buttler wrote:
Yeah, the second is truer to the content, but it's much, much less dynamic.
At January 29, 2009, joshschr wrote:
Wasn't the "problem" the same for #6? A choice between a story scene that wasn't in the story, or ...
At January 29, 2009, Matt wrote:
Maybe someone bought all the 6 other non-J.G. Jones cover and wants his collection to look uniform?
At January 29, 2009, John Cage wrote:
I got the second one, but only because I've been collecting the covers with the side borders and didn't want ...
At January 29, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:
Which of course raises the question of why anybody would want either one ...
At January 29, 2009, SanctumSanctorumComix wrote:
I'm not reading this series, and can kinda get the idea of what's going on in the 2nd cover, but ...
At January 29, 2009, Dan Felty wrote:
I'd love to write a DC mini-series set on "Earth-Head," where hats are currency, fishbowls are apartments, and soccer is ...
At January 29, 2009, Chris Jones wrote:
I love the second cover.

It's just OUTRAGEOUSLY creepy.
At January 29, 2009, Neal K wrote:
Sanctum: You can "kinda get the idea" and you are not even reading the series?!? You must be ...
At January 29, 2009, Jake wrote:
My LCS gave me the sliver cover for issue 1 and the character cover for issue 2. My OCD made ...
At January 29, 2009, Matt D wrote:
I dunno. The second one's got some kooky square bizarro world
At January 29, 2009, Patrick C wrote:
When Final Crisis: Secret Origins came out my LCS gave me the generic Wonder Woman sliver cover, as opposed to ...
At January 29, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:
I got the character covers for everything except the first issue, since my LCS ran out and I hadn't declared ...
At January 29, 2009, DanLarkin wrote:
Man I hate floating bubble head covers. I'm really hoping I got the Superman cover pulled for me.
At January 29, 2009, Anthony Cheng wrote:
Maybe if you're a real Chip Kidd wonk.
At January 29, 2009, Apodaca wrote:
"Which of course raises the question of why anybody would want either one …"

No, it doesn't.
At January 29, 2009, Preston wrote:
I feel bad for anyone who ended up with the sliver covers.

Not onyl were half of them boring and uninspired ...
At January 29, 2009, Armstrong Sabian wrote:
I do like the Bizarro joke. The execution's not exceptional. I hope that the artist isn't reading the blog though.
At January 29, 2009, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:
I'd go for the second. It looks more interesting than the first.
At January 29, 2009, Dave wrote:
I tended to buy the sliver covers because by and large I didn't care about the characters pictured on the ...
At January 29, 2009, Anonymous wrote:
There were only sliver covers left at the store... it's pretty bad...

I like the Chip Kidd design.
At January 30, 2009, Kamino Neko wrote:
It's not just this cover...the non-sliver covers for the whole series have been so, so, so awesome...although the sliver covers ...
At January 30, 2009, Ranald wrote:
The J.G. Jones sliver covers (issues 1-3) were fantastic, and more interesting to me than superhero pin-ups. But then other ...
At January 30, 2009, Chad Nevett wrote:
I went sliver cover, but that's because I've only gotten sliver covers. I like the trade design, which highlights the ...
At January 30, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Yeah, the JG Jones' sliver covers were excellent, and I also started with sliver myself, but went back and switched ...
At January 30, 2009, Rebis wrote:
I'm happy I've been getting the full-character covers all along. I didn't think it was much of a choice to ...
At January 30, 2009, Spiffy wrote:
And yet that second cover was the one News-a-rama highlighted when they interviewed Dan DiDio about FC #7!

Takes all kinds ...
At January 30, 2009, John Trumbull wrote:
The sliver covers are just outrageously unattractive. I wouldn't have guessed that DC could do something uglier & duller ...

Final Crisis #7 Review

Brian Cronin — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:25:36 +0000

Well then.

I think I'll coin a new term for this issue - this was a "The Good of the Many Outweighs the Good of the One" comic. In that it was good, but had deficiencies that I think ran directly to the interest of giving the overall story a clear ending, thereby sacrificing some of its own quality in favor of making the whole work read better (of course, that desire was then dashed a bit by DC's plans for the trade collection). Then again, that's a common problem for final issues, so comparably, this held up on its own remarkably well (and really did give the whole endeavor a clear and satisfying conclusion).

First off, it was awesome having a single artist (and a good one, to boot!) artist working on this issue. Doug Mahnke did very well with the time he had, art-wise. It was odd, however, to have Marco Ruby do the cover instead of Mahnke (I presume Mahnke was on a tight deadline, but man, he couldn't have drawn a more rushed-looking cover than what Rudy came up with. He appears to have drawn the cover in about five minutes. Holy bejeezuz, that was an ugly cover!). Thank goodness for JG Jones' awesome Superman cover!

There are two notable drawbacks of the issue.

One, Mandrakk really should have appeared more in Final Crisis if DC is going to sell Final Crisis #1-7 as a Hardcover. As I've said in the past, I was not too irked by the idea of Superman Beyond basically being Final Crisis #4 and 8 (of a 9-issue series). But that was when I was hoping DC would have the Hardcover be Final Crisis #1-7 plus Superman Beyond #1-2. With the knowledge that the hardcover will NOT have Sueprman Beyond, that is pretty lame. It's not a HUGE deal, and you can still follow the series without Superman Beyond, but Superman Beyond sure as hell helps.

Two, due to the fact that this is the issue where the story is wrapped up, there are some awkward moments where Morrison simply does that - wrap the story up. Some "and then this happened and then this happened" storytelling in a few of the spots. That, I am sure, will work well for the trade collection (hence the "for the good of the many" part) but it hurts this single issue. In addition, some stuff seems rushed for space (Hawkman and Hawkgirl's death, for instance).

Okay, so once you get that all out of the way (Mandrakk should be in the series more - actually, the Superman Beyond stuff was explained pretty well EXCEPT for Mandrakk, there were some awkward moments of exposition and some scenes seemed rushed for lack of space), this was still a very good comic book.

Doug Mahnke handled the artwork with a sense of might and importance, and he has a number of big time great moments (Captain Marvel arriving with the alternate universe characters plus the sea of Supermen showing up) that he illustrates magnificently. However, there were also plenty of other moments where the rush on his artwork (and the multitude of inkers) was evident.

There are a number of great character moments in the book, which is great to see in a company-wide crossover, plus little moments like Dinah and Ollie celebrating The Ray presenting the Sigil on Earth. Barry and Wally bringing the Black Racer to Darkseid. The Japanese heroes had their moment. We got great scenes with the remaining heroes feeling that they are done for.

Perhaps the best moment of the issue was the revelation of who this was a "Final Crisis" FOR. That was beautifully handled.

And, of course, I was quite pleased to be right that Morrison explained that Batman was not really dead. In fact, he handled that about as perfectly as you could possibly handle it - show him as not dead while at the same time NOT exactly showing what his deal is. Perfect.

There were so many great moments, I'm sure I'm missing some (like the Green Lanterns staking Mandrakk or the purposely hokey "Let the Sun shine in"....ooooh...how about the WiR joke! That was classic).

So yeah, good issue, all in all, and an even better story in total.

Recommended.

137 Comments

At January 28, 2009, Thok wrote:
I haven't decided whether or not this was a good issue yet.

That said, I love the idea that in the ...
At January 28, 2009, Jason wrote:
Very accurate review. The only real ball dropping with this series i've seen is not including Beyond in the main ...
At January 28, 2009, Martin wrote:
I thought it was the weakest issue in the series.
At January 28, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
I thought it was the weakest issue in the series. Totally agreed.

I think the weakest issue in the series is ...
At January 28, 2009, jccalhoun wrote:
Honestly, as I read it there were several times when I wondered if the pages were in the wrong order ...
At January 28, 2009, juicy wrote:
wow given how reserved your gushing was for this issue it must have really really sucked
At January 28, 2009, Alvin wrote:
Uhh... I'm just going to say It's nice to think Batman is out there somewhere and hopefully this really is ...
At January 28, 2009, aaron wrote:
Mahnke's art was tremendous, especially considering the circumstances that surrounded him coming onto the book. And FC7, like the rest ...
At January 28, 2009, H.Z wrote:
Worst crossover of the decade
At January 28, 2009, Evan Waters wrote:
You people read INFINITE CRISIS, right?
At January 28, 2009, P_B wrote:
I enjoyed some of the issue, but the series' stories and Superman Beyond seemed to crunch up like a fiery ...
At January 28, 2009, buttler wrote:
It's been hard for me to go back and forth between this series and Trinity, because the alternate worlds in ...
At January 28, 2009, Ted wrote:
What exactly is storytelling other than plot and characterisation?
At January 28, 2009, Evan Waters wrote:
Well, there's atmosphere, but that wasn't a problem here.
At January 28, 2009, T. wrote:
Artistic panel-to-panel continuity is also part of storytelling. How the action is depicted and flows from one panel to ...
At January 28, 2009, Matt D wrote:
Maybe it's because I reread 1-6 before starting on this today but I really loved it. This is going to ...
At January 28, 2009, Cass wrote:
With the Marvel method, the artist has a lot more discretion for determining panel to panel flow.

I could be way ...
At January 28, 2009, T. wrote:
I was of the understanding that that is how and why it started, but that it continued as a tradition ...
At January 28, 2009, Jacob T. Levy wrote:
FC #7 dazzled me and made me finally see that the whole thing really was a Morrison comic, in a ...
At January 28, 2009, jhota wrote:
i'm just glad it's over.

i can't really admit to enjoying Final Crisis. or understanding it, either.

i'm sure 20 years from ...
At January 28, 2009, Rob wrote:
I liked it, although I wasn't reading the Superman Beyond books so there are some things I "think" I get, ...
At January 28, 2009, Fearing wrote:
Another amazing moment that I too missed until I read an annotation, was page 25 the first panel. Superman's hand ...
At January 28, 2009, alex wrote:
Final Crisis made sense.

It was well-constructed and enormously sprawling, with lots of characters, worldfs, and elements.

And it still made sense.

Saying ...
At January 28, 2009, Trent wrote:
Where is Superman Beyond being collected?
At January 28, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:
I was of the understanding that that is how and why it started, but that it continued as a tradition ...
At January 28, 2009, Anthony Cheng wrote:
I felt that Mandrakk should have been left out of FINAL CRISIS entirely. The events of SUPERMAN: BEYOND should have ...
At January 28, 2009, Rex wrote:
Yeah, I think when Final Crisis started, many critics didn't want to be catalogued as stupid or ignorant as the ...
At January 28, 2009, alex wrote:
Is that why critics do that Rex? That is why people say their opinions in the way that they do?

Because ...
At January 28, 2009, Evan Waters wrote:
Because, of course, there cannot possibly be those of us who both liked and understood it. We're all delusional. Good ...
At January 28, 2009, Gil Jaysmith wrote:
I'm not sure how one could read this comic without crying.
Maybe if you've never loved anyone, if you've never lost ...
At January 28, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
Eh, go easy on Rex, guys, he's got a point. I thought I liked the comic too, until he explained ...
At January 28, 2009, Smith wrote:
well for those critics out there im not exactly sure what the alternative superhero comic out there is that is ...
At January 28, 2009, Kelson wrote:
I liked a lot of things about this issue -- how hard it is to kill a god, the fact ...
At January 28, 2009, Tony P. wrote:
I loved it!
I do have to say it would definitely benefit from being read as a trade with Superman ...
At January 28, 2009, uhhh wrote:
loved the captain carrot thing... but it totally contradicts stuff from the last CCAHAZC mini.
such as:
-earth-26 being called earth-35 (
-the ...
At January 28, 2009, Ryan wrote:
I called the return of Mandrakk and the stuff with Kamandi.
At January 28, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
But for the most part, I got the impression that most Marvel writers give the artist a lot more leeway ...
At January 28, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Saying “it did not make sense” is not a valid critique. A slight criticism that I had with this particular ...
At January 28, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Where is Superman Beyond being collected? In a separate "tie-ins" trade-paperback titled Final Crisis Companion.

