In this column, our resident ‘comics guy’ Fred Azeredo expounds on a single comic book issue every month. Not necessarily the biggest, not necessarily the best, just one he thinks is worth discussing! See if you agree!
Let’s be honest, there was no other candidate for IOTM this month. DC and Marvel haven’t crossed over beyond the realm of speculative Reddit matches since JLA/Avengers back in 2004. Even when these Big Two crossovers suck (like DC vs. Marvel), they’re required reading for comics fans. I mean, it’s Superman fighting Spider-Man, for God’s sake. If they made that a movie, it’d make 3 billion dollars on the opening weekend. In fact, the very first of these crossovers, the 1978 Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man, sold itself on that exact matchup.
Unfortunately, Deadpool/Batman is very much on the lacklustre end of the crossover spectrum. The main story featuring the titular duo is fun enough, mostly because of how entertainingly mismatched the Dark Knight and Merc with a Mouth are. Crucially, Zeb Wells keeps things zippy and lightweight; he doesn’t even try to account for the multiversal displacement, opting for a lightweight crime caper instead. Given both publishers’ recent obsession with continuity, this is oddly refreshing. Greg Capullo’s art isn’t up to his usual standard (maybe his take on the new blue suit just looks weird), but it’s more than adequate for the fanservice demands of a story like this.
Where the issue really struggles is in the backup stories. Having taken up half the issue with the big-money team-up, the publishers proceed to stuff the rest with six (!) incredibly rushed additions that barely serve to whet our appetite. Al Ewing’s Rocket Raccoon/Green Lantern story is probably the most entertaining—if only for the sheer ridiculousness of it—but Chip Zdarsky’s Captain America/Wonder Woman tale clearly had the most potential. If it hadn’t been limited to scarcely eight pages, that is. Meanwhile, Frank Miller’s contribution, a shockingly nonsensical mashup of Dark Knight Returns and Old Man Logan, is interminably long at three.
Ultimately, this issue feels like what it is: a rushed grab bag made to seize a rare window of inter-corporate opportunity. I’m glad it exists, but I doubt I’ll ever revisit it. November’s second part of the crossover, though, boasting a Grant Morrison-penned lead story, might be a different story…