Batman: Detective Comics #1085 – Ram V, Alex Paknadel, Writers; Stefano Raffaele, Christopher Mitten, Artists; Lee Loughridge, Triona Farrell, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: As Ram V heads towards the final act of his epic Detective Comics run, Batman is back in Gotham and ready to take the fight back to the Orghams. Last issue he met with allies, planning his next move—but now, he’ll have to do the same with his enemies. Several unusual figures make an appearance this issue, each with their own part of the puzzle. Mr. Freeze is probably the headliner, and Ram has written him in a very interesting way over the course of this run. He has his sympathetic backstory, yes, but he’s also deeply unstable and more obsessed than ever with the healing power of cold. On the other hand, there’s a surprising appearance by the Maestro, one of the most obscure Bat-villains of all time—and one who seems to indicate that not every Gotham rogue is destined for a bad end.
But while Batman is moving his chess pieces, so are the Orghams, as their twisted queen continues to escalate. After sacrificing her own son to the mission, she may not be done with him just yet—and she has also made a deal with one of the most dangerous villains in Gotham in the process. Where this issue works very well is in its sense of scale. Gotham is a big, gothic city that always feels a little distant from reality, and never more so than in this run. What this issue maybe lacks is a few more moments with Batman’s supporting cast, so he feels less like a force of nature. But maybe that’s what’s needed to defeat an enemy like the Orghams, and there’s a great sense of ambiguity headed into the final act.
The backup this issue is also by Alex Paknadel, but it’s distinctly less cheery than last month’s Cassandra Cain one-off story. This one focuses on Mr. Freeze again, as he meets up with an old friend of his. It’s interesting to see that he might have had deep emotional connections after Nora, and Magda is an interesting character—albeit one who seems to be deeply unwell in her own right and with some of the same obsessions. The story is highly intriguing, but the ending is almost shockingly bleak.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