It's amazing that they're not ...
At January 28, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Yeah, I think when Final Crisis started, many critics didn’t want to be catalogued as stupid or ignorant as the ...
At January 29, 2009, Blackagar Boltagon wrote:
It's a perfectly valid criticism to say Final Crisis didn't make sense. I'm sure it made perfect sense to some, ...
At January 29, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
What confused you in Final Crisis?
At January 29, 2009, Dalarsco wrote:
I had no idea what was going on most of the time but loved every moment of it. I ...
At January 29, 2009, ZZZ wrote:
Personally, I enjoyed this isue, but there were chunks of it I had to handle in a "just let it ...
At January 29, 2009, PastePotPete wrote:
I largely liked Final Crisis but I have to say parts of it were confusing to me. And I ...
At January 29, 2009, Dunc wrote:
I whole heartedly second ZZZ's comment.

If I'm being made feel like an idiot/snark for finding the story badly structured and ...
At January 29, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
If you know for a fact that you don’t understand something, and someone tells you it’s impossible to not understand ...
At January 29, 2009, Dunc wrote:
Except that Morrison wrote submit so it just doesn't make any sense.
Maybe an all Morrison companion with Last Rites and ...
At January 29, 2009, b-rad wrote:
That some people found this book adequate, let alone good amazes me. It was confusing, badly drawn and completely incomprehensible ...
At January 29, 2009, B-rad wrote:
Gil Jaysmith
January 28, 2009 at 9:25 pm
I’m not sure how one could read this comic without crying.
Maybe if you’ve never ...
At January 29, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
Well, I support the "Delays harmed the story-telling" line.

When I get round to picking this up (in two weeks ...
At January 29, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
Oh, and I forgot to add Submit and Resist into the binding as well... so that's 13 issues... One big ...
At January 29, 2009, SmartRemarks » The final issue of Final Crisis, finally wrote:
[...] that’s what passes for praise. In a similar vein, from CBR’s Brian Cronin: [D]ue to the fact that this ...
At January 29, 2009, alex wrote:
"B-Rad" said:

"Being made to cry by a comic of this caliber doesn’t mean the comic was good it means you ...
At January 29, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
I know people are going to call me dumb and say that those things I didn’t get couldn’t POSSIBLY have ...
At January 29, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
I understand that that’s probably naive to expect people not to act like dicks, but hey, like Superman, I can ...
At January 29, 2009, Stefan wrote:
The series was brilliant and the issue was, well, I agree with the review pretty well.

I think the problem here ...
At January 29, 2009, John Seavey wrote:
I'd be very surprised if Morrison wrote this "Marvel style". The traditional "Marvel style" is a short synopsis, usually no ...
At January 29, 2009, Mojo wrote:
I have to agree with Blackagar Boltagon. I have not followed the DCU until recently. Mainly because I ...
At January 29, 2009, Dunc wrote:
Brian,
B-Rad not withstanding (that guy's just a dick seemingly) this:

When I don’t get that same basic level of non-assholeitude from ...
At January 29, 2009, edc wrote:
I'm very glad I didn't buy or download any of this.
cbr's superman beyond review means I'll give that a look ...
At January 29, 2009, T. wrote:
I think part of the problem is that a lot of people are using the phrase "didn't make any sense" ...
At January 29, 2009, Anthony Cheng wrote:
The conversation has been more like this:

A: "I don't understand what happened."

B: "Well there are clues here, here, and here ...
At January 29, 2009, Paperghost wrote:
There was an excellent conclusion threatening to burst out of this issue, but some obvious rewrites coupled with the need ...
At January 29, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
I've seen it mentioned in a few places, so I'm curious what people think the rewrites were. Or at least ...
At January 29, 2009, Andrew Collins wrote:
All I know is that I'm glad I skipped this. I love DC in general, and consider myself pretty knowledgeable ...
At January 29, 2009, Neal K wrote:
I really enjoyed this issue, and found it to be a satisfying conclusion to the series as a whole. ...
At January 29, 2009, Andy G wrote:
I feel the conversations going more like this:

A: I don't understand and I don't like it.

B: I do understand and ...
At January 29, 2009, Dave wrote:
B-Rad was definitely being a dick with his comment, but at the same time, Gil Jaysmith's comment he was responding ...
At January 29, 2009, T. wrote:
I'd say it's more like this:

A: I don’t understand and I don’t like it.

B: I do understand and I do ...
At January 29, 2009, T. wrote:
And Brian, just to be clear, I'm not saying YOU are among those calling people dumb. You've been good ...
At January 29, 2009, Neal K wrote:
Even as an ardent FC supporter (or defender), I would never call someone who doesn't like it "dumb." Yet ...
At January 29, 2009, Rex wrote:
Well, Brian (and anyone who felt offended), first of all, sorry if I sounded like a jerk. I also didn’t ...
At January 29, 2009, Gil Jaysmith wrote:
Glad to see my emotions are hyperbole and/or indications of needing psychological help. "Why ordinary people don't comment on message ...
At January 29, 2009, Lawrence wrote:
I liked Final Crisis a lot. My only problem with issue 7 was that it was mostly told in a ...
At January 29, 2009, D. Eric wrote:
I'll be honest. I liked the series. It worked for me. Yes, it took multiple readings ...
At January 29, 2009, DuckPuppy wrote:
My only comment to add? I've been reading DC since before the FIRST Crisis (Crisis on Infinite Earths... just ...
At January 29, 2009, Matt D wrote:
Lawrence said:
"I liked Final Crisis a lot. My only problem with issue 7 was that it was mostly told in ...
At January 29, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
And Brian, just to be clear, I’m not saying YOU are among those calling people dumb. You’ve been good about ...
At January 29, 2009, Brian Hogg wrote:
I'm going to have to read through the run of FC again, now that it's finished, to get a proper ...
At January 29, 2009, Scott Free wrote:
I was semi-satisfied with the conclusion on the whole, however the whole issue smacked of "Let's get this debacle over, ...
At January 29, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:

Well, Brian (and anyone who felt offended), first of all, sorry if I sounded like a jerk. I also didn’t ...
At January 29, 2009, Dunc wrote:
That's fair Brian if you consider what ZZZ was saying to be dickish but I think he made a fair ...
At January 29, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
In that case, Dunc, I suppose I'm guilty of something I took issue with earlier myself - not being specific ...
At January 29, 2009, buttler wrote:
The idea of Anthro as "the world's first superhero" is silly because Anthro was never a superhero at all. ...
At January 29, 2009, Anthony Cheng wrote:
On this blog, at least, I haven't seen anyone on the "liked it" side call the other side dumb. In ...
At January 29, 2009, Dunc wrote:
Hell, I'm being over-sensitive too.

So, what's the verdict: as someone who loved issue one, was quite put off by issue ...
At January 29, 2009, Dunc wrote:
Is anyone else getting a wordpress tcp error when they try to post?
Could it have something to do with the ...
At January 29, 2009, David wrote:
One of the worst issues of any major event comic I've ever read. Sloppy, rushed, pretentious, crappy. There were elements ...
At January 29, 2009, Simon wrote:
Uh....

I read it, I liked it, but I'm not sure....

Did Mr. Terrific die?
At January 29, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
Uh….

I read it, I liked it, but I’m not sure….

Did Mr. Terrific die? I'm thinking no, due to Hawkman and ...
At January 29, 2009, joshschr wrote:
I don't have much to add beyond what's already been said, and since we're not collecting votes to decide if ...
At January 29, 2009, PastePotPete wrote:
Wait, Hawkman and Hawkgirl died?

...

This is what I mean when I say it's confused storytelling. I didn't get that ...
At January 29, 2009, B-rad wrote:
I cop to being a dick but if Gill Jaysmiths' comments are meant to be taken seriously by anyone over ...
At January 29, 2009, David wrote:
I reread this issue, and I was overly harsh perhaps. There are elements that really are fantastic, but god, the ...
At January 29, 2009, buttler wrote:
I think this should lead directly into a Morrison Brave & the Bold series set in the Stone Age.

First ...
At January 29, 2009, Craig B. wrote:
Okay, I had a thought about this story. Which is kind of the point - if I understand correctly, ...
At January 29, 2009, moon wrote:
I don't get all the vitriol about this book. It comes down to what Abhay Khosla said about secret ...
At January 29, 2009, mightygodking wrote:
So wasn’t Morrison trying to engage all of us readers by making us think about the story, wrestle with what ...
At January 29, 2009, Cass wrote:
I dont like the whole "How can you say its incomprehensible when people clearly comprehend it?!" argument. Historically, the word ...
At January 29, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
More precisely, I think “It’s incomprehensible” should be interpreted to mean “I don’t understand it but I don’t think I’m ...
At January 29, 2009, VectorSigma wrote:
There were plenty of great scenes, great moments, and - as is typical of Morrison - big metafiction ideas in ...
At January 29, 2009, Cass wrote:
@Sean: Morrison's works are generally written at a much higher level than the typical superhero comic. It's much denser and ...
At January 29, 2009, plok wrote:
Wow, what's with that B-rad guy? Pretty harsh.
At January 29, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
While it’s easy to say “So they didn’t understand it because they didn’t read it thoroughly enough and didn’t read ...
At January 29, 2009, Carl Lemon wrote:
Between Batman dying in the Bat books... dissapearing in Trinity... burnt to a crisp in Final Crisis.. Of course I'm ...
At January 29, 2009, Zach wrote:
Hey I really liked FInal Crisis. I found issues 1-6 pretty straightforward, but issue 7 was really messed up. Thankfully ...
At January 29, 2009, Rode wrote:
Final Crisis was like a David Lynch's film. Interesting but confusing at the same time. It is also interesting because ...
At January 30, 2009, Ted wrote:
@Cass

I don't think it's unfair to presume that when people say 'incomprehensible' they actually mean 'incomprehensible'. If people mean 'unnecessarily ...
At January 30, 2009, P_B wrote:
Trying to integrate Mandrakk into FC was a bit of a fuck-up. Either SB3D is necessary for FC, in which ...
At January 30, 2009, Tanzim wrote:
You know, it really is hard for me to understand what people want from comic creators sometimes. One of the ...
At January 30, 2009, Matthew Johnson wrote:
I don't really want to get involved in this debate, but could someone please summarize for me what actually happened ...
At January 30, 2009, Greg Manuel wrote:
I've read this issue several times, and only now do I think I'm starting to understand what happened.

And that's the ...
At January 30, 2009, ohzwong wrote:
I just finish reading FC # 7 today, and understand it completely (I think ^_^), its quite simple actually from ...
At January 30, 2009, ohzwong wrote:
Oh and I forget to mention does the Superman from the begining of FC # 7 is base on the ...
At January 30, 2009, Peyz wrote:
I think this was Morrison's weakest work ( after his superman beyond ). There were just too many plot-holes in ...
At January 31, 2009, res196e7 wrote:
Dunc said:
"...I think he had a fantastic story to tell (A). I just don’t think he did a very good ...
At January 31, 2009, DanLarkin wrote:
Finally read this. I liked it quite a bit- though it could've benefited from about 10 extra pages, I ...
At January 31, 2009, Brian Cronin wrote:
I couldn’t have said it better myself.. You've made that perfectly evident.
At January 31, 2009, Jack Norris wrote:
Peyz:
You do realize that calling Identity Crisis "fantastic" kind of undermines the rest of your argument, don't you?

