Batman #38 Review

Change is constant.

Batman is facing a new Joker and failing – as Scott Snyder pits the Dark Knight against insidious foes beyond his comprehension.

With some enriching and thought-provoking dialogue, alongwith Capullo’s beautiful pencils, Snyder is able to put forward a solid entry in the Endgame saga.

SPOILERS FOLLOW…………

There is an idea of the duality of nature in play here – from the Joker to Batman, good to bad and so on.

But Snyder juxtaposes change on top of duality. And therein may lie a clue about the current arc.

Batman, with Duke Thomas in tow, arrives in Foundry Square to rescue Gordon. Bruce muses that this is the only place in Gotham since inception that has resisted change, treating it like a pariah unlike the rest of the city – until now.

You can see Snyder’s ruminating on the change in status quo between Batman and Joker. They’ve played the same game so many times but this one feels more deadly – something’s changed, broken.

They find Gordon with an axe in his chest even as he mumbles that he shot the Joker. When he turns, it’s Julia Pennyworth’s time to make an appearance – apparently she left the cave in the custody of the recovering Alfred.

Apparently, the virus also leads to a slow death, which means Bruce is on a ticking clock now. Contacting Dick Grayson, he learns that Joker’s blood has a variation of the Lazarus Pits rejuvenation formula but isn’t from the Pits.

Combining this data with the one Julia found, it is seen to be exact inverses – the virus leading to death and Joker's blood to life. As Batman processes this, he is overrun by the infected denizens of the city.

Managing to fortify himself in a tank, he combs through the database for anyone linked to such biological tinkering and finds three names. One, Karl Helfren, was killed during Zero Year. Dr Hugo Strange (haven’t seen him that much in the New 52) is MIA while Paul Dekker was in Arkham under Eric Border’s care.

Tracking Dekker down, Bruce is cornered and forced to listen to his ramblings about eternal life, granted to a few through the centuries including Vandal Savage (one of the first humans on the planet), Ra’s Al Ghul (courtesy the Lazarus Pits) and…..the Joker?

Julia meanwhile does the same background check as Gordon and finds Joker’s face plastered everywhere through history, even as Dekker injects a formula given to him by the Joker – decaying him as he falls and becomes fodder for the infected horde below.

With no road left, Bruce has to turn to the only possible ally – the Court of the Owls.

Bruce is in our position here – unable to grasp what is exactly going on, hoping that everything is a ruse, that there’s a way to stop Joker this time just like always.

There is a lot to love here (and a lot to read, Snyder really overdoes the dialogues) as we learn so much about Gotham and myths. It feels natural that the Court will get involved, given they have been the silent guardians of the city for so long.

But again, there are several convenient moments here that detract from the story. Where did Julia come from, tracking down Dekker and biggest of all – what was the context for that swimming Joker scene? Is it a metaphor, a real scene or ……………..

In the backup, we learn the tale of Cassidy. Apparently, while in the army, he ‘found’ a secret plot to train them all into becoming Batmen – intent on creating a dictatorship over the planet. When he complained, he was cast out of the army and his ‘pleas’ fell on deaf ears, forcing him to kill.

The Joker visited him in jail and revealed that he was the original Batman, but left the tyrannical rule of the Batmen to oppose it. It was his batarang that ‘revealed’ the truth to Cassidy – now it’s his time to help the Joker stop the rule of the Batmen.

Even as they move on, the doctor hears a laugh – is it the Joker? Sam Keith’s pencils bring a different but welcome viewpoint from Capullo’s work.

Fun Facts……………….

Hugo Strange is a major adversary of Batman, with his most noted appearance being in the Arkham City game. His best comic book appearance is in the Prey arc.

Paul Dekker’s alter-ego is Crazy Quilt (hence the quilt seen strapped to his naked body). He is an on-off blind villain and artist who famously almost beat Jason Todd to death once.

SPOILERS END……………….

Exploring the ideas of duality and change, Snyder crafts a thought provoking tale forcing us to question what’s real and what’s not.

A few contrived circumstances aside, this is a solid entry that continues the mystery of ‘Who is Joker?’

The artwork as always is absolutely delightful, and it feels like a shame that so much dialogue obscures it.

So, I give it 8.5 out of 10.

+Some great themes

+Awesome artwork

+Enriching dialogue

-Contrived circumstances