MABFAN's Musings - Thoughts on Infinite Crisis #2

08:18 am November 10th, 2005




			MABFAN's Musings - Thoughts on Infinite Crisis #2 The Blog of Science Fiction Writer Michael A. Burstein

mabfan


	Thoughts on Infinite Crisis #2
	Wow. What a fantastic issue. And even better, I was right. Well, I think I was close enough to right. Over the course of my speculations and predictions, I suggested that the villain behind the current Crisis might be forcing everything apart in order to restore the Multiverse. And back on September 30, I proposed that the "villain" who wanted to restore the original Multiverse was the Golden Age Superman of Earth-2. Well, yesterday Infinite Crisis #2 came out. And here's one of the things that happened.... Superman-2, Lois Lane-2, Superboy-Prime, and Alexander Luthor-3 found Power Girl. Superman explained to Power Girl the same thing that the Psycho-Pirate told her, that she was somehow left over from the destruction of Earth-2, and through sheer force of will had managed to exist in the new, reconstituted universe. At first Power Girl didn't remember anything. But when she took Lois Lane's hand, all the memories of her previous life flooded back into her mind. She remembered being Kara Zor-L, the cousin of Superman's, who came to Earth and was treated like a daughter by Superman and Lois Lane. She remembered fighting alongside the original JSA. And she has her family back again. But possibly only for a short time. For Lois Lane is dying, and her condition may be tied into the current Crisis. Superman-2 finds the current universe corrupt and joyless. Near the end of the book, he notes that the new universe was created mostly out of the ashes of Earth-1 but with elements of the other Earths mixed in. And he's decided that this was a mistake, and that the universe needs to start anew, using Earth-2 as the basis instead of Earth-1. Whoo boy. So I wasn't quite right when I said that Superman-2 wanted to restore the Multiverse. But the idea that Superman-2 does plan to take apart the current universe, and build a new one in its place... I think I hit that concept dead on. And I have a feeling that one of other predictions will soon pan out, that the current characters are going to find themselves in opposition to Superman-2 and his plan, just like they challenged Hal Jordan when he tried to do something similar ten years ago during Zero Hour. So looking back at my Infinite Crisis Predictions Round-Up #1, I think I can safely move some of the unresolved predictions into the YES column. My score of YES-NO-UNRESOLVED now stands at 2.5-1-2.5. Tags: comics, infinite-crisis

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	Comments

	From: marksiegal	Date: November 10th, 2005 01:59 pm (UTC)		(link)

So do you think Superman-2 will succeed? Will this be another full reboot for the DC universe? Of course, we could also see a reboot but not in the way Superman-2 wants.

Thanks for these thoughts. I enjoy your perspective and hope you get to move even more predictions into the YES column.

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	From: mabfan	Date: November 10th, 2005 02:08 pm (UTC)		(link)

There have been a lot of rumors going around as to what this Crisis will mean to the universe. On the one hand, they've talked about how they want to update the universe, do something that will appeal to a generation of more adult readers of comic books.

On the other hand, there are rumors that they want to get rid of the "grim and grittiness" of current storylines, and make the universe more friendly.

I tend to think that these two impulses might contradict each other. I doubt they're going to recreate the universe to be exactly what Earth-2 was like before the Crisis on Infinite Earths. But in the end, I think we are going to see some sort of change in the DC universe, one in which the grimness will be reduced in favor of a more hopeful outlook.

I'm glad you're enjoying my perspective. I find myself very excited about this storyline and its implications.

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	From: sdelmonte	Date: November 10th, 2005 02:40 pm (UTC)		(link)

Cognrats on calling most of it.

Though I will add that I thought the GA Superman's summary of the past 15 years was very heavy-handed, and very simialr to the current Superman's critique of the Marvel Universe in JLA/Avengers. My guess is that at some point, someone - the current Superman? - will rise to the occasion and convince the older man of the true worth of the current DCU.

On the whole, I liked this issue, but still have my qualms about where it is going. Which is pretty much how I've felt about DC for a while now.

