Jay's new look in E-2 - a quick take

[xBarryxAllenx]

I'll have more about the second issue of Earth 2 in the next day or so...but I wanted to get this out of the way first. Now that I've seen better pics of Jay in his new duds......

I take back what I said. The new look is good, really good.

Yes, I have to put the "old" Jay out of my mind and I must look at E-2 for what it is: a new take with a complete re-imagining of the characters. But, then again, that's what the New 52 is all about for every other character. Looking at Jay's new suit for what it is, from better angles than the preview pics (and without all those apokorats hanging off of him), the costume really works.

The helmet, when seen properly, is not an Ant Man ripoff, but rather a sleek reboot of the traditional Mercury helmet (and for good reason with this new origin story, more on that in the upcoming review). The rest of the costume fits in well with the New 52 "armor" motif, and it works very well with the way they depict super-speed for Jay (it is different than Barry's depiction of speed for reasons that make sense given the now-different natures of their powers - more on that in the upcoming review).

No, it isn't the "old" Jay...but then none of the characters in the DC Universe is truly the "old" version of what they were. But, I was far more impressed with the new Jay than I had thought I would be...and I'm not afraid to admit when I'm wrong. I thought I wouldn't like this new artistic take on Jay Garrick, but I was wrong - this is actually very good.

[speedster]

It is almost as if the internet, I dunno, completely over-reacted.

Shocking, I know.

[xBarryxAllenx]

My initial take on the first preview pic of Jay was:

"I was a bit jarred by the difference when I first saw it. That being said, I'll stick to my wait-and-see for E-2 to actually come out before I give any final verdict."

Glad the actual comic showed a version of Jay that was MUCH better than my original fears. At least I didn't go TOO crazy...but still, your post was perfect - it gave me a good laugh and it really made my day! Thanks!

[speedster]

Oh, I remember. My comment was more general, than specific towards you. I just remember the general feeling online was "ZOMG! It SuX11!!11 DC BoyCott!!12!" Now, there seems to be a slow retraction of that now that the costume is seen in action and context.

[xBarryxAllenx]

I didn't take it personally at all. I DID notice something in going back to the new issue of e-2, though. There are some key differences between the uni on the cover and the one inside the book. For example, there are silver gauntlets on the uniform inside the comic (and they work very well). The ribbing on the sides of the costume are much less pronounced, as noted by Devin Johnson in his review of the costume. And, the helmet looks significantly improved on the inside, possibly due in part to the angle of perspective, and possibly due to some changes in design.

Overall, the look is really good, given this being a brand new take on the character.