***THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE NERD BLITZ PATREON***
As I said in the Super Soldier review, I have a shit ton of copies of this book.
When I was just starting my comic collection, I would get these 4 or 5 packs of comics for maybe $5 and about a quarter of them had an Amalgam book in there, either Dark Claw or Super Soldier.
That’s how I first discovered this line.
So now the journey through them continues, with what I consider to be the other major character of the universe.
But Batman and Wolverine smashed together?
They aren’t nearly the pairing that Captain America and Superman are, they lack the similarities of those 2 and have fairly different mindsets.
I mean, sure they’re both loners and rely on intimidation, but they don’t have much in common beyond that.
So, can it work?
Let’s find out!
As always, it’s ***SPOILER ALERT*** time!
Cover By Jim Balent: I’ll go out on a limb and say this is an iconic cover of the Amalgam run.
Between the background, the costume, and the pose, it’s definitely clear what characters are being mashed together.
The pose specifically is easily evocative of both the Bat and Wolvie.
I dig it so much!
Art By Jim Balent: This look like every 80s and 90s Batman book I’ve read.
And though his thumb is a but on the scale for Batsie, Balent does such an incredible job blending these worlds together that sometimes it’s difficult to tell which character is being referenced in a panel.
The 2 page splash is particularly brilliant!
This is great work.
Story By Larry Hama: When Hyena (a blend of Sabertooth and Joker) drops a Riddler-esque clue in the Gotham Gazette, Dark Claw shows up, confronts him, and a big splashy battle commences.
Hyena’s back-up arrives and Sparrow (a Jubilee & Robin mashup) helps Dark Claw escape the overwhelming assault.
Meanwhile, Huntress (A.K.A. Carol Danvers) breaks into artist/techwizard Logan’s apartment and discovers that he is, infact, Dark Claw.
He confronts her and info dumps his origins in this universe’s version of the Weapon X program and breaks down how it created both himself and Hyena.
He takes her to The Barrow (Batcave of this verse) and they do some classic batman style analysis and computer work only to discover Hyena plans to attack the plane of a high ranking politician.
They race off and confront Hyena in the air.
Hyena gases the plane but is blown out the side before any serious harm can be done, and Dark Claw is ready for the next round.
This one isn’t nearly as evenly balanced as Super Soldier, it comes off like a shit ton of Batman with a dash of Wolverine.
Not that that’s a bad thing, but it does feel like a lack of commitment to the overall cause of the universe.
Because, for the most part, it feels like Batman was given claws and felt extra talky on this day.
I think the opportunity to make a more aggressive and angry anti-hero Batman was completely missed.
The more egregious offense though is that this story ends on a cliffhanger.
And it’s not a knock against it because I’m thinking “why would you do that when you know this is a one-shot?” it’s more of “but…I wanna know what happens!” gripe.
And this brings me to what I have a sneaking suspicion will be my biggest issue with the other 4 comics I have from this line, I think I’m going to end up being disappointed solely because these are so fun, but at the end of the day they are all intended as one and dones.
And, again, that just seems like such a waste to me.
Overall, I still dig this idea as much as I thought I would.
While I don’t immediately love this as much as I did Super Soldier, it is still fun.
This costume design is great, the world is pretty to look at.
I would love to see the story developed a bit more, see some variant costumes, see other mash up villians!
I wish more folks would take a look at these books and try to encourage Marvel & DC to take another trip back to this, seemingly, bastard child of a universe.
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