Batman/Superman [2019] #10 - DC Comics

BATMAN/SUPERMAN No. 10, September 2020

Packed with plenty of pulse-pounding pugilism involving the Man of Steel, a fascinating autopsy of the Atomic Skull’s corpse by the World’s Greatest Detective, and a seriously shocking conclusion which reveals the Ultra-Humanite’s sole motivation is to “be remembered as the mind who killed Batman and Superman”, Joshua Williamson’s script for “Atomic” must surely have thrilled each and every one of the comic’s readers. Indeed, the California-born writer’s combination of a sense-shattering flashback concerning the grisly demise of “the first supervillain faced by Superman”, a seriously sinister exploration of the Gotham Industrial Clean Waste facility, and subsequent capture of the Dark Knight by a horde of cybernetic-zombies is arguably faultlessly penned.

For starters, despite his destructive death in this story-arc’s opening instalment, Albert Michaels’ alter-ego is still very much at the heart of the narrative, with both his desperate attempt to right his many wrongs in Metropolis and a remote detonator found near his heart, leading the Caped Crusader to determine someone within his city “is experimenting with turning people into drones… into bombs.” This gruesome discovery clearly rattles even Kal-El and actually leads to the Kryptonian looking a tad nervous during the titular characters’ grim investigation into a missing “shipment coming in from Metropolis weeks ago.”

Just as enthralling is the pair’s battle against a wave of WayneTech’s deceased employees, which debatably demonstrates both the strengths and weaknesses of the ‘dynamic duo’. The Ultra-Humanite touches a raw nerve with Superman when the white gorilla admits he enjoys watching them work together as “one is the mind and the other is the muscle”, and cleverly ensures the Last Son of Krypton must abandon his friend to a pack of cyborg-cadavers by ordering one of his long-dead minions to self-detonate; “Superman, you need to get that drone out of the city. Now.”

Clayton Henry’s artwork also adds an incredibly amount of energy to this twenty-two page periodical, with his pencilling of Kal-El’s reaction to the mutilation taking place around him proving to be one of this publication’s highlights. There’s a palpable sense of sheer superhuman power in all the panels the Jamaican sketches involving the Man of Tomorrow, especially when he’s desperately trying to keep his anger in check whilst facing either the Ultra-Humanite’s seemingly senseless determination to steal an experimental atomic sequencer or the criminal's antagonising mind-games.

Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Clayton Henry, and Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez