Batman Beyond Universe #2 – Review

by Kyle Higgins, Christos Gage (writers), Thony Silas, Iban Coello (art)

The Story: Batman comes face to face with a surprising killer and Superman…goes clubbing.

The Review:  The Justice League Beyond story, which is fairly unapologetic in its really being a Superman Beyond story, picks up directly from last issue and wastes no time getting into the thick of things. We see Superman escaping a burning building, Superman on a date, and even – as promised – Superman at a nightclub, attempting to learn what the young people are into

Christos Gage clearly understands who Superman is and how his lengthy retreat from humanity has affected him. It’s actually very interesting to see, as the mainline Superman is making every attempt to appeal to a younger demographic. There’s something about just accepting Superman’s old-timey-ness that works on a basic level.

The ‘asking the league for advice’ device from last month’s issue is used again and, while it’s still entertaining, it feels like a slightly lazy way to get the rest of the JLB involved. The members of the League run the gamut in quality. At times it seems like the League’s roster is padded out with canonical characters that Gage doesn’t care for as much. Warhawk and Kai-Ro have been pretty one-note so far, and Terry…he reads a little more frat boy than I would have expected. On the other hand, the Flash, Captain Marvel, and Barda are fairly awesome and provide great contrast with Superman.