Create A Line For Earth Two

[Shadowcat]

You’re the new editor with an edict:

Create a line of books for Earth Two characters.
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DC’s going full steam ahead with creating a line to start developing their Earth Two universe. You need to come up with titles, creative teams, a mission statement for the line, and a direction for each book. You need to come up with no less than 5 books, but no more than 10.

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[Shadowcat]

FIRST TITLE:
JSA
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Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Russell Dauterman
This series will be detailing the adventures of the JSA set during the time of the Vietnam war, and the height of the Cold War.
I’ll be switching up the racial identities and some female heroes who were active during the time.

Cast:
Green Lantern (Scott)
Flash (Garrick)
Dr. Fate (Nelson) Egyptian American
Wonder Woman (Hippolyta) Roman/Mediterranean
Dr. Mid-Nite (McNider)
Sandman (Dodds) African American
Black Canary (Drake)
The Atom (Pratt)
Starman (Knight)
Hawkman (Hall) Egyptian American
Hawkgirl (Hall) Egyptian American
Mr. Terrific (Holt)
Spectre (Corrigan)
Hourman (Tyler)
Wildcat (Grant) African American/Mexican American
Firebrand (Reilly) Caucasian American/Mexican American
Amazing Man (Everett)
Commander Steel (Heywood)
Phantom Lady (Knight) African American

[Riv86672]

A work in progress. Hopefully I’ll get around to adding the other books and assigning creative teams...:

As a mission statement, I’d want to see some world building. Earth 2 shouldn’t look exactly like earth 1, given the circumstances.
I’d encourage the creators to incorporate next gen characters we know, in different ways, maybe even as supporting characters across the line. What would characters like Bruce Wayne and Hal Jordan be doing if they’d never become heroes/what would a villain like Lex Luthor be up to without his arch enemy?
What would other planets think of the earth, without Superman as it’s main protector, and not nearly as big a presence in off planet affairs without the JLA? Do the Guadians keep an eye on Alan Scott? What up w. The Fourth World?
Over the first year I would have the line build towards an Event Story, something big. Maybe an invasion from Krypton...

JSA
Set in NYC. The premise wouldn’t be too different from the runs the book had post 2000; a mix of generations, soap opera style storytelling and lots of action. We’d explore (sometimes quite obviously, sometimes in passing) how a world that never had that next generation of heroes would be different in 2020, and how the JSA faired over the previous decades. Did some heroes retire? Did some die? Did they all -stay- heroes?

GREEN LANTERN
The adventures of Alan Scott in a very different Gotham City. We’d see new threats and familiar faces both friends and especially foes...villains who took on different personas and/or developed powers, w. Alan on the scene as opposed to Batman.

UNCLE SAM
Set in Boston, the book follows Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, most (but not all) of whom have retired/will act as supporting characters/suit up occasionally.
Uncle Sam is really a combination of Captain America and Thor. He’s an American God, linked to the Country and it’s ppl. We’d explore that and create a Pantheon of other American tall tales/folk tales. Not all of them friendly.
There’s also a reason Uncle Same and his team remained independent of the JSA back in the day...there’s some static there, and we’d finally get to see that secret history.

DR. OCCULT
Set in St. Roch. Dr. Occult is about 100 years old, and still in his prime thanks to his magical origins. He and his partner Rose Psychic are magical detectives, and will give us an Everyman view of the supernatural on earth 2. We’ll see appearances by The Spectre, Johnny Thunder, Hawkman of course, the Starman Family... An ongoing case as the series starts will see them hired by the JSA to find the missing helmet of Dr. Fate. This’ll end in a crossover w. a new (old) host being chosen. St. Roche itself has a lot of dark secrets to explore, like the identity of a serial killer that’ll turn out to be a recurring character that’s wormed his way into our heroes’ lives.
Hint: It’s Karnevil.

[Vakanai]

Old/classic/current again Earth Two teams up with the heroes of the New 52 Earth 2. JSA/JSA is the title.

[Restingvoice]

Knowing almost nothing about Earth 2 I'll just gonna comment on how interesting these pitches are for me.

I’d encourage the creators to incorporate next gen characters we know, in different ways, maybe even as supporting characters across the line. What would characters like Bruce Wayne and Hal Jordan be doing if they’d never become heroes/what would a villain like Lex Luthor be up to without his arch enemy?
What would other planets think of the earth, without Superman as it’s main protector, and not nearly as big a presence in off planet affairs without the JLA? Do the Guadians keep an eye on Alan Scott? What up w. The Fourth World?
Over the first year I would have the line build towards an Event Story, something big. Maybe an invasion from Krypton...

