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Batman: Knightfall #1, 2012 Edition
Batman: Knightfall
The villainous Bane breaks the Bat in one of the most popular and well-known Batman tales!
The inmates of Arkham Asylum have broken free and Batman must push himself to the limits to re-apprehend the Joker, Poison Ivy, the Riddler, Killer Croc and more. Pushed to the limits, he comes face-to-face against the monstrosity known as Bane, who delivers a crippling blow destined to change the Caped Crusader forever!
This volume collects Batman: Vengeance of Bane Special #1, Batman #491-500, Detective Comics #659-666, Showcase '93 #7-8 and Batman: Shadow of the Bat #16-18.
The inmates of Arkham Asylum have broken free and Batman must push himself to the limits to re-apprehend the Joker, Poison Ivy, the Riddler, Killer Croc and more. Pushed to the limits, he comes face-to-face against the monstrosity known as Bane, who delivers a crippling blow destined to change the Caped Crusader forever!
This volume collects Batman: Vengeance of Bane Special #1, Batman #491-500, Detective Comics #659-666, Showcase '93 #7-8 and Batman: Shadow of the Bat #16-18.
640 pages, Paperback
First published August 19, 1993
684 people are currently reading
2729 people want to read
About the author
Chuck Dixon
3,426 books1,029 followersCharles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 509 reviews
October 12, 2025
I did read this quite a long time ago, so I can't remember everything that happened, but it got its message across. Even a couple of decades later, Bane, who has not done much since, is still known as "the man that broke the Bat." The only other villan who had had that kind of introduction is possible, Doomsday. The shock value alone of Batman not just losing but losing in such brutal fashion is an image that stayed with me for a long, long time. That is the main event fight. The rest of the comic is great as well, with Batman taking on virtually his whole rogues gallery.
July 7, 2017
The nineties were a weird time for comics.
(Well, to be fair, the nineties were a weird time, period, when you consider that it was a decade whose two greatest achievements were the widespread proliferation of the Internet and an only slightly less widespread proliferation of ironic self-detachment. I could take an easy shot here and note that it’s also the decade that made MC Hammer famous, but I think it’s safe to say that the rise of reality TV celebs in the two thousand aughts and beyond has produced a crop of individuals who make even the most ridiculous of 90s celebs (eyes on you, Dustin Diamond) look like a paragon of talent and virtue (though, to be fair, I guess Kato Kaelin was the prototype for useless reality TV celeb, but I’m getting off track here, I think).)
Everything got turned up to 11—spandex and unstable molecules struggled to contain the absurdly bulging biceps and boobs sported by heroes whose primary superpower was the ability to somehow manage to walk upright despite those enhanced features; flashy (and often anatomically incorrect) art trumped compelling (or even coherent) storytelling; and gimmicks were the preferred sales gooser, whether in the form of ridiculous alternate covers that variously glowed in the dark, featured a hologram, or used ink made from the magic blood of Stan Lee himself* or massive crossover events that struggled to top the ridiculously high stakes of the preceding, continuity-rebooting crossover event that took place only months before. All of these things contributed to a circus atmosphere that culminated in artist Rob Liefeld—a man who either doesn’t believe in feet or has no earthly idea how to draw them and whose haircut was like a Hair Cuttery version of Doctor Octopus’s preferred ‘do—modeling Levis.
Quality was tough to find in the midst of the insanity, but, every once in a while, it seeped through, even in some of those massive crossovers. (Paul will disagree, but I say X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Omnibus set the gold standard for summer blockbuster comics events…the floor is open for debate.)
Some of that quality can be found in Nightfall, despite the fact that it’s as gimmicky as James Bond’s boxer briefs. The premise: the mysterious and malicious Bane (himself the poster child for ridiculous anatomy, given that his power was derived from Venom—a substance that is, essentially, steroids on steroids) stalks the Batman with the intent of breaking him, which he does, and in epic fashion: by hoisting Bats up over his head and bringing him down hard on his knee, snapping Batman’s spine and rendering him a paraplegic. In the wake of that epic battle, as Batman struggles to recover, he passes the mantle of the Bat to Jean-Paul Valley, formerly the hero Azrael (not to be confused with Gargamel’s cat from the Smurfs, which is kind of a bummer, because I think that would have been a lot funnier). It turns out that despite his Francophone name, Jean-Paul is a hardass—a little too hard, perhaps, as he begins dispensing some raw, vigilante-style justice despite the protests of the Boy Wonder, who tries (and fails) to act as his Jiminy Cricket.
Despite the cheap shock-value nature of the story, there’s some good stuff here, even if it’s drawn out (pun intended) over too many pages—this is volume one of two, and it clocks in at MORE THAN 600 PAGES. Before the epic Bane/Batman Brokebat Mountain Throwdown, we get to see Batman, fighting an illness of unknown origin and severity, struggling to round up an all-star collection of his rogues gallery, whom Bane released from Arkham in an attempt to wear Batman down, which makes for a pretty gripping lead-in to the main event (the illness part is perplexing…at times, it sounds like it’s just the flu, and you just want to hand Batman a glass of TheraFlu and tell him to suck it up; at other times, it’s like he’s got what might result from bubonic plague having crazy sex with diphtheria). The pace lags a bit once Batman’s confined to a wheelchair, and there’s a weird interlude that features a trippy Scarecrow story, but, otherwise, this is a solidly entertaining yarn, and not just by 90s standards.
We’ll call it somewhere around 3.5 stars.
*I may or may not have made that last one up.
(Well, to be fair, the nineties were a weird time, period, when you consider that it was a decade whose two greatest achievements were the widespread proliferation of the Internet and an only slightly less widespread proliferation of ironic self-detachment. I could take an easy shot here and note that it’s also the decade that made MC Hammer famous, but I think it’s safe to say that the rise of reality TV celebs in the two thousand aughts and beyond has produced a crop of individuals who make even the most ridiculous of 90s celebs (eyes on you, Dustin Diamond) look like a paragon of talent and virtue (though, to be fair, I guess Kato Kaelin was the prototype for useless reality TV celeb, but I’m getting off track here, I think).)
Everything got turned up to 11—spandex and unstable molecules struggled to contain the absurdly bulging biceps and boobs sported by heroes whose primary superpower was the ability to somehow manage to walk upright despite those enhanced features; flashy (and often anatomically incorrect) art trumped compelling (or even coherent) storytelling; and gimmicks were the preferred sales gooser, whether in the form of ridiculous alternate covers that variously glowed in the dark, featured a hologram, or used ink made from the magic blood of Stan Lee himself* or massive crossover events that struggled to top the ridiculously high stakes of the preceding, continuity-rebooting crossover event that took place only months before. All of these things contributed to a circus atmosphere that culminated in artist Rob Liefeld—a man who either doesn’t believe in feet or has no earthly idea how to draw them and whose haircut was like a Hair Cuttery version of Doctor Octopus’s preferred ‘do—modeling Levis.
Quality was tough to find in the midst of the insanity, but, every once in a while, it seeped through, even in some of those massive crossovers. (Paul will disagree, but I say X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Omnibus set the gold standard for summer blockbuster comics events…the floor is open for debate.)
Some of that quality can be found in Nightfall, despite the fact that it’s as gimmicky as James Bond’s boxer briefs. The premise: the mysterious and malicious Bane (himself the poster child for ridiculous anatomy, given that his power was derived from Venom—a substance that is, essentially, steroids on steroids) stalks the Batman with the intent of breaking him, which he does, and in epic fashion: by hoisting Bats up over his head and bringing him down hard on his knee, snapping Batman’s spine and rendering him a paraplegic. In the wake of that epic battle, as Batman struggles to recover, he passes the mantle of the Bat to Jean-Paul Valley, formerly the hero Azrael (not to be confused with Gargamel’s cat from the Smurfs, which is kind of a bummer, because I think that would have been a lot funnier). It turns out that despite his Francophone name, Jean-Paul is a hardass—a little too hard, perhaps, as he begins dispensing some raw, vigilante-style justice despite the protests of the Boy Wonder, who tries (and fails) to act as his Jiminy Cricket.
Despite the cheap shock-value nature of the story, there’s some good stuff here, even if it’s drawn out (pun intended) over too many pages—this is volume one of two, and it clocks in at MORE THAN 600 PAGES. Before the epic Bane/Batman Brokebat Mountain Throwdown, we get to see Batman, fighting an illness of unknown origin and severity, struggling to round up an all-star collection of his rogues gallery, whom Bane released from Arkham in an attempt to wear Batman down, which makes for a pretty gripping lead-in to the main event (the illness part is perplexing…at times, it sounds like it’s just the flu, and you just want to hand Batman a glass of TheraFlu and tell him to suck it up; at other times, it’s like he’s got what might result from bubonic plague having crazy sex with diphtheria). The pace lags a bit once Batman’s confined to a wheelchair, and there’s a weird interlude that features a trippy Scarecrow story, but, otherwise, this is a solidly entertaining yarn, and not just by 90s standards.
We’ll call it somewhere around 3.5 stars.
*I may or may not have made that last one up.
April 12, 2017
Knightfall is the backstory to Bane, one of Batman's most powerful foes and the unique one to have broken Batman's back. I read this after watching the last of the Christopher Nolan movies, The Dark Knight Rises, and enjoyed it up to the point where Ariel takes over for the recovering Batman. After that - and into the second volume - I felt the story was less interesting. However, the Bane plot and backstory was great and highly enjoyable. As for the movie adaptation, it was just inspired by the character that Dixon created here but the plot of the movie is something completely different.
July 1, 2024
"HE IS A BANE TO EVERYTHING HOLY!"
One of my favorite Batman stories ever.
So the four hundred pound gorilla in the room quite literally is Bane. We learn his origin story, growing up in a third world prison, where he mentally snaps and thirsts for absolute power in Gotham. There's great depth and personality to his origin, but I'll leave it there to avoid any spoilers.
Some critics will complain that Bane, like the book as a whole, is ridiculous. But let's back up and look at the book itself. This was written early 90s, post-The Dark Knight Returns but still in the era of comic camp, and I guess that's why this works so well for me. My good friend Chris helped me realize this is a sort of "camp grit," a mix of superhero camp and the dark and gritty we've come to love and expect from Batman comics thanks to writers like Frank Miller. I don't think this comic would have made the same impact on me or its readership if it was written any other way. This seems to me the best of 90s comics.
Which is exactly why I love Bane. He is a perfect villain. Haters gonna hate, but I think apart from the far too often written about Joker, Bane is one of Batman's greatest villains as far as I've read. His hatred mimics that of the Joker in its chaos and unreasonableness. His strength and speed are absolute. He's a sociopathic genius who attracts followers like meteors to a black hole. And he's fed poisonous super steroids that make him even stronger. That's all great dark and gritty writing. The camp is where people complain, like his costume for example, and sometimes the dialog and his dialog, too. Why is he dressed like a professional wrestler? What's with the mask? I don't know, it's weird, it's cheesy, just go with it. Because when he breaks Batman you're going to think twice about his spandex. He sometimes slips into the role of prototypical villain and says things like 'I will destroy him,' 'Gotham will be mine.' It really didn't bother me. And it's rarely like that. He's smart and vicious and very much his own man. It's the 90s. What-ever. As if.
The other criticism I hear is about Jean Paul Valley/Azrael, Batman's temporary replacement and whom I've never heard of outside this comic. I'll tell you why I think people don't like him: He's to Batman as Jason Todd is to Robin. He's stupid, headstrong, disrespectful, a poor detective. But I don't hate him, just like I don't hate Jason Todd. I have little empathy for Jean, he's a meathead, he's an ass to the very noble Tim Drake, and he thinks he's better than Bruce. But he's not a bad Batman, that's the thing. He's idiotic but ruthless, which is exactly what's needed when Bruce is incapacitated. And his subliminal "System" training definitely piqued my interest. Is he Bruce, is he classic Batman? Absolutely not. But he’s what Gotham needs. *Wink wink.*
Batman the symbol also changes, with Jean Paul bringing a level of unforeseen ruthlessness and armor. I mean, his character is not great, but it's cool to see Batman finally cross the line and get things done. That always bugged me, because the god damn villains always escape and kill more people. And although the armor looks like a cross between Gundam Wing and Transformers, it does lend far more utilitarianism and weaponry.
The great thing about this book is that it's not just about Batman and Bane. Other villains like Scarecrow, Joker, and Two Face have great page time. Scarecrow has several chapters in which he and Joker kidnap the mayor and attempt to take over the city. There are several other villains, some stupid, so prepare yourself.
There's also satire on sanity and mental illness running through this in the form of television segments like TDKR. Dr. Simpson Flanders (reference to Matt Groening?) is a cheery clinical psychologist who promotes his book "I'm Sane and So Are You," while commenting on the various violent televised charades carried out by escaped Arkham patients. He definitely represents the reformation school of thought over the incarceration school, but his naivety is taken to the extreme, saying things to the effect that the patients are merely playing out childhood fears and desires, that they're misunderstood, that society's fear is what causes their violence, and other such nonsense. So that was really cool.
I almost forgot the artwork. I won't even begin to try to list all the illustrators. There were probably a dozen plus. The art somehow remains incredibly consistent, getting crazy only during Scarecrow's citywide holograms (yes you read that right). It's clean if a bit sketchy, with bold outlines, dark darks and bright colors. Some older works from the 90s and before make for difficult reading (V for Vendetta comes to mind), but this isn't one of them. There were some panels that made me stop and say "hell yeah" they were so well done.
And ah yes, then there's Batman. Without revealing too much, Batman/Bruce Wayne is at his lowest here, progressively wearing down both physically and mentally throughout these 600+ pages. It's funny, while I can root for Batman in stories where he can't die, I can just as easily root for him in a story like this where he's playing at a loss. It's not even that Bane is better than him, Bane is just a strategist and cowardly beats him when he's already down. Which makes me hate Bane from a Bat fan perspective. If he's such a great fighter why not take Batman while he's in his prime? Well, that would make for a short story, his victory wouldn't be for sure, and how else would there be a rematch? Which, apart from some liberties taken in physics, is a very cool fight scene.
So if you feel like having a different look at Batman, seeing him break, learning about Bane, and having your mind blown, read this 90s awesomeness.
April 8, 2018
Back then, the whole world was still experiencing the repercussions of the death of Superman when Knightfall was published. The Man of Steel did had a good death last year, why not with Bats too?
Batman during the dark age of comics was largely on his own. Post-Watchmen, Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, The Bat family was just composed of Batman and Robin, but he was almost unbeatable (except maybe in Death in the Family). So how can a villain break him? That is the thesis of Knightfall. Slowly and carefully, Bane crafted a masterplan to wear Wayne down, and finally to literally break him. Without a large Bat family to help him, the solution was simple: observe him as he takes on the villains one by one, then strike at the time when he is tired all over and beaten.
The first time I read Knightfall six years ago (largely due to Nolan's films) I felt that Bane is a cheater. No he's not. He just knew exactly how to defeat Batman, thus the Knightfall run, which I can imagine was an unprecedented storyline during the 90s. Bane knew that defeating Batman would require every ounce of evil Gotham could ever experience.
Knightfall is the answer when somebody asks you which 90s comics to read. It is the definitive and best-ever Bane story. Reading it now in 2018 would definitely take you to nostalgia comics land where narratives are dominated by gritty themes and dark figures of speech and the measure of a macho are a thousand muscles and shiny metal armor. That's pure 90s pal.
Nolan definitely took down notes while reading Knightfall. Many elements in the story made it to the trilogy, not only the epic breaking of the bat scene. It's fun to see these elements being realized in the Dark Knight movies.
Though Knightfall feels off against today's stories (obviously), this is a story that every Batman fan should read. Seriously people, read this.
Batman during the dark age of comics was largely on his own. Post-Watchmen, Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, The Bat family was just composed of Batman and Robin, but he was almost unbeatable (except maybe in Death in the Family). So how can a villain break him? That is the thesis of Knightfall. Slowly and carefully, Bane crafted a masterplan to wear Wayne down, and finally to literally break him. Without a large Bat family to help him, the solution was simple: observe him as he takes on the villains one by one, then strike at the time when he is tired all over and beaten.
The first time I read Knightfall six years ago (largely due to Nolan's films) I felt that Bane is a cheater. No he's not. He just knew exactly how to defeat Batman, thus the Knightfall run, which I can imagine was an unprecedented storyline during the 90s. Bane knew that defeating Batman would require every ounce of evil Gotham could ever experience.
Knightfall is the answer when somebody asks you which 90s comics to read. It is the definitive and best-ever Bane story. Reading it now in 2018 would definitely take you to nostalgia comics land where narratives are dominated by gritty themes and dark figures of speech and the measure of a macho are a thousand muscles and shiny metal armor. That's pure 90s pal.
