EARTH-TWO

:''This article is about the fictional reality of DC Comics. For other uses see Earth-2.''

'Earth-Two' was a fictional reality within the stories of DC Comics. It was created to facilitate a distinction between DC's stories from the Golden Age and the Silver Age. The first stories which are now considered part of this universe appeared in New Fun Comics #1, 1935. The world was named in ''The Flash'' #123, 1961. Its continuity includes Pre-Crisis DC Golden Age heroes, including the Justice Society of America, whose careers began at the dawn of World War II, concurrently with their first appearances in comics. The five surviving Earths of the Multiverse were merged into one in ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''.

Contents

History

Flash of Two Worlds

Destruction

Infinite Crisis

Earth-Two characters

Unique features

Major Earth-Two events

Silver Age

Post-Crisis

Post- 52 Version

References

History

Flash of Two Worlds

Characters from DC Comics were originally suggestive of each existing in their own world, as superheroes never encountered each other. However, this was soon changed with alliances being formed between certain protagonists. Several publications, including ''All-Star Comics'' (publishing tales of the Justice Society of America), Leading Comics (publishing tales of the Law's Legionnaires) and other comic books introduced a "shared-universe" among several characters during the 1940s until the present day.
Alternative reality Earths had been used in DC stories before, but were usually not referred to after that particular story. Also most of these alternative Earths were usually so vastly different that no one would confuse that Earth and its history with the so called REAL Earths. That would change when the existence of another reliable Earth was established in a story titled "Flash of Two Worlds"^[1] in which Barry Allen, the modern Flash later referred to as Earth-One (the setting of the Silver Age stories) first travels to another Earth, accidentally vibrating at just the right speed to appear on Earth-Two, where he meets Jay Garrick, his Earth-Two counterpart.

Superman, Kal-L is the first costumed superhero to surface on Earth-Two. Most of his history is based on his initial appearance, ignoring later Golden Age and early Silver Age history. In order to distinguish him from the primary version of the character, this Superman is called "Kal-L". He was specifically introduced as an Earth Two character in Justice League of America #73 (1969). Most superheroes from the Golden Age later followed this trend.

Destruction

''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' (1985-1986) was an effort by DC Comics to clean up their continuity, resulting in the multiple universes combining into one. Since then, a handful of characters originating from Earth-Two have consistently remained part of the merged Earth, including Power Girl, Jay Garrick, and Alan Scott. Superman and Lois Lane from Earth-Two, Superboy from Earth Prime, and Alexander Luthor, Jr. from Earth-Three were transported into a ghost-like "paradise dimension" tangential to the new universe.
Following the end of the known Multiverse, more alternate realities were discovered. Even though Earth-Three was destroyed in the Anti-Monitor's anti-matter wave attacks, a new Crime Syndicate (specifically called "The Crime Syndicate of AmeriKa" rather than the old AmeriCa) developed in the antimatter universe of Qward which was far larger than the Earth-Three five member group. After the Kingdom event, Hypertime and divergent realities were revealed but never supposed to be accessed as stated in the Zero Hour event and later revealed when a directly parallel Flash (Walter West aka the "Dark" Flash) entered into the New DC reality and threatened to destroy it. These alternate realities are usually addressed as "Elsewhere" and "Elseworld" stories.

Infinite Crisis

Kal-L, Lois Lane, Superboy-Prime, and Alexander Luthor returned during the Infinite Crisis. Unknown to Superman, Luthor's plan was to resurrect the Multiverse. He wanted to mix and match elements from each reality to create a "perfect world." The fallout of the conflict brought the short lived return of Earth-Two and the deaths of Superman, Lois Lane and Luthor Jr. of Earth-Three. It is unclear what happened to the Wonder Woman of Earth Two. Inexplicably, Earth-Two was the only returning world that was devoid of people, except the JSA, Superman, and Lois. The world appeared to be new and recently manufactured, instead of completely resurrected.
Before their "deaths," each felt they were being pulled somewhere.

Earth-Two characters

The following is a list of Earth-Two superheroes¹ that have an Earth-One counterpart.

