Crisis on Multiple Earths: The Team-Ups, Vol. 1

Crisis on Multiple Earths #TTU1

by Gardner Francis Fox, John Broome, Carmine Infantino (Illustrator)

Two Earths! Parallel worlds, separated by both time and space, each unaware of the existence of the other. A generation of heroes arises on each planet. Although strikingly alike, they remain distinctly unique. The two worlds are forever linked when the scarlet speedster called the Flash pierces the dimensional veil and encounters his amazing counterpart - an older, wiser Flash. This incredible discovery changes the course of history!

Contains:
· Green Lantern (Volume 2) #40
· Showcase #55-#56
· The Brave and the Bold #61
· The Flash #123, #129, #137, #151
· Spectre #7

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Superheroes, Fiction, Anthologies

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Gardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic book historians estimate that he wrote more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC Comics.
Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes the Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds!"

Pseudonyms: Gardner F. Fox, Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, Lynna Cooper, Rod Gray, Larry Dean, Robert Starr, Don Blake, Ed Blake, Warner Blake, Michael Blake, Tex Blane, Willis Blane, Ed Carlisle, Edgar Weston, Tex Slade, Eddie Duane, Simon Majors, James Kendricks, Troy Conway, Kevin Matthews, Glen Chase

Reviews

[Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine for a moment that during the "Golden Age" of comics, you created a character in the wake of Siegel and Shuster introducing the world to Superman and Bob Kane and Bill Finger creating the Batman. And then imagine that after about ten years comics readers got sick of superheroes, with the exception of Superman and Batman and started reading horror comics, war comics and the like. And then, because tastes changed, you found yourself back in the superhero game and your bosses ask a colleague to do another take on the hero you created. It's a smashing success and because you're a comics writer yourself you end up writing the book that features the revised version of the character you created. In fact, they brought the cancelled title back into publication and continued the numbering where your original series left off! And there's nothing actually wrong with the character you originally created--it's just that the new one is super popular. And then maybe one day you are trying to think of a story and you come up with a clever idea--why not feature a story with the new guy and your original character?

If you were Gardner Fox, this is exactly what you did and in the process opened a giant can of worms that would not be "resolved" for twenty-five years (except that it totally wasn't resolved even then.) The story is called "Flash of Two Worlds" and introduced the concept of the DC Multiverse that would eventually become the focus of the most famous retcon in the history of comics, Crisis on Infinite Earths. But at the time that Gardner wrote "Flash of Two Worlds", the comics consuming audience, being back in the mood for superhero fare, lapped it up. Soon there would not only be crossovers between the Flashes, but also the Green Lanterns and the Justice League as well (the Justice League crossovers get their own volumes, as that is where the "Crisis" portion of all of this comes into play.) But for those who want to understand the historical context of Crisis on Infinite Earths and where Marv Wolfman got his inspiration for the mini-series, this volume (and not the Justice League one) is the place to start.

There are two essential stories in this collection that should be must read for anyone who is a Crisis fan or someone who appreciates the weird and wonderful and twisted history of comics. The first is the aforementioned "Flash of Two Worlds" which kicks off the volume, and the other is "Secret Origin of the Guardians" from Green Lantern #40 (which was also a part of the Green Lantern Omnibus Vol. 2 ) which introduces us to the rogue Guardian Krona and his quest to learn the origins of the universe and provides a key plot point that would be central to Crisis on Infinite Earths. The other stories in this volume are not as essential, but exist to show us the interplay between the unfortunately named "Earth-One" and "Earth-Two"--a detail that would lead to later confusion that made DC editorial believe that Wolfman's Crisis was necessary to clean up the mess. In addition, titles like Showcase were now able to feature stories featuring "Earth-Two" heroes (why call it that if it came first?) and so we have team-ups with exclusively "Earth-Two" heroes--two featuring Dr. Fate and Hourman (one feeding directly into one of the Justice League team-ups) and one with Starman and Black Canary (who if memory serves, eventually jumps universes to become Green Arrow's lover. These stories are okay, and I guess I understand their inclusion here, but the better stories are the ones where heroes from both universes are utilized.

