The Trickster has led the Batman and Superman of two worlds to an unimaginable power. Their reactions will define the fate of their worlds.
We finally get to the end of the first arc of the Batman/Superman comics and I feel a little underwhelmed (sorry, Dick!).
Things drift to a natural conclusion, albeit with some good emotional moments. But the major problem is that this arc felt like it could have been condensed into a single comic. We got some glimpses of Earth 2 but beyond some basic interactions, the story really lacked in depth.
And the art was detrimental to this story. We never got the sense of this world, thanks to the blank backgrounds. Jae Lee is a good artist, but this story didn't suit him at all.
But enough of my rantings. For while the art wasn't that detailed, I think Greg wanted us to concentrate on the characters than the surroundings (through that didn't translate well on page) and we got a sense of what make the Earth Prime (Zero? One? Anyone has the number?) Superman and Batman different from their Earth-Two Counterparts.There were some good emotional beats, which I will deal with in the spoilers.
So, Earth-2 Superman and Batman wanted to destroy the shard and did - for that, they died when Apokalypse invaded? That's a little harsh, Greg. But I think this bridged the New 52 and the pre-New 52 by doing that.
New 52 heroes are more ruthless and secretive. Synder's Batman believes less in family than Morrison's did. Morrison's Superman is more rough and brutal than the Superman I saw in the New Krypton arc. There's a level of immaturity and head-strong display that embodies the heroes of the New 52.
And the youth shall be our salvation. Trickster pronounces that while Earth Two won in a way, they are lost because they weren't more assertive and this will doom them when Apokalypse attacks. And as we saw in the first arc of Justice League, the New 52 heroes are cut from a different cloth.
But enough of that. We found ourselves at the bunker where the government have kept the cosmic shard. And apparently Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke works for the US government on this Earth!
While Lois and Selina (of Earth Two) fly in another of the Bat planes to help Diana aka Wonder Woman (again of Earth Two) fight the Trickster, the heroes of the two Earths bicker about what to do with the shard.
They fight briefly and then we see a glimpse of the shard's powers - it brings back a grotesque form of the New 52 Kents (reminded me of Blackest Night) and changes New 52 Bruce into an actual bat.
Elsewhere,the plane is shot down by the US navy but New 52 Superman saves it with his first successful attempt at flying. While he does this, Earth 2 Superman is able to deflect the shard's beams using a Waynetech satellite and destroy it.
The Trickster Kaiyo pronounces his/her judgement that Earth Two will die (which it didn't, but the Trinity did) while the raw and power-hungry New 52 heroes may fare better (which again they did).
Now comes the art change, and almost immediately there is an attention to detail that wasn't there before. We get a good moment of Earth 2 Clark saving sorry to his family (which would have resonated better if we had seen Lois or the Kents die in the Earth Two series) and the New 52 Bruce and Clark meeting on the same bench as the kid who was bullied becomes the aggressor. The twist is that he's now possessed by Kaiyo.
Not much of a twist.
Also, the mandatory memory wipe is there.
Again, I say that this was a good idea in theory (two worlds collide. Major decisions are made. What can go wrong with that?) but didn't translate well on paper and it's chief problems were an overblown arc and minimalistic art.
When you do parallel Earths, there is a need to show how that Earth is different. That didn't happen.
If you like Jae Lee's art, go for this. For me, Ben felt better and I'm looking forward to the next artist.
Greg gave a glimpse of an ability to tell a story without compromising the characters so I'm looking forward to a hopefully better assembled next arc.
So, I give it 6.0 out of 10.0
+Some good emotional beats +Slade vs Superman
-Art still not suitable for this story -Story felt bloated
Never been a fan of Jae Lee and while I think his art was good, the lack of backgrounds really made the story feel like it was happening in a void. I agree with you on the need to show HOW Earth 2 is different, instead it felt like actor's on a poorly made set with no backgrounds and a lot of fog to make it seem mysterious. News of Brett Booth coming aboard this title has me excited. I was impressed by Pak's concept and I enjoyed the story but the art really made it hard to get 'into' it.
Jae is a great artist undoubtedly. But his problems have been mainly in drawing distinct backgrounds, nothing more. His character drawings are very good.
The problem has been that this arc was about parallel Earths. For that, you need backgrounds, not blurred lines.
And about Brett, do you know what comics he's drawn, so that I can get a preview of what his work on this title may be like?
Never been a fan of Jae Lee and while I think his art was good, the lack of backgrounds really made the story feel like it was happening in a void. I agree with you on the need to show HOW Earth 2 is different, instead it felt like actor's on a poorly made set with no backgrounds and a lot of fog to make it seem mysterious.
ReplyDeleteNews of Brett Booth coming aboard this title has me excited. I was impressed by Pak's concept and I enjoyed the story but the art really made it hard to get 'into' it.
Jae is a great artist undoubtedly. But his problems have been mainly in drawing distinct backgrounds, nothing more. His character drawings are very good.
DeleteThe problem has been that this arc was about parallel Earths. For that, you need backgrounds, not blurred lines.
And about Brett, do you know what comics he's drawn, so that I can get a preview of what his work on this title may be like?