/125.jpg "Batman #125")
Superstar writer Chip Zdarsky joins legendary artist Jorge Jimenez to define a new era in Batman! Bruce Wayne is at a turning point, haunted by dreams of a dark future, while Gotham City billionaires are being gruesomely murdered. With the discovery of an archenemy's involvement and a tragedy unfolding, the Dark Knight's nightmares are just beginning. Failsafe starts here. And in the backup, there's chaos in Gotham as the underworld fights over one of its crown jewels...and Selina Kyle is caught in the middle. Can she stop the bloodshed and maybe even make a little money in the process?
If you want to push my buttons, have a plot depend on people being stupid.
And boy, Bats was stupid in this issue. Penguin is mad at the 1 percent and will kill anyone who inherited more than $5 million. That’s a lot of people. $5 million really isn’t that much money. But there’s going to be some big billionaire ball, and Bruce might not qualify because he doesn’t have the bucks. He might even be worth $5 million and thus be off penguin’s radar.
Bruce is working with Tim and Tim only. No Batgirls or other sidekicks. Bruce wrangles an invite. Clay face is faking being Penguin, who is dying of mercury poisoning BECAUSE HE EATS A LOT OF FISH. HE’S A PENGUIN AND HE EATS FISH, GET IT? GET IT?
Tim is shot in the neck and an artery is hit. Bruce is forced to take him to a real hospital because Tim will bleed out. He finds Pengyat hosp. And Penny kills himself to frame Batman.
Cats is sleeping with some dude and gives Bruce an awkward brush off. The backup is about how some robot hires Selina to track down Pengy’s never mentioned until now kids.
Why is this all dumb? They hold a billionaire ball when Pendy announces he is going to kill billionaires? There appears to be no extra security. Billionaires show up instead of hiding in their panic rooms? That’s three deeply stupid plot points in one event. Tim is almost killed and all that merits are a couple of panels?
Selina is made to be unlikable on purpose. Man, old editors really don’t get that we like MJ and Selina and said romances with their respective boos.
The issue ends with a robot being activated in the bat cave. Let me guess, another bats backup plan backfires. We have never seen that before - execept for brother eye and bat’s take out justice league plan and azreal as his replacement and joker using Bruce’s weapons and fortune to kill thousands.
So Bruce is prepared for everything has no plan for getting his fortune back? But the new writer is going to show us he doesn’t need money. He will win in the end despite walking into trap after trap? His money isn’t being used to help people. So no charity or efforts to clean up public corruption. The dialog actually had bats saying Gotham wants to die. Man, talk about being depressing.
This issue is more dumb plotting and grim dark writing. We are shown again what a failure Bruce is. Things are worse than ever, and he had nothing. No Alfred, no Selina. He lost huge resources that could help thousands. His enemies do what they want.
The artis generic, and is it me or does Tim appear to be more thin and almost feminine?
I do not like this and the latest writer is just giving us more of the same. This is not the new, bold plot that he thinks it is.
This sucks.
Or I could be wrong.
© 2025
Why are you so worked up about this?
daspidaboy - Maybe because Quinn is a Batman fan? If Zdarsky wants to write a dumb Batman, a lot more people are going to turn away. Me too.
Because he is supposed to be the world’s greatest detective. Sherlock Holmes, not Dirty Harry. I get that it is hard to write a really smart character, but that’s what Batman writers sign up for. A stupid thug Batman doesn’t interest me, but I could be wrong.
There are lots of stupid thug characters in comics, especially in sci-fi-based Marvel Comics. Almost every problem is solved with "super-powers" and knuckles. But that is NOT the Batman nor is it Bruce Wayne. Sad how many "comics fans" (and of course post-modern writers) have no idea who the character is.