The Joke is on You
There will be spoilers. I'll cover some up. If you haven't read this issue yet, quit reading reviews and check the book out.
I loved this issue, and I loved this entire story. I could see how some people might be disappointed though.
I avoided websites all day. I stayed off as much of the internet as I could. I knew not to go to Bleeding Cool at all, because they post spoilers in subject titles. Waiting for that big reveal of what the Joker had in the dinner tray, was intense.
The big wrap up is a dinner party right out of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The bat family is tied up with bags over their faces, and have a covered plate in front of them. Batman is tied to a chair that if he gets up, it is rigged to set all of the bat family on fire. So what was under the dinner tray? It was the faces of the bat family members. I was shocked because the Joker cut off their faces. But the joke was on the reader, because their faces were fine. It was all a bunch of mind games. We also find out the fate of Alfred, he is turned into a zombie clown butler.
Batman being the detective he is, finds a way to get out of the restraints and stop the fire to the family. We get a show down between Batman and Joker while the family has a few laughs.
We close out with, a big reveal of Batman's side of the story of the Joker's card, and everything gets wrapped up (or does it).
The funny thing is, while no one died, we still get a "death of the family". After what happens in all of this, the members no longer want to meet up. It's done.
While this wasn't as ground breaking as the Night of the Owls, it was still a great story. I would understand why someone might be disappointed in this, but for me this is the best superhero book going.
