Superman: Crisis on Infinite Earths

by | Jul 3, 2019

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Episode 12 of the Superman Confidential podcast, takes at look at Superman’s role in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths comic book series and what it could be in The CW’s adaptation. It also touches on some news on Dean Cain’s Superman, Mercy Graves in Titans, and a Krypton spin-off.

Dean Cain is writing ideas for what he would want to see in a Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman revival – CBS’s “The Talk” via Entertainment Weekly

  • Cain – “We ended in a really weird spot, so we don’t know what’s going on. We never got to finish it. You want to have an ending of some sort.”
  • “I want them still together, they’ve got kids. Do they have babies now? How do they work that out? Do they have superpowers? I think they should. And all the things you can teach them about using their super powers… I think it would be fun to explore.”
  • Cain did write 2 episodes of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
  • Maybe in animation or comic book form?

Natalie Gumede (Doctor Who Christmas Special, ITV series Jekyll & Hyde) cast as Mercy Graves for Titans – Deadline

  • Bio from the show – “Mercy Graves is the ruthless, cunning, right hand and bodyguard to the notorious Lex Luthor – serving her boss with unquestioned loyalty. Her connection to the Luthors runs deep, as Mercy has been a friend of the family and in Lex’s life since they were young.”
  • Will Lex Luthor appear?

