FINAL CRISIS: SECRET FILES #1

COVER TAGLINE: None RELEASE DATE: January 2, 2009 PRICE: $3.99 U.S. EDITOR(s): Eddie Berganza; Adam Schlagman COVER: Frank Quitely; Jim Lee, Richard Friend & Randy Major (Sliver Cover) Cover Art Alternate Art Solicited Art Variant Cover INTERIOR ART:
TITLE: Balancing Act! WRITER(s): Len Wein PENCILER(s): Tony Shasteen INKER(s): Tony Shasteen COLORS: Alex Bleyaert LETTERS: Rob Leigh CHARACTERS: Libra (Justin Ballantine); Starman (Professor Ted Knight); Desaad; Darkseid; Metron; Glorious Godfrey; Batman (Bruce Wayne); Superman (Clark Kent); Flash (Barry Allen); Green Lantern (Hal Jordan); Aquaman (Arthur Curry); Elongated Man (Ralph Dibney); Chronos (David Clinton); Mirror Master (Sam Scudder); Poison Ivy (Pamela Isley); Scarecrow (Professor Jonathan Crane); Shadow Thief (Carl Sands); Tattooed Man (Abel Tarrant); Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders); Human Flame (Mike Miller); Lex Luthor; Vandal Savage; Martian Manhunter PLOT: After a drunkard pharmacist's negligence took the life of his terminally ill mother, Justin Ballantine is left in the care of his abusive alcoholic father. As his father's abuse worsened, Justin sought comfort in the stars above him. After saving all of his money, Justin finally bought a telescope so that he could examine and feel closer to his distant friends. One night, after watching his father topple over the side of his apartment building during a drunken tirade, Justin learned of the delicate balance between life and death and how easily the scales could be tipped in either direction. With both of his parents gone, the orphaned Ballantine focused all of his energy on his school work, earning himself a scholarship to Opal University - home of Professor Ted Knight, the one-time Starman. As the costumed hero, Knight used his Cosmic Rod to harness the energy of the stars above and give him the ability to fight evil. After taking every one of Professor Knight's classes, Justin sneaked into Knight's private office one night and stole the schematics for the Cosmic Rod. He then returned to his own laboratory and, using the stolen technology, created what he called his Energy-Transmortifier - a machine capable of absorbing half the energy from the entire galaxy and transferring it into Ballantine. Justin decides that the best way to make sure the Transmortifier works is to first test it out by absorbing one half of the extraordinary abilities possessed by the Justice League. Crafting himself an outfit and taking on the name Libra, Justin is unsure of how to go about getting the League's attention. Luckily for him, someone else is personally interested in making sure the Transmortifier works. A mysterious man in a black suit shows up at Libra's laboratory and offers him assistance. The man (and his even more mysterious benefactor) decide to expedite Libra's experiments by providing him with his own Satellite station complete with a state of the art scientific laboratory and teleportation device. Libra accepts the man's gracious offer and begins recruiting the Injustice Gang of the World and sends them out to capture the League members' abilities. With the Justice League captured and held hostage in giant test tubes, Libra decides it's time to put the Transmortifier to it's greatest test. While the League begins working in tandem to free themselves from their restraints, Libra meanwhile starts up the Transmortifier and begins to receive the energies of the universe beamed directly into his body. He grows to giant size while half of all of the information, power and energy of the entire galaxy is delivered into his being. But eventually the power becomes to great and his mind becomes so inundated with power and information that he can no longer maintain his physicality. The knowledge tears at him until his thoughts become so disjointed that his body ceases to exist and his consciousness is sent sprawling out across the galaxy in infinite directions, his mind set adrift in space - totally and irrevocably insane. After drifting through space for an incalculable amount of time, Libra awakens to find himself once again corporeal - lying in the sands of Apokolips - staring up at Metron himself. He is taken by Desaad and brought to a torture chamber where the man in the black suit reveals himself to be none other than Glorious Godfrey. His enigmatic benefactor - Darkseid joins them and explains that Libra's ability to bridge the gap between Earth and Apokolips without the use of a Boom Tube is of great interest to him. Without even having to be tortured, Libra automatically swears an allegiance to the Dark one and offers up his services to aid Darkseid in his future plans for Earth and the dawn of the Fifth World. With that, Libra is sent via Boom Tube back to Earth. There he sets about gathering together Earth's recently returned villains and offering them the choice between total obedience to the ways of Darkseid or mindless slavery brought on by his Anti-Life helmets. He plans on off-setting the balance between good and evil so that Darkseid out-weighs all.	TITLE: The Words of Lilith: Chapter 13, Verses 31-41 WRITER(s): Greg Rucka ILLUSTRATIONS: Steve Lieber PAGE DESIGN: Eric S. Trautmann PLOT: This passage from the Words of Lilith fortells of Cain's resurrection and how it will pave the way for Darkseid inheriting the Earth. It speaks as to how the Spear of Destiny will be used to unmake the Old God and enslave humanity and God's servant The Spectre. But it also warns that should the tears of the Spear be found, the 'unmaker' will be unmade and "the Faithless who wields it will become his undoing."
TITLE: The Anti-Life Equation WRITER(s): Grant Morrison PLOT: The Anti-Life Equation, the ultimate weapon of evil has long be sought after by Darkseid. The Equation is a mathematical formula capable of defeating and disproving human free will. Activated thousands of years ago within the DNA coils of early humans, Darkseid began his search for this weapon. Although the equation has taken many forms of the years, it's ultimate manifestation is incomprehendable by mortal minds due to it's origins within the higher vibratory world of the New Gods. Recently, Darkseid has mastered the Anti-Life which caused a disastrous war in Heaven which resulted in the "death" of the New Gods and Darkseid's subsequent catastrophic fall into the material world. Currently, only one man has ever been known to be able to resist the equation - the master escape artist Shilo Norman (aka Mister Miracle).	TITLE: Secret Files Sketchbook WRITER(s): Grant Morrison ARTIST: J.G. Jones CHARACTERS: Justifiers; Dark Mary Marvel; Captain Allen Atom; Doc Fate (Earth-20); Overman (Karl Kant, Earth-10); Overgirl (Earth-10); Mandrakk the Dark Monitor; Superdemon (Earth-17); Weeja Dell; Aquaman PLOT: Shunned for being "infected" by the stories and germs of those they observe, the greatest of the Monitors Dax Novu ("the Radiant One") is reborn as Mandrakk the Dark Monitor. As Mandrakk he becomes the ultimate of all of the Monitors or "angels" created by the hive mega-mind abstract Monitor intelligence tasked with overseeing the complexities of the Earths within the Mutliverse.

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READING: DC Universe Special - Justice League of America #1