I'm certain that when Fox wrote "Flash of Two Worlds" he wasn't trying to cause continuity issues. That came later when the fact that heroes like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman ended up having membership in both the Justice League and "Earth-Two's" Justice Society and thus had to exist on both worlds. Personally, while I love Crisis on Infinite Earths I find the idea of trying to clean up continuity to be a fool's errand. To me, every time a new creative team takes over a book, there is going to be a continuity deviation based on what the new team wants to accomplish. You can try to bend yourself in pretzel knots like Ed Brubaker did on Captain America trying to get it all to fit (with varying degrees of success) but more likely you are going to be someone like Grant Morrison who has a vision of how they want the book to go once they take over. As a sign of respect, Morrison tried to maintain continuity with the previous creative team on Doom Patrol by using the Invasion event to have that team kill off the characters he had no interest in. But then he took the book places that were probably not imaginable for a "typical" superhero book, and the book got slapped with the Vertigo imprint, which was a continuity deviation in and of itself. The point is that I am always up for the creative team being able to tell us a good story--and I could give a fuck if it meshes with what came before, or what comes after. Retcons, and events like Crisis, in my opinion, just get in the way.

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

So...only read three (technically two!) comics from this volume, but hey, the comics I did read, which were Green Lantern Vol 2 #40 and The Flash Vol 1 #129 (I read The Flash #123 earlier this year!), were good and had cool team-up's between characters that held the same moniker, Green Lantern and The Flash!

[Roadshow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew that Gardner Fox's story "Flash of Two Worlds" was the story that introduced the concept of the multiverse into the DC universe but until now I had never read it. DC hit it big with superheroes in the late 1930s and early 1940s but as the decade wore on, they gradually faded from popularity. Some of the big characters, like Batman and Superman limped on but the books which didn't sell so well disappeared.
Then in the '50s editors like Julie Schwartz at DC decided to try the superhero business once more. They had the trademark on names like "Flash" and "Green Lantern" so they launched books with those names though the writers started out from scratch and were free to take as little or as much from the old books as they wanted which resulted in, fairly different characters and worlds.
This renewed foray into the world of superheroics was a success and DC kept the comics coming. And then one day in 1961, Flash writer Gardner Fox wrote a story, drawn by Carmine Infantino, in which the Flash AKA Barry Allen, vibrated so fast that he passed from dimension to the next and found himself on a world like his own but which had it's own version of the Flash known as Jay Garrick. And so we learned that all those comic books from the '30s and '40s weren't forgotten or wiped out - they were actually all stories from what would come to be known as "Earth-Two".

This expansion of the mythos became popular, and Gardner Fox started making such cross-overs a regular thing - not every issue but every few months. Gradually other characters started to get involved too. And pretty soon the DC multiverse was established. We got further adventures of the Earth-Two characters, and the cross-overs became annual events in the Justice League of America comic which all led to 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths, but's a whole other story.

Here we have collected some of the earliest of these cross-overs, ranging from September 1961 ("Flash of Two Worlds") to November 1968 ("The Hour Hourman Died"). All but one of the stories here are written by Gardner Fox - the man was truly a machine for churning out scripts. The earlier material is mostly drawn by Infantino before switching to Murphy Anderson in the later part of the decade.

It's definitely interesting to go back and see where some of the concepts and characters who are still running today originated from, and to better understand the foundations which today's comic writers are building on. And there is sort of delight the stories take in their own high-wire act between self-seriousness and absurdity that is fun to see. But my God, it does become something of a chore to get through as it goes on. It's a little unfair given how much more sophisticated comics have become to look back at these articles from an older time and judge them by the standards of today but the repetitive nature of the formula and the clunkiness of the dialogue is impossible to ignore.

The plots all follow the same basic formula; our heroes meet up, they discover a crime, the bad guy gets the drop on them, in some nonsensical or unpredictable way the good guys turn the tables on the baddies. It's fine I suppose, given that Fox and co were mostly writing towards a younger audience and didn't expect that any of this material would last beyond it's initial print run.
What's more frustrating is the lack of faith shown in the art. Comics are a visual medium, and the writer should know the artist is telling at least half the story but so often Fox writes a panel with something like the bad guy saying "Haha! Flash doesn't know that with my new invention he cannot touch me."
Second panel; Flash (trying to punch the bad guy) "Huh! I can't tocuh him!"
Third panel; Bad guy: "Now he sees that thanks to my new invention he cannot touch me."
Constant repitition and over-explaining really kill all the momentum.

