Final Crisis Review – “Final Crisis #3”

The third chapter of “Final Crisis” hits this week, kicking off an extra-long break between issues while various tie-in miniseries launch.

General Information

Title: Final Crisis #3

Author: Grant Morrison

Illustrator(s): J.G. Jones (art) and Alex Sinclair (colors)

Cover Date: September 2008

Cover Price: $3.99 US/Can

Premise

Darkseid has already won the war in heaven, and is now making his moves on the Earthly plane.

High Point

“It’s a little known fact that death can’t travel faster than the speed of light. But Wally can.” Given the way things are going, I’m betting this series is going to get people very, very jazzed about the upcoming Flash: Rebirth by Johns and van Sciver.

Low Point

There was a lot of hype about the final splash page. Given what’s established in this issue, it’s not as shocking as it should have been.

The Scores

This still comes across as original, as it is pushing into far more dismal areas than we’re used to seeing. I give it 5 out of 6.

The artwork is solid. There’s a huge cast of characters, and they’re all well represented, some with new outfits. The low “camera” angles give the right “larger than life” impressions while moving the story forward with the right tone and mood. I give it 5 out of 6.

The story is steadily marching on. The various threads are starting to interweave, which is ultimately a good thing, while a couple of other threads get started. I give it 5 out of 6.

The characterization of the various stars can be limited, as few have any real amount of time at the forefront. The main thing with the characters that confuses me is the cover. Jones has said the characters chosen to be on the iconic character covers would represent a character with a major role in that issue. I could easily see that in the first two issues, but I really don’t see how a single panel telling her cat not to pee in the laundry basket qualifies her for a cover. Going by the content, I’d have gone with Wonder Woman, Mary Marvel or Alan Scott on the cover, as they’re really the only characters that get more than a panel or two with anything of significance. I give it 4 out of 6, as there’s just no time for personal exploration in a cast that rotates this quickly.

The emotional response is good, as it’s starting to pull things together, and does have a surprising (though not as surprising as expected) final page. I give it 4 out of 6.

The flow works fairly well. The rapid scene changes do keep it from moving terribly smoothly, though. I give it 4 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a decent issue, and will likely be pretty significant in the grand scheme of the DCU to come. I give it 4 out of 6.

In total, Final Crisis #3 receives 31 out of 42.