Vengeance of Bane

Bane has always been one of my favourite characters, particularly because of the Knightfall storyline and also the Secret Six run by Gail Simone. He is a character who- when done right - has an emotional depth that matches that of Batman. He too has his parents stolen from him at a young age, but he had to exist without the same support systems that Bruce had in place. Bane had no Alfred, or Leslie. He had no money to allow him to pursue a life of vengeance (and later justice). Bane had nothing.

Born into captivity, Bane found himself having to fend for his life from a very early age. When an accident leaves him unconscious, he sees a vision of himself as an older man. This older version of himself is heavily muscled, and promises him that he will one day make something of himself. This Spurs him on to commit his first murder, an act which will be the foundations of his reputation within the prison system of Péna Duro.

During his time in isolation following his crime, Bane finds himself aiming for that future self which came to him in his unconscious state. In a way that mirrors the training of Batman, Bane is a believer in self improvement - striving for an ideal which is both physically and mentally superior to those around him. Nothing like the mindless thug which is in the last of the Schumacher Bat-films then.

Harnessing his own fears and insecurities, again bringing him closer to Batman than many of the Bat's other villains, Bane works his way through the ranks and becomes a respected and feared member of the criminal hierarchy in Péna Duro. Bane eventually becomes embroiled in the trials of the drug 'venom'. A familiar drug which we have seen in the Bat-timeline before. This is a more refined version though, and its effects are much greater than those we saw when Batman was addicted to the drug.

Bane hears rumours of Gotham City, and of the Batman. He wants to find this man who has become fear itself,and he wants to defeat that man. Bane escapes from Péna Duro, heading for Gotham to become its 'rightful' King.

An excellent story, which provides some welcome background into the intriguing villain who has become somewhat underused and underwhelming in recent years. It also serves as a fantastic prologue to Knightfall, the epic bat-crossover which is next in this chronological exploration of Batman's career.

Next up - Knightfall

Sword of Azrael

We open on a scene in a flashy apartment somewhere in Gotham. A man sits in a chair, his face near shrouded in darkness. An imposing figure wielding a flaming sword preaches to him in pseudo-religious speak. But the man is prepared, he has a gun with Arnold piercing rounds. This angel is only human it seems, and after being shot several times the figure falls from the apartment window and has to drag himself through a parade to safety. He arrives at the house of a slightly nerdy looking man, where he dies from his wounds.

Following police reports of gun shots in the apartment of LeHah, and the mysterious 'angel' that fell out of the sky, Batman is on the case. He follows the trail, tracing the possible final steps of the angel before discovering a link to an ancient order who worship St Dumas.

The young man we saw earlier takes on the mantle of Azrael, beginning his training with a strange dwarven man who talks about 'the system'. It seems that the man has been trained since he was young by his father to become the angel of vengeance, Azrael. This training only accounts for the cause though, the fight against criminals. It doesn't allow for Azrael to save innocent lives, only for the punishment of those who have done wrong.

Following an altercation between the three parties in a remote mountain location, LeHah begins to see visions of a demon known as Biis. This demon is the antagonist of the Order of Dumas. LeHah takes on the appearance of this demon in order to bring down the Order that he once belonged to. In that sense he is like the dark counterpoint to Batman - taking on a demonic visage in order to fight a group of people he believes is in the wrong.

In an interesting scene, back in Gotham, Batman finds himself having to fight in his 'civilian clothing' of Bruce Wayne. He struggles, finding the normal clothing 'cumbersome'. Or is it the persona of Wayne that stops him fighting? Many stories explore the duality of Bruce and the Bat - which one is the mask? Which is the true personality?

In the final scenes Azrael defies the system which forms his moral programming. In doing so he sets the scene for his involvement in the upcoming epic 'Knightfall'.

A great story, which incorporates new elements to the Batman mythology, as well as exploring several elements which make him the character he is. The artwork is strong as well, with the hulking LeHah providing a menacing opponent for Batman and Azrael.

Next up - The Vengeance of Bane

The Last Arkham

Arkham Asylum has long been a mainstay of the Batman comics. The revolving door for the crazier villains (which is most of them) has been the focus for several storylines in the past. Often the focus is placed on the family behind the asylum as well - Grant Morrison's classic explored the madness of Amadeus Arkham. The Last Arkham focuses instead on Jeremiah Arkham, who has refurbished the asylum and bolstered the security to try and prevent the constant escapes which Batman has to deal with on a seemingly daily basis.

However the end of the first issue deals a shock ending - the latest inmate in the asylum is none other than our Caped Crusader. 

When the second issue comes around though, we find that Batman has been investigating a series of crimes that seem to have been committed by Zsasz. Dead bodies arranged in 'life like' poses - Zsasz's commentary that we're all just zombies. But the problem is, Zsasz is locked up securely in Arkham, so the crimes must have been committed by someone else. At least that's the claim made by Arkham.

Arkham is a man who claims he can 'see' madness in his patients. This is a claim that would set alarm bells ringing at the best of times, but it can only mean trouble when you take into account the history of mental illness in the Arkham family. In his attempts to rehabilitate the inmates Arkham subjects them to holograms depicting their greatest fears or shuts them away in a strange chamber with only eyeholes. Not exactly ethical practice then.

One of my favourite elements of the Batman character is his ability to plan ahead. His way of thinking through every eventuality in order to fight whatever criminal he comes up against. We see this in full force here when he is counting the steps of the guards or wrapping himself in his cape to avoid the magnetic sensors in the hallways of Arkham. 

The unorthodox methods of Arkham get worse - when he discovers the Batman has been investigating the files in his office, he shuts Batman in a room with all of his villains at once. Batman defeats them all - which does call into question how any of his villains could pose a threat to him in one on one combat. Although it does highlight the prowess of Batman  in a combat situation. He is the ultimate fighting machine.

I loved this story - with the creepy art depicting Zsasz and his twisted trophies from his murders. I love the exploration of the Arkham family, and always have after the Grant Morrison comic which explores that world.

Next up - Sword of Azrael

Dark Knight Dark City

When is a villain not a threat? When he's presented as a cheap knock off of The Joker, or a laughing stock with a weak gimmick. 

As a huge fan of The Riddler, I get frustrated at the lack of storylines which present the character as a true intellectual threat to Batman. Very few storylines actually show the potential this character has to truly challenge the Bat.

Luckily, Dark Knight Dark City isn't one of those stories. Throughout The Riddler is darker, more violent and has The Bat struggling to figure out the connections between his various odd crimes. His riddles are easily figured out, but we eventually see that this is all part of his master plan to summon Barbatos.

Barbatos is a 'bat demon' that is heavily linked to Grant Morrison's run. In this three part story, we get to see how a group of men try to summon Barbatos (including Thomas Jefferson!). This attempt goes wrong though, and the demon is trapped underneath a building which eventually becomes the foundations of Gotham City.

Unbeknownst to Batman, The Riddler is attempting to summon Barbatos after having found the diary of one of these men. Their game of cat and mouse zig zags across the city, taking in blood banks and military cemeteries. 

The Riddler pulls no punches - even kidnapping four newborn babies. During their battle of wits, these babies are narrowly saved by Batman. He even nearly runs one over in the Batmobile...

This darker Riddler hasn't really been seen again until this year's storyline of Zero Year by Scott Snyder. I hope that other writers see the potential that the character has to be something better than the cheap heists and bad riddles...

Excellent story, well worth a read if you're a fan of E.Nygma as well!

Next up - The Last Arkham

A Lonely Place of Dying

After the death of Jason Todd, Batman becomes more desperate. More driven. More violent. He beats thugs for information with a more relentless focus than before. He blames himself for the death of his young ward, and in doing so his fight against crime becomes more about personal redemption than anything else.

Throughout the first couple of issues we see a mysterious figure following Batman and taking photographs of his fight against crime. The figure seems concerned for his wellbeing. After a few scenes we find out that something connects this figure to Nightwing as well - and that he knows the identities of Batman and the former Robin.

Every crime that Batman is desperately trying to solve follow the motif of the number two. In his grief stricken state, the worlds greatest detective doesn't spot the significance of this straight away - although we know it is Two Face behind the crimes as we see him, crazier than before, plotting out his next strike against the Bat.

When he tries to speak with Grayson at Titan Tower, the figure (Tim Drake) discovers that nobody in the Teen Titans has seen him since the incident with Tony Zucco in Year Three. When he finds a newspaper clipping in one of Nightwing's hideouts, Drake follows him to Haly's Circus, which has fallen on hard times.

It's interesting to see Nightwing revisit his past, and we can almost imagine what could have been had Bruce not taken him under his (bat) wing after the tragedy that befell his parents. He could have been the drunken clown or the bitter lion tamer. Eventually Grayson discovers the source of Haly's troubles, with the help of Tim Drake, and he becomes the co-owner of the circus. Being a hero doesn't always have to be about beating up thugs, and we see just how much Grayson has learnt from his time with Batman.

Drake reveals that he was in the crowd on that fateful night when Grayson lost his parents - a fact we learned last time in Year Three. He used this as the starting point of his deductions that Grayson and Wayne were in fact Batman and Robin.

Past and future return to Gotham, to see how far Bruce has fallen since Todd died. Drake argues that Grayson should take up the mantle of Robin again, stating that Batman needs a Robin. It's true that Batman is much darker as a character without the light of Robin by his side. But then there is also the constant threat of Robin dying that haunts Batman. 

