The Batman and Superman team-up is one of the great comic team-ups, so we here at ComicsXF are honoring that tradition by taking part of our Bat Chat team and part of our Super Chat team and having them join together to review the first issue of the new era of Batman and Superman team-ups in Batman/Superman #16, written by Gene Luen Yang, drawn by Ivan Reis, inked by Danny Miki, colored by Sabine Rich and lettered by Saida Temofonte.
Justin Partridge: Itâs ComicsXFâs Finest! Together for the first time!
When we first started talking about Super Chat, one of my main goals was to one day find a way for our teams to cross over and talk about something! And lo and behold, we got maybe one of the single best issues of Detective Comics Comics Iâve read all year?!
Thatâs the spice of life, superbabies! I am way jazzed about it.
Matthew Lazorwitz: Me too! And Iâm glad this crossover begins with such an interesting issue. I love experiments with form like this, when the experiment isnât some intellectual exercise but actually informs what is happening in the book.
Enter … The Bat-Man!Â
ML: So, let’s take each of these narratives separately, and then weâll talk about how it plays as one story, shall we, Justin? Since this is set as two separate stories, bordered by what is meant to look like film, until the end anyway, Iâm curious: Have you ever actually seen either of the Batman film serials from the â40s?
JP: Weirdly enough, I have! They are ⌠very odd.
In the lead-up to I think Dark Knight Rises, I remember them all being collected and put on a DVD, which my then roommate then bought. They are truly insane (and also kinda racist).
BUT this HERE is a FAR more entertaining and functional version of the âclassicâ Bat-Man. Would this be the Silver or Bronze Age? I always get them confused.
ML: I would say, judging by the costume, weâre in late Golden/early Silver Age. The yellow oval around the Bat symbol is how you tell youâre in the heart of the Silver Age, and this costume isnât there yet.
This is a really fun take on Batman. Heâs somewhere in between the hokey Adam West-type Batman and the Dark Knight. Heâs still someone to be feared, but he lets Robin take the wheel of the Batmobile. He says âbooâ right before smashing through a windshield. This is a Batman I can get behind, and a good complement to the Superman we see.
JP: BIG TIME!
And even with this Batman being slightly broader and more theatrical, there is still a REALLY engaging drive to Yangâs take on the Dark Knight. Itâs also fairly grounded, too, putting the Batman on the trail of some lower stakes, more street-level criminality, but itâs still SO FUN (and a wonderful example of how lower-fi Batman stories can and will work).
ML: I love that. Will and I have talked about both of us having a preference for the more grounded Dark Knight, and while I think thereâs definitely a place for widescreen Batman in the Justice League and an intergalactic or magical story, I like that street-level feeling here, even when heâs flying the Batwing to this world with a Supermanâs Fortress of Solitude.
This story also builds some solid mysteries: Who is the warden of Arkham? What is his connection to the masked man in the Fortress? Why are there two Jokers/Penguins/other guy, and why is one of them melting?
JP: ABSOLUTELY! It starts as one very specific thing (a pretty high-functioning riff on old-school film serials) and then starts to pivot into very high weirdness. Itâs precisely the kind of stuff I CRAVE from modern superhero comics.
But I ALSO very much agree with yâallâs assessment of the âgroundedâ Batman. While the âtime and planningâ Bat God certainly has his place among the JLA, I always always always respond more to Bat stories that are either rooted within Bruceâs character/moral relationship with heroics or just him straight up working a case on the ground. Iâm very happy this one threads that needle really well while also providing us a really awesome version of Bruce.
ML: And before we move on to Superman, I just have to say: Even though heâs only in half a dozen panels, seeing him makes me miss Alfred even more than I usually do.
JP: OH ABSOLUTELY. and Yang also gives us such a wonderfully stodgy but still immensely warm version of Bruceâs only real connection to the world (beyond the masked Bat Fam members, which THIS version is nowhere near). How long before the main title gives us a Return of Alfred Pennyworth event series?
ML: I donât know, but I hope itâs soon!
âFaster than a speeding bullet!â
ML: Now onto the Man of Steel. Is it just me, or does this feel like it could take place in the same world as Yang and Gurihuruâs Superman Smashes the Klan?
JP: ONE. MILLION. PERCENT.
JUST honestly seeing Superman SMILE again in books is cause for celebration enough, but having him once again here teamed with his newsteam and busting up mafiosos and jewel thieves? AH. Itâs just bliss.
And again! Though the story starts to morph and shift into something far, far stranger, more VERY grounded and âstreet focusedâ storytelling here from Yang. We get a different artistic flavor, too, positioning this classic Metropolis as the art-deco, bolts-and-brass answer to the moody, RKO styling of Gotham. But itâs all still VERY much rooted in the core idea of Superman (supported by a wonderful Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen).
