Martin Deer on the latest issue of Batman…
Spoiler Warning: Plot points will be discussed.
Suspenseful. Gripping. Terrifying. Incredible.
All of the words above could be used to describe the latest issue of Batman from Scott Snyder, plus many many more if my grey cells had the sharpness of Greg Capullo’s art and my vocabulary had the depth of Snyder’s writing. The New 52 has been my first dalliance with monthly issues – I’ve always picked up the classic trade paperbacks and not really got myself in to anything new. That changed however when DC announced that they were… relaunching? Rebooting? Whatever they or you want to call it, they launched the ‘New 52’ to give people like myself an “in” to the monthlies, and I am very happy I got on board. Since the relaunch however The Joker has been absent, and was last seen in Issue 1 of Detective Comics back in September when he had his face removed by The Dollmaker. Now however, he is back, with a vengeance, in the crossover arc, Death of the Family.
Snyder and Capullo build his return beautifully; the suspense is gripping, we know he’s coming, we can feel it. And when he finally makes his presence known its not with a bang, but a crack. Of several necks. The Joker is out to restore Batman to his former glory, to make him sharper, faster and stronger, and the way he plans to do this is by removing the shackles that make Batman weak – his allies. The Joker’s plan even has Harley Quinn, his “lover”, on edge; she seems frightened by this new revitalised Joker that has returned.
I loved how Snyder harkened back to The Joker’s first ever appearance, his first kill – it’s a great touch excellently executed. Snyder’s knowledge of the Bat is second to none and it’s great seeing all these nods to the past, to so many wonderful stories and incarnations, not just in the comics but from the live-action incarnations in Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger. It’s brilliant stuff.
The killer moment of this issue though was that last page – it literally had me shout out several expletives. This is the comics, they can’t kill off Alfred. Can they? Would they? No, they can’t, Alfie…
The way I want to handle these reviews is to try and enable some discussion, hence the spoilers, so let’s discuss what we think will happen. Clearly Snyder isn’t messing around. Is his Court of Owls revelation going to stand or will it be retconned? Who knows, but I don’t think this Joker arc will leave us quite so unsure – I think major changes are going to happen here. The Joker making Alfred his first target, he’s not going to want to fail is he? How incompetent would he look? He comes back, threatens to kill Batman’s allies and then fails on his first attempt? Seems unlikely doesn’t it?! I think it’s Alfred’s time guys… would they do it?
There was a phrase that went around for the best part of a decade when it came to Batman on film: Trust Nolan. When it comes to the comics, whatever he does, Trust Snyder.
So, what’s happening folks, what’s in store for the Bat-family?
Martin Deer
Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen – Available now via Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com
Originally published October 11, 2012. Updated November 6, 2019.
