Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Batman #5

By Hervé St-Louis
August 30, 2016 - 22:27

Psycho Pirate triggered psychosis in Gotham, the new Superman-class hero of Gotham City. Gotham is on a rampage to destroy the very city he promised to protect. His sister, Gotham Girl is fearful and incapacitated, again by Psycho Pirate. All that stands between Gotham and Gotham City is Batman. But is Batman enough of a hero to defeat such a powerful foe?

This is the conclusion of the first Tom King storyline on Batman and no I did not enjoy much of it. The premise is engaging but the execution, including the finale with the Justice League was poor. First, with Superman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the League around, Gotham should not have been so hard to defeat.

King is using an old trope here. Show how great the new character is by having him single-handedly defeat the established powerhouses of the comic universe. This poor practice used to happen with martial artists. Often, they would defeat Dick Grayson to establish street credibility, before moving on to Batman. Or, have the new guy beat up Shazam to show how tough he is.

Another problem is the concept of a meta-human as powerful as Superman but who bought his powers.  If he and his sister bought their powers, how come there are not more test subjects around who also bought their abilities earlier?

The problem with Tom King’s work throughout this storyline was that he jumped over proper establishing and grounding of his ideas so that he could turn Gotham into a villain quickly and have him fight Batman. Again, we see Batman doubting his resolved while facing a brutally more powerful foe. This is the same Batman who pulls stunts against Darkseid and Superman every month in Justice League.

The one redeeming part of the story is the setup of Gotham Girl as the real point of the story. She was marginalized and a sidekick. Now, she is more than that, although what part a Supergirl-like character will play is another plot to be revealed.

David Finch’s work helps save this issue although the tonal colouring by Jordie Bellaire annoys me. I enjoy how Finch’s pages are crisp but then again his work is inked by Sandra Hope, Matt Banning and Scott Hanna. While not as familiar with Banning, both Hope and Hanna are tenured and experienced inkers.

Rating: 7 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12