Crisis on Infinite Earths wasn’t the first event comic, but it changed the face of the comic industry in a way no event before or since has. Marv Wolfman, George Perez, and Jerry Ordway’s 41-year old classic presented the ultimate battle between good and evil, as the monstrous Anti-Monitor set out to destroy the multiverse. The book’s tag line was, “Worlds will live, worlds will die, and nothing will ever be the same,” and it more than lived up to that. Readers got to see a crossover that touched every corner of DC history, and gave them some of the most important events in comics. They even remembered the villains, something the vast majority of events forget. It truly had everything.
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Pretty much DC character of the day appeared somewhere in the book, but there are some who are much more important than others. These heroes were the one who truly saved the universe, fighting the most dangerous battles imaginable. These ten heroes were the greatest in Crisis on Infinite Earths, characters who made sure the battle was won.
10) Darkseid
Darkseid is menacing the heroes in DC K.O., but he played a small but crucial part in Crisis. The Fourth World wasn’t technically part of the multiverse, so it wasn’t under threat from the Anti-Monitor. However, Darkseid knew that once the monster was done with everything, he would set his sights on New Genesis and Apokolips. So, as the final battle was raging, the God of Evil fired a powerful blast at the Anti-Monitor, weakening him significantly, allowing Earth-Two Superman, Alexander Luthor, and Superboy-Prime to press the advantage. Darskeid did good, and played an unsung role in saving the multiverse.
9) Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime first appeared during Crisis. He was the Kal-El of Earth-Prime, the “real world”, and discovered his superpowers when Earth-One’s Superman found his planet. He ended up leaving his world behind to help save all of existence, taking part in the final battle. While he didn’t do very much in the fight — he was, after all, just discovering his powers — his help was crucial to the whole thing. He was a teenage comic fan who’s dream came true, and then he immediately threw himself into battle. Superboy-Prime was always a great hero, despite his later acts, and his actions helped even the odds.
8) Pariah
Pariah is another hero of Crisis who ended up bad because of it. The denizen of a dead Earth, he believed that his experimentation had unleashed the Anti-Monitor on the multiverse. He was cursed to jump from Earth to Earth as they were being destroyed, and he watched countless worlds fall to inexorable walls of antimatter. Eventually, he found his way to the core worlds of the DC Multiverse and helped to warn the heroes of their plight. He started to help the Monitor and was one of the chief planners of the resistance against the Anti-Monitor. Of course, watching unimaginable carnage broke him, and he would return to start a crisis all his own in the years to come.
7) Earth-One Superman
Earth-One Superman is DC’s most important hero, the leader of the superhero community in the Silver and Bronze Age. He wasn’t the first Superman to join the fight against the Anti-Monitor (that was Earth-Two Superman), but he played a key role in bringing together the heroes of Earth-One in the fight. He faced off against the lord of antimatter, and almost lost his life, but he never gave up the fight, even after the death of Supergirl. His role as a leader was much more important than his physical prowess, but he still was one of Crisis‘s greatest heroes.
6) Supergirl
Supergirl is becoming a superstar again, much like she was before her first death in Crisis. Kara Zor-El joined the battle to save Earth-One, Earth-Two, Earth-S, and Earth-X, and was part of the group of heroes who went after the Anti-Monitor in Crisis on Infinite Earths #7. His citadel to came to life and started attacking the strike force, with only heavy hitters like Supergirl and her cousin able to get to the Anti-Monitor. Superman got trounced, and he was saved by his cousin. She did massive damage to the villain, but he struck back, killing her. The Man of Steel would have fallen, as would most of the rest of the heroes sent to the battle, without her actions.
5) Barry Allen
Crisis on Infinite Earths came at a weird time for Barry Allen. Barry had killed Reverse Flash and went to the future, where his wife Iris was sent after her supposed death. He was specifically targeted by the Anti-Monitor because of how easily he could have traveled through the multiverse and rallied the heroes of numerous Earths and imprisoned on Qward in the Antimatter Universe. He was tortured by the Psycho-Pirate for a while, and was able to escape, wreaking havoc on the Thunderers of Qward. He found a massive antimatter cannon that was going to end the Earths, and he ran as fast as he could around it, destroying it, but losing his life in the process. The death of Barry Allen sent shockwaves through the Multiverse, but without him, the day would have been lost.
4) Harbinger
Harbinger was an orphan raised by the Monitor. He gave her amazing power and used her as his eyes across the multiverse in his long cold war with the Anti-Monitor. When the villain started getting closer to victory, she was sent to recruit heroes, and helped lead them in the first missions against the massive tuning forks the Anti-Monitor used as the beginning of his attacks. She ended up getting possessed by a Shadow Demon and was forced to kill the Monitor, but redoubled her efforts to save reality. She was one of the leaders of the resistance, helping make the plans that saved the day.
3) The Monitor
The Monitor was the brother of the Anti-Monitor. The two of them had in a chess match for eons, a game that ended with Crisis on Infinite Earths. Eventually, he decided to get involved in the fates of the four core Earths, watching for the sign of his brother’s catastrophic approach. Finally, the battle began, and the Monitor’s ultimate plan went into play. He knew he wouldn’t be able to survive the coming battles, and that every rested on the razor’s edge but the discovery of Alexander Luthor was a boon for him. He was able to prepare the child and set the plans in motion that would lead to the defeat of his brother. He was killed by the only person he loved, and the only one who truly loved him, Harbinger, a tragic fate for a secret hero.
2) Alexander Luthor Jr.
Alexander Luthor was the only hero on Earth-Three, working against the rule of the Crime Syndicate. As antimatter ate away his world, he and his wife Lois Lane launched their son Alexander Jr. into the multiverse, where he was found by the Monitor. He gained antimatter powers while he was out in the void and quickly grew to maturity. After the death of the Monitor he stepped into the leadership position, using his vast intellect, all of the Monitor’s resources, and his powers to end the threat of the Anti-Monitor. He also eventually went bad, but there was a time he saved the whole of existence.
1) Earth-Two Superman
Earth-Two Superman is the first superhero, a true icon. The character had been fighting evil since the beginning, and had settled into a happy life with Lois and his cousin Power Girl, working as editor in chief of The Daily Star and helping out the Justice Society on Earth-Two. However, Crisis saw him join the fight right from the beginning. He was a part of basically every major scene in the book, and had some of the best moments in the story. He even struck the final blow against the Anti-Monitor, saving the multiverse that he had began. At the time, this story was meant to be the swan song of the original superhero, and it made him look a billion dollars.
Who were your favorite heroes in Crisis on Infinite Earths? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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