Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Early Batman vs. Lex Luthor, December 10, 2007
I enjoyed this tale of early Batman. The story has Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor's companies vying for a defense contract to construct robot super-soldiers. When one of Wayne's giant robots goes amok and appears to try to kill Luthor, Captain Jim Gordon of the GCPD is on the case. Batman appears and tries to get to the bottom of the conspiracy and makes good use of his many gadgets. It shows how Batman/Bruce Wayne comes to acquire the Batplane. The story comes down to a final duel with Batman and Luthor and it's not too hard to figure who gets the best of it.
The story by Andy Diggle and the characterizations were good and the art by Whilce Portacio was excellent. I liked the way that he drew an edgy Bruce Wayne. He didn't look like a soap opera star the way a lot of artists portray him. A little more rugged looking. His depiction of Batman was excellent and full of menace. No manga stylings(which I hate) here. I found that Alfred appeared to be a little too youthful in appearance, but you cant have everything. all in all, a most worthy entry into the Batman mythology. 5 stars.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Now THIS is a Batman story!, March 31, 2008
Set approximately one year after Bruce Wayne takes on the cowl of Batman, this story pits our hero against Lex Luthor--a match-up so brilliant it's hard to imagine why it hasn't been done a thousand times over. I mean, the Joker is a great crazy, but for sheer brilliance it's hard to figure why Lex isn't in the book more often.
Though they've clashed in the "No Man's Land" storyline, this is considered their first meeting, and what a clash it is. Bruce and Lex go after a government defense contract, and of course, it all goes wrong. Lex eventually decides it's time to rule the U.S. again, and it's up to Batman to stop him. Batman's choice of stealth and cunning over the usual brute force attack of Lex's usual foil Superman presents a great contrast for the villain to face. Lex's line, "I hate superheroes" is hilarious in context.
We see the introduction of the Bat-plane here (called the Batwing), and it's origin makes sense. I love the sinister undertones we get from Bruce's character as he seethes at Lex's twisted win of the government contract.
There is a LOT of action here in every form, and it's great to see Batman have this entire adventure to himself. There's no teen sidekick or guest appearance by Superman here. And even facing the impossible (an entire army of robot soldiers), Batman finds an incredibly creative way to turn things around at the end.
As I said before, I really think Luthor would make a better villain for Batman than he does for Superman (after all, he's the evil version of Bruce), but I'm glad they space out his appearances so they don't become cheap and repetitive like the rest of his normal stable of baddies. This is a great story!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Dissapointing!, August 16, 2008
Top British writer Andy Diggle lends his talents to Batman in a story showcasing Batman's first encounter with Lex Luther. The story gets off on the wrong foot by setting this confrontation very early in batman's career.
Setting stories during the few months following the events of Year One has become quite cliche'd and is done here without reason. Setting this tale a few years ahead would have worked better with other stories set in that period and would have avoided trampling over other Year Two stories, such as the Long Holloween, Batman and the Monster Men, Batman and the Mad Monk as well as others occuring during the same period.
The tale also focuses on Batman's high tech arsenal, which he needs to face off against Lex Luther's robotic creations, usually reserved to menace the Man of Steel. This again sets a tone not in line with the simple, noirish, and down to earth tales of Batman's early years.
The art by Whilce Partacio is hard to look at, which is a shame since his work is usually much better than what is on display here. Perhaps the inking by Richard Friend was just too heavy handed, but Batman is always drawn without a nose and the artwork is generally scruffy, in high contrast to the work of other artists drawing stories set in the early years such as Wagner, Sale, and Mazzuchelli.
A let down.
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