BETTER STILL, also like the Bat-Manâs storyline, itâs all positioned firmly with the people on the ground! Itâs just an absolute joy to read.
ML: It is, and Ivan Reis was the perfect artist to pick for this story. Heâs pretty much the foundation of the current DC house style, which works perfectly here. Itâs clean, itâs Superheroic with a capital S, and the storytelling is just solid. It works for both these heroes and both their worlds.
I had a thought as I was reading this, and I just need to bounce it off someone. I find it interesting that in modern stories, any time the Waynes survive in the alley, they wind up being corrupt or corrupted. Flashpoint saw Thomas Wayne turn into a killer Batman and Martha into the Joker. Earth 2 had Thomas be a corrupt junkie doctor who became Batman out of shame after Bruce died. And here, Martha is definitely up to something (wouldnât be surprised if she had Thomas offed, but weâll see), and this Alfred is not someone I want serving me tea and witty ripostes.
Do you think this has to do with the modern view of the uber-rich? That many people donât view the hyper-wealthy as aspirational figures like they did when Batman was created, but rather as people who had to step on somebody to get where they are?
JP: I actually think thatâs a pretty fair read! And one clearly represented in the text.
Itâs really interesting you actually say that because I would have NEVER connected those dots. You can even see how a creative like Yang (or even the âwriterâs roomâ of Flashpoint) could have gotten there. Absolute Power, Corrupting Absolutely and all that. Itâs ALSO a very fun inverse of what BRUCE became, right? Turning his immense wealth toward the âWar on Crimeâ and at least attempting a sort of social change through the mantle of the Bat.
BUT IT’S SO GOOD. And a nice slice of class commentary from Yang to support the riffs on movie serials and high superheroics.
Together Again for the First Time
ML: And then we have the two stories coming together at the end. This hasnât been Supermanâs luckiest time with portals in space over the past month, has it?
JP: GHAHA! Youâre right, it REALLY hasnât. Poor old Clark just canât ever catch a break in high orbit.
But as we alluded to before, as the âfilmâ of the stories intersects and then burns away, we are suddenly back in the âpresentâ (or as present as we can be in regard to Hypertime).
A WayneTech satellite has been overtaken by streams and streams of old film reels. And Superman and Batman have had front row seats to the whole thing, watching their âlivesâ spool across the film. CUE THE LOST NOISE!
I obviously HATED this (jkjk) but what did you think of this, sir?
ML: I love this. I love how we get these two very grounded, very â40s/â50s style stories, and then we get the burn and then the ârealâ DCU. Itâs a wonderful stylistic choice, it uses the visual language of comics in a way that wouldnât work in nearly any other medium, and itâs a great juxtaposition of the sort of classic superheroics with the trippy modern stuff.
Itâs also a great example of how a good writer can just sort of shoo continuity aside for the sake of a great story. Over in the Bat books, weâre getting this slightly depowered Batman (since Batmanâs superpower is heâs stinking rich), who doesnât have access to all his tech and money. Yang doesnât address this when Batman shows up here in a space suit talking about a satellite he wouldnât have access to anymore since what Clark addresses as âhis companyâ isnât at the moment. And thatâs fine! It would have been awkward and feel like him bending over backward to try to explain it, and it doesnât matter to the story, so he just doesnât go into it.
JP: NO ABSOLUTELY! And I honestly DIDNâT even think about this when I was reading it.
But you nailed it. The way it both introduces the âgimmickâ of the issue and then just breezily spools it out for us, itâs absolutely something that could ONLY work in comics. And probably only REALLY work with these characters, right?
Obviously, comics taking cues from their movie counterparts ISN’T crazy groundbreaking, but the way it uses the explicit visual language of the old films only to then gracefully pivot to then giving us a wonderful version of the âmodernâ Batman and Superman. Again, it was just a total joy to read and to then cover. Please seek it out immediately if you havenât already. It is absolutely worth it.
Worldâs Finest Miscellany
- Justin wanted to maybe call these âBat Planet Headlinesâ but thought that might be a bit too inside. He thanks you for your thoughts in this difficult time.
- REALLY loving seeing the old-school costumes get more stage time here. We would actually be OK if just ALL superheroes had to wear their old togs like once every few months actually.
- What do you call an Alfred hopped up on Venom? Banefred? Albane?
- While there isnât an exact corollary, seeing GLY write a vintage Batman and Robin made me think it would be great for him to do a sequel to Superman Smashes the Klan in Gotham.
- PRE-ORDERED. IMMEDIATELY. Give us The Bat-Man Punches The Proud Boys!
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of five. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the creator interview podcast WMQ&A with Dan Grote.
