The Complete Batman: 1979-2011 (reviews by shaxper)
Oct 26, 2020 10:18:38 GMT -5
Prince Hal, chadwilliam, and 1 more like this
Post by shaxper on Oct 26, 2020 10:18:38 GMT -5
Legends of The Dark Knight #27 (February 1992)
"The Destroyer, Part Two: Solomon"
Script: Dennis O'Neil
Pencils: Chris Sprouse
Inks: Bruce Patterson
Colors: Steve Oliff
Letters: John Costanza
Grade: C-
Denny O'Neal's brilliant marketing event that both finds an excuse to make the architecture of the DCU Gotham match that of the Tim Burton films AND forces readers who are ignoring Legends of the Dark Knight to buy an issue and reconsider its relevance struggles to find a sense of momentum in this second chapter. Forget for a moment that a few pages of flashback aside, this feels like a standard Batman/'Tec story and not something that matches the unique scope of Legends of the Dark Knight, and instead consider how flimsy the plot of this three-parter actually is. Why aren't the police capable of stopping a non-super powered guy blowing up buildings at night? We don't even see any extra patrols out on the street. The police presence throughout this story seems entirely nonexistent. Further, how is this average guy, unique only in that he's a former Navy SEAL, able to stand toe to toe with Batman and survive beyond the first bout? I respect O'Neal's wanting to rationalize why the look of the comic book version of Gotham City is about to more closely resemble what we are seeing in the movies, but it's sloppy and certainly doesn't warrant a three-part crossover.
And are we just supposed to assume that Gotham shrugs this whole event off, moving all the occupants of the demolished newer buildings to the older buildings that were standing right behind them, apparently unoccupied and conveniently left in perfect working order? Heck, are we ever even going to acknowledge again that Wayne Enterprises was one of these buildings that just got blown up?
And, by the way, the architectural style of Wayne Enterprises has been a matter of some indecision in the Post-Crisis. Detective #575 and #628 has it with the giant tree in the middle, just like in the Pre-Crisis continuity:
Whereas Batman #443 introduces this entirely different look:
Either way, neither is the "cold, impersonal" building we get here that The Destroyer loathes so much he feels the need to destroy it:
So it's a sloppy, poorly considered story, but it at least accomplishes O'Neil's larger goals of aligning the books with the films and encouraging more Batman and 'Tec readers to check out Legends of The Dark Knight. Additionally, it gives us some history on the development of Gotham City (though I have a hard time accepting that any city's history can be attributed almost entirely to one person), and Anton Furst (set designer for the Burton Batman films) contributes some gorgeous sketches at the end that feel very reminiscent of Fritz Lang's Metropolis:
Important Details:
- While I'm generally loathe to count anything that appears in LoTDK as part of continuity, this issue's involvement in a crossover that begins and ends in the main titles suggests that what occurs in this story is gospel, so to speak.
- Bruce Wayne's great great grandfather, Judge Solomon Zebediah Wayne, is credited as having "created" the modern Gotham City by starting a variety of businesses including the Gotham Buggy Whip Works, and by buying up a bunch of land and constructing buildings there that eventually became Gotham's downtown
as well as hiring Cyrus Pinkney to design the look of the buildings there:
- Gotham is neighbored by Boston, New York, and Metropolis, and is on the Atlantic Ocean, suggesting it exists in Connecticut.
Minor Details:
It's strange how closely the villain of this story resembles the protagonist of the 1993 film Falling Down, even though that film had not yet begun shooting by the time of this issue. Both are former military men who snap and decide the world around them has become evil, and there are visual similarities to boot:
Is it possible Furst or someone else involved with the Burton Batman movies had passed along some knowledge of the film to O'Neil? Or maybe both characters borrow inspiration from some other person or event with which I am unfamiliar.
- O'Neil gives thanks to step-daughter Beth Reuter in this issue's credits.
- Not the first time its been implied that Batman has a a photographic memory:
- Solomon Wayne attained a Federal Judgeship with the help of a classmate's father, Senator Nugent Bolle.
