Reviewer: Tim Sheridan
Story Title: Absolute Power – Chapter 1: Pledge Allegiance”
Written by: Jeph Loeb
Penciled by: Carlos Pacheco
Inked by: Jesus Merino
Colored by: Laura Martin
Lettered by: Richard Starkings
Associate Editor: Tom Palmer Jr
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics
I enjoyed this issue, far more than I thought I would. Superman/Batman has been very much hit or miss with me, and my friend and I every month talk about the pros and cons of dropping it. We have immense faith in all the people behind the book, but for whatever reason it always seems to fall short of our expectations.
This month was the same for me.
I was looking forward to the issue, as I do every month, but this time it was the beginning of a new story, so that’s always kind of exciting. This is pretty much the Superman/Batman blockbuster of the month, something exciting is always happening. Carlos Pacheco was starting his run on art for the book, and he’s always very, very good.
So while I was reading, I was enjoying myself. It was a good, fun read, but at the end, I just didn’t get it. I didn’t know what was missing. And then it hit me. I’ve read this story before. I’ve read a dozen different interpretations of it too. This was no different than any Elseworlds story I’ve read. And that disappointed me. A lot.
Now, I do understand that this was merely the first part in a (probably) five or six part story, and there is plenty of time to turn it around, but this issue was just bland.
The story is exciting, sure, and the art is great, no question. But it just does not add up. I’ve been told that I’m going to be blown away by the surprises in this story, but I have no so far. Superman and Batman rule the world. When their respective origin stories happened in this (supposed) alternate reality, strange visitors appeared and…I don’t know, it seems they took them under their wings (errrr…capes). These people look a lot like Legion characters. But I wouldn’t know, since I can’t bring myself to pick up a Legion book.
Anyways, these people taught Superman and Batman how to rule the world…so now they do. And they’re pretty mean about it too. I mean, they beat up Green Arrow. Something weird is also happening with Wonder Woman too. She goes and bothers some homeless guy who turns out to be Uncle Sam. Seems it’s the same Uncle Sam from the Alex Ross series, so hey, it’s nice to see him getting work, huh?
Yeah, that’s about it for this month. I can’t say I’m quite hooked on this new story. I’ll see what’s up next month, but I can’t promise much after that. This is intriguing thus far, but unless it is remotely different than some Elseworlds story, I’m out.
