Crisis on Infinite Earths

Background

Decades of storytelling had fractured DC continuity across a sprawling Multiverse, creating a labyrinth of parallel Earths that confused readers and limited narrative potential. The Monitor and his counterpart, the Anti-Monitor, were ancient beings born from the Big Bang; while the former championed positive matter, the latter sought its total annihilation using antimatter waves that consumed entire universes one by one. As the wave of destruction swept across the Multiverse, surviving heroes were gathered to defend what remained. The conflict escalated beyond physical battles into a metaphysical struggle involving the very fabric of reality. No character was safe in this calculus of survival; iconic figures fell so that others might live, their sacrifices becoming the catalyst for merging all remaining Earths into one singular, cohesive world known as New Earth.

Did You Know?

• The storyline was designed specifically to eliminate confusing continuity errors and merge multiple parallel Earths into one.
• Supergirl's death in this event shocked readers as it was the first time a major, long-running hero died permanently (at that time).
• Barry Allen's sacrifice established him as the Flash who gave his life for the Multiverse, a moment often cited as one of comics' most emotional deaths.
• While the series ran for twelve issues, most origin retcons were handled through ongoing series relaunches like Superman vol. 2 and Wonder Woman vol.

Background

DC Comics, known for superheroes like Batman and Superman, debuted in February 1935. Its shared DC Universe (DCU) allowed crossovers but created continuity challenges. The 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds" introduced the concept of a multiverse, later expanded to infinite Earths, such as Earth-Two for Golden Age heroes and Earth-One for Silver Age ones. The term "Crisis" was used for major crossovers starting in 1963. Over time, many parallel Earths were added, making the multiverse confusing. DC's sales lagged behind Marvel's, which felt more unified. Writer Marv Wolfman, popular for The New Teen Titans, believed the multiverse hurt reader accessibility and continuity. In The New Teen Titans #21 (July 1982), he introduced the Monitor, setting the stage for Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Development

In 1981, while editing Green Lantern, Wolfman received a fan letter about a continuity error, inspiring him to pitch Crisis on Infinite Earths as a way to simplify the DCU. Originally titled The History of the DC Universe, it was renamed because its premise of world destruction sounded like a crisis. Wolfman knew it would be a new beginning for DC, though sales were uncertain. The crossover was planned at meetings with DC executives. A researcher spent two years reading every DC comic. The series was delayed from 1983 to 1985 to coincide with DC's fiftieth anniversary. Wolfman and artist George Pérez faced challenges in creating a story using all DC characters. The series was DC's first mainstream maxiseries. Wolfman did not want to kill Barry Allen, but DC ordered it, so he wrote Allen's death to make the character more interesting.

Publication

The idea for Crisis on Infinite Earths first appeared in The Comics Journal in December 1981, mentioning a twelve-part series for 1982. It was officially announced in Dick Giordano's column in June 1984, warning readers of odd occurrences and tying it to DC's fiftieth anniversary. The tagline was "Worlds will live, worlds will die and nothing will ever be the same." The series ran from January to December 1985, with cover dates from April 1985 to March 1986. Its close timing with Marvel's Secret Wars led to conspiracy theories about idea theft. Writer Steve Gerber noted the series received little promotion, with few handouts or posters distributed to the public.