Sword of Azrael

We open on a scene in a flashy apartment somewhere in Gotham. A man sits in a chair, his face near shrouded in darkness. An imposing figure wielding a flaming sword preaches to him in pseudo-religious speak. But the man is prepared, he has a gun with Arnold piercing rounds. This angel is only human it seems, and after being shot several times the figure falls from the apartment window and has to drag himself through a parade to safety. He arrives at the house of a slightly nerdy looking man, where he dies from his wounds.

Following police reports of gun shots in the apartment of LeHah, and the mysterious 'angel' that fell out of the sky, Batman is on the case. He follows the trail, tracing the possible final steps of the angel before discovering a link to an ancient order who worship St Dumas.

The young man we saw earlier takes on the mantle of Azrael, beginning his training with a strange dwarven man who talks about 'the system'. It seems that the man has been trained since he was young by his father to become the angel of vengeance, Azrael. This training only accounts for the cause though, the fight against criminals. It doesn't allow for Azrael to save innocent lives, only for the punishment of those who have done wrong.

Following an altercation between the three parties in a remote mountain location, LeHah begins to see visions of a demon known as Biis. This demon is the antagonist of the Order of Dumas. LeHah takes on the appearance of this demon in order to bring down the Order that he once belonged to. In that sense he is like the dark counterpoint to Batman - taking on a demonic visage in order to fight a group of people he believes is in the wrong.

In an interesting scene, back in Gotham, Batman finds himself having to fight in his 'civilian clothing' of Bruce Wayne. He struggles, finding the normal clothing 'cumbersome'. Or is it the persona of Wayne that stops him fighting? Many stories explore the duality of Bruce and the Bat - which one is the mask? Which is the true personality?

In the final scenes Azrael defies the system which forms his moral programming. In doing so he sets the scene for his involvement in the upcoming epic 'Knightfall'.

A great story, which incorporates new elements to the Batman mythology, as well as exploring several elements which make him the character he is. The artwork is strong as well, with the hulking LeHah providing a menacing opponent for Batman and Azrael.

Next up - The Vengeance of Bane

The Last Arkham

Arkham Asylum has long been a mainstay of the Batman comics. The revolving door for the crazier villains (which is most of them) has been the focus for several storylines in the past. Often the focus is placed on the family behind the asylum as well - Grant Morrison's classic explored the madness of Amadeus Arkham. The Last Arkham focuses instead on Jeremiah Arkham, who has refurbished the asylum and bolstered the security to try and prevent the constant escapes which Batman has to deal with on a seemingly daily basis.

However the end of the first issue deals a shock ending - the latest inmate in the asylum is none other than our Caped Crusader. 

When the second issue comes around though, we find that Batman has been investigating a series of crimes that seem to have been committed by Zsasz. Dead bodies arranged in 'life like' poses - Zsasz's commentary that we're all just zombies. But the problem is, Zsasz is locked up securely in Arkham, so the crimes must have been committed by someone else. At least that's the claim made by Arkham.

Arkham is a man who claims he can 'see' madness in his patients. This is a claim that would set alarm bells ringing at the best of times, but it can only mean trouble when you take into account the history of mental illness in the Arkham family. In his attempts to rehabilitate the inmates Arkham subjects them to holograms depicting their greatest fears or shuts them away in a strange chamber with only eyeholes. Not exactly ethical practice then.

One of my favourite elements of the Batman character is his ability to plan ahead. His way of thinking through every eventuality in order to fight whatever criminal he comes up against. We see this in full force here when he is counting the steps of the guards or wrapping himself in his cape to avoid the magnetic sensors in the hallways of Arkham. 

The unorthodox methods of Arkham get worse - when he discovers the Batman has been investigating the files in his office, he shuts Batman in a room with all of his villains at once. Batman defeats them all - which does call into question how any of his villains could pose a threat to him in one on one combat. Although it does highlight the prowess of Batman  in a combat situation. He is the ultimate fighting machine.

I loved this story - with the creepy art depicting Zsasz and his twisted trophies from his murders. I love the exploration of the Arkham family, and always have after the Grant Morrison comic which explores that world.

Next up - Sword of Azrael

Dark Knight Dark City

When is a villain not a threat? When he's presented as a cheap knock off of The Joker, or a laughing stock with a weak gimmick. 

As a huge fan of The Riddler, I get frustrated at the lack of storylines which present the character as a true intellectual threat to Batman. Very few storylines actually show the potential this character has to truly challenge the Bat.

Luckily, Dark Knight Dark City isn't one of those stories. Throughout The Riddler is darker, more violent and has The Bat struggling to figure out the connections between his various odd crimes. His riddles are easily figured out, but we eventually see that this is all part of his master plan to summon Barbatos.

Barbatos is a 'bat demon' that is heavily linked to Grant Morrison's run. In this three part story, we get to see how a group of men try to summon Barbatos (including Thomas Jefferson!). This attempt goes wrong though, and the demon is trapped underneath a building which eventually becomes the foundations of Gotham City.

Unbeknownst to Batman, The Riddler is attempting to summon Barbatos after having found the diary of one of these men. Their game of cat and mouse zig zags across the city, taking in blood banks and military cemeteries. 

