Final Crisis is almost at its midpoint by this time. It took me a little longer to catch up on the reading this week because I honestly couldn't remember what was happening in Final Crisis at the time, and I couldn't even find which box those comics were in. No regular series tied into Final Crisis, except for possibly the exception of Batman #682. Ironically, while the Batman books previously tied into Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis, they were never branded as official tie-ins. Outside of the main series, Superman's involvement was limited to a 2-part mini-series in 3D, as well as a key role in Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds.
Final Crisis: Superman Beyond 3D #1
Following events in Final Crisis #2, Lois Lane is in the hospital after a bombing at the Daily Planet. While Clark Kent desperately waits at her bedside, he's visited by a female Monitor who promises him medicine that will save his wife's life if he will help her. He grudgingly accompanies her to her yellow submarine ship, where she's already recruited other supermen from the multiverse, like Earth 3's Ultraman, Earth 17's Overman, and Earth 5's Captain Marvel. These heroes end up trapped in Limbo, a place on the shores of oblivion outside of the multiverse where failed heroes are trapped and nothing ever happens. While there, the Inferior Five's leader, Merryman, shows them to the library which only has one book containing every book ever written on infinite pages. They access the book to find a manual to repair their ship and also get a history of the origin of the Monitors in the process. After reading the book, Captain Marvel is transformed back to Billy Batson, but he can't remember the magic words to change back to Captain Marvel. Now that something has actually happened in Limbo, it's possible for them to escape from it. But Ultraman, an evil counterpart of Superman, sees the book as proof that evil ultimately wins, and won't let them leave.
Final Crisis was a difficult, if not tedious series to read. It was filled with signature Grant Morrison concepts and characters that nobody else has really used before or since. Overman, for instance, originated in Morrison's Animal Man in 1990. Other characters that populated Final Crisis were too obscure even for dedicated readers, but were given little or no introduction. The female Monitor's name, Zillo Valla, isn't given when she's first introduced, Superman only calls her by her name at the end of the book but it's not even clear how he knows it. Overall, Final Crisis was an incoherent mess that probably only made sense in Grant Morrison's head, but he really didn't succeed at communicating it to readers.
Superman #678
The coming of Atlas part 2 of 4
Lois rides with Jimmy on his new motorcycle to try to get close to the Daily Planet where Superman and Atlas are fighting. While they fight, Atlas flashes back to his life in the distant past before he was pulled from his time into the present. A general hidden in the shadows bargains with Atlas to get him to fight Superman, although Atlas has his own agenda and says he will only fight as he's always done, to the death. In the present, a nearly defeated Superman flies into the sky, appearing to the crowd to be trying to escape. But after gaining momentum, Superman shoots back to Earth for round two.
The flashback scenes are drawn in the style of Jack Kirby with retro four-color dots, resembling his first appearance from the 70's.
Action Comics #868
Brainiac part 3 of 5
Looking for her cousin, Supergirl goes to the Daily Planet where she meets Cat Grant. Cat would soon join the cast of Supergirl's own ongoing series for the next couple of years.
In space, Superman awakens on Brainiac's ship and quietly explores. He encounters a more savage version of Brainiac's original pet monkey, Koko. Hearing the Kryptonian language being spoken in another room, he finds the real Bottle City of Kandor safely preserved. At last, he comes face to face with the real Brainiac, emerging out of his bio-shell for the first time in centuries. Superman asks Brainiac what he did to Krypton's sun after he took Kandor, but Brainiac ignores the question. Instead, Brainiac tells him that Superman that he's been looking for him for decades, and now has the coordinates for his adopted home. Back at the Daily Planet, a shadow falls over the city as Brainiac's ship descends on Metropolis.
Superman/Batman #51
Lil' Leaguers part 1 of 2
The child-like JLA that Superman saw while under the influence of magical Kryptonite in Superman/Batman #46 returns thanks to Mr. Mxyzptlk. These innocent versions of the characters feel lost in a world with grown adults, and have no knowledge of pain or suffering. Lil' Batman's parents weren't murdered, and Lil' Superman's Krypton wasn't destroyed. Mxyzptlk thinks Superman has been too unhappy lately with the Crisis and Darkseid, so he brought the Lil' League into the real world to lighten things up. Unbeknownst to even Mxyzptlk, however, a cute team of lil' supervillains like Lex Luthor and the Joker, and even Doomsday have also been made real.
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