Countdown Presents the Search for Ray Palmer: Wildstorm # 1 (of 1)

The multiverse-displaced team of Kyle Rayner, Donna Troy and Jason Todd journey to the Wildstorm universe for some violent encounters with various Wildstorm characters. Don't expect a lengthy story however. This is basically a day-tour with brief cameos of such characters as the Gen13 gang, Grifter and Wetworks. The main event is a fight with selected members of the Authority where the DCU gang hold their own despite the Authority's more vicious tactics. This issue gives a few details on the search for Ray Palmer and how they expect to find a subatomic man in a series of infinite universes. Other than that, it doesn't really add much to the wider story. The Wildstorm universe apparently isn't critical to the whole CRISIS storyline but the short trip does help to emphasize the differences between the mainstream DC world and Jim Lee's pet universe. All the characters are portrayed well and even readers who don't know anything about the Wildstorm line can enjoy this tale. The art is excessively dark, perhaps in an effort to show us readers that this is a "darker" universe than the bright and happy (yeeeeaaahh...) DC universe we are used to. But just the same, it almost gets in the way of the story. Mr. Majestic, for one, looks particularly messed up. But the DC team is looking pretty good. Three and a half stars out of five.