Of Gods and Men of Tomorrow (Abridged): Thoughts on DC Comics’ FINAL CRISIS

Cover artwork for Final Crisis #4

Grant Morrison should not be constrained. He called Final Crisis his ‘magnum opus,’ and if you stand back and simply look at the story, you would have to agree that was his intention. A story about the fight for either existence or non-existence. There is time travel. There is inter-dimensional travel. There are gods and deicide and even the sky cracking in limbo. However, the story reads like an abridged edition of an epic I wanted to enjoy. Even with the series being printed with extra pages per issue, character development is still rushed. Morrison cuts from scene to scene very quickly, which is something that can be used to affect a reader when working with a smaller cast. This is not a small cast, though. The DC Universe is replete with characters, each with their own complex and interwoven mythologies. I’ll admit I’m more of a casual fan of the DC Universe and, therefore, many of the character references didn’t register with me. Yet it’s not the history of these characters that I need to be familiar with, as far as who they fought in what issue and so forth. Morrison is also known for inserting mind-bending concepts into his work. It’s a difficult balance to strike between character and plot development, as well as finding room for concepts such as “quantum superposition used defensively.”

There is an issue that focuses on the “Tattooed Man” and “Black Lightning.” The former is a “villain” and the latter is a “superhero.” There are chases and action in the issue, yet the main focus is the interaction between these two characters and their views on themselves and on one another. The Tattooed Man holds a prejudice against superheroes. He’s been wrongly incarcerated. He reflects on this and his treatment by the superhero community. “Black Lightning” confronts these views and the narrative focuses on two men with different points of view trying to communicate with one another. The action doesn’t always upstage them. The series is at its best when the characters aren’t upstaged by the plot and the action and the need to fit all of this in a set number pages, and instead are allowed to breathe. Then they are allowed to affect us.

There were times where I wanted more of this. I wanted to be more invested in these characters and, therefore, be able to fully experience and enjoy all of Grant Morrison’s work. Perhaps there’s an expanded edition out there? That’s wishful thinking, I know. I also know Grant Morrison is capable of delivering this kind of experience to a reader. His run on X-Men was over thirty issues. His All Star Superman series about what the last son of Krypton decides to do with the last year of his life affected me in a way I didn’t expect. It made me remember who Superman was and why I cared about what happened to him when I was a kid. Final Crisis could have used more room for a man like Grant Morrison, with so much coming out of his mind.