52 (comics)
 |
| 52 | |
|---|---|
| File:52 1.jpg Cover art for 52: Week One, by J.G. Jones | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Weekly |
| Publication date | May 2006 - May 2007 |
| No. of issues | 52 |
| Main character(s) | Animal Man Black Adam Booster Gold Elongated Man Will Magnus Renee Montoya The Question Starfire Steel Adam Strange |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Geoff Johns Grant Morrison Greg Rucka Mark Waid Keith Giffen |
| Artist(s) | Joe Bennett Chris Batista Keith Giffen Ruy Jose Jack Jadson Covers: J.G. Jones |
52 is the title of a comic book limited series published by DC Comics, which debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series is written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid with layouts by Keith Giffen.
52 consists of 52 issues, published weekly for one year, chronicling events that took place during the missing year after the end of Infinite Crisis. The series covers much of the DC Universe, and several characters, whose disparate stories interconnect.
Format
The use of a weekly publication format is unusual in the North American comics industry, a model traditionally based upon monthly publication. 52 will be the longest weekly comic book series published by a major North American publisher. The record is currently held by Action Comics Weekly.
Back-up stories
History of the DC Universe
A backup story entitled History of the DC Universe appears in Weeks 2 through 11, with the creative team of Dan Jurgens and Art Thibert.[1] Reminiscent of DC's earlier History of the DC Universe limited series, in this story, Donna Troy explores the history of the DC Universe with the help of Harbinger's recording device. In the final chapter, both the device and a Monitor inform Donna Troy that she was supposed to have died instead of Jade.
Secret Origins
Weeks 12 through 52 feature Secret Origins written by Mark Waid with art by a variety of artists.[2]
Story as of Week 42
Template:Spoiler In the aftermath of the Infinite Crisis, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have temporarily retired their costumed identities, and the remaining heroes attend a memorial for Superboy in Metropolis. Time traveler Booster Gold attends the memorial, but when Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman do not arrive as he expects, he suspects his robot sidekick Skeets is malfunctioning. After Skeets reports other incorrect historical data, Booster searches fellow time traveler Rip Hunter's desert bunker for answers, but finds it littered with enigmatic scrawled notes and photos of himself and Skeets surrounded by the words "his fault" with arrows pointing toward them.
Booster is angered when a mysterious new superhero named Supernova appears in Metropolis. His reputation ruined by this and other events, Booster tries to regain the spotlight by containing an explosion, but he is killed in the attempt. Skeets uses Booster's ancestor Daniel Carter to regain access to Hunter's lab, where he sees the photos and arrows pointing at him. Skeets traps Carter in a time loop in the bunker and sets out to locate Hunter himself.
Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man, has a gun to his head when he is informed that his dead wife Sue's gravestone has been vandalized with an inverted version of Superman's 'S' symbol — the Kryptonian symbol for resurrection. He confronts Cassandra Sandsmark, and she tells Dibny that she is in a cult that believes that Superboy can be resurrected, but that they would like to try it first with Sue. Despite his initial agreement, Dibny and his friends disrupt the ceremony, but the effigy of Sue crawls to Dibny and calls out to him as it burns; Dibny suffers a nervous breakdown as a result.
A voice from within the helm of Doctor Fate speaks to Dibny and promises to fulfill his desires if he makes certain sacrifices. Dibny journeys with the helm through the afterlives of several cultures, where he is cautioned about the use of magic. The Spectre promises to resurrect Sue in exchange for Dibny's taking vengeance on her murderer, but Dibny is unable to do so. At Nanda Parbat, Rama Kushna tells Dibny, "The end is already written." In Dr. Fate's tower, Dibny begins the spell to resurrect Sue. Dibny puts the helmet on and shoots it to reveal Felix Faust, who was posing as Nabu to give Neron Dibny's soul in exchange for his own freedom. Neron appears and kills Dibny but then realizes that Dibny's binding spell has trapped Faust and Neron in the tower.
