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  1. #1
    Incredible Member Captain Britain of Earth 20's Avatar
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    Default if you could have done the Earth 2 series

    My curiosity is peaked,if you could have written the Earth 2 series for the New 52? My idea was having characters from the Golden Age like the JSA,Infinity Inc and All Star Squadron mixed in with the Wildstorm Universe & concepts for example have the JSA as the legendary team that inspires the UN to create Stormwatch plus have Infinity Inc & WildCATS as friendly rivals. I know every fan of the original Earth two had a different idea for an Earth 2 series that was printed so let it out.
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  2. #2

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    I like most of what Earth 2 did so I'd expand on that. I'd probably focus on a generational shift with the JSA having existed for years but going through an upheaval after Supes/Bats/WW dies in the Apokalips invasion.

    I did think it be funny if we used the Gods and Monsters version of Supes/bats/ww but that probably wouldnt happen.

    The Flash tv show and a couple of interesting design choices that we'd probably bring over. Like the 1940s throwbacks and the War of the Americas which we would flesh out in backstory.

    I probably wouldn't incorporate Wildstorm because i don't know too many of its characters outside of Gen13, Authority, sleeper etc. Plus I'm digging the Wild Storm that Ellis and Davis-Hunt are putting out so i rather just let them keep going.

    https://www.deviantart.com/needham-c...5583/DC-Comics

    This deviantart had some cool takes i might use.
    Last edited by the illustrious mr. kenway; 07-31-2018 at 07:17 AM.

  3. #3
    insulin4all CaptCleghorn's Avatar
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    Without worrying about whether or not DC would approve, my Earth 2 would have started just like DC's actual Golden Age. My MAJOR difference is that the heroes actually fight WW2. There's no "spear of destiny" keeping them from going into Berlin and Tokyo. But there are superhumans on all sides and a much shorter, but just as bloody war sees superhumans looked upon with caution. There are no atomic weapons; instead, metahumans are the new deterrent. With superheros and villains around for years, life changes drastically. We see huge differences in style and technology resulting in a retro-futuristic society.

    Earth 2 takes place in the year 1985 but with the changes in history, you really can't tell it's 1985. The JSA still exist and Infinity, Inc also exists consisting of mostly the JSA's kids. The focus will be on what a world looks like after decades of superhumans and can deal with the questions you really can't ask well in a universe where Earth needs to look a lot like it really does.

  4. #4
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    I wouldn't have done Earth Two. Mainly because DC wouldn't have wanted to deal with the decades long continuity I'd have wanted- basically the 1938-186 stuff from the Pre-Crisis Earth-2 and the post-Crisis JSA additions.


    Instead I'd have argued for a total reboot. A new speedster using either the name Flash or Johnny/Jesse Quick with powers totally unconnected to a Speed Force, a new wielder for a mystic Green Lantern, an Hourman whose Miraclo pills give him different powers (from different pills) which last for an hour and otherrs. By avoiding names like Garrick, Rex Tyler, etc there is no expectation from the readers. If the new Green Lantern is gay, gender swapped, a minority or such it won't be at odds with prior versions of the same person.

  5. #5
    OUTRAGEOUS!! Thor-Ul's Avatar
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    Many interesting ideas and takes. I must confess I like more the classical take but I liked how many of the concepts from the JSA were explored in new twists.It was sad than many possibilities were aborted in that way. But a lot of those ideas could work.

    I would have done this earth 2 as a post crisis clutter earth, but where is the golden age dominated the fusion, with their obvious consecuences: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are from their original eras; Jay Garrick is seen investigating the death of a CSI called Barry Allen who was killed by a lighting; Hal Jordan died testing an experimental plane, and there are not GL Corp but Darkstars corps and so.
    "Never assign to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity or ignorance."

