Written by Mark Waid
Art by Dan Mora
Published by DC Comics
It is always a bit of a treat when Mark Waid is writing any one of DC’s big superheroes. He always puts out quality work with a bit of humor and all heart, each time out. He also knows and utilizes DC’s history in a way that no contemporary writer can match.
That is the case with this book except we get more than more of DC’s heroes here (fortunately!)
This book is basically Batman teaming up with Superman.
Honestly, that is all that I needed to get me to buy it. Luckily, the story is pretty cool too. It starts off in the past, where we get to see Superman taking on Metallo once again. Yet, at the conclusion of this fight, something different happens.
Metallo unleashes a chemical attack on Superman made of Red Kryptonite.
This causes Superman’s powers to go absolutely haywire. Clark does his best to get them under control, but he fails.
So, he decides to do the only thing thing he can think of. He looks to Bruce Wayne aka Batman to help him out of this jam.
Being his best friend, Bruce of course agrees to help as does the Doom Patrol. This leads Batman and Superman to the legend of the Devil’s Nezha. This demon then starts to cause some real havoc in the lives of these two superheroes and some of the people they associate with. Supergirl, Robin, and Green Lantern all show up to help in the fight against the demon.
A lot of this story is fairly great and scary at times. There is a moment where the demon shows up in the cave with Alfred that is particularly scary and well done. The heroes have to find a way to contain the demon. Can they do it before the world ends?
Waid keeps the stakes high and the story exciting. He has a great handle on every character that shows up. Artist Dan Mora does his best work here. The action is fluid and the compositions on each page are incredibly strong. The whole thing is well paced and keeps the reader on their toes. I also love that the creative team just told a good story involving these characters and didn’t try to do anything else, like a deconstruction or otherwise, with it.
It’s a solid story featuring characters we love and that we recognize.
RATING: A –
