Friday, March 5, 2010

Batman #696, Batman and Robin #8 & # 9.

It's Batman night ladies and gents! I've got a trio of Bat-books to go over, so let's get down to business.

Batman #696: Writer/Pencils: Tony Daniel.

We begin things here with Robin finding Batman laid out on a beach in Gotham. How did Bats wind up in such a sorry state? Flashback time!!! Last issue the two worst villains in the DCU not named Toyman, the Penguin and the Mad Hatter, had managed to trap Batman in one of Black Mask's mind dominating masks, which coupled with the Mad Hatter's influence have allowed Penguin to send Batman after his various enemies, including the new Black Mask. From there, Batman attacks the crooked mayor of Gotham, who had the antidote to Black Mask's mind altering masks, before heading to Catwoman and that annoying Kitrina girl. Bats takes out Catwoman and takes the annoying girl along with him to Devil's Square, where Black Mask had taken up residence, since she knew where Mask was hiding out. Bats makes his way to Black Mask's inner den, and winds up running into Mask, Fright and Strange. Mask attacks Bats with a sword and beats him about the room. After knocking Bats down, Mask proceeds to taunt him('cause that's what villains do!), before Batman reveals that he is getting his mental faculties back, at which time he punches Mask to the ground. Mask responds by pulling a gun and shooting Bats, knocking him out the window, where he is eventually found by Robin at the beginning of this issue. This issue ends with Bats crawling out of his bed in the Cave telling Oracle, who was watching over him that he had figured out the identity of Black Mask.

Well, I'm not going to say I told you so yet, but if you check out my review for Batman #695, you'll see what I'm getting at. Every single sign in this issue pointed to Black Mask being Hush, from the use of the gun, to the Aristotle quote, to Fright conveniently telling Batman to “Hush up.” after he speaks to Mask. Now, these all could be red herrings trying to get us to look in the wrong direction, but if Black Mask ISN'T Hush, then whoever Mask is, he's definitely trying to frame Hush. But enough about that, let's get back to the story here. Once again the Dick Grayson Batman was made to look completely pathetic, being manipulated by Penguin and Mad Hatter, which is just plain sad... When Penguin is able to mind control you with relative ease, maybe it's time to hang up the cape and cowl... Being a fan of Dick Grayson, I have to say, this storyline has been very lackluster...

Score: 6 out of 10.A quote from Aristotle? "Hush up."? Hmmm...

Batman and Robin #8: Writer: Grant Morrison. Artist: Cameron Stewart.

This issue begins with “Batman” rising from a Lazarus Pit hidden in England, under the watchful eye of Batman(Dick Grayson), Batwoman, Knight and Squire. “Batman” emerges from the Pit and tries to attack Dick, but Dick puts him down with an electric shock. From there we get a flashback from “Batman” learning he was one of the Bruce Wayne clones created by Darkseid during Final Crisis. Fake Batman attacks all of the heroes present and attempts to kill them, which lead to Dick to believe that this Batman wasn't the real one(No, really?!?), since Bruce Wayne would never try to kill. While fighting, some c-list British villain blows up the mine, burying the heroes and killing Batwoman. Fake Batman uses the explosion to steal Dick's Batplane and make good his getaway. Back at Wayne Tower, Damien is returned to Alfred after getting his spine fixed, and the two discover that Dick had taken “Batman's” corpse and left with it. This issue ends with Fake Batman gaining access to Wayne Tower and confronting the wheelchair bound Damian.

You know, I was expecting a lot worse here. Granted, this comic was definitely not a masterpiece by anybodies standards, but it was readable, which is better then most of Grant Morrison's Batman comics. So we learn this issue that Fake Batman was one of the Bruce Wayne clones created by Darkseid, which is all fine and dandy, except for the fact that it makes absolutely no sense... Why would Darkseid fake Batman's death, replace him with a dead clone and send him into the past as opposed to simply killing him? Umm, I didn't know Darkseid, the ruler of Apokolips, and one of the most evil creatures in the universe, was adverse to killing, but apparently I was wrong... I might as well not say anything else about this issue(such as Batwoman's death and the Fake Batman/Damian confrontation), since I'll have plenty to say about that during the review for Batman and Robin #9, which is next.

Score: 7 out of 10.Just when I thought Final Crisis couldn't get any worse...

Batman and Robin #9: Writer: Grant Morrison. Artist: Cameron Stewart.

