Batman: The Knight #4 – Chip Zdarsky, Writer; Carmine Di Giandomenico, Artist; Ivan Plascencia, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Bruce Wayne’s training wasn’t a straight-forward narrative, so it makes sense that Chip Zdarsky’s retelling is jumping around a lot as well. That not only keeps things fresh, it allows him to seamlessly jump genres when needed. The previous three issues were essentially a spy/heist thriller that turned into a horror movie. Now, Bruce heads to the far east to train in martial arts from a mysterious master. The school has a highly challenging entry policy—namely, you go up to the gate, and one of his warriors beats you to a pulp. This continues until you either leave, or impress them enough with your stubbornness for the master to deem you worthy. Once inside, you leave your previous identity behind and devote yourself to “the work,” learning increasingly extreme techniques in between bouts of manual labor. Bruce keeps to himself, but soon makes a companion in the morally ambiguous “Anton”—a fellow outsider.
I’m not sure if this is supposed to be Ghost-Maker under an assumed name, because both the appearance and the actions are similar. He’s enigmatic, but also has a core of honor and reigns in many of Bruce’s more reckless tendencies. But that becomes much harder once the master lets new students in – and something is off with them. They’re allowed in without a test of commitment, they’re given the royal treatment, and they seem to have none of the moral scruples of the rest of the students. Soon, the facade of the school begins crumbling and it becomes clear Bruce has entered a den of vipers. While the previous arc was the first real test of Bruce’s detective skills, this is where his physical skills are put to the test—as well as letting him develop the moral code that’s guided Batman all this time. The ending sets up some potential bigger threats down the line as well—it continues to be one of the best origin retellings in a long time.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
