Here it is!

I'm responding to the questions in the order that they were asked.

If you would prefer a more stream-lined look at Final Crisis, chronologically from issue to issue, I have a "Cliffs Notes" of sorts here that is a bit more straightforward.

Otherwise, enjoy!

Adam Jones asked:

Was that exiled Monitor reawoken as that black kid who worked at the burger joint? Or was that supposed to be Orion? Was Orion even reborn at all?

Yes, that was the Monitor.

No, Orion was not reborn in Final Crisis. He may still be reborn in the future, but not as of yet.

Also, in the first issue we saw a Green Lantern construct as a monkey with cymbals (with a big HAHAHAH!), did they ever reveal who did that attack on John Stewart? Was it that Alpha Lantern Granny Goodness hid in, or was it just forgotten? I always thought it was supposed to be the Joker, who got his hands on a power ring, but hey, that’s why I don’t write comics.

It was the Alpha Lantern. This is shown later in the same issue when we see the imprint of John's ring on her hand.

Matt asked:

How did FC actually tie into Death of the New Gods? The two events seemed to cover the same events (such as the death of Orion) but in vastly different ways.

Of the two depictions of the downfall of the New Gods (Countdown and the Death of the New Gods), Jim Starlin came closer to what Grant Morrison wanted to achieve, but yeah, there were still definite contradictions.

This came as a natural consequence of Starlin writing his series before Morrison wrote his.

Morrison had a few plot points he wanted established for Final Crisis (well, honestly, he likely did not even "want" them established, it was more a "Grant, what plot points can we establish so that we can honestly call this a prelude to Final Crisis?"), and only a few of them were actually done according to his specifications. The Death of the New Gods didn't exactly work, but Starlin really came as close as anyone did with his take.

I believe Morrison's take on it is that the Death of the New Gods is an approximation of the "war of the heavens" that leads into Final Crisis, and therefore, any such battle would be incomprehensible to regular people, which explains why there were different takes on it. That's a clever enough solution.

Why couldn’t the Guardians simply wave a finger and shut down Boodika the Alpha Lantern from getting anywhere near the Central Power Battery? We’ve seen them shut down power rings before, should be no reason they could not do it (or something similar) this time around.

That was why they made a big point of them being "Alpha Lanterns." The same precautions were not taken against the Alpha Lanterns, because the whole POINT of Alpha Lanterns was that they were infallible.

In the future, I presume they will not make that same mistake again.

Nick Marino asked:

why was Shilo Norman suddenly colored as Caucasian in some pages of Final Crisis #6? mistake or actual story reasoning? it’s Morrison here so I wouldn’t put it past him…

I'm going with mistake.

You could make some argument for the sigil having some odd effect upon him, but I think mistake is more likely. I suppose we'll find out for sure in the hardcover.

EDITED TO ADD: Yeah, it was a mistake. Dan Didio has said as much, and it will be corrected in the hardcover.

can the events in Final Crisis be directly linked to the Mister Miracle mini? i read that back when it came out, and i understood it (somewhat!) for what it was. then i read the first issue of FC and i didn’t necessarily see how they connected to each other.

Yes, what happened was that after the Death of the New Gods, Darkseid fell through time (in an attempt to escape death) and the events of the Mister Miracle mini-series took place, including introducing the human disguises for Darkseid and his cronies (note they are not alive, in the typical sense of the world - Morrison is going under the assumption that, as established by Jack Kirby, that Darkseid can basically recreate his cronies just based on his memories of them - so view his cronies almost as an extension of Darkseid's will rather than "Darkseid and a bunch of other evil New Gods escaped death").

is there any connection between the New Gods appearance in the final issues of Firestorm and their actions in FC?

No.

okay, wait, so Batman did die… he didn’t die… OKAY, what is his status as can best be described RIGHT NOW.

Lost in time and space.

Where and when is unknown.

is there any significance to the strip club we see in the ending of FC #1? (i feel like this one might be obvious but i just can’t remember…)

Do you mean the ending of Final Crisis #2?

If so, it was just as it was explained in the comic. That was where Barry Allen and Jay Garrick first met (as good a place for Barry to return as any, right?), but it was once a community center and is now a strip club, likely intended by Morrison as a statement about the whole "grim and gritty" nature of the DC Universe that Final Crisis is intended to counteract.

P_B asked:

I’d like to see an attempt at tracing Superman chronologically through the whole thing.

It depends on whether he is taken to the future by the Legion once or twice, and apparently Morrison has confirmed that it is just the once.

So in that case, it is:

Final Crisis #1-3 - Takes part in some Justice League stuff, is here for the death of the Martian Manhunter, gives a speech at the funeral of the Martian Manhunter. The Daily Planet blows up and Lois gravely injured.

Superman Beyond #1-2 - He goes off on his multiverse mission and returns and heals Lois, returns to Earth.

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1-5 - He returns just in time to be taken into the future.

Final Crisis #4-most of 6 - His adventures in the Legion of Three Worlds mini-series.

Final Crisis end of #end of 6-7 - Back on Earth and directly involved in the end of Final Crisis.

David asked:

The story starts with Darkseid’s fall to Earth after a war in heaven. What happened there?

The Fourth World was intended to be destroyed for the sake of the Fifth World. There was a war in heaven (one approximation of this was the events in Jim Starlin's The Death of the New Gods mini-series) that ended up with Orion being the last god standing. Darkseid, however, could not abide by this, so he escaped by falling to Earth through time and space to the Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle mini-series. Since that point, he had been planning to take over Earth. It was all part of his plan to avoid the Fifth World ever coming about, for as long as he was still around, it could not exist. So he figured if he could not rule the Fourth World, he'd rule Earth instead.

Craig B. asked:

Who the heck was Libra?

Basically just an agent of Darkseid's on Earth.

What was the relationship between the Darkseid story that took up most of the series and the Mandrakk story that took up the Superman Beyond side-series and the last half of the last issue of the main series?

The machinations of Darkseid cause a breakdown of the multiverse, allowing Mandrakk's story to take place.

Did Hawkman and Hawkgirl die? Why? What were they doing?

Yes, they died. In an attempt to save people, Checkmate created a dimensional tunnel between universes. It began breaking down, and Lord Eye tried to close it, which would have killed all the people still in the tunnel. The Hawks blew it up, but died in the explosion that destroyed it. Luckily, Mister Miracle was able to save the remaining folks with a last second Boom Tube. Interestingly enough, Hawkman's fiery death was actually foretold in last year's Hawkman Special by Jim Starlin. Odd that that special actually ended up being tying into Final Crisis like that.

What was going on with the Atoms? What were they doing? Did it work? What did it do?

They created the pathway that the aforementioned dimensional tunnel used.

It worked for a while, before it collapsed as the multiverse was suffering through way too much turmoil to hold up.

Why is the Legion of 3 Worlds series still going, and what is its connection to the main series?

It's still going mostly because it really is NOT connected to the main series in any significant fashion, so it is not on the same deadline as the main series.

What was the point of the whole Question and Spectre side series? What exactly did any of that accomplish?

For Final Crisis, nothing of note. But Greg Rucka got a lot of good work with some characters he liked done.

Neal K. asked:

When Superman used the Miracle Machine to wish the world back into existence, why didn’t he wish for the fallen heroes such as Martian Manhunter, Batman (at least Superman believed him to be dead), etc. to be resurrected, or to make any other perfecting changes to the world? Did it have to do with Superman’s own internal limitations (i.e. he thought that those kind of changes were things he should not mess around with), or with external limitations of the Miracle Machine’s capacity?

The former (Superman's own internal limitations).

Will asked:

Final Crisis was supposed be about Darkseid’s fall and rebirth and the transition of the universe from the Fourth World to the Fifth World. If that’s the case, who is Mandrakk the Dark Monitor and why did he show up in Superman Beyond & FC #7? What was his part in the story?

Mandrakk the Dark Monitor was able to make his move because Darkseid caused great turmoil in the multiverse due to his refusal to go away and allow the Fifth World to take place. Darkseid's machinations gave Mandrakk his opening.

Dave asked:

Seriously, why did Shilo Norman a turn into a white man for issues #4-6?

As mentioned earlier, until I hear otherwise, I'm going with "coloring mistake."

Verdammt asked:

If Batman is not dead and stuck in time/somewhere in the multiverse, then whose charred corpse was Superman holding? (This may be explained if we get a concise explanation of just what it is the Omega Sanction does and does not do.)

The great thing about the Omega Sanction is that there is no precise explanation for what it does and does not do, so anything pretty much goes for it, particularly when you add in the fact that Darkseid was shot by Batman before the beams hit Batman - who knows what kind of odd effect that would have on the effects of the beam? I imagine we'll get more specific answers when Morrison returns to Batman in June.

That said, in extremely general terms, the Omega Sanction transports people across time and space.

10FootBongz asked:

How about an arts credit listing (who drew which pages)?

Okay, I could be off on a few pages here and there, but I think this is basically all correct...

Issues #1-3 - All J.G. Jones

Issue #4 - Carlos Pacheco drew the straight superhero scenes while JG Jones got the darker stuff with Darkseid and the Flashes.

Issue #5 - Pacheco drew the opening with the Green Lanterns and the two-page spread of the heroes charging. Marco Rudy drew most of the last pages of the book, including Darkseid taking control of the three billion humans. JG Jones drew the rest.

Issue #6 - Opens with a couple of Pacheco pages, then Rudy draws most of the issue, except for a few major scenes drawn by JG Jones, namely the Supergirl/Mary Marvel fight, the Talky Tawny fight, the Flashes attack Darkseid and the Batman/Darkseid fight. Closes with a few Doug Mahnke pages.

Issue #7 - All Doug Mahnke, although with a gazillion different inkers.

