Well, that's it. With the news of this book being now cancelled, I can't say I am terribly sad. Not because this was a bad comic, but mostly because it was a continuation to H2SH and the less we talk about that, the better.

I'm speechless.

Loving the art from the off. Very vibrant. Pops, if you will. Nice to open a new run with a beloved character from the off and tapping in to precious nostalgia. I am enjoying beat cop Gordon!

Things escalate very quickly and some kind of creature is terrorizing Gotham (how original! I jest).

This Batman doesn't suffer fools . Our first central mystery appears to relate to Killer Kroc. As part of his investigation, Batman gets the scrip on Waylon's recent circumstances from Dr Zeller. A cure for his condition has been found.

Very intriguing! She seems like an interesting new character. She speaks warmly of Croc in a way that counld be construed as romantic. I feel like this is a ruse. I think we'll be seeing more of Dr Zeller.

I like how the equipment Batman is using is Telegraphed. The gear he uses will give us window into the kind of Batman that Fraction intends this to be. I hope this is a continual feature of this run.

He zips through Gotham using a Bat-wing. A sign a flys past reads - "Gotham City - you don't have to be crazy to live here but it helps!"

A nice bit humour, it did make me chuckle. Various TV bits are show beautifully evoking Frank Miller's Gotham.

TV adverts promoting safety armour for normal civilians. GNN news conveying civilian panic. Talk show hosts complaining about unregulated dojos. New casters not buying stats that crime is down, taking pops at sedantry Commissionar Vandal Savage refusing to comment. This is a Gotham in the full swing of chaos. Fraction sets the scene for what is to come - and that's just the intro.

Batman has a very sweet interaction with Killer Croc, I found it very touching .For just a moment, they are just two damaged kids, dropping their guards to find some connection, commonality and ultimately supporting each other. This move from Bruce actually quells Croc's fury, resolving the entire situation. What's more is the scene is in full view of Croc's doctors. A fascinating approach from Bruce. I loved this. Also, AI Alfred is a nice touch. Being able to see Alfred and Bruce interactions is a big plus for this series. The fact that it's only a facsimile of Alfred only adds to the sadness of his loss. This seems to suggest that this Batman will be facing emotional demons head on. Fraction is the kind of writer that should be able to provide such much needed depth to mainline Batman. It has felt very shallow for a long time. There is enough encouraging elements here for me to get excited. Let's go.
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It's just nice to read a good Batman comic. Thank grodd this isn't related to H2SH.

Solid start. Beautiful art. The story doesn't give us a whole lot in terms of direction as there really isn't a villain present. It'll likely be a commentary on the current militarization of the police and extra-policing forces that have been deployed. Poignant. I'm for it. What really catches with this issue though is the levity. Batman needs that every once in a while. The color palette is used very well. It was amazing seeing Batman be an actual hero to civilians, and how the little girl lit up when she saw him before engaging Croc. Fraction is solid and I expect good things. more

Close to perfect first issue.

I liked this series. It just worked for me. Ewing is that good.

Let's hope he can make Knull work... Still not excited about that.

Yeah this was surely something.

I was genuinely surprised.

I liked it.

That is my short and simple view on this. I liked both stories, I liked that this milestone issue was used to advance the plot and we know where we will head next.

I think this is the best I have seen Ben as Chasm. I am not still fan of the idea, but so far Kelly has made it work better than I saw in Wells run.

Pepe's art was amazing. JRJR was fine, but I missed Pepe.

What was a bit annoying was how slowly both of these plots move. I hope we will learn more in the future, how and why Ben picked up Peter's identity and learned what his world involves currently, how Norman decided to put on the suit and where Peter is. So far, 3 issues after Hellgate confrontation, the plot hasn't advanced too much nor do we have a lot of answers. I hope Kelly can pick up, because the energy and flow in the first five issues was great and I miss that. more

While I would not give this issue a 3/10 like Gabe Hernandez, I do understand Afre and Gabe Hernandez criticism. I get how this is good character development where there's no action and it's just Peter and MJ having a conversation with Gwen and Harry Osborn. The dialogue is good. But.... like Afre said, this is the 5th to last issue of the entire series. I predict that Hickman will probably have another series similar to how Bendis had Ultimate comics Spider-Man after his main Ultimate Spider-Man run.

But there are so many things that are either rushed or not brought up until recently. Peter's kid talking to Uncle Ben falls flat because I literally forgot about them. I forgot about J Jonah Jameson, and Mister Negative. Like what did Gwen say "That it only ends when we win?" I forgot about the importance of Gwen getting her amulet in ten days. What's up with Maybelle and Uncle Ben? And again, it's not good to compare og Ultimate Peter Parker to Hickman's Peter Parker because Bendis wrote that Peter Parker for a long time, while Hickman is writing Peter Parker for 1.5 years.. But bendis Peter Parker feels more developed if we compare Bendis writing Ultimate Spider-man for a year and a half.

