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Writer:
Paul Levitz
Penciller: Renato Guedes
Inker: Jose Wilson
As a
big fan of the "Batman Beyond" series from the late
nineties, I have to say that this fourth annual for
the "Superman/Batman" comic series was a breath of
fresh air and a wonderful re-visiting in to the old
series with a more mature approach added. If you
didn't see the show you will have no idea what some
of the references here are, but I caught on quickly
and loved the fluid continuation from Terry
McGinnis' throwdown with Superman after being
controlled by Starro which has now turned him in to
the only hero left as Superman decided to quit
fighting crime after his possession under Starro
allowed Lex Luthor to conquer Metropolis once and
for all. Jaded, Superman is now a lone gun, forced
to confront his own loneliness still grieving over
Lois Lane's death while Terry and Bruce work to find
out why Metropolis' criminals are migrating to
Gotham to deal a new type of Kryptonite laced drug,
and why the world's criminals are disappearing under
the wrath of "The Ghost" that seems to be
frightening everyone more than Batman is. As always
Bruce Wayne watches in the wings guiding Terry along
and catches on to what the ghost is long before
Terry does, but as is the case with him, Terry will
have to figure it out all on his own.
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The visual style is incredible with splashes and
insanely gorgeous action sequences that hearken
back to the atmosphere of the original
television series while also adding its own
distinction with a Batman who is less dependent
on Bruce while also relying on the old man for
some guidance on the battle field. As is always
the case with all of the heroes in the DC
universe, Terry looks up to Superman, and with a
changing world Superman has discovered that his
relevance and usefulness has diminished in the
face of changing sentiments and a Metropolis
that has become even worse than Gotham City
under the rule of Lex Luthor who is devising a
way to stop Superman and distribute Kryptonite
laced narcotics that keep the criminals happy
while preventing Superman from properly stopping
their activities. Renato Guedes and Jose Wilson
turn this in to an incredible piece of
self-contained lip service to the series while
they maintain Bruce Timm's animation style with
their own hints of Alex Ross inspired character
models. Paul Levitz has a firm hold on the
series continuity while also providing his own
completion of the Superman story arc revealing
that Starro's own possession on the man of steel
had a long lasting effect that showed he was
truly needed and his time under the alien's
control allowed true evil to take hold. Sadly
the annual isn't completely perfected as
Metallo's small cameo seemed very out of place
with Levtiz seemingly just wanting to show how
skilled Batman has become and nothing else while
the ultimate confrontation with Lex felt very
rushed and somewhat abrupt. Not to mention when
we learned that the ghost is really Superman
using his phantom zone projector as a form of
jailing these vicious criminals, he seems to get
off way too easy after Terry questions him. But
then this is Superman. Ultimately though this
was an entertaining annual with some fantastic
writing and a bittersweet finale for the man of
steel who has to continue to face the death of
his loved ones with the curse of his
immortality. I suggest it for anyone who was a
religious "Batman Beyond" viewer. |
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