Detective Comics #560


"The Batman Nobody Knows"
writer: Doug Moench
pencils: Gene Colan
inks: Bob Smith
letters: John Workman
colors: Adrienne Roy
editor: Len Wein

Grade: B-


Well this is definitely going to help my theory that Batman #392 was the original demarcation line for the beginning of Batman's post crisis continuity.

1. We're given Batman's origin story for the first time since at least Batman #300 (when I started reading this run), as if being introduced to him for the first time. Why do this if all continuity was about to be reset anyway?

2. Batman refers to Jason as, "well on his way to becoming Robin" when he'd been a full-fledged Robin for at least several real-time months in the old continuity.

3. All throughout this issue, Jason's characterization is inexplicably rough around the edges and hostile. He uses slang a lot more in this issue, even using a word like "ain't" in ways he never did before, and he even mouths off to Alfred, sarcastically calling him "Jeeves." This goes well beyond hostility about Catwoman. The only reasonable explanation is that the character has been rewritten since we last saw him prior to Batman #392. This characterization is 100% in line with how Jason ends up being depicted post-Crisis.

Really the only flaw in my logic at this point is that Nocturna keeps getting mentioned as Jason's dead former mother in this issue. I suppose that could mean that this story really wasn't intended to be Post Crisis, but it could just as easily be Moench's attempt to get Nocturna's legacy carried over into the Post-Crisis continuity, maybe even leave himself leeway to bring her back and finally portray her correctly. After all, absolutely no specifics are given about Nocturna other than the fact that she was Jason's "mother" and died.

4. It's still absolutely suspicious that Wein has avoided adding ANY footnotes about past events since Batman #392 -- something he never shied away from before. This further supports my theory that the old continuity is being discarded and a new one is being attempted.

Again, later events may conflict with this but, at this point, it seems more than a little obvious that someone (Moench? Moench and Wein? Moench, Wein, and DC editorial?) is attempting to soft reboot the continuity with Batman #392.


On to the story itself. Batman is trying to get Catwoman and Robin to work together, but Jason resents Catwoman's moving in on his space, so Batman works it out that they answer the bat signal at the same time and end up working together, and they end up getting along...for the most part.

It was a good idea for a story, but I didn't find any of the characterization nor plot particularly interesting, and this is the worst I've seen Colan's art. It was particularly painful when, while retelling Batman's origin, he flubbed the panel where he finally appears at Batman. It looked ridiculous. That panel alone made me want to forget about this reboot and jump directly to Year One.

I also really didn't like Moench's attempt to employ bad metaphors again. Throughout the issue, some unknown speaker is talking about Batman trying to be a spider weaving a web in attempting to get Catwoman and Robin to work together, but it's hardly elaborate enough to be considered a web ("Hey Bullock, I'm going to stay at home. When they both show up, make them work together"), and I don't see Bruce as a spider planning to prey upon the characters (Selina and Jason) caught in his web. At the end, a bat rams through the web, which seems a little too silly to have really happened, even if it barely furthers the metaphor. It finally turns out that the speaker is the Bat aspect of Batman, wanting him to remain solo and solitary rather than letting others in. Didn't we already overcome this issue at the very beginning of Moench's run when he took Jason into his home?

5. Well, actually, if this is now post-Crisis, and Jason isn't the same Jason anymore, then this story and conflict actually make sense. Bruce hasn't fully let Jason into his life yet.



So really, I think it would be difficult to dispute that someone was attempting to soft reboot the Batman continuity at this point. The evidence all appears to be there. Assuming that all they knew about the post-crisis plans were that:

A. Jason will be rougher around the edges. His suspicious absence for the first three "post-continuity" issues may have been due to ambiguity over how the character would ultimately be presented.
B. Batman will be darker
C. Selina will remain a good guy

Then this all works. Really, the only reason it can't line up with post-crisis at this point is that Miller completely reinvented who Selina is, but (as I've said before) even her post Legends appearances up to the month before Year One depict her in this way, so that seems to have been a genuine miscommunication between Miller and the Bat Office, not evidence that the reboot hadn't happened yet.

Detective Comics #561

"Flying Hi"

writer: Doug Moench
pencils: Gene Colan
inks: Bob Smith
letters: John Costanza
colors: Adrienne Roy
editor: Len Wein

Grade: B+


Well this was different. From the very first panel, Jason has lightened up tremendously from the past two issues. He's still edgy and more prone to using slang, and he's still a lot more independent than his pre-Crisis counterpart, but his respect for Batman and for absolute right and wrong are surprisingly unwavering here.

