Infinite Crisis Lead-Ins

[Broccoli]

About a year ago, I read the Infinite Crisis trade. I really liked it. Possibly more so than Crisis on the Infinite Earths. However, when reading, there were a few things that I was lost on. I was able to pick up on what I missed, but I do want to get the full picture.

I was reading about all the lead-ins for IC. There are a lot. I was wondering for those who read them, which ones are dead-set important for IC?

Omac Project seems necessary, as does Villains United. Also, from what I understand, Identity Crisis is the more-or-less beginning point for IC. What about Day of Vengeance or Rann-Thanagar War? Without going into spoilers, Day of Vengeance goes into Specter's deal, but I'm not sure about Rann-Thanager War. I gather it is a Green Lantern focused story; not being that into GL, I don't know if I'd totally care for the story.

I am sure all are important in the grand scheme of things (and you may tell me that), but what is absolutely necessary to get the set-up at the beginning of Infinite Crisis?

 

[Hermiod]

^Honestly, I wish I could help you because I asked that question myself. Unfortunately, I found that even if you had read every single book DC had ever published, Infinite Crisis still wouldn't make sense.

 

[Mr Light]

There were four lead-in mini-series and then a million tie-ins in the regular series. The four minis were OMAC Project (very important pretty good), Day of Judgement (somewhat important entertaining), Rann-Thanagar War (completely unimportant but alright) and Villains United (the actual story has little to do with IC but it's damn entertaining). The most important tie-in trade to get would be Superman Sacrifice but those events are covered in OMAC indirectly. The IC Companion trade collects the "specials" that wrap up the 4 mini-series but they're not really necessary. The Superboy/Luthor story happened in Teen Titans / Outsiders: The Insiders but reading that isn't terribly important to IC. Identity Crisis was the initiation of the larger storyline but it's only indirectly tied to the actual plot.

 

[Broccoli]

^Honestly, I wish I could help you because I asked that question myself. Unfortunately, I found that even if you had read every single book DC had ever published, Infinite Crisis still wouldn't make sense.

I think you are confusing Infinite Crisis with Final Crisis. Soon to be followed by The Really Final Crisis of Infinite Proportions.

There were four lead-in mini-series and then a million tie-ins in the regular series. The four minis were OMAC Project (very important pretty good), Day of Judgement (somewhat important entertaining), Rann-Thanagar War (completely unimportant but alright) and Villains United (the actual story has little to do with IC but it's damn entertaining). The most important tie-in trade to get would be Superman Sacrifice but those events are covered in OMAC indirectly. The IC Companion trade collects the "specials" that wrap up the 4 mini-series but they're not really necessary. The Superboy/Luthor story happened in Teen Titans / Outsiders: The Insiders but reading that isn't terribly important to IC. Identity Crisis was the initiation of the larger storyline but it's only indirectly tied to the actual plot.

I was wondering about Rann-Thanagar War. I basically want stuff that sets up the playing field we have in IC (ie. the four lead-ins). Thanks for the info!

 

[Smiley]

Alternatively, you could read the novelization. It's cheaper than getting two or more comic trades, and you get the relevant backstory as you go along.

 

[Hermiod]

^Honestly, I wish I could help you because I asked that question myself. Unfortunately, I found that even if you had read every single book DC had ever published, Infinite Crisis still wouldn't make sense.

I think you are confusing Infinite Crisis with Final Crisis. Soon to be followed by The Really Final Crisis of Infinite Proportions.

Sadly, I wish I was because I read through Infinite Crisis and a bunch of the tie-ins expecting it to make sense at some point and it never did.

That and unbridled misandry of Amazons Attack have put me off DC forever.

 

[Myasishchev]

Rann-Thanagar War is absolutely horrible, I'd actually recommend not reading it. OMAC is okay, but features an inexplicable character assassination of the highest order. Day of Judgment is a lot of fun, and Villains United is fantastic.

 

[Hermiod]

Rann-Thanagar War is absolutely horrible, I'd actually recommend not reading it. OMAC is okay, but features an inexplicable character assassination of the highest order. Day of Judgment is a lot of fun, and Villains United is fantastic.

Yeah, I will say that - I did enjoy Villains United.

 

[coolghoul]

Frankly I don't like this idea of Superboy prime as the villain - maybe I'm being a unidimensional fanboy here but I absolutely hated the fact that Superboy is now a villain. Of all the pantheons of Big Bads that are available in the universe why did they have to go with taking a "good guy" and turning him bad?

I understand how this is not the Superboy that I remember reading all those Smallville stories about and that Crisis on Infinite Earths changed it and all that. But still... Superboy is evil?!!

Having gotten that rant out of the way - I also have read only a few tie-ins to Infinite Crisis - I would really recommend Identity Crisis since I really liked that book. It was a tightly plotted and human story. I have read Omac Project and I know it was important to know who's behind it all and Brother Eye and all that jazz. But it just didn't work for me (imo). Partially because I didn't know half the people in it. I have read the IC Companion and I liked it.

 

[Greg Cox]

Alternatively, you could read the novelization. It's cheaper than getting two or more comic trades, and you get the relevant backstory as you go along.

God bless you.


Seriously, the prequel tie-ins are all enjoyable, but I would say that THE OMAC PROJECT and SACRIFICE are the most relevant to the plot of IC.

Regarding DAY OF JUDGMENT, all you really need to know is that the Spectre has gone berserk and the Shadowpact has formed to stop him. VILLAINS UNITED is great fun, and maybe my favorite of the bunch, but it's kind of a sideshow. For RANN-THANAGER, all that matters is that a bunch of heroes are stuck in the middle of a space war on the other side of the galaxy when all hell breaks loose . . . .

