The past few issues have established Khalid Ben-Hassin as the new Doctor Fate.  Finally, here he cuts loose, battling Wotan in the skies above Boston.  Green Lantern and Hawkgirl are investigating the death of Sam, GL’s boyfriend in China, but the mystical energy that powers GL draws him to the magical duel, where he and The Flash are basically reduced to running interference, saving bystanders from falling debris.

This book is consistently one of the most gorgeous mainstream super hero books on shelves, and that certainly carries over here.  Nicola Scott excels in every area, prettiness, drama, pacing and storytelling.  Her characters are all very attractive and unique.  I love the variation in the different characters’ looks.  Too often, you can obviously tell that one artist has designed all of the costumes of a particular team, but here, Scott mixes up the sundry characters’ designs and I love the intricate look of the new Doctor Fate, which is sleek and mixes ancient Egyptian influences with high tech accents on top of a Donna Troy-style navy blue “space” pattern suit.  Meanwhile, Wotan is a mixture of Tim Hiddleston as Loki and Elphaba from Wicked by way of Hot Topic.

Something is building in the DC Universe and I think this book and Worlds’ Finest are going to prove quite important, as both are heavily tied to Darkseid and Apokolips.  In this issue, the heroes learn that Darkseid’s lieutenant Steppenwolf, who decimated their world, is still there.

Nicola Scott’s re-invention of Doctor Fate, Khalid Ben-Hassin

Doctor Fate is not yet fully experienced, but he develops his powers during the clash and it’s a completely new spin on the character’s powers, which I really enjoyed.  He’s not as vaguely magical anymore.  His powers come from a specific source and I really enjoyed that.  So far, I really have been enjoying these new takes on old characters, with Green Lantern being my least favorite at this point, but hopefully that will change as things continue.

This book is beautiful and the story is growing increasingly interesting and I suspect that it will eventually play a large part in the New 52 as a whole.  The dialogue isn’t razor sharp, but it’s certainly natural and interesting enough.  The story lines are not ground breaking, but it’s solid.  It’s definitely worth a look!

 

EARTH 2 #12
Written by James Robinson
Art by Nicola Scott
Cover by Booth, Rapmund and Dalhouse