- Writers: Joshua Williamson and Dennis Culver
- Artists: Ariel Olivetti, Nik Virella, Todd Nauck, Mikel Janin, and Andrei Bressan
- Colorist: Hi-Fi
- Letterer: Tom Napolitano
- Cover Artists: Gary Frank and Brad Anderson
- Editors: Chris Rosa and Mike Cotton
Cover: A nice easy cover – Darkseid holding, left to right, Superman, Dr Multiverse, and Batman.
Page 1 – Panel 1: This is the Nimrod Squad, the heroes of Earth-41. At the top is Flintstein; below him is Kal’amity; to the right of the page Sepulchre; in front of Kal’amity is Point Break; front and centre is Fletch; below Sepulchre’s arms is Scorpion; and in front of him is Vague. “The Rot” was a storyline that ran across ANIMAL MAN and SWAMP THING in the early New 52 era. This page is a homage to the cover of YOUNGBLOOD #1.
Page 1 – Panel 2: The team are facing off against Captain Carrot who arrived here at the end of the previous issue.
Pages 2 and 3 – Panel 1: And here they all are, conveniently labelled and named, making my job a lot easier (and possibly redundant.) The newest member is Spore, something of a cross between Swamp Thing and Spawn. He mentions having fought alongside Captain Carrot before – this was in THE MULTIVERSITY.
Pages 2 and 3 – Panel 3: Spore is aware of the coming of the Great Darkness.
Pages 2 and 3 – Panel 4: We first caught sight of the Annihilator on Page 14 of the previous issue in the vision of Annataz.
Pages 2 and 3 – Panel 5: Spore mentions a team called Point Break, despite there being a hero of that name in the Nimrod Squad.
Page 4 – Panel 1: The crashed House of Heroes that was self-destructed in the previous issue.
Page 4 – Panel 2: Grail on the left, Kalibak on the right.
Page 5 – Panel 1: The Batwoman Who Laughs has survived the House crash as well.
Page 5 – Panel 3: The “Armagetto” is an area on Apokolips.
Page 5 – Panel 4: The Batwoman Who Laughs knows where they are and is happy to run away and live to fight another day.
Page 5 – Panel 6: Dino-Cop in the wreckage of the House and it appears Kalibak, too, has realised where they are.
Page 6 – Panel 1: He’s found by Mary Marvel and Thunderer.
Page 6 – Panels 2 and 3: Dino-Cop’s planning to find some allies on this Earth, but Thunderer knows it’s a pointless task.
Page 7 – Panel 1: Because this is Earth-7, once Thunderer’s home, now a desolate wasteland thanks to the Gentry.
Page 8 – Panel 1: On Earth-31, it looks like Avery Ho was fished out of the ocean we saw her in at the end of the previous issue, only to end up about to be dropped in it once more by Captain Blackbeard whom we caught a glimpse of Annataz’s vision in the previous issue.
Page 8 – Panels 2 and 3: Blackbeard is after the crack in the Multiverse, another bad guy being drawn towards it, much like the Batwoman Who Laughs. We’ll find out more about his “maps and tomes” shortly.
Page 9 – Panel 2: Blackbeard’s plans are about to come undone with the arrival of Captain Wonder, Donna of Troy (the other speaker), and the Amazons.
Page 10 – Panel 1: Donna of Troy saves Avery from certain doom.
Page 10 – Panels 2 and 3: And with her free from her bonds, Avery does what any Flash does . . .
Page 11 – Panel 1: . . . she runs, taking out the pirates as the Amazons look on.
Page 11 – Panel 2: Captain Wonder mentions Wally Waterwalk, a friend of Donna of Troy, and presumably this world’s speedster.
Page 11 – Panel 5: The “tomes” that Blackbeard spoke of are comic books. ON the left is a copy of NIMROD SQUAD featuring Captain Carrot which is a pastiche of YOUNGBLOOD #2; in the middle is the cover of JUSTICE LEAGUE INCARNATE #1; and on the right is the alternate cover of INFINITE FRONTIER #0.
Page 12 – Panel 2: Here at a comic shop on Earth-33, we find Superman and Dr Multiverse. The customer’s comment refers to JUSTICE LEAGUE INCARNATE #1 and the introduction of Dr Multiverse which, when issue #3 was released, had only been out a couple of months.
Page 12 – Panel 4: Earth-33, as Superman says, is “surrounded by a fictive membrane that only ideas can penetrate” – it’s basically the new Multiversal equivalent of the pre-Crisis Earth-Prime where superheroes appear only in comics.
Page 12 – Panel 6: The comics Superman holds are FLASHPOINT: BATMAN – KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #1 on the left; CAPTAIN CARROT AND HIS AMAZING ZOO CREW #1 in the middle; and NEW SUPER-MAN #10 on the right. Each of these feature another member of the Justice League Incarnate team – Batman, Captain Carrot, and Avery Ho respectively.
Page 12 – Panel 7: Note that we’re on Day Seven here – time works differently on Earth-33, reflecting the real passage of time as opposed to the slower rate within comic books.
Page 12 – Panel 8: The comment about a “Superman movie” and “rounding errors” refers to Superman III from 1983 and the get-rich-quick scheme employed by the character played by Richard Pryor.
Page 12 – Panel 9: They’re attempting to make a comic book because one Earth’s comics or characters adventures can appear as comics on another Earth.
Page 13 – Panel 1: As mentioned above, time does move differently on Earth-33.
Page 13 – Panel 3: Despite his reluctance to begin a relationship in the previous issue, it appears Superman and Dr Multiverse have become a couple.
Page 13 – Panel 4: And just like that, days go by and we’re into the third week of their time on Earth-33, where Dr Multiverse is struggling to write a comic.
