Batman/Superman, Vol. 2: World's Deadliest

Batman/Superman (2019)

by Joshua Williamson

DC's two biggest icons face off against two of their greatest foes in the second volume of Batman/Superman!

After taking on the Batman Who Laughs and his group of six "Infected" DC heroes, things don't get any either for the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel in volume two of Batman/Superman!

First, writer Joshua Williamson teams with artist Nick Derington for "Kandor Compromise," as General Zod returns to Earth and targets Ra's al Ghul! General Zod is on a mission to resurrect the bottle city of Kandor, and he's ready to obliterate anyone in his path--leading Ra's al Ghul to attempt to save his Lazarus Pits from Kryptonian chaos, with Batman and Superman caught in the middle!

Then, artist Clayton Henry joins the series for "Atomic," as the Atomic Skull's untimely death leads to a deadly mystery of grisly experiments! And what does the Ultra-Humanite have to do with it all?

Collects: Batman / Superman #7-15, Annual #1

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Batman, Superman, Superheroes, Comic Book

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bunch of smaller stories that were fun but nothing earth shattering. Batman and Superman against General Zod, Ra's al Ghul, Atomic Skull, Ultra-Humanite, a Braniac virus, Bat-Myte, Mr. Mxyzptlk, and Solomon Grundy. There were quite a few artists, but the art maintained a high level throughout the book.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great collection of stories and yeah it took me some time to read it but I thoroughly enjoyed them!

Okay so the first story starts with Zod wanting to resurrect kandorians and thus he wants to use the Lazarus pits and thus confront Ra's and so the duo have to stop them and can they and at what cost and some great mix of continuity and enemies for both. Its a fun story and showing how Zod has changed and the deadly ways of Ra's.

Then a story where Ultra-humanite has returned and is sort of turning people into Atomic-skull and well seems like he wants to do the same with Batman and make him fight Clark as he is Clark's first villain (chronologically speaking yes) and thus we have a great fight and its kind of a weak story but then again is alright seeing it gives them a new challenge.

Then a story where the program they were working on becomes sentient and kind of pits all their villains against them and traps them and so Steel and Batwoman has to come to the rescue and we sort of see a new team-up and its fun and the birth of a new villain in "Composite" but kind of gave me the same old-brother eye vibes and yeah its a fun story about how both Clark and Bruce use their minds to destroy this threat or maybe save it. Idk its alright I guess, not the greatest story but good to see such action-packed stories!

And then a story where Mxy and Bat-mite kind of change reality and pit the duo against each other to see who will in a fight between them like fan-boys and yeah its cool to see and kind of brings the whole thing full circle and yeah its a meta-commentary on fan arguments and its cool to see haha!

And the last story is how they sort of save Solomon grundy and kind of give him a rest and its a story that will bring smile to your faces and shows that not everything can be solved with punches and yeah it felt like a relaxed issue and I kind of like about it, and the calm and composed manner of this issue was so awesome and a perfect close to this run!

So yeah overall such a fun read and I had a great time reading it and really shows you how good these two are working together and their stories are so fun! <3!

[Molly™☺ · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of stories that don't follow on from the first volume, except for a few nods to it here and there that are ultimately throwaway lines. Unfortunately, this doesn't improve upon its predecessor, and steers more towards mediocre than good. There are pockets of fun sprinkled throughout, but nothing that manages to save this volume from being a bit of a bore overall. Disappointing to the point where the iconic duo can't even save it...

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this volume much more that the first book. It could because I prefer the self contained stories, though they are influenced by what is going on in the DC universe.

Book contains three story arcs and couple of stand alone stories.

The first arc is against Ra's al Ghul and Zod, but are Batman and Superman more likely to team with their nemesis than each other.

Arc two starts with a supposed reformed criminal is supposed back to his old ways and taking a chunk out of Gotham as well, but is their a hidden puppet master?

Arc three starts with a wrecked Batcave. Batman's data base of criminal motives, activities, behaviour and next steps is corrupted and Batman and Superman are nowhere to be found it is up to Batwoman and Steel to find them and save the day.

The annual is the 5th dimension imps once again arguing over who would win between Batman or Superman, of course the two heroes will need to role play the argument.

The final story in about the heroes showing their humanity and a good last story.

[Ben Truong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman/Superman: World's Deadliest continues where the previous trade paperback left off collecting nine issues (Batman/Superman #7–15) of the 2019 on-going series with Batman/Superman Annual #1 and collects five stories: "The Kandor Compromise", "Atomic", "Planet Brainiac", "Snow Fight", and "Freestyle Imp: Batman versus Superman".

