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52(comics)

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52
Cover of52Week 1 (May 10, 2006). Art byJ. G. Jones.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
ScheduleWeekly
FormatLimited series
Genre
Publication dateMay 2006 – May 2007
No.of issues52
Main character(s)Adam Strange
Animal Man
Batwoman
Black Adam
Booster Gold
Ralph Dibny
Lex Luthor
Will Magnus
Bruno Mannheim
Renee Montoya
Question
Starfire
Steel
Science Squad
Infinity, Inc.
Creative team
Written byGeoff Johns
Grant Morrison
Greg Rucka
Mark Waid
Keith Giffen
Artist(s)Joe Bennett
Chris Batista
Eddy Barrows
Todd Nauck
Keith Giffen
Ruy Jose
Jack Jadson
Darick Robertson
Ken Lashley
Phil Jimenez
Dan Jurgens
Justiniano
Mike McKone
Jamal Igle
Dale Eaglesham
Covers:
J. G. Jones
Alex Sinclair(colors)
Collected editions
Volume 1ISBN1-4012-1353-7
Volume 2ISBN1401213642
Volume 3ISBN1401214436
Volume 4ISBN140121486X

52is a weekly Americancomic booklimited seriespublished byDC Comicsthat debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of theInfinite Crisisminiseries. The series was written byGeoff Johns,Grant Morrison,Greg Rucka,andMark Waid,with layouts byKeith Giffen.[1]52also led into a few limited series spin-offs.

52consists of 52 issues, published weekly for one year, each issue detailing an actual week chronicling the events that took place during the missing year after the end ofInfinite Crisis.The series covers much of theDC Universe,and several characters whose disparate stories interconnect. The story is directly followed by the weekly limited seriesCountdown to Final Crisis.It was the first weekly series published byDC Comicssince the short-lived anthologyAction Comics Weeklyfrom 1988 to 1989.

Format[edit]

The use of a weekly publication format is unusual in the North American comics industry, traditionally based upon a monthly publication.52andBatman Eternal(2014/2015) both hold the top position, of being the longest-published serialised weekly comic, published by a major North American publisher. The record was previously held byAction Comics Weekly.The story was originally conceived as being a chronicle of what happened in the "missing year" between the end ofInfinite Crisisand the beginning ofOne Year Later.It would especially focus on how the world dealt with the disappearance of the "big three" heroes in the DCU,Superman,Batman,andWonder Woman.As the series went on, it became more of a platform for which to set the stage for upcoming storylines in the DC Universe.

Back-up stories[edit]

History of the DC Universe[edit]

A backup story titledHistory of the DC Universeappears in Weeks 2 through 11, with the creative team ofDan JurgensandArt Thibert.[2]Reminiscent of DC's earlierHistory of the DC Universelimited series, in this story,Donna Troyexplores the history of theDC Universewith the help ofHarbinger's recording device. In the final chapter, both the device and aMonitorinform Donna Troy that she was supposed to have died instead ofJade.

Secret Origins[edit]

Weeks 12 through 51 featureSecret Origins,written by Mark Waid with a rotating team of artists.[3]

Plot[edit]

In the aftermath ofInfinite Crisis,Clark Kent,Bruce Wayne,andDiana Princetemporarily retire their costumed identities and do not attend a memorial forSuperboyinMetropolis.Time travelerBooster Goldis shocked to not see the three heroes there, as this contradicts Skeets' historical data. Other contradictions, prompt Booster to search for answers in time travelerRip Hunter's bunker, which is littered withnotesand photos of Gold and Skeets surrounded by the words "his fault". Booster later discovers that his reputation and fame is diminishing. He tries to regain the spotlight by containing an explodingnuclear submarine,but seemingly dies in the attempt. Skeets regains access to Hunter's lab and realizes the photos and arrows are pointing at himself. He goes after Hunter and eventually finds him with Booster Gold, who turns out to have faked his death to help uncover Skeets' true intentions. Hunter and Booster attempt to trap Skeets in thePhantom Zone,but Skeets appears to consume the sub-dimension and pursues his two adversaries through time.

