This week we invite Earth 2: World’s End to Weekly Weeklies family. So much fun (and work as well!). Let’s get to it:
Spoilers Below!
Batman Eternal #28
Lead Writer: Tim Seeley
Corresponding Writers: Scott Snyder, Ray Fawkes, James Tynion IV, and Kyle Higgins
Artist: Meghan Hetrick
Story:
Jason Todd is about to leave town since he feels he isn’t needed here anymore; he decides to visit Batgirl (who is busy to dangling and dropping Jason Bard from a rooftop somewhere).
Meanwhile at the Moffat Building, Bone has Catwoman tied up and is prepared to beat her to death in front of a paying crowd who all wants to see her dead… except for Jade who has been forced there against her will.
Spoiler Corner:
Despite capturing him, Batman lets Flamingo go so he can track him down back to his hideout. Perhaps then he’ll lead him straight to Hush. However, Flamingo isn’t going where Batman hopes…
Just as Bone is about to kill Catwoman, Killer Croc bursts into the room in search of Jade’s uncle, Ibanescu, so he can take her back. While Croc is distracting all of the gangsters (I think he actually kills Tiger Shark here), Jade sneaks away and unties Catwoman so they can escape. However, Bone is furious over what has happened and demands that Ibanescu kill Catwoman since this is partially his mess; though not as skilled as he used to be with a gun, Ibanescu takes aim at Catwoman… which has devastating results…
As Batgirl dangles Bard from a skyscraper, Jason Todd arrives on the scene and tells her to stop. He takes the rope away and then proceeds to drop Bard himself, stating that it’s more HIS style. Batgirl intervenes and saves Bard in the nick of time (though he breaks his leg in the process).
Batman trails Flamingo back to the Moffat Building and takes him out. However, when he arrives at the fight, it’s far too late: Jade has been killed in the crossfire, Ibanescu is dead (Killer Croc is the killer, I have to assume), and Catwoman and Killer Croc are completely broken. Catwoman declares it’s her fault and she couldn’t stop this mess; she leaves, believing she has no one left…
After the mess, Jason says good bye to Batgirl and he leaves town, insinuating that he had some sort of interest in her.
The issue ends with Catwoman returning to her father in Blackgate, informing him that Jade is dead and that things have to change. She agrees to his offer from earlier and prepares to use his name to take control of all the crime families in Gotham.
Thoughts:
An enjoyable and also rather heartbreaking story, Batman Eternal #28 brings a close to a few storylines that have been building up in the background and sets the stage for a few more. The story was satisfying, entertaining and a rather effective turning point for some characters. Speaking of the which, the characterization is well-done and the dialogue is great (though one scene will raise an eyebrow for some).
The art by Meghan Hetrick, whose work I’m not familiar with, is done well here. Her characters look impressive, the action and emotion are well depicted, and the overall imagery is striking. The only downside is that coloring made this art look very similar to the previous artist.
Best Moment:
Ask and you shall receive sir.
9.5Overall Score
Futures End #24
Writers: Brian Azzarello, Jeff Lemire, Dan Jurgens, and Keith Giffen
Artist: Jesus Merino
Story:
In deep space, the heroes are escaping from the Brainiac robots and trying to return to the big ship so they can make their escape. While they manage to snap the Engineer out of Brainiac control, they still have a mountain of dangerous robots coming straight at them; even with Black Adam on their side, their odds aren’t looking good.
Spoiler Corner:
On Cadmus Island, we see a beaten up Mister Miracle and Fury as they hide from the Brother Eye A.I. controlled heroes. Mister Miracle managed to save Fury from but got beaten pretty hard in the process. The two are not sure of what their next objective is other than figure a way out of this island, but Fury suggests (well, more like demands) they need to stop Brother Eye first…
Ronnie and Madison are bonding after having lunch and talking about how their lives have changed recently. After Ronnie takes off, Tim/Cal approaches Madison to try to make peace with her and ask for her back. She’s still hurting (though she seems opened to the idea) and declines, saying it’s too soon.
