Posts: 1099 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Joined: 29.07.05
by Nathaniel Ruff (aka Binker on the forums)
BATMAN #672
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Tony Daniel and Jonathan Glapion
Cover by Daniel
Edited by Mike Marts
PLOT:
The Gotham Police HQ is taken over by the mysterious Third Batman who begins to kill cops, working his way towards Jim Gordon as he tells his tale and waits for his prize: the life of the Dark Knight, in exchange for the lives of the precinct cops. What dark secret from Batman's past lies behind the creation of the Impostor Batmen? Guest starring Bat-Mite!
REVIEW:
After two issues of Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul, we're back to Grant Morrison's run of Batman with a new arc that returns to the storyline that has popped up in his run, and last appeared in Batman #665, half a year ago: the Three Ghosts of Batman. So with no point of mentioning the Ra's arc, nor the Batmen of All Nations that occurred before that and after #666, let's take a look at this issue.
This will be a short review. Remembering what happened last time wasn't at all hard to do, until I realized that this Third Batman was seen before, something I didn't remember. This issue was a bit straight forward, I'm guessing so it can get to #673. The point of this issue was for, and this is a spoiler if you didn't know, the Third Batman to shoot Batman in the chest where his heart stops at the end. I know; if you remember, Batman faced a similar near death experience in the "Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" arc. The only reason why I'm not complaining is because of what #673 is promising from its solicited synopsis. So this was pretty straight forward so it can get to the end, and then to #673. But we did get Bat-Mite in the last page. And "Zur En Arrh" reappears (in the Silver Age, it meant a planet where Batman got the powers of Superman. It reappeared as a graffiti sign in Batman #655). That's all I can say, and I'm complaining in any way, which is why my rating is what it is.
RATING: Yay
Next Issue: Batman's heart has stopped, and now in a coma...
You don't get it, boy... this isn't a mudhole... it's an operating table.
(crack!)
And I'm the surgeon.
- Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
Posts: 1099 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Joined: 29.07.05
by Nathaniel Ruff (aka Binker on the forums)
BATMAN #673
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Tony Daniel & Jonathan Glapion
Cover by Daniel
Edited by Mike Marts
Special Thanks to Bill Finger
PLOT:
Batman's body lies near death in a heart-stopped coma. Meanwhile, his delirious mind travels back to a defining adventure in the life of young Bruce Wayne...the hunt for his parents' killer! This special flashback tale also revisits Batman's life-changing Thogal ritual in the caves of Nanda Parbat!
REVIEW:
Last issue, last review, was short. Not bad, because last issue was a bit straight forward. The ending was what last issue had to get through, and after I read the plot for #673, there was no way getting to that point than Batman being shot. Nuff said. And you know what? Here is #673.
This issue was written, and drawn, very well and was also given a vibe many would remember from Batman: Year Two. Because Grant Morrison is, and you can't deny it from his run on Batman, a fan of the classics, we see Batman in his early days wearing his classic 1939 costume. And as a bonus, drives the Whirly Bat in the flashback. Batman meeting his parents' killer has been done before, and while I never read the old Silver Age story nor even Year Two, I know about them enough to realize that Morrison used bits of both to make this story. Joe Chill realizing that he made Batman by figuring out that Bruce Wayne was under that mask, as well as Batman having the gun Chill used and about to use against Chill this time, is what I remember from those previous stories. And those are in this issue. In case anyone ever wondered; Bat-Mite does appear, but as a cameo. My guess is that he was used to show that Batman was about to enter the afterlife, which explains what we see here. So this was a fine, well done, issue by Morrison. Oh, and umm...Batman lives. Duh!
Overall, Morrison brings in another issue under his run of Batman that continues to be good. I know many fans will love to see the retro, '30s Batman costume in modern art yet again, as well as man people liking the credit to Bill Finger, even from those who have the "Raise the Finger!" banners as their forum signatures. Well, at the end, the Third Batman brings back out Batman. And even though he did a good thing keeping our Dark Knight alive, keep in mind that the Third Batman is the bad guy and has scrapped Bats in a torture chair. Let's wait and see what comes next!
RATING: Yay
Next Issue: Batman finds himself in a torture chamber!
You don't get it, boy... this isn't a mudhole... it's an operating table.
(crack!)
And I'm the surgeon.
- Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
RE: Batman 672-675 Review Thread -
Posted on 28-02-2008 22:07
Posts: 1099 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Joined: 29.07.05
by Nathaniel Ruff (aka Binker on the forums)
BATMAN #674
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Tony Daniel & Jonathan Glapion
Cover by Daniel
Edited by Mike Marts
PLOT:
More secrets of Batman are revealed! Batman finds himself in a torture chamber facing the last and deadliest of the three Batman replacements…and finally learns the tragic story of how they came to be! With a shocking appearance by Bat-Mite, this tale leads to more revelations about the young Batman's participation in a bizarre isolation experiment as we learn how the terrifying consequences of his actions will alter the Dark Knight's life in the months to come.
