Batman #146 – Chip Zdarsky, Writer; Jorge Jimenez, Michele Bandini, Artists; Tomeu Morey, Alex Sinclair, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Chip Zdarsky has been long-gaming his run for a long time, weaving plot elements in and out of this title and his flashback series Batman: The Knight—and that includes one of his main villains, the twisted master of the mind Daniel Capito. We knew that Capito tried to manipulate Bruce in his early years, and he then dovetailed from that into working with Joker to help the newly transformed criminal become the sick mastermind he is today. But now, in this oversized issue (with the backup weaving seamlessly into the main story) Capito has become once again the master of Bruce’s fate, being placed in charge of Blackgate by Zur (now in Failsafe’s body). Bruce finds himself locked up alongside Joker, as the two enemies are both pawns in Zur and Capito’s experiment. And on the outside, Zur takes advantage of his newfound freedom to start taking one villain after another off the table—and placing them all in his private prison.
This is an interesting take on a more villainous Batman—he still obeys many of Bruce’s key laws, but with a ruthless zeal that strips away the humanity Batman is known for. That’s something Damian is unsurprisingly comfortable with, but the rest of Batman’s allies less so. It’s only when Zur reveals another element of his plan to make their fight against evil last forever that it becomes clear just how far gone he is. The panic Zur is creating spreads, with Mayor Nakano wondering if the city is even under his control anymore—and Superman flying to Gotham to try to see what’s left of his friend. This issue has a distinct sense of hopelessness to it—at least, for everyone but Bruce, who wastes no time turning Blackgate into his private staging ground for a great escape. It’s amazing that this plot has been building since Zdarsky began his run, and I suppose it makes sense—who makes a better arch-enemy for Batman than Batman himself?
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
