A Second Look At JLA:Earth2

Here's the story:I bought the TPB JLA:Earth2 last week and didn't like it.My biggest problem with DC Comics is that they let all of their "Elseworld" characters intermingle and also that there are too many legacy characters.I would think that one Superman is enough.For example,why do Kingdom Come Superman,Red Son Superman,Superman Prime,etc need to be running around in the same universe with regular Superman?It smacks of extreme laziness and lack of confidence in your creative staff when you'd rather just slap a different colored uniform on one of your flagship characters than create a new one.At least Marvel tries.It would be like when new characters are promised for Spider-Man's Brand New Day and then they turn out to be Ultimate Spider-Man,Marvel Adventures Spider-Man,Peter Parker from the MC2 Universe and Spider-Man from What If?The Other. But I digress.

That problem hindered my ability to enjoy this book,but I figured that maybe my bias was tainting my view of an otherwise great book.It couldn't have been as stupid as I thought it was.So I decided to put my feelings aside and re-read the book with a more positive outlook.My new verdict?It's still silly.

First,Ultraman has his own version of kryptonite,called anti-kryptonite.If they call it anti-kryptonite then they must be aware of regular kryptonite,which comes from the JLA's universe.But they didn't know about the JLA's universe until the beginning of the book(or so it is implied).I'm assuming they named it anti-kryptonite a while back.How did they know?

Second,why do the JLA even bother giving Aquaman a vote?Come on...it's Aquaman.

Aquaman:I can't help guys.I gotta rule Atlantis.But you can call me if you're in a pinch.

Batman:Call YOU?(Big belly laugh ,which is shared by the rest of the JLA,followed by wiping a tear from his eye.)Oh Aquaman,you're priceless.

Third, it was really odd hearing them discuss the moral at the end of the story when they were rebuilding.It sounded unnatural.The CSA ending was cool though.

Next,the Flash's alter ego was named "Johnny Quick."Because he's quick.Get it?I've never heard a more generic name in all my life.Oh,wait a minute.I have."Power Ring" is more generic.Using this method of naming,their version of Aquaman(Why something like this would exist I don't know.)would be named "Swim Man" or "Joe Fishguy".

Really,I just felt like picking on this book a little more.That's the only reason I'm posting this.To be honest,it did read better the second time around.It was mindless fun.It felt more like I was reading a cartoon than a comic.Green Lantern's ring powers can lead to some pretty interesting visuals.I'd give it a 7 out of 10.