By Todd Allen

Looks like this really is Earth 2’s “New Costume Week.”  I’m going to go out on a limb and guess Superman and Alan Scott/Green Lantern are going to appear in the next two days, although Jay Garrick/The Flash was mentioned in the solicitation.

First up, Kevin Maguire’s Helena Wayne as Robin:

Now, technically, the Huntress is on going to be on… um… the version of Earth where the current version of Justice League and Batman are set.  [If the graphic novels are Earth One and the Justice Society comics is Earth 2, could somebody at DC PLEASE let us know what the new 52 universe is supposed to be called?]  But this would be her costume when she was Robin.

The official PR on it:

“Helena Wayne has been taught how to be the perfect Robin,” said James Robinson, writer of EARTH 2. “Assured as a detective, fighter, scientist, pilot and all around crime-fighter she’s been groomed by Batman to be the perfect caped manhunter (or should we say manHuntress) when she grows up.”

“Before coming to the main DCU Earth and taking up the mantle of Huntress, Helena Wayne fought crime alongside her father as the Robin to his Batman on Earth-2!” said WORLDS’ FINEST editor Wil Moss. “But how did she come to be on this Earth? And why did she decide to become Huntress? You’ll get some clues in next week’s HUNTRESS #6, but for the real scoop, pick up WORLDS’ FINEST #1!”

That’s a departure from the original, where Helena was sneaking around as the Huntress behind her father’s back and Dick Grayson was an adult Robin, although if you were going for a 1950s progression-type feel, that would make sense.  “Main DCU Earth” — get a real name for it.

Then we pop back to the Earth 2 book, so get ready for the grimness to come back.  Jim Lee on the Earth 2 Wonder Woman.

Now, as a native Iowan, I can assure you that metal tipped boots are preferable if you’re going to stick your foot up someone’s… getting back to the official PR:

“Due the events that open the saga of EARTH 2, Wonder Woman is already the last Amazon of this world and she is determined to avenge her sisters…at whatever cost,” said EARTH 2 writer James Robinson.

“How did Wonder Woman come to be the last of the Amazons?” asks EARTH 2 editor Pat McCallum. “It’s one of the mysteries we’ll be getting into with the series. While there will be recognizable faces and settings on EARTH 2, don’t for a moment think you’re on familiar ground. Do that, and you let your guard down…and then you’ll end up like the rest of the Amazons.”

I suppose we should note that McCallum is laying it on considerably thicker than Robinson.  So Batman’s ready to kill somebody to save his family and Wonder Woman’s “determined to avenge her sisters…at whatever cost.”  Are we seeing a trend in the hype?  I do see that the Worlds’ Finest hype has a different tone to it.

All this “ready to kill” business does jibe with the “alternate” cover to Earth 2 #1 (the “normal” cover hasn’t been released to the best of my knowledge).

The official PR keeps using the tagline “With the addition of a parallel Earth that features prominently into both EARTH 2 and WORLDS’ FINEST, the developing narrative will encompass new heroes from distinctly different backgrounds, building on the shared universe in some surprising ways.”

They’re trying to surprise us.  If you’re squinting at the PR and saying “what,” then the plan is working.

21 COMMENTS

  1. Personally, I’m having a “Crisis of Trying To Keep All of this Straight.” I guess I have to say the new costumes aren’t hideous… per se. It’s just that they look like what would have happened if we’d allowed the 1995-1998 X-Men creative team to draw JLA/JSA. That’s to say, it’s not bad, but it’s not fresh, either.

    And are those Para Demons in the background? Sigh. It would be nice to think that some money was being sent to Kirby’s estate… but I suppose that’s too much to hope for.

    Oh, and as for Helena… Do you think they could manage to put some “R” logos on her elbow pads? I don’t think we have enough Rs on her costume.

  2. It’s nice to know Wonder Woman’s boots would be OSHA approved – though steel hip-waders might not be practical in the average workplace.

    And I’m moderately surprised there isn’t an “O” on one knee and a “B” on the other on Helena’s costume. Or the buckle could be the “o” and “B” and “I” respectively. She could have “N”s on each boot sole. (If this is a hit, maybe DC could do a deal for some officially licensed Doc Martens – Doc Robins, say.)

    “How did Wonder Woman come to be the last of the Amazons?” asks EARTH 2 editor Pat McCallum. “…don’t for a moment think you’re on familiar ground. Do that, and you let your guard down … and then you’ll end up like the rest of the Amazons.”