Jason and Dr. Yamazake finally test their teleportation system and successfully transport a man-sized object from one tube to the next. Yamazake wants to move up to human test subjects next, but Jason points out they should try first with small animals before they jump to something that dangerous. Yamazake says he doesn’t appreciate Jason trying to hold him and the project back.
Constantine and pals are still in Africa, waiting for Superman to return from his search for a Brainiac android. One of the Constantine’s crew members is tired of waiting around and demands they start doing something… but its too late; the android appears out of nowhere, kills him and starts to kill Midge with some sort of strange power. Constantine is helpless to do anything, but then Superman appears himself to step in and save the day.
Thoughts:
Admittedly, we didn’t make much headway in Futures End #24 with most of the storylines, except for the last one; the issue moved most of the stories an inch ahead, but that’s it. Instead, Futures End #24 focused more on characterization and development of some of the members of the cast, which was enjoyable and much needed. The dialogue was decent, the overall writing was fine and the artwork was decent as well.
Best Moment:
No, it’s more along the lines that he has seen science fiction movies and knows that jumping too far ahead with science experiments always leads to trouble.
7.5Overall Score
Earth 2: World’s End #2
Writers: Daniel H. Wilson, Marguerite Bennett and Mike Johnson
Artists: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, Tyler Kirkham, Joe Weems, Paulo Siqueira, Cam Smith, and Jorge Jimenez
Story:
In Geneva, the Earth 2 heroes encounter K’li/War, a Fury from Apokolips (who has arrived via Fire Pit) that declares Darkseid is coming back again to take over the planet. The heroes try to rush her, but she capable of taking them all on at once. If that isn’t bad enough, there are more Furies emerging in other parts of the world harboring Fire Pits. The heroes are getting stretched thin across the entire planet as Parademons also start emerging as well…
Spoiler Corner:
At the World Army Command Center, Commander Khan gets bad news from Major Sato: something from deep in space is approaching their solar system.
At the Court of Apokolips, people are bickering and wondering about who the hell sent Beldam to Earth to cause trouble and lure the planet there. Arcanis suggest that it was the planet of Apokolips itself, since at certain times, it has called upon emissary to do its work.
Red Tornado/Lois Lane faces down K’li alone, angry that he/she has been turning the human corpses and other regular humans into Berserker Parademons. The fight seems a little one sided: K’li mocks and torments Red Tornado/Lois the entire fight.
Beldam has succeeded in contacting Apokolips. As he does, however, Mister Miracle finally breaks through Beldam’s mental defenses; this allows for Miracle and Terry Solane to defeat the villain. Mr. Terrific, on the other hand, heads off and confronts Big Barda and Fury.
Green Lantern gets word about the coming planet on his earpiece, but he already knows because the Earth is sensing its approach. That’s why is the other element groups from Green to Rot are summing some heroes of their own to help fight.
Mr. Terrific, Mister Miracle, and Terry meet up with Commander Khan and tell him what they figure out from the research they obtained. Apokolips is definitely coming and in 24 days it’ll collide with/destroy the Earth.
As the fight continues with K’li, he/she manages to get an upper hand and hypnotize/take control of the female heroes and beat down Superman and Batman.
Thoughts:
Quite simply, this is an incredibly dense and thick story going. There’s no dragging any story out here — this thing gets straight to the action and never stops to take a breath. While I do like the fact that Earth 2: Worlds End #2 isn’t unwinding too slowly and is getting a lot done, the comic almost feels cramped and bloated with how it’s trying to do so much in so little time. Other than that, the writing and characters are decent (except for some awkward transitions and the fact that K’li feels way too overpowered considering his/her opponents) and it has my attention. The artwork is troubling with so many artists and inkers working on the book at once. While all of their work looks good, putting it all together really doesn’t look great due to clash of styles and looks.
Most Memorable Moment:
Now this looks bad, but between that sound effect and the comic actually not following up on this, it’s not that much of a problem.
8.0Overall Score
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