Countdown is the title of a comic book limited series published by DC Comics, which debuted on May 09, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the 52-issue 52. The series will be written primarily by Paul Dini, who will act as a showrunner, with a rotating team of writers and artists. ^[2] DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... Jimmy Olsen (full name James Bartholomew Olsen) is a fictional character who appears in DC Comics’ Superman stories. ... Mary Marvel is a fictional character, a superhero derived from the DC Comics (formerly Fawcett Comics) character Captain Marvel. ... Donna Troy is a fictional character, a superheroine in the DC Universe. ... Kyle Rayner is a fictional character, a superhero from the DC Comics universe, known for most of his publication history as Green Lantern, a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Atom introduced during the Silver Age of comic books in Showcase # 34 (Sep-Oct 1961) is physicist and university professor Ray Palmer (named for real-life science fiction writer Raymond A. Palmer, who was himself quite short). ... Pied Piper (real name: Hartley Rathaway) is a fictional former supervillain in the DC Comics universe. ... The Trickster is the name of two DC Comics supervillains and an enemy of the Flash. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Paul Dini is an American television producer of animated cartoons. ... James Jimmy Palmiotti is an Italian-American writer and artist of various comics. ... Sean Kelley McKeever (born 1972) is an American comic book writer born in Appleton, Wisconsin. ... Tony Bedard is a writer and editor who has worked in the comic book industry. ... Adam Beechen is an American comic book writer, currently writing Robin and Teen Titans for DC Comics. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... The limited series is a term referring to a comic book series with a set finite number of issues. ... DC Comics is one of the largest American companies in comic book and related media publishing. ... May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the CE era. ... 52 is the title of a comic book limited series published by DC Comics, which debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. ... Paul Dini is an American television producer of animated cartoons. ... A show runner is a person who has had proven success in the television industry, and typically has close ties to executives at various major television networks. ...

Countdown consists of 52 issues, published weekly for one year, and will act as the "spine" of the DC Universe, crossing over with noteworthy and significant titles published by DC. The series covers much of the DC Universe and several characters whose disparate stories interconnect. Cover to the History of the DC Universe trade paperback. ...

Format

The teaser image for Countdown, by Phil Jimenez. It was released by DC with the caption "Let the battle cry be heard in the land, a shout of great destruction..."

Similar to its predecessor, 52, Countdown will consist of 52 issues, however they will be numbered in reverse order with the first issue numbered "51" and the final issue numbered "0". Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Cover to DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy #1. ...

Unlike 52, Countdown will not occur in 'real time', with each issue representing one week. Instead, every four issues will directly correspond to a month, allowing such creative liberties as flashbacks and cliffhangers. Countdown will also feature a different cover artist per month, beginning with the first four covers by Andy Kubert. Cover of Batman #655, the first issue of Batman & Son Andy Kubert is an American comic book artist, the son of Joe Kubert and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists. ...

In addition, crossovers with the rest of the DC Universe will be common. "...if someone dies, we will see it and deal with it in Countdown. If someone gets married, we'll see it in Countdown. Something like Amazons Attack, that will be reflected in Countdown."^[3] Cover art to Amazons Attack. ...

Promotion material

Promotion pins

At the New York Comic-Con in 2007, DC distributed four pins, with the option of a fifth, promoting storylines in Countdown. The first four pins say: "WWMMD?" ("What Would Mary Marvel Do?"), "I Found Ray Palmer," "Look to the Skies!" and "Jimmy Olsen Must Die!". The final pin says, "Darkseid Rules!"^[4] Initially Dan Didio had revealed that the Red Robin teased in the recent teaser images is Jason Todd and that he would play a part in Countdown.^[5] Didio also stated that the Flash in the image was Barry Allen. However he later retracted his statement and said he had been confused and stated that Barry Allen and Jason Todd are not coming back as Flash and Red Robin, respectively.^[6] To meet Wikipedias quality standards and conform with our NPOV policy, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Mary Marvel is a fictional character, a superhero derived from the DC Comics (formerly Fawcett Comics) character Captain Marvel. ... // History The Atom introduced during the Silver Age of comic books in Showcase # 34 (Sep-Oct 1961) is physicist and university professor Ray Palmer (named for real-life science-fiction writer Raymond A. Palmer, who was himself quite short). ... Jimmy Olsen (full name James Bartholomew Olsen) is a fictional character who appears in DC Comics’ Superman stories. ... Darkseid (pronounced dark-side) is a fictional alien supervillain published by DC Comics. ... Dan DiDio is an American comic book editor and executive. ... Robin is a fictional character published by DC Comics. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Flash is a name shared by several DC Comics superheroes. ... Barry Allen is a fictional superhero in the DC Comics Universe and the second Flash. ...