"The Kandor Compromise" is a two-issue storyline (Batman/Superman #7–8) has General Zod returning to Earth on a mission to revive the Bottle City of Kandor and would not let anyone stand in his way – including Ra's al Ghul. Unfortunately, Bruce Wayne as Batman and Clark Kent as Superman are caught in the middle. "Atomic" is a three-issue storyline (Batman/Superman #9–11) has Bruce Wayne as Batman and Clark Kent as Superman teaming up to solve a mystery surrounding Atomic Skull and Ultra-Humanite.

"Planet Brainiac" is a three-issue storyline (Batman/Superman #12–14) has Bruce Wayne as Batman and Clark Kent as Superman teaming up to prevent the Brainiac Virus from spreading with supporting cameos from Batwoman and Steel. While "Snow Fight" is a one-issue storyline (Batman/Superman #15) has the duo teaming up and going against the Secret Society of Villains with supporting cameos from Solomon Grundy and Swamp Thing.

"Freestyle Imp Battle: Batman versus Superman" is a one-issue storyline (Batman/Superman Annual #1) has Bat-Mite and Mister Mxyzptlk having the aged-old debate of who is better – Batman or Superman with the heroes caught up in the middle of their impish insanity.

Joshua Williamson penned the entire trade paperback. For the most part, it is written moderately well. Williamson penned five relatively short stories that have the World's Finest encountering various villains and needed to team-up to defeat or null the evil. Some stories fair better than others, but as a collection as a whole it was satisfactory.

Clayton Henry (Batman/Superman #9–11 and Annual #1), Max Raynor (Batman/Superman #12–14), Nick Derington (Batman/Superman #7–8), Andrei Bressan (Batman/Superman #15), Gleb Melnikov, and Dale Eaglesham (Batman/Superman Annual #1) penciled the trade paperback. For the most part, the penciling styles are rather distinct, which makes the artistic flow rather turbulent. However, each story has one penciler attached to it, which mitigates the artistic flow somewhat.

All in all, Batman/Superman: World's Deadliest is a satisfactory continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collecting the remaining 10 issues of Joshua Williamson's Batman/Superman run, this volume pits the World's Finest against Ra's Al Ghul, General Zod, Brainiac, the Ultra-Humanite, and worst of all, Bat-Mite & Mr. Mxyzptlk (I didn't have to Google how to spell that, I'm proud of myself).

The Ra's/Zod two-parter is surprisingly concise at two issues considering the plot could have gone on a bit longer. Artist Nick Derington pops over from Doom Patrol to pencil, so it looks pretty solid too. I still like the new Zod status quo established in Action Comics and Hal Jordan & The Green Lantern Corps during Rebirth, and I'm glad DC are sticking with it for now.

The Brainiac and Ultra-Humanite stories are both pretty standard Brainiac and Ultra-Humanite fare (I'm pretty sure if you've read one Ultra-Humanite story, you've read them all), but they've got some good character work in them. The Brainiac one shows good understanding not just of Bats and Supes but their villains as well, while the Ultra-Humanite arc reminds us why Superman's a great hero - because he cares about everyone, not just the good guys. The Brainiac arc is penciled by Max Raynor, while the Ultra-Humanite story gets the Clayton Henry treatment.

Also included are issue 15, which is an epilogue issue to the Ultra-Humanite arc with art by Williamson's Birthright collaborator Andrei Bressan which reminds me while I love Solomon Grundy so much, and the first Batman/Superman Annual which has both Bat-Mite and Mxyzptlk in it so you know it's going to be a good time. This one's penciled by Dale Eaglesham, Gleb Melnikov, and the returning Clayton Henry.

A solid collection of solid stories, with a solid array of artists. Impressively consistent, and consistently impressive.

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman/Superman Vol. 2 World's Deadliest collects issues 7-15 and Annual 1 written by Joshua Williamson and art by Nick Derington, Clayton Henry, Max Raynor, Gleb Melnikov, Dale Eaglesham, and Andrei Bressan.

Batman and Superman battle a collection of adversaries over a series of arcs including Ra's al Ghul, General Zod, Atomic Skull, Ultra-Humanite, a Brainiac virus, Bat-Mite, Mr. Mxyzptlk, and Solomon Grundy.

