Bruce Wayne has escaped prison, and is preparing to take down Derek Powers and find Harley’s missing daughter, while Powers sends Terry McGinnis to take him out in Batman: Beyond the White Knight #3, written and drawn by Sean Murphy, colored by Dave Stewart and lettered by AndWorld Design.
The murderer of Ra’s al Ghul stands revealed and all the parties of the Shadow War stand on the same battlefield, but despite a new common enemy, no one seems to want to stop fighting. It looks like a big ol’ donnybrook where there will be no winners in Shadow War: Omega, written by Joshua Williamson, drawn by Stephen Segovia, Mike Henderson and Howard Porter, colored by Hi-Fi and lettered by Troy Peteri.
Oh, hey, it’s a Batman Annual. These are usually fun. Oh, and it’s a Batman Inc. story. I like those guys. And it’s … oh. It’s Ghost-Maker taking them out on his first mission as their leader. Yay … Batman Annual 2022 is written by Ed Brisson, drawn by John Timms, colored by Rex Lokus and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Matt Lazorwitz: So, over the weekend, we got the trailer for next month’s first issue of the Chip Zdarsky/Jorge Jimenez Batman run, and the big takeaway online seemed to be that we saw Three Jokers again. I’m not buying that. I think that is a delusion or a bait and switch. How about you, Will?
Will Nevin: Matt, if we get Three Jokers in the main Bat title, I will go to Canada and kick that man’s ass myself. Or at least challenge him to a game of tiddlywinks full of mean mugging. There’s no excuse for that level of nonsense.
Powers Play
Matt: Here’s something that just occurred to me: We haven’t seen Lucius Fox anywhere in the Murphyverse, have we? Or have I just blocked it out?
Will: The more of the Murphyverse you can block out, the better. But, no, I don’t believe we’ve seen him to date — and so why not kitbash a couple of characters together, eh?
Matt: Yeah, let’s replace one of, if not the, most prominent character of color in the Bat books with another blond-haired white guy! That’s not problematic at all. The whole origin of Powers here mixes Lucius Fox with that accountant from The Dark Knight who tried to blackmail Wayne Enterprises. Only here, Batman bows to the blackmail, as opposed to using his money to crush the guy. And knowing how Murphy feels about the wealthy, you think he would have gone in that direction, then have Powers pull himself up by his own corrupt bootstraps to take out Wayne.
Will: And, hey, let’s all go through life with the unearned confidence of Sean Gordon Murphy: He wants to write a Jewish man working through his feelings of basically working with an Operation Paperclip ex-Nazi scientist. Bold and dumb as hell.
Matt: Oh, don’t even get me started on THAT. And let’s hear it for comics’ number one sucker, Terry McGinnis. How many people do you think Powers would be able to send him to take out before he put two and two together and realized that it was Powers who killed his dad if this one wasn’t Batman? Are we thinking full-on Memento where he just keeps doing it?
Will: Man, what I wouldn’t give to be doing a review of Memento instead of this stupid book. What about taking a grown-ass Duke Thomas and making him Robin for … reasons?
Matt: Well, why would you give him his own superhero name, like he has in the main DCU? Why not just recycle an identity that is recognizable to the lowest common denominator?
And time for a legal question about Bruce marrying Harley: Is that really how spousal privilege works, especially when it’s obviously being done to use said privilege?
Will: I’m glad you asked because as with so many things, Murphy gets this one wrong. For the privilege to apply, you have to seek to protect communications that occurred *during* the marriage, which is just common sense in that you, a layperson, were able to spot the obviously dumb loophole. Bruce and Harley can’t get married to retroactively protect communications from before they were married — it only applies *after* they were married. So the conversations we see in this issue could be covered under the privilege, but I think we have some serious questions as to whether this is a valid marriage at all.
Matt: OK, I figured it was something like that.We’re at the third issue of this series, and it doesn’t feel like much of anything has happened. Bruce broke out of jail. Terry stole the Beyond suit. Duke quit the Bat-fascists. We got a couple cheap reveals. That’s it. I don’t expect good pacing from this book, but this is a slog.