GREEN LANTERN
The adventures of Alan Scott in a very different Gotham City. We’d see new threats and familiar faces both friends and especially foes...villains who took on different personas and/or developed powers, w. Alan on the scene as opposed to Batman.

I'm interested in the Different Gotham with Alan Scott instead of Batman. Bonus points if you feature popular Gotham characters in different roles, like the Batfam as civilians supporting characters.

[Riv86672]

I'm interested in the Different Gotham with Alan Scott instead of Batman. Bonus points if you feature popular Gotham characters in different roles, like the Batfam as civilians supporting characters.

Thanks!
And yeah, I’d like to see that happen across the whole line, ideally.

[Adekis]

I was just talking about what I'd like to see on Earth Two in another thread!

Here's the pitch:

Earth 2 used to be a world where time could move forward, in contrast to Earth 1 where it stood still. Now time on Earth 0 moves forward, and I'd like to see Earth 2 repurposed as a world where every character is written with an eye toward their original conception or characterization.

Earth Two was originally an attempt to recapture the world of the Golden Age as a place you could go back to. I'd keep that basic premise, but for each individual character's "Golden Age," their inception period when things were fresh and new. Every creative team would be instructed to do a contemporary update of the character's original conception. I don't actually have confidence in my ability to come up with creative teams though, so I'm just going to list my premises for the books.

Superman: Champion of the Oppressed - Basically the premise of Grant Morrison's Action Comics # 1 - but spread out across the whole series. Clark Kent is a polite, generous young man with a strong sense of justice and a sarcastic streak he can't always quite suppress. He uses the power of the press to great effect as he goes out of his way to combat corruption and apathy - but of course, he's also secretly "the Superman". Superman is a snarky roughneck who goes out of his way to track down the bullies of the world and bully them right back! In either identity, our young hero cannot tolerate injustice. He's so passionate, so compassionate, that every hill is potentially his hill to die on, and whenever he has to "forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown," it breaks his heart. Sometimes being an intelligent, super-strong, brave, badass, isn't enough - but it often is. Don't want this to get too "Greg Pak" with tendencies to reign Superman in! No, Clark usually wins the fights he picks, in either identity. With Clark's friendly rival Lois Lane of the "Planet" to push him professionally, his mentor, Daily Star editor George Taylor (with Perry White performing the same role for Lois), his best pal, "freelance photog" Jimmy Olsen at his side, and enough titanic strength to bench-press a glacier, Superman is out to fight for those who can't fight for themselves, and to enforce justice in an increasingly uncaring and unjust world.

Villains include eastern-European war profiteer Luthor, irredeemably evil Ultra-Humanite, Metalo, the criminal "anti-Superman," the Prankster, gangsters like "Big Bill" Bowers, and the scheming would be world conqueror, the Yellow Mask... but more often the issue at hand is just one of corruption and apathy in the modern, industrial world. Superman's greatest enemy is systemic injustice, not any specific evildoer.

As for Superman's violence level, I think this version of Superman can kill with relative impunity, according to "Atomic Robo Morals" - no guts, no gore, no navel-gazing and he only ever kills bad guys, no doubt about it. I'll admit, this choice is partly based on the Golden Age, and partly just due to my tiredness over moral debates in the Superman fandom.

The Bat-Man: Dark Night Detective - Bruce Wayne, in his persona as "the Bat-Man," is a gentleman adventurer, first and foremost, and though he's undoubtedly motivated by the death of his parents, there's also an undeniable element of thrill-seeking to his work. He's smooth, debonair, and smart. He's a crack shot with his twin Browning Hi Power semi-automatic 9mm pistols, skilled proficient in boxing and jujutsu - but he's not the greatest fighter in the world. He might be able to fight three men at once, but he would probably not come out unscathed. He's relatively vulnerable compared to most other versions of Batman. His best friend and closest confidant is his ward Dick Grayson, a circus acrobat who frankly, outmatches Bruce in most physical capacities despite his youth. As a contemporary "Robin Hood," Dick also joins in on Bruce's crusade against crime. He carries a side-arm himself, at Bruce's insistence, but doesn't like to use it. Dick is very earnest, and not unlike Bruce, a little bit reckless, which forces Bruce to reign himself in a little for Dick's good. Alfred is pretty much the way he always is, except that he's more gung-ho, with a desire to be a bit of a detective himself! Commissioner Gordon is a personal friend of Bruce Wayne's, but not particularly crucial to the Bat-Man's crusade against crime. The wild card is Julie Madison - Bruce Wayne's fiancee. Bruce truly loves her and cares for her, so it's a black mark on his record that he pathologically lies to her, and nearly always puts "the night-life" above their relationship. But Julie's no fool! How long can Bruce keep the truth from her? I'm not sure, but I'm sure his normal acts are not sustainable.

