Here an article from Wizard #26 (Oct 1993)
CRISIS SITUATION
The event known as the “Crisis” is mentioned often in various DC titles, as well as in Wizard.
Many readers who haven’t been reading comics for a while don’t know what the
“Crisis” was, and what made it important to DC continuity. Many readers don’t realize that the
DC Universe of today is far different from the one that existed before 1985, for in that year
the “Crisis” started a chain reaction that changed everything. Truth to tell, the “Crisis”
altered the DC Universe’s entire then 50-year continuity.
PRE-CRISIS
What must be explained first is why the concept of the “Crisis” came about. In the early 1980s, DC Comics had a big problem. Editors at DC had a bit of trouble trying to explain to its new readers how everything in its comic-book “universe” worked and why things were the way they were. It was not only confusing, it was difficult to explain in just a few paragraphs because there was a lot of explaining to do.
A lot.
The whole problem was that DC had too many "Earths" in its comic-book universe, then known as "the multiverse," which encompasses multiple universe separated by "vibrational barriers." Inside each separate universe was a planet Earth. There was "Earth-One" where the modern versions of Flash, Superman, and Batman lived, meaning the versions that were being published in DC's current books at the time. The Earth-One Flash starred in the Flash, as opposed to the "Golden Age" Flash, who did not. There was "Earth-Two", where the original 50-year-old Golden Age versions of Flash, Superman, and Batman lived, along with the rest of the Justice Society of America. This Earth held the heroes that were created in the '30s and '40s, and were published until 1954. There was "Earth-Three", which had no superheroes at all, just supervillains who were really evil versions of Batman, Superman, and the like. There was “Earth-Four,” which held the old Charlton Comics character like Blue Beetle and the Question (although this Earth didn't show up until the Crisis). There was "Earth-S", which held the Shazam heroes. There was “Earth-X,” which held the 1940s Quality Comics heroes that DC had acquired, along with "Earth-Prime", which is the Earth that we, the comic book readers, live on while reading about Earth-One heroes. These were just the important Earths, and there was an infinite amount of others.
Suffice to say, there were too many Earths in DC's care, and its management decided to do something about it in 1985, DC's 50th Anniversary year. Which a stroke of genius, DC staffers, Marv Wolfman and Len Wein came up with the solution to DC's problems by creating one, singular universe with one Earth in one-slam-bang story. The story took place in a literally earth-shattering 12-issue maxi-series called, with a certain amount of grandeur, Crisis on Infinite Earths, written by Wolfman and drawn and co-plotted by George Perez, and edited by Wein.
THE “CRISIS”
The big changes started, but by no means ended, with Crisis on Infinite Earths, and here is its story in a nutshell.
At the dawn of time in the DC Universe, there was a multiverse (which meant that there were an infinite amount of universe in it) and an anti-matter universe. In the ant-matter universe, there rose an Anti-Monitor, and in the positive-matter multiverse, there rose a Monitor.
Both characters opposed each other for millions of years. After a while, the Anti-Monitor discovered that by absorbing positive-matter with his anti-matter, he became more powerful. With this knowledge, he quickly began to “eat up” the positive-matter universe one by one. The Monitor would not allow his nemesis to do this, and gathered up the various heroes and villains of the multiverse to fight him. Major characters, such as the Flash and Supergirl, died, while others evolved, like Wally West, who became the new Flash.
In the end, the heroes triumphed, and in doing so, changed the DC Universe's history at the dawn of time by having one singular universe with one Earth and one history, combining bits and pieces of Earths One, Two, Four, S, and X into one. By creating one Earth, many characters ceased to exist in the DC legend. Such was the case with nearly all of the Golden Age characters who had exact Earth-One counterparts, because it was the Earth-One characters that were still being published by DC. How ever, the Earth-One characters, themselves, were far from safe.
POST-CRISIS
The “Crisis” was the event that enabled DC to “rewrite” its own history by allowing it to be an excuse for changing anything. It let DC start over again with many of its older characters, such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, to present a more updated version of the character to a modern audience who was beginning to tire of DC’s all-too-traditional heroes.
