DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERMAN/BATMAN #23

With A Vengeance, Chapter Four:  Smoke and Mirrors

November 2005

Written by Jeph Loeb

Pencils by Ed McGuinness

Inks by Dexter Vines

Cover by Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines

Synopsis

The Kryptonite Batman escapes from Bowman and attacks Superman.  Elsewhere, Bizarro escapes from the Red Son batman and Batzarro escapes from Batman Beyond.  In his battle with Kryptonite Batman, Superman is knocked to the ground, landing near Robot.  When the Kryptonite Batman arrives to continue the fight, Superman locks him inside Robot’s steel encasing.  This enables Batman to free himself.  Seconds later, Bizarro and Batzarro appear and rescue the World’s Finest.  During the escape, however, Batzarro falls to the ground at the feet of the Maximums.  Later, Bizarro visits Supergirl and gets a punch to the jaw.  Batman is in Gotham City and encounters Batwoman and Superwoman.  Superman arrives in Apokolips, where Metron greets him and takes the man of steel to the source wall.  Darkseid wants to be freed.  Elsewhere, Joker and Mxyzptlk argue over the rules of the game.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

“If I wasn’t already dead, I’d giggle myself to death.”

If there was ever a moment that could, just possibly, salvage a story to which I am slowly losing interest, it is the final page of this issue.  I say almost because there are bits and pieces that I still don’t like, no matter how much Loeb may try.  I don’t like the inclusion of Bizarro or Batzarro and the in-joke with the Maximums has lost its humor.  Yet, seeing the Joker and Mxyzptlk playing a game featuring all of the characters actually got a grin out of me; I liked the fact that all of the actions and events haven been coordinated (or least contested) between the two.  Put into this context, the weirdness of these past few issues now, well don’t make sense, but at least don’t seem so weird. 

Loeb is more interested in shocking surprises and over-the-top encounters that he has totally forgotten there needs to be a good story and decent characters to care about.  The little bits and pieces of Hornet and robot questioning the Maximums or wondering about Superman and Batman bubble underneath and might be a worthy story, if Lobe was concerned about that.  At the moment he as abandoned the notion of guilt and vengeance (or a story) and just gone for whatever cool thing he can think of next:  Bizarro and Supergirl!  In a towel!  She hits him.  Yeah, that’s sooo cool.  (Not).  Loeb introduces Red Son and Batman Beyond, but does nothing with it, other than to introduce them.  The Kryptonite Batman was a cool, but fell flat within pages.  Yet, the Maximums and the one-note joke still hangs around for several issues.  I just don’t get it. 

It is interesting to note that the Batman Beyond character was called Tim in what I would assume would be a reference to the current Robin, Tim Drake, rather than the cartoon character of Terry McGinnis.  I wonder if Loeb intended it to be Terry but was told to change it (or they changed it for him).

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