- Writer: Geoff Johns
- Pencillers: Joe Bennett, George Pérez, Phil Jimenez, and Ivan Reis
- Inkers: Andy Lanning, Art Thibert, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, Jerry Ordway, and Sean Parsons
- Colorists: Jeromy Cox, Richard Horie, Guy Major, and Tanya Horie
- Letterer: Nick J. Napolitano
- Cover Penciller: George Pérez
- Cover Inker: George Pérez
- Cover Colorist: Tom Smith
- Editor: Eddie Berganza
George Perez Cover above: From the top down, working left to right breaking the cover into approximate rows:
Row 1: Possibly Baron Blitzkrieg being attacked by Thunderbolt (obscured by the INFINITE CRISIS logo); Bulleteer (also obscured); Weather Wizard; Raven; someone’s foot.
Row 2: Bolt; Amazo; Captain Marvel Jr; Man-Bat; Bizarro; Robin; Wonder Girl; Neutron; Changeling; Stargirl; Dr Light and Lady Quark battling in the background; Steel; Per Degaton.
Row 3: Metamorpho; Sinestro; Cheetah; Solomon Grundy; Green Arrow; Wildcat; Arsenal; Harley Quinn; Aquaman; Bane; Flash (Jay Garrick); Zoom; Shadow Thief.
Row 4: Nightwing; STRIPE; Scarecrow; Mary Marvel; Batman; Poison Ivy; Heat Wave; Plastic Man; Black Canary; Floronic Man; Black Manta; Dr Psycho; Gorilla Grodd; Wonder Woman; Captain Cold; Killer Croc; Deathstroke being punched by Hourman.
Note that there are some miscolourings – Captain Marvel Jr’s cape is red instead of white, Zoom is coloured as the Flash and Sinestro’s power ring energy is purple not yellow.
It’s worth mentioning that although the cover details the battle for Metropolis, Superman is not visible.
Jim Lee and Sandra Hope Cover on the right: Not to be outdone, Lee produces a cover as crammed with characters as anything Perez has done.
In the centre is Superboy-Prime; directly above him is Martian Manhunter; clockwise around Prime are Kal-L, Superman and Power Girl. Around Prime is an emerald pincer – trace that back and you’ll find Hal Jordan.
Most of the Lanterns here appear generic but by all means let me know if there are identifiable characters. At the 11 o’clock position is Garl Rathbone – look closely and you’ll see he has four arms; top right hand corner is Kilowog; just above the 4 o’clock is Tomar Re; below him is G’nort; at 6, directly below Superman, with his back to us is Guy Gardner; at 7 o’clock is John Stewart; at 8 o’clock, the bald character with the goatee beard looks like Magaan Van’n Intraktus from the NEW CORPS mini-series but he was thrown out of the Corps at the end of it.
Page 1 – Panels 1 to 3: Nightwing, Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman and Kal-L stand around Wonder Girl and the deceased Superboy. The three big guns of the DCU, Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman, realise too late that the sacrifice should have been made by one of them.
Page 1 – Panels 4 and 5: Power Girl is told of Earth-2 Lois Lane’s death, a woman who, on Earth-2 and pre-CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, had been like a mother to her. Kal-L’s narration here and over the coming panels show he, too, has realised he made a mistake.
Page 1 – Panel 6: As well as the heroes already identified, are The Ray on the left and Lady Quark on the right. They had both been sent to their pre-Crisis Earths in the previous issue; with the destruction of the tower and the merging of the Earths, all characters from the alternate Earths have now been incorporated into this New Earth.
Page 1 – Panel 7: GL Hal Jordan and Robin arrive, Jordan having brought Batman to the site following their attack on the Brother Eye satellite last issue; how Robin got there, I’m not sure.
Page 1 – Panels 8 and 9: Robin and Superboy had become friends some time ago and with Impulse (who is now Kid Flash) set up Young Justice.
Page 1 – Panel 10: GL Hal Jordan is reporting on the events that were detailed in the VILLAINS UNITED SPECIAL – every metahuman prison has been broken open by the Society and a massive army of villains is attacking Metropolis.
Pages 2 and 3: When this issue was released, a lot was said about this two page spread on the DC message boards; about half of the page is not inked or coloured, the pencils having been given a red wash instead. The Collected Edition, however, has the full spread coloured. Using that as a basis, I’ve been able to pinpoint more (hopefully all) characters, going from 49 in the original attempt to 80 in this one. Of course, this has now left me with some characters unidentified.
