In just two issues, Dan Watters and Hayden Sherman’s Batman: Dark Patterns lives up to the Batman maxiseries that came before it. It captures Batman’s different state of mind earlier in his career, as Batman features a killer mystery and a new villain who’s kind of creepy. It’s a detective tale that feels worthy of Batman, and it continues in Batman: Dark Patterns #3, out this week.
Picking up from the last issue, the Wounded Man is torturing a lawyer who played a part in ruining his life. Meanwhile, Batman is at the Wounded Man’s suburban home before he broke bad, uncovering how a big corporation covered up a chemical dump that changed him. Frankly, I was surprised how many reveals there were in this issue – a third issue at that – with much of the mystery uncovered.
This issue continues to do a great job showing how bad it is in Gotham, with well-written captions detailing the crimes being committed as Batman swings through the city. He knows there is great injustice, and Watters makes you see there’s too much crime for Batman to fix in any given moment. In that sense, focusing on the Wounded Man almost seems like an injustice to the innocents crying out.
What an intense page!
Credit: DC Comics
If you’re looking for fight scenes, this issue has a surprising one involving suburban folks who don’t like Batman in their neighborhood. Watters does an excellent job explaining how if you lack pain receptors, you can hit harder and do far more damage. It’s an intriguing element of the Wounded Man, enacted directly on Batman with fists.
Later, Watters brings out a bit of horror via the explanation of what happened to the Wounded Man’s wife. It’ll send a shiver down your spine.
Sherman continues to draw an excellent book with interesting layouts and plenty of dynamic art. One standout page involves the Wounded Man transforming into his monstrous form with needles and nails stuck through his body. Using silhouette imagery behind him, we see all the damage he did to himself to feel something, with his final form in the foreground. It’s harrowing stuff.
Triona Farrell colors this issue masterfully as well, with warm oranges lighting up Gotham as if it’s on fire. Batman’s blueish suit and yellow emblem have never looked better.
If there was anything lacking in this issue, it might be the stakes. While Batman takes a bruising, you know he’ll live since this is a prequel story, plus he isn’t going down from a bunch of citizens. The greatest threat is corporations doing what they want, but that’s a long game for Batman to tackle.
With Batman: Dark Patterns #3, Dan Watters and Hayden Sherman expertly blend noir, horror, and social commentary, delivering a story that deepens both the villain and Gotham’s grim world, though the prequel setup limits some of the suspense.
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