CRISIS on Infinite Earths # 12 (March 1986)
title: "Final Crisis!"
writer/editor: Marv Wolfman
penciller/plotter: George Perez
inker: Jerry Ordway
letterer: John Costanza
colorist: Tom Ziuko
cover: George Perez
Order of Appearance: Black Condor and the Ray are the only Fighters to appear in this story.
Other Stars: Superman (E1), Superman (E2), Superboy (Earth Prime), Deadman, Dr. Light, Kid Flash, Wonder Woman (E1), Lady Quark, Harbinger, Alexander Luthor, Pariah, and a cast of hundreds
Opponents: The Anti-Monitor, Psycho Pirate, Brainiac, Darkseid, and the Anti-Monitor's Shadow Demons
Overall Summary:
The Anti-Monitor drags Earth to the anti-matter universe for one last showdown, winner takes all!
The Anti-Monitor has had enough of the Earth's champions so wants to kill them all. In order to do that he brings Earth to his home dimension, the anti-matter universe.
As his shadow demons attack Earth, Harbinger gathers a group of champions to take on the Anti-Monitor directly. Superman from Earths 1 and 2, Wonder Woman from Earth 1, Dr. Light, Superboy from Earth Prime, Lady Quark, Kid Flash, and the Ray are a few of the champions she chooses. Using Alexander Luthor's interdimensional powers, they travel millions of miles to Qward to confront their foe.
Meanwhile, a rag-tag group of heroes convince Brainiac to help save Earth, and they all head to Apokolips, where Darkseid agrees to help defeat the Anti-Monitor.
In the anti-matter universe, the champions find a crazed Psycho-Pirate with Barry Allen's uniform and ring, so they know that he has died.
Suddenly, the Anti-Monitor attacks! While most of the super-heroes distract him, Dr. Light begins to absorb the energy source of the Anti-Monitor, then she re-focuses back on him. The heroes think he is finally dead.
Black Condor gets a fight scene against the Shadow Demons
On Earth, a collection of wizards, witches, and sorcerers (including Zatanna, Zatara, Dr. Occult, Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt, and Alan Scott Green Lantern) weave a spell to entrap the shadow demons, clearing Earth of their presence.
Alexander Luthor re-opens the portal back to the positive universe so that Earth can return to the positive universe. As the heroes return, too, the Anti-Monitor re-absorbs the shadow demons into him and he lives again. Superman from Earth 2 decides to die trying to defeat him, staying behind as the portal to the positive universe closes. Superboy and Alexander Luthor remain, too.
On Apokolips, Darkseid has been watching the entire battle. He now takes an active role. Using Alexander Luthor as a conduit for his power, he blasts the Anti-Monitor full force.
That, too, is not enough to stop him. He emerges from the sun as a ball of energy. Superman is so angry and so frustrated he hits him with all of his strength. The Anti-Monitor falls into the nearest sun, causing a chain reaction explosion that destroys the entire anti-matter universe. Alexander Luthor is able to teleport himself, Superman, Superboy, and also Superman's wife, Lois Lane, to a better place before the anti-matter universe ceases to exist.
Review:
Well, how was that? The CRISIS concludes and the Freedom Fighters don't play too big a role in it. The Ray is chosen again to go to the anti-matter universe to battle the Anti-Monitor directly, while the others stay on Earth and defend it from the Shadow Demons.
Since all of the Fighters' skills are hand-to-hand, I'm guessing they weren't very good at helping stop them. Maybe they were on Rescue Civilians Duty.
Seriously, while it would have been nice to see the Freedom Fighters in action one last time, the priority of this issue was clearly to "clean the slate." Characters like Kole, the Huntress, and Earth 2 Green Arrow and Robin were corporate sacrificial lambs so that DC could say, "look, heroes died besides Supergirl and the Flash!" The Batman for example, doesn't show up in this story until the very end to mourn the deaths of the Huntress and E2 Robin. So in that sense, it's very good that the Freedom Fighters did NOT appear, if you know what I mean.
With this issue, the multiverses of the DC universe were no more. And although I would have loved to have read the re-vised history of the All-Star Squadron, Justice Society, and, of course, the Freedom Fighters, we never got any of those series. For some reason, all of the classic Justice Society characters were shuffled off of their mortal coil and sent to Ragnarok for nearly eight years. As for the Freedom Fighters, we never see them again as a group....sort of.
Next Week: The History of the DC Universe!
Black Condor Moment
back on Earth
The Ray Moment
The Ray has a moment of sympathy for the Psycho-Pirate
Freedom of Information
- Black Condor and the Ray appear on the cover.
The Freedom Fighters
assembled by Len Wein
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