Superman/Batman

Superman 20-25

And here I thought the previous arc was bad.  With a Vengeance is the worst kind of comic for me.  Leaps of logic, characters I hate, deus ex Mxyzptlk, incomprehensibly boring story...this has it all.  Oh, the art by Ed McGuinness is great as usual, but this thing could have been painted by Theodore Gericault and I’d still hate it.  Okay, that’s not true. A comic by him would be amazing.

First non-TMNT painter I could think of.

Okay, having actually hated this, let’s see if it makes any more sense on recap.

Issue 20: Brainwashed Batman and Superman from the last storyline teleport to a world protected by the Maximums, carbon copies of the Avengers.  There’s a fight and Giant-Man analog gets killed. Bizarro and Batzarro show up. I can’t begin to explain how much I hate reading their opposite speak.  Are they supposed to be funny? Because they completely fail at it. Captain Atom returns after supposedly sacrificing himself back in the title’s original arc.

Issue 21: Great McGuinness cover.  I love the contrasting verticality of the capes.

Ghost Rider-clone shows up for no real reason.  The Maximums, thinking that Superman and Batman are still evil, capture both them and a mysterious box that Bruce is in possession of.  

Issue 22: Turns out Batman’s learned to speak Kryptonese, and it’s his secret language w/ Superman.  So cute.

They break out, but Batman gets recaptured and possessed by...Kryptonite Man? I think? Bizarro pops up in Red Son Superman’s universe.  Batzarro somehow gets transported to Batman Beyond world. I have no idea why, and I don’t care.

Issue 23: Kryptonite Batman fight Superman.  Iron Man Maximum assists Superman in exorcising Kryptonite Man out of Bruce.  Bizarro teleports out of Batman Beyond world, rescues Superman and Batman, then finds himself on a world of Supergirls.  Batman appears in a gender swapped DC universe. Superman pulls Darkseid out of the Source Wall because of a called in favor.  This is all as abrupt and disjointed as it sounds. Mxy and Joker are revealed to be the masterminds behind this because this wasn’t stupid enough.

Issue 24: Darkseid thanks Superman by throwing him into the Source Wall.  Joker summons the Maximums to some random place. Batman appears with the gender swapped heroes.  Fighting starts. Joker shoots Batzarro in the chest.

Issue 25: Supergirls pull Superman out of the Source Wall.  Superman fusions with Batman to fight a gestalt Maximum. Batmite shows up.  Everyone stands around and talks. The end. Seriously. This is a completely piece of shit.  This exercise did not make it any better. The contrast between the awesome first half of Loeb’s run and the second half couldn’t be starker.  

Regret buying? Yes

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Hated.  Cutting.