Batman #21-27, 29-33 & DC Comics: Zero Year One-Shots (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

(DC Comics Zero Year contains: Detective Comics #25, Batgirl #25, Batwing #25, Batwoman #25, Birds of Prey #25, Catwoman #25, The Flash #25, Green Arrow #25, Green Lantern Corps #25, Nightwing #25, Red Hood and The Outlaws #25 and Action Comics #25.)

When DC Comics rebooted its entire line-up in 2011's New 52 campaign, almost all of the major players seemed to be retooled. That is with the exception of the Batman. For one reason or another, most of the Bat-Family history was the same as before the change which occurred on August 31st. Making drastic changes to Batman, the publisher's most popular character, might have destroyed DC's loyal fan base. Another reason for keeping Batman's history from being completely rewritten as opposed to the newer, grittier version of Superman, was the need to keep some of the established DC characters from looking too different. Regardless, the ultimate decision was all about money.

Batman writers Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV both noticed the need to incorporate a little bit of New 52 backstory into the Batman Family. Not wanting to erase any of the amazing lore crafted about the legend of the Dark Knight, especially Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, the writing duo went even further back with Zero Year! 

DC Comics had already explored this 'zero year' in 2012 in commemoration of the 1-year anniversary of the New 52 in which all existing series were given an issue #0 that delved into the origins of these rebooted characters. In follow-up, Snyder and Tynion crafted an entire storyline based around the 'zero month' concept. 

Batman #21 would see Bruce Wayne returning to Gotham City after years of a self-imposed exile. This occurs 5 years before the beginning of the storylines of the New 52 lineup. Many believe Wayne is dead and Bruce wants to keep it that way. That is until the billionaire discovers that a menacing force known as the Red Hood Gang has infiltrated the Wayne family business and is using Wayne Enterprises technology and funds to organize a criminal vice over the city. 

Bruce Wayne attempts to stop the Red Hood Gang by acting as a standard ski-mask wearing vigilante. But his early attempts don't do much to intimidate crooks. Building upon his childhood phobia of bats, Bruce Wayne creates a high-tech suit resembling a giant chiropteran and begins to strike fear into Gotham's criminal element. 

As Bruce Wayne/Batman fights the Red Hood Gang, another player is working in the shadows. Edward Nygma has positioned himself as a trusted advisor to current Wayne Enterprises CEO, Philip Kane. This gives Nygma not only access to a vast enterprise of advanced technology, but also the ability to manipulate the Red Hood Gang after Batman seemingly kills their leader. 

With Gotham in a power vacuum and a deadly super storm hurricane zeroing in on Gotham, Nygma makes his play. Now touting himself as the Riddler, Nygma detonates scores of bombs, shutting off the metropolitan area's power.  Effectively Gotham is cut off from the rest of the world. 

It is at this point that a dozen New 52 series take a brief pause in their current storylines and revert back to Zero Year. Clark Kent learns that despite having god-like powers, he's nothing compared to an act of God. Rookie Keystone City policeman Barry Allen volunteers to beef up Gotham's depleted police force and learns that all saints are sinners and vice versa. Marine John Stewart assists in the evacuation of citizens that have flocked to the Gotham coliseum. These are all episodes that will define these heroes years later.

Meanwhile, the members of the Bat-Family are also learning important lessons on the eve of Zero Year. Barbara Gordon gets a first hand look at mob mentality and displaced trust when the public shelter she has fled to begins to flood. Dick Grayson learns about bravery and to never trust someone with the last name Falcone. Cassandra Cain gets her first taste of vigilantism while making a chance encounter with a member of the Metropolis police department. But most perplexing of all is the back story of Jason Todd. His story sees him infiltrating the Red Hood Gang and running afoul of an alluring member of the League of Assassins all for the chance at cheap thrills!

After the Zero Year one-shots, the regular storyline commences. It sees Gotham isolated with the Riddler ruling the megalopolis through the use of deadly drones and the only power source in town. Batman comes to grips with his past distrust of Jim Gordon and along with Lucius Fox, seeks to restore power and order to Gotham.

Zero Year was a unique crossover event. To only have to purchase 12 single issues, each comprised of a stand alone story that occurs with such devastation in a major location in the DC Universe was actually a rare thing. For example, if one wanted to read all of the material of 1988-86's Crisis on Infinite Earths, the first major multi-issue crossover event, they'd have to buy the 12 issues of the maxi-series plus an astounding 38 supplemental issues. Compare that to Marvel's 2015 Secret Wars event where fans had to purchase nearly 100 issues in order to complete their wish list. 

Though fans' pockets weren't as assaulted with Zero Year as with other in-house crossovers, the story itself was a bit jarring. There are flashbacks splattered all throughout the series, many of which don't get addressed properly, if not at all. The final issue takes place in 3 simultaneous perspectives; one of which is at least 5 years (or more) in the past, just as Batman seeks to finally wrestle control of Gotham from the Riddler while a team of Air Force jets approach with warheads armed and ready. 

Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV do manage to create a Batman origin story that does not contradict Batman: Year One. The whole idea of the coming super storm and Riddler's role in the crippling of Gotham City were plot devices used in 2022's The Batman. 2012's Batman: Death of The Family and other previous works might have established the Joker as the Dark Knight's most deadliest foe. But, a lot of that is personal vendetta type stuff. Batman: Zero Year establishes the Riddler as Batman's most destructive enemy, willing to sacrifice millions at the cost of saving face in order to prove just who is the smartest man in Gotham City!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #35 (An Entire In-house Crossover Event like Civil War or Final Crisis) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Batman, Volume 6: The Graveyard Shift (New 52!)

One problem I have with the New 52 Universe is that the timeline of stories is so skewed. Justice League and Action Comics take place 5-years ago whereas Wonder Woman is set in the present and God knows when and where Earth-2 is really set. The Batman Family stories are just as bad. 

    Think of it like this- in the supposed 6 years of Bruce Wayne's tenure as the Dark Knight, he's gone through not one, not two, but three Robins. No, wait, I forgot Damien- 4 freakin' Boy Wonders as Batman's sidekick. That's an average of 1.5 years per teammate- that's just ridiculous and that insanity is highlighted in this edition.

    This volume is a collection of short stories that take place in the past, present, and future. Essentially, every story is quite good and lots of great background detail is revealed in them. For example in a story set during the Zero Year storyline, we learn a little of the past history of Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake before they each become Robin. 

   But the stories that take place just prior to last year's Batman Eternal event (and occurs at least one year into the future with numerous flashbacks) are jumbled as best. I know that the 52-issue series is supposed to contain a bunch of twists and turns, but some of these shockers seem out of place. For example, Selina Kyle has become the crime lord of Gotham. That's all well and good, but again it jumps the Catwoman comic a full year into the future meaning once again, DC played fast and loose with continuity with very little notice (or concern for the fans.)

   That's one thing that Marvel NOW! doesn't seem to do wrong. They do an amazing job keeping almost every one of their titles set within the same week that the issues drop new in stores. Yes, there is one or two exceptions to that rule but their core timeline is a lot easier to decipher. Unlike the DC timeline in which I once saw a diagram that tried unravel the whole mess. At the end of all the timelines, there was a giant ball of 'wibbly-wobbly, timey wimey... stuff' that just pointed to a giant question mark.

   Where's the Riddler to answer this humongous puzzle when you need him?

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Batman, Volume 5: Zero Year- Dark City (New 52)

   This collection contains the last two acts of the Zero Year storyline. Act Two continues the excitement and mystery of Act One. Here, the Riddler has succeeded in crippling Gotham City by shutting off all of the power. In total control now, the Riddler uses lethal drones and his own personal power source to act as big brother keeping the populace in line and in fear of escaping. Meanwhile, a killer named Doctor Death is killing former Wayne Enterprises employees by causing their bone structure to mutate.

   Seemingly one would think the two villains are not intertwined but Batman has uncovered a link and it could result in mass casualties in the area. With the added threat of a massive hurricane bearing down on Gotham, the Dark Knight and the Gotham PD race to restore power and stop Doctor Death from using the storm clouds as an irrigation system of death.

    The final act occurs a few days later with the GCPD having failed to restore the power, and the storm having flooded the city. Now, the Riddler promises to restore power to the crippled city if someone can best him with a riddle that he cannot solve.
   To me, having Batman best the Riddler in a battle of wits would be an awesome ending to this book. But it just doesn't happen that way. Yes, at some point Batman tries to stump the Riddler but then there's an added plot of having to disarm a series of bombs that the Riddler has placed around the city. Should they go off, the city's foundation would crumble into Gotham Bay. So Lucius Fox and Commissioner Gordon must work to disarm those. Plus there's a series of flashback sequences involving Bruce Wayne committing himself into Arkham peppered in for some reason.  All of this really does stretch out the story to a point I'm begging it to end.

