Review: JLA: Earth 2

JLA: Earth 2 by Grant Morrison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A rocket crashes in the countryside and out climbs... Lex Luthor? Alexander Luthor hails from the anti-matter universe and implores the Justice League to help him overthrow their evil selves. Can the JLA stop their most powerful foes to date?

Remember the mirror universe episode of Star Trek where Spock had the goatee? Earth 2 is the super hero version of that, after a fashion. It reads a little like Squadron Supreme in that the evil versions of the JLA have set themselves up as the rules of the anti-matter Earth.

Superman becomes Ultraman, a tyrant empowered by Kryptonite
Batman becomes Owlman, Thomas Wayne Junior who starts a life of crime after seeing his mother and brother gunned down.
Wonder Woman becomes Superwoman, a sadistic sexy Amazon.
Flash becomes Johnny Quick, who gets his super powers from an addictive drug.
Green Lantern becomes Power Ring, a coward with a ring that controls him.

Aquaman and Martian Manhunter stay behind on Earth so they conveniently don't have counterparts.

The story is pretty standard super hero fare, although Morrison turns the dial up a few notches. While Green Lantern extraordinaire Kyle Rayner holds the Syndicate hostage, the rest of the JLA work to undo the evil the Syndicate has wrought. When the Syndicate escapes and makes its way to the JLA's Earth, the carnage goes off the chart.

For the most part, it's a lot of mindless superhero fun on a grand scale. While I thought the logic went off the rails at times, I loved when the main villain was revealed. The contrast between the Crime Syndicate and the Justice League was nicely done. I'd read an Owlman/Superwoman book.

While the logic of the story falls apart at the end, it was still entertaining for what it was. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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