Infinite Crisis

Infinite Crisis, in many ways a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths and supposedly the penultimate crisis in the DC Universe, is centered around the original Superman and Lois Lane of Earth-2 as well as Alexander Luthor of Earth-3 and Superboy. Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, these three characters found themselves in a place they called "heaven", completely separated from the newly formed, singular earth. And it was from their heaven that they looked on and watched the progress of earth post Crisis.

In Infinite Crisis, the onlooking quartet has had enough: They have grown tired of watching the Earth carry on in the manner it has since the Crisis, a manner they find undeserving of the sacrifice they made to allow the singular earth to live. And perhaps more importantly, the original Superman is motivated by his Lois Lane, who is dying as a result of separation from Earth-2.

Again, this crisis follows the same structural pattern of the other crises and similarly leads to the deaths and rebirths of a handful of DC characters. But reading this comic when I did originally and even now, I find myself sufficiently enmeshed in DC continuity to see exactly what purpose this Crisis served in the DCU.

The most obvious goal of this event was to introduce Superboy Prime. Along with Superman, Lois Lane and Alexander Luthor, Prime found the current Earth undeserving of their sacrifice. But unlike Superman and Lois, Prime quickly becomes a great force for evil. And since Crisis, he has played in integral role in DC continuity, namely the Sinestro Corps War and Final Crisis.

In terms of thematic analysis, the most interesting relationship is not between the Trinity (Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman) who have a falling out following Wonder Woman's murder of Maxwell Lord, but rather, the relationship between Batman and Brother Eye.

Brother Eye is a satellite Batman created to monitor and "spy" on metahuman activity. Alexander Luthor gives the satellite sentience and in so doing creates a formidable enemy for the metahuman community. But through it all, Batman never really expresses any sincere regret for his actions. He simply takes action and seeks to end the threat that is Brother Eye. This portrayal, although in many ways fitting of Batman's traditionally cold nature, seems to be lacking and I would've liked to have seen a more developed conflict between not only Batman and Brother Eye, but the superhuman community at large.