The Crisis event opens with the Anti-matter wave, that has destroyed universe after universe, heading towards Argo city of Earth 38 (Supergirl’s unive
The Crisis event opens with the Anti-matter wave, that has destroyed universe after universe, heading towards Argo city of Earth 38 (Supergirl’s universe). There is nothing either Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) or Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) can do to prevent it’s destruction as the wave marches towards Earth 38. Fortunately, the Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) saves both Superman and Lois Lane (Elizabeth Tulloch), who had sent their son away in a ship believing they were going to die. The Monitor summons various heroes from Earth 1 including Green Arrow (Stephen Amell), Batwoman (Ruby Rose), Flash (Grant Gustin) and White Canary (Caity Lotz) among others. He explains that the Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) is attempting to destroy the multiverse and replace it with his own Anti-matter universe. The group splits into several teams as they attempt to fend off the Anti-monitor’s forces and save as many people as possible, while Lois and a small group travel to another Earth to save baby John. After the destruction of Earth 38, the remaining heroes start jumping from earth to earth to find the seven paragons needed to defeat the Anti-monitor with many fun and unexpected cameos from long-forgotten TV shows and film franchises. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (Jon Cryer) of Earth 38 has been resurrected and has stolen the book of destiny, jumping from earth to earth killing as many Supermen as possible. After finding all seven paragons the heroes fail to prevent the death of the multiverse and the paragons are sent to the vanishing point, a place outside of time and space. The Spector appears and summons the paragons to the dawn of time to battle the Anti-monitor and reignite the multiverse. The paragons succeed, at the cost of Green Arrow’s life, and the multiverse is remade, with some changes. Earth 1 and Earth 38 have become folded into Earth prime with Black Lightning (Cress Williams) also on the same earth. Before the heroes can come to grips with Oliver’s death the Anti-monitor returns for one last attack before being shrunken down into the micro-verse until the end of time.
The Pros
Each episode was gripping as they opened with a different Earth as they are destroyed, this provides a sense of wonder in how the characters would survive this apocalyptic event. Every actor brings they’re A-game to the event and work hard to sell every scene on screen. Overall, it was a successful event with the five-part event feeling like one long film more or less. The biggest highlight was the wide and far-reaching range of cameos from beloved classics like Burt Ward as Robin (Earth 66), to unexpected deep cuts like Ashley Scott as Helena Kyle/Huntress (Earth-203) and John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen/Flash (Earth-90). My person favourites were Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar (Earth 666) acting against Matt Ryan as John Constantine (Earth 1) in a fantastic scene that would have both Lucifer and Constantine fans cry out for a new TV series featuring the two characters if not more crossovers between the two. Kevin Conroy as an antagonistic Bruce Wayne (Earth 99) in his first live-action portrayal of the character and Brandon Routh returning to his Superman portrayal (Earth 96) were both fantastic and brilliant extensions to their previous depictions of the characters.
The Cons
Despite the overwhelming positives, there are some negatives to mention. Chifley and this is a result of the event is the sum total of five different shows rather than one long film but in parts three and five it was very clear it was another episode of the Flash and Legends respectively as more of their casts appear where they were not involved before. Flash is the biggest proprietor of this as Hartley Sawyer as Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man stands around the Waverider doing nothing before being shuffled off on a side plot and Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow/Frost and Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon/Vibe appear to simply support Flash emotionally as they attempt to stop the Anti-monitor’s Anti-matter cannon. The other main issue is many characters from the various shows simply don’t appear such as Katie Cassidy’s Laurel Lance (Earth 2) who seemed to have an important role after season 8 of Arrow and Tom Cavanagh as Reverse-Flash (Earth 1) which was especially disappointing after his appearance in Crisis on Earth X as he informed the Flash that he would see him in the next crisis. However, the many cameos do distract from the lack of these characters as it wasn’t until after the event ended that their lack of an appearance was noticeable.
