DCU Comic Book Reviews

BLACKEST NIGHT:  BATMAN #3

Who Burns Who, Part 3

December 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

Dick Grayson (aka Batman) and Tim Drake (aka Red Robin) are confronted by Black Lanterns of their parents.  Batman orders Damian Wayne (aka Robin) to escort Commissioner Gordon and his daughter Barbara to safety.  He then asks Deadman to go for help, in this case Jason Blood and the demon Etrigan.  Meanwhile, Dick and Tim are forced to relive the moment of their parent’s deaths and their killers.  Enraged, Tim and Dick start to pummel their parents’ murderers.  In turn, the Black Lanterns start to feed on their rage.  Just then, Etrigan arrives and starts to burn the Black Lanterns.  Dick and Tim join him, using flamethrowers.  Although the Black Lanterns burn, the power rings just bring them back.  Batman decides to use another tactic.  Using one of Mr. Freeze’s guns, he literally frees himself and Tim.  Unable to get at the duo, the Black Lanterns walk away.  Then, Deadman frees the duo from the ice.  Now, the use what they have learned so they can fight them tomorrow.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

The lack of an ending derailed this story.  Actually, the lack of two different endings, really.  This story has been building to the confrontation of Dick with his parents and Tim with his parents.  And to a large degree, Tomasi delivers on that promise.  The emotional depths that Tomasi mines in replaying the events of Identity Crisis #5 is heartwrenching, especially knowing all that has happened to Tim since that day.  There seems to be less of an emotional payoff between Dick and Tony Zucco, but I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the death of the Graysons happened a long time ago (in real life), it is not something that is brought up regularly, and the fact that Zucco doesn’t have the same notoriety as, say, Joe Chill.  In contrast, Captain Boomerang is still fresh in our minds.  Combined with the way Tim’s life has spiraled since then, it is not surprising that Tim’s reenactment would be a bigger emotional moment.  Up to that moment this story works beautifully and it seems to be building to a great conclusion. 

Yet, we don’t get the payoff.  We do get that moment when Dick and Tim start to fight back, thanks in part to the timely arrival of Etrigan.  But we don’t get that moment when they realize what they were doing was wrong.  The story goes from Tim trying to kill Boomerang in an effort to keep his father alive to believing that there is no restart button.  Where is that “Ah-Ha” moment that makes them realize that there is no restart button?  It just seems like it goes from one way of thinking to the other without a stop in between, which is what I think the story needs.   

The second non-ending is the literal icing of the heroes followed by the Lanterns flying away.  It is egregious for two reasons:  one, Batman is not the type of character who would retreat in the middle of a fight.  Against all odds he would find a way to defeat the enemy.  Yet, admits he can’t win, and then finds a way to back down.  Meanwhile, the Lanterns leave to terrorize the rest of the city and its people.  Two, there is no resolution.  Batman encounters Black Lanterns and decides he will fight another day.  I wasn’t expecting Batman to figure out the mystery of the Black Lanterns, after all the main mini-series is not even half over.  However, I did expect Batman to conquer and defeat the Flying Grayson Black Lanterns, whether it was emotionally or physically (or perhaps both).  But it is not here and as a result it undermines the rest of the story. 

The role of Etrigan was needless.  It didn’t really accomplish much, other than to provide a guest star and a great splash page of his arrival when he attacks the Black Lanterns. 

I also want to point out how much the previous two issues, with the Gordons and the return of the various Batman villains, are completely ignored.  It is like it didn’t even happen.

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