Infinite Crisis #4 – review and summary

Sorry for the delay on this one – computer crashus maximus.

Okay, we’ve made it to the half-way point. This issue has three before it, and three after it. Judging by the Perez cover, the group that Wonder Girl/Troia/Donna Troy/Whatever-Her-Name-Is put together is finally going to do something. From the look of the Jim Lee cover, Superboy-Prime is about to lay the smack down on Conner Kent (looks like Krypto is on Conner’s side, though). Let’s look inside and see if either of these is true.

The scene opens on the Brotherhood of Evil, a group of villains who traditionally opposed the Doom Patrol and the Teen Titans, acting on orders from Deathstroke – orders to drop the extremely caustic Chemo on Blüdhaven. Blüdhaven is Nightwing’s base of operations. Deathstroke has a personal vendetta against Nightwing, and as has been mentioned previously, there is much in this series about Nightwing. I was predicting for months before the series started that Dick Grayson would not be making it out the other side of this one.

We are treated to scenes of Blüdhaven’s utter corruption as Chemo falls towards the city, and then we see his toxic waste spread throughout the city. In the words of Alex Luthor, he and Superboy-Prime are “erasing everything that’s bad.” Power Girl takes exception to this, and again, Superboy-Prime reveals his spoiled brat temper, yelling at her and calling her a traitor.

Alex Luthor now reveals the depths of his involvement in the lead-up to Infinite Crisis. He and Superboy had broken out of their pocket dimension before Superman (Kal-L) broke them all out at then end of IC #1. He had Superboy find the Anti-Monitor’s corpse, and used that as the basis for the tower he now has several heroes strapped to. He posed as Lex Luthor to create the Society, and used them to capture many of those very heroes. He used Psycho-Pirate, who was key to the Anti-Monitor’s plans in the original Crisis, to manipulate Eclipso into seducing the Spectre. Using the Spectre to destroy all the Lords of Order and Chaos to end the current age of magic allowed the magic to become a raw, unshaped energy, which Alex planned to use the power of Shazam to tap into. Alex also was responsible for Brother Eye gaining sentience, although I don’t know if he was the one who taught it to use “Eye” instead of “I” when referring to itself. Either way, just for this transgression, I am rooting for anyone who isn’t Alex Luthor in this one already. And Superboy-Prime was the one who started moving planets towards each other (yeah, that’s right, I said moving planets) to change the center of the universe away from Oa (which only existed in the Earth-1 universe) to where it was in the Earth-2 universe. He was then able to open a rift in the center of the universe, and use his tower, powers, Brother Eye, the magical energies, and the rift to create a new earth – one that is “perfect.” Alex also reveals that Earth-2 is not his perfect earth – he is using Kal-L too.

Power Girl concludes that it was all this manipulation, and the effects of the Psycho Pirate that have contributed to the darkening of the DC Universe. Alex assures her that it was falling apart before he got involved. Luthor also explains that in all the universes, when a Superman and a Luthor stand next to each other, “…They will always be at odds.” Is this perhaps foreshadowing of conflict between Alex and Superboy? Or did the writers overlook that part of the story?

Next, we see Batman and Nightwing. Nightwing is going to risk life and limb to head back into Blüdhaven to help, and Batman asks him not to. Batman is there just to make sure that Nightwing is all right. The un-Batman-likeness of this is lost on Nightwing in the face of the tragedy. I think it is driven home when Batman looks him in the eye and says “I need your help, Dick.” What? Calling him by his given name in costume? Asking for help rather than barking orders? Something has definitely changed in this man.

Next, we see Kal-L and Alex talking at Lois’ bedside. Superman confirms that Batman wasn’t willing to join him. He mentions that Batman pointed out this world’s Dick Grayson is better than Earth-2’s. He grew out of Batman’s shadow – even stopped calling himself Robin, unlike the Dick Grayson of Earth-2. He is a good and strong man. Superman’s conviction is starting to waver, so Alex uses Lois’ health to distract him.

Next, Superboy-Prime confronts Conner Kent on the Kent farm. Even at his lowest ebb, Conner Kent has more confidence, more charisma than Superboy-Prime can muster, even for a confrontation he has been waiting years for. As usual, Superboy-Prime is acting like a petulant child, and he throws the first punch, right there in the doorway of the farm house.

Over to El Paso Texas. Jaime Reyes, who found the Blue Beetle Scarab last issue, awakens to find Booster Gold in his bedroom. Booster discovers that the Scarab, which he has plans for, has grafted itself to Jaime’s spine. There is a hitch in Booster’s plan. Booster ponders the next step.

Next, we are treated to a page of Superboy-Prime trashing Conner Kent. And much of Smallville in the process. He is ranting about being the real Superboy. Krypto intervenes, and gets kicked down the street for his trouble. Conner uses the moments this takes to recover, and mounts a counterattack, bloodied but unbowed.

