Batman/Superman #3 // Review
Sometimes you want something deep and meaningful. Sometimes you want a popcorn movie. Batman/Superman #3 is the latter.
In this issue, Superman’s plan to infect himself with the Batman Who Laughs’ serum to find out who the other infected heroes are is only marginally successful. It does lead to Batman’s discovery of and confrontation with the compromised Commissioner Gordon. Batman and Superman make a terrible mistake and find themselves face to face with another of the corrupted heroes.
Joshua Williamson’s writing this issue is solid. Superman and Batman’s characters and relationships are so well-defined at this point that all Williamson has to do to get them right is color within the lines, so to speak, and he delivers in that respect. Some of the Batman Who Laughs’ behaviors and ideas are a bit shallow and cliche, however. A moment, in the end, tying the story into the events of Justice League seems tacked on and superfluous (as it has in most of DC’s comics this month, honestly).
Artist David Marquez was simply born to draw Superman. His Man of Steel is powerful and heroic--at least when not under the influence of the Batman Who Laughs’ toxin. His corrupted Superman is appropriately terrifying and twisted, as well. An action sequence as Batman and Superman find themselves in combat with Gordon’s “Rookie” mech in the streets with Gotham is kinetic and thrilling, and a moment where Superman destroys the mech with his freeze breath is gorgeously colored by Alejandro Sanchez. John J. Hill’s lettering is solid, though the Batman Who Laughs’ black and red dialogue bubbles continue to be unnecessarily difficult to read.
Batman/Superman #3 is not a deep comic. It doesn’t say anything new about the characters or reinvent the superhero genre. What it is, though, is a fun ride, with spectacle galore and a story that’s essential to the big metastory of the DC Universe right now.
