Here you are:

Darkseid took over Earth.
Superman beat Darkseid.
Mandrakk pops in for some meta theme.
Superman beats Mandrakk.

It's really quite simple.

Can I hate it without wishing for a retcon?

Can't it just be forgotten?

Not quite the same. Just ask Amanda Waller.

Yes and no. I mean 'yes' as in he is in there (and "no, wasn't offtopic"), he might not have been featured prominently, but he had his moment of gory glory (as already mentioned). And the figure I had in mind would be quite different from the pog weak even by pog standards.

Batman, Barry Allen, Wally West, and the Black Racer beat Darkseid.

Issue 7 was ridiculously SHORT, and disappointing. This series featured some tantalizing plots but ultimately disregarded any kind of satifying conclusion to them.

Wonder Woman and the other transformed DC women, what happened?

Checkmate and the OMACS, just a holding action?

The resistance on the JLA satellite, just looking out the window?

The Super Young Team, a cameo?

Barry Allen, was he even necessary?

I think we all knew we were in trouble when the Reality Altering Machine was introduced, giving a very literal meaning to Deus ex Machina.

I've enjoyed the spinoffs, they were much tighter.

This might have been much better with a Seven Soldiers treatment allowing each subplot to manifest more fully.

There's very little that happens in it that affects anything currently pertinent in the DC universe. It's such a flash-in-the-pan at the end that there should be no need to retcon it or even forget it.

I haven't read it yet (comics weren't in yesterday, just my Red Lantern shirt and the Previews), but I just have to save this quote forever. It is so classic.

I suggest much in the way of rereading.

While I am a fan of this series, I confess that you are correct. This story IS much easier to understand if you read the outside series, but most of them weren't important.

Final Crisis crossovers and how I'd rank their importance:

1. Superman Beyond - Important!
Mandrakk is much more clearly understood if you see his first fight with Superman. This two-parter also introduced the Ultima Thule and the legion of multiversal Supermen.

2. Legion of 3 Worlds - ??????
I don't know; I didn't read this series, but I feel like I understood Final Crisis just fine without it, so I don't think it was as crucial as was claimed.

3. Rage of the Red Lanterns - Completely unnecessary
While this comic is enjoyable on its own merits, it adds absolutely nothing to a reader's understanding of Final Crisis.

4. Rogue's Revenge - Completely unnecessary
Ditto.

5. Revelations - Nice, but unnecessary
While the entire story is critically set within the Final Crisis events, I couldn't think of one thing that a Final Crisis reader could do without.

6. Resist & Submit - A little helpful, but not critically so.
In Final Crisis, one of the fronts in which Darkseid's Anti-Life forces are fought involves the last stand at the JLA satellite and the Tattooed Man's role in the battle. These comics offer some nice details on that. As I recall, the Checkmate issue, though good, actually confuses more than helps being a very different reaction to the way Checkmate acted in Final Crisis itself.

7. Final Crisis Secret Files - Nice, but unnecessary

8. Requiem - Nive, but unnecessary

9. Countdown - Horribly unnecessary
This comic, rather than being helpful, actually is the opposite. It actually impairs understanding and appreciation of Final Crisis. While Morrison does offer one-sentence explanation of the conflicting events, Countdown is a huge albatross around the neck of Final Crisis.

10. Death of the New Gods - Horribly unnecessary
Ditto. While reportedly not quite as bad as Countdown, it certainly belongs in the same category when trying to understand Final Crisis.

11. Batman (2 parter immediately following RIP) - Necessary
This two-parter describes Batman's struggle against Darkseid's minions, filling in details most readers would rather have available.

So, in the end, I guess a reader wanting to understand Final Crisis is just fine if they get Final Crisis #s 1-7, 2 issues of Batman, and Superman Beyond #1-2. That's 11 comics total, not so horrible for a major company event. The rest are just supporting details that range wildly in quality and relevance.

I'll do that, but issue #7 has more of a pastiche feel to it, and I don't expect these 'exciting' conclusions to take up more time than reading your synopsis did. Additionally, your retort is only slightly less succinct than the actual conclusion, and just as devoid of detail. Here's an even shorter version - Final Crisis #7 - And then everything went back to normal...

And I forgot another subplot.

Libra and the villains, a throwaway line in the conclusion?

I think, the thing to look for when reading the series is that it really doesn't do anything in the way of exposition. What we're used to reading in a page is compressed into a panel. It's all there, you just have to pay a smidge more attention to it.

Libra got owned by Luthor. Luthor then used the villians to fight Darkseid.

Personally, I didn't like the series (with exception to Superman Beyond, which is well worth buying) but if you want to know what happens it's all there. It's just really, really condensed and compressed.

This about sums it up for me...it's scary that I knew exactly who Yankee Poodle and Pig Iron were, but no idea who Mandarkk was. And he was apparently the big bad?

(That's right...Yankee Poodle #####es.)

I also preferred Superman Beyond. I'm just taking issue with a 'really, really condensed and compressed' Crisis conclusion. I've invested time in the 6 main issues (and spin-offs) of this Final Crisis. The payoffs in the Final Issue should extend beyond 1 to 3 panels per subplot.

Well, after reading reactions... I think the problem with Final Crisis is that they should have had 8 issues and not 7, and they didn't have enough happening in the first three issues and thus tried to cram everything in the last four.

Spread it out to be more even.

(Getting #7 today, need it for closure.)

Morrison was forced to rewrite issue 7. So some of the blame can go on the Editor.

No, he wasn't.

Read Newsarama.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/0109...al-Crisis.html