Editing Crisis on Infinite Earths (section)

===Development===
In 1981, Wolfman was editing ''[[Green Lantern (comic book)|Green Lantern]]''. He got a letter from a fan asking why a character did not recognize [[Green Lantern]] in a recent issue despite the two having had worked together in an issue three years earlier.<ref name="Slugfest148"/> Soon afterward,<ref name="backissue30">{{cite journal|last1=Greeberger|first1=Robert|title=Crisis at 30: A Look Back at the Most Influential Crossover in Comics History|journal=[[Back Issue!]]|date=August 2015|issue=82}}</ref> Wolfman pitched ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' as ''The History of the DC Universe'',<ref name="Slugfest148">{{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Reed |date=October 2017 |title=Slugfest |location= [[New York City]]|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|page=148 |isbn=978-0306825477 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hoyYDgAAQBAJ}}</ref> seeing it as a way to simplify the DCU and attract new readers.<ref name="intempol">{{cite web|last1=Figueiredo|first1=Claudio|last2=Aragao|first2=Octavio|title=Crisis on Infinite Comics: Interview with Marv Wolfman|url=http://intemblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/crisis-on-infinite-comics-interview.html|website=Intempol|access-date=18 March 2018|date=October 12, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324041357/http://intemblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/crisis-on-infinite-comics-interview.html|archive-date=24 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> ''The History of the DC Universe''{{'}}s title was changed to ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' because its premise, involving the destruction of entire worlds, sounded more like a crisis.<ref name="backissue30" />

Wolfman said when he pitched the series to DC, he realized it was going to be a completely new beginning for the DCU.<ref name="villagewolfman">{{cite web|last1=Siegel|first1=Harry|title=Marv Wolfman on What's Got To Die For a New DC World To Live|url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2011/08/31/marv-wolfman-on-whats-got-to-die-for-a-new-dc-world-to-live/|website=[[The Village Voice]]|access-date=18 March 2018|date=August 31, 2011}}</ref> "I knew up front, and they did too, how big this was going to be," he said. "But, no-one knew how well it would sell, or whether it would sell at all. It was a risk DC was willing to take, because my thoughts were that DC needed a lot of help at that time, and they did too."<ref name="comicconinter">{{cite web|last1=MacNamee|first1=Oliver|title=Interviewing Marv Wolfman On New Teen Titans And Crisis On Infinite Earths At London Film And Comic Con|url=http://www.comicon.com/2017/08/01/interviewing-marv-wolfman-on-new-teen-titans-and-crisis-on-infinite-earths-at-london-film-and-comic-con/|website=ComicCon.com|access-date=18 March 2018|date=August 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324041311/http://www.comicon.com/2017/08/01/interviewing-marv-wolfman-on-new-teen-titans-and-crisis-on-infinite-earths-at-london-film-and-comic-con/|archive-date=24 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Wolfman also said he saw it as an attempt to improve DC's reputation for storytelling which many readers at the time saw as old-fashioned.<ref name="Slugfest149" />

The crossover was fleshed out and coordinated at a meeting attended by president [[Jenette Kahn]], [[Paul Levitz]], vice president and executive editor [[Dick Giordano]] and DC's editors.<ref name="Back34">{{cite journal |last=Eury |first=Michael |date=June 2009 |title=When Worlds Collided! Behind the Scenes of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' |journal=[[Back Issue!]] |issue=34 |pages=34–39 |publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]] }}</ref> In 1982, DC hired a researcher to go through their library and read every comic the company had published, a task that took two years.<ref name="Slugfest148" /> The series was delayed to 1983 due to the time for research,<ref name="Slugfest149">{{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Reed |date=October 2017 |title=Slugfest |location= [[New York City]]|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|page=149 |isbn=978-0306825477 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hoyYDgAAQBAJ}}</ref> and again to 1985 when it was still not ready for 1983<ref name="Slugfest149" /> and to coincide with DC's fiftieth anniversary.<ref name="visual">{{cite book |title = DC Comics Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |year=2010 |isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9}}</ref> As an event like ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' had never happened before, those working on it met for around two hours a week, which was uncommon at the time.<ref name="backissue30" />

