Dive into the latest Dark Multiverse one-shot for the start of “Tales from the Dark Multiverse!”
Written by Scott Snyder and Kyle HigginsCover by Lee Weeks and Brad Anderson
Illustrated by Javi Fernandez
Colored by Alex Guimarães
Lettered by Clayton CowlesDon’t miss this twisted tale from the pages of the game-changing event “Batman: Knightfall”! Thirty years after Bruce Wayne was broken and failed to take back the mantle of the Bat, Jean-Paul Valley, now known as Saint Batman, has turned Gotham into the city of his dreams. In his new order, killing has become commonplace and criminals live in constant fear-all in the name of justice. But just when all seems lost, a new hope for Gotham City rises…the son of Bane!
For some, the Dark Multiverse can seem to be nothing but a fountain of “evil Batman” stories, and with its introduction in “Dark Nights: Metal,” it can be hard to argue against that point unless readers know where to look. However, just because “Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Batman: Knightfall” #1 does follow a famous story of the Caped Crusader to turn it on its head, just because there is a similar use of an introduction to the idea of the Dark Multiverse as in “Batman: The Red Death” #1, does not mean that the writing team of Kyle Higgins and Scott Snyder are just retreading old ground. In fact, this new take on “Batman: Knightfall” shows the amount of promise evident in the twisted tales of that fear-infused dimension by turning the focus of most of the story away from Bruce Wayne and onto others involved in that arc to tell a story about the very concept of legacy itself.
The fact that the story picks up thirty years after the altered events of the concluding chapters to the “Knightfall” saga means that Higgins and Snyder are given room with which to handle a more thoroughly altered Gotham City than in many other Dark Multiverse tales. This isn’t just the city soon after the fall, but one that has been comprehensively changed on many levels to become a nightmarish, theocratic police state with an infirm dictator as judge, jury, and executioner. The implications of such a change are not fully explored in the one-shot, but the concept is intriguing enough to be fodder for many other stories, if Higgins and Snyder, or some other author, were ever to return to this (as of yet unnumbered) dark Earth.
Outside of the focus on legacy, from Jean-Paul Valley’s role as “Saint Batman” to Tourne’s identity as the son of Bane, “Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Batman: Knightfall” #1 has the by now traditional horror bent across it all. A tale of a righteous return to a city’s former glory (such as it is) becomes warped into one of bloodthirsty revenge and corruption. While the turn may seem inevitable given the nature of the Dark Multiverse, it is nonetheless played out very well by Higgins and Snyder as more than one person is turned into that which they hated in search of what they hope to accomplish, complete with references back to the “Knightfall” plot itself.
Javi Fernandez’s illustrations are on point throughout “Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Batman: Knightfall” #1. Very effective use of close-ups help to showcase a variety of emotional moments, from terrifying grins of the mentally unstable to shocked expressions on those dying. Meanwhile, several cases of establishing shots peppered throughout the narrative help to show different areas of Gotham that are familiar, as well as how much the city has changed (or stayed the same) in the three decades of Saint Batman’s reign. In one case, the shot is used inside a building, a single panel page that makes for maximum impact through the sheer revulsion brought on by the imagery before the reader.
While the story is well written and the art is beautifully drawn, Alex Guimarães’s colors steal the show. Utilizing a limited color palette that emphasizes warm or cool colors in a variety of shades and hues depending on which side of the fight in Gotham is being shown, he manages to showcase the extremism in place for each part of the multi-sided conflict in ways that writing would be insufficient.
Continued belowFor Saint Batman’s side, we have a concentration on reds and whites, primarily focusing on warmer colors to demonstrate heightened emotion on top of adherence to the will of the Order of Saint Dumas. Orange flames and blood red outfits are abound, while sudden acts of extreme violence are given a sharp red and orange wash, from mutilations to executions. The overall effect keeps both fanaticism and bloody horror at the forefront and also brings to mind the idea of both the religious implications around fire and purification as well as the idea of turning away from the darker shades of the prior Batman’s reliance on the shadows. Orange is also used, both to show the light of day and to focus on the assumed divinity of Saint Batman’s hallucinations of Saint Dumas.
As is traditional, dark blues and bright yellows are kept in place for the heroic side of a conflict in Gotham City. However, while they appear to be a source of hope at first, in particular the yellow, they are intentionally perverted through the story into a source of a far deeper terror, one that deepens the plot from just another story of trouble in Gotham to the stuff of nightmares on their own.
If this take on “Batman: Knightfall” is anything to judge by, “Tales from the Dark Multiverse” is off to an excellent start.
Final Verdict: 8.5– Storytelling across writing, artwork, and colors all mesh together into a well-crafted whole.
