Earth 2: World's End #26 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Jesus effing Christ, this issue is somehow the worst one yet. 

We have a moment here where the heroes of Earth are assembled one last time.  While Batman and Dick fight off the proto-demons swarming Atom's Haven and Kara, Val, and Lois soar (and presumably fight more proto-demons) in the sky, Jimmy Olsen sends Hawkgirl, Helena, Oliver, Sato, and Steel into battle against Kalibak and his troops.  (Also, the Court of Apokolips is allegedly in play, though we don't ever really see them.)  Flash joins the group, after a heartbreaking conversation with his mother where he tells her that he has to leave her to possibly die alone if he has any hope of saving her.  Similarly, the ghost of Sam tells Alan that he has to surrender his humanity so that the Parliament can take over his body fully.

(On a practical level, this moment makes little sense.  Alan has previously told us that he had used all the Parliament's powers in trying to shield Earth from Apokolips; his revival has only come through his access to the power of the Greens of the multiverse, since he was near the dimensional lenses that Sloan used to bring through all the other rescue ships.  It's also not explain why his humanity is preventing the Parliament or the multiversal Green (whichever one it is) from using his body as a tool.  (Heh.)  But, it's still the emotional height of the series, and I admit that I felt actual sorrow for Alan as he sacrificed himself to give the Parliament a chance to stop Darkseid.)

At this moment, we have the hope of a real final battle for Earth.  In fact, we even have some hope that people will survive, as Alan starts using his power to individually evacuate people.

But, then, it falls apart entirely.  Suddenly, it's inexplicably only Batman, Dick, Flash, Green Lantern, and Val facing Darkseid.  A flash of light occurs and, based on conversations that happen later in the issue, they might all die in this moment (presumably from an Omega Beam).  Meanwhile, Helena, Jimmy, Kara, Marella, Oliver, Sato, and Steel are inexplicably (again) on the evacuation ship.  Even Jay's mom is there.  Then, it's just over.  Apokolips has apparently won.  One moment, Alan is fighting Darkseid; the next moment, he's meditating to evacuate people.  One moment, the heroes are all in action; the next moment, some of them are magically on the evacuation ship and the rest are dead.  Kendra tells Jay's mom that he died a hero, they turn off the lights, and we're told to read "Convergence" #1.  It's is the worst concluding issue to an event that I've ever read (and that's saying a lot).

As I opened this issue, I was considering getting "Convergence."  "Earth 2" was my favorite series of the "New 52!" for a long time, and I feel committed to a number of characters here.  In fact, I was actually excited about "Earth 2:  World's End" ending, because we could finally get the sort of character development that we've been denied too long in this series due to the focus on the fight with Apokolips.  But, this ending is so bad that it just sapped my excitement for the entire setting.  I honestly just feel like calling it a day and saving the money.  It was that bad.  I can't believe, after six months, I'm left here.

zero of five stars

Earth 2: World's End #25 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, Kara's fight with Darkseid is pretty kick ass.  In fact, it's the only reason that this issue gets a star.  It's a wordless struggle as she just throws back everything that he throws at her, proving her assertion last issue that she really is Earth 2's Superman.

But, it's not enough to save this issue.  The authors are rushing so quickly to the end that we're skipping huge steps.  Kalibak is suddenly at Atom's Haven attacking the departing ships.  Dick has somehow found Batman, and they're firing a gun battery at Kalibak and his troops.  A four-armed woman with a head of fire appears with Earth's heroes to fight Darkseid, but I have no idea who she is.  The answer to the ship problem is pulling out the unused ships built by other Terry Sloans throughout the multiverse, a pretty simple solution that seemed evident from the start despite the authors' attempt to infuse the situation with drama.  At the end of the issue, Green Lantern appears to fly into Apokolips, where he finds Earth's heroes at Darkseid's feet, despite the fact that the battle initially appeared to happen on Earth.  (Earth appears in the background as Alan enters the gap, so it's pretty clearly Apokolips.)  If the battle did happen on Apokolips, then it's unclear how Earth's heroes made it to Apokolips.

Let it just be done.

* (one of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #24 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Wait, when the hell did Dick get his kid?  At the end of issue #22, all he saw was his kid's empty sneaker, and we didn't see either him or the kid in issue #23.  After all this time searching for the brat, we miss their reunion?  Are you effing kidding me?  (Also, is he mute?  I swear he hasn't said anything in at least ten issues?)  Plus, they reunite only for Dick to give him, unknowingly, to Barda and Fury as they flee with the other women and children?  I just still have no idea where the authors are going with this story or what they want us to think.  Dick's entire storyline feels like a rejected plot from "The Young and the Restless."

Continuing, Kendra is a jerk to Flash because he wants to escort his mom onto the evacuation ships so that she actually escapes rather than dying with Earth like she wants.  It doesn't exactly leave you feeling good about Flash or Kendra, and it's a betrayal of Jay as a character, since he's been the most steadfast hero since the start of this book.  Also, Marella arrives with her people to flee and Kendra promises to help them do so, despite the fact that they don't have room.  Shouldn't she maybe have checked with Sato?  On Apokolips, Kara and Val take on Darkseid.  He removes the shield from Val's chest, which apparently leaves him totally incapacitated?  I just don't even know anymore.

