Earth 2 #0: Robinson throws so much into this issue that it's going to be hard to sort through everything to review it. First, he establishes that New Earth and Earth 2 pretty much have the same history until the invasion of Darkseid; on New Earth, we saw the "Justice League" dispatch him fairly quickly, but, on Earth-2, the war drags on much, much longer. We see the events of this issue mostly through the eyes of Terry Sloan, aka Mr. 8. On Earth 2, Sloan appears to be similar to Batman, using his intelligence to create technology and weapons that compensate for the fact that he doesn't have any powers. We learn that Sloan has primarily been the chief strategist of the World Army, and, in attempting to find a gateway to Apokolips, he instead stumbled upon one that led him to other dimensions, showing him a variety of futures. Realizing what he must do to save the planet from Darkseid, he sets into motion a series of events here that he feels will ultimately tip the balance in the World's Army favor, even if he'll be viewed as a villain for doing it.
Robinson raises a ton of really interesting questions here. He doesn't go into too much detail on how Sloan managed to access the other dimensions or, in so doing, what information exactly he gleaned from them. As such, it's unclear what future Sloan is trying to bring into existence. Robinson weaves an undercurrent throughout this issue that Sloan might have been driven mad either by the years of war or the visions of the future. As such, I don't feel like he's necessarily the most reliable judge of the future. Is the future that he's trying to create one where he rules the world, because, as the world's smartest man, he thinks that he's the best qualified to do so? Robinson, of course, doesn't answer that question, and, therefore, sets up future stories.
But, Robinson just doesn't address the Apokolips War. One of the more intriguing comments revolves around the fact that Sloan is talking about the fact that the Holy Trinity's eventual victory over Darkseid will actually weaken the world for an unnamed threat. Robinson has hinted at this threat several times now, and we learn that Sloan sees his job as preparing the world for it. Again, since Sloan's sanity (or at least biases) seems to be in question, the fact that he sees himself as a hero willing to sacrifice his reputation to save the world doesn't, of course, make him one. A lot of the worst villains, in life and comics, think that they're helping everyone by doing what other people refuse to do on moral grounds. It's pretty clear that Sloan's not going to be a cut-and-dry character.
Finally, moving beyond Sloan, Robinson also raises another key mystery. He informs us that eight heroes existed in the Earth 2 world, and we learn two remain unseen by us. The first is Catwoman, mother of the Huntress. The second is unnamed, "for reasons that all who know this world and this war will understand." Talk about leaving the reader wanting more.
Far and away, this issue is the best of the #0 and really keeps up the amazing work that Robinson is doing on this title
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