Following the defeat of Grundy at the hands of the New Wonders, the previous issue of Earth 2 dealt with the events following the birth of the world’s newest heroes. Alan Scott is mourning the loss of his boyfriend, Sam, who died in a fiery explosion that consumed the train the two were travelling in. Kendra is still on the run from the World Army and The Atom, and Flash is dealing with “personal business” which we have yet to see. The latest installment of the series takes a break from our Wonders, and instead focuses on the greatest threat to ever face Earth 2 – Steppenwolf.
For those who have not been following since the first issue, Steppenwolf is a warlord from Apokolips and the villain behind The Apokolips War. He personally killed Wonder Woman and was responsible for the deaths of Superman and Batman, as well as incalculable damage to Earth 2’s cities and ecosystems. Last we heard of Steppenwolf, it was being reported that he was most likely hiding out somewhere on Earth. James Robinson’s story takes us to the country of Dherain, where King Marov is meeting with a suddenly diplomatic Steppenwolf.
“Lazy Sunday” is anything but, as Steppenwolf quickly turns the tables on Marov, who was planning to attack Steppenwolf from the start. Apparently, Steppenwolf is down to just one subordinate, but it is an electric and instantly memorable moment when “The Fury of Steppenwolf” reveals itself. (I’m using neutral terms to not spoil anything, but hey, you’ve seen the cover.)
Without spoiling a great deal, things do not go well for the soldiers of Dherain, with Fury and Steppenwolf showing off their skills with brutal efficiency and bloodlust. I’ll just leave it at that, because this issue really is a lot of well-drawn panels and very little conversation. It’s a good change from last issue’s very wordy nature, with Steppenwolf and Fury battling the forces of Dherain in relative silence. There really isn’t much else to say, this issue was something of a filler; there’s a lot of action but nothing really happens that changes things for our Wonders.
Like I mentioned before, the artwork is still very well done, but Steppenwolf comes off as weak. I know his forces were destroyed in The Apokolips War, but he’s resorted to trying to take over third-world countries. For what reason? I just didn’t see the logic in his actions. Also, I can understand drawing Flash as multiple copies of himself in order to demonstrate motion – even though I don’t like it – but not everything that moves should be done the same way.
- Madov’s armor looks similar to Red Rocket’s
- Steppenwolf takes over a third-world country that’s apparently guarded by twenty dudes. Hope you feel good about yourself.
- So the entire country just bowed down and accepted that an alien warlord took over their country? And no one in the World’s Army noticed? Dherain should have been wiped off the map for actually helping Steppenwolf in the last war.
- Looks like Steppenwolf will be the next enemy for our Wonders to face in order to stop his schemes for expansion.
Favorite Quote: “Kill me? How…when you’re so busy dying?” – Fury
Recommended If…
- You want to see what Steppenwolf has been up to.
- You’re a fan of over-the-top and brutal combat.
- You like fillers?
Overall: This article definitely feels like it was just thrown in for no reason. There are cooler ways of introducing Steppenwolf as the new enemy for the Wonders if that was the plan. If you’re looking for plot progression, don’t bother.
SCORE: 5/10
