Detective Comics #9: This issue reminded me how glad I am that I stopped getting this series. It's a mess. First, we see that Batman and Nightwing have miraculously escaped the challenges they faced at the end of "Batman" #8 and "Nightwing" #8, with nary an explanation of how they did so. (I'm reading these issues in the order that DC has recommended, so I feel like it's a valid complaint if the issues don't flow as smoothly as they should.) But, more annoyingly, this issue only tangentially ties into the events happening elsewhere in the "Night of the Owls." I mean, sure, it involves Batman saving Jeremiah Arkham from Talons, but the main focus of it is the exploration of the DCnU version of Jeremiah Arkham and his connection to the Black Mask. We learn here that he "borrowed" the Black Mask from Roman Sionis at some point, making me wonder if we're being lead to believe that Dick's confrontation with Arkham's Black Mask (portrayed across "Batman" #689-#697) is in tact. I have two problems with this approach. First, I find it hard to believe that Arkham would be so quickly rehabilitated that Gotham would put him in charge of the Asylum once again. Second, these stories that focus on changes between the DCU and the DCnU have just not been as interesting as I think DC wants them to be. I mean, I wanted them to be interesting, too. But, they just haven't been. They've proven to be more annoying, because it's a reminder that DC is screwing with us. For example, I loved Dick's time as Batman, and every time we are reminded of it obliquely, as we are here, I'm annoyed all over again that DC seems intent to sweep it under the rug. This issue is a classic example of that problem. I'm left focusing more on trying to piece together the characters' comments to see if they clarify how the DCnU Arkham fits with the DCU Arkham than I am focusing on the story itself. It's odd to me that Daniel decided to use the "Night of the Owls" cross-over event to address the Arkham situation, given that it forces the event to the background. As such, we really don't see anything more here concerning "Night of the Owls" than Batman rescuing Arkham, something that, to be honest, seems an odd decision, given that I can't say that I feel like Arkham merited Bruce's personal attention more than Commissioner Gordon or Lincoln March. In the end, I felt like Daniel had trouble keep all these balls in the air, veering from the exploration of Arkham and his Black Mask past and his stabs at addressing the "Night of the Owls" event. To me, it was the same problem that I've always had with Daniel's writing, where I just feel like something is a little...off. At any rate, it's a pretty forgettable issue. You can tell that it was added to the "Night of the Owls" roster late, and I'm happy to move onto the next installment.
Batwing #9: It's been a while since I've read anything by Judd Winick, and I forgot how excellent he is at pacing a story. This issue hits the ground running, spending the minimal time necessary to set up the scenario for the issue and then throwing us right into the action. Winick also does a much better job than Daniel in explaining why Batwing is saving the person that he's saving. Although still coincidental, it was perfectly plausible that Batwing was at "Batman Incorporated" HQ to have Lucius Fox upgrade his armor and thus on hand at a gala reception for the "company" later that evening to protect Lucius from the Talons. I can't say this issue is all that essential to the main "Night of the Owls" story, because we don't really reference anything happening in the other books, other than Alfred's call to the Bat-family from "Batman" #8. But, it's definitely an enjoyable addition that doesn't suffer the same problems with competing priorities as "Detective Comics" #9 did. Winick gives us a hint of who Batwing is and what world he inhabits, but keeps the focus on the event itself. It really serves the purpose of cross-over events, because I have to say that, if I weren't already frequently breaking my comics budget, I would consider picking up this series after the event ended.
I'm disappointed with Snyder killing off March for two reasons. First, I feel like he has succumbed, uncharacteristically, to the apparent prerequisite to have someone die for a cross-over event to "mean something." Second, it again raises the question I mentioned in the review of "Detective Comics" #9, namely, why Bruce decided to save Jeremiah Arkham over Lincoln March. To me, Bruce had to have known that he was, at least potentially, facing this "Sophie's choice," and it seems odd to me that he chose Arkham. First, it's pretty easy to see where March would have had a much more positive impact on the city than Arkham. Second, as Arkham himself noted in "Detective Comics" #9, he was essentially in a fortress full of guards, where March was just in his office by himself (and pretty obviously a target of the Court as well, given the events of previous issues of this series). Are we saying that Bruce isn't calculating enough to make the decision between the two of them? Does Snyder want me to believe that he went in alphabetical order? I had hoped that this issue would explain Bruce's reasoning, but it doesn't; his decision is merely relayed to Alfred as he speeds from the Batcave.
Speaking of the Batcave, I'm also disappointed in the way the fight ends. The return of the bats that live in the Cave to take out the Talons is a metaphor that feels overly forced on this issue, again, in a way uncharacteristic of Snyder, who generally employs metaphors much more subtly. One minute, we've got Bruce in his armor taking out the Talons, the next minute he's suddenly facing imminent death, and then the next minute the bats save him. Really?
Continuing on a theme, I'm disappointed in how quickly this issue wraps up the overall fight with the Talons. Other than his odd appearance at Arkham Asylum, we never actually really see Bruce in the mix, with the action happening in the various Bat-family titles. He fights off the Talons in the Cave, pops into the Asylum, and goes to March, where Alfred informs him that the Talons have been subdued. I understand that it sets up his fight with the Court, something he pledges to bring to its house at the end, but it's a fairly abrupt end to the fight. Given that the event has nine issues left and most of those will presumably address the fights that Alfred informs us are already over by the end of this issue, it feels anticlimactic.
The most interesting part of this issue is the back-up story, where Snyder seems to be laying the groundwork, as I mentioned in my review of issue #2, for the revelation that the Court killed Bruce's parents. It's not yet clear, but Snyder is (successfully) toying with us as Jarvis, Alfred's father, reveals, in a letter to a young Alfred, that the Court targeted Bruce's parents while Bruce was still a child and claims that it was all Jarvis' fault.
All in all, my thesaurus apparently doesn't have enough recommendations for the term "disappointed." Given that I think Snyder doesn't successfully sell the fact that he has Bruce chose Arkham over March, the dramatic moment on which this entire event is supposed to turn fell flat for me, taking me outside the story, something that rarely happens in a Snyder comic. But, with nine issues left, I'm willing to reserve judgment to see how he and the other authors now handle Bruce's now-personal crusade against the Court.
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