As before, I’ve numbered the picture; the numbers are placed as close to the head of the character as possible. Up to and including 25, the characters are all above the horizon, ie the last line of the crowd. From 26 onwards, they’re numbered (as much as possible) left to right from the back of the crowd working toward the front.
1) Amazo 2) Breach 3) Firehawk 4) Per Degaton 5) Stargirl 6) Bizarro 7) Plastic Man 8) Halo 9) Looker 10) Giganta 11) Elasti-Girl 12) Changeling 13) Firefly 14) Lady Quark 15) Black Adam 16) Thunderbolt 17) Shrapnel 18) Northwind 19) Striker Z 20) Fastball 21) Stretch 22) Bulleteer 23) Mister Who 24) Batmyte aka Dinky The Devil 25) Metamorpho 26) Hotshot 27) Tar Pit 28) Patchwork Man of the Creature Commandos 29) Cyborgirl 30) Spectrumonster 31) Ambush Bug 32) Gentleman Ghost 33) Atomic Skull 34) Unknown – figure with yellow face 35) Gearhead 36) Zatanna 37) Agent Liberty 38) Terra 39) Black Canary 40) Solomon Grundy 41) Joto 42) Technocrat 43) Black Manta 44) Plasmus 45) Harley Quinn 46) Steel 47) Grace 48) Onomatopoeia 49) The Key 50) Odd-Man 51) Tallyman 52) Planet Master 53) Steel 54) Professor Haley of the Challengers of The Unknown 55) Mr Freeze 56) Phobia 57) Invisible Destroyer 58) Iron Cross 59) Robotman 60) Floronic Man 61) Shrapnel 62) Hard Hat 63) Shock Trauma 64) Klarion holding Teekl 65) Manhunter 66) Electrocutioner 67) Manhattan Guardian 68) Aquaman 69) Murmur 70) Katana 71) Mad Hatter 72) Zsasz 73) Shimmer 74) Negative Man 75) Professor Ivo 76) Headhunter 77) Detective Chimp 78) Starro 79) Dr Sivana 80) Brutale.
Page 4 – Panel 1: Bane breaks Judomaster’s back in a scene replicating the moment he broke Batman’s back some years before; Plasmus can be seen in the bottom left corner.
Page 4 – Panel 2: Prometheus shoots Peacemaker from the rooftop; in the background, flying above them is Man-Bat, while on the ground is Meanstreak.
Page 4 – Panel 3: In the foreground, left to right, are the Crimson Avenger, Vigilante and Wild Dog. They’re shooting at, and possibly killing, the Madmen, the Trigger Twins and, closest to Wild Dog, Spellbinder. The Avenger refers to the attempt in the previous issue by the magic users of the DCU to summon the Spectre which ended in the death of Star Sapphire (and not three people as stated by Wild Dog).
Page 4 – Panel 4: Killer Croc squares off against Hourman while the Shining Knight leaps from her flying horse, Vanguard, and hits the Riddler with her mace. Worth noting that this is the Shining Knight from Grant Morrison’s SEVEN SOLDIERS series.
Page 4 – Panel 5: Black Adam tears the head off the Amazo android; in the background Gypsy and Zatanna remark on his actions. As Adam was previously betrayed by Alex Luthor and the Society, he is now, as Zatanna states, “on his own side“.
Page 4 – Panel 6: Solomon Grundy stands surrounded by several of the New Blood characters that were created during the BLOODLINES crossover in 1993. The characters were almost all commercial failures and, with the exception of one or two – most notably Hitman – faded into obscurity until called up as cannon fodder. Clockwise from bottom left are Nightblade; Razorsharp; Geist; Ballistic and Mongrel.
Page 4 – Panel 7: It appears both heroes and villain are killed by Superboy-Prime’s heat vision. Having said that, Solomon Grundy has been killed and reborn countless times in the past. As an aside, Zack Triunfo mentions that the novelisation of INFINITE CRISIS mentions both Gunfire and Dr Spectro dying in this blast though as they’re not shown here, I’m not including them in the list of deaths below.
Page 5 – Panel 1: Alex Luthor and Superboy-Prime stand amidst the destruction. Elasti-Girl falls in the background on the left while, to the right, Girder walks behind them and Major Disaster is in front.
