Broken Frontier

Welcome to another Out for the Count, Broken Frontier’s weekly roundup of Countdown-related events across the DC Universe as we approach that ominous Final Crisis. This week's offering focuses on the potential influence of the Crime Bible and more rumblings from the conflict in Gotham...

Regular readers of this feature may have noticed our section on Countdown’s major players has disappeared and been subsumed into the other areas of OFTC. This is because, as Countdown to Final Crisis has progressed, the book has featured less in the way of guest characters while the key heroes and villains’ stories have largely continued from issue to issue. The result was that our weekly spotlight on the cast's movements became a little redundant.

In the final three months we’ll still try and work out the timelines of characters (when they're a little hazy) in our Continuity Corner (Salvation Run is a good example of a storyline that chronologically jumps all over the place, publishing week by publishing week).

Here’s a familiar friend ready to alert you to potential unsought for revelations and disclosures. Take it away... Spoiler Warning: Read no further if you’ve not had your DC fix this fortnight and don’t want to hear about key story elements.

Events of late…

In Countdown to Final Crisis #14: The battle for control of Earth-51 rages on as a planet burns. Superman-Prime finds his ideal world... but is it too late? Donna Troy usurps Bethelra for control of the Myrmidons. Red Robin debuts! And Monarch finally meets his match...

Elsewhere in the DCU
(stories from the last week that may, or may not, tie into the Bigger Picture)

Jaime Reyes takes a trip through The Bleed in Blue Beetle #23.

Monarch’s schemes on Earth-8 take another step forward in Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and the Extremists #4.

Eclipso marshals his ever-growing forces in Countdown to Mystery #5.

52 Aftermath: The Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood #4 is the next chapter in the saga of this nefarious tome.

Batman’s investigation into the Salvation Run conspiracy takes a surprising turn in Gotham Underground #4.

More on Hippolyta’s redemption after the events of Granny Goodness’s Amazonian War in Wonder Woman #16.

Continuity Corner
(interesting tidbits from this week’s issues!)

The Bleed – Blue Beetle’s "missing year" following the "destruction" of Brother Eye in the Infinite Crisis was spent in The Bleed (the strange dimension linking all other dimensions from the Wildstorm/Earth-50 books). While only hours passed for Jaime, 365 days went by on Earth. (Blue Beetle #23)

The Monitors – As Earth-51 lies in ruins, its Monitor swears vengeance on Solomon. Rebellion stirs once again in the ranks of the DCU’s watchers! Forerunner has returned on a Monitor-slaying mission. Presumably this takes place after the events in her strip in Countdown to Adventure. (Countdown to Final Crisis #14)

The Crime Bible – Bruno Mannheim, the one-time Intergang boss, is waiting for the fallout between Tobias Whale and the Penguin’s gang war to subside before using his agent, Johnny Denetto ("Johnny Stitches") to enter the power struggle for control of Gotham. Mannheim sees this as honoring the Religion of Crime. (Gotham Underground #4)

Since its appearance in the Countdown "villains" house ad, it’s been difficult to work out how the Crime Bible could be part of the Bigger Picture and 52 Aftermath: The Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood does not appear to be directly tied into the overarching Countdown story structure. Mannheim’s return this week may provide a possible link to the other storylines though.

Despite claiming he no longer worked for Darkseid in Superman #654 this Kirby-created character has a long association with Apokolips. Could he be linked once more to the Fourth World characters (Desaad maybe?) and spreading the Religion of Crime as part of an otherworldly agenda? Time will tell... but to add to the suspicions of Apokoliptian influence in the gang war is Wildcat’s discovery of what is clearly Fourth World tech in Gotham’s super-hero gambling clubs (again revealed in Gotham Underground #4)

Salvation Run – My suspicion is that the mysterious inmate in the prison infirmary, who Batman thinks may have been abducted and delivered to Blackgate by the Suicide Squad, may not have that much to do with the Salvation Run conspiracy. The chances are that his incarceration is more gang war-related. Whatever the case though, his identity is revealed as the Great White Shark, the former Arkham-based leader of the Gotham underworld. And he’s looked better...! (Gotham Underground #4)

Monarch’s Manipulations – Set in the recent past we see how Monarch allied himself with Americommando, the President of Earth-8, in order to further his aim to add Lord Havok and the Extremists to his Multiversal army. (Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and the Extremists #4)

Earthwatch

Earth-51 – According to Solomon this was the perfect Earth that Superman-Prime was searching for. This is probably just a diversion to stop the former Superboy from pounding on him. Earth-51, despite its idyllic nature, bears no resemblance at all to the largely metahuman-free Earth-Prime the rogue one-time Teen of Steel has been scouring the Multiverse in order to find.

Join us next week for more on the Mystery of the Legion, the revelation of Black Adam’s magic word, further insights into the future of the Lanterns post-The Sinestro Corps War and, almost certainly, more dead New Gods. See you then...