Review: Batman/Superman Vol. 5- Truth Hurts

Quick Summary

Pros: The book’s second half is full of excitement and suspense. Superman’s interactions with the Bat-family are great.

Cons: The first half of the book is mediocre. The tie in to the Action Comics and Superman series is distracting and will go unappreciated by those unfamiliar with those titles.

Overall: This collection is a large departure from previous volumes in terms of both tone and quality. Instead of being an entertaining story about a Batman/Superman adventure, it is a somewhat lackluster story with the majority of the focus going to Superman. The book’s second half is much better but fails to bring the book up to the level of previous volumes. This is a book for those looking for more comics about a depowered Superman, not those looking to continue the fun of the Batman/Superman series.

Story

Batman/Superman Vol. 5: Truth Hurts ranges in quality but is ultimately a downgrade from previous volumes. It starts out with a story that works well as an accompaniment to the Action Comics and Superman series but is pretty mediocre as a Batman/Superman story. The second half of the book is a lot better but still lacks the entertainment value provided by previous books. Overall, this collection will appeal to those who have been reading Superman’s recent adventures but will be far worse for those just looking for another good Batman/Superman story.

(spoilers start here)

The book begins with Superman meeting the new Batman and dealing with the loss of his old partner. For a moment, this is a pretty interesting story and one that has a solid level of potential. Superman’s initial clash with the new Batman is justified and full of action while his shock at the “death” of Bruce Wayne is emotional.

However, instead of playing up these more interesting story elements, the book shifts focus onto Superman’s infiltration of Subterranea. Though the new Batman has a few moments that work well, these are few and far between and essentially turn him into a side character. The end result feels like a watered down version of Action Comics with Batman distracting from, rather than enhancing, the overall narrative.

Luckily, the second half of the book improves on this a lot. Here, Superman effectively shares the spotlight with the major players in the Bat-family rather than just the new Batman. His interactions with them are more genuine and create far more chemistry. Fans of Superman and Batman will be able to appreciate this portion of the book and are sure to find a lot of enjoyment in the way all of the characters are compared and contrasted.

In addition, this half of the book is also more exciting. It starts with Vandal Savage demonstrating his monstrous new level of power and then spends the rest of the time showing the heroes preparing for his return. By structuring the book in this way, Pak instantly establishes a threat and spends the rest of the narrative keeping readers under the shadow of this threat. Doing this creates a wonderful level of suspense and excitement for the vast majority of the story; you never know when Vandal will show up again or what will happen when he does. The story also concludes with a satisfactory ending that keeps the future open for future conflicts.

Outside the general quality of the storytelling though, the book’s most significant problem is how heavily it ties into the current events of Superman’s life rather than just telling a good story on its own. Fans who are familiar with these recent events will be able to appreciate the tie-ins but are likely to still be annoyed with how much they distract from the main story. Meanwhile, fans with no knowledge of these events will be left in the dark for significant periods of this collection and will appreciate it significantly less. The overall effect of this problem is likely to leave the book feeling average for some and below average for others.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The visual appeal of Truth Hurts largely matches the quality of the storytelling; the first half dips below average while the second half looks a bit better. Ardian Syaf’s pencils and Vicente Cifuentes’ inks dominate the beginning of the book. Though not necessarily bad overall, there are certainly moments here that stand out as being out of place or odd. Typically these moments happen when a character is depicted in a state of emotional stress or when less pivotal action sequences are taking place. Unfortunately, these mistakes, though few, bring down what would be an otherwise decent looking story.

The book’s second half is primarily by artist Cliff Richards. Richards’ artwork does a great job in matching the tone and setting of the story being told. His depiction of the arctic is barren but still has enough detail to make it look visually appealing. Though this portion of the book still isn’t incredibly noteworthy or groundbreaking in terms of artwork, it is definitely better than the first half.

Continuity

Batman/Superman Vol. 5: Truth Hurts continues the story from Batman/Superman Vol. 4: Siege (Review).

The story here continues in Batman/Superman Vol. 6: Universe’s Finest (Review).

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

• Superman’s lack of powers and exposed identity come from the events of Superman Vol. 1: Before Truth (Review).
• Superman mentions that Sergeant Mizoguchi stood up for him before. This happened near the beginning of Action Comics Vol. 8: Truth (Review). 
• The “death” of Batman happened at the end of Batman Vol. 7: Endgame (Review).
• The creation of the new Batman takes place in Batman Vol. 8: Superheavy (Review).
• The destruction of Arkham Asylum and the opening of Arkham Manor happened in Batman Eternal Vol. 2 (Review). This event is also referenced as the origin for many escaped Arkham prisoners.
• Superman’s past dealings with Subterranea are detailed in Action Comics Vol. 5: What Lies Beneath (Review).
• Metallo’s status as Lois Lane’s bodyguard began during Superman: Doomed (Review).
• Aquaman’s costume was updated at the beginning of Aquaman Vol. 7: Exiled.
• The villain Wrath began working against Superman in Action Comics Vol. 8: Truth (Review).
• Batgirl’s new costume design comes from Batgirl Vol. 1: Batgirl of Burnside.
• Almost all of the images on Batgirl’s computer screen are from Superman Vol. 1: Before Truth (Review).
• Dick Grayson’s new costume and penchant for secrecy come from Grayson Vol. 1: Agents of Spyral (Review).
• Superman initially fought shadow monsters, like the ones in this volume, back in Action Comics Vol. 8: Truth (Review).