Character	Identity	Notes
'Aquaman'	Arthur Curry	Arthur Curry of Earth-Two was a member of the All-Star Squadron. He was retconned out of existence by the events of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and ''All-Star Squadron'' #60 (the only visual difference from his Earth-One counterpart, initially, were yellow gloves instead of green, and yellow fins on the backs of his boots; the events of ''Infinite Crisis'' appear to have re-acknowledged all multiverse aspects, which would include this Aquaman, but to date, this version has not reappeared).
'The Atom'	Al Pratt	The Atom of Earth-Two was college student turned physicist Al Pratt. Pratt's tenure as the Atom was particularly notable, inasmuch as he was barely five feet tall, and had no superpowers for much of his career. Through intense training, he achieved peak physical condition and became a fierce brawler. Among Golden Age members of the Justice Society, only Wildcat and Batman were considered more formidable in hand-to-hand combat.
'Batman'	Bruce Wayne	Batman of Earth-Two was raised by his paternal uncle, Philip, following the murder of his parents. Along with his close friend Superman, Batman participated in the Justice Society and the war-time All-Star Squadron. Eventually, he retired and became the police commissioner of Gotham City. Wayne married Selina Kyle (Catwoman), and had a daughter named Helena Wayne, who became a costumed adventurer known as the Huntress. In 1979, he died battling escaped convict Bill Jensen (''Adventure Comics'' #462), who had been granted powerful magical abilities by Fredric Vaux (''Adventure Comics'' #463) as part of a failed plot/spell to remove heroes (& their memories) from the world. Although this Batman was retconned out of existence by the events of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and ''All-Star Squadron'' #60, he was restored to continuity (still deceased) in ''JSA'' #85, as a result of the events of ''Infinite Crisis''. His Earth-One counterpart was also Bruce Wayne, who is currently active with the Justice League.
'Catwoman'	Selina Kyle	The Catwoman of Earth-Two was Selina Kyle. She originated as a Gotham City criminal, and was initially one of the primary foes of Batman and Robin. Kyle reformed in the 1950s (after the events of ''Batman'' #69) and married Bruce Wayne. Soon afterwards, the couple gave birth to their only child, Helena Wayne (the Huntress). Kyle eventually dies in 1976 after being blackmailed by a criminal into going into action again as Catwoman (as shown in ''DC Super-Stars'' #17). She was retconned out of existence by the events of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and ''All-Star Squadron'' #60 (however, the events of ''Infinite Crisis'' appear to have re-acknowledged all multiverse aspects, which would include this Catwoman).
'Crimson Avenger'	Lee Walter Travis	The Crimson Avenger of Earth-Two was wealthly newsman Lee Walter Travis. He and his partner Wing were among the first "mystery men", beginning their crimefighting careers in 1938. They were both members of the All-Star Squadron and the Seven Soldiers of Victory. Wing sacrificed his life to defeat the Nebula Man (as revealed in ''Justice League of America'' #100), while a terminally ill Crimson Avenger died piloting a ship away from the docks before it could explode (''DC Comics Presents'' #38).
'Doctor Fate'	Kent Nelson	Doctor Fate was Kent Nelson, who was orphaned as a child after his archaeologist father was killed for opening the tomb of the wizard Nabu. The wizard raised Nelson and taught him the ways of magic, eventually giving him a mystical amulet and the Helmet of Fate, which contained Nabu's essence. Whenever Nelson wore the helmet, his personality melded with that of Nabu.