My favorite arc dealt with Atomic Skull/Ultra-Humanite. The annual with Bat-Mite and Mxyzptlk was a ton of fun with two arguing which superhero would win a fight so they created scenarios to have the two battle. I'm not a big General Zod fan (or Khandor which the story revolved around). I'm actually not a big fan on any other surviving Kryptonians. They always make it so important that Superman is so isolated because he the last of his race but we also have Supergirl, Zod, Krypto, Jor-El, everyone in the Phantom Zone, and the whole city of Khandor who also survived. Still, overall these arcs were fun and solid art throughout.

[Mohamed Metwally · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a follow up story on the Secret Six events in volume 1, but rather a collection of stories of the duo in action, from different artists and different timelines. The easiest to follow for me were those stories that referred to the Metal timeline and the Batman who laughs' evil doings, since this is the event timeline I'm following now.

The gathering factor behind this collection is exploring the depth and limits of this unusual friendship between DC's biggest icons, the strongest hero and the most popular detective

MiM

[Trike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Random stories, none of which continue the tale from the first collection. So I guess I’d have to track down a bunch of other books to find out what happened with the Batman Who Laughs (stupidest villain name ever) and his infecting heroes to kill the entire planet. I’m not going to do that.

Really, “The Batman Who Laughs” is a terrible name. And that’s in a world where the Condiment King exists.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Nice to see more of Bruce and Clark's adventures.

[Kyle Berk]

Very Enjoyable tales that use the strength of both heroes. They’re very light and fun in tone which is great. Good art and solid character writing.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Depois do detestável arco "Quem é o Sexteto Secreto?", que Joshua Williamson trabalhou em Batman/Superman durante o esquecível evento O Ano do Vilão na DC Comics, ele continuou à frente do título da dupla. Nas histórias deste encadernados que foram publicadas no Brasil na revista da Liga da Justiça, temos, por assim dizer, três arcos. O primeiro deles diz respeito à morte do Caveira Atômica provocada pelo primeiro supervilão do Superman, o Ultra-humanóide. O segundo arco envolve um team-up dos heróis-título com seus aliados, Aço e Batwoman contra um exército de robôs de Brainiac, o que inclui o Superman/Batman Composto. Por fim, uma história única com o Solomon Grundy prestes a explodir, precisando ser levado ao Pântano da Chacina, pelo Homem de Aço e o Cavaleiro das Trevas. De todos esses arcos, só gostei mesmo da útlima história. As demais são muita lenga-lenga que não adicionam nada em nada. Como de costume, fica difícil de simpatizar com as histórias desenvolvidas por Joshua Williamson. E pelo jeito vamos ter que aguentar esse estilo por um bom tempo na DC Comics.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Akin to a short story collection, this double length Batman/Superman trade features Zod and Ra’s Al Ghul in the Lost Temple of Quetzalcoatl, weird cyborg zombies controlled by the giant ape Ultra-Humanite using the power of the Atomic Skull, a trip to the moon—with Batwoman and Steel—to beat up several dozen robots controlled by a Brainiac virus that escaped from Kandor, a smack down between Bats and Supes that’s engineered by two 5th dimensional imps, and a journey from Arkham Asylum to a swamp to let Solomon Grundy die peacefully. It’s … a lot.

Like any short story collection, it has its standouts and lesser tales. The Ultra-Humanite story did nothing for me, and the Brainiac virus stuff had its moments, but the other three stories were well plotted, well told, and beautifully rendered. Whilst there were multiple artists in this collection, I appreciated that their styles and the colouring were generally complementary. That, combined with a common authorial voice, made for a cohesive, if slightly uneven, collection.

Enjoyment here really depends on how apt you are to indulge in some wacky superhero weirdness without looking too deeply at the whole thing. It was like McDonalds food in that way—great when you’re consuming it mindlessly, but you probably won’t feel too good about your purchase if you think too hard about what you just consumed.

3.5 stars.

[Soumyajyoti Bhattacharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. The artwork was a carryover in excellence from volume 1 and while the stories weren't really always related to the bigger picture, maybe that's why I loved it.

Who doesn't like a story which shows how endearing the friendship between Bruce and Clark is, at its core.

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good set of Batman and Superman stories with great character moments throughout.

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a first book that was all abotu battling the Batman who Laughs and setting upe vents and character changes in DC books, this feels like a proper Batman/Superman with several story arcs worked in to the nine issues plus an annual collected here:

The Kandor Comrpomise (7,8): While the bottled city of Kandor appeared to be lost in the Man of Steel mini-series, Zod has plan to revive them but it leads him into conflict with Ra's Al ghul while threatening his truce with the House of El. A solid tale that sets the stage for changes to the Status Quo in Superman's world.

