Scott Snyder has been on some kind of run
ever since he took on DC’s flagship Batman
title back in 2011. First, he gave us the inspired Court of the Owls/Night
of the Owls storylines, which traded in stunning atmospherics and an inspired
revelation. Now, he’s giving us a Joker story every bit as demented and twisted
as it is steeped in comic book lore. That shows no signs of abating in this,
the terrifying, thrilling penultimate installment of Death of the Family.
THE REST OF THIS REVIEW CONTAINS FULL SPOILERS FOR BATMAN #16:
The Joker’s been on a mission in Death of the Family – a mission to prove
to Batman that he will always be weaker as long as he has allies. As long as he has
friends, co-workers and protégés he will always have a weakness, and it’s a
point that Joker attempts to prove in his usual twisted, insidious way. As
Batman makes his way through the long, torturous death trap that Arkham Asylum
has become, you get the feeling that Joker knows none of the challenges he
encounters are really there to stop him – just to wear him down as he
approaches the final room where the Clown Prince of Crime awaits.
That doesn’t mean the journey isn’t worth
it, of course. How could a journey that features a flaming horse charging at
Batman ever not be worth it? Snyder also gives us Batman at his most badass: he
dispatches of second-tier villains like Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow and Clayface with
ruthless, determined efficiency as awesome as it is kind of terrifying.
Sometimes, it’s possibly even too macabre (though I don’t think Scott Snyder
knows what ‘too macabre’ is, which isn’t a bad thing) – the Dollmaker’s
incredibly disturbing human-centipede-esque tableau had me raising my eyebrow
when Joker insinuated it was full of live people. I’m going to assume I
misunderstood that. Feel free to correct me in the comments with what the hell
that actually was.
When Batman finally reaches the final room
in Joker’s sick gauntlet, he comes upon possibly the weirdest panel Snyder and
artist Greg Capullo have ever constructed: a throne room, where on one side of
the throne stand Riddler, Two-Face and Penguin and on the other side stand some
poor souls dressed up as members of the Justice League, including a short-ass
Superman, overweight Wonder Woman and sad-looking Aquaman. Joker stands in the
middle in his janitor uniform, gleefully evil as always. I won’t go through too
much of what happens there (because so much is still to be revealed in the next
issue it would be silly to speculate) except to say that Batman is given a
choice between letting the members of the Bat-Family die or sitting in what
amounts to an electric chair, killing himself to save the members of the
Family. He takes the chair, of course, but I think we all know Batman would
have a contingency plan, and having read Snyder before, he’s buried a clue to
it in earlier issues.
What’s interesting here is Snyder has taken
a fairly tried-and-true trope – the hero has to choose between their own death
and the death of someone close to them – but he’s invested with so much
crackling imagery and dialogue that it feels like something brand new and
something classic all at the same time. That’s been a running theme throughout Death of the Family – the Joker has
taken the time to go back and recreate some of his classic crimes – and it
really gives this particular arc a sense of importance. If I was to make minor
criticisms, its that this feels like it didn’t really follow up on the last
panel of Batman #15, where the Joker’s relationship to Batman was portrayed as
something very different to what’s come before, and the final twist of the
issue is a little obvious and sudden (unless you’ve been reading the tie-ins) –
but those are minor concerns in what amounts to another terrific thrill ride.
Greg Capullo’s art remains stellar, in
particular the way he draws Joker a little more abstractly than everyone else –
I’m also a huge fan of the gruesome images of flies buzzing around Joker’s
exposed, wounded face. It’s easy to miss them the first time around, but my
lord that’s a disgusting image, and its one Capullo doesn’t let up on.
I don’t have a hell of a lot to say about
the back-up story, except that I really like the moment when Two-Face succumbs
to Joker’s traps of logic, and I really, really don’t want to see what’s on
that dish Joker serves to Batman at the end of that issue.
Overall, this is another blisteringly good
issue of the best comic available right now, bar none. Snyder is crafting his
second classic Batman tale, and if he sticks the landing it might be one of the
best Batman stories of all time.
BATMAN
#16 SCORES:
23/25
No comments:
Post a Comment