Batman: Killing Time #3 – Tom King, Writer; David Marquez, Artist; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: For the first two issues, Batman: Killing Time was a compelling heist thriller with a twisty timeline—almost like a Christopher Nolan movie—but without a true hook. This issue we get that hook, but it raises more questions than it answers in the classic Tom King fashion. We know that Batman is on the trail of a motley crew of villains who have pulled off an unimaginable heist, and that Riddler and Catwoman have backstabbed Penguin and taken the quarry for themselves to sell it for an extreme sum to a mysterious buyer. But what we don’t know is what the heist is—and this issue’s reveal makes me think there’s more to the story. After all, King deals with some esoteric topics, but an actual religious artifact that supposedly raises the dead seems a little out there for a Batman story. However, the flashback to the middle ages that shows the tragic origin of this artifact’s travels is highly compelling.
The real x-factor that makes this the best issue of the series by a fair margin, though, is The Help. Batman tends to get new villains more than your average hero, and The Help could easily be another entry into the elites. Essentially an evil Alfred, he’s a seemingly normal, polite elderly man who gets a call from Penguin, springs into action, shoots Riddler as he and Catwoman flee, and gets into a brutal fight with Batman. Like Batman, The Help seems to have trained with just about every elite fighter in the DCU—and even identifies Batman’s moves as he parries them. He’s the definition of a punch-clock villain, chatting with Batman as he brutalizes him and even offering him his help in training once this gig is over. But when he’s dealing with enemies he doesn’t respect, he’s unspeakably brutal. The fast-skipping timeline, much like in Batman/Catwoman, is a little hard to follow at times, but this was the most accessible issue yet.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
