Those who likely will be interested in reading this, fans of DC superheroes, will likely be confused by how out-of-character the two leads are. Beyond a bullying Clark Kent, which kept throwing me out of the story every time he appeared, it's strange to see Batman be so unsure of himself and unmotivated. Some of it's funny, if you can get past that, but I also didn't care for how the female characters were treated as accessories.

I recently had the opportunity to check out Bruce Wayne: Not Super from DC Comics. The story is from Stuart Gibbs and the artwork is from Berat Pekmezci, and it is obviously about Batman.

The middle-grade graphic novel follows a teenage Cape Crusader going to school with every other DC character. Heroes and villains all going to school together is a funny concept that I think is pulled off well here.

What’s the joke about Batman? He’s just a rich kid with no powers, so what happens when he goes to a prep school with Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Arrow, etc.? Bruce has to come to grip with having no powers and how that affects his daily interactions with his classmates.

Bruce’s alienation at being powerless directly conflicts with his goal of being a vigilante hero for Gotham City. His camaraderie with Dick Grayson (Robin) helps him work through his feelings on wanting to be Ferretman Batman.

Aging adult characters down to young teens can come with their own difficulties, but I think Pekmezci nailed it. The artwork is very good throughout this book.

It may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I really dig these “Elseworlds” stories that place the heroes in completely weird situations. And, what’s weirder than a middle/high school full of super-powered kids!

Clearly, I wasn’t the intended audience for this book, but I think those kids will have a great time reading this.

Thank you Netgalley and DC Entertainment for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

My thanks to DC Entertainment and DC Comics for an eARC of this book to read and review.

None of the characters acted in character. The most obvious and egregious of the mis-characterizations was "Clark Kent" (ummmm...secret identities are supposed to protect the supe/villain from being found out. Calling them by their secret identity names while they show their powers is completely the opposite of what it is intended for. Why even bother? But I digress.).

"Clark Kent" was a football jock, who cheated on his tests and bullied others around him, including Bruce.

No. Superman is often called "Boy Scout" because he is SO pure and good. He would NEVER cheat on a test or humiliate anyone, unless he was under the powers of red kryptonite, which he does not seem to be here.

Also, the premise is that Bruce has no powers, but is at this school for ONLY kids with powers, because his parents funded the school and then they were killed, so they "allowed" him in. But there are SOOOO many kids who have NO powers who are at the school, Harley Quinn, Selina Kyle, Lex Luthor, etc. How did THEY get in?

And seriously? Bruce Wayne fills out a form about what he wants to be when he grows up and he actually wrote down "vigilante"?? If he looks up to Gordon, why not say he wants to be a cop? That's more in line with his reasoning of protecting other and stopping crime.

And the Vice Principal calls Bruce, a child of about 13, names, belittles him and then extorts a brand new coffee maker from Bruce before he leaves the office.

I DNF'd at 16%. This ALL happened before I was even 20% of the way in this book. I don't want to read the rest to find out if things get better. If they make Superman a bully as a kid, then I highly doubt it will.

The artwork wasn't bad, but the storyline and poor characterization detracted from it to be honest. Not my cuppa.

1, I am sorry I can't give this more but this will only satisfy a niche audience I suspect and I am not a part of it, stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Liked it, fun while I was reading it

This was so cute, it puts all the DC superheroes into a middle school together for kids with super powers. Bruce Wayne is attending even though he has no powers, because his parents funded the school. A true fish out of water story. Bruce is just trying to keep up and fit in. The ultimate lesson in this story is that you don't need to be super to help someone in need. We get early smatterings of Batman's sense of right and wrong as he tries to stop some bullies. We also get Alfred and Dick Grayson and a whole lot of cameos throughout. 

The artwork is so colorful and fun,  perfect for this story which is a great introduction to the DC universe for younger kids on through upper elementary school age. 

Thank you to DC Entertainment, NetGalley, and author Stuart Gibbs for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review. Bruce Wayne: Not Super is out March 14  2023.

13-year-old Bruce Wayne attends an exclusive prep school for the gifted. But in this case, "gifted" means kids with super-powers. Bruce is suddenly the least special person in his world--and must learn to work with the talents he does have.

My son loves this! Thanks Netgalley!!

This was overall very cute! Bruce’s motivation were solid and the whole book was sweet! However, as a huge fan of the DC Universe, I did take umbrage with some things, such as every hero being in school together, along with the villains, except for the select few villains who get to be adults. Otherwise, adorable!

When I was a kid around 8 or 9 years old, we would go to an outdoor theatre, a special treat. I remember the old 1960's era Batman movies playing on the screen. It was fun, exciting, heroic...all those things that made it pure enjoyment. When I think of recent Batman movies that have turned dark, deadly, desperate, all the fun has gone out of those experiences and I simply don't watch those movies. This is simply a long way of saying that this book, Bruce Wayne: Not Super, brought back all the fun I experienced as a kid. Here we have our hero, who doesn't think he is, who compares himself to everyone around him with supernatural abilities, and begins to grow desperate. The background story is essentially the same: dead parents, rotten town, etc. But we see life from his perspective and can root for him all the way. He goofs up, makes lots of mistakes and this makes him even more lovable. This book is prefect for readers young and old, and if this made into a movie, I guarantee you that I would watch it. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and DC Entertainment. This graphic novel was so much fun to read. Stuart Gibbs is so good at putting these little hints of what the young version of themselves will be when they group up. The penguin making a joke how he wants to learn more about penguins, the cats following Catwoman and she says "These cats are not mine, they just like me", lol. This book will appeal to so many of my students in the Library.

