Earth-3
Earth-3 is planet that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
Pre-Crisis
Earth-3 was an alternate version of the planet Earth that existed within the Multiverse.
Despite sharing the name, this world had a much different history compared to the regular Earth with events taking place in reverse. Unlike the main Earth, Earth-3 saw Christopher Columbus as an American who discovered Europe with it coming under their rule. Colonial England later won her freedom from the United States in the Revolutionary War of 1776. Another notable event was an actor named Abe Lincoln who was responsible for shooting President John Wilkes Booth. (Justice League of America v1 #29)
As such, the chain of events saw the emergence of supervillains rather than superheroes on this world. Almost every super-being was thus a criminal who banded together to form the Crime Syndicate of America. With their powers, they effortlessly managed to overcome the authorities and steal as much as they desired in the world. However, the constant victories meant no challenge to its members and they began to feel that their edge had been dulled as a result. During one robbery, Ultraman consumed some Kryptonite which empowered him on this world and his super-vision could pierce into other realities within the Multiverse. This allowed him to see into Earth-1 where he saw a world of heroes that were counterparts to him and the Syndicate with these being the Justice League of America. He brought this information to the rest of the Crime Syndicate who felt that this was the challenge they had long desired to alleviate their boredom with them agreeing to invade Earth-1. (Justice League of America v1 #29)
A plot by the Lex Luthor of Earth-1 and Earth-2 resulted in the pair being defeated by the Superman of their respective worlds. This resulted in the pair being banished to another dimension where Lex Luthor had anticipated this act and created a machine to teleport him and Alexei Luthor to Earth-3. Once there, they forged an alliance with Ultraman with them using this alternate Earth as a base for their criminal operations. Their actions were observed by the Earth-3 Lois Lane who came to convince Dr. Alexander Luthor to become his world's first superhero. He used his science to bring the Superman of Earth-1 and Earth-2 to his world in order to enlist their aid to stop the villainous plot on Earth-3. The villainous Luthors were defeated with Alexei's plot to destroy Earth-1 and Earth-2 being averted. Ultraman himself was also defeated and Dr. Alexander Luthor decided to continue being the planet's superhero. (DC Comics Presents Annual v1 #1)
Due to the actions of the Anti-Monitor, the cosmic being had created an anti-matter wave that was consuming the Multiverse. Earth-3 was among the worlds impacted by the wave with Dr. Alexander Luthor and Lois Lane sending their new born son Alexander Luthor Jr. in a rocket ship into the wider Multiverse so that he could survive the destruction of his world. (Crisis on Infinite Earths v1 #1)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of Earth-3 was formed with a different history of events.
During these early days, the greatest resistance to the Syndicate's rule was the Justice Underground that consisted of superpowered heroes that opposed them. Their number included; Lady Sonar, Star Sapphire, General Grodd, Q-Ranger, Sir Solomon Grundy and their leader Quizmaster. Those days saw the C.S.A. face a constant challenge from these heroes but the Justice Underground ultimately came to lose. Many of these superheroes fell thus leading to the demise of the superhero team. Similarly, other threats began to fall before the Syndicate such as the Hierarchy for International Virtuous Empowerment, Zazzala the Insect Queen, and even Dr. Eclipso. One of the last holdouts opposing them was the tiny eastern European country of Modora that was protected under an impenetrable barrier created by Lady Sonar who protected her people. The Syndicate broke through it and engaged the populace where Lady Sonar was defeated and placed in the Flying Fortress's cryogenic prison alongside the other heroes. During the incident, Johnny Quick was seemingly killed but had been catapulted into the future where he witnessed the destruction of existence before he returned back to Earth-3 to warn the rest of the Syndicate. (JLA Secret Files and Origins v1 #2004)
On Earth-3, a doomsday weapon created by Alexander Luthor eventually came to be triggered with this being a matter bomb that exploded and spread a cancerous creeping energy that sought to erase all life on the planet. A quarter of the population of the world was lost to the weapon until the Crime Syndicate came upon the idea of displacing it to a different Earth. They came to decide to send the energy to Earth-9 with the Syndicate arriving on that world and attacked its superheroes with some killed in the process. They then unleashed the dark matter energy which proceeded to all but destroy Earth-9 but despite this being the case the energy did not transfer away from Earth-3. Instead, the dark matter remained but its growth had slowed as a result and thus the team sought a new means of solving their problem. They decided to find a means of resurrecting Alexander Luthor, Junior and secretly operated on New Earth where they set their plans in motion. The supervillains kept a low profile so as to not alert the Justice League and came to hire the services of Doctor Impossible to build the resurrection machine. However, Power Ring came to learn that the Green Lantern of Earth-9 had come to Earth to warn the Justice League whilst Johnny Quick determined that she was at the Hall of Justice. The Syndicate then decided to openly attack the Justice League to prevent them from stopping their plans. (Justice League of America v2 #50)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Ultimately, the Anti-Monitor came to target the Earth-3 universe and succeeded in consuming it. (Forever Evil v1 #7)
At some point, Earth-3 was restored by the Multiverse as part of its system to defend itself with all its inhabitants being restored to life. The Crime Syndicate remained in control of the planet where they kept their tyrannical rule of the populace. It was then that the Syndicate was called before the cosmic being Perpetua who had been released from her imprisonment behind the Source Wall. She sensed the populace of Earth-3 as aligning with her principles and decided not to destroy the planet. However, she decided to use its people as part of her army and transformed them into Apex Predators that were human/Martian hybrids that served her. The majority of the Crime Syndicate came to side with Perpetua in fear that the dark goddess would destroy them. (Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen v1 #1)
