Review: Batman/Superman #11
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Clayton Henry
Letters: John J. Hill
Colors: Alejandro Sanchez
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
Batman/Superman #11 – It’s Superman versus Batman as the deadly machinations of the Ultra-Humanite crash to their end! The Dark Knight has been transformed into a human atomic bomb, all in the name of wiping Superman from the face of the Earth! As Batman struggles against the urge to kill his friend, Superman must undo the damage done and help the other victims of the Ultra-Humanite’s experiments. It’s the thrilling conclusion to “Atomic” that will reverberate across the DC Universe for months to come!
Positives
After a brief gasp from last issue, we find the Ultra-Humanite in his original ape form. So hurrah for Joshua Williamson somehow precariously putting him back into that form after we saw it blow up in the last issue…. Huh?
The real positives in this issue are Clayton Henry, John J. Hill, and Alejandro Sanchez. Between pencils, lettering and colors respectively, these three draw the cleanest comic devoted to the World’s Finest.
The pages leap out like a video game screen with PlayStation 5 graphics. And you have to love when Ultra-Humanite screams “Superman”, it appears as it is portrayed on every Superman comic. See graphic above!
Negatives
Williamson’s conclusion to this story is a bit campy. It rings of a Scooby-Doo comic. As Superman explains his actions to the Ultra-Humanite in how he saved Batman from the Atomic Skull detonator inside Batman’s chest, and then how he should have told Batman that he was going to reveal to the world he was Clark Kent…
“It would have worked if it weren’t for you pesky super-heroes!” This was a story pre-Joker War. Geesh…can we give Bruce some time off. Superman blasts him in the chest with heat vision to destroy a detonator, and then he has to go to Gotham to confront all that he has ahead with the Joker War. Wow!
These stories are almost akin to the 1970s with independent adventures rather than the current continuity a reader has become used to. But a credit to Williamson is that he dusted off the shelf and went in the time machine to grab the Ultra-Humanite.
Verdict
Batman/Superman #11 – Has this sewn up the World’s Finest and their tiff over Clark’s decision to reveal his identity? Can Bruce really perform computerized open heart surgery on himself with no anesthesia? And is that the Atomic Skull coming back from the dead faster than the Bride from Kill Bill? This comic is all over the place!