* (one of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #23 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, we're going to do the same thing here as I did with "Batman Eternal," because I just can't take it anymore.  All at once now!

Green Lantern is now with Kara, Lois, and Val fighting off Apokolips and uses his remaining power to blast a whole through the shield around Earth, allowing a fading Kara and Val to get a boost of power from the sun.  (Clever, Alan.  Clever.)  Jimmy apparently has all sorts of New God powers, but doesn't seem to be using them; here, he just opens a Boom Tube from Amazonia so that he and Dr. Crane (and, unbenownst to him, Barda) can escape to Atom's Haven.  Sato tells Mr. Terrific that his ship for 100,000 people needs to fit 2.5 million.  That's about it.

The one thing that I don't get, at this point, is the codex.  Thomas tells Helena that they have to keep it safe so that they can rebuild Earth if they manage to escape.  Is that the long game?  They escape, Darkseid moves onto somewhere else, and then they rebuild the planet?  I guess we'll see.

** (two of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #22 and Earth 2 #32 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I read "Earth 2" #32 before I read "Earth 2:  World's End" #22, but it's honestly hard to say which one you should read first.  For example, Kara and Val are fighting Apokolips' satellites in issue #32, and we see them give up that fight in issue #22 so that they can take on Apokolips directly; as such, it appears that issue #32 precedes issue #22.  However, Helena and Thomas recover the escape ships from Brainwave in issue #22 that we later see Helena and Ollie repairing in issue #32.  So, does issue #22 precede issue #32?  It's honestly just par for the course when the authors of this event try to integrate the main title with the weekly title.

Issue #32 itself is remarkably straight-forward, particularly given how complicated the plot of the overarching "World's End" story is at this point.  The remaining team members regroup at Atom's Haven and realize that the Earth is doomed.  After Captain Steel gives an inspiring speech about the importance of hope, Sato takes charge and sends out teams to tackle their three greatest challenges:  Batman and Steel man the gun batteries to protect Haven, Helena and Oliver repair the escape ships (as I mentioned above), and Kara, Kendra, Khalid, and Val try to stop an enormous drill plunging toward the Earth.  The authors definitely convey the sense that we're at the endgame at this point.

In effect, issue #32 is really about Kendra and Khalid.  Kendra reminds Khalid that he saved their lives on the day that they got their powers, pushing him to fight off Nabu's corruption and use his powers to destroy the drill.  However, Khalid's victory is short-lived, since Nabu seems to be asserting himself at the end of the issue.   Issue #22 seems to pick up this thread, with Kara and Val fighting off other satellites before Sato sends them to Apokolips to buy her time to launch the evacuation.  (At this stage, though, Sato doesn't seem to have the rescue ships that Brainwave hijacked.  Again, it implies that issue #32 came second.  But, in issue #32, she thought that Alan Scott was dead, despite Kara and Val encountering him here, implying that issue #22 came second.  Whatever.)  Also, Red Tornado appears seemingly from nowhere, since, as far as I'm aware, she wasn't part of the fight in issue #32.)  They encounter a fading shield, created by the Green Lantern, but he collapses, announcing that he couldn't hold it any longer.

Issue #22 also develops three other sub-plots.  Dick finally finds his son, but he, like everyone else, is under the influence of Brainwave.  Brainwave reveals that his plan is to evacuate everyone to an Earth where he leads the refugees, and I'm honestly so tired of this sub-plot that I can't even be bothered to nit-pick it.  Suffice it to say, Helena and Thomas arrive to kick ass.  In the aftermath, Dick's kid YET AGAIN gets lost.  Elsewhere, Jimmy Olsen is revealed to be a New God in his fight with Kalibak and Terry Sloan shows that Apokolips actually destroyed another universe's version of his ship, since he had them stashed throughout the multiverse.  (One highlight of this issue was Kalibak and his old-timey expressions.  "Pathetic mortals!"  "Insolent whelp!"  At least he added some inadvertent levity to the enterprise.)

We've got four issues left in "Earth 2:  World's End" and I don't see a solicitation for "Earth 2" #33.  But, the authors still have a lot out there to be resolved.  I'm guessing that it's going to be a rush to the door.

** (two of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #21 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I'm really over weekly series.  It's getting harder and harder to write these reviews.  What can I say that I haven't already said 20 times?  Should I complain yet again about the randomness of the Dick Grayson plot?  Should I whine yet again that we've got so many irons in the fire that it's hard to keep track?  It's a "Choose Your Own Lament Adventure" at this point.

That said, I actually have something positive to say for this one!  The authors (at this point, we've got so many of them that it's hard to tell how else to address them) manage to make things worse and better at the same time.

On the down side for our group, the satellites that Apokolips sent to encircle the Earth are apparently turning it to "goo" (the technical term).  This revelation clarifies that Darkseid isn't turning Earth into Apokolips, but destroying it for its natural resources.  It's all very Galactan.  Kara, Lois, and Val are trying to destroy the satellites, but they have to fight through robo-para-demons to get there.  Val rightfully notes that he thinks that they're just a distraction.  (A complaint about this sequence also concerns Val.  He initially told Kara that he didn't want to destroy the satellites, because they'd crash to Earth and kill people.  But, everyone on Earth is underground, so they'd be safe.  Pay attention, Val.)  Moreover, it appears that Terry Sloan has destroyed the evacuation ship, though it's allegedly all part of his plan.

