Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths #4 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Daniel Sampere, Artist; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Halfway through this event, the heroes are still scattered across this world and beyond, but the divergent plots don’t make this any less compelling. Hal Jordan faced off against the forces of Pariah and the Great Darkness and somehow survived—and now he’s found himself on John Stewart’s perfect world, met with construct versions of his closest friends. He’s massively outmatched—but he’s not alone, as Barry Allen has broken free of his lotus-eater machine and is seeking to free the rest of the League as well. The two of them make a break for it and eventually find their way to Batman’s world. We haven’t seen this one yet, but it’s hard to imagine how this gritty steampunk world would be anyone’s ideal world—although Batman isn’t any hero. He’s a little disturbed, and the brief glimpse we see of him seems to lean into that. But as exciting as these adventures are, we haven’t even seen Earth-0 yet.
The end of last issue saw Alan Scott and the Justice Society arrive to pick up the slack for the presumed-dead Justice League and the recently fractured replacement team. It’s recently been announced that Geoff Johns will be returning for his third extended run on the property, but based on these few pages alone, I kind of wish Williamson was the one taking the JSA into the future. He perfectly captures the vibe these characters need. Less friendly, Black Adam is now attempting to unify the villains of the Legion of Doom as the new authority of Earth—but they soon come under assault by a possessed Deathstroke and his army of Pariah’s minions. The Luthor vs. Deathstroke battle here is one of the best fights of the series. I was also pleasantly surprised to see a sneak peek of the new status quo of the Swamp Thing franchise, as Alan’s team seeks a magical solution to their problem before Pariah’s master plan is revealed. Just a top-notch event comic as usual.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