Page 5 – Panel 2: Doomsday’s foot. Behind it are, to the left, The Folded Man and to the right Gunfire.
Page 5 – Panel 3: Superboy-Prime kills Major Disaster and Baron Blitzkrieg together; he is still confused, however, referring to this Earth as Earth-1.
Page 5 – Panel 4: Alex tries to correct him, having already noticed alterations in New Earth’s history, reinforcing what was hinted at in the tower explosion illustration in the previous issue.
Page 5 – Panel 5: Doomsday’s hand punching an unknown.
Page 5 – Panel 7: As Superboy-Prime whines about wanting Earth-Prime back and that Superboy wasn’t really Superboy, he tears apart Charaxas; at his feet may the corpse of Baron Blitzkrieg.
Page 5 – Panel 8: Doomsday charges toward Arsenal (on the floor) and Green Arrow. In his wake are, on the left, Hellhound and, on the right The Wizard.
Pages 6 and 7 – Panel 1: Superman and Kal-L unite in taking down Doomsday.
Pages 6 and 7 – Panel 7: After a severe beating in which the monster’s jaw is torn off, Doomsday collapses in front of Firehawk, Mercury and Lead. Behind them are Platinum (bottom left, below Mercury’s arm) and Gold (top right, above Mercury’s arm.)
Pages 6 and 7 – Panel 8: Also looking on (from the top down) are Olympian, Professor Ivo, Black Manta and Owlwoman.
Page 8 – Panel 1: The heroes charge toward the villains.
Top row: Power Girl; Martian Manhunter; Stargirl; Kal-L; Raven.
Middle row: The Ray; GL John Stewart; Wonder Girl; Superman; GL Hal Jordan; Wonder Woman.
Bottom row: Nightwing; Batman; Robin; Black Canary; Aquaman.
Page 8 – Panel 2: The two Supermen take on Bizarro.
Page 8 – Panel 3: Batman, Nightwing and Robin take on Deathstroke.
Page 8 – Panel 4: The two GLs take on Sinestro.
Page 8 – Panel 5: Dr Light (Kimiyo Hoshi), The Ray, Black Canary and Martian Manhunter surround and attack Dr Light (Arthur Light).
Page 8 – Panel 6: Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl attack Cheetah.
Page 8 – Panel 7: Thunderbolt, STRIPE, Kal-L, Wildcat and Power Girl all attempt to hit Zoom. Kal-L was a member, along with Wildcat, of the original Justice Society of America based on pre-Crisis Earth-2. Following CRISIS, however, Wildcat would have had no recollection of him; now, though, with the New Earth’s history being slightly different, it appears that while the Multiverse doesn’t exist, everyone remembers it.
Page 9 – Panel 1: Alex Luthor targets Power Girl and berates her for having survived CRISIS by slipping “through the cracks“.
Page 9 – Panels 2-4: Kal-L finally confronts Alex following the death of Earth-2 Lois Lane and asks him how he could use everyone for his own ends.
Page 9 – Panel 5: His reply illustrates his skewed perception – he sees himself as a hero, not a villain. His father, the Lex Luthor of Earth-3, was the only hero in a world dominated by the Crime Syndicate of America.
Page 9 – Panel 6: A shot of Superboy-Prime’s heat vision explodes Alex’s “world view” and knocks the heroes for six.
Page 9 – Panel 7: Superboy-Prime stands among the fallen heroes and villains, uncaring about Alex’s plans. On the floor around him are Kal-L, Alex, Cheetah and Wonder Girl.
Page 9 – Panels 8 to 10: As Superboy-Prime picks up the unconscious Wonder Girl, he is attacked by a speeding blur that claims to know him well enough to understand that Superboy-Prime still feels guilt over his actions.
Page 10 – Panel 1: The speedster is revealed as Bart Allen who was last seen as Kid Flash pushing Superboy-Prime into the Speed Force back in INFINITE CRISIS #4. Behind him are the Penguin, Chronos, Skorpio and an unknown blue guy.
Page 10 – Panel 2: Wonder Girl is in shock that her Teen Titans team-mate is old; as Superboy-Prime revealed in the previous issue, both he and the Flashes spent relative years in the Speed Force even though only a short time has passed on Earth. Bart also reveals that it was he in Barry Allen’s costume at the end of INFINITE CRISIS #5.
