DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERMAN/BATMAN #58

Nanopolis, Part Two

early June 2009

Written by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning and Mike Johnson

Pencils by Whilce Portacio

Inks by Richard Friend

Covers by Whilce Portacio and Richard Friend

Synopsis

The Prankster has shrunk Superman down to microscopic size.  Batman has captured the Prankster, but realizes he needs to follow the Man of Steel.  In a specially-designed vehicle, Batman reaches microscopic level, but crashes the ship.  Elsewhere, Superman is attacked by the nanobots set loose by the Prankster.  He loses the fight.  Meanwhile, Batman awakens to find himself being taken away by a group of strange creatures.  They take him back to their home, where they tell Batman how the nanobots destroyed their home.  It has been prophesized that one would come to help them reclaim their world.  That one is Batman.  A similar story is told by the nanobots by Superman, except is the one who will them gain more power and grow large enough to reach the human level of existence.  Later, Batman leads an attack on the nanobots.  When he reaches the city, he encounters Superman, who powers are out of control thanks to the nanobots.  

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I want to like this story; there is a lot to like about it, but there is something that just doesn’t quite work for me.  For all of the inventiveness of the microverse and the characters that inhabit that world, Abnett and Lanning have still managed to create a story that feels derivative of other stories. 

I like the idea of Superman and Batman finding two different races in different places with different ideologies within the microverse.  Both of these races are waiting for someone to fulfill their destiny, but they have different outcomes in mind for that destiny when they finally contact that someone.  Plus, the concept of time and the way it moves quickly and is a threat to the Dynamic Duo above and beyond the creatures is a great idea and I like the way it plays out.  Yet, there is something unsettling reading a story featuring Superman and Batman in a plot and setting that would normally feature the Atom.  Essentially, the story boils down to Atom-like plots, in which he would shrink down to size and find strange new worlds.  I am also a little disappointed in the ending, in which we see (yet again) Superman fighting Batman.  It is an overused plot idea that lacks any sort of excitement or zeal. 

Even though I complained about the art in the last issue, I do have to say that down at the microscopic level, Portacio’s art makes the world such a different, vibrant place.  It’s different, it’s odd looking, and I think is a good match for the story.  His style of the creatures gives them a definite alien quality to them.  However, the renderings of Batman and Superman still don’t look right to me.

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