Look at that beauty of a cover! Right from the start, Ben Oliver’s cover art pulls you in to a no-holds barred match-up between Darkseid and Powergirl. For a super-powered Kryptonian, she sure looks overmatched. If there’s one thing this series has gotten right, it would be the sheer strength and magnitude of Darkseid’s power. Not one thing that Earth 2 has thrown at him has felt like the slightest of challenges for him, which is one of the many reasons that this incarnation of Darkseid is in my opinion the best the New 52 has offered so far.
Outside of squaring off on the cover, these two never actually fight in this issue, though it is teased at for next issue. We get some interesting developments in Daniel Wilson’s story, and the final stages seem set going forward for the series’ finale. With the addition of some exceptional artwork from another new, slimmed down art team, this book is loaded with awesome moments directly juxtaposed with awful, head-scratching ones.
Apokolips: Darkseid! I won’t lie, I’ve come to love bad-ass, arrogant, self-assured World’s End Darkseid way more than the Justice League version of the character. Val and Kara have broken through into the main chamber where all the heads (sometimes literally) of Apokolips have gathered? No problem, we’ve already won. The two Kryptonians make an awful mess of the Court of Apokolips, able to fight to the fullest extent for the first time in about forever. There are some absolutely fantastic scenes in these two segments – from Darkseid ripping the shield off of Val’s chest to Kara giving the single best line of dialogue in the entire series.
Atom’s Haven: Flash and Hawkgirl are getting refugees, including Jay’s mother, onto the escape ships. Jay claims that his mother does not want to leave Earth 2 and is forcing her to go for her sake. Kendra calls him a coward before being interrupted by Aquawoman, who comes in riding on a giant worm. What?! I’m not even going to bother. This scene left a bad taste in my mouth for a bunch of reasons: Jay’s uncharacteristic actions, Kendra insulting him for caring about his mother, and Aquawoman thinking that it would be a good idea to come in riding a monster.
“Nearby”: Also in Atom’s Haven, Barda meets up with Fury. They are about to board a ship when they are stopped by Dick and Ted, who cannot get aboard any of the vessels. By the greatest of coincidences, Dick gives his son to Barda, which will certain have no repercussions going forward.
TSS Endurance: The crew of the Endurance are scrambling to make space for the refugees hurtling towards them from Atom’s Haven. They notice a “green light” and no one has any idea what it could be. Sloan even says “Finally, something to fight.” You guys all know that there’s a Wonder who uses green light as a weapon and you don’t realize that Alan is trying to get in? Anyway it’s not surprising at all when Lantern bursts through the airlock instead of like…asking to come in and not destroying critical components of the ship. He claims that the crew has the key to him saving the planet.
- DARKSEID! DARKSEID! DARKSEID! DARKSEID!
Favorite Quote: “One more Kryptonian down, is that what you’re thinking? One more Superman knocked in the dust. You sad old monster. You want to know who this word’s Superman is? It’s me!” – Kara
Recommended If…
- You’re in it!
- You don’t mind some nonsensical scenes and massive coincidences.
Overall: For the first time in a long time, I have the slimmest of hopes for this series. The last few issues have been very good. It’s just upsetting that it took this long for this book to find its stride.
SCORE: 7/10
