Infinite Crisis #5
Infinite Crisis #5 is the issue in which Jaime Reyes — DC's first Mexican-American Blue Beetle — dons the alien scarab suit for the first time, making it the pivotal first full, in-costume appearance of the character who would go on to headline his own ongoing series, anchor the Teen Titans, and star in a 2023 theatrical film. Simultaneously, the issue delivers one of the most thematically charged Superman clashes in DC history: the grief-maddened Golden Age Kal-L fighting the modern Kal-El above a dying Earth-Two, a battle writer Geoff Johns structured as a direct ideological confrontation between the idealism of the comics' Golden Age and the moral complexity of the post-Crisis era. The death of Earth-Two Lois Lane Kent in this same issue marks the last true appearance of that pre-Crisis version of the character, closing a chapter opened by the original Crisis on Infinite Earths twenty years earlier. Finally, #5 served as the practical publishing pivot point for DC's 'One Year Later' initiative, after which nearly every DC ongoing title jumped forward twelve months in continuity.
In "Faith," Geoff Johns and a stellar team of artists—including Phil Jimenez, Jerry Ordway, and Ivan Reis—deliver a pivotal moment in the Infinite Crisis saga, as Alex's plan reshapes reality and sends Earth's heroes to long-lost versions of their home worlds. With the older Superman confronting the younger one on a desolate Earth-2 and Wonder Woman's fading power serving as a haunting warning, the fate of the multiverse hangs in the balance. Jim Lee’s dynamic cover captures the moment’s intensity, while the interior art brings emotional weight to a story where legacy and identity collide.
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Infinite Crisis was written by Geoff Johns — then simultaneously taking on an editorial coordination role at DC — and illustrated by a rotating team of Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, with each artist handling different narrative threads within each issue. Executive editor Dan DiDio had been seeding the event for roughly two years before launch, and the project was timed deliberately to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. Issue #5 specifically was edited by Eddie Berganza with Jeanine Schaefer as assistant editor, went on sale March 1, 2006 (cover-dated April 2006), and was released in a 50/50 split between a Jim Lee/Sandra Hope variant cover and a George Pérez cover — a format used for every issue in the series. The collected hardcover edition later revised the issue's dialogue and added new pages to more explicitly foreshadow the return of DC's multiverse.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First full, in-costume appearance of Jaime Reyes as Blue Beetle (third character to hold the name), a Mexican-American teenager whose alien scarab suit is revealed in the Batcave scene where Booster Gold introduces him to Batman.
- Jaime Reyes was created by Keith Giffen, John Rogers, and Cully Hamner; his first appearance as a civilian was in Infinite Crisis #3, but #5 is universally recognized as his debut in the Blue Beetle identity.
- Death of Earth-Two Lois Lane Kent (Lois Lane-Kent / pre-Crisis Earth-Two), described by the Grand Comics Database as her 'last true appearance' in that form, along with the last appearance of the pre-Crisis Earth-Two Wonder Woman (Diana Trevor).
- The Superman vs. Superman fight between Kal-L (Earth-Two) and Kal-El (New Earth) — triggered by Kal-L's grief over Lois's death — includes a direct visual homage to the cover of Action Comics #1, with Kal-L smashing a car into Kal-El.
- In-issue, Jason Rusch and Martin Stein formally merge as the permanent Firestorm host-team in outer space, restructuring the Firestorm identity that had been in flux since Ronnie Raymond's death in Identity Crisis.
- Issue #5 served as the real-world publishing trigger for DC's 'One Year Later' initiative: after its release, nearly all DC Universe monthly series jumped their storylines forward one year in continuity.
- Written by Geoff Johns; pencils by Phil Jimenez, Jerry Ordway, and Ivan Reis; inks by Andy Lanning, Jerry Ordway, and Art Thibert; edited by Eddie Berganza; on-sale date March 1, 2006 (cover date April 2006).
- Each issue of the series shipped with two variant covers in a 50/50 split: one by George Pérez and one by Jim Lee and Sandra Hope. The Jim Lee variant of #5 is notably the first cover to depict Jaime Reyes's Blue Beetle. The issue has also been reprinted in the Infinite Crisis hardcover and softcover collections, the Teen Titans: Life and Death trade paperback, The Infinite Crisis Omnibus (2012), and Absolute Infinite Crisis (2017).
Cast · 23 characters
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Full plot ⚠ may contain spoilers
▸ Reveal full plot — may contain spoilers
Alex succeeds in his plan to restore the old multiverse, and most of Earth's heroes are sent to a version of Earth-2, albeit uninhabited, while others are sent to their respective Earths that once existed pre-Crisis in the same condition as Earth-2. As both Supermen fight each other on Earth-2, due to the older Superman blaming the younger one for his wife's death, the pre-Crisis Wonder Woman contacts Diana and warns her to stop the fight as she begins to fade from existence due to her godly powers post-Crisis waning.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).