As we pass the halfway point for Earth 2: World’s End, we get a glimpse of just what the endgame of this series might be. Daniel Wilson’s story has taken us across Earth 2 and Apokolips, beneath the oceans and into the air, under the fire pits that pockmark the planet, and into the lives of normal people struggling and dying at the end of the world. Now the fate of two planets hangs in the balance as the fight moves to Earth 2, and each Wonder has more and more to lose with each passing moment.
Apokolips: That whole nuclear strike thing that was supposed to destroy Apokolips? Huge shocker that more chaos would only fuel a planet designed for war and destruction. It turns out that out of the Apokolips soldiers only Barda survived the explosion, and Darkseid readies his forces to invade the planet below. The Earth 2 forces also managed to escape the explosion, and are trying to get off-planet. It seems that the action will be shifting away from Apokolips and back to Earth 2; while I’m sad to leave such an underused and diverse landscape like Apokolips, it is nice to see that all the major players will at least be on the same planet.
Amazonia: Jimmy Olsen receives a message from the Mother Box that exists inside him, telling him that it must leave him. Their time bonded together, however, has left Olsen changed. The Mother Box calls him part of the Source, which Wikipedia describes as the DC Universe’s “Buddha-nature” and “a description of the Creator-God.” After the Mother Box leaves, Olsen reveals that there is another giant ship hidden deep in space, which for those keeping score at home, makes two secret ships that are being kept in space that only one person knows about. Where do people keep getting these?
London: Flash and Hawkgirl find the former Famine barely-alive in the rubble of London, and she tells them how to beat her sister, but there is some unknown cost that the Wonders must be willing to pay. The art team really stepped up from this section onward. There is a stark beauty in what they portray from London to Chicago and then Geneva, the hopelessness of the situation being augmented by the last stand of the Wonders. Oftentimes the most vibrant things on the pages are the Wonders themselves, standing out in the banner of their uniforms or the blood on their hands, but standing out nonetheless.
Siberia: Flash shows up in Siberia to tell the Avatars the weaknesses for each Fury, as told to him by the defeated Famine. Each Avatar, conveniently, has a power that is the direct weakness to that particular Fury. War needs light for her strength, so Sam tries to block out the sun; Death is a Martian, allowing Grundy to use fire on her; and Pestilence must be drowned. All of these fail spectacularly, and Alan laments that they need the Avatar of the Red with them in order to fight with their full strength.
Chicago: I could read an entire comic line just on Dick Grayson’s arc. The art style from Kirkham et al., the action, the dialogue, the human story in a very meta-human world all are done exceptionally well in a survival-horror/apocalyptic setting. It is a simple premise, one man looking for his son, but it hits so hard and the bursts of violence explode so suddenly that it is a powerful read. I’m going to stop gushing over this now.
Geneva Firepit: Man, comic books just can’t keep a secret. The solicitation for this issue was “The final fate of Earth 2’s Clark Kent is revealed!” oh, and the name of the issue is “Sacrifice.” I WONDER WHERE THIS COULD BE GOING!? Just get the Red Avatar out of there, please.
- If I had to spell it out, Clark sacrifices himself. You saw that coming from the solicitation. He poisons the tubes that run through the facility with his blood, which causes all the shape-shifters to die. Desaad actually seemed pretty content to lose Clark.
- Current World’s End body count:
- Atom
- Barbara Grayson
- Commander Khan
- Clark Kent
Favorite Quote: “You are of the Source now.” – Mother Box
Recommended If…
- You’re in it to the end.
- You’ve been waiting for the promised body count.
- Those covers have drawn you in. I do love them.
Overall: Another strong issue for me, though not as satisfying as I would have hoped. There’s only about a dozen or so more issues left of World’s End, so the story better get together real quick.
SCORE: 7.5/10
