DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERMAN/BATMAN #35

Metal Men, Part 2:  B.I.

July 2007

Written by Mark Verheiden and Marc Guggenheim

Pencils by Pat Lee

Inks by Craig Yeung

Cover by Pat Lee and Craig Yeung

Synopsis

Superman and Batman have just captured Dr. Magnus and the Metal Men after attempted to break into WayneTech Research Center.  Magnus, however, informs the dynamic duo that the Metal Men are actually negotiating with Lucius Fox to take over the security for the facility, a fact which Fox affirms is true.  At Blackgate Penitentiary, Superman questions Metallo on what he tried to steal from WayneTech. Metallo doesn’t and suggests his mind had been control.  Superman uses his x-ray vision and finds something in Metallo’s brain.  When Batman investigates, he finds that Brainiac had been in control, remotely, of Metallo’s brain.  The duo then head out to a space satellite to find the origin of Brainiac’s control and instead find a holographic projection of Brainiac.  Superman attacks it, but during the fight Batman’s space suit is damaged.  Superman grabs Batman to take him back to Earth, but Batman says they’ve got bigger problems.  Meanwhile, at WayneTech, the Metal Men become possessed by Brainiac and begin to take out the guards in search of something connected to the OMAC Project.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I really, really wanted to toss this comic into the trash bin after reading the first two pages.  Do you mean to tell me that the set-up in the previous issue was simply a training exercise to see if the Metal Men were right for the job?  I actually don’t mind that it was done, what bothers me is that it was used as a cliffhanger, leaving me waiting to find out if the Metal Men were truly evil or not.  That type of bait and switch is fine if it happens within a single issue, but spread across two issues, it becomes annoying.  A lot of people were upset at the way the Metal Men were portrayed and that portrayal came directly from the final sequence.  Based on those final pages, I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t bother to pick up the next issue because they didn’t care for the way the Metal Men were being characterized and I wouldn’t blame anyone. 

As for the rest of the issue, it was good.  A lot of it was just putting the characters through the plot points to get to the cliffhanger.  I am not sure I liked the way Superman was characterized; his attack of Brainiac occurred way too quickly for me.  Earl in the issue Metallo indicated what would happen if Superman got too close, then later Superman carries Metallo to the batcave and stands nearby while Batman examines him.  I also didn’t like the fact that Superman took Batman to a hospital.  Shouldn’t he be taking him to the batcave where Alfred can take care of him? 

I have no idea who wrote what, but based on what I know of Mark Verhedien and Marc Guggenheim, I would hazard a guess and say the funny bits and pieces were Guggeheim’s contributions.  It has the same style and flavor currently seen in the Flash book that Guggenheim has been writing.  Regardless who was responsible, the humor helps this issue.

ïPREVIOUS	Main		Page	NEXTð

Home ●  Blog ● Who Are We? ● Site News
Alive and Well since April 16, 2006

 DC Universe Reviews.  All Rights Reserved
  Characters, trademarks, brands are property of DC Comics

For problems or questions regarding this website, please contact our kindly webmaster.
Last updated: 08/06/11.