Tag Batman #40 (2015)

A Batman #43 Review – The Pixar/Jim Gordon Connection

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

Batman #43 (2015)TITLE: Batman #43
AUTHOR: Scott Snyder
PENCILLER: Greg Capullo
STUDIO: DC Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASED: August 12, 2015

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

***WARNING: Spoilers lay ahead for Batman #43, as well as the Batman: Endgame storyline.***

Amnesia, huh? Could’ve been worse, I suppose. After all, he was dead.

Wayne Industries developed much of the tech in Jim Gordon’s Batsuit. So when Gordon decides he wants to get some extra suit time in without being monitored, he comes to Bruce Wayne (I mean, why else would he seek out Bruce?). But Bruce, who is mysteriously alive despite the events of Endgame, refuses. This leaves Gordon to take on a new villain, Mr. Bloom. But Gordon is woefully unprepared to face Bloom. And he’s not the only one…

The major development to come out of this issue is that we finally learn how and why Bruce is alive, and why he isn’t Batman any longer. We’re told that following his death in Batman #40, Dionesium (a magic chemical Snyder created during Endgame) seeped into his fractured skull, healing him, but leaving him without the memory of his parents’ death, his training, or his time as Batman. Thus, Bruce no longer has a “shadow” over his life. And he no longer wishes to. He instead chooses to work with his old flame Julie Madison, helping underprivileged youth in the city.

batman43_5Oddly enough, we learn this via Alfred explaining it to a visiting Clark Kent. Clark is a fine choice for this scene, but it does leave one wondering what Barbara Gordon, or perhaps Damian, might have been like in that scene.

It’s also worth nothing that no mention is made of The Joker during the exposition of how Bruce came back. So it’s likely that he was effected by the Dionesium as well, and as such will forget Bruce was Batman. They also present a way to reintroduce the old memories back into Bruce’s mind. So within the span of one issue, Snyder and Capullo have explained how Bruce survived, how The Joker likely survived, set up an interesting journey for Bruce to go on, and given us a way to bring the old Batman back. All this while introducing Mr. Bloom. Not too bad, gentlemen. Not bad at all.

Batman $43, Greg Capullo, sharksAs if that weren’t enough, we also get a pretty cool action sequence in this book, in which Gordon gets in a firefight with a group of gangsters, and in the process a shark tank is shattered. In true cop fashion, Gordon goes for cover, and winds up ducking behind one of the “beached” skarks, who happens to have sunk his teeth into one of the gangsters. It’s an extremely bizarre visual to see Batman firing a projectile weapon at criminals from behind a shark. But it works. And much credit goes to inker Danny Miki and colorist FCO Placencia for the tremendous contrast between shadow and bright color. As shown above, we’re able to really feel the impact of some of those batarangs. Particularly one that hits the guy in the damn eyeball…

The verdict is still out on our villain, Mr. Bloom. He’s got sort of a hybrid Poison Ivy/Scarecrow thing going on. I do like the idea of doling out seeds that grant the recipient powers. Considering we now have a big mecha Batman, he’ll likely prove to be a good physical match for Batman. I also love the cover, here. It’s almost a twisted callback to the poppy scene in The Wizard of Oz.

This issue also has some really solid dialogue, and a few good one-liners…

  • Gordon: “With great stickiness comes great responsibility.”
  • Clark: But you told him, Alfred. You told him about his life.
    Alfred: “I did. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to do.”
  • Thug (as several guns are pointed at Batman): “Tell me, ‘Batman,’ have you ever seen Robocop?”

As a whole, this issue reminded me of a post I came by not too long ago. It was titled: “Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling.” Gordon’s entire quest to be Batman seems to fall under rule #1…pixars-22-rules-of-storytelling-as-image-macros-2The shark thing is just a coincidence, I swear.

This whole set up with Gordon being Batman and the police trying to have their own Dark Knight is obviously an idea that’s destined to fall apart in the long run. But the cool thing about these past few issues is that Snyder, Capullo, and the creative team don’t hide from that. They know it’s a bad idea. But that doesn’t stop readers from rooting for Gordon, because he’s trying his hardest to make it work, and to be the best Batman he can be.

Perhaps this rule about admiring a character for trying rather than for their successes describes why we all love Jim Gordon in the first place. He’s always been woefully unequipped to clean up Gotham. But he never stops trying. Despite having a big ass robot suit at his disposal, in the big picture, Gordon is an underdog. This juxtaposition is a sign of really compelling writing.

