Batman/Superman #2
Written By: Greg Pak Art By: Jae LeeWith Batman/Superman #2, Pak and Lee deliver an abstract alternate-earth narrative that separates the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight. Unfortunately, by not grounding the two emotionally or having them interact much at all, Batman/Superman fails to capture the magic of their friendship.
Lost on Earth 2, Batman is putting together what he believes to be his own life, and making sense of the alternate earth’s Bruce Wayne (i.e. his marriage to Catwoman). By isolating Bruce and Clark, Pak takes a risk in not building on their relationship early in the game, and in doing so, makes it hard to latch onto their dynamic, which is supposed to sell the book.
It’s a challenging narrative, but that’s not the detriment to the script. Pak successfully disorients the reader with Bruce’s narrative. The problem is that the story jumps so frequently between Bruce and Clark that there isn’t time to flesh out the conflict, so when we are told they are on another world, they pay off from their discovery isn’t there.
Lee creates a twisted world on Earth 2 and the sense that no one can be trusted with an abundance of silhouettes, in particular Catwoman’s first chilling appearance in the issue. Lee excels at selling iconography, and shows off this skill with the appearance of Wonder Woman on her Pegasus.
There are interesting things happening to both Batman and Superman in Earth 2. However, by not properly guiding the reader through their conflict, and avoiding the relationship that’s supposed to be the backbone of the comic, Batman/Superman #2 doesn’t have the heart and complexity that makes up Bruce and Clark’s friendship.
