astronomy

Infinite Crisis

Infinite Crisis is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Infinite Crisis rather than just read about it. In short: "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books. The main miniseries debuted in December 2005, and each issue was released with two variant covers: one by Pérez and one by Jim Lee and Sandra Hope.

Key takeaways

Infinite Crisis belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Infinite Crisis to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Infinite Crisis from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

"Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books. The main miniseries debuted in December 2005, and each issue was released with two variant covers: one by Pérez and one by Jim Lee and Sandra Hope. The series storyline was a sequel to DC's 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, which "rebooted" much of the DC continuity in an effort to fix inconsistencies and contradictions within the fictional DC Universe that were seen as confusing or complicated. Infinite Crisis revisited characters and concepts from Crisis, including the existence of DC's Multiverse. Some of the characters featured were alternate versions of comic icons such as an alternate Superman named Kal-L, who came from a parallel universe called Earth-Two. A major theme was the nature of heroism, contrasting the often dark and conflicted modern-day heroes with memories of "lighter" and comparatively more noble and collegial heroes of American comic books' earlier days. Infinite Crisis #1 was ranked first in the top 300 comics for October 2005 with pre-order sales of 249,265. This was almost double the second ranked comic House of M #7, which had pre-order sales of 134,429. Infinite Crisis #2 was also the top seller in top 300 comics for November 2005 with pre-order sales of 207,564.

Overview The plot begins when, in Crisis on Infinite Earths, Kal-L (the Superman of pre-Crisis Earth-Two), the Superboy of Earth Prime, Alexander Luthor Jr. of pre-Crisis Earth-Three, and Lois Lane Kent of pre-Crisis Earth-Two voluntarily sequestered themselves in "paradise". DC officially began leading up to the new Crisis with a one-shot issue Countdown to Infinite Crisis, followed by four six-issue limited series that tied into and culminated in Infinite Crisis. Once the Crisis was completed, DC used the One Year Later event to move the narratives of most of its DC Universe series forward by one year. The weekly series 52 began publication in May 2006, and depicts some of the events which occurred between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later. In June 2008, a third series (Final Crisis), set immediately following the conclusion of Countdown, began.

Publication history

Lead-ups Infinite Crisis was announced in March 2005. The event was kicked off with the release of Countdown to Infinite Crisis. Countdown to Infinite Crisis was followed by four six-issue limited series: The OMAC Project, Rann–Thanagar War, Day of Vengeance, and Villains United, as well as a four-part limited series DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy. These first four limited series each had a special tie-in issue, released at monthly intervals during the Infinite Crisis event.

Tie-ins As with many large-scale comic crossovers, Infinite Crisis featured a number of tie-ins. Before the event was announced, books such as Adam Strange and Identity Crisis were being described as part of bigger plans. After Countdown, several books were identified as tie-ins to the four mini-series. Thus, although Infinite Crisis itself is only seven issues long, its plot elements appeared in dozens of publications. Some of these books were of direct and major importance, such as the Superman: Sacrifice and JLA: Crisis of Conscience storylines, the latter of which ended with the Justice League's lunar Watchtower being destroyed, leading directly into Infinite Crisis #1. Another notable tie-in is Batman: Under the Hood, which features the return of the long-dead second Robin, Jason Todd, as the antihero Red Hood.

Editorial planning DC Comics executive editor Dan DiDio stated that Infinite Crisis was being hinted at in various stories for two years prior to its launch, starting with the "death" of Donna Troy. With Countdown to Infinite Crisis, Infinite Crisis began to visibly affect DC's editorial policy. Mark Waid signed an exclusive contract with DC, receiving a similar editorial role. DC replaced its official decades-old logo (the "DC Bullet") with a new one (the "DC spin") that debuted in the first issue of DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy. Aside from marking a major editorial shift within DC Comics, Infinite Crisis was a return to large company-wide crossovers of a sort that had been uncommon since the downturn of the comic industry in the 1990s.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Infinite Crisis

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Infinite Crisis claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Infinite Crisis before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Infinite Crisis ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Infinite Crisis

In research: Infinite Crisis appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Infinite Crisis in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Infinite Crisis is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2005 comics debuts, 2005 in comics, 2006 comics endings, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Infinite Crisis outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Infinite Crisis in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Infinite Crisis means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Infinite Crisis out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Infinite Crisis in simple terms?

Why does Infinite Crisis matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Infinite Crisis?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Infinite Crisis.