‘Batman: Curse of the White Knight #8’ (review)

Written and Illustrated by Sean Murphy
Published by DC Comics

Batman and Azrael’s brutal showdown has finally arrived.

Sean Murphy has put Bruce Wayne in a unique place by stripping him of everything. His secret identity, family name, fame, and fortune are all gone. The only thing left is to save Gotham City.

The book opened with a car chase with the GTO lead by the 1989 Batmobile in hot pursuit of Azrael.

Speaking of the Batmobile, Murphy revealed some new tricks from the famed vehicle. There is one moment where Batman used its cocoon shielding in an ingenious way to trap Azrael. The GTO’s cars lost power, but Batman kept up the chase.

This was the moment where everything Murphy built towards took shape. Batman is hell-bent on killing Azrael.

Of course, this goes against Batman’s one rule. Azrael even mocked him for having the idea of murder. Then, Murphy exhibited an unfamiliar sight of Batman pulling out an M16 rifle and going for broke.

The emotion of this moment worked tenfold because not only did we see Batman try to kill someone, but serves as a wakeup call from Dick Grayson , who looked to tip the scales of justice back to its original position.

Yelling, screaming, tears, and admissions of guilt was a powerful punch to the gut. Murphy brilliantly kept the reader on their toes as to whether Dick got through to Batman.

The payoff was executed to perfection. Sean Murphy spent a good chunk of time showing readers the fallout of these destructive events. We got confirmation of Harley Quinn’s romantic feelings for Bruce Wayne. This was also well done because it was possible that Harley was simply a good friend to Bruce, who appreciated everything, he did for her.

One heartfelt image revealed it all, and it spoke volumes due to Murphy’s exquisite illustrative talent. There is no clear direction as to where the Batman Murphyverse could go next. Everything is wrapped up nice and neat with a shiny bow on top. There is one phrase of bolded dialogue that might serve as a hint as to where the story goes next.

Sean Murphy delivered one hell of a conclusion and created a sequel series that somehow surpassed the original. If the White Knight series becomes a trilogy, it has a lot to live up to, but it’s evident that Murphy is up to the task.

Rating: A-