Earth-Three

Earth-Three is a fictional alternate universe set in the. It is the Earth of an alternate reality in the DC Multiverse. It first appeared in Justice League of America #29 (1964).

1964–1985: Original concept


Earth-Three was introduced by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky in a 1964 issue of Justice League of America. Earth-Three's history is depicted as a mirror image to that of the Earth we know. On Earth-Three, Christopher Columbus was an American who discovered Europe; England (a colony of America) won freedom in a reversed form of the Revolutionary War (with Washington surrendering his sword to Cornwallis); and President John Wilkes Booth was assassinated by actor Abraham Lincoln. Crucially, Earth-Three was home to an analogue to the Justice League, the Crime Syndicate of America.

The Crime Syndicate would recur as powerful enemies of the Justice League until DC's 1985 company-wide crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths. Crisis revealed that Lex Luthor, here called Alexander Luthor, is the only superhero on an Earth otherwise occupied entirely by villains, most of whom are reversed analogues of heroes on other DC Earths. Earth-Three is destroyed by waves of antimatter in the opening scenes of the series. The sole survivor is the son of Alexander and Lois Lane Luthor, Alexander Luthor, Jr. At the conclusion of the series, all other worlds in the Multiverse were merged.

1992–2011: Anti-matter Earth, new Multiverse
DC used Crisis on Infinite Earths to simplify its complex continuity and multiverse into a single narrative set on a single universe, not counting the antimatter universe which was integral to the story of how the Green Lantern villain Sinestro acquired his powers. Editorial mandate initially meant stories featuring the Crime Syndicate were entirely unavailable to writers, but DC later attempted to reintroduce the Crime Syndicate without the setting of Earth-Three in 1992's Justice League Quarterly #8, which featured a group of aliens from the planet Qward (the antimatter counterpart of Oa) who functioned as "more powerful" Justice League analogues.

This first attempt at bringing back the Crime Syndicate did not stick, and the principle concept behind Earth-Three would be revisited in Grant Morrison's JLA: Earth 2. Morrison recast much of Earth-Three's history as that of the Antimatter Universe's own version of Earth, which is home to the Crime Syndicate of America. He makes notable departures to this formula however, by presenting this world as the product of an alternate history and by reimagining various Crime Syndicate members (for example, by recasting Owlman as Batman's brother Thomas Wayne, and by recasting Ultraman not as the alien Kal-El but a human astronaut who acquires Kryptonian abilities). At the end of JLA: Earth-2, Amerika had launched a nuclear strike on London, against Britain's independence movement.

In Superman/Batman Annual #1, three members of this Crime Syndicate of Amerika—Ultraman, Owlman, and Superwoman—appear on the main DC Earth, along with an unnamed antimatter doppelganger of Deathstroke (whose behavior, including humorous breaking of the fourth wall, and powers are exactly the same as Marvel Comics' Deathstroke parody Deadpool) hired to protect Bruce Wayne. The story supposedly takes place as the first time Superman and Batman figure out each other's identities and matches Batman, Superman, and Deathstroke against their respective antimatter selves. It should be noted, however, that the story is being told by Mr. Mxyzptlk, and may therefore be completely untrue.

In the final issue of the 52-issue weekly series 52 in 2007, a new Multiverse is revealed, originally consisting of 52 parallel realities. Among the parallel realities shown is one designated "Earth-3". As a result of Mister Mind "eating" aspects of this reality, it takes on visual aspects of the pre-Crisis Earth-Three. The Earth-3 concept was not heavily explored after this, but does figure in a couple of issues of 52's follow-up weekly series, Countdown to Final Crisis (2007–8). The name of the new Earth-3 team is revealed to be the Crime Society of America. The Crime Society are considered to be evil versions of the heroes of Earth-2, acting as a new Golden Age counterpart to the Antimatter Earth. A hero known as the Jokester operates in this universe, as later do the Riddler, Three-Face (Evelyn Dent), and Duela Dent. In Countdown #31 the version of Zatanna (Annataz Arataz) from this world was used by Superman-Prime to keep Mister Mxyzptlk in check. Based on comments by Grant Morrison, this alternate universe is not the pre-Crisis Earth-Three. Despite the return of the DC Multiverse and the creation of a new Earth-3, the Antimatter Earth still exists in Qward, acting as an inverted microcosm of New Earth. The pre-established Crime Syndicate of Amerika from the Antimatter Universe were then featured heavily in Trinity, DC's third year-long weekly series.

2013–present: The New 52
DC again rebooted its continuity in 2011 as part of The New 52. In 2013, the "Trinity War" crossover event reintroduces Earth-3. It is mentioned as the home of true evil and of the Crime Syndicate. The Crime Syndicate is largely modeled after Morrison's, with the introduction of new characters, and by re-envisioning Ultraman once again as an alien with an origin story which more closely parallels Superman's. In the closing scenes of "Trinity War", Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Johnny Quick, Power Ring, Deathstorm, Alfred Pennyworth and Atomica reveal themselves to the Justice League of Earth Prime. Sea King also inhabited Earth-3, but quickly died after passing through the gateway to Prime Earth. Martian Manhunter is also an inhabitant of Earth-3. Alexander Luthor, who can become Mazahs, is also from Earth-3, and an enemy of the Crime Syndicate.