Batman #138 - Comic Review

 

The Gotham War event has had some mixed reactions so far, with a lot of people kind of dropping off the Zdarsky Batman run thanks to it. Whilst I've not reached the point yet where I feel like I want to stop reading what began as a fun run, this latest arc is a definite dip in quality, and this issue might be the worst one to date.

In the last part of the series we saw Batman get into a fight with Red Hood, and he kidnapped him off the streets after knocking him out. Here we find out what happens next, as it's revealed that Bruce has used the tech that help him to create the Zur-En-Arrh personality to reprogram Jason's brain, making it so that if he's ever in a situation where he experiences intense adrenaline his fear response kicks in; basically making it impossible for him to be a vigilante crime fighter. Or even ride a roller coaster.

Whist I've agreed to a certain degree that the Bruce we've had in previous issues has been acting out of character, this is the first time I feel that he's acted so out of character that it almost feels like a deliberate character assassination. If we didn't know that Zur was lurking in the back of his mind trying to break him I'd be super angry about it, and would absolutely quit reading the title. As it is, I'm kind of just disappointed that this is being done.

Other titles recently have made a point of showing that Batman loves his family, that he cares for the people around him. And this book is throwing that all away. It's making him hurt his kids, and it's making them hate him. He's becoming an abuser. I hate it, and I also can't help but feel that this is another argument for why Alfred needs to be brought back because shit like this happens when he's not there to stop Bruce going full psychopath.

This issue sees Bruce going up against Nightwing and Tim's Robin, with him feeling no qualms about beating them around the place. He even uses his snazzy new robot hand to break their weapons apart, and even smashes Dick's face with a car door in a move that absolutely would hospitalise him, or even kill him, if this was remotely realistic. Bruce looks like he's trying to kill his kids. And he leave Damian, runs away leaving him tied up. The one member of the family who stood by him thrown aside like he's nothing; and it breaks Damian. So how does this play into the Batman and Robin series where they're living together and getting on wonderfully? I don't think Zarsky actually cares about that book and it's like this title is actively trying to do the opposite of it.

Elsewhere in the book we learn more about what Vandal Savage is doing. It seems that the power of immortality he gained from the meteorite is waning, and that he needs to gather all of the pieces of it in order to regain hi full strength. Unfortunately, these pieces are scattered throughout the world, have been turned into trinkets and jewellery, and need getting back. And this is why he's gotten Scandal to take Selina's gang of thieves away from her, so that they can go and steal all the shit he needs. How did he know that Selina was going to create a league of thieves, and was therefore able to put Scandal undercover long before it happened? Why does he need these people to get the stones for him when he could just do it himself? Don't ask too many questions. 

The villain needing to gather together pieces of a magic gem that has been broken down into smaller pieces and scattered across the world also feels a bit too similar to Eclipso: The Darkness Within to feel wholly original too.

The only real saving grace for the issue is the art, which is as good as one would come to expect from Jorge Jimmenez, and Tomeu Morey. The book looks fantastic, and the fight scenes are full of movement and energy, and you can feel the violence that's happening in these moments in a really visceral way. Sadly, great art doesn't make up for a lackluster story.

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