Infinite Crisis: the 2005 crisis, Kal-L and Superboy-Prime explained
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Everything on Infinite Crisis seen from Superman: Kal-L, Earth-2 Lois, Alexander Luthor Jr. and Superboy-Prime. The miniseries runs seven issues, written by Geoff Johns, drawn mostly by Phil Jimenez. Covers run from December 2005 to June 2006. #1 goes on sale October 12, 2005, #7 on May 3, 2006. You will understand what happens to the two Supermen, without retelling Crisis 1985 or Superboy-Prime's biography.
📋 Contents
- Infinite Crisis: seven issues, 2005-2006
- Kal-L, Lois, Alex and Superboy-Prime: the survivors
- Infinite Crisis #5: Earth-2 Lois dies, Kal-L strikes Kal-El
- Issue 6: Kon-El versus Superboy-Prime
- Issue 7: Rao, Mogo, and the death of Kal-L
- What Infinite Crisis changes for Superman, and what it keeps
- Do not mix: Crisis 1985, Final Crisis, the Superman collection
- The French Panini edition, November 2006
- FAQ — Frequently asked questions
- Conclusion
Infinite Crisis: seven issues, 2005-2006
Infinite Crisis is a seven-issue miniseries. Geoff Johns writes. Phil Jimenez pencils most of it. Andy Lanning inks. Jerry Ordway, George Pérez, Ivan Reis and Joe Bennett also draw, especially the finale. Covers exist in two versions: Pérez, and Jim Lee with Sandra Hope. Wikipedia EN dates the publication « December 2005 – June 2006 »: those are cover dates. DC.com and the Grand Comics Database put #1 on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 and #7 on Wednesday, May 3, 2006.
Before #1, DC published Countdown to Infinite Crisis, then The OMAC Project, Day of Vengeance, Rann/Thanagar War and Villains United. We name them, we do not retell them. Twenty years earlier, Crisis on Infinite Earths had folded the multiverse into one. Infinite Crisis opens that door again, seen here through the two Supermen, not the whole DCU.
The miniseries, from newsstand to cover
Kal-L, Lois, Alex and Superboy-Prime: the survivors
Kal-L is the Superman of Earth-2, the Golden Age Superman. His Lois aged with him. Alexander Luthor Jr. comes from Earth-3: he is the son, not the Lex of Metropolis. Superboy-Prime is the Kal-El of Earth-Prime, the readers' « real » Earth inside the fiction. The four had stayed in a pocket at the end of Crisis 1985. We do not redo Superboy-Prime's biography here: his page exists.
They watch the single Earth born after Crisis and judge it too dark. Alex wants a « perfect » world. Kal-L mostly wants to save Lois. Superboy-Prime wants an Earth where he would be the only hero. This is not Ultraman, the Earth-3 double: Alex is the Luthor son of that world, not the inverted Superman. And he is not the Lex of Metropolis, even if Alex knew how to wear his face.
Infinite Crisis #5: Earth-2 Lois dies, Kal-L strikes Kal-El
Kal-L rebuilds a Daily Star in the void, to keep Lois awake a little longer. That is not enough. In #5, Earth-2 Lois dies of old age. Kal-L briefly thinks he saved her by restoring Earth-2; she collapses. He blames Kal-El, the Superman of the post-Crisis Earth. The two fight. Wonder Woman pulls them apart.
Alex knew Lois would not last. He uses that. New Earth's Lois — Kal-El's Lois Lane — is not the one who dies here. Two women, two Earths, one name. The plan's Earth-2 article is not online: we do not point to it. We stay with what the miniseries shows: a death of old age, an angry widower, a younger Superman who can fix nothing.
Issue 6: Kon-El versus Superboy-Prime
Superboy-Prime wears armor in the vein of the Anti-Monitor: it stores yellow-sun radiation. In #6 he faces Kon-El, New Earth's Superboy, a clone of Superman and Luthor. Kon-El is not Prime. During the fight he destroys the tower that let Alex split and fuse Earths. He dies. Wonder Girl holds him.
Bart Allen steps out of the Speed Force, an adult, in Barry Allen's costume, to warn that Prime is not contained. GCD indexes Superboy (Kon-El)'s death in this #6. We do not say « forever »: other stories will bring him back, off this page. What Infinite Crisis fixes is the price paid to stop Alex's machine. Metropolis then becomes the stage for a battle of heroes and villains, where Prime kills on both sides.
Issue 7: Rao, Mogo, and the death of Kal-L
Prime wants to destroy Oa, to remake the universe around himself. The Green Lantern Corps raises a wall of will. Kal-L and Kal-El carry him toward the remains of Krypton, a field of kryptonite. They send him through Rao, the red sun. The armor fails. The three fall on Mogo. Kal-El knocks Prime out, already poisoned. Kal-L dies of his wounds, beside Power Girl, his Earth-2 cousin.