On the plus side, the authors identify a possible save.  Ollie Queen is revealed to be holding a "codex" that Bruce, Clark, and Diana created, containing the DNA of every living animal, plant, and organism on Earth.  It presumably means that the damage that Darkseid has caused to Earth could be undone if the heroes manage to stop him.  It's hard to underestimate this development, but it's really key.  It helps keep us engaged, delaying the point when the authors have to confirm whether or not Earth 2 is actually going to be destroyed.

But, another possible save may be out there, though the authors don't make that clear.  The telepath from Constantine's group reveals that he's so powerful that he's basically able to take over the minds of everyone on Earth.  He takes over the pilots of the ships planning to take refugees to the main evacuation ship and sends them, seemingly, to Chicago.  But, he doesn't seem to be doing so nefariously, since he also uses his powers to control the refugees there to calmly board the ships.  First, it makes you wonder why he didn't use these powers on this scale previously.  (Actually, it doesn't, because it's a deus ex machina and we all know it.)  Second, he's previously been portrayed as a villain, but we don't really know anything about him, so it's hard to judge his motivations.  But, something definitely seems to be up here, though we'll have to wait to see what, exactly.

I'm still not sure how many issues we have left, but I'll say that we do seem to be winding down here.  Hopefully, the authors stick the landing.  I'm really pulling for "Earth 2" to actually stay on Earth 2 and not take decamp to the DCnU Earth.  At the very start of "Earth 2," I enjoyed this series so much because it was an innovative take on a number of characters that I wanted to get to know better.  The problem with this Apokolips plot, though, is that we've been sidetracked for so long that the authors never really got a chance to tell the more nuanced stories that you need to understand a character.  I'm hoping that, if we stay on Earth 2, we might get those sorts of stories after the dust settles.  Fingers crossed.

*** (three of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #20 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I get most of this issue.  The Parliament and their avatars combine their essences and powers, infusing them into Alan so that he can fight off Darkseid's son before he destroys Earth's core.  (At this point Apokolips appears to have broken into pieces and seems to be reforming around Earth.)  It's a little unclear what this union means for Alan, since he apparently comes to possess the spirits of Grundy, Sam, and Yolanda.  But, we'll worry about that if Earth doesn't die.  Meanwhile, Helena successfully downloads some sort of encrypted map, and she deciphers it thanks to the practice she got tracking down Riddler with her father before Darkseid invaded (the first time).  It leads them to Ollie Queen and his underwater base.  Finally, Terry Sloan is revealed to be alive and well on his ship, and the heroes are going to have to work with him if they want to find a way to activate it and save Earth's population.  It all still feel like we're spinning our wheels, but it's more or less clear.

The only part of the issue that I don't get is the Dick story.  Since we never were really introduced to Constantine and his team, I never realized that they were "criminals."  However, Dick calls them that here, and it seems to fit.  Apparently, his son is with the one named Brainwave, and he's apparently controlling the minds of thousands of people.  Maybe?  It's unclear.  All we learn is that one of the "criminals" talks about "what happened" being "wrong" and owing Dick an explanation, so it doesn't sound like we're going to get a happy ending when it comes to Dick's son.  But, at this point, I don't get why we're seeing this story at all.  It's long ago outlived its purpose of showing us how "normal" people were coping with the events happening around them.  Now, it's just some weird plot that seems to be burning up time that could be better spent on some of the more essential -- and still unclear -- stories.

** (two of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #19 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

To be honest, it's starting to feel like we're stalling.

It's not like nothing happens this issue.  Jimmy fails to land Fury, Mr. Miracle, Mr. Terrific, and Sandman on Sloan's ship, forcing them to leap through space to it.  Batman and the Huntress start their search for Ollie Queen, but have to make their way into Sloan's inner sanctum to get his location.  The Green Lantern fails to hold off Apocalypse's spawn as he makes his way to Earth's core, and Dick searches for his son.

But, none of those events actually accomplish anything.  Constantine's minions are hiding Dick's son from him for some reason, so he doesn't find him.  (Unless he's some sort of messiah capable of resurrecting Earth 2, I'm not really sure why we're introducing a new twist at this point.)  The rest of the teams -- the Green and Green Lantern, Sato and Steel, and Batman and the Huntress -- are forced to just watch helplessly while the terraformers get to work, preparing earth 2 for destruction.  We're no better or worse than we were last issue.

Hopefully, next issue, something actually happens.

** (two of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #18 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Despite the fact that things seemed to be getting better last issue, everything goes from bad to worse in this one.

First, it seems a foregone conclusion that Earth 2 is going to be destroyed.  Steel comments on continued seismic instability, and Darkseid has sent a "terraformer" to Earth 2 now that its firepits are aligned with Apokolips'.  It doesn't sound good.  To be honest, I'm a little confused by this last development.  I thought that the firepits went cold, as Jimmy himself confirms here, once the Geneva team freed the Red Lantern in issue #16, since it seemed that she was the one fueling them.  I think the authors are revealing that, secretly, someone (Desaad?) was aligning them to Apokolips, so they no longer need the Red Lantern to fuel them.  However, no one actually says that; it's just my guess.

