I don’t think this issue is that bad. Tony S Daniel‘s art is awesome& I wish he drew the entire issue. I was never a fan of Mitch Gerard‘s art. It feels too rushed.
As for the plot we are getting a glimpse of how Bane‘s city looks like ( which is basically Arkham War 2.0., but with less fun)& at least many villains made an appearance. There are some funny ideas like Hugo Strange as the Commissioner or Joker& Riddler as cops. Those are quite random though& Scarecrow’s& Joker’s team up during Knightfall was way more fun. King also writes a weird& unfun Joker. Speaking of Scarecrow. Of course there's as good as every villain in this issue except Scarecrow ( can’t blame him though). But what annoys me, that King gives a loser like Psycho Pirate such a big role in this. King overpowers him and makes him control every other villain. If it was that easy Psycho Pirate ( a shame I even have to mention a D villain like him) would have controlled Gotham years ago. I however find it positive, that Thomas didn’t kill villains like Two Face, who didnt want to play along considering his Flashpoint days. I hope that stays this way. It better does!
As for Bruce he’s somewhere in the mountains& meets Catwoman ( if she was just an illusion, it would make sense, but since this is King I wouldn’t be surprised if it was her for real). That’s one thing, what ruins this issue for me, because I’m quite annoyed by this Batcat crap King is forcing on us.

This issue also still faces many problems& plotholes. There are still questions King refuses to answer:

-Why& how is Flashpoint Batman even in the canon timeline?
-Bane‘s plan is still dumb& unbelievable especially because Bruce went through worse than a breakup.
-If Thomas brings Ventriloquist into the batcave wouldnt he know Bruce’s real identity?
- As if the JL or the batfamily wouldn’t do anything against Bane.
- Wasn’t it stated, that Gotham Girl is going to die, if she used her powers once more?

This issue also suffers from Kings typical problem the bad dialogue. Especially the way Gotham Girl talked was bad. Why is it so hard for King to write a decent dialogue?

This issue also ties in Years of the Villains& that’s where it makes zero sense. In JL Bruce is Batman& there is no problem with Gotham mentioned. I also doubt he would hang out with the others, if Gotham just fell into anarchy. Kings story doesn’t fit with the big event at all& I also have the feeling, that many villains will be wasted once again here. Another reason, why King‘s story is nowhere near as great as Knightfall, since the villains had great stories during Knightfall& werent wasted. more

more random, all-over-the-place, decompressed, pseudo intellectual gibberish.

nothing was properly set up. we are just thrust into Gotham being run by villains with Flashpoint Batman in charge of Wayne Manor and the Bat-cave.

meanwhile Bruce is marching out in a snow blizzard in some undefined mountains. where? why? who knows? Bruce is asking for someone called 'The Memory of the Mountain', but gets his throat slashed and his head bashed with a crowbar by two nobody punks. then all the sudden Catwoman is there, just because.

Bane gives a speech about how the Justice League won't come in and stop his havoc on Gotham because he'll threaten innocents. yeah. i totally buy that . . . . NOT! and the reason Bane even wants Gotham? who knows?

this is just beyond pretentious and dumb.

at least the Tony Daniel portion of art was nice, and we no longer have to worry about this going on till issue 100. hopefully DC will renumber this series after #85. just start fresh. more

Oh brother. King's Gotham is just silly. It's up is down wrong is right, evil is good. And that's just silly. We learn that Thomas Wayne is Batman and uses Gotham Girl to enforce things. Hugo Strange is the commissioner and Joker and Riddler are cops. Psycho Pirate "cures" the insane and we see him do that with Two-Face.

Meanwhile we see a traveler walk in the snowy mountains being getting narration RIPPED OFF from the Tom Hanks movie "Charlie Wilson's War." It's a mess. We still get King's pet love of Batman insisting He and Selina met on a boat, and Selina saying they met on the streets.

Does Thomas Wayne have the ability to separate Gotham from the rest of the Justice League. In the old days when kids would stay off my lawn, team-ups were a thing, but each DC title was really its own little world. And that worked because of the social contract between writers and readers.

