Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Prequel Chapter 3 Featuring Senator Finch Review

A Bunch of Angry Men...and a Lady

Written by: Christos Gage
Art by: Joe Bennett, Sean Parsons, Hi-Fi and Deron Bennett

Cover Price: Free with purchase of 20 oz. Dr. Pepper or Diet Dr. Pepper or “Doc” Pepper’s Slam BLAST!! or Ms. Pepper’s Cherries Jubilee or Ms. Pepper’s Cherries Jubilee BLAST!!

Release Date: February 3, 2016

Of all these prequel chapters, I am guessing that this is the one with the least hype.  While Holly Hunter's Senator Finch is sure to play a big role in the movie, I really don't need to know much about her before going to the theater.  However, it kind of brings to light what these prequel chapters are all about.  They are not going to drop any major twists, but instead are mood setters for the movie.  While reading them, you get the idea of the tone of the movie, at least at the beginning.  When you go into it with that in mind, this chapter may be the best one.  Let me explain...

This chapter opens up with a crazy scene...a Kryptonian attack is being shown on a video screen while a narrator tells the play-by-play, but this is no attack that I (or any other reader) would be familiar with.  I'll admit that it really threw me off at first as I thought that Christos Gage had gone off his rocker and was just making stuff up.  It is an extended scene showing this unknown alien annihilating a city and when the scene pulls back to show that it was indeed a military simulation, it all made a little more sense and showed the tone of this chapter.

This whole issue takes place inside a board room and while that doesn't lend itself to bang em up action, things still get pretty heated.  The people involved (Generals, Senators...) are deciding on whether or not to form a committee to study Superman and like any gathering of "higher minds", they can't agree.

What this chapter does best is show the emotions that are being pushed to the front by people dealing with an alien living amongst them.  Fear, anger, confusion and even admiration are driving forces in how these higher ups want to deal with Superman and Senator Finch is stuck in the middle.  As she says, she "doesn't have a dog in this fight", she just wants answers...answers that nobody can give with certainty.

Senator Finch then gives a long, emotional speech that gives the reader a peek at how the whole world is torn by the Superman situation.  Some look at him as a savior, while others look at him as the beginning of the end.  While we know what the real answer is (?), that doesn't change how some are looking at him as the movie begins.  In the end, everyone involved agrees that regardless of their opinions on Superman, more information is needed and so they unanimously vote to start up the subcommittee to study him.  

I liked this chapter mainly because I had no idea who Senator Finch really was and what she was all about before and now I know a little more.  She seems to be a Superman supporter, but can put that aside to do the right thing.  That is the type of attitude that I'm sure we will see in the movie and I'm looking forward to seeing it.  On a side note, reading this chapter makes me think that Holly Hunter was a really good choice for the role.

The art by Joe Bennett was good in this chapter, though he really didn't get to do much.  I'm sure that a bunch of people arguing in a conference room is not the first pick for a comic book artist, but Bennett does a good enough job matching Senator Finch to Holly Hunter.

Bits and Pieces:

While this chapter is not full of set pieces or explosions, it does what it sets out to do...set the tone for the Batman v Superman movie.  The world has mixed feeling towards Superman and we see it inside this meeting room as some higher ups decide if they need to take a closer look as to who this Superman really is.  This was the issue I was least looking forward to reading, but it may be the one that has the most information of what we have in store when the actual movie begins.

7.0/10