Will: We also got some nods toward the last chapter, which is so dull and laborious that only it could threaten White Knight’s status at the bottom of our Big Board. I haven’t checked the charts lately (if they even exist in this post-Diamond, post-Amazon/ComiXology merger world), but I assume this stuff still sells. I will always wonder why, just like I have since the beginning of covering this series. I wish it wouldn’t. I wish it hadn’t. But I guess since we’re in so deep, we might as well finish. The sunk-cost fallacy be damned!
A Geo-Force to Be Reckoned With
Matt: Let’s start this off with two questions:
- Did you have any idea who Geo-Force was going into this event, and was there enough context for you to determine exactly why he hated both Talia and Deathstroke?
- Could this whole event have been done in three to four issues instead of nine?
And a bonus: how do we feel about smaller events that are just there to set up bigger events?
Will: Had no goddamned idea who Geo-Force is, and — like most of this event — I still don’t care. I understood vaguely that his country suffered as a result of Ra’s, Talia and Deathstroke, but I really and truly can’t be bothered with the particulars. And, yes, this should have been three or four issues of Robin and/or Deathstroke — leave the main Bat books out of this C-level sort of crossover.
And going from one event into another is the sort of thing that burns people out on events. I know I’m not exceptionally engaged in what’s coming up, and DC would do well to protect the Crisis brand by using it about once a decade for truly groundbreaking material … which I doubt we will get this summer.
Matt: Yup, that’s what I thought. For clarity’s sake, Geo-Force’s issue with Deathstroke has nothing to do with Markovia, and is instead about how Deathstroke trafficked and had a sexual relationship with Geo-Force’s 15- or 16-year-old half-sister. Which is why, no matter how hard people try, Deathstroke cannot be redeemed and I will never picture Deathstroke as anything other than a monster.
I was very frustrated with how little context this issue gave. There was no editor’s note about the Terra stuff above, nor for the panel lift from Last Will and Testament, an obscure one-shot, while there is a big one for the recently wrapped Checkmate miniseries? Consistency with those things is key, and in a world where you can get books digitally so easily? We need more of those footnotes.
I am really bothered by the fact that what is at its core two cool concepts — a supervillain civil war between the League of Assassins and the Secret Society and a war between the families al Ghul and Wilson — merged together into something that does neither of them much service. And if you’re going to corrupt a hero, even a C-Lister like Geo-Force, I would have liked some more preamble to it somewhere else. We’ll eventually hit some Batman & the Outsiders on the pod, and you’ll get a better feel for who he is.
Will: *Yikes.* I suppose it’s better this story doesn’t touch on the personal connection between Slade and Geo-Force because you’re right — there’s no coming back from that and no other emotion you could evoke from his super permanent death that definitely wasn’t undone in the epilogue aside from “I’m glad that asshole’s dead.”
Speaking of assholes, I had a moment from one of the other “Shadow War” chapters we haven’t covered. Now, I can’t be troubled to remember whether this was in Deathstroke or Robin, but there’s a showdown between Ghost-Maker, Clownhunter and Deathstroke. Slade, of course, breaks Clownhunter’s arm in order to force Ghost-Maker to stand down, but here’s my beef: Ghost-Maker says Batman would “cross the line” if he lets Clownhunter die. What the shit, Matt? That doesn’t make any sense to me. Yes, Batman would be upset if Clownhunter dies — he’s upset at any loss of life — but he’s not going to break *the one rule* if Slade kills the kid. He didn’t kill Joker after Jason Todd’s death, so why would any other death push him over the edge? Nonsense, Matt. Fuckin’ nonsense.
Matt: As we will discuss below, I think that has a lot to do with Ghost-Maker’s sense of self importance. He’s so key to everything Batman is feeling that his screw-up would clearly make Batman throw everything he’s built his life around out the window.
