By: Daniel H. Wilson (story), Eddy Barrows (pencils), Eber Ferreira (inks), Pete Pantazis (colors)

The Story: The third-smartest man versus the two smartest men. See the problem?

The Review: I believe the common rationale for tie-ins is to expand and flesh out an already big storyline into one that truly feels all-encompassing. At my most cynical, I see tie-ins as obvious grabs for more cash. Having lived through many, many Big Events, I can tell you that the number of tie-in issues that actually added anything to their source plot is few; even fewer is the number of issues that had any effect on their respective titles. Tie-in stories are treated more like inconveniences than anything else.

That’s been the case for most of the Futures End titles so far, though I had more hope for Earth Two. Since the war and integration of the two Earths have been such an integral part of Futures End, you’d think this title would have more weight than others. Apparently not. The most puzzling thing about this issue is that its protagonist isn’t even a resident of Earth-2, and none of the major Earth-2 characters even feature in supporting roles.

The only person from Earth-2 who gets decent page-time is Sonia Sato of the World Army, hardly what you’d call a fan-favorite. She talks a good game about being active and independent (“I was the highest ranking female soldier in the World Army. I’m used to being underestimated. I’m also used to winning.”), but she ends up mostly as Michael Holt’s arm-candy—that is, when she’s not the target of Prime Earth’s xenophobia. Frankly, she receives the most discrimination from Wilson himself; why else would the most prominent Earth-2 character be so degraded?

I suppose you can argue that Michael is an honorary member of Earth-2, but even in this capacity, he disappoints. Unlike the cocky, confident button-pusher we’ve seen in Futures End proper, this Michael is gentler and less aggravating—which is by no means a bad thing, but a confusing change from what we’ve seen of him elsewhere. His intellect is also sadly outclassed by the two Terry Sloans, and at one point even Sonia admits they’re smarter than he is. In point of fact, it’s true; as the Sloans mention, Michael’s only advantage is access to a “Source” they don’t.

And that’s probably the most confusing part of this issue, one that Wilson makes no effort to clear up: [Spoiler alert!] Jimmy Olsen-2, apparently a mute paraplegic after his exodus to Prime Earth, who suddenly speaks in Michael’s presence and presents him with a Rubik’s cube (the symbol of Metron post-Final Crisis). Naturally, you’re wondering what exactly happened to poor Jimmy-2 and how he got his hands on such an artifact, but don’t wait for answers; there aren’t any.

Instead, we have a terribly superficial bit of commentary on the power of technology as manifested by the Boom Spheres, weapons capable of killing gods (again, no word on where they came from and how Michael got his hands on them). We also have the revelation that the person we knew as Sloan-2 is actually Sloan-unknown. It may be the only point of importance we can take away from this issue. Michael murmurs, “He once told me that he was going to save the world, at any cost. Now I’m wondering…which world did he mean?”

Barrows’ work is fine, landing at the upper strata of DC’s house art. Admittedly, it’s not terribly distinctive nor inspired; he’s willing to fill a big panel with a close-up on Michael’s suspended cell phone service, but then squeeze a display of the T-Spheres military applications into a space so small that you can’t even see the frigging things. Still, his figures have good depth to them and the requisite amount of mainstream attractiveness, and Ferreira’s inks keep the lines looking strong and clean.

Conclusion: What should probably be a multiple-issue storyline is crammed into the span of one, and it’s as rushed and confusing as you’d expect.

Grade: C+

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: – “T-Spheres. Self-levitating troop support. Invisible to radard. Semi-autonomous. Streamlined to offer maximum troop survivability and assistance.”

“And worthless!” Really, Sloan? You just heard all the stuff it can do and you call it “worthless”? You truly are a Class-A douchebag, whichever Earth you come from.

– I’m looking forward to the day Lex Luthor and Sloan are in the same room. The insufferableness will be historic!

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By: Sholly Fisch (story), Pascal Alixe & Vicente Cifuentes (art), Pete Pantazis (colors)

The Story: If Superman’s not going to use his powers, mind if I use it?

The Review: I wasn’t exactly thrilled to discover, shortly after giving up the glacial Futures End, that the entire DCU would be signing onto that nonsense in September. Not only does this expose all the titles to the same flash-forward confusion as its progenitor, it also doesn’t have the same value as previous September gimmicks like Villains Month or #0 issues. If anything, jumping these series five years into an uncertain future discourages new readers rather than attract them.

Imagine having only a minimal familiarity with the DCU, opening this issue, and seeing Superman out-of-costume, sporting a lumberjack’s beard, and planting crops in a barren piece of land in the African desert. There’s a possibility you’d intrigued enough to see what happens, but I suspect that most people would put the issue down, shaking their heads, and wondering what the hell is going on or when the next Marvel movie will come out.

Besides, it doesn’t quite make sense to entice people to a title by shunting the usual creative team for some mediocre unknowns. In the case of Action Comics, instead of enjoying the critically acclaimed work of Greg Pak, we get a one-off by Fisch, best known for his sappy, forgettable back-ups during the series’ early days. That addiction to sentimentality hasn’t abated any, it seems, with such inspiring lines as, “Somehow, by helping others realize their potential, my own increased as well.”

And no, it’s not Clark who says that, but rather an unknown, unnamed entity who doesn’t even know its own origins and nature. It speculates it could be a leftover from an encounter with Mxyzptlk or, even more confusingly, a stopgap for a world without Superman. I call it an artificial device for Fisch to force out the story he wants to tell, existing only long enough to remind us what an inspirational figure Superman is and ceasing to exist afterwards.

In the meantime, the entity draws in three other new characters as the focus of the issue: a suicidal young woman, an unrepentant gambler, and a young boy living with family violence. Fisch doesn’t bother exploring any of their backgrounds much; he leaves them with only the barest development, especially the lady, who remains nameless throughout the issue.* Without those necessary details, her depression seems self-indulgent rather than pitiable (“It’s not that I want to die. But living is just too hard.”) and Donny, the gambler, isn’t worth the glossy paper he’s drawn on.

Only the boy Jamie ekes out a little complexity, though not much of it. Rather than leave it as a sweet tale about a kid using his newfound (albeit temporary) power to defend his mom against an alcoholic batterer, Fisch turns the focus on the mother, questioning whether she can reciprocate her son’s protection once his power fades. As someone whose work exposes him to this kind of grimness every day, I can appreciate the tension between the fed-up child and immature mother, especially in an issue that has little else to offer.

New readers won’t just be missing out on Pak’s usually elegant scripts, but on Aaron Kuder’s bombastic, unabashedly superheroic art as well. I don’t know which art style belongs to which guest artist on this issue, but I can tell you that one is scratchy, gritty, occasionally difficult to sift through, while the other is a cleaner, more commonplace look. Neither stands out in your imagination; it’s just the lower end of DC’s house art shoved in without any thought as to its fit with the story.

Conclusion: An odd, simplistic little fable that doesn’t really take advantage of the five-year jump, nor will it stand out to anyone reading for the first time.

Grade: C

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: * Though you’d be forgiven for mistaking her as the new Donna Troy, with her wearing a shirt with gold stars emblazoned on her waist and collar.

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