The time to strike is now as Batman, his son, and Huntress must take on a threat that could end all the Wonders as we know it. Yes it’s Earth 2 characters, but dammit this story has been riveting. We check out issue #21 to answer the question, is it good?
Earth 2: Society #21 (DC Comics)
So what’s it about? The summary reads:
The Wonders battle the Sandmen army to free the new Earth 2 from a dystopian fate, but the new world Director has unleashed his terrifying secret weapon. Can Batman, Huntress and John, the weakest of the wonders, shut down the Director’s stronghold? It’s a dangerous, last-minute gamble…and the price may be too great to bear.
Why does this book matter?
Our heroes must forever defeat the enemy that’s been driving them to their limits. The world has been made anew, but they need to wrestle it back from the clutches of an enemy before they can breathe a sigh of relief!
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
Batman and Captain America team up…wait no that’s not Cap!
Though the Wonders are facing a similar threat they faced in issue #16 the stakes feel extra high due to the fact that they broke and created a brand new world. The Ultra Humanite continues to attempt to end them for good and writer Dan Abnett does a good job ramping up the stakes. And boy does Abnett bring the stakes high — and downright snap them too. A lot of destruction happens and it’ll be interesting to see where these characters end up.
The pacing of the action is well-done. This is good fight comics and it makes sense how it’s blocked out between two different battles. It’s also quite awesome to see a version of Green Lantern that’s this powerful.
Vicente Cifuentes draws a mean issue, stronger than the last, with panels that are reminiscent of John Romita Jr. The scale and presence of characters is well rendered, with plenty of nice glowing and color effects from Rex Lokus. The armor on the Ultra Humanite is quite impressive and you gotta dig the costume on Batman too. Green Lantern’s constructs are also exciting and you truly get a sense of his limitless power here.
It can’t be perfect can it?
Some of the fighting looks somewhat strange as if the characters are posing. One panel for instance, has Batman delivering an uppercut, but the Ultra Humanite is so far away from his fist it’s as if he missed entirely. In another, Commander Steel is basically punching a metal leg which comes off as silly. It’s only a few instances, but it pulled me out of the story.
This is a fight comic from beginning to end. There’s very little in the way of big ideas or introspective character work. That left me wanting more.
Brag brag brag…
Is It Good?
This is fight comics coming in at a high level. Cifuentes delivers his best issue yet, the stakes are raised and major developments happen so that you’ll be itching for the finale issue next month.
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