Teaser image

A teaser poster was also released, which shows Batman in a different costume (with a sword and what appears to be chain mail armor) and Donna Troy wearing her Wonder Girl costume again. An unidentified Mister Miracle (wearing Scott Free's costume) stands next to Big Barda. Mary Marvel is almost completely covered in shadow. Also notable among the poster is a Legion flight ring, a minuscule red hand (like the Atom's) sticking out of the rubble, and the bodies of Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Maxwell Lord, The Question and Jade—major or notable heroes who have recently died. The only major character to have died in the last year not present is Superboy, Connor Kent. The heroes are gathered around the head of the Statue of Liberty; the decapitated body of the statue can be seen in the background. Mister Miracle is a DC Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby, originally as part of The Fourth World series of titles. ... Big Barda is a fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine created by Jack Kirby, originally for The Fourth World series of titles. ... The Atom is a fictional comicbook superhero published by DC Comics. ... Blue Beetle is Edward (or Theodore) Ted Kord, a fictional superhero in the DC Universe. ... Maxwell Lord is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. ... The Question is an American comic book superhero. ... Jade is the codename of Jennie-Lynn Hayden, a fictional character, a superhero from DC Comics. ... Liberty Enlightening the World (French: La liberté éclairant le monde), known more commonly as the Statue of Liberty (Statue de la Liberté), is a colossal statue given to the United States by France in 1886, standing at Liberty Island, New Jersey in the mouth of the Hudson River in New...

Promotional posters

A series of promotional posters highlighting the main characters in Countdown have been released over several months. These include:

• Eclipso wearing a "WWMMD?" button, standing for "What Would Mary Marvel Do?"
• The Joker wearing a "Jimmy Olsen Must Die" Button on his lapel. Another image has the Joker grinning insanely while wearing Jimmy's press pass, his bowtie, and his Superman signal watch.
• Eclipso extending a hand to Mary Marvel and a message that reads "Seduction of the Innocent".
• Darkseid's face with the message "Unto Man Shall Come... A Great Disaster".
• Granny Goodness wearing a "Darkseid Rules!" button.
• Ray Palmer under a magnifying glass looking extremely angry with the message "I Found Ray Palmer".
• Red Robin wearing an "I Found Ray Palmer!" button.
• The hands of the Trickster and the Pied Piper handcuffed together.
• Superman wearing a "Look to the Skies!" button.

First U.S. printing, 1954 First U.K. printing, 1954 Seduction of the Innocent was a book by Dr. Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a bad form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. ...

Story (as of #49)

The teaser poster for Countdown with Darkseid on it.

In the aftermath of 52 and Infinite Crisis, on Apokolips, Darkseid and Desaad discuss the coming of a time with existence being recreated with Darkseid as the architect. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 52 is the title of a comic book limited series published by DC Comics, which debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. ... Infinite Crisis was a seven-issue limited series of comic books published by DC Comics, beginning in October of 2005. ... In the DC Comics fictional shared Universe, Apokolips was the planet ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirbys Fourth World series. ... Darkseid (pronounced dark-side) is a fictional alien supervillain published by DC Comics. ... In DC Comics comic books, Desaad is one of the followers of Darkseid from the planet of Apokolips in Jack Kirbys Fourth World meta-series. ...

Meanwhile, Mary Marvel awakens from her coma after the events of The Trials of Shazam where she lost her powers mid-flight. Still without her powers, she leaves the hospital planning to find Freddy Freeman, who paid for all her hospital bills. Mary consults Madame Xanadu in order to find out where Freddy is. Madame Xanadu cannot find him, but advises Mary about her powers, stating that she will get them back but in an altered form. She also says that its best to stay out of Gotham, because it's "not safe for magic." She goes there anyway, and is chased by thugs into an abandoned subway tunnel, none other than the same one Billy Batson discovered to contain silly statues of the 7 Deadly Enemies of Man. Mary is saved by none other than Black Adam, who has returned from his absence fully powered. Mary Marvel is a fictional character, a superhero derived from the DC Comics (formerly Fawcett Comics) character Captain Marvel. ... Captain Marvel Jr. ... Madame Xanadu is a fictional character, a mystic in the DC Comics universe. ... The Gotham skyline with the Bat-signal. ...

