“Do better.”
Creative Staff:
Story: Tom King
Art: David Finch, Matt Banning, Danny Miki
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: John Workman
What They Say:
After a brush with disaster, Batman struggles to reconcile the fate he could be leaving behind for his city, and reaches out to the idealistic new hero, Gotham. But an evil is building that may overcome both Batman and his new ally.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
King and Finch certainly provided for a fun first issue the last time around as it showed us the kind of Batman that they wanted to present to us. I’ve certainly read what feels like an endless range of interpretations over the years with what his skill level is like and this one plays a bit more toward the type where he’s capable beyond words. Wrestling down a plane certainly reinforced that, as much as I enjoyed it with the way it was shown with the technical aspects of it. It also didn’t hurt that Finch and Banning delivered a really great looking Batman with a sense of power and physicality about him that I like to see as it’s something that you know the character hones just as much as his mind. Giving us a solid look at both hit all the right notes for me.
With this installment, we’re seeing more of what it is that Bruce is looking to deal with when it comes to taking care of Gotham. His desire to protect is is certainly paramount to almost everything else in his life and it’s something that he talks about fairly bluntly here because he knows that if he ends up getting killed, it’ll be Dick that takes over. And then something will happen and he’ll die. This is the reasoning behind his working with Gotham and Gotham Girl with their arrival the last time around and it certainly makes sense, even if they do feel like an odd fit in the city. Most of those that operate in Gotham on the heroic side tend to be underpowered in a sense, more like Batman than like Superman, so using that plus Superman-like costume elements and design with masks is certainly something that just feels odd. But watching how Bruce is realizing that he needs something more, almost as backup in a sense, makes it clear why he’s taking them under his wing to some degree.
The opening fight sequence is something that’s definitely fun to watch as we see Gotham and Gotham Girl dealing with Solomon Grundy. Grundy’s not the most in-depth player to deal with but he provides brute force and determination that’s hard to take down. The pair deal with it well enough but it’s through Batman’s arrival at the end as he finishes it all of that he makes clear two things. First, both Gotham and Gotham Girl have potential but really have to take it up a few levels in order to play in the big leagues – not that I can ever see them being in the big leagues. The other is that Batman is so focused on the details of the fight down to the microsecond that you realize it must be hell to be inside that head. The way he analyzes things throughout the book and uses it to win isn’t a surprise, it’s what’s been his bailiwick for quite some time, but it’s presented in such a strong and overly controlling way that it’s something that dehumanizes him for me to some degree.
In Summary:
Batman’s slowly working the subplot material that will come to the forefront soon enough as talk of monsters is in the mix along with Hugo Strange, which has me hopeful, but right now the focus is still mostly on Batman himself as he brings Gotham and Gotham Girl into the picture. With the scale of threats that the city faces you can understand his wanting something more reliable there – and that he likely already knows everything about them that we don’t know yet, which is what I want to see before I really decide what i think about them. King’s script is busy once again and I’m still kind of way of his Batman mindset as it’s pretty intense, but it works with the physical/visual representation we get from Finch and the team so that it works in its own way. A solid enough second issue that has me wanting just a bit more meat in the next issue or two before I decide how far I’ll go with the book.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 12+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: July 6th, 2016
MSRP: $2.99
