'End' is nigh in weekly 'Earth 2' series

Brian Truitt | USA TODAY

One week from the finale, Earth 2: World's End is definitely living up to its title.

Darkseid's forces have laid waste to the alternate world at the center of DC Comics' weekly series, and in the penultimate 25th issue — out Wednesday — the superheroes have to do something quick because the lives of 2 million survivors are on the line.

World's End was always going to be a story where the good guys might not win, says Daniel H. Wilson, who heads up the book's writing team including Marguerite Bennett and Mike Johnson.

"Certain parts of their personalities emerge that you haven't seen before because they've never been in a situation of utter hopelessness in the face of total destruction."

The last hope for Earth-2 was seemingly the generation ships that would allow whoever's left to get into orbit, but as they're grounded and falling from the sky, guys like Dick Grayson and Thomas Wayne are fighting to make sure their family members remain safe.

Meanwhile Green Lantern is working with Mr. Terrific and Terry Sloan on scientific ways of saving the day, and Power Girl, Val-Zod and others mount a charge against the all-powerful Darkseid.

The action set pieces are appropriately epic, yet over the course of the series, World's End has allowed Wilson to flesh out characters in new ways. On Earth-2, the "trinity" of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman perished years ago, and their families have had to carry on their legacy.

Power Girl, for example, has been more playful than serious in various comics, yet Wilson has given her the mantle and role of this world's Superman. And Thomas Wayne, a man whose death inspired his son Bruce in another universe to become Batman, is the Dark Knight of Earth-2 with arguably more issues than the familiar cowled hero seen in the main DC Universe.

"The problem of writing a comic where the characters are nearly invincible is that you need to make it matter emotionally," Wilson says. "Physically it's not always going to matter — they're going to recuperate from getting punched in the face. What really matters is when they get their feelings hurt."

Arguably no one's had quite the transformation as that of Alan Scott, Earth-2's Green Lantern who's gone from being a regular guy in love to losing his fiancé Sam and having to protect every human being on Earth while also letting go of personal ties.

"It's this real conundrum for him because he has to fight for everyone and yet he doesn't have a single person as a connection, to the planet that he's fighting for," says Wilson, adding that Scott plays heavily into next week's final showdown with Darkseid.

"Green Lantern brought us into this, and Green Lantern's going to have to take us out at the end."

The climax coming in World's End will be "satisfying" for fans, Wilson says. The differences between New Gods, metahumans and regular folks factor in heavily, as does the true power of Sloan and Terrific figuring out ways to unlock the power of the Multiverse as well as tying up emotional arcs of such heroes as the Flash, Huntress and Hawkgirl.

The ending of World's End No. 26 also leads into Convergence, DC's expansive two-month crossover that begins in April — something major happens in the last few pages that hints at what cast members will play important roles in the event, according to Wilson.

In the aftermath of that, he's bringing many personal favorites such as Green Lantern, Power Girl, Val-Zod, Huntress, Hawkgirl and the Flash into his post-Convergence series Earth 2: Society, a new take on the old Justice Society group book that debuts June 10.

"These are my babies," Wilson says. "Some pretty shocking stuff happens, and I've been having a ball getting to build a world instead of destroying it."