Da Fug asked:

What’s going on with the Bruce Wayne situation? I assume that the world does not know Batman is dead thus The Battle for the Cowl in which a secret replacement is chosen. But what about Bruce Wayne? Is Bruce dead with public acknowledgment and funeral? Missing? Gone to Europe?

The world is beginning to suspect Batman is dead, which leads into Battle for the Cowl.

As for Bruce Wayne, currently, Hush looks just like Bruce Wayne and has been seen around since Batman died, so that should assuage any "Hey, wait a sec...is Bruce Wayne Batman?" rumors. But yeah, I think they're likely going with "Bruce Wayne is on vacation somewhere he can't be reached," but that will be addressed for sure in Battle for the Cowl, I presume.

Billy F. asked:

What finally caused the Justifiers to be released from Darkseid’s control? Luthor? Metron’s sigil being placed on Earth by Ray?

Some from Ray, the rest from Wonder Woman using her lasso of truth on Darkseid.

Barry Allen releases Iris from the control of anti-life by kissing her. How exactly did this work? Does the antidote to anti-life reside within Barry Allen? The Speed Force? is it love?

A mixture of the second and third options, with a heavy stressing on the third option.

The Eagle Host of the Pax Dei shows up at the end of Final Crisis for the showdown with the Dark Monitor. Was their appearance foreshadowed anywhere, or were they just included to drive home Morrison’s literal usage of a Deus Ex Machina?

More the latter.

Most likely it was a bit of "If this is the end times, then we really ought to get involved."

Was the fire that Superman found in Metron’s chair some version of the Worlogog from his JLA run?

I see it like this - the Element X Superman finds it not the Worlogog. Howver, the Worlogog might very well have been made out of Element X. We just don't know.

Who was that ape man that was imprisoned with Nix Uotan and the rubicks cube solver (Metron?) in Darkseid’s lair?

One interesting answer I've heard was an experimented on Himon, as Himon was the creator of the motherbox, so it would follow that he would create the motherboxxx that was contained in the Rubik's Cube, no?

However, Morrison I believe has stated that no New Gods survived (until the Fifth World, of course), so that likely rules Himon out.

That leaves the type-writing monkey from Animal Man as the leader, which is possible enough, as the monkey sure would know about the power of stories, wouldn't he?

Wouldn't it be a kick if this was the "origin" of the typewriting monkey from Animal Man? That he was created in Command-D!

In any event, basically it is unknown for sure.

What role was the Spector and the Radiant playing at the end?

Same as the Pax Dei. The end times are coming, so they thought it was time to get involved.

Conor E asked:

What was up with Renee Montoya? I understand that Revelations took place around the gap between issues 3 and 4 of the main series (since we see “evil winning” during that series), but wasn’t she recruited by Checkmate before then, and still hanging out with them after?

This is one of the "time distortions" that are mentioned in Final Crisis, because as you mention, there is not enough time for Montoya to travel around the world the way she does.

Also: Submit and Resist (since I forget which is which). The one with Black Lightning is extremely simple to place, but the one with Mr. Terrific is pretty confusing in regards to the main series.

Resist is between #3 and #4, with the likely argument being "time distortion" for how Terrific is able to get back to Switzerland from Antarctica in the time given between #3 and 4. The OMACs that pop up at the end of RESIST are likely how he GOT back to Switzerland. Note in Final Crisis #7, the OMACs are in Switzerland. So just presume the OMACs got him back but then are off-panel until Final Crisis #7.

Patrick C. asked:

Why were people being “frozen” or whatever was happening with everyone that wasn’t Superman or Supergirl during Final Crisis #7?

The population of Earth was being put into "storage" (via a shrinking ray and cryogenics) while Superman fixed the Earth.

What did Iman say in Final Crisis #7? In fact, how about translations for all the non-english dialogue?

David Uzumeri and Douglad Wolk did translations for Iman.

Here's David:

In Final Crisis #7:

As far as I can figure, what Iman’s saying is “He’s going to start time, is all I’ve heard. To live in the world with a man like this.”

In Final Crisis #6:

Iman’s dialogue translates to “Something approaches. Like the sound of horses.”

Here's Douglas:

In Final Crisis #5

His dialogue translates roughly as "What hit me? Ah, $&#*! My armor's useless. Weighs a ton... what would Superman do...?" (I might be wrong about that last bit.)

What did Ray drawing the Metron symbol on Earth really accomplish?

It saved roughly half of the world's population from Darkseid's control. It also might have freed Wonder Woman from Darkseid's control, which turned out to be a big deal.

Is Dan Turpin dead?

No, just wounded.

What exactly happened to Checkmate, I guess some of the heroes ended up on Earth-51, while others (Mister Terrific and the Hawks died?

Mr. Terrific makes his way to Earth-51. The Hawks die. Checkmate ended up on Earth-51. What they do next will likely be explored in the Final Crisis Aftermath mini-series dealing with them.

Are Ogama and Solomon the same Monitor? Should we just not bring up Countdown in this FAQ?

No, they're different guys.

You CAN bring up Countdown, but the answer is likely going to be something along the lines of "Morrison did not take into account what happened with Countdown when he wrote Final Crisis, as he was under the impression that he would not have to worry about Countdown contradicting his work. So when it often did, he was not too worried about it. "

Is Mandrakk the original Monitor from COIE?

No.

The whole attack on John Stewart in FC#1 could use some clarification, the art didn’t do a good job of conveying the action. I guess Kraken (with Granny inside her) made herself look like Hal Jordan, created the laughing monkey to distract the other GL, then attacked John. John was able to get off a punch, which left the impression of his ring in Kraken’s hand? Even though in the panel right before we see John’s right hand without a ring on it? I’m not even sure this is really a question anymore.

Yeah, that is basically what happened.

mightygodking asked:

Man, Resist opens up so many questions re: timing it’s probably going to be retconned out as not having actually happened. How did Mr. Terrific manage to be in Antarctica AND the Castle at the same time? Why was Amanda Waller (who got fired from Checkmate) show up at the Castle? When did Snapper Carr teleport to the JLA satellite - before the League got there, or after? What happened to Enslaved Firehawk, while we’re at it?

Time distortions. He was in the Castle then Antarctica then back to the Castle (via the OMACs).

As for Waller showing up, I presume she is part of Checkmate expanding its scope to a Global Peace Agency.

Snapper teleported up there before the JLA got there.

Presumably she either escape or the Justice League took care of her when they showed up at the satellite.

Neal K. asked (in an odd question format - why not just say "What order do the tie-ins go in?"):

I think any good FAQ should have an attempt to place all the tie-ins with respect to the main series. Some are obvious, like Batman 682-83, but others are a bit iffier, such as Revelations.

I'll give you both reading orders. The first is the official Grant Morrison "This is how you should read Final Crisis" reading order, using just the issues he wrote, while the rest is where the other ones "tie-in" (quotes because they really don't).

Morrison Reading Order

Final Crisis #1-3

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1-2

Final Crisis: Submit #1

Final Crisis #4-5

Batman #682-683

Final Crisis #6-7

The Entire Reading Order

Final Crisis #1

Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns #1

Final Crisis: Requiem #1

Final Crisis #2

Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge #1-3

Final Crisis #3

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1-2

Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #1-5

Final Crisis: Revelations #1-5

Final Crisis: Resist #1

Final Crisis: Submit #1

Final Crisis #4-5

Final Crisis: Secret Files #1 (any time, really, but I guess around this time makes the most sense)

Batman #682-683

Final Crisis #6-7

As a side note, DC Universe: Last Will and Testament #1 was originally a Final Crisis tie-in but was released without the name, and I think that likely has to do with the fact that it really does not tie in to the story at all - so just pretend that it is just some unnamed OTHER crisis that the heroes are all talking about in hushed terms - DC must have those a lot, I guess, maybe, I dunno.

Billy F. asked:

So is Vandal Savage Cain, or was Cain hiding out in Vandal Savage, or what? I don’t quite understand his situation.

I'm reading it as Cain is possessing Savage via the Mark of Cain.

Does Final Crisis: Resist fit into the greater Final Crisis framework at all?

Yeah, the OMACs show up fighting against the bad guys in Final Crisis #7. Beyond that, it was just a chance for Rucka and Trautmann to wrap up their Checkmate series.

What was the panel that Morrison said DC asked him to add in Final Crisis 7?

He wanted to hint that Batman was not dead, but DC made him make it more explicit.

So, by Wally West believing that the Black Flash and the Black Racer are in fact the same entity, is Grant Morrison claiming that every embodiment of death is just a different version of the same destroyer god? How about Death from the Endless? …actually, there is no way for you to answer this question unless you are Grant Morrison, so…forget it.

Forgotten.

McFly asked:

Who was the character with the monkey hands with Metron in a wheelchair and the guardian?

As seen above, unknown, but the typewriting monkey from Animal Man is a possiblity.

Wasn’t Anthro alive in the DCU? How’s it possible that he died as an old man in prehistory? Or is it another Anthro from a different dimension?

Yeah, with all the various Earths in play, you can read that Anthro as being any number of different Anthros. To wit, what if the Anthro at the end of Final Crisis #7 is on Earth-51? I dunno, I think it is all up in the air.

What happened with the Spectre and the spirit of hope? When did Mandrakk defeated them? Was it supposed to happen in Revelations?

Revelations just sets up each of their respective status quos. They then show up in Final Crisis #7 because everyone gets involved in Final Crisis #7.

Is Mr. Terrific dead?

No.

How exactly did Darkseid’d death worked? Batman killed him, but later Flash and the omega rays over-kill him?

Hehe.

Batman weakens him enough for the other stuff to happen. The Flashes then basically kill him, but this is Darkseid, so he manages to last awhile longer and in fact, when he loses corporeal form, that is almost WORSE, as it begins to tear apart the fabric of the universe.