Oh, and let’s not forget that in one of those other recent chapters, there is a mention of the Devil Nezha from World’s Finest. So since that is a Mark Waid joint, as is the upcoming “Batman Vs. Robin” event, I think this is helping set that up, too!
Will: That’s quite the tiresome turducken, Matt.
Matt: All in all, I think this is going to be a forgotten event the minute Ra’s is resurrected, similar to how the story that featured his last “real” death, Death and the Maidens, is similarly forgotten.
Will: We read Death and the Maidens in the not-too-distant past, and I’ve already forgotten that Ra’s bought the “forever” farm in that one. Still, there’s no telling what the Unknowable Mind of DC Editorial is going to do. I would have sworn that Alfred would be back by now, but we’re about to be on our third Batman writer since his death with no sign he’s returning.
Ghost-Maker is Still a Jerk
Matt: I doubt this issue improved your opinion about any of the Batman Inc. characters or Ghost-Maker, but maybe I’m wrong?
Will: Matt, when you write several characters bemoaning what a prick one of your other characters is, consider perhaps changing your approach to said character. I mean, come on — this just underlines how insufferable this guy is. At no point — zero, zip, none — has he gotten any character development aside from 1) he’s rich, 2) he’s a lifelong frenemy of Batman, 3) he’s OK with killing and 4) he’s bisexual. That last one is cool. The first three fucking irritate the shit out of me, and I want this wannabe anime cosplay to crawl back into the circular file of rejected ideas where he’s always belonged.
Matt: Add in the fact that pretty much all the Batman Inc. characters just whine the entire issue. Yes, Ghost-Maker sucks. But you think, as heroes, they would rise above. As opposed to walking around the entire issue complaining about Ghost-Maker or trying to impress him.
Will: Ghost-Maker should be *oppressed*. In all situations. Brisson is a good writer, and I guess he does the best he can with what he’s got, but this doesn’t feel much like an annual — at least not in the memorable way in which King’s run gave us some special one-offs. This is really his Batman Inc. #0, which, I mean, is fine. Certainly didn’t get me excited about the series, but if Ghost-Maker is your lead character and he’s not going to show any growth or development at all, count me right the fuck out.
Matt: I did like Gray Wolf. Cool design for a new character, and he might be the adult in the room with these guys in the ongoing.
There is a solid setup for an ongoing here. Not only do you have your crime-of-the-issue stories, but you have the recurring plot of Lex’s failed Batmen. You do have characters who can swap in and out, and internal strife on the team. That’s a lot of what makes a good team book. Batman Inc. was rarely a team book under Grant Morrison. They used the concept to explore different corners of the DCU, but only brought the characters together for climactic events. I just want to see the team work together when on missions, and not just kvetch about a character who exists to be a burr under the saddle of every character he encounters.
Will: Big, mysterious, tough-as-hell Batman? Count me in for that guy. No notes.
Bat-miscellany
- Sam Hopper, Jason Todd-tier Patreon backer, made his request for the podcast, and this week we were happy to fill it. Sam requested Batman: Ego, and so Matt and Will decided to do that and two other stories by the late, great Darwyn Cooke: Batman/The Spirit and DC: The New Frontier. Spoiler: We have a new #3 on the Big Board. Listen to find out which story got that honor.
- We haven’t talked about it in a while, but Wayne Family Adventures over on Webtoon continues to be a delight. This week marks the second part of a two-part Tim Drake story where he talks to Batwoman about exploring his queer identity and his new relationship with Bernard. It’s sweet as all get out. Follow this link to part one and read on from there. Happy Pride Month!
- If you want to see a better version of “Geo-Force takes a heel turn,” check out the current season of Young Justice. Did I use “heel turn” right, Will? [You sure did. Good job, Matt! — WN]
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of five. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the creator interview podcast WMQ&A with Dan Grote.
Will Nevin loves bourbon and AP style and gets paid to teach one of those things. He is on Twitter far too often.
