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BATMAN 675 Review.

2008-04-29

BATMAN # 675.

WRITTER: Grant Morrison

PENCILLER:Ryan Benjamin.

Plot Synopsis, WARNING SPOILERS!

Bruce Wayne is having dinner with his current girlfriend Jezebel Jet, but before long the conversation turns to Jez demanding an explanation for Bruce's continued disappearances and broken dates, and she vocally questions whether this relationship has legs. Before this can come to a head the dinner is interrupted by a group of freedom fighters from Jezebel's country intending to take her hostage, led by a blind nine-eyed man who can apparently see through his fingertips.

We cut to the League Of Assassins HQ in the Himalayas where Talia Al Ghul is overseeing her son Damian's archery training by master archer Merlyn, and discussing the Jet-Wayne relationship, and commenting that Damian belongs with her father Bruce Wayne. Merlyn asks her whether she wishes Jezebel assassinated.

Back at the restaurant Bruce Wayne fakes being knocked unconscious and nine-eyed man prepares to spirit Jezebel away.  Meanwhile above Gotham Nightwing and Robin discuss Bruce's increasingly erratic behavior while taking down the ‘Ray Gun Raider'.

Merlyn returns from his presumed assassination mission, and tells Talia that terrorists have kidnapped Bruce and Jezebel, and the three set off to intervene.

In the darkened kitchen Bruce Wayne brutally and uncharacteristically sadistically subdues the Nine-eyed man burning the eyes on his fingers off with hot oil, and pounding him with his fists while asking him about the mysterious ‘Black Glove.' Unfortunately Jezebel walks in and sees this just as the Batsignal flashes in a window. A still enraged Bruce tells her to leave, and that she was right about his shallowness. Jezebel almost speechless, says it all makes sense, and cradles Bruce's head and reveals that she now knows that ‘Bruce Wayne Is Batman.'

 

This was a slightly schizoid issue, and a bit or a momentum killer after the absolute brilliance of the last three issues. This issue didn't seem to know whether it was a filler issue, or a progression issue. There was a lot of seeming filler in it, but the end was just outta the blue and done like it was a crucial turning point. Half way through I was expecting Merlyn to kill Jezebel though, so that's me. I think the real thing is Morrison got us so amped up with the last three issues, and then there was the delay and it became two months later, so anything apart from a grand slam was going to be a let down. So be it.

I'm now 90 % sure that the same process that activated the three Batmen has also activated some subconscious trigger to push Bruce over the edge; from the heh, heh,heh's we saw in the flashback in 673,to his rage at the end with Jezebel to the brutal (even for Bruce) handling of the nine-eyed man. I'm guessing the folder the third Batman burnt last issue has the only copy of the activation and deactivation triggers to stop this. Though don't quote me on that. I've been wrong on where Morrison's going before.

It was also fun to see Talia acting like such an overprotective mother, she's just so brilliantly unbearable with the whole 'wonder child' thing that you can only conclude this was the intention. I know some readers have real problems with this characterization, but it makes perfect sense to me. Talia's always been a prototypical daddy's girl, a spoiled child treated as a princess by her father Ra's al Ghul. Which is of course why she can never really be together with Bruce, she's too conflicted between her feelings between the two. Now saying all that about her spoilt she is, Ra's loves her as a child, but also would've preferred a son-which is why he wants Bruce to marry her. Now with her father in the booby-hatch at Arkham and with a son she's treating Damian with all the overbearing adulation she never quite got herself. This is actually very good consistent characterization by Morrison.

On to the negatives.

One thing I didn't like was the how the issue started with Bruce having dinner. With all that was going on last issue, I expected Bruce to be obsessively analyzing things in the cave, with Alfred having to remind him of the date. Would've only taken a page, and been a nice old school narrative tip of the hat.

I'm not sure I like that The League of Assassins has to get involved in this-It seemed a kinda reaching to include them to me. Yes I know that Talia wants Damian's acceptance by her father, but this doesn't seem to be the story to do it in.

I know Morrison likes to tie everything together as one mosaic, but not every issue from earlier in his run has to be pivotal. There is such a thing as red herring clues.

I'm also still not a fan of the ten, sorry nine, eyed man. The character's still lame to me. All Grant really did was provide him with a sort of ninja makeover. Sometimes I wish Grant'd just realize that not all characters are worth resurrecting just to prove how much continuity he knows. There's a reason some characters were buried. I like the silver age in some respects-but some stuff was just bad.

Jez finding out about Bruce was a little too easy wasn't it? Where was the logic? Her first thought should have been Bruce has 'roid rage.

Sure Bruce just beat the hell outta a guy, but how does that automatically equate to Batman? He wasn't even in costume. Sure it was odd seeing him destroy Nine eyes, but Bruce is fairly athletic anyway, maybe he just lost it. The next time I beat down a guy I guess people will think I'm Batman.

Jezebel Jet's appalling name is silly bond girlish, (but nothing compared to the queen Silver St.Cloud), and this may be why I don't react to the character as well. Jez still seems a cipher to me, a collection of attributes meant to convey depth, but not amounting to the sum of her parts. Exotic, check. Leader of another country, check. Attractive, check. Not shallow, and doesn't buy into Bruce Wayne's over the top facade, double check. The first two remind a little too much of the Marvel character Silver Sable.

There's certainly not been enough depth and connection between her and Bruce that he'd 'retire' for her, or even marry her (as a lot of fans have been speculating). There's certainly not been enough lead in to have her suddenly put together that Bruce and Batman are one and the same.  Also it's not like this is a big revelation, I mean the aforementioned Silver St.Cloud certainly figured it out, then there's Shondra Kinsolving, Sasha Bordeaux...

The art was a mixed bag for me, Benjamin seems to draw females well enough (his Talia was nice and not ridiculously curvaceous) but his male characters' faces are far too angular and old looking; Bruce looked like Marv from Sin City in a suit, and Tim and Dick were just wrong and looked like they were over thirty . rather than 25ish and 16.

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