Two years after Superman tangled with aliens in outer space, Batman runs into a few of the galaxy's most efficient killing machines in a Central American jungle.

Parachuting into the jungle on a rescue mission for a missing scientist, Batman stumbles first into a special ops team -- spiritual ancestors, no doubt, of Ripley's space marines -- before discovering aliens in a Mayan ruin by the wreck of a crashed UFO. In this exciting tale by Ron Marz, Batman has several advantages over Superman. For one, fewer aliens. For another, much better art. And, perhaps most significantly, Batman realizes that his solemn vow never to kill doesn't extend to beasts such as these. And, while Superman relied mostly on his waning strength, Batman has the tools and the cunning to outmatch the aliens' thirst for survival.

Of course, humans often prove to be more evil than the aliens, and Batman encounters the usual relentless ambition to capture, study and exploit the aliens' penchant for mass destruction.

Oh, and there's a very cool alien-crocodile crossbreed, too!

- Rambles
written by Tom Knapp
published 12 April 2003