Also,
B-Rad: too cranky ...
At February 1, 2009, Rohan Williams wrote:
Wait, so - my crazy idea about Bruce Wayne sending the Bat sigil forward through time to eventually be sent ...
At February 1, 2009, Greg Huneryager wrote:
What I didn't pick up upon reading the issue I've since had explained to me through various websites so I ...
At February 1, 2009, muffinpeddler wrote:
honestly, i just wish someone put up a webpage explaining all the things in final crisis that the rest of ...
At February 1, 2009, janus wrote:
To me, Final Crisis is in part a story about the power of the imagination channelled through the craft of ...
At February 1, 2009, alex wrote:
Dan Larkin said: "Finally read this. I liked it quite a bit- though it could’ve benefited from about 10 extra ...
At February 1, 2009, Loren wrote:
To illustrate how the issue confused me, personally, three examples:

1) I had no idea that I was supposed to understand ...
At February 2, 2009, Your Morning Head: Final Crisis is Finally Over - Ideology of Madness wrote:
[...] am amazed at the number of positive reviews I have seen for Final Crisis. I have seen it both ...
At February 2, 2009, Matrix wrote:
I guess I just didn't feel as engaged as the other issues. Issue 1 felt much like a murder mystery ...
At February 4, 2009, Riczar wrote:
I think you're all being too nice. Final Crisis is an example of why you DON'T give artsy writers ...
At February 4, 2009, ohzwong wrote:
I don't think a child will understand Crisis on Infinite Earths or Infinite Crisis if they only pick one particular ...
At February 4, 2009, Riczar wrote:
What I meant was that for example, I myself grew up on the old Superfriends cartoons. When I started ...
At February 4, 2009, kelson wrote:
@Riczar: Funny thing is, at least with the first few issues, it wasn't the new readers who were complaining that ...
At February 5, 2009, Riczar wrote:
Not ALL comics, just DC. Frankly, Final Crisis #7 was so hard for me to understand, I'm not even ...
At February 5, 2009, ohzwong wrote:
Never gave up on DC dude ^_^, I know they screw up so many times likes Final Night, Day of ...
At February 5, 2009, ohzwong wrote:
and no I'm not working for DC Comics if anyone asking ^_^....
At February 11, 2009, Wolvemarine wrote:
Yes....well then.

I have spent quite a bit of time over the last two years acquainting myself with the DC universe. ...
At July 6, 2009, God Emperor Joker wrote:
Gotta admit, haven't read much of this yet, but seems a damned sight better than "Identity Crisis", I just love ...

What Final Crisis #6 Was Missing...

Brian Cronin — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:59:31 +0000

I think the following would have made some folks happier if DC and Editor Eddie Berganza had had the foresight to include it in Final Crisis #6...

48 Comments

At January 26, 2009, Christian wrote:
or
* please read Mister Miracle Seven Soldiers mini to know what the hell is going on
At January 26, 2009, Matt D wrote:
Optimus Prime will return soon!

And everyone, hurray, Duke is fine!
At January 26, 2009, Michael Gallagher wrote:
I love this series, but sometimes I wish it would have recap pages.
At January 26, 2009, Scott MacIver wrote:
@MAtt D

"Doc just called, Duke's gonna be A-OK!"

I love G.I. Joe: The Movie. So very much.
At January 26, 2009, Greg Geren wrote:
OR they could have applied the tombstone from the end of SUPERMAN BEYOND. That was about perfect!
At January 26, 2009, Chris McAree wrote:
And the greatest DC character of them all......
Bruce Wayne....
Will return!

I still have Transformers: The Movie upstairs on VHS!
At January 26, 2009, Mark D. White wrote:
Maybe the box should have read: "This time we're serious - but not really. Maybe next issue - but then ...
At January 26, 2009, joshschr wrote:
"But Superman doesn't know, so don't tell him!"
At January 26, 2009, Matt wrote:
Or

*Please buy this issue. PLEASE!
At January 26, 2009, Richard Pachter wrote:
How about "Wait for the trade(s)."?
At January 26, 2009, Rob wrote:
Recap pages?? Grant Morrison couldn't even write a recap page that would make issues #1-5 make sense!
At January 26, 2009, Christian wrote:
*
This will make sense
Eventually
Or at least that what Morrison tells me
At January 26, 2009, Carl wrote:
Please Note Superman's Not Crying. Even He Doesn't Believe It.
At January 26, 2009, Lord Paradise wrote:
I think this is redeemed by the sheer cuteness of "You have been reading."
At January 26, 2009, tdub wrote:
They probably should have added Obama somewhere in the background.
At January 26, 2009, Dan Bailey wrote:
I've been avoiding the whole FINAL CRISIS thing (except for LEGION OF 3 WORLDS, which will apparently wrap up about ...
At January 26, 2009, TimGunn wrote:
Sorry, I'm confused. Did Batyman actually return already? Or are you all just saying what we know will ...
At January 26, 2009, David wrote:
The latter.
At January 26, 2009, Max Criden wrote:
Brian, have you already read FC #7 or its preview? Do you know for a fact he's coming back in ...
At January 26, 2009, Nik wrote:
At least Superman's not crying.
At January 26, 2009, Dave wrote:
*"Hey guys, I know DiDio said that Final Crisis #6 was actually the for real conclusion of Batman RIP but ...
At January 26, 2009, UltimateToronto.com wrote:
Some RIP conclusion - less than 5 pages dedicated to Batman's "death". Epic fail.
At January 26, 2009, Beta Ray Steve wrote:
* Since his last movie grossed $1 billion dollars, do you really think Batman is dead? If so, have you ...
At January 26, 2009, Reader Zero wrote:
"At least Superman’s not crying."

Doctor Doom is bawling his eyes out over this though.
At January 26, 2009, Black Phoenix wrote:
FINAL CRISIS BLOWS. SERIOUSLY. I love how they tacked on that obligatory "whole lotta earths in the sky" scene. ...
At January 26, 2009, Joe Rice wrote:
"If DC seriously expects me to believe that Bruce Wayne is dead for good"

THEY DON'T. PAY ATTENTION.
At January 26, 2009, thedaytimeofthenight wrote:
I seriously doubt DC expects people to believe that Bruce Wayne is really dead. I mean, hell, Morrison has ...
At January 26, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:
seriously, how does anyone in the DCU manage to stay dead what with all the Lazarus Pits and sorcerors and ...
At January 26, 2009, Anonymous wrote:
"Yeah, back in the day before they had those, when a character died, they stayed dead!

Except for those who didn’t."

In ...
At January 26, 2009, Preston wrote:
I couldn't care less about Batman's death (I'm sure Morrison will spin some interesting stories out of it regardless) but ...
At January 26, 2009, edc wrote:
* supercaveman takes a bride!
At January 26, 2009, Jay the 1 letter wonder wrote:
Since, I'm against reading Final crisis. I was kinda wondering if they explained his "appearent" death in RIP?
Both of the ...
At January 27, 2009, Sean Whitmore wrote:
Please Note Superman’s Not Crying. Even He Doesn’t Believe It.

I suddenly got this image of Superman speaking in Eddie Izzard's ...
At January 27, 2009, Brett wrote:
* "Coming soon......DC Zombies
(Hey if Marvel can steal our ape-motif we can steal their zombie one)"
At January 27, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
@ Sean Whitmore: Ah, "Mourners R Us"...

Now I'm going to see (and hear) that for every dead body ...
At January 27, 2009, Carl wrote:
RIP ended the way it did so that there would be an ending for people who would only be picking ...
At January 27, 2009, Stephen wrote:
"Since, I’m against reading Final crisis. I was kinda wondering if they explained his “appearent” death in RIP?"

He's Batman. What ...
At January 27, 2009, Spiffy wrote:
It should say "Gee, its not like anyone reading this is ACTUALLY going to think Batman is dead! We're ...
At January 27, 2009, Thenodrin wrote:
I love that so many people have forgotten Rule One of comic books.

No one with their own title dies, especially ...
At January 27, 2009, Jay the 1 letter wonder wrote:
Well, that makes me feel a bit jerked around for buying into RIP. I guess I should have just stuck ...
At January 27, 2009, MattL. wrote:
* "This just another convoluted crossover clusterf**k made to milk your wallet and try your patience that is easier on ...
At January 27, 2009, Brian Taylor wrote:
Somewhere, Robin is bawling.
At January 27, 2009, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:
In the old days, they simply didn’t “kill” many characters, and brought them back even less often (not counting “his ...
At January 28, 2009, Thenodrin wrote:
I love that so many people have forgotten Rule One of comic books.

The rule simply states that no one currently ...
At January 28, 2009, Thenodrin wrote:
Sorry for the double post. I thought it didn't go through. For some reason, I didn't see my post, or ...
At January 28, 2009, edc wrote:
I'm glad I don't buy this crap.
if dc published mahnke's art with little to no story I'd buy that.
At January 28, 2009, Joe Rice wrote:
Christ, Brian, the commenters are getting dumber by the day. I didn't think it possible.
At January 29, 2009, I’m Just Sayin’…#45 | Comics Nexus wrote:
[...] As we anticipated FINAL CRISIS #7 with bated breath and trembling fingertips, COMICS SHOULD BE GOOD’s Brian Cronin had this suggestion ...

Superman Beyond #2 Review

Brian Cronin — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 08:49:48 +0000

Doug Mahnke gives us all a good sign of what we can look forward to next week in the final issue of Final Crisis with some outstanding artwork of what is one of the more straightforward issues of Final Crisis by Grant Morrison (outside, of course, of that ultra straightforward one-shot about Black Lightning and The Tattooed Man). The result is a delightful comic book adventure.

One of the more interesting aspects of this comic is how simple most of it is, while still, of course, throwing in some intriguing not-so-easily-explained ideas, as well.

This two-part series was originally intended to work as a giant-sized one-shot following #3, and it really would have worked better that way, I imagine (it also would help since this issue explains why Lois is healthy for issue #6), but even as a two-part story, this is a rollicking action issue that allows Superman to be pretty much the pinnacle of superherodom, while working in plenty of nice character moments for the other characters who went along with Superman on this journey.

Between this issue's usage of Billy Batson and Final Crisis #6's usage of Talky Tawny, it is almost like Morrison is directly countering any argument that the "silly" aspects of the Marvel Family cannot work in this day and age, because the child reporter and the talking tiger both had great, serious moments in the last two weeks.

I loved the dualities set-up in this issue (Superman fighting for life against Mandrakk and anti-life, plus a bunch of other uses of dualities that I care not to spoil for those who haven't read the book yet), and I particularly loved the way that Ultraman and Superman were able to achieve their anti-matter explosion, via Ultraman's age of blind rage mixing with Superman's selfless act - that was beautiful.

I am thoroughly intrigued at the idea of who ARE the Monitors supposed to represent? Morrison certainly seems to be making a meta-fictional piece of writing with regards to the Monitors, but I'll be damned if I could tell you who they are supposed to represent. Either writers or fans are the most likely choices (both use the power of their imaginations and both have a deep connection to the worlds that they follow, almost to the point of being like the "vampires" that the Monitors are), but I am unsure if either one follows all the way through, analogy-wise.

The 3-D portions of this issue made a lot more sense than #1, but I'll be honest, I'd have just preferred to see the Mahnke art on its own rather than in murky 3-D.