Nolan definitely took down notes while reading Knightfall. Many elements in the story made it to the trilogy, not only the epic breaking of the bat scene. It's fun to see these elements being realized in the Dark Knight movies.
Though Knightfall feels off against today's stories (obviously), this is a story that every Batman fan should read. Seriously people, read this.
August 6, 2012
When it comes to Batman and his classic comic book villains most people immediately think of The Joker. They might then think of Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow or Mr Freeze for example. But I have to say that I personally find Bane a more deadly adversary than any of them. Because unlike the other villains he is perfectly sane. While Joker's plans are based around his insanity and his propensity towards chaos Bane is a brute who cunningly plans to take Gotham as his own. Think of him as Batman turned mob boss if you will and pumped full of a venom drug which enhances his abilities to superhuman levels.
In Knightfall we see Bane come to Gotham and release anarchy (curiously a name of a vigilante who appears later in the book) upon the city when he blows a whole in Arkham Asylum. A sick Batman then struggles to contain and defeat foes such as Two-face, Ventriloquist, Poison Ivy, Joker, Scarecrow and Firefly, running himself ragged in the process. As he does this Bane watches on, works out who Batman really is and then finally when Batman has been physically and mentally crushed attacks him at Wayne Manor and breaks the bat. This for me is one of the most iconic comic book scenes apart from say Superman's death, Spiderman leaving behind his suit and also the Spiderman scene with the death of Gwen Stacy. What follows the breaking of the bat is more chaos into which a new Batman, a figure wearing the cowl and who makes technological improvements, steps to confront the evil and take back Gotham from Bane.
What is so significant in this comic omnibus is the depiction of a broken Batman as mentioned before. As a character he had taken many gunshots and wounds but he had always had the mental edge on opponents. No one had broken him mentally and defeated him in a one on one fight until Bane did which opened up a whole new area for the comics and posed the question: could Batman still continue to defeat his enemies while not killing?
There are other questions posed again such as the thought that since the insane members of Arkham do not play by the book the police need a Batman who too does not play by the book. Another question is raised by the psychologist who says that all the inmates are merely misunderstood which is challenged by everyone else who says, 'a body count in the triple digits and they're misunderstood?*' Either way the whole challenge of how the Arkham inmates should be tried is thrown up. Should they get away with crimes on the basis of criminal insanity?
A very excellent comic book omnibus and very much recommended. I personally prefer this story arc to Watchmen or Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. While it may lack the sophistication of those works I still believe it has more uplifting ideas. This omnibus does not focus on death and doom but rather on how to come back from defeat and how to take defeat. If you want a different Batman story to others that have been raved about then try this out for size.
*paraphrased of course
August 28, 2015
1star knocked off because Jean Paul is a cock and I don't like him.
The first three quarters of this story is brilliant. A real classic. Bane really plays out his game to perfection and beats Batman when he's done and dusted. Bruce manages to keep it going for a long time, but his ego gets the best of him by not asking for help.
Even Robin and Alfred play a big part in this and when all the bad guys get released from Arkhum it's pandemonium. Again, the joker is the most interesting out of all the foes.
A classic story but spoilt by Batman's replacement Azrael/Jean Paul. He's terribly wooden and boring and stupid, I really found it a struggle to read when he was introduced. I suppose he was needed for the evolution of the Batman.
The first three quarters of this story is brilliant. A real classic. Bane really plays out his game to perfection and beats Batman when he's done and dusted. Bruce manages to keep it going for a long time, but his ego gets the best of him by not asking for help.
Even Robin and Alfred play a big part in this and when all the bad guys get released from Arkhum it's pandemonium. Again, the joker is the most interesting out of all the foes.
A classic story but spoilt by Batman's replacement Azrael/Jean Paul. He's terribly wooden and boring and stupid, I really found it a struggle to read when he was introduced. I suppose he was needed for the evolution of the Batman.
May 13, 2016
Where to begin. I expected this book to be pretty good as every Bat-fan says it is a must read. I did have a feeling that it was more for the importance of his continuity than the story itself. I was wrong. This story is epic. At 600+ pages the size alone affords it that title. The storyline is epic too though. While it is still slightly camp it is clearly post The Dark Knight Returns and things have started to get darker. More like the Batman we know and love today.
Some of the subject matter here is really quite hard hitting. To say things don't go well for Bruce would be a major understatement. There is a vulnerability to him that we don't often see. So used are we to him being a physical, mental and intellectual powerhouse, that seeing him struggling both mentally and physically comes as quite a shock. He is clearly still reeling from the events of a Death In The Family and his mental health has been greatly affected. For fans of Bruce Wayne or Batman, events of this book are really quite moving.
On to the story. Things kick off with a Bane's origin story. In itself a truly tragic way to enter the world. I am trying desperately to avoid spoilers here but it would be fair to say that he never had a chance to be anything but evil. He is told of the Batman of Gotham and decided in order to prove himself and overcome all fear he must defeat him and take over Gotham City. He breaks all the criminals out of Arkham, forcing Batman to run a gauntlet of villains. Each one wearing him down more, weakening him before Bane’s imminent confrontation. For some reason, in order to conquer his fear, Bane wishes to break an already worn down Batman. Kind of defeating the purpose I feel, but it does make for a great story as Batman battles through Villians of increasing formidability.
The second part of this story sees Jean Paul Valley (aka Azrael) fill in for Bruce Wayne as Batman. He instantly takes things in a new darker more brutal direction, dispensing of Bruce's code and unleashing his ferocity on Gotham’s criminals. Apprehending the villains now becomes more important than the safety of innocent people. In the latter part of the story he states “I'm a lot like you Bane. Except I stopped my fall just short of the bottom”. I think this is a pretty accurate as Jean Paul Valley new Batman is right on the edge of what separates Bruce’s Batman from the villains. This puts him at odds with Robin (Tim Drake) who becomes increasingly concerned by his methods. I am very interested to see how this relationship develops in Volume two.
So when people say that Knightfall Volume 1 is a must read for all Batman fans, they are bang on the money. This Is easily one of the best Batman stories I have ever read. A real classic.
Some of the subject matter here is really quite hard hitting. To say things don't go well for Bruce would be a major understatement. There is a vulnerability to him that we don't often see. So used are we to him being a physical, mental and intellectual powerhouse, that seeing him struggling both mentally and physically comes as quite a shock. He is clearly still reeling from the events of a Death In The Family and his mental health has been greatly affected. For fans of Bruce Wayne or Batman, events of this book are really quite moving.
On to the story. Things kick off with a Bane's origin story. In itself a truly tragic way to enter the world. I am trying desperately to avoid spoilers here but it would be fair to say that he never had a chance to be anything but evil. He is told of the Batman of Gotham and decided in order to prove himself and overcome all fear he must defeat him and take over Gotham City. He breaks all the criminals out of Arkham, forcing Batman to run a gauntlet of villains. Each one wearing him down more, weakening him before Bane’s imminent confrontation. For some reason, in order to conquer his fear, Bane wishes to break an already worn down Batman. Kind of defeating the purpose I feel, but it does make for a great story as Batman battles through Villians of increasing formidability.
The second part of this story sees Jean Paul Valley (aka Azrael) fill in for Bruce Wayne as Batman. He instantly takes things in a new darker more brutal direction, dispensing of Bruce's code and unleashing his ferocity on Gotham’s criminals. Apprehending the villains now becomes more important than the safety of innocent people. In the latter part of the story he states “I'm a lot like you Bane. Except I stopped my fall just short of the bottom”. I think this is a pretty accurate as Jean Paul Valley new Batman is right on the edge of what separates Bruce’s Batman from the villains. This puts him at odds with Robin (Tim Drake) who becomes increasingly concerned by his methods. I am very interested to see how this relationship develops in Volume two.
So when people say that Knightfall Volume 1 is a must read for all Batman fans, they are bang on the money. This Is easily one of the best Batman stories I have ever read. A real classic.
October 5, 2020
In all my years of comics I can't believe I never read Knightfall.
I mean most people know of Bane. The one who broke Batman's back. If you didn't pre-2010's you for sure did after Christopher Nolan's Batman Dark Knight Rises (Fuck this movie though, so bad, so boring, so many what the fuck illogical moments) but Bane is a big deal. He was the center piece main villain in Tom King's Batman's run recently and has always been up there with names like "The Joker, Scarecrow, Riddler" and more.