#7 goes on sale May 3, 2006, June 2006 cover. Superboy-Prime is stripped of his powers and jailed by the Corps. Alexander Luthor Jr. dies in this issue. Kal-El comes out weakened, powerless: that is the starting point of Up, Up and Away!. One sentence, and the article link. We do not tell the year after.
What Infinite Crisis changes for Superman, and what it keeps
Kal-L dies. Earth-2 Lois dies. Kon-El dies in #6. The multiverse is no longer a pocket secret: Earths reappear, then a New Earth. Kal-El remains the Superman of that Earth, but he has to relearn flight. Superboy-Prime remains an antagonist, already covered elsewhere. Power Girl remains the living link to Earth-2.
What the story keeps: Crisis 1985 as the break, Clark Kent as Kal-El's face, Metropolis as a battlefield. It does not bring back Byrne's teenage Superboy. It does not yet fuse origins the way Rebirth will ten years later. If you set the character across the eras, Infinite Crisis is the moment the 1986 Superman is wounded, not replaced.
Do not mix: Crisis 1985, Final Crisis, the Superman collection
Infinite Crisis is not Crisis on Infinite Earths (Wolfman / Pérez, 1985-1986). It is not Final Crisis (2008). It is not the Arrowverse television crossover. Kal-L is not Kal-El. Superboy-Prime is not Kon-El. Alexander Luthor Jr. is not Lex. Earth-2 Lois is not New Earth's Lois.
The collection Superman: Infinite Crisis (DC.com, July 12, 2006) gathers Superman #226, Action Comics #836, Adventures of Superman #649 and Secret Files: that is the prologue, not the seven issues. Kara Zor-El appears in the event; she is not Power Girl. Among the essential stories, keep Johns's seven issues, not only the « Superman » album of the same name.
The French Panini edition, November 2006
In France, Panini Comics published Infinite Crisis in the Batman – Superman line, starting with the volume titled Infinite Crisis (1/4), legal deposit November 2006, 72 pages, Johns and Jimenez. That is a French date, not October 2005. Further volumes follow to cover the miniseries. We do not cite an Urban edition here: it was not checked in this page's sources.
If you read English, the seven issues exist in hardcover and paperback (ISBNs listed by Wikipedia EN). The collection Superman: Infinite Crisis remains another book. After publication, One Year Later shifts every DC title by a year. For Superman, that jump leads to Up, Up and Away!, already told elsewhere. Kal-El's Daily Planet is not the Daily Star that Kal-L rebuilds for Lois.
FAQ — Frequently asked questions
Is Infinite Crisis the same thing as Crisis on Infinite Earths?
No. Crisis on Infinite Earths dates from 1985-1986 (Wolfman / Pérez). Infinite Crisis runs seven issues, 2005-2006, written by Geoff Johns. The second series reopens what the first had closed. Final Crisis (2008) is still another story.
How many issues, and which dates?
Seven. Cover dates run from December 2005 to June 2006. On the American newsstand, the first issue ships October 12, 2005 and the last on May 3, 2006. Johns writes, Jimenez pencils, Lanning inks.
Who is Kal-L in Infinite Crisis?
Earth-2's Superman, the Golden Age one. He leaves the pocket where Crisis 1985 left him, with his Lois, Alexander Luthor Jr. and Superboy-Prime. He dies in issue 7, beside Power Girl, after the fight near Rao and Mogo.
Are Superboy-Prime and Kon-El the same character?
No. Superboy-Prime is Earth-Prime's Kal-El. Kon-El (Conner Kent) is New Earth's Superboy, a clone. They fight in issue 6. Kon-El destroys Alex's tower and dies. Superboy-Prime has his own page: we do not redo his life there.
When does Earth-2 Lois die?
In Infinite Crisis #5, of old age. Kal-L then blames Kal-El. Wonder Woman separates the two Supermen. That Lois is not New Earth's Lois Lane.
What happens to Superman (Kal-El) at the end?
He knocks Superboy-Prime out and comes out poisoned, powerless. One Year Later and Up, Up and Away! start from there. Alexander Luthor Jr. dies in issue 7. Superboy-Prime is jailed by the Green Lantern Corps.
What French edition exists?
Panini, Batman – Superman line, Infinite Crisis (1/4) with a November 2006 legal deposit, then the later volumes. That date is not October 2005. The English collection Superman: Infinite Crisis is a prologue, not the seven issues.
Conclusion
Infinite Crisis, seen from Superman, comes down to a few dated deaths: Earth-2 Lois in #5, Kon-El in #6, Kal-L in #7. The covers say December 2005 – June 2006. American newsstands say October 12, 2005 – May 3, 2006. Johns writes. Jimenez draws. Superboy-Prime already has his page.
If you chain the crises, read Crisis 1985 first, Up, Up and Away! after. Do not open an Earth-2 link: that page is not online. And do not take the collection Superman: Infinite Crisis for the miniseries. The seven issues are enough to see the two Supermen face each other, then leave only one, on the ground.