All hell has broken loose as Superman, who was believed to be dead, returns in the thrall of Darkseid. While what remains of the World Army attempts to pull itself together, The Flash tries to distract the newly evil Man of Steel. But… I mean it’s Superman. On top of that, it’s kind of a Darkseid powered Superman, complete with zig-zagging heat vision.
Elsewhere, a Batman that is definitely not Bruce Wayne… and may not even be human… attempts to free certain beings that he hopes to use to fight back against the invading army from Apokalips. He also comes face-to-face with the new Red Tornado. Even though her identity was revealed last issue, I still won’t spoil it here. Needless to say, it’s a bit of a twist. Speaking of twists one of the other heroes recruited is also a fresh spin on an existing character.
I’m not sure what to make of the new Batman. If I had to guess, I’d say he was somehow a super powered version of Dick Grayson. It certainly seems to be someone with a connection to Bruce Wayne, even though it’s previously been shown that Helena Wayne, Bruce’s daughter was Robin at the time that the “wonders” were perceived to be killed. But that’s the only thing I can think of.
If you like parallel universe stories, this is a fun series, with all its alternate takes on previously existing characters. You have to accept, though, that this isn’t the classic Golden Age Justice Society. In this issue we sort of see “wave two” of the cast coming together, as Batman assembles his new rag tag team similarly to the way Hawkgirl, The Flash and Green Lantern formed the first team and then brought on the other characters. The book has been a bit shaky, but new writer Tom Taylor seems to have a solid grasp on it. I enjoy it!
And Nicola Scott’s art, as usual looks amazing, so even if the writing were sub-par, this could be one of those books you buy just because it’s pretty! This is shaping up to be a pretty solid book and rumor has it, that soon ‘Earth 2’ will be interacting with Earth 1, the principle DC Earth. If that happens, you might want to jump on board and get versed on this world in the meantime.
EARTH 2 #18
Written by Tom Taylor
Art by Nicola Scott
Cover by Ethan Van Sciver and Hi-Fi