Lex Luthor announces the Everyman Project, a metagene therapy program to give ordinary people superpowers. John Henry Irons deactivates his niece Natasha's Steel armor after an argument about responsibility. Following an encounter with Luthor, Irons' skin transforms into stainless steel, causing Natasha to accuse him of hypocrisy. She undergoes the metagene therapy and becomes a member of Luthor's superhero team Infinity, Inc.
Irons learns that Luthor can deactivate Everyman Project-given abilities, and when his metallic skin peels off, he realizes that the Everyman powers have a limited timespan. During a battle, Luthor negates a team member's powers, which results in her death. Irons uses the loss of her friend to convince Natasha to question Luthor's motives. Angered by lab reports that state that his body will reject the metagene therapy, Lex Luthor removes the powers of the majority of the Everyman subjects, and many of them fall from the sky to their deaths. Luthor later learns the reports were lies and undergoes the therapy. He discovers Natasha investigating him and savagely beats her using his newly acquired superpowers. Irons attacks Lexcorp in his Steel armor. Luthor gains the upper hand with his new superpowers until Natasha releases an electrical pulse from Steel's hammer that negates Luthor's powers and allows Irons to bring Luthor to justice.
Black Adam, the metahuman leader of Kahndaq, forges a coalition with several other countries against the United States' metahuman supremacy under the Freedom of Power Treaty until Adrianna Tomaz, a former slave, shows Adam how he can use his abilities more peacefully to help his country. Adam convinces Captain Marvel to give Tomaz the power of Isis, and Adam and Isis free enslaved children across Africa.
The Question and Renee Montoya uncover a cache of futuristic weapons in Gotham City and discover that Intergang is preparing to invade Gotham. They fly to Kahndaq to investigate further and prevent a suicide bomber at Black Adam and Isis' wedding. In appreciation, Adam awards them Kahndaq's highest honor for foreigners. Isis, Black Adam, Montoya and the Question find Intergang, which is inducting children into a religion of crime based on its Crime Bible. Black Adam finds Isis' crippled brother Amon among the children and shares his power with him, and Amon is reborn as Osiris. Adam and his Black Marvel Family inform the Freedom of Power Treaty member nations that Kahndaq is no longer interested in consolidating power or in executing metahumans. Captain Marvel, Jr. sponsors Osiris for Teen Titans membership, but Amanda Waller destroys his reputation by maneuvering Osiris into killing the Persuader and leaking footage of the incident to the media. Osiris retires from the public eye, and a mysterious acid rain later ravages Kahndaq.
The Question takes Montoya to Nanda Parbat to train with Richard Dragon, where Montoya learns that the Question is dying from lung cancer and wants her to replace him. After discovering a prophecy in Intergang's Crime Bible about Batwoman's death, the two return to Gotham and join her fight against Intergang, but when the Question's condition worsens, Montoya embarks on a perilous journey back to Nanda Parbat in a failed attempt to save his life. There, she considers her role as the Question's heir.
Will Magnus, creator of the Metal Men robots, is abducted to Oolong Island, where Intergang is forcing kidnapped scientists to develop new super-weapons for them. Intergang confiscates Magnus' anti-depressants and orders him to build a Plutonium Man robot, but Magnus also rebuilds Mercury. The scientists activate their cybernetic Four Horsemen of Apokolips, which are described in the Crime Bible.
Supernova meets with Rip Hunter in the Bottle City of Kandor, and Hunter examines a number of high-tech items Supernova has brought him. When Skeets discovers the two, Supernova reveals himself as Booster Gold and attacks Skeets while explaining that he created a distracting rivalry with "Supernova" and that Rip Hunter used time travel to fake Booster's death. Hunter and Booster attempt to trap Skeets in the Phantom Zone, but Skeets appears to consume the subdimension and pursues his two adversaries through time.