The first and largest of the changes made by the “Crisis” was with Superman. All of the character’s previous history before 1986 was wiped out, only to be started over again in hopes of presenting a character that was better suited to entertain a mass audience. The “rebirth” of Superman (popularly known now as the “post-Crisis” version) was handled by “super” writer/artist John Byrne in his Man of Steel mini-series in 1986, which was followed with an all-new Superman #1 a few months later. Byrne kept and threw away the bits of previous history that he saw fit. The major changes included the fact that Clark Kent never became Superboy, that he was the sole survivor of Krypton (meaning there was never a Supergirl or Super-animals), Ma and Pa Kent were still alive, and the Clark Kent character was a little bit “hipper.” This new version of the character had Clark Kent become Superman in the late ’70s and early ’80s, a few years before the “Crisis.” The Superman revamp was a huge success, garnering mass media attention and a much broader audience than what it was getting before the “Crisis.”
The next huge change was with Wonder Woman. As with Superman, Wonder Woman’s entire history was tossed out the window and started anew. Unlike Superman, the “post-Crisis” Wonder Woman did not exist before the “Crisis” and did not fight in the “Crisis.” In her revised origin, told by Crisis on Infinite Earths’ plotter/artist George Pérez, she did not appear until well after the “Crisis” ended, and was treated as a completely new heroine inside the confines of the DC Universe. Wonder Woman also restarted her title with a #1 issue in 1987. This newer and more pop- ular incarnation of Wonder Woman was much more closely linked to Greek and Amazonian mythology.
While Batman’s character stayed pretty much in tune with the version that appeared before the “Crisis,” his origin was changed around a bit in 1987. With Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s “Batman: Year One” story, they modernized and updated the Dark Knight Detective. Their story gave the character a much grittier edge than before, as he fought certain corrupt factions in the police force. The story also linked Bat- man more closely to Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Dent, and Catwoman than the character’s previous origin did.
The Flash was changed irrevocably in the “Crisis.” The Barry Allen Flash had died saving the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and the residents of the DC Universe revered him as a saint. In dying, Allen’s nephew, Wally West, better known as Kid Flash, took up the mantle of the Flash in Allen’s memory. West has since grown into his own man and is starting to forge his own legend as the Flash. Consequently, it was later explained that, at the moment he died, llen turned into the time traveling lightning bolt that gave Allen his powers in the first place.
Green Lantern’s character also went through some origin changes. Previous to the “Crisis,” Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) was a model citizen and was a pretty straight arrow. In 1989’s Emerald Dawn mini-series, Hal had a drinking problem, which landed him in jail for 90 days for almost killing his best friend in a drunken driving accident. He was a big disappointment to his family, and a failure as a test pilot. Although Hal eventually straightened himself out, he now had flaws in his character, which therefore made him seem more believable to a 90s audience.
THE STATE OF THE DC UNIVERSE BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHSby Brian Cunningham
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Wizard #26 (Oct 1993)
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PRE-CRISIS
What must be explained first is why the concept of the “Crisis” came about. In the early 1980s, DC Comics had a big problem. Editors at DC had a bit of trouble trying to explain to its new readers how everything in its comic-book “universe” worked and why things were the way they were. It was not only confusing, it was difficult to explain in just a few paragraphs because there was a lot of explaining to do.
A lot.
The whole problem was that DC had too many "Earths" in its comic-book universe, then known as "the multiverse," which encompasses multiple universe separated by "vibrational barriers." Inside each separate universe was a planet Earth. There was "Earth-One" where the modern versions of Flash, Superman, and Batman lived, meaning the versions that were being published in DC's current books at the time. The Earth-One Flash starred in the Flash, as opposed to the "Golden Age" Flash, who did not. There was "Earth-Two", where the original 50-year-old Golden Age versions of Flash, Superman, and Batman lived, along with the rest of the Justice Society of America. This Earth held the heroes that were created in the '30s and '40s, and were published until 1954. There was "Earth-Three", which had no superheroes at all, just supervillains who were really evil versions of Batman, Superman, and the like. There was “Earth-Four,” which held the old Charlton Comics character like Blue Beetle and the Question (although this Earth didn't show up until the Crisis). There was "Earth-S", which held the Shazam heroes. There was “Earth-X,” which held the 1940s Quality Comics heroes that DC had acquired, along with "Earth-Prime", which is the Earth that we, the comic book readers, live on while reading about Earth-One heroes. These were just the important Earths, and there was an infinite amount of others.
