Anatomy of a Metahuman Review
Summary: Anatomy of a Metahuman is a must have book for any DC Comics fans as it successfully explores the powers of heroes and villains
5
Amazing secrets!
Welcome to the Anatomy of Metahuman which is ‘written’ by Bruce Wayne (aka the Batman) who collects together an amazing digest of some of the DC Universe’s most powerful heroes and villains. This tome of research highlights the powers these fictitious characters, including their weakness that has been collated by Bruce should they need the upper hand if something goes wrong and as our Dark Knight eloquently states, this book is not available in digital in order to keep it away from those masters of the digital like Vic Stone (Cyborg).
So with the illusion that Bruce Wayne behind this book, it’s more a catalyst as writers S. D. Perry and Matthew K. Manning create a gripping read about how the superpowers of these characters actually work. So while Batman discusses his hypotheses on the anatomy of characters such as Superman, Cyborg and even the deadly Doomsday, it also gives us a unique look into Batman himself as attempts to keep Earth safe from metahumans or those individuals who have superpowers.
The book however is very well written by S. D. Perry and Matthew K. Manning who successfully capture the world of DC Comics and more importantly, it’s quite engaging and thoroughly entertaining that allowed me to finish this book over a weekend. Complementing the excellent text are the beautiful and detailed illustrations of artist Ming Doyle who brings these characters to life, including cross sections that go inside these characters such as the biology of Swamp Thing or how the dangerous jaws of Cheetah work. The book even uses a hand writing style font to help with the illusion, including correspondence and reports from agencies such as S.T.A.R. labs and the DEO, including Lexcorp that has been collected by Batman.
The Anatomy of a Metahuman also showcases 12 characters from the DC that include Superman, The Cheetah, Aquaman, Cyborg, Martian Manhunter, Swamp Thing, Darkseid, Bane, Doomsday, Killer Croc, Bizarro and Killer Frost which gives the reader a good overview of these heroes and villains. There’s also a introduction by Bruce who states that if you are reading this book, it means one of two things.
The first element is that Batman is facing something too big for him to face alone, whereas the second element involves one of their allies going rogue. The final part of the book is a conclusion from Bruce who strongly states that his conjectures and scientific evidence must never fall into the hands of people like Lex Luthor or Ra’s al Ghul and that this collection is also about understanding the origins of metahumans.
Without giving too much away, the writers go into great detail on the powers behind these characters such as the cell structure of Superman and that his powers may be similar to photosynthesis on how he absorbs solar energy. It highlights Superman’s heat vision, including the shape-shifting abilities of the Martian Manhunter which is quite interesting. It even touches upon elements like the offspring of Darkseid which includes Orion, Grail and Kalibak.
Batman even theorizes on the speed of Aquaman which is between Mach 5 and Mach 10 and that the King of Atlantis controls the density around to him that allows him to shoot through the water like a bullet. Needless to say, all the sections in this book were a fascinating read and whether it was the shortcuts taken by Lex Luthor in creating Bizarro or the amazing weaponry of Cyborg, it came together well. My only slight gripe is the lack of a dedicated entry for Wonder Woman but there are mentions of the Themysciran Princess such as how the Justice Buster armour for Batman could take her on courtesy of the the Greek god Hephaestus.
Final Thoughts?
This hardcover book is beautifully presented from Insight Editions and is a must have for any DC Comics fan that is brought to life courtesy of its creators S. D. Perry, Matthew K. Manning and Ming Doyle.
Recommended!
For more information, please visit https://insighteditions.com/product/dc-comics-anatomy-of-a-metahuman/
About the Author
Andrew Bistak When he's not trying to save the world, Andrew enjoys travel (although loathes turbulence), going to the movies, reading and being a dad to his two dogs (and now twins) with his wife.
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