I'm Guessing Alan Scott Will Be The Lead Here

Earth 2 3-4
DC Comics
James Robinson, writer
Nicola Scott, artist

James Robinson is certainly playing with longtime readers' expectations in this series as several familiar faces are being used in seemingly unfamiliar ways on this DCnU version of Earth 2.

These two issues not only give us the secret origin of Green Lantern -- a heavy-handed affair just dripping with forced emotion -- but also introduce us to Capt. Al Pratt, the Atom. Pratt, it seems, was in the military during the Apokolips invasion of five years ago and came out of that conflict with some pretty fantastic new abilities. In the fourth issue, he seems to display super strength, but he has also been able to alter his physical size, growing to about twice his normal height. He has been working as a covert, powered agent of the military and is quickly dispatched to shut down the activities of Hawkgirl and the Flash before they have a chance to even figure out what they are supposed to do. So, is the Atom one of the good guys or not?

The bulk of the third issue is devoted to Alan Scott being given his powers and adopting a ring to focus his energies through. Scott, the sole survivor of the train wreck we saw in the second issue, is transformed into the Green Lantern by the Earth itself, being given the power of the Green, which would seem to make him this world's answer to -- Swamp Thing? Arguably, Alan Scott was the elder statesman hero of the Justice Society in the old DC Universe, at least since the Earth 2 version of Superman was wiped from continuity in 1985's Crisis On Infinite Earths. Several times during his transformation into the Green Lantern, both Scott and the emerald fire that represents his raw power refer to this world's fallen Kryptonian hero and the fact that Scott must now assume that role, becoming the Earth's ultimate champion.

These issues also introduce a new villain -- Grundy. The new character, an avatar of the Grey, the decay that eternally opposes the living, vibrant Green, has some similarities in appearance to the old swamp monster Solomon Grundy who frequently fought Earth 2's heroes of old, but he also closely resembles Nekron from the Blackest Night story arc in the old DCU.