Infinite Frontier #5 is written by Josh Williamson; penciled by Paul Pelletier, Jesus Merino, and Tom Derenick; inked by Norm Rampund, Raul Fernandez, and Derenick; colored by Hi-Fi, and lettered by Tom Napolitano. It is published by DC Comics. Following the cliffhanger of Infinite Frontier #4, multiple heroes find themselves on Earth-Omega, facing the might of Injustice Incarnate-a team of villains pulled from across the Multiverse. The Psycho-Pirate also reveals the grand extent of his scheme-and Darkseid’s role in things.
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The reveals fly fast and hard in this issue. Among them: Director Bones’ role in abducting multiversal refugees and the true identity of X-Tract, why a Black Lantern ring chose Roy Harper, and why Barry Allen was abducted by the Psycho-Pirate. As he did with his run on The Flash, Williamson digs deep into DC’s history-including its various “Crisis Events”-to build his story. In addition to the madcap action of heroes and villains from multiple dimensions engaging in battle, Williamson also packs the issue full of emotion. Alan Scott and Obsidian have a heartfelt reunion with Jade, President Superman grapples with Machinehead’s betrayal of Justice Incarnate, and Roy Harper is faced with a choice that could strip him of his humanity and make him a Black Lantern forever. What I love most about superhero stories is the mix of emotion and action; it’s cool if a character punches a villain in the face, but it’s also great to see them spending time with friends and family.
The issue also follows up on Darkseid’s appearance in Infinite Frontier #0, as he prepares to conquer the Multiverse. The Lord of Apokolips has undergone a power shift and is currently the only Darkseid in the Multiverse. And now that his goals have shifted from exerting power over one universe to all of existence, it makes him even more dangerous than he already was. I love that the creators are taking measures to do something different with characters fans know and love; it helps keeps things fresh and provides avenues for new stories.
Joining Williamson on this issue is a trio of artists, with Pelletier being the most prominent of them all. Pelletier draws nearly every character that has been a major focus of the series so far, splitting them off into various groups along the way. Pelletier also has the chance to draw various villains for Injustice Incarnate, including a Joker who became part of the Sinestro Corps and Superwoman from the Crime Syndicate. Psycho-Pirate also gets a redesign, adopting a black and silver costume with Darkseid’s omega symbol to mark his new allegiance. In fact, Hi-FI makes sure that black, silver, and purple are the most prominent colors due to the issue taking place entirely on Earth-Omega and representing Darkseid’s pure evil.
Infinite Frontier #5 gathers all of its major players and a few new faces from the Multiverse, leading to a final showdown on Earth-Omega. With only one more issue to go, the first major event of the Infinite Frontier era is looking to end on a high note. It is also cementing Williamson as DC’s newest go-to writer after Scott Snyder and Brian Michael Bendis.
Infinite Frontier #5 is available now wherever comics are sold.
Infinite Frontier #5
TL;DR
Infinite Frontier #5 gathers all of its major players and a few new faces from the Multiverse, leading to a final showdown on Earth-Omega. With only one more issue to go, the first major event of the Infinite Frontier era is looking to end on a high note. It is also cementing Williamson as DC’s newest go-to writer after Scott Snyder and Brian Michael Bendis.
