DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERMAN/BATMAN #67

Night Of The Cure, Part 2

February 2010

Written by Scott Kolins

Pencils by Scott Kolins

Inks by Scott Kolins

Cover by Scott Kolins

Synopsis

One hour before…Bizarro searches for his friend.  Now… Black Lantern Solomon Grundy attacks Bizarro.  Frankenstein of SHADE jumps into the fight.  Meanwhile, Francine Langstrom tries to convince her husband Kirk Langstrom (aka Man-Bat) to take the serum that will make him human once more.  Just as he takes the serum and becomes human, bullets from SHADE soldiers ricochet off Bizarro and hit Francine.  His wife dead, he turns into Man-Bat again.  Just then, Grundy tears the heart from Frankenstein’s chest.  When Bizarro sees the Bride sad, he is reminded of Lois.  Bizarro grabs Grundy and flies into space, tossing Grundy into the sun.  On Earth, Frankenstein still lives as he has two hearts and the other one is still beating.  Man-Bat flies away in grief, although Francine is still living. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

Overall, I liked this issue.  Kolins is a good artist and draws action scenes very well; the flow and the pace of the issue is perfect for the hectic action.  And he put together a touching and fitting end to the Solomon Grundy storyline that also fit well into the Blackest Night tie-in.  Granted, it is not entirely a success, but I liked it.

The first several pages of the issue was superfluous and it didn’t add to the overall story.  Part of it is that I didn’t really understand what was going (thanks in part to the opposite speech).  Part of it is that it simply leads up to the cliffhanger from the previous issue.  I suppose Kolins stepped back in time to show Bizarro’s loneliness and need for a friend so that the ending has a bigger impact, but I thought the previous issue did that well enough. 

What, exactly, was Man-Bat doing as part of this story?  The cynical side of me thinks Man-Bat was added to simply to keep the Superman/Batman connection so it could be published in this book.  Otherwise, what was the point?  There was nothing in this issue that had any impact, whatsoever, on the main plot featuring Grundy and Bizarro.  Plus, there have been numerous other stories featuring Francine and Kirk seeking a cure, so that particular angle is nothing new. 

Does the fact that Frankenstein have two hearts been established before or is this something that Kolins added as part of the story?  It is one of those moments where you immediately scoff because it feels like a deus ex machina retcon by the writer so he can write the ending he wants without compromising the integrity of the character.  But, Frankenstein was resurrected (so to speak) by Grant Morrison in the Seven Soldiers of Victory mini-series and who the hell knows what Morrison did with the character.

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.