Superman/Batman- Enemies Among Us by Mark Verheiden, Ethan VanSciver, Matthew Clark and Joe Benitez

Batman's been feeling as if something isn't right for a while now, and it's caused him to be even more anti-social, focussed and driven- even in his Bruce Wayne persona. But it turns to be a fairly prescient feeling, because he's blindsided by an attack on him by the Martian Manhunter... or is it? The attacker has the same reaction for fire and open flames that the Manhunter hasn't had in a long, long time.

Superman is being subjected to the same attacks, and all of these attacks are by villains that they- or others- fought long, long ago, but which they had almost forgotten about. And their opponents show a disturbing ability to morph between villaisn and powers.

With the arrival and attack of Kilowog, it becomes apparent that something is affecting all the alien-based heroes on the planet. Superman may not have succumbed yet, but it's just a matter of time- and he's only one of hundreds of aliens who have settled on earth to help police it from the attacks of villains both human and extra-terrestrial. But the real question is, what has caused these heroes to suddenly turn against humanity and claim to be hated and discriminated against?

Lex Luthor thinks he knows what could help, a black gem that Superman has in custody in his Fortress of Solitude. But when Batman and Plastic-Man go to retrieve it, the gem attacks them and takes over Plas. When Batman comes to retrieve it, it bonds to him instead, linking him to whatever menace is causing the alien heroes to react so strangely. But when he and Superman find out who is behind the attack, can they convince the aliens to call off their attack- and can Batman change, or at least be not so grim and come to believe in something being able to change and learn?

Batman works well with Superman, mainly because Batman's brain, when coupled with Superman's brawn, can work wonders. Make no mistake- Superman is no slouch when it comes to smarts, but Batman has him beat by a County mile. And here, Batman has to figure out what is causing the alien heroes suddenly turning against humanity, and then he has to come up with a way to stop it. But can he?

Batman is always super-prepared because he's a naturally suspicious guy, but taking care of this menace will ask Batman to go outside of his comfort zone, and give up his constant suspicion for hope and belief- things that Batman doesn't do at all well. But can he do it?

I liked this book because it took both Batman and Superman out of their usual comfort zones and made them grow in new and unexpected ways. The sight of the alien heroes turning against humanity was chilling, and seeing Superman doing the same was truly frightening. But while Batman has to fight to save Superman, Superman also has to do the same for Batman. And that's what made this book so great.

But there were a lot of "not so great" parts as well. Much of the book is talky, talky, talky. I could have done with a great deal less of that. The story was fairly loose and needed lots of tightening and editing to make it stunning instead of enh. Recommended, but with cautions.