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Batman helps a criminal, fights back against Amanda Waller, and more comic book news

Between fighting Amanda Waller's forces, Batman finds time to help a criminal. Meanwhile, Deadpool learns that he can actually be killed.

By Mark Lynch

Batman #150 José Luis García-López Artist Spotlight Variant. Image courtesy DC Comics
Batman #150 José Luis García-López Artist Spotlight Variant. Image courtesy DC Comics /
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After everything happening in DC Comics' summer event Absolute Power No. 1, you’d figure not much else would happen in the comic book world this week (how could anything compete, right?). Well, that is far from true. A lot went down in the world of comics and there were many must-read moments.

These upcoming moments from both Marvel and DC Comics are things you need to know.

Batman: Be Better

  • Comic book: Batman No. 150
  • Writer: Chip Zdarsky
  • Artists: Jorge Jimenez and Denys Cowan

People forget that Batman is more than just punches and kicks. Of course, it’s what he’s known for, but that’s not all. Chip Zdarsky highlighted the caring side of Batman and used something from his past stories to do it.

At the end of Batman: Gotham War, a henchman named Terry comes across Bruce Wayne’s penthouse and discovers that Bruce is indeed Batman. With that information, Terry planned on getting rich by selling it to one of the Dark Knight's enemies. Instead, Terry learns that Batman/Bruce Wayne helped his son when he couldn’t.

After a short conversation with Bruce, Terry understood that he must leave Gotham City. Knowing who Batman is puts Terry and his family in danger. Thankfully, he'd have help. Bruce sets Terry up with a new identity and job in Metropolis. The only catch is Terry has to be the man his kid wants him to be.

Cyborg is captured

  • Comic book: Batman No. 150
  • Writer: Chip Zdarsky
  • Artist: Mike Hawthorne

After Amanda Waller stole the powers of most of the world’s heroes (Absolute Power No. 1), Batman goes to the one person he knew who could help: Cyborg. Unfortunately, Batman was intercepted by one of Amanda Waller’s Amazos, who defeated him and took Cyborg back to Waller.

As bad as that is, two good things came from this. First, Batman noticed that the Wonder Woman Amazo used an accent, a certain word choice, and sounded “almost Victorian.” All of that can be used as a clue to stop Waller’s Taskforce VII (a.k.a. her Amazo Justice League).

Second, before he’s captured, Cyborg learns the source of Waller’s power is coming from a Mother Box. That isn’t the best news, but it’s something. It’s another bit of knowledge to help the heroes fight back.

Black Panther’s plan

  • Comic book: Blood Hunt: Black Panther No. 1
  • Writer: Cheryl Eaton
  • Artist: Farid Karami

T’Challa was still under Varnae’s power and forced to get The Temple of the First Blasphemoy (located deep in Atlantean Temple Ruins). As it’s seen in Blood Hunt No. 3, T’Challa succeeded.

However, there was more to this. T’Challa believes that helping Varnae may hurt him as well. According to Bast and Anuket (the two goddesses helping Black Panther), everything happened as it should have.

Deadpool’s daughter’s and Wade's fear

  • Comic book: Deadpool No. 4
  • Writer: Cody Ziglar
  • Artist: Roge Antonio

The first few issues of Cody Ziglar's Deadpool showed that Wade’s daughter Ellie has his healing abilities. However, they’re different. Taskmaster said Ellie's healing powers aren't as wild as his. The good news is that her brain’s healing allows her to learn things quickly. That became apparent when she easily made a tracking device and learned Taskmaster’s fighting patterns while they sparred.

Later, Death Grip challenged Wade to a fight. When Deadpool arrives, he learns something unfortunate: Death Grip took the power of the Muramasa Blade inside himself (Deadpool No. 3). With that, Death Grip removed Wade’s healing factor.

While this may not seem like a big deal, Marvel Comics announced that Deadpool will die. What that means remains to be seen. It doesn't bode well that the hook for the issue says, "This is the first issue of a new era and killing Deadpool NOW would be an INSANE thing to do. Which is exactly why we're doing it." This could be why we're learning about Ellie's healing power. She could become the new Deadpool with the help of Taskmaster.

I may not like the idea of killing Deadpool off, but the smart thing is to remain optimistic until the next step in Ziglar's run begins. He's done fantastic comic book work and is worth trusting.

Next. DC Comics: Absolute Power feels like a classic in the making. DC Comics: Absolute Power feels like a classic in the making. dark

What comic books did you read this week? Is there any news that wasn't mentioned here? Let us know on the Bam Smack Pow Instagram and Twitter.