“Why can’t he admit defeat? Why won’t he stop?” asks Talia al Ghul as Exo Suit Man-Batman hurtles towards her with an army of screeching bats in his wake.
Something tells me you should have known what the hell you were getting into, Talia. Especially considering how dead-ass serious your baby daddy gets when it comes to vengeance.
Batman Incorporated #12 sees the epic slobberknocker we’ve all been waiting for: Is it good?
Batman Incorporated #12 (DC Comics)
Hell hath no fury like a Batman scorned.
Batman being driven off the deep end due to Damian’s death has been a common theme in the Bat-books lately.
In Batman Incorporated #12 we’re further gifted with what sets Grant Morrison’s writing technique apart from the others — whereas the others see a Batman driven to the edge and being more brutal towards thugs as a form of catharsis, Morrison’s pulls out all the stops in a way that is exactly how Batman should handle it: cerebral, unpredictable, and efficient all in one. A sort of beautiful, controlled insanity. And it’s fun as all hell to watch.
As much as we’ve grown to hate the Heretic, with his conflated Undertaker/Rocky Balboa/T-1000 durability levels and murderous Mongo strength, Morrison shows another side of him in this issue that evokes pity more than ever before; and in a way that further solidifies Talia as a formidable, loathsome villain in her own right — not just the daughter riding Ra’s’ coattails.
Chris Burnham’s art is excellent as usual. He brings the issue-spanning fight scene to life with grittiness, brutality and blood aplenty — the most unsettling depiction however is found in the grand reveal of the Heretic’s face: Sweet Lord that shit is creepy. (And props to Burnham for actually finishing an entire issue.)
It’s not all mindless action, however. As usual, Morrison has a plan and we’re given more and more snippets that will have most of us scratching our heads and wondering what it all means or how it will play out long after the issue’s end. (Something tells me we’ll soon see the reason Ra’s Al Ghul was laughing at his daughter in issue #10, and it’s not just her underestimation of Batman.)
9.5
- Great art by Chris Burnham
- Brutally satisfying fight scene involving Mega Man Batman and the Heretic
- Excellent pacing and narrative by Morrison.
- We have to wait another month for the next issue.
Is It Good?
Yes. An excellent issue from start to finish. Get on it. My only gripe is that we have to wait so damn long in between issues.
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