JLA: Earth 2 by Grant Morrison
and artist Frank Quitely is a story that features a good Lex Luthor from Earth
2. In fact, he is the lone hero of Earth 2. In Earth 2, The Justice League is
evil and goes by the name of The Crime Syndicate Of Amerika. The Crime
Syndicate rules the world with an iron fist led by Ultraman (evil Superman),
Owlman (evil Batman), and more. Desperate for any chance to win his war against
the evils of his world, Lex Luthor makes a bold plan to go to Earth 1 and beg
The Justice League to return with him to his Earth. He has a plan to save his
Earth. He needs 48 hours and their help to implement it. The Justice League members
agree and the fight is on to save Earth 2.
This story was
published back in October 2000 so the roster of the Justice League is different
from the current books. At this time the roster includes seven members: Batman,
Martian Manhunter, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash (the Wally West version--not
Barry Allen), Aquaman (post losing his hand and sporting a hook for a hand and
never wearing a shirt), and the Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner). It is worth noting
that this is when Kyle Rayner was either a rookie green lantern who was the
last green lantern or one of the last depending on the artist and the time
period.
This was also when they
had Aquaman was going through a phase where the writers tried to make him a Conan
the Barbarian type dude or some sort of weird /pirate/warrior/king hybrid so
that he theoretically would be cooler to readers. Hence, he is depicted as
bearded with long hair and shirtless, and has a hand missing which means he now
has a hook. His look is completed by having him wearing some sort of metal
breast plate on his chest that gives folks a nice target by exposing one
nipple. Someone thought this was a good
look for him during that time. Why? Who knows, but they thought this nonsense
worked and so they made him look like this for awhile.
JLA: Earth 2 is one of several
tales that Grant Morrison wrote over several years that were centered on The
Justice League. This particular one can be read as a stand-alone and without
having read the other books in the series that some readers refer to as the “Big
Seven of The Justice League” books.
The art style in the
read takes some time to get used to as the male characters are also ripped to
extreme levels and their faces are a bit rough. Superman and Lex Luthor suffer
the worst art wise and are depicted not even fitting in chairs. Then there is
the cover which depicts Superman with a very prominent bulge in his clothing. The art is not the highlight of this
collection. The story is and it is a good one.
I enjoyed the debates on ethics and whether The League should intervene in the affairs of another Earth was fun. Seeing twisted versions of the Justice League and the interactions between them and the heroes is one of the cooler parts of this story. The ending is not very typical for a comic book and surprised me. Every heroic character gets their time to shine in this story and the villains get their time to remind people they are nothing like the good guys. I enjoyed this story. It is a short read and I wish they went into more detail about the parallel world and their villains.
JLA: Earth 2 is a fun and enjoyable
read, but it is dated thanks to the unintentionally funny depiction of Aquaman.
The person who approved this depiction of Aquaman has some serious issues. While
it would be fine to just read this one, if you want to read the rest of the run
start with Justice League of America: New World Order which features a
mullet sporting Superman and the rest of the Justice League vs an army of White
Martians.
JLA: Earth 2
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Frank Quietly
DC Comics
ISBN# 1-56389-631-1
July 2000
Paperback (also available in hardback and digital formats)
96 Pages
Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public
Library System. My particular copy came from the Timberglen Branch.
Scott A. Tipple ©2019
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