It’s not exactly Final Crisis, but is a Crisis tie-in: In the two-part episode just after Rip, in Batman’s flashback, the original Kate Kane appears, is she supposed to be a) just a dellusion, b) the same Rucka’s Kate Kane, c) a parallel Kate Kane, d) nothing. It was an error that slipped through the cracks?

Basically A, but of course what it really is a statement about how Kane DID exist before she was wiped out by Crisis.

McFly asked:

What happened to Scott Free and Barda, by the way? Is he dead?

They died, but they might have returned. That remains to be seen, basically.

The Mutt asked:

What I need is a box score. Who is dead? Who is new? How many Earths are there? Has the past been changed? Etc.

Martian Manhunter, Hawkman and Hawkgirl were killed (plus a bunch of various heroes like Empress and Sparx and Negative Woman COULD have been killed, but I believe their deaths were left intentionally vague).

Batman is believed dead and is currently lost in time and space.

The Monitors are all gone, except for Nix Uotan, who remains as the link between the "Over-Monitor" and Earth.

Actually, I honestly do not know how many Earths there now are. My best guess is 52, but we might once again have a limitless multiverse. A big deal is the fact that people now KNOW that the multiverse exists.

The past has not been changed.

McFly asked:

I don’t quite follow Superman Beyond. Could you explain the monitors story to me, please? As I understand, in the beginning there was one monitor, then the imperfection, then parallel earths and the bleed, no? So the monitor created that metallic superman, am I right? So, after that, how did the monitors became a little race (compairing it with the original one), and who was the one that got corrupted and why? That one was the one that get locked behind that door? Then what happened with the other monitor, the one that betrayed Nix Uotan?

And who is the one monitor from the crisis on infinite earths, then?

I'll try to make this as straightforward as I can (it is tough)....

There was once a being, I do not know if he even has a name, but above I call him the "Over-Monitor," so let's go with that. This being discovers the multiverse and sends a probe to explore the multiverse (the Monitor). However, the multiverse is a lot more complex (and quite a bit seductive) than he expected, and the probe was split into two equal and opposite probes, one good one evil, the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor.

After the death of the first Monitor and the defeat of the Anti-Monitor in Crisis, the Over-Monitor created a society of Monitors who lived in basically the ether of the multiverse. Their existence was discovered post Infinite Crisis.

The very first one sent by the Over-Monitor was called Dax Novu. There is some debate whether Dax is intended to be the Monitor of Crisis on Infinite Earths. It's possible.

Okay, so as this society of Monitors begins to grow, it slowly becomes apparent to Dax that the Monitors have an almost parasitic (one could call it vampiric) relationship with their respective worlds of the Multiverse. They sort of feed off of the stories of the worlds they monitor. They do not wish to believe him, so they shun him and imprison him "forever." Before they do so, he leaves behind a thought-robot designed to defeat himself if he is ever freed, because he knows that cut off from society that he is going to go mad. Dax slowly descends into madness and becomes Mandrakk, a flat out evil jerk who wants to consume the universe.

Secretly, he gains a disciple named Ogama who bans Nix Uotan to Earth to clear the way for Mandrakk to escape.

The big reveal is that Nix is the son of Dax.

As for the first Monitor - he could be Dax, he could be just one half of the probe and long dead. I think Morrison leaves it intentionally vague.

Aqualad asked:

Aquaman returns in his kingdom’s time of need. Was this a plot point that had been hinted at in some other comic, or was Morrison just making the obvious King Arthur parallel?

The latter.

Also- could you explain Superman Beyond to me? I really didn’t get it, but I can see how important it is to the Final Crisis story.

Basically see above, except to note that Superman uses the "thought-robot" that Dax created and he defeats Mandrakk back in the ether of the multiverse, but Mandrakk survives, along with Ogama and a now vampiric Ultraman to fight again another day (that other day being Final Crisis #7).

Snapper and Rogue both asked previously asked questions (Mutt's quick recap question and Neal K.'s "question" about the reading order, respectively).

Paradox Factor asked:

A timeline would be helpful placing everything. I mean, I’m still not sure if the current Justice Leage of America arc takes place during or after FC. In it, Dr Light is dead, urned into a candle. But Batman is called Bruce by Wonder Woman.

McDuffie's Justice League of America arc does not fit in with Final Crisis. Just a mix-up there.

Also, what was up with teh alternate earth Nazi Supergirl from issue one. She just kinda showed up out of nowhere and was forgoten about until her body was seen in issue 6. Was that ever explaned at all how she got to the main DC earth, what killed her, ect.?

The upheaval in the multiverse basically flung her out of her universe and the trauma of being forcefully expelled from her universe likely killed her, but we do not know for sure what did it to her. We didn't see her because she was in Checkmate custody, as they prepared to do an autopsy on her, as seen in Final Crisis #6. Her expulsion was also the impetus for Overman to join up with the other folks in Superman Beyond, so perhaps Ogama and Mandrakk purposefully killed her to give Overman incentive to go along with them?

BrianC (great name!) asked:

Two questions - Morrison mentioned in his “exit interview” on Newsarama that “Apart from one scene at the end, which I included at DC’s request, and contrary to online rumours, there were no rewrites on Final Crisis.”

Was that the Aquaman scene he alludes to- seemed pretty random, and a good way for DC to never have to publish “Aquaman: Rebirth”.

No, it was the last page where he makes it explicitly clear that Batman is still alive. I expected Morrison to address Batman still being alive, but I'll admit I expected something a bit less clear, and it's good to know that that WAS his original intention, but DC asked him to make it clearer so it could be seen by the cheap seats.

Also, what were they doing to Overman’s cousin? She was being experimented on by Checkmate?

Yep. Just basic autopsy stuff, I think. Those Checkmate folks can be pretty devious sometimes.

AW asked:

Ok so in FC:Resist we see the OMACs activated and whooping ass, but in FC:6 there’s hardly any mention of them at all and it seems like checkmate and Mr. Terrific are in a tough spot yet again! So how do the events of FC: Resist tie in?

Since the OMACs began whooping ass in Antarctica and then traveled all the way to Switzerland, I think it's fair to say that they lost most of them along the way so they only had a few by the time they got back to the Castle. Those few OMACs were used in Final Crisis #7.

David asked:

How was Wonder Woman saved by Frankenstein? Also how did her “binding” Darkseid with her lasso free the three billion people who were under his sway>

It is unclear if he DID save her. But if he DID, it would have something to do with the fact that he was immune to the effects of the morticoccus virus. Honestly, it could be just as simple as "Frankenstein defeated her, allowing the good guys to cure her with an antidote to the morticoccus virus off-panel." I mean, the morticoccus virus was artificially made, and the "good guys" did have some of the greatest mad scientists in the universe on their side, so it's not unreasonable to think that they could come up with a cure for the morticoccus virus, ESPECIALLY since all the villains had been inoculated against it.

But really, the "true" answer is that Morrison leaves how Wonder Woman was freed up to the reader's imagination.

And yeah, her binding of Darkseid freed whatever people were still enslaved.

Chris Buckley asked:

1) the way the happy ending came about, and what it actually means about the “Earth” where the mainstream DCU stories will be set.

Namely: Did the DCU successfully evacuate to a parallel world, leaving New Earth ruined in Darkseid’s wake, or did they manage to restore New Earth itself when Superman wished for a happy ending?

I took it that Checkmate’s alternate-Earth escape hatch “Black Gambit” failed when the graviton bridge collapsed under the Atoms, and that only a handful of Command-D/Bludhaven refugees were successfully transferred, along with the Super Young Team. The abandoned Earth-51 therefore became a new Great Disaster Kirbyverse complete with Kamandi, Forever People and the reborn New Gods. In this reading, New Earth itself was rescued by Superman’s wish. But if that’s the case, why the freezer pops full of DCU survivors?

But in a different reading, the Monitors in their epilogue spoke of a black hole at the base of creation, where Darkseid fell through into void. Since New Earth WAS the base of Creation in the new multiverse, and it was sunk under the weight of Darkseid’s personal singularity, that makes it sound like New Earth was indeed left ravaged in Darkseid’s wake, and Superman’s wish was to make a new home for the survivors of the DCU elsewhere in the multiverse. Hence the freezer pops. But if that’s the case, then where is the new Kirby-world they showed us?

Add to that the confusing use of both “New Earth” and “Earth-0? in the script, and I need some cliff notes!

It's the first one. The Green Lanterns and the Supermen drag New Earth/Earth-O out of the abyss, Superman takes everyone off of it and freezes them, he wishes the Earth back to normal and then they unfreeze everyone and put them back on Earth.

The new Kirby world is where you expected it, the Earth-51 world.

Is Earth-0 just what we’re calling New earth after Final Crisis, or are they separate places? Whatever it’s called, do DC Comics still take place on the world once known as “New Earth,” or did we just get a change of address notice?

I don't think we know yet if they're going to call it Earth-O, New Earth or just "Earth." But yeah, they're all the same.

2) Where was this Sonny Sumo from?

The talk about him being from a parralel universe confused me. Was this, somehow, the Earth-51 Sonny who escaped back into New Earth after his world’s great disaster? Or was this the original Kirby Sonny who had escaped back to the present from his medieval Omega Sanction back in the original Forever People?

Yes, this is Earth 51 Sonny Sumo.

3) The generations, and family connections, of the Monitors

We had the original COIE Monitor.

Then we had a reconstituted “race” of Monitors after 52, around whom narratives “crystallized,” giving them individuality.

We also have the mythological Monitors:

-Dax Novu (is HE meant to be the original COIE Monitor?), and

-Mandrakk (apparently the shadow side of Dax Novu, so are they BOTH aspects of the original COIE Monitor?)

