“The idea that my mother survived somehow and has been driven by revenge seems impossible.”
Tom Taylor and Mikel Janín’s first story arc, “Mercy of the Father,” comes to an epic conclusion in Detective Comics #1096. Despite Taylor’s best efforts to gradually build a story around the murderous Asema and her motivations, the finale doesn’t quite have the impact that it’s aiming for.
Part of the reason the finale doesn’t quite land is due to the fact that Taylor (like so many other Batman writers before him) retreads the age-old question of, “Why does Batman never kill?” It’s a question that’s also being examined in the pages of Batman: Hush 2 by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee. But like every other story that has examined this question from a different angle, it has always landed on the same conclusion: “Batman never kills because he holds himself to a higher standard.”
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Naturally, Taylor lands on his own version of that same answer in Detective Comics #1096’s finale. This also means he doesn’t tell the reader anything new about Batman that hasn’t already been known for decades. Still, Taylor does have some interesting ideas, like Thomas Wayne unwittingly saving the life of his future killer, Joe Chill, due to his own personal values. Another interesting idea Taylor works with is the idea of Chill’s daughter becoming a part of Bruce’s life and the implications that has for a future relationship.
The potential in this idea is endless, especially since the cold murder of Bruce’s parents is the reason he becomes Batman in the first place. There is even a golden opportunity to reexamine Bruce’s understanding of criminal motivations (and his need to be Batman) from the wildly different angle of him becoming romantically involved with the daughter of his parents’ murderer. The problem, however, is that in execution, Taylor plays it too safe and doesn’t capitalize on those ideas.
For instance, Batman going out on a date with Chill’s daughter, Scarlett, a few issues back would have been more impactful if he was actually serious about her, and wasn’t just using a one-night stand to get access to her computer as part of an investigation. The other thing that doesn’t work is Bruce being too controlled with his emotions and never acting on his vulnerabilities. This is especially odd since any re-encounter with Joe Chill would be very triggering for Bruce, and wouldn’t just think about wanting to hurt Chill.
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By not doing something with that setup, Taylor misses out on challenging Bruce’s own feelings towards criminals in a new way, and doesn’t create any opportunities for meaningful character growth. The other reason Detective Comics #1096’s finale falls flat is the revelation of Asema’s identity, which has been presented as the story’s biggest recurring mystery. But given that the story introduced only two new major characters – Scarlett and her mother, Evelyn – it was never truly a mystery who the killer would boil down to.
Similarly, when Asema’s pattern of murdering teenage criminals is juxtaposed with Scarlett developing a drug that can restore youth, it’s not surprising who between the two women would benefit from such a drug. This is especially true when one of the perks of the drug is increased stamina, which Asema would need to carry out the murders. The other detail that gives away the killer’s identity early on is Evelyn’s backstory, and how she feels about her ex-lover, Joe Chill. It really isn’t hard to put two and two together, and Taylor’s attempts at misdirection have been pretty weak at best. More specifically, the clues are obvious throughout, and there aren’t many (if any) red herrings to keep readers guessing.
This ties into another major issue that makes the finale of Detective Comics #1096 less impactful, and that’s Taylor’s attempt to juxtapose Asema’s murderous vigilantism with Batman’s. For starters, Asema’s attempts to challenge Batman’s morals surrounding criminal deaths are too on-the-nose and don’t do anything to make him rethink his methods. The bigger issue here, however, is Bruce not spending any meaningful time with Asema in her civilian identity, or establishing any kind of relationship with her out of costume for him to see the other side of the coin. Doing so would have made a huge difference in making Bruce feel more conflicted about the killer and what his course of action should be.
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While Taylor’s writing leaves a lot to be desired in terms of original ideas or being able to revisit old ideas in radically new ways, one thing that does elevate this first Detective Comics arc is Mikel Janín’s art. Throughout this entire run, Janín has successfully captured the neo-noir tone of the story, not just through his use of shadows and layouts, but also in his use of vibrant colors. Not only does this make every page pop, but the sharp contrast between warm and cool colors does lend to more detailed backgrounds. This helps make Gotham City feel like it’s teeming with life without losing its gothic aesthetics. Janín is also highly skilled at drawing visually expressive characters, which does a lot to make the characters feel really animated, even when the script itself doesn’t convey much emotion.
Overall, Detective Comics #1096 is a pretty lukewarm conclusion to an equally tepid first storyline for DC’s All-In era. Though not a terrible story by any means, it also doesn’t stand out compared to Tom Taylor’s more acclaimed work where he does push boundaries, like Nightwing and Injustice: Gods Among Us. At best, Detective Comics “Mercy of the Father” is a great storyline to check out for Mikel Janín fans since he brings his A-game to the table, and even exceeds his previous work.
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