Suffice to say, there were too many Earths in DC's care, and its management decided to do something about it in 1985, DC's 50th Anniversary year. Which a stroke of genius, DC staffers, Marv Wolfman and Len Wein came up with the solution to DC's problems by creating one, singular universe with one Earth in one-slam-bang story. The story took place in a literally earth-shattering 12-issue maxi-series called, with a certain amount of grandeur, Crisis on Infinite Earths, written by Wolfman and drawn and co-plotted by George Perez, and edited by Wein.
THE “CRISIS”
The big changes started, but by no means ended, with Crisis on Infinite Earths, and here is its story in a nutshell.
At the dawn of time in the DC Universe, there was a multiverse (which meant that there were an infinite amount of universe in it) and an anti-matter universe. In the ant-matter universe, there rose an Anti-Monitor, and in the positive-matter multiverse, there rose a Monitor.
Both characters opposed each other for millions of years. After a while, the Anti-Monitor discovered that by absorbing positive-matter with his anti-matter, he became more powerful. With this knowledge, he quickly began to “eat up” the positive-matter universe one by one. The Monitor would not allow his nemesis to do this, and gathered up the various heroes and villains of the multiverse to fight him. Major characters, such as the Flash and Supergirl, died, while others evolved, like Wally West, who became the new Flash.
In the end, the heroes triumphed, and in doing so, changed the DC Universe's history at the dawn of time by having one singular universe with one Earth and one history, combining bits and pieces of Earths One, Two, Four, S, and X into one. By creating one Earth, many characters ceased to exist in the DC legend. Such was the case with nearly all of the Golden Age characters who had exact Earth-One counterparts, because it was the Earth-One characters that were still being published by DC. How ever, the Earth-One characters, themselves, were far from safe.
POST-CRISIS
The “Crisis” was the event that enabled DC to “rewrite” its own history by allowing it to be an excuse for changing anything. It let DC start over again with many of its older characters, such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, to present a more updated version of the character to a modern audience who was beginning to tire of DC’s all-too-traditional heroes.
The first and largest of the changes made by the “Crisis” was with Superman. All of the character’s previous history before 1986 was wiped out, only to be started over again in hopes of presenting a character that was better suited to entertain a mass audience. The “rebirth” of Superman (popularly known now as the “post-Crisis” version) was handled by “super” writer/artist John Byrne in his Man of Steel mini-series in 1986, which was followed with an all-new Superman #1 a few months later. Byrne kept and threw away the bits of previous history that he saw fit. The major changes included the fact that Clark Kent never became Superboy, that he was the sole survivor of Krypton (meaning there was never a Supergirl or Super-animals), Ma and Pa Kent were still alive, and the Clark Kent character was a little bit “hipper.” This new version of the character had Clark Kent become Superman in the late ’70s and early ’80s, a few years before the “Crisis.” The Superman revamp was a huge success, garnering mass media attention and a much broader audience than what it was getting before the “Crisis.”
The next huge change was with Wonder Woman. As with Superman, Wonder Woman’s entire history was tossed out the window and started anew. Unlike Superman, the “post-Crisis” Wonder Woman did not exist before the “Crisis” and did not fight in the “Crisis.” In her revised origin, told by Crisis on Infinite Earths’ plotter/artist George Pérez, she did not appear until well after the “Crisis” ended, and was treated as a completely new heroine inside the confines of the DC Universe. Wonder Woman also restarted her title with a #1 issue in 1987. This newer and more pop- ular incarnation of Wonder Woman was much more closely linked to Greek and Amazonian mythology.
While Batman’s character stayed pretty much in tune with the version that appeared before the “Crisis,” his origin was changed around a bit in 1987. With Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s “Batman: Year One” story, they modernized and updated the Dark Knight Detective. Their story gave the character a much grittier edge than before, as he fought certain corrupt factions in the police force. The story also linked Bat- man more closely to Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Dent, and Catwoman than the character’s previous origin did.
