Smallville Season Eleven: Alien #3

The third issue of Smallville Season Eleven: Alien features unexpected team-ups. As Chloe spends time in the Batcave trying to pitch Batman on the idea of joining the Justice League, Lois and Nightwing hit the streets and get into a little action while taking down a local gang, and in Russia Clark Kent and Lex Luthor work together to discover more about the identity of the Monitor and his true purpose in this reality.

I enjoyed the scenes of Barbara and Lois together and getting the chance to see Lois kick some butt. However, I question Bryan Q. Miller's choice to make Lois so capable that she comes off as pretty much equal to Batman's trained partner in a fight.

Clark and Lex finally catch up with the Monitor (for all the good it does them) leaving that thread on a cliffhanger suggesting Lex Luthor might re-discover Superman's secret (but I wouldn't bet on it just yet). The Batman story also gets an unusual ending with the reveal of a Bat-Joker from another world who will no doubt cause trouble for Smallville's version of the Dynamic Duo in the next issue. Worth a look.

[DC, $3.99]