Superman has come face-to-face with not only his Kryptonian brethren, but also his dead wife, Lois Lane, who’s been reanimated in the body of Red Tornado. Green Lantern has returned from the grave, the remnants of the World’s Army are gathering on Amazonia, and Batman is with the remaining Wonders busy underneath Gotham City plotting their counterattack.
Lois manages to convince Superman not to obliterate Val on the spot, and instead reminds him of who he used to be. This has a noticeable change on Clark, and he immediately changes his nature and visibly softens when Red Tornado Lois says who she is. So of course, the two have to go on the most awkward date of all-time.
The Bat-cave becomes the main target of Superman’s forces, but seeing as how he’s busy with Red Tornado Lois, he’s left the massacring to his Parademons. It’s not until I finished the issue that I realized that the majority of these Wonders who were in the cave were just normal humans. You’ve got Batman, Red Arrow, and Sato doing most of the fighting, and it’s once again that theme of humans being able to fend for themselves. Earth 2 was able to survive on its own without Wonders for a time, and the best fighters the human race has to offer hold their own against monsters from another world for a time.
Alright, Val’s pacifism is getting to me in a bad way. A wounded Kendra is being attacked by Superman’s Parademons and Val just uses himself as a human shield and refuses to fight. I get that your parents were scientists and you believe in the whole “violence never solves anything,” but sometimes you’re fighting an enemy that won’t respond to anything other than aggression. The Parademons haven’t demonstrated intelligence or anything other than a slave-hive-mentality, and clearly don’t have the reasoning skills that a brilliant Kryptonian mind like one of Val’s parents. You are just going to let your ass get handed to you and probably get Kendra killed because you have a high horse against fighting?
The artwork by Nikola and Trevor Scott was unusually hit-and-miss for me this issue. I still don’t like the close ups and facial expressions of Red Tornado Lois. She looks too human, and every incarnation of Red Tornado that I’ve seen is extremely robotic. Red Tornado Lois is supposed to be this super-enhanced android, but she looks more like a human Wonder in a metallic suit a la the DCU Steel. The second half of the issue, revolving around the siege on the Bat-cave, was exceptionally well done. The Bat-Cave itself it sadly barren, with pretty much nothing besides the Bat-Computer, but the action inside is very kinetic and frantic (pretty much how I would imagine any fight inside the Cave). I enjoyed how it was done, and the beasts of Apokolips felt like a legitimate threat.
- So Superman goes and visits the folks. Not only are they both alive and clearly terrified, but it seems as if he’s been there before. Did the Kents know that their son was alive and clearly altered in some way? I don’t think they would have allowed Clark to forget their parentage and life lessons.
- Red Arrow dies, but it’s cool, because Doctor Fate let him know he was going to die seconds before it happened. One less Wonder that I didn’t care about.
- Batman initiates “Protocol Azrael” which starts a self-destruct sequence in the Bat-cave. It’s an awesome name and the final image of the issue is powerful and pulls a little at the heartstrings.
- Green Lantern looked bad-ass when he’s standing in front of all the Wonders telling him that the planet itself is almost forcing him to attack Superman and the Parademons.
- Green Lantern stays behind and is consumed in the explosion with Hawkgirl while the rest flee with Sandman. He says he has a plan…I hope it doesn’t involve him dying again. For the record, that’s like the fourth fiery explosion Alan Scott has been in.
Favorite Quote: “Superman doesn’t kill.” – Red Tornado Lois
Recommended If…
- You want to see the Superman-Lois reunion.
- You love pacifist super-beings.
- You always enjoy a good fight inside the Bat-cave.
Overall:
The longer this reign of terror by Superman is allowed to continue, the more Earth 2 will suffer. We’ve already seen Wonders killed, continents ripped asunder, and gods taken down. There’s a lot of action in this comic, and it’s about time that the forces of Earth 2 start fighting back for real.
SCORE: 7/10
