Writers : Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant
We last left Bruce Wayne in the arms of Bane, his spine broken beyond repair. A lot of things happen in this volume. We see spectacular takedowns of the villains left over from the previous volume, a new Batman and Robin team, and the beginning of a new adventure for Bruce Wayne. Oh, and Bane, too.
Bane screams to Gotham that he has broken their protector, and literally throws a broken disheveled, badly bleeding Bruce Wayne as Batman down to the streets. The police call the emergency services, but Alfred and Tim get there disguised as healthcare personnel before anyone else does. Alfred and Tim have a heated argument with regards to whether Bruce should be taken to a hospital or not. They finally decide to concoct a story regarding an accident and call Dr. Shondra Kinsolving. Meanwhile, Bruce is still in a coma, a spinal agent - Decadron - has been administered, and there is nothing left to do but wait.
After Two Face escaped Arkham along with the rest, he returned to his old stomping grounds, the old courthouse. Having access to papers from when he was DA, Two Face brings together a jury of ‘peers’, all of them who want Batman as dead as he does. Bruce tells Robin not to interfere, despite his concerns that Bruce is pushing himself too hard. That decision comes back to bite him, as he finds himself at the mercy of Two Face soon.
Bruce regains consciousness. However, it is a strange, new Gotham he awakens to. Bane is supreme. Catwoman has fallen in line with him as well. The city needs a Batman. Bruce decides to let Jean Paul Valley don the cape and the cowl, but makes it clear that he is not to face Bane.
Tim can’t decide who he hates more, the hoodlums they are fighting, or Batman. Jean Paul Valley is decidedly different, more in line with the criminals he seems hell bent on stopping. Meanwhile, Bruce decides to visit Jack Drake, and stumbles onto his kidnapping. An altercation with one of the hoodlums gives him a mask, but nothing more.
The Scarecrow, who escaped with the Joker in the earlier volume when the tunnel flooded and Bruce decided to save Mayor Krol, is posing as a professor and raising an army of students to fuel his new mission – to establish himself in mythology as the God of Fear. Meanwhile, Anarky has come to the conclusion that Batman has to be stopped as he is just as dangerous as the criminals he puts away. Unfortunately, this just isn’t the Batman he’s gotten used to.
Jean Paul Valley finally decides on a way to get back at Bane. He springs the three henchmen, Bird, Trogg and Zombie and follows them back to Bane. In his first fight with Bane, Jean Paul Valley is found…..wanting.
The last issue of the book is Batman 500, which also welcomes regular Batman penciller Mike Manley, who brings a much more shadowy feel. Jean Paul Valley is reeling from his first encounter with Bane, which should not have taken it’s toll on him, because in contrast to Bruce, he is in his prime, and not driven through the wringer like Bruce was. Bane knows that this isn’t Bruce, and he decides that the kid gloves are off!
Jean Paul Valley designs a new costume, a new Batman who takes down Bane in a no holds barred fight that echoes throughout Gotham in the savage, stormy night. While Tim still disapproves of the new Batman, he realizes that maybe this is what Gotham currently needs, a hero under any guise.
The story is top notch throughout - while the two-parter featuring Two Face feels a little weak, every story has its strong points, and for the most part, it’s about Jean Paul Valley learning the ropes.
On art, it’s more like a mishmash job with so many different artists contributing, especially Bret Blevins’ signature cartoony style doesn’t blend in that great with Aparo, Nolan, Janson or Manley’s darker tones.
This one has two editions, the older one sports a Kelley Jones’ Cover and has house ads in place of interior covers, the newer edition sports a Mike Deodato Jr Cover and has no interior covers. However, the issues in this volume can be found in the latest edition of Batman Knightfall Vol 1, along with the aforementioned Vol 1: The Broken Bat, which I think is the best way to collect this classy tale. The earlier editions have newsprint though, so you’d better go there if that’s the way you roll, I know I do.
My Rating: 10 on 10
Not as strong as the first volume in places, but still an excellent read.
Artists : Mike Manley, Jim Aparo, Bret Blevins, Graham Nolan,
Klaus Janson
Collects : Batman 498-500, Detective Comics 664-666, Batman: Shadow of the Bat 16-18, Showcase '93 7 and 8
Published by DC Comics
While the new volume of Knightfall collects the whole
Knightfall saga in one volume, I prefer to stick with the older volume partition while
reviewing, because both the volumes are different beasts.
While the earlier volume showed a badly burnt Bruce Wayne trying to hold back the chaos Gotham was reeling from, this volume shows Jean Paul Valley (a.k.a. Azrael) first don the original cape and the cowl and embrace the chaos, turning it into his own brand of lethal justice as he finally brings his own arsenal to the fore.