Ralph Dibny,the Elongated Man, is told that the gravestone of his dead wifeSuehas been vandalized with an invertedKryptonian"S", a symbol for resurrection. This was done by a cult that believes thatSuperboycan be resurrected, but would like to try first with Sue. Dibny and his friends disrupt the ceremony, and the effigy of Sue crawls to Dibny, calling out to him as it burns; he suffers a nervous breakdown as a result. Ralph seeks out the helmet ofDoctor Fate,which promises to revive Sue if he makes certain sacrifices. While preparing a spell for Nabu, Dibny reveals the helmet is not the one talking to him, but sorcererFelix Faust.Faust was posing as Nabu to give Dibny's soul to the demonNeronin exchange for his freedom. Neron kills Dibny, but realizes too late that Dibny's spell has trapped him and Faust inside a circle of binding. With Ralph's death, Neron and Faust are seemingly trapped together for all eternity. Ralph and Sue Dibny are reunited in death and become ghost detectives.[4]

Lex Luthorannounces theEveryman Project,a program designed to give ordinary people superpowers.Natasha Irons(Steel) wants to join the Project, but her uncleJohn Henry Ironsforbids it. She enrolls anyway and becomes a member of Luthor's superhero teamInfinity, Inc.During a battle with the thirdBlockbuster,Luthor deactivates the powers of one of Natasha's teammates with fatal results. The death of her friend prompts Natasha to question Luthor's motives. Angered by reports that he is incompatible with the treatment, Luthor deactivates the powers of the majority of the Everyman subjects, resulting in many of them falling from the sky to their deaths. After learning the reports were falsified, he gives himself the powers of Superman. John and theTeen Titansattack LexCorp and bring him to justice with Natasha's help.Beast Boyoffers Natasha membership in the Teen Titans, but she declines in favor of forming a new team with her uncle.

Animal Man,Starfire,andAdam Strangeare marooned on an alien planet after the events ofInfinite Crisis.They are pursued through space by agents ofLady Styx,whose forces are conquering and overrunning planets on a path of destruction toward Earth. With some help from Lobo, theEmerald Eye of Ekronand the EmeraldHeadof Ekron, the heroes defeat Lady Styx. During the fight, Animal Man dies. The aliens who gave him his powers later revive him with new powers. He now has the ability to gain powers from any sentient being in the universe. He uses it to return to Earth.

Black Adam,the superhuman leader of Kahndaq, forges a coalition with several other countries against theUnited Statesand their metahumans: the Freedom of Power Treaty. He stops whenAdrianna Tomaz,a former slave, shows him how he can use his abilities more peacefully to help his country. Adam convincesCaptain Marvelto give Tomaz the power of Isis. Adam and Isis free enslaved children acrossAfrica.Meanwhile, theQuestionandRenee Montoyastart investigatingIntergang.Following a lead, they fly to Kahndaq and prevent asuicide bombingat Black Adam and Isis' wedding. Adam awards them one of Kahndaq's highest honors. The four uncover Intergang, which is inducting children into a religion of crime based on its Crime Bible. Black Adam finds Isis' crippled brother Amon among the children and shares his power with him. Amon is reborn asOsiris.Osiris befriends a seemingly timid anthropomorphiccrocodilenamedSobek,who joins Black Adam'sBlack Marvel Family.Adam and Isis inform the Freedom of Power Treaty member nations that Kahndaq is no longer interested in consolidating power or in executing superhumans.

Will Magnus,creator of theMetal Men,is abducted to Oolong Island, where Intergang andChang Tzuforce kidnapped scientists to form theScience Squadand develop new weapons for them. There, Magnus is ordered to build a Plutonium Man robot. The scientists activate three of their Four Horsemen, which target Black Adam. Suspicious of him,Amanda Wallermaneuvers Osiris into killing thePersuaderand leaking footage of the incident to the media. With his reputation destroyed, Osiris retires from the public eye and acid rain ravages Kahndaq. Convinced that he is the cause of Kahndaq's new miseries, Osiris asks Captain Marvel to remove his powers. Isis and Black Adam stop him and the three return to Kahndaq. Sobek tricks Osiris into turning back into Amon and devours him, revealing himself to be the fourth Horseman, Famine. The other Horsemen join the battle. Isis is poisoned by Pestilence and dies while asking Adam to avenge her and Osiris' deaths.