Villains may include the likes of Joker, Two-Face, etc, but also vampires and monsters, in addition to gangsters and crime lords.

Wonder Woman: Princess of Peace - The major influences for her book are the Golden Age Wonder Woman's infamous kink-friendly writing, feminist utopianism, and of course, Etta Candy and the Holliday girls. Unlike latter-day portrayals of the Amazons, which portray them as very warlike, with a primitive society, and often aggressively misandrist, these Amazons are scientifically advanced, spiritually advanced, and merely wary of "Man"'s corruptive influence, given the state of "Man's World," clearly not in great shape! Diana herself is an ambassador, bringing their holistic ways to us - especially through the "audience surrogate" character, her boyfriend of sorts Steve Trevor. Like Superman, she's not afraid to tell the whole world that it's wrong.

Shazam Family Adventures - A book that stars Earth's Mightiest Mortal and his friends in their more classic conception. Tawky Tawny dresses like Jimmy Olsen, Mary Marvel is a sweethearted Pollyanna of a girl, Captain Marvel Jr. just can't stop won't stop killing Nazis, Billy Batson, while worldly and wise, is not a jerk to anyone he meets, and Captain Marvel himself, with his greater wisdom and maturity, comes across almost as a different person from Billy, despite them sharing the same "I".

Fourth World - This is where I start to deviate from actual Golden Age properties. In a sharp turn from contemporary New Gods stories with a Darkseid who is always down to brawl with the League and New Gods who barely ever show up, in this series, Darkseid fits more with Kirby's version - a manipulative schemer who never gets into a straight fight, instead using other warriors, high-tech weapons, and the deadly Omega Effect exclusively. The main cast is the Forever People, who frequently run into other characters from Kirby's mythos, including reluctant Messiah Scott Free and his family of Barda, Shilo Norman, and Oberon, the Newsboys and Guardian, they of the DNA Project and Monster Factor, the dreamlord Sandman, Manhunter, and perhaps most crucially, the wild Orion who is destined to kill Darkseid, and his dearest friend, the scheming strategist Lightray. When Darkseid finally falls to the Dog of War, will Orion be able to move on with his life? Will the Forever People and Scott Free be able to step up into the power void and make the world a better place?

Action Heroes - This book primarily features the Ted Kord Blue Beetle, with Question as a back-up and recurring character. Far from their later developments into a sad-sack and an acid guru, here Ted Kord could be more accurately described as a grown up Spider-Man, and the Question is just this side of Mister A. The main difference between Ted and Peter Parker is that Ted is a successful professional inventor, and his gadgeteering makes up most of his crime fighting. His snarky quips and his willingness to get up when he's knocked down, as well as an occasional mean streak, all mark his similarity to Peter beyond the visual. For the Question, Vic Sage (not Charlie Szasz!) is a resolute moral absolutist with utter certainty in his own rightness- not so differently from most other super-heroes, except less compassionate. He always punishes the aggressor, regardless of circumstance. Doesn't get along well with Clark Kent, and considers Kent's column in the Daily Star to be a sort of commie rival to his own column in the Daily Crusader. He's a bit like Blue Beetle's "Racer X" - mysterious, brooding, less open, less powerful, and yet still somehow more knowledgeable, and certainly a more skilled fighter. I don't want to discount Sage's importance by dismissing his philosophy too much. He's an intellectual powerhouse - if a bit empathy challenged.

Those are my strongest ideas. My other concepts include a Doctor Fate book following from his All-Star Comics # 3 origin of an inhuman being brought into existence as a grown man, a Doctor Occult series, a Green Lantern series that focuses on his otherworldly spookiness (as seen pretty early on in GL's career), despite Alan's more straight-laced personality. I considered lumping those three together into a sort of "Ghost Detectives" series... Also, a JSA book that's pretty grounded overall, featuring a team who's less "Based on Their Golden Age Version" and more "What if All My Earth 2 Books Crossed Over", and a Metamorpho book based on Bob Haney's more goofy original stories.

