/5.jpg "The Batman Who Laughs #5")
It's a battle to the death as Batman goes head-to-head with the Grim Knight! The Caped Crusader is forced to not only fight off the most evil version of himself, but the growing desire to turn his back on his moral code and commit cold-blooded murder. Any other time, Batman would be able to stay on the straight and narrow, but as the Joker serum finally takes over his body, Bruce Wayne may just succumb to pure evil, and kill the Grim Knight. All of this is foreseen by the Batman Who Laughs, who has been planning for the corruption of Bruce Wayne, banking on him activating the "Last Laugh" protocol and turning Gotham City into an incubator for evil. All the Batman Who Laughs needs is one last "Happy Bruce" from another dimension to make his serum work...but only Batman knows where the last Bruce is going to show up.
Great issue. This story never gets boring& the Batman Who Laughs is a cool character in this mini series. The Grim Knight is more in the background though.
TBWL wants to activate Last Laugh to turn Gothan in a twisted version of itself& Batman, Gordon& James want to stop him. Poisoning the water supplies to harm Gotham citizens is a classic Batman villains plan, so nothing new here, but what makes it really interesting is the interaction between the characters. Batman appears to be disillusioned, even broken due to realizing what the City really is. He appears quite crazy himself, but at the same time I’m thinking he has a plan or has to have one. We will find out next issue. Finding all the dead Bruce Waynes throughout the arc is pretty dark& I like that. TBWL also approaches the Court of Owls& I’m wondering how it will connect to Nightwing.
I loved the interaction between Gordon& his son. Glad James Jr. hasn’t betrayed him yet, so I hope DC will keep him as a good guy a little longer. Always felt sorry for him. The interaction between Gordon, Batman& Alfred also was great& felt classic, but new due to Batman changing at the same time. When Alfred was trying to comfort Bruce, I felt sorry for Batman& that’s the scene where things get really exciting.
The Batman Who Laughs is a must read for every Batman fan so far& I can’t wait until next issue!
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I agree. James Gordon Jr. has become an outstanding character in this series.
Yes, I hope DC uses him more often in future stories like in Batgirl run.
I didn't know he was in Batgirl. Good to see him becoming more prominent in the DC universe.
He was only in 2 issues. One where she visited him in prison& second where she bashed him for getting another chance in life. She however promised him to be there for him more. Wish he was one of the characters, who would be kept as a rehabilitated criminal.
Any good? I gave up on Rebirth Batgirl early on, but these issues at least intrigue me.
It’s an up& down. The two with James are definitely worth checking out& Batgirl is good, since last August, but last issue wasn’t that great. And soon the writer of Female Furies takes over, so my hopes aren’t very high here.
Hmph. I might check it out. Yeah, I've heard bad things about Female Furies. My friend told me it was practically unreadable. I believe it, too, because it's by the same writer who did Shade the Changing Girl, which was not a series I liked.
Your friend is right. It is unreadable. Every male character is portrayed as a sexist asshole& the writer shows no understanding for the Fourth World& it’s characters. It’s contradicting everything New Gods related.