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Superman/Batman #60-61: “Mash-Up”, Pts. 1 & 2
Writers: Michael Green & Mike Johnson
Art: Francis Manpul
Despite Bruce Wayne being dead in the core DC Universe, they’ve daftly found a way to keep him alive, by continuing to use Bruce Wayne in flashback stories that were never told in titles such as “Batman Confidential”, and in out of continuity tales that exist just to make the fans squee and to give slash writers something to, well, write about. For those people, we have “Superman/Batman”, and to really make the slashers happy, we have “Mash-Up”, in which the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight find themselves encountering a world comprised of hybrids of the people they know.
It all takes places in the chaotic beauty of Gothamopolis, which is protected by the Justice Titans, led by Green Lantern/Nightwing mash-up Nightlantern, and is constantly threatened by the Brotherhood of Injustice, led by Lex Joker (and if you can’t figure out who that’s a hybrid of, you’re absolutely on the wrong site).
“Mash-Up” is more than the aforementioned slasher’s wet dream though, its a solid story that starts strong and leads to a good, clean finish. The ending is a fairly surprising twist that is built up to nicely, and the mashed-up characters are just plain fun to see. Throw in an appearance by the always fantastic Zatanna and a certified “Batman is scary as hell” moment, and you’ve got the making of a fantastic two parter.
Its unknown whether or not Mash-Up will be collected in trade. The series is usually comprised of much longer stories, but for the past few months its been shorter tales, and the next issue is a “done-in-one” featuring Supergirl and Robin (The proper Tim Drake Robin, mind you), so who knows? Regardless, you can likely still find this one at your local comic shop.
Final Grade: A
