Batman Beyond Universe #7 – Review

By: Kyle Higgins, Christos Gage (writers), Thony Silas, Iban Coello (art), Emilio Lopez & Ulises Arreola

The Story: Brainiac continues his plan, manipulating everyone and everything around him and attempting to prove himself the greatest intelligence in the known universe. Unfortunately so does Bruce Wayne.

The Review: Kyle Higgins slows things down a little bit in this month’s chapter of The Bat Men. Last month I complained that the story had lost its energy, but, now that we have a little more context, it seems that this was part of a transition. This installment is similarly focused on character moments, however, while there’s even less attention paid to fight scenes, it’s a much more engaging issue; the result of the brilliant relationships that Higgins has crafted between Terry and Bruce and Bruce and Kirk.

As all out war between the Cult of the Bat and the FBI looms, threatening to destroy Gotham, Bruce and Terry have been captured. Especially in a genre where captivity rarely lasts, especially with these characters, it’s kind of nice that Higgins uses this as a moment to decompress and provide some lively exposition. The tale he fashions is a sad one and, while it’s by no means ground breaking, it’s tinged with truth enough to elicit genuine sympathy.

Higgins continues to write a positively infuriating Bruce Wayne, in the best possible sense. Bruce’s inability to communicate and sheer skill make him an impossible partner, but it’s telling how he relates to his supposed friends. Bruce actually doesn’t accomplish anywhere near as much as he pretends to in this issue and, despite a number of reasonable contributions from Terry, he simply can’t bring himself to acknowledge them, opting to take swipes at his former partners instead. Only alone with Kirk can he admit the profound errors of his ways, tragically unaware of how recently he’s reaffirmed his choice. This one-on-one interaction between the Bat-Men really sells the history between the two men.

Batman Beyond Universe #6 – Review

By: Christos Gage & Kyle Higgins (writers), Iban Coello & Thony Silas (artists), Rob Lean (inks), Ulises Arreola & Emilio Lopez (colorists)

The Story: Bats or robots: pick your poison…

The Review: We open this month in the midst of Brainiac’s invasion. From the first moment, Christos Gage makes it clear that this is no standard supervillain plot. Brainiac’s monotone arrogance comes through crystal clear and Gage imbues him with just enough malice to make him particularly detestable, without losing his connection to rationality. The first sequence aboard Brainiac’s skull-ship is a great example of what Gage has to offer.

As Brainiac’s natural nemesis, Superman receives similarly strong dialogue. His speeches, though slightly corny, manage to express the natural leadership and sincerity that make Superman primus inter pares in most every version of the Justice League. Even so, there’s a touch of desperation in him, perhaps even fear, that keeps the threat that Brainiac poses in constant play.

But despite his gift for writing the Boy Scout, I sincerely hope that, when this saga is ended, Gage will pen some stories starring the other members of the league. Six months into the print run of Justice League Beyond, we’ve still seen relatively little of many of the League’s members. It’s great to have such an strong version of Superman on the stands, especially as that’s been something of a rarity of late, but it seems like a waste, especially after seeing Gage’s handle on Scott and Barda this month.

The large cast all get lip service, but the best moments belong to Mister Miracle, Big Barda, and a certain classic Leaguer I won’t spoil. It’s impressive that Gage can keep so many balls in the air, especially as he continues to grow the cast, but there aren’t many places where we get to breathe and absorb this information unless you count scenes that don’t catch your fancy.