If Earth 2 is, indeed, destroyed, it seems clear that Mr. Terrific is going to "lens" the population to the spaceship that Jimmy Olsen discovered.  We see him working on the technology here by studying Fury's powers.  I'm still not sure whether all Apokoliptans have this power to open these portals, but it seems to only matter that Fury does.  I'm also not really sure how they work, but I think I'm supposed just take that they do work on faith.  If we didn't already know the outcome of that evacuation, it might be tense, since it seems like a ship full of the remainder of Earth's population would be a ripe target for a defeated Darkseid to try to destroy.  But, if that eventuality does present itself, we know, thanks to "The New 52!:  Futures End," that they make it to "our" Earth, undermining some of the tension.

The new development in this issue is the revelation that Bruce wanted Helena to go find Ollie Queen in case there was "trouble."  Jimmy conveniently found this information somewhere, though we're not told where.  We're also not told what Ollie has that could help or what trouble Bruce had in mind.  Also, if Ollie can help, shouldn't he have, I don't know, offered to do so as he saw the world crumbling around him?  But, we're not really supposed to question deus ex machinas, are we?

Looking at the broader story that the authors are telling, I realized that I still don't know why Apokolips wants Earth and what he plans to do with it if he gets it.  I keep assuming that he wants to go full-on Galactus and destroy it for raw materials, but maybe it's something else?  Is he going to turn it into the new Apokolips?  Someone should probably clarify that at some point, since we've spent roughly 30 issues of the main series and this one on this story.

** (two of five stars)

Earth 2 #31 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Instead of the stand-alone tales that we've had for the last few issues, where the authors have been telling us the back stories of some of the newer players in the series, Wilson, Bennett, and Johnson tell two stories from the margins of the events taking place in "Earth 2:  World's End."  Unfortunately, they do little to amplify our understanding of the ongoing events.

First, the Dr. Fate tale is so rushed that it makes little sense.  Nabu sends himself and Khalid to Apokalips, to raid the Hall of Lore, where Darkseid keeps his treasures.  However, Nabu is tricked into leaving Khalid for some sort of chained Apokoliptan sorcerer.  At least, I think it was a trick.  One minute, he seems to be a prisoner of the keeper of the Hall of Lore; the next minute, he appears to have colluded with the keeper to scam Nabu.  It's all unclear.  Then, despite the fact that said sorcerer is so powerful that he can dominate Nabu, Khalid casts a simple spell that severs his head, killing him and freeing Nabu.  I guess he wasn't so fearsome in the first place?  Finally, instead of stealing some of the treasures that might help in the fight against Apokolips, as I thought was the plan, Dr. Fate just destroys the Hall of Lore because he's mad?  Maybe?  Man, this story did not make sense.

Second, we have Marella in Atlantis doing...something.  She fights off some zombie Atlanteans, and she declares war on the surface world...I think.  This part was...you guess it...really unclear.  First, before I dive into the story, I was confused by the portrayal of her warriors:  they aren't humanoid (as Marella is), but appear more like Mer-Man from "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe."  I'm not sure if they're a different race than Marella or if their genetic structure was altered by the Fury with the same spell that rose the dead Atlanteans, but I definitely felt like I was missing something.  Second, in terms of the story, I get why she's mad; we learn that the firepits are burning off Earth 2's water.  But, I don't get how fighting with the surface world while Apokolips is invading is going to help.  Does she really think that Darkseid would just let her keep the oceans?  Also, her plan seems to be to steal all the moisture in the Earth's atmosphere to replenish the oceans, but is that enough?  Does that process happen naturally through the water cycle?  And, again, none of it will matter if Darkseid destroys the planet for raw materials for Apokolips.  Shouldn't she be taking the fight to him, save the planet, and then worry about the oceans?  First things first, Marella.

In other words, oy.  I would've rathered a look at what Dick Grayson is doing than the two half-assed stories that we get here.

* (one of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #17 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

We're definitely squarely in the next phase of this series.  Wilson seems to be confirming that humanity's days on Earth 2 are numbered.  With only two million people left alive, it seems entirely plausible that Jimmy Olsen could get everyone on board that spaceship and flee to "our" Earth.  But, Wilson doesn't make it easy for them, since Barda's new task is to use Desaad's "proto-demons" to kill all the refugees.

Wilson also seems to be winnowing out the ranks for the grand finale.  The Furies are defeated, though one of them seems to have given birth to Kalibak, Darkseid's son.  However, I'm not 100 percent sure if Kalibak is indeed the same entity as the Fury's son, since her son was in theory gunning for the Parliament of the Earth at Earth's core and Kalibak appears to Barda in the tunnels instead.  But, I'm sure we'll get there.  In the meantime, Bruce and a barely revived Helena are left to heal while the powerhouses -- Kara, Lois, and Val -- head to help Jay and Kendra fight off the proto-demons.  It's becoming clear that this fight is the big one and that the ultimate fate of Earth 2 hangs in the balance.