The way Superman decided to carry the elixir was touching and awe-inspiring at the same time - this comic sure does spend a lot of time showing us how awesome Superman is!

I like the casual reference that all the fighting going on on the "main" Earth may, in fact, be currently echoed on the other 51 Earths, in that they are all may be having a "Crisis" at the same time.

I totally dug having to figure out which non-DC-owned Superman analogues Morrison was referring to earlier in the story (Supremo, Guardsman, etc.) and it was nice to see Icon mentioned.

Anyhow, I sure did love seeing the first (and possibly greatest) superhero fighting a bad guy with not just his fists, but with inspiration for stories written about Superman - I enjoyed the spotlighting of the importance of Superman.

In the end, this seems like a nice set-up for Mandrakk and Ultraman's ultimate return to the series in the last issue. All these plot tie-ins do make me think that editorial notes might have actually worked well here (and in Final Crisis #6 and likely #7 where this story will intersect and affect the main Final Crisis series).

This comic may have been worth it just for seeing all the denizens of Limbo stand up for themselves!! What a cool scene.

This book is filled with cool comic book moments. Like Superman's tombstone - awesome.

Definitely Recommended.

12 Comments

At January 25, 2009, Paperghost wrote:
The artist goes way over the top with cross hatching sometimes, more often than not on Supermans face and neck ...
At January 25, 2009, The Dude wrote:
I really loved this issue.
Superman as the guardian of all fiction: that's an amazing idea.

On a related note, I ...
At January 25, 2009, alex cox wrote:
"Hate crime, meet selfless act"

Amazing issue. AMAZING. The nature of the Ultraman/Superman relationship has never been quite so poignant, and ...
At January 25, 2009, aboynamedposh wrote:
Genuinely touched by this, which I really wasn't expecting after the first issue.
At January 25, 2009, muffinpeddler wrote:
I'm desperate to love this, but i didn't understand any of the finer points until reading them online. and it ...
At January 26, 2009, Tanzim wrote:
Excellent issue. Comics as they should be. it was full of action, drama and high concept at the same time. ...
At January 26, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
Okay... Can someone fill me in now?
How does Superman's story unfold through Final Crisis? Have I got this right?:

FC#1-3. ...
At January 26, 2009, Joe Rice wrote:
I'm not reading the Legion stuff and I'm doing fine.
At January 26, 2009, Superman4 gives his opinion on the story and cast of the next … | Digg PhotoBlog wrote:
[...] Superman Beyond #2 Review Comic Book Resources ,January 25, 2009 I loved the dualities set-up in this issue (Superman ...
At January 26, 2009, Jbird wrote:
Yeah, the Legion stuff seems 100% optional, and thank god. The only people who could possibly love that series are ...
At January 26, 2009, Omar Karindu, back from an Internet Thogal ritual wrote:
I liked much of what went on and what was played with in Superman Beyond, but lord, I pity any ...
At January 29, 2009, TLSupreme wrote:
I have been sucked into the FC vortex trying to figure all of this crap out (I've burned through FC, ...

Final Crisis #6 Review

Brian Cronin — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:57:01 +0000

Well, that final sequence sure whetted everyone's appetite for a full issue of Doug Mahnke, no?

Another great issue, although the art could certainly be better (and it will be next issue - woohoo!).

Throughout the series, Morrison has been using what I've been calling a "pointillist" style, where he shows a quick scene here, a quick scene there, all so you get an overlying sense of universal dread. In this issue, he picks up the shifts quickly, forming an almost staccato storytelling rhythm.

This is particularly noted by the artist changes - Carlos Pacheco and Marco Rudy are clearly pressed for time on their pages, so they are not all that great, but the major scenes in the issue are done extremely well, art-wise, like the JG Jones fight scenes between Talky Tawny and Kalibak and the Supergirl/Mary Marvel fight. Plus, of course, the aforementioned dramatically awesome ending to the issue as Superman shows up too late for the big Batman/Darkseid confrontation.

Greg already wrote about the awesome Batman/Darkseid fight, but suffice to say, it is, you know, awesome. What's especially neat is that JG Jones and Morrison made an explicit point of showing Batman putting the bullet that killed Orion into his belt, so it makes sense that he'd have access to it (Morrison, in a surprising piece of "hitting us over the head with it," even mentioned the bullet again in the Last Rites story). So yeah, Batman going past his vow never to use a gun to kill someone to shoot Darkseid? That's a damn cool comic book moment. Speaking of setting up future stories, I love how Morrison used the Omega Sanction already in Mister Miracle during the Seven Soldiers storyline, so he has already set up Batman's return - it just won't be for quite a time, I'm sure. I like that he's not seriously telling the reader that Batman is dead - although Superman, et al don't KNOW about the Omega Sanction, so they think he IS dead. That's clever. Since Darkseid died before the Omega Sanction hit Batman, I presume that's why Batman has a body (usually the Omega Sanction would not leave a body) for everyone to mourn - ANOTHER reason why they won't expect his return from the Omega Sanction (how many times am I going to say Omega Sanction? Who knows?!?).

I loved the little bits with the Japanese heroes ("Ask her out before the final battle" "Ask him out if we survive the final battle" - that was a cute scene) and Amazing Super-Bat's power is great.

So, to recap...

- A lot of exposition, but delivered in a dramatic way, so it doesn't read too much like straightforward exposition

- A lot of great fight scenes

- An amazing final confrontation between two of the most popular DC characters

- A staccato storytelling style leading towards the (I'm sure it will be) crazy finale next issue

and

- Superman showing up in a rage to find Batman's "dead body."

Good stuff.

Recommended.

32 Comments

At January 15, 2009, Chris Jones wrote:
YAY YAY YAY YAY FINAL CRISIS YAY YAY YAY.

I really like Final Crisis.

And I REALLY liked this issue.
At January 15, 2009, Neal K wrote:
Maybe I am just blinded by my Morrison love, but I have never really understood all the negative reactions to ...
At January 15, 2009, Stephen wrote:
My ONLY gripe is that I think the last splash was a bit awkward. This is supposed to be an ...
At January 15, 2009, Matt D wrote:
I think Morrison called his style "Channel-Switching" or something like that in the wizard interview up right now.
At January 15, 2009, Anthony Cheng wrote:
Have to see where it goes, but Bats (perhaps owing to his lack of experience with firearms) clearly misses Darkseid's ...
At January 15, 2009, Darth Krzysztof wrote:
My dismay over not understanding the "Omega Sanction" reference (didn't read Seven Soldiers. Where's an editorial footnote when you need ...
At January 15, 2009, jccalhoun wrote:
Who says that the person inside the Batman costume was Bruce Wayne???
At January 15, 2009, Kelson wrote:
I've liked Final Crisis up to this point, but somehow this issue felt lacking. As the fragments of story ...
At January 15, 2009, Michael wrote:
It'd be a really lame bit if it weren't, JC.

I think the lion's share of the negative reactions to ...
At January 15, 2009, Stephen wrote:
"Who says that the person inside the Batman costume was Bruce Wayne???"

Not after all that stuff with the Lump - ...
At January 15, 2009, Michael wrote:
Actually, "strip-mining" works better, now that I think of it.
At January 15, 2009, Rob Schamberger wrote:
The whole sequence of Superman returning frigging ruled!
At January 15, 2009, Rohan Williams wrote:
I'm not sure it'll be all that long until we see Batman again, Brian. It'll probably end up being off-base, ...
At January 15, 2009, Grant wrote:
I wish the art was a little better in parts (Rudy is a good artist but yeah he was pressed ...
At January 15, 2009, Rob Schamberger wrote:
Also, I love how this event comes off as a big extrapolation of the story structure from 'It Began On ...
At January 15, 2009, DRMM wrote:
Why was Superman in such a rage? Was he trying to find Batman? Was it explained? Not complaining; that was ...
At January 15, 2009, Chrismis wrote:
This sucked. Morrision should have gotten off smack for a couple of weeks before writing this.
At January 15, 2009, nightwing wrote:
“but Bats (perhaps owing to his lack of experience with firearms) clearly misses Darkseid’s vital organs and only dings his ...
At January 15, 2009, Jason wrote:
Why has no one mentioned "Blackest Night" coming up with Batman "dying"? It seems obvious to me that this could ...
At January 15, 2009, Drancron wrote:
I loved Superbat:

"I have the greatest power of all, Mr Miracle. I am so rich I can do anything."

Best ...
At January 16, 2009, Paperghost wrote:
"The circuit isn’t a letter of the New Gods alphabet. Well, it might become one, but that’s not the point: ...
At January 16, 2009, Rohan Williams wrote:
"I’m glad someone else noticed this, I mentioned it on the forums a few days ago and wondered if anyone ...
At January 16, 2009, Cass wrote:
The whole Batman breaking his twin vows to kill Darkseid is actually really lame and completely out of left field ...
At January 16, 2009, Stefan wrote:
Batman shouting "DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!?" at the nigh-all-powerful God of evil Darkseid. Best moment of the series ...
At January 16, 2009, Strong Guy wrote:
How are they going to fix Wonder Woman's face?

I want a Tawky Tawny mini.
At January 16, 2009, Lawrence wrote:
It's a mask. They showed her putting it on last issue.
At January 16, 2009, Sat wrote:
You know what i thought this was an awesome issue and i think DC made a bold choice to let ...
At January 16, 2009, Anthony Cheng wrote:
Unless issue 7 really brings it home, I think FINAL CRISIS will be an artistic failure. There's a lot of ...
At January 17, 2009, Disappointed wrote:
Well, I liked this issue in that I didn't have to read it again as many times to figure out ...
At January 17, 2009, Brian Lockhart wrote:
My bet:
Bat's wasn't shooting at vital organs but to poison Darkseid.
And, based on Morrison's love of showing the inherent strength ...
At January 19, 2009, Blackjak wrote:
given the plots-coming-together theme, maybe Barry leads the Black Racer straight to Darkseid, since the Racer’s been really following the ...
At January 21, 2009, JUNIOR wrote:
Who says that the person inside the Batman costume was Bruce Wayne???

Batman #683 Would Have Been a Good Ending

Brian Cronin — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 01:09:40 +0000

Thankfully.

But I'm certainly pleased that (if the rumors are true) it will not be the ending!

Batman #682 and 683, read together, creates a delightful look at Batman's history, and really, in a way, Batman (and Alfred)'s psychological make-up.

Lee Garbett and Trevor Scott would not be my first choice for perhaps Grant Morrison's last issue of Batman, but they do an admirable job on the artwork (and I think a step-up from Daniel's art on R.I.P.).

Last issue depicted the events of the (mostly out of continuity) Pre-Crisis Batman, while this issue continues the story of Batman to the present day, as The Lump attempts to bombard Batman with false memories so that they can steal his real memories.

So we get a mish-mash of real memories mixed in with some what ifs, including what if Bruce Wayne's parents never died and he became an ineffectual fop.

Ultimately, though, we see Batman figure out what is going on and actually use his own memories as a sort of weapon against the Lump (and the Bat-clones) by turning his torment upon them, causing the clones to try to kill himselves, as, essentially, no one can live with the amount of pain Batman has gone through.

Clever stuff, and it is quite impressive how well Morrison works in all the eras of Batman's life (he even throws in a great line about Batman coming back from Bane breaking his back).

We also see Batman's humanity, as he connects with the Lump, as the Lump knows as much about Batman as anyone else now.

There is also a scene tying the ending of R.I.P. in with Final Crisis which was nice to see, if only because I know some folks were quite concerned about that.

