Detective Comics #949 Review

Written by: James Tynion and Marguerite Bennett
Art by: Ben Oliver, Szymon Kudranski, Gabe Eltaeb, and Marilyn Patrizio
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: January 25, 2017

I can't wait for the Batwoman book so of course, I couldn't wait for the Batwoman Begins story as well.  Unfortunately, I thought last issue had less Batwoman and more Monster Men and that's a recipe for disaster in my book.  However, I loved the bits we did get with Kate training to be Batwoman with her father, Jacob.  Of course, there was that Monster Men thing that pretty much stunk up the proceedings and brought it way down.  So, does this finale show us more Batwoman?  Let's find out...


The issue starts back in the awesome past of Kate Kane who is studying Batwoman equally awesome fighting technique when she gets a visitor...Batman!  After asking some questions, he begins telling Kate (an the reader) the what what on Kate Kane.  It's an origin story for Batwoman, but as the scene ends, we see it's also one for Colony.

Back in the present, Batman and Kate are battling Colony Prime and it's Kate that takes him down...kind of.  While Batman is off trying to "heal" the Belfry, Kate and Prime chat it up, but it's mostly Prime talking...trash talking that is!

It all leads to a cool scene where Prime thinks he has won the day only to have the rug pulled from underneath him.  For a moment, it looked like everything was cool.  Kate got her groove back and told Prime why she became a hero and Batman even stepped in.  That's when we got...more Monster Men nonsense!

Okay, I have to admit, when Prime went all monster on Batman and Kate, it was pretty cool. Things get a little hairy when Kate used a shotgun (no no!) and the Monster Prime got away, but before he left, he dropped a hint of some trouble on the horizon.

After Kate and Batman have a nice stroll down memory lane, Kate goes to talk to her dad and they set up a very messed up crime fighting team dynamic going forward.  Of course, this is the Batwoman Begins story, so that team will be featured in the upcoming Batwoman book.

I liked that we got more Batwoman here and while I am worried about the focus on the Monster Men stuff (at least at the start) in her solo book, I like that Jacob is involved.  Like his daughter, I think his appeal is he isn't just another cookie cutter character.  Do I like him? Not in the least, but he is interesting.  

The main thing to ask is if this finale got me excited for Batwoman's book and the answer is sort of.  I still am scratching my head why DC didn't put Steve Epting on art here because even though the art in this issue is good, I would have prefered to see what the solo book's art will be like.  Plus, we still have the Monster Men connection that I really hate, but I am going to be open minded and go with a wait and see approach.

Bits and Pieces:

This was a very quick read that doesn't really end, but gives a launching point for Batwoman's upcoming solo book.  If you are going to read that book (like me!), this is a good way to see the direction it's going.  However, if you are just a Detective fan, there isn't a whole lot here for you and you can subtract a point from my score.

7.0/10