In the 52 generation, we have:

-Prime Monitor Tahoteh (Is HE the original COIE Monitor?! What Earth does he monitor?)

-Monitor Ogama (He’s bad, and in league with Mandrakk. Is he “Bob?” What Earth does he monitor?)

-Nix Uotan (Earth-51. Exiled to New Earth/Earth-0. The “son” of Mandrakk…? If so, then also of Dax Novu?!)

-Weeja Dell (His main squeeze. What Earth does she monitor?)

-Zillo Valla (the vampire Monitress. What Earth does she Monitor?)

But the big question is the relationship between our original COIE Monitor, and the Dax/Mandrakk Monitors. Is the Mandrakk reveal a bigger deal than it seemed, because he was actually the original Monitor from 1985?

The Crisis on Infinite Earths Monitor either died as we saw him in Crisis or he was Dax.

Either reading can be justified. Morrison left it intentionally vague. I like it better as Dax being the Crisis Monitor.

As for that other stuff, I don't believe we've been given answers to any of that particular stuff, except Ogama and Zillo Valla, who monitored the Vampire Batman world and the Dark Knight Returns world, respectively (that was a nice little touch having Ogama actually monitoring a vampire world, making him much more susceptible to falling prey to a vampiric being like Mandrakk).

ticknart asked:

Who killed Hawkman and Hawkgirl?

Does this mean there are no more Hawks in the DCU?

Lord Eye, basically.

So Maxwell Lord killed Blue Beetle and his brainwaves killed Hawkman and Hawkgirl!!! Bummer!!

And no, there will certainly be more Hawks. Morrison goes out of his way to play up the fact that the Hawks resurrect

Rob asked:

If Bruce Wayne was put through the “Omega” Experience when he was shot by Darkseid’s rays, who was the body that Superman was holding. Apparently, the rays make a person live the darkest moments of their lives as they could have been. People are physically transferred to these events and it looks like they disappear. The events are supposed to be so bad that they wind up dying. There was a body left behind: who was it? Bruce Wayne apparently survived this: how?

Likely this will be explained when Morrison returns to Batman in June (likely not IN June, but somewhere in his run).

And yes, the Omega Sanction does that to normal people, but Batman is not normal, hence him surviving.

And as I mentioned before, with everything going on (including just having been shot), I think it's fair to say the Omega Sanction had odd effects this time around, namely a corpse being left behind.

On another subject:

Why did Barry have to return? Was he outrunning the god-of-death into Darkseid and that is how the big bad is defeated? I thought Batman shot him with a hyper-time-bullet or something? Or did Wonder Woman bind Darkseid and the magic lasso took him out? I don’t understand why it had to be Barry, AND how Darkseid actually died.

The "gods" released Barry because they needed someone to bring the Black Racer to Darkseid. Well, if you're going to release someone from the Black Racer, you need someone who is not going to just get caught by the Black Racer right away, right? So that's why they chose Barry - he literally was outrunning death.

As for who killed Darkseid - Batman shoots him and weakens him enough that the Flashes are able to get close to him, which basically kills him as a corporeal being. While holding on to the corporeal body, though, Wonder Woman binds him and breaks the bond he had over however many billions of humans. Finally, as a non corporeal being, he is ultimately vanquished by Superman.

For a dude as evil as Darkseid, you needed a LOT of people to stop him, in this case, you needed possibly the four most famous superheroes in the DC Universe (them and Ambush Bug would be the Top Five).

Rob also asked:

The original Crisis was about condensing infinite worlds into one.

Infinite Crisis was about expanding the amount of worlds into at least 52.

What was Final Crisis’ overarching story about? Was it to end the works of Jack Kirby in the DCU? Did it expand or condense the amount of worlds in the multi-verse?

Final Crisis was about expanding the multiverse and getting rid of the Monitors, basically "freeing" the stories of the DC Universe from those who want to suck the life and joy out of them.

Angus asked:

How did Black Lightning know the sigil that he showed to the Tattooed Man (who showed it to the Ray, who put it on the Earth)?

Unknown, as Black Lightning never got a chance to explain where he got it from before he was captured by the Justifiers.

Let's say he got it from....hmmmm....Moe.

muffinpeddlar asked a whooooooooole lot of questions:

just read to try not to repeat questions. Lots of people seem to share my Mandrakk confusion.

Morrison has a history of fiction about fiction. The limbo in Superman Beyond seems to be the same one from Animal Man. That being said, do the monitors represent writers? Is Mandrakk a “dark writer” writing the end to everything, but since Superman is so pure he is able to defy the writer and make it a happy ending?

Most likely, yes.

They say that Frankenstein was important because he was immune to Morticoccus, a disease that steals super-powers. But no one seemed to have lost their powers at all.

Snapper Carr lost his powers in Final Crisis: Resist! But yeah, for the most part, we didn't see many people lose their powers. My best guess is that for a story with this much story to be packed in, they felt it wasn't worth showing the people withOUT powers.

How can Catwoman be a justifier when it took her “months” to recover from Hush taking her heart, even though “Heart of Hush” is directly before R.I.P?

I would say "time distortion" (which fits here unlike Justice League of America), but really, it was just a mix-up on Paul Dini's part. I doubt he was particularly following Final Crisis closely.

Dr. Light is killed during Final Crisis. How can his remains be central to what seems like a pre-crisis JLA arc?

Mix-up on the part of Justice League of America.

Did the Supermen and the GL Corps literally rebuild the earth? How is that possible?

They just dragged the Earth back from the abyss. Superman rebuilt the world with the Miracle Machine. It is possible because the machine does miracles.

Were Green Arrow and Black Canary supposed to have died?

They looked close to death, but they were most likely saved after they passed out and were then revived.

When Darkseid fell through time, did he land during or around Infinite Crisis? That would account for 7 Soldiers and with the Dark Side Club being on earth for two years and make some sense with countdown.

Sounds about right, time-wise.

When did Boss Dark Side die? Did i miss it?

Between issues #1 and #2 of Final Crisis.

How exactly did Barry Allen return to life?

If there is any "exact" explanation for how he came back, I'm sure we will learn it in Flash: Rebirth. For now, his return was anything but exact.

Are Manos and Menos dead?

I think this was left intentionally vague. If no one wants to ever use them again, yes. If someone wants to use them again, no, they were just knocked out.

Why is Mirror Master working for Libra? In Rogues Revenge he’s dead set against it.

Rogues' Revenge is set after he worked for Libra. Presumably he had a change of heart.

What the hell is Command D?

It's where Darkseid's minions do experiments on people and animals.

Why does everyone act like they barely know the New Gods? Some of them were JLA members.

Some of the Justice League DO barely know the New Gods.

But yeah, that was a retcon Morrison wanted for Final Crisis, that while the New Gods still did interact with the Justice League (and they don't say otherwise in Final Crisis #1), they were seen as a lot more distant than, say, Lightray palling around with Blue Beetle.

When and why was Earth 51 destroyed? Was that in countdown?

Yeah, that was in Countdown.

That was one of the plot points that Countdown DID set up nicely for Morrison and Final Crisis.

It was destroyed by Monarch and Super(boy? man?) Prime and was replaced by a new Earth-51, which was then decimated by a virus.

Are the monitors messed up because story has entered their world? Zillo Valla says “Time has entered our timeless world. Beginnings and Endings.”

They are messed up because they're obsessed with stories, yeah.

Why did Anthro get transported to Kamandi’s world? Why was it never touched on after issue 1?

He didn't, that was Nix Uotan manipulating the multiverse, allowing Kamandi to visit Anthro in #1 and Dan Turpin in #2 in a failed attempt to avert Final Crisis.

Just explain everything with Superyoung Team. They confuse me.

They're just a team of young Japanese heroes. That's really it.

Did Nix Uotan ever find the “Magic word that would take him home?” What was it?

Yeah, it was "Weeja," the name of the woman he loved.

Why is Bludhaven around? Didn’t Monarch turn it into a crater?

It still basically is a crater, just a crater that still houses Command D.

How is Superman keeping Lois’ heart beating with heat vision?

When he says "heat vision," he means "infra-ray vision." People often conflate infra-rays with heat anyways.

In any event, Superman is using his infra-ray vision to massage her heart, keeping it beating.

Mary Marvel infected Wonder Woman with some kind of disease. Was that Morticoccus?

Yes.

“Darkseid is sitting at the center of a personal singularity.” Okay….that means what?

In this sense, think of a singularity like a black hole. So Darkseid existing (when he was intended to be dead) is like a black hole existing in one person in the middle of the Multiverse, which is why it is causing so much havoc in the Multiverse.

How did the GL Corps wind up in the bleed in issue 6?

They fell into the bleed at the end of Final Crisis #5.

Can the panels in issue 7 be put into a chronological order?

Yes.

So are the New Gods on Earth 51?

Yes.

Sylar Wesker asked:

OKay after re-reading some teases and interviews this is what I need to know:

1) DC #0, how does that show Darkseid falling through the Multiverse? I mean honestly, unless you read that somewhere else in a Morrison interview, how were supposed to know that?

There is a drawing of a dude who looks like Darkseid "falling" through the pages. There are even "gaps" in the pages where the dude "falls through."

2) All this hype about Libra, yet nothing explains (a) how he was immune to the Spectre? (b) There were interviews where Grant said “What’s going on under mask will be revealed (ALL STAR GRANT MORRISON I: Final Crisis, Comic Book Resources, April 15, 2008)” yet we get some origin that seemed rushed, and not in the main series nonetheless. Does that mean there was a a GRANDER scheme or idea for him? I mean what about that JLA #21 reference of him being an alien warlord?

A. Yep, you're right, that was never explained. Libra will likely return, so we may learn then!

B. No, no grander scheme, besides Libra's likely return in the future!

3) THose comics with the SIGHTINGS were supposed to have a connection somehow right? in “DC Nation” #110 thats what they said, yet I think only one was tied in.

