Broken Frontier

After last year’s biggest movie, The Dark Knight, DC chose wisely to feature their caped icon in a series of accessible series and OGNs, that pumped up cinema patrons could delve into, forging a new love of comic books. Actually, that only happened on Earth-2. Instead, in our harsh reality, DC killed Batman. Yep, they squashed the golden egg and are now rebuilding it with a new name and a fresh coat of paint on the broken eggshell.

It had been rumoured for some time that Grant Morrison wanted to kill Batman, AKA Bruce Wayne and set him (and other heroes) up as a New God. Apparently the higher ups wisely restrained his imagination somewhat. However, during Final Crisis, Batman was killed, but took out the tall poppy of a reborn Darkseid out at the same time. In ‘truth’, what looked like an open and shut case – Batman zapped by Darkseid’s Omega Beams, Superman cradling the smoking corpse, was anything but. It was yet another so-called ‘comic book death.’ Now Batman is lost in time.

Certainly he will return, but in the meantime we have a new Batman, as set up by the now concluded 3 issue mini-series Battle for the Cowl. Tony Daniel not only drew the series, but wrote it as well. That’s an enormous show of faith on DC’s part. However, twenty years ago they gave a guy called Frank Miller free reign on Batman, and that turned out pretty well.

This isn’t the first time someone other than Mr. Wayne has been the man under the cowl though. In the 1990s saga KnightFall, Bruce had his back broken by the man mountain Bane, and was replaced by a new character called Azrael, and temporarily former Robin, Dick Grayson. Of course, every hero from Superman to Wonder Woman to Captain America to Iron Man have had replacements at some stage.

So what’s up with the new guy who won the Battle for the Cowl then? Well, the first two issues were all set up, but Tony Daniel exceeded my expectations and concocted a well paced tale. The fact that Gotham falls apart at the sudden absence of Bats doesn’t make any sense considering that Bruce has more heroes on the bench than anyone else. However, with the increasing madness of another former Robin, Jason Todd, as well as current Robin Tim Drake both running around in altered Batman costumes, plus the new crime war, it all made for a rousing epic – most of the time, but as a long-time DC lover, I can’t shake the feeling that it’s been done before. And better.

The cameos of the large cast of characters surrounding Batman was done better in Hush. The battle for a piece of the Gotham crime pie was done better in No Man’s Land and War Games. The departure of Bruce Wayne with a madman temporarily replacing him was done better in KnightFall.

When Battle for the Cowl is re-examined in 5, 10 or 15 years it won’t be mentioned in the same breath as those landmark tales. For what is such a pivotal point in the life, or death, of Batman a mere three issue mini, plus a few spin-off one-shots isn’t enough. Batman deserves better.

Daniel’s art never looked better than in the Cowl issues though, and it does have some high points. Tim Drake battling Catwoman in the Cave, dressed in a classic costume of his former mentor in the first issue was one. Jason Todd as a crazed gun toting quasi-Batman trying to pick off Wayne’s comrades in the second was paced well. However the third issue was not the crescendo I had anticipated. Todd became more of the main villain in each issue as Two-Face, Black Mask and Penguin were relegated to the shadows and Damian, Alfred, Dick and Tim scrambled to keep up.

This week’s finale is a letdown. It centres on the three former Robins, leaving Jason to the same fate as Bruce, ie, a watery death of sorts, but it’s the last two pages that will leave fans shaking their heads. DC must know that every comic is a battle for the reader’s dollar, but with the victor of the cowl battle cloaked in shadow, it’s obvious that DC want more of those dollars. We aren’t giving any definitive answers as to who the new Batman is. Most fans can wisely guess it’s Dick Grayson, with Damian as the new Robin, and the teaser art for June’s Batman and Robin would seem to support this.

Despite Dan DiDio implying that it isn’t them, I see that as just an attempt to throw us off the scent. However, it is frustrating that DC think that both Batman and his fans would be satisfied with this attempt at re-invention.

As I write this I’m gazing at the first KnightFall TPB on my bookshelf, and I’m reminded that the 1990s wasn’t all that bad. Next month DC will be bringing us a virtual shelf of new Batman related titles, dedicated to the new Red Robin, the new Batwoman, the new Batman and Robin team and more. Perhaps it’s time DC look back a decade or two and remember that not everything needs to be drastically altered to be improved. It’s only been a matter of weeks, but I miss Bruce Wayne already.