Crisis on Infinite Earths was an ambitious project that met the expectations of fans the world over. It is the Arrowverse’s magnum opus bringing together every character within its own world and many more from previous depictions of DC characters. It has left many fans weighting with bated breath for next years crossover, wondering how they will top Crisis on Infinite Earths....more
Last week, whilst writing a retrospective on the DC Comics work of legendary author Alan Moore, I came to the startling realization that his classic t
Last week, whilst writing a retrospective on the DC Comics work of legendary author Alan Moore, I came to the startling realization that his classic tale Batman: The Killing Joke will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. That makes me feel both very old, and extremely fortunate.
I was there when the book first came out, and own a mint condition copy of the first printing. Before you grab the torches and pitchforks, to hunt down the fake, money hungry fanboy, please let me assure you that this book holds mountains more value to me of the sentimental variety, than the financial kind.
I LOVE this story. I love the art, the dialogue, and the emotion. The pace, drama, terror, comedy, and horror. I love every single line of text, and of art, on every single page.
As well as containing what many fans consider the definitive Joker story, this book changed the DC Comics landscape. The book was initially intended by the author to be standalone story, with no ties to Batman continuity. The sales, reviews, feedback and acclaim the story received put that notion to rest.
The year after The Joker shot and paralyzed former Batgirl Barbara Gordon, DC made the event canon. This helped create one of the greatest disabled comics characters of all time, Oracle. In this guise, Babs Gordon became information broker and tech-guru for the entire DC Universe. Some fans believe that Barbara flourished, and truly came into her own at this time, rather than just being a female reflection of Batman.
Years later Oracle became the foundation, and main influence behind Overwatch, Felicity Smoak’s alter-ego on the hit TV show, Arrow. Never was this more clear than when Felicity was temporarily crippled, and wheelchair bound. Just like Barbara Gordon. Any Other Response Would Be Crazy
The themes of violence, insanity and the fragility of the human psyche are paramount in this book. Some passages are nauseatingly real, others are insanely psychedelic, and all are masterfully written, and drawn. The ways that one page, set in the present, leads to a scene set in the past on the following page, are cinematic in a way that would make most Hollywood directors hand in their union cards and go home.
The muted colors of the flashback scenes, juxtaposed with the vibrant hues of the here and now left no doubt in the readers minds as to just what they were reading. What’s even more incredible is that this is all achieved visually. There’s no exposition, no captions telling us “Then” “Now” or “Years Ago” or “Today.” The time shifts are experienced with a change of tone, an outstretched hand, a reflection, and with expressions of pain and suffering.
Artist Brian Bolland’s renditions are hauntingly beautiful, and frighteningly realistic.
Writer Alan Moore’s dialogue also travels from the ridiculous to the sublime, from comic to Shakespearean, and everywhere in between.
Faced with the inescapable fact that human existence is mad, random and pointless, one in eight of them crack up and go stark slavering buggo!
Who can blame them? In a world as psychotic as this…
… Any other response would be crazy!
One Bad Day
The Killing Joke hasn’t just influenced comics… oh, no! It was the basis of an animated feature (the parts that were directly adapted from the book, were great, the rest… ) It has inspired cosplay, art, fans and actors alike. Anyone who loves the hit show Gotham will get a real hit of this classic story in the episode “One Bad Day.”
I’ve demonstrated there’s no difference between me and everyone else! All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy.
That’s how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day.
You had a bad day once, am I right? I know I am. I can tell. You had a bad day and everything changed.
Why else would you dress up like a flying rat?
The Joker’s torture of both Barbara and Jim Gordon was intended to incite Batman, and drive the Commissioner insane… just to prove a point. Has the Clown Prince Of Crime ever been depicted as insane, or unstable?
The power of this book is not only still felt today, it will be remembered for decades to come. Later this year this classic tale will be republished as a prose novel, adapted by writers Christa Faust and Gary Phillips, 30 years after its original release. Conclusion
Words like vintage, classic, and legendary are thrown about like footballs. Many books deserve the title, whereas others… not so much. There is no doubt in my mind, and in the minds of the legions of fans the book has earned itself, that The Killing Joke is all of the above...more
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