[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writers: Peter J. Tomasi & Patrick Gleason
Artists: Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
“BIZARROVERSE” part three! Gathered together from the cosmic recesses of the universe are the most powerful forces of bad ever assembled! Now the Super Foes face the Legion of Fun—and the only heroes who dare to stand against this intergalactic threat of the Bizarroverse are Superman and son!
Positives
First off, as a child of the seventies and I watched the Super Friends right from the early days before the Wonder Twins replaced Marvin and Wendy. So, I was tickled to see that Tomasi and Gleason chose to base the Super Foes and Legion of Fun off the teams from the cartoon rather than just making them Bizarro versions of the Rebirth era characters.
And since Bizarro was a member of the Legion of Doom in the cartoons, shouldn’t Superman be a member of the Legion of Fun?
There are just so many little jokes and bits of humour to delight in the story, such as the fact that one corner of the cubical Bizarro world Htrae is a tourist trap, similar to those in the real world where multiple states or countries meet at a single point. Or Aquazarro’s fish mascot that constantly sings the Barnes and Barnes novelty song “Fish Heads.”
But underneath the humour, there is a serious threat to the planet Htrae. Some mysterious person appears to be causing it to implode – perhaps Mr. Ozarro?
And we see Bizarro proving himself to be the opposite of Superman in a chilling fashion. As his world is ending, instead of fighting to save it, he abandons his wife, child, friends, and teammates and leaves Htrae to its fate.
Also, we see Superman and company saving Boyzarro and Robzarro from their planet’s destruction, which makes me wonder what Superman will do with the Bizarro Super Sons. I also wonder how the other Bizarro from Red Hood & Outlaws would react if he encounters them.
Negatives
The Bizarro talk is a bit difficult to follow at times, but is manageable if you read carefully. But Clark and Jon’s occasional comments serve to remind the reader to translate the Bizarro-speak to its opposite. However, working through this does slow the pace of the story a bit, but this is a minor quibble overall.
Verdict
This Bizarro storyline has been a lot of fun, as has the entirety of Tomasi and Gleason’s Superman run. But it also makes me regret that their time on the title is approaching its end.
