It’s Zero Month for DC with each of their titles getting a flashback issue to flesh out the events that happened prior to the first issues of the New 52 books.

This issue focuses on and is narrated by Mister 8, Terry Sloan.  In the old continuity, Sloan was the Golden Age Mister Terrific.  He trades that somewhat outdated moniker for the new one as he sees himself as the Eighth and Final Wonder.  He is the smartest man on the planet and hatches a plan so drastic, he must betray his fellow heroes in order to carry it out.

The bulk of this issue is devoted to images of the heroes battling Darkseid’s forces in an effort to free certain areas of the globe that have fallen under the thrall of Darkseid’s Anti-Life Equation, making them willing soldiers for the villainous New Gods.

Sloan, in his quest to find a way to save the Earth, has visited other dimensions and has seen glimpses of the future.  He feels that regardless of what anyone thinks, he knows what’s right for the planet… even if he destroys it in the process.

One other reveal worth noting is that Sloan, in listing the heroes of this Earth, says “One who I’ll refrain from mentioning now (for reasons that all who know this world and this war will understand)…”  Now who could that be?  Did someone turn traitor?  Hmmm…

Tomas Giorello’s art overall is very good.  He has a unique style, but I think it worked well.  Action scenes are a real strength for him, so the fact that most of this issue is battle scenes was an advantage.  My only quibble is that a few shots of Wonder Woman were gratuitous.  But it’s comics, so…

The story was well-written, by James Robinson.  I think he sets Sloan up as a strong villain, giving him a real motivation for his actions.  He knows he’s the smartest man on Earth, therefore he knows his decisions are the right ones.  The only problem is… that’s Ozymandias’ story.  Like, exactly!  I know there are few truly original ideas out there, but this is cut directly out of ‘Watchmen.’

Honestly, the story read well and the art was good, but the simple fact that it was so unoriginal forces me to grade it fairly harshly.

 

EARTH 2 #0
Written by James Robinson
Art by Tomas Giorello
Cover by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado and Rod Reis