Best of DC: Week of October 2nd, 2019

Runner Up: Batman #80 – Tom King, John Romita Jr., Klaus Janson, Tomeu Morey, Clayton Cowles

Batman is Broken no more.

For 79 issues, Bane has been orchestrating a convoluted plot in an effort to prove himself Batman’s most superior foe, the man who broke the Bat twice. He’s pulled Bruce’s father, Thomas Wayne, from another universe, caused Catwoman to leave Batman at the altar and has completely taken over Gotham City after Thomas defeated Bruce at Ra’s al Ghul most powerful Lazarus Pit.

Everything has been in an effort to leave Bruce broken, without help, unable to stop Bane. It would have worked too, if not for Catwoman. The last two issues have been mostly filler issues for Batman and Catwoman to rebuild their relationship by fighting crime together again. They’ve recontextualized their relationship with Bruce realizing that he can be happy and still be Batman and Catwoman realizes that she’s not taking anything away from Bruce by being with him.

They make each other better with Bruce taming her more criminal aspects and Selina taking away some of the more brutal rage that got him in trouble for beating the crap out of Mister Freeze several issues ago. 

Tom King does very well with writing relationships like this even if sometimes it seems heavy handed on the part of it being a woman’s duty to fix her man. Catwoman and Batman ounce off of each other in the most adorable and loving ways, but when it’s time for business, no one can hold a candle to them. Batman #80 succeeds on the merits of their skills and the skills of the entire creative tem of this book.

Right off the bat, the book begins with a noir Batman feel as Bruce, in his beach disguise (or rather his Matches Malone guise) walks through the streets of Gotham on a rainy night before being stopped by Officers Pyg and Dent. The two criminals attempt to accost him, not knowing he’s Batman and they get the crap kicked out of them. Batman doesn’t even break a sweat before he’s punched them both in the throat and gives Harvey another to the face for good measure. Harvey shoots him in the chest twice, but Bruce slowly opens his shirt to reveal a Bat emblem before tossing the bullets away like a boss. 

John Romita Jr. knows his way around a fight scene and conveys Batman’s strength and the terror of his presence in general by how Harvey reacts upon realizing it’s him. Tomeu Morey sets the scene with his amazing coloring by tinting these pages in yellow, DC’s general color for fear before it transitions into darker colors when Batman reveals himself. Klaus Janson’s inks set the tone for how unknown this mysterious stranger is before the ultimate reveal and in only a few pages, this book has me sold.

Opposite Batman who likes to be seen and feared, Catwoman strikes from the shadows. Mad Hatter is just patrolling Gotham when he spies a cat, musing about laws over strays and pulling the longest pistol ever recorded in comics out of his hat. I’m not kidding, this gun was comically large. While Batman’s scene was tinted in yellow, these pages are split between the cool blue of a street light and the seductive purple of the night sky in another, non-rainy, part of Gotham. It plays well into Selina’s finesse as she quickly and quietly takes down Mad Hatter, saving the cat.

Batman pretty much makes the rounds, letting his villains know that he’s returned to Gotham, Kite-Man gets an amazing scene as Batman drops him from a building while saying “Hell yeah” in response to Kite-Man asking if it’s actually him and later has a standoff with Officer Hush. The stand off has no reason to happen other than it’s  badass visual as these perfect opposites just trade philosophic barbs as Batman disables Hush with a batarang. In all of it’s rainy, sepia toned glory, it’s a nice double page spread, made even better by Janson’s inks giving everything the perfect black shadows.

Throughout the issue is a thread for Thomas Wayne as well. Because he’s a father that lost his child, he treats Gotham Girl as if she’s his own, giving her a new costume and consoling her however he can. He’s gotten very close to her and as such when she’s in distress over not having any more of the serum that can keep her alive as she uses her powers, Thomas is there for her. He tells her that she doesn’t need powers and that she’s skilled enough without them. He tells her to just rest as Albert Wesker walks in to tell him that Bruce has arrived. 

Bane gave a standing order that if any of the Batfamily were to reenter Gotham City, then someone close to them would die. Damian did it and got Alfred killed which left the child as the only prisoner. Batman had to know this as well as he monologues after defeating Hush that his father has to make a decision: will he kill his own Grandson? 

Batman is getting very intense as Tom King is reaching the end of his run with this book. With only five issues left, I’m actually shaking in my boots with excitement. 

In reflection, I’m also mostly glad with the entirety of this almost three year story and the leaps and bounds it’s made to cement Bane in a firm place at the top of Batman’s Rogues Gallery. Bane had always been one of Batman’s most deadly enemies, but this manipulation, the guile and deception, the audacity that he had to hatch such an amazing(ly insane and convoluted) plan just to ruin the life of his most hated enemy is insane.

Joker may always be Batman’s most popular villain… but Bane will always be his greatest.