DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERMAN/BATMAN #30

The Enemies Among Us, Part 3

November 2006

Written by Mark Verheiden

Pencils by Ethan Van Sciver

Inks by Ethan Van Sciver

Cover by Ethan Van Sciver

Synopsis

After Hal Jordan fails to kill Superman and Batman when he recognizes his ring has overtaken his willpower, Kilowog arrives on Earth to finish the job.  Kilowog attempts to show Superman how much of an alien he really is.  Superman refuses to hear and flies Kilowog into space where the two battle each other.  Batman returns to the batcave to find Superman, but instead gets a message to meet with Lex Luthor, who tells Batman that some of the strange of occurrences are due to a nearby star.  Luthor then states that Superman has an item that might help understand what is going.  So, with the hel pof Plastic Man, Batman heads out to Fortress of Solitude.  When they get there, they are attacked by Starfire, but Batman instantly recognizes it is not her.  While Batman distracts her, Plastic Man is able to get the item...the Blackrock, which now has posses of him.  Meanwhile, Superman realizes he is not human and that Earth belongs to anyone with the strength to take it.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

Well, that ending just came out of nowhere and makes very little sense.  In the previous issues, weren’t the shape shifter or whatever it was trying to kill Superman and Batman?  And now they want Superman to take over the world? And what exactly prompted Superman to take such an abrupt about face?  There was nothing in Kilowog’s speeches that would push SUperman over the edge, unless he is being mind controlled like the others, but there is nothing in the story to suggest that.  I suppose the ending might be a bit of subterfuge on Supes part as an attempt to lure the mastermind behind everything to reveal itself, but if true, we won’t learn that until next issue.  So as it stands, we have an ending that comes out of nowhere. 

The rest of the story is not that bad, as Verheiden finally reveals the plot, or at least reveals a plot since it is difficult to know if Luthor is being honest or not.  Of course, I really doubt that Batman would even got to visit Luthor, let alone agree that Luthor is correct about the star.  It just seems that Batman was too quick to follow Luthor’s lead.  Batman’s actions are more in service to the plot than to how his character is supposed to act.  The same could be said for Plastic Man’s appearance, which also doesn’t quite make sense (even if he is a reformed criminal, he still is considered a hero and hence someone who would not be in regular contact with Luthor).  I hope there is a reason why it is Plastic Man and not some other hero or villain. 

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