    Laugh-line of the day. Maybe even the week.

    Todd, Todd, Todd … you’re letting them wind you up. I prescribe pastrami. Lots and lots of pastrami. Remember, everything you know is wrong. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Then, more pastrami. I’d rather go out via Romanian cooking than a fictional universe pulling a switcheroo.

  3. Jim – I’m not wound up, I’m just laughing at how the PR is being rolled out… particularly after the demographic survey results. And yes, McCallum is laying it on REALLY thick.

  4. Name: How about “Earth-First”? DC announced “the second wave” of titles on January 12th.

    The first issue of WF (heh) ships in May.

    Why do I suspect there will be a new universe added each year, trying out some new version, to see what sticks?

    DC’s done it before, with the Tangent skip-week titles. (Earth-9 of 52, collect them all!)

    It’s kind of like Elseworlds, but somehow connected to the Greater DC Multiverse, probably using the Schwartz paradigm via The Bleed. (Although the Morrison/Waid paradigm might still come in to play, as Morrison is working on “Multiversity”.)

  5. Yay, more stories that will confuse anyone who wanders into a comic shop! So these are those new DC Comics stories I’ve heard about. No, this is Earth 2…over there is the new 52. This is a parallel earth. Okay, where’s the continuation of that Superman story I read, the new origin? Oh that’s Earth 1. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! *new comic readers head explodes, goes back to playing video games*

  6. Thank jeebus that DC is putting out even grimmer ‘n’ grittier comics. They just don’t have enough of them.

  7. Yeah, glad that I am pretty much done with the DC line. Vertigo (yes, I know) and Image are now getting my money.

  8. I like the idea that a second earth will be a basic part of this DC universe. It’s what I liked about DC as a kid in the 70s (and made it a different animal to me than Marvel). Making it just a “fact” of that world/universe doesn’t HAVE to alienate new readers. I never bought that argument that DC’s parallel earths were alienating back then, and nowadays parallel earth storylines are EVERYWHERE. I’m just saying.

  9. It’s worth pointing out all we’re seeing is sketches by Jim Lee and an alternate cover. (And silly quotes from the editor.) We’re not seeing the actual comic. Although, I can’t for the life of me understand why you’d have a comically breathless series of quotes that seemed aimed at a 16-year old Wizard reader, when Wizard has gone away and the demographics survey indicates readers under the age of 18 are few and far between. There could be disconnect between how this is being marketed and what it is. But yeah, I’ve always loved the concept of Earth-2. Whether this is the “sense of history” type of alternate world the original was… I’m just not getting a sense of that from the hype.

  10. Okay… maybe I’m being WAAAAY to pervy at the moment. Maybe not. You decide. But is it wrong to put knee pads on a woman’s costume? Isn’t that extremely sexist?

    You know what… forget I said anything. I’m just being a dirty old man again.

  11. Hmmm… the knees looked more like armored to me at first glance. Or knee length boots. Hard to tell from a rough sketch, but I see where you’re coming from. Probably should wait to see an inked/colored version before getting excited. We _haven’t_ seen the Scott version, either.

  12. I was kinda hoping Earth-2 would be the pre-DCnU DCU, carrying on the tradition set forth in the Silver Age of not abandoning the old stuff when making new stories. We’ll see…

    I like this Earth-2 Robin’s costume more than the DCnU Red Robin (yum!) costume. I hope they keep Jay Garrick’s winged helmet, but fix Alan Scott’s costume so he doesn’t look like such a skittle. ;)

  13. The armored boot look is probably inspired by kickboxing armor. I know I’d want some padding and protection if I spent my time kicking bad guy butts all night…

  14. Oh, I’m easily confused by parallel Earths and have never seen any sci-fi movies. And I can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. It’s like “new” readers are walking Tabula Rasas. They have a clue about multiverses from other media. If they don’t fully understand it, there are easy explanations. “There are multiple worlds”. That’s simple. You don’t need a history lesson.

  15. It always amazes me how much the geek culture whines about everything. I’m pretty sure that even if most of these people that are complaining were happy with everything the creators were putting out they’d cry about the fact that they didn’t have anything to cry about. Yeah, everyone’s got differing opinions. That’s great, but if you’re hating that much on what DC is putting out, for pete’s sake, don’t buy it. And if you’re not buying it, your opinion is worth exactly zero to the DC creators.

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