'The Flash'	Jay Garrick	The Flash of Earth-Two is Jason Peter Garrick. As a college student, Garrick accidentally inhaled hard water vapors after falling asleep in his laboratory where he had been smoking (later stories would change this to heavy water vapors). As a result, he discovered that he can run at superhuman speed and had similarly fast reflexes. Decades later, Garrick became the first JSA member to learn of Earth-One's existence when he met his counterpart, Barry Allen.
'Green Arrow'	Oliver Queen	Green Arrow of Earth-Two was a member of the All-Star Squadron and the Seven Soldiers of Victory. He died in 1985 during ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', and was retconned out of existence by the events of that series and ''All-Star Squadron'' #60 (the events of ''Infinite Crisis'' appear to have re-acknowledged all multiverse aspects, which would include this Green Arrow, however, as he was killed during the first ''Crisis'', he will most likely stay dead).
'Green Lantern'	Alan Scott	Green Lantern of Earth-Two is engineer Alan Scott. The source of Scott's power is the mystical "Starheart", the magical characteristics of the Earth-One universe gathered by the Guardians of the Universe. This collective force was hidden in the heart of a star and eventually became sentient. It also helped to retard Scott's aging process.
'Guardian'	Jim Harper	The Guardian of Earth-Two was police officer Jim Harper. He was the uncle of Roy Harper, who was better known as Green Arrow's teen sidekick, Speedy.
'Harlequin'	Molly Mayne	The Harlequin of Earth-Two is former criminal Molly Mayne. In 1948, Mayne betrayed her Injustice Society teammates in order to save the lives of the Justice Society. A subsequent deal with the U.S. government allowed her to work as an undercover agent for the FBI in return for amnesty for her past crimes. During the events of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', Mayne and Alan Scott (Green Lantern) were married.
'Hawkgirl'	Shiera Saunders	Hawkgirl of Earth-Two was Shiera Saunders, companion of Carter Hall (Hawkman). Saunders and Hall were eventually married and had a son named Hector Hall, who became a costumed adventurer known as the Silver Scarab.
'Hawkman'	Carter Hall	Hawkman of Earth-Two was archaeologist Carter Hall. He and his companion Shiera Saunders (Hawkgirl) were eventually married and had a son named Hector Hall, who became a costumed adventurer known as the Silver Scarab.
'Johnny Thunder'	Johnny Thunder	Johnny Thunder of Earth-Two -- the seventh son of a seventh son -- was born at 7 AM on the seventh day of the seventh month in 1917. As an infant, he was kidnapped by a group of men from the country of Badhnesia. He was given possession of the genie-like Thunderbolt during a mystic ritual performed on his seventh birthday. Thunder's Earth-One counterpart was a petty criminal who was also capable of controlling the Thunderbolt (who apparently has no counterpart). The Johnny Thunder who remains following ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is the one from Earth-Two.
'Manhunter'	- Dan Richards - Paul Kirk	During World War II, Earth-Two produced two costumed vigilantes who assumed the name Manhunter: Dan Richards and Paul Kirk. Richards was a member of the Freedom Fighters, while Kirk joined the All-Star Squadron.
'Plastic Man'	Patrick "Eel" O'Brian	Plastic Man was a Quality Comics character, the rights to which were later acquired by DC Comics. Initially, DC stated that he hailed from Earth-X, along with all the Quality characters. Later, an Earth-One Plastic Man was introduced, and the original version was depicted as a native of Earth-Two who joined the All-Star Squadron during World War II and subsequently moved to Earth-X. The Earth-Two/Earth-X Plastic Man was retconned out of existence by the events of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and ''All-Star Squadron'' #60.
'Power Girl'	Kara Zor-L	Power Girl -- first cousin of Superman -- is the Earth-Two counterpart of Supergirl. She arrives much later in Superman's career. Instead of placing her in an orphanage, Superman decides to raise her with his wife Lois Lane Kent.