Sure Superman or Flash could solve all of Batman's problems by helping capture villain of the week. But the book is a Batman one, so we assume Superman or the Flash are off in their books doing their thing and don't thing too hard about how it really would be logical for Batman to call for Super help all the time.

But in this new much more interconnected world of comics, all the other DC heroes are going to ignore the fact that Gotham is being run by villains who have multiple murders on their rap sheets. I don't care if Psycho Pirate made them sane, that's just a bridge too far.

Also having the Joker be "curable" by Psycho Pirate really diminishes the Joker. He is mysterious and unknowable. Having him have an actual mental illness is just . . . degrading to the character.

And stop having Bane boast about how he broke the Bat and there's no way the Bat will come back, yep the Bat is broken and I am putting my fingers in my ears and shouting LAH, LAH, LAH I can't hear yo.

The breaking of the Bat with Bane has already been done. You can buy the trades in your local book store. It's not like this arc has been forgotten. King you are just walking on ground that's been well tread on.

What bothers me is that King really does think this is original great stuff. He's ripping off previous arcs and Charlie Wilson's War and he thinks he's the greatest thing since Stan Lee.

Meanwhile things like actual plot, actual pacing and actual characterization suffer. The villains are cardboard, the secondary players are ignored and the romance between Bruce and Selina is told and not shown. AARRGGHH.

Or I could be wrong. more

This is the final issue of the „Fall& the Fallen“arc& compared to the Knightmare arc we at least get some story progression: Bruce& Flashpoint Batman are fighting in the desert. In the end someone climbs out of the hole, but we don’t know yet, who it will be. However there are many plotholes, unanswered questions& missed opportunities, that make it impossible for me to enjoy it.

Minor SPOILER WARNING:
The entire plot here is a retelling of the fairy tale from issue 57& it’s a missed opportunity, that King rather retells an already known story instead of concentrating of one of his more interesting ideas: the reviving of Martha. This is kept way too short& just shortly mentioned. Out of nowhere it’s stated, that Bruce sneaked away while Thomas was sleeping& burried Martha somewhere in the desert. It would have been by far more interesting& more exiting, if Thomas actually went through with it& we would get a Pet Cemetery like story. Or if Bruce at least had to fight for stopping him. It sure would have been more dramatic. It’s also without any emotion. You could think, that it’s a terrible experience for Bruce being forced to take the rotten corpse ( or more likely a handful of dust) of his mother& bury her somewhere at a place, where he can’t visit her grave anymore. Nothing of this inner conflict of the characters is adressed by King. His characters are pale& bland. It’s also not only a missed opportunity, it’s also unbelievable. King wants the reader to believe, that Bruce, whose back was just broken would be able to lift a corpse& coffin& bring it to a place somewhere in the desert. His writing is just without any logic. Instead of that King is trying to focus on the relationship between Bruce& Flashpoint Batman.

SPOILER Ending
This never goes deep& a reason for that is, that King never cared to show us any scenes about what Bruce actually thinks about his father from a different timeline. We still don’t get any explanations for why& howThomas is even here & his motivations still are illogical. At the end Bruce seems to realize, that this isn’t his father, but since Bruce isn’t a fool this realization feels way too late. Since the portrayal of Banes plan was a big mess in earlier issues, it’s also unbelievable, when Thomas tells Bruce, that he was broken.
Overall nothing of Kings story is fitting together& I fear this won’t change in the last 11 ( I think) issues.

As for the art, it feels rushed for me& drawing Thomas with Ben Afflecks Nightmare Batman outfit is an odd choice in my opinion. It also makes no sense drawing Bruce half naked, since in the desert he either gets a sunburn during the day or is in danger to freeze at night.


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I would like to give this a 1 just to even out all the King Cult members wbo will give it a 10 but I wont do that. This issue is the epitome of what we have gotten the whole series which is nothing. You get Tom King using the majority of the issue just using a folk tale for dialogue (which he does more than write his own anymore) a story that goes nowhere, and a zero questions answered. I can not wait for King to be off this book so maybe we can get Batman back instead of whatever god awful character this. The art was alright. more

How does bruce fight? It was spelled out last issue that he was still messed up and healing from major back surgery???