The Flash was changed irrevocably in the “Crisis.” The Barry Allen Flash had died saving the universe in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and the residents of the DC Universe revered him as a saint. In dying, Allen’s nephew, Wally West, better known as Kid Flash, took up the mantle of the Flash in Allen’s memory. West has since grown into his own man and is starting to forge his own legend as the Flash. Consequently, it was later explained that, at the moment he died, llen turned into the time traveling lightning bolt that gave Allen his powers in the first place.
Green Lantern’s character also went through some origin changes. Previous to the “Crisis,” Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) was a model citizen and was a pretty straight arrow. In 1989’s Emerald Dawn mini-series, Hal had a drinking problem, which landed him in jail for 90 days for almost killing his best friend in a drunken driving accident. He was a big disappointment to his family, and a failure as a test pilot. Although Hal eventually straightened himself out, he now had flaws in his character, which therefore made him seem more believable to a 90s audience.
Hawkman was also a victim of the
“Crisis.” Of all the revamps, this is the
one that proved to be the most confusing. Before the “Crisis,” there had been
both a Golden Age version, who was a
member of the Justice Society of America, and a modern version, recreated by
Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert in the ’60s,
who was a member of the Justice League
of America. In the Hawkworld mini-series in 1989, writer/artist Timothy Truman recreated the character yet again. In
Hawkworld Annual #1, published in
1990, there was a lot of explaining done
about how this new Hawkman fit into
the DC Universe. Hawkman’s rewritten
history said that the Fox/Kubert version
never existed. Instead, the Golden Age
Hawkman was the version on both the
JSA and the JLA, and a new Hawkman
only recently came to Earth from his
home planet of Thanagar. The
Fox/Kubert Hawkman of the ’60s was
forever erased and forgotten from the
revised history of the character. This
“new” Hawkman used elements of the
’60s version, but was altogether a different character. As with Wonder
Woman, he was treated as a new character within the DC Universe.
Aquaman’s origin is being tinkered with in September's Aquaman: Time and Tide mini-series written by Peter David. This series is being treated as an “Aquaman: Year One” story, which will most likely revamp this venerable character, as well. The history of the Justice League of America was also rewritten. When the team originally debuted in 1960, the roster was comprised of founding members Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. According to 1988’s Secret Origins #32, the revised DC continuity dictated that Wonder Woman did not exist when these characters first banded together early in their careers. Instead, Black Canary was substituted as the lone female founding member of the Justice League of America. Also, Superman was not a member of the early JLA as he was in the “pre-Crisis” continuity. Instead, he merely assisted the League many times, but declined membership until recently. Like Superman, Batman - was not a founding member, but became an infrequent participant throughout the League’s history.
Other little things changed as well, such as how prominent cities on different Earths fit on the “new” Earth. For example, Keystone City (an Earth-Two city where the Golden Age Flash lived) and Central City (an Earth-One city where the modern Flash lived) now existed right next to each other in this revised singular Earth. Other futuristic characters like Kamandi ceased to exist after his dismal apocalyptic future was replaced with the bright one of Tommy Tomorrow. There were many more little things changed that would take too many pages to describe, so they will be omitted.
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE
Wolfman, the writer of Crisis on Infinite Earths, explained in Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 that he hoped the series would “simplify, clarify, change, and improve the vast DC Universe” by combining the various Earths into one singular planet and history.
But did it?
Crisis on Infinite Earths certainly made good on its promise to make one, coherent world. But out of this singular world stemmed a truckload of problems for the improved and revamped characters as a result of it. Readers were supposed to “forget” about the adventures of certain characters because these character’s individual histories ceased to exist in the “new” DC Universe. Superman’s adventures a year before the revamp had never happened. Neither did Wonder Woman’s in her previous publication. The acclaimed Hawkman stories by Fox and Kubert never “happened,” even though they were considered part of the character’s continuity a year before Hawkworld. Also, the “wiped out” Hawkman appeared in Justice League International a short time before then, and readers were supposed to “fit” the elder Golden Age Hawkman in that role. Readers were expected to forget these adventures and start over.