Finally, perhaps the best part of the whole comic is a little speech Alfred gives about Batman. I think I'm going to quote it here, if only because the rest of the comic is good enough that knowing this awesome speech is not going to really affect you one way or the other, but in case you think it would, don't read the following!

I did once consider resigning my position in the Wayne household. "I need a disguise," he said and I thought he'd finally gone mad with grief, especially those next words...but when I saw what he meant, when I watched how he surrendered himself to an ideal...how he used each ordeal, each heartache and failure, to be come a better man, in the service of others...what could I do but stand in humble awe? And keep his wounds clean and his uniform tidy. And send him safely on his way. "I shall become a bat."

Alfred follows with a speech almost as cool regarding Batman's obituary, but I think I'll leave that for you all to read in the book itself.

So yeah, had this been the end, it would have been good.

But I'm glad it is not the end.

Recommended.

16 Comments

At December 24, 2008, stealthwise wrote:
The end of Heart of Hush was a good enough finish for me. I have no interest in where ...
At December 24, 2008, Randy wrote:
I really liked this issue, and can't wait for morrison to come back with quitely on board. I hope dini ...
At December 24, 2008, Adam wrote:
The obituary was awesome. It'll be a memorable bat-quote for years to come, guarantee.
At December 25, 2008, AJ wrote:
Batman RIP: "This is the end of Bruce Wayne as Batman."

No, wait - Last Rites: "A spectacular, unforgettable farewell to ...
At December 25, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
I, for one, am appalled that they keep making good comic books with Batman in them.

I wish that these ...
At December 25, 2008, AJ wrote:
What did you find excellent about Last Rites, Brian? The clip show of other writers' great moments? The equally unoriginal ...
At December 25, 2008, b4 wrote:
jeez... you guys have no imaginations? this issue rocked.
At December 25, 2008, Doodle wrote:
The original plan was for Bruce to die in Final Crisis, but because Didio wanted a self-contained story to act ...
At December 25, 2008, Michael Mayket wrote:
@AJ -

With regards to your question about what Brian liked about Last Rites... you know that part that comes before ...
At December 25, 2008, T. wrote:
@AJ -

With regards to your question about what Brian liked about Last Rites… you know that part that comes before ...
At December 25, 2008, Michael Mayket wrote:
I will admit I was having some fun with AJ's first sentence because he directly starts his past asking Brian ...
At December 25, 2008, Matt D wrote:
I'm actually trying to figure out how Gaiman can match what Morrison just did with these two issues.
At December 25, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Yeah, Matt, I was just thinking the same thing yesterday - what a rough position for Gaiman to be put ...
At December 26, 2008, Jbird wrote:
I, for one, am appalled that they keep making good comic books with Batman in them.
At December 26, 2008, Fist Missile wrote:
Like it or not, Yeah Batman is the subject to hype right now, everyone's got an opinion. What's messed ...
At December 26, 2008, T. wrote:
I, for one, am appalled that they keep making good comic books with Batman in them.

I agree. Thank goodness ...

Final Crisis #5 Review

Brian Cronin — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:25:46 +0000

This issue of Final Crisis brings a bit more of the standard "action-packed" story that one expects from a big company crossover, although even there, Morrison adds a little extra flair. How can you turn down a double-page spread with a group of "still in their right mind" heroes attacking en masse, led by Frankenstein on a motorcycle, and the other heroes following on motorcycles made up of the Metal Men?!

That's very cool, like this issue.

The art in this issue was a lot stronger, as it looks like Carlos Pacheco was given a LITTLE more time to draw this issue (although towards the end, it was a bit scratchier) than he was on the previous one, and he and J.G. Jones went together well, although, of course, I'd prefer Jones to draw the whole thing, the comic maintained a decent synchronicity, which will be especially handy when the story is collected.

One thing that is a bit odd is that, okay, so we know that Morrison's one-shots SHOULD be read (as they were quite good), but it is a bit odd that it appears as though Superman Beyond is going to be practically REQUIRED reading for the end of the story, as the bad guy from that story is going to be heavily involved in the rest of this story. I guess that's a bit of an odd complaint, "Why are you forcing me to buy an extra two good comics!" but still, why not just have the Superman stuff IN Final Crisis? Then again, just this week, Warren Ellis' Astonishing X-Men mini-series ended, and that two issue story was also pretty darn important in learning more about the main story, so I guess that's just a "thing" nowadays - use stand-alone mini-series to get extra story across that you would never be able to do with your main title's slow artist. Whatever, so long as the comics are good, I guess it's not a big deal (and Superman Beyond and Ghost Boxes WERE good - even if Ghost Boxes was insanely overpriced).

Anyhow, like I said before, this comic had a lot more standard superhero elements in it, at least in the beginning, although you can easily argue that the early stuff with the Green Lanterns kicking Granny Goodness' behind (while she still achieved her purpose - keep the Lanterns off Earth while the stuff happens) is designed to give you a false sense of security for the ending scenes.

The ending scenes are nuts, as we see Darkseid come into being in a tremendous series of panels - his very coming into existence is ripping through time and space - that's heavy duty stuff right there! The power of him taking over billions of souls is almost a black hole of evil.

Meanwhile, we get some nice work introducing the first member of the "Fifth World." There is a bit playing on the real-life "God's algorithm," which is referenced when people discuss the fewest moves possible to solve a Rubik's cube - the smallest is 18 turns, until Metron, in this issue, does it in 17 - unlocking the motherboxxx (or however it is spelled), which is awesome, because remember how in Seven Soldiers, the motherboxx was in a die? So first it is in a die and now a Rubik's cube - pretty cute.

Morrison continues to keep the book more of a series of events rather than a long story, which I'm enjoying - the pointillism storytelling approach gives it a nice, epic feel. So let me hit on some of the awesome points -

- "You have 24 hours to save the universe"

- "There's no struggle with anti-life!" "Life, on the other hand...is all struggle!" (says Hawkman as he hits mind-controlled Donna Troy with a mace)

- "You have thoughtlessly gunned down a global megastar! How will you explain yourselves to this man's fans?"

- "Motherboxxx is more than a machine. If Gods made i-pods that were alive? Way beyond that."

- All of Frankenstein's Milton-ian dialogue.

- "Radar says that the Swiss border just...just got further away."

- "I saw a leering old man in her eyes!" (Desaad finally shows up!)

- The bit about Mary still being enough in control to scream at what Desaad is making her do - ever the torturer is Desaad!

- Tawny on a jetpack!

- Luthor's struggles

- The Green Lantern's rings being affected by Darkseid's sapping of free will (and their rings run on willpower)

An awesome comic, although I expect even more from #6 and 7 and Superman Beyond #2.

This has set those issues up, now give us something even cooler!

Recommended.

33 Comments

At December 12, 2008, Jer wrote:
but it is a bit odd that it appears as though Superman Beyond is going to be practically REQUIRED reading ...
At December 12, 2008, T. wrote:
but it is a bit odd that it appears as though Superman Beyond is going to be practically REQUIRED reading ...
At December 12, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Right, Jer, but I was thinking more along the lines of keeping the books exactly as they are, just having ...
At December 12, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Itâ€™s not that odd anymore, given that Dido seems to have done it with almost every event miniseries since Infinite ...
At December 12, 2008, Eric Grant wrote:
I'll try to keep this brief, so I'm not too much of a downer.

I thought FC #5 was a pretty ...
At December 12, 2008, Lawrence wrote:
I liked the issue a lot, my only problem is with the coloring of Mister Miracle. Did someone not bother ...
At December 12, 2008, Blackjak wrote:
I don't know why, but your reviews always tell me more about the comic than other reviews (like the ones ...
At December 12, 2008, T. wrote:
Wow, all two of them! Thatâ€™s a large sample size to judge them by!

No, there's more than two. For ...
At December 12, 2008, T. wrote:
Also, according to Newsarama the real conclusion to Batman RIP will be in Final Crisis #6.
At December 12, 2008, Dave wrote:
I find it kind of funny that you cite the double page motorcycle spread right before mentioning that the art ...
At December 12, 2008, Blackjak wrote:
T.
Do 52 and Countdown really count as "Event" comics?

To me, WWIII was the "Event", just as Final Crisis is... 52 ...
At December 12, 2008, FINAL CRISIS #5 : wrote:
[...] fuimos los primeros en reseÃ±ar FC #5, pero enÂ Newsarama y enÂ el blog CSBGÂ hay un par de reviews dignos de ...
At December 12, 2008, Neal K wrote:
I can't wait to read this. I've actually been enjoying Final Crisis so far, except for the delayed shipping, ...
At December 12, 2008, Simon wrote:
Help me out... given the events with Checkmate in this issue, when does FC:Resist take place, since the two issues ...
At December 12, 2008, s1rude wrote:
It is disappointing that given the lead time that had to go into the plotting and approval for this series ...
At December 12, 2008, Matt D wrote:
I'll still be disappointed if the Life Equation is just the speed force or love or something.

It has to be ...
At December 12, 2008, Apodaca wrote:
"Iâ€™ve seen enough complaints about it online to know it is not a rare occurrence lately."

Complaints on the internet are ...
At December 12, 2008, Paperghost wrote:
Anyone else notice the bit where the first line of dialogue spoken by the furry chap in the cloak appeared ...
At December 12, 2008, Paperghost wrote:
...sorry, I didn't explain that very well. What I *meant* to say, was that the impression of that first panel ...
At December 12, 2008, Richard Pachter wrote:
Interesting use of the term "synchronicity," Brian.

You probably meant to use that other misused word, "continuity," instead.

Snark aside, I think ...
At December 12, 2008, Grant wrote:
You know I actually prefer Superman Beyond over Final Crisis (though the 3D was annoying). But I'm digging Final ...
At December 12, 2008, Grant wrote:
BTW the art does look good. Not exactly cohesive but each page is really well drawn. The coloring helps bring ...
At December 12, 2008, Stephen wrote:
"Help me outâ€¦ given the events with Checkmate in this issue, when does FC:Resist take place, since the two issues ...
At December 12, 2008, Stephen wrote:
Oh, and the quality of the tie-ins has been high across the board - Rogues' Revenge was a lot of ...
At December 12, 2008, Joe Rice wrote:
I liked it several muches.
At December 12, 2008, Alvin wrote:
I wasn't going to read this review since I had already read the issue, but decided to skim through anyway, ...
At December 12, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Regarding the timing of the Checkmate tie-in, I believe the theory is that Mr. Terrific escapes in that one-shot and ...
At December 12, 2008, Michael wrote:
"How can you turn down a double-page spread with a group of â€œstill in their right mindâ€ heroes attacking en ...
At December 12, 2008, Jason wrote:
Totally didn't notice the Metal Men as the transportation. Thanks, Brian! Also didn't get DeSaad "being" Mary Marvel. So just ...
At December 14, 2008, Fascination Place » This Week’s Haul wrote:
[...] a very different opinion, there’s Brian Cronin’s review; what he finds awesome I just find to be tiresome [...]
At December 15, 2008, Jordan wrote:
With regard to whether or not DC will keep the Fifth World... are we seriously asking this? How are we ...
At December 15, 2008, b_rad wrote:
Still not getting this book and the amount of explanation needed from other readers, the writer and various editors in ...
At December 15, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
If you are having problems following the story, b_rad, you should ask for help!

I'll gladly fill you in on what's ...

Final Crisis: Resist #1 Review

Brian Cronin — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:39:35 +0000

Final Crisis: Resist #1 was a great comic book, especially for those readers who felt that Checkmate ended the moment Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann stopped writing the book (and it became a bad mini-series guest-starring Checkmate), as this was essentially the last issue of Checkmate, and oh boy, it was neat.

Rucka even got me to sort of kind of like the stupid robot OMAC things!!!

So you KNOW it's good!

Like Final Crisis: Submit, Final Crisis: Resist is focusing in on one group of heroes dealing with Darkseid's conquest of Earth.

In this instance, it is the characters of Checkmate, as Rucka and Trautmann combine to tell the last story of that group of characters (I'm sure they'll be around in the future, but the way Rucka and Trautmann tell it, it might as well be their last story).

The art was by Ryan Sook, and as you might know by now, I really enjoy his artwork, and he did a great job with this book.

The basic gist of the plot is that Mister Terrific, Sasha (who goes "offline" to protect herself), Thinker, Thalib Beni Khalid, and Snapper Carr are holed up in a bunker as the last remnants of Checkmate, holding the fort against all the other folks, who have been turned to the dark side of Darkseid.

Snapper has been using his teleportation to travel the globe and get them supplies.

What Rucka and Trautmann do really well here is show us just how desperate the situation is, but at the same time, never letting the heroism of the characters fade, even when they are forced to make some horrible decisions (and even then, sometimes they can't let themselves abide by those decisions).

The standout figure in this issue was Snapper Carr, who was used beautifully. However, Mr. Terrific certainly had his moments to shine, particularly with the final decision by Terrific, which actually involved a clever usage of the OMAC Project (consider me impressed).

One thing that struck me as odd was the fact that Rucka has said that Sasha will be okay, provided there is a cure for the Anti-Life Equation (which obviously there will be). That seemed odd to me, as the story sure seemed to present it as a much more devastating situation than that, and that devastating nature made the scene extremely powerful, so if it really isn't all that devastating then, well, that's a shame. Not that I want Sasha to die or anything, just noting that the scene worked REALLY well as a death scene - not so much as a "shut me off until we save the day" scene. Ah well, not a big deal - the scene is still very good either way.

In any event, this issue, like Submit, perfectly showed what Final Crisis was all about - what do heroes do when evil wins?

They find a way to come back from the ashes, like Mr. Terrific in this issue, leading to a beautiful ending that leads directly into Final Crisis #5.

Recommended (this was easily the best non-Morrison tie-in to Final Crisis yet, and challenges even Morrison's tie-ins).

21 Comments

At November 7, 2008, Thok wrote:
One other thing I liked about Resist was the Code Zoo, which is a clever idea, and not what I ...
At November 7, 2008, Eric Trautmann wrote:
@Thok

The Code Zoo was established in Checkmate #17 -- my first issue with Greg. Originally, I had been told to ...
At November 7, 2008, Ryan the Iowan wrote:
Agreed on all counts! Resist was simply phenomenal and was a great way to cap off Checkmate after DC ...
At November 7, 2008, kwaku wrote:
This makes me miss the Checkmate and makes me wonder why Rucka and/or Trautman doesn't have anything at DC beyond ...
At November 7, 2008, Eric Trautmann wrote:
@kwaku

"This makes me miss the Checkmate and makes me wonder why Rucka and/or Trautman doesnâ€™t have anything at DC beyond ...
At November 7, 2008, X-Himy wrote:
Let me just second that Checkmate went immediately downhill when Rucka and Trautmann stopped writing.
At November 7, 2008, Paperghost wrote:
This was an excellent tie-in. Those OMACs don't seem quite as annoying anymore. I can hear a certain pointy-eared person ...
At November 7, 2008, Michael wrote:
They actually used Snapper's teleporting powers? Color me surprised.
At November 7, 2008, Los Hermanos no Cine Ãris wrote:
I know nothig about Super-Heroes Literate Novels - JosÃ© Wilker himself doesnÂ´t understand a Spider-Man movie. But maybe Berry, a ...
At November 7, 2008, stealthwise wrote:
They're STILL telling this story? Man, DC must be behind in their storytelling.

Didn't they hear? Nov. 4th, evil ...
At November 7, 2008, ZZZ wrote:
Well played, stealthwise.
At November 8, 2008, red-Ricky wrote:
Okay... so if I don't know what an OMAC is, have never read an issue of Checkmate, and last saw ...
At November 8, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
I think even with all those things missing from your knowledge, you'd still likely enjoy the comic.

Don't get me wrong, ...
At November 8, 2008, Stephen wrote:
>>One thing that struck me as odd was the fact that Rucka has said that Sasha will be okay, provided ...
At November 8, 2008, jccalhoun wrote:
I never read CHeckmate and I've only read a handfull of JSA issues and I got enough out of the ...
At November 8, 2008, Marco Rudy wrote:
I, on the other hand, cant even begin to say how previleged i felt to be part of this! As ...
At November 10, 2008, Eric Trautmann wrote:
You, too, sir. You did a great job!

(And I'm glad I actually have a chance to pass that on!)

Hope ...
At November 10, 2008, pyrate wrote:
I read the issue of RESIST, and I noticed that Starfire, Red Arrow, Cyborg and Donna Troy are Justifiers.
At November 10, 2008, Tungsten Man wrote:
Rucka is undoubtedly one of the greats. What has he done outside of DC that we shouldn't miss?
At November 11, 2008, Eric Trautmann wrote:
@Tungsten Man

Queen & Country and Whiteout, for sure; probably my favorite of his non-DC work.

-E
At November 11, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Yeah, Queen & Country and Whiteout might very well be Rucka's best comic work PERIOD. Both are excellent comics (and ...

Retro Review: Final Crisis: Submit #1

Brian Cronin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 06:40:12 +0000

I can't believe I only did a quick blurb on this issue when it first came out! - BC

First off, since this came out the same day as Final Crisis #4, rather than a month BEFORE Final Crisis #4, they really should have had something in the book saying "Read this before you read Final Crisis #4," since this book leads directly into Final Crisis #4 and Final Crisis #4 actually spoils the ending of this comic book.

Ah well, delays, can't beat 'em...that's all I got!

As for this issue, in a clever move, writer Grant Morrison has been "channel surfing" throughout Final Crisis (I've been calling it pointillism, where there are a bunch of different points that combine to form one painting, but I can see Morrison's view of it as surfing through a bunch of channels to give you an idea of the sheer scope of all the information that is available to you at once), so for this one-shot, he picked one "channel" (or "point") and shows you it fully, thereby signifying "If this one channel is cool, then you can imagine that all the other channels are cool, as well, so that's how epic this crisis is."

I was not thrilled with Matthew Clark's artwork on this comic, but it sufficed, I suppose.

This was by far the most straightforward issue out of all the Final Crisis issues by Morrison, as here we have a standard enough superhero comic. The great hero, Black Lightning, is all alone in a world of brainwashed villains and heroes, and Lightning comes across the family of the Tattooed Man, and Lightning and the Tattooed Man clash with Lightning's optimism going up against the Tattooed Man's cynicism, which is poisoning the Tattooed Man's family, as well.

Lightning is on a mission to deliver a valuable piece of information, but being a hero, he can't just stand by and let the Tattooed Man and his family fall victim to the Justifiers, so he helps them, and along the way, the Tattoed Man ceases to be a real villain. As is the case for Final Crisis as a whole, optimism wins out over cynicism.

We get a great sacrifice and a sad ending, but a hopeful beginning to the next chapter in Final Crisis.

The story is a bit of a slight one, but it's strongly told and quite compelling.

And if all the other channels are as interesting as this one, then this certainly was en epic crisis.

Recommended.

Retro Review: Final Crisis #4

Brian Cronin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 05:24:55 +0000

I can't believe I didn't review this at the time - BC

Final Crisis #4, the return from the break (designed to let it sink in that evil has "won"), shows us a world where evil may have won, but the remaining superheroes continue to soldier on! Hope is not gone yet, and we see the resistance while we also see the last struggles of Dan Turpin against Darkseid.

While some of this issue is devoted to the actual mechanics of the Anti-Life Equation taking over most of Earth last issue, mostly it shows the remaining superheroes holed up in a few final strongholds, warding off the invasion of the brainwashed superheroes and supervillains who have succumb to the Anti-Life Equation.

Meanwhile, while the superheroes soldier on, Darkseid is attempting to finally wrest control of Dan Turpin's body, and we are treated to Turpin's thoughts as this goes on.

JG Jones handles Turpin as well as the scenes with the two Flashs, Barry and Wally (who leaped into the "present" last issue), while Carlos Pacheco deals with the other superhero scenes.

Jones' scenes tend to be the more thoughtful scenes, while Pacheco does the more standard heroic scenes, but both men do a good job with what they are given, and remarkably, for this issue at least, the artistic changes were handled crisply and without major distractions.

As with the previous issues, Morrison tends not to dwell upon any one scene for too long, to properly demonstrate the large scope of this crisis. So we get single panels showing the other strongholds, and we see epic battles that we are only going to see glimpses of, like Gorilla City being overrun by Anti-Life Justifiers.

Writer Grant Morrison nicely depicts a world seemingly devoid of hope where the remaining heroes still manage to get by, including a prominent role by one of the more minor heroes out there, The Ray, who is working as a contact person between the various strongholds. He also delivers a minor supervillain, The Tattooed Man, who was enlisted into the fight by Black Lightning before Lightning was turned by the Anti-Life Equation, as well. The Tattooed Man carries with him a sigil that the heroes feel may be necessary in the coming fight.

A nice touch is that the Ray is also delivering copies of the Daily Planet that they are continuing to print on a printing press in the Fortress of Solitude.

Green Arrow and Black Canary are given a wonderful little moment when Ollie determines that the Ray, Dinah and the Tattooed Man are far too valuable to the overall fight to lose, so he sacrifices himself to the Justifiers to cover their escape. It is vintage Green Arrow, from his sense of humor ("I'll just use my Anti-Anti-Life Arrow on them!" to his sense of outrage (mixed with his willingness to jump into pretty much any fight - there's a reason a dude who just shoots arrows is a member of the Justice League of America, after all!).

The Flash scenes are strong, especially when Barry encounters a turned Iris. He saves her basically through Love. It's quite a cute scene.

Finally, though, Turpin loses his battle with Darkseid, and the issue ends with Darkseid fully coming into being, thereby signifying even direr straits for the next issue.

This was a strong transition issue - it moved the plot along well while also delivering a pile of awesome comic book moments. The artwork also merged together nicely, although it is a shame that JG Jones is no longer doing the sliver cover (I don't believe the scene Pacheco drew for his sliver cover even appeared in the comic!).

Recommended.

Two Morrison Final Crisis Issues in One Day is Quite a Treat!

Brian Cronin — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:50:47 +0000

I really enjoyed seeing the two books together in the same week, as they played off each other beautifully. I've said in the past that Morrison seems to be writing Final Crisis as almost Written Pointillism - small distinct powerful scenes designed to create a much fuller overall effect. Well, with Final Crisis:Submit, we see Morrison decide to show us one of those points, only go into great depth of it - giving us the notion that if we examined any ONE of the scenes in Final Crisis #4, we would see a story just like Final Crisis: Submit - poignant and powerful, only there are so many of them that we cannot even comprehend them all, giving the whole thing that much more of an epic scope.

It's a clever concept, although yeah, it would have been nicer if Submit had filled in the gap where we had no Final Crisis comics at all, instead of this silly "nothing...nothing....nothing....a bunch then another bunch" scheduling.

In any event, all of this is fairly familiar territory - it's superheroes fighting back after the bad guys win, only it's all executed almost note perfect (the only exception being that some of the dialogue could really use some work).

In any event, read Submit before you read Final Crisis #4. There probably should have been something to tell you that.

