This issue is just simply epic. It's cinematic, to the point where I felt like I was watching a feature-length version of the Batman animated-series, high praise in and of itself.
First, Snyder really manages to convey Bruce and Gordon's panic as they race against the clock to stop the Riddler's plan, a panic borne of the fact that they're still learning the ropes of Gotham. (Sndyer is helped by the plus-sized issue, and it's honestly one of the few times that I've felt that paying $4.99 for a comic was well worth the money.) One of the best decisions that Snyder makes here is to rob Bruce of his technology. More often than not, Batman pulls off the last-minute save thanks to some amazing new device that conveniently matches his need for just that occasion. Not here. His Bat-Grapple doesn't have a long enough reach to make it to the weather-balloon platform, and his loss of the Bat-Jammer means that he has to try to disarm the balloon using a broken-off piece of Dr. Death's arm (a moment as awesome as it sounds). It's a clever ploy on Snyder's part not only because it builds the tension, forcing Bruce to leap farther than he should be able to leap and resort to brute tactics in a mad attempt to win, but also because it reminds us that it's "Zero Year," or, in other words, early days. Bruce hasn't had a need for a 70-foot grapple yet, so he only has a 50-foot one. We're watching him learn.
Moreover, we're reminded of Bruce's junior-hero status because he does, after all, fail. He doesn't manage to jam the amplified hacking-device that Nygma has installed in the weather balloon, giving him control of the city. An equally rookie Gordon doesn't manage to keep the police from turning on the power, in part because of his frayed relationships with his colleagues. Nygma's plan seems to be use his power over the city not to turn on the power; in other words, he plans to keep the city in the dark. Moreover, he pushes Gotham even further by his next act, destroying the retaining walls that keep back the river and flooding the city just as Superstorm René hits. Snyder's Riddler is a dark one, to be sure, capable of acting on a scale that the Joker usually doesn't even attempt. In a way, Snyder underlines Batman's rookie status by making Riddler an actual threat. He's always one step ahead of Batman here, something that he won't be again after this event. (My only question here is that Batman tells Gordon that he should've taken "the call," and he would've prevented all the death. I don't remember some sort of pivotal "call," but I'll take a look at my back issues to see.)
Second, Snyder uses the secondary stories to address the age-old question of what motivates superheroes and super-villains. Snyder's revelation that the Waynes were at the movies with Bruce as a way to connect with their troubled son is simply devastating. We learn that Bruce has been tormented by nightmares after falling into the cave, and Thomas hypothesizes that he's been sneaking into movies on Park Row to prove he's not afraid. It's a greater reminder of Batman's origin, picking the Bat as a symbol because it was something that used to frighten him. But, it also adds a layer of guilt to the story. I didn't think that it was possible to add a fresh take onto Batman's origin story, but Snyder really manages it. Bruce tells his father that he went to go see the "Mask of Zorro" because his dad loved it so much, but he thought that it was corny. His father is faux outraged, and he and his wife decide to skip the benefit that they were supposed to attend to see it again with Bruce. (Thomas also comments on the fact that Zorro uses everything that he has to fight for people who can't fight for themselves.) Capullo gives us an absolutely lovely moment where Thomas put his arm around Bruce in this police station, and a smiling Bruce leans into him, clearly thrilled to be there with his father. It makes the coming events all the more devastating. Again, this twist adds a layer of complexity onto Batman's origin that I didn't think possible at this stage, and I salute Snyder and Capullo for making it happen so beautifully.
The last twist, if you will, is the revelation that Dr. Death's son died in a search for Bruce in the desert. Bruce's uncle used his connections to get Death's son transferred to a safer unit, but it dooms him to die when they find a booby-trapped cave. It's not a vital part of the story, but it really does go to the question of whether superheroes inspire the villains that they fight. Here, Bruce inspired the creation of Dr. Death -- who sought a way to allow the body to defend itself from all attacks in part because of his son's death from the bomb -- without even becoming Batman. On some level, it combines with this re-telling of Batman's origin to answer the question somewhat definitively: superheroes don't inspire super-villains or vice versa; life does.
Finally, Capullo is obviously on fire here. The homage to "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" is obviously inspired, since it's so clear that Bruce isn't quite the hero yet that he was in that story, flailing as he does in the leap. The smile that creeps across his face with the Bat Blimp allows us a moment to see him enjoying his cleverness, something that dies in him at some point, possibly with this issue.
Snyder really recaptures the magic of his run on "Detective Comics," and it couldn't be at a better time. The promise of the New 52! has been so squandered already, but Snyder is truly using it to the fullest here, making tweaks and additions that make Batman an even more complex figure than he already was.
***** (five of five stars)
No comments:
Post a Comment