Summary: In the infinite vastness of the Multiverse there exists a world much like our own, with heroes and villains different from the ones we know, yet strangely familiar. Together, the heroes of Earth 2 battled the forces of Darkseid and the New Gods of Apokolips. They thought they’d won.
They were wrong.
Apokolips has returned, its four Furies of War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death unleashing unspeakable evil. And that is only the beginning. The god-planet itself is on a collision course with Earth 2, preparing to feed on all life and leave only the void in its wake.
Superman. Batman. Green Lantern. The Flash. Power Girl. Huntress. Hawkgirl. John Constantine. Mister Terrific. Mister Miracle. Doctor Fate. Lois Lane. Jimmy Olsen. Dick Grayson. Barbara Gordon. Only they can save their world-and the worlds beyond…
Writers Daniel H. Wilson, Marguerite Bennett, and Mike Johnson lead an all-star alliance of artists in EARTH 2: WORLDS’ END VOL. 1-the first chapter of the sprawling saga that will change the Multiverse forever! Collects EARTH 2: WORLD’S END #1-11.
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Earth 2: World’s End, vol. 1, by various authors and artists 4.0
‘Earth 2: World’s End’ was a 26-part mini-series published from December 2014 to June 2015 under DC Comics’ “The New 52” banner. Set in an alternate reality, it centres on an attack by Apokolips on Earth. With many of its key heroes dead, alternate versions of them appear in their stead to defend the planet.
The human population is also defended by a so-called World Army, which is attempting to beat back Apokolips’ hordes. But Apokolips then sends his Female Furies, whose powers are reminiscent of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, ravaging the population. Naturally, only our heroes can save the day.
Frankly, I hated this book. To say that it was a brutal slog is being polite: it was wall-to-wall action with no depth to it whatsoever; I quickly got bored of watching people fight. Everything every character did involved attacked, defending or rescuing. Period. There’s absolutely no nuance on the page.
It was also a jumbled mess, skipping from one character to the next every other page. It was essentially ADD-addled, and it affected the continuity: Sometimes a character was in peril one moment and then when we got back to them it’s as though nothing had ever happened. It was so weird. And annoying.
The only that I found interesting were some of the alternate takes on some of the familiar characters: Here, Superman is actually Val-Zod, and is black; Kal-el has been missing for five years. Bruce Wayne is dead and has been replaced a Miraclo-addicted guy named Thomas. And Lois has been reincarnated.
As The Red Tornado.
Seriously.
There are no origin stories for any of them, so I have no idea how any of this has come about, but I found them interesting nonetheless. It really changed the dynamics, especially in conjunction with the other characters who were often revamped to some degree – or altogether missing, like Wonder Woman.
But that’s not enough to save the book, since we don’t explore the characters whatsoever. The only thing that made the book worth a look is the artwork – which is credited to a small army, so I can’t even tell who’s worth exploring further. At least it was eye candy; it made up for the sour taste in my mouth.
Although I planned to, I will not read the second volume – which features not just 11 issues, but 15 of them.
F- that!
There’s more to life than non-stop fighting.