BATMAN # 655: Quick, Robin! To the...Batpole?!

[Buried Alien]

This is an odd way to start out a thread about the latest issue of BATMAN (# 655), but was that a *Batpole* we saw Robin use to enter the Batcave in this issue?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Mia]

This was an awesome issue. The best I have read on Batman since the five years I have been collecting. I hope Morrison can keep up the tempo. And Kubert's art is exquisite.

[mrc1214]

This is an odd way to start out a thread about the latest issue of BATMAN (# 655), but was that a *Batpole* we saw Robin use to enter the Batcave in this issue?

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Yes it was 2 of them actually im guessing Batman has one too. Maybe Morrison likes the old TV show. I just hope Morrison stays on this book for a while.

[matgro]

I loved this issue! Morrison is doing a great job as portraying Batman as a dark and gritty character while managing to give the book a humorous side as well. It's a nice balance. After reading Batman for many years, the stories tend to get a tad predictable to me at times, but I feel like Morrison has a lot of great surprises planned. Kubert's art worked for me as well. Nicely done. My favorite moment had to be
Spoilers - Batman chucking a wounded Joker into a dumpster. Hardcore!!!

[sly_kat]

I loved this issue! Morrison is doing a great job as portraying Batman as a dark and gritty character while managing to give the book a humorous side as well. It's a nice balance. After reading Batman for many years, the stories tend to get a tad predictable to me at times, but I feel like Morrison has a lot of great surprises planned. Kubert's art worked for me as well. Nicely done. My favorite moment had to be
Spoilers - Batman chucking a wounded Joker into a dumpster. Hardcore!!!


Yeah awesome issue! ...however that part made Batman seem way out of character~

[DWEarhart]

I enjoyed the books opening segments.

It seemed like Morrisson used this issue to express the style of voice he'll be using, while setting up the story.

It was nice to have Alfred around for the majority of the issue. I still say he's due a mini-series that looks into his days with the S.A.S.

[TheTen-EyedMan]

I have to say while it wasn't the worst issue of Batman I've read, it wasn't the best.

It's still a thousand times better than anything I've seen in the last eight years.

[Sean Walsh]

Yeah awesome issue! ...however that part made Batman seem way out of character~

But he's the GOD DAMN BATMAN!!!!

At least when it comes to the Joker and dumpsters.

Other than that, he's much nicer and cooler now.

[agentofthebat]

so what happen to the joker in this? Who shot him and now what is going to happen to the joker?

[Jkid099]

An ex-cop who went insane and dressed up like Batman in hopes of "ridding the city" of crime is who shot the Joker. The Joker pretty much was beating the hell out of him because the Joker really thought it was the Batman. Then the guy surprised him by pulling out his gun (because, hey, Batman doesn't use a gun these days) ... BLAM. Joker's alive ... and supposedly will show up later in Morrison's run as a "brand new Joker." (possibly with a hole in his head).

[agentofthebat]

An ex-cop who went insane and dressed up like Batman in hopes of "ridding the city" of crime is who shot the Joker. The Joker pretty much was beating the hell out of him because the Joker really thought it was the Batman. Then the guy surprised him by pulling out his gun (because, hey, Batman doesn't use a gun these days) ... BLAM. Joker's alive ... and supposedly will show up later in Morrison's run as a "brand new Joker." (possibly with a hole in his head).

any idea when this "brand new Joker" should come around?

[kertap]

In all fairness what's he going to do with a wounded Joker. Take him to the hospital? I'm not a Doctor but the fact that he survived a GUNSHOT TO THE FACE might imply he is going to survive whether or not he gets medical treatment (like the end of fight club).

I'm kind of worried about Gordon. I know this is highly unlikely since they just made him commisioner again but what if he doesn't get better and turns into the new joker? I personally would hate that. But like I said I think it's highly unlikely.

Get well soon Gordon!!! We need you back on the force.

[literally exaggerated]

I could see Gordon temporarily becoming the New Joker, which would be AWESOME.

