Originally published on Patreon
So, after the first issue of this series did some unexpected and interesting things, this second issue seems to slow down a bit as it spends some time bringing the readers (and Batman) up to speed on what's going on.
We begin by following magic users as they travel the globe, collecting artefacts to bring back to Mother Soul and Nezha, where they're making Black Alice drain them of their magic abilities and pour the raw power into Doctor Fate's helmet.
Meanwhile, Bruce and Alfred come across the House of Secrets, and head inside to try and find some answers as to why Damian has turned against them. This section acts as a handy catch-up for those that haven't read Robin or Batman/Superman: World's Finest. We learn about the tournament on Lazarus Island, including the true identity of Mother Soul, and that Damian was drawn to Nezha's prison and infected by the demon's powers.
Whilst we never actually saw the freeing of the demon or him taking control of Damian, it was stuff that was heavily foreshadowed in the other books, as such, if you've actually done the required reading before this issue a lot of the stuff here is things you already know posing as big revelations. As such, it doesn't really quite land as well as it probably does for those who didn't read the other books, and are getting some big pieces of the puzzle. But that's part of the problem with stories that draw from other books, you need to make it accessible to people who haven't read them, and this can end up in a lot of catch-up that some readers will be a bit bored through.
Luckily, this book does try to keep things interesting in the moments between these revelations, and it's not a whole issue of waiting for something new to happen. Some of those other things include some info on Mother Soul and the Lazarus Resin that is completely new, some other magic users turning up in the House of Secrets, and Damian getting a new, familiar look. Having been presented with the Batman 666 outfit, Damian is also gifted a set of side-kicks that ever Batman needs, revealing that Dick, Jason, Tim, and Steph are all also under the demon's control.
The final panel of the book also shows Alfred with a very demonic shadow. Now, I kind of suspected that the Alfred return wasn't completely true, but it's still sad to see it confirmed as I'd have loved it to be really him. Though this does mean that if the heroes regain control of themselves the entire Bat Family are going to seriously fuck Nezha up for using Alfred's memory like this; which I am very down to see.
Mahmud Asrar, and Jordie Bellaire do some great stuff with the art this issue, and manage to make two characters wandering around a creepy old house look interesting. The recreation of the events from Robin are done well, and the small appearances from mystic characters from across the DCU make for some fun inclusions. I also like that even when dressed as his adult self Damian still looks like a kid. He doesn't get bulked up or made to look taller; it reminded me of how Tim looked in his Batman outfit in Battle For The Cowl.
This was a pretty decent second issue, but as someone who was already aware of a lot of the stuff that was revealed this month it did feel like watching through a clip show episode. Yes, it can be entertaining, but ultimately it's a lot of stuff I've already seen. But now that the info-dump had been done hopefully next issue can return to new and exciting things.
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