Eventually we see that Batman does need Robin, if only in the context of this story. Drake saves Batman and Nightwing from a trap that Two Face had set, displaying all the best qualities of both previous Robins as well as his own. He has the acrobatics of Grayson and the daredevil side that Todd had, as well as a detecting ability that could match Batman's own.

I really enjoyed this story, and was intrigued to read the new beginnings of my favourite Robin (at least until Damian arrived on the scene...)

Next up - Dark Knight, Dark City

Batman Year Three

Grief has been explored time and again in Batman's career. It would be impossible to do the things that he does without suffering when he fails. Perhaps his biggest failure (until Damian of course) was the death of Jason Todd. This was the first time that someone who Batman had taken on as an ally, and a son, would die at the hands of one of his enemies. Barbara Gordon also suffered at the hands of The Joker, but Todd's death left more of an impression due to his proximity to the Bat and Bruce.

Needless to say, Batman loses himself in his crusade to try and make sense of the loss of Jason. Batman is investigating a series of hits on the crime families of Gotham. Alfred calls Nightwing back from Bludhaven to try and talk some sense into Bruce, all whilst Tony Zucco is petitioning for release from prison. 

Once Nightwing returns, we see a series of flashbacks to earlier on in Batman's career. I can only assume this is the 'Year Three' of the title - unless the Bat continuity is just as messed up back then as it is right now with the introduction of the New 52. We revisit Grayson's origins, then seeing the battle of Batman and Robin against Zucco. It's a subtle battle, which is a theme that comes through in the present day scenes, as Batman's current investigation is anything but subtle.

We also see flashbacks that flesh out the back story of Zucco, which seem to paint him as a similar character to Grayson and Wayne in his origins. Zucco loses his family at a young age and seeks revenge against those who took his parents from him. Unlike Batman and Grayson though he doesn't have any guidance during his formative years. This is an idea that I have seen explored several times in the. Batman comics I have read as part of this endeavour to read the chronological adventures of the Bat. But it is an idea worth revisiting - what would Batman be if he hadn't had the same upbringing and support that Bruce had? 

There are also hints at an important character to come in the mysterious 'Tim' who is referenced at the final performance of the Flying Grayson's. Although this seemingly has no significance to the story here, it will soon come to fruition in the next arc that this blog will explore.

Characterisation is strong here - Bruce is wounded and adrift without the grounding force of Robin. Nightwing is the matured sidekick, who has learned from his time battling by the side of Batman. Alfred is the loyal servant, who not only calls on help when he is concerned for his master, but also tries to ensure that Zucco will remain behind bars.

All in all this was a great little stopgap between the tenure of Jason Todd as Robin, before Tim Drake takes over in the next arc.

Next up - A Lonely Place of Dying.

Blind Justice

Written by the man who brought Michael Keaton as Batman to the screen in 1989, Blind Justice explores a much darker side of Batman. Some elements don't hold up so well - mainly the 'Bonecrusher' and the bizarre technology behind his crimes, but the overall story is fascinating and explores many of the themes and ideas which make a truly great Batman story.

First of all there's the exploration of Bruce Wayne's mental state - done expertly with a recurring set of nightmares where he is in fact the one who kills his parents. This seems to be guilt on his part, for being the one who survived. A few times it is implied that this guilt manifests itself as the Batman persona - the mask he wears is his escape from that guilt but also the reason he can never forget that night in his life. This idea that Batman is the only thing keeping him sane comes to a head later on, when faced with the prospect of not being able to walk again Bruce is willing to put another life in danger simply so he can continue on as the Batman.

There is also the idea of Batman taking precedence over Bruce Wayne - it is only because Bruce takes such a hands off approach to the running of his company that a cabal of villains is able to use Wayne Tech for such nefarious means. Although Bruce clearly remembers one of his employees, the missing Roy Kane, showing he is not such a terrible employer after all.

We meet Henri Ducard again (he briefly appeared in The Man Who Falls) and find out more about how he trained Bruce to be a master of tracking and detection. Ducard is brought in to testify against Bruce Wayne, who is charged with terrorism when someone uncovers his training during his years away from Gotham. It is interesting that not many people have questioned what he was doing for all those years, and it was refreshing to see his villains using these facts against him. 

There's the idea of leaving a legacy, or of passing the torch. Batman briefly 'passes the torch' to Roy Kane, albeit only in body. One of the cabal uses their technology to jump into a different body, in order to continue their mad experiments. The legacy of Bruce's parents looms large, their death replayed time and time again to show just how much it has impacted on his life. A brief mention is made of Jason Todd, perhaps placing this a while after he died. Although no replacement has been made yet, and the actions of Batman at times could be interpreted as being driven by grief for the young life he put on the line.

There are hints too of identity - that Gordon in fact knows that Batman is Bruce Wayne. There are several little digs, or knowing comments between the two, that suggest Gordon is well aware of the Batman's identity but choose to appear 'ignorant' for appearances sake.

Excellent artwork here, with the haunting nightmares repeated throughout and some of the interesting ways of framing the different panels. One of my favourites was early on when we see Batman and Comissioner Gordon talking through the door of the morgue. Simple touches, but impressive ones nonetheless.

Next up - Batman Year Three

A Death in the Family

The last time Batman faced The Joker, the clown prince of crime crippled Batgirl. Whilst each of his crimes before had left a lasting impression on Gotham City, this would be the first crime that truly left a lasting scar on Batman and those closest to him. Fresh off his war with Deacon Blackfire, Batman is faced with a Joker who is looking to branch out. When we first see The Joker, we find out that he has a nuclear missile (!) that he wants to smuggle out of the country and sell to international terrorists.

Meanwhile, on a much more personal level Batman has become concerned about the unpredictability of Jason Todd (the second Robin) and benches him so he can deal with his emotions around his parents' deaths. This tactic doesn't exactly work though, leading to Todd finding a new depth to his parental worries, discovering that his real mother is a mysterious woman known only by the initial 'S' on his birth certificate.

Batman and Todd head off into international territory again to solve their respective mysteries. Todd narrows his search down to 3 women in his father's address book - a spy, a mercenary and a doctor. Batman tracks down the Joker to Beirut, discovering in the process that his methods work just as well on criminals outside of Gotham. Unsurprisingly, their paths cross and they have their first confrontation with The Joker when they try to prevent the missile being used to destroy Tel Aviv.

Neither of the first two candidates for Todd's mother pan out. The second brings us a fantastic showdown between Batman and Lady Shiva, who would have made sense as Todd's mother considering her fighting prowess. The third option, a doctor helping children in Ethiopia, is someone who shows the potential for Todd to be someone who is better than his roots. At first. Then we find out she left Gotham in disgrace and that she is willing to go into business with Joker to protect herself. The reveal of Todd's mother as someone willing to break the law to protect herself - a criminal - is quite sad, as it suggests that Todd was never going to rise above his origins in Crime Alley. 

Despite his mother's true nature being revealed, Todd still proves he is the hero by fighting to protect her until the end. The scene where Joker beats him with a crowbar is both brutal and iconic - the image of the crowbar is returned to many times in the same way that the pearl and gun are used to refer to Batman's origin. This fact suggests that this is Todd's true origin as a hero, despite the darker path he takes.

Batman's quest for revenge makes up the remainder of the story, which descends into silliness as The Joker becomes a UN ambassador and gains diplomatic immunity. This ruined the story for me a little - it might have been more interesting to see Batman almost take that final step before realising that would make him as bad as The Joker. The inclusion of Superman seems out of place in such a personal story also.

Starlin proves himself willing to break down Batman. Despite the strange final act, this is still a storyline that sent ripples through the Bat books. The death of Jason Todd would forever influence every encounter with the Joker and every relationship with Robin or member of the Bat family in years to come. Every scene in the batcave since has a display case that immortalises and memorialises Todd, showing that Batman would never forget the (first) Robin that died.

Next up - Blind Justice

The Cult

Deacon Blackfire just returned in the weekly series Batman Eternal. Resurrected by forces hiding beneath Arkham Asylum, he seems to be planning on unleashing hell on Gotham City. But it seems that the Blackfire of the New 52 has lost some of his malevolence - in a flashback sequence we see him easily defeated and his plan seemingly thwarted before it even began. Nothing like the Deacon Blackfire in The Cult, then.

We open on a bizarre dreamlike sequence as Bruce Wayne investigates a strange house that has appeared on his estate. He discovers the Joker at the bottom of a flight of stairs, who then taunts him until Bruce transforms into the Batman. Our hero wakes, and we find him chained up and already in the clutches of madness thanks to Blackfire.

Deacon Blackfire claims to have been around for hundreds of years, recounting a story where he was murdered and locked in a cavern behind a large boulder. This is a man who models himself as a messianic figure, and already we learn that he has several followers willing to do his bidding.

Through flashbacks we discover that Batman was investigating a series of brutal murders. Gotham has also experience the disappearance of it's homeless population, which we are informed of by the excellent news report sequences which are reminiscent of the news report panels in Dark Knight Returns. These homeless citizens are Blackfire's disciples, his followers, and we discover it is they who are brutally murdering the criminals of Gotham.

