Batman: The Dark Knight - Only Average
Batman faces Bane this week in what should be a classic match-up. Unfortunately, I think the title's writers try a little too hard to push the envelope with the new Bane and he comes across as a weaker character because of it.
The Good
Despite the books flaws, I enjoyed the book's intro. Batman fighting his way back from the verge of madness over the effects of the Venom was interesting and, initially, I felt the new Venom's dangerous effects gave the storyline a real sense of urgency as Supes is sent off to push Flash to the same level of exhaustion that Batman had to face.
The Bad
Bane. Plain and simple, Bane is the worst part of this book. Issue 6 reveals that it is Bane who is behind the distribution of the Venom that is turning Gotham's villains into one man wrecking balls and is also pushing their bodies close to death. Bane reveals to Batman that this is due to a new 'additive' he has mixed into the Venom so that he can 'better control' the victims he submits to the stuff. To me, this makes Bane seem weak and cowardly. He doesn't think he can take the newly powered villains hand to hand so he feels the need to program in a fail safe? Bah! Oh, another convenient difference is that the same additive conveniently makes Bane as smart as it makes the drug's victims crazy which seems like a contrived plot device to put Bane on Batman's intellectual level. Oh, and I still don't feel like I know what the White Rabbit's roll is in all of this? Is she really just some lingerie clad, playboy model who happens to like grotesquely large muscular men? She nice to look at but there isn't a lot of depth there.
All in all, I feel the writers missed an opportunity with Bane's venom. Why wasn't he using the venom to get rid of the city's villains to make room for his own criminal empire. Why isn't he using the drug to infect the superhuman community and send them on destructive rampages to loosen to structure of society. What is the point of what he is doing?
All in all, it hasn't been the worst comic I read this week, but it is far from the best.
2.5/5
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