Another world succumbs to the destructive power of the relentless anti-matter wave, but this time the mysterious man known as Pariah is able to save the life of one person, if only for a little while longer. Meanwhile, the android known as Red Tornado is captured by the enemy.
In this installment of Crisis on Infinite Earths the away teams of heroes are still trying to save the universe. Such teams are Superman and the Teen Titans, Firestorm and Killer Frost as well as the string pullers The Monitor and Pariah. The cover is a spoiler because this issue is where the Monitor does die. The death of the Monitor is important because from his death can the anti-monitor rise. This issue also includes the first appearance of the "New" Doctor Light (Kimiyo Hoshi).
This issue would also ripple to the basic core of the Vertigo Universe with the appearance of John Constantine. John Constantine appear in this series almost like a modern savior. Although the appearance is small it leads into the important cross-over issues for Swamp Thing #44 and #46, which a reader should read before reading installment #5 for Crisis on Infinite Earths.