Yeah, that was a mix-up by DC. They dropped the SIGHTINGS thing soon afterward, right? Justice League of America #21 was pretty big, though, as it featured the Human Flame.

4) What about all that information the Final Crisis scrap book provided?

They came up with more ideas than they ended up using in the project, yes.

5) Granny Goodness was in a fat black lady, then a green lantern, and then back in a black lady right?

Not in Final Crisis, she wasn't.

6) What happened to Infinity Man? Where does he fit into all this? And the SOurce, has a personality in DOtNG but none in FC?

As mentioned above, Death of the New Gods does not really fit in with Final Crisis, besides the basic "all the New Gods died" part.

7) Gog of the 3rd world had no influence in FC? Why not?

Morrison did not want to use Gog of the 3rd world in this story, likely as Geoff Johns and Alex Ross were doing plenty with him in Justice Society of America.

8 ) What about all the other gods? Why weren’t they involved?

The other gods began to get involved at the end of Final Crisis #7. If things got worse, they might have ALL had to get involved. Luckily, it did not get to that point.

9) That Aquaman scene seem to come from nowhere, why?

To return an old school, unencumbered by continuity Aquaman to the DC Universe.

10) All this hype about Barry Allen coming back, yet all he really did was runaway from the Black Racer. And that is the grand re-entrance that will displace Wally? Please tell me there was supposed to be more?

He was the only one who COULD run away from the Black Racer and not get caught.

And yes, there will be a whole mini-series written by Geoff Johns explicitly detailing the changeover from Wally to Barry (if that is what happens at all).

11) How is this what Grant said “The final fate of the multiverse”? It seemed like just another Darkseid story.

Is this even a question?

In any event, this got rid of the Monitors (it was THEIR "Final Crisis") and returned the multiverse of old, thereby giving what Morrison would term "the final fate of the multiverse."

12) Wasn’t the first page supposed to have Anthro and the last page have Kamandi? What happened there?

Morrison changed his mind.

13) If there was a war in heaven, and evil won, how/why did Darkseid fall from heaven? Does that mean then that good really won? Or is his defeat in FC #7 the event that made him fall to begin with and heaven was on Earth where he was reborn after Orion killed him a 2nd time…

Evil won by Darkseid escaping death, forestalling the creation of the Fifth World.

14) What exactly is the Anti-Monitor’s connection then to the Monitors?

He was one-half (the evil half) of the original probe that the Over-Monitor sent into the Multiverse.

Since he is apart from the following group of Monitors, when they ceased to exist, he remained, thereby allowing future Geoff Johns stories to be told.

Rob R. asked:

Will this really be the “final” crisis? At least for the next year or so?

That's the thing about the title, this IS the final crisis - for the monitors. As for the heroes of Earth, if you view "Crisis" as having to do with restructuring the multiverse, then this likely WILL be the last crisis for the foreseeable future.

capt__proton asked:

I have two very straight and simple question:

1) What happened to the New Gods and the Forever People of New Genesis? Why couldn’t or didn’t they appear in the main narrative? Why was it that Darkseid and all of his cast/minions (i.e. Kalibak, Granny Goodness, Desaad, etc.) were are able to inhabit host bodies, but the audience never saw the New Gods of the ‘Fifth World’?

They all died.

As mentioned earlier, only Darkseid escaped - his minions exist only as aspects of Darkseid himself.

We will meet the New Gods of the Fifth World now that the Fifth World was allowed to come into existence.

2) What was the role of Mister Miracle in Final Crisis? If he could overcome the Omega Sanction placed on him in ‘Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle’ Miniseries, presumably as a result of discovering the Life-Equation/ the ‘Source’, then what need would Mister Miracle have for Metron’s symbol?

I only ask because in the Final Crisis Skectchbook, there were a ton of illustrations of the New Gods, and then the only time we get to see them is in a single panel in the last issue.

Mister Miracle was fine HIMSELF, but he wanted to help the people of Earth, as well.

And as for the sketches, those never got used as Morrison and Jones came up with more ideas than they had room to use.

Dave asked:

Related to the Final Crisis sketchbook, what was the point of devoting it almost entirely to characters that never actually appeared or were alluded to in the series itself, such as the redesigned versions of Desaad, Granny Goodness and the Forever People (like Big Bear with a Darkseid T-Shirt,) not to mention the Japanese heroes like Ultimon, Cosmo Racer, Boss Bosozuko, Hammersuit Zero-X and basically anybody in this book that wasn’t Mister Miracle, Darkseid, Turpin, Libra, or the Super Young Team?

I mean, were these character supposed to be featured at one point, and Morrison had to write them out, or did he just sell a book largely consisting of sketches and biographies for characters he never actually intended on using?

It was as it was advertised, a sketchbook that they came up with. In fact, BECAUSE they did not end up having room for these characters that they spent time designing thinking of, they likely figured it made sense to share these ideas and characters with people through a different format.

In addition, while these ideas and characters did not make it into Final Crisis, they likely will all be factors in future appearances of said characters, especially the Japanese Heroes (who will be starring in their own Joe Casey-penned Final Crisis Aftermath mini-series!).

mentalpatient asked:

Did the GLs spend the better part of the second half of the series perpetually flying towards Earth, only to be summoned at the end by Nix Uoton?

They basically were stuck in a holding pattern from the end of #5 to the end of #7, but they seemed to free themselves on their own by my reading.

I agree with a who’s who of the monitors is needed.

Here's a who's who of the Monitors that you need to know in Final Crisis:

Over-Monitor - The dude who got everything going.

Monitor/Anti-Monitor - Two halves of a probe the Over-Monitor sent into the Multiverse to study it. One became good, the other became evil. The Anti-Monitor is still running around somewhere.

Dax Novu/Mandrakk - The founder of the society of Monitors who was shunned when he figured out that the Monitors were actually cosmic vampires feeding off of stories, eventually was corrupted into Mandrakk while in exile. He could POSSIBLY be the Monitor mentioned above.

Nix Uotan - Soon of Dax, the good Monitor who was banished to Earth by the evil Monitor Ogama. He later becomes the only Monitor left on Earth (who is still a Monitor). He is the direct connection to the Over-Monitor.

Weeja Dell - Nix's love, and the way he was able to access his powers on Earth.

Zillo Valla - Lover of Mandrakk (mother of Nix?).

Rox Ogama - The evil Monitor who organized Nix's banishment and who later serves Mandrakk.

There's some other ones, but their names are unimportant (incompetent leader #1, incompetent leader #2, etc.).

I also don’t see how Frankenstein was able to heal WW. By having her get bitten by a huge dog?

It is not explained, but you know what's interesting? Remember when I mentioned that they likely just gave her an antidote off panel? Wouldn't it be kinda cool if the "huge dog" (looks like Fenris to me) was the delivery system for the antidote? You know, like they knew conventional needles might not work, so they used a dog's bite to deliver the antidote! That would be cool, and that really establishes what "really" happened, which was that Morrison left it up to the reader's imagination to determine exactly how Wonder Woman was cured.

Why is it that when Batman shot Darkseid, the bullet didn’t go back in time? Was it because when Darkseid was shown shooting the gun, it was at the Flashes? Did the Flashes send the bullet through time and accidentally kill Orion?

It was Darkseid who caused the bullet to travel through time, so Batman shooting it wouldn't do anything (time-wise).

The scene in #1 with Kamandi and Anthro (whose identity I only know because of the internet) still needs to be explained to me.

Multiverse fluctuation by Nix Uotan allowed Kamandi to show up to warn Anthro in #1 and Dan Turpin in #2.

I concur with the artist breakdown.

See above.

Not that I expect an answer from this, but I would like to know how much of the story was changed in progress (which has to have happened; see @Sylar Wesker #12) as well as how much is attributed to Jones leaving the book.

Morrison says he only changed one thing (the Batman page).

Time will tell if that is the whole story.

Grico asked:

Just some basic:

So Libra was just the one-shot Libra villian from an old Justice League issue? Did we get any clarification of where he was during that time or was working on being reconstituted the whole time? How exactly did he fit with any idea of balance when Darkseid seemed to want total victory for evil? What important role did Libra have other than distracting people a bit while Darkseid and friends got reconstituted in human bodies?

Yes, that was the same Libra. Len Wein wrote a story in Final Crisis: Secret Files explaining how Libra hooked up with Darkseid. I believe his "balance" take was that Darkseid is so powerful he overpowers the very idea of balance.

So I am right in the Human Flame doing nothing after getting Martian Manhunter killed?

Yep.

Now he will be running for his life from heroes looking for revenge.

Do we have any indication of time/history changing or should we just see this as a point in history where bad things happened but everything got restored to normal afterwards?

Yeah, the latter option.

I feel like the delay in issues really killed my ability to follow what was going on besides the general themes and general plot. I’m going to read everything sequentially with the tie-ins included in one sitting once I get the time.

Okay.

See the above reading orders to see what order to read them in!

CharlyAR asked:

What happened to Batman?

Lost in time and space.

What happened to Darkseid?

He died.

Who or what was Libra?

He is basically just Darkseid's agent on Earth.

Why did Superman “sing” some note?

To achieve the perfect pitch to counteract the multiverse vibrational waves that Darkseid was existing on (Darkseid's last grasp at avoiding death).

What is the Omega Sanction?

This power of Darkseid, it has unpredictable qualities to it, but mostly it transports people through time and space (usually killing the person it zaps)

What’s going on with the monitors? Why were they like vampires? Where do you find information about them? The last time I saw them, they were fighting Monarch (Captain Atom)??? I don’t understand anything about Superman Beyond.

