Batman/Superman [2019] #3 - DC Comics

BATMAN/SUPERMAN No. 3, December 2019

Whilst Joshua Williamson clearly put some considerable thought into his decision as to which six heroes of the DC Universe had been “infected with a serum that will turn them into the worst versions of themselves.” It is arguably hard not to feel that his script for Issue Three of “Batman/Superman” completely wastes the opportunity to explore just what might have happened had The Batman Who Laughs not killed his universe’s version of Clark Kent, and instead transformed the Man of Steel into “the greatest tool I ever had in my utility belt.”

In fact, considering that this ongoing series’ previous instalment concluded on the cliffhanger of Kal-El purposely poisoning “himself with Joker toxin to go undercover”, many of this comic’s 55,334 readers were probably astounded that the Kryptonian’s façade is brought to an abrupt halt by the Caped Crusader within this publication’s first few pages. True, this short-lived ruse has apparently already been rumbled by Batman’s evil counterpart due to the alternative version somewhat unbelievably being able to smell the hard-light holograms used to ‘fool’ the super-villain into believing he had escaped his cell, but even so, it would still have been interesting to have witnessed Jerry Siegel’s co-creation battle his urge to “give in to your true self” for a bit longer.

Just as disappointing, is the fast-paced resolution the California-born writer brings to Jim Gordon’s disconcerting infection, which, having been used to set-up this entire long-running narrative’s premise, is quickly ended courtesy of Superman’s intervention. Questions such as how many good cops have died because of the Batman, as well as how many people Gordon has had to bury “because of the Hell you’ve created in Gotham”, clearly ‘wound’ Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego, and artist David Marquez does a fabulous job of depicting the inner turmoil on the Caped Crusader’s face.

Yet rather than provide the far more compelling experience of a strongly conflicted Dark Knight tortuously battling both his inner demons, as well as a mercilessly mocking veteran police commissioner who blames him for causing the fictional metropolis to fall ever “deeper into ruin”, Williamson instead has a conveniently ‘almost toxin free’ Man of Steel simply fly straight in to save the day and swiftly end the compulsive confrontation; “So much for the World’s Greatest Detective!”

The regular cover art of "BATMAN/SUPERMAN" No. 3 by David Marquez & Alejandro Sanchez