Review: Earth 2: Society Vol. 2- Indivisible

Quick Summary

Pros: The story here is realistic and full of tension. The worldbuilding is handled well. New subplots help generate the basis for future storylines. The artwork looks good and enhances the storytelling.

Cons: The book’s moral message appears to take the easy way out.

Overall: This volume proves that the adventures taking place on Earth 2 are just as compelling, if not more so, as the adventures taking place in the rest of the DC Universe. The narrative here contains action, tension, and an interesting moral quandary. It also helps further establish the new world of Earth 2 and set up interesting storylines for the future. Anyone who has enjoyed the Earth 2 series in the past or is interested in learning about a cool world of newer heroes should read this book.

Story

Earth 2: Society Vol. 2: Indivisible, by Dan Abnett, continues the success of this series with another batch of fun and interesting stories. The central narrative here accomplishes further worldbuilding by focusing on the political tensions in this new world. This portion of the narrative digs into the role of superhumans and asks what those with power should do to shape the lives of those without power. Meanwhile, a few subplots contain plenty of action on their own and detail storylines that could have a huge impact on future volumes. Together, these stories make for an awesome read and help build more excitement for the future of this series.

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The central storyline in Indivisible continues the exciting tale of societal recreation that was started back in Vol. 1: Planetfall (Review). Worldbuilding and heroic displays of power are still present but the focus in this volume shifts to the bubbling tensions of a new world community rather than threats from an insane supervillain. It allows this book to be more tense and real, digging into the suspense actual governments generate on a day to day basis. The tone change works well and offers a fresh new type of story for a world that is already interesting to begin with.

Indivisible also does a great job of digging into the role power plays in the political landscape of a world, which ends up being the book’s most interesting theme. The events of this book put the World Police and Green Lantern in a position where they directly control the capabilities of the world. They can either exert this control and bend the world to their will or allow humanity to do what it chooses, even if this choice results in an all-out war. This raises questions about the morality of intervening with free will and the lines between anarchy and a police state. My only complaint with this is that the story opts to take the easy way out and has Green Lantern solve the energy crisis in order to stop the war. Even with this problem, the questions raised here are still viable and the moral quandaries help add to the overall appeal of the book.

While all of this is going on, Indivisible also builds a few subplots in the background in order to build up story elements for the future. The alliance between Amazonia and Atlantis could be an incredibly rewarding and interesting factor in the world of Earth 2, especially considering both kingdoms’ desire to rule the world. The plans of the Ultra-Humanite could also have an impact on the future, giving future volumes another antagonist to go up against. All in all, this volume does a lot to inspire hope in the future and definitely succeeded in getting me excited.

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Art

The artwork in Indivisible is great and helps this book further stand out as a positive entry in the comic landscape. Jorge Jiménez continues his work on the series with the same detailed pages and high-quality work seen in the previous collection. This means that unique characters and exotic locations can be found throughout the world of Earth 2. In addition, a few more Earth 2 heroes are reintroduced through this volume, with artistic redesigns that look even better than they did originally. Even the few chapters not penciled by Jiménez manage to match his style well and continue the visual appeal of the volume’s earlier chapters. Overall, impressive visuals are another positive in an already solid volume.

Continuity

Earth 2: Society Vol. 2: Indivisible continues the story from Earth 2: Society Vol. 1: Planetfall (Review).

The story here continues in Earth 2: Society Vol. 3: A Whole New World (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• The creation of the new Earth 2 is brought up in this volume. This world was created at the conclusion of the Convergence (Review) event.
• The death of Jonathan Kent is mentioned here. He died in Earth 2 #25, collected in Earth 2 Vol. 5: The Kryptonian (Review).