The Dark Knight
I really enjoyed this piece of comic book literature; while my judgement is admittedly clouded by the fact that I have not read too much of Batman pre-flashpoint, I have read some, and have read his Year One book. Still, I feel this comic book is a valuable treasure that will remain close to me for a long time, possibly forever.
Why?
When exploring the origins of heroes or characters, nothing resonates within me like the Dark Knight, Batman, and his struggle to attain what he considered perfection. He wanted to be whole, he wanted to be loved and to love; but he also wanted to punish those that would ever consider harming those he loves, and this made him weary of loving in the first place. The dichotomy of his character is what propels him forward, steadily chugging along through the muck that is humanity, to attain perfection; to avenge his parents. But it's more than that. He started the mission because he was hurt by his loss, but continues it because he wants to help others like he wishes he was helped as a young child.
This comic book helps explain the hardships he went through in his final bout of training to become perfection, the final bit of training that he felt he had to go through to become the best human being there is; nobody on earth can realize the pain he's going through. The determination. It's evident in his every movement. He's not in pain over just his parents. He's in pain every day of his life because of what he's going through; no other person on Earth has ever gone through all the different training and preparation that he has, because nobody has had the heart. It's his pain that keeps him focused, keeps him dark and mysterious, and makes everyone fear him. If you had Robin's personality in Batman's character, nobody would be afraid. It's Bruce's pain, discipline and determination that defines Batman. He wasn't the best from the beginning, and he's still not the best at most things. But he's one of the (if not the) best at everything because he never stops striving to be the best.
You can see why he feels so much in pain in this comic as well; he nearly fell in love with a young woman in Japan, and wanted to even go against his Sensei's teachings to be with her. She wasn't what he thought she was however, she killed his Sensei as a plot that the wife of the Sensei had concocted; his love had killed everything in that area that meant anything to him. His Sensei, the Sensei's wife, and the woman he thought he loved. This is why he must always be disciplined and always be alone; people get hurt if he doesn't have 150% discipline.
This pain is only alleviated once throughout this comic book, in the second part of the book, as he returns to Wayne manor in Gotham to an ecstatic Alfred, whom was waiting for Bruce's arrival for nearly seven years. Bruce apologizes to his friend, and they exchange a warm embrace with Alfred realizing that his best friend is not dead after all; and they begin the quest to Batman in this comic book. And yet even Alfred cannot understand the pain and determination and discipline that makes Bruce tick. Nobody can.
The books that tell of Bruce's training to become Batman seem to be hard to find; I've not found any before this. It was my favorite comic book to date. I recommend this to anyone who's looking for a good way to attempt to see into Bruce Wayne's mind before he became the Bat Man.