Batman is well and truly broken by the time this story starts. A gunshot wound suffered when he lost focus, along with starvation break his mind down, making him more susceptible to the Deacon's drugs and sermons. By the end of the first issue, he has succumbed to Blackfire, and we know that Gotham is in dire straits.

The ideas of religious zealotry and the cult of personality are prevalent here. We see Gotham increasingly more confused as to which side they should be on, many of the talking heads in the news reports mentioned before even taking Blackfire's side. He has managed to clean up crime in Gotham after all - so Batman's failures are now twofold: his mind has been broken and somebody else has managed to achieve his goal.

Belief is another strong theme, Batman loses his self belief, eventually being saved by Robin's belief that he is still an effective crime fighter. The climax of the story comes when Blackfire's followers lose their belief in him.

Jim Starlin does excellent work here as the first man to truly break the bat. And with the other storyline coming up which is also penned by Starlin, the worst is yet to come. Excellent, trippy artwork as well by Bernie Wrightson which shows off the effects of Blackfire's manipulation on Batman's mind.

My only gripe is the return to guns, although at least it is made clear that they are tranquilliser darts and not bullets. Some of the explosions from the Batmobile missiles must surely have indirectly killed someone though, right?

Excellent story - worth a read if you're a fan of Dark Knight Rises, as this explores similar ground with Gotham in trouble until Batman returns to save his city. Or if you're a fan of the Batman who refuses to give up, even when he has seemingly been broken.

Next up - Death in the Family

The Killing Joke

Consistently placed in the top 3 Batman comics of all time, The Killing Joke is one of the most iconic Joker stories of all time. It's also the second Batman graphic that I ever read, after Arkham Asylum, so it is part of the foundations of my love for the character.

It is a cyclical story, which starts as it ends (or so it seems) with a confrontation between Batman and The Joker. The Bat strides into Arkham Asylum on a mission of peace, almost begging the Joker to stop this war between them before one ends up killing the other. Bolland's attention to detail in the art is already clear in the sign on the Arkham receptionist's desk (what a strange job that must be) - 'You don't have to be mad to work here, but it helps...' Perhaps this is Harleen Quinzel before the medical degree and the failed career as a therapist? We also see a glance back at Harvey Dent from Gordan - a look of regret perhaps?

It soon transpires that Joker has escaped the revolving door of Arkham once more and is purchasing an old carnival plot from an estate agent. Does he not read the papers? 

We get our first flashback to a black and white pre-Joker - a fantastic transition where the panels are perfectly mirrored to signal that this is The Joker (or one of his multiple choice origins at least). We see a down on his luck comedian, a pregnant wife and a struggle for money - all of which will culminate in Joker's 'one bad day'.

This idea of 'one bad day' being all it takes for someone to go mad runs through this story. The Joker's plot is to make Jim Gordon suffer that 'one bad day' to prove that he (The Joker) is just like everyone else. With this version of his origin, he and Batman are more closely linked than ever before. Each of them has his 'one bad day', that eventually sends them on their individual paths of criminal and crime fighter. It's nice to have a bit of ambiguity though, with The Joker himself stating that he prefers his last to be 'multiple choice'.

Regardless of his origins, The Joker is gleefully vile throughout. He appears at Gordon's house in an iconic scene, Barbara Gordon opening the door to a gun. He taunts the Gordon family, making jokes about torn jackets and holes in spines (displaying an eerie knowledge of Barbara's life) before leaving with Jim and some revealing photographs. All the pieces are in place for him to break Gordon and prove his point.

Bolland and Moore work with a fantastic synergy here that so few creators seem to manage. The writing is excellent - Joker's various quips are clever and snappy, Batman's dialogue shows his desperation to escape from the fate he sees for the pair of them. Bolland's art is full of excellent details, which reveal new intricacies even after several readings. And of course there are the repeated images of the reaction to Joker, the gun, the repetition of actions from the past. 

The Killing Joke, quite aptly, ends with a joke about two insane people. The ending itself is quite ambiguous, with Batman and The Joker sharing a laugh before their laughter is abruptly cut short. Recently Grant Morrison claimed this was because Batman kills Joker - the ultimate punch line to their relationships over the years. I think that they go back to the start of the cycle - Joker in the Asylum and Batman waiting for him to escape.

The impact this story had is long lasting also; Batgirl can no longer fight crime and eventually becomes Oracle. The Joker's terrorising of the Gordon family takes it's first step here - and this is not the first time (not the last) that the clown prince of crime will leave such a lasting impression on the bat family.

Next up - The Cult

Ten Nights of the Beast

Batman makes another foray into the world of espionage, this time involving the KGB assassin known as KGBeast. Terrible name aside, this is actually a very fun story which shows Batman being tested by a foe other than his usual rogues gallery.

Until reading this, my only experience of KGBeast was in the appearance of the character (pre-bondage gear) in Arrow. I assume he will become the deadly assassin on that show some day, as no character from the DC universe is wasted in that universe. If I had judged him as a villain based on his name, I would probably have dismissed Anatoli Knyazev outright. However he is in the same mould as Bane, before Bane came into existence.

The story starts on a beach, with several FBI agents being decimated by a single shadowy figure. We then quickly jump to an agent of the KGB warning about a rogue Russian agent who triggered something know as Operation Skywalker. This leads to a race against time as Batman, the FBI, the KGB and the GCPD all struggle to save 10 names on a list of people who are involved in a weapons programme which might eliminate nuclear weaponry.

KGBeast, the assassin, takes out these targets in a variety of bizarre ways. One of which is via a carton of orange juice which disguises a deadly poison gas. There are a couple of excellent fight scenes with Batman, where the pair match wits. Some of these genuinely had me worried for Batman's safety, crazy as that sounds, especially when he struggles to stop his fall from a rooftop. 

There is a mystery to the proceedings as well; there is a leak within the investigation team which leads to 7/10 of the names on the list being taken out. This is the most Batman has ever failed to date, from memory. 

I also loved the ending, as it showed Batman as a tactician as well as a fighter. He conceded that he doesn't always have to fight every fight. 

A fun four issue volume, which introduced a villain who I would be interested in reading more of. But then, in another writers hands he might not be as well written. Jim Starling is another one of those writers who has left his imprint on the Bat, including a couple of famous storylines which are fast approaching.

Next up - The Killing Joke

Batman - Faces

There are two sides to every coin, and indeed every story or person. 

'Faces' explores that idea in depth - with every character and motive having two sides.

It begins with Two Face escaping, seemingly deciding to do so on the flip of his scarred coin. Then the story flashes forward in time, two years later, where Two Face's plan begins. 

Bruce Wayne is at a masquerade ball, where we learn he is desperate to purchase an island from a man called D'Urbeville. No reason is given for this desire, although we can assume Bruce Wayne wanted to build a Bat-island, or something similar.

Two Face's first victim is one of the guests at this masquerade - his mask stuck to his face, so that when it is removed when he struggles to breathe, his face is torn off. This victim, and all of the others, is a plastic surgeon. Two Face appears to be on a crusade against people who try and promote beauty as the only way that someone can be accepted in society. Of course, as a villain who is obsessed with duality, this mass murder is just a cover for his real plan.

Batman rushes away from the ball in pursuit of Two Face's real target - a large jade yin yang symbol (which bears more than a passing resemblance to Batman's giant coin from the Batcave). During this daring heist, we see that Two Face has begun to gather some unique henchmen - twins names Romulus and Remus and a man with snake-like skin on his face. This is just scratching the surface of the outcasts that he has begun to gather though. 

Nelson Wren, the broker who is arranging the deal between Wayne and D'Urberville is approached by a mysterious woman named Manon, who seduces him, and then soon after a mysterious masked man name Count Enance. These two, who are both duplicitous themselves, convince Wren to help them secure the island for themselves. This leads to an excellent full page scene with a birds eye view of a track, where Wayne tries to haggle with Wren to improve on the offer made by Enance.

Meanwhile, Batman is investigating the plastic surgeon murders, tracking a potential victim down to the theatre, but is unfortunately too late to stop the crime. Again we see that Batman is not without his flaws, unlike later on in his career where he is super competent and can take down entire alien races by himself. Instead he stumbles and struggles to get to the bottom of the plastic surgeon murders before he realises Two Face's true motive.

Count Enance is revealed to be Two Face, in perhaps the least shocking reveal ever, and at the end of the first issue we see the full extent of his gang of freaks. His plan is to use the island to create a safe haven for the outcasts, including himself, with the yin yang symbol as their crest. In a sense he is trying to create his own Batcave, the similarities made clear with the giant jade ornament and the blimp which he also steals later on.

Finally the pieces fit together for Batman, who realises that the plastic surgeon murders were a ploy to distract him from the real crimes. He discovers that Two Face blackmailed D'Urberville (another character leading a double life) and races to stop his plan. He is subdued though, and tied to the front of the blimp. Luckily he has some acid to spare, and releases himself to save the day.

An excellent story, in my opinion, which showed Two Face in a different light to the usual mobster. He has a genuine cause here, one which some might say is noble, although he goes about it the wrong way. Sure, he murders several people horribly and kidnaps circus freaks against their will, but he does it because he sees himself as a protector of the outcasts. In the end, the freaks turn on Dent, and tell him that they are happy with who they are. They are freaks, but at least they not like Dent - a monster.

