The Secret Six Arrive In Batman/Superman #5
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
Superman and Batman are at the new Fortress of Solitude. The Infected Secret Six have arrived and they are attempting to launch a satellite that will bring the Dark Multiverse back to our universe. Neither Clark nor Bruce want to hurt their friends, but King Shazam, Sky Terror, Deathbringer, Kara Zor-el, the Scarab, and the Commissioner don’t feel the same way about them. Superman and Batman are holding back, of course, but a trip to the catacombs the Batman Who Laughs has built beneath the Fortress swiftly changes Clark’s mind in that regard. However, Batman knows they need to focus on destroying the Dark Multiverse satellite. Can Batman and Superman hold out long enough to save our world?
Batman/Superman #5 find the World’s Finest at odds with the Batman Who Laughs’ Secret Six. They are six of the most skilled and powerful heroes in the DC Universe (well, five and Commissioner Gordon, sorry Jim). Even on a good day, they would pose a threat to even Superman and Batman.
The comic is almost entirely composed of the battle between the World’s Finest and the Secret Six. Things do get quite fun when Superman finally cuts loose a bit and treats King Shazam and Supergirl like the imminent threats that they are.
The final portion of the book finds Batman and Superman reckoning with the consequences of keeping the Infected threat a secret as they have. There’s a particular hero they should have consulted and it seems she will be quite pissed (and rightly so) next issue.
David Marquez once again shows why he’s one of the hottest talents in the current comics scene. This book looks fantastic, and I was particularly pleased by what he did with the fight between Superman and Shazam and Supergirl. Alejandro Sanchez gives the book a brilliant palette to match Marquez’s linework skills and the book as a whole looks downright spectacular.
Batman/Superman #5 brings the Infected story to an explosive conclusion, with the Secret Six showing how monumental a threat the Batman Who Laughs poses to our world. It’s an out-and-out war between the World’s Finest and the Secret Six, and the comic easily earns a recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
Batman/Superman #5 comes to us from writer Joshua Williamson, artist David Marquez, color artist Alejandro Sanchez, letterer John J. Hill, cover artist David Marquez with Alejandro Sanchez, and variant cover artist Jim Cheung with Tomeu Morey.
Final Score: 8.5/10
