Batman #33 Review

A new start.

The question of identity and what it entails has been one of Bruce’s deepest fears. Ever since he got scarred at the age of eight, Batman has reigned heavily over him.

What Snyder has done is show that Bruce is as important as Batman. And neither can exist without the other. The madness that was Bruce’s bloody childhood is soaked up by Batman, while Bruce is the only thing keeping Batman from going over – from becoming inhuman, alienated and an agent of just vengeance and nothing more.

Snyder’s mission in Zero Year seems to have been to show that though over the years, Bruce sinks deeper and deeper in his created image, at the start there was still a proper balance.

But it never ends. It never will.

Capullo may not rank as high as Kubert or Daniel in the areas that they lord over like physical detail or atmosphere, but he understands Gotham and Batman quite well, and is comfortable in the strangely sunny Gotham as well as the dark shady one of Death of the Family.

SPOILERS FOLLOW…………….

We get a brief glimpse of a young Bruce on the operating table, while the older Batman is caught in a maze by the Riddler.

Nygma gives him an out in the form of answering riddles and this is where things get tricky.

That is, until Fox uses the Giant Penny in front of the Wayne Tower to block Riddler’s transmissions.

Batman gets the final problem wrong (or does he?) but as everything is now inactive, Nygma is at the mercy of the caped crusader.

Meanwhile, Gordon has reached the top of a building and struggles to find a way to slow down the jets honing in on Riddler’s signal.

And thus the Bat Signal is born.

As Bruce tries to get the power back on, he finds that Nygma has planted the main electrode on his chest – take it off and Gotham goes dark forever…unless someone else puts it on.

The catch - A new wearer will first have to survive a 1000 volt charge.

Easy, isn’t it?

Riddler tries one last taunt before he is knocked out. Elsewhere we see Fox passed out from the loss of blood to his shoulder and Gordon watching helplessly as the fighter jets prepare to unload their missiles.

In the past, we see Bruce preparing to go through electroshock therapy, even as tears flow down his eyes.

Batman sees that he’s failed as the computer shows no signal and Bruce goes into cardiac arrest. Until he is revived by a returning friend – Alfred.

The city lights are back on and the jets disperse in the confusion.

One month later, Bruce gives another speech about overcoming odds and presenting the new CEO of Wayne Enterprises – Lucius Fox. Not to mention greeting the new commissioner of police – a certain James Gordon.

The Riddler is one of the first incarcerated at Arkham.

A story comes full circle though as Bruce ensures that Gordon gets a new coat exchanged for his old one. In the past, we saw a young Bruce see that Gordon get a coat from a shop-owner not through good will but actually through intimidation and fear though Gordon wasn’t actually a part of it.

This time….he gets the reward for the right reasons.

Bruce tells Alfred that in the past, to get rid of his demons, he tried to forcibly forget he was Bruce Wayne (Alfred’s was his chosen new identity interestingly), but changed his mind at the last moment.

Julie Madison re-enters Bruce’s life and Alfred dreams of a life well lived for the last of the Waynes (this one actually made me tear up a little) – but Bruce puts it succulently and Alfred learns as well.

He belongs to the city now.

SPOILERS END………………

With some great artwork, a humane Batman, nice parallel identity crisis and a well done ending, this was a great finale.

Snyder and Capullo knows what makes Batman tick and while he may not be Morrison’s uberman or Miller’s paranoid warrior, this is someone who knows what sacrifice and revival is.

75 years and counting….to another 75 years of enduring whatever may come.

Why?

Because he’s Batman.

So, I give it 9.5 out of 10.

+Well crafted parallelism

+A nice ending

+Some great moments from the allies

+Excellently done artwork

-The final solution to saving the city was a little under done