The Monitors secretly have been feeding on the worlds they are monitoring, parasite/vampire-style. Superman Beyond explains it all, and I explained Superman Beyond above.

What is the bleed? Where is Captain Atom?

The Bleed is just another term for the multiverse.

I am pretty sure Captain Atom's whereabouts are unknown at the moment.

What did Batman mean when he said to Kraken “he has a nice punch” or something like that in the beggining of Final Crisis?

Batman noticed the imprint of John's ring on Kraken's hand, which allowed him to realize that it was Kraken who assaulted John. His remark about John having a nice right hook shows that he knows that John managed to punch her before she took him down.

What did just happen with Vandal Savage history? He was a cromagnon man. Now is something related with the bible?

One interpretation is that Savage is considered to have been the original Cain of the Bible, but I don't think that's definitive. Feel free to just view him as you always have.

What finnaly happened with the New Gods?

The New Gods of the Fifth World appear at the end of Final Crisis. We shall see what they are in the future.

And above everything: Is there a “final” COHERENT read order with ties-in? I mean, I still don’t know what happened with Aquaman, Wonder Woman, the Atoms, and half the DCU…

The tie-in reading order I give you above works decently, but not perfectly.

Only the Morrison-written comics really read together coherently.

Even there, certain aspects of the comic are left to the reader's imagination (or future writers) to fill in what happens.

Chris Jones asked:

Are ALL of the Monitors parasites, or just a few of them? It seemed like it was just a really small group that was feeding off of the Multiverse in Superman Beyond.

They all are, some of them are just more aggressive than others. Ogama, Zillo Valla and Mandrakk being the main "culprits."

muffinpeddlar asked:

I just read that Mary Marvel was posessed by Desaad. Did anybody catch that? and if we’re blaming her “dark streak” on Desaad, how do you explain countdown, and the current JSA arc?

Yeah, Final Crisis #5 hints that Desaad is possessing her and Final Crisis #6 confirms it. Morrison seems to suggest that he wanted that to fully explain her actions (again, with Countdown just not matching up to what he wanted very well).

However, as of right this very second it appears as though, based on her Justice Society of America appearances, she was already "bad" when Desaad took control of her body. HOWEVER, the Justice Society of America arc just began, so we don't know for sure what will happen there. It could all be a ruse of some kind.

looseleaf asked:

A timeline / reading order would really help -I only read the main series and it didn’t make a lick of sense…

See above.

Matt asked:

Why was Black Adam so weak against evil Mary Marvel and how could his gods be ‘far away’ like he stated and why would that even matter?

Likely, fluctuations with the multiverse are affecting Black Adams's attachments to his gods. It is admittedly left vague.

Did Final Crisis happen at the same time as Reign in Hell or is there another reason the DCU magic users weren’t seen much (if at all) during FC?

They might have been at the same time. Besides that, a number of magic-users did show up, and it is likely that if things got worse, more would have showed up (a la the Pax Dei).

Myskin asked:

1-Who is the hodded monkey-shape guy who talks to Nix Uotan in #5? Perhaps the type-writing monkey who wrote the Book Of Limbo?

It is kept vague, but besides Himon, the typewriting monkey is the next best guess (or possibly THE best guess, depending on your viewpoint). It certainly would explain how he knows so much about the power of stories.

2-In #7, Montoya is travelling through the Multiverse to collect the Supermen. Does that mean that the earth Ultima Thule was abandoned on - at the end of Superman Beyond 2 - is Earth-51 (where is recovered by Montoya)?

That sounds correct.

3- What’s the PRECISE timeline of Kamandi? In #1, Anthro sees him through a Miracle Machine graffiti - induced hallucination (doesn’t he?). But in #2, He is among the imprisoned guys in Bludhaven, and in #7 he makes some strange comments about a vision he had in a Bunker In addition: which vision is he talking about?. Which earth does Kamandi originally come from?

He is manifesting throughout time via fluctuations in the multiverse courtesy of Nix Uotan. So his timeline is anything but precise. As to what Earth, presumably Earth-51.

Sprout asked:

Is Earth 51 the Earth where all the Kirby 70s DC Comics (Fourth World, Kamandi, OMAC) happened ?

Basically, yes.

olokin asked:

Is Final Crisis the first appearance of the god killing radion?

No, it's from Kirby's Fourth World comics.

How was Wonder Woman turned to thralldom?

Anti-Life Equation, same as everyone else.

suedenim asked:

When the anti-life equation was first unleashed on Earth’s communications networks, the series of tubes, etc., what exactly determined who fell to it and who didn’t? Was it pure chance? Making a saving throw against willpower? (If simply being heavily-networked made you vulnerable, for example, you’d think Oracle and Checkmate would be the first to go, not the last.)

Length of exposure.

People who were "trapped" (like those shown in airplanes and subway stations) were screwed. If you could quickly tune out, you were saved. Oracle helped save a great deal of the world by "killing the net" at the end of Final Crisis #3. Even then, just a glimpse almost turned Oracle.

After that, it was just zombie style. If you got caught by an infected person, they would try to infect you.

(Oh, and speaking of that, what happened with Sasha Bordeaux after the Crisis was over?)

The notion was that she cut herself off so that she would not be enthralled to Darkseid. However, Mr. Terrific needed her to reboot to use her connections to the Checkmate computers, thus infecting her with the Anti Life Equation. She shut down again and if she ever woke up, she'd be infected with the Anti-Life Equation.

Since a cure was found, she is likely okay whenever she reboots.

We see later that a few people (and apparently *only* a *very* few, like Nix Uotan) were completely “immune” to anti-life, so that’s not it.

Agreed.

The Kize asked:

I’d like to echo the previous question(s) about the meeting between Anthro and Kamandi in issue #1.

Kamandi echoed through time via multiverse fluctuations courtesy of Nix Uotan.

Also, Morrison said in a pre-Final Crisis interview that his story would explain what the red skies were that appear during every DCU crisis. Was this explanation given in Final Crisis, and if so, what was it?

It is the "Bleed" from Warren Ellis' Authority, which is now part of the DC Universe, so Morrison is tying that to the DC Multiverse.

When the Multiverse is out of whack, the bleed is visible and the bleed is red (as you would imagine).

Ryan Frank asked:

Wow…thank you for attempting this; I share the confusion on most of these, and here are a few more (sometimes slight variations on prior ones) that are confusing the heck out of me:

1) At the end of the story, have the Monitors ceased to exist or have they all been changed into humans like Nix Uotan? If they’re all humans, I’m not sure why Weeja Dell would be acting like she was saying a Final Goodbye to Nix Uotan. Is Nix Uotan a human now, or does he still have the Vykin-like identity and powers?

They're all humans except for Nix, who still has his connection to the Over-Monitor.

2) How does Morrison’s conception of the Monitors fit in with their very-different portrayal in Countdown?

Basically, it doesn't.

Again, Countdown was meant to tie in to Final Crisis, not the other way around. However, due to the impracticality of writing a year-long comic well before the book it is intended to tie into, there were some contradictions. I would say that the Final Crisis conception would be the overriding one.

3) How does Morrison’s conception of the Monitors address the Anti-Monitor? You could say he’s just the Monitor of the anti-matter universe, but that doesn’t seem to fit in the Earths 0-51 scheme and it doesn’t seem likely that the other Monitors would accept one in their ranks whose goal was to destroy the rest of the Orrery. Was he erased from existence/turned into a human at the end as well? If so, how does that square with him being the power source for the Black Lanterns?

The Anti-Monitor was created before the rest of the Orrery, and he exists on a separate plane of existence than the rest of the Orrery and he remained around when they all vanished.

And most importantly…

4) Quoting from DC Universe 0, by Morrison and Johns (meaning that here we’re not talking about “it’ll set the direction of the DCU for years to come” marketing hype, we’re talking about in-story words by Final Crisis’ own author or at least written by Johns with Morrison’s presumed consent): “The first Crisis brought death to nearly all of creation. One lone universe was spared. A second crisis witnessed the resurrection of 52 new parallel universes. And so begins the Final chapter in the saga of the multiple earths. The Final Crisis.” Building off of Rob’s question about the overall multiple-earths story, how was this “the Final chapter in the saga of the multiple earths”? It must be in there somewhere and I’m just not finding it in the story, but how is the multiverse status quo different after Final Crisis than before it? You could maybe point to the removal of the Monitors (and a side question on that: if the Monitors are gone and their goal is to prevent an overabundance of travel between universes because that could cause another Crisis, as said in Countdown, wouldn’t their absence mean that the multiverse is now in imminent danger of collapse?) but, since the Monitors were only introduced as part of the buildup to Final Crisis, I have a hard time seeing their absence as a result of Final Crisis to be a real change in the status quo. It doesn’t really seem like it changed anything.

The first Crisis basically ended the Multiverse.

Infinite Crisis brought it back.

This Crisis effectively reversed the first Crisis.

It is the final chapter in the Multiverse (as much as anything is the "final" anything) because it re-establishes the DC Universe as it existed prior to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Effectively, all of the stories of the DC Universe are now "free" to be used.

Francisco Gonzalez asked:

Issue 1: Tatooedman takes Turpin to the Dark Side Club and later is part of the resistance. What’s his relation to Darkseid????

None. Tattoed Man is just working as a typical bad guy for a gangster (he didn't know said gangster was Darkseid in human flesh).

Kamandi comes (and goes) to Anthro for the weapon that Metron gave him against the gods. What was the point of this???? What does Kamandi does with it????

Presumably tried to give it to people at later dates to help stop Darkseid.

Submit: How did Black Lightning got the drawing of Metron’s mark????

Since Lightning is captured before he can tell anyone, the answer is unknown. A very likely theory is that Lightning was also visited by Kamandi with the sigil.