This is Jason's first ever solo story (pre or post Crisis), and (to the best of my knowledge) it's the first time a writer has ever tried to depict a Robin with a realistic social life. We see Jason at school, get a strong sense of his complicated relationships with his peers (accepted, but an outsider), and watch him struggle to deal with related issues of peer pressure and acceptance.

Essentially, I think Moench is trying to soften the editorial vision for a post-Crisis Jason and quickly cement it with this story before anyone can do otherwise. I wonder if it isn't because of stunts like these (referencing Nocturna two issues back, randomly showing and mentioning Julia last issue) that these plans for a soft reboot at Batman #392 (which I still insist happened!) may have ultimately been ignored/discarded in favor of starting things at Miller's Year One. As much as I can see the subtle differences in how Moench is writing the titles now, he's sneaking in too much from the pre-Crisis continuity, not leaving enough sense of change.

Still, I really LIKE this Jason Todd, neither as obnoxious as his post-Crisis counterpart nor as perfect and wide-eyed as his pre-Crisis counterpart. Let's call him pre-post-Crisis Jason.

As a result, I really like how this issue was handled. "Drugs are bad" stories involving teens are difficult to pull off well, but I found Jason's approach downright impressive, approaching and asking Bruce why he opposes drugs, approaching and asking a (supposed) user why she likes them, and then making a careful decision for himself. All the banter felt genuine and intelligent. The discussion was an honest one. Plus, Moench really made us fall in love with Jason's first crush, so his saving her from drugs and then seemingly getting her in the end was quite charming.

The plot is a simple one: Jason falls for the new girl, she invites him to get high with her, he explores his thoughts and feelings about this with Bruce and with her, she confesses that she's never used drugs but wants to, the pushers (classmates at school) get involved, Robin takes them down, and the girl is drug-free and seemingly still "into" Jason at the end.

Really, it read a lot better than it sounds. This felt like something out of Chuck Dixon's run on Robin more than a decade later.

The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2


"The Dark Knight Triumphant"
writer: Frank Miller
pencils: Frank Miller
inks: Klaus Janson
colors: Lynn Varley
letters: John Costanza

Grade: B-

This issue was published in the same month as Batman #397.

While the first part of DKR was fresh, original, and powerful, part 2 introduces that bat-sh*t crazy side of Miller that we saw so much of in All-Star Batman & Robin and in his proposal for Batman vs. Al Queda. The constant lashing out at aspects of society Miller doesn't like falls somewhere between Dave Sim and Rorshach. While some aspect of the constant jabs at liberals, at women, at the media, and at Reagan seem played for laughs, there's a seriousness at work too, especially in little moments like when Gordan seriously complains that the next police commissioner will be "A woman!". And, on some level, Miller expects us to revere the "man" that Batman is being in this touchy-feely future world of Gotham. And this "man" has gone from being an otherwise rational man with an obsession for justice to an over-the-top brawler who drives a fifteen foot tall war machine Batmobile and fires rubber bullets as hard as he can with a sick smile. Actually, I think the All-Star Batman & Robin incarnation was more sympathetic than this guy.

...But I digress.

Because this issue was so much more out there, it makes sense that it wouldn't play as big a role in impacting the Bat franchise long term. There are really only a few key contributions to the Bat continuity that I noticed here:

--Batman intimidating criminals by dangling them from great heights.

--Remembering Jason as "A good soldier"

--The mutant leader feels like a prototype for Bane. He poses the same kind of physical threat, even though he lacks Bane's intelligence.

--Batman as urban myth. It's stated that no one's ever even taken a picture of him, and some doubt he exists. I don't know if this was ever introduced prior to DKR, but it's certainly been a major aspect of the character many times since.

--Clearly the ideological divide between Superman and Batman is one of the most famous contributions to modern comics that Miller introduced in DKR, and it's first eluded to in this issue. Funny, then, that Lana Lang is Batman's most vocal supporter in the media.


