It’s Batman vs the Justice League as Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo leave ‘Zero Year’ behind and jump right back into the present-day DCU.
Written by Scott Snyder
Illustrated by Greg CapulloFrom the superstar creative team that brought you a new start to the Caped Crusader comes the story that could end him. Be there in October for the biggest, deadliest and most epic story yet from writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo – “Batman: Endgame” begins here!
‘Zero Year’ was an epic in every since of the word. It was a big story, with big moments, big fights, and big ideas. But while Snyder and Capullo have spent that past year tracing Bruce Wayne’s path to the cowl, the approximately 37 other Bat-books have kept Gotham City and it’s masked inhabitants mired in the ever changing events of the DCU. With “Batman” #35, the creative team launches other epic storyline, with an even bigger focus than ‘Zero Year’, and waste no time catching audiences up to speed.
The story opens with Bruce Wayne hallucinating another possible death for himself, before he gathers his wits in his shiny-brand-new-window-filled Batcave, complete with new sidekicks. Alfred is patching Bruce up another battle, and the team assembles to map out their next plan. The point is, a lot of stuff is going on and the reader is dropped right in the middle. If you haven’t been following along with “Batman Eternal”, and even a little bit of “Future’s End”, a solid 40% will of this scene will go right over your head.
Scott Snyder doesn’t seem that concerned with spelling out the new status quo to the reader. There are no exposition-laden speeches, or awkward moments of characters introducing themselves for no apparent reason. It might seem confusing, but it’s best to view to as example of the trust that creative team places on the reader. They are are content to tell the reader that there is a new status quo, and that we’ll all figure it out without needing to spell out every little detail. Greg Capullo seems to relish the opportunity to pencil Gotham in pristine condition. Or at least as pristine as Gotham gets. The carnage and grime of the ‘Zero Year’ has been wiped away, and the city looks vivid and clean. Capullo pencils in a cityscape that seems to stretch for miles. The new Bat-lair is filled with tiny mementos of its former inhabitants, the Court of Owls. It lends an air of danger to the scene, even as Bruce and Alfred share a rare lighter moment, the silhouette of the bad guy is still watching them from the corner.
As confusing as the opening pages will be to a number of readers, all that is immediately forgotten when one of Batman’s fellow Justice Leaguers crashes through the window and smashes Bruce through a wall before dragging him away. Batman being the untrusting s.o.b. he is, has contingency plans to fight his fellow heroes, and contingency plans for those contingency plans. One by one, more superheroes show up to join the fight and takes their swings at Batman. The idea of Batman’s paranoia towards vs the JL has been touched on before, but Snyder avoids of retread the ‘Tower of Babel’ storyline. Batman’s plan for heroes are well thought out, diving deep into mythology of the characters, and, mostly importantly, are really fun to watch. Watching Batman get the upper hand on the people with super powers is really entertaining, even if he had to steal a glance at a page from Iron Man’s Hulk-buster armor plans to make the fight seem plausible.
Capullo just has a field day with these fight scenes, and they are some of the most impressive of his entire run on the series. The images are gorgeous and stretch across entire pages. The splash pages and spreads are expertly paced, and the line work never wavers or grows less strong. There are plenty of smaller moments which elevate the fights beyond just punches. Bruce’s reflection in a sword, a face literally rippling from the force of Batman’s punch, and an orange blur crossing paths with a Batarang take up just one panel, and are simply fantastic. FCO Plascencia fills Capullo’s images with more color than has ever been seen in a New 52 issue of “Batman” and every page is intense and eye catching.
Continued belowWhat everyone is going to talking about is the ending. While Batman makes it past the other heroes, things turn against the Dark Knight as Superman descends from the sky. Their “fight” lasts about half a second before Batman and his exoskeleton get punched through a building. Capullo draws on of the best shots of the issue, as a tiny looking Batman gets flicked away like an annoying mosquito. Just when it looks like Batman is down to the last trick utility belt, Snyder throws one more twist at the character. Three small panels. Three single words. And from that there are massive ramifications for Batman and Gotham. Heck, even the entire DCU. It’s really impressive the DC kept this storyline under wraps, rather than spoiler the twist just for the press. Instead this issue features one of the most surprising and shocking moments in the series.
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo dispel any notions of a ‘Zero Year’ burnout, and immediately jolt “Batman” right back to the center of the DCU. The pacing is excellent, the dialog flows and avoids narrative traps, and Snyder has designed the kind of contingency plans that would flow from the brilliant and semi-deranged mind of Batman. Capullo brings his own unique look to the Justice League, and it fits perfectly with the distinctive style has created for the series. The whole issue really subverts expectations. If readers were expecting a nice simple story filled with exposition that would spell out the new status quo after ‘Zero Year’, they won’t know what hit them. Whoever said there was a status quo in Gotham must have been joking.
Final Verdict: 8.9 -This is a great issue of “Batman”. While the first scene might confusing for non-“Eternal” readers, Snyder and Capullo soon kick their own story off with a super powered bang.
