Earth 2 #20 is an issue of the series Earth 2 (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 2014. It was published on February 5, 2014.
Synopsis for "The Dark Age, Part 4"
Outside Gotham, Batman, Hawkgirl, Marella, and Sonia Sato are being pursed by parademons. Hawkgirl says that there's too many of them, and she can't outrun them while carrying all three of them, nor can she lead them back to the Batcave. Batman is also losing his grip on Sato. Marella sees a storm cloud ahead and tells Hawkgirl to head into it before she lets go of her. Hawkgirl reluctantly lets go of Marella while she grabs hold of Sato, with Batman being certain of what Marella is about to do. Suddenly, with a wave of her arms, Marella summons a funnel of water to form from the cloud, using it to drown the parademons as they fly into the funnel. As Hawkgirl brings Batman and Sato down to the ground, Marella thanks them for her freedom and says that she will return to her people. Batman tells Marella that Superman's invasion won't just affect the surface world, but Marella says that the deep will answer when he calls. She gives him a sea shell that he can use to summon her before she dives into the water and disappears.
Inside the Batcave, Batman is surprised to see that he is also joined by Red Arrow and Doctor Fate, who Hawkgirl brought over when she found them on the battlefield. Doctor Fate is still speaking incoherently, which Red Arrow says could either be prophecy or just dubstep. Batman wonders where the Kryptonian is, and Red Tornado says Val is with her, but he looks like he's having a panic attack. He tells them not to make him go back out there, and then goes on to say that he was one of four people who was sent away from Krypton before it exploded. Red Tornado and Batman realize that Val has developed agoraphobia, which makes Batman upset because the only person who could possibly stand up against Superman is now afraid of open spaces. Red Tornado says that she will talk to Val, but Batman reminds her that they don't have much time to act.
Meanwhile, Superman is now having his army of parademons spread out over the globe and destroy all places of worship, including churches, cathedrals, synagogues, mosques, temples, and every sort of shrine and statue dedicated to the gods of Earth, referring to their religions as "fictions". He actively takes a hand at purging the groups of protesters who have rallied against him, telling them "There is only one Darkseid."
Alone with Val in the Batcave, Red Tornado talks to him and sees that the both of them are scared, with Lois telling Val that she was once dead and is now inside a metallic body. Val confesses his fear that he's afraid to hurt anybody because of what he's capable of doing as a Kryptonian, and Lois sympathizes by saying that's just how her husband Superman felt. Val says that he's now out there hurting people, and Lois responds by saying that the man in Superman's body isn't her husband because she knows that the real Superman is too gentle, too true, and too stubborn to turn into a monster, and also there's nothing Darkseid could do to Clark that would be worse to him than the disapproval of his parents. Soon, with Batman opening the doors to the Batcave, Val bravely steps out into the sun with Red Tornado and allows himself to bask in its light, with Lois telling him "this is where you belong."
Appearing in "The Dark Age, Part 4"
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Notes
- Barry Kitson does the art on pages 1-10 and 15-20. Robson Rocha does the pencils and Oclair Albert does the inks on pages 11-14.
See Also