FINAL CRISIS Checklist and Review
Since Batman died this week, and a lot of new fans are looking for info about DC’s CRISIS event, I figured that a quick FINAL CRISIS Checklist and Review is in order:
DC Universe #0: This $0.50 comic book was more of a preview comic of writer Grant Morrision’s major players for FINAL CRISIS. Each preview was 3 pages, and ended with an advertisement of a major theme of the upcoming series.
One of the major problems with this “comic” (besides being an advertisement) is that it had nothing to do with COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS or DEATH OF THE NEW GODS, the two major CRISIS-related storylines. Many fanboys didn’t like COUNTDOWN, but after reading 52 issues, plus spin-offs, I was immediately confused that DC Universe had NOTHING to do with it.
By Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, George Perez, Doug Mahnke, Tony Daniel, Ivan Reis, Aaron Lopresti, Philip Tan, Ed Benes, Carlos Pacheco, JG Jones
GRADE: N/A
Final Crisis #1: Confusing, awkward, non-sequential artwork, a set-up issue, obscure characters, nothing recognizable from previous CRISIS series or COUNTDOWN. Didn’t get it. Let down. Martian Manhunter gets killed by Libra, a mysterious villain who works for Darkseid, the God of Evil.
By Morrison and Jones
Grade: D+
Final Crisis #2: Felt like things were picking up with the return of Barry Allen Flash at the last page, but the bait and switch cover, devotion to pages and pages of a Japanese team, and seemingly random panels with no captions made this issue over my head.
By Morrison and Jones
Grade: C-
Final Crisis #3: Finally picked up a bit, some plot points came together, although the art was still hard to follow, and the general problems of this series were still there. Too many minor characters grabbed the spotlight, and everything was still unsatisfying. Seems like the end of the world at the end, which made me believe things were finally going to get exciting.
By Morrison and Jones
Grade: C
Final Crisis: Rogue’s Revenge #1: The Flash’s old Rogue Gallery: Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Heat Wave and Weather Wizard are on the run from superheroes for the death of Kid Flash (Impulse) and face off with the new Rogues. The Old Rogues are the protagonists and sympathetic. It’s a dark comic, but clearly a sub-title, as I have no idea when this is supposed to take place. I also don’t get any “end of the world” vibes or CRISIS-themes.
By Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins
Grade: C+
Final Crisis: Requiem #1 (One shot): Since Martian Manhunter’s death was pretty much whimsical, disrespectful, quick, and had no real explanation, this comic is the official tribute to the character, and finally explained the events leading up to Libra killing him. Anyone who read John Ostander’s MARTIAN MANHUNTER would appreciate the touching treatment Jonn Jonz gets. It truly is a superb and emotionally stirred tribute. A top notch super-hero requiem, respectful of the character’s history in the post-CRISIS DCU.
By Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke
Grade: A
Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1: Featuring Superboy-Prime going on another rampage (this time in the future), this comic focused on the different Legion of the Superheroes continuities, and tied in with some recent ACTION COMICS and SUPERMAN timelines. This was the first FINAL CRISIS comic to feel like a CRISIS. I originally thought I needed to re-read my old LEGION comics, but this was much more accessible than Morrison’s FINAL CRISIS. It felt more like a continuation of INFINITE CRISIS.
By Geoff Johns and George Perez
Grade: A-
Final Crisis: Revelations #1: Pretty much is needed to explain why The Spectre doesn’t stop all the bad things in FINAL CRISIS from happening. The only problem for me: this isn’t my Spectre (Jim Corrigan): it’s some new dead guy named Crispus Allen. The art is too modern, and the title “Revelations” is misleading, no FINAL CRISIS secrets are revealed here. However, the Dr. Light = rapist storyline gets resolved.
By Greg Rucka and Philip Tan
Grade: C-
Final Crisis: Rogue’s Revenge #2: Great battles and info featuring Zoom, Inertia, New Rogues, Old Rogues, plus Libra makes an appearance. Pretty hot stuff. One problem: what does any of this have to do with FINAL CRISIS? Answer: nothing. They definitely just slapped FINAL CRISIS on the cover of this mini-series. Art seems sketchy.
By Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins
Grade: C+
Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1 (3-D One shot): I was pumped after reading this. Now this was CRISIS. I felt the multiverse, ANIMAL MAN, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, EARTH-2, and other continuity related comics. The various Superman teaming up felt like Morrison’s highly successful ALL-STAR SUPERMAN. There’s even a new origin of the universe. Too bad nothing in this comic is mentioned in the FINAL CRISIS mini-series! The only problem is that the 3-D is a gimmick, and a distraction at times.
By Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke
Rating: A
Final Crisis #4: I waited…and waited…and waited. I probably should mention that there was a delay here, and some comics shipped out of order. There was also no guidance for me if I should read #4 or SUBMIT first. So I read #4 first. My reaction was: Did I miss an issue? Then I read SUBMIT, and my reaction was: Yeah, I did. Fast forward one month in comic book time, and we see how the earth has been taken over by Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation (ALE). Yes, evil has won. The heroes are crushed. However, thankfully The Ray and Black Lightning and countless other C-Listers keep on fighting. This issue also marks the first appearance of Darkseid in FC..what took so long. By now, I realized it was too late for this series to turn it around, and had zero expectations.
By Morrison with art byCarlos Pacheco and J.G. Jones
Rating: D-
Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #2: Superboy Prime (actually, he is called Superman Prime now), Modru, and the Legion of Super-Villains declare war on REALITY. Rond, the last of the Green Lanterns (in the 31st century) makes the ultimate sacrifice. Great stuff once again, with superb artwork by Perez. He showed no sign of health issues or age. One problem: at this point, it doesn’t time into the FINAL CRISIS main series. It might as well be a Legion relaunch by Johns.
Rating: A-
By Geoff Johns and George Perez
Final Crisis: Revelations #2: Not looking forward to this again. Features the new Spectre, lesbian Batgirl, Rene Montaya the Question, and requires you to read 52, Crime Bible, and Five Books of Blood. There’s still some good parts, such as Vandal Savage becoming Cain, and some origins of Heaven/Hell/Old Testament/Spirit of Vengeance/Mercy, etc. IN other words, this series is about religious mythology in the DCU, but Ostander handled this MUCH better in the 1990’s SPECTRE series, and Niel Gaiman handled in MUCH better in SANDMAN. Oh, and none of this stuff is mentioned in FINAL CRISIS.
Rating: C
By Greg Rucka and Philip Tan
Final Crisis: Rogue’s Revenge #3: Wrapping up this series, the Rogues have been reestablished, Captain Cold is one badass, Kid Zoom goes crazy and is taken out by the Rogues. The Rogues confront Libra, and don’t want to team up with him. All of this leads into a new Flash series coming up in 2009. Pretty solid, but sloppy artwork and not having direct connections to the main FINAL CRISIS story are major detractors. Overall, a decent mini-series.
By Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins
RATING: B-
Final Crisis: Submit: Okay, I submit. I do. This comic shipped late, most people read it out of order. It features an up close and personal view of the New Earth submitting to Darkseid’s ALE by using a battle between Black Lightning and the Tattooed Man. I’m not feeling generous with my rating after saying that. Art is bad. The good: it is the only tie-in that TIED-IN! Yet it was not marketed as such. Should really have been called FINAL CRISIS # 3.5. Too bad I read it after #4.
By Morrison and Mathew Clark.
Rating: D- (sorry)
Final Crisis #5: All about Darkseid and the New God’s avatars. Too bad it’s full of heroes with unrecognizable costumes, bad pacing, confusion galore, no emotion, plot loose ends move towards getting resolved but doesn’t progress in a normal way. After 5 issues, we’re stills stuck. No patience left. Fans who were upset at FC#1 are all gone. Only the Morrison loyalists remain. Reviews are actually good so Morrision will interview with those sites and blogs. Really.
By Morrison with art byCarlos Pacheco and J.G. Jones
Rating: D-
Final Crisis: Resist#1 (One-Shot): Featuring Checkmate, Mr. Terrific and the C-Team. OMACs. Ties right in the main FC series, although the reading order is questionable due to the dealys. Forgettable, but better than SUBMIT…I think. I kinda lost interest.
By Rucka with art by Ryan Sook and Marco Rudy
Rating: D+
Final Crisis: Revelations #3: “God has abandoned us”
So did I…I’m tired of typing.
I will say this: FINAL CRISIS SECRET FILES #1 “revealed” that Libra is a 3rd string super-villain, who was hand picked by Darkseid to be his messenger. Lex Luthor winds up blasting his stomach/chest in FINAL CRISIS #6. So much for the new age major villain.
Similar Posts:
- Review: Final CRISIS #7 (of 7) – what happened?
- Review: DC Comics Final Crisis #1 (SPOILERS)
- Review Final Crisis #6: Batman dies?
- Review: Final Crisis #5 (Final CRISIS in general)
- DC Comics Final Crisis #2 Review Spoilers
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