Batman: The Dark Knight Rises - KnightQuest: The Crusade - Detective Comics and Robin

DECIPHERING DC

Hello and welcome one and all to yet another edition of Deciphering DC. Today, we continue with our look at one of the modern Bat epics, arguably THE modern Bat epic, the Knights Trilogy. While Knightfall chronicled the breaking of an exhausted Bruce Wayne at the hands of Bane, KnightQuest, the second part of the trilogy examines Gotham City without Bruce Wayne as Batman.

KnightQuest: The Crusade deals with Jean Paul Valley, who has taken the mantle of the Bat, with Bruce’s blessings, as he deals with a Gotham he isn’t familiar with. Knightquest: The Search follows Bruce Wayne and Alfred, in their quest to rescue Jack Drake and Shondra Kinsolving, kidnapped by persons yet unknown.

KnightQuest has, to date, never been collected in its entireity. With the advent of the movie featuring Bane, it was rumored that a new, kick ass edition of Knightfall was in the making. There were two volumes previously available which collected Knightfall and a third that collected the third part of the trilogy, KnightsEnd. KnightsQuest, however remained uncollected. With the announcement that the new Knightfall printing would combine the earlier two volumes of Knightfall into one as the first volume, and also put in Vengeance of Bane (also never collected), and that the second volume would be titled KnightQuest, expectations soared. Alas, the second volume collects just KnightsQuest: The Crusade. Whether we will see KnightQuest: The Search in the third volume of the new printing is a question.

While Knightfall was a chapter by chapter story that jumped between Batman and Detective Comics (some issues of Batman: Shadow of the Bat also formed a part of the long storyline), KnightQuest: The Crusade, for the most part does not jump around. Sure, references are made to events taking place in the parallel titles, but if you bought only one title at that time, you got a full story, no cliffhangers for the most part. Of course, to get the whole picture, you had to read all of them. As such, each title had its own storyline. It is best looked at, and reviewed that way.

Detective Comics essentially follows around Batman as he learns the ropes, gets acquainted with the local scenery and makes a few big changes. This review covers Detective Comics issues 667-675 and Robin issue 1. All issues are written by Chuck Dixon and the art is by Graham Nolan (with one fill in by Barry Kitson). One issue does cross over and spin off into the new monthly featuring Robin solo, which contains art by Tom Grummett. Covers (except Robin 1, by Tom Grummett) are by Kelley Jones.

With Bane out of the way, all Jean Paul Valley has left to bash are small time muggers and villains. While constantly working to better his outfit, Jean discovers a way to an abandoned subway tract with a modern subway car designed by NASA. Seeing this as an opportunity to travel across Gotham the quickest, Jean runs smack dab into the evening train during rush hour. 

Meanwhile, the new Trigger Twins are in town and looking for a big score. They decide to attack the money train, carrying the cash from all the Subway stations. Robin discovers that the way that leads from the Drake house to the Batcave has been sealed. Breaking in, he finds himself face to face with a very angry Jean Paul Valley.

The Joker, still on the large, is gunning for Batman, but he doesn’t know that Jean Paul is under the costume. He has roped in Paragon Pictures’ executives, and wants to film the death of Batman, furnishing a real life action script for the same. Meanwhile, a cold and weary Jean Paul, tired of receiving transmissions from the System, turns to love and affection, only to discover that the girl is part of the Joker's plan.

It’s Christmas, and a body on ice is found floating in Gotham bay while Montoya is on duty. When the body is taken to the infirmary, and vanishes later on, Montoya suspects Mr Freeze. It’s Freeze’s first encounter with the new Batman, and vice versa. Montoya is surprised to discover the Batman is a lot colder than she remembers.

Ex army official, Gunnery Hawkleigh, now going by the name Gunhawk can kill a man from half a mile away, and now he has his eyes on the World’s biggest gun, on display at an exhibition in Gotham. The plan goes awry when his partner in crime, Bunny, gets injured, leading to a no holds barred, free for all shootout in the hospital.

Chuck Dixon spends most of the volume cooking up new threats for the new Batman. He loves Westerns, and you can see that love and attention to detail shining through with the Trigger twins. The tension rising Between Batman and Robin since when he first started writing them together comes to headway, and sparks fly, making this the best time for a monthly solo Robin book. Graham Nolan is excellent with details, as usual. The only problem is, most of the meaty events are taking place in the other books. It’s still a perfectly good read, just don’t expect world shaking stuff that would change the Bat mythos forever (or at least the next ten years).

Next Week: KnightQuest: The Crusade - Batman: Shadow of the Bat


And of course, don't forget the previous editions of this mammoth saga we've already covered if you're just jumping on:

Prelude to Knightfall

Knightfall Vol 1: The Broken Bat

Knightfall Vol 2: Who Rules the Night!

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Aalok Joshi is a total fanboy and claims to read everything in the comics genre but American comics and Syndicated strips totally win him over. He has been reading comics since he was 5 and started off with Indrajal Comics. After his relatives started pestering him about changing his reading habits, he switched over to novels after junking his erstwhile collection. Gotham Comics, the Indian Authorized publisher of DC/Marvel brought him back in 2002 and he has stayed here ever since. 
Now concentrating largely on DC and slightly on Marvel and few selected independents, he is interested and taking steps towards writing for the genre. He also dabbles in illustration and his dream is one newspaper style cartoon per day.