Lets see, King uses a folk tale he’s already used previously and then repeats it in the same story. Still no resolution on how Thomas is in this world. Bruce gets into a straight up fight while still healing from a broken back and then being sling across the back of a horse. This is just more bullshit. People seem to think it’s some sort of genius writing but it’s mostly just pretentious bullshit that tells the reader nothing. It’s one nonsense filler issue after another and I can’t wait till it’s over. King seems to have big ideas so hopefully he does better writing movies where a more competent writer can fill in the details. As for this issue, if you haven’t bought it already, don’t bother. more

Last issue was, I thought aat least, a moment of twist, which will, finally, resuscitate the series and add some, any, story to it, especially since DC editorial decided to pull the plug to his run earlier (and thank goodness for that). This week all I can do is admit my failure. I was wrong, the comic leads absolutely nowhere, it's devoid of any substance, and King, despite having only half of year to conclude his story, still decides to add even more filler to it.

The story of this issue could be summarized in barely one sentence. You ready? Bruce buries his mother somewhere on the desert so she can't be resurrected, which pisses of Thomas and they fight. The end.
The rest of this issue is dedicated to meaningless conversations regarding the old public domain story about animals in the pit eating each other. It's boring, and once more makes an empty circle referencing something King said a while ago with no actual purpose. He's known for these recycled loops.

On top of that, the story doesn't even add up. Think about it - if Martha Wayne is buried somewhere under the sand, Bruce had to take her body after Thomas fell asleep, and return before he woke. So, if we assume he's slept for ~8 hours, which is the healthy standard for adults, Bruce's "trip"couldn't be longer than 4 hours at average in one direction. Average walking speed of a human is 5km/h in perfect conditions, and I'll use it as a reference, since Bruce is in peak form, and I will also ignore harsh ground conditions slowing him down, weigth of his mother's corpse, as well as time required to bury her properly, so animals don't dig her up and eat. So we're left with a circle around their camp, with ~20km radius. In practice I'd expect it to be way smaller. With Thomas sleeping for 6 hours, Bruce walking 3km/h and spending 1 hour to bury Martha, it would have ~7.5km radius at most. Thomas should be able to find the camp's location, more or less, since he knows which direction he and Bruce came from, and how long did it take them. With that knowledge, finding the body would be a matter of using some high caliber radar able to detect anything with density other than sand's. Since duh, it's comics. more

In a shock to no one, this plan Thomas Wayne had didn't work. We get a return of the folklore from Batman #57. It serves as the focal point of the entire issue, and then we even have the story narrated to us again. Because we needed the point hammered home after it had just been made. This is supposed to be cathartic, but it's not because this story hasn't been well constructed. I'm glad Bruce has finally decided not to be depressed, at least. He never really gave up, though, he just got a little more violent. He was always on the money with Bane and was never going to stop. But I'm glad he overcame that so he can go beat up Bane. more

Yay! More useless garbage by Tom King. Again, please remove him from any of DC's main books!

What to say. Basically “oh brother” covers it. The two bats get to the pit. While walking they do some talking.

Dad says Bruce was a whiner who always cried when dad would read him Russian folk tales from issue 57.

He said he wanted Bruce to be his own man, and once mom is restored that will happen for reasons.

Bruce says he always wanted to hear the stories because he hoped they would change so he was stubborn like mom, oh he buried her body in the desert so putting it in the extra special pit won’t work.

They fight. Dad is wearing heavy gear and a duster while Bruce is just wearin his cowl from the waist up. I guess he is not afraid of severe sun burn and sun poisoning.

They fight in the pit. Cut to top, and we see a gloved hand. Is it dad’s, is it Bruce’s? (It will be bruce’s).

Once again we get a writer adding backstory to a very old character. This back story explains all. I do not like this because instead of forging ahead, it just reworking the same old past. And the results are always dismissing returns.

Again, story unfolds so slowly. The art does not provide compelling action that tells its own story. Just single shots of men throwing punches.

Dad’s statement of now that you are broken down you can rise is so on the nose, That I guess King really hates subtext.

This run isn’t exciting. It’s just long and drawn out. It seems like the trek through the desert - never ending and dreary.

Or I could be wrong. more

King’s war on words continue. There entire pages without dialog, and some pages is is just public domain songs.

