It’s a busy night for the Batman Family. Having been tipped off that Police Commissioner Vandal Savage and Mayor Pamela Isley have declared war on them, the race is on to protect their secrets.
The plan is that if the police get too close the booty is blown up, while items secured will be stored by Azrael’s cult until things calm down.
Damian isn’t happy to be, in his eyes, relegated to back-up so, after a talk with Imaginary Alfred, Bruce changes tack.
Steph, meanwhile, is wondering why they’re one Robin down.
Batman seemingly isn’t going to interrupt Tim’s break, but surely the most responsible of Robins will know he’s needed.
As for Batman, he’s ready to jump in when one of his protégés needs a hand.
What a load of bollards… are we really meant to believe Batman can pepper the streets of Gotham with metal rods, ready to pop up and wreck police cars? To be fair to writer Matt Fraction, he does have the Bat Teens as incredulous as me.
Anyway, this is a pretty diverting issue, with plenty of chunky character moments and loads of action. Steph’s irritation at her ex-boyfriend taking an indefinite break to play house with his insipid young man is a nice touch. Duke’s stoicism is good to see, heck, it’s good to see him full stop, he’s a character with potential who should be around more. And Damian… actually, I don’t know why he’s sulking about being assigned as rescue guy, that’s a massive level of trust his pop’s putting in him.
As for Batman, I love how non-intense he is under Fraction, but conjuring up a walking, talking shade of Alfred makes him look like a Fruit Loop.
Batgirl Barbara Gordon never gets into costume, so enjoy Jorge Jiménez and Tomeu Morey’s cover illo and then forget it. The issue is important to Babs, though, as it sets up the coming Barbara Gordon: Breakout mini-series.
One thing I don’t get is how Savage knows where the Bat-Bunkers are.
Ryan Sook guests on the art and his pages are typically lovely. His elegant figures dance across the pages, the vehicles zoom convincingly through the streets. Facially, nobody looks generic. And I never before realised how much I wanted to see a Batcave changing room. Every page, coloured by Morey and lettered by Clayton Cowles, is a pleasure to look at and read.
The basic premise of this story, though, I have real difficulty with. How could criminal caveman Vandal Savage, surely a known figure in the DC Universe, be put in charge of Gotham law enforcement? Who would vote for Poison Ivy to be Mayor? Why does Batman not have Superman or similar zoom through the city and clear his mini-Batcaves? I realise we’re in a world of super-powered beings and general weirdness, but there has to be an internal logic, and two supervillains at the top of Gotham’s tree feels as stupid as the No Man’s Land’s abandonment of Gotham citizens by the US government.
Why do so many DC writers resist just using villains as villains? In Superman we’ve recently had Lex Luthor desperate to be Superman’s Pal. In Justice League Unlimited a whole bunch of bad guys – including Luthor – are offered a chance to be probationary heroes.
Maybe it’s just me?
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
I don’t know, man… seems to me that putting supervillains in positions of power in government IS using villains as villains. I mean, look around! Government is literally what villains do these days.
Similarly, I can no longer be incredulous at these stories in a “who would vote for that” way, because again… look around.
I’m a few months behind on Batman, but I’m looking forward to reading this one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well yes Rob, but I need escapism, and heroes fighting villains in a more traditional way would hit the spot nicely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, there’s the problem! I’m looking for cathartic release.
LikeLike
I don’t care for Savage and Isley’s roles, either and I find it tiresome that it’s such an obvious political commentary.
There have always been robber barons…. This isn’t a new concept. I just don’t care for the super villains to be so pedestrian in their villainy.
Tom King has done the same thing with the Patriarch in Wonder Woman.
Not the writer you want to mimic.
-Matthew Lloyd
LikeLiked by 2 people
My problem is that the ‘robber barons’ generally make themselves out to be lambs, and the wolf‘s clothing is only revealed after they are in office – the likes of Vandal Savage and Poison Ivy, goodness me, there must be enough people in the regular Gotham citizenry who know they’re just dodgy, to say the least.
LikeLike
Poison Ivy as mayor actually feels “organic” to me. If you are reading her book, it seems like a good progression of the character. Plus, which side of the law she is on is always shifting.
Savage is too good at covering his tracks. For years, Superman couldn’t nail Lex because he used his power, money, and influence to ensure he came out clean. Now imagine having literal millennia to perfect that.
Both of them being in power also speaks to the underlying truth about Gotham: It’s corrupt. It always has been, it always will be.
As for why Flash or whomever didn’t clean everything out in seconds I think comes down to two things.
1. Batman has made it abundantly clear that the others aren’t welcome in Gotham unless it’s with his express permission. And no one wants to cross Batman.
2. They know Batman is playing the long game. Savage’s time in Gotham has ingrained him into the very fabric of the city (legal and not). His entire network needs to be rooted out, too. It’s why Barbara was purposefully caught.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What’s Ivy’s book actually about? All this solo stories with Harley in the 80pp giants means I can’t face reading a comic with her name in the title.
I remember when Vandal Savage was the big bad business boss in Action Comics, just pre-Crisis. I suppose the mayor stuff could be seen as a similar take on it.
LikeLike
honestly, in my opinion, her book is fantastic. Even now, it still contains some level of body horror, and it’s mostly her efforts to try and deal with her homicidal urges in a healthy (ish) manner. Also, she has a new girlfriend that Harley likes too, mostly, (Janet from HR), has deepened her connection to the Green and the Gray (or been impacted by the latter at least), and tried to stay out of Batman’s way.
HQ does make occasional appearances but never for long.
LikeLike
example of the body horror: early in the run, to deal with a certain plant based villain significant in her life, she…eats him.
it has consequences.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wood she Rue the day? I must check this out, thank you.
LikeLike