'Red Tornado'	Abigail Mathilda "Ma" Hunkel	The original Red Tornado of Earth-Two is a widow known as "Ma" Hunkel. While her children were in their youth, Hunkel ran a small Manhattan grocery store. One of the first superhero parodies, her costume consisted of longjohns and a cooking pot which she wore on her head. Because of her roly-poly build, she was able to successfully masquerade as a man. Although a costume mishap prevented her from attending the first meeting of the Justice Society of America, she eventually became an honorary member. Many years later, an android calling himself the Red Tornado became a JSA member, but he eventually migrated to Earth-One and joined the Justice League of America.
'Robin'	Richard Grayson	The Golden Age version of Dick Grayson was born in the late 1920s, and continued to be Robin even as an adult, having no successors even after Batman's death. His allies included the All-Star Squadron along with Batwoman and Bat-Girl. He eventually became a member of the Justice Society of America. During his later years, he adopted a more Batman-like look for a time, and by the 1960s had become a lawyer and the ambassador to South Africa. He died in 1985 during ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', and was retconned out of existence by the events of that series and ''All-Star Squadron'' #60 (however, the events of ''Infinite Crisis'' appear to have re-acknowledged all multiverse aspects, and this Robin's exploits were re-acknowledged in ''JSA Classified'' #4, which directly led into ''Infinite Crisis'').
'Robotman'	Robert Crane	Robotman of Earth-Two was scientist Robert Crane. He was a member of the All-Star Squadron during World War II.
'Speedy'	Roy Harper	Speedy of Earth-Two was a member of the All-Star Squadron and the Seven Soldiers of Victory. He was retconned out of existence by the events of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and ''All-Star Squadron'' #60 (the events of ''Infinite Crisis'' appear to have re-acknowledged all multiverse aspects, which would include this Speedy, however it is unclear if he will be utilized as it was never clear what happened to him after the first ''Crisis'').
'Superman'	Kal-L	Superman of Earth-Two was born on the planet Krypton, and arrived on Earth as a baby near the start of Earth's First World War. As Clark Kent, he was a reporter for the ''Daily Star'', eventually becoming editor-in-chief and marrying its star reporter Lois Lane. Although he was retconned out of existence by the events of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and ''All-Star Squadron'' #60, he was restored to continuity in ''The Kingdom'' #2. He was killed in the spring of 2006 by hero-turned-villain Superboy-Prime (''Infinite Crisis'' #7).
'Vigilante'	Greg Sanders	The Vigilante of Earth-Two is Greg Sanders, a country singer who became a western-themed "mystery man" in the 1940s. He was a member of the All-Star Squadron and the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
'Wildcat'	Ted Grant	Wildcat of Earth-Two is former heavyweight boxer Ted Grant. The Wildcat who remains following ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is the one from Earth-Two.2
'Wonder Woman'	Diana	Princess Diana of Paradise Island -- the Wonder Woman of Earth-Two -- was introduced in ''All Star Comics'' #8 in December 1941. She served as a member of the All-Star Squadron and soon after became secretary (later full-fledged member) of the Justice Society of America. As Diana Prince, she worked in the U.S. War Department as an assistant to intelligence officer Steve Trevor. Decades later, she and Trevor were married and had a daughter named Lyta (also known as Fury). Although Diana was retconned out of existence by the events of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and ''All-Star Squadron'' #60, she was restored to continuity (briefly) in ''Infinite Crisis'' #5.
'Zatara'	Giovanni "John" Zatara	John Zatara of Earth-Two was introduced in ''Action Comics'' #1, and was a member of the All-Star Squadron.

