Review: Batman/Superman Vol. 4- Siege

Quick Summary

Pros: The collection starts out with an immensely interesting mystery. The villain is well executed and makes the story even more thrilling. This mystery then evolves into a creative and epic conclusion.

Cons: The end of the book features two chapters that are only average.

Overall: This is another fun and entertaining volume in a series that has consistently managed to impress. It starts with a mystery to pique interest and build tension, and then turns into an action story. There are moments where the quality drops, but even these moments are only average and not truly bad overall. This is a volume for anyone who has been reading this series or anyone who wants a Batman/Superman story focused purely on action and drama.

Story

Batman/Superman Vol. 4: Siege is another high quality volume that actually ends up being one of the most entertaining entries in the series. This collection spends its first half as a suspense filled mystery where Batman, Superman, and the reader are all taunted by a mysterious enemy. Then it shifts into a dramatic action story, as the enemy is finally revealed and action is taken. Throughout this narrative, Greg Pak weaves in thrills and drama, keeping the reader in a constant state of suspense. The collection ends weaker than it begins, but this portion of the book is far shorter than the good parts. Overall, this is another great entry in this series that everyone should pick up.

(spoilers start here)

The book starts out with gunshots, as multiple Superman friends and allies are killed or injured by an unknown entity. This villain taunts the Man of Steel and insists upon torturing him to continue a vendetta of some sort. All of this leads Batman to suggest that this enemy may be Superman’s Joker, an unrelenting force bent on pure chaos.

Setting up the story in such a way creates an immensely interesting mystery for the reader to follow. It evolves from a simple whodunit to a genuine thriller, while maintaining an allure of the unknown the entire time. This is not only a great way to establish intrigue, but it is also a great way to create an ever-present feeling of unease. Readers are never sure when the enemy will strike or what he will do next.

Even when the Phantom King is finally revealed to be the villain, the story manages to continue to be interesting. It puts Superman, Supergirl, and Batman in the shrunken city of Kandor and has them fight waves of brainwashed Kryptonians. The heroes are outnumbered and outplayed by the Phantom King and almost appear to be defeated, which makes Batman’s victory play all the more satisfying. This is a great conclusion to the mystery and a fantastic way to end this portion of the story.

After this, Superman and Batman are forced to contend with the Phantom King again in the Batman/Superman Annual. Right off the bat, keeping the same enemy makes this story feel a bit repetitive. Despite this, the story manages to be alright and provides a unique look at how a de-powered Superman and a normal Batman are able to interact. It certainly is nowhere near as fun as the previous storyline but is still moderately entertaining overall.

The collection closes with a tie in to the Futures End event. It depicts a dystopian future where Superman wants nothing to do with Batman. Though this is interesting to see, the brief snippet of a story seen here will only really be meaningful to those who have also read Futures End already.

(spoilers end here)

Art

Though saying goodbye to Jae Lee’s magnificent artwork is certainly difficult, readers’ perception of this collection should not be marred by the successes of previous collections. Here, artist Ardian Syaf presents a book filled with the action and thrills this story requires. Both Superman and Batman look bold, bright, and detailed for the duration of the book. In fact, this dramatic flair may be a better fit for this particular story than some of the previous artist’s work would have been. Overall, this is a book that rides the line between average and slightly above average visuals.

Continuity

Batman/Superman Vol. 4: Siege continues the story from Batman/Superman Vol. 3: Second Chance (Review).

The story here continues in Batman/Superman Vol. 5: Truth Hurts (Review).

This volume also references and continues the stories from other comic books, detailed below:

• At one point, Batman flashes back to a few things the Joker has done.
  • The first is the moment Joker killed Jason Todd. This happened in Batman: A Death in the Family.
  • The second shows Barbara Gordon in her wheelchair after the Joker shot her in Batman: The Killing Joke.
  • The third shows Joker’s attack in Batman Vol. 3: Death of the Family (Review).
• Lex Luthor mentions that he is now on the Justice League. He joined the team in Justice League Vol. 6: Injustice League (Review).
• Superman mentions that he saved Felicity Regan from jumping off a building. This is likely a reference to a scene in All-Star Superman where Superman prevents a woman from committing suicide by jumping off a building.
• The shrinking and bottling of Kandor was explained back in Action Comics Vol. 1: Superman and the Men of Steel. Superman’s fight with Brainiac over the city also happens here.
• The events of Superman: Doomed (Review) are brought up in a number of different ways.
  • The Fortress of Solitude was forced to regenerate at the end of this story.
  • Superman turned into Superdoom in this story.
  • The Phantom King’s escape from the Phantom Zone happened here.
• The Phantom King’s past is mostly explained in Action Comics Vol. 3: At The End Of Days.
• Superman’s new power comes from Superman: The Men of Tomorrow (Review).
• This collection’s final issue is a tie in to the Futures End event.