But man oh man, this is the best Bane has ever been IMO.
So this huge collection of over 600 pages is a bit exhausting to read. Not in the sense they're bad stories. No, the storyline is Bane using every villain of Batman to wear the guy down. The Prelude of Batman already showed a tired bruce. Here though, we see Bruce go through the ringer like never before. Villain after villain, dire situation after another, until the guy can barely walk and keeps making stupid mistakes.
Even more so you get Bane in a light I've never really seen him. Destructive, cunning, a man with a mission. To watch Bane go from a little boy with a terrible life to a man hellbent on getting anything he wants by using both his brawn and brain, makes him one of Bruce's toughest opponents yet. A really solid origin helps make Bane almost relatable, if not understandable, despite is disgusting actions.
Now this isn't to say we have a perfect story. With a book this big we do have some padding here and there. The weakest links being Alan Grants Shadow Batman story which is all about Jean Paul as Batman. A more unhinged version of the Batman using whatever means necessary to win the fight. While I did enjoy some Jean Paul stories this 3 part scarecrow one was long and boring IMO. I also thought some of Catwoman storylines didn't go anywhere either and odd placement.
But the main story of Bruce losing himself to the fight to save Gotham is pretty great. Both mentally and physically he is pushed to his limits and Bane behind it all is wonderful. The contrast between them even better. By the 2/3rd mark we have the famous breaking the bat moment and it is brutal as hell. Even more so is the last fight between Bane and Azrael (Now with his hip new 90's suit) and man oh man, he is brutal against Bane.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection. Sure some 90's corniness slips in, and each writer's style is different, but the end result is both solid and impactful. I just hope the other two volumes hold up. A 4 out of 5.
I mean most people know of Bane. The one who broke Batman's back. If you didn't pre-2010's you for sure did after Christopher Nolan's Batman Dark Knight Rises (Fuck this movie though, so bad, so boring, so many what the fuck illogical moments) but Bane is a big deal. He was the center piece main villain in Tom King's Batman's run recently and has always been up there with names like "The Joker, Scarecrow, Riddler" and more.
But man oh man, this is the best Bane has ever been IMO.
So this huge collection of over 600 pages is a bit exhausting to read. Not in the sense they're bad stories. No, the storyline is Bane using every villain of Batman to wear the guy down. The Prelude of Batman already showed a tired bruce. Here though, we see Bruce go through the ringer like never before. Villain after villain, dire situation after another, until the guy can barely walk and keeps making stupid mistakes.
Even more so you get Bane in a light I've never really seen him. Destructive, cunning, a man with a mission. To watch Bane go from a little boy with a terrible life to a man hellbent on getting anything he wants by using both his brawn and brain, makes him one of Bruce's toughest opponents yet. A really solid origin helps make Bane almost relatable, if not understandable, despite is disgusting actions.
Now this isn't to say we have a perfect story. With a book this big we do have some padding here and there. The weakest links being Alan Grants Shadow Batman story which is all about Jean Paul as Batman. A more unhinged version of the Batman using whatever means necessary to win the fight. While I did enjoy some Jean Paul stories this 3 part scarecrow one was long and boring IMO. I also thought some of Catwoman storylines didn't go anywhere either and odd placement.
But the main story of Bruce losing himself to the fight to save Gotham is pretty great. Both mentally and physically he is pushed to his limits and Bane behind it all is wonderful. The contrast between them even better. By the 2/3rd mark we have the famous breaking the bat moment and it is brutal as hell. Even more so is the last fight between Bane and Azrael (Now with his hip new 90's suit) and man oh man, he is brutal against Bane.
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection. Sure some 90's corniness slips in, and each writer's style is different, but the end result is both solid and impactful. I just hope the other two volumes hold up. A 4 out of 5.
September 10, 2023
A very long Knightfall event focuses on villain Bane and his focus on wearing Batman down with the release of the villains from Arkham Asylum in order to break the Dark Knight for good.
The sprawling trade follows a weary Batman tracking down his rogues gallery while Bane awaits his turn at bat. Besides all if this we have Tim Drake as Robin trying to keep everything under control and willing to help along with Jean Paul Valley/Azrael also looking to provide help and does for the back nine of the storyline.
Everyone is pushed to their limits in this event.
The sprawling trade follows a weary Batman tracking down his rogues gallery while Bane awaits his turn at bat. Besides all if this we have Tim Drake as Robin trying to keep everything under control and willing to help along with Jean Paul Valley/Azrael also looking to provide help and does for the back nine of the storyline.
Everyone is pushed to their limits in this event.
July 30, 2014
I was never a Bane fan, and I don't think I ever will be at all, which is why I hesitated to pick up the Knightfall series in the first place. The six-hundred-plus pages of the first volume weren't that appealing to spend a lot of time with but I do enjoy a challenge so I kept my hopes up and got started. I finished it within a span of two weeks (though I just read it in a total of six days). In retrospect, it seemed quite fitting for me to end my first Batman comics diet with an omnibus edition such as this, considering the significance of this particular series to the old continuity. Can you believe it actually has two other volumes (which I will read next time)? It's safe to say this is a long-running series that I might need to pursue later on, for posterity's sake as oppose to ready enjoyment.
This is a heavyweight collected edition, comprised of the following: BATMAN: VENGEANCE OF BANE SPECIAL #1, BATMAN #491-500, DETECTIVE COMICS #659-660, SHOWCASE '93 #7 and 8 and BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #17-18. I'll divide this review into significant parts worth noting, and therefore the content may be semi-spoiler-ish. Thread lightly in case you feel like reading this one yourself. If not because the length looks to be a handful, then I hope my summary and analyses would suffice your curiosity of what this omnibus entails.
ON BANE AND WHY IT'S AN APPROPRIATE NAME
Admittedly, I didn't try to notice just how many issues and titles I was reading which isn't difficult to do (at first) because this is an an engrossing read right from the very start with that Bane special which told us his origins as a child who was born and raised inside a prison. I only remember Bane very briefly in Batman: The Animated Series and never cared much for him. When Nolan turned him into a chief villain in the last film of the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, I remember being intrigued about his interpretation because it was a stark contrast to what I believed him to be growing up. Reading Knightfall solidified that prejudice, however. As much as I enjoyed his origin story (which included his transition to becoming Bane), I found myself starting to care less and less for this asshole as the issues progressed on. In fact, I will state from here on out that I think Nolan's version of the character is more honorable and more nuanced and interesting to see in action.
Here in the comics he just comes off as a fool with the most vapid of reasons for 'breaking' Batman and conquering Gotham City. It's almost laughable. There was nothing formidable or intimidating about this big guy at all.
I think because of the roster of artists and writers for this series (we have Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench and Alan Grant, to name a notable few), there was an unavoidable inconsistency in Bane's characterization. With his origin story, he was primed to be an excellent Bat-villain; but then other writers start having different interpretations of his personality and motives in the next stories that what I understood about him in entirety is that he's a character whose arrogance and bloated sense of worth outweigh his actions and accomplishments (a questionable estimate in itself too). You never root for this asshole no matter what happens (well, that's not completely true; there was that moment in the later issues that my money was on him--but I digress. Let me expound on that later).
Knightfall is primarily known for the climactic events when Bane 'broke the Bat'. For the non-comic book-reading population, they also know about this because of Nolan's movie. And you know what? They're better off not knowing the details in the comics itself because I myself was absolutely livid and utterly furious with how that scenario played out. I really do prefer the movie's take on it, only because Bane was actually generally likable in the film (in spite of his role to play) and his breaking of Batman's spine made more sense and did not make me feel dirty at all. In the comics, it was completely a douchebag move. Like some creep, Bane merely waited until Batman is at the end of his physical limits (and even then Bats fought back like a champ). It was gross. I wanted to drown myself in a bathtub filled with scalding water just to cleanse myself with that demeaning discovery. It was such a shameful ordeal for everyone involved in writing that, and for anyone who read it. Batman was broken by a piece-of-shit buffoon who cannot even hold a fucking torch to the reputation and terror that the Joker and Ra's Al Ghul are known for. Batman was broken because he was already battling an illness (minor spoiler: he had pneumonia) and he also had to clean up after Arkham Asylum's inmates started roaming around the city. With the stress Batman is undergoing personally and the commotion he needs to deal with, it was shocking he could still walk, let alone fight. That's the Batman we all admire and root for!
