DC Comics reviews for 12/18/19 – Doomsday Clock #12, Batman #85, Justice League #38
Batman #85
After a run best described as fun and frustrating, Tom King writes his final issue for the main Batman title. In a lot of ways it’s a fitting cap to his run as it echoes the best and worst of his divisive 85 issues writing the Rebirth stint of Batman.
King has taken and earned some shots for his back half of this run, which started becoming significantly inconsistent following Batman and Catwoman’s aborted marriage in issue #50. The Knightmares arc marked the low point of the series until the City of Bane, a lengthy storyline filled with its shares of lows and occasional highs.
As the conclusion of City of Bane, this is a mostly unsatisfying ending. It all gets wrapped up way too easily for an arc that’s been stretched out for so long. For all his bluster and planning, Thomas Wayne gets taken out with a few punches and apparently meets his fate at the hands of an ally.
There’s no wrap up for what happened with the villains mind-controlled by Bane and Psycho Pirate. Or a confrontation between Bane and Batman over Alfred’s death, which was a major part of this arc. And there was no interaction with the rest of the Bat Family who came to Batman’s aid and rallied together during Bane’s insurgence of Gotham. Considering City of Bane lasted for 10 issues, it’s crazy so many key elements were ignored for the finale.
For King’s failures in wrapping this arc this issue did neatly wrap some of his enduring storylines from Batman’s sense of responsibility to Gotham Girl, a final statement on the status of Bat & Cat and fittingly a perfect send-off with King’s favorite punching bag character.
Mikel Janin draws most of this final issue with Hugo Petrus contributing three pages. Janin provided the art for most of the big moments in this run so it was fitting that he got to visually say the last word. His pages are his usual level of excellence that tells the story so well. Jordie Bellaire rarely had a misstep coloring the title and in some issues, her work was the highlight. This was another strong outing for her as well.
Taking the wider look at King’s run on Batman it’s largely going to be remembered for the death of Alfred and the non-marriage. Look at King’s most immediate predecessors Grant Morrison and Scott Snyder, whose big contributions include a slew of new villains, Damian Wayne, Leviathan and Death of the Family, Zero Year, Commissioner Gordon as Batman and The Court of Owls. Those are some significant additions to the Batman mythos.
Gotham Girl is fine, but King’s run will be known more for what it took away rather than added in what feels like a decision to give some legacy to these 85 issues. That’s a shame as The War of Jokes and Riddles was entertaining, the double date with Superman and Lois Lane remains one of my favorite issues of the Rebirth era. I Am Suicide and I Am Gotham were strong reads. I wonder how King’s Batman run would have been remembered if he’d gone from the wedding fallout to the Mr. Freeze arc and then Nightwing’s near death experience immediately into City of Bane and making it a six-issue arc.
If you’ve been a fan of King’s work even at some point during this run it’s going to be worth picking up in spite of its flaws. I wonder how many readers will wonder how memorable this run could have been had King ditched some of his crutches like heavy uses of prose, issues with no story progression and questionable handling of Batman during City of Bane.
New Batman writer James Tynion IV adds a preview of his run with a character that King didn’t put in a lengthy spotlight in his run. It ties in to events going on in another prominent DC title suggesting Batman will be more in line with current storylines throughout DC instead of a narrow Batman window again.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10