In contrast to all of the contributions this issue of DKR makes to the franchise, Bruce's description of the bat that first gave him his identity as "surely the fiercest survivor...the purest warrior...glaring, hating..." feels like a straight theft of Man-Bat's ideology from one of Moench's very first Batman stories ("The Most Successful Species," Batman #361). I wonder if Miller read it, or if this was just a coincidence. Of course, the irony is that now it's the "hero" espousing this idea and not the raving maniac villain that Batman is trying to stop.

And, speaking of Batman thinking like a villain, I think the moment when I truly decided that this character was not and could not be Batman to me was when he took on the mutant leader at the end of the issue. Whether or not it was intended, the battle had strong parallels to Batman's (supposedly) climactic confrontation with Night Slayer in Batman #381. In both cases, the true purpose was to make the confrontation public, to sway the minds of on-lookers even more than to win the fight. The difference is that Moench's Batman used his head, planned it well, and did a minimum of fighting only when things went wrong. Miller's Batman planned too -- but his plan was all about HOW to beat the living hell out of his opponent. There's no detective and arguably no hero present -- just an over glorified wrestler who knows when it's advantageous to fight in the mud and where to hit in order to blind or numb the arm of your opponent. Really, that's how "Batman" has handled everything so far -- hurt them badly. I don't see anything Batman about this. It's a wholly new character that often gets confused for Batman by modern writers and readers alike. By all means, keep the revised origin, dabble with the obsession of being Batman, keep some of the other minor tweaks too, but this testosterone-crazed brawler is no Batman to me.

All in all, while I really enjoyed how refreshing the first part of DKR was, this installment was just too over the top for me. I wasn't feeling it, and I definitely wasn't rooting for Miller's "Batman". He's a little too much "Anti" and not enough "hero" for me here. Considering how few contributions of value this issue made to the franchise as a whole, there really wasn't much for me to love about it.

A big whoops and an apology. I began my reviews of DKR when I did because I erroneously believed that DKR Part1 had been published in the same month as Batman #393 (which I had already passed in these reviews). Turns out I was off by four months, and I have yet to review the corresponding issues of Batman and Detective that were published in the same months as the DKR installments.

Sorry for the lack of tight chronology, here.

Batman #395

"The Film Freak"
writer: Doug Moench
pencils/inks: Tom Mandrake
letters: Workman & Costanza
colors: Adrienne Roy
editor: Len Wein

Grade: C

After three months of soft reboot (that's right. I'm sticking to the theory), Moench changes gears and brings back a ton of past continuity all in one issue. We've got a love triangle with Batman, Catwoman, and Nocturna (who may or may not be dead), Bullock checking in on the wife of the security guard who killed himself in Batman #391, new references to the fact that Bullock is obsessed with films and that Jason knows it and hasn't told anyone else, and even the long history between Vicki Vale and Julia Pennyworth is back (sigh). I don't know what changed, but the soft reboot concept appears to be dead as of this issue. Even Jason's abrupt change in personality since the Crisis is now explained away as stemming from puberty/hormones.

And so, with seeming knowledge that whatever he writes for the next few months is just going to get erased with someone else's reboot anyway, Moench devotes this and the next two issues to an abandoned story idea he had a few years back. How do I know?

Exhibit A: Dr. Fang was a waste of a crime boss who was initially clearly depicted as a former actor, though this was later largely ignored. In fact, in his first cameo appearance, it's outright stated that "Dr. Fang" is a role being played by an actor posing as a crime boss.

Exhibit B: "Film Freak" is a role being played by a former actor. He sees his crimes as an elaborate performance, not a money-making venture.

Exhibit C: Dr. Fang shaved his head and turned his collar up like Bela Lugosi's Dracula.

Exhibit D: Look at Film Freak's silhouette in the final panel and tell me it isn't the exact same character.


This is Moench's abandoned plan for Dr. Fang.


The story itself isn't anything special. My two least favorite teams return (Vicki and Julia, Jason and Bullock), we get that weird moment where Batman and Selina are making out in front of Gordan (sorry, I just can't see Bruce showing so little interest in his image/reputation), Film Freak can hold off Batman and Catwoman with no apparent skills/training, and Batman, Robin, Catwoman, Gordan, Bullock, Julia, and Vicki spend days devoting their entire attention to tracking down Film Freak for robbing nine houses and firing into a crowd. This seems like a massive overreaction.

On top of that, Mandrake's art has quite a few low points in this issue, whether it be lousy faces, weird proportions, or lines shooting out of Film Freak's face, which I can only assume were supposed to be dramatic but just end up looking like weird hairs. He looks like a Chia Head.