Images 1 and 2 from newsarama.com. Image 3 from fastcocreate.com.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter @PrimaryIgnition, or at Facebook.com/PrimaryIgnition/

A Batman #40 Review – Dead Again

Rob Siebert 7 Comments

Batman #40, Greg CapulloTITLE: Batman #40
AUTHOR: Scott Snyder
PENCILLER: Greg Capullo
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $4.99
RELEASED: April 29, 2015

***WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Batman #40 and the Endgame storyline.***

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

I’m not as big a fan of the Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo Batman run as a lot of comic book readers. But no one can deny they’ve got big, ballsy ideas. The Court of Owls, Flappy Face Joker, Zero Year, etc. For better or worse, they’re willing to take risks.

Hell, the finale to their Endgame story was so big and ballsy neither Batman or The Joker survived it.

When we open Batman #40, The Dark Knight and his surrogate family have teamed up with the likes of The Penguin, Killer Croc, Bane, and other foes to fight back against The Joker and his deadly virus that has turned most of Gotham into sadistic laughing zombies. But in the end, it all comes down to Batman and The Joker, in a fight that will irrevocably change Gotham City forever…Or not. Maybe they’ll be back in three months. This is a mainstream superhero comic, right?

Batman #40, Batman vs. Joker, Greg CapulloWhile I am fairly critical of the run Snyder and Capullo have had since the New 52 reboot, it’s tough to deny the quality of Capullo’s work. His art has a visceral quality that often sticks with you for awhile. That’s very much on display in the brutal and bloody fight we see hero and villain engage in here. It’s very reminiscent of Frank Miller’s work in The Dark Knight Returns, to which Snyder and Capullo have paid tribute time and time again during their run. Interestingly enough, the Returns fight ended with the Joker having a Batarang in his eye, and the Endgame fight it’s Batman with a playing card in the eye.

The sheer ugliness of the fight was unexpected. But it does fit the idea of The Joker finally taking the gloves off and coming after his “former friend” with everything he’s got. In terms of Mr. J, Capullo does a fantastic job bringing him across the emotional spectrum. From sheer joy, to rage, to desperation. The character is rendered with such bulbous yellow eyes and these shark-like rows of gigantic teeth. This is why Capullo is one of the defining Batman artists of the last decade.

Batman #40, Greg Capullo, JokerThe issue revolves around Batman trying to extract a chemical called dionesium from The Joker’s spine. Dionesium is among the substances that has allowed characters like Vandal Savage and Ra’s al Ghul to live as long as they have. The idea is that after Death of the Family, Joker found a large pool of it in the caves under Gotham, which healed him and restored his face. As a plot point, this is fine. The man cut his own face off. There was obviously going to be some kind of magic comic book cure for him. What I don’t like is the way Endgame makes a mystery out of whether The Joker is this mysterious mythical figure called “The Pale Man,” who’s been around for centuries. In earlier issues we see Joker pop up in old photos, which is never entirely explained. And even at the very end, when the idea has been disproven, Batman mocks him for it.

I understand what Snyder is going for here in terms of The Joker’s cause, and the idea that a mere mortal like Batman can’t control the endless, eternal chaos and randomness of our world. But I dislike the notion that Batman and The Joker aren’t equals on the mortal playing field. These two characters both stand for something very powerful, and very human. The fact that they’re both mere men is important, because it plays into the relatability of their ideals. In theory, anyone could be Batman or The Joker, not because they don’t have super powers, but because they’ve both made very real, very human choices about their lives. Making The Joker an immortal character tarnishes a portion of that human element.

Batman #40, two-page spreadPlus, we all knew he wasn’t “The Pale Man” anyway. So why waste time on it in an otherwise intriguing and compelling story?

There’s also a nitpick I can’t resist here: Why is The Penguin involved in street fight (shown left)? If he’s firing off a bunch of trick umbrella gimmicks, that’s one thing. But he appears to just be fighting like everybody else. That’s a little out of his element, isn’t it? Just sayin’…

Flaws notwithstanding, Batman #40 is a nice finale to the Endgame story, which of course takes us into the whole “Robot Suit Batman” thing they’re starting soon (We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.) We can all make whatever arguments we want about whether it’s a quality issue or not. But for obvious reasons, it’s got historic value.

Image 1 from blastr.com. Images 2 and 3 from newsarama.com.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter @PrimaryIgnition, or at Facebook.com/PrimaryIgnition/