Review: Earth 2 Vol. 6- Collision

Quick Summary

Pros: A few of the stories here add some compelling backstory to the Earth 2 universe. Some of the stories here are entertaining on their own.

Cons: A few of the stories here conflict and create confusion with elements of the Earth 2 universe. Some of the stories here are lackluster.

Overall: This collection offers some positives but also offers an equal number of negatives. On one hand, some of the stories here are solid and help enhance Earth 2 as a whole. On the other hand, other stories are lackluster and conflict with elements of the overall Earth 2 narrative. Readers dying for additional backstory for the Earth 2: World’s End event may find this book to be interesting but those only casually interested in World’s End may not find this volume worth reading.

Story

Earth 2 Vol. 6: Collision is a companion piece that focuses on telling entertaining tales that provide additional background for the Earth 2: World’s End (Review) series. In some ways, this volume achieves that goal. It further develops some of the Wonders of Earth 2, details the tragic backstories behind each of Darkseid’s new Furies, and manages to make each of these stories compelling. However, in other ways, this volume significantly falls short of its goal. Many of the stories range in quality from average to slightly below average and some of the stories actually contradict what is going on in World’s End. This mix of positives and negatives gives the book some appeal but not enough to make it universally worth checking out.

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Starting with the positive elements, Collision‘s most successful feature is the way in which it enhances the events taking place in World’s End (Review). Writers Marguerite Bennett and Tom Taylor do a fantastic job with the volume’s first two stories. The first is a touching extension of the reunion between the heroes from the Earth 2 series and those from the Worlds’ Finest series, which helps establish more meaningful relationships between all of these characters. The second is a series of distressing backstories for Darkseid’s Furies, which make his mission more twisted than before and helps the reader sympathize with the Furies.

It also helps that a few of these stories are genuinely entertaining all on their own. Once again, the volume’s first two chapters are the best examples of this. They are tense and thrilling but also emotional and meaningful. Meanwhile, the story about the Earth’s Avatars is also interesting, though to a slightly lesser extent than the first two.

Unfortunately, in Collision, there are also a number of negatives that go right alongside these positives. While many of the stories in this collection enhance aspects of the larger Earth 2 narrative, some end up doing the opposite. The Dick Grayson/Barbara Gordon chapter directly conflicts with what is taking place in World’s End and ends up getting no resolution anywhere. In addition, Doctor Fate’s characterization going from the penultimate to the final issue of this book makes no sense, as his character development in the penultimate issue is immediately wiped away. These contradictions are frustrating and make for a worse reading experience.

It also doesn’t help that a few of these stories are simply not that entertaining on their own. The Dick Grayson chapter feels like an cheap attempt to be dark and edgy while the final chapter is just a bit boring overall. In the end, there are about as many lackluster chapters as there are solid ones.

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Art

The artwork throughout Collison is alright but doesn’t really stand out as anything significantly positive or negative. There are pages that look good and are well laid out, like those from the first chapter of the collection. However, there are also pages that are a bit lackluster, such as the pages from the Furies story where bulging eyes make serious characters look like Saturday morning cartoons. Overall though, the artwork here is passable; it simply doesn’t stand out as something significant in either way.

Continuity

Though Earth 2 Vol. 6: Collision follows the events of Earth 2 Vol. 5: The Kryptonian (Review), it is more closely related to the events of Earth 2: World’s End Vol. 1 (Review). Collision gives additional background to the events of Earth 2: World’s End Vol. 1 and does not really tell a singular story on its own.

The story here continues in Earth 2: World’s End Vol. 1 (Review) and Earth 2: World’s End Vol. 2 (Review).