After 21 years, it’s finally happened. Marvel and DC have once again crossed over some of their most famous characters. This week sees the release of Deadpool/Batman by Zeb Wells, Greg Capullo, and many others. To tackle this massive book, The Beat’s Marvel Rundown team of Jordan Jennings, George Carmona 3rd, Tim Rooney, Lawrence Marable, and D. Morris assembled to discuss this beast of a book.
As always, The Beat wants to hear from you, True Believers! Tell us what you think of this week’s Marvel Comics! Shout us out in the comment section below or over on social media @comicsbeat, or @comicsbeat.bsky.social, and let us know.
Writers: Zeb Wells, Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson, Kevin Smith, Al Ewing, Frank Miller, Ryan North
Artists: Greg Capullo and Tim Townsend, Terry and Rachel Dodson, Gurihiru, Adam Kubert, Dike Ruan, Frank Miller, Ryan Stegman
Colorists: Alex Sinclair, Frank Martin, Moreno Diniso
Letterers: Clayton Cowles, Joe Caramanga
The Beat: Alright, folks this is the first Marvel and DC crossover in two decades. To celebrate, Marvel and DC filled this book with multiple stories. Let’s break this down story by story. The book kicks off with the main event of Deadpool/Batman. What were our thoughts on the headliner?
Jordan Jennings: To quote, The Critic, “It Stinks”
D. Morris: In my tenure on the Marvel Rundown, I don’t think we’ve covered Deadpool books much and I think that says something. At least for me, he is an acquired taste. Obvious meta humor and theater kid “Look at me I’m wacky” energy are not things I tend to enjoy. Even with that in mind, I found this lead story to be aggressively unfunny and predictable. It reminded me why the only time I’ve ever picked up a Deadpool book is because Chris Bachalo drew it.
Tim Rooney: I was ready to hate this book as the lowest hanging fruit of a crossover market-driven cash-in which it probably is. But it was fine! I had fun with it. I’m not a big Deadpool guy but Marvel got its only genuinely funny writer to write it and I liked the interplay with Deadpool and the Joker. I’m the minority here in liking it I suppose which is a strange place to be, I feel like I’m usually the cranky one!
JJ: Deadpool can be an effective character when he’s actually funny but this wasn’t it. Zeb Wells doesn’t write a funny Deadpool. The jokes were tired and overdone jokes about the implied sexual relationship between Batman and Robin. There were a few jokes that landed for me but not a lot. Namely the dumb Nightwing gag. It got a chuckle.
DM: I talked with someone else earlier about that gag and I think it would have made me laugh if Greg Capullo drew the Joker with something that actually rivaled Nightwing’s famous behind. It’s a joke that would kill on the Harley Quinn show (and I can hear Alan Tudyk sell
Art by Greg Capullo and Tim Townsend
the hell out of the line) but here I think Capullo’s art might be what killed the jokes here for me. Great for moody moments and action but he has no skill for comedy. If you write a comic about a character that cracks jokes, there should be ways to sell the comedy in the story.
Art by Greg Capullo and Tim TownsendGeorge Carmona 3rd: It failed in the initial concept. Understandably, Deadpool and Batman are two of the hottest IPs, but to use a movie term, there was no chemistry between the two characters. Using Bats as the straight man to Deadpool’s zany stitch was a miss. As far as the laughs, the only thing that made me chuckle was the line about Gordon’s mustache.
JJ: I will say when I put aside the weak jokes, I enjoyed the action sequences and the almost Batman ‘66 style deathtrap and location of Joker’s lair. It wasn’t enough to save the book critically but it was fine. I just wish a different writer was the Deadpool/Batman story. Ryan North, Gail Simone, Ben Percy, Chip Zdarsky or, heck, Joe Kelly. They would have been a better fit for the action and humor and have had history with both characters.