I would kind of like to have a Flash book, since I love Jay, but I'm just not necessarily convinced that Golden Age Flash stories are that different from Silver Age Flash stories. A lot of other JSA mainstays also don't necessarily have staying power to hold down a series on their own either, and Jay is probably the most popular of the trad JSA crowd. Maybe he works as a viewpoint character for the JSA book? Eh, I've been working on this for too long, haha! I may come back with another post later with more, and better thought out ideas.

[achilles]

Keeping it strictly to Earth Two, and in the spirit of Earth Two, though with a bit more Silver Age feel:

Justice Society of America, the flagship title. Line-up would be Alan (GL), Jay (The Flash), Ted (Wildcat), Carter (Hawkman), Kara (Power Girl), Kent (Dr. Fate), Pieter (Second gen Dr. Midnite), Michael Holt (Mr. Terrific), Rick Tyler (Hourman), and if I could steal an Earth One character, Stargirl, (with Pat as STRIPE). This is the main strike force and defense group for Earth Two.

Infinity Inc. The kids, or some of them. The classic line-up, (some characters cross over between titles from time to time).

Green Lantern. Alan's solo.

Dr. Fate. Kent's solo.

Power Girl. Kara's solo.

Challengers of the Unknown. This to me FEELS like and Earth Two sort of book, so for this, it is.

Gemworld. Another one I feel should belong to Earth Two.

Warlord. Ditto.

Brave and The Bold. Here it would be an anthology title featuring other Earth Two heroes such as Aquaman, their GA and Black Canary, and a few cosmic types I also feel belong more on this Earth Two, such as Captain Comet and Adam Strange.

[bat39]

Earth 2 is a kind of retro-futuristic world...sort of a 1939 World Fair idea of what the 21st century would look like. Its a world where superheroes have been around for 30 years, and a second-generation is rising. The world is also significantly different due to the influence of superheroes and super-science. In some ways, it is a more utopian society than ours - clean energy, technological advancements, a better standard of living. But there is trouble in paradise and cracks under the surface because, well, human nature and politics. And exploring these similarities and differences will be a focal point of this line.

Now for the books themselves:


Power Girl: She's the cousin of the first and most legendary hero, Superman...who when the series begins hasn't been seen for a while and is believed to be off-world. This series is about Kara simultaneously wanting to live up to and reject the legacy of Superman as she carves her own path. When the story begins, she's basically at 1938 Siegal/Shuster power plans, and then gradually begins to get more powerful.

Huntress: The daughter of the mysterious Batman and Catwoman, and Power Girl's best friend. In this version, Helena is based in Bludhaven (or some other city) and is also trying to carve out her own crime-fightling legacy. She's a lawyer-by-day/vigilante by night, and a lot more motivated by justice than by vengeance.

Batman: Well...you kinda need a Batman book to sell the line! This is a legacy focused book. Its about Dick Grayson, the former Robin, assuming the mantle of Batman and protecting Gotham City. But the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, is alive too and in retirement, appearing in the present-day as a mentor figure, and in flashbacks to his heyday. Dick's Batman might eventually take on a Robin as well - most likely a new version of Jason Todd.

Justice Society: Led by the three holdovers from the 'Golden Age' - Green Lantern Alan Scott, Flash Jay Garrick and Hawkman Carter Hall (who's actually a reincarnation of the version who was part of the Golden Age). Its a blend of old and new heroes. Other members include Jade, Obsidian, Atom-Smasher, Wildcat Yolanda Mondez, Hourman Rick Tyler, Black Canary Dinah Laurel Lance, Stargirl Courtney Whitmore etc. Its actually less a 'team' and more a 'society' - a training ground/support group to nurture the new generation of heroes.

Tales from Earth 2: An anthology series focused on various characters from Earth 2, also with stories set in its past.

[Riv86672]

Tales from Earth 2: An anthology series focused on various characters from Earth 2, also with stories set in its past.

Great idea!

[Zero Hunter]

I would combine elements from all the different versions. Superman and Batman would both be gone and Wonder Woman would be retired and ruling over Themescara.


JSA - The main team book
Legacy of Superman - A book focusing on Power Girl and Val Zod and other things linked to Superman. Really showing how hard it is to live up to legend.
Shadow of the Bat - Along the same line as the Superman book but focusing on Huntress, Dick Grayson, and other Batman related characters on Earth 2.
The Squad - A book featuring the younger heroes like Stargirl, Cyclone, and others.
All Star Team Up - Just what it says a team up book. One story arc you might have Flash and Green Lantern and the next it could be Sandman and Doctor Midnite. Maybe keep the arcs short so it keeps the book fresh.

