Superman Homepage

Mild Mannered Reviews - Specials

Superman/Batman #12

Scheduled to arrive in stores: September 29, 2004

Cover date: September 2004

Writer: Jeph Loeb
Penciller: Michael Turner
Inker: Peter Steigerwald

"The Supergirl From Krypton" - Part Five: "Traitor"

Reviewed by: Michael O'Connor

Kara is kicking the stuffing out of Kal while Batman and Wonder Woman turn the tables on their adversaries.

Batman (somehow) defeats the giant dragon monster that had swallowed him whole last issue, and then he outfits himself with Apokoliptan battle armor.

Meanwhile, Wonder Woman turns a stalemate to her advantage by snaring Granny Goodness around the neck with her lasso.

And Superman finally realizes that if he doesn't give his cousin a love tap, it's not going to matter whether she was on his side to begin with or not. Wielding a Kryptonite ring, Supes KOs Kara.

The action continues in Darkseid's lair where Batman squares off with the big man himself. The Dark Knight threatens Darkseid with his back-up plan - he has engaged the Hellspores (some sort of advanced bombs) in the Apokoliptan armory and coded them to prevent tampering. If Darkseid doesn't turn over Kara, Apokolips will be destroyed in the resulting explosion.

Darkseid doesn't take the news well and takes it out on Bats, who, fortunately, has a little cushioning provided by his armor and Mother Box. Nevertheless, the Dark Knight's getting a pounding when Darkseid finally stops, realizes he's beaten, and agrees to let Kara go and not come after her again.

Returning home, the three heroes find that a good night's rest and some Amazonian magic remove the mind spell that Darkseid practiced upon Kara, and Superman decides it's high time his cousin got an outfit of her own. Superman christens Kara as the new Supergirl at the Fortress of Solitude and then accompanies her to Kansas to meet his Ma and Pa.

But instead of Ma's famous pie, Superman gets a knuckle sandwich courtesy of Darkseid, who follows up the attack with an Omega Blast.

Supergirl leaps into the path of the destructive energy and is obliterated.

Darkseid's comment? "Pity."

Story - 3: GAAAHH!! Can we get to the end yet? Please? All these cliffhangers are driving me insane! And it certainly didn't help that this issue is two months late! Anyway, now that that's out of my system, let's look at the issue itself. There's some fun stuff here: Batman vs. Darkseid, Superman wielding a Kryptonite ring, and the first appearance of Kara in a new Supergirl outfit (well, Post-Crisis, that is). But, besides these fanboy moments, what have we got in the way of characterization, plot, or explanation? Not a lot. We've got a ton of action, which can be cool (don't get me wrong!), but after waiting two months, I was hoping for at least a few clues as to the Big Reveal we all know will come around next ish (if/when it ever comes out). The depth, as usual for this title, is lacking. There's way too much action. Anybody can tell a story with a bunch of fight scenes, but what's frustrating is that I know Loeb can do a lot more. Right now, he's slacking. He'll set up these stories well in the first issue and then just pile up a lot of (mostly) unrelated action for four issues and then rush to explain everything in the last issue. Let's see a little subtlety here, a little craft, a little of that ol' Loeb magic (that, incidentally, looks strong enough over in Catwoman: When In Rome).

Art - 4: Well, I'm no huge Turner fan, but I've got to say that this issue looks pretty nice. Darkseid is absolutely fearsome and Supergirl couldn't look cuter. Of course, an action issue is an artist's dream (or, at least, this kind of artist) come true, and Turner has a ball letting no punches be pulled (check out the thrashing Darkseid gives Batman - ouch!). Two double page spreads also help Turner churn it out and the results are surprisingly strong.

Cover Art - 2: Wow! Scary stuff. And by that I mean how frighteningly anemic Kara looks and that hideous outfit she's almost not wearing (her fashion sense must have been another victim of the brainwashing). Gotta say though, I like Turner's Darkseid.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2004

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

January 2004

February 2004

March 2004

April 2004

May 2004

June 2004

July 2004

August 2004

September 2004

October 2004

November 2004

December 2004

Back to the Mild Mannered Reviews contents page.

Check out the Comic Index Lists for the complete list of Superman-related comics published in 2004.

Mild Mannered Reviews - Specials

Superman/Batman #12

Mild Mannered Reviews

2004

Superman Hot Wheels Cars and Trucks

Superman Journals, Notebooks and Notepads

Superman AirPods Case Covers and Accessories