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  6. #6
    Boisterously Confused
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    I'd have set it in something very like the original Earth 2, minus ever meeting The JL, aged in real time, focusing on those characters that are immortal, and new characters created/adapted for the title. The idea being that world/social condition s that motivate people to become superheroes come and go, 1938, 1970 (push I finity, Inc back in time a bit), and now!
    • Make the continuity pre-All-Star Squadron, so All-American and National characters only in the history, but Quality, ect. characters are available for use as "new" characters (especially interested in The Ray, and The Blue Beetle).
    • A few of the JSA, being immortal, are still active (Spectre, Dr. Fate, Wonder Woman), but aren't the focus. A few others, are still alive, but long retired and enfeebled out of the game. The rest have died. Powergirl is Superman's daughter, and semi-retired now. Infinity, Inc is also retired.
    • Superman hasn't been seen in years. He semi-retired in the mid-1970s, trusting the new kids to handle things. On Lois' death in 1985 (cancer) he left Earth in the rocket that brought him and is still wandering the stars. The search for Superman will become a major plotpoint later in the run.
    • Go easy on legacies this time around, perhaps a few, like a modern Guardian (with no connection to Harper, just glomming onto his act), something like Batman Beyond run by Helena Wayne, and maybe one offspring of Infinity, Inc. (The Golden Eagle perhaps).
    • Initially, there's no common theme to the emergence of the new generation, they're all fighting similar but distinct causes, ranging from Pushing Back Against The Man For The Little Guy, to That Biker Gang Killed (pick a relationship), to My Powers Are COOL Let's Beat Up A Crook With 'Em! At least 9 issues introducing characters and setting the stage. That doesn't last .
    • Vandal Savage and The Ultra-Humanite launch a global gang war, employing both conventional and super-proxies. It unfolds slowly (4-6 issues, overlapping the later introduction stories). Their contest triggers the search for Superman (they both want his alien tech), and the good guys have to get there first
    • Superman is found, but leaves again. Turns out, he originally left, not out of grief, but fearing people were not learning from his example as much as they were becoming dependent on him. He tells the new breed that they will face such a choice themselves one day.
    • The race for Superman awakens Ancient Evils, motivating the next arc, which deals with replacing Dr. Fate.

  7. #7
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CaptCleghorn View Post
    Without worrying about whether or not DC would approve, my Earth 2 would have started just like DC's actual Golden Age. My MAJOR difference is that the heroes actually fight WW2. There's no "spear of destiny" keeping them from going into Berlin and Tokyo. But there are superhumans on all sides and a much shorter, but just as bloody war sees superhumans looked upon with caution. There are no atomic weapons; instead, metahumans are the new deterrent. With superheros and villains around for years, life changes drastically. We see huge differences in style and technology resulting in a retro-futuristic society.

    Earth 2 takes place in the year 1985 but with the changes in history, you really can't tell it's 1985. The JSA still exist and Infinity, Inc also exists consisting of mostly the JSA's kids. The focus will be on what a world looks like after decades of superhumans and can deal with the questions you really can't ask well in a universe where Earth needs to look a lot like it really does.
    This is sort of what I would have done.

    I'd have the Golden Age play out as it originally did (more or less), with characters like Amazing Man and the Fawcett roster (as well as whatever other companies DC swallowed who had characters active in the Golden Age) included. But then after the War you start exploring the kind of changes superhumanity would have on the world; Ted Knight's cosmic energy powering cars instead of gas or electric, stuff like that. I'd try to keep to the main beats of DC history, so even though the world is different the characters' journeys have been largely the same, so everything feels somewhat familiar while still feeling new.

    Eighty years of superhumanity and mad science and magic applied to the history we actually know. How would that affect the world? That's what my Earth-2 would have been.
    "We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."

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  8. #8
    Astonishing Member BatmanJones's Avatar
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    Do we have the option of doing The Justice Society? Earth-2 was New Coke.

  9. #9
    A Wearied Madness Vakanai's Avatar
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    A young twenty something Batman, early in his career so say year 3 or 4, but already married to Catwoman with newborn little Helena Wayne. Be interesting to see a younger, less experienced Bruce balancing being Batman with home life and being a family man. I would start the story with a new take on the Robin origin story that ultimately ends with Bruce and Selena adopting a young teen Dick Grayson.

    I would start Batman's villains off a bit earlier too, making Harvey Dent Bruce's best friend and the only one outside Bruce's family (Alfred, Selena, and Dick) who knows he's Batman. Make him a closer ally than even Gordon and wait at least five years before the Two-Face story. No Joker for at least the first two to three years to help build up the rogues gallery, although I would tie Red Hood into the first Robin origin arc and hint that this could be the Joker. Kind of do the Red Hood like the Zero Year version. I'd also have the Penguin look and act very similar to the one from the Gotham show.

    But mostly I would focus on the more obscure or rarely used villains. Really try and build up villains like the Ten Eyed Man, Kite Man, even Condiment King amongst others. Maybe some of the '66 series villains like Egghead or King Tut. That said, the biggest villain would be R'as al Ghul.

    Superman would be similar to the New 52 version, only this time fans won't be pissed because it's Earth 2 and they'll still have their old dad Superman. He'd still be in the shirt and jeans costume for a few years, but with the S symbol being the first from original comics appearance. I would also flashback to do the origin story, focusing on his first foray as a teen in the future with the Legion of Superheroes.

    I would just give Wonder Woman to whoever wrote that Legend of Wonder Woman origin, job done. Seriously that was a good book.