But then here came some mediocre douche who was so cowardly and self-entitled; only dangerously powerful because of some venom he injects in his body, and he broke Batman's spine and acted as if it was a world record, never-been-that-before feat of strength and cunning. I cannot stress how much I was literally SCREAMING at the screen while I was reading this ("You don't own shit, Bane! You're a shit! FUCK YOU!" was what I shouted, I think). I was so disgusted with everything that I put off reading the next issues for at least another whole day.
When I did come back to it, Bane was thankfully not the center of the stories anymore--but I can't be joyous about that yet because the asshole is replaced by another douchebag named Jean-Paul Valley.
SWEET VALLEY HIGH-STRUNG BATMAN PRETENDER!
UGH. Remember a while ago I said that there was a moment while reading Knightfall that I actually rooted for Bane, the bane of every sane human's existence? Well, that happened because someone I equally despise decided to challenge him to a death match and that douche in question was named Jean-Paul Valley who started out as a pretty cool secondary character when he was just his own hero (a.k.a Azrael), helping out the good guys. But things got sour pretty quickly when he was tasked to put on the Batman cowl in the meantime while Bruce recuperates. And the son of a bitch loved it and enjoyed beating up thugs and criminals way too much. It was like watching a substitute teacher take over a classroom with utmost aggression in spite of his inadequacies for the job.
In Jean-Paul's case, it's his lack of discipline and moral resoluteness. I kept cringing in every fucking moment he would choose callous pragmatism and violent means which one time almost cost an innocent life. It was so horrible. While Bane made me scream in fury and frustration, Jean-Paul made me want to go to a corner and just...cry.
It just goes to show that there is a certain level of nobility and greatness that you expect from Batman as an ideal. And Jean-Paul may wear the costume all he likes but he isn't upholding the values Bruce Wayne instilled. One time he even bragged about his focus being on the DARK as oppose to the KNIGHT job description of the title. What a piece of shit. One of my favorite small moments was during The Devil You Know issue, where Bane said it best when he claimed. "So I have brought ruin to Wayne. And his neophyte brings ruin to the Batman." Heck, I applauded that asshole's poetic observation, and y'all know by now I hate him.
The Robin for this series is Tim Drake who can be a buzzkill sometimes, yeah, but in this occasion, his trepidation and desire for caution around the Batman pretender are very valid and reasonable. But no one listens to Timothy, especially not Jean-Paul whose pages upon pages of monologue and action sequences were so unsettling to watch unfold. I think my enjoyment for the story also suffered. I have no kind of sympathy whatsoever for the supposed hero I'm reading, and the mediocre villain he had to defeat. Srsly, fuck them both. So it's been a really a tight competition between them regarding to which character I loathed the most for this volume (minor spoiler: no one wins that title once I finished the book. I pitied Bane in the end while I eventually and begrudgingly accepted that fucking Jean-Paul will have to do as Batman for now).
Before I close this part of the review, I would also like to add that as much as I hated what I'm reading, it doesn't mean the writing and illustrations are lackluster or bland. I might be hating on the characters but that's because the writing for their characterizations are outstanding in the first place.The later four-hundred pages of the first volume for Knightfall are centered around the detestable Bane and jean-Paul as they struggle to define the world in their narrow-sighted terms and misguided actions. Bane failed in his shallow crusade to be a self-made champion of the weak because all he is was a flawed mechanism of his own ruin. Meanwhile, Jean-Paul chose to cross certain lines Bruce could never afford to do, and it therefore placed him in a position where he can very much become the villain himself if he ever forgets the values he's supposed to stand for. With that in mind, someone really needs to take away the costume from him before it gets worse. But then again, where's the fun in that for the second volume?
MISCELLANEOUS
Almost all Bat-villains make their appearances as well such as the Joker, Scarecrow, Poison-Ivy, Catwoman, Two-Face, Amygdala, Scarface and the Ventriloquist, and Anarky. There are some humorous Harvey Bullock scenes as well (he delivers a lot of great zingers). Different writers and artists collaborated for the issues and this could either be a pleasant experience or a confounding one if you're more into a consistent art styel and technique. Mine was on the former. I really didn't mind the visual variety because I was engrossed enough with the stories and plot lines to pay a closer attention. The one time I did start to notice the illustrations is during the Scarecrow-centered issues because the detail and panels layout in those were fantastic to browse through.
RECOMMENDED: 8/10
* The first volume had enough action and substance to keep you going. The astonishing length will be intimidating at first but the reader will not find it hard to get into the meat and bones of the story after a while as long as he/she also learns to trust the writers with where they're headed; even during the moments they have to get inside the heads of extremely unlikable if not downright unremarkable main characters, such as with the case of Bane and Jean-Paul Valley.
This is a heavyweight collected edition, comprised of the following: BATMAN: VENGEANCE OF BANE SPECIAL #1, BATMAN #491-500, DETECTIVE COMICS #659-660, SHOWCASE '93 #7 and 8 and BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #17-18. I'll divide this review into significant parts worth noting, and therefore the content may be semi-spoiler-ish. Thread lightly in case you feel like reading this one yourself. If not because the length looks to be a handful, then I hope my summary and analyses would suffice your curiosity of what this omnibus entails.
ON BANE AND WHY IT'S AN APPROPRIATE NAME
Admittedly, I didn't try to notice just how many issues and titles I was reading which isn't difficult to do (at first) because this is an an engrossing read right from the very start with that Bane special which told us his origins as a child who was born and raised inside a prison. I only remember Bane very briefly in Batman: The Animated Series and never cared much for him. When Nolan turned him into a chief villain in the last film of the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, I remember being intrigued about his interpretation because it was a stark contrast to what I believed him to be growing up. Reading Knightfall solidified that prejudice, however. As much as I enjoyed his origin story (which included his transition to becoming Bane), I found myself starting to care less and less for this asshole as the issues progressed on. In fact, I will state from here on out that I think Nolan's version of the character is more honorable and more nuanced and interesting to see in action.
Here in the comics he just comes off as a fool with the most vapid of reasons for 'breaking' Batman and conquering Gotham City. It's almost laughable. There was nothing formidable or intimidating about this big guy at all.
I think because of the roster of artists and writers for this series (we have Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench and Alan Grant, to name a notable few), there was an unavoidable inconsistency in Bane's characterization. With his origin story, he was primed to be an excellent Bat-villain; but then other writers start having different interpretations of his personality and motives in the next stories that what I understood about him in entirety is that he's a character whose arrogance and bloated sense of worth outweigh his actions and accomplishments (a questionable estimate in itself too). You never root for this asshole no matter what happens (well, that's not completely true; there was that moment in the later issues that my money was on him--but I digress. Let me expound on that later).
Knightfall is primarily known for the climactic events when Bane 'broke the Bat'. For the non-comic book-reading population, they also know about this because of Nolan's movie. And you know what? They're better off not knowing the details in the comics itself because I myself was absolutely livid and utterly furious with how that scenario played out. I really do prefer the movie's take on it, only because Bane was actually generally likable in the film (in spite of his role to play) and his breaking of Batman's spine made more sense and did not make me feel dirty at all. In the comics, it was completely a douchebag move. Like some creep, Bane merely waited until Batman is at the end of his physical limits (and even then Bats fought back like a champ). It was gross. I wanted to drown myself in a bathtub filled with scalding water just to cleanse myself with that demeaning discovery. It was such a shameful ordeal for everyone involved in writing that, and for anyone who read it. Batman was broken by a piece-of-shit buffoon who cannot even hold a fucking torch to the reputation and terror that the Joker and Ra's Al Ghul are known for. Batman was broken because he was already battling an illness (minor spoiler: he had pneumonia) and he also had to clean up after Arkham Asylum's inmates started roaming around the city. With the stress Batman is undergoing personally and the commotion he needs to deal with, it was shocking he could still walk, let alone fight. That's the Batman we all admire and root for!
But then here came some mediocre douche who was so cowardly and self-entitled; only dangerously powerful because of some venom he injects in his body, and he broke Batman's spine and acted as if it was a world record, never-been-that-before feat of strength and cunning. I cannot stress how much I was literally SCREAMING at the screen while I was reading this ("You don't own shit, Bane! You're a shit! FUCK YOU!" was what I shouted, I think). I was so disgusted with everything that I put off reading the next issues for at least another whole day.
When I did come back to it, Bane was thankfully not the center of the stories anymore--but I can't be joyous about that yet because the asshole is replaced by another douchebag named Jean-Paul Valley.
SWEET VALLEY HIGH-STRUNG BATMAN PRETENDER!
