Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray; Art by Jim Calafiore; Covers by Andy Kubert and Tim Townshend

The event of the year is here! This brand-new, year-long weekly series features a cast of hundreds where anything goes! With head writer Paul Dini and a rotating team of some of the industry's best writers and artists, COUNTDOWN will serve as the backbone of the DCU in 2007.

When a character dies in COUNTDOWN 51, it sets off an unexpected ripple that will touch virtually every character in the DC Universe.

The COUNTDOWN is on?so begins the end!