Pull List Review: Earth 2 #3

Earth 2 #3 was like a Saltine-not at all bad, just bland and unfilling. The majority of the issue was devoted to the new origin story for Alan Scott as Green Lantern, and that story was just sort of boring. Moments after losing his lover and arm, Scott finds a talking green bonfire which tells him he's been chosen to fight some nameless, enormous evil, and his response is basically, "Sounds good to me." I'm oversimplifying, but the point is he seemed overly eager for the job, and tad too quick to get over Sam's death. Or maybe just never quite upset enough about it to being with. And the rest of the origin was given far more space than it needed. I understand that the ring is a major, essential aspect of the character, but devoting a full page to its creation as a weapon, especially when we all knew it was coming, just seemed unnecessary. And the giant talking fire's farewell could have been a bit briefer, too.

The best scenes in the issue were those without Alan Scott. Flash and Hawkgirl's interaction (with its promise of a soon-to-be-seen Dr. Fate) was fun and appropriately quick, and the new take on Grundy at the end of the issue was my favorite part. Not wild about Earth 2 adopting a Green-vs.-Death-style system and story, because we've had far too much of that noise from Animal Man and Swamp Thing already, but hopefully the addition of Grundy as the main villain will provide a fresh take on the concept. And Grundy's arrival was by far the best-looking part of this issue, so at the very least we can look forward to more of that.

This is not to say Nicola Scott did bad work with the other characters but, again, it all felt less exciting and/or impressive this month. Perhaps it was my lack of interest in the story, but the Green Lantern visuals didn't wow me, either. In particular, the new costume design, which I understand the reasoning behind but also don't see the need for. What's wrong with a caped Green Lantern, or one who uses even a splash or two of any other color? The new costume has more in common with Hal Jordan than any previous version of Alan Scott, and that's a shame. Scott should stand out from others with his mantle, not blend in.

I'm still having a good time with this title as it slowly assembles its cast, and the promise of the Atom and Dr. Fate in the immediate future certainly entices me. But Green Lantern's origin ended up being dull, especially compared to the Flash's last issue, so Earth 2 #3 was sort of a dud overall.
5.0/10