Batman: Beyond the White Knight #2 – Sean Murphy, Writer; Matt Hollingsworth, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: It’s been a long time since we had a proper installment of the White Knight universe, and basically everything has changed. Last issue we saw a new Gotham, overseen by a high-tech police force led by Dick Grayson. Bruce Wayne was still in prison but looking to end that even if it pitted him against Jason Todd, and Terry McGinnis got ahold of a new Bat-suit as part of his new job—working for the shifty Derek Powers. All these elements collide this issue, as the entire legacy of Batman is up for grabs. I know there has been some controversy over Dick’s role as the leader of what’s essentially a slightly more benevolent Magistrate project, but this issue nicely squares that. This is a person taking over a corrupt system and trying to fix it from within, as the opening scene with Terry makes clear. However, it’s caused a massive rift between him and Barbara, and he loses a key ally in Duke.
Then there’s Bruce Wayne, just having escaped from prison and met up with the long-dead Jack Napier. It’s not a surprise that this isn’t what it looks like—Jack died pretty conclusively in the previous mini, and he looks like he hasn’t aged a day in the time since. He could be all in Bruce’s head—but there’s also another explanation proposed by Jack that is a lot more surreal. Much of this issue’s humor comes from this unlikely “Team-up,” as Jack shouts advice while Bruce goes up against his own family. And in all this, Terry gets drawn more and more into Derek Powers’ orbit as the oily villain manipulates the young rogue. The first issue didn’t really distinguish itself from the classic Batman Beyond enough for my tastes, but this issue has some unique twists on the mythology. It’s a darker world, and one where Terry’s journey to be Batman may be even more challenging than in the original.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
