Batman: Kings of Fear #6 Review

Nothing to Fear

Written by: Scott Peterson
Art by: Kelley Jones, Michelle Madsen, and Rob Leigh
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 9, 2019

I started out liking this mini-series a whole lot, but with each issue that changed for the worse.  The overall story of the Scarecrow analyzing Batman seemed more originally at first and the book ended up with the same cliches that we get with Batman wondering if he's been good for Gotham and it's citizens.  So, did this final issue turn it all around and make me love it?  Let's find out...

We start the issue where we left off in the last issue's cliffhanger...Batman is losing his mind.  Now, I did expect a bit more of that but we quickly get to Scarecrow begging Batman to tell him what he saw in his madness.  Batman answers him by punching him in the face just as Jim Gordon busts into the room.  There is a weird bit where Batman tells Gordon to find a spot on the GCPD for Rhee, then seems to disappear while Gordon thanks Batman for being Batman to go into the Batmobile with Rhee already in it?  It gets a bit stranger when we see that Batman knew Rhee was actually Scarecrow's accomplice the whole time.  Why did he tell Gordon to find a spot on the GCPD for him then? I know it looks like Rhee was blackmailed, but we never know how or why so it just ends up feeling very odd.

The issue continues with Batman dragging Scarecrow into Arkham and locking him up.  Scarecrow still wants to know what Batman saw in his nightmares, but the Dark Knight has better things to do...like find out how much he meant to a young woman working at Arkham.  It's such a drawn-out scene to get to a point that we already know and have seen a hundred times before that I really lost total interest in this entire issue during it.

Batman then heads home, scares some hoods straight, makes a joke with Alfred and then yells at Alfred like a jerk.  We do end with a good bit from Alfred, but again, it doesn't feel new or fresh if you've watched the Batman movies or have read a bunch of comics.

It can't be a shocker that I did not like this issue or series overall.  The whole series felt stretched out and this issue felt even more cliched than the rest.  In the end, nothing with the Scarecrow even mattered and this is one of those stories that feels like it will be forgotten in a month or two.  I liked the art throughout the series, but not much else.

Bits and Pieces:

Batman Kings of Fear ends with a whimper that tries to show the reader why Batman is so great but does so in a way that has been done so many times already.  I loved Kelley Jones' art, but the story was stretched out, forgettable and didn't take advantage of the unique premise it started out with.  In other words, I didn't like it and can't recommend it.

4.5/10