[DrNewGod]

Five conceits to the line:

1. It is the E2 that existed pre-Crisis, complete with Trinity+Green Arrow and Aquaman all debuting between 1938-1941.
2. Time passes for E2 as it does here
3. The line features a mixture of a few classic characters that happen to be immortal, a handful of legacies, but mainly, new characters.
4. The line keeps "old business" stories to a minimum. Similar to the M2 line over at Marvel, E2 books in the past have tended to be slightly altered remakes of what went before, more focused on being legacies instead of investing in new stories.
5. The new line doesn't crossover with the "main" DC continuity. As far as the E2 inhabitants are concerned, theirs is the only dimension that survived the weird "Red Skies Incident" of 1986.

The titles:

• Adventure Comics:Anchored by Manhunter Paul Kirk. Virtually immortal, thanks to his healing factor, Kirk is a man on the run b/c, even though he survived The Council on E2, he's wanted for crimes committed by his clones, and many of his adventures feature tracking them down. Backup features here include more high adventure characters as opposed to the urban vigilantes in Gotham Comics, like Hawkman's successor, The Golden Eagle, and a new version of The Ray.
• All-Star Comics: This is the Astro City of the line. A book that leaps around in time, featuring different characters. It may have ongoing plot threads, like a Vandal Savage story that may cover four or five issues, but has him dealing with different heroes in different places and points in time.
• Cosmic Comics: Anchored by an E2 version of Alpha Centurion (maybe make the character Chinese or Mayan). Jade Lantern also makes appearances here as well as Sensation, but other backup features include new characters that give E2 a richly populated cosmic environment that it generally lacked. Examples might include The Darkstars.
• Gotham Comics: Anchored by the new Bat-Man. Actually, a private vigilante Checkmate-like organization run by the aging Helena Wayne, employing a team of agents who all share the cowl (only one at a time), selected in part because of their similar physical builds. Backup features include some new characters that, like the Bat-Man, tend to be street-crime fighters. For example, a new Guardian and Newskid Legion feature with the kids trying to be YouTube celebrities as reporters.
• Justice Society Unlimited: The world's greatest superheroes, including Dr. Fate, Jade Lantern, Wonder Woman and several of the other characters appearing in the other titles.
• Sensation Comics: Anchored by a long-widowed Wonder Woman, very much focused on social justice issues. Backup features include Star Girl and Stripes, and Jade Lantern. Girl Power is clearly the focus of this title.
• Terrific Comics: Similar to what we currently have with The Terrifics, but probably with a different lineup. Mr. Terrific, of course, but also featuring Bob Robot Man Crane, Maxi Mercury (MT's wife and granddaughter of 1940s speedster), and perhaps two or three of the Terrifics' kids. Backup features focus only on the members of the group.
• The Tower of Fate: Anchored by Dr. Fate, this title deals with the mystical side of the E2-verse. Backups include The Spectre, Dr. Occult, Zenia Zatara, along with general horror stories.

[Riv86672]

Kind of off topic but, while I’ve been kicking around ideas, i had a question pop up in my head.
Why wasn’t there an Aquaman in the JSA?

[DrNewGod]

Kind of off topic but, while I’ve been kicking around ideas, i had a question pop up in my head.
Why wasn’t there an Aquaman in the JSA?

Just guessing, same reason as Green Arrow and the rest of the Seven Soldiers.

In its first few years, All-Star Comics was kind of a launching pad for properties that could not only anchor an anthology book, but headline a title book, like Superman and Batman. When they were getting close, they became the Chairman, and then got promoted out (Flash and Green Lantern; I have heard Hawkman was next, but WWII paper rationing made it unfeasible). When characters' popularity dropped, meaning a solo wasn't even possible, they were cut from the team (Hourman, Dr. Fate, the Spectre). Now, by mid-WWII, the rules had changed, and the roster was set in stone. The only roster change was Black Canary, who replaced Johnny Thunder in both the JSA and his feature in Flash Comics.

Aquaman didn't hold a title until the late 1960s. So, like Johnny Quick, Robot Man, and The Seven Soldiers, I'd guess he just didn't show the support to put him in contention for a title during that formative period of the JSA.

[Riv86672]

Very informative, thanks!