Page 10 – Panel 3: Bart attacks Superboy-Prime again as Firehawk looks on.
Page 10 – Panel 6: Superboy-Prime’s intention to fly through Oa at light speed in order to cause a new Big Bang is questionable logic to say the least.
Page 10 – Panel 7: GL John Stewart looks over his shoulder at the approaching figure.
Page 10 – Panel 8: As Superboy-Prime vanishes in the distance, Superman, GL John Stewart, GL Hal Jordan, an imprisoned Sinestro, Firehawk and another figure too small to identify are left behind.
Page 11 – Panel 1: Martian Manhunter holding the unconscious bodies of Mirror Master and Captain Cold. As a telepath, Manhunter sends out a rallying call to all the heroes capable of flight.
Page 11 – Panel 3: Kal-L, Stargirl, Power Girl and the edge of STRIPE.
Page 11 – Panel 5: From the top down are Zauriel; Firehawk; Lady Quark; Mary Marvel; Superman; Power Girl; Martian Manhunter; Captain Marvel Jr; The Ray; Kal-L; Halo; Breach; GL John Stewart; Geo-Force; GL Hal Jordan; Stargirl; STRIPE; Terra; Looker; and Shining Knight on Vanguard.
Page 12 – Panel 1: Superboy-Prime blasts Zauriel with his heat vision while Breach flies in the background.
Page 12 – Panel 2: Breach is hit with heat vision.
Page 12 – Panel 3: Mary Marvel, Technocrat and Looker approach an unstable Breach.
Page 12 – Panels 4 and 5: Breach explodes, possibly killing Looker and Technocrat, and is replaced by Captain Atom. Throughout INFINITE CRISIS, Captain Atom had been trapped in the Wildstorm Universe; his appearance here makes sense as Alex Luthor had previously identified Breach as the Captain’s alternate Earth-8 version.
Page 12 – Panel 7: Superboy-Prime, his ankle held by Kal-L, is followed by GL John Stewart, GL Hal Jordan, Superman, Martian Manhunter and Power Girl. Despite everything that has happened, including the death of his wife, Kal-L is still willing to talk things over with Superboy-Prime.
Page 12 – Panels 9-10: Realising that they cannot catch him, GL Hal Jordan uses his ring to alert GL Guy Gardner that Superboy-Prime is on his way.
New Page in Collected Edition: The INFINITE CRISIS collection has a new page (page 223) here showing an extended battle between Batman, Nightwing and Robin against Deathstroke.
Page 13 – Panels 1 to 3: Back on Earth, Batman defeats Deathstroke while Nightwing and Robin look on. That these three could defeat Deathstroke contradicts IDENTITY CRISIS where Deathstroke is shown defeating the Justice League single-handed.
Page 13 – Panel 4: The Bat family survey the fallen Deathstroke; in the top left corner lays Blizzard; in the bottom right is Zebra Man.
Page 13 – Panels 7 to 9: As Alex shoots an energy beam toward Batman, Nightwing leaps in front of it, sacrificing himself for his adopted father. DC’s Senior VP Dan Didio has gone on record saying that he wanted Nightwing to die during INFINITE CRISIS and it seems obvious that this was meant to be the character’s death scene.
Page 13 – Panels 13 to 15: A seriously pissed off Batman is interrupted by a fight crashing through the ground and breaking through into the foundations below the street. The fighters are Onomatopoeia (black suit and trenchcoat); Taylor of the Creature Commandos; the General (USAF General Wade Eiling in the shaved body of the Shaggy Man); and Frankenstein of the SEVEN SOLDIERS mini series. It’s probably no accident that Taylor – described as a Patchwork Man – and Frankenstein – more properly Frankenstein’s Monster or The Monster – are both fighting The General, who is the brain of General Wade Eiling having been transplanted into the Shaggy Man’s body, another artificial life form.
Page 14: In order to slow Superboy-Prime down, the Green Lanterns construct a wall three hundred miles thick between him and them.
Pages 15 and 16: The newly recharged Green Lantern Corps, led by GL Guy Gardner try to contain Superboy-Prime.
As usual, the picture to the right is numbered and the names follow. My thanks to Thomas Parks for identifying most of these.
