Anyway, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (1939)
as part of a push for the superhero. He ended up being popular and even got featured
with Superman in World’s Finest Comics, an anthology series. Eventually, the
two heroes would first team up in Superman #76 (1952). Since then, those two
would regularly team up in certain books. They were the best of buds. I mean,
they were the two biggest superheroes, so why not push that? They were also on
the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America.
Then, things changed in the 1980’s. The Dark Knight
Returns showed them at odds with one
another. There was also another pre-Crisis story (World’s Finest #323) which
showed them having a falling out. All this kind of made their relationship in
the post-Crisis different. Since continuity was rebooted, they rarely
interacted and didn’t approve of each other’s methods. They still had a respect
for one another, though. This also carried over into places like the DCAU and
even the DCEU for good or ill. I kind of like it for their first meetings, but
I do feel like them not becoming friends would be weird.
Eventually, DC decided to bring the World’s Finest together
again. In 2004, DC started to release Superman/Batman, a team-up series. If you
wanted to see Superman and Batman come together and kick butt, this was the
book for that. We’ve even seen two animated movies get spawned from this series.
Today’s trade will be Absolute Power which has Superman/Batman #14-18. Jeph Loeb,
a guy that has experience writing both characters, is the writer. Carlos
Pacheco handled the primary pencils while Ivan Reis helped out a little. Jesus
Merino handled the inks. So, what happens when Superman and Batman get turned
into despots? Time-travel stuff, yo!
Superman/Batman: Absolute Power
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Pencils: Carlos Pacheco and Ivan Reis
Inks: Jesus Merino
Colors: Laura Martin
Letters: Richard Starkings
SYNOPSIS
We start out by getting the respective origins for Batman
and Superman. We then see unknown figures show up, kill the Kents and Joe Chill,
and take baby Clark out of his ship and young Bruce through a portal. We then
see these characters kill other heroes (Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martin
Manhunter) before they ever became superheroes. We then cut to present day and
see that Superman and Batman have taken over America. We find out that the
group raised them to become despots and lord their power over the world. Since it’s Superman’s birthday, Batman takes him
Star City to kill the mulleted Green Arrow and they succeed.
Hmm... nah, I'll leave current-day politics out of this.
Later, they go to a fortress on the moon and we find out
that their “parents” are Lightning Lord, Saturn Queen, and Cosmic King, members
of the Legion of Super-Villains. They decided to find a place in the past where
they could rule and have a lot of power on their side. Even though resistance
to the duo is little, we still have Diana (Wonder Woman) out there. She finds
the Freedom Fighters and helps Uncle Sam (how is he a comic book character???)
get Abin Sur’s ring. She was told by the Fates on how to strike back at the LSV,
so she and the Freedom Fighters take the fight to them in New York.
In New York, the group goes to Liberty Island. The LSV get Superman,
Batman, and mind-controlled Legion of Super-Hero members to protect the island
since it’s revealed that their Time Bubble is located there. A fight breaks out
and the Fighters beat the LSH. Diana also kills Batman which then leads
Superman to kill her and the Freedom Fighters. When Human Bomb dies, he blows up
and that combined with the Time Bubble causes a rift in time.
We got Darkseid chaining Etrigan. This comic already wins.
Superman and Batman then find themselves being thrown
through time. They end up in the time of Kamandi. They then switch over to a
weird composite of present-day Gotham and the Wild West. The two even get killed
by Jonah Hex and Scalphunter. They then find themselves on an Apokalips-ized
Earth. It turns out that Darkseid, Metron, and the Kingdom Come Superman (???)
have summoned them here. Time needs to be fixed, so Clark and Bruce need to be
make sure time is put back together. They’re able to fix Superman’s origin but
things go bad when it comes to Batman’s origin. Bruce can’t sit by and see his
parents get killed, so he intervenes and kills Joe Chill.
Superman then BoomTubes to the present where things are
still bad. It turns out that Ras’s al Ghul has taken over and he has somehow taken
out all the other superheroes. He finds out that Bruce is still living with his
parents at Wayne Manor. Clark ultimately reminds Bruce of his true origin,
though. Since they need to take down Ra’s and whoever’s helping them, they use
the Lazarus Pits to bring back dead superheroes. They then face down Ra’s and
his benefactors, the Legion of Super-Villains. They just couldn’t leave time
alone, could they?
A fight breaks out between the two groups. The dead superheroes
are then killed again by the LSV. Batman’s not at peak performance in this
timeline, but when Superman almost gets killed, he comes back and kills Ra’s al
Ghul. They then defeat the LSV and then are transported to the 31st
century. It turns out that these LSV members came from this version of the
future. With time back in place, everything goes back to normal. Even though
Superman and Batman won the battle, they’re still scarred by the actions they
took in those alternate timelines. The story ends with them at the Waynes’
gravestones.
Also, something weird happens with the Kingdom Come Superman.
What was even that?
I guess this got explained in other issues. Just feels confusing throwing this plot in with the other time plot.
OPINION
Even though it can be confusing at times, I thought that
this was a nice story. I’m kind of a sucker for time travel stories. While not
all of them are good, they can be entertaining. This one certainly is that and more.
We got evil Superman and Batman, “dang, dirty apes”, Jonah Hex killing
Superman, Ra’s al Ghul ruling America, dead superheroes, and a lot more
weirdness. We also got Darkseid and the Kingdom Come Superman here. In terms of
weird ideas, this one really goes there. We even get adult versions of the Legion
of Super-Heroes, and I mean “adult.” What was Dream Woman wearing?
Superman and Batman are at the core of this and seeing them get
back their life was cool. It was especially interesting when we see how they
dealt with their respective origins. It makes perfect sense that Bruce would
jump in and try to change his destiny. Loeb gets into their heads and handles
them both pretty well. As I said above, he’s written for both characters over
the years. He understands what makes them tick and how their modern friendship
can work.
The artwork is really good. Carlos Pacheco puts in some good
work here. His Superman and Batman both look powerful and pretty cool. He also handles a lot of DC’s characters here
well too. He’s even able to evoke the older eras that show up. Also, his
Darkseid looks cool. The action scenes are awesome, and the emotional scenes
are powerful. The only thing I’ll say that’s bad is Green Arrow’s mullet. Why
do that to the man?
Even Batman doesn't like Ollie's mullet!
There aren’t too many things wrong with the story. As I said above, it can get confusing. Time travel stories tend to do that especially ones like these. Since this played with time merging together, confusion was inevitable. One thing I thought was weird was the appearance of the Kingdom Come Superman. I guess that got explained earlier in the series? Him being here made little sense. Also, the LSV are okay villains. They work for the story since the theme is time travel. Other than those things and small nitpicks (Green Arrow’s mullet), this was a fun story.
While the two don’t currently have a separate team-up book
out, they are in the Justice League together. They’ve also shown up in each
other books in recent years. I think y’all can look at the blog and tell that I
like Batman. He’s one of my favorite heroes. He and Superman are pretty much
neck-and-neck on that list. Personally, I’ll just put both at the top. Well, that
does it for Superman Month. I do have one more post to do and I’ll be finally
done with this. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and don’t screw with time. I don't need to sport a mullet... nor Dwayne Wayne's old hair-do!
NEXT TIME: FAVORITE SUPPORTING CHARACTERS!!
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