DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERMAN/BATMAN #68

The Big Noise, Part 1:  Rumble Face

March 2010

Written by Joe Casey

Pencils by Ardian Syaf

Inks by Vicente Cifuentes

Cover by Ardian Syaf

Synopsis

In the Himalayas, Anderson Gaines discovers space debris at the top of the mountain.  Six months later, Batman apprehends Death-Man.  Superman then appears and wants to discuss the discovery they made of the Kryptonian ship, which now orbits the moon.  Batman tells him they need to find the escape pod that had been discharged, especially given the war that just ended, they don’t need alien tech on Earth.  Later, Clark Kent and Jimmy Olsen are at STAR Labs to write a story on Garrison Slate.  As they talk to Slate, they meet Gaines.  When Clark and Gaines shake hands, Gaines sensing something about him.  In the batcave, Batman examines the DNA sample from the Kryptonian ship and realizes it belongs to a shapeshifter.  In Metropolis, Clark Kent is attacked at the Daily Planet by NRG-X, who was hired to assassinate Clark.  However, Superman appears to inform NRG-X that it is now the two of them.  

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

NRG-X = Nuclear Radiation Generator, Experimental

Overall, this issue was a mixed bag, but I think there was more that I liked that I didn’t like.  This entire issue was the set-up to the story, putting the various pieces on the proverbial chess board for the plot elements.  In that regard, this is a very good issue.  Not only do we get the plot information that we need, but Casey makes sure to spend some time with the characters, giving the scenes some depth.  I loved the fact that we see Clark Kent on the job as a journalist and we see Batman in the batcave working on the mystery.  We also see the duo together, their combative nature coming through.  Casey doesn’t rush the story; he takes the time he needs to get the set-up he wants.  The problem is that some of the material doesn’t quite work, specifically the silliness of the Death-Man idea (ooh, a villain with the powers of a possum!) and the ridiculous exposition NRG-X spouts as he attacks Clark Kent.  And when does someone financially backing STAR Labs not want to be in the press and if he didn’t want press, why would he interrupt the interview by showing himself (a simple call to get Slate away would do the trick).  Anyway, these few problems don’t bring down the issues completely, so I am eager to see where Casey takes this story. 

What does this have to do with “Our Worlds At War” (an event from 2001)?  Other than a few comments about the recently finished war, there doesn’t seem to be anything specific to the war.  Is the thing Gaines found at the beginning related to Imperiex?  Or debris from the space war?  Based on the story, the best guess is that Gaines found the Kryptonian space ship.  The “Gaines” that shook hands with Clark is most likely the shapeshifter, which explains why he recognizes Clark as being Kryptonian.  So where does this leave the “Our Worlds At War” story, which wasn’t explained except to mention that there had been a war. 

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