DCU Comic Book Reviews

BLACKEST NIGHT:  BATMAN #2

Who Burns Who, Part 2

November 2009

Written by Peter J. Tomasi

Pencils by Ardian Syaf

Inks by John Dell and Vicente Cifuentes

Covers by Andy Kubert and Bill Sienkiewicz

Synopsis

All over Gotham, the dead have risen and Black Lanterns are terrorizing the city.  Former villains of Batman have storm police headquarters and have made their way to the batsignal.  Elsewhere, Batman and Robin, along with Deadman, head to the Army Reserve National Guard Armory to arm themselves for the battle.  Meanwhile, Commissioner Gordon and his daughter Barbara are fighting for their lives against Black Lanterns.  Just as the capture the two, Deadman arrives.  He takes over Barbara’s body and guides the commissioner to safety.  On the roof of police headquarters, Batman and Robin are using flamethrowers to fight Black Lanterns, but they are not having much luck.  They are surrounded.  Then saved by the timely arrival of Tim Drakes (aka Red Robin).  They then rescue the Gordon’s are attempt to regroup.  But are confronted by more Black Lanterns:  the Drakes and the Flying Graysons.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

Wow, there is a lot of stuff going on here.  There is a lot going on.  It felt like a car zooming past about a hundred miles faster than your own speed.  In this case, this is not a bad thing.  Tomasi and Syaf maintain a hectic pace and seemingly pull out everything but the kitchen sink to throw at the Gordons and the heroes, but they keep everything readable and understandable.  What I liked about it is the Tomasi incorporates the past history of the various villains, especially the way Blockbuster died, into the narrative, making the attacks that much more personal.  But I also like the way the Black Lanterns are treated as zombies, including the obligatory shot to the head or the use of flamethrowers.  It is an interesting mix of horror and superheroes and Tomasi and Syaf pull it off. 

The only drawback to the issue is that it felt like filler, a stopgap to main story.  The previous issue focused on the return of the dead and Dick’s realization that his parents might be coming back.  And while we get to see the reunited Flying Graysons, it doesn’t happen until the end.  You could almost argue that you could skip this issue and just read the first and last, since that is where the meat of the story (Dick and Tim face their parents) will take place.  And while you could do that, you’d miss a lot of crazy stuff going down. 

For as much crazy stuff is going down, I have to commend Tomasi for adding in the scene with the armory.  I loved the conversation with Dick and Damian about guns and Damian’s upbringing.  Not only does it fit into the motif of Dick eventually facing his parents, but it also shows how much Damian needs to learn if he wants to emulate his father.  This is the type of scene that should be in the regular bat books. 

Here is an interesting question:  if Bruce Wayne doesn’t show up as a Black Lantern, does that prove that Tim was correct and that Bruce isn’t dead?  Or will the desecrated grave provide the reasoning why Bruce remains a corpse and not a Black Lantern?

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