The only thing that would suck would be if it were permanent, but given that Morrison's gone out of his way to make it clear that the old Joker's still alive and kicking, that obviously won't happen.

[kertap]

Actually gordon temporarily being joker would rock. For some reason I got it into my head that these sorts of things are permanent. Then I remembered Jason Todd is alive.

[stillanerd]

I could see Gordon temporarily becoming the New Joker, which would be AWESOME.

The only thing that would suck would be if it were permanent, but given that Morrison's gone out of his way to make it clear that the old Joker's still alive and kicking, that obviously won't happen.

Well, Morrison could always make it so that the Joker Venom Gordon inhaled contained nanocites with the Joker's own DNA signature and it transforms Gordon into the Joker, sort of like what happened to Tim Drake in Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker After all, Morrison has come up with pretty weird ideas before. Actually, I'm hoping that it will be revealed that there has been two Jokers all along, sort of like this idea I came up with awhile back:

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showpost.php?p=2742983&postcount=29

BTW, does anyone get the feeling that Morrison is channelling a bit of Denny O'Neil's take on Batman here? We not only have the return of Bruce Wayne, international Playboy with a touch of James Bond, but also we've got a story involving Man-Bat and Talia--both characters who were created by Denny O'Neil--only with Morrison's characteristic touches of course. :)

[kertap]

One other thing I want to throw out there. You can send it right back if you want.

Did I read correctly that Kathy Kane was one of the women that Bruce was with? I'd love to hear more about that.

[derrickfish]

BTW, does anyone get the feeling that Morrison is channelling a bit of Denny O'Neil's take on Batman here? We not only have the return of Bruce Wayne, international Playboy with a touch of James Bond, but also we've got a story involving Man-Bat and Talia--both characters who were created by Denny O'Neil--only with Morrison's characteristic touches of course. :)

Could be. It certainly had that FEEL to it, and I don't mind at ALL. Those were good times for good BATMAN stories and Morrisons beginning is very promising. I liked Batman being an imposing BATMAN, but not a jerk to Robin and Alfred as had been the standard for so long until this whole "One Year Later" began. A lot of very interesting seeds had been planted with the characters, and the mysterious child at the end who is already shown to be quite a detective himself. (No spoilers HERE...)

Also, am I the only person here who liked HUSH? It seemed pretty successful, but everyone keeps saying the "Best BATMAN in 8 years".

[stillanerd]

One other thing I want to throw out there. You can send it right back if you want.

Did I read correctly that Kathy Kane was one of the women that Bruce was with? I'd love to hear more about that.

That was the Silver Age/Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Kathy Kane, a.k.a. Batwoman:

http://hyperion2000.free.fr/UniversDC/Batwoman.JPG

And she didn't exactly have a full-blown romantic relationship with Batman although they DID have a mutual attraction towards each other (it was the 1950s after all where the idea of two adults having a romance was just "icky" for kids...which was why they snuck a peak at the "True Romance" stuff :D). She was later murdered and then retconned out of existance apparently with COIE. This Kathy Kane is apparently a "new" character.

[muimi]

Loved the art, certainly like Morrison's start. I'm eager to see where it goes.

[Doom Hammer]

I could see Gordon temporarily becoming the New Joker, which would be AWESOME.

The only thing that would suck would be if it were permanent, but given that Morrison's gone out of his way to make it clear that the old Joker's still alive and kicking, that obviously won't happen.

There was one panel of apparent foreshadowing, in which half of Gordon's face is illuminated so it's white (and also smiley and crazy), while the other side of his face is normal and flesh colored.

Maybe a wierd, temporary, faux-Two-Face Joker Gordon? Torn between his normal personality and the effects of the Joker's poison, and so on?

