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