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