Written by James Tynion IV
Art by Jorge Jimenez, Guillem March
Published by DC Comics
Well, this was a disappointment. The Joker War storyline ends here. It is definitely more of a whimper than a bang. The lead up to this has been increasingly disappointing but this one lands with a thud.
There are some bright spots for sure but overall it just didn’t excite me much.
First off, we get to see Batman’s fight with the Joker. The Joker has dug up the body of Alfred and has reanimated him in a sense. The Joker has tried to psychologically wear down Batman over Tynion’s run.
He has stolen Bruce Wayne’s money, his manor, and his entire life! The stakes should feel pretty high!
Well, the stakes don’t feel too high at all.
We have seen Bruce beaten down psychologically before in a much more interesting way than this. It all feels sort of ho-hum, even though it is pretty great to see the Joker dressed up in one of Batman’s alternative Batman suits. I did laugh out loud at that.
So there are some bright moments for sure.
The brightest will be that Nightwing is now in the classic costume and Dick Grayson has his memories back.
I have to be clear, this isn’t an earned thing. Mostly, it is to correct something pretty lame that wasn’t working for two years.
But thank god he is back.
Something tragic happens.
It feels shoehorned in and forced. There is a new character introduced here as well. It feels shoe horned in as well.
There is a new status quo by the end of the issue that only ends up being a whole lot of meh.
We shall see how if all turns out. I am not confident Tynion will make this any better sadly.
RATING: B-
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