Kingdom Come Again?

So, remember how happy and hopeful we were when DC announced the Earth-2 would be one of the "next wave" of the nu52? We had visions of the return of some of our favorite characters who had been lost in DC's reboot. The Justice Society will return!! Jay Garrick!! A kinder, gentler universe, some good old-fashioned heroing.

And it's written by James Robinson, who surely knows the JSA as well as anyone, and maybe with the goodness of the Shade we can forgive him for Justice League: Cry Death And Torture, and hope that darkness has been worked out his system!!

Or, maybe not so much.

Last week, DC released a series of teasers about Earth-2 Electric Boogaloo. First up? Editor Pat McCallum describes what Batman will be like on Earth-2:

Who will Batman kill to save his own daughter? Right out of the gate that should tell you we’re dealing with a different kind of Dark Knight here. More ruthless, dangerous…we’re looking at a man desperate to save the only family he has left. EARTH 2 is about to become a very bad place to be a bad guy.

Next, James Robinson tells us about Wonder Woman-Dos:

Due the events that open the saga of EARTH 2, Wonder Woman is already the last Amazon of this world and she is determined to avenge her sisters…at whatever cost.

Then, in the clincher, McCallum describes Superman-2:

What would you have to do to teach Superman to kill? He’s endured the loss of his home world, and now the Last Son of Krypton must weather the death of his soul mate Lois Lane. Just how far can you bend the Man of Steel before he breaks?

Wow.

Right out of the gate, the Amazons are wiped out, and Batman and Superman are ready to kill because of a couple of family tragedies.

So much for good old-fashioned super-heroics in a kinder, gentler universe. This sounds like it's ready to give the Flashpoint Universe a real contest for "DC Universe You Would Least Want To Visit".

Of course, I am committing the cardinal sin of judging this before I've read a single word. Then again, DC themselves released these teases, so they wanted us to judge the forthcoming series by them. So it's hardly my fault of thinking that this sounds like a most unpleasant universe.

But, for all I know, this is just a set-up, a prelude. The "varient" cover for the first issue of Earth-2 Electric Boogaloo (which is odd, because they haven't released the actual cover yet...so "alternate" to what?) shows the Trinity-2 fighting what looks to be a heaping horde of parademons.

Given that, and given some clues dropped in the latest issue of Justice League, I can imagine a story that maybe, just maybe, ends up not quite so grim. Maybe, just maybe, Darkseid is messing with the Trinity-2, to see if he can break them, and turn them evil, and take over Earth-2 without a fight. And either a) the Big Three-2 are able to fight back, or b) the next generation of heroes, who were inspired by the originals, team up to pull them back from the abyss, and thus form the Justice Society.

Sure, that sounds an awful lot like Kingdom Come. But hey, it's all rebooted, right? So why can't they recycle it for Kingdom Come-2? (That's also why they don't let me writer comic books)

Or maybe there was a DC editorial meeting wherein they decided to make Earth-2 as dark and dismal as possible, so the nu52 would look brighter and more heroic by comparison.

Still...c'mon, Earth-2!!! We start with genocide! Dead spouses!! Heroes driven to the dark side and ready to kill!! Look, kids--comics!!