- Solomon Wayne lived to be 104 and saw Gotham first rise in prosperity and then become a center of crime.
- Cyrus Pinkney died on his 40th birthday.
"The Destroyer, Part Two: Solomon"
Script: Dennis O'Neil
Pencils: Chris Sprouse
Inks: Bruce Patterson
Colors: Steve Oliff
Letters: John Costanza
Grade: C-
Denny O'Neal's brilliant marketing event that both finds an excuse to make the architecture of the DCU Gotham match that of the Tim Burton films AND forces readers who are ignoring Legends of the Dark Knight to buy an issue and reconsider its relevance struggles to find a sense of momentum in this second chapter. Forget for a moment that a few pages of flashback aside, this feels like a standard Batman/'Tec story and not something that matches the unique scope of Legends of the Dark Knight, and instead consider how flimsy the plot of this three-parter actually is. Why aren't the police capable of stopping a non-super powered guy blowing up buildings at night? We don't even see any extra patrols out on the street. The police presence throughout this story seems entirely nonexistent. Further, how is this average guy, unique only in that he's a former Navy SEAL, able to stand toe to toe with Batman and survive beyond the first bout? I respect O'Neal's wanting to rationalize why the look of the comic book version of Gotham City is about to more closely resemble what we are seeing in the movies, but it's sloppy and certainly doesn't warrant a three-part crossover.
And are we just supposed to assume that Gotham shrugs this whole event off, moving all the occupants of the demolished newer buildings to the older buildings that were standing right behind them, apparently unoccupied and conveniently left in perfect working order? Heck, are we ever even going to acknowledge again that Wayne Enterprises was one of these buildings that just got blown up?
And, by the way, the architectural style of Wayne Enterprises has been a matter of some indecision in the Post-Crisis. Detective #575 and #628 has it with the giant tree in the middle, just like in the Pre-Crisis continuity:
Whereas Batman #443 introduces this entirely different look:
Either way, neither is the "cold, impersonal" building we get here that The Destroyer loathes so much he feels the need to destroy it:
So it's a sloppy, poorly considered story, but it at least accomplishes O'Neil's larger goals of aligning the books with the films and encouraging more Batman and 'Tec readers to check out Legends of The Dark Knight. Additionally, it gives us some history on the development of Gotham City (though I have a hard time accepting that any city's history can be attributed almost entirely to one person), and Anton Furst (set designer for the Burton Batman films) contributes some gorgeous sketches at the end that feel very reminiscent of Fritz Lang's Metropolis:
Important Details:
- While I'm generally loathe to count anything that appears in LoTDK as part of continuity, this issue's involvement in a crossover that begins and ends in the main titles suggests that what occurs in this story is gospel, so to speak.
- Bruce Wayne's great great grandfather, Judge Solomon Zebediah Wayne, is credited as having "created" the modern Gotham City by starting a variety of businesses including the Gotham Buggy Whip Works, and by buying up a bunch of land and constructing buildings there that eventually became Gotham's downtown
as well as hiring Cyrus Pinkney to design the look of the buildings there:
- Gotham is neighbored by Boston, New York, and Metropolis, and is on the Atlantic Ocean, suggesting it exists in Connecticut.
Minor Details:
It's strange how closely the villain of this story resembles the protagonist of the 1993 film Falling Down, even though that film had not yet begun shooting by the time of this issue. Both are former military men who snap and decide the world around them has become evil, and there are visual similarities to boot:
Is it possible Furst or someone else involved with the Burton Batman movies had passed along some knowledge of the film to O'Neil? Or maybe both characters borrow inspiration from some other person or event with which I am unfamiliar.
- O'Neil gives thanks to step-daughter Beth Reuter in this issue's credits.
- Not the first time its been implied that Batman has a a photographic memory:
- Solomon Wayne attained a Federal Judgeship with the help of a classmate's father, Senator Nugent Bolle.
- Solomon Wayne lived to be 104 and saw Gotham first rise in prosperity and then become a center of crime.
- Cyrus Pinkney died on his 40th birthday.