A Lobo spin-off of Krypton is in development at Syfy 

  • Emmett J. Scanlan would reprise the role
  • Showrunner Cam Welsh is developing the project
  • What time period will it be set in?
  • Crossovers with Krypton?
  1. Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 “The Summoning”
    1. Universes are being destroyed. Earth-3 has Ultraman. Crime Syndicate is trying to save the Earth.
    2. Alexander Luthor (goatee and flying suit) is only hero; he’s married to Lois.
    3. Alexander and Lois send their baby Alex in an experimental ship to another dimension.
    4. Ultraman fights “to the very end”, but Earth-3 is destroyed.(page 9)
    5. The Monitor is having Lyla/Harbinger assemble heroes from across time.
    6. Earth-2 Superman and others are assembled at the Monitor’s satellite – battle shadow demons.
  2. Crisis on Infinite Earths #2 “Time and Time Again”
    1. Monitor assembled Earth-2 Superman and 14 others as initial task force. Explains situation to them. 
    2. Batman explains to Earth-1 Superman how Flash has vanished. Pariah interrupts them.
    3. Earth-2 Superman was sent to future by the Monitor, saves Kamandi. Shadow demons appear. (Earth-1 Superman had previously met Kamandi in DC Comics Presents #64)
    4. Lyla checks on baby Luthor, who has aged rapidly.
  3. Crisis on Infinite Earths #3 “ Oblivion Upon Us”
    1. Luthor baby has agreed to teenager in days – is made of positive and negative matter.
    2. Superman-1 saves Wonder Girl from damage
    3. Enter Brainiac in skull ship – decides he needs to save him universe to save himself, seeks Luthor
    4. At great disaster – Superman-2 loves Lois and hopes to see his wife again
  4. Crisis on Infinite Earths #4 “And Thus Shall the World Die”
    1. Supergirl/Batgirl conversation
    2. Superman, Starfire battle the new Doctor light to get to machine
    3. Superman speaks Japanese to Doctor Light, asks what they must do and offers himself to sacrifice
    4. Lyla kills the Monitor
    5. Earth-1 and Earth-2 are seemingly destroyed
  5. Crisis on Infinite Earths #5 “Worlds in Limbo”
    1. Earths are merging – 3 remain
    2. Alex Luthor is grown up
    3. Lana Lang reporting for WGBS-TV news! Past, present, and future are merging
    4. Alex and Harbinger unite Earth-1 and Earth-2 heroes (both Supermen) to explain the situation.
    5. Lois Lane also reports for WGBS-TV news – GRXX was touring Legion headquarters and cakes her Lois Lang
    6. Alex explains they need to merge universes into a single universe
    7. Superman-2 – “if we can save the worlds that remain…we will!”
    8. They return to their earths
    9. Superman-2 saves Lois from a sabertooth
    10. Power Girl
    11. Earth-X
  6. Crisis on Infinite Earths #6 “3 Earths, 3 Deaths”
    1. No appearance 
    2. Lex Luthor of Earth-1 is on the run from Superman when Brainiac gets him
    3. Lori Lemaris cameo! Underwater Atlantis is disappearing
    4. Supergirl battles Captain Marvel, who has been manipulated by Psycho-Pirate
    5. Harbinger uses her power to merge 5 Earths
  7. DC Comics Presents #86
    1. Superman team-up with Supergirl.
    2. WGBS – Perry. Jimmy, and Lois are discussing the crisis while Clark scopes the cosmos with his super-vision.
    3. Clark sneaks out as Superman. Lois stands up for Clark when Jimmy figures he’s scared. 
    4. Supergirl and Batgirl meet up for…reasons?
    5. Superman discovers cause of disturbance, meets up with Supergirl.
    6. Kara has anxiety she can’t explain. They almost battle Blackstarr, but become allies
  8. Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 “Beyond the Silent Night”
    1. Waiting for the earths to merge
    2. Brainiac takes Dr. Sivana aboard his ship
    3. Alex calls together reps from each remaining earth, including both Supermen
    4. “Superman of Earth-1…the greatest of all heroes”, “Superman of Earth-2…the legend from whom all others have come”
    5. Lyla gives the origin of the multiverse, Qward, the Monitor, and the Anti-Monitor
    6. The 2 Superman, Supergirl, Mon-El and others lead an attack on the Anti-Monitor
    7. The machines meeting the Earths were destroyed. Supergirl attacks the Anti-Monitor, gets a hero’s exit
    8. Superman wants to attack, but #2 calms him down. 
    9. Funeral- burial in space?
  9. Green Lantern #194
    1. Shadow demon fight from John Stewart’s perspective. 
    2. Background panel where Superman looks like Joe Shuster art?
  10. New Teen Titans #13
    1. Quick Superman conversation with Batman
  11. Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 “A Flash of the Lightning”
    1. No appearance
    2. Anti-Monitor returns; Darkseid has cloaked Apokolips and is waiting to see who wins fight
    3. “The Final Fate of The Flash”
  12. DC Comics Presents #87
    1. The Origin of Superboy-Prime
  13. Justice League of America Annual #3 
    1. Superman and Martian Manhunter take on Star Labs satellites that are causing weird weather. (Red Tornado)
  14. Crisis on Infinite Earths #9 “War Zone”
    1. Brainiac and Luthor have all the villains on the ship.
    2. Luthor-2 is mad Luthor-1 is the field general, calls him a “second-rate lab rat”, so Brainiac destroys him
    3. Lois interviews Rip Hunter about the space/time anomalies, Clark reports news coldly
    4. Alex, Lyla, and Pariah explain the situation to the world. The threat appears to be over. Then Pariah is taken away
    5. Brainiac appears, saying they have taken over Earths 4, S, and X. Luthor says to surrender or they will be destroyed. Superman is not having it.
    6. Superman-2, Power Girl, and others from Earth-2 are trying to get to Earth-4.
    7. Brainiac and Luthor orchestrated the heroes vs villains fight as a way to get to Superman and rule by themselves.