The best story is "Secret Origin of the Guardians" which is a real ding on Fox as it's the one story written by John Broome here. Broome simply has a more interesting plot with its own internal mystery (Where DID the Guardians come from? Why can't they know their origin? A thread which persists to this day.) And finally has a villain who intends to do more than rob a museum. (Honestly, The Fiddler can control people through his music and all he can think to do it rob a jewellery store?) (I know, it was a different time but Fox was a professional writer - he hadn't got anything else??!)

Psycho Prate had a fairly prominent turn in Tom King's recent run on Batman. There he can control people's emotions through some form of telepathy which I am far more willing to swallow than the passing-the-hand-over-the-face trick he does it with here.

But I digress. Yeah, it's fascinating to read this material. And it's pop-y and fun along the way but I would read it issue by issue if I was doing it again - reading it straight through turns it's weaknesses into a real slog.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest, I was quite surprised that the stories included in this collection (and its companion volume Crisis on Multiple Earths: The Team-Ups, Vol. 2) were not included in the massive collection: Crisis on Infinite Earths Box Set. Although, I suppose, they had to draw the line somewhere.

The first half of the volume includes: The Flash #123, 129, 137, 151. These issues feature the Flash characters from Earth-1 and Earth-2 teaming up to stop various threats. These are decent and I can see why they caught the interest of fans of the Flash. Although none are really stand out stories on their own, the uniqueness of the concept is certainly something that would drive sales.

Next up are Showcase #55-56. I’m not exactly sure why these issues featuring Doctor Fate and Hourman (with a guest-appearance by the original Green Lantern) are included. I surmise that as Showcase generally features characters from Earth-1, this trip by the readers to visit some Earth-2 characters is tangentially linked in reader’s minds as being part of the Multiple Earth category of stories. But there is nothing here that connects the two Earths. And unfortunately, neither of these stories are very good. They both fall back on a crutch used over and over again by DC writers to throw inexplicable and unfathomable abilities from the heroes that makes absolutely no sense. So plot holes abound, as they do in many of the stories included in the Crisis on Multiple Earths volumes.

Then we’re offered Green Lantern #40. This one returns to the concept of characters from two different Earths meeting to fight common threats. It’s also drawn by the legendary Gil Kane and features the origin of the Guardians. So there’s a lot going on and the art lives up to the potential. Arguably the best story in this collection.

Rounding off the collection are The Brave and the Bold #61 and material from The Spectre #7. The former is similar to the stories from Showcase in that it features several Earth-2 characters battling an adversary from Earth-2 on Earth-2, so why exactly is it included. And the latter falls into this same category, although this last shorter adventure is not even a team-up.

[Joshlynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid collection of Silver-Age silliness. The only real "multiple earth" interaction takes place in the Flash stories, which have since been packaged as The Flash of Two Worlds, as well as the Green Lantern story starring Krona (later collected in The Green Lantern Archives, Vol. 6). It is these classics that introduced the concept of the Multiverse that would come to give us all such headaches. The remainder of the book is pretty standard-issue team-ups between some great Golden Agers, perching this book on that odd precipice where it was still pulpy fun, but big concepts started to get introduced. This is one of the places where the boat started to rock.

[C. John Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of DC’s superheroes from the forties had disappeared by the end of the decade. The only ones who soldiered on were the Big Three of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman as well as Aquaman and Green Arrow who appeared in titles featuring the first two. Then in the late fifties DC started to revive some of those heroes, but with new identities and backgrounds and sometimes new powers. The first of these was The Flash. Part of his background was that he had grown up reading the adventures of the original Flash in comic books. Eventually it was decided to have these two meet. Thus was born Earth-Two where most of the Golden Age heroes lived.
This volume contains that first Flash meeting as well as the next three. Of note is the third meeting which also ended with the return of the legendary Justice Society of America. As well as those stories are the first meeting of the two Green Lanterns and three modern day team-ups of Golden Age heroes, both Dr. Fate/Hourman stories and the first Black Canary/Starman story. There is also a short Hourman solo story, which I suspect was included because there was some space left in the book.
Now to the book itself. With the exception of those featuring The Flash I had read the stories in their original appearances. As for The Flash only the fourth one was actually new to me. Nevertheless I enjoyed them as if it was my first encounter with each of the stories. From the introduction at the beginning of the book one realizes one is reading comics history here, especially with the first Flash and the Green Lantern crossover. As well the last page provides a bit of background on the writers, artists and editor involved in these shenanigans. I daresay they are all among the best there was.
Is this book worth getting. Short answer, yes. The stories contained in it are highly entertaining and in some cases historic. An good one-two punch in my book. This is a volume that should be on the shelf of any true comics fan. I do hear you wondering though that if this volume is chronological, it is, where are the JLA/JSA crossovers? Ah, that is another story for another time.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved reading these team ups of characters who meet each other from different times or never had the chance to team up. We get to see a number of great villains and it relishes in the weird science thought of the time.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had some interesting concepts regarding the introduction of the multiverse, but the stories have not aged well.

