I found myself rubbing together my hands at the end of this issue in anticipation of Bruce and Jim's uprising against the Riddler. If that doesn't deserve five stars, I don't know what does.
Snyder is on fire here. First, he was one step ahead of me for the entire issue. When I wondered how Thomas -- the kid who saved Bruce -- had an IV, he reveals that his mother swiped it in case his grandmother's stopped working. (Also, don't think that I didn't notice the Robin insignia on the glass lying in the room where Thomas was keeping Bruce.) When I wondered why more people weren't trying to pose the riddle that the Riddler couldn't answer to save Gotham, Snyder showed that the Riddler kills people who fail to stump him. When I questioned how the Riddler would have the resources to put his plot into action, Snyder explains that he used his access to the Red Hood Gang's files to build an army and that he pillaged Powers Industries for equipment. (That said, I don't quite remember how he would have access to the Red Hood Gang's files. Philip Wayne worked with them and the Riddler worked with him, but I don't remember a more direct connection. But, it's been a long arc, so I'll just take Snyder's word for it.)
Moreover, Snyder makes it clear that the Riddler is in total control. He uses his control over Gotham's computer network to establish a police state that would make Big Brother jealous. For example, when the strike team that Jim Gordon smuggles into the city arrives too early, the Riddler's omnipresent eye catches them. (I will note that he doesn't, as he had threatened to do, release the deadly gas that he has suspended over Gotham in his weather balloons, but he's probably just having too much fun to cut it short too quickly. I'll give Snyder that one.) Plus, Snyder reminds us how un-stumpable the Riddler is. When the person that the Riddler replaced at Power Industries poses a riddle that he created, the Riddler answers it before he finishes, using information gleaned from the man's biography to predict the answer. By making it clear how on his game the Riddler is, Snyder makes you believe that he'd actually be capable of the destruction that we see here.
This tightness -- of both the story itself and the Riddler's plan -- creates the feeling of hopelessness that pervades the issue. The Riddler has unleashed his id on Gotham and no one has been able to fight it. It's why Alfred is so relieved to hear from Bruce and Jim is so glad to see Batman -- they know that he's the only one who can face the Riddler. With the cacophony of superheroes that exist, it's often easy to forget that they're individuals. Since most comic-book dilemmas require some sort of brute force to resolve, it's pretty easy to believe that Hercules and the Hulk are interchangeable. The Riddler generally requires a more cerebral engagement, and Snyder plays that trope to its fullest here: only Batman can defeat him. It seems just as likely that Bruce will stand on the platform of doom and stump the Riddler as it is that Batman will break into his secret HQ and beat him into a pulp. Those multiple avenues to the conclusion are what make this story so exciting.
***** (five of five stars)
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