TR: I think what helped me vibe with the story is understanding the intended audience of casual fans who know the big movies but don’t really read comics often. I think adjusting my expectations allowed me to enjoy the straightforward, fairly inconsequential story. The punchline that this was ultimately about how Deadpool and Joker relate to one another is what really worked for me. I agree the dynamic between the two leads didn’t land quite as well as it should have but I thought Wells’s script got some good gags in and Wells nailed the Joker. I’m not a huge Capullo fan but the art was great, the layouts and action are terrific. His over the top miserable Batman expressions as all Deadpool’s word balloons totally buried him were perfect.
LM: As a certified Batman fan, I hated it. But I’m also a Deadpool hater so I was bound to hate it. I think the writing is really one-note, I don’t really think Deadpool and Batman have a lot to say about each other that’s interesting and I don’t think their worlds work in a way that really benefits from a crossover. Got to say, not a fan. Also Deadpool calls the Robins, “taut” which is truly a line of all time.
The Beat: Since we’ve touched on enough points on Batman/Deadpool, let’s dig into Wonder Woman/Captain America. How did this hit us?
JJ: I loved it. I am a sucker for Crisis events and that this comic is effectively the Crisis from the JLA/Avengers universe, I WAS hooked. The parallel story telling was obvious but somehow novel. I liked the attention to detail that Terry Dodson put into the art with the characters in their 80’s costumes during the Crisis on Infinite Earths call back and the 2000’s Civil War reference.
DM: I was really surprised by how much I liked this especially being on record as not liking either Zdarsky’s Avengers Twilight or the first issue of Captain America. It helps that the Dodsons get to do so much in this story from WWII action to high science fiction Crisis stuff. Terry and Rachel Dodson are an iconic Wonder Woman artist team but seeing them draw Captain America makes me hope Marvel will put them on a WWII Cap project. Their art feels like a genuine gift in a comic like this
TR: Cap/Wonder Woman was the real highlight and the kind of high concept cosmic drama I want out of an intercompany crossover. The star crossed romance was brilliantly done and touching in only a few pages. Zdarsky is so good at mining genuine emotion out of the outlandish superhero trappings. The Dodsons’ big, beautiful characters and their uber-dramatic expressions and posing gave the whole story a swirling pulp romance that perfectly matched the tone. The soft pastel coloring added to the wistful dreamlike dialogue. This was the most classic of the team up stories and easily the highlight for me, with lots of Easter eggs and big ideas, while the main story played it much more vanilla and “marketable.”
Art by Terry and Rachel DodsonGC3: Captain America and Wonder Woman saved this book for me. I loved the blending of universes and shared history with them. This was an almost elegant read, and then there’s the art, which lends to that graceful motion for Wonder Woman, especially on that last page. Having an art team of a penciler and an inker is always a joy for me. And then there’s the geekiness of it all, showcasing important events in this blended universe was two thumbs up.
LM: I like the shared universe aspects of WW and Cap, I think if the story gave us more of that I’d be really into it. But I really had a tough time getting past the “We can’t kill Hitler” angle.
TR: I’m glad you brought up the killing Hitler dialogue because there’s already been some hubbub over a couple out of context panels floating around that were leaked by some bad-faith actors who know it was going to get controversy and clicks. Unsurprisingly the full context is more nuanced and it’s not about the morality of fighting Nazis—it’s about robbing the world of the chance to have its say in justice being seen in favor of a brief personal moment of catharsis. I understand why in this American moment people are sensitive to it, the timing is unfortunate. But these two characters, neither of whom are against killing for the greater good, having a heart to heart about the weight of the decision was touching and made a connection between these characters I would never have thought of. Probably a poor judgment choice to have a real historically monstrous figure be the focal point for a conversation between fictional characters. But Chip Zdarsky’s heart is definitely in the right place.
JJ: I think it was probably the best parallel for Max Lord. I also felt like Wonder Woman’s issue was less with killing Hitler and more with killing Hitler while he was surrendering. It would have been just as effective with Zemo or Red Skull though.
LM: Good point from both of you. I do think the conversation was interesting and I liked the general idea behind it, but yeah I think the choice to make it a real-world genocide that they’re debating on might not have been the best angle. Though I can see it from a writing perspective as something that can easily, I’m struggling to find the word, but inform the reader on a villain they can understand in case they aren’t familiar with Zemo or Red Skull. Also I want to second that the art is beautiful and I think we should have Diana and Steve drawn like this again.