'Jim Corrigan' of Earth-Two was a murdered police detective who served as the human host for the Spectre. His Earth-One counterpart was a Metropolis police officer who often assisted ''Daily Planet'' cub reporter Jimmy Olsen and superhero Black Lightning.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the series ''The Brave and the Bold'' published a number of stories in which Wildcat teamed up with a character who appeared to be the Batman of Earth-One. In each of these stories, it was apparent that the two characters were from the same Earth. Since the JSA's Wildcat was clearly from Earth-Two, it was suggested that these stories took place on "Earth-B", in a reality separate from DC's mainstream continuity. However, subsequent appearances in other titles verified that the Wildcat from ''The Brave and the Bold'' was indeed from Earth-One, and that his appearances in ''B&B'' took place on Earth-One as well
A number of villains had counterparts on Earth-One, including The Joker, The Penguin, Two-Face, The Toyman, The Prankster, etc. Generally speaking, the older Earth-Two versions were phased-out or incorporated into their younger, Earth-One versions following ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''

Unique features

In the universe of which Earth-Two resides, Quebec was an independent nation autonomous from Canada, South Africa had abolished apartheid sooner, and the Atlantean countries of Poseidonis and Tritonis were ruled by a queen, not a king (along with its inhabitants displaying surface dweller features and no capacity for underwater survival, as the Atlantis continent had been raised).
In addition, masked crimefighters are introduced decades earlier than in other universes later identified within DC Comics, and these participated in such historic conflicts as World-War II. Franklin Delano Roosevelt founded both the Justice Society of America and the All-Star Squadron. Other events taking place decades earlier include the destruction of Krypton and the advent of advanced technology including interstellar transportation and time travel. Contrasting with Earth-One's 30th century, there is no superheroic organization such as the Legion of Super-Heroes in existence during that time period.
Thousands of years ago, the Guardians of Earth-One's Universe expelled the vast majority of magic from their universe, sending it to Earth-Two's. This resulted in a predominance of magic and a weakening of scientific laws within Earth-Two's universe. Unlike Earth-One's universe, the planet Oa does not exist in this plane of existence (nor in other universal planes), and as such the planetary alignment of worlds such as Thanagar and Rann are different (as indicated in Infinite Crisis).

Major Earth-Two events

Silver Age

★ ''The Flash'' (vol. 1) # 123 (1956)- "The Flash of Two Worlds" Barry Allen meets Jay Garrick; First appearance of Earth-Two

★ ''Justice League of America'' #55 (1967) - First appearance of Richard Grayson; Robin is initiated into the Justice Society following Batman's retirement.

★ ''Justice League of America'' #73 (1969) - First appearance of Kal-L.

★ ''Justice League of America'' #82 (1970) - First appearance of Earth-Two Batman

★ ''Adventure Comics'' #462 - The death of Batman

★ ''All Star Comics'' # 58 (January/February 1976) - First appearance of Power Girl

★ ''All Star Comics'' # 69 (December 1977) - First appearance of Helena Wayne

★ ''Justice League of America'' #171 (October 1979) - Mister Terrific (Terry Sloane) is murdered.

★ ''All-Star Squadron'' #25 (September 1983) - First appearance of Infinity Inc.

★ ''America vs. The Justice Society'' #1-4 (January-April 1985) - Based upon entries from the diary of the deceased Batman, the World War II-era members of the Justice Society stand accused of being Nazi agents, and are placed on trial for treason. This limited series recounts the entire history of the JSA prior to 1985.

★ ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' (1985)

★
★ The destruction of the known multiverse, including Earth-Two and the first appearance of "new" Earth.

★
★ Earth-Two survivors Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor live on Mount Olympus as immortals (Infinity Inc. #27, October 1985).

★
★ Earth-Two survivors Kal-L & Lois Lane-Kent leave for an unknown paradise dimension.

★
★ Robin and Huntress die in the final conflict (Crisis on Infinite Earths #12), and are erased from existence and the memories of the final surivivors of the first Crisis.

★
★ Psycho Pirate remains on the new Earth. He is one of the few who remembers the multiverse after the reformat of the new universe such as Lady Quark and Harbinger. He is admitted to an insane asylum on New Earth.

Post-Crisis

★ Power Girl remains, but she is reformatted into an Atlantean and her memories of her Earth-Two existence are erased.

★ Hippolyta Trevor (Fury) is also reformatted in the new history as she is no longer the daughter of the Earth-Two Wonder Woman, but rather the daughter of Helena Kosmatos.

★ ''The Kingdom'' (1999) - First appearance of Kal-L post-''Crisis''. Hypertime and divergent timelines are revealed to still exist by Rip Hunter.

★ ''Infinite Crisis'' (2005-2006) - Earth-Two returns

★
★ The return and deaths of Kal-L and Lois Lane, and disappearance of the Earth-Two Wonder Woman. The final words of each mention they are being drawn somewhere. Kal-L also says "They're still out there."

★
★ Power Girl's origin as an Earth-Two survivor revealed.

★ ''JSA'' - In the aftermath of the events of ''Infinite Crisis'', the Earth-Two Batman is encountered as a ghost by member of the current Justice Society (''JSA'' #85, 2006). To date, the pre-Crisis Robin, Catwoman, and the Huntress have not made appearances.

Post- 52 Version

In the final issue of ''52'', a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 identical realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-2". As a result of Mister Mind "eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects similar to the pre-Crisis Earth-2, including the Justice Society of America characters. The names of the characters and the team are not mentioned in the panel in which they appear.^[2]
Based on comments by Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-2.^[3]

References