Animal Man, Starfire, and Adam Strange are marooned on an alien planet and captured by the New God Devilance the Pursuer, who was sent to capture them for having seen something they are thought unfit to see. The heroes escape and are rescued by Lobo, who destroys Devilance and claims he has found religion and turned his back on violence. Lady Styx, whose forces are conquering and overrunning planets on a path of destruction toward Earth, hired Lobo to capture the heroes, but he delivers them to her so they can fight her. The heroes defeat Lady Styx, but Animal Man is injected with a toxin in the battle and dies. The heroes lay his body to rest on an asteroid. After they leave, Animal Man awakens, to find the aliens who gave him his powers standing over him, declaring, "And so it begins." As Starfire and Strange face certain death, they are saved by Mogo and a rookie Green Lantern.
Secret message
Template:Spoiler-about In the DC Nation column printed in the back of Week 37, Dan Didio reveals in a coded message that the "secret of 52" is that the DC Multiverse still exists. The message is spelled out using the first letter of every third word: "the secret of fifty-two is that the multiverse still exists". Template:Endspoiler
References to the number "52"
Reinforcing the title, the number 52 appears in the background of panels within the 52 series. As the series continues, however, the number 52 features more prominently, appearing in the foreground or in dialogue. Additionally, the 52 logo is shaped like the Greek symbol Omega. The two numbers are also mirror images of one another, a common analogy for parallel universes.
Week One
- The fireman talking to Steel has the number 52 on his jacket.
- Renee Montoya drinks at "52 Pick Up.", whose name is a reference to the number of cards in a deck; the bar has a playing card motif.
Week Two
- The flight numbers of both the flight Booster saves (2824) and the flight he means to save (2428): 28 + 24 = 52.
- The address of the building The Question hires Renee Montoya to investigate is 520 Kane St.
- One of Dr. Morrow's news clippings states Dr. Tyme has stolen 52 seconds.
- The Red Tornado's last words are "It's coming! 52! 52!"
Week Three
- Steel mentions "The NX-520" during his phone conversation with a member of S.T.A.R. Labs.
Week Six
- In Rip Hunter's bunker:
- The atomic time lock is set to open on midnight, 1 January, 52 B.C.
- A list of numbered papers 51.53.54.56, with the conspicuously missing 52.
- A sheet with 520 Kane St., the address the Question meets Renee Montoya.
- The chalkboard is headlined with "Time is Broken" and peppered randomly with "52."
- Te versus (Au + Pb) — Te is the symbol for Tellurium, element 52
- All the clocks are set at 12:52 am, or 00:52(52)
Week Eight
- Steel watches WLII, a news channel. In Roman numerals, LII means 52.
- Day three of Week Eight is considered the 52nd day of this 365-day timetable, which marks the first known sighting of Supernova.
Week Nine
- Devilance refers to the "two score and twelve walls of heaven" — two score and twelve being 52.
- When Renee is looking at the baseball game between the Gotham Knights and the Stars from Star City, the Stars are winning 5-2.
Week Eleven
- In Day 6, the first panel shows Renee's pack of cigarettes, clearly showing 5 to the left, then the one she is holding, and then 2 to the right; a 52 made out of cigarettes.
Week Twelve
- A Gotham City billboard with "52" is visible in the background as Renee walks home in the rain.
Week Fifteen
- Sanjay's computer has a stickie that reads "Khandaq Embassy 555-2222".
Week Seventeen
- The damaged upper body of Red Tornado utters "52...52" to Aborigines in the Australian outback.
Week Eighteen
- Week 18 Day 3 Ralph Dibnys' note with the words Alvin Burgson has exactly 52 lines on it.
Week Nineteen
- The Cover of this issue sports the year 5252.[3] It also sports the year 85,271. The second date is from the DC One Million crossover event.
- The past-due bills on Daniel Carter's coffee table, shown on page 1, reveal that his address is 1834 Hoyle Street. 18+34 = 52. Also, Edmond Hoyle is best known for providing detailed descriptions for games, such as poker, a game that uses 52 cards in a standard deck.
