Final Crisis by Greg Cox – review

Darkseid and his evil Apokolips buddies have defeated the New Gods who have been the only forces powerful enough to rein him in. Watch out, Earth, and Superheroes of Earth: “You’re next!” Final Crisis by Greg Cox, a novelization of the DC Comics miniseries dealing with the victory of Darkseid, and the struggle of Earth’s Superheroes to battle on and rebel against him, does a great job capturing the essence of the series. But is it good enough?

It’s difficult to make a novelization of any comic book miniseries as interesting to readers, because that’s just the nature of the beast. Fans are well acquainted with how their favorite Superhero/heroine looks, their powers, etc., so the question in their minds is often: “Why buy a novelization of a miniseries I really like when I already have it in comic book form?”

I, personally, don’t have the series in comic book form, but knew Darkseid was the villain who brought down Superman in one of DC Comics’s most popular issues of all time (though Superman is still somehow around today), and that without the New Gods around, he’d be practically unstoppable. I believe I’d have preferred to have read this novel as a graphic novel, because speaking as a comic book fan, we buy comics because they’re visual, and contain visual representations of characters who have become cultural icons to their fans. However, Greg Cox has done as good of a job, if not better, than anyone else I’ve read who has attempted to do a novelization of a comic book miniseries, and I’d consider Final Crisis to be a great companion piece to it.

The JLA are the main Superhero organization who fight against Darkseid, but others do also, like the Teen Titans, and even some Japanese, amusedly named, Superheroes join together and get into the fray. It’s all in an effort to stop Darkseid from enslaving the people of the Earth with his Anti-Life Equation that he’s broadcast through e-mails, the radio, television, etc., and to prevent his defeat of the Earth from spreading to the other versions of the Earth that exist.

What I didn’t like reading about was the relative ease of Darkseid at enslaving humanity and many Superheroes/heroines, including Wonder Woman, corrupting the Alpha Green Lanterns, and killing others. When I read about my favorite characters in comics, I expect them to be challenged, and to face immense difficulties and vile villains, but not to succumb or be killed. If anyone who reads this has a different opinion or a similar one, I invite your comments below. But Greg Cox is working with what he’s got–and translates the format form to a novel very well. Ultimately, that’s what counts most to me in any novelization, how closely it sticks to the original comic book’s plot.

One of the novelization’s highlights/saddest moments for me was the moment when ex-cop Dan “Terrible” Turpin, consumed with a case that’s bothered him for some time (trying to discover the whereabouts and fates of six missing children), sees them after they’ve been transformed by the Anti-Life Equation into brain-washed zombies called the “New Model Humans.” That’s when I knew that this book wasn’t going to be an easy read. Also, a major creepy point in the book is when Turpin earlier comes upon the scene of the the crash of Orion to the earth, and hears his dying words: “He is in you all…” referring to Darkseid’s influence over everyone in the world.

Another highlighlight/downer is when Batman gets captured and drugged, in an Iron Lady kind of device, and is injected with a green fluid on both sides of his neck at once. Batman is one of my, and comic book fandom’s, best-loved heroes–to see or imagine him like that was depressing for me, even though I knew from the novel’s cover that something very bad would happen to Batman.

Then there’s the Green Lantern, Hal Jordan’s being accused of the murder of Orion and the Martian Manhunter, J’onn J’onzz, and being incarcerated and put on trial.  And also the part in the novel when several generations of the Flash family (including a very much alive Barry Allen, his nephew, Wally West, and the original Flash, Jay Garrick) are pursued by the transformed Superheroines/Supervillains the Catwoman, in a skintight/S&M version of her outift; Wonder Woman, with a ball gag in her mouth; Mary Marvel, with a shaved head and pink pigtails; and Giganta. They call themselves the “Female Furies” and are some of the new Justifiers in Darkseid’s control who hunt down and kill Superheroes.

Final Crisis by Greg Cox stays true to the DC Comics miniseries of the same title, and is a great companion piece to it. It’s a novelization that fans of the miniseries should enjoy quite a bit, despite its lack of graphics to complement the action. There are many tragic and sad moments in the novel, which some people might not like, but they add a touch of realism to it, and show that even Superheroes can fall, become enslaved or corrupted, and die. DC fans, give it a chance, and check it out today!