Review: Batman/Superman: Authority Special #1
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Artist: Ben Templesmith, Trevor Hairsine, Rain Beredo, Scott Hanna
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
Batman/Superman: Authority Special #1 – Superman has put the Authority back together, but is the team ready for what’s next? Will the Man of Steel’s new super-group fall apart before they even begin?
Following Mongul’s brazen attack on Earth, Superman’s world has been turned upside down: conflict between Atlantis and the surface world, the discovery of an immensely powerful new element, dead refugees with mysterious ties to Krypton, and expulsion from the Justice League!
When Superman re-forms the experimental, antiestablishment Authority to join him in liberating Warworld, Batman comes to them with a request: join him for one unorthodox, off-the-books mission first, one he could never ask the Justice League to be a part of…and one he doesn’t expect everyone to come back from.
Positives
The first meeting of Midnighter and Batman…on a space ship and Batman needs the Authority’s help. Phillip Kennedy Johnson lights quite the firecracker immediately. You have tongue in cheek humor (You did a great job with that Grayson kid…just didn’t expect you to be so old!” This is great writing.
To blend this with a Multiverse mission to take out a threat by an alternate Al Ghul family and the Empire of the Shadows. This is strong, strong seeds of impending doom that may be a long ball play that will be a collector’s issue for Batman and Superman fans alike.
No Neal Adams here, but his Al Ghul character has reached new heights. Again, Johnson needs to keep his hands on this multiverse idea for a long long time!
Clark is clearly hurt that Bruce would not help him in his mission to WarWorld. To make matters even worse, his act of allowing his team to battle in the Babylon Shadows is so not selfish. How can Bruce even ask Clark to help him in this mission is beyond me. Great writing and Clark is the pinnacle of a moral compass!
Positives 2.0
The switching of art gears is amazing in this book the clean lines excel, but the Babylon Shadows scenes are so dark and “upside-down”. That is wonderful Multiverse art that doesn’t hit us over the head in obvious travel.
Negatives Â
Turns out that this may be the beginning of the end. Superman’s story is reaching a pretty intense pace and his approach to Warworld is on the horizon. DC’s writing crew has weakened Clark at an inexplicable pace. Turns out the Ghost of Bendis’ past seems to be at play here as well. I didn’t like rapid aging Jon Kent (albeit Tom Taylor is turning chicken salad out of Bendis’ chicken merd). Turns out that the rapidly weakening Clark isn’t going away any time soon.
Verdict
Buy this book. To have Batman needing the Authority to help him close some loops in the whole Multiverse dilemma that he arguably opened up with Death Metal is awesome. Turns out our Big Blue Boy Scout knows that in order to beat Mongul’s Warworld, his team needs to flex their muscles against an alternate Al Ghul threat. Turns out the Multiverse is still a playground that needs to be dealt with.
