Batman #122 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Howard Porter, Trevor Hairsine, Artists; Tomeu Morey, Rain Beredo, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: Josh Williamson is writing almost the entirety of Shadow War, so this is less of a crossover than an epic-sized story to wrap up this current era of his titles. And based on the first two issues, we’re in for a hell of a ride. In the aftermath of Ra’s Al Ghul’s assassination, Talia has declared war on the entire network run by Deathstroke—and multiple people are caught in the middle. Batman and Cameron Chase are investigating the shooting, and find evidence of a much larger conspiracy that points away from Slade—and towards a possible false flag within the League of Assassins. Meanwhile, Slade finds himself under attack as his inner sanctum is breached by a massive army of assassins—led by the new killer Angel Breaker.
This new villain looks fantastic, but she’s mostly just a cool visual this issue. I imagine we’ll learn a lot more about her going forward. With Slade on the run and taking his “son” Respawn with him, Rose is left alone and hunted by enemies for something she didn’t do—but it doesn’t take long for Damian to find her so they can begin their own investigation. It’s a fun, fast-paced story, but the most dramatic development comes in the last few pages as Batman breaks into Talia’s headquarters to accuse her of involvement in Ra’s death. What happens next is unexpected, but not unpredictable, and adds a new wrinkle to the story as it’s likely Deathstroke will strike back next week and the stakes will get even higher.
The backup this month is also by Williamson, fleshing out the twisted history of Batman and Deathstroke. With art by Trevor Hairsine, it takes place right after Robin debuted on the scene—and someone has put out a hit specifically on the pint-sized superhero. This has sent Batman on the warpath, naturally, and he takes the fight to Deathstroke. While Slade is as ruthless as he ever was, there’s also something a little off here—and it becomes very clear what it is once we hit the cliffhanger. It’s a strong setup for a great backup that should intensify next month.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
