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