36 Comments

At October 23, 2008, Bat2supe wrote:
Clearly, Brian.

I read Final Crisis 4 & not Submit & had the impression from page 1 that I had ...
At October 23, 2008, Matt D wrote:
I realize half the internet would be up in arms if this were to happen, but I really feel like ...
At October 23, 2008, Paperghost wrote:
I don't recall being so creeped out by a depiction of a character as I have by the way Darkseid ...
At October 23, 2008, Mark Engblom wrote:
What a crashing disappointment Final Crisis has been. Of course, I've never been a New Gods fan, and their ...
At October 23, 2008, Graeme White wrote:
I just don't get the disjointed approach that DC are taking. It totally ruins the pacing and the story ...
At October 23, 2008, T. wrote:
Final Crisis is basically a more boring, more confusing JLA Rock of Ages, except with more issues and tie-ins. ...
At October 23, 2008, Matt D wrote:
Somewhere, Mark Millar is laughing uproariously for how unmarketable Morrison is writing his events are right now. The bastard.
At October 23, 2008, Joe Rice wrote:
Loved them both . . .but Final Crisis was definitely the superior of the two. The sheer mood dripping ...
At October 23, 2008, Dave wrote:
Yeah, I kinda would have appreciated being told that Submit was basically Final Crisis #3.5, because I assumed it was ...
At October 23, 2008, layne wrote:
read Submit before you read Final Crisis #4. There probably should have been something to tell you that.

Yes, there most ...
At October 23, 2008, brian lockhart wrote:
Dave,

It's not complicated. If you want the main "trunk" of the story just get all of the tie-ins Morrison is ...
At October 23, 2008, Dean wrote:
I was underwhelmed. I think it's poorly written and jumps all over the place. It's seems to be ...
At October 23, 2008, T. wrote:
I was underwhelmed. I think itâ€™s poorly written and jumps all over the place. Itâ€™s seems to be a low ...
At October 23, 2008, Matt D wrote:
Speakly solely from a sales perspective, I'm not sure the death of an A-list character would matter, because none of ...
At October 23, 2008, Michael Mayket wrote:
I agree with Brian. Final Crisis is good.

So there!
At October 23, 2008, Michael wrote:
"It's not like what I've been conditioned to accept from big company mega-crossovers, so it's terrible!"

Really, the more I hear ...
At October 23, 2008, Lawrence wrote:
So far, I've been digging Final Crisis. The scene with Barry and Iris was definitely the high point of issue ...
At October 23, 2008, Alonso wrote:
Just wanted to add that I was impressed with the combination of Pacheco and Jones. I though the difference in ...
At October 23, 2008, Jake Powell wrote:
Engrossing and atmospheric
At October 23, 2008, Philip A Moore wrote:
I enjoyed both books . I think people who don't read submit will be lost because it is referred to ...
At October 23, 2008, Stephen wrote:
I wasn't a big fan of the art transition (and I'm normally a big Pacheco fan), but I'll admit that ...
At October 23, 2008, Billy F wrote:
So here's my prediction for Final Crisis.

As we saw in this issue, when Barry kissed Iris, she awoke from ...
At October 23, 2008, Ian A. wrote:
From this we can assume that the speed force=the life equations=the only thing that can counteract anti-life.

Then, the life equation ...
At October 23, 2008, stealthwise wrote:
This and Secret Invasion are still going on? Jesus.

I remember when the 90s at least had the decency to ...
At October 23, 2008, Lawrence wrote:
@Stephen

I noticed that too, however I just assumed it was Hippolyta and the John Stewart thing isn't so bad since ...
At October 23, 2008, Billy F wrote:
@Ian A.

I'd go for that. 3X2(9YZ)4A=Life

Now just figure out the variables.
At October 23, 2008, Michael wrote:
Just going from the description of that scene, it seems to me pretty obvious what the Life Equation is, and ...
At October 24, 2008, Graeme White wrote:
The life equation is the Metron circuit, isn't it?
At October 24, 2008, ejulp wrote:
Final Crisis 4 was pretty damn good, though the Pacheo pages didn't really stand against JGs. Final Crisis Submit...really ...
At October 24, 2008, ejulp wrote:
@Graeme

I think the Metron circuit will be some representation of genuine love, and the strength found in that bond, Grant ...
At October 24, 2008, Jono11 wrote:
"Thatâ€™s the way a good crossover/event works."--It's not a crossover. It's an event. And publishing schedules aside, which ...
At October 24, 2008, ejulp wrote:
@Jono11

Thank you...for whatever reason my brain has a problem with "y"s.
At October 24, 2008, Billy F wrote:
hmm

honestly, I just want to see the Flashes running around kissing everyone.
At October 24, 2008, Alan Coil wrote:
Face it, Mark Engblom, you just don't like anything.
At October 24, 2008, Dave wrote:
Yeah, you know what, now that I actually read Submit I take my previous comment back. This actually was ...
At October 24, 2008, Chris wrote:
At some point I'm wondering if Morrison did really write these books. I mean, they feel like a cluttered ...

It's a Shame About J.G.

Brian Cronin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:55:01 +0000

If only his J.G. Jones' name was just J, then that pun would have worked a lot better.

ANYhow, as you no doubt have heard screamed from various message boards (that is how angry some folks are, you can actually hear their rage through the internet), J.G. Jones, who already had another artist come in to assist him with Final Crisis, is now so far behind schedule that DC had to get the great, awesomely talented Doug Mahnke to draw the last issue.

Which is a shame (mitigated greatly, of course, by the fact that the back-up is the supremely, amazingly skilled Doug Mahnke).

In any event, I don't think this is particularly a big deal. Jones sounds practically apoplectic about his regret over not being able to finish it, DC certainly did their due diligence with Jones, giving him a TON of time to finish it - it just didn't get done.

End of the day, Jones just couldn't get it done in time. Que sera, sera.

This is not the first (and it won't be the last) time an artist told a company s/he was certain s/he could get the job done on time and wasn't able to. This is not the first (and it won't be the last) time that a comic company built a bunch of lead time into a project so that it would get done on time and it was still not done on time.

In the end, I think DC did the right move by replacing Jones. As a work of art, I would certainly prefer Final Crisis to be delayed until Jones can complete it - but Final Crisis, much like Civil War, is not solely a work of art, it is a driving force of DC's entire superhero line - you can't just delay that, especially when the replacement artist is as great as Doug Mahnke. Hell, if they combine Superman Beyond with Final Crisis in a trade, it will look like it all was planned, even.

In fact, I remember taking issue with a piece written by a DC editor where he suggested that fill-in artists on big projects was not a tenable solution, and I recall noting that I disagreed with that, that I felt that if the project is important enough, fans WILL deal with a fill-in artist, and that is a better solution than major delays (only on projects whose timeliness affects other books). So DC is doing exactly what I said they SHOULD do, so I certainly can't complain.

So don't feel so bad, J.G.! This stuff happens, and DC handled it about as well as they could!

69 Comments

At October 21, 2008, MDV wrote:
"So donâ€™t feel so bad, J.G.! This stuff happens, and DC handled it about as well as they could!"

No. DO ...
At October 21, 2008, Lawrence wrote:
While I would have loved for Jones to have done all 7 issues, I'm glad they got Mahnke to do ...
At October 21, 2008, Jason wrote:
I'm disappointed, but it is what it is and until we read the remainder of the series, we won't have ...
At October 21, 2008, Adam Jones wrote:
It is, however, a shame about Ray.
At October 21, 2008, Ian A. wrote:
No slight against Mahnke meant, but I don't understand why DC didn't get Pacheco to finish the series. He ...
At October 21, 2008, Scott Free wrote:
I have to say I feel bad for Jones, but he should be feeling at least a little bad. ...
At October 21, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
He couldn't do the job, so sure, I guess he should feel a LITTLE bad.

But if we want to ...
At October 21, 2008, Aqualad wrote:
MDV apparently knows all about whatever JG Jones may have going on in his life that precluded him from finishing ...
At October 21, 2008, Mark Engblom wrote:
"No slight against Mahnke meant, but I donâ€™t understand why DC didnâ€™t get Pacheco to finish the series. He was ...
At October 21, 2008, Michael wrote:
"What pun?"

"Shut up, he thinks he's witty."
At October 21, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
The Lemonheads were just before your time, Mike!
At October 21, 2008, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:
The fault solely lies on both the publisher and the artist.

If the artist is slow, then the publisher should have ...
At October 21, 2008, Tommy wrote:
Am I the only one who winced when he saw that the replacement was Mahnke? I really don't care for ...
At October 21, 2008, Scott Free wrote:
No, Tommy, you're not the only one who winced. No disrespect to Mahnke, but he's not quite my cup.
I ...
At October 21, 2008, joshschr wrote:
You're probably not the only one, Tommy, but I'm happy. http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/09/06/a-month-of-art-stars-doug-mahnke/

It was the best possible bad news to me. ...
At October 21, 2008, Rob Schamberger wrote:
All of this is of course under the assumption that the fault lies at Jones' feet, and not something like ...
At October 21, 2008, Ralph wrote:
At least, i think DC is being coherent: they declared "no more late books" and they are trying to avoid ...
At October 21, 2008, Alan Coil wrote:
Kinda chilly here today. I fear winter is soon upon us.
At October 21, 2008, Matt Bird wrote:
To me, the big story here is: Cheers to DC for doing the right thing and replacing the guy, rather ...
At October 21, 2008, Rohan Williams wrote:
None of us really know why JG didn't get the job done, so you know, there's that. I DO think ...
At October 21, 2008, Stephen wrote:
It's kind of funny how the art problems always happen towards the end (although logistics imply that being predictable), as ...
At October 21, 2008, stealthwise wrote:
Great, another book I can skip in trade, as I'm sick of reading crap that's disjointed due to the random ...
At October 21, 2008, Rohan Williams wrote:
Oh my god, Stephen... Howard Porter finishing it up would have been kind of awesome, and made FC work as ...
At October 21, 2008, Anonymous wrote:
"I donâ€™t know how much of a lead time J.G. Jones was given, but he alone should have known how ...
At October 21, 2008, Bryan Taylor wrote:
I appreciate JG Jones's contrition, and we'll never know the full story. However, is there a business that's run as ...
At October 21, 2008, karl wrote:
Bryan Taylor:
"I appreciate JG Jonesâ€™s contrition, and weâ€™ll never know the full story. However, is there a business thatâ€™s run ...
At October 21, 2008, Mike Loughlin wrote:
Great, now that song's stuck in my head.

Too bad about Jones not finishing Final Crisis, but I know Mahnke will ...
At October 21, 2008, FunkyGreenJerusalem wrote:
In fact, I remember taking issue with a piece written by a DC editor where he suggested that fill-in artists ...
At October 21, 2008, Gokitalo wrote:
Pity about J.G. I've read in interviews how much work he'd been putting into Final Crisis, so I can imagine ...
At October 21, 2008, Alex wrote:
I was always a Marvel reader until Civil War displayed what style (or lack there of) Marvel was going into. ...
At October 21, 2008, Nobody Important wrote:
If someone other than Hitch had drawn part of Ultimates 2, I wouldn't have bought it. I mainly buy TPBs, ...
At October 21, 2008, sir kuss wrote:
Bryan Taylor: "I appreciate JG Jonesâ€™s contrition, and weâ€™ll never know the full story. However, is there a business ...
At October 21, 2008, Anthony Cheng wrote:
I think the criticism is lack of work ethic.

