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Superman/Batman #44 Review
- by Brian Cronin
- in General
This issue marks the debut of the new creative team of writer Michael Green (of Heroes fame) and artist Shane Davis (with inker Matt Banning). After one issue, so far, so good.
I think Jeph Loeb actually did throw in a good comic here or there during his run on Superman/Batman (I recall the Carlos Pacheco arc having a good issue or two mixed in there - maybe the bit where Uncle Sam gets a Green Lantern ring and he becomes super-powerful because he is powering the ring with the willpower of the American people - that was a great idea by Loeb), and Alan Burnett's run on the book had some decent issues mixed in there, but basically, this is probably the best issue of Superman/Batman yet.
Green opens up the issue with a parody of superhero films, as Batman and Superman are eavesdropping on a film version of their lives, and, of course, the film is making a mockery out of their characters (actually, one joke in particular fell WAY flat for me - the idea that the movie Batman got his inspiration from a baseball bat - it might be funny if you were saying that no one has ever seen Batman before - the ol' urban legend thing- in which case his costume could be made to look like a baseball bat-themed costume, but it is not - it is the regular Batman outfit, complete with bat-themed regalia, so it just does not make any sense that even a dumb screenwriter would give him a baseball bat inspired origin). It is definitely a cute scene, and what I was most impressed by was how Green added humor to the issue without having Batman and Superman suddenly making wisecracks. That would be out of character - but thrusting them INTO a comical situation is much different.
A villain shows up, using a very amusing scheme (kidnapping someone and ransoming him to, well, himself), and ends up hurting Superman when some Kryptonite on set explodes, sending jagged pieces of Kryptonite into Superman's face.
This leads to a great Justice League cameo, and gets to the main idea of this storyline - Batman and Superman decide that they are going to collect all the world's kryptonite and get rid of it.
Nice hook for an arc, no?
Green's previous comic work, his reworking of Joker's origin in Batman Confidential, was marked by a very dualistic tone - at times, he did some ridiculous work with future characters (his whole new origin for Joker was really quite disappointing - and the bit where Harley Quinn and Joker meet before he becomes Joker was a painful dialogue exchange), but the basic framework of the arc was quite strong - that the main villain was the Joker was unfortunate, but had it NOT been the Joker, it would have made for an interesting story - sadly, it was billed AS a Joker story, making it more of a Two-Face thing - one half good/on half ugly.
He most avoids this problem in this issue - I know some folks may take some issue with the Batman and Superman dialogue (while they're not acting like Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, they do make some jokes), I think it was fairly naturalistic, and just two guys reacting to absurd situations - if Superman showed up with an eye-patch, I don't think it's unreasonable for Batman to make a pirate joke, no?
Anyhow, Shane Davis and Matt Banning are clearly going for a Jim Lee style of art, and sometimes, it is dynamic and effective (particularly the action scenes), but other times, it comes off a bit haphazard and sketchy (then again, I guess that would describe Lee's work sometimes, too, no?). In the end, though, it's basically a solid job. It may not be adding a ton to the comic, but nor is it taking away from the comic - it lets Green's story stand on its own merits, basically, which is good, as Green's story is a good one.
Hopefully Green can keep it up. But if not, at least for this one issue...
Recommended.
- Posted on December 26, 2007 @ 04:17 PM
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13 Comments
T.
December 26, 2007 at 6:38 pm
since it was a good idea, i assume he cribbed it from somewhere else? anyone know from where?
Brian Cronin
December 27, 2007 at 1:21 am
Loeb has good ideas sometimes!
Heck, remember this installment of Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed where Elliot S! Maggin talks about how a young Jeph Loeb came out with the really cool "Must There Be a Superman?" story?
MarkPoa
December 27, 2007 at 6:53 am
Batman inspired by a bat... I wonder if this writer has seen Video Girl Ai or the recent Superman: Pure Brit Elseworlds. It's not an entirely new idea, but it got me curious.
suedenim
December 27, 2007 at 7:45 am
I think Loeb has *tons* of good ideas, and that's actually his greatest strength. Trouble is, his greatest weakness is putting those ideas into something that's both a good story and that fits in with the characters' larger storylines.
I once figured out my reason for having a love/hate relationship with Loeb; much of his stuff reads like a really cool Elseworlds story. Or like one of those stories where there's a really weird but kinda cool situation, and you don't find out until the end that it was all a dream or a simulation or Superman playing a convoluted Silver Age trick on his friends to teach them a vaguely-defined lesson....
