New Earth 2

During the “DC Comics: Justice League and Green Lantern” at CCI there was a lot of Shazam and Earth 2 talked about. I’ve taken snippets from The Source, CBR, and Newsarama on each topic. Some overlap and some sites catch things other’s didn’t.

Here is what was brought up about Earth 2.

The Source:

When thinking about introducing the characters in Earth 2, we see them react to things in new ways, including how Alan Scott became the greatest hero of that world after issue #0.
Nicola Scott says the artwork serves to give a sense of the epic scope of the battles that are fought on this world. Jim Lee points out that Scott was the one who redesigned all the new Earth 2 costumes.
Robinson says there’s definitely more of a mystical sense to Earth 2 than there is on the other Earth. The next arc, he says, will pit the heroes against the government and we’ve seen the seeds of some of that already.

CBR

On the “Earth Two” front, Robinson and Scott talked about their #0 issue and how it takes place ahead of the death of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. “This is an adventure of the trinity,” the writer said, noting it would flesh out the world before October’s issue focused on Alan Scott fighting Solomon Grundy. He said they had to expand the first arc from five to six issues to really give the fight its time on the page and firmly establish why Scott is the great hero of Earth Two. He also said the new Earth Two version of the Sandman is on tap, which gained much applause.
Lee praised Scott’s designs for the “Earth Two” characters, saying he only contributed a slight tweak to her ideas and that she has joined the likes of Cully Hamner and JG Jones in helping to redesign the DCU of today.
Fan questions started with the issue of whether Wildcat would enter into “Earth Two.” Robinson said, “Because these are new characters, I’m trying to pace out how they’re introduced.” He added that in the second arc the “metaphysical feel” of this earth would be explored as the forces of science (via the government) and magic (via the still forming JSA) would clash and that Wildcat would be a part of that adventure.

Newsarama:

Earth 2 #0 has the Superman-Batman-Wonder Woman trinity, as well as a red-armored fourth hero with a gun: Terry Sloane. Robinson says there were actually eight major heroes, or “wonders,” as they called him. Robinson says that Sloane is a villain now, but he has noble reasons.
Meanwhile, we’ll see Alan Scott versus Solomon Grundy, in what is now a six-part story as opposed to five. “He’s basically going to become the Superman of Earth 2,” Robinson said.
We’ll also meet Wesley Dodds, the Sandman, a Canadian superhero who works with the World Army. The Army is led by new character Amir Khan, who Robinson describes as “Captain Nemo meets Nick Fury.”
Will we see more JSA characters, like Wildcat? Robinson says yes, but it’ll take some time to roll them out. There’s a more mystic feel to this Earth, and the next arc has the government versus the Justice Society. “It’s basically magic versus science, so we’ll meet Dr. Fate and Wildcat.” We’ll also meet some government heroes with some familiar names. Scott said we’ve already met one, but no one’s noticed.
Robinson said that he intends to remain on Earth 2 as long as he is able.
Any plans for Ma Hunkel, the first Red Tornado? Robinson: That’s a nice challenge.

So very interesting that the guy in the red armor on the cover of Earth 2 #0 is Terry Sloane. I am much more interested in that story now. Also Sandman is Canadian! I’m very interested in seeing this new Wesley Dodds.

Dr. Fate will be appearing. That is good news but pretty much a given after last issue. Wildcat was already confirmed.

I am interested in seeing a new Red Tornado.

This is what was covered on the topic of “The Curse of Shazam” and Justice League.

The Source:

As that storyline wraps up we move to issue #0. Billy Batson meets the wizard, who tries to tell him how magic works, but Billy isn’t quite convinced.
Johns, in response to a fan question, says it was important to explore who Billy Batson was before introducing Shazam. When Shazam does join the Justice League in a little while we’ll see how his style compares and contrasts with the rest of the teams’.

CBR:

The #0 of the book will focus on co-feature “Shazam!” “This is the issue where Billy Batson meets the wizard…and they don’t like each other very much,” Johns said, noting that the superhero would join the League next year after a Tony Daniel-drawn arc focusing on Cheetah.
Johns said that the “Shazam kids” from “Flashpoint” are characters he thinks about often and discusses with Gary Frank as they continue to develop the “Justice League” backup.

Newsarama:

Justice League #0 in September will have Billy Batson meet the Wizard Shazam. They do not get along — Shazam is weirded out that a kid is visiting him, whereas Billy doesn’t like Shazam telling him what to do. Johns says that Billy will be joining the Justice League.
Johns said he was excited about when Billy Batson meets Constantine for the first time. The books will tie in together more as the Trinity War approaches.
Johns describes Shazam as “Little Rascals with magic powers.” He also has confirmed that he has already started work on a sequel to Batman: Earth One with Gary Frank.
Did the similarities to Superman help influence the changeup to Shazam, both visually and tempermentally? Johns said that brought up the hood, but Billy’s new attitude will make the characters seem very different.
There’s one sequence where Billy and Superman are fighting back-to-back, when Billy blows up a car. Superman is not quite amused. Billy tries it later with Cyborg, who is like, “sweet!” They wind up skeet-shooting cars later.
Johns, in response to a fan question, says it was important to explore who Billy Batson was before introducing Shazam. When Shazam does join the Justice League in a little while we’ll see how his style compares and contrasts with the rest of the teams’.

I really like the idea of Billy and Cyborg becoming friends. I also want more Shazam kids!

On the topic of Starman Newsarma posted: