This issue gives us exactly the sort of ambitious and wide-ranging story that we should be getting in annuals. It's damn near perfect. Robinson has so far kept the scope of this series pretty tight, focusing mostly on the Wonders as they deal with one another. However, he uses the annual format to pull back the lens, showing some of the more day-to-day realities of the Earth 2 world.
With the revelation that humans are using the technology from the previous war to turn themselves into metahumans, we are essentially introduced to the possibility of an essentially unending cast of villains, minor and major. I thought the idea that Kanto, another "son" of Darkseid (in addition to Steppenwolf), is out there helping to arm humans is interesting. Given that his motives for doing so are unclear (though seem connected somehow to his persistent loyalty to Darkseid), it's the perfect type of mystery for a new Batman to be investigating.
So, let's talk about this new Batman. His first appearance -- a camera shot, if you will, over his shoulder as he watches Roy interrogate the Atom -- is spectacularly cool. Between his appearance in Phnom Penh and his fight with Mr. Icicle in Spain, Robinson makes it clear that he has similar resources, both in terms of intelligence and wealth, as our Batman. At this stage, it's unclear why he's so focused on Kanto, though I'm sure we'll get that story. But, he's a welcome addition, since it gives us some insight into the shadows of this world, something that we haven't seen as the main Wonders just keep fighting each other. In fact, I'll admit that this world is getting sufficiently crowded that you've got to wonder if Batman isn't eventually going to get his own title. More attention paid to someone focusing on the street-level realities of Earth 2 would certainly help flesh out this world all the more.
We also get some insight into the Atom here, though none of it comes as particularly unexpected. A taciturn character from the start, we watch Al quietly struggle across the last five years with the guilt that he feels for surviving when his men died in the atomic blast that gave him his powers and the responsibility that he and Captain Steel share as they take on the burden of being the world's only Wonders since the death of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. I'm pretty sure that this issue is the first one where we meet Captain Steel and it serves as a reminder that we still don't know a lot about the five years since the deaths of Batman et al., particularly when it comes to that first generation of new Wonders. (See also the "Red Arrow" comment.)
Speaking of the Wonders, one of the fun parts of this title is trying to figure out who everyone's Earth analogue is. Henri Roy's son appears to be the next candidate and I thought that Robinson did a great job of using him as a way to show how much progress Al has made. After watching his struggle throughout the previous pages, we see that he has more or less come to grips with the world that he now inhabits, putting his hand on the kid's arm and telling him that he might be setting the bar too high when he declares that he wants redemption for his father's crimes. Al knows something about setting the bar too high and it shows that he might just be a regular guy somewhere underneath the drill-sergeant demeanor.
(Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't also praise the artists for giving us the awesome sequence of a full-sized Al chasing the robot-suited Roy across the rooftops of Phnom Penh. I read comics for this sort of imagery, people!)
The only part that I didn't understand here was for whom Big Barda and Mr. Miracle are working. They seem to be working for Steppenwolf to find Batman (which makes you wonder if Kanto is in league with Steppenwolf, since I'm not sure why else he would care). However, they're then captured by Rage at the end of the issue. Had they gone rogue? I'm not really all that sure.
But, the last part is a minor quibble (and one that'll clearly be resolved next issue) about an otherwise great issue. I still find this world a lot more interesting than the DCnU's Earth. This series continues to be the best of the New 52!, hands down.
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