Our final look at last week’s comics sees a pair of Gotham City’s fiercest end up in Riverdale for a wacky showdown in Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica. Meanwhile, Lois Lane’s meeting with Deathstroke leads to a battle with the Man of Steel in Superman.

Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica 1
Written by Paul Dini and Marc Andreyko
Art by Laura Braga

The Archie Comics characters have a long history of crossing over with other companies for weird adventures, and the Riverdale gang have finally found a way into the DC Universe. And all it took was a little bit of wildlife conservation to get it done.

Hiram Lodge, Veronica’s father, has decided to take Sweetwater Swamp and turn it into a for-profit university. The news of the development in Riverdale makes its way to Gotham City, where Poison Ivy does not take kindly to changing the ecosystem for a college and a strip mall. So, she grabs the Louise to her Thelma, Harley Quinn, and heads out to change Lodge’s mind with her unique form of persuasion.

The first issue of the crossover miniseries is a lot of set-up and ends on a note that I figured would come at a later issue, but I was pretty happy to see them get to the point right away. To celebrate his new project, Hiram Lodge is holding a costume ball. As Harley and Ivy make their way in through dubious means, wearing their retro outfits, the other half of the crossover find themselves in particularly relevant get-ups.

I’m sure the confusion and chaos will go crazy next issue. Archie will hit on Harley and Ivy thinking they’re Betty and Veronica along with all sorts of shenanigans. I can’t believe I’m actually looking forward to this as much as I am.

Superman 32
Written by James Bonny 
Art by Tyler Kirkham and Arif Prianto 

Last issue ended with a cliffhanger, as Deathstroke fired a gun at Lois Lane after she put him on the front page of the Daily Planet with a feature story about his life. Of course, the bullet is stopped by Superman, who’s none too happy about Slade Wilson going after his wife in Metropolis. The rescue sets off a full issue battle of wits and strength between the world’s greatest hero and its deadliest assassin.

The fight, though, which culminates in Deathstroke trying to get Superman to choose between killing him or saving lives, was just a ruse, as Amanda Waller (the head of the Suicide Squad) was testing Superman to see if she can use him down the road.

James Bonny’s fill-in arc was a great example of an exceptionally strong Superman story, hitting all the notes that an issue should – big explosions tempered by Superman’s moral code and his love for his wife and his devotion to saving everyone around him. While the regular creative team is coming back next issue with another big story arc, I hope Bonny manages to get some more time with Big Blue in the future.