The Good
Right out of the gate, Larry Hama introduces us to the main players and sets the stakes, expertly letting the reader know the score and even providing some much-needed context. There’s something of an info-dump, but in this kind of story that’s almost necessary, what with the clipped running time of only two issues and the deadline of having a next issue. Bruce Wayne is seemingly trying to jump to the other side of the law and finance the Whale’s bloated criminal enterprises, but when Whale’s newest enforcer turns out to be Batman’s erstwhile ally, things take a turn for the undercover. Hama does well giving both men distinct personalities, showing why they work well together, but probably wouldn’t in the longrun.
Philip Tan’s pencils are the star of this issue. Azrael’s original Batman “upgraded” costume has always been one of the more divisive across comics, and with good reason. The seamless hood, endless array of pouches and jutting spikes and of course KNIFE FINGERS all scream of a bygone era when everything had to be “edgy.” Literally in this case. but Tan manages to make the costume actually look cool and even a little practical. He does this by streamlining a lot of the look, making it more compact and sleek which, looking back on older Knightfall issues seems to be its biggest problem: the thing just looked too bulky. Tan also does a great job with Bats himself, making the dark knight into a tenebrous shadow, striking quickly and powerfully at a moment’s notice. Jason Paz and Rob Hunter provide the inks, and they may be the more underappreciated of the creators on this as the inks are INCREDIBLY subtle, but also add a lot to the visuals, making them look clear and crisp, while highlighting the various parts of a given panel. Elmer Santos’ colors are impossible to overlook, however, and they give the issue a great deal of life, infusing it with a dark, shadowy tone that actually makes the story presented seem edgy, without quotes, and even darker than the average Batman tale. This is an especially interesting effect to achieve in Metropolis rather than Gotham.
The Bad
There’s no context given for where any of the characters are at this point in their careers. Bruce and Jean-Paul had massive conflict from the word “go” after Bruce came back and found Valley setting people on fire. There’s also mention made of Zero Hour as one of the stories this pulls characters from, but there’s never a single bit of explanation as to what that was or how it was different from the standard DC stories that led into pre-Flashpoint. While the stakes are established early, they’re not followed up on and much of the issue rings hollow without them.
Likewise the art becomes indistinct in a few key places, most notably when Wayne asks Valley why he’s in Metropolis, then seems to answer his own question in a panel that looks like it should have had Valley in it. Another place is when Azrael seems to use lethal force, but it’s presented as though he didn’t. It’s hard to make out what happened, and so, again, the stakes are undermined.
The Verdict
The writing in this issue feels appropriately like a throwback, though it also tends to use a great deal to say very little. This is a text-heavy issue, but it still feels hard to follow if there’s no pre-existing connection to the source material. There’s that handy guide to which universes are being presented at the start of the issue, but nothing is said about them. The art, though, is truly excellent and though it trips up in a couple of places, it still makes these characters look as cool as they ever have, particularly the much-maligned Azrael. And that’s no small shakes.