Page 13 – Panel 5: Enter Ulrich Saxman, DC Comics editor.
Page 13 – Panels 6 to 9: Having been told everything by Superman, Saxman is ready to help them.
Page 14 – Panel 1: On Earth-26 (home to Captain Carrot) we find Batman punching Feline Faust whom we first saw in Annataz’s vision on Page 14 of the previous issue. Behind them are the members of the Zoo Crew, Captain Carrot’s team. Left to right are Little Cheese; Pig-Iron; Rubber Duck; Yankee Poodle; Alley-Kat-Abra; and Fastback.
Page 14 – Panel 2: Feline Faust delivers a warning about the coming Great Darkness.
Page 14 – Panel 3: Pre-Crisis, the Justice League of America of Earth-1 and Justice Society of America of Earth-2 would regularly use a “transmatter cube” to move between universes.
Page 15 – Panel 2: Batman is struggling to remain polite at the invitation to become a full member of the Zoo Crew.
Page 15 – Panel 3: But he’s saved by the arrival of Avery who has been reading the comics left by Captain Blackbeard and using them to find Batman.
Page 15 – Panel 5: And just like that, Avery adjusts her vibrations and takes Batman away from Earth-26.
Page 16 – Panels 1 to 6: Day 65 on Earth-33, just over two months of living together, and Superman and Dr Multiverse find things aren’t going well either in the comic book they’re writing or their relationship.
Page 16 – Panels 7 to 9: Day 84, two weeks later and they’re splitting up as a couple.
Page 17 – Panels 1 to 3: Saxman’s notes on the book are back and, as Dr Multiverse exclaims, “he wants Darkseid to win“
Page 17 – Panel 5: A few days later and they meet in Saxman’s office which has a display of three different Green Lantern power batteries.
Page 17 – Panels 6 and 7: Neither Dr Multiverse nor Superman want to run the risk of aiding Darkseid in some way by allowing their comic book version to win.
Page 18 – Panel 1: Batman and Avery are barely able to pierce the fictive membrane, so Avery tells Dr Multiverse that she can do it.
Page 18 – Panel 3: (The panel divisions are blurred due to the energy lines on the page) This is the copy of NIMROD SQUAD that was found in Blackbeard’s chest. Avery reveals that both Captain Carrot and the crack in the Multiverse are on the same Earth.
Page 18 – Panels 4 and 5: Saxman stands and reveals a strange tattoo on his arm.
Page 19 – Panels 1 to 3: As Dr Multiverse and Avery try to sync vibrations to get to Earth-41 . . .
Page 19 – Panels 4 to 6: . . . Saxman begins transforming into a much larger being.
Page 19 – Panel 7: And as they all touch hands, there’s the ping of a Grandfather Box.
Pages 20 and 21: The heroes of Earth-41 battle the Annihilator who holds the crack in the multiverse in one of his many hands. Working top to bottom on Page 21 are Kal’amity; Spore; Dane; Armory; Stone; and Strikewing (the latter three being pastiches of Arsenal, Cyborg, and Nightwing respectively). On page 22, again top to bottom, are Maul; Spartan; Warblade; Scorpion; and Captain Carrot who hears the distinctive sound of a Boom Tube opening.
Page 22: Ulrich Saxman has transformed completely into Darkseid and he and the rest of Justice League Incarnate arrive from Earth-33. I have no idea what the “tiger force” is that Darkseid refers to here; if you know, use the Contact Me form at the top of the page and let me know.
Page 23 – Panel 3: Darkseid simply shrugs off the heroes.
Page 24 – Panel 1: Darkseid and the Annihilator face off against each other.
Page 24 – Panel 3: Darkseid uses his Omega Beams to attack the Annihilator.
Page 25 – Panel 3: In the bottom left are Zealot holding up Fletch, while Stone loses part of an arm.
Page 25 – Panels 4 and 5: Batman voices his opinion that saving Barry Allen should be secondary to saving the multiverse, and while some agree, others on the team don’t.
Page 25 – Panel 7: Dr Multiverse told Superman he wasn’t always right back on Page 16 as well.
Page 26 – Panel 1: At first glance it appears Darkseid has met his match.
Page 26 – Panels 3 and 4: But as Dr Multiverse takes hold of the crack in the multiverse, his whispered “perfect” implies that’s exactly what he wanted all along.
Page 27 – Panels 1 and 2: The Annihilator and Dr Multiverse are bathed in light before the villain disappears. Just above Dr Multiverse in Panel 2 are the legs of Point Break; on the right, next to Captain Carrot, is Fletch.
Page 27 – Panel 3: Darkseid explains that Dr Multiverse could only ever contain the crack, not close it.
Page 27 – Panel 6: Despite her words on Earth-33, Dr Multiverse says they have to let Darkseid win.
Page 28 – Panel 1: Back on Earth-7, left to right, are Thunderer, Dino-Cop, Mary Marvel, and Sturmer. The Ultima Thule is the universe hopping ship used by Justice League Incarnate.
Page 28 – Panel 3: Orion and Aquawoman are alive, but looking very much worse for wear.
Page 29 – Panel 1: Dino-Cop thinks that the Gentry’s Oblivion Machine is something the heroes can find and blow up.
Page 29 – Panel 3: But Orion tells him the entirety of Earth-7 is the Oblivion Machine.
Page 30: And the Empty Hand arrives, surrounded by the various forms of the Gentry. The tall female figures in pairs are Dame Merciless; the three eyed tentacled creatures are Hellmachine; the bat-winged orbs in the sky are Intellectron; the twisted buildings to the right are Lord Broken; and the tentacles rising around the team are, presumably, Demogorgunn.
Crisis on Earth-Prime 