Batman Superman #16 Review

A laugh heard around the world.

I gave up on Batman/Superman after First Contact, as it meandered through mind wipes and Earth 2 antics that didn’t help make reading it feel worthwhile. But more so, I was a little miffed with Jae Lee’s artwork, which was good to look at but never good for story telling due to the minimalist style.

Ardian Syaf’s arrival feels like a shot in the arm – as he re-energizes the book with his pencils and Greg Pak seems to have gotten over his Earth 2 obsession.

That doesn’t mean this issue is free of missteps, especially during the middle part, but it shows enough encouraging signs that this may end up being something very good.

SPOILERS FOLLOW………..

There are some good feel moments at the start of the issue, as Pak shows us how Superman and Batman are now figures that inspire joy and laughter in people. We see two performers dress up as the heroes and entertain the sick children at a hospital.

Elsewhere, the Super Family (Superman, Supergirl, Steel and Krypto) transport some Orcas to the open sea. Everything feels good with the world.

That is shattered in an instant. Five bullets result in two victims, two injured and one shaken. Steel and Krypto are injured, an Orca is killed and Kara is shocked.

The most heartbreaking is the Superman performer, who despite being fatally shot, manages to exit the children ward and spare them the sight of a dead bleeding superhero.

And Clark didn’t even notice the bullets hurtling through the air.

A visually shaken Clark meets Batman, where he’s given very bad news – he’s got himself a Joker, someone who obsesses over Superman without rhyme or reason.

It’s a little hurried in the conclusion that someone else couldn’t do that, and Bruce’s emotional monologue does explain Joker’s impact on his journey – but feels contrived to impress upon the reader the idea of a Superman’s Joker.

Still, Superman’s reactions offer a new viewpoint of someone who is blissful in the ignorance of such madness. Clark’s horrified reactions are different stages of Bruce’s monologue parallel the Injustice Universe very pointedly – especially his final statement of never wanting to be like Batman.

The Batcave computer is hijacked at the moment and despite Superman’s best efforts, Bruce sees that three more bullets have managed to severely injure an armored Lex, kill at singer in Seoul and sabotage a peace meeting in Kandaq.

The hospital scene, where Clark and Bruce investigate only to be discovered by a sick child and mistaken for the performers is a heartwarming scene – as Clark bonds with the children by juggling like his late ‘human’ counterpart did.

SPOILERS END…………..

There are some heartwarming moments and encouraging signs that this book is finally on the right track, but it feels to early to describe this as a success.

The artwork is great though, and I hope Syaf can continue to keep this level in the coming issues.

So, I give it 8.0 out of 10.

+Some heartwarming scenes

+Great artwork

+An intriguing new villain

-Clunky exposition in the middle