There's no question Infinite Crisis is one of the biggest events DC’s ever done. The series re-introduced characters that played a major role in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and served as a bit of meta-commentary on how dark and serious comic books had become. For better or worse, the comic series would define the DC Universe for the next several years.

RELATED: DC Comics: 10 Most Powerful Female Members Of The Justice League, Ranked

Of course nothing lasts forever, but the way they refocused the DC Universe around the Big Three, while also merging Pre-Crisis ideas with stories being told in the present. This list looks at some of the biggest, most iconic moments of Infinite Crisis.

10 FACE IT "SUPERMAN"

The Justice League isn’t doing too well when the biggest crisis in 20 years suddenly hits them. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are at odds, and the League doesn’t seem to exist anymore. Arguing over what’s happened in the Watchtower, Batman gets fed up with Superman’s empty moralizing and makes a rather harsh comment on Supes’ ineffectiveness. Ultimately this felt quite a bit like meta-commentary, centered around how Superman hadn’t been key to DC since the early 90s.

9 THIS LOOKS LIKE A JOB FOR SUPERMAN

Between the first two issues of Infinite Crisis, a pretty dark picture is painted. Things are bad all over, and the narration gives us a group of characters discussing how the heroes are handling it. The end of the first issue finally reveals who these characters are—Alexander Luthor, Lois Lane, and Superman from Earth-2, the Superboy from Earth-Prime. The original Superman rejoins the DC Universe by breaking out of the dimension they were sealed in, finally bursting back onto the scene with a splash.

8 WONDER WOMAN LOSES THEMYSCIRA

Wonder Woman Themyscira

Early in the story, Wonder Woman is taken out when she has to foil Brother Eye’s attack on her island of Themyscira.

RELATED: 10 Most Iconic DC Comics Love Triangles

The only way she manages to do so is by asking the Greek gods to take the island to another dimension entirely. But she refuses to go with them, knowing her place is saving everyone else. It’s a heart-breaking moment, as she’s forced to say goodbye to her friends and mother, and still has to go save the world.

7 LOSS OF BLUDHAVEN

Bludhaven was the sister city to Gotham, introduced in the late 90’s when Nightwing got a solo comic and wanted to branch out from working in a city where he could never quite achieve top billing. The city was meant to be much worse than Gotham ever was, and thanks to the machinations of Alex Luthor’s Secret Society, the city gets wiped from existence. A toxic supervillain falls onto the city from a large height, effectively bombing the city and leaving no survivors.

6 IS HE A BETTER MAN ON YOUR EARTH?

Batman really goes through some changes in this event, and it’s largely his fault. After Checkmate corrupts Brother Eye, the OMACs attack Themyscira, putting the lives of thousands of innocent women at risk. Even Bruce can’t bear that responsibility, which is when he’s given an opportunity to “start over.” In a conversation with Earth-Two Superman, Bruce almost believes it’s better to reset the universe...but he can’t help asking: does that world have a better Dick Grayson? Because of course Bruce views Dick, his first son, as the best man he knows.

5 SUPERBOY'S TRANSFORMATION

Until this point, Superboy is mostly just a whiny jerk complaining about Conner Kent. Conner’s struggle to decide whether or not he has a soul infuriates him, and the two wind up duking it out in Smallville. The battle escalates in intensity after more superheroes arrive.

RELATED:  DC Comics: 5 Things From New 52 That Aged Well (& 5 That Did Not)

Inexperienced, Superboy doesn’t know his own strength, and winds up killing two Teen Titans without thinking. It takes the efforts of every speedster ever to drag him off into another realm, and even Barry makes a re-appearance to inspire Bart to believe in himself and take Superboy Prime down.

4 EARTH TWO SUPERMAN LOSES IT

Once Alex successfully recreates Earth Two, Superman and Lois are able to briefly get a glimpse at what their world was. But after years of existing in a pocket dimension, this fake Earth Two still isn’t enough to restore Lois, and she passes in the arms of her husband. But it’s when New Earth Superman appears that the older Kryptonian loses it. He smashes Superman with a car and blames Lois’ death on him. The parallel to the very first Action Comics cover with Superman is one of the best moments of the 2000s.

3 WONDER WOMAN TALKS TO HERSELF

Diana’s plotline gets somewhat lost in Infinite Crisis. Superman is the star, Batman is the guy who has to fix the giant mistake he made, and Wonder Woman is the person unfairly judged for killing to protect herself. She spends much of the storyline being even worse on herself than everyone else, and it isn’t until her alternate Earth self appears that she finally comes to her senses. It’s an epic moment, as Earth Two Wonder Woman had been given the same protection as Superman and the others, only in a different way. She uses the last of her energy to help Diana get her head right.

2 YOU'LL NEVER BE SUPERMAN

It all comes down to one last knock-down, drag-out fight between Earth Two Superman and Superman versus Superboy Prime. Superboy Prime has Pre-Crisis levels of strength so he’s more powerful than either of them, and even at his prime Earth Two Superman never quite matched up to his Earth One or Earth Prime counterparts. It takes a trip through a red sun before Superman can finally stand a chance. Even after beating Earth Two Superman, his closest friend, Superboy Prime, is still convinced he’s the “hero” of the story. But Superman reminds him it’s not about coming from a “better” world, it’s about the “action” needed to make any world a better place.

1 ALEXANDER VS. THE JOKER

Joker doesn’t get much of a feature in this book, and that’s because there’s no space for him. But it’s also because Alex Luthor thought Joker was too much trouble to keep up with, and that comes back to bite him. Though Alex escapes, he gets caught by both Lex and the Joker, and the Joker rewards Alex’s actions with an acid flower... and shooting him. This is presumably the reason why every supervillain group seems to include such a wild card.

NEXT: DC Comics: Top 10 Silver Age Stories