Barely one month after the A.X.E.: Judgment Day event, the X-Men are caught in a new crossover. However, this one also revolves around Spider-Man. Written by Zeb Wells and drawn by artist Adam Kubert, Dark Web is about clones. Here is the official synopsis:
“The worlds of Spider-Man and the X-Men collide, thanks to the unholy alliance of Madelyne Pryor, AKA the Goblin Queen, and Ben Reilly, now known as Chasm! The two most famous and famously wronged clones are back…and they’re going to claim what’s rightfully theirs! The Dark Web they spin over Manhattan is going to change the NYC skyline forever!”
The Joker was disrupting the DC Universe at the beginning of the noughties. He was first accidentally given nigh-unlimited reality-shaping powers by Mr. Mxyzptlk and reshaped the universe in his image in Superman: Emperor Joker. Not long after that, the Joker was at it again, spreading chaos in the way less received event The Joker’s Last Laugh (also known as The Joker: Last Laugh), written by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty with art by Pete Woods.
What The Joker’s Last Laugh is about? Joker is a prisoner at the Slabside Penitentiary when a prison doctor informs them they found a malignant tumor after a brain scan. The Joker is going to die. Facing this news, The Joker decides he wants to go out with a bang. He concocts a scheme to carry on his legacy by transforming his fellow villains into “jokerized” versions of themselves.
Published in 2001, this storyline comprises a six-issue miniseries and 25 tie-ins, covering almost everything that was published at the time, from the Batman titles to the Superman family, and more.
For decades now, every DC Comics reader has been dealing with continuity issues. Some see that as a problem and, in order to fix it, multiple reboots/relaunches were introduced, installing a new status-quos, and launching new “eras.” All that with the use of what are called “Crisis” events.
The original “Crisis” took place in Justice League of America #21, titled “Crisis On Earth-One!” The story introduced the idea of two different realities, explaining how the heroes of the Justice League teamed up with their predecessors from the Justice Society of America. This led to multiple crossovers between Earth-One and Earth-Two.
But what cemented “Crisis” as a synonym for “universe-altering event” was the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths, the famous crossover storyline from Marv Wolfman and George Pérez. This 12-issue limited series is now credited with popularizing the idea of a large-scale crossover in comics. At the time, the goal was to create a single and unified DC Universe.
Crisis on Infinite Earths was used to launch what is now called the Modern-Age era. It became–and still is for a lot of readers–a good entry point into the DCU. The event didn’t fix everything and other Crisis events try to do more. The DCU was just destined to become a confusing affair once more.
Nevertheless, reading from Crisis to Crisis is not a simple task as the series are numerous, as well as the crossovers. If you want to explore this rich story, the task is overwhelming. There are a lot of roads to follow, but you may only want the short version–or at least, the essential reading recommendation.
This reading guide is here to offer one possible road to follow. It’s not definitive, feel free to submit more books to read in the comment section (and tell us why they are a must-read!).
If the War of the Bounty Hunter is over, the story continues in another Star Wars event, Crimson Reign. Written by Charles Soule and penciled by Steven Cummings, this is the second part of a trilogy that is supposed to reshape the Star Wars galaxy during the Age of Rebellion!
As the official synopsis reveals, “The criminal organization known as the Crimson Dawn has risen — but what is their goal, and how do they plan to achieve it? And how will the Rebel Alliance and the Empire both react to this new galactic power player? Featuring the return of beloved characters, shocking twists, epic feats of the Force, and a story that will reach from the darkest underworld all the way to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant.”
Starting this summer, Judgment Day is the latest Marvel Comics crossover event! Written by Kieron Gillen and with art by Valerio Schiti, A.X.E: Judgment Day will put the Avengers, X-Men, and Eternals in the heart of a deadly conflict.
Here is the official synopsis: The battle for the planet is here! The X-Men claim they’re Earth’s new gods. The Eternals know that position is already filled. And the Avengers are about to realize exactly how many secrets their so-called friends have been keeping from them!
Years of tension are about to lead to a volcanic eruption — and two worlds will burn! Who has leaked the X-Men’s secrets to their latest foes? Why is Tony Stark abducting an old friend? And who stands in judgment over the whole world?
What to read before A.X.E: Judgment Day?
Being an event coming from Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti, you certainly need to be up-to-date with their Eternals’ run:
Published in 1996, The Final Night is a DC Comics crossover event written by Karl Kesel with art by Stuart Immonen. For a change, it was not about a Super-Villain fighting the Heroes, but about an extraterrestrial entity called the Sun-Eater that envelopes and extinguishes the Sun, causing Earth to freeze and wither into ecological collapse. It’s an End of the World scenario in which heroes, villains, and everybody else had to work together to surmount the impossible.
Here is the official synopsis: In The Final Night, the heroes and citizens of Earth face the impending end of the universe. When a cosmic force of nature known as the Sun-Eater extinguishes the Sun, Earth is thrust into its final night. Deprived of the massive star’s illumination and heat, the world experiences a catastrophe of epic proportions.
But even in a situation devoid of hope, the world’s greatest champions struggle on against the inevitable. Featuring many of the heroes of the DC Universe, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman, this book graphically illustrates the true definition of a hero, as Hal Jordan, the former Green Lantern, makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the world.
