DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERMAN/BATMAN #3

The World's Finest, Part Three:  Running Wild

December 2003

Written by Jeph Loeb

Pencils by Ed McGuinness

Inks by Dexter Vines

Cover by Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines

Synopsis

A Kryptonite meteor is hurtling towards Earth.  President Lex Luthor claims it is Superman’s fault and offers a billion dollars to anyone who can bring him to the authorities.  While Lois Lane interviews Luthor on television, Superman and Batman head towards the capital, hoping to confront Luthor on live tv.  However, their path is blocked by a variety of villains looking to collect the bounty.  Eventually the villains are scattered by the arrival of Captain Atom and an assortment of other heroes.  But they have not been saved, since they have come to take Superman and Batman to their boss...Lex Luthor. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

So we have two of DC’s biggest icons fighting it out with some of the DC’s biggest and coolest (and in the case of Mister Freeze at all, really cool) villains.  And somehow it was not exciting.  Part of that lays with the narration boxes but part of the lays with McGuinness’ art, which somehow manages to not make the action all that exciting.  We get a one-punch showdown between Lady Shiva and Batman?  How lame is that?  And, by the way, why wouldn’t the rest of the JLA jump into the fight to help them?  Are you telling me Wonder Woman would just sit back and watch?  I think the idea of setting villains on Superman and Batman is good, but Loeb went too much over the top to make it effective.  If he had limited himself to a couple of villains, it might have worked. 

This is the first time I can honestly say I did not like the alternating narrative boxes.  If the first two issues I thought these worked very well to add to the “what was going on” in the issue.  Since this issue was essentially one large fight, the narrative boxes tended to actually break-up the fight sequences, making the reading a choppy affair.  A lot of that has to do with the fact that these narrative boxes are not so much thought processes during the scene, but almost like two actors commenting on the movie they made for the special edition DVD.  It has become annoying.  I don’t mind narrative boxes and I certainly like the way Loeb has sued them in past issues, but when there is action I want to see action, not comments about Superman being like a God. 

I liked the interview between Lane and Luthor.  I liked the way he ducked and dodged the question and how Lane refused to let him back out of it so that when he finally answered it was in the form of evidence that he could not, at this time, provide to the American public.  I mean, this is brilliant.  I can see it now, “Yes, your honor, he’s guilty and I have the proof but I can’t show to you, you’ll have to trust me.”