And, oh yeah, Donna Troy is alive again.

 

[Mr Light]

I recently read The Death and Return of Donna Troy trade and it had nearly nothing to do with the Crisis. Basically the Greek Gods knew there was a crisis coming and that was about it. And Donna Troy didn't do anything particularly important in the Crisis either, she basically just rounded up some buddies and went off into space where they got a lucky shot in. ... I enjoyed Rann-Thanagar War even though it starred a bunch of C-Lister characters. I guess it is the worst of the four but I enjoyed all four to some degree.

 

[Myasishchev]

Frankly I don't like this idea of Superboy prime as the villain - maybe I'm being a unidimensional fanboy here but I absolutely hated the fact that Superboy is now a villain. Of all the pantheons of Big Bads that are available in the universe why did they have to go with taking a "good guy" and turning him bad?

I understand how this is not the Superboy that I remember reading all those Smallville stories about and that Crisis on Infinite Earths changed it and all that. But still... Superboy is evil?!!

Because he was the only one locked up with Alex Luthor. Except Kal-L, whom they wanted to keep a good guy. I guess Superboy Prime didn't have to go as off the deep end as he did, but I liked it alright. I mean, for ten years, he was locked in a room with a guy just like him except better in every way--and who actually got to bring a woman with him, to boot! Going crazy's believable.

I haven't really followed what they've done with Superboy Prime since, but I understand it's been rather bad. "I'm going to kill you to death" and so on, which is either the worst line in comics history, or, possibly, the best.

 

[shivkala]

I guess it's what you were concerned about that would help figuring out what you need to get.

If I remember, the Infinite Crisis Secret Files & Origins main story connected the dots in such a way that you wouldn't need to buy the separate mini-series (or, I guess their TPBs). It explains how Alex and Superboy-Prime set up everything to lead into Infinite Crisis.

As others said, I would recommend The OMAC Project and Villains United and their strengths as stories in and of themselves. Furthermore, I'd recommend Checkmate #'s 1-25 (the follow-up series to The OMAC Project), as well as the current Secret Six series (and I guess the mini-series that came out shortly after Infinite Crisis, though I didn't that that mini was as strong as the currrent series).

 

[Mr Light]

While I love Secret Six (still need to get the new mini trades though) I really didn't care for Checkmate. I read the first twelve or so issues and it just didn't grab me.

 

[shivkala]

Well, it's not for everybody, but I thought it was an interesting look at the DCU from a different angle. The political stuff was interesting and it was fun seeing some familiar faces (most notably Alan Scott and Michael Holt) in a different light.

Plus, it gave us back the original Suicide Squad with Waller and lead to a pretty decent mini-series.

 

[Mr Light]

So were O.G. Green Lantern and Mr. Fantastic still on the JSA while they were in Checkmate? That was one of the weird things about the series, having Alan Scott in charge of a secret quasi-evil government conspiracy.

 

[shivkala]

Yes, they were. Mr. Terrific stepped down as the chairperson though.

I thought Alan was a great fit, because the point of the series is the "good guys" trying to change Checkmate into a legitimate organization.

Spoiler: The First Arc

Which is why it was a good plot point to have him removed as White King by Amanda Waller. Most of the rest of Rucka's run pitted the other royals versus Amanda Waller, since she was running a shady deal and they wanted to stick with the reformed Checkmate

Rucka's final arc on the series really dealt with how the superhero community came to view the "new" Checkmate.

 

[theenglish]

Frankly I don't like this idea of Superboy prime as the villain - maybe I'm being a unidimensional fanboy here but I absolutely hated the fact that Superboy is now a villain. Of all the pantheons of Big Bads that are available in the universe why did they have to go with taking a "good guy" and turning him bad?

I understand how this is not the Superboy that I remember reading all those Smallville stories about and that Crisis on Infinite Earths changed it and all that. But still... Superboy is evil?!!

Because he was the only one locked up with Alex Luthor. Except Kal-L, whom they wanted to keep a good guy. I guess Superboy Prime didn't have to go as off the deep end as he did, but I liked it alright. I mean, for ten years, he was locked in a room with a guy just like him except better in every way--and who actually got to bring a woman with him, to boot! Going crazy's believable.

I haven't really followed what they've done with Superboy Prime since, but I understand it's been rather bad. "I'm going to kill you to death" and so on, which is either the worst line in comics history, or, possibly, the best.

If I remember correctly, either Superboy or Luthor Prime or possibly both were introduced a few years before Crisis on Infinite Earths. I believe it was in DC Comics Presents. Back then Prime Earth was supposed to be our Earth.

Actually, on another tangent, there were a bunch of titles that spun off from Infinite Crisis, most of which did not even survive more than a couple of years and have already long been cancelled. Isn't Blue Beetle the only one of these still being published?

 

[Mr Light]

My wiki-understanding is that Superboy-Prime was introduced in a single issue at the same time as the Original Crisis and then he was in that and that's it till Infinite Crisis.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Superman Prime as he's currently known right now is starring in the long winded Legion of Three Worlds Final Crisis special, Superboy Prime as he was known in Infinite Crisis is from Earth Prime and I think it's been stated that he is the Clark Kent from Kurt Busiek's excellent Superman: Secret Idenity about a Superman in a world without superheroes. His origins are explained I think in the Superman: Infinite Crisis TPB.

OMAC Project, Villans United were both good, I would say OMAC Project is most imporant and must read material.