Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Carlos Pacheco
I recently decided to start collecting the Superman/Batman series in trades, with this being the third that I've read/reviewed. So far I have been very excited over the series, and it has shown Jeph Loeb at his best, with really unique and interesting stories.
Plot
When Superman and Batman's timeline is changed by a group from the future they turn into tyrants who rule the world, taking out any cape or superhero standing in their way.
Review
This was a disappointing story, as although I didn't expect Jeph Loeb to keep the level of quality of the previous volumes forever, I never expected the quality to drop this far. Now before I go any further the story isn't terrible, as it was very interesting, with a brilliant concept. At the same time I don't think the concept was executed right, as it just didn't feel right to me, feeling too false and a bit forced. Loeb did however do a good job of keeping the suspense and drama up in the story, with the diversity throughout the story grabbing my attention. Loeb also added some brilliant twists to the story's development, though at the end of the day the story just didn't appeal to me, as although it showed Loeb's great imagination and brilliant storytelling abilities, there was just something about it that didn't feel right, which ruined the story as a whole.
The artwork on this story however was brilliant, as although it wasn't on the same level as Ed McGuinness or Michael Turner's brilliant artwork from the last two volumes, it was still amazing, and Carlos Pacheco did a spectacular job. The detail in Pacheco's art was also fantastic, being very smooth and consistent throughout. I also really enjoyed Pacheco's layouts, as although nothing extraordinary, they did manage to add a lot of depth and tone to the story, also making it more dramatic. On top of that I also loved the way that Pacheco drew all the characters, as he did most of them justice, showing their emotions and facial expressions perfectly. I didn't however enjoy his drawings of Darkseid, as he didn't look quite as powerful as he's meant to. Pacheco did however make up for this by doing a fantastic job of showing the carnage and action throughout, adding a lot of excitement to the story.
The main focus of this story would show Superman and Batman's origins being changed by time travellers, resulting in them being brought up to be tyrants. Now I have to say that I had a hard time getting used to seeing Superman and Batman as villains, as although Loeb has thought of a brilliant way of making them this, I personally can't get the idea that this is wrong out of my head. I did however find it interesting to see them like this, and especially due to them no longer holding back. I didn't however enjoy the brotherly bond that they made due to this, as it seemed a bit forced, and once again didn't feel right, as although they've always had a strong friendship, this took it slightly too far in my opinion.
The time travellers who would come up with this plan would be none other than Cosmic King, Lightning Lord, and Saturn Queen from the Legion of Super-Villains. I loved the fact that these three were behind the change in time, as due to all the appearances from the Legion of Super-Heroes appearances over the years, it's nice to see their villainous counterparts take the centre stage. I also loved the mysteriousness behind these characters at the start, as it would add even more suspense to the story, also helping to add to the atmosphere. I would however have liked them to have had a more active role in the story, as although it made sense for them to work from the background, it would have been nice to have seen more action from them, though the action we got was amazing.
The main them of this story would be time altering, and time travel. I'm usually sceptical about time travel stories, as although when done right they make for brilliant and exciting tales, when done wrong they can be horrendous. The time travel in this volume probably falls somewhere in between, as although there was a lot about it that I didn't like, there was stuff that I did. The thing that I personally enjoyed most about the time travel in this story was the constant change in attitude for certain characters, as although as I said I didn't like the initial changes made to Superman and Batman, I did like some of the later changes, as well as the changes to other characters, and overall it was built-up very well.
The thing that I loved most about this story had to be all the characters that made cameo appearances, as due to all the time travel, and changes in the time line it allowed for some characters that you'd never expect to see in a Superman/Batman story, such as Jonah Hex and Sgt. Rock. The other characters who I enjoyed seeing in this story included Uncle Sam, Green Arrow, a slightly changed Wonder Woman, Darkseid and more. Apart from these appearances I also enjoyed how these alternative versions of Superman and Batman reacted to some of these characters, as well as how the characters reacted to them, with there being some very entertaining encounters.
Final Verdict
Though nowhere near the same level as the previous two Superman/Batman volumes, this was still an interesting story, as although it didn't appeal to me too much, it had a very interesting concept, with some brilliant character interaction, and a lot of excitement. It also had some nice cameo appearances, but I did feel that this was not a successful time travelling issue. Due to this I'd probably barely recommend this to people, and especially if you are a fan of Pacheco's artwork, though I would stress that this is nowhere near as good as the previous two volumes, and that you may be disappointed.