There's also a lettering mistake at one point, where Vicki and Julia swap lines as Film Freak opens fire on the crowd.

I'd give pages to indicate where all of this happens, but this issue contains no page numbers. I wonder why.

Oh, Jason's girlfriend from the previous issue of Detective is not mentioned in this one, even though we see Jason in school. Maybe she was just around for the convenience of that one story.

One cute minor moment in the story: While Bullock and Jason discuss an auction for rare movie memorabilia, Jason wonders if Burgess Meredith's putty nose will be there.


So I can't say I found much to enjoy about this story. Batman wasn't Batman, Jason still isn't Jason, my least favorite team-ups have returned, and the villain of the story is a formerly thrown away idea that causes a far bigger stir in Gotham than he should.

Batman #396

"Box-Office Smash"
writer: Doug Moench
art: Tom Mandrake
letters: John Costanza
colors: Adrienne Roy
editor: Len Wein

Grade: B-

The conclusion to the Film Freak storyline, and it still feels like Moench is stretching for ideas. The first three pages are wasted on recaps from last issue, the clues to the crimes are clumsy as heck, and I still can't accept that Film Freak only had a grudge against three people in the world after being so spiteful about his failed career. All throughout this issue, Batman, Robin, Catwoman, Bullock, and Gordan are so darn sure that the three people they tracked down from the Freak's past are the only three he could possibly be gunning for. It's just sloppy storytelling.

Mandrake's art is a lot more solid in this issue though, and that makes it more enjoyable. He gives Bullock some great startled expressions.

I'm getting tired of how unprofessional our heroes are behaving lately. The little spat in front of Gordan while lives hung in the balance was really embarrassing. I can see Jason making this error, but Catwoman plays right into it, and Batman doesn't try to get them back on track.


The story in one ridiculously long sentence: 3 pages of recaps, then Film Freak goes after his old friend who talked to Batman, and when Batman comes to check in on him, FF poses as the friend and misdirects Batman (pretty cool stunt stolen from "The List of Adrian Messenger"), while Bullock takes a blow-up still from FF's video message and is able to figure out which movies he'll imitate next by looking at the videos on his shelf, so then Gordan chews out Robin for treating this pursuit as a competition and then calls everyone together, a spat ensues, Gordan chews them all out, Bullock figures out FF's final clue, they break-up the debut of his former director's next film, Batman gets rid of the bomb at the premier at the last second, FF returns to attack Julia again, and Batman stops him.

Confusing? I wouldn't worry. A simpler synopsis would be: "they catch Film Freak." It's really all you need to know.

Batman #397

"Binary Brains"
writer: Doug Moench
art: Tom Mandrake
letters: John Costanza
colors: Adrienne Roy
editor: Len Wein

Grade: A


So much to love about this issue, and so little to dislike.

One of the biggest attractions of this issue is it's characterization of Two-Face. Moench has clearly given him a lot of thought. As we saw last issue (though it's stated more explicitly here), when he flips his coin and gets the good side, that doesn't mean that he won't commit a crime. It means he'll commit a "good" crime against someone who deserves it. What a unique take that more clearly depicts a man who has fallen over the edge. Even Harvey's good side isn't all that good anymore. I felt this new characterization was summed up best by Harvey, himself:

Who do you think I am--the Riddler? This is no GAME I play! This is obsession!

I do what I do because of what fate has made of me--not because I enjoy "matching wits" with the Batman!

Nor do I particularly care to make his life Hell--as the Joker does!

Fate has cursed me with duality--and I decided long ago that it is my ugly, evil side which dominates! Similarly, Batman's fate-given destiny is to oppose evil and ugliness. I act and he reacts!


I also love the idea of Harvey stealing two experimental binary computers that exhibit personality traits akin to superego and id. What an updated and creepy way of conducting his affairs.

Catwoman's personality finally comes through a bit in this issue, and I like what I see. She enjoys being rough around the edges, threatening an informant by parking the front wheel of her bike between his legs and "allowing" Batman to find her by falling asleep in the Batmobile (I can only imagine what security systems she had to side-step to do that), yet there's a very serious, virtuous, and compassionate side of her that comes out while trying to talk Circe out of stripping.