REVIEW:
Morrison brought in another issue under his run of Batman that continued to be good. I knew many fans would love to see the retro, '30s Batman costume in modern art yet again, as well as many people liking the credit to Bill Finger, even from those who have the "Raise the Finger!" banners as their forum signatures. Well, at the end, the Third Batman brought back Batman from his near-death experience, and let's what's next in #674.
Grant Morrison surely can do a very good Batman story, and this is one of them. I like writers who get inside the character's brain and flesh out who and what he or she is during a situation. Whether life threatening or not. And Morrison does that, or better yet he continues to do that, with Batman. Reading Batman's thought patterns as the Third Batman talks, trying to piece together what has happened before with the new information we learn today. I loved reading that in these pages. It reminded me of those shows and movies where I get goose bumps and choke up when the pieces are about to come together for the revelation to solve the case. Many writers have always done great jobs showcasing the detective side of Batman, and Morrison is no exception. One of the things we should take note is that everything is a clue, even in Batman’s past. Very much like another great Batman story in animated form instead of comic form: Mask of the Phantasm. This all will lead up to what we want to know in Batman R.I.P.
Speaking of new information; we do get some in this issue. For one, the three Batmen we have been seeing in these issues happened to be the three cops trained to replace Batman if he ever died. The doctor in charge was Doctor Simon Hurt, and only two men were revealed: Muller the first one and Branca the second one (the Bane-looking one). Leaving the third one still a mystery. Well actually, Batman remembers the Lane case, and maybe Lane (who was a cop too) is the Third Batman. Only time will tell. Either way, there are cops in the GCPD who know about it. And one of the cops, Farelli, blames Batman for all of it. Again, I believe everything is a clue to this entire mystery.
Overall, this was another very good issue of Batman. Many things were shown here, as well as a guest star in the form of Bat-Mite. Batman's brief flashbacks and memories, together with the old and new information from this issue, are all clues for this Third Batman, what's going on here, and in turn the storyline we want to read: Batman R.I.P. Speaking of which, we got one more issue to go before R.I.P. begins. So let's all wait and see what #675 brings to the table!
RATING: Yay
Next Issue: Will the Bat be ready for the devastating crossroads ahead?
You don't get it, boy... this isn't a mudhole... it's an operating table.
(crack!)
And I'm the surgeon.
- Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
RE: Batman 672-675 Review Thread -
Posted on 10-03-2008 21:51
Posts: 1099 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Joined: 29.07.05
By Nathaniel Ruff (also known as Binker and Nate on many forums)
BATMAN #675
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Tony Daniel & Jonathan Glapion
Cover by Daniel
Edited by Mike Marts
PLOT:
Ra's al Ghul successfully resurrected. The impostor Batmen running rampant through Gotham City. The cold, harsh reality of heart-breaking death. Batman has confronted all of these obstacles as the stalwart hero he is…but will the Bat be ready for the devastating crossroads ahead?
REVIEW:
#674 was another very good issue of Batman. Many things were shown there, as well as having Bat-Mite as a guest star. Batman's brief flashbacks and memories, together with the old and new information from that issue, were all clues for this Third Batman. All hopefully setting up from what happened there, for #675, and then the storyline we're dying to read: Batman R.I.P. So with one more issue to go before that event, let's check #675 out, shall we?
With issue #675, everything from Grant Morrison's run leading towards the talked about Batman event; Batman R.I.P., has now been set up. We have Talia and Damian returning, a little bit on Robin and Nightwing where they discuss what happened to Batman in Nanda Parbat from the "Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" storyline, and Jezebel Jet now knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman. I feel though that Jezebel should've been more developed as a character before this, or even the upcoming R.I.P. But maybe we shouldn't think about this all that much. If I remember correctly, Silver St. Cloud was the same as Jezebel here. And let's face it, every woman in Bruce's life has experienced something like this. But with Grant's writing, and add that if what has happened to Bruce Wayne and Batman since Grant started his run, leading up to R.I.P. with her in the mix, I think we can accept it.
I don't what else to say about this issue, other than overall; it was exciting and now with #675, everything from "Batman and Son", to the "Batman of All Nations", to finally with the "Three Ghosts of Batman" that ended with this issue, we are now ready for Batman R.I.P.! So what will happen? Bruce has fallen in love with Jezebel, and I know with the notion that Bruce might retire from Batman because of that love is something we've seen before, I believe Grant will pull it off in a fresh way. But with Talia and Damian returning so they can be in the mix, add that with Nightwing and Robin (well more so from Robin as said in the solicits from his book which I might review as well), R.I.P. could go anywhere. Can't wait and see!
RATING: Yay
Next Issue: Batman R.I.P.!
You don't get it, boy... this isn't a mudhole... it's an operating table.
(crack!)
And I'm the surgeon.
- Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
BATMAN: Yesterday, Today, & Beyond, all of it's sub-sites, or hosted sites are in no way associated, or affiliated with DC Comics, Time Warner or any of it's divisions.
Items cataloged in merchandise sections are not for sale. The downloading of video game ROMs is for backup and testing purposes only. If you do not own the actual game, the ROM is to be deleted from your hard drive within 24 hours.
Any money that may be made from Amazon Associates, advertisements, or affiliate programs will be contributed to the maintaining of this website, to provide the fans with the best that we can offer.
Home
