Broken Frontier

Can we have really reached the halfway mark already? This month’s title change from Countdown to Countdown to Final Crisis underlines just how far we have come on our weekly(ish!) DC roundups. When I first started writing these summaries six months ago, the clues were few and far between across the DCU line. Twenty-six weeks in and we have at least half a dozen major, linked subplots and the true anomalies of the DCU now are the books which don’t have links to the near-ubiquitous Bigger Picture.

Regular readers may note there is no Players section this week. With Countdown to Final Crisis #26 being a jumping-on point and, essentially, a summary of what’s gone before, I felt it would be a little redundant this time around. Time once more for your    Spoiler Warning: Read no further if you’ve not had your DC fix this week and don’t want to hear about key story elements.

Events of late…

In Countdown to Final Crisis #26: The Monitors plan strategy as the forces threatening the Multiverse grow stronger. In the opposite corner, Monarch’s army grows ever stronger. As Karate Kid’s condition deteriorates the Great Disaster gets ever closer while on Earth-8 Jason Todd shows his true colors. On Earth-15 an ominous figure strikes and somewhere, behind everything, somebody or somebodies is/are pulling the strings…

Elsewhere in the DCU
(stories from this week’s issues that may, or may not, tie into the Bigger Picture)

Will we finally get some answers about what’s going on with the many versions of the Legion of Super-Heroes? We can only hope the Legion arc beginning in Action Comics #858 provides some explanations…

The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul has its prelude in Batman #670 with an intro to the prelude in Robin Annual #7.

Find out about the history of Earth-8 in Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and the Extremists #1.

Forerunner’s mission leads her to the magical reality  of Earth-33 in Countdown to Adventure #3.

Learn more about Eclipso’s ties to Darkseid and Apokolips in Countdown to Mystery #2.

The DC Infinite Halloween Special #1 includes a surprise sidestep to one of the Earths of the 52.

More major revelations as The Death of the New Gods #2 claims a whole host of new victims.

The Crime Bible looks to play a significant role in proceedings according to the last Countdown house ad. The cumbersomely-titled 52 Aftermath: The Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood #1 starts the sinister sermon off…

With their Apokoliptian links it’s worth keeping an eye on 52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen #3.

The Kingdom Come Superman is now a resident of New Earth. Justice Society of America #10 fills in the blanks.

More alternate future madness, this time on Earth-50, in Midnighter: Armageddon #1.

There’s chronal disruption in Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #35 with a link to the recent history of New Earth.

Finally I was remiss not to mention the themed reprints of related Silver Age material in Countdown Special: The Flash #1 last week and, on our more tenuous front, there’s a retelling of Superman’s first meeting with Darkseid in Superman Confidential #8

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

The Death of the New Gods – Jimmy Olsen is confirmed as having links to this event. According to the vocal Monitor his powers are manifesting because someone wants to keep him alive, knowing he has a major role to play. (Countdown t o Final Crisis #26)

The Forever People and the Infinite Man, with Darkseid’s possible manipulation, are fingered as the prime suspects in the New God killings. The deaths are metaphysical with souls being ripped from the bodies of the victims. Metron believes the adversary is a new and unknown threat. Darkseid wonders about links to the Anti-Life Entity from Cosmic Odyssey. Darkseid is surrounded by Crisis-style Shadow Demons.

Many other New Gods are confirmed as having died off-panel including Antinoos, Atina, Apemenza, Celstia, Fastbak, Jezebel, JL Minirats (isn’t that just an anagram of Jim Starlin?), Justeen, Lonar, K’Zadr, Mother Herrae, Runway, Saraday and Zaro. There are more if you squint, but continuity fan that I am, even I’m at a loss to identify/remember all these guys… (The Death of the New Gods #2)

The Source Wall – Constant incursions from universe to universe weaken the Source Wall(s), precipitating their collapse and causing crisis after crisis via a "Crisis Wave" (which looks suspiciously like the Anti-Matter Wave from Crisis On Infinite Earths). (Countdown to Final Crisis #26)