And then there's Circe...wow. Her sultry strip-tease, her creepy hood and mask, and best yet, her response to Catwoman's question of why she sells her body instead of using her brain:

My brain is busy round the clock, Catwoman...thinking, scheming...dreaming endless scenes of revenge.

Mandrake's art just amps this up a thousand-fold. Circe is one incredibly intriguing character. I already hate the idea that she didn't survive the reboot.

Back to Catwoman: Last issue, I asked why she and Batman were only dating at night and on patrol. I'd forgotten that Wein had reversed his ruling on whether or not Catwoman knew his identity. This is the only way they can date if she doesn't know he's Bruce Wayne. Moench really should explain this somewhere.

I'm also starting to enjoy the idea of Robin as a solo character. He's growing on his own, which is something Dick was never able to do until he left Batman and started leading the Titans. Watching Robin do it in the same city, while working on the same cases, and reporting to the same home at night, is intriguing. I would have liked to have seen where this would have gone. Again though, everything gets rebooted in just a few more issues.

Lots more picking up of the old Pre-Crisis continuity in this issue, as well. Acting mayor Skowcraft is back in the plotline, and Lucius running against him as mayor is an intriguing idea. It's really unfair for Moench to start such a great new subplot at this point. Maybe he still doesn't know for sure that a reboot is coming?

I suppose that, if Miller's Year One only came into focus as a potential reboot point in response to all the acclaim that DKR received, then no decision may have been made about a post-crisis reboot at this point. DKR #1 hit stands just last month, so the feedback would only be starting to pour in at this point.

And, speaking of DKR, anyone else notice that Two Face uses the exact same diversion tactic here (two get away cars in different directions) as he did last month in DKR #1? Probably just a coincidence.

Random awesomeness: Robin having to sit on Catwoman's lap in the Batmobile. Hysterical.

Another minor strength of the issue: I love that Batman's first assumption about who placed the black wreathe last issue is incorrect. He logically assumes it's Black Mask, and he's broken out of prison. Circe only occurs to him as a second option. This is one instance in which the plot doesn't indulge in conveniences. Unfortunately, it does in several other places.


And now the minor problems...

Why is Two Face having a discussion about future crimes with his goons while standing in an alley? How is that not stupid to do in Batman's neighborhood?

I hate when characters give impossibly long monologues while performing an action that takes less than a second. In this case, Batman is leaping off the roof of police headquarters while practically delivering a sermon about Two Face to Gordan.

I mentioned earlier how Moench avoided absurd coincidences once earlier in the story, yet, later in the story, Harvey's plan depends upon obtaining a swipe card from the exact same deceased security guard who's wife is currently "seeing" Harvey Bullock. Sure enough, she just happened to be going through his things that evening, shows them to Harvey, they discuss the swipe card and how she should return it to the bank (why wouldn't they have deactivated the code??), and Two Face breaks in a half hour later. Just a little too convenient, especially after Two Face randomly showed up to shake down the very same drug dealer Robin was stalking last issue, and at the exact same time that Robin was stalking him.

Final random observation that has nothing to do with the story, itself: The inside cover ad is for a hand-held Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video game. This is 1986. The first time I ever heard of TMNT was in '87, and I was ahead of most people. I had no idea that anyone other than indie comic lovers knew them at this point. I wonder if this ad ran anywhere else, or if it was specifically targeted for comic buyers.


Anyway, the plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence: Robin brings in the beaten drug dealer from last issue and tells Gordan that Two Face is on the loose, Gordan summons Batman and Catwoman, and they all discuss it, Two Face steals two experimental supercomputers with conflicting "personalities" to inform his criminal exploits, Catwoman pursues Circe to a strip club and has a powerful confrontation with her (why though? She hasn't given any indication of intent to commit a crime, and she has a clean record.), Bruce and Jason have a discussion about Harvey, and though Bruce remains hopeful, he's more realistic about the situation than he's ever been before, the supercomputers direct Two Face to knock off a bank, Lucius Fox informs Bruce that he may run for mayor, Bullock continues to see the widow of the dead security guard in spite of Gordan's advice that it's too soon, Two Face steals the dead security guard's swipe card and uses it to rob the bank, Batman and Robin show up, Two Face and most of his gang escape, and Two Face discovers that Circe wants to meet with him about giving him "a new face."


Great story overall. I just could have done without the amount of unnecessary prominence that random dead security guard is still getting.