Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman

[Dr T]

Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman was an unusual book for me. Like I said in another thread, my eldest son wants to start getting into comic books so I picked this up. He really likes Batman and gets very upset at me for saying Batman is not a superhero-“He doesn’t even have super powers! He is rich and has a cool utility belt and some very nice vehicles but he is NOT a superhero.” I always tell him. Anyway this book was kind of difficult for me at times. The reading wasn’t but the characters were often unknown to me. This book was all about a lot of parallel universes. I was never into comic books as a child and didn’t know a lot of the background story. It did have a large (and good) role for Flash and I really appreciated that part in this book. Basically, there is a character called Monitor and his opposite Anti-Monitor (made of antimatter) and lots of heroes and villains that try to work together before all of the worlds perish (and the trillions of people with them) if Anti-Monitor succeeds. We read about various superheroes and their demise, like Super Woman. I did not even know who the Psycho Pirate was or a lot of the other heroes from different worlds that were there. Some of them seemed cool and all but I don’t know. It wasn’t my thing I guess. This book had Wonder Woman and others that I would have enjoyed reading about if they were talked about more I guess but didn’t. The best part for me was learning something about Flash, how he was a normal nerd scientist, how he became a speedster even though in his real life he took forever to do anything and how he negotiated through various parallel universes and his love and how he only thought of her and how he hated to see the worlds die. I could get into this book deeper but I was really checking it out for my son. There was also the use of the D word a few too many times for me and death that were not all that spectacular to me and I wasn’t too crushed at their deaths I guess. I mean, they are superheroes aren’t they? Superman even had his hands full, took a licking dealing with Anti-Monitor but I guess Super woman did what she needed to do so that part was cool I guess. Oh, another cool thing was how all the other heroes and villains all had respect for Superman. I always tell my son, “Superman is a REAL superhero! If you want to measure a hero, compare him to Superman. Ok, that’s enough about this book. It was an ok read I guess. It was 320 pages and I’d give it a 2 stars. If I know more about the characters I’d probably give it more stars but for me, it was a 2 stars out of 5.

[mordorbund]

As a Superman fan, you should at least read the Death of Superman - a collection of 5 or 6 comics chronicling his death and the aftermath (spoiler alert - he isn't killed by Lex like in Superman Returns).

And you might enjoy a comic that took some literary license and combined the worlds of Batman and Superman in the same persons. It's called Speeding Bullets It places Kal-El in a setting where he is orphaned at a young age in an urban environment instead of being raised by traditional parents with wholesome American farm values.

[Dr T]

Thank you Mordorbund. The Death of Superman is on my night stand now. I've cracked it open but have not finished it yet. I will. So far it all about how he saved people, how he questioned himself and the scientist where we learn it takes time for Superman to recover. I look forward to seeing what happens.

[Saldrin]

Superman is not super because of his super powers he super because of what a wonderful guy he is :) (except that one time where he tried to dominate earth)

[Dr T]

What? He tried to dominate Earth? I've often wondered why the good guys don't just turn bad? They can get away with it because people can't stop them. I agree that his character and ethics make him great too but his super powers are SUPER.

[Saldrin]

yeah i wanna say it was some time before 2000 i haven't followed comics much past then although i heard the blackest night crossover for green lantern that happened last year was interesting. love the Death of Superman read the novelization of it too.

[Dr T]

My son loves Green Lantern. I don't see the draw for him. Ok, he has a ring. What does that make him a super hero?

[zippy_do46]

ok, I have not read the these books mention but in my opinion it is just so wrong to get rid of heros. Why must we see a conclusion every time? Why can we not teach another generation about those heros instead of ending it with this generation. Too many of the heros of today have the attitude of "do into them before they do into you." Sometime I believe we are taking our children's hope from them. That "good" is not going to win. That "evil" will win in the end so why care attitude. The strongest. the prettiest, the most popular, and etc... is so much better then being the hero and choosing the right. We are defeating our purpose.

