Hope and Despair – Review of Earth 2 #19

earth 2 19 coverWith Earth 2’s Superman under the control of Darkseid, is there any hope for Earth 2?  Destruction is all around and the Wonders appear thoroughly defeated.  But, the fight isn’t over yet – in fact, it may be just beginning in this issue of Earth 2.

LIGHT SPOILERS ONLY

Superman brings Flash and both men who are otherwise known as Mr. Terrific to the grounds of the White House, where Supes gives one more amazing and fearsome display of power.  Meanwhile, the new Earth 2 Batman works with the Red Tornado (Lois Lane), Jimmy Olsen and Aquawoman to find “the alien”, the one being who may have enough power to turn the tide.  We learn a bit more about Marella (someone who appears to combine the powers of both Aquaman and Mera), and meet this alien…who is certainly a surprise!  And, we start to find out what Doctor Fate means as he babbles “Crumbles. Angel in the slaughter. Green!”  Those words, when explained, may hold the key to everything.

Tom Taylor continues to ramp up the tension in this thriller of a tale.  There is plenty of reason to give up the fight…and yet some glimmers of hope appear in this issue that hold promise of turning this battle around.  I love the pacing of this story, and the development of the characters of Batman, Lois, and the Earth 2 Jimmy Olsen.  Nicola Scott and Robson Rocha handle the pencils, while Trevor Scott and Oclair Albert take on the inks and Pete Pantazis continues with colors on this visually impressive book.  There is a lot of stellar action illustrated here, with an impressive counterpoint of the introduction to “the alien”…in a way you would likely never expect.  There is a great Scribblenauts alt cover already mentioned on this site that echoes a famous Flash cover (though Jay doesn’t do much in this issue, which makes the timing of the cover a bit odd).   Still,  this series continues to be one of the gems of the New 52, with plenty of intrigue to go along with top-of-the-line action.

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