Superman/Batman #2 Review

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
Batman created by Bob Kane

Reviewer: John Babos
Story Title: Early Warning (Part 2 of “World’s Finest”)

Written by: Jeph Loeb
Penciled by: Ed McGuiness
Inked by: Dester Vines
Colored by: Dave Stewart
Lettered by: Richard Starkings
Associate Editor: Tom Palmer Jr.
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Boy Wonder: Matt Idelson
Publisher: DC

Superman/Batman #2

Continuing the story begun in Superman/Batman #1, this month’s installment of World’s Finest has the histories of Batman (parents shot by a robber) and Superman further intersected, with the retroactive placement of a pre-kryptonite-powered-cyrborg-Metallo, petty crook John Corben, in Gotham City at the time of the Wayne parents murder. This continues to be odd, because, if I recall correctly, the crook who killed the Waynes was for years known to Batman. It was a mook by the name of Joe Chill. Anyhow, it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. Batman seems skeptical, but curious about what Corben was doing in Gotham all those years ago, and there is no mention of Joe Chill in this book.

However, I’m getting ahead of myself. The story begins with Superman recuperating from a Kryptonite bullet gun shot in the Batcave, and ends up goeing toe-to-toe with a guest star that is totally unexpected – I certianly didn’t see it coming. Batman trys to help Superman in the battle, but he is only human with “toys” that prove ineffective as he’s stripped of them early (his toys can usually “kick the crap” out of the most super of super-beings).

While all this is going on, the massive Kryptonite meteor continues to head towards Earth, giving United States President Lex Luthor an excuse to finally try to use his presidential powers to semi-legitimately bring down DC’s Man of Steel.

Penciller Ed McGuiness’ work is just breathless and almost worth the price of admission alone. Any kudos I could articulate would be woefully inadequate in describing his, um, “super” work.

Pick this book up while its still on the shelves. This book could be another in DC’s long-list of warehouse sell-outs, particularly due to the “guest star” that Superman ends up fighting.

A light at the end of the tunnel

While Superman/Batman #2 is a great read both in terms of the written word and the art, its the editorial muffs that distract from a very engaging story. Building on the overall editorial chaos that I described the Superman franchise to be in within my recent review of Superman: Birthright #3, other examples are on display in the second part of the opening “World’s Finest” arc.

i) The whole revisionist addition of a Superman villain into Batman’s origin.

ii) Captain Atom doubling on a President Luthor-sponsored (humourless) super-team (with his arch-enemy Major Force)AND (humorous) Formerly Known as the Justice League crew.

These inconsistencies build on those I already described in my Birthright review:

1) the “Birthright”: Superman “new” Krypton was glimpsed in the recent Superman/Batman #1 vs. 2) the Superman: The Kansas Sightings two-part limited series (debuting in November) seems to feature the “old” Krypton of John Byrne’s 1986 franchise relaunch. So, readers now are to accept the editorial chaos that mars the Superman books of 2003 – Birthright alone has 3 editors – and live with two different Kryptons in one universe – neither Birthright nor The Kansas Sightings are billed as Elseworlds books, DC’s alternate universes brand.

However, an issue I identified in that review as well has been addressed by Editor Eddie Berganza, in a way. In that Birthright review I indicated that:

Whether this is a reboot or an Elseworld’s tale has yet to be really clarified by DC. What we’ve heard from editor Eddie Berganza was that this is not a reboot, but that it can fit into continuity if need be. This laisse faire attitude is disrespectful to all readers, on either side of the “its sucks” and “it rocks” sides of the Birthright debate.

Eddie has clarified (in a fashion) the “continuitiness” of the Birthright revisionist origin for Superman (and I guess Batman now) in a recent newsarama interview:

Specifically, as revealed in DC’s December solicitation information, issue #200 (of Superman) will conclude the Futuresmiths plotline, the final fate of Metropolis, and a look at possible future origins of Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Superman, as well as an appearance by Supergirl – sorry Linda fans, it’s still Cir-El.

The entire set-up, while not as far-reaching as what came before in 1986, does have Berganza looking at that decade’s revamp of the Superman line of comics. “There’s a little bit of a feeling of ‘Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?’ [Alan Moore’s two-part story which brought to an end the Superman continuity which stretched from the Silver and Golden Ages] just from what happens at the end of #200, but it’s not as drastic as what happened back then,” the editor said. “But it does pave the way for some exciting things…”

I am glad that in DC’s attempt to bring in new readers that a change to the established continuity of characters will be explained somewhat. The Crisis of Infinite Earths was a creative in-continuity explanation for a reboot of the DC Universe (DCU), and this Futuresmiths arc in Superman will seemingly play a role clarifying the inconistencies in the portryal of Superman’s origins recently in the DCU. While reboots likley please as many people as they satisfy, the attempt to explain continuity changes within continuity does at least show that DC is attempting to respect the fans that have followed their books for years, particularly post-Crisis (the last reboot period), as well attempting to bring in new readers.

Evolution is a must in comics to ensure they remain contemporary. I am glad that the DC seems to realizing that a good story and working with continuity are not mutually exclusive. You can have good stories, even ones that change established history, within continuity. It is a challenge for the writers and editors, but it can be done – just look at uber-scribe Geoff Johns’ DC joints over the last few years.