Great artwork here, which is disturbing and fitting with the horror elements of this story. And great writing too from Wagner, who has gone from strength to strength since his tale of the 'monster men' of Hugo Strange right back at the beginning of the timeline. Highly recommended.

Next up - Ten Nights of the Beast

Tales of the Demon

R'as Al Ghul is one of the Batman's most intimidating foes. He knows who Batman is, commands an army of assassins and even death cannot hold him down.

This collection of shorter arcs from the Denny O'Neill run on Batman introduces us to the Demon Head, his daughter Talia and his mysterious Lazarus Pits.

We join Batman mid investigation into Dr. Darrk and the League of Assassins - having not read the stories which precede this one in O'Neill's run I can only assume that this was an ongoing investigation for a few months. When Batman corners a lead, two assassins strike, killing the man Batman was pursuing. An attempt is made to silence Batman as well, but to no avail, as both assassins are swiftly dispatched. With his final breath, the man Batman had followed whispers the words 'Soom Express' and the investigation is alive once more.

Denny O'Neill is renowned for his depiction of the Batman as an international crime fighter, closer to spies such as James Bond than the dark and brooding vigilante he has been in the past. We see him globe trotting, seducing the beautiful daughter of the man who quickly becomes his nemesis and donning costumes or using gadgetry to defeat and thwart the villains. Several of the scenes in the opening chapters here are replicated in Grant Morrison's run, where Batman once again becomes the 'super spy' during. Batman Inc.

R'as is presented as Batman's intellectual equal, easily deducing the secret identity of the Bat by analysing what equipment the Dark Knight used and investigating who had the means to make such purchases. We see this initial confrontation early on, and so Al Ghul is immediately presented as a threat to be taken seriously. Adding to the menace created by his intellect is his hulking bodyguard Ubu, the first of several loyal followers who handle the physical confrontations with the Detective.

Over the course of several shorter arcs, Batman learns that R'as is testing him, to try and judge his suitability as a partner for his daughter, Talia. In these arcs Batman and R'as are enemies and unwilling allies, most notably in the battle against the Sensei. 

One standout sequence is the battle between Batman and Al Ghul in the desert, where the Demon's Head is proven to be just as worthy a physical opponent as he is a mental one. Batman appears defeated, through a stroke of poor luck, but it is Talia who eventually helps him to win the encounter. 

The daughter of the Demon's Head is shown to be just as competent in combat, although she is much more shrouded in mystery than her father and we can never be truly sure whose side she is on. She is often portrayed - falsely - as the damsel in distress, but this is more often than not a ploy to get Batman involved in one of the schemes of her father.

The introduction of the Lazarus Pit is well handled too, with us seeing the madness that takes its hold on Al Ghul after he is reborn. There is just enough mystery left surrounding the Demon's Head and his resurrections to allow scope for later storylines to expand on his history. We get a sense here that he has been around for a very long time though, honing his skills in order to bring about the 'improvement' of the Earth.

We get a brief cameo from Robin, who seems to be away at University, and we also see the persona of Matches Malone again. Several other people come to Batman's aid in the course of these stories, which shows that he is still in the relative infancy of his career.

The artwork and writing are both exemplary - several iconic scenes are drawn here by Neal Adams. The writing of Denny O'Neill is strikingly noir, but without going over the top as some writers often have the tendency to do. O'Neill, for me, is one of the greatest writers to take on the character of Batman. Even if this had been his only contribution to the Batman mythology, that would hold true. How many other creators can boast that they have created a villain as iconic and dangerous as R'as Al Ghul?

Next up - Batman: Faces

Fortunate Son

So, Batman doesn't like rock music. Or punk. Something which he makes very clear in his constant assertions to Robin that it leads to crime and madness. Although to be fair, he has a point if you use this story as evidence. Several thousand fans of 'Izaak Crowe' start a mini rebellion. They storm a pseudo-Graceland style museum, even stealing a glass coffin which holds the body of 'The God of Rock 'n' Roll'. 

All of this youthful rebellion is a result of the manipulative manager of Crowe, who uses lookalikes and fancy dress hire to convince Crowe that the 'God' and several other dead rock stars are leading him on some mythical quest. Luckily for Batman's investigation, the evil manager isn't clever enough to try and hide the various purchases he has made to prepare for his plan. He can train a small army of people to do his dirty deeds, but he can't figure out that if he pays for things using cash then it can't be traced as easily...

The debate surrounding the influence of rock music, or indeed any form of media, on the behaviour of the general public is one that has gone on for several decades. Batman himself has even been the subject of the debate, most recently when a theatre screening a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises was the victim of a violent shooting. But this volume was oftentimes very heavy handed in trying to deliver its message. There was several stock 'older generation' characters who were complaining about the youth of today, Batman being one of them.

If it sounds like I'm being negative, than it's because I am. I just found this story to be full of strange ideas and slightly wonky characterisation. Especially Batman, who stubbornly refuses to allow Robin to listen to rock music. And at some point he thinks taking Robin to Arkham will cure him, despite none of the villains in Arkham being influenced by music to commit their crimes...it was hilarious to learn that Harvey Dent enjoys ABBA on a good day though.

On a positive note the artwork by Gene Ha was great - although it was odd to see Batman without the white lenses in his cowl. But the action sequences were well drawn and the scene where Batman was speed reading in order to learn about rock music to further his investigation was a particular standout. Not one to seek out, unless you're a completist like me and want to read every Batman story ever written...

Next up - Tales of the Demon.

Dark Detective

Following on from Strange Apparitions is Dark Detective. Not only does it mention Rupert Thorne and his cabal of villains who tried to overtake the city of Gotham, but it also explores the developing relationship with Silver St. Cloud. Englehart also explores the relationship between Batman and three of his most well known villains.

We join Batman on a rooftop somewhere in Gotham, and immediately we see that he is being hunted by the GCPD. When we move on to a masked ball held in celebration of the new candidate for Governor, we can see that this is a Gotham in a period of great unrest. There is a distinct lack of trust in Batman, which seems to be an after effect of Rupert Thorne's plots to take him down. There's an interesting panel where one partygoer tells Bruce he needs to wear a mask - his reply is that he 'forgot', clearly signalling that Bruce Wayne is the mask and not Batman.

Shortly into this masked ball, Evan Gregory takes the stage and introduces his fiancé...Silver St. Cloud. This triggers a flashback showing the events of the previous volume in the timeline (Strange Apparitions) and shows how she could not be with him after discovering his secret identity as Batman. The effects of leading a double life are explored from several angles in this volume. Firstly there is the relationship between Wayne and St. Cloud, and whether or not this can withstand the danger linked with his other life as the Batman. Then there are the strange clones of Harvey Dent - one who is all 'Harvey' and one gruesome looking clone that is all 'Two Face'. 

At several points Dent also discusses his coin, and the reasons he has behind following it the way he does. He only decides to rob a stadium early on because his coin landed on the 'scarred side' and then he saw a sign mentioning a 'double header'. This obsession with duality and the idea of 'fate' is played on several times as well. Joker comments on how he and Batman are perfect opposites - chaos and order. In fact it could be argued that they are the two sides of Two Face's coin.

The two sides of Batman - the mask and Bruce Wayne - are explored in a Scarecrow fear gas sequence, which explores events in Bruce's childhood which have remained hidden until now. It seems as though he was threatened by a criminal - possibly an associate of Chill - although this sequence was slightly confusing so it could have just been metaphorical rather than an actual event which happened. It is during this fear gas sequence that Bruce realises he loves St. Cloud still, as he has an epiphany that he has never had chance to truly grow up. Since the age of ten he has resolved to take on this crusade, yet he has never really had chance to do all the things that one associates with growing up. This was quite a powerful idea for me, in that it shows Batman realising he needs to have other things in his life otherwise he will be lost to the madness.

The overarching plot involves Joker trying to run for governor of Gotham, although it seems to be a plan that fits quite well into the quote from The Dark Knight - 'I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it.'

Eventually this plan escalates and Joker kidnaps St. Cloud - reverting to type as he so often does - in the hope of drawing Evan Gregory to his house of death traps. This house is strangely reminiscent of the house that Scarecrow created in 'Terror'. But it does fit in quite nicely with the role of Joker as the 'clown prince of crime'. Obviously, Batman comes to the rescue - also reverting to his 'role' that the Joker describes earlier on - but he cannot save Gregory from sustaining an injury. In the aftermath of this, St. Cloud and Bruce part ways again, when Bruce's logical mind takes over and he suggests they wait until Gregory has recovered from his injuries.

In his role as the polar opposite of The Joker, Batman will never be truly happy. In his quest to bring and sustain order in Gotham, he can never be satisfied. So in a way the Joker will always win. His goal is to bring chaos into the lives of Batman and Gotham, which he manages to achieve every time.

Other fantastic moments for me in this volume included Joker introducing his venom to a target via a CD, and also in the problem solving skills of Batman in the house of devious puzzles Joker had built. The art was excellent, especially the more trippy moments of the fear gas sequences, and the writing was intriguing. I loved the fact that Batman was pursuing three of his major villains at the same time, as this felt more true to how things would play out in Gotham. Especially if more than one villain had escaped from Arkham at the time - it makes no sense that the rest would wait as one villain perpetrated his master plan. An excellent volume all round, which is highly recommended.

