Batman #79 Review and *SPOILERS*

The Honeymooners

Written By: Tom King
Art By: Clay Mann, Seth Mann, Tomeu Morey
Letters By: Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 18, 2019

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

The previous issue of this book was something really special. However, I can understand why people may have had an issue with it. We took yet another detour from our main story in order to revisit the story of Batman and Catwoman’s relationship. While some people may have disliked it, I found it to be really fantastic. It honestly felt like the kind of issue that Tom King’s writing style perfectly fits. I absolutely loved it. That being said, I’m ready to return to the meat and potatoes of this book. I want to get back to Gotham. I want to see our hero making moves to take on the villain. I want proper story progression. I’m incredibly happy to have been proven wrong in the last issue, however, I’m ready for something new. I want this story to move forward. So, let’s just jump right into this issue and see where it takes us.

We get a quick scene that with a little context we are able to figure out is when Batman and Catwoman met on the street. (This also gives context to the last issue being where they met on the boat). We cut to Selina on the beach. Bruce joins her and the two talk. Selina’s contacts have found the villain Magpie who has stolen venom in her possession. If the two can retake the venom, they will be able to return to Gotham. We cut to the two of them exercising and they return to the conversation about the boat and the street. This conversation reveals the story that they ran into each other on the street before the two dawned their costumes. The boat came afterward but they had both dawned their cowls. Back at the hotel, the two share a drink and listen to the news about the state of Gotham. A man sitting near them comments about how he’s glad things are going that way in Gotham. When Selina tells him off, he places his hand on her thigh and makes a move. He is met with a punch. Bruce and Selina return to their place and fall into bed with each other.

We cut to a convenience store robbery where the robber has the clerk at gunpoint. She is unfazed though as she sees Batman and Catwoman sneaking up behind him. The robber doesn’t believe her but it isn’t long before he is taken down by the duo. We get a couple more scenes of the two easing into jobs again. Before long, the two are fighting costumed villains again. We then see the two watching the sunset. This issue takes place before the events of issue 77, so Batman says that he’s gotten the signal from Alfred that he is safe and that he is going to send in Damien. The pair exchanged “I love you”s before finally leaving their beach and waiting to the right moment to jump Magpie.

The plan goes off without any issue and Catwoman and Batman make quick work of Magpie’s henchmen before quickly beating her as well. Catwoman rips the diamond necklace from Magpie’s neck before telling her to return to Gotham and they will be taking the venom and the payment with them. Turns out that the diamond is from Gotham. Catwoman has stolen it four times in the past and Batman has stopped her four times. Bruce tells Selina that she can’t keep it. Selina accepts it but makes her grievances known. Before they return, Bruce tells her that he doesn’t think the street is when they first met because they weren’t who they really were then. Bruce wasn’t the Bat and Selina wasn’t the Cat. When they met on the boat, they were meeting as who they truly were. However, things have changed again and so Bruce asks if they can meet again. So the two walk away together, agreeing that the two met on the beach. This is where the issue leaves us.

I will give King some credit with this issue. The debate between Bruce and Selina about where they met has been an ongoing mystery to the reader and this issue gives us the answers we were looking for. However, at the same time, I felt like this part of the story was so neatly wrapped in the previous issue. Now, things have been extended to include another collection of scenes between Batman and Catwoman on the beach. It’s not bad, per se. I really do like that we finally have an answer for that one mystery but I’m kind of over this continued delay. I gave it a pass last issue because it turned out good and felt so impactful. This issue doesn’t have that same quality and instead just feels like a filler issue. Almost nothing that happens has any real importance other than the mystery that is solved in this issue. We already knew the two were back together and we already knew they were going to return to Gotham. This felt like filler.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue continues the story with Bruce and Selina but unfortunately, the quality is nowhere near the same caliber. It’s not a total loss. We finally get answers when it comes to the mystery of how Bruce and Selina really met but at the same time, that one revelation doesn’t save this issue from feeling like a filler issue. This issue isn’t that bad, but it feels very bland.

5.1/10