The Tales of the Dark Multiverse titles have taken many of DC’s most tragic stories and made them even worse, but none so much as Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Death of Superman. The most series' most recent issue begins optimistically, reversing one of the gut-wrenching deaths that led to the original story.

As a result, the Infinite Crisis itself is averted, but leads to a much larger issue. This turn of events signals the need for monumental crises in the DC, Marvel, and even our universe, and the additional damage that can be caused in trying to prevent them.

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Infinite Crisis Averted

In the issue, Blue Beetle Ted Kord survives his ordeal with Maxwell Lord, instead killing Lord and taking over his plans for Brother Eye and Checkmate. This course of action upends the planned Crisis of Alexander Luthor, Jr. and Superboy-Prime. Kord grows to distrust superhumans much like Lord did, and is especially resentful of the Justice League, who dismissed his earlier accusations that forced him to investigate Checkmate himself.

Various other events that came from the fallout of Infinite Crisis are also kept from occurring, such as the Rann-Thanager War. This seemingly ensures peace on Earth and throughout the galaxy, but Kord’s overreaching paranoia soon leads to numerous losses. Convinced that the Earth’s greatest heroes are its biggest threat to continued peace, Blue Beetle, who has now become the One Beetle Army Corps (OBAC), pledges to assimilate all dissident metahumans and vigilantes into his technological hive mind.

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Blue Beetle assures peace on his world, seemingly at the cost of free will. Eventually, many of the events within the original Infinite Crisis occur, though even more tragically and violently. These include Superboy-Prime's infamous rampage against heroes such as the Teen Titans, with the only reprieve being the assimilation of the few surviving heroes.

The Need for Crises

The story essentially stresses the need for the original Infinite Crisis to have played out the way that it did, if only to avoid the greater tragedy that Ted Kord inflicts upon this Earth. The broader message is that Crises, be they Multiverse shattering or smaller, can eventually have a positive impact on the DC Universe.

For instance, the result of the original Crisis on Infinite Earths was a brand new Earth that gave several characters a new beginning. Conversely, Infinite Crisis saw a return of the Multiverse and the endless possibilities that it allowed, as well as bringing back certain plot elements from the more light-hearted Pre-Crisis era. Even stories such as The Death of Superman and Knightfall gave fans and the people in the DC Universe a greater appreciation for the heroes and their status quo, which had become seemingly stagnant by that point. These crises also bring people together, who are left picking up the pieces in the aftermath in solidarity.

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This extends even to the Marvel Universe and beyond. Many of Marvel’s heroes are born of tragedy and mistakes, such as The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man, and Daredevil. Despite this (and sometimes even because of it), they strive to use their blessings in a way that helps humanity as a whole, regardless of their own personal toll. Conversely, Ted Kord’s controlling nature in this story, which is sadly one in a long-list of rather tragic storylines for former members of the Justice League International, heavily mirrors the mindset of Marvel’s Thanos.

His similar aims to cull populations of various planets to prevent wars and fighting over resources, involve committing genocide in the name of keeping "smaller" acts of violence from happening. Much like the Mad Titan himself, the Dark Multiverse's version of Ted Kord took his control too far, and the peace he now unleashes on his Earth is hollow and emotionless.

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