The story of the CW show Smallville continued in the pages of the comic book series Smallville Season 11, which showed Clark Kent dropping the moniker ‘The Blur’ and becoming Superman. However, it was the second volume that caught my attention. The “Detective” story-arc written by Bryan Q. Miller features Batman and Superman’s first meeting.

Superman and Green Arrow are tracking down Intergang, who are using alien technology to develop new weaponry. Meanwhile, Clark is trying to find a way to hide from Lex Luthor’s satellites as he continues his relationship with Lois Lane. However, when Intergang tries to make moves in Gotham City, they are hit hard by Batman and his female sidekick Nightwing. At first, Batman has no interest in chasing further leads, until one of them reveals that Joe Chill is their contact in Metropolis. This makes it personal for Bruce Wayne. The Dark Knight then heads to Kansas where his investigation brings him face-to-face with the Man of Steel.

Since I did not watch a single episode of Smallville, I have no way to compare it to that show. Because of that, I am sure I missed some references and inside jokes, but that being said, I did think it was an interesting take on Batman.

Batman is not much different from his comic book counterpart, he is a dark knight detective who is searching for his parent’s killer. I did like the twist on Barbara Gordon who has taken the mantle of Nightwing, making a joke about not wanting to be a Batgirl. I did like this twist as well as her variant of the costume.

I did find one thing weird. Bruce Wayne is shown to have a portable base inside a ship. Bad guys Mr. Freeze and Prank find it, sending assassins to take out the heroes. Superman and Batman have gone, leaving Nightwing with Lois Lane. All of a sudden, Lane is able to fight and defeat fully armed, armored bad guys. With Nightwing, she has body armor and electrified escrima sticks, plus being trained by Batman, but Lane is an “army brat” so she can magically fight grown men twice her size. Sorry, but this is unrealistic.

One other note, the whole point of Batman traveling to Metropolis was tracking Joe Chill. While this is an interesting plot development, I feel like it was dropped very fast and tied up a little too quickly.

Despite those two points of criticism, I did enjoy the twist on Batman and seeing him in the world Smallville, even if I did not fully understand the references from the show.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or novel you would like me to review. While you are at it, check out my graphic novel reviews of Captain America: The Chosen and The Brave and the Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more posts like this one.

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