Ricky Church continues his countdown to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with Superman/Batman: Public Enemies…
What could be worse than your mortal enemy running a billion dollar company, having infinite resources to work on your doom? How about that same mortal enemy being President of the United States.
In the early 00s, Lex Luthor ran for the country’s highest political office and surprisingly won, giving him complete control over the American government and manipulated events to make him look like a good president. Superman and Batman made a deal with each other that they wouldn’t forcefully remove Lex from office until he did something to force their hand. That time came in the storyline Public Enemies, the opening arc to the Superman/Batman title by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness.
When a huge Kryptonite asteroid heads to Earth, threatening to wipe out all life, Luthor publicly announces Superman is to blame as he is somehow drawing the asteroid to the planet. He then places a one billion dollar bounty on Superman’s head to be brought in, dead or alive. Superman and Batman work together to stop the asteroid and end Luthor’s presidency for good while fighting off a huge collection of villains attempting to cash in on Luthor’s bounty.
Public Enemies showcases some stellar wall-to-wall action as the pair fights off waves of supervillains and even superheroes before facing off against Luthor himself, but the story is also notable for examining Superman and Batman’s similarities as well as differences. Loeb employs the use of dual thought-boxes that contrast the ways Batman and Superman approach a situation. One instance depicts Superman creating a mini-tornado against their enemies, thinking about his love of rushing through the wind while Batman thinks how he’ll never understand Superman’s obsession with wind. Another example is Batman attempting to turn Captain Atom to their side as Superman thinks Batman’s ability to manipulate anyone into doing what he wants is not only second-to-none, but downright scary.
Perhaps the biggest indicator of their relationship though is their respect for one another. As they both fight members of the Justice League, Superman remarks on Batman’s ability to fight crime without powers and push past all the tragedy he’s faced throughout his life, giving him strength to do the same. Batman, meanwhile, comments on Superman’s image as an almost unstoppable force for good, saying he’d be damned if he lets Superman go down before him.
Despite having very different abilities, each one seems able to read the other’s thoughts in battle, knowing which moves each will do next in order to combine their capabilities against their enemies. They also take friendly shows at each other, such as Superman’s surprise at Batman letting Alfred guard the Batcave with a mere shotgun or Batman getting annoyed with Superman’s sense of humour.
This storyline was adapted as an animated film in 2009 featuring Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly reprising their roles from the DC Animated Universe as Batman and Superman respectively, as well as bringing back Clancy Brown and C.C.H. Pounder as Lex Luthor and Amanda Waller.
Ricky Church
https://youtu.be/XUGnM460Waw?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published February 11, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