The entire plot is Thomas wayne dragging a coffin with Martha’s body to a Lazerous Pit. He has Bruce coming too, and explains the whole Bane arc, literally. He explains the whole trope of you are broke down and rise from the ashes.

Bruce does nothing. He doesn��t question anything, certainly not the fact that lazerous pits were originally written so that they had to be used shortly after death.

King is stealing another plot - this time it is Death and the Maidens. That story also has the Wayne’s bodies being used for revival.

Just a terrible issue that goes nowhere and reveals nothing.

Or I could be wrong. more

This is basically an issue-long "previously on Batman".

Nothing happens and it ends with Thomas Wayne Batman saying he wants to help Bane's plan to Detroit Bruce Batman.

It's so decompressed that if it were a basketball, the only sound it would make is splat when it hits the floor. It would be so flat it couldn't even roll away.

Or I could be wrong.

There are two plot twisting gimmicks I'm truly sick and tired of - "it was all just a dream" and "it all is connected". Now, to be fair, the latter, if done correctly, with proper foreshadowing, details hidden in between the lines and actually logical story progression leading to all the reveals, can be great. One issue stating "it was all a part of the plan since the very beginning" is not a valid explanation, however.
You know why Game of Thrones failed so badly and its last season is widely despised even by normies who couldn't understand critical flaws of seasons 5, 6 and 7? Because all of a sudden all the theories, all the foreshadowing laid down by George Martin, went nowhere or were streamlined so much, they became exactly these quick "it all is connected" twists with no depth, context and purpose.

King can tell us as much as he wants that all these 72 issues were Bane's master plan, but were they really? Even if indeed he intended them to tell one, big story, it came out as pretty nonsensical, convoluted so much it would be a miracle if it worked without failing in few critical points, and most importantly, he reveals us the truth in a way so poor, forced and rushed, it's hard to take it even half seriously.
Think about it - he's got over 70 issues to connect everything together, yet he did it all now, at once, desperately because DC's management is (finally) kicking him out of the series due to dropping sales and negative fan reception damaging the brand. But hey, it all is connected, am I right? It was always one, big plan, except I just told you about it now because other than that, there's absolutely no valid connection made before.
Even if the core idea itself - Bane having a master plan, sounds cool on paper, it's not enough when its execution is terrible. Don't believe me? Read some Junji Ito - they guy is a horror genius, coming up with ideas so random and unexpected, they are genuinely terrifying. At the same time, he seemingly can't tell a coherent story. His works always end up with some forced connections and unnatural plot conveniences.

It's cheap narration, so bad it reminds me of Lost's last few seasons and the awful ending. Or wait, I have even better analogy - imagine Vito Corleone showing up at the very end of Godfather, miraculously alive, telling Michael he wanted him to become the new boss all along, but he wasn't ready, so he orchestrated everything, from his exile to Sicily, through love affair there, to finally his return and rise to power. Boom - "it was the plan all along" just ruined one of the best crime stories ever written.

Pretty terrible comic, with the worst and most forced plot reveals I've seen in years. Can't wait to see King off this book. Batman really needs some fresh blood, because this run has been an utter disaster. Or... maybe it was King's plan all along as well?! more

Well guess Tom King can’t remember some of his own material, and the ending did nothing! If anything this issue should have had us knowing why Thomas is betraying his son.

Revelation that makes Batman into a idiot, and Bane into hyper badasss, that is also fucking stupid. Also why Riddler did this?

All I’m thinking as I am reading this is what the fuck is Tom King doing. Enjoyed the artwork. I am quite curious to where the punch will lead to with the Bat-Family. I know I am not going to like it especially how my favorite scene in Rebirth Detective Comics was when Bruce and Tim got reunited.

More terrible writing from Tom King. Just an awful story.

OH MY GOD.

This is just a rehash of the Knightfall story arc from the early 1990s.

Bane breaks out the Arkham crew. Batman is stressed out, pushes allies away. Hits Robin the same way Hank Pym hit Wasp back in the early 1980s. (The action, while bad, is not a symptom of being a wife beater, but rather psychological stress).

They have two or seven artists, so the look isn't consistent. For some reason Alfred is telling Bruce he lost and is serving Bane and Thomas Wayne/Batman.