Back to Batman and Dick. Batman asks Nightwing to gather people to assault Alex Luthor in his headquarters. When Nightwing asks, “Why come to me,” Batman replies, “Because everyone else trusts you. They always have.” Batman admits that he hasn’t spent as much time keeping up relationships with other heroes. As they part ways, Batman off to fix a “computer problem” (anyone else thinking Brother Eye here?) and Dick off to gather heroes for an assault, Batman stops him. He asks Dick, “The early years. I’ve forgotten if… they were good for you, weren’t they?” Faced with this very human question, Dick, Batman’s first Robin gives him an answer that is both honest, and what Batman needs to hear: “The best.”

Meanwhile, it turns out that Superboy’s counterattack was short lived. Superboy-Prime can move planets. And can wreck tons of private property throwing cars at Conner. One of the things that made me laugh at Prime here was his statement to Conner, “You don’t even have a cape!” Here, obviously, is a kid who understands what it means to wear the “S.” It means you wear a cape. And beat an opponent who is less powerful to you nearly to death. Conner is smiling, though, and when Prime asks him why, he reveals his Titans communicator device. The next page (and I think this should have taken two, but again – so much story so few pages) we see Beast Boy in dinosaur form yelling “Titans Together!” The Titans and there reserves are here, along with the JSA (minus Allan Scott, who is out in space, and Doctor Fate, who is dead) and the Doom Patrol. Prime’s feelings are hurt by being attacked by all these heroes, as he still sees himself as a hero.

The next two pages cover the creation of the new Spectre. He is bound to the suddenly-animated corpse of Crispus Allen, a cop from the now-defunct Gotham Central series. A cop killed by another cop, a corrupt one named James Corrigan, the same name as the man who was the Spectre’s original human host. In many of the original stories, that Corrigan wasn’t entirely clean either, though not for his own betterment. He was the kind of cop that tended to lose a lot of suspects who happened to be shot while “fleeing custody” or was more than happy to provide his own evidence if such was required.

Superboy-Prime is whining again. “I just wanted to talk to Superboy. You started this!” Pantha calls him a stupid kid as she leaps at him. Getting angry, he punches her head off. Literally. It rolls down the street, while Prime is horrified at his own actions. (Note: he started the Rann-Thanagar war, which has cost millions of lives. And he also at least knows of Alex’ creation of the Society, which just dropped Chemo on a densely populated city. He is okay with all of this, until he actually sees the blood on his own hands – literally.) The unified teams begin an all out assault on Superboy, and actually manage to draw blood. He is babbling like a child, “Please! I said I didn’t mean to!” But then his temper takes over – rather than face the consequences of his actions, he goes on to kill Wildebeest, cutting him in half with his heat vision. He freezes Red Star solid, and tears Risk’s arm off. Bushido, a character I liked, introduced in an annual a few years ago, when each comic was tasked with introducing a new hero from somewhere other than North America, is also burned in twain with heat vision. At this point, the Flashes arrive (Wally West Flash, Jay Garrick Flash, and Bart Allen, Kid Flash), and take Prime into the Speed Force with them. All except Jay Garrick, who simply isn’t fast enough to get there. He helps with the original attack, but drops out before they make that last step.

While running into the speed force, Wally stops by to see his wife Linda, and tells her that he has to give up everything he loves to save it. She says that he will not, and his family is going with him. Wally disappears off to the side, leaving just Bart to take Superboy into the speed force, and Bart says he can’t do it. Superboy agrees with him, and starts to call him a stupid little kid who has been left all alone. This pushes Bart’s buttons, and he begins to lay a Super-Speed Smackdown on Prime, all by himself, running the whole time. It’s not likely he could keep this up alone, but doesn’t need to. From the speed force emerge fallen speedsters. First Barry Allen, Bart’s grandfather, and Wally’s mentor and inspiration. Then Max Mercury, Bart’s guardian and father figure, and lastly Johnny Quick, father of Jesse Quick, and member of the All-Star Squadron. Bart helps them push Prime into the speed force, ending his threat – only Wally has ever emerged from the speed force.

At this point, the speed force’s connection to earth is destroyed.

Next, we move back to Alex Luthor’s tower, where they use Black Adam to call down the power of Shazam from the magical morass that was once the ninth age of magic. This energy will power Alex’s tower.

Back into space, and we now see why those heroes are there. Alex’s hands appear in the great rift at the centre of the universe, and things start happening. Many heroes and buildings disappear from earth. In the sky… another earth. Earth-2 is back, and those things that belong to it are taken there. Kal-L thinks it’s all over. He and Lois are home. I suspect that since there are still 3 more issues to go, it cannot possibly be that simple.