Rating: 6/10
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Michael Turner
This has been a series that I've been meaning to read for a while now. I have however rectified that having read and reviewed the first volume, and have now moved onto the second, eventually hoping to make my way through the entire series of trades.
Plot
When Batman finds a spaceship at the bottom of the Gotham Bay a mysterious and frightened young girl starts tearing up Gotham City. She is soon stopped by Batman and Superman, and it is soon revealed that she is Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El, though Batman has suspicions over whether she is who she says she is.
Review
This was a phenomenal story, and although there isn't much between this and Public Enemies I'd probably say that this was ever so slightly better. Jeph Loeb did an amazing job of continuing from the high level of excitement that he produced in Public Enemies, giving us yet another very unique and exciting story that tied in brilliantly with the events of Public Enemies, whilst also making it very new reader friendly. Loeb also did a great job of the character development in this story, as due to the nature of the story we'd see some conflict between the characters involved, which added a lot of depth and tone to the story. The story would also have brilliant suspense and drama throughout, with some mystery as well, all off which was balanced perfectly by Loeb. On top of all this Loeb also managed to give some fantastic dialogue, as well as some amazing action, with both adding a lot more excitement, as well as atmosphere to the story.
The art on this volume was also extraordinary, and the late great Michael Turner did a brilliant job, with this being amongst the best interior work that I've ever seen from him. The thing that makes Turner's art so great however has to be the tremendous detail that he puts into it, as although there are a lot of artists who produce phenomenally detailed work, there aren't many on the same level as Turner, which makes his passing a few years ago sadder. Besides that Turner also does a tremendous job with the layouts in this story, showing great storytelling techniques like he usually does, adding much more depth and tone to the story. Turner also did an excellent job of showing the characters emotions and reactions, and due to this he'd make the story come to life, adding yet more depth and tone. On top of all that Turner did a fantastic job of the fight sequences, showing the shear power and tactical skills of these characters perfectly.
The main development in this volume would be re-introducing Kara Zor-El, who's better known as Supergirl to the DC Universe following the changes Crisis on Infinite Earths would make. It was nice reading this new origin story for Supergirl, as although I know her history and origin fairly well, I have never actually read any of the stories that show it. I also loved how this version felt very modern as well, as apart from the origin being very close to the original, Loeb and Turner managed to make it a bit sleeker and interesting. On top of this I really enjoyed seeing how Kara reacted to this new world, as well as the fact that the infant cousin who she was meant to look after was all grown up. On top of all that the argument between Superman and Batman over whether to trust her or not was also very interesting.
This story would also feature Wonder Woman, and although I always question the addition of equally high profile characters to other series, I felt that Wonder Woman's appearance in this story was brilliant, and really helped to add more diversity and excitement, giving a woman's perspective on this superhuman girl. It was also very interesting to see Kara training with the Amazon's, and overall this was a very entertaining addition to the story. I also loved the interaction between both Superman and Wonder Woman over the situation, showing just how protective Superman has become about his cousin.
Whilst on Paradise Island there would be an attack from a bunch of Doomsday clones who have been sent by Darkseid using a boom tube. Now Doomsday is one of the most challenging Superman characters to write, and a lot of writers haven't used him properly, and I question whether Loeb has done so here. I say that as this isn't the best outing for Doomsday, and to be honest he isn't used properly. At the same time however this idea of multiple clones of Doomsday was very interesting, and overall allowed a development point to unfold perfectly. It is however a bit of a shame that the character wasn't shown tue justice, and was downgraded to a plot device.
Talking of Darkseid he would also make an appearance in this story, as following his background mention in Public Enemies the arrival of Kara draws his attention. Loeb utilised Darkseid perfectly in this story, doing everything that I hoped he would and more. I especially loved how the initial encounter with Darkseid that it isn't Superman who squares of against the ruler of Apokolips, and Loeb handed this encounter perfectly, with it being very clever and very suspenseful. I also loved seeing Apokolips itself, as well as Female Furies, with Turner drawing this outstanding setting perfectly, and Loeb using it to the advantage of the story, with some of the sequences involving Dakseid or Apokolips being very intense and exciting.
Final Verdict
This was a fantastic story and matches Public Enemies on quality level, possibly even beating it. The story was full of mystery and drama, with great emotion and suspense, with this being amongst the better stories from Loeb. This would also feature some phenomenal artwork from the late great Michael Turner, showing one of the reasons why this highly talented man is missed. Due to all this I'd highly recommend this story, and if you enjoyed Public Enemies then you're bound to love this as well.