What is also interesting is that some of the things “fixed” by the “Crisis” have resurfaced in recent years. The most glaring of these is the return of Supergirl. She’s not the cousin of Superman, as she originally was, but is basically the same type of character. In starting over with the character, though, she has attained a new level of popularity with a mini-series in the works for sometime in the future. Another character was Lori Lemaris, who had died fighting during the “Crisis,” She was recently “brought back” after believed to be dead. Another character was Dove, who also died dur-ing the “Crisis.” His character stayed dead, while a woman took his place with Hawk and possessed the same powers. While the new Dove had a different personality, the heart of the character was similar. (She was recently killed in the “Armageddon 2001” storyline.) The villain Mirror Master was also killed in the “Crisis” and brought back, albeit in a different identity, in Animal Man. After eight years of distance from Crisis on Infinite Earths, the creators have interesting things to say about the current state of the DC Universe as a result of the “Crisis.”
Wolfman says, “Crisis (on Infinite Earths) was never intended to make more problems. It was intended to clean up the complicated nature of the DC Universe.”
Wolfman also adds that it was his intention for all of DC’s books to start over with a #1 issue after Crisis on Infinite Earths had ended, so all of DC’s characters could start over with a clean slate. This did not happen, though, and the revamps all happened at different times. He laments that if he did not leave New York four months after Crisis on Infinite Earths was completed, he might have kept a better eye on things happening at DC, and perhaps tried to halt some of the current confusion from happening. In defense of DC, Wolfman says that the company is making an effort not to add to the confusion.
“George [Pérez] and I suggested to C that a 13th chapter be added in a reprint volume of Crisis on Infinite Earths to bring things up to date,” Wolfman says, but he has not been approached to do so. Pérez believes Crisis on Infinite Earths both succeeded and failed. “Crisis, as far as the effect it had on the DC Universe, had failed,” he says. “Crisis, as a theme, was never realized. However, with the attention it attracted towards DC, it succeeded. As an aesthetic work on its own, it succeeded.”
Pérez understands DC’s position that at a time when printing first issues were considered a risk, it was perhaps prudent that the publisher balked at the idea in 1986. He jokes that if Crisis on Infinite Earths happened today, DC might jump at the chance to publish all its books with first issues. “If anything, Crisis came out too early,” he laughs. “Crisis doesn’t make much sense now, but I’m still proud of it. It is something that can never be repeated.”
Pérez also has ideas of doing a
13th chapter of the series, as well as
redoing artwork in some parts of the
previous 12 issues, but feels that going
back to Crisis on Infinite Earths
would just add to the current confusion. “It’s ironic that we would go
back and undo what was done by Crisis,” he says. “A Crisis for the ‘Crisis’.”
However, plans for a Crisis on Infinite Earths trade paperback is not in DC’s immediate future. Patricia Jeres, a DC spokesperson, says, “It’s not currently on the schedule, but has been suggested.”
Regardless of the history changes and confusion, Crisis on Infinite Earths performed on its original premise. It cleaned up a lot of the confusion regarding the different Earths. With Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC had a fresh start to do things differently, and did a good job of it. Hiring the best talent available, it produced The Man of Steel, “Batman: Year One,” Wonder Woman, Hawkworld, and Emerald Dawn. In explaining the revamps, many fans are just as confused as before the “Crisis.”
Aquaman’s origin is being tinkered with in September's Aquaman: Time and Tide mini-series written by Peter David. This series is being treated as an “Aquaman: Year One” story, which will most likely revamp this venerable character, as well. The history of the Justice League of America was also rewritten. When the team originally debuted in 1960, the roster was comprised of founding members Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. According to 1988’s Secret Origins #32, the revised DC continuity dictated that Wonder Woman did not exist when these characters first banded together early in their careers. Instead, Black Canary was substituted as the lone female founding member of the Justice League of America. Also, Superman was not a member of the early JLA as he was in the “pre-Crisis” continuity. Instead, he merely assisted the League many times, but declined membership until recently. Like Superman, Batman - was not a founding member, but became an infrequent participant throughout the League’s history.
Other little things changed as well, such as how prominent cities on different Earths fit on the “new” Earth. For example, Keystone City (an Earth-Two city where the Golden Age Flash lived) and Central City (an Earth-One city where the modern Flash lived) now existed right next to each other in this revised singular Earth. Other futuristic characters like Kamandi ceased to exist after his dismal apocalyptic future was replaced with the bright one of Tommy Tomorrow. There were many more little things changed that would take too many pages to describe, so they will be omitted.
