With Earth 2 #32 “Grounded” the monthly title that was my first real stab at sticking with an ongoing DC title ends. Counting the pair of annuals, the series run comes out to 35 total issues a bit more if you count the Zero/Villians/Futures End Month titles (but really who wants to do that). But this isn’t ‘The End’. The weekly title World’s End still has a couple of issues to go. And even than it isn’t the end with the title relaunching as Earth 2: Society after all this Convergence business is taken care of. Superhero comics, they are a never ending battle.
I don’t think writer Daniel Wilson’s time on Earth 2 and World’s End has been a good indicator of really what he can/wants to do with this band of misfits once we get around to Society. The weekly title has been a great example of how comics as a medium fails to really create formal tension under a deadline plot. The weekly title has been largely a case of hurry up and wait, with some good moments here or there. Even with a weekly allotment of 22 pages, the plot spread out too many threads for any real meaningful plot progress (even less if you want to think about character development) to occur in a single issue. How than do you orient a monthly title around something like this that is by design very temporally linked? You don’t try to do that because that’s insane. Issue 28-30 were nice anthology books that went back or told self contained side stories. These last two issues have gone away from that and told a nice Khalid-Dr. Fate story. I have no idea where exactly this takes place in conjunction with World’s End, it all kind of looks the same and I honestly don’t really care.
Wilson dose hit upon the two things that drew me to Earth 2 in the first place in its final issue by showing the origin of Kendra and Khalid’s wondrous powers. The first time Khalid found the Helmet of Nabu and Kendra was touched by that spirit thing. We get a brief glimpse of Khalid, assured perhaps a bit too cocky, jumping into an ancient tomb. We see Kendra being chosen by that Egyptian God and forgiven for her trespassing. Each being paces on their title to a successor in this instance.
After Crisis on Infinite Earths, the DC Universe became one that operated on the idea of heroic legacy and while it made total comic sense (which is to say it didn’t really) that is a nice thematic idea to build and unify a story world around. It is why books like Justice Society of America vol 3(2006-2011) are an interesting read. This thematic touchstone was erased with Flashpoint and the birth of the New52. The great thing about themes though is that they aren’t tied to one continuity they can be applied anywhere. James Robinson, who wrote the book from #1-16, used it as the starting point for the book. Earth 2 is a world where the Apokolips War happened and the trinity died! He then skipped ahead in time and focused on the birth of a second generation of heroes, using the names of Justice Society members. This builds on the second idea that drew me to Earth 2, that this is a world that has gone through a lot and even if it is X Years post-Apokolips War those scars are still there and healing is a complicated thing. With the reintroduction of Huntress and Power Girl, the limits of separation and healing become even greater. Earth 2 was at its best when it used all of its history at once to juxtapose and link separate moments in time to explore ideas of legacy and healing.
Earth-2 is barreling to it's finale. Can’t say I’m all that excited about it for a number of reasons. Here’s to hoping that Earth 2: Society is better.
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