Right, I think it's gorgeous and entertaining for many, but I simply read these books for Superman. And if Waid figured that Superman looking too prominent would be a turn off then I imagine he was right for a lot of readers.
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I think by this logic you can argue that the book doesn't feature enough Batman or Superman, but is constantly off with Robin or Supergirl or Metamorpho.
Waid sold this as B/S World's Finest but he is actually just writing a massive Silver Age love letter Brave and the Bold story. Funny enough, he tried (and IMO failed) to do something similar in the 10's with George Perez.
For me, admittedly a fan of DC in general, I find this book to be an absolute blast.
I'll agree that Waid does sometimes struggle to make Superman (at full strength) integral without using him to prop up the villain's strength, which is honestly a problem for most writers, but I think it's a bit overstated and at least his character is spot on. We're only 3(?) arcs in, there's plenty of time for Superman to shine.
"Has Sariel summoned you here, Azrael? Have you come to witness the miracle of your brethren arriving on Earth?"
"I WILL MIX THE ASHES OF YOUR BONES WITH SALT AND USE THEM TO ENSURE THE EARTH THE TEMPLARS TILLED NEVER BEARS FRUIT AGAIN!"
"*sigh* I hoped it was for the miracle."
Dan Watters' Azrael was incredible, a constant delight and perhaps too good for this world (but not the Forth). For the love of St. Dumas, DC, give us more!!!
Funny enough the only B&B issues I picked up from then were the Nightwing/Hawkman and Superman/Catwoman stories.
I wouldn't know how any of these Duo comics land with others, "primarily Batman" readers in particular, but I'd argue that the premise of Superman requiring non powered help on a permanent basis is already a great deal for Batman in itself. By the time you have Robin saving Superman from kryptonite you've done a lot to establish the equality of the two heroes.
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Fair, if Superman were to be written to fit the established character, there is absolutely no need for a Batman/Superman team up. Ever.
"Batman is the world's greatest detective," yeah? Well, Superman is not only an excellent investigative journalist in his own right, but also has a million powers and fortress full of futuristic sci-fi toys that make basic detective work utterly obsolete.
"Batman is a great fighter" Superman literally cannot be harmed by anything that Batman could reasonably tackle.
"Batman is a scientist" as is Superman, who also has a cute little robot dude in his fortress that could, in seconds, whip up things Bats couldn't even imagine.
"Kryptonite?" Superman has been dealing with it, one way or another, for decades without help.
"Batman.. has a cool black cape?" Superman has arguably the most recognisable cape in the world, one that prominently features his own logo like an absolute boss, as well as a popularised phrase "do not tug on Superman's cape."
I absolutely agree that smarter writing is needed to make a pairing viable, it's a Justice League problem too*, but it's not a deal breaker for me. I enjoy this book a lot and don't really see it as Superman being excessively nerfed to fit the plot (again, we're just a few arcs in. That may change).
Also, Dick carrying a poisoned Supes was fricking adorable. But then I've always really liked that pairing for some reason.
*it's largely a Batman is DC's most popular character problem, so the "weakest" guy power-wise has to be front and centre for the biggest threats.
"Has Sariel summoned you here, Azrael? Have you come to witness the miracle of your brethren arriving on Earth?"
"I WILL MIX THE ASHES OF YOUR BONES WITH SALT AND USE THEM TO ENSURE THE EARTH THE TEMPLARS TILLED NEVER BEARS FRUIT AGAIN!"
"*sigh* I hoped it was for the miracle."
Dan Watters' Azrael was incredible, a constant delight and perhaps too good for this world (but not the Forth). For the love of St. Dumas, DC, give us more!!!
Looks like they are going to be building off of the seeds planted in 2021's Action Comics Annual.
PKJ was building up an Aethyr and Phantom Zone plotline and now Waid is setting that up to be continued in Action? Either they’re working together or Waid is taking over the book. Pretty basic and bland ending honestly, Jax was a one note mustache twirler bad guy which again just begs the question of why Waid used him. I’m just not feeling how regressive everything is with Waid, it’s all about going back to the Silver Age in every way, from the corny designs to the storytelling. PKJ was setting up Aethyr to be a Lovecraftian god in the same manner as Gerber, Waid’s Aethyr is definitely not that.
I guess the only upside to Waid potentially taking over is that it does seem like Waid might be building on what PKJ set up.
For when my rants on the forums just aren’t enough: https://thevindicativevordan.tumblr.com/
Who knows. But at least he had made the reasons and motivations for Jax different from Zod. Zod never would had do the same what jax did in the issue.
And also I must say I liked than Waid is using the isolated Krypton than lacks a proper space program. I never understood why some writers want to write Krypton like an space empire and then have to invent complicated explanations why only one child escaped the planet when it blew up.
"Never assign to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity or ignorance."
"Great stories will always return to their original forms"
"Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart; for his purity, by definition, is unassailable." James Baldwin
"Never assign to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity or ignorance."
"Great stories will always return to their original forms"
"Nobody is more dangerous than he who imagines himself pure in heart; for his purity, by definition, is unassailable." James Baldwin
Aethyr the messiah? I understand that he was not well defined before but this sounds very random.
Writing about comics https://bookofhsssh.blogspot.com
Since I railed on Waid I should say that this was a good moment.
It’s a very boring look. Waid is the kind of guy who would demand Mr. Freeze look like he did in the Silver Age before the DCAU made him cool. It’s a bummer because I’m sure someone like Federeci or Sandoval could absolutely deliver a killer looking redesign for Aethyr.
For when my rants on the forums just aren’t enough: https://thevindicativevordan.tumblr.com/
Last edited by Knightsilver; 09-20-2023 at 03:57 PM.