It's not a bad comic. But it's just fine. And I can see why there is a vocal minority (myself included) that slowly find this a little bit dissapointing and frustrating. Peter Parker isn't the main character, a lot of things happen off-screen, and it just feels rushed. more

The most frustrating comic book of the century continues. It is harder to be invested in this comic, when the creative team keeps faltering.

Is this a bad comic? No. On it's own, it's quite good. I like the focus on MJ and her feelings on the matter, even if this is late. It's clear how this is mirroring issue 4, and I liked that issue. But that issue was still building towards something. This issue... is just stalling mostly.

But is it good? Yes. On it's own on. But as 20th issue and 5th to last, it's disappointing.

This is what we call stalling. This is not filler, somewhat important stuff happens here, but clearly Hickman doesn't want to have the confrontation before the last 2 issues. So... we are left with character stuff, which would normally be nice...

If we had any input from the supposed "main character" of this book. To this day, I have zero clue why Peter does what he does, how his character has changed in any way since issue 2, how good is he using his powers now and how has the stuff affected him. Because Hickman refuses to focus on Peter, it's hard to stay invested. And when he is supposedly the main character, it's hard to stay invested in this book. At least we saw May in five panels now. And few lines. Is that a record?

Like, what are we building towards? Gang War? Confrontation with Kingpin? That has been building up since issue 7, or 13 months of this comic's timeline and what really has happened? What has the supposed "main antagonist" of this book done really? Nothing. Kraven did more in spawn of 2 issues than Kingpin has in 13.

We are supposed to believe he has the resources to kill every Ben Reilly on the planet, but so far he hasn't been able to do anything towards Parkers? Or Mysterio? Or find out that Harry is alive?

Having each issue focus on each month really hurts this book. Nothing feels worthwhile. This comic ends in interesting way. But a month has passed again in the next issue. So we can see maybe flashbacks, or probably just characters talking what happened, instead of seeing.

TLDR: not a bad comic, but this series keeps being frustrating to read, because few things advance and lack of focus on Peter is disappointing to see every month. more

I'm so conflicted on this issue.

On one hand, I love everything. Writing, art and Bane's backstory is being told.

On the other hand, it feels like we are going back to Snyder being himself. And I hope he can keep it in check, because this was already going on a bit too much with how violent it wanted to be. Sure, it's Absolute line, sure the book has been violent before, but this time it felt a bit unnecessary?

I don't know, like I said, I'm conflicted. Because on it's own, I like it a lot. But I've read Snyder's writing for 10 years now. And this seems like a sign that we might go overboard with the violence. It fits with the series, but I hope the team can keep it in check.

I have same feelings with Mann's art. At times, it feels wonderful and very fitting. But on other, I am so used to Dragotta's art and how it fits this series, so that Mann's art felt like a different world. He draws Bruce in such different way that it might seem like a completely another character from another universe.

But these are small problems in the end. I am not sure how to feel on the cop out. It makes sense to actually see what is Bane's endgoal and not just have him say "I will break you". But it also felt like waste because so much time is focused on that.

I don't know. I get why this issue can work for so many people and I can see that. But I also feel conflicted. more

I like it, but it feels like this comic just ends without a real conclusion.

It's slow paced and might read better in trade. But damn it's good stuff.

I didn't even know that Moon Knight had a daughter, and I've been reading this book for years. The change in artist really threw me off. I do like the story being told in POV, but it was definitely a filler issue. I really thought this was going to be the final showdown with Fairchild, but McKay decided to just let him get away. I'm a bit disappointed by that.

My Comic Review Channel - https://youtu.be/zscyDbC5N58 more

This is another good issue. Good action and character writing, Ewing has surprised me with this series. I hope he can do the same with #250 when Knull returns, because right now it sounds like a boring idea.

This felt like the least Joe Kelly issue he has made in a while. It's not a bad thing at all, I enjoyed this a lot. Maybe it just showcases how much I have underestimated him and his range these past years. Art is amazing.

As for spoilers, I believe the popular theory that the "Peter" we see is Ben. There are so many clues that it's hard not to. But I am still interested how this happened. I wish we finally get a good Chasm story. more

This book is really hard to give thoughts about.

There is so much stuff I like here. But I can't just blindly love it, because there is so much stuff that is still missing. And Peter's characterization continues to be weak compared to others.

However, I still liked so much stuff. Art, the suit, MJ finally giving us what she feels. All good stuff, but with the series ending in 5 issues, I can't stop thinking how much wasted potential this series had. Because so many interesting character moments and developments are missed because every issue focuses in one month.

Kingpin continues to be weak villain. What has he done past year that has really mattered? Only one who did anything was Kraven.

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JMS still got it.

I feel like I am not this often confused by comics.

But seriously. WTF is going on. Who is this for???

Loeb is a genius, I'll give you that. It takes real talent to make everything feel messy, rushed and too slow at the same time.