I’ll also always back Zdarsky, I’m sure he’s always in the right place.
So what were our thoughts on the return of Kevin Smith to Daredevil and Green Arrow?
LM: I cheered. This is what I was hoping for more during the Batman/Deadpool crossover. Daredevil and Arrow have really great banter, they poke fun at the absurdity of their situations, and they also do a really cool thing with Count Vertigo and Daredevil that really made great usage of the crossover elements between the two characters. The back and forth dialogue really sold me on this one and it makes me want even more of the two.
TR: I don’t like Kevin Smith and it seems like a strange time to have him do a victory lap for two runs he kind of just dropped out on unceremoniously but this was really a chance for Adam Kubert to go wild on two swashbuckling, hard-scrabbling heroes who can never do anything right and darned if it didn’t make me smile. I’m game for any time he gets funky with big multipage layouts.
Art by Adam KubertJJ: It was a great team-up and Adam Kubert was a great fit on the art. I don’t think he has done much with either character, but is such a steady hand. I would have loved if they would have been able to get Phil Hester but Kubert is great. He has an excellent command of the layout and the Count Vertigo battle was visually stunning.
DM: I’m with Tim in that I’m not a huge Kevin Smith fan these days and honestly, I thought this was okay. The Count Vertigo reveal was cool and Adam Kubert’s art saved it for me. Though I thought the last panel was a little too hokey and sentimental for my liking. That said, the Iowa joke did make me chuckle.
LM: Yeah that last panel is really hokey, but I kind of love how stupid it is.
JJ: Yeah I groaned over the reveal, but it’s fine overall. You get one corny reference. Anymore than that I would have been upset.
GC3: It was okay, A natural team-up and adventure, but a bit too talky. I know Smith running wild with the dialogue is his M.O., but I just think there was a lot left on that bone that needed to be expanded on. I loved the natural way he worked the Boxing glove easter egg in, you can’t have an Arrow adventure without it.
The Beat: Speaking of Green shaded heroes, what were our opinions on the Rocket Raccoon/Green Lantern story here?
DM: The way Lawrence stans for Zdarsky, I will stan Al Ewing. I had a blast with this cultural exchange program between the Guardians of the Universe and the Guardians of the Galaxy. This was the story that actually had me laughing in this issue but also again I am very much geared towards Ewing’s sense of humor. The jokes about Green Lantern and Green Arrow (Ollie’s dialogue here killed me), the Guardian having to observe Rocket and that final panel. Dear lord, I was laughing at that final panel.
JJ: This was the funniest story in the book. It was the perfect length and the quick cuts with Rocket doing just unscrupulous things had me rolling. “A MORAL CANCER IS KILLING OUR SOULS, MAN!” I liked that Rocket was wearing Guy Gardner’s costume.
TR: I prefer serious Ewing to comedy Ewing but this one worked if only because I so badly miss his criminally short Guardians era. Rocket Raccoon with a Lantern ring could only end in chaos and chaos is what was delivered. Dike Ruan just jumps from one square of disaster to another in a kind of comedic pacing only available in comic books. Delightful!
LM: As someone who knows very little about Guardians this one worked wonders for me. I love the idea of swapping around heroes and radically changing major events, Rocket and Ollie are hilarious (I also cracked up at “A moral cancer is killing our souls man.”) and the ending reveal of Parallax Hal Jordan killing Thanos and defeating the Guardians is a great way to end it. They even give him his evil side burns.
GC3: My other favorite was this Guardians crossover. You would think it was just low-hanging fruit for them to pair the two different Guardian organisations, but the comedy of this hits where DeadBat didn’t. I couldn’t help but hear Bradley Cooper’s voice with all of Rockets’ shenanigans, constantly escalating the stakes of having one of the most powerful weapons around in the wrong paws. Bucky doesn’t have to worry about his arm anymore.
The Beat: So what are some quick thoughts we have on the other three stories, Krypto/Jeff, Old Man Logan/Dark Knight Returns Batman, and Logo?