That said, we still have some questions.  Although this war with Apokolips has been bloody, I don't entirely understand how the entire population except two million people died in it.  Though, Wilson seems to be intentionally unclear on this point; Steel notes that the people that they haven't saved "vanished."  As such, it still seems possible that Earth 2 isn't doomed, if this population suddenly appears.  (Maybe they were "lensed" by someone, put into a time/space pocket?)  We also have these mysteriously possessed ruffians active in Atom's Haven.  It seems a little late in the game to be introducing a new menace, but we'll see where we go with it.

Overall, it's a solid issue.  We've survived the era of seven or eight plots running through each issue and it's now a lot easier to get a grip on each story.  I'm again excited to see how it all ends.

*** (three of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #16 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

We're only had a few moments in the Earth 2 stories where a significant number of heroes assembled together to form something akin to the Justice League or Society.  For example, "Earth 2" #16 had the Atom, Dr. Fate, Flash, Green Lantern, Red Arrow, and Sandman fighting Brutaal and issue #20 saw Aquawoman, Batman, Dr. Fate, Hawkgirl, Red Arrow, Red Tornado, and Val come together in the abandoned Batcave. I think the most that we had together at any one time was issue #26, when all the healthy Wonders -- Aquawoman, Batman, Dr. Fate, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Jimmy Olsen, Red Tornado, Sandman, and Val -- are in action to defeat Brutaal.  (By this point, the Atom has lost his arm in issue #21, Red Arrow has been killed in issue #23, and a so-far solo Steel was wounded facing the Red Lantern in issue #13.)

I mention all that because this issue sets the foundation for another issue #26, as it becomes more likely a full gathering of Wonders will come together.  The Geneva-based team, thanks to Superman's sacrifice (that I still don't understand), free the aforementioned Red Lantern.  She no longer fuels the firepits and, apparently, the parademons; as a result, the team is able to follow her to join Green Lantern and the Avatars in their fight against the Furies.  At this stage, we've coalesced into three teams:  Dr. Fate, Flash, Hawkgirl, and Steel are supporting Sato in securing the remains of humanity; Batman, Green Lantern, Power Girl, Red Tornado, and Val are fighting the Furies; and Fury, Jimmy Olsen, Mr. Miracle, Mr. Terrific, and Sandman are working on the Apokolips problem.  (Aquawoman is presumably still with her people, and Dick Grayson is doing whatever it is that Dick Grayson is doing.)  It seems likely that, when the three teams come together into one, it'll be to face Darkseid himself.  I'm still not sure how that's going to come about happening, but it seems to be the clear goal at this point, something that wasn't as clear even last issue.  As a result, this series suddenly became more enjoyable, since we're not longer just guessing about the endgame.

Turning to some minor notes, I was confused when the Green seemed to refer to the firepits as the "Tower of Fate; she mentions that the heroes freed the Red Lantern from the Tower of Fate, when they actually freed her from the firepits.  That's weird, right?  The last time that we saw the Tower of Fate, it was literally a tower in another dimension (if I'm not mistaken).  I might've missed a quick reference to it in previous issue, but I feel like the authors just throw it out there without clarifying it.  Also, I have to stay that I loved the Superman insignia closing up Power Girl's boob window.  That right there is some funny stuff.

*** (three of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #15 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is pretty straight-forward.  Clark sacrifices himself to poison the clones (even though we still don't really have a great sense why his blood is poison to them), freeing the Avatar of the Red just in time, I'm guessing, to help the other Avatars hold the line (and maybe turn the tide) against the Furies next issue.  Meanwhile, the Avatars get some support from Flash, since he and Kendra managed to get the secrets of the Furies from Famine.  (Famine asked them if they're willing to pay the cost for that information, though we don't learn the cost that they've paid this issue.) The Apokolips team failed to destroy Apokolips, but the arrival of Mother Box inspires Mr. Terrific in a way that isn't yet clear.  However, we also learn that Khan has let Jimmy know about a ship hiding in space that can hold millions of people, holding out the possibility that the heroes will fail and Earth 2 will, in fact, be destroyed (the premise of "The New 52:  Futures End").  It's a lot happening (Dick Grayson continues the search for his son as well), but I have to say that it's coming together better than it has been in previous issues.

*** (three of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #14 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue isn't terrible.  It's not great, but it's not terrible.  That's pretty much good enough at this point in the land of DC weekly series, though.

Unlike the Atom's confusing death last issue, Khan dies in a way befitting the character, trying to use the Shackleton Assault Craft to take out Darkseid.  He fails when Darkseid destroys the craft with his Omega Beams, but it's at least a noble (if abrupt) death.

Moreover, we learn that the Avatar of the Red isn't actually fighting the Geneva team, as she seemed to be doing last issue; she's been trapped by Desaad, and he's using her to create the clones fighting the team (and to fuel the Firepits).  This revelation makes total sense, since it seemed bizarre that Yolanda hadn't found her way to the Avatars yet.  The problem is that we learn all this information from Val, without any insight into how he knows it.  After all, it's not like he had been a prisoner of Desaad; he had been kept in a USG facility.

