Countdown to the Final Crisis #6 (DC – Dini / Beechen / Giffen / Norton)
The Countdown ticks down as storylines converge and collide — a Great Disaster is clearly proving to be unavoidable!
Uncharacteristically, we have an issue of Countdown that deserves more than just a few bullet points. Issue #6 stands out from at least the last half dozen as an enjoyable read that actually brought the overall plot into motion. The narrative is from the point of view of Buddy Blank, but not our Buddy Blank. In this issue we find out that that the Earth that the “enigma” heroes returned to was not their own, but one really close. A bright spot in the story-telling is that instead of telling us straight out, the writers just lay it out in clue form for the reader… Martian Manhunter is around (not on Planet Hell – Salvation Run) and no one remembers Donna, Jason, Harley, Ray Palmer, etc. If this were our “Earth” that would be too much history re-writing to eliminate all of these characters from the time stream. Anyway, so the entire issue is one long narrative from the diary of Buddy Blank as he watched the Armageddon virus, with the help of Karate Kid’s 31st century genetics mutate, change the DNA of it’s victims and become virtually unstoppable in it’s ability to spread and kill. This Earth starts to go down in flames as the readers for the first time feel the weight of the coming Great Disaster. It was actually actually a very well-told story and a highlight throughout the Countdown series. All this and the origin of Felix Faust!
Issue Grade: B+
I totally agree with you. This was one of the better written issues of countdown thus far. I’m still waiting to see how Countdown and Death of the New Gods meet up, time line wise.