Superman/Batman #53 – Review

By Michael Green, (story) Mike Johnson, (dialogue) Rags Morales, (pencils and cover) John Dell, (inks) Nei Ruffino, (colors) Rob Leigh (letters)

The Story: Whenever Bruce Wayne has business in Metropolis, Superman insists on filling in for Batman in Gotham in exchange for the same courtesy. A run-in with Silver Banshee has some lasting and drastic consequences that causes Batman to gain the Kryptonian’s powers while leaving Superman powerless.

What’s Good? My favorite part of this series has always been the inner monologue of Batman and Superman. It perfectly illustrates them as opposite sides of the same coin. The story itself has a lot of appeal as well, playing on the idea of what would happen if Batman had superpowers. Would Gotham be cleaned up overnight? Would they hinder him? So far it looks like the latter, but we’re one issue in. Even more interesting than Batman with powers is Superman without them. I’ll probably catch hell for this, but Superman’s heroics are overrated in my eyes. I’m not saying he’s not a hero, but someone like Batman who can die is more heroic than a god doing the right thing. It’s not like your local thug can stop off at the corner mart for some kryptonite. Still, I’ve grown to appreciate Superman more over the years. Even though he’s wanted to be more human, will his lack of powers make him see that mortality’s overrated? I’m excited to see how things pan out and where Green and Johnson are taking our heroes.

What’s Not So Good? Silver Banshee is a lame villain. I’m sure she’s just a pawn or even a throw-away. But Batman and Superman switching powers is a big deal, and one I’d rather see that go to a better villain. The other negative is that we haven’t gotten much setup for the story. Is it going to be all about Bruce and Clark adjusting to the new powers or lack thereof? Or is there a larger force and story at stake.

Conclusion: Even without too many seeds being planted for the arc, this issue does more than enough to get me excited. The pressure is on for issue two, since not much was established beyond the power-switch. Nevertheless, the role-reversal should have a wide appeal for both these heroes. Fans should check this one out.

Grade: B

Ben Berger