'Enemies And Allies' DC Universe Novel Highlight

Batman and Superman prove why they are the World's Finest.

You like superheroes, but not really into comic books. They have novels too. Enemies & Allies by science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson, who also did Star Wars old canon novels, brings this tale of how Batman and Superman met.

Instead of modern day, he is bringing us a sort of DC Comics Elseworld where the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel are alive during the 1950s, at the height of the Cold War.

Batman is a young vigilante who is trying to avoid being captured by the Gotham City Police Department. Superman has just moved into the city of Metropolis. He is unsure about his role as a hero as Louis Lane continues writing about him.

Meanwhile, Lex Luthor is blackmailing Wayne Enterprise executives into giving him technology so he can build a super-weapon. He is manipulating a Soviet general into supplying him with a strange green rock to power the weapon until he realizes that one side-effect is weakening Superman.

As a novel, it is pretty simple and easy to read. The plot is rather elementary and adds nothing new to the mythos of these two heroes. The novel does take a few potshots at McCarthyism, but it is nothing new.

As for Batman and Superman, they do not actually meet until close to half of the novel and only meet in passing twice until the end of the book. Instead, it follows two sub-plots that somehow cross into each other. It would have been much better if they had just met early on and worked together early on.

What did you think? Let me know in the comments below and tell me if there’s an anime, film, or novel you’d like me to review.