Clark Kent may disagree with Bruce Wayne’s strategy of keeping tabs on his colleagues’ weaknesses, but at the end of the day, Justice League Superman will always help his teammate Batman.
This is most evident in Batman #127, written by Chip Zdarsky, drawn by Jorge Jimenez, colored by Tomeu Morey, and written by Clayton Cowles.
Spoilers for Batman #127
Batman #127 reveals that Batman’s psychological support, if his personality is altered against his will, Zur-En-Arrh’s Batman, has taken Bruce’s place in the fight against Failsafe.
As Zur-En-Arrh explained to Tim Drake, he created Failsafe as a backup in case Batman needed to be completely destroyed – something Bruce Wayne would never be able to do.
The information comes after a flashback, where we see Clark and Bruce arguing about whether it’s ethical for Bruce to keep documents about how to destroy the Justice League, if it’s necessary to do so.
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In the flashback, Superman asks JLA what he should do if Batman cheats, and Bruce admits he has a contingency plan too – but as Clark points out, something like this wouldn’t really work if Bruce knew how. Right back beats teammates.
Clark didn’t take into account that Bruce’s backup had backup, as Zur-En-Arrh illustrated, he created super powerful, super fast, super tech failsafe, a robotic force that nearly wiped out the entire family of bat bats Man #126.
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However, despite Clark’s anger, when Failsafe was about to smash Batman — not Bruce Wayne, but Zul’n Ale’s “pure” Batman — Superman arrived just in time to save the day. Failsafe may have the ability to defeat Batman, but it’s unclear if he’s strong enough to defeat Iron Man.
For Bruce, it was a huge relief that Clark recognized his voice even though he couldn’t move with his body. It’s proof that despite breaching the Justice League’s trust, at least one of his teammates cares enough about him to show up — not just because he’s Batman, but because he’s Bruce. Whether or not Clark realizes that the people he’s saving are not his friends, but psychological surrogates to keep Gotham safe.
The question is… does it matter when Clark realizes what’s going on?
What we can be sure of is that while Bruce appears to be offline so Zur-En-Arrh is in control, the fight between Failsafe and Superman is sure to be a bloody one. It could also spark another serious discussion about Batman’s dossier in the Justice League, and whether these measures are necessary in a universe where a vast darkness lurks around every corner, as is the ongoing Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths seen in the incident.
Anyone can go bad. Even Batman. Even Superman. But if they do, is something like Failsafe the right answer?
Batman #127 is available now.
However, it ended with Zur-En-Arrh and Failsafe, introducing the former as one of the best Batman stories ever.