Those folks you listed were working overtime to rip you off.
At October 22, 2008, Colin wrote:
You see this is why I like this place. Sure people are annoyed that the book will have three artists. ...
At October 22, 2008, Colin wrote:
Oh the irony didn't refer to the fact that I'm glad this place is calmer than some of the other ...
At October 22, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Thanks, Colin, but now I have to admit, I'm a bit confused.

Exactly what is the irony, then?
At October 22, 2008, Colin wrote:
This is were I get a little nervous that definations of irony will start to be fired back at me. ...
At October 22, 2008, Jono11 wrote:
I just don't understand why they would choose Mahnke. He's not BAD; he just doesn't draw ANYTHING LIKE J.G. ...
At October 22, 2008, J to the AAP wrote:
Well, it's not something I can get steamed over but I'd rather see Jones finish it. It's a balancing act ...
At October 22, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Seems a little meladramatic in itself hence irony? Gotcha.

That's what I figured, but I wanted to make sure! :)
At October 22, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
I just donâ€™t understand why they would choose Mahnke. Heâ€™s not BAD; he just doesnâ€™t draw ANYTHING LIKE J.G. JONES. ...
At October 22, 2008, DanCJ wrote:
Your definition of irony sounds spot on, but I'm not sure about your definition of melodrama
At October 22, 2008, John Cage wrote:
"Seems a little meladramatic in itself hence irony?"

Uh... what?

Have a good day.
John Cage
At October 22, 2008, Colin wrote:
Well this whole thing just goes to show that I'll really shouldn't rattle off quick messages while in work as ...
At October 22, 2008, Andrew wrote:
"All of this is of course under the assumption that the fault lies at Jonesâ€™ feet, and not something like ...
At October 22, 2008, Graeme White wrote:
I have to say, as dissappointed as I am over J G Jones not finishing the title, I am pleasantly ...
At October 22, 2008, thekamisama wrote:
Is anyone really coming to the table on this book just for the art?
At October 22, 2008, Graeme White wrote:
Well, let's be honest, the story ain't all that easy to follow.
At October 22, 2008, T. wrote:
I remember disagreeing when Jeph Loeb made similar comments, even stating that he didnâ€™t like having the fill in artists ...
At October 22, 2008, Allen N. Swords wrote:
Brian writes: "Then again, thatâ€™d be NINE issues of story for a trade - kinda hard to collect that ...
At October 22, 2008, Horsebandit wrote:
I'd have been much more interested in this series if Mahnke or Pacheco had illustrated the whole series. Not bashing ...
At October 22, 2008, Jbird wrote:
Mahnke's fine. It'll be great.
At October 22, 2008, Aaron wrote:
Here's the deal: you have a slow artist who can't complete a 6-8 issue run without screwing up the ...
At October 22, 2008, Apodaca wrote:
"Well, letâ€™s be honest, the story ainâ€™t all that easy to follow."

Sure it is. I've only read the issues sporadically, ...
At October 22, 2008, Stephen wrote:
"Why would it be hard to collect into a trade?"

Remember, DC didn't put the Infinite Crisis specials from the four ...
At October 22, 2008, joshschr wrote:
Darkseid wins again
Flashes see a bleak future
Find the Rock of Ages
At October 22, 2008, Allen N. Swords wrote:
That still doesn't answer my question, Stephen. I know why DC doesn't collect issues -- a price grab. ...
At October 22, 2008, Alex wrote:
Somebody here mentioned how 'haphazard' the comic book industry is. I know I'd rather be reading the Incredible Hulk than ...
At October 22, 2008, Anonymous wrote:
"Then again, thatâ€™d be NINE issues of story for a trade - kinda hard to collect that into one trade."

There's ...
At October 22, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Actually, upon looking at the price point for Infinite Crisis, DC seems willing to charge less for their big books ...
At October 22, 2008, gonzo wrote:
are you sure it didn't have anything to do with his new soon to be announced exclusive contract ...
At October 22, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
If that's the case, gonzo, does it really change how one views Jones?

"I couldn't finish the series because I am ...
At October 22, 2008, Mike wrote:
...or "I couldn't finish because they took the work away from me when I took an exclusive offer from their ...
At October 23, 2008, DanCJ wrote:
Yeah - 8-12 issue trades should be the norm rather than the exception. They still do it when they ...
At October 23, 2008, Alan Coil wrote:
Jono11 said:

"I just donâ€™t understand why they would choose Mahnke. Heâ€™s not BAD; he just doesnâ€™t draw ANYTHING LIKE J.G. ...
At October 23, 2008, Alan Coil wrote:
Brian Cronin said:

"Then again, thatâ€™d be NINE issues of story for a trade - kinda hard to collect that into ...
At October 23, 2008, Ben wrote:
Has anyone ever finished one of these company-wide summer crossover series' without a delay or replacement? Perez is credited ...
At October 24, 2008, DanCJ wrote:
Heh - Yup. Millenium - 8 issues over 8 weeks and it looks like they took even less time ...
At October 25, 2008, Fascination Place » This Week’s Haul wrote:
[...] has been widely reported, artist J.G. Jones is not going to be drawing the final issue of Final Crisis, ...

Superman Beyond #1 Review

Brian Cronin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:05:51 +0000

Superman Beyond #1, while being a Final Crisis tie-in (and an important one at that) is really more similar to Batman R.I.P. in style, in that with Final Crisis, Morrison appears to be trying to be a bit less opaque with the story, while in RIP and this issue, he does no such thing, and when you throw in some godawful 3-D scenes, the result may be a bit reasonably off-putting.

It is still pretty darn awesome, though.

Essentially, this book, while being a huge bombastic journey presented at breakneck speed with absolutely thrilling Doug Mahnke artwork (some of the best work he's done, but to be honest, most of his work is excellent, so it's kind of hard to differentiate - suffice to say, it's really good), is more aptly noted as meta-fictive text.

Perhaps I am reading it wrong, but it really appears as though Morrison is commenting on the role of the continuity-driven fan (and the stories done in response to said fans) in the destruction of the original multiverse. Originally, there was just one organic multiverse where everything happened (sounds like Hypertime, no?), but then a flaw was entered into the system, and that flaw directly led to both the original Crisis and now the current situation - what would that flaw be? I think Morrison is saying that that flaw was the idea of continuity, the idea that a multiverse "couldn't work" that it "needed to be more realistic and make sense," hence Crisis on Infinite Earths (and later Zero Hour and still later, Infinite Crisis).

Meanwhile, Morrison also plays with the notion that basically, every superhero is a variation of Superman as Superman was THE original superhero, and everything springs out of him.

Then we get into the whole deal with the visit to Limbo (which Morrison also did in Animal Man) - I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of the Bloodlines heroes represented - I imagine that was Mahnke's idea, I have a hard time believing Morrison remembers any of the Bloodlines heroes (save for that one Irish fellow who would not be in limbo). Merryman is handled brilliantly, especially when he says something that is a lot like Brian Azzarello's Doctor 13 series, where the characters have to almost argue for their relevance. It's poignant stuff, even while it is a joke.

There's a bunch of intriguing discussions about the nature of stories the malleability and never-ending nature of them, as you can always retell a story, etc.

The biggest drawback of the story to me was the terrible 3-D stuff - I don't think it really aided the narrative that much at all, and it sure did not help the artwork, as it did not even look cool. Not cool!!

This is a fascinating text that I think will greatly reward multiple re-reads, much like RIP does.

However, I do have to admit that while fascinating, it can be a bit off-putting, almost like a challenge from Morrison to his readers, and for the most part, I'd prefer a bit more clarity.

Still, as a whole - a very good comic book.

Recommended.

29 Comments

At August 28, 2008, Blackjak wrote:
Thanks for the review Brian...

I was originally going to pass on this off-shoot of FC, but from your review, I'm ...
At August 28, 2008, wwk5d wrote:
Seems like another noble failed experiment.
At August 28, 2008, Tom Fitzpatrick wrote:
Un-fortune-ately, due to budget constrictions, I'm forced to pass by ALL FC or SI tie-ins (be it limited series or ...
At August 28, 2008, T. wrote:
I don't know, it seems like the same metafiction tropes that DC has been reexamining endlessly since Animal Man. ...
At August 28, 2008, Rusty Priske wrote:
Did you say Morrison was trying to be LESS opaque with Final Crisis?

Uh, wha?

The thing is a churning mass of ...
At August 28, 2008, Alex Cox wrote:
It seemed pretty straightforward to me...
At August 28, 2008, Sijo wrote:
The problem isn't the multiverse -it never was- it's the whole metafictional angle. That can work, in the right setting- ...
At August 28, 2008, T. wrote:
Sijo - EXACTLY. I agree with every word.
At August 28, 2008, Rockin' Rich wrote:
Interesting interpretation, Brian. I read it pretty quickly last night and intend to spend some time with it over the ...
At August 28, 2008, Blackjak wrote:
This brings up the classic "Dimension" problem...

We live in a four dimensional world already... Anything beyind that is the fifth ...
At August 28, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
It seemed pretty straightforward to meâ€¦

I dunno, the way Morrison designed the comic seemed geared toward it being difficult to ...
At August 28, 2008, R. J. Sterling wrote:
Wow, SOME people's comments got deleted, huh?
At August 28, 2008, Alex Cox wrote:
Did you like the comic, Alex?

I did. I thought it was fun, and I actually really liked the "4D" bits.

If ...
At August 28, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Wow, SOME peopleâ€™s comments got deleted, huh? One fellow got past the spam blockers that had been doing well catching ...
At August 28, 2008, Anthony Cheng wrote:
The idea that continuity is what "ruined" things doesn't seem hold up on closer reading. The "flaw" that's talked about ...
At August 28, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
Iâ€™m not sure whatâ€™s going on in this mini yet (multiple readings required), but itâ€™s not as simple as continuity ...
At August 28, 2008, Anthony Cheng wrote:
Thanks for forcing me to read this again. I feel guilty now for tossing it in the pile after my ...
At August 29, 2008, Brian Cronin wrote:
If I have a complaint, itâ€™s that you have to be into this â€œMONITORS AND MULTIVERSESâ€ mythology that DC has ...
At August 29, 2008, johnny zito wrote:
I really enjoyed it. Even the 3D stuff.

The book of all stories and infinite pages existing in the same ...
At August 29, 2008, Brian Taylor wrote:
I wonder how the 3-D gimmick will be addressed when this is collected? Will they stick a pair of 3-D ...
At August 29, 2008, Lawrence wrote:
When I first read the issue, I put on the 3-D glasses whenever I needed them and after I finished ...
At August 29, 2008, Blackjak wrote:
At least it comes with 3D glasses...

I once had to make my own using coloured plastic and cardboard... All to ...
At August 29, 2008, Jason wrote:
I thought it was stellar. I've loved Mahnke since JLA, and morrison is probably my all time favorite writer. If ...
At August 29, 2008, edc wrote:
superman from action comics #1 is the same superman played by Chris reeve, who is the same superman as ...
At August 29, 2008, brian lockhart wrote:
What I find funny is that this is what we're getting for DC's big summer/fall event while over at Marvel ...
At August 29, 2008, Jono11 wrote:
I'm just gonna have to read the thing again. I got precisely dick out of it the first time.
At October 8, 2008, joshschr wrote:
When is the second issue coming out? I haven't seen anything about it through December.
At October 21, 2008, Thoughts on Final Crisis « Comicaze Reviews wrote:
[...] were so late that it passed the point of no return, and Doug Mahnke (having a nice resurgence with ...
At January 31, 2009, Comics Should Be Good! @ Comic Book Resources » Final Crisis Review Archive wrote:
[...] Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1 [...]