What would the DC universe look like if, after WWII, it pivoted to Eastern Mecha stories instead of Western Pulp Sci-Fi? DC Mech takes that idea and turns it into a whole new Elseworlds story that looks slick and cool in all the right ways. What really captivated me though was that, even in the first chapter, the author had clearly put a lot of thought into the setting and how that impacted its characters. This book is loaded with great bits of history and worldbuilding from the JSA in WWII to modern day with an adult Superman meeting the Kent’s for the first time.

Porter clearly had big plans for this series, which makes it all the more heartbreaking to see things so rushed.

This book has several good scenes and character moments, but because we have to get to a big bombastic fight at the end (without compromising on content), we have to rush through the emotional moments and rob them of all emotion and gravitas. There’s three significant character deaths, two of which are barely given enough time for the characters to experience the weight of what’s happened, and another whose death was so close to their introduction that they feel entirely unnecessary to the plot.

But this isn’t exactly a problem that’s new to DC’s Elseworld stories is it? I think that’s why I still walked away enjoying this book. Weird pacing comes with the territory. However, unlike a lot of DC’s Elseworld stories, this is one I actively do want to see continue in another volume, if only to see things built and expanded upon even further. If I was to describe DC Mech, I’d say it’s a victim of its own ambition. It tried to do too much at once and buckled under the weight…but it’s because of that weight that I want to see this series try again and succeed, because if it does, Mech has the potential to become the best alternate universe DC’s made in years.