Next up - Fortunate Son

Strange Apparitions

Claiming to contain some of Batman's 'deadliest of enemies' on the back cover, this was a volume I approached with much excitement. Although I was somewhat dubious at the inclusion of Doctor Phosphorous and Clayface, I looked forward to another encounter with Hugo Strange, as well as The Joker and Deadshot.

Split into several mini-arcs, which on the whole form a larger story, Strange Apparitions begins with an encounter with Doctor Phosphorous. This is a villain who I haven't really encountered much before, except in his recent appearance in Batman Eternal. As a villain I don't think he really matches up with Batman as well, in fact he seems more suited to a  character such as Firestorm or maybe The Flash. The more interesting elements of this opening arc were the introduction of love interest Silver St. Cloud and the antagonist Rupert Thorne. Neither has appeared so far in the timeline, yet both are well known enough to be considered major characters in the mythology. 

As in all the best Batman stories, it takes a change of approach for Batman to defeat Phosphorous - he adds a radiation proof element to his suit. It is this element of the Batman character that I find most inspiring - that he can adapt to any situation and still emerge victorious.

With Doctor Phosphorous dispatched, Bruce Wayne must seek out a way to heal his radiation induced wounds without attracting attention. So he goes to a place recommended by a billionaire friend, which happens to be a front go Hugo Strange. Sadly this is a Hugo Strange that seemingly doesn't take into account the Prey and Terror storylines, as he is not aware of the Bat's secret identity.

After being defeated, in a way, by Strange, Batman relies on the intervention of Robin and Alfred to be freed from his prison. An element of Batman that is often explored is his reliance on others to achieve his goals in his fight against crime. Whereas some storylines explore the idea that the 'Bat family' weaken him by providing vulnerable targets, this is one storyline that shows he could not succeed without the help he has procured.

After Hugo Strange come Penguin and Deadshot in quick succession, though neither seem to present a major challenge for the Bat. I have never read a Deadshot story where he is actually utilised in the 'flawless assassin' role he is supposed to have. For someone who 'never misses' he certainly shoots at Batman a lot in this issue without hitting his target. And Penguin, of course, is often a joke character, or a 'facilitator' of crime. They are just precursors to the main event - The Joker.

In amongst all of this is Silver St. Cloud deducing the identity of the Batman. Whereas both her and Bruce struggle with this discovery at first, it is interesting to see them go the way they do when all of their cards are on the table. Rather than swoon and pledge her undying love, St. Cloud realises that being in a relationship with The Batman would be far too dangerous for her.

The Joker storms into the storyline, with an insane plot to make money by copyrighting his 'Joker-Fish'. To achieve this goal, he revisits his tactic from The Man Who Laughs and threatens key figures in Gotham. He kills both in ingenious ways though, showing that beneath his madness there is a devious mind at work, planning out every move to present an illusion of chaos.

Finally we have Clayface, a new incarnation this time from the Matt Hagen  incarnation of 'Monsters'. This is Preston Payne, who doesn't have the shape shifting abilities of his predecessors. Instead he is a true monster, his appearance causing panic, and in his wake is a string of corpses who he had to kill to stop the pain. In this sense Clayface is more interesting as a villain here; Hagen was nothing more than a petty crook. Payne only wants to right the wrongs that he suffered by trying to cure his 'ugliness'. 

Characterisation in this volume is solid throughout. Each villain (and hero) had their motivations and reasons for doing what they do, even when it appears otherwise in The Joker's case. There are some plot threads that seem incomplete - mainly the ghost of Hugo Strange that haunts Rupert Thorne through the mid-section of this book. 

Batman is the consummate master strategist, altering his tactics to defeat whichever villain he is faced with. This is an excellent volume, with solid artwork, that has a fantastic range of Batman stories which should please any fan of The Dark Knight.

Next up - Dark Detective

Gotham After Midnight

Opening with the words 'I'm Batman' this is a story which explores a more confident Batman, at least in the beginning. All of his major villains are established - and some of his minor villains too. We see a few of them in this volume, manipulated and used in a similar way to the manner in which Bane or Hush uses Batman's minor villains to wear him down.

Batman is hunting down Scarecrow, who has just escaped from Arkham (which we are informed of via a windswept newspaper headline). We see his confidence as he confronts Crane, who uses his trademark fear gas, only to discover that Batman has been exposing himself to the gas to build up a resistance. This is the Batman who is prepared for anything. Other examples of his preparation are demonstrated when he fakes his own death to try and get to the mastermind behind these events early on, and in the large combat suit which Alfred questions but is later useful in fighting an oversized Clayface.

However, in the midst of the panic surrounding the gruesome murders where the killer 'Midnight' takes the hearts of his victims, something begins to change in Gotham. A GCPD detective, April Clarkson, is taking the credit for the villains that Batman is taking down. As the murders become more frequent, and more of Batman's villains make their appearance, he starts to lose his confidence and begins to shut people out and make mistakes. The fight between Batman and Clayface that I mentioned earlier destroys many of the cities buildings, which leads to some of the public losing their confidence in the. Bat as well.

Here we see Bruce Wayne's influence on Gotham as well, when he holds a fundraiser to help repair the damage caused by the fight. It's not often we see the repercussions of Batman's war on crime in this way, at least not so far in the timeline, so it's interesting to see Bruce Wayne doing his part to help the Batman's cause. It is as this fundraiser that he begins to fall for April Clarkson, which is another event that causes a domino effect later on in the story.

The artwork in this story is very different to most of the artwork so far, with a lot of the panels having a very surreal and dreamlike style to them. Whilst reading, this did sometimes have a disorienting effect, meaning I had to go back and read some panels again. But then looking back it did reflect the mental state of Batman as he became drawn further into the case and the ongoing fight with 'Midnight'.

Midnight is an interesting villain, who spreads panic and chaos throughout Gotham, to the point where crime figures hit an all time low. Some question whether this is necessarily a bad thing, as Midnight achieves results that Batman can only dream of. At one point Midnight even offers to let Batman join forces with him, so they can clean up Gotham City together. Obviously, Batman sticks to his morals and refuses.

Tragedy strikes about midway through the story, which again calls into question the idea of whether anyone can ever truly get close to Batman without being hurt. Over the years there have been so many people who have been caught in the crossfire between Batman and his villains, but as Alfred points out in the end, it is the people around Batman who give him hope. Even though Batman doesn't always appreciate the help at the time.

An interesting character development for Batman here was in seeing him lash out in frustration, destroying equipment and becoming more distant as he hit dead end after dead end. This worked especially well given the contrast to how confident he was at the start, and helped to demonstrate that he is still in the earlier years of his career.

Things come full circle though, and in the final confrontation with Midnight's brainwashed villains, we see the confident Dark Knight again. Even though the odds are stacked in his favour five to one, he removes the brainwashing commands and takes out each villain as the GCPD look on. A GCPD officer, presumably a rookie, comments to Commissioner Gordon 'Are you seeing this commissioner? He's amazing.' And so the legend of Batman is strengthened once more, giving hope to Gotham's citizens whilst installing fear in its criminals.

The final reveal of the mystery was well handled, even though it was a twist I did see coming (easy to say after reading, but it's true). I loved that the villain managed to get under Batman's skin and truly hurt him. Not many Batman villains manage that, so it's a testament to the writing of Steve Niles that this villain did it in a believable way.

This was a fantastic read, despite the sometimes confusing artwork, and one which I had never heard of before. I recommend that you go out and read it if you haven't yet, and see what happens to Gotham, and Batman, after midnight.

Next up - Strange Apparitions

Full Circle

Cycles are a constant feature of Batman and his mythology. Villains die and return from beyond the grave, as do allies. Everything that Batman is and does will always circle back to that night in Crime Alley. But sometimes there is hope of the cycle being broken.

The Reaper was the main villain of the Year Two storyline Fear the Reaper. A storyline which had its fair share of polarising elements, being as it portrayed Batman working alongside Joe Chill and also using a gun to help him defeat The Reaper. Pushing all of that to one side, it was an interesting look at what a vigilante could become when their life is torn apart by grief.

The Reaper in this tale is revealed early on to be a different character than the first, but their motive is still rooted in personal tragedy. However this time there are much stronger links to the myth of Batman. Despite this, the villain did not seem as interesting this time round, and what is a fairly short story struggled to grab my attention as much as it did the first time around.

Being as the motive this time was to get revenge on the original Reaper, and Batman, it would have been more interesting to see this new Reaper turn the originals's mission on its head and target the police perhaps? Especially since the new Reaper has roots in the criminal world of Gotham.

Not much more to say really, as it is quite a short story. I enjoyed the dynamic that Robin brought to the story, and it was interesting to see a natural progression from Robin Year One with Grayson still being quite inexperienced in some situations. After a rocky few storylines, the timeline seems to have more a natural progression emerging again, which is exciting to see. So overall, despite the weak villain, I enjoyed this storyline just because it fits into the overarching timeline quite nicely.

Next up - Gotham After Midnight

Robin Year One

Each Robin that has been by Batman's side over the years has been an attempt by Bruce Wayne to give something back to the youngsters who have suffered the same pain and trauma that he did when he was a child. Most recently, Damian Wayne was being raised to rule the world by his mother Talia al Ghul; Stephanie Brown has a father who was a C List villain; Tim Drake lost his mother and his father was crippled; Jason Todd was living a life of crime before Bruce took him under his wing. 