[John Geddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly solid collection of silver age team-ups.

[David Burkam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for when you're full of nostalgia for the silliness of the Silver Age of DC.

[Jean-Pierre Vidrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the other Crisis on Multiple Earths volumes focusing on the JLA/JSA crossovers, it's great that DC acknowledged that it wasn't always whole teams of heroes that traversed universes. In fact, it didn't even start with either team. Among the stories collected here are two whose importance to DC continuity can never be overstated. "The Flash of Two Worlds" gives us the first DC parallel universe story. And the team-up of Green Lanterns Alan Scott and Hal Jordon gives us back-story on the Guardians of the Universe that is still having impact on the DC multiverse. The other stories in here are just as enjoyable, even those that don't quite fit the "Crisis" bill, as they are simply set on Earth-2 and don't involve any traversing of universes. The unlikely team-up of Dr. Fate and Hourman in two of the stories is surprisingly good, with one of the stories introducing the second Psycho-Pirate. The Starman/Black Canary team-up is just as unlikely but just as fun to read, subtly setting things up for a revelation in James Robinson's Starman series of the 90s. Definitely recommended for fans of Golden Age characters and DC history.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This "Multiple Earths" volume was a bit of a letdown only because I really would rather have seen the next set of JLA-JSA crossover stories. But at the same time, it's nice to have all of the early "Two Flashes" stories under one cover (since I can't afford to buy the originals), along with one "Two Green Lanterns" story and classic Dr. Fate-Hourman and Starman-Black Canary teamups (which don't really qualify as "multiple earths" crossovers since all four of those characters were members of the JSA and lived on Earth-2 in the Pre-Crisis DC Uni- errrr, Multiverse. But who's counting?)Classic art and fun adventures, though. And it's no secret the Golden Age DC characters are my favorites!

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as well written as the volumes featuring the Justice League and Justice Society.
The Flash team ups were fun,I liked how the two heroes felt like friends.
as were the Starman/Black canary, were a nice combination, but the stories were a bit weak. Did love the villainous Sports master's golf themed weapons.

I love Hourman and Dr. Fate but pairing them felt a bit forced, but the story was fun.

The Green Lantern stories were kind of blah. I love the Golden Age GL, but was never a big Hal Jordan fan.

Not essential reads, but a fun way to pass a half hour.

[Helmut · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die Geburt eines Multiversums...

...lässt sich hier mitverfolgen. Die Entdeckung von Earth-2 durch Barry "Flash" Allen. Hier wird die Formelhaftigkeit der frühen JLA-Comics endlich mal durchbrochen und ein neues, bahnbrechendes Element eingeführt - zunächst eine, dann unendlich viele Parallelwelten. Leider wurden die Ausflüge in die Parallelwelten dann auch irgendwann nur noch repetitiv runtergewurstet nach Schema F.

Aber die 3 Sterne gibt es dafür, dass man hier die Geburt eines der wichtigsten Elemente des DC-Universums (zumindest bis 1985...) beobachten kann.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection starts with the groundbreaking story from FLASH #123 that first introduced the "parallel Earths" concept to comics, and specifically the DCU. (It's so relevant, and such a keystone, that it's surprising it wasn't included in CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS Vol 1.) Silly, fascinating, and fun.

[Lyric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome compilation of stories about DC Comic's fabulous superheroes in epic battles to defend their universes. This was a very fun read and I would highly recommend it to any fan of the Justice League.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was always a big fan of the JLA/JSA crossovers when DC had the multitude of worlds before their revamp in "Crises on Infinite Earths". Great stories and good art and a ton of heroes in each story. Very recommended

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tengo que verificar si verdaderamente leí todo de este tomo, pero si están todas las historias incluidas en el Box Set de Crisis, seguramente sí.

[Mark]

The Flash #123, 129, 137, 151
Green Lantern Vol 2 #40
Showcase #55-56
The Brave and the Bold #61
1961-65
Silver Age
Flash #123: Flash of Two Worlds (starts the DC Multiverse)
In color