- The flashbacks to his football injury, as well as the picture on the wall of his home, reveal that Daniel Carter's jersey number was 52.
Week Twenty
- The clock at Wayne Manor reads 12:52 when Supernova is in the Batcave.
- When he begins his hunt for the space heroes in possession of his Eye, Ekron swears, in an "alien" font, "I will kill you in 52 ways."
Week Twenty-Two
- On Page 15, When Jon kicks the guy out the bus window, they're near "Highway 52" when the road sign is seen near Metropolis (note that Highway 52 is actually located at northwest-southeast which is between Portal, North Dakota and Charleston, South Carolina).
- Jon Standing Bear stops at Metropolis when his bus arrives at "Gate 52" on Page 16.
Week Twenty-Four
- Ambush Bug says 52 several times, although these are likely due to Ambush Bug's comic awareness. A panel later, Firestorm says he doesn't know anything about 52 during his phone call with Green Arrow.
Week Twenty-Seven
- Skeets manages to find Waverider at 05:25:20 a.m. on the second day of the week.
- The sum of the letters of Sobek based on their numerical position in the English alphabet (S=19, O=15, B=2, E=5, K=11) add up to 52. Sobek is the name of a classic player in Egyptian mythology.
Week Thirty-One
- On Day 2, Natasha Irons checked her cellphone and sees a message from her uncle John Henry which is received from the day before on 1:52pm.
- On Day 3, Wonder Girl looked at a letter for Donna Prince who lives in 52 Bee St Apt. 322 Philadelphia, PA. There are actually two mentions of 52 with one that involves 322 which if you made this calculation of 3 and the first 2 — it should read 52.
Week Thirty-Seven
- On Day 1, during their fight with Skeets in the Fortress of Solitude, Rip Hunter begins a countdown at "fifty-two...fifty-one" during which he and Booster Gold are whisked away through time to escape Skeets.
Week Thirty-Nine
- On Day 5, while preparing to give Luthor his powers, a scientist in Luthor's lab says "...at five point two microns, alternating..." which comes to "5.2525252..." continuing forever.
One Year Later And Beyond
- Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #17: After Supergirl's arrival 1,001 years in the future with the Legion, the Dominators say "fiffdetuuu" as they discuss their bio-weapon being delivered to Earth.
- Robin #153: Robin and Captain Boomerang defuse a bomb, and the number left on the timer is 52.
- Green Lantern #13: During a meeting of the Guardians of the Universe regarding Superboy-Prime, Ganthet says, "So we have all come to the same conclusion. The need for the Green Lantern Corps has become quite clear," and all of them reply, "52."
- Green Lantern #15: One of the Guardians of the Universe retrieves the head of Hank Henshaw stating, "You will tell us everything you have learned within Space Sector 3601. And what you know about the 52."
- Justice Society of America #1: During a fight between Damage and Rebel, a billboard in the background advertises a sale at 52% off. When members of the JSA gather for orientation, Starman says, "There's a star on Thanagar. I dreamt about it. Ha! 52!"
- Justice Society of America #2: A theory by Mister Terrific on a chalkboard, one of the symbols is "V2" V is a Roman numeral for 5.
- Justice Society of America #3: Starman randomly exclaims "52!" at the end of a conversation.
- Checkmate #8 starts a three issue arc about a pawn numbered 502.
Other 52 references:
- Week 1 was released on May 10, 2006. In the United States, new issues of comic books are released every Wednesday. The Wednesday 52 weeks after the initial release date falls on May 2, 2007. Hence, the series will end on 5/2/07 (in American date formatting).