  10. #10
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    I don't mean this as a smart-aleck response at all, but I just wouldn't have taken the job, because at that point, DC wasn't ready yet to do it right by bringing the Golden Age JSA to this place and time as young characters. They had to screw it up before they decided to do it right.

    Timing is everything.

  11. #11
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    I would have stayed closer to the original concept of a supers book where the "big changes" actually stuck. The setting and characters would all be destructible, meaning that events could not be launched casually.
    Current pull-file: Batman the Detective, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Marvel Dark Ages, Nightwing, Superman Son of Kal-El, Transformers, Transformers: King Grimlock, Warhammer 40,000 Sisters of Battle
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  12. #12
    Astonishing Member Overhazard's Avatar
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    I would stick to the original concept. It was a good concept, I would stop at darksied blowing up the planet and continue the worldbuilding. Explore Val-Zod as a superman who tries to be a pacifist, and Fury as a wonder woman who tries to quell her rage, like Orion. Power Girl and huntress returning home and trying to live up to the legacies of Superman and Batman. I'd also have the Flash be the everyman character, I liked jay a lot.

    Earth 2 had a lot of potential, so I'd only tweak a little of it.

  13. #13
    Boisterously Confused
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    Quote Originally Posted by DrNewGod View Post
    I'd have set it in something very like the original Earth 2, minus ever meeting The JL, aged in real time, focusing on those characters that are immortal, and new characters created/adapted for the title. The idea being that world/social condition s that motivate people to become superheroes come and go, 1938, 1970 (push I finity, Inc back in time a bit), and now!
    • Make the continuity pre-All-Star Squadron, so All-American and National characters only in the history, but Quality, ect. characters are available for use as "new" characters (especially interested in The Ray, and The Blue Beetle).
    • A few of the JSA, being immortal, are still active (Spectre, Dr. Fate, Wonder Woman), but aren't the focus. A few others, are still alive, but long retired and enfeebled out of the game. The rest have died. Powergirl is Superman's daughter, and semi-retired now. Infinity, Inc is also retired.
    • Superman hasn't been seen in years. He semi-retired in the mid-1970s, trusting the new kids to handle things. On Lois' death in 1985 (cancer) he left Earth in the rocket that brought him and is still wandering the stars. The search for Superman will become a major plotpoint later in the run.
    • Go easy on legacies this time around, perhaps a few, like a modern Guardian (with no connection to Harper, just glomming onto his act), something like Batman Beyond run by Helena Wayne, and maybe one offspring of Infinity, Inc. (The Golden Eagle perhaps).
    • Initially, there's no common theme to the emergence of the new generation, they're all fighting similar but distinct causes, ranging from Pushing Back Against The Man For The Little Guy, to That Biker Gang Killed (pick a relationship), to My Powers Are COOL Let's Beat Up A Crook With 'Em! At least 9 issues introducing characters and setting the stage. That doesn't last .
    • Vandal Savage and The Ultra-Humanite launch a global gang war, employing both conventional and super-proxies. It unfolds slowly (4-6 issues, overlapping the later introduction stories). Their contest triggers the search for Superman (they both want his alien tech), and the good guys have to get there first
    • Superman is found, but leaves again. Turns out, he originally left, not out of grief, but fearing people were not learning from his example as much as they were becoming dependent on him. He tells the new breed that they will face such a choice themselves one day.
    • The race for Superman awakens Ancient Evils, motivating the next arc, which deals with replacing Dr. Fate.
    I've given this some more thought most of the basics I've proposed would stay the same, but there are a few things, I'd alter.
    • A recurring theme would occur in the early issues: how much responsibility dare a vigilante assume, and for what?
    • The first 6-9 issues would illustrate this by running two intertwined stories per issue, one introducing the new characters, and the second flashing back to the old to show us the history of this E2.
    • One first gen immortal would be a focus character: Robot Man, who becomes an elder statesman figure to the new bloods.
    • Superman didn't leave Earth, he just let people think he did, fearing we were depding on him too much. He didn't quit, life saving miracles still occur wherever he hangs around, but he works anonymously now, acting only when he must, and as discreetly as he can. He spends most of his time working on various ills all over the world. He moves to Kenya, and helps locals figure out how to better irrigate, then moves to Tibet to consult with locals on strategies to publicize their oppression, then to Venezuela to work on food distribution, then to Michigan to work on immigration issues, etc... He never stays anywhere longer than he must, offering some suggestions and then leaving people to elevate themselves.
    • Superman does leave for space in the end, suggesting the new kids need their own room to breathe, and speculating it might be time for their kind again, for a while (and leaving somewhat ambiguous as to whether he's really gone this time).
    • The second arc features several government's reacting to the superheroes, including The Russians, who unleash an E2 variant of Hector Hammond on them. The theme here being, what does a vigilante owe society's governments, be they democratic or dictatorial. The E2 Hammond will release Kulak, leading to the quest for a new Dr. Fate in the third arc.

