Note: For the sake of keeping things from getting too confusing, any reference to 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths will be referred to in all caps as CRISIS. The TV version that appeared on the CW and this comic collection is spelled with only the first letter capitalized- Crisis.
One of the last great things before the Pandemic of 2020 fully took effect was the CW's crossover event of Crisis on Infinite Earths. A live action version of the incredible 1985 story had been teased for a couple of years and fans like myself were ecstatic that it was finally happening! A number of fan favorite characters were promised to return. We got to see Burt Ward as Dick Grayson one more time even if all he was doing was walking Ace the Bat Hound. Kevin Conroy finally got to play Bruce Wayne in the flesh, though in a kind of walking back brace! And at least 2 Supermans returned- Tom Welling and Brandon Routh!
While it was neat getting to see a lot of these characters return, the onslaught of the Anti-Monitor's anti-matter wave wiped out a lot of fan favorites without ever seeing what the fans hoped would be an unbelievable team-up! And all you had to do to get to see what was built up in all our heads was to go to Wal-Mart!
Wal-Mart and DC Comics teamed up to bring fans 2 store exclusive giants devoted to the CW crossover; along with a couple of chapters from the original CRISIS maxi-series. Helping to make this the most epic of 100-page giants, original CRISIS scribe Marv Wolfman co-wrote the scripts with Arrowverse showrunner Marc Guggenheim.
Immediately, I am hit with 2 things. 1st- being a comic book, there's no limitation to the world's that can be accessed across the multiverse. I don't want to spoil all the surprises that await in store. But thanks to being a print story and not encumbered by copyright or lawsuits, fans get to see the Max Fleischer Superman along with the cast of a legendary DC movie bomb take special part of the CW Crisis.
The 2nd thing I am made suddenly aware of is that continuity from the TV shows is sorely overlooked. Again, not to spoil too much but one of the characters on the cover died in the first 10 minutes of the televised version of Crisis and yet, he or she plays a giant role in the plot of this deluxe edition collection.
Guggenheim goes on in his foreword to admit he goofed. He attempts to retcon things and say that the character really did participate in this story as they did before going back to their home world to be wiped out with their compatriots by the Anti-Monitor. But I just don't buy it.
As a huge fan of Supergirl, I am also disappointed in this book as she's right there on the cover, but she's literally nowhere to be found in the rest of this story. I think she appears in 2 maybe 3 panels and says maybe 1 sentence. Even if Kara Danvers was going to be left out of this story, would it have been too much to include a cameo by the Helen Slater Supergirl in return?
Despite the goofs and limitations, I really enjoyed this collection and I felt that my time to get this book was worth the wait. (I had to wait forever for this deluxe edition to drop and after many COVID related delays, this book was hard to find). But there was one thing missing that I think any and all fans of CRISIS can agree on. There's no George Perez.
I realize that by the time these stories were being published, Perez had pretty much all but retired from comics due to health reasons. But it would have been nice to have had something from the recently deceased legend. A never-before-seen sketch, a small blurb, heck, even a cameo in pencil form. Wolfman appeared on screen with the Flash and Supergirl during the TV event. Why couldn't the artists on this comic accessory have put Perez in the story somehow?
A lot of unimagined team-ups. Lots of director's cut material in the back of the book. Quite a few forewords and afterwords. Just no nod to George Perez. That's almost unforgivable.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.
