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Batman Grendel #2
Grendel/Batman: Devil's Masque
The true aggressive evil of Grendel is revealed as, in his malevolent quest to prove his superiority over Batman, he slaughters a squad of Gotham City cops and kidnaps an innocent child to use as a pawn in his cruel games of duplicity and murder. But the Dark Knight is not so easily duped, and Grendel's extreme actions set them both up for a chilling confrontation.
48 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
2 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Matt Wagner
968 books232 followersMatt Wagner is an American comic book writer and artist. In addition to his creator-owned series' Mage and Grendel, he has also worked on comics featuring The Demon and Batman as well as such titles as Sandman Mystery Theatre and Trinity, a DC Comics limited series featuring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 12, 2025
This, the second half of Grendel's tangle with Batman, is even more fun in the resolution than the first was in the set-up. We get to see Hunter Rose really cut loose with some bloodthirsty sport against Gotham's finest, get to see Grendel's corrupt snares enclose the necks of a number of unwilling characters (including our two female leads), witness some wonderful contrasts that again point out how close Hunter and Bruce really are (despite being on opposing sides), and get a thrilling rooftop fight and rescue from which one poor individual does not return, and from which Grendel's arrogant peace of mind and self-assured swagger does not survive unscathed either (what *nearly* transpires is perhaps more wounding to him - that he could have been the cause of it - than what actually does - broken bones can heal and masks can be replaced, after all). What's well-done here is the humbling that Hunter undergoes as his gamesman approach to crime is tested and found wanting against Bruce Wayne's serious and sober determination and mettle.
Both close fights, BTW, were well worth waiting for - the sparring on the rooftop, told in a tiled tier of tiny panels, is particularly nice, especially the repeated "hold" moment of three panels where the opponents, mid-fight, wait and size each other up before resuming the match, to the uncompromising defeat of one.
Bruce's inability, as Batman, to deal with justifiably upset women is also nicely contrasted with Hunter's cruel suavity and manipulation. The drawbacks of being the good guy perhaps.
This is one fine read!
Both close fights, BTW, were well worth waiting for - the sparring on the rooftop, told in a tiled tier of tiny panels, is particularly nice, especially the repeated "hold" moment of three panels where the opponents, mid-fight, wait and size each other up before resuming the match, to the uncompromising defeat of one.
Bruce's inability, as Batman, to deal with justifiably upset women is also nicely contrasted with Hunter's cruel suavity and manipulation. The drawbacks of being the good guy perhaps.
This is one fine read!
September 15, 2023
The tussle between Batman and Grendel is intriguing, however i have never been a guy who roots for mafia bosses or gangsters or criminals in general , meaning movies like Scarface , Godfather , goodfellas are ones i least enjoy , Wagner's depicting Grendel is almost idol worshiping and Grendel is in general a character i simply didn't enjoy. I have learned that this Batman + Grendel storyline is a 4 story arc but i am just not into it and ergo I'll simply stop reading the 4 story book arc at this point
September 16, 2017
Not bad, not fantastic though. Plus side though is the book actually has colour coded thought boxes so you can tell who's monologue your reading, who knew!(I'm looking at you Trinity!)
October 11, 2018
I highly enjoy The Batman, riddles and Wagner's writing (plus his art is above average when he's at his best) but forgot HOW UTTERLY STUPID GRENDEL IS!
Without the costume, he's the nauseating side of David Niven (at least Wagner can make fun of himself)- an ego-maniacal, minus the funny, BOORISH PONCE who dresses with a lavish gaudiness and to make himself seem unassuming, "so naturally" sporting THE ULTIMATE FASHION ACCESSORY- The Unnecessary Cane!
Also an exhaustively self-congratulatory/satisfied writer, this high-bred and supremely-cultured, unconvincingly-handsome DILETTANTE named HUNTER ROSE becomes GRENDEL: a white-guy ninja (never works) with BALLERINO MOVES that GETS boo-hoo BORED FROM DOMINATING NEW YORK'S ENTIRE UNDERWORLD so he goes to Gotham to PLAY with The Batman by farting out non-riddles while very poorly pretending to be The Riddler. When in combat, he dashes around and PARRIES, (he practices his fencing in his lavish hotel) pokes and prods while undulating theatrically with his long, thin seemingly phallic ELECTRIFIED UTENSIL!
Helpful Backstory: This DASHINGLY-DAINTY, DOUCHE-JUICY DANDY is A DEVIL! He and the other GRENDORKS (not in this story) inherited some sort of horse-puked ancient evil that they use against New York's creme-of-the-crop criminals (unless he's killing cops by the dozen) with his word-balloon represented spooky voice!
***But that's all superseded by his LOVE FOR KIDS (to ensure likability to cheese-dicks) but "DELICATELY" KIDNAPS THEM in this case over a week and kisses them on the cheek while trying to scar this one for life in the vein of Wayne!***
SKIP THIS SERIES: his art is hurriedly half-assed on this one and you'll find yourself wishing it was the actual Riddler because he DOES DO AN EXCELLENT JOB WITH BRUCE, ALFRED AND THE BATMAN!
To clear any misunderstanding via the theme (gauche over-theatricality) of his description- Myself (and Grendal) are proudly pro-gay.