UGH. Remember a while ago I said that there was a moment while reading Knightfall that I actually rooted for Bane, the bane of every sane human's existence? Well, that happened because someone I equally despise decided to challenge him to a death match and that douche in question was named Jean-Paul Valley who started out as a pretty cool secondary character when he was just his own hero (a.k.a Azrael), helping out the good guys. But things got sour pretty quickly when he was tasked to put on the Batman cowl in the meantime while Bruce recuperates. And the son of a bitch loved it and enjoyed beating up thugs and criminals way too much. It was like watching a substitute teacher take over a classroom with utmost aggression in spite of his inadequacies for the job.
In Jean-Paul's case, it's his lack of discipline and moral resoluteness. I kept cringing in every fucking moment he would choose callous pragmatism and violent means which one time almost cost an innocent life. It was so horrible. While Bane made me scream in fury and frustration, Jean-Paul made me want to go to a corner and just...cry.
It just goes to show that there is a certain level of nobility and greatness that you expect from Batman as an ideal. And Jean-Paul may wear the costume all he likes but he isn't upholding the values Bruce Wayne instilled. One time he even bragged about his focus being on the DARK as oppose to the KNIGHT job description of the title. What a piece of shit. One of my favorite small moments was during The Devil You Know issue, where Bane said it best when he claimed. "So I have brought ruin to Wayne. And his neophyte brings ruin to the Batman." Heck, I applauded that asshole's poetic observation, and y'all know by now I hate him.
The Robin for this series is Tim Drake who can be a buzzkill sometimes, yeah, but in this occasion, his trepidation and desire for caution around the Batman pretender are very valid and reasonable. But no one listens to Timothy, especially not Jean-Paul whose pages upon pages of monologue and action sequences were so unsettling to watch unfold. I think my enjoyment for the story also suffered. I have no kind of sympathy whatsoever for the supposed hero I'm reading, and the mediocre villain he had to defeat. Srsly, fuck them both. So it's been a really a tight competition between them regarding to which character I loathed the most for this volume (minor spoiler: no one wins that title once I finished the book. I pitied Bane in the end while I eventually and begrudgingly accepted that fucking Jean-Paul will have to do as Batman for now).
Before I close this part of the review, I would also like to add that as much as I hated what I'm reading, it doesn't mean the writing and illustrations are lackluster or bland. I might be hating on the characters but that's because the writing for their characterizations are outstanding in the first place.The later four-hundred pages of the first volume for Knightfall are centered around the detestable Bane and jean-Paul as they struggle to define the world in their narrow-sighted terms and misguided actions. Bane failed in his shallow crusade to be a self-made champion of the weak because all he is was a flawed mechanism of his own ruin. Meanwhile, Jean-Paul chose to cross certain lines Bruce could never afford to do, and it therefore placed him in a position where he can very much become the villain himself if he ever forgets the values he's supposed to stand for. With that in mind, someone really needs to take away the costume from him before it gets worse. But then again, where's the fun in that for the second volume?
MISCELLANEOUS
Almost all Bat-villains make their appearances as well such as the Joker, Scarecrow, Poison-Ivy, Catwoman, Two-Face, Amygdala, Scarface and the Ventriloquist, and Anarky. There are some humorous Harvey Bullock scenes as well (he delivers a lot of great zingers). Different writers and artists collaborated for the issues and this could either be a pleasant experience or a confounding one if you're more into a consistent art styel and technique. Mine was on the former. I really didn't mind the visual variety because I was engrossed enough with the stories and plot lines to pay a closer attention. The one time I did start to notice the illustrations is during the Scarecrow-centered issues because the detail and panels layout in those were fantastic to browse through.
RECOMMENDED: 8/10
* The first volume had enough action and substance to keep you going. The astonishing length will be intimidating at first but the reader will not find it hard to get into the meat and bones of the story after a while as long as he/she also learns to trust the writers with where they're headed; even during the moments they have to get inside the heads of extremely unlikable if not downright unremarkable main characters, such as with the case of Bane and Jean-Paul Valley.
September 28, 2022
The Good: Batman is a much-revered superhero, and these comics do a great job of showing him in action, as well as defining his character. Bane is an utterly despicable villain, and the other bad guys the Dark Knight and Robin fight are illustrated very well. Fans of the comic universe will find plenty to enjoy about this.
The Bad: Though well-produced, this volume was a bit edgier than I expected; discerning readers, take note. (See the content concerns below for more info.)
Content Concerns:
Sex: A woman is labeled a "playmate" in a suggestive way; a billboard mentions "nude girls". 4/5
Nudity: Two women are seen in bikinis; Bane and other guys are seen shirtless and in underwear several times. 3/5
Language: At least three uses of the h-word, five of the d-word, and five or so misuses of God's name. 2/5
Violence: Batman, Robin, and the various bad guys punch, kick, throw, etc., each other countless times; it gets bloody fairly often. 2/5
Drugs: Bane's transformation is caused by an experimental drug that killed others. 4/5
Frightening/Intense Scenes: Along with the violence, many of the visuals, especially when it comes to the bad guys, are rather scary. 1/5
Conclusion: Fun, yet violent; that's how I'd describe this one. Definitely not for the younger crowd, this one could be good for older readers if they don't mind the creepy content.
Score: 3/5
The Bad: Though well-produced, this volume was a bit edgier than I expected; discerning readers, take note. (See the content concerns below for more info.)
Content Concerns:
Sex: A woman is labeled a "playmate" in a suggestive way; a billboard mentions "nude girls". 4/5
Nudity: Two women are seen in bikinis; Bane and other guys are seen shirtless and in underwear several times. 3/5
Language: At least three uses of the h-word, five of the d-word, and five or so misuses of God's name. 2/5
Violence: Batman, Robin, and the various bad guys punch, kick, throw, etc., each other countless times; it gets bloody fairly often. 2/5
Drugs: Bane's transformation is caused by an experimental drug that killed others. 4/5
Frightening/Intense Scenes: Along with the violence, many of the visuals, especially when it comes to the bad guys, are rather scary. 1/5
Conclusion: Fun, yet violent; that's how I'd describe this one. Definitely not for the younger crowd, this one could be good for older readers if they don't mind the creepy content.
Score: 3/5
January 14, 2013
It's a solid plot, which is probably why elements of it got used in Dark Knight Rises: Bane breaks the Batman. Unlike in most later appearances of Bane, he isn't a dumb, hulking brute. Even the usually brilliant Batman: The Animated Series went down that route. Here, Bane spends most of the story as a figure in the shadows. He unleashes the entire population of Arkham, then sits back and watches the inmates slowly wear Batman down. Was Bane ever this menacing again? And right up until the iconic moment on the cover, it's a good read. Sure, the art and writing are nothing special, even a little dated. But it's still fun to read. And then the Jean Paul as Batman storyline... Less enjoyable, on nearly every level. The confrontation with Bane is anticlimactic at best, and none of the characters are as engaging as they had been at the beginning of the book, or can be elsewhere. Nightwing is all but useless, and only shows in a few panels, and Tim just isn't himself. I also don't like how so much of the action is given to third-stringers (at best) from Arkham, while the real big players are all but ignored. The Ventriloquist's (very spread out) story is a small gem, at least so far. If only all of the heavy hitters had been given such an interesting treatment!
March 4, 2021
Absolut fantastic!
Intră lejer în top 3 cele mai bune povești cu Batman, alături de Dark Knight Returns.
Planul lui Bane e unul simplu, dar extrem de eficient: să-l surmeneze pe Batman fizic și psihic, ca apoi să-l înfrângă. Și îi reușește.
Povestea asta masivă (în total are 1800 pagini!) își justifică fără probleme și trecerea prin toată listă de antagoniști majori și minori ai lui Batman (ceea ce foarte puține dintre marile storyline-uri fac), pentru că Batman trebuie văzut cum se luptă pe rând cu toți, cititorul trebuie și el să simtă pe pielea lui epuizarea fizică a eroului. Sigur, la un moment dat devine aproape aberantă decizia lui Batman de a continua să lupte când e extrem de evident că are nevoie de un duș, o pizza și vreo 50 de ore de somn neîntrerupt, dar presupun că n-ar fi supererou dacă n-ar insista să continue chiar și în fața șanselor din ce în ce mai mici de izbândă.
Bane e perfect contruit ca personaj, are un backstory foarte fain și dramatic, și chiar și un cod de onoare după care se ghidează.