Except with Loeb, you don't get that "punchline" - all the weird but sort of cool but out of character stuff "really happened!"
Thenodrin
December 27, 2007 at 8:02 am
I don't know if he cribbed it, but it did remind me of a certain West Coast Avengers filler issue.
Some guy captured the WCA back when they had like a dozen members, and had them fight a killer robot. Each time one of them defeated the robot, he rebuilt it with the capability to counter whatever defeated it. The plan was to make the robot unstoppable.
So, Tigra used her agility to throw it off a cliff, and it came back faster and more resiliant. Iron Man zapped it and it came back with the ability to absorb energy rather than be hurt by it. Etc.
Finally, the last Avenger was Moon Knight. And, being a normal guy with gadgets, he couldn't figure out what he was going to do. Then the spirit of the moon pointed out that the planet they'd been taken to had hundreds of moons orbiting it. He sucked up all of their energy to make himself more powerful than the rest of the Avengers combined and took the robot apart with his bare hands.
The other Avengers were shocked at his hidden power. Until the end of the issue. But, the moon-energy sucking power was never mentioned again so far as I can recall.
Theno
Bryan Levy
December 27, 2007 at 10:10 am
Theno-
Isn't that also the plot of the Incredibles? Without the whole moon sucking thing. I also agree that this is the best SM/BM issue yet. I was actually relieved, because until now I couldn't remember why I was geting it every month.
Anonymous
December 27, 2007 at 1:45 pm
My problem with this story is that they already gathered up all the Kryptonite earlier in the series. It's how Ted Kord had this huge amount that was later stolen by the Black Mask's minions and then ransomed by the Red Hood.
And in Up, Up, and Away, Luthor supposedly gathered all the green Kryponite.
T.
December 27, 2007 at 1:53 pm
Thenodrin-
It also reminds me of a gimmick on Dragonball Z called the Spirit Bomb. The hero Goku has a special attack that he uses as a last resort called the Spirit Bomb. Instead of just using his own chi or spirit to generate an attack, he tunes into the collective spirit and willpower of everyone on earth and uses the chi or spirit of the people of earth to generate a devastating energy attack. I don't know if Loeb has ever seen Dragonball Z, but that could be where he got it from too.
T.
December 27, 2007 at 1:54 pm
No, Loeb RECYCLES a ton of good ideas from other media, writers and old comics. As far as actually creating any good ideas himself, I only know of two: the one from the urban legend Brian just cited and the Uncle Sam as a Green Lantern. And of the latter I'm skeptical.
Bob
December 31, 2007 at 6:05 am
>>so it just does not make any sense that even a dumb screenwriter would give him a baseball bat inspired origin
Bob
December 31, 2007 at 6:09 am
>>so it just does not make any sense that even a dumb screenwriter would give him a baseball bat inspired origin
In a 1955 story titled "Fan-Mail of Danger" (Batman #92, reprinted in a 1966 Signet paperback), Batman and Robin are X-raying a package sent to them in care of the Gotham post office. Batman says, "It's all right! It's only a gift -- a huge stuffed bat!"
The X-ray screen shows the silhouette of a baseball bat. It seems that the artist, Sheldon Moldoff -- a man quite used to drawing Batman and all of his Bat-paraphernalia -- misunderstood the script.
X
January 5, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Michael and Company are off to a good start. I'd like them to introduce Lana Lang to this series at some point. Now that she is head of Lex Corp...they could tie that in with Wayne Industries/Lex Corp story...It would be cool seeing Bruce hit on Lana Lang. That would make Clark's blood boil. But it could also be a very good story if done well. I'm looking forward from more great storytelling from Michael.
Raymond
January 5, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Introducing Lana Lang into this series for a story arc might actually not be a bad idea. There was a lot of contention between Lex Corp and Wayne Industries and we saw some of it in the first Batman Confidential story arc w/ Lex Luthor. Even though Michael's working on the second Batman Confidential arc w/ Joker I'm sure he's familiar with it. Might not be bad at all. I could see Bruce fallen for a woman like Lana Lang and Clark not liking it one bit bc he's protective of Lana. He may also be harboring feelings for Lana as well but I'm sure DC wouldn't want to go there. Sometimes you have to think outside the box DC.