Batman/Superman #3
Written By: Greg Pak Art By: Jae Lee, Yildiray CinarGreg Pak continues to boldly educate readers on the Batman/Superman dynamic by showing their more established relationship on another world. There are plenty of touching and true character moments for Superman, and along with the epic grandeur from Jae Lee, make Batman/Superman #3 better than prior installments.
The issue uses narration from the Earth 2 Superman in a clever way to reveal more about Earth 1 Superman’s inexperience. Pak has definitely grown into writing the young Superman, with charming moments when he calls Wonder Woman “Ma’am,” and calls his older counterpart a jerk.
The major flashback in the issue shows Bruce and Clark’s first meeting as children on Earth 2, and in doing so, highlights the positivity Clark instills in Bruce as he teaches him to play baseball. Bruce using Clark’s momentum to knock him down is a great nod to his past efforts to use Superman’s own strengths against him.
Cinar’s art is sentimental but way too jarring next to Jae Lee’s distinct, moody style. For Lee’s portions of the issue, he continues to master the mystique of Earth 2, and showcases the strange world, with silhouettes, from the confused perspective of Clark.
The only downfall of the issue is that it doesn’t quite teach us the dynamic of our world’s Batman and Superman, but Earth 2’s instead. Even though they heavily parallel our own world’s heroes, it would be nice to see some more of their young selves.
Batman/Superman #3 is a much better mix of Lee’s unconventional art and Pak’s very personal script, and together create a telling take on Batman and Superman’s friendship.
