My Suit Is Also Super: David is given a costume woven from nigh-indestructible Kryptonian fabrics to handle his super-hot energy powers. In the same issue, when Bruce tells Clark he's deduced his identity, he matter-of-factly reveals his own, saying there wasn't much point in trying to keep it secret unless he wore a lead-lined cowl. When Batman tells Superman he's deduced his identity in Adventures of Superman #440, he is wearing a lead-lined cowl (it doesn't help). This was truly great! The whole comic was very funny and tremendously enjoyable. It combines the fun of vintage Batman/Superman comics, with the seriousness and quality of Mark Waid's work. Of course, it's not as dark as "Kingdom Come", in any way possible, but it also has some darker elements. Mostly though, it's a very fun comic. Mark Waid is a writer who truly understands his characters and that's very obvious in comics like this, where he uses their personalities to create great comedy. For example, Robin is a great comedic relief, but Mark Waid is able to make even Batman seem funny, without feeling like he's acting out of character. To me that's very impressive, making a serious character funny, without changing the fundamentals of his personality. In general, the writing in this comic is great. The dialogues are very clever, the story is great and Mark Waid uses the strengths and the weaknesses of the characters to make the story more interesting. The story is very high fantasy, but it works perfectly with the style and the atmosphere. Also, the choice of a villain who uses magic is very smart, since one of Superman's weaknesses is magic, so this raises the stakes, as well as the reader's interest in the story. Furthermore, it's great to see how well Batman and Superman work together, by combining their strengths, as well as how Robin and Supergirl collaborate, despite the very heavy and possibly erotic atmosphere that surrounds them. Overall, this was one of the most fun modern superhero comics I've read and I can't wait to read the next volumes.

Hand Blast: David's powers allow him to emit superheated energy from his body with concussive force on lower settings and shatter boulders and inflict life-threatening burns on higher settings. Joker's next appearance is in The New Batman Adventures, " Joker's Millions". His survival of the Lexwing's crash is left unexplained, but his money problems and encounter with Bruce Wayne in the restaurant are referenced in said episode. Harley Quinn's disguise as Mercy Graves is similar to her chauffeur disguise in the Batman: The Animated Series episode " Joker's Favor". Nezha uses his powers to mentally control several superheroes, forcing Batman and Superman to fight them. Overall: This book fires on all cylinders. From the excellent character work to the adventure and the mystery, this is a book that anyone that’s into superhero comics could enjoy. And even if you’re not necessarily into superheroes, or if you’re on the verge of giving up on them, this gem of a comic book series is a master class example of how this kind of stuff should be executed. If you’re only going to get one superhero book this month, make sure it’s this one. All the other books pale by comparison, anyway.The long-term effects of Kryptonite radiation on humans are further explored in Justice League episode " Injustice For All" when Luthor is diagnosed with an incurable form of blood cancer as a result of carrying Kryptonite around with him for years. Luthor also tells Joker that he wants nothing to do with him when Joker reappears in that episode.

Batman: Robin, I need you to meet the House of Ji and learn firsthand exactly how they defeated Nezha. Lex Luthor sourly reads about the President thanking "Metropolis's Favorite Son" and heads down to his car. However, the car speeds blindly through traffic, and the driver is revealed to be not Mercy, but Harley Quinn. Joker enters the car and explains that he is broke due to Batman's success in closing down his operations in Gotham City. So he offers Luthor a deal: for one billion dollars, he'll kill Superman. Luthor is initially skeptical, but changes his mind when Joker shows him the Kryptonite statue. He accepts the offer. Cold-Blooded Torture: At the end of Issue #9, David is kidnapped and subject to Joker Venom. By the time we see him again in Issue #10, Joker has been repeatedly electrocuting David and subjecting him to Scarecrow's fear toxin in an attempt to get him to divulge Superman's Secret Identity. David's pain, suffering, and outrage result in him trying to kill Joker, setting David on the path toward becoming Magog. Harley Quinn calls Lex "Mr. L", which is an alias Luthor often used in Superman's early Post-Crisis comics, the first time being in The Man of Steel #2. Issue #15 features cameos of several lesser known robotic villains who hadn't appeared in years, like Mekanique, Ultivac, The Magneto and The Claw.Ascended Meme: The infamous "Batman slaps Robin" meme was parodied with two variant ◊ covers ◊ of the first issue, with Batman and Superman slapping each other for putting their own name first in the title. In part 2 after Superman flew Lois and Batman out of the burning LexCorp factory, despite it being Batman who pushed Superman away (he uses his left elbow to swat Superman's right forearm) the episode's accompanying Described Video incorrectly says "Superman flies with Batman and Lois and touches down across the parking lot across the burning building. He pushes Batman away." In issue #6, Superman poses as a circus strongman, which the character is originally partially based on. Arc Welding: The second and fourth arcs (Secret Visitor and Heir to the Kingdom) act as continuations of the Kingdom Come saga following The Kingdom, " Thy Kingdome Come" and Justice League: Generation Lost. Call-Forward: In issue #14, when trying to figure out who killed Simon Stagg, Robin says that Bruce wouldn't kill anyone so forward, he'd probably hire someone to do it, someone with a personal grudge. This is basically the plot of Bruce Wayne: Fugitive.

Things are not going well between Batman and Superman. Lois and Bruce flirt with each other at the Daily Planet, much to Clark's chagrin. But out of her earshot they talk about Joker's location, and Clark drops a warning about Bruce's relationship with Lois. With so much content thrown in each of the five issues, not least with the new devilish antagonist Nezha, artist Dan Mora is having an absolute blast here. Embracing a classic look of these iconic characters, Mora’s modern. clean line-work presents kinetic set-pieces where there is a variety of superpowers, whilst not afraid of presenting new territories for the characters to go to, including a Dragon Ball Z-styled fusion, which is absurdly fun.Because the Laughing Dragon was carved (approximately) thirty years before the events of this episode, it can be deduced that Superman/Clark Kent is at least 30 and possibly older (going by Earth years, as Kryptonians physically age much more slowly than humans do, as shown in " The Call", where Superman is in his 80s but appears in his 50s).