In an alternate reality, the Earth's heroes turn out to be villains and, conversely, villains become heroes. In this parallel world, the evil counterparts of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, etc defeat the good counterpart of Lex Luther. So, the Justice League travels to the alternate Earth to help the good Lex Luther recoup and prove definitively that the principals that the heroes/villains are fighting for are what count the most in the end.
Each important member of the Justice League has a personal score to settle with his/her evil counterpart. Superman's evil side is selfish, insensitive, and domineering. Wonder Woman's evil counterpart is an egotistical sadist with a penchant for senseless destruction. Batman's dark side is a perfection seeking nihilist who wants to destroy the world.
At first blush, it looks like another brainless Punch 'n Judy festival, with the good guys getting in the last punch, as per usual. However, there is an effort to develop and interesting theme.
It turns out that there are not just two alternate realities, actually there are an infinite number. An infinite number of planet Earths where the perennial power struggle between Good and Evil continues indefinitely. Sometimes Good wins, sometimes Evil does, and in the end there is no end, no definite victor. How then does one establish some concrete sense of definitiveness from and endless labyrinth of different possibilities and alternate realities? The answer seems to lie in the difference between Life and Death.
It is Batman who must weigh the costs of the fight for Good. It is he who bears the burden of choosing who lives and who dies. His personal struggle with his evil counterpart, Owlman, will ultimately play the deciding role that determines the fate of humanity for all time. Owlman believes that eliminating the human race altogether will restore balance in the cosmos. In other words, 'Blow it all up and everything will come out perfect.'
Personally, I was not happy with the story, because our heroes are confronted with few intellectual challenges. Batman's tough choice is really a no-brainer if you think about it. And, since there is little question of who is one who's side, thanks to a Martian that can read people's minds, the rest of the Justice League can safely put away their chessboards and get on with the knee-jerk reflex task of kicking the bad guys' butts. Mundane, really, since we know who is going to win from the very beginning.
The story does however raise a few interesting theoretical questions. Is there any absolute difference between Good and Evil? Do the evil counterparts of our heroes win on the alternate Earth simply because they are stronger than Lex? And, when the Justice League finally wins in the end, do they do so because Good is stronger? If Lex Luther can be good in an alternate reality, can we justifiably show mercy to the evil Lex of our world? What value does humanity have? Are we worth saving, or would it be better if were all dead?
I find it remarkable that the superhero I identified most strongly with comes from Mars. Being the last member of an extinct race, he had a human female as a counterpart who turned out to be good. Watching him 'mind-meld' with her was fascinating, but nothing new for Star Trek fans.
Wonder Woman was a big disappointment. Despite the showy costume, she comes off as a typical all-muscle, no-brain character by the name of Ralph. She never has to stop once to reflect on what she is doing. Its easy, if you wear a black T-shirt she kicks your butt. If you wear white she throws herself on a grenade to save you. Easy for her to talk about selfless altruism since she can't die anyway. At least her evil counterpart, Superwoman, had some sex appeal, but she turned out to be an even bigger 'air-head'. "So you're gonna blow the whole world up Owlman, and everyone will die? Hey, that means we'll both die too! WOW that'd be sooooooooooo cooooool. Yeah babe, lets do it! I'm psyched!!!"
So to sum up my disappointment, the conflict between Good and Evil takes place on the football field, fine, but I think they should have competed at least to some degree on the chessboard as well, they didn't. Furthermore, I see nothing interesting in a contest when I know who is going to win, even before the game begins.
Each important member of the Justice League has a personal score to settle with his/her evil counterpart. Superman's evil side is selfish, insensitive, and domineering. Wonder Woman's evil counterpart is an egotistical sadist with a penchant for senseless destruction. Batman's dark side is a perfection seeking nihilist who wants to destroy the world.
At first blush, it looks like another brainless Punch 'n Judy festival, with the good guys getting in the last punch, as per usual. However, there is an effort to develop and interesting theme.
It turns out that there are not just two alternate realities, actually there are an infinite number. An infinite number of planet Earths where the perennial power struggle between Good and Evil continues indefinitely. Sometimes Good wins, sometimes Evil does, and in the end there is no end, no definite victor. How then does one establish some concrete sense of definitiveness from and endless labyrinth of different possibilities and alternate realities? The answer seems to lie in the difference between Life and Death.
It is Batman who must weigh the costs of the fight for Good. It is he who bears the burden of choosing who lives and who dies. His personal struggle with his evil counterpart, Owlman, will ultimately play the deciding role that determines the fate of humanity for all time. Owlman believes that eliminating the human race altogether will restore balance in the cosmos. In other words, 'Blow it all up and everything will come out perfect.'
Personally, I was not happy with the story, because our heroes are confronted with few intellectual challenges. Batman's tough choice is really a no-brainer if you think about it. And, since there is little question of who is one who's side, thanks to a Martian that can read people's minds, the rest of the Justice League can safely put away their chessboards and get on with the knee-jerk reflex task of kicking the bad guys' butts. Mundane, really, since we know who is going to win from the very beginning.
The story does however raise a few interesting theoretical questions. Is there any absolute difference between Good and Evil? Do the evil counterparts of our heroes win on the alternate Earth simply because they are stronger than Lex? And, when the Justice League finally wins in the end, do they do so because Good is stronger? If Lex Luther can be good in an alternate reality, can we justifiably show mercy to the evil Lex of our world? What value does humanity have? Are we worth saving, or would it be better if were all dead?
I find it remarkable that the superhero I identified most strongly with comes from Mars. Being the last member of an extinct race, he had a human female as a counterpart who turned out to be good. Watching him 'mind-meld' with her was fascinating, but nothing new for Star Trek fans.
Wonder Woman was a big disappointment. Despite the showy costume, she comes off as a typical all-muscle, no-brain character by the name of Ralph. She never has to stop once to reflect on what she is doing. Its easy, if you wear a black T-shirt she kicks your butt. If you wear white she throws herself on a grenade to save you. Easy for her to talk about selfless altruism since she can't die anyway. At least her evil counterpart, Superwoman, had some sex appeal, but she turned out to be an even bigger 'air-head'. "So you're gonna blow the whole world up Owlman, and everyone will die? Hey, that means we'll both die too! WOW that'd be sooooooooooo cooooool. Yeah babe, lets do it! I'm psyched!!!"
So to sum up my disappointment, the conflict between Good and Evil takes place on the football field, fine, but I think they should have competed at least to some degree on the chessboard as well, they didn't. Furthermore, I see nothing interesting in a contest when I know who is going to win, even before the game begins.