Rip Hunter's lab
When Booster enters Rip Hunter's bunker in Week 6, he finds it in disarray. Among the details of Hunter's lab, a giant globe is marked with red X's and the words "World War III Why? How?" A time machine sits broken. Notes scrawled everywhere indicate that there is a problem with the time stream, and as noted above, the number 52 figures prominently in these writings. Many of the writings foreshadow and refer to DC Universe events and characters, some of which are not yet introduced by the time of Booster's discovery.[4] A multitude of clocks are all stopped at 12:52 (00:52). Monitors show images of Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln, a sailing ship with the flag of the Knights Templar, Elvis Presley, the Boston Tea Party and a dinosaur.
Papers on the floor bear the titles of canceled DC series, including superhero comic Infinity, Inc., 1940s humor title Casey the Cop, and Silverblade, a 1980s maxi-series about an actor-turned-vigilante. Also on the floor is a book titled Who's Who, using the logo for the DC series of the same name, and two notes: "FIND THE SUN DEVILS" and "What is spanner's galaxy?". Sun Devils and Spanner's Galaxy are the titles of two 1980s maxi-series.
A set of blackboards is covered with more clues. Below is a list of the clues, with items followed by DC Comics details that relate to the phrase:
- "TIME IS BROKEN"
- The number 52 in a circle litters the boards, the circles sometimes overlapping. The symbol of overlapping circles has been used in the past by DC Comics to represent alternate Earths, or alternate Earths fusing (such as in Infinite Crisis).
- "Dead by lead?" — In the DC Universe, the Daxamite race is especially vulnerable to lead poisoning. The pre-Crisis Daxamite Mon-El is a 20th century hero whom Superman preserves for 1,000 years in the Phantom Zone when the former contracts lead poisoning. Mon-El re-appears post-Infinite Crisis in Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #23 (December 2006). Lead is also the name of one of the Metal Men.
- "Further time is different" — A new version of the DC Comics character Father Time appears in the limited series Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven and Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters. Additionally, a number of events in the present day unfold differently from Booster Gold's knowledge of the past.
- "The four horsemen will end her rain?" — Egg Fu mentions "four horsemen", and Isis creates rainstorms to express sadness.[5] The cover of Week 29 declares, "39 days to the Rain," and on December 31, Lex Luthor depowers the majority of Everyman metahumans, many of whom fall from the sky. Intergang later activates its cybernetic Four Horsemen.[6]
- "He won't smell it." — Main character Ralph Dibny's nose is reputed to be able to "smell a mystery". According to 52 editor Michael Siglain, this is the next clue which will be revealed.[1]
- "Find the last 'El'" — "El" is the family name of both Superman (Kal-El) and Supergirl (Kara Zor-El). After the fight in space, Supergirl was sent to the 31st century, when she joins the Legion of Super-Heroes. It is also the name pre-Crisis Superboy gives to Mon-El, another hero who joins the Legion one thousand years into his own future. In addition, for a period of time, Conner Kent (Superboy) uses the name "Kon-El" and also serves with the Legion. One Year Later, an alien being comments that, in addition to Superman and Supergirl, there is a third Kryptonian on Earth.[citation needed]
- "MAN OF STEEL" — This was the title given to John Henry Irons in promotional material for the Reign of the Superman storyline that DC published following the Death of Superman storyline. In 52, Irons' skin becomes stainless steel. It is also a nickname given to Superman.
- "
Sonic disruptors--> Time Masters --> Time Servants" — In DC Comics, Rip Hunter was given the title "Time Master". The Sonic Disruptors series, was cancelled by DC Comics before being completed, apparently because the creators working on the project could not complete it on time.[citation needed] Additionally, Rip Hunter offered various time-travelling supervillains the chance to redeem themselves as Time Masters and fight with him to stop Skeets' plans.[7] - "The reach. The reach. The reach." — In the 2006 Blue Beetle title, the insane villain Bottom Feeder raves of an 'army' he sees in his dreams, raving that "The Reach are coming! And they bring doomsday!". The New God Metron has also referred to the newest Blue Beetle as a 'Reach Soldier'.
- "Tornado is in pieces" — Red Tornado was shattered in the fight in space.
