Very confusing. I think there were too many tie-ins to the DC monthly story lines rather than have this stand alone as a self-contained story. Still not sold on DC outside of Batman. ( )

Alexander Luthor and Superboy-Prime, who along with Earth-2 Superman and Lois Lane, survived the original Crisis on Infinite Earths; have been living in a type of limbo, separate from the time line of Earth-1. Long chafing against their exile, the two manipulate Superman-2 into seeing the heroes of Earth as incontrovertibly tainted, and convince him to break loose from their "haven". Alexander Luthor had long before replaced Earth-1's Luthor with a hologram, and created the Villian's Society to bring the Earth-1 villains under his control. Alexander, using a machine that utilizes the remains of the Anti-monitor, creates a machine that will re-separate the multiple Earths that were merged into Earth 1 in Crisis on Infinite Earths. This machine is powered by the various heroes of those Earths, who are incorporated into the tower. Alexander Luthor's goal is to create a "Perfect" world, while Superboy-Prime, whiny little bitch that he is, seems only to want to pick fights with other Super(men). Alexander Luthor has also shifted the center of the universe from Oa, causing some sort of space storm that Donna Tory, Animal Man and other heroes go to fight. As if he wasn't busy enough, Alexander has also taken control of Brother Eye and the OMAC's and caused the Spectre to declare war on magic, killing off many of the magical characters from the DCU. Somehow, this all swings on Connor Kent and Dick Grayson, the only two heroes available to fight Luthor-3 and Superboy-Prime.

Confused? Don't be scared, you're not alone. The purpose of this seems to be to clear the chaff out of the DCU, to bring continuity into line and to reset the Big Three. This could be a very good thing, particularly if they quit making Batman a Paranoid Idiot. However, readers without a fairly extensive knowledge of the DCU will be mighty confused by this book, which aside from a plot that relies on no more than 5 TPB precursors, features some of the most complicated and intricate panel artwork I've ever seen. Big on two page splashes, my eye was literally accosted by some of this artwork. I didn't know where to look. Even the pages featuring a more traditional layout are packed with information, a situation not helped by the aged looking artwork. Nods to the original Crisis aside, a cleaner art style would have gone a long way towards making this book more readable. I do credit Johns and crew for doing their best to cram a lot of story into a little space, but between busy artwork and information overload, this one was tough going. Essentially, this is a 12 issue story that got crammed into seven issues. Fans of the DCU will probably find this required reading, but new readers should stay away. (Cross-posted from MeriJenBen) ( )

Alexander Luthor and Superboy-Prime, who along with Earth-2 Superman and Lois Lane, survived the original Crisis on Infinite Earths; have been living in a type of limbo, separate from the time line of Earth-1. Long chafing against their exile, the two manipulate Superman-2 into seeing the heroes of Earth as incontrovertibly tainted, and convince him to break loose from their "haven". Alexander Luthor had long before replaced Earth-1's Luthor with a hologram, and created the Villian's Society to bring the Earth-1 villains under his control. Alexander, using a machine that utilizes the remains of the Anti-monitor, creates a machine that will re-separate the multiple Earths that were merged into Earth 1 in Crisis on Infinite Earths. This machine is powered by the various heroes of those Earths, who are incorporated into the tower. Alexander Luthor's goal is to create a "Perfect" world, while Superboy-Prime, whiny little bitch that he is, seems only to want to pick fights with other Super(men). Alexander Luthor has also shifted the center of the universe from Oa, causing some sort of space storm that Donna Tory, Animal Man and other heroes go to fight. As if he wasn't busy enough, Alexander has also taken control of Brother Eye and the OMAC's and caused the Spectre to declare war on magic, killing off many of the magical characters from the DCU. Somehow, this all swings on Connor Kent and Dick Grayson, the only two heroes available to fight Luthor-3 and Superboy-Prime.

Confused? Don't be scared, you're not alone. The purpose of this seems to be to clear the chaff out of the DCU, to bring continuity into line and to reset the Big Three. This could be a very good thing, particularly if they quit making Batman a Paranoid Idiot. However, readers without a fairly extensive knowledge of the DCU will be mighty confused by this book, which aside from a plot that relies on no more than 5 TPB precursors, features some of the most complicated and intricate panel artwork I've ever seen. Big on two page splashes, my eye was literally accosted by some of this artwork. I didn't know where to look. Even the pages featuring a more traditional layout are packed with information, a situation not helped by the aged looking artwork. Nods to the original Crisis aside, a cleaner art style would have gone a long way towards making this book more readable. I do credit Johns and crew for doing their best to cram a lot of story into a little space, but between busy artwork and information overload, this one was tough going. Essentially, this is a 12 issue story that got crammed into seven issues. Fans of the DCU will probably find this required reading, but new readers should stay away. ( )

A action packed story by one of the top DC authors. ( )