What would your ideal Earth-2 be like?

[Factor]

I think the notion DC screwed up Earth-2 is one of the few things that come close to a consensus around these parts. What SHOULD have done instead probably isn't.
This thread is for sharing what YOU think would be the best approach to an Earth-2 relaunch. You could start from scratch or just decide to continue one of the previous versions.

Share your ideas and be civil to those you don't agree with

[Factor]

Ok, so here are my thoughts:

I realize how much the WWII was important to previous incarnations, but that type of setting brings some problems DC would probably want to avoid:
- It anchors the formation of the team around an specific point in time, making the characters age in real time if the stories are set in the present.
- Newer generations of readers may not care as much about the WWII setting. Sure, interest for that period will always exist, but dealing with more contemporary issues could make the comic more relevant to a larger audience.

Now, since this would take place in an alternate Earth, they could always avoid the first problem by
- Setting the stories in the past, not in the present. Even first legacy generations would also need to be set in the past, you'd start having an age gap of 70 years or more between parents and their sons and daughters.
- If they opted for a contemporary setting, they could also find ways to keep the original heroes looking young, but that wouldn't fix the age gap between the originals and their legacies, much less their husbands and wives. Sure, you could have some spell make literally everyone in the book age slowly, but this kind of contrived measures would be something to avoid in a reboot.

Now, my way of avoiding the two problems mentioned while also giving a nod to the WWII setting is to take advantage of Earth-2 being a parallel world and have the first generation of heroes band together to stop another planetary-scale war.
Yes, similar to what Robinson did with the Darkseid invasion, but I'd have the threat come from within Earth-2 and I would make it feel much more like an actual World War but with the fantastical elements from DC's mythology added.
I'd take some elements from Perez' Wonder Woman and have this New World War happen because of the interference of Ares with human matters.

A "brief" summary of my ideas:
- Earth-2 would be an Earth more optimistic and dominated by magic than Prime Earth. These would help set them apart as more than just the Earths where Green Lantern and Flash have different civilian identities.
- Like in Robinson's version, Wonder Woman would be the first hero/"wonder". 10 years before the War, Hippolyta, sensing Ares' resurgence, would send Diana to "Man's world" to help bring peace to the world. Wonder Woman's debut would signal the coming of magic to "real" world. Boundaries between the concepts of reality and fantasy would start to break and the age of heroes would start.
- An idealistic young journalist named Clark Kent would be inspired by WW to come out of hiding and accept his destiny to become a true Superman. This version of Superman would be more tied to Krypton's mythology. Krypton's death and the coming of its "last son" to Earth would be part of a prophecy. Lara and Jor-El would believe Earth-2's sun ability to give powers to kryptonians would be part of Rao's plan. In attitude, Earth-2's Superman would be a lot closer to classic Superman, he'd be a true symbol of hope.
- Batman would be the regular man trying to make sense of a world where the logic he thought he knew no longer exists. The death of his parents would lead him to his fight against crime, but the appearance of costumed heroes would lead him to adopt the Batman identity.
- The Trinity would be the first heroes of the world, but roughly 10 years after their debuts, the culmination of Ares' machinations would call for the birth of a true society of heroes.
- The dying god Mercury would grant Jay Garrick his powers to help end the coming war, media mogul Alan Scott would gain the power of the Green through a magical amulet and a couple would be brought together by Fate to become protectors of the Earth.
- Other heroes like Wildcat, Black Canary, Doctor Fate, Liberty Belle, Hour Man, Starman and others would appear and together, this "Justice Society" would bring an end to the war.
- Feeling his mission fulfilled and his power waning because of that, Superman would retire to live with this wife Lois and their child. Diana would become queen of the Amazons after her mother's death and Batman and Selina Kyle (Catwoman) would have a daughter (Helena).
- The Justice Society would take the place of Earth's protector and would defend it for more than 2 decades. An Earth-2: Rebirth maxi-series would tell the story of this new Earth-2 up to this point.
---
- 25 years later, now in the present, a new crisis comes. This time, Darkseid's army cause ripples between realities and Supergirl and Robin (Helena), the first of a new generation of heroes, are stranded on Prime Earth, where they become Power Girl and Huntress. Mr. Terrific, a Prime Earth scientist, notices the ripples and tries to help them return home. Their story would be told in Worlds' Finests.
- In the meantime, still in Earth Prime, normal teenager Courtney Whitmore would discover the cosmic staff of E2's and would be sent to Earth-2.
- The Earth-2 comic would focus on Courtney (Stargirl) as she explores Earth-2 and meets the Justice Society, now a large and traditional alliance of heroes with a rich history behind them. The remaining original members still active (Flash, Green Lantern, Wildcat etc) would now be in their mid-40s and the Society would be in need of fresh blood. Supergirl and Robin would be thought dead, but signs of a new dawn of heroes would already be appearing. The hawks would reincarnate in new bodies, Black Canary and Wildcat's daughter Dinah would be eager to adopt her mother's codename and Alan's kids would discover their powers. Stargirl would have brought a new age of hope and the expansion of the Justice Society, which would be the focus of the new series.

That's pretty much it. Spent more time than I previously imaginer thinking this through LOL. Hope someone likes it

[SmokeMonster]

I just recently caught the first couple episodes of Flash season 2, and in that we see modern day Earth 2, which kind of has a Golden Age stylistic influence. Jay Garrick was young, but he felt old-school.

I'd vote for that.

[Trey Strain]

None of the above. Just a parallel world with different people in it, that doesn't get an ongoing and that doesn't have the Justice Society. And that gets used very SPARINGLY.