The Trickster and Heat Wave spend time hanging out while discussing their blurry position in between the separation of villain and hero. A spying rat relays their conversation to the Pied Piper. At a meeting of the Rogues, Mirror Master expresses his distrust of Piper and Trickster. They take Mirror Master onto a wealthy man's yacht, and, using the Piper's pipe, force him to give away his money and jump in the sea. Unknown to Mirror Master is that Piper also forced the man to swim back to shore without tiring. The Trickster is the name of two DC Comics supervillains and an enemy of the Flash. ... Heat Wave is a fictional villain in the DC Universe and a primary foe of the Flash. ... Pied Piper (real name: Hartley Rathaway) is a fictional former supervillain in the DC Comics universe. ... Mirror Master is a fictional character, a recurring foe of the Flash with large technical knowledge and skills involving the use of mirrors. ...

In New York City, Duela Dent kidnaps a woman for ransom money but is foiled by Jason Todd under the guise of the Red Hood. While running away, Duela is shot and killed by a Monitor, who claims, “This world is not yours. Your presence is not tolerated. The penalty is death.” After briefly engaging in combat with Jason, the Monitor is stopped by another Monitor saying that this action is beyond his jurisdiction. The second Monitor apologizes before they both leave and Jason finds Duela's body. Jimmy Olsen catches up with Red Hood while he is fighting "high-tech ninjas." Jimmy conducts an interview about the death of Duela and Jason tells him everything he knows. He points him towards Joker in Arkham. Joker doesn't know anything about the death of "Joker's Daughter," and further states that he doesn't even have a daughter. Jimmy is calling Lois to tell her it was a dead end while Killer Croc has escaped his restraints and is lunging at Olsen. Olsen's body and face stretch just like Plastic Man or Elongated Man would as Croc pulls his leg and neck apart. Olsen doesn't understand what just happened. Nickname: Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1625 Government  - Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area  - City  468. ... Duela Dent is a fictional character in the DC Universe. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Monitors are a group of fictional characters, owned by DC Comics who exist in that companys DC Universe. ... Jimmy Olsen (full name James Bartholomew Olsen) is a fictional character who appears in DC Comics’ Superman stories. ... The Joker is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain widely considered to be Batmans archenemy. ... Arkham Asylum as it appeared on Batman: The Animated Series. ... Killer Croc is a fictional character in DC comics. ... Plastic Man (Patrick Eel OBrian) is a fictional comic-book superhero originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. ... The Elongated Man is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. ...

A Monitor is seen later consulting the Source Wall as to the cause of rising tension in the Multiverse. After receiving the reply of “Great Disaster,” the Monitor asks for a solution to this Great Disaster. The Source Wall replies “Ray Palmer.” At their headquarters, the Monitors discuss their goal of protecting the multiverse from crossovers. The Source Wall is a fictional structure in the DC Comics universe. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... The Atom introduced during the Silver Age of comic books in Showcase # 34 (Sep-Oct 1961) is physicist and university professor Ray Palmer (named for real-life science fiction writer Raymond A. Palmer, who was himself quite short). ...

References

Links

• Blog examining Countdown and related comicss
• COUNTING DOWN TO COUNTDOWN I: DARKSEID AND THE FOURTH WORLD
• COUNTING DOWN TO COUNTDOWN, II: ECLIPSO AND JIMMY OLSEN
• COUNTING DOWN TO COUNTDOWN, III: WHO IS ORION?
• COUNTING DOWN TO COUNTDOWN, IV: THE GREAT DISASTER AND THE ATOM
• COUNTING DOWN TO COUNTDOWN, V: MARY MARVEL, TRICKSTER, PIED PIPER
• COUNTING DOWN WITH DAN DIDIO
• DOWN FOR THE COUNT I: RED HOOD & DUELA DENT
• DISHING WITH DAN: COUNTDOWN #51

• MySpace Account with online access to issues 51 and 50. Requires MySpace Account
• Image gallery of the Countdown marketing campaign