Dick Grayson, the first Robin, saw both of his parents murdered before his eyes. In Dark Victory we saw that Dick went through a similar grieving process to Batman. In Robin Year One, we see that 'Master Dick' has had a huge impact on Bruce and Batman. Alfred has noticed a change in the atmophere down in the Batcave, even Commissioner Gordon notes at one point later in the story that Batman is less optimistic when he is not with the Boy Wonder. So in this sense it seems as though Robin represents hope to Bruce - hope that he can improve the life of someone who went through a similar fate to him.

The first issue of this volume sees the dynamic duo go up against Mad Hatter, who is kidnapping girls from the Gotham area to brainwash and sell on to a corrupt politician. Dick attends the local school, and knows the latest victim, which adds an interesting facet to Bruce's crime fighting repertoire. Grayson is his way of getting closer to the younger victims of crime that a man in his 30s could not.

We see that Robin is an accomplished detective as well, which isn't often a characteristic I associate with Grayson. He tracks down Hatter and even apprehends him without Batman's help. Robin expects Batman to be angry about this, but instead he congratulates him on his good work. Alfred is still doubtful that this new partnership is a good idea though, as he worries for the boys safety.

There is an interesting parallel between Batman/Robin and Hatter/Alice. Even though their methods are different, they offer one viewpoint on the way Batman takes in these vulnerable young boys and teaches them to fight crime - in a sense brainwashing or indoctrinating them to follow the path he has chosen. Several people voice these concerns in the first issue, and indeed throughout, reminding Batman that Robin is only a child. In some peoples eyes Batman is just as bad as Hatter - Hatter brainwashes young girls to be like Alice in the same way that Batman 'brainwashes' young boys to be like a smaller version of himself.

So, the newly formed team bring down Hatter. Next up is Killer Moth - although he doesn't last long. Robin is incredibly disdainful of Killer Moth (with good reason) and asks Batman if the villains keep getting 'lamer and lamer'. Batman replies asking if Robin wants to hear another Joker story - reminding us of the darker villains that he has to face. Robin states that the last one gave him nightmares, reminding us that he is still a child and that he is not ready to face the major Bat-villains yet.

Unfortunately Gotham and it's villains don't take into account when someone is 'ready' and Batman/Robin are soon drawn into a conflict with Two Face. Two Face captures Batman and Robin after Grayson disobeys Wayne's order to 'sit this one out'. Two Face plays into the fear which is at the centre of the Batman/Robin dynamic - will one cause/witness the death of the other?

Robin comes out of the situation badly beaten and in need of medical assistance. Bruce sees the sense of what others have been warning him about - that he is corrupting this innocent and putting him in harms way - and tells Robin that 'it's over'. Despite this, Grayson is determined not to be beaten, and he takes on Mr Freeze by himself, through tactical fighting and sheer luck (when Freeze falls through some weak ice). 

Bruce returns home to discover Alfred with a letter from Dick to say he has gone. Quite chillingly on his way through the Batcave, he walks past the glass display case with the Robin costume in, an eerie image which foreshadows the eventual tribute to the fallen Jason Todd. Considering the near miss Grayson had, it's a wonder that Batman continued to pursue the concept of 'Robin'.

Meanwhile, Grayson falls in with Shrike - a member of the 'League of Assassins', whose leader has not yet been introduced in the timeline yet. So this is an interesting hint at later events and a major Batman villain. These assassins are in Gotham to enact a hit on Two Face, which obviously provides motivation for Grayson to stay involved with these less than savoury characters. When it comes to the crunch though, Grayson can't go through with the hit. 

This leads to repercussions, what with the League of Assassins code of honour, and it is only Batman's intervention that stops Grayson being punished for not going through with the murder.

We end the story with some narration from Alfred, explaining that Robin has brought light into Batman's life. And perhaps vice versa, as we saw a hint of what could become of Robin if he channeled his rage into the wrong endeavour.

Fantastic art, fantastic writing and an interesting story make this one of my top five so far. The colours and artwork had a lighter feel to them, which reflected the lighter atmosphere Robin brings into Batman's life. I liked the parallels with Year One as well - the dual perspective this time being Alfred and Grayson. In a similar way we saw Grayson overconfident, injured and then refreshed and ready to fight crime in a similar way to Batman's journey in Year One.

Next up - Full Circle

Dark Victory

The Long Halloween has been one of the strongest stories I have read so far in this quest to read about the adventures of Batman in 'chronological' order. The Dark Victory continues the story threads which began in that volume, and introduces several elements which have since become a staple of the Batman continuity.

Opening with a blow by blow recount of the final confrontation between Batman and 'Holiday', Tim Sale's artwork gets off to a strong start as we see Alberto Falcone beaten and arrested. The story then flashes to the present, where Falcone is in a cell in Arkham Asylum being interviewed by the new DA Janice Porter. Porter mentions reopening the Holiday case later on, to Jim Gordon. She is a character who seems shrouded in mystery, her motives not becoming that clear until a bit later into the story.

The next scene sees a graveyard vigil for Carmine Falcone, who was gunned down by Dent/Two Face at the end of TLH. Both Batman and Catwoman soon make their presence known, in a throwback to TLH where they crossed paths several times in connection with the Falcone family. 

It seems that Sofia Falcone is trying to rebuild her fathers empire after his tragic death, and on the surface it seems that she is bringing the different crime families together. She hires the sons of Sal Maroni - who are introduced in a panel which is an excellent example of foreshadowing from the writer/artist team of Loeb and Sale. Tony Zucco is also involved in this 'rebuild' - a name which hints at what is to come later on in the volume if you know anything about your Bat-history.

Then, in quick succession there is a mass breakout from Arkham, and the first victim of The Hangman is discovered. All of the pieces are in place, in what slowly reveals itself to be a game that is being played for control of Gotham City.

The motif of games is most obvious in the game of hangman which is left at each of the crime scenes. Each one seems to be a clue of some sort, with the main finger of blame being pointed at Harvey Dent due to the nature of the paper which is used to write the notes. I remember when I first read The Dark Victory, I would try and figure out the significance of these notes. That's what makes this such a great Batman story - it makes the reader want to try and solved the mystery alongside Batman. And this is a mystery which isn't short of possible culprits and motives.

There is also the game being played by the escapees from Arkham, under the guidance of Two Face. A series of seemingly random events involving rogues such as Scarecrow and Solomon Grundy eventually transpire to be part of a bigger plan being masterminded by Dent. It is this game which reveals the significance of the title - The Dark Victory. Even though the various crime families have been decimated by the end of the volume, it is not without a price. Gotham belongs to the 'freaks' now.

Duality and the mirror image is also a motif that Loeb and Sale explore. Right from the opening sequence, where we see Holiday in a cell opposite Calendar Man, the idea of characters mirroring each other is present throughout. 

After his parents die tragically at Haly's Circus, we see a series of panels in Wayne Manor which explore the parallels between Grayson and Wayne as they deal with the deaths of their parents in similar ways. We also see the way that Alfred deals with them both, and in a touching ending to this sequence we see that he has learnt from the mistakes he made in dealing with Bruce after the deaths of Thomas and Martha.

There are also the parallels between Sofia and her father Carmine. The most obvious is in the cat scratch scars on the side of her face. We often see panels with these scars in close up, or with Sofia gazing into a mirror, and later on we discover that they hold more significance than they first seem to. Sofia also mirrors her father in her objection to the 'freaks' who have begun to take control of Gotham. Although she never goes as far as hiring these 'freaks' to serve her purposes, unlike her father.

Dent is also a dark inversion of what he used to be before the acid destroyed his face and his psyche. Despite his methods having changed, he is still working tirelessly to rid Gotham of the organised crime which was his mission in TLH. His relationship with Porter also plays into the idea of duality, and several characters are not what they initially appear to be.

One of the other reveals of duality is that Umberto and Pino Maroni are twins, and in fact working for Two Face. This is hinted at in the panel I mentioned earlier - when their faces are half obscured in shadow, in a nod to the foreshadowing of what Dent would become in TLH.

When the dust settles on the story, several things have changed. The crime families are no longer in control of Gotham. The police force is seemingly no longer as corrupt, or at least Jim Gordon has some people in the force whom he can trust. And finally Batman is no longer alone - he has Robin. 

The Dark Victory was outstanding, and Loeb and Sale have crafted the definitive Batman story here. It has everything that is great about the character. Obviously, there are other fantastic interpretations of the character, but Loeb is not a creator who can be overlooked when it comes to a list of writers who have defined the Batman we all know and love.

Next up - Robin Year One

Year Two - Fear the Reaper

A lot has happened since Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham at the start of Year One. He has faced clowns, clay monsters and former friends. He has battled fear, doubt and addiction to become the Batman. But at the start of his second year, he faces what could be his most difficult test yet.

The Reaper is one of many examples of a villain who shows what Batman could have been. Wielding two crescent scythes - which double up as guns - he attacks criminals head on and slaughters them for their crimes. This vigilante creates fear in the villains he faces in an entirely different way to the Batman, which is obviously something Bruce doesn't want for his city.

