Batman/Catwoman – The Gotham War: Scorched Earth #1 – Chip Zdaesky, Tini Howard, Writers; Mike Hawthorne/Mark Morales/Wade Von Grawbadger, Nikola Cizmesija, Artists; Arif Prianto, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: It’s time for the big finale to the event that saw Batman and Catwoman set at each other’s throats, Batman betraying the Bat-family and being cut off from the network as Zur-En-Arrh wormed its way into his mind, and Vandal Savage make his play to take over Gotham. And now, it all comes to a head with Vandal and Scandal Savage plotting to take advantage of an impending meteor to gain renewed immortality. If you think this doesn’t sound much like a Batman story… you’re right. This has all gotten a bit silly, but despite that it was a highly entertaining final issue with high stakes that managed to find room for some genuinely emotional moments amid all the chaos.
Most of those come from the horror of everyone involved about just what Batman has become. Jason in particular, who has been dosed by Batman with a fear toxin to forcibly retire him, is barely recovering and it’s clear that most of the Bat-family will never forgive Batman for this. But there’s no time to dwell, because the Gotham rogues have made their play to take advantage of the chaos and they quickly kidnap Tim Drake. That’s enough to rally the Bat-family together and make Bruce realize that for this to succeed, he’ll need to step aside. But that doesn’t mean he’s recovering—quite the opposite, as Zur might simply be becoming better at achieving his end goal of isolating Bruce so they can do what needs to be done.
The ending here comes fast and hard, as not just Gotham but all of Earth is threatened by Vandal’s plan and one Bat-family member makes a shocking and dramatic sacrifice to end it with what would be some brilliant last words (but aren’t, in what feels a little like a repeat of Dick Grayson’s near-death in Infinite Crisis) and another character is shockingly presumed dead (but is already known to be alive). This sucks the tension out of the issue a little bit, and this might just be a byproduct of what comics have become, but despite that the final few pages have some great twists, a surprising new alliance for Batman as he sinks deeper and deeper into madness, and what might be the biggest crisis for the Bat-family yet. All in all, a fun if truly bizarre event.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
