Batman #41 Review

A trick.

Death is an intriguing aspect of the comic book universe. Due to the popularity of certain characters, the passing of a mantle is most often temporary. And so it is with Batman. Bruce Wayne’s tragedy and mission have given us a definite version of what the caped crusader should look like.

By declaring him dead or missing for a considerable period and making someone other Batman is always a controversial move. But keeping an open mind is also a good step. One of the biggest triumphs of Dick Grayson’s run as Batman was that he was never the son of Gotham that Bruce was – always an outsider looking in. And it gave us some good stories.

So when Scott Snyder decided to give Bruce a break from the cape and tights for a few months, lets read and decide what we think of the new RoboBat. Never judge a book by its cover.

SPOILERS FOLLOW…………

We open with a philosophical note from Geri Powers, CEO of Power International who deliberates whether it is us who decide if a new object is used for good or bad, or whether there is some inherent nature of that object. And there’s a cryptic shot of a man sitting on a park bench.

Coming to Gotham, we see the GCPD with Maggie Sawyer as the commissioner, fighting an energy based organism.

RoboBat is fully operational at this moment, dropping down from a giant Bat blimp (reminiscent of Zero Year) with Julia Perry (aka Pennyworth) serving as his support.

The RoboBat wonders whether the creature recognizes that strangeness of the Bat signal shining down on it instead of up into the sky – but then, it has been a crazy few months.

Going three months back, we see Geri offer Jim Gordon the role of the new Batman based on his experience working with the original one, supplemented by his marine background. More than smarts or ability, it’s the familiarity with Gotham’s darkness Jim brings to the game that puts him on top.

Geri’s angles are still to be revealed but it does seem like she earnestly wants to see a Batman roaring into the fight for Gotham’s soul, while also making a buck.

Talking with Bullock, Jim ruminates whether being Batman could be better with the visible support from the GCPD and such. Whether he can show that the law actually works. Harvey is not buying it – but things change when they notice one of the candidates for the mantle coming to the roof to have a video call with his baby son.

Back in the present, Jim in the RoboBat suit notices that the creature is not responding to EMP attacks and as such, is being controlled from afar – most likely by a person using this attack as a diversion. 

He locates a member of the Whisper Gang, Precious Precious, who’s staging a home invasion on one of the wealthiest inhabitants of that locality – Dodger Valera, who Jim remembered before as a baseball legend of Gotham.

Jumping back, we see Jim’s first impressions of the new Batman suit (which is a clever nod to the critics of it) and his first meeting with the support staff - Julia Perry, who is presumably working undercover for Alfred and Daryl Gutierrez, the designer of the suit. 

There are some nice nods to the Batman RIP arc (red and yellow colors of the Batman of Zurr-Eh-Ah) and the different costumes wore by Bruce throughout his comic book history.

Coming back to the present, Precious is rendered unconscious by Jim Gordon, who has ejected from his suit. We see how different things are now – Jim in the Bat suit salutes the officers of the GCPD and is saluted back, and then he goes to his penthouse cave.

At the park shown in the beginning, a man walks by the shadowy figure sitting on the bench and pauses, inquiring whether he is Bruce Wayne.

I liked the comparisons between the hero and the villain. Both are using diversions to achieve their ends – Jim Gordon as the new Batman, and Precious as an Energy Creature. But while Jim is actually trying to live up to the name, the latter is just lights and tech – ironically the very thing which he accuses Jim of being.

There are also moments of humor in this title. Julia telling Jim to think Bat-thoughts as he goes into battle and Harvey gifting him a RoboBat-sized trench coat are two of the highlights.

The only thing that didn’t work for me was the villain. He was obviously a plot device, but they could have handled it better with a more convincing deduction of what the true nature of the threat was.

Also, it's a good move by Snyder with his reveal that Bruce is alive in the very next issue after he was declared dead as Batman, if that is the case here. It would be intriguing to see Bruce supporting Jim in the role of Batman instead of taking back the mantle right now.

SPOILERS END………….

A good solid start to a controversial change in status quo as the inheritor of the mantle juggles with keeping the light of the Bat burning and personal demons.

The artwork by Capullo is solid and it’s so good to see the consistency of the team on this book.

So, I give it 8.5 out of 10.

+Engaging themes

+Good humor

+The new Batman works

+The artwork

+The end reveal

-A convoluted threat