100 Greatest Superhero Stories Ever
By Steve Lam
Image Courtesy of DC Comics
#88. Crisis on Infinite Earths
Medium
Comic Book
Release Dates
April 1985–March 1986
Credits
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Penciller: George Pérez
Inkers: Dick Giordano, Jerry Ordway, Mike DeCarlo
Letterer: John Constanza
Colorists: Anthony Tollin, Tom Ziuko, Carl Gafford
Creators: Marv Wolfman, George Pérez
Editor: Marv Wolfman
The Reason It’s Great
What happens when your own history gets a bit to unwieldy? You reboot, of course. Throughout the years, DC Comics has had a slew of writers contribute to its vast universe of characters. And with that many different ideas and concepts floating around, inconsistencies were inevitable.
Various storylines had Superman with a previous career as Superboy. And an equal many had a history which states Clark’s first appearance as the Man of Steel was when he was an adult in Metropolis. This was just the tip of the iceberg. There were numerous other examples of other characters with similar problems—ages didn’t match up with timelines, powers and abilities that would differ issue-to-issue, etc.
At the same time, DC had a problem getting new readers. People who were interested in getting started didn’t know where to start. So, in 1985, DC kicked off its Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline where the multiverse was reduced to a single universe and history.
The story was monumental enough that, people would later clarify character biographies with the terms “pre-Crisis” or “post-Crisis”—meaning before the reboot in Crisis on Infinite Earths or after. This would be the first major reboot for DC. Years later, the publisher would create The New 52. And, most recently, Rebirth—of which DC is still calling “not a reboot, but a relaunch.”