  14. #14
    Extraordinary Member Zero Hunter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Overhazard View Post
    I would stick to the original concept. It was a good concept, I would stop at darksied blowing up the planet and continue the worldbuilding. Explore Val-Zod as a superman who tries to be a pacifist, and Fury as a wonder woman who tries to quell her rage, like Orion. Power Girl and huntress returning home and trying to live up to the legacies of Superman and Batman. I'd also have the Flash be the everyman character, I liked jay a lot.

    Earth 2 had a lot of potential, so I'd only tweak a little of it.
    I agree with you on the basic set up was pretty good. One of the things I do not want back when the JSA returns is the original Trinity. The strength of the JSA to me has always been the other members who are not just direct copies of the each other which is why I have never liked Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Robin in JSA stories. I love that the Jay Garick Flash is so different from the Barry or Wally Flash. I love that Alan Scott is nothing like Hal, or the other GL's.

    I loved that in the Earth 2 book all of the Trinity were dead. I don't mine them having existed, but I think the whole concept works better if they are gone now and you have people carrying on their legacies like Huntress, Power Girl, and even Val Zod and Fury. When the original Trinity is around most writers will just fall into making them the focus sooner or latter, and that is just boring when there are so many other more interesting character to play with.

  15. #15
    Astonishing Member BatmanJones's Avatar
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    My previous answer was flip. Let me give this a genuine go...

    1. I would have treated "Earth 2" the way that Julie Schwartz treated "Earth One" when he invented it along with Gardner Fox and the rest by creating new versions of classic characters. What I mean: I wouldn't be rebooting secret identities of traditionally Earth Two/JSA characters. If the idea was to relaunch a universe from scratch, I'd have done that. Not a new Jay Garrick but a new Flash. Not a new Alan Scott but a new Green Lantern. In much the same way as we got new versions of old characters in Barry Allen Flash and Hal Jordan GL. So I wouldn't have rebooted the secret ID's and I wouldn't have limited reboot to DC's Golden Age characters. As happened in 50s/60s, new Flash, new GL, new Hawkman, new Atom, new EVERYONE.

    Giving new costumes to characters with old names (both hero names and secret ID's) was a half-measure. And limiting it to DC's Golden Agers (or at least starting that way) was arbitrary and put a block on OG JSA that never needed to be there.

    So those are mostly things I wouldn't have done that they did do. As for what I would do, I mostly covered that above too.

    I would have been interested in seeing a new generation of heroes that were legacies in the way Barry Allen was to Jay Garrick.

    But as long as we're on a new earth that isn't the main one I think we could also have new versions of the Trinity and the few characters that didn't change in the Silver Age, such as Arthur Curry Aquaman and Ollie Queen Green Arrow.

    Val-Zod was a lot of fun. Great idea to do a black Superman. And that points to how this new generation might have made up for transgressions of the past when all characters were cisgender, heterosexual, white, and mostly male. Gay Alan Scott was a nice move too. And I've said many times I think when OG JSA comes back we should see at least one of them step out of the closet, one of the originals not a rebooted version.

    Of course the most important thing is finding the right creative team to handle such a monumental task. I'd begin my search for the perfect creative team to relaunch my best characters by preemptively crossing off the name James Robinson who seems to have lost more than a step since his excellent Starman. If New 52's E-2 was ever going to work, they didn't really give it a chance to as it was mostly handled by really poor writers relative to the general superhero comics writing pool. I'd give this task to ANY other writer. I'd give it to my most creative and imaginative team of writers to conceive and my most creative and imaginative writer/artist team to handle the series. Nicola Scott was a great move; Robinson just wasn't. And though I forced myself to read a lot of E-2 after the fact, and enjoyed Tom Taylor's issues, Robinson was a bummer and Daniel H. Wilson was just unreadable to me.

    It needs great creators because it's a monumental task and one that's only worked once though it's been tried many times over, let's say, about 60 years, giving the first generation 20 years of its own. Out of all the alt universes we've seen at DC (Tangent is a good example of new versions of classic characters that didn't really go anywhere) it was only when Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, Ray Palmer, Katar and Shayera, etc. were birthed that the new versions of classic characters were good enough to stand on their own. That was a home run and since then no one's even gotten on base. That reboot, the one overseen by Schwartz with a lot of help from Fox and others, would have been my model in creating a new Earth 2 comic book. Of course it would have been. It was the only one that ever worked.

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