LEAGUES BEYOND, VOL. 1 (OCT 3-9, 2012)

It's 'Leagues Beyond', where we take a look at the Justice League-related titles offered each week by DC Comics as part of their 'New 52'. Along with the flagship Justice League, 'Leagues Beyond' will cover titles such as The Flash, Earth 2, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman.

Earth 2 #5
(W) James Robinson
(P) Nicola Scott
(I) Trevor Scott

World's Finest #5
(W) Paul Levitz
(P) George Perez, Jerry Ordway, and Wes Craig
(I) Scott Koblish, Jerry Ordway, Serge LaPointe

It's fitting that the first entry of 'Leagues Beyond' not be about the Justice League proper at all. The two titles released this week, Earth 2 #5 and World's Finest #5, are lumped in with Justice League family titles because they really have nowhere else to go. If DC were to add more grouping categories, these two would basically have their own Earth 2 family. Of course, James Robinson's Earth 2 looks at that dimension directly, currently following the formation of the Justice Society, while Paul Levitz's World's Finest finds Power Girl (Supergirl) and Huntress (Robin) stranded on Earth 1, better known as the 'New 52' universe. This month, Earth 2 #5 starts down the dramatic road towards the conclusion of it's first arc, while World's Finest #5 starts a new arc (maybe?) that feels directionless.

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Since it debuted, Earth 2 has been one of my consistently favorite titles from DC. James Robinson has really taken the time to make this parallel universe something special and different, with a whole new set of rules. It's genius because Robinson doesn't have to follow any of the DCnU continuity or current going-ons unless he wants to. Sure, there's going to be the inevitable crossover, but that's years down the road. For now, the 'new wonders' of Earth 2 band together for the first time this month to take on Grundy, the harbinger of death...literally.

There's really no other way to put it: Earth 2 is just awesome. Everyone wanted the Justice Society to come back, and James Robinson is doing so in such an astounding way. This issue introduces the "Sandmen", a covert infiltration squad used for high-level extractions and the such by the World Army, with a mention of the team leader, Wesley Dodds! It's like getting a special present each time I open up a new issue. 

The fight with Grundy takes a turn for the worse when the Atom - a.k.a. Al Pratt - gets overrun by the Grey, speeding up the death of all plant life on Earth and thereby the end of humanity (no plants = no oxygen). The entire scene is a tool to put Earth 2 in context, as well. The news reporters following the battle continue call these heroes 'wonders', a term I find fascinating considering the more mystical approach to superpowers Robinson is taking with Earth 2. Also, in last months "Issue Zero", we were introduced to Earth 2's Mister Terrific, Terry Sloan, a man who betrayed the Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman in an effort to explore the multiverse. Speed up to the present, and he's been hired by the planet's leaders to advise the World Army in the Grundy crisis. Finally, we get to see just how these new wonders work together. Even under these most stressful of conditions, Robinson finds ways to explore relationships in a way that advances the story without sacrificing quality.

The first arc of Earth 2 comes to a close next month as the Justice Society hopefully manages to take down Grundy. Otherwise, this is going to be a very short-lived series.

STORY: A
ART: B+

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"Rebirth", the first arc of World's Finest, was a big letdown. The entire story revolved around Power Girl and Huntress investigating a villain called Hakkou who the girls believed came from Earth 2. In the end, Karen and Helena manage to kill the radioactive behemoth, but that's about it - no explanations as to his origin, no revelations about Earth 2, no character development to been truly perceived. Unfortunately, this trend continues with World's Finest #5, an issue that I can't discern as to whether it's a stand-alone issue or the start of a new arc. I really thought the two-story system would be finished now that "Rebirth" is over, but Levitz seems intent on making his issues as fractured as possible, meaning that the present-day story barely gets any attention, and therefore not much substance. 


This month, Karen is trying to replicate Hakkou's energy signature, but doesn't have the necessary equipment. She decides to take a trip to the CERN under Switzerland to see an experiment take place that could lead to information on different universes. And because she's there, some robot assassin thing comes after her through a wormhole...I guess. It really feels like Levitz is just phoning it in with these random villains and Power Girl's clothes repeatedly being torn to shreds.