This is just a whole lot of who cares, and rehashed who cares at that. King recently boasted that he finally got permission from the suits to do something that will shape Batman for a generation. (It's going to actually have him marry Catwoman after he shakes off the psychological damage done in the war with Bane).

Here's a thought. How about writing Batman as a smart, dedicated crime fighter who is not a dark psycho. That would be refreshing. How about writing smart villains and not rely on CRAZY as a character definition.

Or I could be wrong. No, I'm not. more

More King tropes in play.

Bats wakes up, meanwhile the text box quotes Rintrah Roars, a poem by William Blake representing the just wrath of the prophet.

Bats beats up everyone in his path to escape Arkham. This is a callback to when Bane beat everyone up to get into Arkham.

Bats does things like punch out Solomon Grundy off panel. He talks to Freeze about how Bats always wins and punches him out, he punches Riddler then solves the Riddle.

Basically a lot of punching in the reverse order Bane punched to get in.

Two-Face tells Bats to go to Hell. Bats tells Harvey to tell Bane he's coming to Gotham, his city.
(This is the 21st century, does no one text?)

The story ends with a character I don't recognize quoting Dante's Inferno, abandon hope ye who enter here, as Bats heads to the Door With Blinding Light. I guess Gotham is Hell and there's no hope, certainly not in crime alley.

What I liked? The art. It was pretty good.

What I didn't like - everything else. It was, like I said, all King tropes. Using quotes from classic literature to do the heavy lifting. Say what you will about Stan Lee, he wrote the dialogue for a lot of stories and it gave the books character and interest.

The structure is a reverse of Bane's journey. Get it, Bats is the anti-Bane, get it? GET IT? I AM PROFOUND!!!! I DO NOT ACTUALLY HAVE TO GO TO THE TROUBLE OF WRITING ORIGINAL TEXT BOXES OR DIALOGUE, I CAN PAY HOMAGE TO GREATER WRITERS BY STEALING THEIR STUFF THAT IS IN PUBLIC DOMAIN. I AM THE BAT GOD.

The story really doesn't advance from last issue. It starts with Bats waking up, it ends with him walking out a door. He punches a lot of people. There is no wit, no out-thinking anyone, no figuring out a way to get out that doesn't require horrible violence.

Also, just as Bane punched above his class and beat guys like Grundy, who can go toe to toe with Superman, Bats does the same.

Overall a decompressed issue that does nothing and has no cleverness of character or plot. Just mindless action to get a man out a door.

Or I could be wrong. more

Guys, I don't think you understand how deep this issue is. Did you realize that it's a parallel to the I Am Bane issue where Bane fights the Arkham inmates? Did you realize that Maxie Zeus* was quoting Dante's Divine Comedy? Because it's like Batman is entering the inferno?? Isn't that deep and inspired???

This series is getting schizophrenic. One issue, I like it, the next I'm hating it again. Occasionally, this series gets me drunk enough, but the morning after is always a mess. Can we just talk about how badly this issue is executed? First of all, this should've been the finale of Knightmares. But I guess that arc needed no ending or beginning. That certainly helps with reader enjoyment. Second, why is there such a drastic change in art here? I prefer Jorge Fornes' art over Mikel Janin's art, but I think it doesn't fit at all here. Especially for the random page at which it starts. Third, the villains are just jobbers now. They're objects for Batman to overcome quickly. That Riddler riddle has to be the weakest one I've ever read. I knew the answer before the riddle was even finished. What's up with the "scientifically speaking" part with Freeze? I'm fairly certain that's some weak ass banter. Amygdala and Grundy obviously shouldn't go down so easy. Lastly, the pacing here. Is this run just DC's attempt to see how much they can squeeze out of a reader before they drop this title? Any other book with this type of pace would probably tank. But since it's Batman, people will continue to eat it up. It's basically an impulse at this point. more

