DC's Final Crisis Sneak Peek

Starting with Brad Meltzer's Identity Crisis in 2004, the DC Universe has seen a major upheaval. From the multiverse reappearing in the weekly series 52 as a result of Geoff John's Infinite Crisis to Darkseid's manipulation in the current comic book Countdown to Final Crisis DC editorial has woven a tapestry that will pay off in the act-three of this epic called Final Crisis.

Written by Grant Morrison and drawn by 52's J.G. Jones, Final Crisis will be released in seven oversized issues throughout 2008. While fan buzz is mixed on the series, it is the most anticipated comic book event of 2008.

What is a DC Crisis?

The word crisis has a long history at DC Comics. Beginning with the classic Justice League/Justice Society team-up "Crisis on Earth One/Earth Two" during the silver age, DC used annual crossovers between the two teams to explore an infinite amount of parallel earths. In 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths DC dismantled the multiverse and replaced it with a single, unified Universe. Twenty years later, the darkening of the DC Universe caused by Sue Dibny's rape in Identity Crisis led several multiversal survivors to try and create a new, "perfect" earth in Infinite Crisis. Because of the hero's intervention this plan was stopped, but not before the current DCU Earth was copied 52 times. In the year-long weekly series set in real time 52 Rip Hunter and Booster Gold pursued the villainous Mr. Mind throughout the Earths as he created a smaller but familiar multiverse from the 51 copies.

Build-Up to Final Crisis

Many mentions of a Final Crisis have been made in the DCU. Veronica Cale, mad scientists, mentions it to Will Magnus in 52. During the Justice League/Justice Society/Legion of Superheroes crossover "The Lightning Saga" the future-based Legionaries say that they should not have arrived so soon after the "middle crisis," implying there is another crisis yet to come. In the Booster Gold series a preview for upcoming books shows Booster and Batman during the Final Crisis.

What will Final Crisis be about?

While fan speculation is running rampant several clues have given them an idea of what to expect. In interviews Morrison calls Final Crisis "the Lord of the Rings of the DCU," implying an epic and all-encompassing jaunt through years of continuity. The series will also span time, as Morrison has said that the series begins with Anthro, the first boy and ends with Kamandi, the last boy. At the end of Jeph Loeb's run on Superman/Batman near the beginning of Infinite Crisis Mr. Mxyzptlk and Darkseid are seen walking off together talking about a team-up between Jack Kirby's Forth World and Mxy's Fifth Dimension. Considering both characters figure prominently in the lead-up series Countdown to Final Crisis it's a lock that they will both be involved in some fashion. Finally, the teaser poster released by DC when they announced Final Crisis show the Justice League members in old costume designs with the caption "Heroes die... Legends Live Forever" making many fans speculate that Final Crisis will be about the destruction of the modern DCU and a return of the original Silver Age Earth 1. Morrison is also known for his meta-fiction, so some theorize Final Crisis will entail the characters of the DCU learning they are actually fictional characters, much like he did in his Animal Man run in the late eighties.

Whether Final Crisis will be a big throw down or a metaphysical debate, fans and detractors of the DCU are waiting on the edge of their seats for the first issue to arrive in May 2008.