[Carabas]

It'd be the one James Robinson was writing about, minus the insane editorial edicts that caused him to walk off.

[Ascended]

For my own personal tastes, I'd like to see a Earth-2 that includes most of its history; Golden Age origins, Infinity Inc, post-Crisis, Johns' JSA....remove everything that doesnt fit from post-Crisis clutter earth (creating some inconsistencies, yes, but easily ignored ones) and then go for a very obvious "alternate earth" vibe. Nothing as extreme as what Robinson was doing on earth-2, but more like what we're seeing on the Flash show; at a glance its obviously not the regular DCU but we dont need to have fire pits where Italy once stood either.

The problem with the WWII setting, as the OP mentioned, is that it ties the heroes to an Age that is increasingly far away. So all I'd do is just say that a handful of Society members are (nearly) immortal due to their powers (Allan, Jay, Superman, Wonder Woman, maybe a couple others) and the others are all long gone, have the original Infinity Inc crew (those who are still alive) be older (sorry Jade, you're not in your twenties anymore!) and make use of the younger heroes who have come along since like Stargirl, Cyclone, Damage, Jakeem Thunder and so on.

You'd end up with three to four generations of heroes, all in various stages of activity. The oldest, semi-immortal Golden Age heroes would have retired from crime fighting but might be active in other areas (Allan would be in politics, Superman might be running the Planet, his secret identity blown open long ago), their kids would be at the point of retiring now, and some of them would still be working as mentors for the younger heroes (Atom Smasher, Power Girl), and then you'd have the youngest kids like Stargirl running around.

Im also going to steal MajoyHoy's idea (twisting it just slightly for my own ends bwahahaha!) and say that the book should make use of frequent flashbacks so we can see the original JSA in all their glory during WWII. And Infinity Inc in the 60's, and their kids in the 90's too. Earth-2 should be about tradition, legacy, and history. Embrace it.

[The Whovian]

My ideal Earth 2 would feature the original golden age JSA members as well as Power Girl and Kal-L

[Zero Hunter]

Whatever way you take it I think a big thing is you have to have Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman out of the picture. If you don't the book just becomes another "trinity" book and not a JSA/Earth 2 book. I have always said the less straight up duplicate characters the better. By that I mean it is fine to have characters with the same codenames and powers like Flash and Green Lantern, but they are very different from their prime Earth counterparts. With the big 3 they are just to much like the prime Earth versions in my eyes. They are still Clark, Bruce, and Diana when it is all said and done. I actually didn't mind at all when they brought Batman and Superman in the Earth 2 book because they were new characters using old names which I think is what Earth 2 needs.

I know they were in the original version of the JSA way back when , but I think the more recent versions have shown the book just works better without them.

[finfan]

My ideal Earth 2 would feature the original golden age JSA members as well as Power Girl and Kal-L

Bring it on!



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[Menacer]

None of the above. Just a parallel world with different people in it, that doesn't get an ongoing and that doesn't have the Justice Society. And that gets used very SPARINGLY.

Im way behind but im collecting and reading through dozens of new 52 earth 2 trades.

I'm also a big fan of the Earth 2 vol 1-5 and Convergence stories...

Plus PG exists in these stories and she's a big reason I'm following it.

If PG were to be in current publication of Earth 2... I'd collect. Granted Id collect her in a solo or any other book.

I loved Thomas Wayne as a drug addicted Batman in the Earth 2 stories...

Personally I like a lot of options and enjoy bouncing around following different stories including exploring the greater variety using the multiverse offers...

Im working completing my Omnibus collection of Geoff Johns 3 volume Omnibus run of the JSA...

[Lee]

An alternate present with a 1940s-ish vibe. Think Batman: The Animated Series.

[Robotman]

I was loving the world Robinson was building. I'd vote for going back to that and undoing the past year of Earth 2.

I just recently caught the first couple episodes of Flash season 2, and in that we see modern day Earth 2, which kind of has a Golden Age stylistic influence. Jay Garrick was young, but he felt old-school.

I'd vote for that.

I absolutely love the Earth 2 of the CW DCU! That Art Deco, atomic age mixed with some modern flare. Who ever came up with that look is a genius. It really helps to explain Jay's costume in a modern world. It feels like a world you'd see in Grant's Multiversity.
I wouldn't mind seeing an Earth 2 like this.

[MajorHoy]

What would your ideal Earth-2 be like?

Actually, I'd like ALL of them.

I'd like a world that is based on:

WWII setting
First generation still young

And that could be handled with flashbacks / untold stories / back-up features.

But I wouldn't mind if there was also a component with:

Contemporary setting
First generation already older
Legacy characters

With a well thought out concept, these things can work together. The contemporary setting with older heroes that work with their legacies and others, but also some stories showing the early days of that original group so the readers can learn of that history and show why the legacy characters really do matter as well.

(Hey, Mignola's Hellboy universe manages to have it all!)

[The Darknight Detective]

Actually, I'd like ALL of them.

I picked them all myself.

[Güicho]

WWII setting
Contemporary setting
First generation still young
First generation already older
Legacy characters

All of the above.

WWII setting(timeless, fantastic diesel-punk pulpy-noir not beholden to real time history*) with First generation still young characters, told as the ongoing flashbacks of the Contemporary setting and still adventuring First generation already older characters, who have been joined by their Legacy characters.
All in the same ongoing.


*good visual example would be the look of BTAS which combined the Fleischer-pulpy-noir look with a some modern elements, giving it a timeless feel.