    8. Psimon destroys Brainiac and wants to get Luthor.
  15. DC Comics Presents #88
    1. Superman and the Creeper
    2. Perry compliments Clark on giving hopeful broadcasts when the news is so bad.
  16. Superman #414
    1. Superman battles the Superman Revenge Squad, who go to New Krypton
    2. Superman retrieves Kara’s body and delivers it to Zor-El and Alura
  17. Infinity, Inc. Annual #1
    1. Earth-2 Superman at wedding of Alan Scott/Green Lantern and Molly Wayne/Harlequin
  18. Infinity, Inc. #21
    1. Cameo at Monitor’s satellite
  19. Crisis on Infinite Earths #10  – “Death at the Dawn of Time”
    1. Brainiac had transferred his data, forms a new body, and blows out Psimon’s brains.
    2. Superman-2 and Lois have a nice moment before they go off to battle.
    3. Superboy-Prime joins both Supermen
    4. Lori Lemaris consoles Aqualad; Tula passed.
    5. The team travels to the anti-matter universe. Anti Monitor wants to destroy all and create a new universe in his image.
    6. Go to the dawn of time to crew
  20. Superman #415
    1. It is revealed Supergirl had a husband, Salkor
    2. She married Salkor at a time she had amnesia
    3. Supergirl had left a message saying she may die
  21. Infinity, Inc. #22
    1. 1 panel – main crisis reference
  22. All-Star Squadron #53
    1. Mostly set in 1942
  23. Crisis on Infinite Earths #11 “Aftershock”
    1. Clark-2 wakes up exhausted, goes to work and doesn’t realize it’s not the daily star. Enters Perry White’s office, Clark-1 covers, saying is his uncle visiting.
    2. The Supermen decide to visit the warp zone between earths. Superman-2 tells Superman-1 he should consider settling down with Lois
    3. Timeline changes – the world knows Supergirl is gone, but not how
    4. Police at warp zone recognize Superman-1 but not 2 (S is wrong). They go to Central City to see Flash but it is a twin city with Keystone now. Jay Garrick recognizes them both
    5. Jay, Wally, and the Clarks hop on the cosmic treadmill but realize Earth-2 is gone. There is only one universe. Superman-2 tries to go into the void because he doesn’t have a past but 1 pulls him back
    6. Brainiac ship is doing, but he appears to be dead
    7. The characters at the dawn of time remember the previous multiverse, but nobody else does
    8. A single Krypton exploded, sending only 1 rocket
    9. Superman-2 is bummed he survived but Lois didn’t
    10. Power Girl does have a history somehow, even though her Superman doesn’t
    11. Batman visited Luthor in his cell to thank for helping with Anti-Monitor but Luthor says he doesn’t know what he’s taking about
    12. Red skies and shadow demons reappear
    13. The Earth is now in the antimatter universe and the Superman see the Anti-Monitor return
  24. All-Star Squadron #54
    1. Mostly a 1942 battle
  25. Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 “Final Crisis”
    1. A group of heroes find Brainiac alive on his ship and ask for help.
    2. Heroes are trapped on Earth, Anti-Monitor wants his universe to take over
    3. Superman-2 hears the screens on Earth and is terrified
    4. Harbinger takes the Supermen to fight
    5. Shadow Demons are all over Earth but heroes (Lori) are fighting back
    6. Anti-Monitor strike force – 2 Supermen, Superboy-Prime, 2 Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, The Ray, and more. Alexander sends them
    7. Brainiac takes the team to Apokolips to see Darkseid. Lana and Lois report on the Shadow Demons
    8. Strike team is on Qward. They focus all their energy on the Anti-Monitor and he appears to be dead
    9. Anti-Monitor had in fact absorbed the power of the shadow demons and returned
    10. Superman-1 wants to take on the Anti-Monitor himself after Wonder Woman dies, but Superman-2 knocks him out of the way. He says the others have too much to live for and he doesn’t exist. “I how what needs to be done. Do what I say, and no arguments.”
    11. Superboy-Prime takes Superman back to Earth. “Everyone says he was the first true hero. Now I see why. He’s the most incredible man I’ve ever known.”
    12. Superman-2 takes on the Anti-Monitor. The Shadow Demon power has been changed by the sorcerers, helping to destroy Anti-Monitor.
    13. Superboy-Prime stays to help fight. Superman-2 says he won’t mind breaking his one rule for Anti-Monitor
    14. Darkseid is watching with Brainiac’s crew, shoots energy through Alexander’s eyes to destroy the Anti-Monitor. Then tells everyone to leave because he will destroy them soon
    15. Anti-Monitor still isn’t finished, wants to destroy Superman. Superman punches whatever is left of Anti-Monitor, destroying it.
    16. The group is waiting for destruction to hit them. Superman thinks of Lois, Alexander says she is still alive.
    17. Alexander didn’t want Clark to side, so he saved Lois. Alexander opens a portal to “that other place”. Superboy-prime joins them.
    18. Recap Lori Lemaris died
  26. Swamp Thing #46
    1. Cameo
  • ~11 live-action DC TV superhero shows prior to Arrowverse
  • 4 of them Superman/Superboy series
  • 40 seasons of television, 24 of them Superman/Superboy
  • All 4 Superman shows lasted 4+ seasons, no others lasted more than 3

Superman’s live-action television history

  • 6 seasons of Adventures of Superman (1952-1958) starring the late George Reeves
  • 4 seasons of Superboy/The Adventures of Superboy (1988-1992) starring John Haymes Newton and Gerard Christopher
  • 4 seasons of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997) starring Dean Cain
  • 10 seasons of Smallville (2001-2011) starring Tom Welling

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