[Damo]

That was the Silver Age/Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Kathy Kane, a.k.a. Batwoman:

http://hyperion2000.free.fr/UniversDC/Batwoman.JPG

And she didn't exactly have a full-blown romantic relationship with Batman although they DID have a mutual attraction towards each other (it was the 1950s after all where the idea of two adults having a romance was just "icky" for kids...which was why they snuck a peak at the "True Romance" stuff :D). She was later murdered and then retconned out of existance apparently with COIE. This Kathy Kane is apparently a "new" character.

Almost but not quite. This Kathy Kane isn't "new". After Crisis Kathy was changed from being a retired Batwoman to simply being Batman's friend. Post-Crisis Kathy Kane still ran a circus and was friends with Batman, just like the retired pre-Crisis Batwoman. Her murder by the League of Assassins has been referenced several times post-Crisis. So the only real change to the story of her death is that she was never Batwoman.

[DonC]

Much like Paul Dini's first issue, I was unimpressed with Morrison's first issue. It had nice art, but almost nothing in the way of story. Yeah, we're reintroduced to Bruce Wayne, playboy, but that's about it.

And what a waste of the Joker.

[bannermanonemillion]

Why couldn't THIS have been All-Star Batman, huh?!?

[Indigo Al]

The best thing about this issue is the coloring. I don't know why, but it's very expressive, suits the manic scenes with the Joker, and manages to be dark but vibrant. Kudos to Dave Stewart!

I'm wondering whether "Son of Batman" will converge more with "Son of the Demon" or with "Kingdom Come", unless it's some kind of trick....

[The Xenos]

Heh. Yeah, it could all be a trick.

As for the story, it was interesting that the opening had a second Batman who was a cop who flipped out. I remember this old comic I had as a kid that used that as its story. I belive it was written by Max Allan Collins. Here Morrison took that idea and used it just in his intro.

Also, it did seem he was brining back a bit more of the Denny O'Neil era Batman and Bruce Wayne. Though I thought I heard O'Neil didn't like Son of the Demon. Still, quite and interesting and not unwelcome take for me. INterested to see where this goes.

[saintsaucey]

Also, am I the only person here who liked HUSH? It seemed pretty successful, but everyone keeps saying the "Best BATMAN in 8 years".

Dude, I love hush. It is one of my favorite Batman stories ever. I've read it like a dozen times and annoy people with my ravings about it all the time.

This issue of Batman was fantastic. atleast with the art. I'll reserve my judgement on the story till i see where it goes.

[cactusmaac]

I liked it. It was fun. Can't remember ever reading a fun Batman comic outside of JLI.

[Rorschach4100]

I haven't followed any DC comic for a pretty long time and honestly I don't really try and keep up. I admit I love Batman but can't say I've ever been a vary faithful reader outside of DK and maybe a couple other trades. Really, the only reason I picked this issue up was because of Morrison. The book didn’t impress me. There weren’t any mind blowing surprises but it was a good read overall. My only question is how did Batman effectively capture every villain in Gotham? Is that even possible?

[matgro]

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that the Joker/dumpster moment was completely out of character for Batman. The Joker has committed more atrocities than any other Batman villain - crippling Barbara Gordon and murdering Jason Todd, just to name a couple of the big ones. Batman recently said himself that he would like nothing more than to see the Joker dead, and in "Hush", Gordon had to pull his gun on Batman in order to stop him from choking the Joker to death. With a wounded Joker on his hands, I doubt Batman's first thought would be rushing him to the hospital.

[bannermanonemillion]

I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that the Joker/dumpster moment was completely out of character for Batman. The Joker has committed more atrocities than any other Batman villain - crippling Barbara Gordon and murdering Jason Todd, just to name a couple of the big ones. Batman recently said himself that he would like nothing more than to see the Joker dead, and in "Hush", Gordon had to pull his gun on Batman in order to stop him from choking the Joker to death. With a wounded Joker on his hands, I doubt Batman's first thought would be rushing him to the hospital.

We are talking about the same Batman who convinced the the fleepin' Spectre not to kill the Joker, right? The same Batman who used just about every detective trick in the book to prove that the Joker was not responsible for a rash of postage stamp murders and the same Batman who at the last minute was able to save the Joker from the electric chair when he wasn't guilty, right?

If Batman can't control his urge to kill the Joker, the rest of the Bat-Rouges are hopeless.

[Mia]

We are talking about the same Batman who convinced the the fleepin' Spectre not to kill the Joker, right? The same Batman who used just about every detective trick in the book to prove that the Joker was not responsible for a rash of postage stamp murders and the same Batman who at the last minute was able to save the Joker from the electric chair when he wasn't guilty, right?



You know I don't consider that to be the real Batman. It just doesn't make sense for a man who suffered the kind of trajedy that Bruce did to go around trying to save a sadist and a killer like the Joker. Slamming him down into the dumpster filled with trash was benign. Considering what we know what Batman could really do.

[matgro]

You know I don't consider that to be the real Batman. It just doesn't make sense for a man who suffered the kind of trajedy that Bruce did to go around trying to save a sadist and a killer like the Joker. Slamming him down into the dumpster filled with trash was benign. Considering what we know what Batman could really do.

I think that instance where Batman was trying to protect an innocent Joker was obviously the writer's attempt at irony. Instead of going with the normal scenario of the Joker murdering people and Batman laying the smack down on him, they decided to do something different and have him actually be innocent for once. The killing of an innocent person is the antithesis of what Batman stands for, even if it happens to be the Joker.
In the case of Batman #655, the Joker was guilty. He had beaten a cop nearly to death, poisoned Gordon and threatened the lives of children. There was no reason to go easy on him. Batman did what only seemed right - he threw out the trash.

[matgro]

Also, as far as I know, getting thrown into garbage is non-lethal. It probably doesn't even hurt that much.

[Strider119]

I don;t want to pee in the punch ... but I was let down by this issue. I had SUCH high hopes for Morrisons run on batman; but this kind of fell flat imo.

I guess after reading that amazing single issue from Dini, anything anyone else does is going to be pretty weak.

Mossion comes up with some crazy stuff though, so I will give it a couple more issues before I decide weather I really don't like it or not.



phone home:
strider119

[matgro]

Pee in the punch? EEEEEeeewwww! Well, different strokes for different folks. I will agree with you though, Dini's issue of Detective was wonderful in my opinion. Is he going to keep writing that title, or was it just for one issue?

[Armless Penguin]

I liked this issue well enough. I'm still not sold on the whole "son" thing, but we'll see. I'll reserve judgement on Morrison's run, though. Truth be told, I'm more excited about Dini on Detective and the idea of single issue stories. Morrison does write some great stuff, but he also writes some mediocre stuff. It remains to be seen how he'll pull on this book. Here's to hoping the best, though!

[jaguarshark]

What's with all this 'best in years' talk? It was great, but are we forgetting Dini's issue from the very same month? We fans are nothing if not fickle, I guess!

[Nick Kal]

The thing about Morrison is that he'll raise a heck of a lot of questions and then pay off after a long time... and have a lot of never before done stuff and a lot of crazy stuff. At least I hope... that's why I love his New X-Men.

[90'sCartoonMan]

Morrison's off to a good start! He even slipped in Batman's "Hh" from his JLA run. I liked his discussions with Alfred and the growly voice. Guess we won't be seeing much of Robin, at first anyway.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the Man-Bat/Talia stuff develops. Isn't it great that we can have stand alone stories in Detective and arcs in Batman?

I also thought Kubert's pencils worked really well with the story.

[Windbreaker]

655 was very solid, but I think 654 (pre-Morrison) may have been a perfect issue. Last few pages were powerful -- and that's not a word I use very often when describing a comic!

And whoever asked about Hush... no, you aren't alone. I really liked it, too. But a majority of the long-time posters here call it garbage. (between you and me, most of them are just piling on ;) )

[Erebus]

It was alright, but knowing Grant, its probably going to gradually grow up to something big, and then smack you in the face.

[Choppa]

It was good but nothing really happened. Five issues into OYL and nothings really going on.