When Crisis on Infinite Earths hit the shelves back in 1985, the fans never could have expected such a large-scale turning point in the history of DC Comics. Yet, Crisis on Infinite Earths changed everything. It changed history by first explaining it and then destroying it, and it also changed the future by creating a new, unified future for DC Comics. Since Crisis on Infinite Earths was a Multiverse-scale event, practically every character that has ever appeared in DC’s publications was influenced by it, Batman included. It is exactly Batman who will be the main topic of today’s article.
Batman is present in Crisis on Infinite Earths, but his overall role in the events features in the crossover was quite small and he could be considered a secondary character as far as this event is concerned.
In today’s article, I am going to be discussing Batman’s role in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover events. You are going to find out whether Batman appeared in the story and in what capacity, but also whether his trusted sidekick, Robin, made an appearance in Crisis on Infinite Earths, the event that changed the DC Universe in 1985. Enjoy!
Does Batman appear in Crisis on Infinite Earths?
If you’re not exactly sure what Crisis on Infinite Earths is about, here is a brief synopsis taken from the cover of the 35th Anniversary Edition of the famous comic book event:
“All the greatest DC heroes from across time and space join forces to stop a being more powerful than any they’ve ever faced–a mysterious being known as the Anti-Monitor who has begun a crusade across time to bring about the end of all existence. First published in 1985, Crisis on Infinite Earths is an unforgettable and defining event in comics history, a 12-issue series that rocked the comics’ community, tragically dooming some of DC’s most beloved characters and drastically altering others. From writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez, Crisis on Infinite Earths finds the alternate worlds that once were a hallmark of the DC Universe under siege by a mysterious force powerful enough to wipe out the lives of billions.”
As you can see, the DC Universe was faced with an incomprehensible foe in the form of the menacing Anti-Monitor, a being from the antimatter universe who threatened to completely obliterate the whole Multiverse, as it had been established up to that point. Although only several characters had the spotlight in this series, the whole Multiverse was actually affected by these events, including all its characters.
I have already talked about the plot and the event’s ending in another article, so you can read that if you want more information on how the plot actually evolved and why it was so important.
Here, I am going to focus on Batman. Now, the first question is related to Batman’s appearance, i.e., whether the Dark Knight has even appeared in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Well, as I said that the event encompassed the whole Multiverse, Batman did really feature in Crisis on Infinite Earths and he has several moments where he is in the spotlight, although all of them were secondary narrative-wise.
What was Batman’s role in Crisis on Infinite Earths?
As far as Batman’s role in Crisis on Infinite Earths is concerned, it is rather unimportant. He does play some part in the initial dealings, but once the fight against the Anti-Monitor begins, he is not of much use because he lacks the powers that could be useful in a fight against the cosmic villain. So, what does Batman do in Crisis on Infinite Earths? Let us see.
During Crisis on Infinite Earths, Batman had a much smaller part than in the other two crises, namely Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis, which form the so-called Crisis Trilogy. Still, the story contains several very important Batman moments that tend to be overlooked in the context of this world-ending event.
Initially, we can see Batman fighting his archenemy, the Joker, not long after the Clown Prince’s of Crime latest villainous scheme. This fight, one of many, was interrupted, however, when the Flash suddenly appeared in front of the Dark Knight, warning Batman of an impending crisis; at the time, Flash was well aware of what was coming, while Batman had no idea about the Anti-Monito’s arrival. Before Batman could say anything, though, the Flash, as suddenly as he had arrived, disintegrated right in front of his eyes, leaving him completely shocked and confused. The issue was that the Flash did not disappear thanks to his speed, he literally disintegrated.
Sometime later, Batman decides to join the Outsiders and the Titans so he can help rescue the civilians not long after the initial antimatter wave hit Earth-One, his homeworld. History repeats itself here as, once again, the Flash emerged in front of the Dark Knight repeating his earlier warning, and, once again, the Scarlet Speedster literally disintegrated before Batman could ask anything else about the Flash’s enigmatic message. Despite the very little information he had, the World’s Greatest Detective began to work out the meaning of the Flash’s message and was alert, waiting for something to happen.
As the crisis began to unfold, the reality was in complete chaos. It seemed that reality was folding in on itself, which resulted in the past, present, and future times being entangled in one single present setting, which caused a Multiverse-wide confusion for everyone involved.
Batman decided to form a special group of both superheroes and supervillains so they could work out a plan for the crisis that was surrounding them. The goal was to come up with a plan that would be efficient enough to save their world.
On a side note, if what I have written so far sounds familiar to you and you know you haven’t read this comic, you’ll probably remember that Zack Snyder used some of these elements in his Justice League movie, where we can see a future iteration of Flash (Barry Allen) going back to the past to warn Batman about an impending threat, later revealed to be Darkseid. At the end of the movie, Batman forms the Justice League to fight the threat, which is very similar to what happened in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Now, as the crisis itself evolved, Batman’s role became smaller and smaller. Though he was part of a very large group of superheroes brought together by the Monitor to combat the Anti-Monitor’s shadow demons and other lesser threats, there is little that he and the remaining superheroes that had no superpowers could do.
For the most part, he was overshadowed by practically every other superhero fighting the Anti-Monitor, but he did get one emotional scene towards the end of the heroes’ struggle against the Anti-Monitor. At one point, Robin and all the other non-powered heroes approached Batman and ask him what they could do to help the others.
Being the hero that he is, Batman put on a stern face and stated that they could all “share their courage” and give the other heroes hope with which they would continue their fight against the Anti-Monitor.
Does Batman die in Crisis on Infinite Earths?
Unlike the later Final Crisis, where Batman indeed does die, he survives Crisis on Infinite Earths, but it is a rather specific situation. Namely, due to the nature of the crossover event itself and the fact that it destroyed the Multiverse as everyone had known it up to that point, Batman did – in a way – die, but he was immediately reborn as a new, unified universe was created from the remains of the old Multiverse.
All the versions of Batman perished and were reborn as one, new Batman. So, in a way, the Dark Knight both did and did not die in Crisis on Infinite Earths, but he was not killed off in the traditional way.
Is Robin in Crisis on Infinite Earths?
Well, since you now know very well that all characters are part of this event, there is no doubt that Batman’s trusted sidekick, Robin, the Boy Wonder, also makes an appearance. His role is even smaller and he has one important moment in the whole event, the one described above, when he asks Batman what they, as heroes without superpowers, could do to help the superpowered heroes in their fight against the Anti-Monitor.
And with this, I will bring this article to a close. Until next time!