Continuing on the issue of the clones, Superman reveals that his blood was somehow used in the cloning process ("they used my blood...in the pipes of this place...trying to pump it into their creations").  However, he also reveals that his blood is poison to the clones.  So, it's unclear if they tried to use his blood to create the clones, failed, and then found Yolanda, or if his blood somehow interacts with Yolanda's in an important way for creating the clones, but, in and of itself, would be poison to them.  The only clear part about it is that it's the deus ex machina that Batman needs to defeat the clones and free the Red.

I will say that we're clearly building to the finale here, given that the Red joining the Avatars is likely to help reverse the tide against the Furies.  Hawkgirl and Jay tracking down the body of Famine will likely help contribute to that, so at least these two stories, combined, gives us the sense that we're going to get somewhere soon.

But, it also seems possible that the whole matter will be resolved before then, given that Mister Miracle and his team seem to have successfully blown up Apokolips.  It can't possibly be true (because, again, I think we have ten more issues left in this series), so I'm intrigued to see what actually happened.

Also, Dick learns how to be a superhero in three hours under Ted's tutelage, but, at this point, I feel like the less said about that sub-plot, the better.

*** (three of five stars)

Earth 2 #30 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Bennett and Johnson again do a solid job of using this series to delve into the background of some of this event's otherwise faceless background characters, as they initially did with the Furies in issue #28.  I was particularly surprised by how well they handled the White (Sam's) and the Red's (Yolanda's) stories.

You can feel Sam's heartbreak in just the six pages that we see him, since he's dealing with the aftermath of his death and, more profoundly, his loss of Alan.  Bennett and Johnson also indirectly address some mysteries about Sam.  We're told that his soul is of unmatched purity, answering a long ago question (from issue #13) of whether he was engaged in shady weapons dealings with Apokolips' forces.  (Likely no.)  I'm not sure if we'll ever pick up that story, so the revelation that Terry Sloan likely killed him for leaking information about the Boom Tubes to Jimmy Olsen is probably going to be the final word on his death.  Moreover, the authors confirm that Sam, in theory, doesn't remember who he is; his utterance of Alan's name in "Earth 2:  World's End" #8 implies that his love for Alan is sufficiently strong to keep him connected to Alan despite his role as the Avatar.  It actually helps amplify the impact of the sequence here, because Sam is true to his word that he'll always remember Alan.  By the end of these six pages, we have Sam as a full-fledged character for the first time since this series began, and I'm a happy camper for it.

Similarly, Yolanda goes from a faceless brute to a real person, accepting a blood curse in place of her primo hermano.  I definitely found myself wanting to know more, like why Yolanda and her cousin have essentially been left to their own devices.  Yolanda exposits that she thought that their university's work/study program would be the answer to their problems, but we don't learn why we have those problems in the first place.  It's also unclear why she feels so compelled to protect him.  My guess is that these two questions have the same answer, and  I would love to see that story explored more.  Again, it's impressive that the authors got us to feel that way about her in just seven pages.

Unfortunately, the story about the Avatar of the Blue made little sense to me, feeling just like a jumble of words and images.  But, they can't all be winners.  If you're enjoying "Earth 2:  World's End," this issue is a solid contribution.  If not, well, you probably should just skip reading this series for a few months.

*** (three of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #13 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is a jumble of events with little by way of explanation for most of them.

For example, Flash left Dr. Fate, Hawkgirl, and Jimmy Olsen to help evacuate people last issue so that he could scout for any trouble in the tunnels.  He encounters some sort of robots (though I don't think we ever learn why they're hostile to him), and Hawkgirl is on hand at the start of this issue to help him fight them.  That's all fine.  However, they're also randomly joined by Captain Steel.  I had no memory of seeing him since "Earth 2" #13, where he announced the terror of the Red Lantern.  I checked online, and the DC Wikia page led me to two blink-and-you'll-miss-them appearances in this series:  in a flashback in issue #1 and a brief appearance in a hospital bed next to the Atom in issue #8.  That's it.  But, suddenly, he appears totally fine and part of the team in this issue.  Similarly, the Atom appeared to be in a medically induced coma last issue (and, again, we saw him lying next to Steel in issue #8), but he's in costume and totally healthy in this issue, with no explanation.  On the flip side, we also get no explanation of why he dies at the end of this issue creating the subterranean haven.  Is it stress on his heart from growing to the size of ten cities?  Is it the fact that he appears to be lying in a lava bed while doing it?    No clue.

Continuing the theme of random appearances, Ted Grant suddenly appears in time to save Dick from himself.  He knows that Barbara has been killed, though I'm not sure how.  Has he been lurking in the shadows this entire time?  Maybe he could've lent a hand?  Moreover, I continue to be totally confused by Dick's motives.  He seems to be embracing suicide-by-wave here, but, as I've previously mentioned, he's also stressed the need to track down his son (who he gave to strangers) in past issues.  I get that he's emotionally unstable right now due to his grief over losing Barbara, but it's hard to keep track of where we are with him from panel to panel.