The Source is further confirmed as the energy that holds the Universe together. Himon and Takion discover a second wall at the Source Wall where the mysterious New God-killer has displayed his victims as trophies. (The Death of the New Gods #2)

The Mystery of the Legion/Superman’s Continuity Conflicts – The Threeboot Legion’s quest for the missing Cosmic Boy continues with an encounter with "Evolvo-Lad". Evolvo-Lad is attempting to conquer time and his experiments open up a temporal window showing Black Adam and the Martian Manhunter battling during World War III. Does this have any link to Supergirl’s time-jumping exploits of late? (Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #35)

This is very intriguing… Superman meets the "classic" Legion but doesn’t remember them until Braniac 5 gives him a memory charge and an adjustment to the proper vibrational plane. This is despite him just interacting with them in the Lightning Rod Saga. (Action Comics #858)

The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul – So what is Ra’s ultimate role in the Countdown? Given his expressed wish to thin down the world’s population could we speculate that The Great Disaster could be an immediate means to an end? (Batman #670/Robin Annual #7)

The Search for Ray Palmer – The Monitors ask a question we’ve all been pondering too: If they can see everything across the Multiverse then why can’t they locate Ray Palmer? (Countdown to Final Crisis #26)

The Temptation of Mary Marvel – Is Mary’s corruption part of a bigger scheme to upset and ultimately manipulate the new order of magic? (Countdown to Final Crisis #26)

It is revealed Darkseid sent Eclipso to New Earth to sow discord amongst Earth’s heroes. Is this tied into Mary’s temptation? Is Darkseid after Earth’s mystical power as well? (Countdown to Mystery #2)

The Coming Crisis – The Monitors, whose appearances are changing due to the Multiverse, agree to go to war to stop the actions of those who will cause The Coming Crisis. (Countdown to Final Crisis #26)

In the far future of Earth-50 Midnighter learns more of the Armageddon that will come to his world. Is this tied into the Multiverse and the Final Crisis or something else altogether? (Midnighter: Armageddon #1)

A Crisis in Time? – The future of the "classic" Legion has become a far darker place with anti-alien feeling rife. Hardly the happy, hopeful era we have come to love. Is someone manipulating this change? (Action Comics #858)

Monarch’s Machinations – If you believe the Monitors then Monarch’s true aim is to bring about the Final Crisis by weakening the Multiverse until it collapses into one reality that he, alone, can rule. ((Countdown to Final Crisis #26)

Offspring – The current incarnation of the character appears to be a merged version of Plastic Man’s son from both the Kingdom Offspring one-shot (Ernie) and the version who debuted in JLA #65 (Luke). Apparently Luke is his first name and Ernie/Ernest his middle name. (Countdown to Mystery #1)

Earthwatch

Earth-8 – If you want to see how Angor differs from its pre-Infinite Crisis version then we get a full look at its history this week prior to the Challengers from Beyond’s arrival in Countdown #29. (Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and the Extremists #1)

Earth-15 – The black-garbed Superman from the most recent Countdown house ad confronts the Lex Luthor of Earth-15 claiming that this Lex could have made the Universe perfect. Does this also play into the weeping Luthor figure on the same advertisement? (Countdown to Final Crisis #26)

Earth-22 – Are the events of Earth-22 impacting on New Earth in subtle ways we hadn’t considered? The Kingdom Come Superman stops a girl committing suicide. The name on her t-shirt is "Trix", who was one of the metahumans in Kingdom Come. (Justice Society of America #10)

Earth-33 – Forerunner finds herself on the sorcerous Earth from 1999’s Conjurors series and face to face with Dark Angel who has been missing in action recently. (Countdown to Adventure #3)

Earth-43 – The Vampire-Earth of the Red Rain Universe is the subject of the Mad Hatter’s Halloween ghost story. (DC Infinite Halloween Special #1)

So who is the true mastermind behind everything that’s going on? I’m beginning to wonder if the whole event isn’t some big metaphor for the creative process. Perhaps the Architects themselves are the true villains of the piece…

Until next week.