End of Act III

Though Infinite Crisis wasn't over yet, this month was to be the end for many long-running series.  Wonder Woman #226 and JLA #125 were the final issues before those series were relaunched with new #1's, while Aquaman, the Legion of Superheroes, and Hawkman would change their titles but continue with the same numbering.  There hadn't been this many final issues and relaunches since the original Crisis on Infinite Earths 20 years earlier.  In a reshuffling of titles that would effectively undo the post-Crisis reboot, both the Superman and Adventures of Superman series would end, but Superman would revert back to its original numbering next month with #650.

For many people, this would mark the definite end of the post-Crisis era.  Throughout the three periods leading up to this moment, the 200+ issues of previous continuity had always been acknowledged to some extent, even though it had become looser in recent years.  Dramatic retcons in the coming months would soon make some of the events that had come before impossible to have happened the way they were originally told, and readers would wonder for years which stories were still canon.  Unfortunately, a revised origin story wouldn't come until nearly the end of this era, in the form of Superman: Secret Origin (2009-2010).

In Infinite Crisis #5, the Golden Age Lois and Clark arrive on a restored Earth Two, but it all seems to good to be true.  Contrary to Alexander Luthor's promises, the Earth Two Lois still dies.  The distraught Earth Two Superman starts to fight Superman, who he blames for letting his own Earth descend into chaos and corruption.  The Golden Age Wonder Woman returns from Olympus to give Wonder Woman a ride in her invisible plane to Earth Two, before she fades from existence.  Meanwhile, Alexander Luthor begins his experiment to create a perfect world, and millions of other Earths suddenly appear in the skies.  The Flash flickers back into reality just long enough to warn the heroes that Superboy Prime is coming.

Superman #226

This Is Your Life part 1

This 3-part story takes place in between the punches of Superman and Earth Two Superman's fight in Infinite Crisis #5.  After they make contact, the life of Earth Two Superman flashes before Superman.  He sees the slight variations in their origins leading up to this Clark Kent working at the Daily Star, not the Daily Planet.  The life story passes through World War II, the McCarthy era, and the original Crisis the same way it had in the original telling.

Almost every DC comic this month ended with a page of multiple versions of a character against a backdrop of the cosmic storm of the Crisis.  This issue features versions of Lois Lane going from the present to the Golden Age, notably including the black Lois from 1970's Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #106.

Action Comics #836

This Is Your Life part 2

In a reality-warping fantasy, Earth Two Superman takes over Superman's life to put right the things he believed Superman messed up in his world.  In their first meeting with Batman, he calls the Dark Knight's bluff and they immediately become best friends like they were on Earth Two, instead of uneasy allies as they had been in the early post-Crisis years.  Together, Superman and Batman take down Lex Luthor but instead of Lex dying from Kryptonite poisoning, they give him a second chance to use his intellect to cure the world of its ills.  Through sheer force of will, Superman gets back on his feet after fighting Doomsday.

But after Dr. Light rapes Sue Dibney, Superman starts to go too far.  He refuses to let the Justice League start to mindwipe the villains, but his punishment of banishing villains to the Phantom Zone isn't viewed by them as a better alternative.  The Justice League tries to stand up to Superman, but he's now allied himself with a new League including Manchester Black's Elite, Guy Gardner, Green Arrow, Hawkman, and Batman.

The last page is alternate versions of Jimmy Olsen tumbling through space into the storm of the Crisis.

Adventures of Superman #649

This Is Your Life part 3

On Earth One, Earth Two Superman's tactics continue to alienate his former allies and Wonder Woman makes a pact with Max Lord to stop him.  Meanwhile, Superman continues to live out the life of Earth Two Superman through the final days of Earth Two before the original Crisis on Infinite Earths.  Both Supermen ultimately fail, and and Earth Two Superman sees all life on Earth die except for himself.  

Back in their present day fight against each other, both Supermen narrate the scene with exactly the same words and say a silent prayer to Lois that they're doing the right thing.  As the two Superman fight, their alternate versions fight behind them into infinity against the background of the Crisis.

This month's tie-ins were some of the only acknowledgments of the Earth Two Superman and Lois outside of the main Infinite Crisis series.  This month's JSA #82 showed Power Girl taking Earth Two Lois' journal to the JSA museum, presumably sometime later after Power Girl escaped Alexander Luthor's machine.  This Is Your Life is an entertaining read, although it's a little incoherent and difficult to follow.  It feels like writer Joe Kelly was only shown the cover to Infinite Crisis #5 of Earth Two Superman punching Superman and was assigned to write a story that took place in that single moment.