Much like the last two issues, we open with yet another flashback; this time it was a familiar (if not already iconic) scene when a young Bruce Wayne fell in a hole and encountered bats for the first time, prompting his phobia for them. It was a monumental moment for a child, who will one day become a caped crusader, overcoming primal fear of the dark and unknown. Thomas Wayne was quoted saying, "See it in your head, Bruce. See the rope, see yourself climbing out, see yourself being brave."
This act of visualizing carried on as the boy became a man and then the Bat. Bruce stressed that this was how he learned to build on plans especially contingency ones. More than the trauma of seeing his parents killed at gunpoint in one of the alleys of Gotham, or seeing a bat sweep across the window of his private chamber, the memory of being trapped down that hole and hearing his father's voice to be brave, to imagine getting out and then doing it--that singularly propelled him to daring heights as the Dark Knight. It's all about being ready and having plans to outwit and outmaneuver the most intelligent of his foes.
After all, what's a predator without its habits? Batman wasn't just a brute force hammering down on thugs; he's also a well-trained sleuth with a keen eye for detail and patterns in the crime. This time, however, certain things elude him. And when he's fighting a toxin slowly pumping madness into his veins, Batman definitely has a lot to overcome for this story arc alone. He would need a little help from his friends.
Speaking of allies, Commissioner James Gordon set out to find his son, a confirmed megalomaniac psychopath that bore his name. James Jr. has been institutionalized and carefully monitored for years after he was revealed to be nothing like the man who rasied in. James Jr. was sadistic and merciless and at some point during The Black Mirror arc, he even wanted to poison an infant nutritional facility. Because, you know, if you want to prove you're one malicious sick fuck, you always must go after the innocent children. This issue featured a more mellowed out J.J, however. He didn't try to reverse his medication anymore to 'increase his psychopathic tendencies' while he's...I don't know, a clerk in some shop, in charge with packages?
It didn't matter to his dad; at this point, Commissioner Gordon has given up hope that his son can ever be cured. His psychopathy can only be prevented through his medication and a current banal routine, but he was still never going to be the young man his father hoped would inherently pursue goodness. That didn't mean James Sr. would diminish the real progress his son made, even if meeting said young man was only possible right now because Batman required J.J's knowledge of the city's hidden pathways that BMWL and the Grim Knight are after. To be honest, I don't know what James Jr. is even doing in this issue aside from the fact that Snyder and Jock featured him on their previous collaboration. In the end, the Grim Knight wanted the commissioner, not his son. After all, it was stated in the last issue that Batman used his DNA and that of the other older man whom he trusted aside from Alfred. I actually lost track of the story's momentum because this issue also has another cameo appearance that I felt run on for too long that necessary.
I'm talking about the Penguin. While it always delights me to see Oswald Cobbleplot hobbling his way into the pages to be an utter nuisance of a menace, I didn't see the point of BMWL having that big monologue explaining to the readers that another version of Bruce Wayne became rivals with Cobblepot instead of merely stopping said crime lord's illegal activities. In the end, BMWL made yet another example of this Bruce Wayne much like with the others. Is there something particularly more significant to this Bruce alter than the last two? Are we going to see Penguin again later? That goes the same for James Jr.? There are only four more issues left for this series, so anything could happen, and there may be a lot more in store. However, with this break in the main narrative that contributed nothing except some action sequence whose violence felt somewhat lacking, I daresay this issue is the weakest instalment so far.
The plot was definitely meandering for this issue. What saves it from being completely dull of a read was the grand reveal at the end which supposedly has to be a game-changer, and I want to see what direction Snyder wants to go for. Not only has Batman succumbed to the toxin, but the Joker got away from Alfred's operating table in spite of all the sedatives. With the Joker, he always requires even the most pragmatic of readers some hefty suspension of belief. I can excuse Joker once more eluding capture because he is not a man of flesh and bones but more of a mythic bogeyman. I think it's fair at this point to subscribe now to that belief.
In spite of how underwhelming the overall content of this installment, I'm still looking forward as to how this all ties up and how exactly Batman plans to visualize himself climbing out of this clustefuck of a hole.
RECOMMENDED: 7/10
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