1) Guy Gardner 2) Torquemada 3) Salaak 4) Voz 5) Tomy-Fai 6) Garl Rathbone 7) Deeter 8) Spol 9) Gpaak 10) Shilandra Thane 11) Malet Dasim 12) Green Man 13) Brokk 14) KT21 15) Reemuz 16) Barin 17) Breeon 18) Larvox
Michael Bond also pointed out a couple of others: Right above #15 (Reemuz) is an alien pumpkin creature – that is Apros; swing over to #10 then drop down and the purple skin with the lines on his forehead is Ash; dip a little more to the right and the bald character is Aa.
Page 17 – Panels 2 and 4: Superboy-Prime’s breath freezes two GLs, one of which – the big pink head – is obviously from the same race as Gallius Zed, a Green Lantern and later Darkstar who was killed by Grayven, Darkseid’s son, some years ago. The other is from the Hykraius homeworld of the pre-Crisis Legionnaire Tellus.
Page 17 – Panel 6: Superboy-Prime still cannot accept the responsibility for his actions, instead, blaming it on the universe.
Page 17 – Panel 7: Above Guy Gardner is Brokk (the circular GL); in the bottom left is the four armed Garl Rathbone.
Page 18 – Panels 1 and 2: Before Superboy-Prime can add Guy Gardner to the list of Lanterns he’s killed, Hal Jordan and John Stewart (with the other heroes in tow) arrive. Note that Jordan’s bolt shoots through Superboy Prime’s armour, beginning the weakening process.
Page 18 – Panel 3: Kal-L, Martian Manhunter and Superman arrive with a plan already drawn up.
Page 18 – Panel 4: A plan that Power Girl is not party to.
Page 18 – Panel 5: Superboy-Prime breaks Jordan’s arm while referring to the massacre of the Lanterns and Guardians of The Universe that Jordan perpetrated prior to becoming Parallax.
Page 18 – Panels 7 and 8: Martian Manhunter restrains Power Girl while Superman and Kal-L fly forward and grab Superboy Prime.
New Page in Collected Edition: The INFINITE CRISIS collection has a new page (page 230) here showing an extension of the heroes vs villains battle in Metropolis.
Page 19 – Panels 1 and 2: As Alex tries the old “We’re not so different routine“, Batman rises from the rubble with The General and Taylor in front of him.
Page 19 – Panel 3: The ruined countenance of Nightwing.
Page 19 – Panel 4: Alex, the unconscious Onomatopoeia behind him, continues to talk as Batman approaches him.
Page 19 – Panel 5: Robin distraught at the possibility of losing another friend.
Page 19 – Panel 6: Alex finally receives the smack he’s been deserving for so long.
Page 19 – Panels 7 to 12: Batman picks up a pistol dropped by Deathstroke (who is seen in Panel 7) and levels it at Alex’s head. The sound effect of CHAK in panel 11 caused some controversy on the DC message boards with more than one person claiming Batman had pulled the trigger. This makes no sense, however, when reading page 20: if the trigger had been pulled and the gun found to be empty, Alex would not look so terrified. The sound is that of Batman cocking the pistol.
Page 20 – Panels 1 to 6: Wonder Woman appears and, as Batman still holds the gun to Alex’s head, Diana throws down her sword, breaking it.
Page 20 – Panels 7 to 10: Having killed Maxwell Lord as the Crisis began and having wanted to kill Mongul at the Watchtower, Wonder Woman realises that the killing solves nothing and appeals to Batman’s knowledge of that fact.
Page 20 – Panels 11 to 17: Rubble collapses into the hole, apparently crushing Alex as Batman and Wonder Woman leap to safety.
Page 21: Superman and Kal-L fly Superboy-Prime to the site of Krypton’s explosion and through the resulting Kryptonite field. However, as has always been the case, only Superman would be affected as neither Superboy-Prime nor Kal-L are from this universe. It becomes clear, though, that the Kryptonite was not their goal.
Page 22: The two Supermen fly Superboy Prime through the red sun of Krypton and out the other side.
Page 23: All three land on Mogo, a sentient planet and member of the Green Lantern Corps.
Pages 24 to 26: The red sun having destroyed Superboy-Prime’s armour, his powers are diminishing; he’s strong enough, however, to beat Kal-L to a pulp before Superman saves him. The presence of Kryptonite on Mogo’s surface, though, is weakening Superman and it takes everything he has to defeat Superboy-Prime before succumbing.
Page 27 – Panels 1 and 2: The newly arrived GLs remove the Kryptonite from around Superman.
