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