Batman: The Dark Knight Rises - Knightfall Vol 2: Who Rules the Night!

Writers : Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, Alan Grant

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.

Deciphering The Dark Knight Rises - Knightfall Vol 1: The Broken Bat

Welcome to another special edition of Deciphering DC with me, Aalok. For quite a few weeks now we've been making our way through the shared history of Batman and one of his deadliest enemies - Bane - all with an eye to the recently released and outright awesome experience that is The Dark Knight Rises.
This week we reach the most critical part of this journey, the fatal confrontation that led to the breaking of The Bat and his rise from the ashes - yes, this is where the movie got the idea!

[Editor : For the previous articles that led up to this epic and legendary story-line in the Batman mythos, see the bottom of this post]


Writers: Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon

Artists: Jim Aparo, Graham Nolan, Norm Breyfogle, Jim Balent

Collects: Batman 491-497, Detective Comics 659-663

Technically, the Knightfall arc has gone through a number of printings with surprising inclusions, as well as equally surprising omissions. The first and second printing collected the basic nineteen-part storyline, plus additional issues, in the form of two trade paperbacks. The third (current) printing chooses to combine the contents of the earlier two trades in one volume. However, both the volumes of the first and second printing are two different beasts entirely, so that is how I choose to analyse and break down the story.

The Dark Knight Rises (Movie Review)

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I have never seen people counting down to a movie by the hour, never seen people more reluctant to reveal spoilers or anything that normally appeals to so many people, most of whom are from the comic book writing/drawing fields and have worked on the character at some time in their career. If all of this is happening, one thing is obvious - Nolan and Co. have gotten it right. To say that this was the most eagerly awaited movie of the year would be an understatement, and an unfair one, at that!

Okay, let's begin with where the first two movies by Nolan had brought us.
Batman Begins introduced us to Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale), Alfred (Michael Caine), Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman), Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) and Ra's Al Ghul (Liam Neeson). We get a glimpse into the world of the Batman and what makes him tick. We learn of his arduous training under Henri Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul, and most important, we see how Bruce conquers his greatest enemy, his fear. The Dark Knight introduces us to the primary force of chaos in Gotham, The Joker. We see allies turn into enemies, as Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is disfigured and ruined physically as well as mentally, turning him into the homicidal Two Face. While Batman Begins was powerful on emotional content, The Dark Knight packed a punch with it's edge of the seat sequences, and the memorable performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker.

Countdown to The Dark Knight Rises - Prelude to Knightfall

Welcome back to another edition of Deciphering DC. With the Dark Knight Rises all the rage all over the media, I think it’s high time I gave the whole saga a comprehensive look. DC thought the same, and that is why we saw a collection called Batman vs Bane, that collected for the first time ever, Batman: Vengeance of Bane 1 and the miniseries Batman: Bane of the Demon.

Among other collections released were a reprint of Batman: Venom (see review here), with the first appearance of the drug of the same name, which the antagonist Bane uses and Batman: Birth of the Demon (see review here), featuring the trilogy of graphic novels featuring Ra’s Al Ghul, probably a major player in this enterprise as well. And finally, an expanded collection featuring the Knightfall saga and tie ins.

Batman Vs Bane

Writer: Chuck Dixon

Artist: Graham Nolan

Collects: Batman: Vengeance of Bane 1, Batman: Bane of The Demon 1-4, origin pages from 52 issue 46, Countdown to Final Crisis 4 and 7

This trade is actually a misnomer. The title says Batman Vs Bane, and Batman faces Bane just for a few panels, and nothing of substance actually happens in those panels. It's got a few good things (other than good creators and stories) running for it though. Vengeance of Bane is actually the first appearance of Bane, and has never before been collected (it should have been included in the first volume of Knightfall). Neither has Bane of The Demon. The other good thing is the price.