DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERMAN/BATMAN #17

Absolute Power, Part 4:  A World Without Batman

March 2005

Written by Jeph Loeb

Pencils by Carlos Pacheco

Inks by Jesus Merino

Cover by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino

Synopsis

Everything is wrong.  Superman and Batman were given the chance to return their origins back to normal after Lightning Lord, Cosmic King, and Saturn Queen had completely changed it.  Batman, however, took the chance to save his parents and as a result, Batman never existed.  Superman jumps to the future and is immediately attacked by the military.  He finds in is in a world in which Ra’s al Ghul is the leader and all superheroes have been killed.  Disguised as Clark Kent, he visits Bruce Wayne.  He convinces Bruce to return to Crime Alley, hoping to jog his memory.  It works.  The two suit up and invade Ra’s home, hoping his death will reset the timeline.  When they get there, they find Ra’s has been joined by Lightning Lord, Cosmic King, and Saturn Queen.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

In some ways predictable.  In some ways annoying.  And in some ways very intriguing.  Still, this storyline is still interesting and I am curious to see how the timeline (as we know it) is reset.

The story was predictable because I don’t think Loeb had too many options.  In a world without Batman, as the story tells us, there are not too many options in which to depict Bruce Wayne.  So, we get the happy and content Bruce Wayne with the obligatory monologue from Superman about his regret at taking away from Bruce what he always wanted. 

The story was annoying because I think the better choice of character to follow would have been Bruce Wayne.  I think the issue would have had a bigger emotional impact when Batman goes back to the scene of the robbery if we knew more about him and more about his life.  I think this is especially true of his relationship with his father, which we have not seen, other than in flashbacks.  What kind of relationship would they have had if Bruce had grown to be a man?  Since Bruce is an adult in this story, and still living at home and not doing much, I wonder how his father, a doctor, would have taken to his lazy son. 

The story was intriguing for the beginning with the military (and Sgt. Rock, like Jonah Hex, another DC character who is out of the DC time loop) coming to defeat the “cape.”  I loved Batman’s decision to resurrect the dead heroes with Ra’s Lazarus Pit.  Brilliant Move.  And although the ending was somewhat predictable, I still liked how it all came together.  Plus, is that a Kryptonite sword he is wielding.  I was a little disappointed that Ra’s had help, but I still liked that he was able to fulfill his vision. 

Finally, in the previous issue, Superman made sure the Kents found the baby before they visited the Waynes.  So exactly where did Superman and/or Clark Kent go in this timeline?

 

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