Of Course... I mean, we are all happy. It's just... Well, I remember being dead. Where did we come from? 
- — Ultraman
Animal Man #23 is an issue of the series Animal Man (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 1990. It was published on March 29, 1990.
Synopsis for "Crisis"
The Psycho-Pirate prepares for the second Crisis, donning his costume and Medusa Mask. As he walks the halls of Arkham Asylum, he comes face to face with a number of characters who had been removed from continuity, following the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
The Yellow Aliens who granted Animal Man his powers guide Dr. James Highwater to Arkham, explaining that all of the different versions of reality are converging there. Inside, they hope to have a part in preventing the apocalypse.
In the past, Animal Man and the Phantom Stranger meet with Jason Blood and the Immortal Man. With their unique perspective on death, the three immortals do their best to convince Buddy of the value of life and living, and the nature of death. When Buddy realizes his value, he suddenly returns to the Timestream.
Meanwhile, as Highwater and the aliens near the epicentre of the anomalies, the out-of-continuity characters start to realize the nature of the the universe, with Ultraman eventually falling out-of-panel. As the danger grows, the aliens and Highwater become more agitated, wondering where Animal Man is.
Suddenly, as things come to a head, Animal Man arrives.
Appearing in "Crisis"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Overman (First appearance)
- Psycho-Pirate
Other Characters:
- Aquagirl
- Batman from an alternate universe
- Beppo (Earth-One)
- Binky (Final appearance)
- Bug-Eyed Bandit
- John Bunyan (Mentioned only)
- Crime Syndicate of America (Earth-Three)
- Detective Chimp
- Golden Gladiator
- Adolf Hitler (In a photograph only)
- Ken Kesey (Mentioned only)
- Gengis Khan
- Timothy Leary (Mentioned only)
- Abraham Lincoln (In a photograph only)
- Icicle
- Kole
- Love Syndicate of Dreamworld
- Maaldor
- Peggy (Final appearance)
- Prince Ra-Man
- Psimon
- Red Mask
- Ronald Reagan (Mentioned only)
- Robin from an alternate universe
- Sargon the Sorcerer
- Vandal Savage (Mentioned only)
- Scarecrow
- Spectre from an alternate universe
- Streaky the Super-Cat (Earth-One)
- Ten-Eyed Man
- Ubermensch
- Sir Robin
Locations:
- Multiverse
- New Earth
- 1672 (Mentioned only)
- California
- Gotham City
- Earth-Seventeen (First appearance)
- Heaven (Mentioned only)
- Hell (Mentioned only)
- New Earth
Items:
- Daily Planet
- Doomsday Bomb
- The Flash #123
- Medusa Mask
- Watchmen
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in Animal Man: Deus Ex Machina and Animal Man Omnibus.