All good things must come to an end, which Earth 2: Society does this week. Can Abnett and Cifuentes stick the landing? More importantly, is it good?
Earth 2: Society #22 (DC Comics)
So what’s it about? The official summary reads:
In this series finale, a new dawn rises on Earth-2. After a terrible struggle, the Wonders have restored their world, better than ever. Can they become the new heroes and caretakers the reborn planet needs to protect it from future threats? And what of the price they paid for peace—what is the final fate of the Earth-2 Batman and his legacy?
Why does this book matter?
The last few issues have been a wild rollercoaster ride with an entire world erased, rebuilt, and then put in danger all over again. The heroes (or wonders as they’re called here) are slightly different from the main universe, which gives the book a unique feel that’s heroic, but fresh.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
I imagine Abnett said (referncing Wayne’s World here), “Let’s do the super happy ending!”
This issue does a number of things well including recapping what these heroes have gone through and why they deserve a happy ending. This is the happiest of endings for all the heroes as they have their world back and thus be themselves and the heroes they always wanted to be. Given what Abnett has put them through they deserve everything they get–and reflect on that–which includes saving lives. The biggest surprise is the fallout of Batman dying last issue and the results are satisfying here. Abnett even gets to take a crack at the whole Bat “man” and Bat “girl” debate and it’s a nice take indeed.
Cifuentes draws one of the sharpest issues yet in the series. The characters look spot on, clean and extra heroic as they do their good deeds. There’s a rather cool full page spread of the team reflected in the S on Superman’s chest near the end, and a rather cool car smashing up as it rams a hero with plenty of detail.
So, they’re all dead right?
It can’t be perfect can it?
This is very much a comic for those who have been reading all along wishing these poor heroes could get some peace and quiet. I think Abnett does a great job at that, but if you’re new to this you probably won’t care all that much.
The captions get a little repetitive–maybe Abnett ran out of things to say–with the, “do-over” part of the speech said more than once. Ultimately this is an epilogue that lasts an entire issue, which means very little conflict and mostly just good vibes.
Is It Good?
A fine finale that sends good vibes and plenty of positive salutations. You don’t get many bright and happy endings in comic books anymore so it feels unique in how it sends these heroes off. Given Multiversity I doubt this’ll be the last we see of this bunch.
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