După ce Bane îl scoate din scenă pe Bruce Wayne, Jean Paul Valley îi ia locul temporar, și nebunia se dezlănțuie de-a binelea, pt că Jean Paul nu are timp și nici chef să respecte regulile, e foarte violent și dornic să demonstreze că poate fi un Batman chiar mai bun decât Wayne.
Nu dau spoilere, dar finalul acestui prim volum e foarte tensionat și satisfăcător.
Abia aștept să mă bag în volumul 2.
Recomand cu căldură.
Intră lejer în top 3 cele mai bune povești cu Batman, alături de Dark Knight Returns.
Planul lui Bane e unul simplu, dar extrem de eficient: să-l surmeneze pe Batman fizic și psihic, ca apoi să-l înfrângă. Și îi reușește.
Povestea asta masivă (în total are 1800 pagini!) își justifică fără probleme și trecerea prin toată listă de antagoniști majori și minori ai lui Batman (ceea ce foarte puține dintre marile storyline-uri fac), pentru că Batman trebuie văzut cum se luptă pe rând cu toți, cititorul trebuie și el să simtă pe pielea lui epuizarea fizică a eroului. Sigur, la un moment dat devine aproape aberantă decizia lui Batman de a continua să lupte când e extrem de evident că are nevoie de un duș, o pizza și vreo 50 de ore de somn neîntrerupt, dar presupun că n-ar fi supererou dacă n-ar insista să continue chiar și în fața șanselor din ce în ce mai mici de izbândă.
Bane e perfect contruit ca personaj, are un backstory foarte fain și dramatic, și chiar și un cod de onoare după care se ghidează.
După ce Bane îl scoate din scenă pe Bruce Wayne, Jean Paul Valley îi ia locul temporar, și nebunia se dezlănțuie de-a binelea, pt că Jean Paul nu are timp și nici chef să respecte regulile, e foarte violent și dornic să demonstreze că poate fi un Batman chiar mai bun decât Wayne.
Nu dau spoilere, dar finalul acestui prim volum e foarte tensionat și satisfăcător.
Abia aștept să mă bag în volumul 2.
Recomand cu căldură.
August 8, 2015
Now I get why this is one of those must-read, classic Batman stories. BANE! Bane is finally so damn cool! Instead of the ridiculous, hulking steroid junkie that is all you usually see of Bane
(Exhibit One)
We get criminal mastermind Bane! God it was so awesome. You get to see Bane's evolution from a scared little boy forced to grow up in prison for the sins of his father into a man who fears nothing and who has made himself into a weapon in every way imaginable. I loved that the focus was as much on Bane's mental toughness, his intelligence and cunning as on his physical prowess. He is so much more threatening as an intelligent giant than just an idiot on steroids. But to conquer his final fear, Bane must travel to Gotham and take out The Batman.
(Exhibit Two)
In order to do this, Bane breaks all the major (and minor) baddies out from Arkham Asylum, forcing Batman to tire himself out chasing them down and putting them back where they belong. Only then do Batman and Bane go head to head.
I've heard complaints in the past that Batman is too weak, whiny, introspective in this series and while I can see where people get that from, I actually liked it. Batman has been fighting so hard for so long that it's wearing him down. I mean honestly, what man could take that for so long and not have trouble once in awhile? It felt real, and I liked that Batman showed weakness because (I'm hoping anyway) it'll make his eventual return all the more epic. And it really highlights the differences between him and Azrael. A quasi-member of the Bat Family, Azrael fills in for Batman towards the end of the volume and is a total fucking psycho. All the darkness that Batman fights and denies in himself, Azrael eventually embraces. I loved how clear the differences were between him and Batman and how the people who are important to Batman struggle with this new darker person walking in his shoes.
I can't wait to see where this story goes and the eventual clash between the different people filling in for Batman, Batman himself and Bane. Should be EPIC! But seriously, if you even halfway like Batman, this is an absolute must-read!
(Exhibit One)
We get criminal mastermind Bane! God it was so awesome. You get to see Bane's evolution from a scared little boy forced to grow up in prison for the sins of his father into a man who fears nothing and who has made himself into a weapon in every way imaginable. I loved that the focus was as much on Bane's mental toughness, his intelligence and cunning as on his physical prowess. He is so much more threatening as an intelligent giant than just an idiot on steroids. But to conquer his final fear, Bane must travel to Gotham and take out The Batman.
(Exhibit Two)
In order to do this, Bane breaks all the major (and minor) baddies out from Arkham Asylum, forcing Batman to tire himself out chasing them down and putting them back where they belong. Only then do Batman and Bane go head to head.
I've heard complaints in the past that Batman is too weak, whiny, introspective in this series and while I can see where people get that from, I actually liked it. Batman has been fighting so hard for so long that it's wearing him down. I mean honestly, what man could take that for so long and not have trouble once in awhile? It felt real, and I liked that Batman showed weakness because (I'm hoping anyway) it'll make his eventual return all the more epic. And it really highlights the differences between him and Azrael. A quasi-member of the Bat Family, Azrael fills in for Batman towards the end of the volume and is a total fucking psycho. All the darkness that Batman fights and denies in himself, Azrael eventually embraces. I loved how clear the differences were between him and Batman and how the people who are important to Batman struggle with this new darker person walking in his shoes.
I can't wait to see where this story goes and the eventual clash between the different people filling in for Batman, Batman himself and Bane. Should be EPIC! But seriously, if you even halfway like Batman, this is an absolute must-read!
September 21, 2022
Love how the first sentence of the blurb is a spoiler if you're not familiar with Batman lore.
Fortunately I am, so it's part of why I was keen to read this issue.
Here we follow Batman as he faces the chaos of escaped Arkham inmates. He's being worn down far beyond his limits, and we can see his descent into despair.
I really love seeing this other side - he's determined and fights on, but he's still just a man and, while his limits far exceed those of a normal man, he's still only human. There IS a limit.
The variety of villains was fun, too, although Sock Puppet Man is ridiculous. It's my first encounter of The Ventriloquist in the Batman-verse, and I would be totally okay never seeing him again. What were the creators of that dude thinking?!
The artwork is very old school, so it's quite bright and colourful for such a dark story. Yet there's still a sense of things out of control, and the spiralling chaos.
Really enjoyed reading this, but keen to read the second part and see Batman's redemption. Also ready for Robin to take his turn in the spotlight.
Fortunately I am, so it's part of why I was keen to read this issue.
Here we follow Batman as he faces the chaos of escaped Arkham inmates. He's being worn down far beyond his limits, and we can see his descent into despair.
I really love seeing this other side - he's determined and fights on, but he's still just a man and, while his limits far exceed those of a normal man, he's still only human. There IS a limit.
The variety of villains was fun, too, although Sock Puppet Man is ridiculous. It's my first encounter of The Ventriloquist in the Batman-verse, and I would be totally okay never seeing him again. What were the creators of that dude thinking?!
The artwork is very old school, so it's quite bright and colourful for such a dark story. Yet there's still a sense of things out of control, and the spiralling chaos.
Really enjoyed reading this, but keen to read the second part and see Batman's redemption. Also ready for Robin to take his turn in the spotlight.
July 7, 2016
There's a reason this storyline is still talked about, utilized in films, and is still in-print in new editions, almost 20 years later.
Because it's freakin' amazing! This is definitely Top-10 Batman material (Along with a select handful of others such as "Year One", "Cataclysm/No-Man's Land", "Contagion", "The Killing Joke" and "A Death in the Family"). This is essential Batman reading.
The first half of the storyline in this book deals with Bane (who had just recently been introduced to the Batverse), and his desire to crush Batman (in a nice counterpoint to Batman's own origin, Bane dreams that he can only become the man he is meant to be by crushing the bat.) He accomplishes this by busting open Arkham Asylum, forcing Batman to run a gaunlet of villains he imprisoned. All of which culminates in Bane breaking Batmans back, and Azrael taking up the mantle of the bat.
My sparse descripton doesn't nearly do this mammoth tome justice, but trust me when I say; READ. THIS. TITLE.
Because it's freakin' amazing! This is definitely Top-10 Batman material (Along with a select handful of others such as "Year One", "Cataclysm/No-Man's Land", "Contagion", "The Killing Joke" and "A Death in the Family"). This is essential Batman reading.
