How I Would Have Solved DC's Big Crisis, Part 2: The Crisis!

I'll admit it. I was excited about Crisis on Infinite Earths, and I read every bit of news I could lay my hands on in the months leading up to the January 1985 launch. There was a lot of speculation about which worlds would live (Spoiler: only one, though I believe at one point Earth-One and Earth-Two were both supposed to survive -- one for the modern heroes and one for the golden age heroes) and which worlds would die (all the rest). The Comics Buyer's Guide and Amazing Heroes were great sources of new information as it was released. For a guy who looked forward to the annual JLA/JSA crossover, Crisis promised to be that and more!

Crisis on Infinite Earths #1
Art by George Perez, ©1985, 2020 DC

January 3, 1985, finally arrived and the Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 hit the stands. I had to wait until later in the month to get my shipment of comics since I lived in a small rural town, about seventy miles away from the closest comics shop. From the opening captions, "In the beginning there was only one, a single black infinitude, so cold and dark for so very long that even the burning light was imperceptible. But the light grew and the infinitude shuddered, and the darkness finally . . . screamed, as much in pain as in relief. For in that instant a multiverse was born. A multiverse of worlds vibrating and replicating . . . and a multiverse that should have been one, became many." (Marv Wolfman, Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, 1/3/1985, p. 1)

The main protagonists of that first issue were the Monitor and his assistant Lyla, and the twelve heroes they summoned to help save the multiverse. Those first twelve heroes were:

• Superman of Earth-Two, representing the Justice Society of America
• Firebrand of Earth-Two, representing the All-Star Squadron
• Obsidian of Earth-Two, representing Infinity, Inc.
• Psycho-Pirate of Earth-Two
• Firestorm of Earth-One, representing the Justice League of America (pre-Detroit era)
• Green Lantern John Stewart of Earth-One, representing the Green Lantern Corps
• Cyborg of Earth-One, representing the New Teen Titans
• Geo-Force of Earth-One, representing the Outsiders
• Dawnstar of Earth-One, representing the Legion of Super-Heroes
• Psimon of Earth-One, a member of the Fearsome Five
• Killer Frost of Earth-One
• Blue Beetle of Earth-Four
• Arion, Lord of Atlantis
• Solovar of Gorilla City
• Doctor Polaris

From the outset, with the loss of Earth-Three and the Crime Syndicate, who were needed for the Monitor's plans, the stakes were raised. Even though the Crime Syndicate appeared rarely since their first appearance in 1964's Justice League of America #29, readers knew that DC was serious about cleaning house. By the time the final issue of the maxi-series was released on December 19, 1985, every reader had been taken on a journey that introduced new earths and new heroes but also had its share of losses. By the time the curtain closed, only one earth remained.

DC had made some hard choices. The plans moving forward were to make Superman the sole survivor of Krypton again, so Supergirl was sacrificed -- and died a hero's death. But what about Power Girl, the cousin of the Earth-Two Superman? Well, her origin changed, became more mystical and tied to the legend that was Arion, Lord of Atlantis. Another casualty of the Crisis was the Huntress, daughter of the Earth-Two Batman and Catwoman. She survived because she was at the dawn of time with the other heroes when the new universe was born, but her parents never existed on this new earth. It was perhaps best that she and her "brother," the Earth-Two Robin perished.

There were also plans for Wonder Woman, so the Earth-Two version retired to Olympus with her husband, Steve Trevor, and the Earth-One Amazon was devolved into the clay from which she was formed. A new Princess Diana made her entrance to Patriarch's World a short time later as part of DC's Legends event.

Despite some solid work from writer Marv Wolfman and artists George Perez, Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo, and Jerry Ordway, DC's Crisis was like the road to hell: paved with good intentions. Cracks began appearing almost immediately and within a couple years, DC faced continuity gaffes with the original Captain Marvel, Hawkman, Wonder Girl, and more.

Next: How I Would Have Solved DC's Big Crisis: My Original Solution