What has Failsafe done to the Batman? Your Major Spoilers review of Batman #131 from DC Comics awaits!

BATMAN #131

Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Mike Hawthorne/Miguel Mendonca
Colorist: Tomeu Morey/Roman Stevens
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: January 3, 2023

Previously in Batman: Gotham City has never been darker or deadlier. And after Failsafe, there is no Batman to save it. Can the fractured ghost that roams the streets survive?

Whatever happened to the man known as… Bruce Wayne?

A GOTHAM WITHOUT BATMAN

Having created the android called Failsafe, Batman once again lost control of one of his contingency plans, ending last issue seemingly blown to atoms by his own creation. In truth, he wasn’t destroyed, just sent somewhere else… a world without a Batman. With his costume destroyed and his tools left behind, Bruce Wayne has to figure out what he’s going to do to get home, but first, there’s the matter of a Venomed-up Harvey Dent to deal with. In this reality, he calls himself The Judge, doling out lethal vengeance for even the slightest offense and he’s more than a match for the gravely wounded Batman. Barely escaping, thanks to a young woman named Jewel, Bruce has time to assess his situation, realizing that this world is clearly one without a defender. Failsafe claimed that his ending was the compassionate one, but as he sits, bleeding, haunted by the ghost of Commissioner Gordon, he realizes what the ‘bot meant… It’s a whole new Gotham City, for him to save.

A VERY INTERESTING PREMISE

The problem with a high-profile title like Batman has been watching each writer try to top the previous one. Morrison’s global conspiracies led to Snyder’s Court of Owls led to Tom Taylor’s build to a wedding that never happened. The Failsafe storyline felt at first like more of the same, even echoing the classic Tower of Babel arc of Mark Waid’s Justice League run, but it turns out to be something entirely different. Stripped of his support system and accoutrements, an all-too-human Bruce Wayne is overwhelmed by his new world. Hawthorne’s art conveys that well, giving us recognizable takes on Dent, Gordon, and other elements of the story, while the backup tale shows us Mendonca’s regular DCU, supporting the “brave new world” elements well. This Bruce Wayne feels a bit like the one seen in Batman: Year One, and I could not be more excited. In some ways, this issue feels like the new start that we didn’t ever get for Batman during the New 52.

BOTTOM LINE: LIKING WHERE THIS IS GOING

Though I’m still a bit nervous about what could happen next, Batman #131 gives us a fresh start for Zdarsky and company’s Dark Knight and sets the stage for something fresh in Gotham City, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. There’s been a LOT of multiverse stories lately, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen one that uses the concept from the perspective of a person IN the world, rather than a top-down view of realities clashing, and I really like how this is unfolding.

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BATMAN #131

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More Multiverse, But New Twists

Batman faces a whole new Gotham while his protegees deal with his absence, but it feels like we're breaking new Bat-ground for the first time in a while.

• Writing

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• Art

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• Coloring

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