- "I'm not kryptonite"
- "It hurts to breathe" — The Question has lung cancer.
- Circled: "The Scarab is eternal?" — The new Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, is the new host of the blue scarab owned by Dan Garrett, the original Blue Beetle.
- "2,000 years from now"
- "Where is the Curry Heir?" In the "One Year Later" stories, a character named Arthur Curry, who looks exactly like Aquaman, appears. The original Aquaman has been transfigured into the Dweller in the Depths, who guides the new character.
- "Who is Supernova?" — 52 Week 37 reveals that Supernova is Booster Gold in a new identity.
- "Σ What happened to the son of Superman?" — The question of Superman's offspring is the subject of a large number of "imaginary stories" and Elseworlds comics, including Son of Superman, a 2000 Elseworlds graphic novel, and The Kingdom limited series, which features the debut of the time/reality concept "Hypertime". Also, Richard Donner's and Geoff Johns' Action Comics run features a boy from Krypton.
- "Σ Where is the Batman?" — A month after the Infinite Crisis, Batman, Robin and Nightwing travel the world and are absent during the year in which 52 takes place.
- "Σ Who is the Batwoman?" — Kate Kane is the new Batwoman, as seen in 52 Week Eleven.
- "Σ Te versus (Au+Pb)" — As noted above, the atomic number of Tellurium (Te) is 52. The other elements mentioned are Gold (Au) and Lead (Pb). Gold and Lead are names of Metal Men, and alchemists attempted to transmute lead into gold. Additionally, "Tellurium"'s root word is "tellus" (which is Latin for "earth"). Tellus is a member of the pre-Zero Hour Legion of Super-Heroes.
- Circled: "Σ Who is Diana Prince?" — In the "One Year Later" Wonder Woman series, Wonder Woman appears as Diana Prince, a secret agent.
- "SECRET FIVE!" — The Secret Six, following the events of Infinite Crisis Special: Villains United, are down one member. In the Secret Six limited series, they recruit the Mad Hatter but subsequently kick him out.
- "Σ Who is Supernova?" — See above.
- "Σ Don't ask the Question. It lies." — The Question is one of the main characters of 52.
- "Σ World War III? Why? HOW?" — According to an interview with Geoff Johns, World War III will be an important event in 52.[2].
- "
IMMORTAL SAVAGE" — Vandal Savage spends the year depicted in 52 in space, and when he returns, he has lost his immortality. - "Σ Someone is monitoring. They see us. They see me." — The Monitor returns in DCU: Brave New World. Additionally, series writer Grant Morrison previously has broken the fourth wall in his stories, having comic book characters realize their true, fictional nature. In the Animal Man series, the main character also steals a time machine from Rip Hunter. When Animal Man dies in Week 36, he sees the reader, and after his resurrection in Week 37, he encounters the aliens that gave him his powers.
- "The Lazarus Pit RISES"
- "KHIMAERA LIVES AGAIN" — In the initial "One Year Later" storyline in Hawkgirl, Khimaera appears as a new antagonist.
- "Σ The old Gods are DEAD, the new Gods want what's left." — The "New Gods" refers to the protagonists of Jack Kirby's "Fourth World" comic book stories whose worlds were created from the remains of two of the Old Gods.
- "I'm supposed to be DEAD?" — Donna Troy, Dick Grayson and Kyle Rayner each receive visits from Monitors who tell them they were not supposed to survive Infinite Crisis.
- "WHEN AM I?".
- Circled: "OTHERS?".
Action figures
In September 2006, DC Direct premiered a line of action figures based on 52. The first wave, featuring figures based on Batwoman, Isis, Booster Gold, Animal Man and Supernova, is scheduled for retail in May 2007.[3]
References
- ^ http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6658
- ^ http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=92806
- ^ 52: Week 19
- ^ http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/WAcker/Week9/52Wacker09.html
- ^ 52: Week 25
- ^ 52: Week 38
- ^ 52 Week 27