Okay I've got to say, that was a good Damian Wayne reference
The finale of Batman Vs. Clayface and The Ghost Lights.
The Good
With this being just a two issue story arc, I'm glad that Scott Snyder wrapped this story up quickly. Clayface's shape-shifting ability becoming more advanced was interesting, however the villain is not interesting enough to carry on into a four or five issue long story arc. He is not like the Joker who can carry on a comic book on his own. Scott Snyder wasted no time at introducing the story last issue and ending it the way he did. With most stories that may seem abrupt, however if you have read this two issue story arc, you'll understand that it is for the best.
There are two reasons that made me smile and say, "that was pretty clever", in this issue. One of those reasons being the Batman Beyond suit. YES! Briefly the Batman Beyond suit is in this issue and it made me smile to see that Snyder worked that in [masterfully] in this issue. The thought of the Batman Beyond suit and the quick conversation between Lucius Fox and Bruce only made me think if this title lines up with the Batman Beyond timeline, it'd be awesome if that were true. The second thing that brought a smile to my face was how Scott Snyder worked in Damian's death reference in this issue. When Batman captures Clayface [spoiler if you didn't think that would be the outcome], Clayface mentioned to the Dark Knight that Bruce Wayne did not even care to spend time with his own son. "Oh snap!" That made Batman go off like a rocket and the brief time that he demonstrated that anger shows that Batman is human and has a limit when it comes to certain things being said about his family. Scott Snyder my hat is tipped off to you.
The artwork by Greg Capullo is still the same; AMAZING! He always brings his "A" game when drawing this book. Also James Tynion IV and Alex Maleev did a great job at wrapping up the supernatural mini story quickly.
The Bad
This issue was good on some standards, however it had a lot of errors. One of those errors being Commissioner Gordon being shot by Clayface last issue by a shotgun. I'm not expert, however being shot as close as he was by the shotgun it should have done a lot more damage then just knocking him off his feet. Sure he had a bullet proof vest, but he took a point-blank shotgun to his chest and in this issue he is totally fine. This situation should-be executed in a different way, but with this only being a two issue story arc, I'm sure Scott Snyder was only trying to get this issue done and move to the next.
The second problem I had is with the Ghost Lights Pt. 2 of 2 story. Again, the story seemed out-of-place with this BATMAN title since all the stories represented in this series have not had a supernatural element present. The ending of this mini story was abrupt and it felt forced. The main reason Superman guest starred in this mini story was to talk with Bruce about the death of Damian, however instead they went on an adventure to stop the Will O' The Wisp. Granted James Tynion IV is new to writing comic books, but he showed so much potential with the side story he co-wrote with Scott Snyder in the Night of Owl story arc. This mini story would've been a lot better if it did start, and end, with Superman and Batman discussing Damian's death and moving on. I would've like that a lot better than this supernatural story.
The Verdict
This is a light read. However, if you are a new reader to this series this might be the holy grail of Batman comics for you. These two issues had its ups-and-downs, however in the end it was pulled together nicely and made it an overall okay experience to buy then read this comic. With the origin of Batman explained in next issue, you are not gonna want to miss what Scott Snyder and company have in store for Batman. Overall 4 out of 5.
Read these other reviews in the meanwhile:
Pre-Zero Year origin story of Batman, Batman #0
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Batman 19 -- 'Nowhere Man Pt.1'
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