"Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985–1986 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March 1986. As the main piece of a crossover event, some plot elements were featured in tie-in issues of other publications. Since its initial publication, the series has been reprinted in various formats and editions.
The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC continuity. It contains such well-known superheroes as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, and Cyborg; as well as teams such as the Justice League, the Justice Society of America, the Suicide Squad, Doom Patrol, and the Teen Titans. It also contains well-known supervillains, including the Joker, Lex Luthor, the Cheetah, the Reverse-Flash, Sinestro, Black Manta, Deathstroke, Black Adam, Brainiac, and Darkseid.
Vandar Adg of the Blood Tribe, more widely known as Vandal Savage, is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is said to be a Cro-Magnon warrior who gained immortality and advanced healing abilities after encountering a strange meteorite during prehistoric times. For over 50,000 years, he plagues the Earth as a villain and occasional conqueror, sometimes using different names but most often calling himself Vandal Savage. He is a brilliant and sadistic tactician with immense knowledge in various sciences and forms of combat, able to fight effectively despite not having any superhuman powers beyond his ability to survive and heal from lethal wounds. Throughout history, his most frequent enemies are immortal or reincarnating heroes such as Immortal Man, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Resurrection Man. He is also a recurring foe of the Justice Society and the Justice League and occasionally works as a member of super-villain organizations such as the Injustice Society and the Legion of Doom.
Animal Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" the abilities of animals. Using these powers, Baker fights crime as the costumed superhero Animal Man.
Peacemaker is the name of a series of fictional characters originally owned by Charlton Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. The original Peacemaker first appeared in Fightin' 5 #40 and was created by writer Joe Gill and artist Pat Boyette.
Judomaster is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Ibis the Invincible is a fictional character originally published by Fawcett Comics in the 1940s and then by DC Comics beginning in the 1970s. Like many magician superheroes introduced in the Golden Age of Comics, Ibis owes much to the popular comic strip character Mandrake the Magician. A second Ibis, successor of the first, was introduced in 2007.
Calvin "Cave" Carson is a fictional character that appeared in stories published by DC Comics. Carson, a spelunker, first appeared in Brave and the Bold #31 ; he was created by France Herron and Bruno Premiani.
Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld is a superhero published in American comic books created by DC Comics. Created by writers Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn and artist Ernie Colón, she debuted in The Legion of Superheroes #298 in April 1983.
52 is a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the Infinite Crisis miniseries. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid, with layouts by Keith Giffen. 52 also led into a few limited series spin-offs.
The Body Doubles are fictional characters, DC Comics villains created by Andy Lanning, Dan Abnett, and Jackson Guice. They first appeared in Resurrection Man #1 before appearing in their own eponymous miniseries with Joe Phillips on art duties.
Mitch Shelley, also known as Resurrection Man, is a character appearing in stories published by DC Comics. The character was created by Andy Lanning, Dan Abnett, and Jackson Guice, and first appeared in Resurrection Man #1 in 1997. The character does not identify himself as a superhero but often involves himself in cases where he protects people from criminals and super-villains. Due to sub-atomic technology in his bloodstream, Shelley cannot be permanently killed. No matter how he is killed or how much damage is done, he always resurrects fully healed. With each resurrection, he also has a different additional new super-power. In some cases, there is a physical transformation element to his resurrection.
Rip Hunter is a time-traveling superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jack Miller and artist Ruben Moreira, the character first appeared in Showcase #20. Following three more appearances in Showcase, Rip Hunter was given his own series which ran for 29 issues (1961–65). He later starred in the eight-issue Time Masters series (1990), written by Bob Wayne and Lewis Shiner. After numerous revisions and following the events of the 2005 "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Hunter is established as the son of Booster Gold.
In the course of DC Comics' 2005–2006 event Infinite Crisis, numerous characters died, went missing, returned from death or long absences, took new superhero identities, or underwent other significant changes as individual characters.
Superboy-Prime, also known as Superman-Prime or simply Prime, is a DC Comics superhero turned supervillain and an alternate version of Superman. The character first appeared in DC Comics Presents #87 and was created by Elliot S. Maggin and Curt Swan.
One of the key aspects of the Modern Age of Comic Books was that it was the beginning of big events. In 1984, Marvel Comics debuted the first large crossover, Secret Wars, a storyline featuring the company's most prolific superheroes, which overlapped into a 12-issue limited series and many monthly comic books. A year later, DC Comics introduced its first large-scale crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths, which had long-term effects on the "DC Universe" continuity.
The Faceless Hunters are a race of alien supervillains in the DC Comics universe that first appeared in Strange Adventures #124. They were created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. The Faceless Hunters hail from Klaramar.
Immortal Man, also known as Klarn Arg, is a superhero in the DC Comics Universe. He first appeared in Strange Adventures #177. Multiple versions of his origin connect him to the villain Vandal Savage, with both gaining immortality by encountering a strange meteorite during prehistoric times. Immortal Man was also a founding member of The Forgotten Heroes. In the 2018 comic book series The Immortal Men, Klarn's title "Immortal Man" is passed on to teenager Caden Park.
Limbo refers to a fictional location in books published by DC Comics. Limbo first appeared in Ambush Bug #3 and was created by Keith Giffen.
DC Universe: Legacies is a 2010–2011 ten-issue comic book limited series written by Len Wein and published by DC Comics. It details the perspective of an admirer of superheroes in the DC Universe from the Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern eras of comic books.
