Final Crisis #6 is an issue of the series Final Crisis (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 2009.
Synopsis for "How to Murder the Earth"
In the 31st Century, Brainiac 5 leads Superman to the Legion armory. Superman doesn't understand why he is still there, as he helped the Legion defeat Superboy-Prime and the Time Trapper. Brainiac explains that the Final Crisis is warping space and time around them, and they need something extreme to fix it. Brainy shows Superman the Miracle Machine, a machine the Controllers gave the Legion years ago. He explains that the device is a refinement of the willpower technology that the Guardians made for the Green Lantern Corps, but taken to the extreme: it turns thought into reality. Recognizing how dangerous it could be, Brainy sealed the device in Inertron. However, Superman will need it to fix the damage of the Crisis. Superman begins to fade, and Brainy says that Superman just has to look.
On the Watchtower, Tattooed Man looks down at Earth, realizing that he had wasted his powers. Black Canary says that he is now an honorary member of the JLA, and as such is under her authority. Suddenly, space ships carrying Justifiers appear, and Canary tells Ray to leave immediately in order to bring "Metron's Circuit" to Earth.
In Blüdhaven, the superheroes battle against Darkseid's mind controlled armies. As Supergirl fights the possessed Mary Marvel, Tawky Tawny takes on Kalibak. Black Adam helps Supergirl, and Captain Marvel, Jr. makes the risky decision to use the last of his magic to turn Dark Mary back into Mary Batson. He grabs her, shouting "SHAZAM!". Kalibak notices, but his distraction allows Tawky Tawny to disembowel him. The son of Darkseid demands his tigers to help, but they refuse, and bow before Tawny. Billy's plan worked, and Desaad has been supressed. Mary, in control again, breaks down in tears, saying that she can never say the word again.
At Checkmate Castle, Shilo Norman explains how he is able to resist the Anti-Life Equation, saying that the painted symbol on his face is a letter from the alphabet of the New Gods meaning "freedom from restriction". Mr. Terrific appears to be considering it, but an aide says that the shield has failed and they're preparing to initiate Black Gambit, the "Omega Offensive".
On the Satellite, the Justifiers, lead by Green Arrow and Black Lightning, have overwhelmed the League survivors. Canary tries to get through to Arrow as Black Lightning places a helmet on Tattooed Man, but the circuit spares him, surprising the Justifiers. Canary switches off the gravity on the satellite, as something begins to happen.
Elsewhere, Taleb Beni Khalid gives Renee Montoya the grand tour. He explains that Black Gambit is a back up plan to use abandon Earth and travel to another Earth in the multiverse. Khalid then introduces Renee to "Lord Eye", a new version of the Brother Eye satellite, but with the brain of Maxwell Lord instead. Taleb reveals that they want Montoya to lead the future Global Peace Agency.
At Calculator's hanging, Doctor Sivana confides in Lex Luthor that while he hates him, Libra made him watch his daughter become a Justifier, and that was the final straw. Libra comes up from behind, saying he had suspected that Luthor betrayed them to the heroes. However, Sivana reveals that he overrode the mind control technology in the Justifier helmets (Mad Hatter's technology is medieval in Sivana's eyes) and temporarily overrides the Justifiers. Having been allowed to charge his battlesuit for the attack on Blüdhaven, Luthor blasts Libra. No body is left behind, and Sivana suspects that Libra is still alive. Luthor doesn't care, saying that Darkseid is waging a war on life, and for everything he's done, Lex Luthor just can't do that.
In Central City, Jay Garrick shows up at Iris Allen's house, reuniting three generations of the Flash. Barry explains that when he left the Speed Force, he left knowing certain things, including how to stop Darkseid. He asks Jay to stay here and protect Iris, but needs Wally to come with him. They're going to lead the Black Racer to Darkseid, and if Barry doesn't make it, Wally must finish it. The two then head off, and Iris wishes her husband and nephew god speed.