As Stuart Gibbs is one of my favorite middle grade authors, I was eager to pick up this book. It did not disappoint. Stunning graphics and a relatable protagonist make this an engaging read. Full of references to the world of superheroes, (some sneaky, some overt) there were plenty of opportunities to make inferences and share a snide chuckle with the author. This title is now on the short list for next year’s Battle of the Books in our school district. Kudos to Stuart Gibbs for the message of brain over brawn (and superpowers)!

My 11 year old loved this story!

Imagine all your favorite Batman characters but as middle schoolers!! Such a fun and quick read. Kept him engaged and interested the entire book. He loved it and hopes for another book soon!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!!

Cute book. Love the author and he did NOT disappoint with this one. Only thing I don’t like is that if you don’t have a good knowledge of the characters then it’s hard to understand

A fun graphic novel featuring Bruce Wayne attending school with all the other superheroes and supervillains of the DC Universe. Surrounded by his super-powered peers, what is ordinary human Bruce to do. Why, become a vigilante of course. There is so much room in the multiverse for these different takes on the characters and this would make an excellent series. As a lifelong DC Comics fan, it was cute, funny and filled with little easter eggs. A great way to introduce these characters to a younger reader. As with most of these graphic novels, I am not the target demographic, but I did enjoy it quite a bit.

Special thanks to DC Entertainment and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

This was a fun graphic novel to read. There was comedy, action and some nice dramatic moments. Along the way, we see Bruce learn a lesson or two. Once this graphic novel comes to a close, things at this school will never be the same.

Batman is a classically dark DC Comics character, so learning that Stuart Gibbs was writing a Batman story intrigued me. I know I can always count on having a good laugh when I read his MG novels and Bruce Wayne Not Super did not disappoint!

As the only non-super in a school filled with super-powered students (Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, & Flash just to name a few) Bruce is the odd man out. He is also the only one who actively wants to be a hero, as the rest of them are all absorbed with teenage drama - even Superman, who seems like a low-key jerk using his x-ray powers to cheat on tests. When Bruce saves Diana Prince's younger sister from teen villain Jack, his hilarious journey to becoming Batman begins - and includes an entire montage of animal themed costumes before landing on a version of the classic Batman garb.

I loved the style and vibrancy of the artwork in this graphic novel and am seriously hoping there will be more than one installment!

#BruceWayneNotSuper #NetGalley

This is a truly well done youth superhero graphic novel. The themes are real-life and current without being heavy-handed, and the action is appropriately fun and fast-paced. This is one of my favorite of the DC youth graphic novels.

I'm not a huge DC fan and have never really read the comics. I have seen most of the movies, watched the Batman cartoon as a kid, and have watched a number of the DC television shows. This particular version of Bruce is an annoying and whiny character--he's only relatable in the sense that he wants to be like everyone else at his school.

The concept of the school itself seems silly--even the villains are there, and I'm confused as to why, since Bruce doesn't have any superpowers. He's simply incredibly intelligent with an eidetic memory, which doesn't qualify as a superpower. Selena Kyle suddenly has an affinity for cats, whereas, in the DC canon, she's intelligent, athletic, and quick. The only superpower she ever has is Michelle Pfieffer's version where she comes back from the dead. I'm also not fond of the way that the heroes are being depicted--Clark Kent is a cheat and a bully. I'm all for a good reimagining, but this just seems trite. Bruce's origin story is that of a driven character who is obsessed with being a force for justice.

Overall, the storyline comes across as satire, which isn't something that middle-grade students often get--they may find humor in some of Bruce's antics, or Clark Kent's bullying, which isn't exactly the sort of behavior they need any help imitating.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Honestly, I wasn't wild about it, and I have been reading middle grade level books for around 50 years. If I had no exposure to Batman or the other DC superheroes, this would not have been a very good introduction. The characters were almost all converted into teens and tweens. Didn't matter what had come before. I had to look at it as another alternate universe and try to go with the rules here. But the characters in this book did not have the same "character" they have in other books. Clark Kent is something of a bully. Barry Allen is a showoff. Dick Grayson is kind of silly. And Bruce Wayne is nothing like Batman. Even Alfred is of a different character. I just didn't see how, even in this setting, this could work. It was played too much for laughs. It often went to ridiculous lengths to get those laughs.

It was okay for what it was, but I would not read another comic set in this reality. It was too foolish for me to want to bother with again. And I hate saying things like that.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I just couldn't get into it. I could see young superhero fans enjoying it though.