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	From: mabfan	Date: November 10th, 2005 03:57 pm (UTC)		(link)

I like your idea of the current Superman rising to the occasion.

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	From: verdant_rhythm	Date: November 10th, 2005 03:48 pm (UTC)		(link)

There is the fact that one could question the idea that the last 20 years of the DC Universe is actually more "Earth 1" based than "Earth 2" and the Original Superman is not seeing things correctly. After all, the JSA exist and are a vital force in the DC Universe as it now stands.

So what Earth 2 elements were actually deleted in the 1985 Crisis? The Earth 2 versions of these charcters: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Robin, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Speedy. Oh, and at the time (1985) it was considered significant the Captain Marvel (Earth S) was not going to be presented as debuting in 1939/1940 but in "present day".

I was a big fan of Earth 2 comic in the pre-Crisis times and still I can't remember Aquaman of Earth 2. Green Arrow and Speedy of Earth 2 were, I believe, not in the JSA at all and were in the Seven Soldiers of Victory and therefore not present after 1948. Batman of Earth 2 already retired and died in 1979. Earth 2 Robin and Batman's Daughter Huntress had a school building fall on them after clearing the occupants out during the Crisis. Captain Marvel seems to be faring well as a modern hero of Fawcett City.

So Earth 2 Superman claiming "the wrong world was saved" is....selfish. Presumably, Earth 2's Batman, Robin and Huntress would still be dead. A golden age JSA- afiliated Wonder Woman? Hippolyte, Wonder Woman's mom got that covered due to a time travelling trip. I cannot believe in all of DC Fandom anyone really cares for WWII Green Arrow and Speedy or a Land-based Aquaman. So who exactly needs the DC Universe to be based on Earth 2? It doesn't even benefit Superboy or Alexander Luthor from Earth Prime and Earth 3 respectively. It only would benefit three people. The Original Superman, his wife Lois Lane Kent and Powergirl. Remaking the universe for 3 people? The "apex" of selfishness.

I know I wrote a long letter to you of how the Original Superman could not be the bad guy....

I take that back....

Infinite Crisis seems to make him more a threat than Parallax ever was!

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	From: batyatoon	Date: November 10th, 2005 07:02 pm (UTC)		(link)

Earth-2 Superman's attitude annoys me. And I can't decide whether or not the authors want us to agree with him.

Here's a fun little thought I had about the event that started the multiverse (in between raising my eyebrows a lot at the loaded language used to describe it -- I mean really, "blasphemous" and "corrupted"?):

So the act of observing fragmented the waveform instead of collapsing it, huh? Interesting.

*wanders off whistling "I Wonder Who's Schroedinger Now"*

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	From: querldox	Date: November 10th, 2005 07:03 pm (UTC)		(link)

I'm not sure Kal-L's the "villain" though. As far as we know, he's just emerged into the DCU. Which means someone else would be behind the Society/Spectre/rift in space/Gods getting the heck out of Dodge combination of events that have made things come to a head and started warping their prison/heaven.

I think he's an antagonist, but I don't think he's behind it all. I'm getting a bit suspicious of Alex Luthor though.

Finally, I note that Geoff Johns did handle his line to Power Girl back in JSA #50 that when she found out who her mother is, she'd have to help her, by retconning in a foster parent/child relationship between Kara and Clark and Lois. As far as I can recall, this was the first time we'd ever even seen Kara and Lois of Earth-2 in the same panel.

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	From: vettecat	Date: November 13th, 2005 06:38 am (UTC)		(link)

Now that I've read the issue, I can read your post! :-) (Thanks for the cut-tag.) I enjoyed this issue much more than the first one. It was much more cohesive. Rebooting back to the other Earth is an interesting concept, and may not be entirely bad, but I don't see how he hopes to accomplish it... I guess we'll find that out next issue!

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From: (Anonymous)	Date: November 21st, 2005 06:39 am (UTC)		(link)

Anyone else a bit 'iffy' about Alexander Luthor? Could he be manipulating the GA Superman, using Lois and the images he has shown of the current DC universe?

Ben

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