Overview
In appearance, Earth-3 was an alternate version of the planet Earth located in the Multiverse. (Justice League of America v1 #29)
Locations on this Earth included:
- Gotham City :
- Central City : a city on Earth-3 that was terrorised by Jonathan Allen and Rhonda Pineda even before the pair got their powers. (Justice League v2 #26)
- Centropolis :
- Flying Fortress :
- Panopticon :
- Demon's Island :
Society operated under the principal of the favour bank whereby a person who owed a favour had to complete it regardless of their circumstances. Failure to fulfil a favour was grounds for the other party to murder the person who failed to grant it. Even the Syndicate followed the favour system as failure to do so would lead to others refusing to adhere to it thus bringing chaos to the world. (JLA v1 #108)
Organizations operating on this world included:
- Crime Syndicate of America :
- Crime Lodge :
- Young Offenders :
- Metal Marauders : living robots working for Doc Karnus where they were said to be counterparts to the Metal Men. (Trinity v1 #10)
- Justice Underground :
- H.I.V.E. :
Inhabitants
- Ultraman :
- Owlman :
- Superwoman :
- Power Ring :
- Johnny Quick :
- Alexander Luthor : Dr. Alexander Luthor was a male scientist who was convinced by his world's Lois Lane to be its first superhero in opposition to the Crime Syndicate. (DC Comics Presents Annual v1 #1) He later came to marry his world's Lois where the pair had a son named Alexander Luthor Jr. (Crisis on Infinite Earths v1 #1)
- Lois Lane : female human who was a reporter who came to convince Dr. Luthor to be their Earth's first superhero. (DC Comics Presents Annual v1 #1) She later came to marry Alexander and the two had a child named Alexander Luthor Jr. (Crisis on Infinite Earths v1 #1)
- Enigma :
- Lady Sonar :
- Star Sapphire :
- General Grodd :
- Q-Ranger :
- Sir Solomon Grundy :
- Insect Queen :
- Dr. Eclipso :
- Jokester :
- Harleen Quinzel :
- Evelyn Dent :
- Jackson Drake :
- Lucius Fox :
- White Cat :
- Doctor Noon :
- Blood Eagle :
- Barracuda :
- Doc Karnus : the inventor of the Metal Marauders and said to be a member of the Crime Syndicate. (Trinity v1 #10)
- Transmutato : a shapeshifting villain known as the Fiendish Freak who was their world's version of Metamorpho. (Trinity v1 #12)
- Annataz Arataz :
- Outsider : Alfred Pennyworth was a destitute man who was taken in by a young Thomas Wayne, Jr. where he helped kill the boy's parents allowing him to inherit the family fortune. In time, his master became a supervillain crimelord known as Owlman with Pennyworth loyally serving him for years as they took control of Gotham City. (Justice League v2 #25) During this time, his masters greatest enemy was a man named the Joker who nearly killed Owlman with Alfred coming in to save him. During the fight, the Joker dosed Pennyworth in a strange poison that caused his skin to become pale and led to Alfred suffering from laughing fits that he could not control. As a mark of respect, Owlman saved his servant by providing him a cure but the aftereffects of the uncontrollable laugh and his skin remained with him taking the name the Outsider. (Justice League v2 #23.4)
- Martin Stein : a male scientist who was obsessed at finding the secret of life through death. Professor Stein conducted countless human experiments on the homeless when he was recruited by the Crime Syndicate's enemies to find a weakness in their organization. However, he used the resources to bond himself with a corpse thus transforming into Deathstorm where he eventually joined the Syndicate. (Justice League v2 #26)
- Solomon Baz : a male Arab who was a criminal getaway driver that developed a reputation in the criminal underworld and was tasked with delivering explosives to a concert hall. However, he could not go forward with the act and abandoned the vehicle with this fear disgusting the people on his world. He was then chosen by the Ring of Volthoom and became the new Power Ring until it consumed him thus leading to his soul being forced into the Green Realm that resided within it. (Green Lanterns v1 #46)
- Amaxon Thunder :
- Luthor-El :
- Drake :
- Speedzone :
- Leonard Snart : male police officer of the Central City Special Crimes Unit who captured Jonathan Allen but was later killed when the criminal escaped custody. (Justice League v2 #26)
- Mick Rory : male police officer of the Central City Special Crimes Unit who captured Jonathan Allen but was later killed when the criminal escaped custody. (Justice League v2 #26)
Notes
- Earth-3 was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky where it made its first appearance in Justice League of America v1 #29 (1964).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
Films
- In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Earth-3 served as the prime setting of the animated movie. On this Earth, the arrangement of a human beings organs were located differently than on the main Earth. It was shown as a parallel reality where evil reigned and that the heroes of the primary Earth were instead villains here known as the Crime Syndicate. Though powerful supervillains, they did not outright control their world as the governments that existed threatened nuclear retaliation. However, they did maintain strong control and eliminated anyone that challenged their control. In opposition to the Crime Syndicate was the Justice League led by this world's Lex Luthor but whose ranks had been decimated by their foe leaving him the only survivor. After learning the existence of parallel worlds, Luthor travelled to the main Earth in order to enlist the aid of the Justice League.
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, Earth-3 was introduced into the setting of the MMORPG where it was shown as being an alternate universe. It was home to the Crime Syndicate that were an evil counterpart to the Justice League with their version of Alexander Luthor being a hero who intended to save his world.
Appearances
- Justice League of America v1: (1964)
- DC Comics Presents Annual v1:
- Crisis on Infinite Earths v1:
- JLA: Earth 2 v1:
- JLA Secret Files and Origins v1: (2004)
- Justice League of America v2:
- Justice League v2:
- Green Lanterns v1:
- Young Justice v3:
- Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen v1 #1:
- Crime Syndicate v1:
External Links
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