Grief-stricken and enraged to the point of madness, Black Adam destroys the country of Bialya, base of the Four Horsemen, murdering the country's entire population. He then attacks Oolong Island. TheJustice Society of Americainvade the island to arrest him and subdue the scientists, but Adam escapes and embarks ona week-long rampage across the globe,during which he kills several superhumans. Captain Marvel convinces theEgyptian pantheonto revert Adam to Teth-Adam and changes Adam's magic word from "Shazam" to a new phrase. Teth-Adam goes missing in the resulting explosion and wanders the Earth powerlessly, trying to guess the secret word.

The Question and Montoya train withRichard DragoninNanda Parbat,where Montoya learns that the Question is dying from lung cancer and wants her to replace him. After they discover a prophecy in the Crime Bible aboutBatwoman's death, the two join her fight against Intergang in Gotham City. When the Question's condition worsens, Montoya journeys back to Nanda Parbat in a failed attempt to save his life. Shortly after they leave Gotham, Intergang discovers Batwoman's identity and attempts to sacrifice her to fulfill the prophecy. Montoya, as the new Question, tries to save Batwoman, who gets stabbed by Mannheim with a ceremonial dagger. Batwoman fatally wounds Mannheim and survives. After she recovers, Montoya shines the restoredBat-Signalto call her back to work.

Skeets is revealed to beMister Mind,who has been using Skeets' metallic body as a cocoon to metamorphose into a gigantic, monstrous form that feeds ontimeitself. Rip Hunter and Booster escape to the end of theInfinite Crisisand witness the secret creation of 52 identical parallel universes. Mister Mind intends to consume them. The Phantom Zone is restored, and Mister Mind alters events in the 52 universes, creating new histories and a new status quo for each. The heroes trap him in the remains of Skeets' shell and send him back in time to the beginning of the year, where he is captured by Dr. Sivana, trapped in a time loop for all eternity. Will Magnus later rebuilds Skeets, using a copy he had made of the robot's memories.

World War III[edit]

Main article:World War III (DC Comics) § 52

Week 50 of52and the four-issueWorld War IIIlimited series,which was released the same week, depict the superhumans' battle with Black Adam.World War IIIalso depictsAquaman's transformation into theDweller of the Depths,Martian Manhunter's change in outlook,Donna Troy's assumption of theWonder Womanmantle,Supergirl's return to the 21st century,Jason Toddpretending to beNightwing,andCassandra Cainbeing drugged to turn evil and joinDeathstroke.

Secret message[edit]

Dan DiDioincluded a hidden message in his "DC Nation" column in the back of Week 37. The message is spelled out using the first letter of every third word: "the secret of fifty-two is that themultiversestill exists ".

Collected editions[edit]

The lead stories of the series are collected, with commentary from the creators and other extras, into fourtrade paperbacks:

All 52 issues were also available in the52 Omnibushardcover (1,216 pages, November 2012,ISBN978-1401235567).

The collection has also been made available in a two-volume edition that includes bonus material after each chapter:

Other connected collections include:

Spin-offs[edit]

Taking advantage of the popularity of the series, DC issued several series of comics based on the individual threads of52that began several months after52ended.Booster Gold(vol. 2) is an ongoing series that sees the eponymous hero and Rip Hunter travel through time to fix history as "the greatest superhero never known". The six-issue52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemenminiseries covers the Four Horsemen's battle with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.Black Adam: The Dark Age,another six-issue miniseries, follows Teth-Adam's quest to restore his powers and bring Isis back to life; it takes place between the end of52andMary Marvel's corruption inCountdown to Final Crisis.