Superman Beyond 2: ?????????? A robot Superman with the conscience of the real one???? The Tomb????

Yeah, that was the robot that Dax built to defeat himself. It looks like Superman because Superman is, meta-fictionally, the first superhero story, and that has a lot of power in the world of the Monitors.

Issue 6: Lord Eye. Is this just a gratuitous remaking of Kirby’s OMAC or it did have any importance?

More likely it is just a fleeting idea, but it very well might show up in future stories of the Checkmate characters.

A cool re-design of Darkseid just to show him here wearing jeans and a fat belly?

Yes.

How was Wonder Woman liberated?

We do not know for sure. Possibly Frankenstein. Possibly the Ray.

Issue 7: The whole issue. Lord Eye and the Atoms. The Hawks. Where and why is Mr. Terrific.

He got transported to Earth-51 with the rest of the Checkmate folks.

Was the Earth shrunk, transported or re-made????

The second and third options.

Whose corpse was Superman carring if Batman is in the past????

We do not know yet. Morrison is back on Batman in June. We may learn then.

MRUDY asked:

Could you please provide the current status of the of those who took part or where effected by Final Crisis, specifically who at the end of this crisis is dead, missing, incapacitated, sent to a parallel world, etc . . .

Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter are dead.

Batman is lost in time and space.

The New Gods have returned to the Fifth World.

We shall see what became of the members of Checkmate.

HammerHeart asked:

Can somebody explain how the hell Superman was keeping Lois alive with his vision powers? I know it was Grant’s wafer-thin justification for keeping him out of the conflict until the climax, but HOW exactly did that work?

Infra-ray vision massaging her heart.

How are readers who only read “Final Crisis” (and none of the spinoffs) supposed to know who Mandrakk was when he appeared on the last issue?

Basically, you're not. Superman Beyond is "necessary" for the full story. That is why it is included in the Final Crisis hardcover, as it is part of Final Crisis proper.

sgt.pepper asked:

I would also like to know who Libra was. And if your answer is “the Anti-life equation personified,” then I want a better one. What the heck does that mean exactly and how did it happen?

Final Crisis: Secret Files gives his origin. He is basically just a super-powered guy who becomes an agent for Darkseid on Earth.

I think I know the answer the to this, and I’m not sure it matters in the grand scheme of things, but I’d like to know exactly when that Anthro meets Kamandi scene was supposed to be taking place.

In the past for Anthro, likely the future for Kamandi. Kamandi is appearing to Anthro as a sort of temporal vision.

And for that matter, is Anthro’s world just the past of Earth 0 (or whatever the regular DC universe earth is called), or is it another universe entirely? Is Kamandi from the future of Earth 0 or is he in a different universe entirely. And how does if they’re all from different universes, how does it make sense that they all would meet up? These things aren’t really necessary for understanding the series, but I’m curious as to how they would all line up.

It is unclear which world everyone is on, except to note that Kamandi likely is now, at least, on Earth-51.

As to how they would meet up, it was all through fractures in the multiverse. As for the odds, you could suggest the same higher beings who let the Flash loose had something to do with it.

Did the Zoo Crew actually do anything in that final showdown? Would the result have been the same if Nix hadn’t summoned them?

No, they were likely just there in case they were needed.

Nix there was basically just trying to come up with whatever he could to scare Mandrakk into backing down.

Also, why were Zauriel and the Pax Dei summoned? I don’t see them actually doing anything on panel. Would the end result have been the same if they hadn’t shown up? Was it just an intimidation thing?

Yeah, it was an intimidation thing.

Here’s another: is there any significance to the specific universes that each monitor supposedly monitored? For example, I’ve read some people argue that some monitor and his monitored earth was supposed to be a comment on Frank Miller’s affect on the DC universe. Any truth to this? Are there any other monitors that offer some kind of meta comment like this? For example, was Weeja Dell supposed to be the monitor of the Marvel Universe? Is her final conversation with Nix supposed to be some kind of meta conversation between the Big Two?

I would not be surprised if there was intended to be some meta-commentary there (and Weeja Dell sure does work as a Marvel character, doesn't she?), but it is not explicit in the text.

MarkMc asked:

“Final Crisis” is supposedly the culmination of a chain of events that started way back when Jean Loring took a walk on Sue Dibny’s brain in “Identity Crisis,” isn’t it? That series ended with Batman unsure of how Jean was motivated to do the deed, wondering “Who profits?” Was it Eclipso, manipulating a new potential host? Was it Darkseid, able to direct a simple incident that led to the creation of 52 entire universes (as more fuel for Anti-Life perhaps?) It was through his eyes that Al Luthor saw an escape from the collapse of the Anti-Monitor, problem being it ran through Apokalips, and decided better to hide in the crystal universe. Can all these event series of the past five years be tied together with Darkseid as the prime mover? Way back in COIE, He did choose not to take part in the battles, perhaps realizing an opportunity for a long-range plan.

Could be!

Unlikely (as I don't believe Grant Morrison viewed Final Crisis as the culimination of a chain of events that started way back when Jean Loring took a walk on Sue Dibney's brain in "Identity Crisis"), but surely possible!

What the hell is on Earth-1? The original Silver versions of the DCU?

I don't believe it has been established as of yet.

Dan Larkin asked:

Are the Super Young Team the “Forever People of the 5th World”?

It certainly appears that way, doesn't it?

But I think that's intended by Morrison to be left to later writers to make explicit.

Gimp asked:

I’m interested in an examination of every Final Crisis plot point that was lifted by Countdown. For instance:

* Mary Marvel turns evil… because of Darkseid!

* There are 52 Monitors and they are evolving at a rapid rate!

* Orion: Killed by Darkseid!

* Earth-51: Destroyed, then turned into Kamandi-world!

* A war devastates Apokalypse!

* There is an evil Monitor!

It’s possible that Morrison actually revised bits of Final Crisis/Superman Beyond to reflect Countdown, but I’m sure most of it was the other way around.

That sounds about right. And yeah, I also am sure that Morrison is unlikely to have changed any of his bits to match Countdown. I think he was diametrically opposed to such an idea.

Ryan Frank asked:

I’d also join in the call for a coherent reading sequence for FC #7. I think most of my difficulties in deciphering the plot of that issue came from trying to piece together the chronology.

You guys are going to be the death of me!

All right, all right, I'll put the issue into chronological order. Note that this likely will sound a lot more complicated than it really was, but fair enough, if you want it, you got it!

Pages 8-12

Roughly the same time - Pages 14, 15 and the bottom panel of 16 and Page 18, bottom four panels of 19, middle panel of 20, middle panel of 21.

Pages 5-7, top of 16, top of 19, Page 13, Top and Bottom Panels of page 20, Bottom Panel of Page 21.

Around that same time, Pages 1-4, All But the Last Panel of Page 17

Pages 22-35, with likely the Top Panel of Page 21 and the Last Panel of Page 17 taking place around the time of Page 30.

Pages 36 and 37 are of indeterminate time. Likely Pre-Historic Past, but who knows?

sgt pepper asked:

Did Darkseid use the bullet that Batman shot at him to fire back in time to shoot Orion (I’m guessing yes—was this what Superman meant when he told Darkseid it was suicide? That firing the bullet into the past would guarantee that Batman would find it and would then use it against him? And if so, could Darkseid have chosen not to fire the bullet, and what would the results of that decision have been?)? So Darkseid got the bullet from Batman, and Batman got the bullet from Darkseid (from the past)? So where did the bullet come from in the first place? What about the gun? Did Batman build the gun that Darkseid eventually fired?

It really depends on what your particular theory of time travel is, isn't it? Some say he could choose not to fire it, some say he would not be able to avoid it.

Why was Barry Allen necessary? If Darkseid was dying, wouldn’t the Black Racer have come after him even if the Flash hadn’t led him there (Batman and Superman found Darkseid, but Death couldn’t?)? And why would the Black Racer stop chasing Barry just because Darkseid got in the way? Wouldn’t Death continue after Barry once Darkseid was dispatched?

Darkseid avoided the Black Racer already, so the "gods" needed someone to bring the Black Racer to him, and the only guy who could outrun the Black Racer would be Barry.

And Death was apparently sated with just the one "person who should be dead" meal.

How did the Japanese heroes get to that final battle with all the Supermen? And why are they there at all? What purpose do they serve in that final battle? They’re not supposed to be the Forever People from the 5th world summoned by Nix are they? The Japanese heroes actually show up before Nix summons the Forever people with the word, “Taaru.”

Looks like they are intended to be the Forever People of the 5th World. Note that no one else gets summoned when he says it, so he's likely just saying what he had just done.

What is the significance of the Green Lantern cymbal monkey? Whose ring created it and what is it doing there?

I believe it is just Granny Goodness' bizarre sense of humor. Note that it is not just a monkey, but a monkey dressed as a Guardian. She is mocking the Guardians as she uses one of their "infallible" weapons of truth to assault an honored member of the Green Lantern Corps.

In issue two, when Kraken momentarily regains control of her mind, she says “Tell them our weapons don’t work.” Who is “them” and what weapons is she talking about? I can’t think of any failing weapons being significant to the plot of this story.

Presumably the Alpha Lanterns are the weapons created by the Guardians who do not work against the evil of the evil Gods.

How does it make sense that Kamandi is in the cages in Comand D saying “They’re making us slaves” in issue two? How did he get there? Isn’t he from the future? Is Morrison writing the origin of Kamandi here? Is it consistent with the old Kamandi stories?

Temporal vision of Kamandi via Nix Uotan.

How is it that in the final issue, we see Wonder Woman crush the mask she’d been wearing to dust, but in another panel, the mask is being displayed in the JLA trophy room?

Remember, the story is told out of sequence. She later takes the mask from the trophy room and crushes it.