We also have an odd sequence in the fight between the Avatars and the Furies that seems to make no sense to me.  Alan begs Helena not to kill Sam.  She agrees, but she says that he's sacrificed the Earth to save Sam.  But, it's not really clear why that would be true.  Alan seems just as capable of fighting as he was before he begged her not to kill Sam, and it's not like he made an explicit deal with her.  The authors seem to think that he made an implicit deal, since he threatens to destroy her if she doesn't give him Sam, implying that her giving Sam to him would mean he wouldn't do so.  But, it really isn't at all clear that's the case, and it makes Helena declaration of victory all the odder.  (Plus, it's no like Solomon Grundy or the Avatar of the Blue are bound by any such deal.)

Anyway, I could continue, but I won't.  I'm still enjoying this series, but we're starting to reach "Batman Eternal" levels of confusion here.  The authors really need to start pulling some of these groups together to make it easier to follow the stories that they're trying to tell.

* (one of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #12 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue succeeds in conveying a sense of urgency as the world comes closer to destruction, but I feel like we're really rushing past important details.

For example, we learn this issue that a billion people died when Apokolips displaced the moon.  How did that happen?  Tidal waves?  Wilson does a good job of using Sato to convey this information to us, but it makes me realize that it would've been nice for the authors to have used her this way throughout the series.  Also, why are we only now sending people into the World Army's underground transport tunnels?  It's hard to tell how much time has passed at this point (another consequence of the rushing), but it seems like Apokolips had to have appeared a few days ago.  Why did we wait after the tidal wave to move people, particularly given the ongoing scourge of the falling meteors?

Also, while I'm asking questions, why is Dick talking about his son being out there as if he had no control of that situation?  He's the guy who put him on a train with strangers.  Also, he makes it sound like he wants to find him, but nothing he does here makes that likely to happen.  He threw him on a train so that he could beat Barbara's killer to death with a bat and then seems to welcome the possibility of the tidal wave killing?  It just doesn't make sense.

All that said, I'm excited about Khan getting to kick Terry Sloan's ass.  Let's not rush that part, OK?  (That said, I don't understand how Khan seems to have recovered so quickly from the spear to the gut that he received just a few issues ago, but the Atom is in some sort of drug-induced coma for losing his arm many, many issues ago.  I should probably stop asking such questions.)

** (two of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #11 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

One thing that's never been particularly clear to me is if the Earth 2 Darkseid is the same as "our" Darkseid.  In other words, does Darkseid and the other New Gods exist across the Multiverse in one form, or do they exist in multiple forms?  I'm not sure that we get the answer here, but we seem to be closer to it.

A lot happens here, and it mostly serves as a (welcome) primer for people not intimately familiar with the New Gods.  I'm appreciative of that, because I fall into that category.  After I read last issue, I vaguely remembered that Mister Miracle isn't Darkseid's son, because he was traded for Darkseid's real son as part of a peace agreement with Apokolips' "good" counterpart, New Genesis.  Mister Miracle is somehow aware of that this issue as well, though we never see anyone tell him that and he didn't seem to know it last issue.  He just asserts that High Father, the ruler of New Genesis, is his real father.  If I'm reading between the lines, it's because he believes anyone born of Apokolips to be evil, a conclusion that he draws after Barda and Fury betray him in this issue.  He's not evil, so he assumes that he's not from Apokolips?  I'm stretching on that one.  If he does believe that, he's seemingly proven wrong when Fury shows that she didn't betray him at all.  In fact, he's proven doubly wrong, since the allegedly "good" High Father has agreed to allow Darkseid to absorb Earth 2.  A horrified Mister Miracle comes to the conclusion that none of the New Gods deserve his allegiance, and he and Fury throw in their lot with the humans.  (He's probably solid on that assertion.)

The only thing left unclear to me is how and why Barda betrayed Mister Miracle.  Barda seems to have done something to the Boom Spheres to free Darkseid and not destroy him, but we don't get any clarity on that front here.  Darkseid makes mention of eating the heart of Apokolips to power him, relying on Miracle's rage to free him, but we don't learn why it was necessary for him to do that in the first place.  Was he facing some sort of challenge from other New Gods?  How did he know that Miracle would travel from Earth and try to kill him just in time to save him?

It feels like we skipped a few steps here.  We really needed to see Miracle learning about his true parentage and not just guessing at it.  We also need some more clarity about Barda's and Fury's motives, since we don't really know them well enough to make said guesses to understand their actions.  That said, I have to give the authors credit for doing what I asked them to do last issue, namely focusing an issue on just one of the many sets of players that they have in action.  It really helped to clarify where we are in terms of Apokolips, and I hope that they do something similar for the Geneva-based team and the Avatars in coming issues.

*** (three of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #10 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

OK, to be honest, this issue might be the first one where I felt like we went off the rails a bit.  The authors have so far done an amazing job of keeping all the balls in the air week to week, but it's starting to feel like the break-neck speed of the story means that we're whizzing past some important moments.