In Command-D, Darkseid tells Batman to just come out of the shadows. Batman reveals himself, commenting that Orion did more damage to Darkseid than he realized. Unfortunately, he's dragging the Earth with him, and will destroy it unless he is stopped. Despite Batman's vow about firearms, this is too great; Batman is going to use a gun to fire the same bullet Darkseid used to kill Orion. Darkseid asks if Batman can outrace the Omega Sanction, but Batman fires anyway. As the bullet hits Darkseid, the god fires his Omega Beams. The beams hit Batman...
As the lines of space and time begin to break down, multiple events occur at once: Outside of Command-D, the Female Furies launch an attack, with the Anti-Life infected Wonder Woman releasing the Morticoccus Virus, which begins negating the heroes' powers. The Green Lantern Corps continues its descent toward Earth, and their rings are running low. Guy and Kyle fear that they won't make it in time, but Hal refuses to abandon Earth. Hawkman and Hawkgirl share their goodbyes, while Alan Scott says that his ring has lost its connection to the Earth. Lois and Jimmy use the signal watch, hoping to summon help. Checkmate decides to place Black Gambit into play. With the red skies and the parallel Earths, it appear that there is no hope.
Metron tells Nix Uotan to observe the inauguration of the "Fifth World"; the age of men as gods. Metron leaves a warning: If the humans breach the Bleed wall, they will face a greater "threat" than Darkseid.
Then, Supergirl and Wonder Woman see something else in the sky—it's Superman. The Man of Steel quickly bashes aside the Female Furies and unleashes a massive blast of heat vision on Command-D. Kara is shocked by her cousin's anger, but she soon finds an explanation for that anger—the smoking corpse of Batman...
Appearing in "How to Murder the Earth"
Featured Characters:
- Batman (Apparent Death)
- Superman
- Tattooed Man
- Supergirl
- Checkmate
- Mister Miracle
- Renee Montoya
- The Flash (Barry Allen)
- The Flash (Wally West)
- Nix Uotan
- Metron
Supporting Characters:
- Brainiac 5
- Black Canary
- The Ray
- Black Adam
- Captain Marvel
- Tawky Tawny
- Super Young Team
- Sonny Sumo
- Atom (Ray Palmer)
- Atom (Ryan Choi)
- Lord Eye
- Lex Luthor
- Doctor Sivana
- The Flash (Jay Garrick)
- Black Racer
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Joan Garrick
- Linda Park
- Iris West
- Jai West
- Liberty Belle
- Hourman
- Vixen
- Blue Devil
- G.I. Robot
- Red Arrow
- Iman
- Miss Martian
- Zatanna
- Traci 13
- Houngan
- Calculator
- Iris Allen
- Lois Lane
- Jimmy Olsen
- Hawkman
- Hawkgirl
- Green Lantern Corps
- Alan Scott
- Blue Beetle
- Stargirl
- Starman
- Bulleteer
- Doctor Light
- Doctor Mid-Nite
- Man of Bats
- Wildcat II
- Speedy
- Overgirl
- Batman Clone (Appears only as a corpse)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Final Crisis and Final Crisis New Edition.
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
- Final Crisis #6 Annotations by Douglas Wolk
Final Crisis Crossover
Final Crisis #1 • Final Crisis #2 • Final Crisis #3 • Final Crisis #4 • Final Crisis #5 • Final Crisis #6 • Final Crisis #7 One-Shots
Final Crisis: Requiem #1 • DCU: Last Will and Testament #1 • Final Crisis: Submit #1 • Final Crisis: Resist #1 • Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns #1 • Final Crisis Sketchbook #1 • Final Crisis: Secret Files #1 • Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1 • Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #2 Grant Morrison's Recommended Reading Order
Final Crisis #1 • Final Crisis #2 • Final Crisis #3 • Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1 • Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #2 • Final Crisis: Submit #1 • Final Crisis #4 • Final Crisis #5 •Batman #682 • Batman #683 • Final Crisis #6 • Final Crisis #7 |