Page 27 – Panel 3: Behind Guy Gardner, on the left of the page, is Stel, and on the right is Soranik Natu.
Page 27 – Panel 4: The GL Corps, along with Martian Manhunter and Power Girl arrive on Mogo. Among the GLs are Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner and John Stewart as well as The Green Man (next to Martian Manhunter’s right hand); a miscoloured Salaak at John Stewart’s left elbow (he’s blue instead of pink); Stel directly to the left of Guy Gardner; Soranik Natu above and between Gardner and Stel.
Page 27 – Panel 5: The Lanterns imprison Superboy-Prime.
Page 27 – Panel 7: Superman is supported by Martian Manhunter. From left to right, the Green Lanterns are a miscoloured Breeon (he should be blue), Lok Neboora, Charqwep, a miscoloured Apros (should be orangish-brown) finally John Stewart. (Thanks to Michael Bond again for identifying the Lanterns.)
Page 27 – Panels 8 and 9: Kal-L, beaten by Superboy Prime, is comforted by Power Girl.
Page 28 – Panel 2: Power Girl fears being left on her own again; after having so recently found her cousin she understandably doesn’t want to lose him.
Page 28 – Panel 3: Behind her, the heroes gather in silence. Behind John Stewart is Torquemada; between Superman and Hal Jordan is Brik.
Page 28 – Panels 4 to 6: Kal-L understands what Lois tried to tell him as she died in INFINITE CRISIS #5: this isn’t the end for them; though they may die, their stories will live on.
Page 29 – Panel 1: Metropolis following the villains’ attack on the city; in the foreground is Steel.
Page 29 – Panel 2: In the foregound, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Aquagirl, Booster Gold and Skeets watch as Donna Troy, Ion and Hawkman return; above Martian Manhunter (partially hidden by the speech bubble) is Ray. On the screen are the faces of those still missing: (top to bottom, left to right) Bumblebee; Uncle Sam; Cyborg; Animal Man; Adam Strange; Shift; Dolphin; Herald; Hawkgirl; Firestorm; GL Alan Scott; Tempest; Supergirl; Blue Beetle; and Starfire.
Page 29 – Panel 3: Booster Gold is worried about the new Blue Beetle; the previous Beetle was Booster’s best friend and it may be that he feels some misplaced loyalty to the new incarnation. Skeets mentions that Beetle returns and is welcomed by Guy Gardner, an event that took place in the first issue of the BLUE BEETLE ongoing in May 2006.
Page 29 – Panel 4: Power Girl and Wonder Girl in front of three graves: presumably, they are of Kal-L, E2 Lois Lane and Superboy.
Page 29 – Panel 5: Crispus Allen, the new Spectre, bleeding and confused.
Page 29 – Panel 6: Two boys, one called David, find the lantern of the Earth-97 Green Lantern.
Page 29 – Panels 7-11: Bart’s speed is gone, and Wally (Flash) West is still missing, leaving Jay Garrick’s Flash as the only speedster.
This scene is a direct reference to the end of CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #12: during CRISIS, Barry Allen’s Flash gave his life and, to honour him, Wally West left behind his Kid Flash identity and became the Flash.
Page 30 – Panels 1 to 4: Alex Luthor is revealed to have survived the rubble collapsing on him back on page 20 and is already planning to get back on top and make the world a brighter, better place – at least according to his standards.
Page 30 – Panels 5 to 10: Someone else has different ideas, however, and a blast of acid hits Alex in the face as a deadly hand buzzer is readied.
Page 31 – Panel 1: The Joker makes his first full appearance since INFINITE CRISIS #2, thrusting his electrified buzzer full into Alex’s face.
Page 31 – Panel 2: The poster on the wall advertises Zorro; in some origins of Batman, this was the film that Thomas and Martha Wayne took the young Bruce to see on the night they ended up being killed.
Page 31 – Panel 4: Lex Luthor appears for the first time since INFINITE CRISIS #3 and berates Alex for not letting the Joker join the Society. While their methods have been very different, over the years Luthor and the Joker have worked together on several occasions; at the very least, Luthor respects the Joker, something that Alex didn’t.
Page 31 – Panel 5: The Zorro poster behind the Joker, as shown more clearly in Panel 2, has a Z in a circle. It may be coincidental but if this panel is turned 90 degrees anti-clockwise, the symbol on the poster very closely resembles the symbol used in Alan Moore’s superb V FOR VENDETTA.
