Everyone has secrets. And the Outsider reveals some as he takes us to Earth 3 Gotham.
Well, I don't know quite what to make of this.
When I picked this book, I fully expected some more background on people like Ivo (and by extension, Amazo), Copperhead and the other members of the Secret Society.
Instead, they really should have titled this Outsider #1 given this is in it's entirety an Earth 3 story, which illuminates a lot of Earth 3 Owlman's history. And yes, there are shockers here.
If you wish to learn more about Owlman, Talon (Earth 3's Dick Grayson), Earth 3's Joker (why not Jokester?) and Earth 3's Alfred, this is the book for you. If you want to learn more about the rest of the Society, you will get nothing in this book.
But I love watching the history of alternate Earths. One of the biggest problems I've had with other Earths entering the fray is that I got only cursory glances at their history (I hated this aspect in Countdown to Final Crisis) and that made it hard to care for those Earths. Here, it seems Geoff Johns has decided to really showcase a little of what makes Earth 3's Gothamites tick.
And there is a big reveal at the end that leads into the next story of Forever Evil.
SPOILERS follow..................
Control is the big theme of this issue. It pervades throughout the story.
First we come to a very familiar scene to Batfans. A couple is walking down an alley with a child, and they are accosted by............Renee Montoya and Harvey Bullock???
Apparently there are different zones in Gotham and the GCPD is hunting and stealing from anyone who gets astray. To heighten how perverse this Gotham is, the couple and the kid all bring out guns and there is a big shootout.
We see that Owlman is totally in charge of Gotham and the GCPD. And apparently, Talon aka Dick Grayson has become AWOL after being told the truth about his parents, Barbara (Gordon aka Batgirl) and the 'others' by Owlman.
Oh yes, another thing, good old kind-hearted doctor Leslie Thompkins on regular Earth has a brothel on Earth 3. And Haley's circus exists, though I won't even guess what they call a circus on Earth 3.
Well, the Jokester's back! Through this time, he's called the Joker here as well. A battle ensures and the GCPD and Owlman are out for blood. And in the chaos, another familiar Bat family member dies.
Yes, RIP Tim Drake.
And now comes the big moment. In true perverse Joker fashion, he's killed Dick and chopped him up, placing him in little boxes like Christmas presents (to be fair, it is CHRISTMAS).
Joker attacks Owlman and manages to infect Alfred with the Joker toxin (thus showing us why the Outsider's face is white). But Owlman manages to both save Alfred and kill the Joker.
It seems the romance between Owlman and Super-Woman is still prevalent in this timeline.
But this moment of hurt for Owlman provides a moment for the GCPD, who try to kill him. But they are interrupted by a message from Ultraman that the skies are red (hinting that Darkseid has invaded Earth 3).
Well, the rest is pretty passe and Earth 3 Alfred tells of how he and Atomica came to this Earth, saw the JL battle Darkseid and recruit supervillains to form the Secret Society.
But the big moment is when it is shown that Owlman has kept Nighwing (Dick Grayson of Regular Earth) chained and from the Outsider's words,we can infer that he plans to convert him.
Well, that was interesting. We got a lot about Earth 3's characters though for a issue named Secret Society #1, this was surprisingly light on the Society members except for the Outsider. The art was nothing spectacular though and it really proved distracting when more bright settings were used.
So, I give it 7.5 out of 10.
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