Batman/Superman #11 Review – Out Of The Comfort Zone
By Steve Lam
Writer: Greg Pak
Artists: Karl Kerschl, Tom Derenick, Daniel Sampere
Superman / Wonder Woman #8 Recap:
Wonder Woman and Batman attempt to track Superman. In her investigation, Wonder Woman is told by Clark’s close acquaintances that he has been acting strangely. As the trail leads to Clark’s apartment, we see that Clark has begun transforming into a Doomsday-like hybrid. Clark tells Wonder Woman to kill him before it’s too late. But Wonder Woman helps Clark resist Doomsday’s influence and he’s able to temporarily transform back.
Spoiler-Free Reaction
A very action-packed issue. I enjoyed Batman’s internal monologue which gave us some insight into his relationship with Superman.
Plot Details and Spoilers and Deaths: Oh My!
Batman listens to Senator Lane on TV performing a smear campaign against the incarcerated Superman. Lane praises Lex Luthor for stepping in and helping, but Batman knows that they’re just doing damage control. Analyzing a sample of Superman’s blood, Batman sees Doomsday’s infection growing.
Batman arrives at the Fortress of Solitude. He’s quickly joined by Wonder Woman and Steel. Approaching the Fortress’s doors, they notice that Krypto is sick. Steel notes that Krypto also has the same cellular degeneration that he himself sustained when fighting Doomsday. As the team enters the Fortress, Krypto detects Doomsday’s scent and runs through the portal to the Phantom Zone. Batman and Wonder Woman follow, but Steel is told to stay behind to pull them out of the Zone if necessary.
In the Phantom Zone, Batman notices strange sensations not characteristic to the environment. Steel communicates to the team that something has gone wrong in the Zone and it’s now unstable. Batman and Wonder Woman suddenly notice Mongul and Non trying to contain a rift. Wonder Woman flies in to help and is able to close the rift. Non tells Wonder Woman that he lost contact with Zod and Faora when Doomsday attacked them. It was Doomsday who “broke the sky.” Suddenly, Mongul strikes Wonder Woman because she insulted him by saving his life when she closed the rift. Batman steps in to help, but Mongul grabs him by the neck. About to be killed, Batman turns intangible — Ghost Soldier rescues him and transports the whole team away from danger.
Batman, Wonder Woman, Krypto, and Ghost Soldier reappear in a safer area of the Zone. Wonder Woman quickly lassos Ghost Soldier and demands answers. They learn that The Tower set Doomsday loose in order to contain Superman. Ghost Soldier didn’t realize that millions of lives would be taken just for the sake of killing Superman.
The three later find a rift, but a machine is pulling energy from it. Batman discovers that this particular rift is where Doomsday came from. The team is quickly interrupted by the attack of Xa-Du, the Phantom King and first prisoner of the Phantom Zone. Ghost Soldier attempts to make Xa-Du intangible, but Xa-Du’s ecto-suit prevents him from doing so. At a temporary draw, Xa-Du tells the team that it was Harrow who approached him for his science to make her soldiers tangible so they could kill Superman. When Ghost Soldier failed, Xa-Du gave Harrow another “gift” — he went to the Zone’s forbidden corners and released Doomsday. Much to his surprise, Doomsday had changed. Because Superman, the most powerful being in the galaxy, is now merging with Doomsday, Xa-Du proposes a joint effort with Batman and Wonder Woman to kill Superman. Wonder Woman refuses and lunges at Xa-Du, but Mongul gets to him first and delivers a powerful punch.
In the Fortress, the computer has detected the rift expanding. It warns Steel to shut down the portal. Steel overrides it and Non comes running through. As Non’s powers quickly grow from exposure to the yellow sun, he takes Steel down. Wonder Woman flies through the portal, grabs Non, and throws him back towards the portal. At the same time, Mongul is attempting to run through. Non slams into Mongul and both are sent back into the Phantom Zone. Batman, Ghost Soldier, and Krypto run through the portal just as Steel closes it. We see that they also brought a guest back — Xa-Du bound by Wonder Woman’s lasso.
Wrapping It Up
A very interesting visit to the Phantom Zone which revealed a larger conspiracy. I was impressed by how the writers balanced the action scenes with the exposition of each character’s relationship with Superman. This intricate layering was done lightly and didn’t clutter the goal. The story could’ve been improved if Steel also had a conflict in the Fortress of Solitude. It would’ve upped the urgency on his end. Nevertheless, a great issue with some great revelations.