I am ever so slightly starting to think I might not be in the Target Audience for this kind of series. While I can acknowledge the appeal it might have to pre-teen twelve year olds amused by getting keys jangled in front of their face, it’s just kinda painful and unfunny to read for a massive fan of Cassandra Cain like me. I am not a very big fan of the particular villain featured in this issue, so I wasn’t personally offended by his portrayal here, but I can imagine people who like him probably won’t be too pleased with it. I do ADORE the villain they’re foreshadowing for the next issue however, so I’m in a weird dichotomy of simultaneously looking forward to seeing him, and dreading how he’s gonna be portrayed. But oh well, that’s just par for the course with Cloonrad on a book. Art remains fun, so if nothing else, it makes for a decent picture book if you ignore the dialogue. No Punchline appearance, and I’m actually not sure if I would even WANT to get her character butchered like Cass’ was.

Continuing his characterization of Riddler from his Batman run (going so far as to blatantly copy a scene from War of Jokes and Riddles,)this out-of-continuity one-shot goes from a semi-realistic if a tad cliche take on Edward’s origins to full on Looney Tunes near the end. Seriously, I was laughing so hard when I saw the Mary Sue-levels of ridiculousness that went into trying to make Riddler the scariest bad guy who beats everyone and doesn’t afraid of anything. I’m not sure if this was the intended effect Mr. King wanted to inflict, but regardless, this easily remains the funniest work of his so far. After about the eight thousandth over-the-top showcase of Riddler’s big brain intellect you kinda just have to smile to yourself, go with the flow and ask “Okay, what CAN’T this villain do?” If you go into this with a certain mindset, I highly recommend reading it if you could do with some harmless, unserious fun, as is the case with most Tom King books. I had a great time once I realized what this was. As always, Mitch Gerards killed it with the art. Sadly, there was no appearance of Punchline which naturally detracts from the score.