Everybody Laughs! Batman/Superman #2 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The Batman Who Laughs has infected Billy Batson, aka Shazam, and now the Earth’s Mightiest Mortal is taking on the World’s Finest. Shazam is immensely powerful, and he’s fueled by magic–which means he can easily hurt Superman. The battle rages over Gotham City until Shazam drops an unconscious Batman from the sky. He gives Superman two choices: keep trying to stop Shazam or save Batman.
Batman/Superman #2 continues the World’s Finest’s investigation into the Batman Who Laughs while they deal with Shazam, now a malicious and deranged reflection of himself thanks to the Batman Who Laughs.
Much of the comic consists of the fight of Superman and Batman against Shazam, and it’s quite a show. We get to watch the Man of Steel put much of his immeasurable strength into stopping a foe who may very well be his equal. We also get to watch Batman crash a jet at full speed into Shazam, which is pretty damn awesome.
Jim Gordon plays a big part in this comic too–just not the one you’d think he’d play (unless you were paying close attention to the first issue).
The back half of the book is Superman and Batman making a risky plan and an insane gamble on stopping the Batman Who Laughs. Things do get a little confusing here, as it seems Batman and Superman suddenly know exactly where to find the Batman Who Laughs.
David Marquez knocks it out of the park once again, especially during the fight between our heroes and the Shazam Who Laughs. Marquez is an expert at crafting scenes of high-impact and a lot of motion. He can convey those things through a still image in a manner few artists can match. It’s phenomenal, and color artist Alejandro Sanchez backs it up with bold and explosive color work.
Batman/Superman #2 is another stellar issue from this World’s Finest reunion. It’s nice seeing Superman and Batman reunite like this, especially against such an unprecedented and dangerous foe. Needless to say, this one gets a recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
Batman/Superman #2 comes to us from writer Joshua Williamson, artist David Marquez, color artist Alejandro Sanchez, letterer John J. Hill, cover artist David Marquez with Alejandro Sanchez, and variant cover artist Jerome Opeña with Morry Hollowell.
Final Score: 8.5/10
