Superman/Batman #35 Review

The Revolution enjoyed the last issue of Superman/Batman. The guest appearance of the Metal Men was fantastic. I’ve always been a fan of the Metal Man and I’m thrilled that DC is re-introducing Magnus’ team of robots back into the DCU. I’m confident that I’m going to enjoy Superman/Batman #35 since we have the Metal Men and what appears to be the appearance of Brainiac. Let’s go ahead and do this review.

Writers: Mark Verheiden and Marc Guggenheim
Penciler: Pat Lee
Inker: Craig Yeung

Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Batman saying they will not negotiate with people who break into legitimate companies facilities. Magnus replies that he is here to negotiate with Lucius Fox not Batman and Superman. Magnus says that he is negotiating with Fox about taking over the security of this facility. That this was all a field exercise commissioned by Lucius Fox.

We cut to Bruce Wayne angry with Fox for not telling Bruce what Fox was planning with the “interview” of the Metal Men. Fox says that they need super powered guards and not just rent-a-cops and retired Gotham PD for this facility. That Fox new Bruce would have a problem with this and that is why Fox didn’t tell Bruce.

Bruce then admits that Fox is right. Bruce then says that he wants to meet with Magnus himself.

We cut to Superman questioning Metallo at Blackgate Penitentiary. Metallo admits that he has no idea why he was trying to break into WayneTech’s lab. Superman uses his x-ray vision and sees an unusual subdermal implant inside of Metallo’s mind. Superman thinks that Bruce needs to see this.

We cut to Magnus and the Metal Men meeting with Bruce Wayne. Wayne tells Magnus that the Metal Men would be unnerving to work with and that they would scare his employees. Magnus retorts that Mr. Fox didn’t have a problem with them. Bruce responds that the company is not called Foxtech.

Platinia asks Bruce for a chance to prove him wrong. Bruce agrees to give Magnus and the Metal Men one week and then they will reassess the situation. Bruce then leaves the room. The Metal Men comment on what a jerk Bruce was. Copper comments that Bruce had a valid point. That the Metal Men do scare people. Magnus agrees that they should be prepared for the world to be slow to embrace them.

We shift to Superman bringing Metallo to the Batcave for Batman to do a direct examination of the implant inside of Metallo’s brain. Batman reveals that the implant in Metallo’s brain is a computer virus and that it was placed remotely by none other than Brainiac. Batman then proceeds to track the virus back to its origin.

We cut to Superman and Batman investigating a communications satellite orbiting Earth. Brainiac has been using the communications satellite to broadcast himself to any cybernetic with a WIFI connection. Batman finds nanites in the satellite. The nanintes then form a cybernetic body shaped like Brainiac.

Brainiac says that he is going to kill them both. Batman’s spacesuit gets damaged by Brainiac. Batman tells Superman how to defeat the nanite version of Brainiac. Superman deafest the nanite monster and then races Batman back to Earth to a hospital. On the way, Batman tells Superman that they have much bigger problems.

We hop over to Iron inadvertently scarring a WayneTech employee. Suddenly, Iron’s eyes glow green and he stops talking.

We shift to Magnus’ girlfriend tell Magnus that he is making a mistake by having his Metal Men guard WayneTech. That the Metal Men are still in the prototype stage. Magnus simply ignores his girlfriend’s words of caution.

We cut to special WayneTech armored guards telling the Metal Men to leave a certain area that is strictly off limits to everyone. The Metal Men’s eyes are all glowing green. The Metal Men then attack the guards. The Metal Men work well as a team and take down the guards. The Metal Men then say it is time to get what they came for.

We see Superman streaking toward WayneTech. Superman thinks how Bruce didn’t tell him what Bruce was afraid Brainiac would steal. Superman arrives at the restricted location where the Metal Men attacked the guards. The locked vault is burned open. Inside the vault Superman sees a computer monitor that reads “OMAC Project-Prototype 357. Security Breached.”

Superman thinks “Dammit, Bruce. You were supposed to have given this up.” End of issue.

Comments:
The Good: Nice. Superman/Batman #35 kicked ass. M&M do a great job delivering a riveting read with this issue. The story moves along at an enjoyable pace as the reader gets a nice balance of action and drama. This story arc is nicely plotted as M&M continue to ratchet up the intensity by giving us the appearance of Brainiac and the return of the OMAC project.

M&M serve up plenty of nice dialogue. Each character’s voice is well developed and this lends to some quality chemistry. Especially the chemistry between Batman and Superman. I really dig how these two guys compliment and contrast each other.

M&M definitely know how to write Batman with that necessary hint of dick-ishness to his personality. Bruce is brusque and to the point. Bruce dressing down both Lucius Fox and Magnus was perfect. Bruce Wayne is the ultimate Alpha Male and takes nothing from anyone. And that includes Bruce’s most trusted officer of his WayneTech and a super genius like Magnus.

M&M also pick up on Batman’s natural distrust of all things that are not human. That Batman naturally sees any form of technology or metahumans as potential threats to regular humans at some point in the future.

I enjoyed the scene where M&M pit Batman’s mind versus Superman’s mind. Superman’s mind is incredible with his ability to basically be a human MRI while scanning Metallo’s brain. However, it is actually Batman who truly has the “super” brain. Batman’s incredible analytical mind that can assess and solve practically any situation just impresses Superman as much as Superman’s alien powers impress Batman.

The Metal Men rock. It was cool to see them in action. I loved their reaction to Bruce being a total dick to them. The Metal Men are more than mere machines as Bruce may view them. The Metal Men are more magic than science and certainly have souls.

Of course it appears that the Metal Men have their work cut out for them to be accepted by the general public. It should be interesting to see if our metal heroes can break free from Brainiac’s grip and prove themselves to be the heroes that they are. After all, we can’t have Bruce being proved right about how he views the Metal Men to be dangerous and unpredictable weapons.

Brainiac is a classic villain. I’m always glad when this villain rears his despicable head. Brainiac is probably my favorite of all of Superman’s villains and I dig how Brainiac is able to project his psyche into various forms of technology and how he can take control of all cybernetic creations.

M&M deliver one sweet hook ending with two bombs. The first one being that Brainiac has taken over our beloved Metal Men. The second, and much larger one, is that Batman is still working on the OMAC project. I love it. If that ending doesn’t grab your attention then not much will.

I really dig that M&M are continuing to investigate the OMAC plotline that was started prior to Infinite Crisis. The OMAC program is a cool concept and is worth bringing back every so often. Also, I like that M&M show the reader that just because Batman has forgiven his teammates and learned to trust his fellow JLA members once again doesn’t mean that Batman has gone soft. Batman is still as paranoid as ever and that is exactly how he should be.

Batman is the consummate control freak and the notion of metahumans running unchecked is something that deeply worries Batman. It only makes sense that Batman would covertly continue his work with the OMAC project feeling that the safety of mankind can only be trusted to his hands. This should certainly provide for some interesting drama and tension between Superman and Batman.

Lee and Yeung provide more quality artwork. I enjoy the dynamic fight scenes that they deliver and the fluidity of their art.
The Bad: No complaints with this issue.

Overall: Superman/Batman #35 was a great read. M&M really cranked up the intensity with the appearance of Brainiac and the stunning revelation that Batman is still working on the OMAC project. I’d certainly recommend giving this title a try. This is a consistently entertaining comic book.