In their first fight it becomes clear that the Reaper has the edge over Batman - perhaps this is because he is something Batman fears, in that it could be a reflection of the man he might have become. In another case of jumping into a fight before he has scoped out his opponent, Batman finds himself on the wrong end of the scythes, which cut an X straight through the bat symbol on his chest. The Reaper is making a statement - Gotham is his city now.

After he is stitched up by Alfred, Bruce walks over to a portrait of his parents, and in desperation retrieves a gun from a hidden panel. The gun that killed his parents.

Now, I understand the need to remove The Reaper from the streets of Gotham, particularly as his brand of crime fighting leaves innocents injured or dead as well as the criminals. But I still find it odd that, after one fight with this new vigilante, he would resort to using a gun to even the odds. Even less so the gun that ended the lives of his parents.

Leslie Thompkins makes her return, in a much larger role than the last time. She shows concern over the effects that Bruce's life as a vigilante is having, possibly concern spurred on by The Reaper and his more violent brand of vigilantism. She asks Alfred about the cave early on, to which Alfred replies that it is the only place 'he truly feels himself'. This is a recurring theme of the Batman myth, that the mask and cape are an escape for Bruce or that they are restorative in some way. Leslie seems unconvinced though, especially when he begins to practice shooting with the gun that killed his parents.

Another odd twist was the introduction of Joe Chill, and again I found it strange that Batman would agree to work with the man that killed his parents in order to take down The Reaper. I assume that in his relative inexperience in the role of Batman, he still makes some decisions that lack thought in order to get the job done.

The Reaper proves to be a serious threat, even more so than the enemies that Batman has faced before, as he is shown to be more than a match for the years of training that Bruce went through. We see flashbacks which show the origin of The Reaper is eerily close to that of Batman, again enforcing the idea that Batman could have become this violent, murdering vigilante. The two even meet without the masks or costumes, and a comment is made about how they are kindred spirits in the pain that they have suffered.

After a trap set by the mob goes wrong, Batman takes Chill back to alley where it all began. Chill struggles to even remember the night at first, until Batman removes his cowl and reveals that he is the son of the couple that Chill had gunned down for some pearls. He threatens Chill with the gun, only for The Reaper to shoot Chill before Batman can.

In their final fight, Bruce disarms The Reaper with the gun, before forcing him off the edge of some scaffolding. In the process Batman discovers his true identity, which had been revealed to us several issues earlier. The Reaper grabs onto the edge, and Batman is about to save him, but he lets himself fall, saying that Batman will make a fine replacement for him. Afterwards Batman discards the gun, hopefully never to resort to using one again. Especially since an exploding batarang would have done the same job...

Another jarring element of the story was the whirlwind romance between Bruce and Rachel, which included her giving up becoming a nun to be with him! However, if you assume this story takes place over a few months, the romance isn't so odd. Just a little sudden. It all ends in tears though, and Rachel resolves to take her vows and become a nun after all, to atone for the sins of her father.

Next up - Dark Victory

Batman: Snow

Sadly, Victor Fries will always have a bad reputation after Batman & Robin. Nobody who has seen that film will be able to read a Mr Freeze story without hearing a multitude of bad cold related puns in Arnie's distinctive accent.

That is, until Batman: Snow. Apart from the recent Batman Annual written by Scott Snyder, this was the best Mr Freeze story I have read. In this volume, we are told of his origin, and are given a slightly different slant on the character in the form of strange dream-like sequencs where he acts on the advice of 'Nora'. Instead of a 2-dimensional character who orders people to 'chill out', we actually have a sympathetic villain on our hands here.

Snow starts inconspicuously enough, with Alfred describing the different types of nights he goes through as the butler and medic to Batman. Unfortunately it isn't one of the greatest nights - he comes downstairs to find Batman in a bloodied heap after trying to take down a criminal called Scotta. Alfred questions whether Batman can truly fight this fight on his own, which inspires Batman to do something about his solitude.

One of my favourite sequences in this book was when Batman was profiling and approaching the various people he had selected for his group of specialists to help him with his crusade against crime. They are a mixed bunch, from an unstable Navy SEAL to an ex-con, but I loved the recruitment sequences where Batman showed how much research he had done in order to discover the 'weak points' of each person so he could best persuade them to join his cause.

This group of specialists quickly make headway on the investigation into Scotta, whilst Batman occasionally checks in via video link to see how his team are getting on. Unfortunately this culminates in a botched interception of the weapons deal which Scotta had been trying to broker. One of the group is shot and injured - which leads to a breakdown in the relationship Batman has built up with this odd collection of people. It was great while it lasted though, and was an example of Batman as 'master planner' at it's best.

Meanwhile, we see Victor Fries' life go from bad to worse, as his wife, Nora is diagnosed with a degenerative disease and he finds himself at odds with the money behind his cryogenics research. Things build to a head when he discharges Nora and tries to use his research to cure her. Obviously this doesn't go to plan, and Mr Freeze is born.

Both plot lines converge in a final confrontation where Batman has to rely on new technology created by his newly put together team. This team is short lived however, as they decide to go it alone after their mission is a success - albeit with one or two losses? It's a shame no writer has come back to this ragtag bunch of characters, as they were interesting, and it was fascinating to see them adapt so quickly to Batman's way of working.

It is interesting that Fries and Batman only become enemies because the bat gets in the way of Freeze's revenge against the people who he sees as having stolen his wife. If anything they are more enemies of circumstance than the other rogues that Batman has to face. 

The artwork here was excellent - especially the aforementioned sequences where Victor 'speaks' to Nora, which have a dreamlike quality to them. Batman's suit was suitably low-tech, showing off the early stages of his career. Fries too has a very low-tech looking suit, emphasising that this is an origin and a first meeting between the two.

At the end of the story, despite his lack of success in getting together a team, there are hints of the future in a news story about 'The Flying Graysons'. In short I loved this story, it showed everything I love about Batman and made me wish his specialist team had lasted longer, but also made me excited for the upcoming stories where Robin comes into play...

Next up - Year Two - Fear the Reaper

Dark Legends

With a front cover portraying Batman inside the crazed grinning mouth of the Joker, this collection of shorter stories from the Legends of the Dark Knight series are a weird bunch. Book ended by two tales that contain hallucinations and Batman questioning his own sanity, we also get Batman's first encounter with the Joker (ignoring the Man who Laughs...and throwing my timeline into question again) and a story which sheds some light on Bruce's training years. 

Masks.

At first I thought this story was the inspiration for the Batman:Animated Series episode where Bruce Wayne wakes up and discovers that the Batman was a creation of his fractured mind. I think in that episode it ended up being the Mad Hatter who was responsible. It turns out to be a different conclusion here, but I still quite enjoyed this slightly trippy tale.

After thwarting some small time crooks (who always seem to be the catalyst to start a bigger plot) Batman becomes light headed, stumbles into an alleyway and collapses. When he comes to, he is in a hospital bed and is confronted by an incredibly rude nurse. It soon transpires that he is a regular at the hospital, and that the Batman is a delusion borne of his grief and alcohol dependency following the death of his parents. 

Several odd characters inhabit this alternate reality, and there are even some guest appearances from villains such as Two Face and Joker - although these appear to be hallucinations. There is also a blonde nurse, who tells Bruce/Batman to 'believe in himself'. It is this, and a strange conversation with 'Catwoman' that leads to Bruce trying to figure out what exactly is happening to him.

When the conclusion is revealed, it is an interesting twist on what lengths someone would go to for vengeance if they had the resources and the funds to do so. In fact, we saw two alternative fates for. Bruce Wayne here - the insanity and the addiction, or the deranged plots to get vengeance on those who took away his loved ones. Luckily for us, neither of these fates were the ones that befell Bruce Wayne.

Images.

Some interesting imagery (no pun intended) was present in this second story - particularly the moment early on where Batman crashes through a mirror to interrupt a meeting between Joker and some nameless criminals. The idea that Batman is the polar opposite, the mirror image of the Joker is one that has been explored several times, and could not be presented more clearly to us here.

In terms of the storyline, which annoyed me in the sense that it goes against the 'first meeting' seen in The Man Who Laughs (a superior storyline might I add) what we get is actually fairly standard for Joker. He threatens someone in Gotham, kills them in an impossible way using his Joker venom, then repeats and tries to extort money from a potential victim. In fact now I think about it, this was pretty much the plot of Man Who Laughs. Maybe I'm taking out my irrational anger at a timeline with continuity issues on a perfectly good storyline.

What is intriguing, and some might disagree with me here, is the possibility of a character being related to the Joker - even calling him Uncle Ja- at some point before the Joker stops him. And we all but get confirmation here of the 'Red Hood' origin, although I prefer to believe that not even the Joker knows who he was before he was the Clown Prince of Crime.

There is also lots of detective work from Batman here, which is always welcome. And the Joker's dialogue is suitably crazed, with rhyming and quips giving the clown a sharper edge than he sometimes does. The artwork for the effects of the Joker venom is fantastic, really twisting the features of its victims into a pained expression.

After all is wrapped up neatly, another neat artistic touch comes when Bruce Wayne's strange white hat casts a bat cowl shaped shadow on his face. This is all whilst he is brooding over the death of Joker's cousin(?), as usual blaming himself for the actions he didn't take.

Tao.