The Riddler pulls no punches - even kidnapping four newborn babies. During their battle of wits, these babies are narrowly saved by Batman. He even nearly runs one over in the Batmobile...

This darker Riddler hasn't really been seen again until this year's storyline of Zero Year by Scott Snyder. I hope that other writers see the potential that the character has to be something better than the cheap heists and bad riddles...

Excellent story, well worth a read if you're a fan of E.Nygma as well!

Next up - The Last Arkham

A Lonely Place of Dying

After the death of Jason Todd, Batman becomes more desperate. More driven. More violent. He beats thugs for information with a more relentless focus than before. He blames himself for the death of his young ward, and in doing so his fight against crime becomes more about personal redemption than anything else.

Throughout the first couple of issues we see a mysterious figure following Batman and taking photographs of his fight against crime. The figure seems concerned for his wellbeing. After a few scenes we find out that something connects this figure to Nightwing as well - and that he knows the identities of Batman and the former Robin.

Every crime that Batman is desperately trying to solve follow the motif of the number two. In his grief stricken state, the worlds greatest detective doesn't spot the significance of this straight away - although we know it is Two Face behind the crimes as we see him, crazier than before, plotting out his next strike against the Bat.

When he tries to speak with Grayson at Titan Tower, the figure (Tim Drake) discovers that nobody in the Teen Titans has seen him since the incident with Tony Zucco in Year Three. When he finds a newspaper clipping in one of Nightwing's hideouts, Drake follows him to Haly's Circus, which has fallen on hard times.

It's interesting to see Nightwing revisit his past, and we can almost imagine what could have been had Bruce not taken him under his (bat) wing after the tragedy that befell his parents. He could have been the drunken clown or the bitter lion tamer. Eventually Grayson discovers the source of Haly's troubles, with the help of Tim Drake, and he becomes the co-owner of the circus. Being a hero doesn't always have to be about beating up thugs, and we see just how much Grayson has learnt from his time with Batman.

Drake reveals that he was in the crowd on that fateful night when Grayson lost his parents - a fact we learned last time in Year Three. He used this as the starting point of his deductions that Grayson and Wayne were in fact Batman and Robin.

Past and future return to Gotham, to see how far Bruce has fallen since Todd died. Drake argues that Grayson should take up the mantle of Robin again, stating that Batman needs a Robin. It's true that Batman is much darker as a character without the light of Robin by his side. But then there is also the constant threat of Robin dying that haunts Batman. 

Eventually we see that Batman does need Robin, if only in the context of this story. Drake saves Batman and Nightwing from a trap that Two Face had set, displaying all the best qualities of both previous Robins as well as his own. He has the acrobatics of Grayson and the daredevil side that Todd had, as well as a detecting ability that could match Batman's own.

I really enjoyed this story, and was intrigued to read the new beginnings of my favourite Robin (at least until Damian arrived on the scene...)

Next up - Dark Knight, Dark City

Batman Year Three

Grief has been explored time and again in Batman's career. It would be impossible to do the things that he does without suffering when he fails. Perhaps his biggest failure (until Damian of course) was the death of Jason Todd. This was the first time that someone who Batman had taken on as an ally, and a son, would die at the hands of one of his enemies. Barbara Gordon also suffered at the hands of The Joker, but Todd's death left more of an impression due to his proximity to the Bat and Bruce.

Needless to say, Batman loses himself in his crusade to try and make sense of the loss of Jason. Batman is investigating a series of hits on the crime families of Gotham. Alfred calls Nightwing back from Bludhaven to try and talk some sense into Bruce, all whilst Tony Zucco is petitioning for release from prison. 

Once Nightwing returns, we see a series of flashbacks to earlier on in Batman's career. I can only assume this is the 'Year Three' of the title - unless the Bat continuity is just as messed up back then as it is right now with the introduction of the New 52. We revisit Grayson's origins, then seeing the battle of Batman and Robin against Zucco. It's a subtle battle, which is a theme that comes through in the present day scenes, as Batman's current investigation is anything but subtle.

We also see flashbacks that flesh out the back story of Zucco, which seem to paint him as a similar character to Grayson and Wayne in his origins. Zucco loses his family at a young age and seeks revenge against those who took his parents from him. Unlike Batman and Grayson though he doesn't have any guidance during his formative years. This is an idea that I have seen explored several times in the. Batman comics I have read as part of this endeavour to read the chronological adventures of the Bat. But it is an idea worth revisiting - what would Batman be if he hadn't had the same upbringing and support that Bruce had? 

There are also hints at an important character to come in the mysterious 'Tim' who is referenced at the final performance of the Flying Grayson's. Although this seemingly has no significance to the story here, it will soon come to fruition in the next arc that this blog will explore.

Characterisation is strong here - Bruce is wounded and adrift without the grounding force of Robin. Nightwing is the matured sidekick, who has learned from his time battling by the side of Batman. Alfred is the loyal servant, who not only calls on help when he is concerned for his master, but also tries to ensure that Zucco will remain behind bars.

All in all this was a great little stopgap between the tenure of Jason Todd as Robin, before Tim Drake takes over in the next arc.

Next up - A Lonely Place of Dying.