REVIEW: ‘Batman/Superman,’ Issue #6

Batman/Superman #6 is published by DC Comics, written by Joshua Williamson, art by David Marquez, colors by Alejandro Sánchez, and letters by John J. Hill. In the aftermath of their failure to contain The Batman Who Laughs and his Secret Six, Batman and Superman must take stock of where they go from here. But not before they attempt to explain themselves to one of their oldest friends.

The main takeaway I have from Batman/Superman #6: nobody gives a cold shoulder like a pissed off Amazonian warrior. And to be fair, they both certainly had it coming. Wonder Woman’s white-hot rage, and her chosen method of coping, was the highlight of this book. It takes a particularly strong presence to be impressive in the same panel as both Superman and Batman, but Diana can definitely claim a scene. Her scolding of the duo is written by Williamson with the perfect tone. Her displeasure is amplified by the visual presentation of Marquez. This combination could leave anyone hanging their head in shame.

While I thoroughly enjoyed this scene, the rest of Batman/Superman #6 is pretty by the numbers. Both Clark and Bruce spend the rest of the issue contemplating where they go from here. How do they fix the damage their secrets have done? And, how do they keep their enemies from exploiting it?

The one aspect of this that was a pleasant surprise to me was how humanizing their choice of processing is. To put it simply, they lose themselves in their work. Like so many of us, when faced with hard decisions, they make space by focusing on their immediate situation and on the tangible things they can interact with. While beating up supervillains is a job none of us have, the need to immerse one’s self in their work, and their present is something we all can appreciate.

Their solution, at least in the scant detail it is told here, doesn’t sound super impressive to me. Maybe with some fleshing out it will make more sense though. Ideas sometimes need a little room to grow. As it stands though, where this plan may lead doesn’t feel promising.

While the story was fairly standard, I did appreciate some of the minor touches throughout that Marquez was able to work into his art for this book. In previous issues, I’ve complimented how well he’s captured the strength and presence of the World’s Finest. Here, however, even outside their talk with Diana, Batman and Superman feel a little diminished. Not in an overly obvious way,but in small subtle things. Clark doesn’t stand quite as tall. Batman has lost a touch of that imposing spirit. And while I’m sure they will be back to their old selves in no time, these small touches go a long way to reinforce their state of mind, and how hard their defeat has rocked them.

Batman/Superman #6 wraps up the storyline in a nice clean way. It will be interesting to see where our protagonists go from here, especially with the reveal on the last couple pages hinting at something that could be earth-shaking for both of our heroes.

Batman/Superman #6 is available January 22nd wherever comics are sold.