Rating: 10/10
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Ed McGuinness
This is a series that I've been meaning to read for some time now, as with both Batman and Superman being two of my most favourite comic book characters, as well as the fact that I've loved Jeph Loeb's work on both characters it has been something that I've always wanted to try. Having also loved the animated films based on the first two volumes of this series I also wanted to see how close they were to their source material.
Plot
As Batman and Superman work together on the same case, President Lex Luthor puts a billion dollar bounty on Superman's head, blaming him for the Kryptonite asteroid that is heading for Earth.
Review
This was a fantastic story, and I'm very happy that I've finally gotten round to reading it. Jeph Loeb does a fantastic job of bringing these two characters together in a story that was both extremely exciting and entertaining. Loeb also does a great job of balancing the story between both characters, as although the plot itself is more focused towards Superman, Loeb doesn't forget about Batman, allowing him to shine just as much as Superman, making the title very appropriate, rather than just a selling point. Loeb would also do a great job of making this story diverse, as it started very with a very different tone than it ended with, as although everything knitted together perfectly, it was a constant change in pace and tone, which kept the story constantly fresh. The story also had some wonderful dialogue, and especially between Batman and Superman, as their conversations were very deep and dramatic.
The art in this story was also outstanding, though I'd have expected nothing else coming from Ed McGuinness. McGuinness drew both Superman and Batman perfectly, as as you would expect he managed to make Superman look the powerhouse that he is, but besides that he also handled the brooding dark demeanour of Batman perfectly as well. The layout of McGuinness' artwork was also very dramatic and dynamic adding a lot of depth to the story as well making the story that much more exciting. McGuinness also did a fantastic job at showing the characters emotions throughout this story, helping make the story that much more realistic, and dramatic. McGuinness also did a brilliant job with the action sequences with them being very exciting. The artwork from Tim Sale on the When Clark Met Bruce short story at the start of the book was also fantastic being very charming and emotional as usual.
Superman and Batman would come together in this story as in following Metallo to Gotham City both characters would become involved in the same case. Now I already said how good a job Loeb did of bringing these two characters together as well as balancing the two, but story wise the two characters went together perfectly, as Loeb managed to find a development point that would bring both characters realistically to the same place, giving them the same goal, then developing from that. The interaction between Superman and Batman in this story was also fantastic, and it's easy to tell that these are two characters that have been friends for many years.
The key threat in this story would be a large asteroid made out of Kryptonite that is heading towards the Earth. Now I felt that this was a brilliant way of adding excitement to this story, as although we've had plenty of Superman related stories that have involved Kryptonite, none quite as unique as this, as besides the affects of the Kryptonite itself, the fact that it's an asteroid creates a big enough threat as well. This would also land up being a brilliant catalyst, allowing one of the the most interesting developments that I've seen in a story, which would bring a lot of excitement with it.
This development would be President Luthor putting a billion dollar bounty on Superman, blaming him for the coming asteroid. Now the reason this would add a lot of excitement would be because of the amount of characters that would come with it, with a huge selection of villains, as well as some government heroes gunning for Superman. This would thus bring some amazing action that was not only exciting, but very explosive and entertaining, keeping me as a reader firmly gripped to the story. I also loved the way that Batman and Superman would work as a team through this, showing how quick both characters are at adapting to the foe in question, as well as showing just how different their fighting styles are.
Although this story had many villains in it Luthor would still firmly be the main villain, using his position of President to it's full advantage. Now it's no surprise that Luthor wants rid of Superman, and was probably just biding his time since becoming President to finding the perfect excuse for going after the Man of Steel. What I loved most about Luthor's appearance in this story was that he was very calm and collected when it came to justifying himself, whereas deep down it was obvious that this was more of a personal vendetta. I also loved the transformation that we'd see in Luthor throughout this story, and his interactions with Amanda Waller were extremely interesting, and at times also very entertaining.
Final Verdict
This was a fantastic story that balanced both title characters perfectly. It also was very dramatic and exciting, having some wonderful development points throughout. The story was also very exciting with plenty of suspense throughout, also being slightly mysterious at times. The character interaction and overall tone and atmosphere was also brilliant making this a hit on ever mark. Due to this it's very easy to recommend this, and I will certainly be reading more from this series soon.
Rating: 10/10