LM: Jeff and Krypto was a story of all time. Very cute. Not a big fan of Jeff the Shark so I don’t really have much attachment to him. I should preface that I’m a Marvel Rivals player so that’s why. The Frank Miller story and Logo stories left me with nothing, but I can at least appreciate the Miller crossover being self aware of how ridiculous Miller’s writing can be. The Logo story I feel as if I’d appreciate more if I clocked that he’s supposed to be a amalgam Wolverine and Logo early on, I don’t know if it was just the fatigue of Batman/Deadpool but it took me a minute to distinguish that this isn’t just Lobo with a different haircut. “Fraggin Snikt” is iconic, someone’s getting that tattooed for sure.
JJ: Jeff and Krypto’s tale was a lot of fun for me. I really like the It’s Jeff comics and Ghirugiru did a great job. The Frank Miller comic had some striking visuals but lacked any real substance. Served more as a thinly-veiled self-reference about Miller himself being a washed up shell of himself. That’s being a charitable read. I loved the Logo story but I am a sucker for Amalgam comics and that felt like the obvious choice. It was definitely more Lobo than Wolverine, but it worked for a short gag. Turns out Ryan North and Ryan Stegman can make some funny comics.
DM: The Krypto and Jeff story was cute and I’m sure folks who loved Superman this summer will enjoy it. I’m calling the Frank Miller story a “Marlon Brando”; a lot of money paid for a name talent for not a lot of work. There’s a few interesting things in there visually but none of it felt really developed in the way Miller does in most of his short stories. He’s interested in exploring visual ideas but I don’t think he had much interest in drawing Batman vs. Wolverine. As for the last story, Ryan Stegman’s art sure is fun to look at.
GC3: Agree, the Krypto and Jeff story was super cute and fun, but Old Man Logan and the Dark Knight story wasn’t my brew. Miller’s art strength is in his storytelling and composition. He can design an iconic panel, page, and cover, but these 3 pages of a decent crossover concept is a technical miss. The Logan/Lobo Amalgam story did everything it needed to, specifically hit the memberberries of that late 90’s crossover.
TR: As I expected the backups were the highlight for me over the main feature. Jeff/Krypto was perfection. I loved Frank Miller’s homage to his iconic take on both companies in his contemporary mega-blocky-abstract style. Very funky and cool, with knowingly over the top narration The Amalgam short felt cruel without a promise of a whole line to follow.
JJ: That’s why we need to support his comic, Tim! If we don’t we may not get Amalgam 3!
The Beat: Alright, what’s our final verdict on this issue.
GC3: If you’re a big Dodson fan, buy, but for the casual reader looking for crossover magic, I’m going to say STRONG BROWSE.
LM: If you REALLY like these characters, feel free to purchase for the collection, but I’m also going to say BROWSE. The main headline story of Deadpool/Batman is weak, but the rest of the crossovers are fun enough. Hopefully this leads to more crossovers because the concept is fun and is every fan’s dream to match characters against each other. Let’s go crazy and get Sideways to meet Spider-Man.
JJ: Browse. It is an anthology anchored by a mediocre Deadpool comic. That aside, I think the rest of the features have their merits and are well worth reading for that alone. I am going to buy both parts of the crossover because I do want to see more of these and also a new, affordable reprint of JLA/Avengers. My copy is showing its age.
TR: This thing will sell no matter what I say but I feel comfortable giving this a BUY. If it was just the standalone Deadpool/Batman story I would probably say otherwise but the backup stories and the talent involved there more than make up for it. I hope Marvel and DC are reading and see we want something weirder and more ambitious!
DM: BROWSE but only on the strength of the Zdarsky/Dodson Cap/WW and the Ewing/Ruan GL/GG stories. I actively dislike the main Batman/Deadpool story so much but also I want a Doom Patrol and Fantastic Four story or godwilling, a Power Girl and She-Hulk match up. These crossovers can be fun and I agree with Tim, they really should go wild on them. I mean we did just have Archie vs. Predator. Make more like that.
Can’t wait for next week’s books? Catch up with past iterations of the Rundown!
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