Atomic (9-11): A mystery involving Atomic Skull's mysterious death and raises bigger problems with a long-time Superman foe. This makes good use of Batman's detective skills.

Planet Brainiac (12-14): Superman and Batman are trapped on the moon and it's up to Steel and Batwoman to free them, whether Batman and Superman want them to or not.

Annual #1: Batmite and Mister Mxyzptlk get into an argument over who's better: Batman or Superman.

Snowfight (#15): Solomon Grundy is about to blow up and Batman and Superman to figure out how to get him home to avoid the fate without setting him off. This is probably my favorite story in the books and turns poignant at the end with a suprise guest star.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. This is what a Batman/Superman book should be. It's fun with a couple important stories. It makes for a very pleasant and enjoyable read.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic plot: a series of short arcs covering a host of villains.

One author, a host of artists (some of which were great, some that actively sucked), and at least a half-dozen villains. This was a super mixed bag. We started with Zod and Ra's al Ghul, moved to Atomic Skull and the Ultra-Humanite, then kinda-sorta-not-really Brainiac, a single shot Solomon Grundy and a passel of merc villains led by Deadline, and finally Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyptltk. It was a LOT.

The writing wasn't bad, but nothing special. Except for the annual- which featured BatMite and Mxyptlyk, and was awesome all around. It would have brought my rating up to 4 stars, except the art in some panels/pages/entire issues was really just that bad.

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of stories as we get some interesting moments like seeing General Zod fight Ra's Al Ghul or seeing Batmite and Mister Mxyzptlk literally breaking reality just to prove that their hero would beat the other guy in a fight which I see as a huge parody of how comic book fans act on message boards even using terms like OOC (Out of Character). My favorite was the Brainiac one as we get a new version of Composite Superman which was kind of cool and funny.

[Britt Halliburton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whole lotta meh.

A bunch of random, unconnected stories that don't feel like it was necessary to have Superman/Batman both showing up. The best of them is the resurrection of Kandor, featuring Zod and Ra's al Ghuul, but that story isn't concluded in this volume and is replaced with a series of meh stories instead. I especially hated dimensional imp story, while it had some meta commentary in there it was meaningless.

The artwork is mostly great though, especially the Ultra-Humanite story.

[Robert Noll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collecting various issues and an Annual. This selection has:
Ra's Al Ghull;
General Zodd;
Kandor;
Atomic Skull;
The Ultra-Humanite;
Braniac (in spirit);
Steel;
Batwoman;
Batmite;
Mr. Mixklplykt;
and more!

And along the way Batman and Superman remind each other how much the true value of friendship is worth, especially when you are beating the shit out of someone. All very heartwarming.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book but really nothing spectacular. Fairly average art, and at times not very well-written.
Good enough stories and pretty action packed, but just barely gets 3 stars. At points it was good, but never amazing. It’s enjoyable enough just based on the fact it’s Batman and Superman, but the simple fact is, there isn’t a lot of depth to these events. For me, too much of the dialogue was explaining nonsense crap that wasn’t very interesting.
Wouldn’t really recommend.

[Kris Ritchie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down.

This series went from being focused on The Batman who Laughs vs the two heroes, to now just them versus whoever from their rogues gallery.

The volume contains a bunch of mini-arcs, none of which are particularly bad or good. But since they are self-contained, we do not get the bombastic feeling of the first volume.

[Bob Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Half good

First of all, this isn't the continuation of the Bat that laughs storyline, as promised at the end of vol 1. So if you're looking for that, go ahead and skip this one. Some of the stories here aren't half bad. The annual is terribly told and pointless, however, and the final story is all filler. Disappointing volume, all told.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly good. I've really never been a huge fan of Batman/Superman team ups because to me the characters just don't mesh that well. However, this volume shows that the pair can work in some really good stories. This volume really overachieved for me, and I did enjoy it more than Vol. 1.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's solid but honestly dull, feeling shallow, like it has to sell to a parent whose kid put a towel around his neck and jumped around the room rather than a writer having something new or deep to say about these icons. Great art, though.

[Jesse A · Rating 2 out of 5]

A real mixed bag on this one. Unfortunately leans more to not great.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75.

Nice mix of stories that highlight a friendship.

[David Runyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much what I want from a comic book. Classic down-the-middle good guys and bad guys.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clark and Bruce are friends at the end of the day, and that's so important to me. They really do their best to care for others and I liked that this got back to basics.

[Will Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this one! Zod wants to resurrect Kandor with a Lazarus Pit! Composite Superman/Batman creates a lot of robot villains! Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite have a silly story! This is my popcorn collection!