At long last from DC Comics we get the beginning of the epic story line teased to us back in February. Infinite Frontier 1 is the first of a six issue story arc that continues the what promises to be the ultimate battle for the universe. First off, I highly suggest getting your hands on a copy of Infinite Frontier 0. Can this first issue be read without it? I suppose, but without knowing the events of the issue 0, you will not know where this story is headed or how it set itself up. If you cannot find it, check out my review HERE.

With Infinite Frontier 0, we get a lot of confusing events and random characters that you may not understand why things are the way they are, but by the end of this first issue, things begin to meld together in a promising way. If you read the Zero issue, then you know the showdown that lies ahead.

Infinite Frontier 1 – Possibilities Converge

For those that hate and get confused by the whole Multiverse, multiple worlds/possibilities thing that DC embraces, this title won’t be for you. For everyone else, the opening alone sets up the confusion to come. A pod crashes down in a corn field and the first thing you will think is ‘this is Superman related’. Nope. A black family, not the Kents, finds the crashed pod and opens it, but instead of a baby, a fully grown Batman in black, gray and RED clings to life. Their first response? “This isn’t our Batman”. This alone tells you to let go of what you think you know.

The story shifts to an incredibly eclectic group of heroes battling a villain trying to disrupt the timeline. The group is so random you may not recognize half the heroes. Oddly enough they are members of the Justice Society of GOTHAM. The Original Green Lantern meets up with his son after the fight and their conversation does its best to clue us in on all that happened in the Death Metal and Future State titles. After we get some of what we need through exposition, the JSA HQ blows up in green fire and smoke.

The story then shifts. I do not know who this blonde is, but given the transition I have to assume it’s the Lantern’s daughter, Jade, that they feared died in the explosion. She sits eating her desert when Director Bones, a man with a skeleton for a head, joins her. Not only does this seem a bit odd, their conversation discusses exactly that. All this weirdness across all these Earths is mainstream. Everyone accepts the weirdness and oddities associated with the different dimensions. Another Multiverse catastrophe appears to be on its way. I love how she wants no part of it, but when he shows her something, her response is “I just lost my appetite. $#^%”.

Infinite Frontier 1 – Who Assembled This Team?

Batman begins to wake up and the oddities grow even bolder. We find out quickly that this Batman is not Bruce Wayne, but instead Thomas Wayne! He freaks out, but wouldn’t you if you woke up to a giant talking rabbit?! Thomas discovers he is in The Bleed, home of Justice Incarnate. The team consists of Captain Carrot (the talking rabbit), Aquawoman, Mary Marvel, Machinehead and President Superman, who happens to be black. Heroes from across the multiverse assembled to protect it from tampering.

I love the back and forth right here. It shows the problems of dealing with a Multiverse all at once. Thomas asks for The Flash. Superman asks which one. Okay, that makes sense since there are several that use the same title, but then Thomas thinks he narrows it down by saying Barry Allen. President Superman comes back with the same response. Which one? Oh the days of a simple existence.

Of course the story then segues to Barry. He runs through the Multiverse scouting each of the planets. He finally comes up with a plan to investigate the mystery world that showed up. This is where the knowledge from IF0 comes in handy.

Infinite Frontier 1 – A Power Only One Can Possess

Barry feels the wrongness of this mystery planet. Something feels dreadfully wrong, and then he discovers why. The Quintessence, a group of ascended overseers who protect the multiverse have been slaughtered. In IF0, Princess Diana received an offer to join the group but turned it down. Good thing she did. All five members lay dead, but before Barry can figure anything out he gets attacked by an upgraded Psycho Pirate. Pirate wants to take out his vengeance on Barry, but his master tells him to cool it. Who this master is, again relies on you having read IF0. For those who haven’t, these are the machinations of an immensely powerful Darkseid!

This final scene really ups the stakes for a lost hero. A young girl talks with her parents about the events of Death Metal and the multiverse shake up, but her parents don’t believe her. No one does. Only she remembers. Then a boy behind her chimes in and agree with her. Of course than an older guy loses his cool and calls it all a farce. This is when the center of this whole sub-story steps in. A young red head who has been listening this whole time, Roy Harper. This is when things go really insane.

A woman leads a bunch of troopers through a portal and try to take Roy out, but then another group shows up and beats up the first squad. Who are all these guys?! If that isn’t bad enough, Roy gets sucked into a portal of its own where he now dons a Black Lantern suit with images of his other identities behind him! All of this goes beyond my understanding of the DC Universe, but it’s looking really cool! I find myself very interested to know where this story is headed!

What did you guys think of Infinite Frontier 1? Where do you think it’s headed and who will confront Darkseid!? Head over to DC Fanatics on Facebook and tell us what you think.