Review: BATMAN VOL. 7: ENDGAME

Art By:  Danny Miki, Greg Capullo
Written By:  Scott Snyder
Published By:  DC Comics

With a title like “Endgame”, you know what to expect going in.  Batman and Joker have had a fierce rivalry throughout the years.  Last time they fought, Joker was out to prove his love for Batman.  Joker believed he had Batman’s best interest in mind.  Batman’s “family” made him weak, and needed to be disposed of.  Instead, it was Batman that blocked Joker’s advances and let him fall down a ravine.

Now the Pale Man is back, and attacking Batman in a new mysterious way.  Can Batman and the combined might of his allies and enemies save Gotham from this new terror?  Let’s find out!

What I Liked

We begin with quieter, happier times between Bruce Wayne, Alfred, and his daughter Julia.  They have moved their base of operations from the Batcave to Old Wayne Tower, in the heart of Gotham after the events of Batman Eternal.  Visually it represents a stark change from the dark shadowy Batcave.

Speaking of visuals, Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, and FCO Plascencia unleash a clinic throughout this volume.  There are a couple of scenes that really stand out to me.  For one, the opening page of the Gotham Royal Theater.  You can tell the attention to detail throughout, from each row of seats to the ceiling and wall designs.  Capullo also has a way of penciling faces, specifically eyes and teeth.  You’ll be hard-pressed to find one image of Joker without his eyes and grinning teeth showing just how much of a madman he really is.  When Batman is cloaked in darkness, his eyes are reminiscent of Batman: The Animated Series.  You can only see the outline of his cowl with the white sliver of eyes displaying.

Two shocking moments come early in the first 20 pages, and those are Batman fighting the Justice League, and the reveal that Joker is behind it.  You can feel the suspense of the battle, as Batman must figure out why his friends are attacking him.  Batman pulls out all the stops, as he dons a suit of battle armor and centers in on the League’s weaknesses.  It still surprises me that Scott Snyder and Capullo were able to keep the Joker secret until the release date.  There’s nothing like a splash page of a Joker-fied Superman to let you know things just got real.  And Joker being in plain sight disguised as Arkham Asylum orderly Eric Border was a sly move.  Joker went from not having a face to putting on a new one that even fooled Batman.

There are so many players involved in the Endgame story.  I mentioned the Justice League earlier, but they’re involvement is short and sweet.  Julia steps in for her father as Penny-Two; Dick Grayson and Duke Thomas from Zero Year also play roles.  And you can’t have a Batman event without Batgirl, Red Robin, Red Hood, and Bluebird being involved.  It’s all hands on deck. Even Batman’s rogues gallery joins in.

A new element called Dionesium is introduced.  It is tied to the early days of Gotham, and seemingly immortal individuals Vandal Savage and Ra’s Al Ghul.  Could Joker really be one of these men and the Pale Man?  That is what Joker wants us to believe.  Some clever mind games are being played.

The final confrontation between Joker and Batman is a bloody one.  I don’t think of Joker as being physical, but he held his own with the help of the Dionesium in his body.  As great a physical specimen as Batman is held up to be, he takes some damaging shots.  I love the visual of a throwing card embedded in his skull.

What I Didn’t Like

It’s almost cliche’ how Batman has special protocols in place to counteract his teammates in the Justice League.  While it is expected, it’s not the first time the trope has been used (i.e. JLA: Tower of Babel).

Something that confused me were the visions of death that Batman would see at the beginning of each chapter.  We are told it is fear toxin from Scarecrow, but was this something that happened in Batman Eternal?  And was it used to show symbolism in how it appears Batman perishes at the end of his fight with Joker?

While many people were vocal over their displeasure regarding nothing violent happening to Alfred in Death of the Family, Alfred’s hand being chopped off felt like a make-up call.  The shock value wasn’t there like it would have been if it happened in Death of the Family.

Finally, let’s discuss the part where Joker was seen throughout the history books and images of old Gotham.  This was when Joker was thought to be immortal.  Batman ultimately revealed that Joker came to find the Dionesium after he fell in the Batcave.  So……how did Joker show up in those photos?  That’s never explained.

Timdogg

#ComicBookChronicles @CBChron founder. Editor-in-Chief of @thekliqnation. Comic book reviewer, podcaster #RABBLERABBLE