Page 31 – Panels 6 and 7: Finally putting an end to his world changing plans, the Joker shoots Alex in the head.
Pages 32 and 33: Following the battle with Superboy-Prime, Superman has temporarily lost his powers while both Wonder Woman and Batman are taking a year out to “find themselves” – Batman by repeating the travelling he did before becoming Batman, only this time with Dick (Nightwing) Grayson and Tim (Robin) Drake as companions.
Pages 34 and 35: As Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman won’t be around, the the world will be in the hands of this bunch. For the last time, here’s a numbered diagram with the characters listed:
1) OMAC 2) Supergirl 3) Enchantress 4) Robin III 5) Wonder Girl 6) Mary Marvel 7) Captain Marvel Jr 8) Speedy 9) Black Adam 10) Steel 11) Lobo 12) Catwoman 13) Blue Devil 14) Nightmaster 15) Elasti-Girl 16) Cyborg 17) Nightwing 18) Bulleteer 19) Captain Marvel 20) Metamorpho 21) The Question 22) Power Girl 23) Steel 24) Starfire 25) Adam Strange 26) Phantom Stranger 27) Martian Manhunter 28) Detective Chimp 29) Frankenstein 30) Klarion 31) Shining Knight 32) Grace Choi 33) Captain Boomerang 34) Ravager 35) Stargirl 36) Catman 37) GL Alan Scott 38) Huntress 39) Human Bomb 40) Hawkman 41) Zatanna 42) Ion 43) Mr Terrific 44) Jakeem Thunder and Thunderbolt 45) Renee Montoya 46) Red Tornado 47) Tin 48) Wildcat 49) Starman 50) Vixen 51) Skeets 52) Booster Gold 53) The Ray 54) Black Canary 55) Hawkman 56) Black Condor 57) GL John Stewart 58) Sasha Bordeaux 59) GL Guy Gardner 60) Raven 61) Beast Boy 62) Green Arrow 63) Platinum 64) Lead 65) Phantom Lady 66) Blue Beetle 67) Flash 68) Manhunter 69) Doll Man 70) Aquaman 71) GL Hal Jordan 72) Flash 73) Robotman 74)Mercury 75) Iron 76) Gold 77) The Creeper 78) Dr Mid-Nite 79) STRIPE 80) Sand 81) Hourman 82) Captain Atom 83) Manhattan Guardian 84) The Atom 85) Firestorm 86) Batwoman 87) Uncle Sam.
Page 36 – Panel 2: GLs Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner talk about the thirty two GLs that Superboy-Prime killed, with Gardner almost making a faux pas – the massacre he almost mentions is when Jordan himself killed several Lanterns prior to becoming Parallax. The characters at the bottom of the panel with the Guardians of the Universe are unknown, though the one in black might be Donna Troy.
Page 36 – Panel 4: Superboy-Prime has been imprisoned by the Green Lanterns within a red sun eater to dampen his powers and is guarded by fifty lanterns at all times.
Page 36 – Panels 8 and 12: Superboy-Prime, clearly mad, carves a Superman symbol into his own chest and swears to escape. The bloody S symbol is very similar to the symbol used by DC during the Death of Superman storyline.
Deaths in this Issue:
- Peacemaker – killed by Prometheus
- Nightblade – killed by Superboy Prime
- Razorsharp – killed by Superboy Prime
- Geist – killed by Superboy Prime
- Ballistic – killed by Superboy Prime
- Mongrel – killed by Superboy Prime
- Solomon Grundy – killed by Superboy Prime
- Major Disaster – killed by Superboy Prime
- Baron Blitzkrieg – killed by Superboy Prime
- Charaxas – killed by Superboy Prime
- Breach – killed by Superboy Prime
- Thirty two Green Lanterns – killed by Superboy Prime
- Kal-L, Superman of Earth 2 – killed by Superboy Prime
Possible deaths:
- Madmen – shot at by Crimson Avenger, Vigilante and Wild Dog
- Trigger Twins – shot at by Crimson Avenger, Vigilante and Wild Dog
- Spellbinder – shot at by Crimson Avenger, Vigilante and Wild Dog
- Looker – caught in Breach’s explosion
- Technocrat – caught in Breach’s explosion
Crisis on Earth-Prime 