Comics Interview #26: Crisis On Infinite Earths Interview

I have been doing this blog for over sixteen years, covering Supergirl in all her incarnations.

One topic that I keep coming back to is Crisis on Infinite Earths. Every time I think I have covered all of it, and in particular Supergirl's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, I find something new to cover.

Now I have said before that I have made my peace with Supergirl's death in Crisis. It was an incredibly heroic moment. She saved Superman and basically the multiverse. The cover of COIE #7 is the image of the series. Everyone remembers her role.

That said, it still stings a little to know that DC thought so little of the character that they felt she could ... and should ... be killed and erased from history. 

All this is preamble to the fact that at a visit to a local comic store I ran across Comics Interview #26 which included an interview with Marv Wolfman and Robert Greenberger about the Crisis. It is a very interesting article.

First off, it hit the stands before Crisis was finished, right after COIE #9 was released. So Wolfman and Greenberger have to be a bit coy about the overall ending. But the deaths of Supergirl and the Flash were pretty fresh. The concept of rebuilding the DCU into one universe hadn't happened and was basically an unknown. And these ideas are touched on by interviewer Patrick O'Neill.

So let's dive in.

First off, it is pretty interesting that Supergirl and the Flash's deaths were planned from the very beginning, from the first draft. In the article, Wolfman says that the initial 'script' was basically a 2-3 page outline. He knew that Supergirl would die in COIE #7 and Flash would die in COIE #8 even then. 

I also think it is funny that Wolfman brings up that his decision to kill her preceded the Supergirl movie flop. He wants it known that the movie wasn't the decision. It was him.

I have read a lot about Crisis and Wolfman's feelings about Kara in the past. But this is about as brutally honest I have heard him. 

Supergirl 'wasn't functioning as a character'. 

I am not sure what that means. Can anybody tell me what they think he meant?

Supergirl 'wasn't helping Superman. She was hurting him in many ways.' She was 'taking away some of his specialness'. 

Funny how he didn't mention that about ... hmmm ... Batgirl? Huntress?  Mary Marvel? Mera? Bulletgirl?  Heck, it doesn't even have to be a female/male thing. What about Speedy? Wonder Girl? Kid Flash? 

I think he just didn't like her.

It is also amusing that again he has to double down saying it was his decision and not because of the movie.

Hooray for Paul Levitz for doing his best to save her. How funny that Wolfman had to punt it up to Jenette Kahn to overrule Levitz saving her. I don't know if this overruling Levitz was at the time of 'that note' or if it was after, a re-ruling.

I suppose Levitz did his best, keeping Supergirl at least a sort of presence in the Sensor Girl mystery.

The article is really great as Wolfman and Greenberger talk about all their plans with the Crisis. There was a whole section about the Crisis Crossovers that I found fascinating. It sounds like every editor was told they could ask to do a crossover but it took a little bit of time before many took advantage.

 I thought this paragraph was fascinating. It sounds like Wolfman only wanted the Crisis Crossover trade dress on issues where the events of the Crisis was a major plot point. But not everyone listened.

As someone who used to bemoan the 'crossover' that was basically a shot of red skies on one page, it was interesting the see that was not what Wolfman or Greenberger intended.

As I said, Crisis wasn't over when this article was written and released. So no one knew what the new single universe was going to be like. Kudos to the interviewer for asking if the DCU denizens would remember the pre-Crisis world. 

It seems like Wolfman and Greenberger had come to their ending and felt pretty good about it. '95% happy' and no one 'crying sour grapes'. 

Now I have said that I have come full circle with Supergirl's death in Crisis, how it means she is part of one of the more historic comic moments. But one thing I have never come to terms with is how her sacrifice was basically forgotten in the DCU, her very existence erased from the collective memory. Surely there must have been some way to continue to honor her.

And so I find myself again picking at the scab of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I am glad I found this magazine as it fills in more of my knowledge gaps about the series. Hope you enjoyed this.