Superman/Batman: Vengeance mini-review

Superman/Batman: Vengeance was fun, I'm sure, in a nostalgic kind of way, with the various versions of Superman and Batman as gratifying for a certain population of fans as the various cameo appearances of eccentric DC heroes were in Absolute Power. Some of the thrill of a Composite Superman-Batman is lost on me, though, as is using Bat-Mite as the big reveal. I guess, given Darkseid's role here, I was looking for more of something that would tie together the "Man of Tomorrow" Superman with Metallo and the death of Bruce Wayne's parents and all the other threads from the past twenty-five issues of Superman/Batman. Now don't get me wrong, though; I'm happy to see a sequel to Emperor Joker (and the "no trade" line, though now rectified, was classic); high points for a Linda Danvers cameo appearance, too, and a hint, amazingly early, at DC's next, post-Infinite Crisis crossover. So I guess this was good, though with so many characters in the madcap plot, combined with the fairly streamlined, non-madcap newly matured art of Ed McGuinness, left me a little cold. Or maybe it's because, since I'm not a Marvel reader to begin with, the incessant Marvel in-jokes in a DC comic went right over my head. For better Superman/Batman action, I think, see Loeb's Supergirl: Power.