Every month, Brian Salvatore will take a glimpse at “Earth 2” from James Robinson and Nicola Scott in an in-depth column we’re calling “Greetings From Earth 2.”
The fantastic image above is by Tim Daniel. Check out more of his work here.
After a two month hiatus, I’m back! I will be looking at the entire “Tower of Fate” arc, which has begun to really solidify the core team of this book. Without any further ado – to the tower!
This arc, primarily, was the introduced of Dr. Fate to the book, and just as important to that process is the introduction of Wotan. Wotan, although a villain, is the catalyst for Fate, Flash and Green Lantern to work together here and, therefore, is the catalyst for the “team” forming towards the end of the issue.
Wotan acts as a classic villain here – a defeated, revenge seeking elder statesman, not allowing himself to be bested by some “kid” like Khalid. He even has a damsel in distress in Mrs. Garrick. This is the sort of classicism that Robinson does well, and sets up khalid’s ascension to Dr. Fate quite well.
Also handled well is the choice of “Dr. Fate” as the name. The acceptance of the Fate mantle is not compromised, but enhanced, by bringing in some of his personality, in the form of the Doctor prefix. He also begins to draw a clear line between Khalid and Dr. Fate, and asks Jay to only refer to him as Dr. Fate when he is wearing the helmet of Nabu. This, he hopes, will allow him to not go insane and maintain a handle on both aspects of his life.
Meanwhile, over in Dherain, Steppenwolf and Fury show up again, and again are showing themselves to be the only true “villains” in the series so far, outside of Wotan. Even someone as seemingly dubious as Terry Sloane claims to be doing everything for “the greater good,” whereas Steppenwolf and Fury are just straight up baddies. It seems more and more likely that they will be the impetus that gathers the four connected heroes (Green Lantern, Flash, Dr. Fate and Hawkgirl), the World Army folks like Sloan and the Atom, and the rogue World Army guys like Dodds and Mister Terrific. They will have some company too, in the form of two residents of New Genesis.
The Fourth World characters being the ones to traverse the Multiverse is a wonderful and fun idea and allows characters like Mr. Miracle and Big Barda to pop up here while Orion is over on New Earth. Miracle and Barda are one of comics’ best pairings, and they will fit into the Earth 2 mosaic quite well.
Somehow I missed reporter Lee Travis’s name in prior issues, but when I saw it out front and center this issue, I needed to dig and see what I found. What I found was the alter ego of the Crimson Avenger, who was one of the first ever superheroes according to DC legend (although he debuted after Batman and Superman and many others, he is often referred to as the first hero). Whether or not Travis, in “Earth 2” will ever become a hero, or if the name is just in tribute, remains to be seen.
Some of Nicola’s best panels for the past three issues:
1. New Batman = Superman
I cannot track it down right now, but after “Earth 2” #1, an interview was floating around (or perhaps a recap from a panel at a convention) where Dan DiDio mentioned that Superman “may not be dead.” Batman and Wonder Woman’s deaths were much clearer and shown in more detail than Superman’s was. And so, above, we see Earth 2’s new Batman – he looks much more muscular than we’d expect Batman to look, and he now has red as part of his costume. To me, those are two big clues that Earth 2 Clark Kent is actually the new Batman, and is adopting his late friend’s mantle as a tribute and a way of protecting his own identity. We’ll find out later this month (hopefully).
Continued below2. What transformed Kendra?
It is never stated what transformed Kendra from regular woman to winged wonder, and at first I assumed it was Wotan that transformed her, but he is not mentioned at all in this flashback. So who did change her? My guess is that, due to her link to the World Army, that this was actually a government job to try and replicate the wonders of the Ternium.
3. Alan, too, will be inspired by Jay (because Jay = Superman)
Jay, as the emblem of all that is selfless and heroic on Earth 2, is priming himself to inspire others in the way that Superman does on New Earth. He inspired Khalid to embrace his role as Dr. Fate, he inspires trust and faith in his mother, and he inspires fear from the government. This all sounds very Superman-ish, although his skill set is much more limited. Although, this issue’s reveal about his ability to control the appearance of his costume, since it comes from his mind hints at greater things to come from Jay and his powers.
4. Mama Garrick is more important than we think
And just like Ma Kent, Mrs. Garrick is an important person in her son’s life. Her true importance will be revealed later, as he willpower and confidence hint that maybe she isn’t such a normal person after all. Sure, Jay was given the gift of speed from Mercury, but maybe his mind-control powers come from somewhere – or someone – else.
5. The Living Thunderbolt
Issue #12 mentions an event known as the “Living Thunderbolt” happening before Grundy’s appearance. To me, this can only mean one thing: the return of Johnny Thunder:
For those that don’t know, Thunder was a dim-witted man who could call upon a genie-like hero called a Thunderbolt by saying a magic word. Thunder was always shown to be a dimwitted, slow person, who didn’t even realize he could control when the Thunderbolt appeared. Think Billy Batson/Captain Marvel, but with Batson being stupid instead of young.
Robinson is a writer who handles diversity really well, so I ask this question: could Thunder be re-written as a character never seen in comics – a mentally handicapped one? It would follow a similar logic to the Golden Age Thunder, where here is a person who no one would suspect to have superpowers, being able to call on one almost accidentally. That, to me, is far more interesting than another dumb dumb alter ego.
6. Sam, the Hoarder
GL and Hawkgirl are trying to solve why Sam, Alan’s boyfriend, was the target of a terrorist attack, and they find this:
Dead Parademons. Lots of them.
Could Sam have been an Apokolyptian sympathizer? A war criminal/profiteer? A dead Parademon fetishist? This storyline isn’t going anywhere, and could go almost anywhere.
Next Month Issue: The Annual!
Thanks for reading!