Two strands of the52story were taken and put together with back-ups from the newCountdown to Final Crisisstory.Countdown to Adventurelooks at the fate of space-travelers Adam Strange, Animal Man, and Starfire in their new roles after their journey over the course of eight issues, with a back-up story following Forerunner.Countdown to Mysteryis another eight-issue series looking at the new Doctor Fate and a back-up story focusing onEclipso.

These include:

  • Booster Goldvol. 2 #1–47 – The further adventures of Booster Gold, Supernova, and Rip Hunter as they try to preserve the fractured timeline.
  • Black Adam: The Dark Age#1–6 – In the aftermath ofWorld War III,Black Adam tries to recoup his losses, for both his powers and his personal life.
  • Infinity Inc.#1–12 – Steel and the remaining members of Luthor's Everyman Project team together to form a new Infinity Inc.
  • 52 Aftermath: Crime Bible – Five Lessons of Blood#1–5 – The Question and Batwoman investigate crimes, leading them deeper into the Crime Bible.
  • 52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen#1–6 – FollowsSuperman,Batman,andWonder Womanagainst the Four Horsemen of Apokolips.
  • Metal Men#1–8 – FollowsDr. William "Will" Magnusand the new version of the Metal Men as they battle Will's brother, David, who wants to destroy them.
  • Detective Comics– Follows Batwoman and the Question.
  • The Great Ten#1–9 – Follows the Chinese superteam.

In other media[edit]

Action figures[edit]

In September 2006,DC Directpremiered a line ofaction figuresbased on52.The first wave, featuring figures based on Batwoman, Isis, Booster Gold, Animal Man, and Supernova, was released in May 2007.[10]

Novelization[edit]

Ace Books,under the imprint of the Berkley Publishing Group and published by the Penguin Group, released anovelizationwritten byGreg Cox,with cover art by J. G. Jones and Alex Sinclair, and its design by George Brewer.

The novel primarily adapts the weekly limited series and theWorld War IIItie-in miniseries. The novel deals with the plotlines of Montoya, the Question, Black Adam, Booster Gold, Skeets, and the 52 Earths, dropping the Luthor/Steel/Everyman Project, Ralph Dibny, and space plotlines completely and including only part of the "Science Squad" storyline, keeping in the evil geniuses and their work for Intergang but leaving out Will Magnus' ongoing plot; in his introduction, Cox explains that it was not possible to adapt all the plotlines of52within a novel of reasonable length. Outside of the loss of these various storylines from the book, events play out in an essentially identical manner, with most of the dialogue itself even lifted from the comics verbatim. There are some minor cosmetic changes along the way (for instance, on Week 3, Black Adam killsIntergangthug Rough House as opposed toTerra-Man), but in the final chapter, alotof the specifics of Mister Mind's cross-time battle with Rip Hunter, Booster Gold, and Supernova are altered. The villain reveals himself in front of a gathered group of heroes in Metropolis, rather than to just Booster and Rip in theFortress of Solitude;the rebirth of the multiverse is credited to Mister Mind's transformation, rather than the Crisis; and the weapon stolen from Steel by Booster during World War III is actually put to use against Mind, which it was not in the comic, and is the cause of his unexplained-in-the-comic shrinking.

Audiobook[edit]

In December 2007, GraphicAudio released the first half of a full cast audiobook adaptation based on the novel by Greg Cox. Like GraphicAudio'saudiobook of Infinite Crisis,this spans two volumes (each 6 hours long) with 6 CDs and features a full cast, music, and sound effects. Volume 2 was released in February 2008.

Voice cast credits as follows:

  • Ken Jackson: Black Adam, Skeets, Mr. Mind
  • Barbara Pinolini: Renee Montoya
  • Bruce Rauscher: The Question, Phantom Stranger, Dr. Cyclops, Leonard Akteon
  • Colleen Delany: Isis, Wonder Woman, Superwoman
  • David Coyne: Booster Gold, Boss Mannheim, Daniel Carter, Captain Boomerang, Beefeater
  • James Konicek: Clark Kent, Count Vertigo, First Beast-man
  • Nanette Savard: Lois Lane, Whisper A’Daire, Zalika
  • M.B. Van Dorn: Katherine Kane, Batwoman
  • Michael Glenn: Osiris, Richard Dragon, Hourman, Beastboy
  • Terence Aselford: Captain Marvel, Jay Garrick, Captain Marvel Jr., Mind-Grabber Kid
  • Susan Lynskey: Mary Marvel, Plastique, Madame Xanadu
  • James Lewis: Nightwing, Kyle Abbot, Baron Bug, Agent Rogers, Jimmy Olsen
  • Karen Carbone: Power Girl, Claudia Lanpher
  • Ted Stoddard: Aristotle Rodor
  • Eric Messner: Atom-Smasher, Dr. Death
  • Erika Rose: Amanda Waller, Natasha Irons
  • Michael John Casey: Persuader, Dr. Kim, Zorrm
  • Elisabeth Demery: Zatanna, Stargirl, Mallory, Veronica Cale
  • Jeff Baker: Alan Scott
  • Elliot Dash: Mr.Terrific, Steel
  • Dylan Lynch: Waverider, Col. Harjvati, Electrocutioner
  • Thomas Penny: J’onn J’onnz, Rigoro Mortis, News Anchor, Black Lightning, Bike Boy
  • Tim Carlin: Perry White, Jim Corrigan, Benny the Mover
  • Cate Torre: Lady Sivana, Mildred Heiny, Yellow Peri, Carjack Lady
  • Jim Lawson: Metamorpho, Louie the Mover,Fred Farrell,Panic Dad
  • Arianne Parker: Firehawk, Firefighter, Kahndaqi woman
  • Christopher Graybill: T.O.Morrow, Roggra, Noose, Mirage
  • Michael Replogle: Dr.Tyme, Manthrax
  • Christopher Walker: Strauss, Kahndaqi dissident, Aged servant
  • Jacinda Bronaugh: Vicki Vale, Bobbi Bobbins
  • Richard Rohan: Dr. Sivana, Rip Hunter, Sabbac, Azraeuz, The Blimp
  • Mort Shelby: Sobek, Wildcat, Mammoth, Tawky Tawny, Rough House

The Flash[edit]

Inthe CWseriesThe Flash,the term '52' is often used as anEaster egg.For example, in the episode "Things You Can't Outrun", the Flash team opt to incarcerate criminal metahumans in "Area 52" atS.T.A.R. Labs.[11]In the second season, inter-dimensional breaches are made betweenEarth-OneandEarth-Two,and 52 separate portals are located.[12]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Cowsill, Alan; Dolan, Hannah (2010). "2000s".DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle.Dorling Kindersley.p. 325.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.The title was masterminded by writers Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid, with Keith Giffen providing art breakdowns.
  2. ^"DC Comics Solicitations for Product Shipping, May 2006".Comic Book Resources.February 13, 2006.Archivedfrom the original on October 26, 2008.
  3. ^"5.2 (or so) About 52: Week 30".Newsarama.December 1, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon December 10, 2006.
  4. ^Beatty, Scott(2008). "Elongated Man". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.).The DC Comics Encyclopedia.New York:Dorling Kindersley.p. 114.ISBN978-0-7566-4119-1.OCLC213309017.
  5. ^"52 Volume 1profile ".DC Comics.Archivedfrom the original on 2013-06-21.
  6. ^"52 Volume 2profile ".DC Comics.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-02-08.
  7. ^"52 Volume 3profile ".DC Comics.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-02-08.
  8. ^"52 Volume 4profile ".DC Comics.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-02-08.
  9. ^"52: The Companionprofile ".DC Comics.Archivedfrom the original on 2016-02-08.
  10. ^DC Comics DC Direct"Action Figures – ALL",accessed April 14, 2011.
  11. ^"The Flash: Easter Eggs and DC Comics References in" Things You Can't Outrun "".comicbook.Archivedfrom the original on 13 March 2016.Retrieved9 May2018.
  12. ^"Possible New 52 reference in the Flash: Flash of Two Worlds - moviepilot".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-12.Retrieved2016-03-12.

External links[edit]

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