Batman: Urban Legends #17 – Ryan Cady, Joey Esposito, Alex Paknadel, Dan Watters, Writers; Gleb Melnikov/Scott Hanna, Serg Acuna, Amancay Nahuelpan, Riley Rossmo, Artists; Luis Guerrero, Alex Guimares, Jordie Bellaire, Trish Mulvihill, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: After all the stories wrapped up last month, this issue is a one-off featuring four tales of Batman teaming up with heroes and villains. Do they deliver?
“Cold Shoulders,” by Ryan Cady and Gleb Melnikov, is a fun old-school adventure set early in Batman and the Flash’s careers. With Captain Cold missing from the Rogues’ latest heist, Flash tracks him to Gotham—where he’s been hired by Mr. Freeze to aid him with a potentially apocalyptic cryogenics experiment. This story is all about contrasts—Flash’s high-speed investigating bouncing off Batman’s methodical detective skills, and Cold’s businesslike villainy for hire clashing with Freeze’s increasingly unstable obsession. This particularly feels like a callback to some of Cold’s earlier characterization, and it’s a fast-paced story that delivers on exactly the vibe it’s going for.
“The Sea Beyond” by Joey Esposito and Serg Acuna is a more action-packed tale that calls back to one of Batman’s most iconic stories—“The Laughing Fish.” After the Joker’s caper, the Jokerized fish were washed out to sea—and now, in this flashback tale featuring Aquaman and Mera, they’ve come back to haunt the oceans. Fish are being poisoned by the toxins, large schools are disappearing, and while Mera is enraged, Arthur is willing to work with Batman to find the answer. That pulls them into a larger threat dating back to ancient Atlantis, and pits the three heroes against what’s essentially an elder god. It has maybe a bit too many concepts in one short story, but the art is spectacular.
“Statecraft” by Alex Paknadel and Amancay Nahuelpan focuses on the unlikely duo of Batman and Black Adam, and is set during the original Justice Society run where Adam took over Khandaq. As he prepares to rule and seeks to reverse some of the damage the previous dictator did, Batman considers him a threat and infiltrates the country—seeking to trick Adam into giving up his powers temporarily so he can face him one-on-one. This is a very strong look into how Adam rules as a King, as well as a great examination of the parallels between these two domineering figures. The stakes are higher than the last few stories, the combat more brutal, and it’s probably the most memorable installment in this issue.
“On His Worst Nights” by Dan Watter and Riley Rossmo closes us out, and it’s only four pages. Narrated by the Riddler, it tracks Batman as he pursues a murderous Riddler after a breakdown, encountering Catwoman and Penguin along the way. It’s too short to have much of a plot, but the way it breaks down Batman’s psychology is highly compelling, and it shows how Riddler is one of the few villains to truly get under Batman’s skin.
Overall, there isn’t a weak link here and I’d love to see more of these team-ups in the future.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
