Crisis on Infinite Earths #1

History

Marv Wolfman first floated the concept in 1981 after reading a fan letter to his Green Lantern column complaining that DC's continuity was incomprehensible; he formally pitched a twelve-part 'maxi-series' that would demolish the Multiverse and rebuild DC from scratch. DC brought in researcher Paul Sanderson to read every comic the company had published since 1935 before a single script was written, a task that pushed the project from an initial 1982 target to 1985, timed deliberately to coincide with DC's fiftieth anniversary. Wolfman and his New Teen Titans collaborator George Pérez — who had recently signed an exclusive contract with DC — were assigned the project together, and Wolfman spent years seeding the Monitor's presence across the line, instructing editors via a January 1983 memo to feature the character twice per title without revealing his face. Early issues of the series were printed using experimental flexography technology intended to produce brighter colors, but DC reverted to conventional printing when the results proved visually jarring; the trade-paperback collection was later recolored by Tom McCraw to restore the original color intent.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published January 3, 1985 (cover-dated April 1985); written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by George Pérez, with inks by Dick Giordano and colors by Anthony Tollin.
• First DC Comics appearance of Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) and his native Earth-Four — Ted Kord was a Charlton Comics property acquired by DC specifically to be integrated through this series.
• First appearance of Alexander Luthor Jr. (Earth-Three), the infant son of that world's heroic Lex Luthor and Lois Lane, whose rocket escape from the doomed Earth-Three deliberately echoes Superman's origin in Action Comics #1.
• First appearance of Pariah (Kell Mossa), a scientist cursed to teleport helplessly between dying worlds; created by Wolfman and Pérez as the story's tragic witness figure.
• First appearance of Lyla Michaels in her Harbinger identity — Lyla herself had debuted in New Teen Titans Annual #2 (July 1983), but this issue is her first appearance as the empowered, duplicating Harbinger sent across the Multiverse to recruit heroes and villains.
• Earth-Three and its entire Crime Syndicate — Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick, and Power Ring — are destroyed in this issue, marking the first major universe-scale death in the story.
• The issue features a wraparound cover by George Pérez and is the first DC series formally designated a 'maxi-series.'
• The story was adapted as the first installment of a five-part Arrowverse television crossover event (2019–2020) and later as part of an animated film trilogy, cementing its status as a foundational DC narrative beyond the page.

Cast · 37 characters

Full credits

Key issues in Crisis on Infinite Earths

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#7 Death — Death of Supergirl

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#8 Death — Death of the Flash (Barry Allen)

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#4 1st appearance — Kimiyo Hoshi

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#2 1st appearance — The Anti-Monitor

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#3 1st appearance — Kole

Variants (2)