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE
Wolfman, the writer of Crisis on Infinite Earths, explained in Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 that he hoped the series would “simplify, clarify, change, and improve the vast DC Universe” by combining the various Earths into one singular planet and history.
But did it?
Crisis on Infinite Earths certainly made good on its promise to make one, coherent world. But out of this singular world stemmed a truckload of problems for the improved and revamped characters as a result of it. Readers were supposed to “forget” about the adventures of certain characters because these character’s individual histories ceased to exist in the “new” DC Universe. Superman’s adventures a year before the revamp had never happened. Neither did Wonder Woman’s in her previous publication. The acclaimed Hawkman stories by Fox and Kubert never “happened,” even though they were considered part of the character’s continuity a year before Hawkworld. Also, the “wiped out” Hawkman appeared in Justice League International a short time before then, and readers were supposed to “fit” the elder Golden Age Hawkman in that role. Readers were expected to forget these adventures and start over.
What is also interesting is that some of the things “fixed” by the “Crisis” have resurfaced in recent years. The most glaring of these is the return of Supergirl. She’s not the cousin of Superman, as she originally was, but is basically the same type of character. In starting over with the character, though, she has attained a new level of popularity with a mini-series in the works for sometime in the future. Another character was Lori Lemaris, who had died fighting during the “Crisis,” She was recently “brought back” after believed to be dead. Another character was Dove, who also died dur-ing the “Crisis.” His character stayed dead, while a woman took his place with Hawk and possessed the same powers. While the new Dove had a different personality, the heart of the character was similar. (She was recently killed in the “Armageddon 2001” storyline.) The villain Mirror Master was also killed in the “Crisis” and brought back, albeit in a different identity, in Animal Man. After eight years of distance from Crisis on Infinite Earths, the creators have interesting things to say about the current state of the DC Universe as a result of the “Crisis.”
Wolfman says, “Crisis (on Infinite Earths) was never intended to make more problems. It was intended to clean up the complicated nature of the DC Universe.”
Wolfman also adds that it was his intention for all of DC’s books to start over with a #1 issue after Crisis on Infinite Earths had ended, so all of DC’s characters could start over with a clean slate. This did not happen, though, and the revamps all happened at different times. He laments that if he did not leave New York four months after Crisis on Infinite Earths was completed, he might have kept a better eye on things happening at DC, and perhaps tried to halt some of the current confusion from happening. In defense of DC, Wolfman says that the company is making an effort not to add to the confusion.
“George [Pérez] and I suggested to C that a 13th chapter be added in a reprint volume of Crisis on Infinite Earths to bring things up to date,” Wolfman says, but he has not been approached to do so. Pérez believes Crisis on Infinite Earths both succeeded and failed. “Crisis, as far as the effect it had on the DC Universe, had failed,” he says. “Crisis, as a theme, was never realized. However, with the attention it attracted towards DC, it succeeded. As an aesthetic work on its own, it succeeded.”
Pérez understands DC’s position that at a time when printing first issues were considered a risk, it was perhaps prudent that the publisher balked at the idea in 1986. He jokes that if Crisis on Infinite Earths happened today, DC might jump at the chance to publish all its books with first issues. “If anything, Crisis came out too early,” he laughs. “Crisis doesn’t make much sense now, but I’m still proud of it. It is something that can never be repeated.”
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Bulletin
As Wizard was going to press, it was learned that
Dan Jurgens (of Superman fame) is writing and
penciling Zero Hour, a mini-series that DC says
will present a clear and clean starting point for new
readers. Jurgens says this mid-94 series will fix
the lingering continuity problems and revamp the
DE Universe. More news as this develops.
|
However, plans for a Crisis on Infinite Earths trade paperback is not in DC’s immediate future. Patricia Jeres, a DC spokesperson, says, “It’s not currently on the schedule, but has been suggested.”
Regardless of the history changes and confusion, Crisis on Infinite Earths performed on its original premise. It cleaned up a lot of the confusion regarding the different Earths. With Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC had a fresh start to do things differently, and did a good job of it. Hiring the best talent available, it produced The Man of Steel, “Batman: Year One,” Wonder Woman, Hawkworld, and Emerald Dawn. In explaining the revamps, many fans are just as confused as before the “Crisis.”
Source: Wizard #26 (Oct 1993)
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