Batman Beyond 2.0 #27 Review

Written by: Kyle Higgins and Alec Siegel
Art by: Craig Rousseau and Phil Hester
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: August 2, 2014

A Matter of Trust

Batman Beyond 2.0 has been one of my favorite comics since it started.  Kyle Higgins has given the readers such a consistently great book because his love of the source material fills every digital page.  However, nothing prepared me for the Mark of the Phantasm arc. Higgins and Alec Siegel have elevated this book beyond anything I could have imagined.  It's as if everything before was just a warm up. I don't know Kyle Higgins, but my guess is that this is the story he's been wanting to write all along.  I may be wrong, but it's already a story I can't wait to read every week.



Last week, Terry came face-to-face with the Phantasm and the truth.  At first, the Phantasm seemed to have more of an effect on Bruce, but as the smoke cleared that changed.  Terry realized he'd allied himself with Jake Chill, the man who had killed his Father.  In a violent rage,  he attacked the man now known as Vigilante.  It was a cliffhanger that left the reader wondering if Terry would cross the line of being Batman.

This week starts with a flashback of Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon.  It's brief, but continues the fan service for long time Batman Beyond fans.  It also brings to light what this issue (and arc?) is all about.  Relationships and Trust.  And as the great philosophers, Semisonic, told us all in 1998, "Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end."  We get to see that happen right before our eyes.

We then get to the meat of the issue.  While Terry keeps giving Jake the Bully Beatdown, Bruce is trying to talk him down.  It's not working and Bruce needs to resort to extreme measures.  This really begins Terry's quest for the truth.  It's so good because Terry asks the same questions I was thinking when Jake Chill was introduced.  How could Bruce not know about him?  Doesn't Batman know everything?  The answers don't satisfy Terry and should leave the reader with serious doubts as well.

The issue ends with in such a great way, but I won't spoil it.  I'll just say that Terry isn't the only one who has doubts about Bruce and where his loyalties lie.  It's such an "ah ha" scene that no only ties into the flashbacks in this arc, but the series as a whole.

While Craig Rousseau's art is good in the early flashback scene, the main art by Phil Hester is great.  Like Thony Silas before him, he nails the look of the cartoon and his layouts make it even better.

Bits and Pieces:

Batman Beyond 2.0 #27 is an issue all about trust.  The cracks are beginning to show in the Bruce-Terry relationship, but this isn't the first time Bruce has had this problem.  The issue continues the awesome Mark of the Phantasm arc, but has ties to so much more. This is required reading for anyone who considers themselves a Batman Beyond fan.  Highly recommended.

9.2/10