Without the costume, he's the nauseating side of David Niven (at least Wagner can make fun of himself)- an ego-maniacal, minus the funny, BOORISH PONCE who dresses with a lavish gaudiness and to make himself seem unassuming, "so naturally" sporting THE ULTIMATE FASHION ACCESSORY- The Unnecessary Cane!
Also an exhaustively self-congratulatory/satisfied writer, this high-bred and supremely-cultured, unconvincingly-handsome DILETTANTE named HUNTER ROSE becomes GRENDEL: a white-guy ninja (never works) with BALLERINO MOVES that GETS boo-hoo BORED FROM DOMINATING NEW YORK'S ENTIRE UNDERWORLD so he goes to Gotham to PLAY with The Batman by farting out non-riddles while very poorly pretending to be The Riddler. When in combat, he dashes around and PARRIES, (he practices his fencing in his lavish hotel) pokes and prods while undulating theatrically with his long, thin seemingly phallic ELECTRIFIED UTENSIL!
Helpful Backstory: This DASHINGLY-DAINTY, DOUCHE-JUICY DANDY is A DEVIL! He and the other GRENDORKS (not in this story) inherited some sort of horse-puked ancient evil that they use against New York's creme-of-the-crop criminals (unless he's killing cops by the dozen) with his word-balloon represented spooky voice!
***But that's all superseded by his LOVE FOR KIDS (to ensure likability to cheese-dicks) but "DELICATELY" KIDNAPS THEM in this case over a week and kisses them on the cheek while trying to scar this one for life in the vein of Wayne!***
SKIP THIS SERIES: his art is hurriedly half-assed on this one and you'll find yourself wishing it was the actual Riddler because he DOES DO AN EXCELLENT JOB WITH BRUCE, ALFRED AND THE BATMAN!
To clear any misunderstanding via the theme (gauche over-theatricality) of his description- Myself (and Grendal) are proudly pro-gay.
October 28, 2021
The longer I read this, the more I enjoyed it. Never wanted it to end.
Matt Wagner does a stunningly good job here. The central plot is quite simple, Grendel comes to Gotham on a job, but it’s the layers that Wagner adds to the story and the support cast that gives this it’s gold star quality. The layouts are fantastic throughout, some pages are just stunning, though a minor quibble would be some panels are very small and some text is very hard to read.
That aside, a great book.
Matt Wagner does a stunningly good job here. The central plot is quite simple, Grendel comes to Gotham on a job, but it’s the layers that Wagner adds to the story and the support cast that gives this it’s gold star quality. The layouts are fantastic throughout, some pages are just stunning, though a minor quibble would be some panels are very small and some text is very hard to read.
That aside, a great book.
December 18, 2024
El cierre al encuentro entre ambos enmascarados aumenta en ritmo y mantiene la tensión hasta un final que quizás extrañe a los no tan familiarizados con el personaje creado por Matt Wagner. No obstante, es la interacción entre ambas amigas - las verdaderas protagonistas - lo que sostiene una estupenda historia criminal.
April 9, 2024
Huh. An interesting little 'blip' of a crossover series, nestled back there in the early 90s. Two mild- mannered multi-millionaire playboys with serious secrets face off for the first time. Wagner's concession to the 'good guys always win' school of thought. But not without casualties...
October 22, 2023
Satisfying ending to this 2 parter. Incredible double page spread.
February 11, 2026
(1993)
(10 February, 2026) *
*The conclusion of "Batman/Grendel: Devil's Riddle", a satisfying end to a truly convoluted story - and for what?
Grendel is bored and wants to play, this time he intends to match wits with Gotham's Dark Knight. In this instance, what he wants and what he gets are two very different things. In his own words:
In the end, Batman does the right thing, but at a high cost. His unwillingness to pursue Grendel to New York is justified by the many monsters still in Gotham... there could be other reasons he refrains from doing so.
(10 February, 2026) *
*The conclusion of "Batman/Grendel: Devil's Riddle", a satisfying end to a truly convoluted story - and for what?
Grendel is bored and wants to play, this time he intends to match wits with Gotham's Dark Knight. In this instance, what he wants and what he gets are two very different things. In his own words:
"I mean, I came to Gotham for a game... not the death of children. Still, I could only clutch my broken wing and watch...This reveals how intelligent Hunter really is, and how dangerous. Someone with his gigantic ego would tend not to acknowledge his own faults as he does here. Bruce is in for the fight of his life.
... as the tiger righted my wrongs - or in this case, my mistakes."
In the end, Batman does the right thing, but at a high cost. His unwillingness to pursue Grendel to New York is justified by the many monsters still in Gotham... there could be other reasons he refrains from doing so.
June 29, 2008
Part two of the confrontation between Batman and Grendel. I read some Grendel years ago but I have little recollection of the character. In this story, he seems like a self centered, egomaniacal asshole and you know what happens to those kind when Batman's around. I like the use of different thought balloons to indicate what the four main characters are saying (Hillary and Rachel, in addition to Batman/Wayne and Grendel/Rose). Another example of Wagner being a thinker. As far as crossovers, this remains one of the best because it's not just superhero A and B duking it out and because neither of these superheroes have super powers, nor are they necessarily "heroes." Good stuff.
January 3, 2013
Piece of crap too!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews