Enemies and Allies: The Dark Knight Meets The Man of Steel

by Kevin J. Anderson

Overview

“[A] fun read….Batman and Superman meet in this retro-flavored novel set amid the Cold War sensibilities of the 1950s.”
—USA Today

The Dark Knight meets the Man of Steel in Enemies & Allies—the thrilling story of the first-ever  meeting between Batman and Superman, brilliantly imagined by New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson. One of today’s most popular writers pits the iconic superheroes against Lex Luthor and the Soviets—and each other—in a spellbinding story of destiny and duty set against the backdrop of America’s Cold War era.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061915598
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/05/2009
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	571 KB

About the Author

Kevin J. Anderson has published more than eighty novels, including twenty-nine national bestsellers. He has been nominated for the Nebula Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the SFX Reader's Choice Award. His critically acclaimed original novels include Captain Nemo, Hopscotch, and Hidden Empire. He has also collaborated on numerous series novels, including Star Wars, The X-Files, and Dune. In his spare time, he also writes comic books. He lives in Wisconsin.

Editorial Reviews

This novel answers that nagging question: What would happen if Superman and Batman met? Set in the Cold War fifties, Enemies and Allies places the two ultimate superheroes in the context of the times. Also making appearances are Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Alfred Pennyworth and, of course, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne. Superheroes squared; now in mass-market paperback.

Caped Crusader meets Man of Steel in the early 1950s. Anderson (Paul of Dune, 2008, etc.) returns to the fertile playing field of comic-book heroes with an action-packed follow-up to The Last Days of Krypton (2007). In a story seemingly inspired by DC Comics' Elseworlds imprint, Batman and Superman first encounter each other in the tense early days of the Cold War, when communists and aliens seem equally threatening. Superman works in disguise as reporter Clark Kent at The Daily Planet while trying to come to terms with his new role as Earth's protector. In Gotham City, millionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne fosters a playboy image-cribbed, he claims, from Ian Fleming's new James Bond novels. As Batman, Wayne is highly suspicious of Superman and wonders what secrets are behind his mind-boggling powers. What draws them together is a sinister plot by Lex Luthor, who conspires with Russian general Anatoly Ceridov to launch an international nuclear conflict that will allow Luthor's corporation to sell his atmospheric-defense system to the Feds, integrating the evil genius' company into the burgeoning military-industrial complex. Anderson spins a rousing superhero epic that doesn't retread the heroes' origins, but instead cleverly uses its generational iconography, integrating Sputnik, Wernher Von Braun and Area 51 into the globetrotting plot, to say nothing of Luthor's death rays, chunks of Kryptonite and alien spacecraft. The book also makes good use of Lois Lane, Alfred Pennyworth, Jimmy Olsen and other supporting cast members. Positioning all the superpowered heroics squarely between the era's futuristic optimism and postwar paranoia, this is a refreshing diversion from the grimness of TheDark Knight or the tedious Superman Returns. Injects a welcome dose of retro exuberance into the capes-and-tights routine. Author appearances in Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, National Comic-Cons

Kirkus Reviews

Positioning all the superpowered heroics squarely between the era’s futuristic optimism and postwar paranoia, this is a refreshing diversion from the grimness of The Dark Knight or the tedious Superman Returns. Injects a welcome dose of retro exuberance into the capes-and-tights routine. — Kirkus Reviews

“Anderson keeps us guessing throughout with cleverplot twists and some intriguing alternate cold war history.” — Booklist

“The X-Files is a true masterpiece. There’s no more challenging series on television, and as a bonus, it’s also brainy fun.” — Los Angeles Times

From the Publisher

Anderson keeps us guessing throughout with cleverplot twists and some intriguing alternate cold war history.

Booklist

The X-Files is a true masterpiece. There’s no more challenging series on television, and as a bonus, it’s also brainy fun.

|Los Angeles Times

Anderson keeps us guessing throughout with cleverplot twists and some intriguing alternate cold war history.

Booklist

The X-Files is a true masterpiece. There’s no more challenging series on television, and as a bonus, it’s also brainy fun.

Los Angeles Times