While Batman, Knight and Squire toss Batwoman's corpse into that Lazarus Pit from last issue, Fake Batman prepares to do the world a great service by killing Damian. Before Fake Batman can complete the act, Alfred halts him by trapping his cape in a door... Huh, that's pretty sad... Damian throws his wheelchair at Fake Batman and knocks him down... You know, considering Fake Batman is a full-grown clone of Bruce Wayne, and Damian is like 10, I'm a bit at a loss to explain how Damian was able to throw the wheelchair with enough force to knock down Fake Bats... While wearing a neck brace... Damian runs through Wayne Tower and sets up a trap, blowing Fake Bats up. In the meantime, Batwoman emerges from the Pit fully healed, and Batman and Batwoman decide to return to Gotham while Knight and Squire go after the villain who blew up the coal mine they were in. Fake Batman walks out of the flames from the explosion and grabs Damian around the neck, but instead of simply breaking Damian's neck(as I was pleading for him to do)Fake Bats takes the elevator to the roof and throws Damian off. Before Damian can become street pizza, Batman swings over and catches the brat, placing him safely on a nearby rooftop. Batman and Batwoman attack Fake Bats and defeat the decaying creature. Back in England, Knight and Squire defeat the c-list villain who blew up the mine, and this issue ends with Dick realizing that since Fake Batman wasn't Bruce Wayne, the real Bruce Wayne has to be somewhere...

Eh, this issue was OK... Fake Batman's speech was pretty annoying(he spoke like a mentally deficient Bizarro), as was the fact that he didn't just snap Damian's neck when he had the opportunity, but if I was comparing this storyarc to the prior issues of this series, I have to say, this story was heads and shoulders better then the Pyg and Red Hood stories. That doesn't mean this comic/storyline was exceptionally good, but I can say that it was at least better then the past 7 issues or so.

Score: 6 1/2 out of 10.You know, if I were Batman, I can guarantee you that no 10 year old would be able to knock me over with a wheelchair...

27 comments:

  1. I believe I gave Batman 696 a 4/10 but basically we're on the same wavelength. If it's not Hush, like you said their damn sure making it seem like it's him. To be honest I'm just happy to know finally. And yeah Dick was made to look like a chump, I thought they had Jason under the cowl for a second...

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  2. Hmm, looking back, I'm kind of surprised I gave Bats #696 a 6... It seemed so much worse... Anyway yeah, by this point, it HAS to be Hush, right? Tony's been dropping subtle little hints for a few issues now, and in this one he all but says it was Hush. Granted, it doesn't make all that much sense(Hush was locked in Wayne Tower!!!), but like you said, I'll just be glad to know for sure.

    HA! Jason under the cowl would actually make some sense, considering how badly Dick has been looking lately...

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  3. Yeah, I'm sure if it is Hush they'll have some explanation on how he can escape when ever he wants. Hell he may be smarter than Bruce, if not as smart. I don't care WHO it is, I just wanna know now...

    Right? The way he got destroyed and easily brain washed. Man that's like the weakest Dick has looked since becoming Batman, I'm ready for him to go back to cool, joking, Nightwing.

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  4. My guess would be that Hush had some kind of inside help at Wayne Tower. It would be awesome if it was Damian who was letting him in and out of his cell(Damian WOULD occasionally visit him), but it'll probably be something that makes Dick continue to look weak... He'll prob have been hypnotized by Hush or something... The sooner he's Nightwing again, the better!

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  5. Hm... I don't know how I feel about Damien letting him out. I mean he can't be that stupid can he? I like the idea of Hush being smart enough to leave whenever he wants more than him needing help.

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  6. I'd like the idea of Damian turning heel, so to speak, and letting Hush out just to screw with Dick. With his attitude, Damian just seems more like a villain then a hero to me, so I'm always looking for ways for him to become evil.

    Like I said though, expect it to be Dick letting Hush out unwittingly, because ever since he's donned that cowl, he's become an idiot...

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  7. I'd only like to see Damian side with Hush if it led to something between Hush and Bruce, that'd be pretty cool And yeah why is Dick an idiot now? Bruce and Tim leave and suddenly he has the IQ of 1990's Superboy.

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  8. "he has the IQ of 1990's Superboy." OUCH!!! Now THAT is a real insult! As somebody who suffered through all 100 of Superboy's comics, I know just how dumb SB was back in the day!

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  9. Lol I knew he was one of the dumbest and now it's like their trying to show us Dick is an idiot compared to Bruce or something. Why are they intent on trying to destroy Dick's credibility when clearly he's the best for the cowl besides Bruce?

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  10. You know what? You may have hit the nail DIRECTLY on the head there, JT... Maybe the DC writers are going out of their way to say that although Dick is the best qualified to wear the cowl, he's still a far cry from being Bruce... You know, like thet're trying to say that there can only be one Batman, and that's Bruce. At least Marvel didn't make Bucky look totally inept when he took over the Captain America role... Now Marvel has two strong characters who could serve as Cap, while DC has Bruce, and that bumbling idiot!

