Forever Evil: Arkham War 5
Peter J. Tomasi, Scot Eaton
Spoiler alert! You have been warned!
This is a rarity for me. A not-perfect review for a Batman comic by Peter J. Tomasi. Now, before you get all angry and defensive, hear me out: It’s still a pretty great comic. It just sort of falls flat near the end for a couple of main reasons (see those below). The artwork of Scot Eaton feels a little rushed at the end of the issue as well, further contributing to bad taste left in my mouth after the last few pages. And no. I did not eat the comic. After all, it’d be dumb to start destroying comics at this point in my full event coverage.
The war rages on in the streets of Gotham. The original Talon (William “Richard Grayson aka Nightwing’s Grandfather” Cobb) and Bane are kicking some ass as the new Dynamic Duo of Batman and Robin with the absence of Gotham City’s protectors. They are pretty much single-handedly putting the rest of the Talons (under Scarecrow and the rest of the Arkhamites’ control) in their places. The cops are pretty much screwed, even if the Penguin doesn’t double-cross them. And the war looks like it’s going to be pretty much one-sided until, well, the last few pages happen. And that’s where the creative team loses me. Not completely, mind you, but I definitely had to do a double-take and give myself some space for a while. Everyone becoming Venom junkies to take out Bane and his army seems a little, well, Marvel Comics to me. (Also: Didn’t Killer Croc and Professor Pyg die? I’m glad they didn’t, but a little explanation would have been nice.)
Hulk… er… Bane fighting a bunch of other Banes does not interest me. In fact, it makes me think of all the reasons I like and have always liked DC. Because they routinely DON’T do stuff like this. Granted, it is going to at least try to not be campy, but come on. This is ridiculous, no matter how you look at it. In concept, that is. I remain hopeful that this will not just be one big brawl of crazy (or rather, crazier) Venom-induced Arkhamites fighting mindlessly until one side stops. But seriously. Let’s not have that. Let’s have Scarecrow outsmart (or try to outsmart) Bane. And really, let’s just have what we all want to have happen actually come to fruition: the war ends, the dust settles, and the Penguin takes over Gotham City once and for all. See you next month for the conclusion. I’m sure it’ll be great. Even if it’s a mindless smackdown.
My Rating: 4/5
I told you Killer Croc wasn’t dead!