While this was an improvement over Knightmares, that’s not really saying much. Batman escapes the nightmare machine, talks like an asshole, and beats the crap out of almost everyone of his rogues in single panels. Really let’s you know how incredibly NOT dangerous and threatening they really are. He even drops Solomon Grundy and Amygdala bare handed without breaking a sweat. Solomon Grundy, who gives Superman pause, got his ass beat in between panels while Batman goes on about being a nightmare himself. People who complained about hating Batgod should be pissed but since Tom King is writing it, most will give him, yet another, free pass. Batman walks straight out of Arkham saying he’ll be back with his team later. If this is all part of Bane’s plan, it’s a really stupid plan that is needlessly convoluted. This story, like so many by this writer, makes no sense. Oh, and then there was the public domain literature that is a King staple as well. The art was not bad but, again, was not enough to make up for a poorly written issue. His last arc drug on and on and then this issue Batman takes on almost his entire rogues gallery in single panels. King needs to learn what pacing is because his sucks. Anyway, this was another mediocre issue from an overhyped writer. more

Basically this is another filler, because all Batman is doing is beating up his villains& boasting about how great& badass he is, while walking out of Arkham Asylum. That’s really it. It is the same, what Bane did in issue 19.
While I’m happy to see the villains, especially Scarecrow I’m also disappointed how much they are wasted here. They all get beaten with one punch, what makes them look weak& it’s quite boring. Villains should challenge the hero, but if the hero can knock them out so easily it’s just boring. They all deserve better! Speaking of hero, Batman also looks bad here, because he is beating most of the villains with no reason. Some of them are just standing there, not even attacking him& still he is punching& mocking them. With some of them like Manbat he is allied in other runs or I don’t know why Kings Batman has such a big problem with Mr. Freeze, since he normally is one of the villains Bruce sympathizes with. Boasting about how great he is also seems out of character for him. I can’t see Batman being so foolish. And at this point I’m asking myself, why Gordon hasn’t arrested him. And I can only roll my eyes about Bruce shouting „I’m living in a nightmare“ 🙄
Since it was Scarecrow‘s fear gas, that lead to Batman’s nightmares I would expect a worthy confrontation with Scarecrow, but all we get is Batman mocking Scarecrow& also beating him with one punch. Batman of course is also immune to Scarecrow‘s fear gas he is using here, what makes it look all too easy for him. The story also leaves it open, if Scarecrow even was the one affecting him or whether Bane just stole a version of his fear gas ( I still say it’s a version gone wrong), what ends up in even more plot holes. If Scarecrow wasn’t the one, then I’m asking myself, why Batman is even punching him, since it’s not Scarecrow’s fault, if someone stole it& used it on Batman. Point is Scarecrow deserves better. He should have stayed in Bludhaven a little longer.
The only good thing about this issue is the art, which is really great, just like the cover& even so the villains are portrayed badly here I’m happy to see them. If that’s how King is going to use them in City of Bane I don’t want to see it& I hope he leaves my favorites out of it.
King is also quoting the Divine Comedy at some point, while I’m a fan of quoting more demanding literature in comics, I say Dante deserves better than being quoted in such a simple story just to make it look intellectual.
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SPOILERS!!
SPOILERS!!
and MORE SPOILERS!!

at long last, Batman FINALLY pulls his way out of the Nightmare machine.
well it’s about damn time!
then Tom King the master of decompression wastes as many pages as he can having Batman march from dummy to dummy, effortlessly punching them out as he goes, and spouting every cliche in the book. even Grundy and Amygdala were knocked out with little to no effort.

then there’s a painfully mismatched shift in the art style. did not fit AT ALL !!!!
in the end we get some swiped dialog from Dante’s The Divine Comedy.
it wouldn’t be a Tom King comic without padding it with as much filler and as little effort as possible.
at least we are more than halfway through this garbage.

Bane won’t be the one to finally break the Bat, Tom King will! more

Considerable improvement after months of pointless filler. That said, I do not find this was worth all those wasted issues even if it is much better than the entirety of the past arc.

I believe the “gauntlet” Batman goes through while it does fill the issue with action it just seems like a compressed version of the lead-up to Knightfall, wherein Batman faces multiple villains non-stop in what was presented as one of the most taxing nights of his career. The biggest difference is that no encounter even fazes Batman. He faces Solomon Grundy and Amygdala seemingly only with his fists and leaves unscathed? I find that hard to believe. He’s scarcely even challenged in his exit.