What to Read Before The Final Night?
The Final Night is a self-contained event, but you may want to be familiar with the character of Parallax to have a better understanding of his decisions in this story. First, the famous Emerald Twilight storyline (Green Lantern Vol. 3 #48–50), collected in:
Published in 2004-2006, the Batman: War Games Saga is a Batman crossover event that spanned every Batman Family title being published at the time. Part of the Batman Modern Age (check out our reading order), the story was written by Devin Grayson, Andersen Gabrych, A.J. Lieberman, Bill Willingham, Dylan Horrocks and Ed Brubaker, with illustrations by Ramon Bachs, Pete Woods, Brad Walker, Mike Lilly, Al Barrionuevo, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Sean Phillips, Paul Gulacy and Kinsun Loh.
Taking place after No Man’s Land and Bruce Wayne: Murderer, Batman: War Games tried to be a sort of mix of those two stories, with stakes on a street level as it is an all-gang war, but still on a big full scale like No Man’s Land. It’s also an event happening when Tim Drake had given up on his Robin role and Stephanie Brown had taken his place — and for her fans, this story is simply her character assassination.
But what is really Batman: War Games about? Tensions escalate and war comes to Gotham City when Batman is drawn into a skirmish between rival gangs. As Gotham’s biggest gang battle ignites, Batman must call on all his available allies—Oracle, Batgirl, Nightwing, Orpheus, Onyx, and Tarantula—to preserve life and contain the chaos while trying to determine who started this outbreak of violence.
Since the launch of the Infinite Frontier era, Joshua Williamson has been building up to his first major crossover event, Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (originally named “Dark Crisis,” the event was officially retitled “Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths” after it launched). Williamson teamed up with artist Daniel Sampere, colorist Alejandro Sánchez, and letterer Tom Napolitano for this crisis. As the official synopsis puts it:
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League are dead. The remaining heroes are left to protect the world from an onslaught of violent attacks by DC’s greatest villains! Leading the charge is a super-powered Slade Wilson … but this time there’s something dark fueling his rage.
Can the younger heroes, led by the 21st century Superman Jonathan Kent, step out of the shadows of the classic icons to form a new Justice League? And will that be enough to stop a darkness greater than anything they’ve ever faced from destroying everything? The world burns as Pariah and the Great Darkness make their play for planet Earth!
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths is an event built on older stories, as DC Comics explains it:
“In the original Crisis on Infinite Earths by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the homeworld of Pariah, along with the infinite Multiverse, was obliterated. Now, this mad sole survivor has found a way to bring his homeworld and the entire infinite Multiverse back from the dead: Earth-0 must die. An ancient destructive force called the Great Darkness, first appearing in Swamp Thing by Alan Moore and Stan Woch, is the weapon Pariah will wield as he paves a path to rebirth and vengeance.”
Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths marked the end of another short era in the DC Universe, but it also introduced a new roadmap to follow for the year to come. Before diving into the event, you may want to do some reading. Here is our reading guide.
Marvel’s Infinity Wars is a 2018 crossover event (written by Gerry Duggan with art by Mike Deodato and Frank Martin) about the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe dealing with the outcome of the search for the new Infinity Stones (previously known as the Infinity Gems). This is a follow-up to “Infinity Countdown.”
Here is the official synopsis: The Infinity Stones are back. Individually, they grant their wielders great power. Together, they bestow the power of a god! As each stone’s location is discovered, forces converge for a battle that will send the universe down a dark path…to the end! Featuring the Chitauri, the Raptors, the Nova Corps, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Adam Warlock, and more surprising Stone-wielders! But who, or what, is Requiem? When she warps the Marvel Universe in half, what surprising heroes will assemble to stand against her? And when death comes at last, who will fall?
What to read before Infinity Wars?
As I was saying, Infinity Wars is a follow-up to “Infinity Countdown.” The better way to deal with that is to group them together. But first, let’s rewind a little.
In the aftermath of Secret Invasion (see reading order), Norman Osborn came out as a hero and rise to national power. This led us to Dark Reign, a period in the Marvel Universe where the former Green Goblin was in control. A branding used by Marvel Comics during 2008-2009, Dark Reign is not really what we would call an event, as stated by then-editor-in-chief Joe Quesada. This branding refers more to an era in the Marvel Universe, a troubled one where everyone is affected.
With more than 200 issues, Marvel explored a whole year of Osborn’s rise to power and its ramifications. After defeating the Skrull, Norman becomes the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., which he replaces with H.A.M.M.E.R. Then, he created the Cabal alongside Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Namor, Loki, and the Hood and used H.A.M.M.E.R. to carry out his and the Cabal agenda. However, Osborn’s actions and his reputation influence a number of heroes and villains to attempt to resist Osborn’s rule and remove him from power by force, if necessary.
What to read before?
To know exactly how Norman Osborn became a national hero, you have to read Secret Invasion, as stated above.
Secret Invasion by Brian Michael Bendis Omnibus
Collects Secret Invasion #1-8, Prologue; New Avengers (2004) #31-32, #39-49; Mighty Avengers (2007) #7, #12-20; New Avengers: Illuminati (2007) #1, #5.