An exploration of the  Gotham underworld, which also adds some mysticism, Chinese mythology and Bruce Wayne's earlier years.

Batman and 'Dragon' (a character who I thought might be Richard Dragon at first) cross paths when they are pursing a criminal named Khan. Batman takes out some of his employees whilst Dragon murders a fortune teller after trying to find out where Khan can be found. It is the manner of these murders - the necks broken and the head twisted 180 degrees - that gets Batman to realise he has crossed paths with this killer before.

Cue flashbacks to Batman's training under Master Shao-La, who he tracks down to be taught the ways of 'Tao'. He is told, rather cryptically, that 'the Tao that can be told is not the true Tao'. We get a montage of sorts, showing Bruce performing various tasks such as cooking for the Master and then attaching himself to a (prophetically designed) bat-kite. On this flight, over which he has no control, Bruce crashed into Dragon and their feud begins.

When Bruce later reveals that he wanted to pursue 'Tao' so he could see the future - and determine whether his pursuit of learning and training would bear fruit - Shao-La reveals he cannot give these secrets. This results in Bruce's second confrontation with Dragon, where he 'takes everything' from Dragon as his master deems him to be more worthy of training than Dragon. 

Back in the present, Batman tracks down Dragon and they fight, ending in Dragon impaling himself on a spike to avoid the shame of defeat. 

Sanctum.

An odd little tale, written and drawn by Mike Mignola, which is even more filled with bizarre imagery and hallucination than Masks was. 

We open in a graveyard, where a dodgy looking character is drawing patterns on a wall/gravestone with blood, rambling about someone called Drood. Batman confronts him, is stabbed by this strange man's knife, before the man is impaled on some spikes (strange that this happens twice...)

Collapsing into a mausoleum, Batman then finds himself in a strange underground world where he engages in conversation with Drood. Everything starts to get a little odd, with Drood confessing to murdering his wife and taking his own life. He mentions immortality and there are Cthulu-sequence tentacles at some point.

Batman fights to escape this strange world, only to discover it was a hallucination. Or was it? We end with him having found the home of Drood, but doesn't pursue the investigation further, claiming that more modern cases would be better suited to his efforts. But there is a hint in there that he is afraid what he would find if he looked further into the matter.

Usually, the beauty of the Legends of the Dark Knight series is that it allows for one off stories like this that explore different sides to Batman. However it detracts from the nature of the 'timeline' I am trying to follow, which had begun to take on a bit of momentum with the stories that I had been reading. Obviously the continuity will level itself out again, but it is jarring to read stories that contradict past stories I have already read. And now I sound like th sort of person who bemoans certain casting choices on Internet forums - perhaps I shouldn't be such a slave to the continuity and just enjoy the stories that I get to read?

Next up - Batman: Snow

Terror

Fear is integral to the power of Batman - it is his motivation to don the cape and cowl, as 'criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot'. When he first started out, simply taking to the streets and confronting criminals wasn't enough, so Bruce Wayne became the Bat, harnessing fear for the greater good. There are times when he has to harness his fear or his doubts and use them to continue fighting, or to defeat an enemy who has got the better of him. That is the essence of Batman - the conquering of fear to use it for good.

Jonathan Crane, introduced earlier in the 'timeline' in Four of a Kind, takes centre stage here as the pawn of Hugo Strange in this sequel of sorts to Prey. Both men make an abandoned cliff top house their base of operations - Strange murdering the previous owner still dressed in the bat suit he disappeared in at the end of Prey.

Through hypnosis, Strange foolishly removes any fears or doubts from the mind of Scarecrow, before breaking him free of Arkham Asylum so he can be used in Strange's plans against Batman. But hypnotising Crane to 'fear nothing and no one' soon backfires in a twist which I found shocking - even the second time reading this story, as I had forgotten that this happened!

Crane is another character who is steeped in fear - he took his childhood fear of bullies and the names he was called and twisted it to be the weapon he uses to take on people he perceives as 'bullies'. In a strange and twisted sense, probably in Crane's own mind, he is fighting injustice in the same way that Batman is.

Something about Scarecrow as a villain, when written well, is deeply unsettling. What could be worse than an enemy that can use your own fears against you with his potent fear gas? And this story sees Scarecrow written well, creating his own house of horrors with its creepy traps and paintings which emit his fear toxin! The final sequences in the house of horrors are some of the greatest action sequences in this story, and we see Batman literally fighting off delusions as he struggles to maintain control after being injected with Crane's toxin.

As with Prey, Doug Moench's writing is slick and shows an excellent grasp of the characters involved. Crane is maniacal, Catwoman effectively straddles the grey area between criminal and seductress, Strange is (briefly) the master planner he was in Prey and Batman is determined and resourceful throughout. 

Several standout moments which I loved - the new gadgets that Batman trials in the opening sequence, the final death trap which Batman has to find a way out of and the resolve to strengthen the Wayne Foundation to help victims of crime and poverty to name but a few. And of course there is Batman's assertion that Bruce Wayne is the Bat, and the Bat is Bruce Wayne - one cannot survive without the other.

Next up - Dark Legends

Monsters

A trilogy of tales from the Legends of the Dark Knight series, all of which see Batman take on some horrific foes who test him and push him to the limit. Unfortunately, much like the monsters in each story, these three tales are a flawed and, in some cases, ugly collection.

Werewolf.

An intriguing start, and the only story of the three which involves any detective skills on Batman's part, this story begins in Gotham with two separate murders in the same night. Both men work for Wayne Enterprises, and both investigations conveniently lead Batman to London.

London is portrayed as the foggy, dark Dickensian stereotype that it so often is, and Batman doesn't look out of place. One aspect of this tale I didn't like was the art, which seemed slightly rushed and angular at times. It did become hard to distinguish between different characters - but one area where the art didn't disappoint was in the portrayal of the raw hulking power of the 'werewolf' plaguing London.

Insanity is explored in several different lights here, possibly linked with the idea of madness being caused by the full moon. There is obsession in different forms - for vengeance, because of jealousy and for release from the confines of delusion. Not to mention the effects on Batman's mind as he struggles to make any headway in either case.

His breakthrough comes in the form of a letter that the suspected werewolf finds at the start of the final chapter, which is a bit too coincidental for it to be an interesting twist. When compared to the 'eureka' moment in Night Cries where Batman makes the link himself, it falls down as being a bit weak.

There is a second twist, in the revelation of who the 'werewolf' actually is, which was done with more believability. The motivation for the murders worked well too, and fit in with the insanity that was explored in this story. I wasn't sure on the motive behind the second group of killings though, and in fact the whole money laundering storyline lacked intrigue for me.

To say he had been trained by different masters around the world, it seems a bit strange that Batman would lose confidence so much just because he was in a different city. Although his use of fear didn't have the same impact on the criminals he faced, even the lower level crooks who would normally crumble and spill their guts over where their boss was...

As was the problem with the other two stories, Batman came across as being a bit whiny here, and his confidence was lost and then regained easily. Nothing like the struggle to regain confidence after the events of Knightfall, for example.

Infected.

A very sci-fi take on the dark knight here, where two genetically engineered soldiers threaten the lives of the whole city with a deadly virus.

As much as I love the writer of this story (Warren Ellis) this story didn't seem to fit with Batman as a character. It seemed like more of a Doom Patrol storyline, with its weird science and bizarre villains. I couldn't really connect with the tale at all, finding it hard to believe that a virus could be used to mutate soldiers so they could produce bullets from the bones of corpses they have cannibalized. 

That's not to say I hated every second - I enjoyed the return of Branden, the psychotic SWAT leader for the GCPD. I also enjoyed Alfred's dry sarcasm, as he attempted to stitch up a chest wound as Batman squirmed uncomfortably as he tried to continue his investigation.

It was never really explained where the two soldiers came from, or who created them and why. That is until an epilogue at the end where Batman goes all 'Godfather' and leaves the severed head of one of the soldiers on a top member of US government.

But that's not the only out of character moment for the Bat. In order to defeat the second genetically modified soldier, he uses a gun to disable the 'bone firing' mechanism on each arm. Now, I know Batman is often shown to go to any length to save his city, but I hated this. Maybe that's why I hated the story so much...Batman doesn't use guns.

Clay.

Probably the one I was least looking forward to going into this volume, but the one I enjoyed the most.

It was a fast paced introduction to a character who I can honestly say has never interested me. But this wealth hungry, nasty piece of work was a villain who definitely intrigued me by the end. Whereas many villains are 'good' before their transformation, Matt Hagen was horrible beforehand and afterwards. 

One thing I hated about this again was the whiny Batman who, after being thrown against a wall by Clayface in their first encounter, suddenly loses all confidence and starts considering updating his will. I just found it bizarre considering all that he has faced in the stories I have read so far. Of course he was shaken by seeing a man's skull crushed right in front of his eyes, but he has also seen the atrocities perpetrated by The Joker and other villains. 

On the flip side of this though, it was good to see Batman preparing himself for a fight. He creates phosphorous flares and other resources to defeat Hagen. He also resorts to a disguise for what seems to be the first time - Matches Malone!

Overall a disappointing collection, with some out of character behaviour and actions for Batman. But then maybe I've been spoiled with the quality of everything I've read so far - surely any collection would pale in comparison to The Long Halloween and tales of a similar calibre.

Next up - Batman: Terror