Huntress' story is similarly lazy, as Helena attends a 'Take Back the Night' rally at which a psychopathic misogynist is trying to murder women with a sniper rifle. Huntress jumps into action and stops him before he hurts anyone. That's it. The sequence is supposed to show that, unlike Karen, Helena cares for the people of this world and has a desire to be a part of it, as there doesn't seem to be a way back to their Earth. Instead, it's just preachy and boring.

STORY: C
ART: C (Not a fan of George Perez's work - it always looks sloppy and dated to me)

EARTH 2 #0

STORY: James Robinson
ART: Tomas Giorello

"Zero Month" is the DC's design to give readers a bit more history to the characters this company revamped just one year ago. The idea is to bring us stories from before issue number one; a simple premise that already doesn't hold true to some titles (like Green Lantern, Green Lantern: New Guardians, etc.) Of course, there are titles that are taking full advantage of this chance and going all-out origin (like The Phantom Stranger and Stormwatch). Then there are titles like Earth 2, which are simply telling select tales - not really making (apparent) connections to the present day, but also not giving a full history lesson.

In James Robinson's Earth 2 #0, we're introduced to Terry Sloan, a.k.a. "Mr. 8", the eighth 'wonder' who protects Earth after Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Robin, Catwoman, and an unnamed seventh (who actually becomes my most persistent question throughout the new mysteries this issue brings up). It's not exactly clear what Sloan's abilities are, exactly. Does he have powers, or is he just a high-tech badass? I read the issue as the latter, assuming he was just a government-sanctioned ally of the 'Trinity'.

I was a bit disappointed with Earth 2 #0. I was expecting a bit more insight into Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, while instead I got a mission that doesn't really give any insight into any of them except that there are multiple ways Kryptonite can be manipulated to have varied effects on Superman. Other than that, this issue is solely about Sloan's still-shrouded-in-mystery endgame.

Of course, that process starts in E2 #0 - set six years in the past - as the Trinity and Sloan infiltrate an Apokoliptan mind-control broadcasting machine. In a nod to Darkseid's pre-'New 52' inclinations, the mind-control is based on a psychological implosion achieved through the ant-life equation. After arriving at the core of the machine, Sloan deceives the Trinity, uses synthesized opal Kryptonite to drive Superman insane, and starts rambling about those under the anti-life equation's control are "...beyond salvation. So I will destroy them." Even after a bomb blast care of Batman, Sloan gets up - albeit with hundreds of shards of glass sticking out of him - and activates a chain reaction that detonates the four anti-life machines around the globe. In a stunning panel by Tomas Giorello, the massive explosions shoot out from the Earth's surface as our planet begins to resemble Apokolips - a chilling notion if there ever was one.

A few more tidbits are revealed about Earth 2 in general, as well this issue. As I mentioned earlier, Kryptonite is much more maleable in this dimension, perhaps due to Robinson's claim that Earth 2 is rooted more in the mystical and supernatural than it's New Earth counterpart. We also learn that the war with Apokolips has been raging for a long, long time, and that the 'wonders' of Earth 2 are more like a task force than a god-like collective entity. Granted, they're up against an army that would put the range of heroes in the main DC continuity to shame, as well.

A big revelation in Earth 2 #0 is the existence of an extensive multiverse! It's interesting that DC would green light this idea, as the pre-'New 52' continuity was marred by decades of multi-dimensional history and crossover, and one of the major points of the relaunch was to consolidate these infinite universes. It's hard to get excited for a multiverse again. Really, it is. Introducing Earth 2 was a fantastic idea because it would not only bring back the Justice Society, but also provide an easy and straightforward approach to multiple dimensions, while mirroring ideas pioneered in the 1960s and 70s that culminated in Crisis on Infinite Earths in the mid-80s. While it was implied that the former level of chaotic transdimensional shuffling wouldn't be a problem this time around, Terry Sloan escapes to the "Ninth Dimension", meaning that there are a possible nine different universes now open to writers, technically. It's frustrating and unnecessary.

The 'New 52' is still young, and this new continuity needs time to come into it's own as an established universe with diverse, interesting, developed characters in a rich, vibrant world. Robinson's venture in Earth 2 is fantastic, but the introduction of a new multiverse is really, really annoying.

GRADE

C+