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  11. Exactly dude, yet when Bruce returns and Dick goes back to being Nightwing (hopefully) he'll be awesome and taking down guys with ease. It's gonna be so contradictory it's not even funny. I'm wondering when Bruce comes back how do the handle the Batman is really back. He's no longer smiling and all graceful like Dick is and does Joker immediately pop back up?

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  12. Yet another good point JT. I'm guessing they're simply going to gloss over the fact that Batman is no longer mugging for the camera, and just act like it's business as usual. If I was writing things, that would be the FIRST thing I do. Bring back Bruce and definitely bring back the Joker... Although I do hate what Grant has done with Joker lately...

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  13. Last time I saw Joker he had a bullet hole in his head, he was skinnier than usual but Buff, and had a tongue like a snake...what the hell happened?!

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  14. "Last time I saw Joker he had a bullet hole in his head, he was skinnier than usual but Buff, and had a tongue like a snake...what the hell happened?!" Two words... Grant Morrison. >:-(

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  15. I don't...understand how you can take a guy who's just a normal human, insane but normal, have him slice his tongue and get shot directly in the forehead and still have him be a threat. Why would you even ruin the character like that?!

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  16. Yeah, for me, it's like the guy calling himself the Joker nowadays isn't the same Joker I grew up reading about. He's like some OTHER Joker... Maybe a Joker from an alternate dimension or something!

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  17. Same. He want from some crazy dude who laughed and told jokes to some crazy ass, pale skinned prison... rat. Morrison messed up Jason and Joker, what a loser.

    So we... or maybe just I find out who black Mask is Wednesday, I'm gonna make my main pick Hush, Back up pick Dr. Arkham, and crazy pick Jason Bard, Just...because. You?

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  18. Ooo, it's already time for the next Batman issue? Although I'm sure it's going to be an EPIC letdown, I've got to admit that I'm still somewhat excited to finally discover the identity of Black Mask...

    As for my picks, we're the same with the first two, I'm almost positive that BM HAS to be Hush... I mean, anything else just wouldn't make sense, right? I can see Arkham, especially since he seems to be a bit disturbed now, and for my sleeper pick I'm going to go with Jason Todd... The only reason is because I had Jason pegged to be BM way back during the Battle for the Cowl mini.

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  19. Hm... I'd like that although they have made BM seem REALLY weak, remember that beam fell on him during that fire? He couldn't even move it. That's why I'm going with a lighter guy like Arkham or Bard. Bard just popped into my head and I highly doubt it's him but we'll find out soon enough. Waiting for you to get that issue is gonna be torture though.

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  20. Imagine how bad it is for me! ;-)

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  21. Lol good point dude. So if Black Mask is in fact Arkham or Hush where do you think they go from here? I mean once he's unmasked, you can just throw him in jail/arkham right?

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  22. The only thing I can think is that even after we learn his identity, Mask winds up escaping and continues to be a thorn in the side of the Bat-family... Until Catwoman kills him!

    I'd hate for this to end with Mask simply getting arrested... That would seem like such a waste, especially if he is Hush, and therefore has knowledge of the Bat-Family.

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  23. Lol Catwoman just kills all the Black Masks...that'd be a lame way to go out.

    Yeah, I agree, if it's Hush I can see him roaming free but if it's Arkham he has to go to jail...I mean they can't just have him roaming the streets especially if Batman knows who he is. And he can't just go back to work in the asylum right?

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  24. Yeah, totally agreed. If it's Hush, he either has to "die" again, or walk away free somehow. If it's Arkham, then he def has to go to jail.

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  25. My thing is, if it's Arkham what does that say for the Asylum? Who's in charge then? Did he make it so he can free everyone at will and stuff? If's it's Hush...it's kinda a step down. I mean has Black Mask really accomplished anything on the year he's been around?

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  26. Really good points there JT. And they both point out some real flaws about whichever character gets to be Black Mask... First off, why would Arkham blow up his own Asylum in the first place? He blew that place up BEFORE the events of Arkham Reborn, which is where he pretty much goes crazy...

    As for Hush, I think it WOULD be a big step down as well... He goes from being one of the few villains with intimate knowledge of the Bat-family and their secret identities to a second rate crime boss behind the frigging Penguin of all people?!? Man, if that's not a demotion, I don't know what is!

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  27. Okay wait, you read three Arkham Reborn issues? Because I was REALLY confused by the ending of that...

    And yeah, I read it yesterday and I was very disappointed, the story was very very lame and they basically tell you who it is on the second page before the big unmasking.

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