You knew as soon as it was getting good with Huntress and Powergirl that DC would pull the rug out from underneath them and turn this into another Batman and Superman story. As if Batman/Superman wasn’t enough, or their indirect team-up in books like Justice League. So if you absolutely needed more Bruce and Clark team-ups, I guess this is your bronze medal. Alas, Huntress and Powergirl have moved on to bigger and better things in Earth 2 and Earth 2: World’s End.
The last time we saw Bruce or Clark on Earth 2, they were killed. So everyone knows how this story ends. Hint to any writers out there: knowing if/when/how/why your main characters die completely ruins any suspense you plan on creating from here on out. Oh no, Doomsday is beating up Superman, I wonder if he will die! Nope, because we saw him die over two years ago in Earth 2 Issue 1 (sorry if I spoiled that). That means you need to make your stories super-interesting or do a ton of fan service. This issue does neither, and it’s not even close.
We get to unoriginal backstories about Bruce and Clark, things we’ve seen hundreds of times in films and books and television. The only thing that’s different is that it’s told from the perspective of Red Tornado Lois, who is telling these stories because it’s supposed to keep the legacy of Earth 2 alive? By recounting these stories – while fighting for the safety of Earth 2 by the way – she becomes the narrator and pretty much says 90% of all dialogue/monologue in this issue. When the narrator is the biggest voice in your issue, there’s most likely a problem.
Here’s Paul Levitz’s story. Krypton blows up and it’s Jor-El’s fault; Jor-El is also kind of a jerk. Apokolips showed up and wanted Clark, and would save the planet in exchange for Clark (so they say) but Jor-El is like “Nope, I’ll just let my planet die, which was my fault anyway.” Cool dad, Clark. Thomas got into another argument with the Falcone family, and that gets him and Martha shot. Basically, read Earth 2 Annual Issue 2. It’s way better than this.
The artwork is dreadful to look at, though that might be because I was using guided view on a website. But wow, it looked like it was half done and drawn by someone who just was not detail oriented. Jed Dougherty and Scott Hanna do a half-sodded job with these characters, where each one looks like a half-finished product. Then again, that just may be the result of me having a close-up of each digitally-rendered panel.
I’m not going to lie, stay away from this issue. It’s something you’ve seen a thousand times, you don’t need it again.
- The only thing that even makes this an Earth 2 story is the mention of Alan Scott, who was born in Gotham Hospital apparently and was a target of a baby-assassination. They were clearly unsuccessful.
Favorite Quote: “He’s not running a Wayne out of Gotham.” – Thomas Wayne
Recommended If…
- You need to see the Batman and Superman origins again…
Overall:
When I say that Huntress and Powergirl were probably going to be more interesting than what’s going to come, that’s a bad sign. This isn’t worth it, you’ve seen all this before.
SCORE: 1/10
