Deadpool/Batman #1 Review: This Ain’t It
Look, before we get into this, I get it. I know why this book is Deadpool and Batman. They are, dollars to donuts, the two most marketable entities Marvel and DC have right now. Yes, I would argue Deadpool currently has more brand recognition than even Wolverine or Spider-Man has.
However, that recognition doesn’t change the fact that I simply don’t care, and that’s a huge issue. The two are the main event of the Marvel Comics-published Marvel/DC: Deadpool/Batman #1, a physical-only release that marks the first Marvel and DC Comics crossover since JLA/Avengers over two decades ago. But after just a few panels, I feel like I had seen and gotten the joke, and was already done with it.
In practice, Deadpool/Batman #1 has more in common with Marvel vs. DC than it does with JLA/Avengers. The core plot revolves around Deadpool attempting to capture Batman at the behest of his employer, The Joker, who hired the Merc With A Mouth with help from an off-screen Reverse-Flash.
The story is just fine on a technical level. Zeb Wells writes the story deftly, and Greg Capullo’s art looks terrific, as always. But I just can’t bring myself to care. I’m just not very interested in this crossover, which is arguably a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many readers, given how long it’s been since the last one. I think it really hurts the appeal that the event is so heavily built around two characters with so little in common and no real motivation to not just beat the piss out of each other on sight.
It doesn’t help that the backups are inherently more interesting. Green Arrow & Daredevil: The Red and the Green might honestly be the highlight of this whole issue, marking not just a new Kevin Smith story, but one featuring the two characters he saved from the maw of obscurity. It’s a joy to see Adam Kubert on these characters, too, and I would have honestly paid for a whole book of them.
The rest of the book is comprised of a handful more backups that I enjoyed well enough. Captain America & Wonder Woman: The Gun and the Sword, by Chip Zdarsky and Terry Dodson, is a little saccharine for my tastes in how it approaches the pairing, but it doesn’t feel wrong. Rocket Raccoon & Green Lantern: Rocket Raccoon Has a Green Lantern Ring Now is a fun little ditty with a quick punchline, so I was a little shocked to discover it was by powerhouse writer Al Ewing with art by Dike Ruan. It would be the most adorable animal-focused story if not for Jeff!& Krypto: Catch by Kelly Thompson and Gurihuru, a short-and-sweet tale of abject perfection that has Jeff and Krypto play a little ball and become best buds before being called home.
Sadly, the worst offender of Deadpool/Batman #1 may be from its most legendary creator. Frank Miller contributes Showdown, a story that pits two caricatures — meant to be Batman from The Dark Knight Returns and Old Man Logan — against each other. It’s short and harmless enough, but the art is particularly rough, and the story is inconsequential. I get it. The appeal is supposed to be that Miller contributed, and it’s genuinely great that he’s still around to offer up a story for this one-shot. But the quality of Miller’s work has reached a point that it is detracting more than it is adding. I don’t want to sit here and tell you it sucks because it feels like bullying. I do want to tell you that Frank Miller is an icon whose work has had a ripple effect still being felt today, and he shouldn’t need to contribute stories to event comics today.
The book does end on a fun tease, though, with Ryan North and Ryan Stegman introducing Logo, a hybridization of Lobo and Wolverine. As someone who was just the right age for Marvel vs. DC to hit hard, I can’t help but get excited at the prospect of relaunched or reworked Amalgam Comics, and we’ll surely learn more about this in the coming weeks.
All in all, I feel like Deadpool/Batman #1 is a real mixed bag. The upcoming DC-published Batman/Deadpool #1 seems to have gotten the better pairings for its back-ups, so this story ultimately has to rely on the weight of its marquee story, but once you get past the novelty of Batman and Deadpool appearing on the page together, it runs out of steam pretty fast. If you’re a diehard fan of the two or yearn for the days when Marvel and DC crossovers were a semi-regular affair, this is worth a read. Otherwise, you probably won’t miss out on much by skipping this one entirely.
6.0 TOTAL SCORE
Marvel/DC Deadpool/Batman #1
0 Out of 5
Based on 0 Users
The Great
Holy shit, Kevin Smith wrote a comic book story again.
But for real, I'd buy a whole book of Green Arrow and Daredevil.
Jeff and Krypto are pure and perfect and I will kill for them.
The Meh
Batman and Deadpool is just an inherently uninteresting pairing.
DC's book seems to have gotten the more interesting pairs.
Frank Miller shouldn't have to keep doing this.
Bottomline
The novelty of Batman and Deadpool existing in one story wears out almost immediately in a story that was never going to be as interesting as the back-ups intended to support it. Come for the main event, stay for Green Arrow/Daredevil and Krypto/Jeff the Land Shark.
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