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
No comments:
Post a Comment