BATMAN/ THE FLASH: THE BUTTON

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Publisher dC Comics

Writers Tom King, Joshua Williamson

Artists Jason Fabok, Howard Porter

Last year, DC kicked off a new sprawling saga and this four-issue Batman/The Flash crossover gives us the next stage in the story. Readers’ opinions of it will be largely defined by whether they think the decision to bring Watchmen into the DC Universe is cool and interesting, or a mistake of galactic proportions.

Across issues 21 and 22 of both Batman and The Flash, “The Button” addresses the mystery of how the Comedian’s bloodied Smiley-face badge ended up in the Batcave and brings Batman together with the “Flashpoint” Batman, aka his father Thomas Wayne. Very little is resolved here, with a series of bewildering plot twists and some slick visuals.

In other circumstances, this would be throwaway fun, but tying it to Watchmen gives this crossover weight it doesn’t deserve. Even the occasional use of Watchmen’s trademark nine-panel page structure stumbles, while the story feels like an unsatisfying tease for “Doomsday Clock”, the recently announced Superman/Doctor Manhattan miniseries.

Ultimately, “The Button” is a likeably dumb superhero tale – but for a story that’s linking up with a comic as important as

Watchmen, dumb just isn’t good enough.