Dark Knights clash in “The Batman Who Laughs” #2. When it came to “Dark Nights: Metal,” Scott Snyder crafted a story of an anti-Justice League of Batmans, each geared to face off against a standing member of the League at the time. However, one stood out: the Batman Who Laughs, Bruce Wayne of Earth-22, effectively a counter for Batman himself. Therefore, while that event was a classic wacky tale of the Justice League against their counters, Snyder’s work with “The Batman Who Laughs” #2 is far more personal, with Bruce Wayne facing off against his two worst nightmares with all of the intellect and training afforded to him, but without any of the morals, essentially turning it all into a mirror match of sorts.
Written by Scott SnyderCover by Jock
Illustrated by Jock
Colored by David Baron
Lettered by Sal CiprianoAfter the shocking ending of issue #1, a ticking clock sets Batman on a trail throughout the different realities of the Multiverse. He starts to see all the iterations of his life, and what could have been…but more importantly, Bruce Wayne begins to deduce that his current life is somehow wrong, and that all the mistakes he’s made are somehow connected. Meanwhile, the Batman Who Laughs raises the curtain on his second act, pulling out the big guns to break into Arkham Asylum…enter one of the most punishing Batmen of the Dark Multiverse: the Grim Knight!
Scott Snyder’s return to writing Batman himself as a primary focus comes with an implicit core premise: if Batman believes he can always win, that he can always come out on top, what if he faces someone who has the exact same training and experience? When training fails, when preparation is accounted for, when even the nemesis has backup, how can he possibly win? What depths will he have to reach toward in order to save his city, to save himself? And, on top of all of that, what would this personal threat do to him on a psychological level, do to his relationship with his allies and enemies alike?
Snyder is good at utilizing both sides of Batman, from his costumed identity to his work as Bruce Wayne, along with whatever comes in between. Wayne’s speech sometimes slips somewhat and nearly outs his own identity, but the lapses are realistic enough to be a case of stress and the events of the previous issue, rather than legitimate out of character moments. In all, the suspense around how he tries to figure out exactly what is going on helps to slowly clue in readers and let them into his mindset, rather than leave the Dark Knight as aloof and unknowable.
At the same time, Snyder’s use of the Batman Who Laughs is particularly disturbing, with an emphasis on the “evil Bruce Wayne” side of things rather than the Joker parts, down to some particularly biting speeches given that could shake the hero to his very core. Snyder has often brought up how disturbing the Batman Who Laughs is, and the writing thus far has definitely proven the reputation worth it. Even the Grim Knight, who has not had much emphasis as of yet, casts a menacing presence, though he is more kept as a kind of sidekick than a legitimate agent in and of himself just yet.
Jock’s artwork is in many ways similar to his work on “Wytches,” a previous collaboration with Scott Snyder. His rough pencils show an anxious atmosphere that enhances the stress on Batman himself in each of his different identities. In a disguise, he has the silhouette of his cap shown in a manner that is reminiscent of his cowl, only giving a look at his eyes. As Bruce Wayne, the scratched lines around his face demonstrate how his work has aged him considerably from the stress alone. As Batman, the focus changes between a silhouetted look at his entire head to a more expressive look at his face in general, the latter showing a far more human and vulnerable identity than his mysterious, unknowable behavior as the famous Dark Knight on a similar level to the being known around Gotham City as the “Laughing Man.”
Continued belowOutside of all of that, the other characters are shown in high levels of detail in spite of the aforementioned roughness of the artwork itself, from the Grim Knight’s quasi-silhouette showing his back to the reader, to the bloody mouth of the Batman Who Laughs and his disgusting, broken, diseased fingernails.
In some ways, David Baron’s colors are reminiscent of Matt Hollingsworth’s work on “Wytches,” especially when it comes to showing specific, starkly different colors from the surrounding seemingly mundane backgrounds or more human and natural occurrences. However, rather than focus on general artistic differences and splotches of random color, Baron’s colors on “The Batman Who Laughs” #2 are pointed and precise, though presenting no less horrific imagery in the process.
One of the main focuses in Baron’s coloring is the use of eyes, especially those of Bruce Wayne himself. Since the events of the previous issue, coupled with the increased stress of such a personal foe, there is an increased use of alternate colors, especially red, orange, and yellow, to showcase Batman’s increasing emotional volatility, with focus being there especially when it comes to moments that aggravate him more than usual. In some senses, this all seems reminiscent of certain elements of a certain Batman-related video game of late, but that’s neither here nor there.
The colors are also used in gradual, realistic shifts, including red rings around the eyes of the Joker, a subtle amount of red around the fingernails of the Batman Who Laughs to show how pale his skin is in general compared to normal bodies, and more.
In a sense, the sheer normality of most of the backgrounds, from the darkness of a classic Gotham night to the blues of the Batcave to the soft orange lights around the interior of Wayne Tower, can be extremely disturbing, contrasting against the comic-book thriller action around said scenes.
In terms of lettering, Sal Cipriano shows himself to be a pro, with intense differentiation along the entire work. There is the classic black print with a white text box, the red-on-black of the Batman Who Laughs himself, and, most notably, a variety of styles for the various onomatopoeias throughout the action, from a massive, blurred crashing sound to a red, bloody slash that goes up the severed arm of a guard, to many other disturbed sounds that make up the sheer brutality of the combat involved, especially by the primary villain himself.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Continuing the phenomenal first issue, Scott Snyder, Jock, David Baron, and Sal Cipriano have a definite winner on their hands so far with “The Batman Who Laughs” and its psychological, horrific thriller atmosphere and storytelling.