  Zero Year started off perfectly. The first act was nearly flawless. Act Two was very clever and it featured the Caped Crusader solving a murder mystery which is an element of Batman that's often overlooked, but I really enjoy when they happen. But by Act Three, the story is starting to lose steam and it barely crosses the finish line. I was sorely disappointed. If it wasn't for the epilogue to this story showing some of the rebuilding of Gotham would I have rendered this book NOT WORTH CONSUMING. But thanks to it's addition, I'll say it's okay.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars

 

Detective Comics, Volume 5: Gothopia (New 52)

    There's a lot going in this collection. First, in concordance with the Zero Year storyline is a tale about the early days of Jim Gordon and the GCPD. Then we shoot forward six years as Batman teams with Manbat to bring an end to Lady Manbat's reign of terror (see Detective Comics Volume 3 & 4 for more information.) After the conclusion of that adventure, the Dark Knight returns to the Bat Cave only to be confronted by his partner, Catbird!

   Huh???

   In the course of just two pages, gritty Gotham City has turned into Gothopia, a utopia where crime is virtually non-existent, none of the Robins ever died, and Oswald Copplepot's umbrella bears the mantle of Mayor Penguin. Has Batman entered a parallel universe, has he suffered a mental breakdown or is there something more nefarious behind this panacea?

   Lastly, the origin and 75 years of Dark Knight legends combine in a reprint of last year's 'Detective Comics #27 Special Edition.' There are some unique looks at the Batman and his lengthy cast of friends and foes. With an all-star list of contributors ranging from Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Scott Snyder, Brad Meltzer, Mike and Laura Allred, and many more. You may not like every story in the 'Special Edition', but it's the tribute that the Caped Crusader deserves; filled with his highest highs and lowest lows.

    I loved this volume, but the Jim Gordon story was my favorite. I really enjoyed the series 'Gotham Central' from 2003-06, which focused on the crime fighters and detectives of Gotham who wear a badge instead of a cape. Gordon's story captures the spirit of that great series. I'm also a big fan of the FOX show 'Gotham.' I would not be surprised if the writers and producers of that program didn't use this tale for some sort of inspiration.

    Worth Consuming.

  Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Batman, Volume 4: Zero Year- Secret City (The New 52)

Zero Hour: It’s the New 52 equivalent of Year One. Many of the back stories of the characters of the DC Universe changed after Flashpoint. This DC event tries to explain those changes by staying true to the timeless legends we’ve grown up with while trying to be new and trendy for the next generation. Many long time readers hate these reboots. I for one am often in that boat. But, I’ve really liked the New 52’s Batman titles, so I decided to give this a try.

  In this volume, the main course of events occurs 6 years prior to the storylines that began in the very first issue of New 52’s Batman #1. Here, Bruce Wayne’s been declared legally dead, having disappeared 7 years earlier to go on his pilgrimage, training to become a master detective. Now he’s back in Gotham and operating as a vigilante while wearing rubber masks and plain clothes. Upon his return to his home, Wayne finds a that a gang of red hooded thugs have taken over, conscripting the citizens of Gotham into the Red Hood’s army whether they want to join or not.

   

  If you are familiar with the Red Hood’s origin, you’ll know that the Hood is what will become the Joker. Writer Scott Snyder does a fantastic job building from Alan Moore’s the Killing Joke to tie the origins of Batman and the Clown Prince of Crime ever so closer together. Snyder also does a fair job expounding on the manipulative exploits of Edward Nygma, AKA the Riddler, casting him as a rogue financial analyst for the corrupt heads of Wayne Enterprises.

While we see Bruce Wayne taking steps to becoming Batman, we also see a lot of rough edges. For example, Wayne flips off the Red Hood, definitely something the ice cold Dark Knight wouldn’t have stooped too. In another scene during Wayne’s first adventure as the Bat, a foe says that his will “gore him like a bull” to which the Caped Crusader jumps on top of the criminal and proceeds to yell out “Yee-ha!” It’s a funny moment but not characteristically Batman.

There’s still more of the Zero Hour story left to tell. I’m expecting to find it in the next volume of this title. But I would not be surprised to find it played out in the pages of Detective Comics or Batman: The Dark Knight. I’ll have to research more as to where to find the next chapter…

(Goes to Amazon)

(Returns) Okay got my answer. The next chapter to the Batman: Zero Year story is already out in Batman, Volume 5: Dark City. I guess somebody checked it out at the library. So, I may not have to wait very long.

Overall, this first volume was very good. The Red Hood was done superbly as was Riddler. It’s the rough edges on Bruce Wayne/ Batman that’s a little hard to adapt to. But, in previous volumes, Batman is his usual bad-ass self. So, I am sure that it’s going to take some spit and polish to get Bruce Wayne into proper crime-fighting shape.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.