The Chicago story is really the most obvious victim at this point.  I say that, even though we actually get answers to some outstanding questions in this issue.  We learn that everyone has to evacuate the camps because a meteor hit Lake Michigan and the resulting tidal wave will level the city.  We also seemingly confirm that Barbara Gordon was killed last issue, though, in the superhero genre, never say die.  But, the rest of the story is just a jumble of action and confusion at this point.  John Constantine and his team suddenly intervene to save Dick and his son from the rioters.  John says that he doesn't like people threatening kids, but you've got to wonder why he didn't feel so strongly about the Grayson kid's welfare in time to save his mom in the previous issue.  Plus, the team puts on an impressive show of magic, making you wonder why they couldn't heal or resurrect her, given that they were on hand for her death.  Is it because John's magic is fading as we learn here?  Maybe, but that revelation just feel like too much to process, when we already have enough problems to address.  (In fact, I'm not really sure that Constantine and his team are adding anything to this story.)  To make matters worse, Dick abandons his son to Constantine and his team for some reason.  Is it because he refuses to leave Babs' body?  Maybe, but, Jesus, dude, pull yourself together for your kid.  Just don't hand him to the nearest bunch of traveling magicians.  Dick pledges to find his son again, but what chance does a non-superhero have against a tidal wave?  How does he possibly expect to survive?  I get that Dick is grieving, but it's hard to understand anything that he does here.

On Apokolips, Mister Miracle confronts Darkseid, spouting a series of questions that might make sense if I knew more about the characters.  I don't, so I was totally lost.  He eventually disavows Darkseid as his father and uses Mr. Terrific's Boom Tubes to destroy the Mobius Chamber where Darkseid was seemingly meditating.  However, we learn that it was somehow his prison, though we don't know who imprisoned him.  This sequence makes sense for a narrative perspective, in the sense that Action A logically sets up Action B, but we fly through it so quickly that it doesn't have any real impact, despite the future of Earth 2 seemingly hanging on it.  Plus, you can tell that the authors want us to feel Miracle's pain as he seemingly discovers that he's not Darkseid's son, but they rely on you knowing the characters' history to feel those feelings.  Not knowing it, I just wondered how anyone could love Darkseid.  Wouldn't a seeming good guy like Mister Miracle be happy that Darkseid wasn't his father?

We also rush through the Geneva scenes, even though they really could have exactly the sort of emotional impact that this series is starting to lack. Clark and Lois are reunited, and Clark seemingly reveals that Desaad may have also resurrected Bruce and Diana.  These moments should be big deals.  But, we get no rest for the weary, because we move right onto a mutated Helena attacking the group.  We're supposed to be excited about Kara's upcoming clash with Helena, but it all happens too quickly to process.  I don't think Thomas even gets in a word here, despite discovering that his son may still be alive and that his granddaughter is now some sort of mutated agent of Apokolips.

Also, Sam dies?  Maybe?  Again?

I'm not saying that this issue is terrible, but it's just that we've gotten to the point where we're rushing through so many of the sub-plots that it feel like the authors are just checking boxes, moving us as efficiently as possible from Point A to Point B.  One of the challenge of the main series has always been the fact that the authors have struggled to focus on specific characters long enough for us to have an emotional connection to them.  We've probably gotten the most insight into Alan, given the fact that he was the focus of the first few issues, and Thomas, given that the annual was dedicated exclusively to him.  I've always hoped that, after the war with Apokolips, we'd settle down a bit and get to spend some time with Jay, Kendra, etc.  This issue is way too far on the other side of that spectrum, and I hope the authors give us at least an issue or two to catch our breaths and maybe focus on one or two stories only.  Otherwise, it's starting to feel like reading a history textbook about the end of some other world.

** (two of five stars)

Earth 2: World's End #9 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

This issue is sort of the "Empire Strikes Back" of this series, in that nothing goes that well for the heroes.  Mr. Miracle seems to go off-script, abandoning the plan to set nuclear weapons across Apokolips in his pursuit of revenge against Darkseid.  Moreover, Fury makes a cryptic comment that someone had told her that he would do so, implying that she might still be furthering some sort of plan that Steppenwolf put in place before Bizarro killed him.  Barbara gets shot trying to board the train taking the refugees from the camp, though it's unclear if she dies.  The Geneva team is no closer to finding Helena.  They do manage to find Clark, but he's wounded and seems to lack his previous powers.  The crazy avatar of the Blue is released on the world, and Sam resumes insisting that he's not the person that Alan once knew.  The only real good news is that Dr. Fate manages to purge the rage gripping the population, freeing Kendra in the process.  But, it's pretty limited as a win.

By and large, this issue continues the trend of the last few issues, moving along all the various plots and sub-plots a little at a time.  I have to say that, at some point, we're probably going to need to focus on certain plots to forward them where they need to be.  Mr. Miracle's fight with Darkseid, for example, is probably going to need more than five or six pages.  Although the authors continue doing a great job of making each plot seem fresh, we're building to a point where it's going to be awkward to ditch a plot that just had a major development.  For example, I get that the authors would want to leave us on the edge of our seats when it comes to Barbara's fate, but they don't want us just rushing past these moments, since that undermines their emotional impact.  As I said, so far, they've done an amazing job of not doing that, but I'm not sure how long it can last.

(One small note on the camp story:  I get that we're supposed to see it as representative of a complete breakdown in society.  But, who sent the trains then?  If the World Army or Government is in charge enough to send trains to evacuate people from the camps, can't they impose some sort of order?  Did they just hand them to the thugs?)

*** (three of five stars)