Shuffling Around
Written By: James Tynion IV
Art By: Guillem March, Rafael Albuquerque, David Baron
Letters By: Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 7, 2020
*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*
Tynion’s run has been pretty entertaining up to this point. His first story has had several twists and turns that all seem to lead up to a new Joker War arc. Now, the previous issue was more of a setup issue for the new Joker War. Recently, Joker was able to steal Bruce Wayne’s fortune after revealing that he was the one behind The Designer’s plan. With Batman and Catwoman injured and Joker in the money, it’s only a matter of time before Joker’s plans come to fruition. I’m hoping that we move on from that setup issue and instead begin this story properly. Let’s jump into this newest issue and see where it takes us.
Our issue begins years prior when Bruce was nearing the end of his training to become Batman. Bruce sits at a cafe until he sees an old man returning home to a building. Just as the man closes the door behind him, Bruce leaps into action and grabs the door, preventing it from closing. The man is a former detective known as Cassander Wycliffe Baker and Bruce wants him to train him. However the man seems to be not at all interested by this offer. Baker flexes on Bruce a little by revealing that by all the small little details about his person, Baker is able to accurately determine where he comes from, all the places he has been, the people he has trained under, and so on. Bruce pleads for him to teach him but Baker tells him he will not do so. Instead, he will teach him a lesson about failure.
Watch our Batman #94 Video Review
We cut to the present where Batman pulls himself to a chair, katana still stuck in his leg. Eventually, Lucius Fox shows up to help him and applies a compression band after removing the weapon. Lucius reveals that the Manor has already been seized and they will be coming for the company next. Bruce asks where Catwoman is and Lucius tells him that she has been shot and being taken to the hospital. Bruce demands to talk with her and Lucius connects a call. The two talks for a moment and both apologies to the other but Batman knows what comes next and asks Selina to find a safe place to hunker down. Bruce then breaks the window in his office and tells Lucius he is going after Selina because Joker will target her. We cut to Deathstroke and the assassin team from earlier as they are all getting out of town. As they do, Deathstroke looks at Gotham and suggests that it might be the last time any of them see the city again.
We cut to Batman who has arrived at the hospital. In Selina’s room, he only finds an empty bed. After a quick conversation, he tells the nurse to leave but soon finds himself with Joker’s goons pointing their weapons at him. Joker talks to Batman through phone and of course taunts Batman with all the plans he says he will put into place. During the call, he does reveal that he was unable to capture Catwoman but things are only going to get worse for Batman as Joker’s goons eventually open fire. Batman jumps out of the nearby window in order to avoid incoming fire. We cut to Catwoman who wakes up in a bed and it turns out that she is with Penguin. Catwoman tells Penguin about the true identity of the Designer and Penguin shows her where they are. They are in a secret hideout that many of Batman’s rogue’s gallery hides in when one of them attacks the city in such a major way. We cut to Batman going through the city, with his inner monologue leading up to a vow to Alfred to be a better Batman. This is where the issue leaves us.
Yawn. This issue is so boring! Let’s look back at the previous two issues and you’ll see how much this issue doesn’t compare. Issue 92 was very exciting and we saw Batman overcome obstacles while new challenges presented themselves. It was a great way to move the issue forward. Issue 93 was slower but we did see reveals that move the story forward. While the issue was mostly a setup for the coming War, it still had major plot points that moved the story forward. Unfortunately, none of these things are present in this new issue. It is solely a setup issue and nothing really changes throughout the entire thing. We just see our character react to what has happened in the previous issue but they don’t really push the story forward. A bit too much time is spent in monologues and flashbacks that don’t really seem to add to the story at all (at least not at this point). The art is pretty good at least!
Bits and Pieces
This issue of Batman is neither exciting nor does it really develop our story. We have some setup for the upcoming Joker War but other than that this issue doesn’t really do much of anything. The art is great in this issue though, even though (at least for right now) nothing else in this issue really holds any weight.
5.5/10
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