At the core of most superheroes is a desire to make their city (or world) a better place to live. Yet, despite this shared desire to keep others safe, most superhero conflicts arise when the heroes debate the “how” of improving the world. One of the continued successes of “Detective Comics” is exploring the tensions of the Batfamily, exploring each member’s views on how to keep the city safe and what it means to be a team. ‘Utopia/Dystopia’ is a great example of the debate on how to make the world a better place. The main arc ‘A Lonely Place of Living’ takes the debate to the next level by making the debate against a difficult opponent, yourself.
“Detective Comics” #963-968Cover by Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Adriano Lucas
Written by James Tynion IV and Christopher Sebela
Illustrated by Carmen Carnero, Eddy Barrows, and Alvaro Martinez
Inked by Carmen Carnero, Eber Ferreira, and Raul Fernandez
Colored by Ulises Arredla, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Adriano Lucas, and Jean Francois Beaulieu
Lettered by Sal Cipriano
After battling an order of ancient assassins and robots filled with religious zeal, it’s safe to say that the team has been through a lot. But nothing has had a bigger impact on them than the loss of Red Robin. Tim’s “death” drove a wedge between Spoiler and the rest of the team and has driven Batman to the edge, spending sleepless nights trying to find out what happened to his ward. Unlike the other arc of “Detective Comics,” ‘A Lonely Place of Living’ spends a lot of time with Tim as he tries to figure out what happened to him during the attack on the Belfry. For the past few months, Tim has been the prisoner of “Mr. Oz,” who tries to determine why Tim wanted to become Robin. The answer to this question is similar to why he developed the“Gotham Knights,” a desire to create a system that plays to the strengths of everyone. It was never Tim’s desire to continue as Red Robin, instead choosing to create a self-perpetuating system to support Batman and to train the next level of crime fighters to allow others to move on from a life of crime-fighting. However, as Tim tries to escape the prison of “Mr. Oz,” he’s able to find Batman. The problem is that it’s not Bruce Wayne, rather a future version of himself. Something Tim never wanted.
The central debate of ‘A Lonely Place of Living’ is the debate of the idealism of young Tim and the cynicism of Tim as Batman. Tim as Batman is ruthless and calculating. A person who knows that he’s not the fastest or the strongest member of any team, but has studied the ways to defeat anyone on any team. The thing that is most striking about both version of Tim, is their arrogance. As a young man, Tim decided that Batman needs to have a Robin because of how it improves his skills. As an adult, Tim determines that he is the only one able to be Batman with the vision and drive to keep Gotham safe without burning it to the ground, even if it makes him miserable. Tynion does a remarkable job of writing both the young and old version of Tim. Both character’s dialogue read similarly, the only major difference being older Tim’s twenty years of experience. Much like the younger Tim explaining to Nightwing his theory of the importance of Batman and Robin, with an almost calculated approach, older Tim’s logic to why he put on the cowl is sound. We also see glimpses to older Tim’s Gotham, where Tim is isolated, having driven everyone away. To older Tim, the reason that Mr. Oz has captured both him and his younger self is clear, Tim as Batman poses a threat to the future. The problem, though, is that you can’t change the future. The details might be different here and there, but some events just can’t change. Or can they?
That’s the major question of ‘A Lonely Place of Living,’ can you change your future? It seems that for the older Tim, things start going wrong for his timeline in a few months, the Gotham Knights begin to fracture after something Batwoman does, and Batman Tim realizes that it’s possible to change his fate by killing Batwoman. In these moments, Tim is conflicted but full of hope. Eddy Barrows and Alvaro Martinez do an excellent job expressing the emotions of Batman Tim specifically, even behind the cowl. This is best showcased in “Detective Comics” #966 when Tim realizes that the timeline can be changed and in “Detective Comics” #967 you can see the conflict in his blank eyes as he asks Alfred about doing something terrible to change his future, should he do it. It’s not an easy task, giving emotions to something as expressive as Batman’s cowl, but the art team makes it look effortless. The way the dialogue combines with the action is also impressive. You begin to understand the years of training Tim has put himself through as he not only takes out the different members of the team but explains how he was able to do it. Tim has truly become a master using only his intellect, a formidable opponent with a conviction that leads him to believe he is the only person capable of keeping the world safe.
Continued belowAs for the rest of the team, they don’t have quite as much to do as in other arcs in ‘A Lonely Place of Living,’ but there was some character work done in ‘Utopia/Dystopia,’ as Steph falls deeper in line with Anarky and Clayface begins to start losing control. Anarky tries to persuade Steph to join his crusade by showing her the people’s city, an underground city that is seemingly a Utopia. Steph even gets visits from old friends telling her she should join, but everything goes south when Batman comes to reveal that Anarky was working with the Victim Syndicate. This doesn’t sit well with Steph and decides to continue her solo crusade. Despite being an underground city, Utopia is bright and colorful, unlike the city above it. Ulises Arreola’s coloring makes it a lovely place to live before Batman ruins the facade of Anakry’s perfect city.
‘Utopia/Dystopia’ also is a turning point for Clayface. Despite his desire to get better and improve, he still has to confront the ghosts of his past. This, combined with experimentation from Doctor October, is pushing him to his limit to control his humanity. While Cassandra is there for his support and help when he loses control, Clayface is beginning to doubt his ability to reform. Carmen Carnero makes Clayface truly monstrous, with spikes and a hulking looming figure, made all the more tragic when Cass jumps in to save her friend. It’s worrisome to see what will happen to this friendship. If the end of ‘A Lonely Place of Living’ is any indication, Clayface will seemingly be a big part of Batman Tim’s future.
‘A Lonely Place of Living’ continues the slow burn of a larger conspiracy forming against the team. The Gotham Knights are still together, but Tim’s confrontation with his older self seems to be creating doubts in the team. In any case, they’re together for now, but who knows what the future holds.
