Earth 2 #2 Review
The lives of Jay Garrick and Alan Scott take dramatic turns in Earth 2 #2
Earth 2 #2
With his dying breath, the god Mercury warns Jay Garrick about the mysterious darkness heading Earth’s way, and grants the young man a weapon with which to fight it- the speed of a god! Jay wastes no time in testing out his new abilities, saving a couple from an attack of monsters left over from the Apokolips invasion. Meanwhile, Alan Scott proposes to his lover in Japan, just as the bullet train they are on crashes.
Two issues in and I’m still finding this version of the DCU to be more enjoyable than the mainstream 52verse. Or at the very least more coherent and uniform, which is only to be expected from a single comic versus an entire line of books.
Although, on that front, I take issue with Michael Holt, the main Earth’s Mr. Terrific just showing up on Earth-2 in a burst of light for no reason, with an editor’s note telling me to read MR. TERRIFIC #8. Part of the reason I first got the book was the assumption that I wouldn’t have to read any other titles. But that said, it doesn’t detract too much from the story. Basically, Holt shows up, remarks on how different Earth-2 is from his world, and then gets his butt kicked by Terry Sloane, the “original” Mr. Terrific of Golden Age. I get the sense that it’s supposed to be mysterious, and having the two Mr. Terrifics fighting it out was pretty iconic.
The big surprise this issue was the reveal that this version of Alan Scott is gay. But again, like all the characters in this title, this Alan Scott is a brand new version of a classic character. So it’s not nearly as surprising as, say, having the original Alan Scott from JSA come out of the closet. The train crash goes along with his Golden Age origin story, although I doubt the Green Lantern he finds will be a train lantern.
In keeping with revised origins, I have to say I love the idea of a speedster getting their powers from Mercury. It’s so freaking simple, even if it is a little SHAZAM-y. The suit initially put me off, as it looks more like Johnny Quick’s suit from the Crime Syndicate than it did Jay’s. But now that I’ve seen it in action, I can see and appreciate the modern updates to Jay’s suit.
I love idea that there are still lingering effects of Apokolips’ invasion, including monstrous rats that hound cities, and the fire pits pock-marking the planet’s surface. Not only does it make Earth-2 very different from Earth-0, it bucks the trend in comics of big events just being forgotten the minute they are over. How many times has the Earth almost been destroyed in the comics, only to have the damage cleaned up by the next issue, with no reference to it again?
I love that Earth-2 is a world that still has scars, both literal and figurative.
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The Flash getting his powers from the God of Speed | Between Mr. Terrific and World’s Finest, too many strings left dangling in other books for my taste |
| Rating |
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1 Comment
MR. TERRIFIC #8 was the last issue of Michael Holt’s own Nu52 title, and ended with him jumping into his “Quantum Tunneler” machine (which he had been using to try to open gateways to other universes). He didn’t know where he was going to wind up, but fans had a pretty good idea – and sure enough here he is on NuEarth-2.
I wonder if Sloan’s gig is collecting metas for the World Army – in which case he would be trying to subdue Holt until he could get him somewhere secure to explain the options (the alternatives to joining up probably wouldn’t be very nice). That would make him an antagonist but not evil.