While the issue is full of cool moments, almost as if it wants to make up for a prolonged dearth of them, I did not feel particularly moved by this. One comment made by Batman to Scarecrow “I owe you for all the fun”, I actually found in poor taste because no enjoyment has even been present in this title for months. Nice to know at least in King’s mind Batman enjoyed the torturous nightmare he was stuck in and us readers were subjected to.

I appreciate the change of pace and hope this title keeps moving forward, maybe then it would become a fully satisfying read. As it stands it’d be slightly above average at best. more

Man, was that... underwhelming.

The purpose of a villain in a superhero story is to challenge the hero, make them embrace their best self, grow and learn. None of that can happen when a random sleection of baddies is being taken down one by one by a hero so overpowered he puts Arya Stark to shame.
I'm aware it's just a set-up for something bigger, and Batman is going specifically after Bane, but such a waste of good bad guys, one shotting them one after another, doesn't serve this issue whatsoever. There's no tension, there's no actual stakes, there's no feeling of constant danger that should be present in a place like this.

You can skip it and you wouldn't miss a thing, since we already knew Bruce woke up after the last arc. A horrible arc, I may add. This, for now, doesn't look much better, with its disjointed schizophrenic art and non existent narrative. more

Issue had good art. However we’ve already seen this not too long ago where he fights everyone in Arkham about Bane. The dialogue was awful, like always. Is there a panel with Man-Bat even though he’s in JLD

This issue pisses me off even more than the rest of the filler nonsense. One, why does King keep having Bane fight naked? This was never a thing before. Suddenly this master tactician thinks it’s a good idea to fight with his dangly bits hanging out? Stupid. Second, why is Thomas here? There’s no explanation and it makes zero sense. Third, this damn dream sequence is just annoying. Holy hell, get over the break up already. I honestly don’t understand how anyone could still want a relationship between Batman and Catwoman after King’s run. He has made this pairing toxic. We were treated to the usual terrible dialogue and the lyrics to a song that probably no one knows. Also for the grand finale of the Knightmare arc and Batman is STILL LOCKED IN THE DAMN MACHINE!!!! So there’s no real resolution to anything. The 4 is all art which was decent enough but it had zero chance of making up for this nonsense story. more

All these dream issues lead up to Bruce telling dream Selina, who keeps changing form into the various Catwoman depictions made over the years, that his greatest fear is that he does not love Selina.

The other part is Old Thomas Wayne scrapping with NAKED Bane. (For the record, fighting with your testicles and penis hanging out to flap around is really a had idea. That's how sopranos are created).

Old Thomas beats Bane and walks away only to be grabbed and thrown down. Old Thomas, when at Bane's mercy answers the age-old question of "is that a gun in your pocket or are you glad to see me?"

It was a gun. Funny how a regular-sized hanggun in the pocket of a sweat pants showed no outline or evidence of existence until Old Thomas pulled it out of his pocket. (Pockets where you can hide a gun are another reason why you wear some damn pants when scrapping).

Bane accuses Old Thomas of CHEATING - NO FAIR!!!. Old Thomas says he doesn't cheat, he wins.

Bruce also speaks a lot of exposition of how he beat the fear gas. By being more afraid, the body produces more adrenaline and self-protects.

It would have been easier to say, when I realized I was in a dream, I woke myself up BECAUSE I'M BATMAN. (See How It Should Have Ended for more on this).

So I guess, these dreams are meant to show Bruce's greatest fears. But I really didn't get that impression. I just saw them as wheel-spinning that really didn't offer me any insight.

And I guess Selina in these dreams is Bruce's unconscious mind telling him truths he wouldn't face otherwise? I don't know, it just seems King being really self-indulgent without having the talent to really make these issues count.

I am really tired of this. Just get on with it. Also, Old Thomas doesn't want Bruce to be Batman, but works with psycho killers? What kind of sense does that make? He doesn't sit down and explain how being Batman is a waste of one's life and maybe by using the Wayne fortune to help people, he will do more to fight crime?

Old Thomas just teams up with killers? How does that help Bruce, Gotham? Innocent people? To quote another billionaire Super Hero - "Not a Great Plan."

All in all a very frustrating issue built on a set of frustrating issues.

Or I could be wrong.

At least the art was good.



Or I could be wrong. more