While the earlier volume showed a badly burnt Bruce Wayne trying to hold back the chaos Gotham was reeling from, this volume shows Jean Paul Valley (a.k.a. Azrael) first don the original cape and the cowl and embrace the chaos, turning it into his own brand of lethal justice as he finally brings his own arsenal to the fore.
We last left Bruce Wayne in the arms of Bane, his spine broken beyond repair. A lot of things happen in this volume. We see spectacular takedowns of the villains left over from the previous volume, a new Batman and Robin team, and the beginning of a new adventure for Bruce Wayne. Oh, and Bane, too.
Bane screams to Gotham that he has broken their protector, and literally throws a broken disheveled, badly bleeding Bruce Wayne as Batman down to the streets. The police call the emergency services, but Alfred and Tim get there disguised as healthcare personnel before anyone else does. Alfred and Tim have a heated argument with regards to whether Bruce should be taken to a hospital or not. They finally decide to concoct a story regarding an accident and call Dr. Shondra Kinsolving. Meanwhile, Bruce is still in a coma, a spinal agent - Decadron - has been administered, and there is nothing left to do but wait.
After Two Face escaped Arkham along with the rest, he returned to his old stomping grounds, the old courthouse. Having access to papers from when he was DA, Two Face brings together a jury of ‘peers’, all of them who want Batman as dead as he does. Bruce tells Robin not to interfere, despite his concerns that Bruce is pushing himself too hard. That decision comes back to bite him, as he finds himself at the mercy of Two Face soon.
Bruce regains consciousness. However, it is a strange, new Gotham he awakens to. Bane is supreme. Catwoman has fallen in line with him as well. The city needs a Batman. Bruce decides to let Jean Paul Valley don the cape and the cowl, but makes it clear that he is not to face Bane.
Tim can’t decide who he hates more, the hoodlums they are fighting, or Batman. Jean Paul Valley is decidedly different, more in line with the criminals he seems hell bent on stopping. Meanwhile, Bruce decides to visit Jack Drake, and stumbles onto his kidnapping. An altercation with one of the hoodlums gives him a mask, but nothing more.
The Scarecrow, who escaped with the Joker in the earlier volume when the tunnel flooded and Bruce decided to save Mayor Krol, is posing as a professor and raising an army of students to fuel his new mission – to establish himself in mythology as the God of Fear. Meanwhile, Anarky has come to the conclusion that Batman has to be stopped as he is just as dangerous as the criminals he puts away. Unfortunately, this just isn’t the Batman he’s gotten used to.
Bruce gets a fix onto the kidnappers’ location – the island
of Santa Prisca. He readies to go with Alfred, fearing for the lives of Jack
Drake and Shondra Kinsolving. Catwoman manages to stow away on their jet.
Meanwhile, Jean Paul Valley is taking the Gotham underworld by storm and
designing lethal weaponry which he brings into the conflict.
Jean Paul Valley finally decides on a way to get back at Bane. He springs the three henchmen, Bird, Trogg and Zombie and follows them back to Bane. In his first fight with Bane, Jean Paul Valley is found…..wanting.
The last issue of the book is Batman 500, which also welcomes regular Batman penciller Mike Manley, who brings a much more shadowy feel. Jean Paul Valley is reeling from his first encounter with Bane, which should not have taken it’s toll on him, because in contrast to Bruce, he is in his prime, and not driven through the wringer like Bruce was. Bane knows that this isn’t Bruce, and he decides that the kid gloves are off!
Jean Paul Valley designs a new costume, a new Batman who takes down Bane in a no holds barred fight that echoes throughout Gotham in the savage, stormy night. While Tim still disapproves of the new Batman, he realizes that maybe this is what Gotham currently needs, a hero under any guise.
The story is top notch throughout - while the two-parter featuring Two Face feels a little weak, every story has its strong points, and for the most part, it’s about Jean Paul Valley learning the ropes.
On art, it’s more like a mishmash job with so many different artists contributing, especially Bret Blevins’ signature cartoony style doesn’t blend in that great with Aparo, Nolan, Janson or Manley’s darker tones.
This one has two editions, the older one sports a Kelley Jones’ Cover and has house ads in place of interior covers, the newer edition sports a Mike Deodato Jr Cover and has no interior covers. However, the issues in this volume can be found in the latest edition of Batman Knightfall Vol 1, along with the aforementioned Vol 1: The Broken Bat, which I think is the best way to collect this classy tale. The earlier editions have newsprint though, so you’d better go there if that’s the way you roll, I know I do.
My Rating: 10 on 10
Not as strong as the first volume in places, but still an excellent read.
Next Week: KnightQuest: The Crusade - Detective Comics and Robin
Deciphering The Dark Knight Rises - Knightfall Vol 1: The Broken Bat
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