Willie asked:

At what point chronologically did Wonder Woman put the kids in freezer pops. Was that before or after she smashed her mask and bound darkseid…

Before she smashed the mask (but possibly RIGHT before she smashed the mask, although I believe it was well before she smashed the mask) and after she bound Darkseid.

Mike Loughlin asked:

Do you think Morrison left some of the minor plot points (e.g. what the Hawks and Atoms were up to) vague intentionally because part of the Final Crisis reading experience was that the reader creates his own version of the story to go with what’s on the page?

Partially, yes, I think that was exactly what he was doing at times.

Amy Grayson asked:

At the risk of repeating a question (I tried to read as many up there already), how were the Justifiers “recruited”? Were they “possessed” and then they just worked together? Was that Elasti-Girl or Giganta?

Yeah, they were possessed and then they would recruit other people by exposing them to the Anti-Life Equation.

That was Giganta.

Overgirl, according to FC: Secret Files, was the first successful *experiment* using genetic material from Overman, but then is referenced as his cousin, making her seem more like an alternate Kara Zor-El than “Kon-El”. Which is it?

It could very well be both - she was an experiment that he viewed as his cousin, just like Conner Kent was like part of Superman's "family."

I never picked up Superman Beyond, I just thought I’d actually be able to know what was going on in the series itself, I guess I was wrong, but how did that “Legion of Supermen” happen, how was Earth-5 Captain Marvel recruited etc.

Yeah, you more or less need Superman Beyond for the whole story. Luckily, it will be in the Final Crisis hardcover!

Earth-5 Captain Marvel was recruited in Superman Beyond.

With regard to Countdown, I get the Monitors connection, and the anti-life thing, but was there supposed to be anything further with Harley and Holly? What happened with Pied Piper?

Those plots basically went nowhere for now, at least. Pied Piper popped up in Rogues' Revenge, though!

Did Barry Allen never actually die if he became part of the Speed Force, and either way, how is that explained anyway? I never understood how if Barry was “dead” but Wally and Family lived there and grew up, and the same with Bart?

They did not live in the Speed Force, but some other dimension they accessed via the Speed Force.

And merging with the Speed Force is basically like death.

Finally, and I don’t really expect an answer to this, but what is Morrison’s beef with the whole BDSM gear stuff … I mean why did he feel that gear should be attributed to all things evil? Darker than “the norm” I can understand, but it offends me if it’s put out as evil. Not to mention that Desaad was supposed to wear high heels under his robe, it’s like he’s saying cross dressers are deviant or just weird enough for Darkseid kind of thing.

I do not know.

Loren asked:

In Final Crisis #1, it’s said that Nix Uotan’s negligence is responsible for the loss of Earth 51, and Uotan responds that he “arrived too late to save Earth. There was sabotage, I swear.” A couple of pages later, Zillo Valla says “Ogama fears we have become contaminated during contact with the obscure lifeforms that grow within the workings of the orrery.”

In Final Crisis #7, Nix Uotan says “And here: the plan I used to reconstruct Earth 51, destroyed by Ogama’s treachery.”

I think these are the only references to “Ogama” or “Earth 51? in Final Crisis, even though these details seem kinda important to Uotan’s plotline. So who is Ogama? What happened to Earth 51? What was Uotan’s supposed negligence? And what treachery of Ogama’s led to the destruction of Earth 51? And why should any of this make a lick of sense?

Basically a case of Countdown not syncing up with Final Crisis.

Just imagine that Ogama was behind Solomon doing the messed up stuff to Earth-51 in Countdown.

Whose hairy hands were handling the drawings (of Weeja Dell and the Nazi Superman) at the end of Final Crisis #5?

Best guesses seem to be Himon or the Monkey from Morrison's Animal Man.

Basically, he is unknown.

Amy Grayson asked:

Oh yeah, one last thing, when the Monitors first appeared way back when now, we saw in the center, an Anti-Monitor. Is that THE Anti-Monitor, and if so, how was it that he was just there and the other Monitors didn’t care, and allowed him to be exploited for use by Sinestro, and then is the heart of the Black Lantern? If Harlequin/ Joker’s Daughter was such an aberration needed to be killed, wouldn’t A-M’s departure figure in as pretty big too? Is Blackest Night really a Crisis sequel considering that we know now that two heroes who have died during two Crises are confirmed as Black Lanterns?

The Anti-Monitor is not tied in to the other Monitors, so they wouldn't view his existence the same way as people like Harlequin/Joker's Daughter.

sgt. pepper asked:

The monkey-behind-the-typewriter’s hairy hands?

Very possible!

Linda D asked:

Did Trinity take place before Final Crisis? Is New Krypton after? In Teen Titans we see Wonder Girl in a new costume, and Tim leaving apparently due to R.I.P., but in Wonder Woman, she is seen in her prior costume? Does that mean ‘Olympians is before R.I.P; and thus before Final Crisis? It seems like all over the place!

Final Crisis is intended to be set in the "recent past" of the DC Universe, but beyond that, it is really up to the respective DC books to figure out where it lands in respect to each title. There will certainly be some contradictions - there always are.

But specifically, I imagine Trinity predates Final Crisis while New Krypton follows it.

Oh by the way, someone asked about SIGHTINGS earlier, apparently that is intended for books that are just important to DC Comics PERIOD, not Final Crisis specifically.

Ronn K. asked:

I echo the requests for a reading order for FC tie-ins.

Okay.

And as I asked elsewhere in a similar vein, will the FC TPB, supposedly scheduled for release in April, be just a compilation of the 7 issues or will the other FC tie-in titles like “Rogue’s Revenge”, “Legion of Three Worlds”, “Superman Beyond”, etc. be included as well?

The Final Crisis Hardcover will include: Final Crisis #1-7, Superman Beyond #1-2 and Final Crisis Submit #1.

ZZZ asked:

This might not ring a bell with anyone, and I wish I could give an issue number (I want to say 2 or 3, but I could be wrong - heck, it could have been in one of the tie-ins and I’m completely misremembering) but at one point fairly early on, I could swear there was a scene on the JLA satellite, and in the foreground, unseen by the characters in the scene, we see what appear to be shrunken heroes trapped in bottles. At the time, I remember thinking that was supposed to be an explanation of where the heroes who were missing at the time were, and that later we’d find out how they got there … Did I just imagine that, or was there some explanation?

No, you didn't imagine that, it was in Final Crisis #4.

It was in the JLA trophy room, so my best bet it was some tribute to a past case.

But maybe it is some secretive clue to a future story!

Oh, and how did Batman escape while he was Darkseid’s minions’ prisoner? When I read it, I just chalked it up to “he’s Batman” and assumed a panel of him slipping his bonds was just implied, but from what I’ve seen online, that was actually explained somewhere. Could someone sum it up in a sentence or two?

In Batman #682-683, Batman is being tortured by Darkseid's minions using the mind-thief The Lump. Batman basically turns the table on the Lump, and the bad guys have to basically kill the Lump. However, as the Lump dies, Batman (who is still linked to the Lump telepathically) gets the Lump to agree to help him (in return, Batman will avenge the Lump's death) and so Batman gives the Lump a telepathic boost to allow it to make one last movement before it dies. Said movement is to release Batman from captivity.

Juisarian asked:

Where did Captain Marvel come from? Last I heard he was hanging in limbo doing the wizard in his white costume.

This is the Captain Marvel from Earth-5. He first shows up in Superman Beyond.

ticknart asked:

Did anything actually change for the main DCU because of Final Crisis? (And Batman “dying” doesn’t count.)

Is it actually the “5th world,” even though all the New Gods are alive again?

The Hawks and Martian Manhunter are dead and the Multiverse is now known to the world.

Mika Oksanen asked:

Exactly what happened to the Monitors in the end? Ryan Frank already asked this, and Morrison’s exit interview answers part of his question, but as far as I can see leaves a lot still unclear.. Morrison says in his exit interview that “Monitor-Mind has worked through its own Ultimate Story and spared Nix Uotan to be its sole representative and interface with the Multiverse”. Does this imply (along with statements in the last issue like “make your peace” and “this really is the last day”) that the rest of the Monitors were destroyed? Or does it just imply (along with Nix’s mention of withdrawal in his speech to the Circle of Monitors) that the Monitors are cut off from interacting with the Multiverse but remain in existence? If they are destroyed then how does this happen? Do they destroy themselves (as Nix’s reference to what they have to sacrifice suggests, though how could the rest of the Monitors agree to go along with a suicidal plan?) or does the Monitor-Mind wipe them out? In either case, if they are all destroyed, then how can Nix Uotan say to Weeja Dell that Superman “wished only the best for all of us…He wished for a happy ending”? If the Monitors except for Nix are all destroyed it is surely not a happy ending for them. Genocide is not a happy ending! In either case it is not a happy ending even for Nix, as he loses Weeja for ever. Does this just imply that there are limits even to the Miracle Machine’s power so that it can provide a happy ending for others only at the cost of a bad ending for the Monitors? Is Nix’s last speech with Weeja meant to be a bit ironic?

They are not destroyed, they are reborn as humans, with only Nix, however, regaining his connection to the Over-Monitor.

And yes, there definitely are limitations to what a "happy ending" can provide (note that Superman does not bring Batman or the Hawks or J'onn back).

That said, I don't think it was meant to be ironic because I don't believe Superman's wish destroyed the Monitors. I think the Over-Monitor determined (through Nix) that the Monitors were to end. I think that was not connected to Superman's wish for a happy ending, so when Nix told her what Superman wished, I'm sure Superman (had it been in control) would have wanted a happy ending for them, as well.

That said, it is certainly left open to interpretation whether Superman's wish directly led to their vanishing or not.

Of course, if Weeja is reborn as a human, there is always the opportunity for Nix to find her out there among the germs, Zauriel-style.