OK that was my soap-box for the month. This subject has so been on my mind. I just wish the good guy really won and not just the moment. That to keep "fighting for right" is a hope in itself.

[Dr T]

I hear you Zippy. I agree, the good ought to always win. My son things Superman is too boring because he can't be defeated. I was talking to an 11 year old that other day and he said "Batman is a superhero; he fights the bad guys even though he doesn't have any super powersand that just shows how brave he is." I like that and so we called my son so he could tell him. I'm sure he'll use that againt me in the future. :)

[Soulsearcher]

I'll admit I'm a huge comic fan. More Marvel than DC, but I'll take both companies with appreciation.

Some of the comments before make me smile about the characters I've loved for years. I myself am not a superman fan. The "boy scout" as he's called while making many choices to make sure he always stays on the "good side" with out ever compromising is very admirable, but as some have said, when you know you have nothing to lose most of the time then it can make doing right a lot easier because you won't really suffer. Batman has always been a favorite of mine because he does walk the moral line a lil closer than superman. Both men were orphaned as youths and both made the choice to defend the world, not just their little corner of it, from those that might like to make the world a lil less livable. Both have come back from the dead, both have had to fight back from being powerless or having their places taken by less worthy people, but Batman knows that every time he walks into a fight he can die. He's forced his mind and body past the normal limits so he can carry on the good fight and will always fight for change, he might be a lil more willing to enter the gray areas, but some lines he'll almost never cross.

Green lantern also makes a great example of an interesting hero, though there are many of them. The thing that makes the lanterns great is their rings aren't the source of their power really. The rings only work when powered by willpower. The clarity and determination focused through the rings is what allows these people to police the galaxy. To be at their best they can never doubt or lose focus or they are powerless.

All that being said my favorite will always be the X-men and their mutant family. The x-men started in the 60's as a commentary on racial divides in america and have grown so much over the years. They have covered discrimination across so many different spectrums and have also worked hard to show that even when the world is so against you from political, religious and social classes, you don't give up fighting for you and them as a whole. I tend to like the X titles because they spend so much time in the gray area trying to show that yes now and then you will make hard choices, and sometimes the right choice for the many is the wrong choice for you. The titles have gotten much darker, but underneath them all still lies Professor Xavier's dream of peaceful coexistence for all races and cultures and the willingness to fight every battle until the end to try and make the dream a reality.

[Dr T]

Thank you for the great thoughts SS. I've watched the X-men movies and I really liked them. I could get into those comics I think.

[Blackmarch]

As a Superman fan, you should at least read the Death of Superman - a collection of 5 or 6 comics chronicling his death and the aftermath (spoiler alert - he isn't killed by Lex like in Superman Returns).

And you might enjoy a comic that took some literary license and combined the worlds of Batman and Superman in the same persons. It's called Speeding Bullets It places Kal-El in a setting where he is orphaned at a young age in an urban environment instead of being raised by traditional parents with wholesome American farm values.

The Death of superman saga is real good.

I can't stand picking up Xmen any more because i swear they are all either alternate universe/stories and they all to seem to be all fatalistically, dismally dark in regards to just about everything.

DC tends to be a little better but seems to be on the same train. >.<

SOme other comic/graphic novels I really enjoy are

Nausicaa of the valley of the Wind (really good)-

I love the example the main character sets in this series.. she's (very) rarely violent, and and does whatever is necessary to bring peace to all sides, and is able to pull. If you don't care for comics usually this one is worth picking up and reading, it sets some very high standards, in about every category... IF this is a persons first foray into visual stories this one will spoil them.

Samurai X/ Kenshin-

A good story that is all about repentance, and done in a way that is good.

I really like these characters because they are not superhuman, and because they also try to avoid using violence to solve the problem.

Edited November 17, 2010 by Blackmarch

[Dr T]

Thank you for your thoughts and the options. :)