The groundwork for the series was laid the year before it was published.<ref name="auto">''Crisis on Infinite Earths: Absolute Edition''</ref> One of the greatest challenges for Wolfman and Giordano was coming up with a story. Wolfman cited making use of every DC character and creating a plot that was fun to read and as filled with surprises as difficulties, as the series needed to sell well; if it did not, it could have caused a disaster for DC. Plotting became easier once a beginning and an ending had been determined and when Pérez became involved. ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' was DC's first mainstream [[Limited series (comics)|maxiseries]], which was still a relatively new concept.<ref name="backissue30" />

Early in planning for ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', a list was made of characters that were part of the DCU;<ref name="Back34" /> characters from other universes, such as those that formerly belonged to [[Charlton Comics]], also were used.<ref name="30reasons" /> According to Wolfman, one of the purposes of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' was to showcase all the characters DC had.<ref name="comicconinter" /> The series is infamous for its high death count.<ref name="15brutal" /> Hundreds of characters died; among the most noted was Barry Allen's. Wolfman has said he did not want to kill Allen, but DC ordered him to because it perceived the character as dull. Therefore, he conceived Allen's death—in which he runs through time before vanishing—as a way to make the character seem more interesting and hopefully spare him.<ref>{{cite web|author1=B.D.S.|title=Marv Wolfman interview|url=http://www.wtv-zone.com/silverager/interviews/wolfman.shtml|website=The WTV Zone|access-date=20 March 2018|date=2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324101650/http://www.wtv-zone.com/silverager/interviews/wolfman.shtml|archive-date=24 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Wolfman wanted to make the series unforgettable; he said that many writers had expressed interest in simplifying DC's continuity and he wanted to be the one to do so.<ref name="monitoringthepast" />

Pérez says he was not the intended artist for ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'',<ref name="syfyperez"/> but was excited when he learned about it, seeing it as an opportunity for "revenge" against Marvel, which he blamed for blocking the ''[[JLA/Avengers]]'' crossover he had been working on.{{efn|The crossover was not released until 2003.}}<ref name="Slugfest149"/> He enjoyed working with Wolfman again, and took a leave of absence from ''The New Teen Titans'' to draw the series.<ref>"George Pérez signs contract with DC, Takes leave of absence from ''Titans''{{-"}}, ''The Comics Journal'' #92 (August 1984), p. 16.</ref> DC initially did not know Pérez would want to work on it. According to Pérez, he was motivated by the fact that DC did not know if the series was going to be a success. He also wanted "to draw everybody I could get my hands on" and called illustrating the series some of the most fun he ever had. Pérez was excited because not only did he get to draw the Teen Titans again, but also obscure characters he was not familiar with, saying he could possibly have never gotten another chance.<ref name="syfyperez">{{cite web|last1=Avila|first1=Mike|title=Comics legend George Perez on DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths|url=http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/watch-comics-legend-george-perez-on-crisis-on-infinite-earths|website=[[SyFy]] Wire|access-date=18 March 2018|date=June 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324103118/http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/watch-comics-legend-george-perez-on-crisis-on-infinite-earths|archive-date=24 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Wolfman has said one panel in ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' shows the [[Marvel Universe]] being destroyed.<ref name="Slugfest150">{{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Reed |date=October 2017 |title=Slugfest |location= [[New York City]]|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|page=150 |isbn=978-0306825477 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hoyYDgAAQBAJ}}</ref> When Giordano (the series' initial [[inker]]) had difficulty meeting deadlines while continuing as DC vice president and executive editor, editorial coordinator Pat Bastienne reassigned the inking to [[Jerry Ordway]] despite Giordano's objections.<ref name="Back34"/>