The first half of the storyline in this book deals with Bane (who had just recently been introduced to the Batverse), and his desire to crush Batman (in a nice counterpoint to Batman's own origin, Bane dreams that he can only become the man he is meant to be by crushing the bat.) He accomplishes this by busting open Arkham Asylum, forcing Batman to run a gaunlet of villains he imprisoned. All of which culminates in Bane breaking Batmans back, and Azrael taking up the mantle of the bat.
My sparse descripton doesn't nearly do this mammoth tome justice, but trust me when I say; READ. THIS. TITLE.
March 25, 2020
I have a bunch of comics just sitting in my Comixology that I bought for cheap at one point or another intending to read then forgetting about. This tome was one of those and I don’t really know what compelled me to read it now but I kind of wish I’d just stuck with the main issue where Batman actually gets his back broken. This whole thing is over 600 pages which is insane and a prime example of 90s comic excess and catering to the collectors market. Most of those 600 pages aren’t even that good which storylines that are purposely drawn out so they can make this a 48 part series or whatever it ended up being. It’s not without merit though. At times there’s some fun stuff and creative art but is buried deep in this massively long and boring storyline. Wish I’d just left this one on my memory from when I bought some of these comics when they first came out.
July 24, 2023
Back to the past where Bruce Wayne meets his nemesis in the form of Bane, who will be final straw in a life that takes a lot of energy from the Batman. By the time Bane arrives and battles a worn out Batman the outcome was already a fact.
So Batman broken is replaced by Azrael who is a very different Batman ruled by a different system, Nightwing & Robin are not pleased with this new Batman who seems to be appointed by Bruce Wayne. Who is seemingly on the search for Bane’s origin and the kidnapping of a Doctor friend.
A first installment of three collections.
I do remember bits of this story from its release, so it is a bit of nostalgia for me.
The fight with the various Batman baddies who escaped from Arkham courtesy of Bane and Co does deliver some pleasure. Bane is a bit of a bonehead, his Allies are more interesting and lets face it Azrael-Batman is a bit of a cucumber shall we say.
The art is decent, the stories are fun and daft but in this omnibus they make sense. A lot of Batman for you money.
So Batman broken is replaced by Azrael who is a very different Batman ruled by a different system, Nightwing & Robin are not pleased with this new Batman who seems to be appointed by Bruce Wayne. Who is seemingly on the search for Bane’s origin and the kidnapping of a Doctor friend.
A first installment of three collections.
I do remember bits of this story from its release, so it is a bit of nostalgia for me.
The fight with the various Batman baddies who escaped from Arkham courtesy of Bane and Co does deliver some pleasure. Bane is a bit of a bonehead, his Allies are more interesting and lets face it Azrael-Batman is a bit of a cucumber shall we say.
The art is decent, the stories are fun and daft but in this omnibus they make sense. A lot of Batman for you money.
July 18, 2015
This is one of the major Batman arc of the early 90s. It deals with Bane's origin and how he broke Batman's back. Some of it was the inspiration for the Dark Knight Rises movie.
It is sadly a little dated to me, the writing is a little stale ( characters talking about how they feel all the time gets old fast) and I do not like the Jean Paul Valley character.
The art is however not too bad for the times.
It is sadly a little dated to me, the writing is a little stale ( characters talking about how they feel all the time gets old fast) and I do not like the Jean Paul Valley character.
The art is however not too bad for the times.
January 3, 2022
Its the story of bane, how he came to the power and broke the Bat.
It was slow for me in the beginning but when it hooked me, all i can think of getting some time to read it.
Old artwork feels so real , like we reading a comic comic.
It was 90s comic artwork and story and it was so fun to read. Batman comics never get old, i find something new in his comics, this one was lengthy but worth it, again a superb story to remember about the Batman, robin, jean paul, Tim, kyle and many more.
It was slow for me in the beginning but when it hooked me, all i can think of getting some time to read it.
Old artwork feels so real , like we reading a comic comic.
It was 90s comic artwork and story and it was so fun to read. Batman comics never get old, i find something new in his comics, this one was lengthy but worth it, again a superb story to remember about the Batman, robin, jean paul, Tim, kyle and many more.
December 21, 2021
THIS!!!
I’ve had this on my shelf for a decade and finally picked it up. This is everything I want in a Batman story.
I have so much to say about it and can’t put it into words at the moment.
There’s a reason this storyline is so iconic.
I’ve had this on my shelf for a decade and finally picked it up. This is everything I want in a Batman story.
I have so much to say about it and can’t put it into words at the moment.
There’s a reason this storyline is so iconic.
July 6, 2012
When I was 7 years old, Knightfall hit the comic world like a ton of bricks. Being 7 made it where I didn't understand comics all that well, but I was enthralled with the designs of Azrael as Batman and the monstrosity that is Bane. It was enough where my father would allow me to pick up the Knightfall issues every 2 weeks. I didn't pick up the entire Knightfall saga because of the hefty amounts of issues involved, but I have scattered issues to this day on the event. And if you're like me, you definitely have been looking around to one day getting the entire event for yourself in some shape or form, either it be single issues or trade paperback. Thankfully, DC has given fans the opportunity in the past 15 years or so in trade forms. But the thing is: it's never been complete.
Batman Knightfall is the first ever Batman event made and DC wanted to make one hell of an impact on that notion. Coming in the middle at the time of the famous Death of Superman story (specifically World Without Superman arc), Knightfall was unleashed to the masses that almost lasted 2 years worth. The event is made up of 3 made sections of the event, with sub-sections. Batman Knightfall the 1st main section, with sub-sections "Broken Bat" and "Who Rules the Night". Batman Knightquest is the 2nd main section, with sub-sections "The Crusade" and "The Search". And finally the last section Knightsend, with the sub-sections "Knightsend Aftermath", "Prodigal", and "Troika". In all 15 years or so, DC has had various reprints of Knightfall and Knightsend, with numerous issues being exempted in-between all the reprints. One of which being the "Prodigal" son trade (which is a small fortune), the "troika" arc, and most famous arc missing every issue: Knightquest. That's about to change.
With the up coming The Dark Knight Rises this year, DC is re-releasing material based off of the villain Bane (and to a certain extent, Ra's Al Ghul) for the films marketing. This includes Batman: Birth of the Demon, Batman Versus Bane, and the preempt story Batman: Venom as buildup to the grand story of Knightfall event re-print. BUT...DC looks to have finally gotten the hint from the fans concerning the lack of incomplete issues and demand regarding them over the years. It looks like DC is actually going to release the entire Knightfall event in proper older and affordability. And from what it looks like, DC means business.
BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL VOL.1 NEW EDITION collects the entire sections of "Broken Bat" and "Who Rules the Night" arcs:
BATMAN: VENGEANCE OF BANE SPECIAL #1
BATMAN #491-500
DETECTIVE COMICS #659-666
SHOWCASE '93 #7 and 8
BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #16-18
Batman Vengeance of Bane #1 shows an entire origin story of the Bane, including growing up at birth in a prison, his ideology, and training Bane endured his whole life to lead him to the beginning of Knightfall. For the longest time, this was a rare and expensive story to get a hold of, but is now included to help setup Bane. This is a phenomenal introduction of Bane and you really believe in his whole being to possibly being Batman's equal.
Batman Knightfall deals primarily with the introduction of Bane, a powerful and well-educated man from prison out to take the Batman and take over Gotham. Bane breaks out all of the Arkham inmates, causing chaos among Gotham. Batman gets put to the test of his very being fighting and re-capturing all the inmates, while slowly being worn out for the big fight with Bane. Bane does his famous "back-breaker" and decommissions Bruce Wayne as Batman. This leaves Gotham at the mercy of Bane, in which the possible Bat-replacement Jean-Paul Valley takes over the reigns as the new Batman. He goes on a savage take-back of Gotham his own way, which finally makes it way to the battle of Jean-Paul and Bane.
Batman Knightfall is big mainstay in the Batman mythos. We get the obvious introduction of Bane, the first real time Batman physically and mentally gets pushed and broken to the limit, the perils of working alone, and the theme of a Batman that embraces brutality and even possibly murder. And yes, all of this is here in this book (which tells you a lot, considering we still have Vol.2 and Vol.3 coming down the pipeline.) If you're a new reader that's reading Snyder's current run on Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52), then you have to see the first time Batman really fall hard and have epic scope at the same time. There isn't anymore I could say the other reviews can explain better, so look that up.
On the flipside of this book, the book does suffer from typical problems most comic events have: some filler material, possibly being too long, consistent change in writing and drawing, and various information leading up to the event that's not explained well for readers not caught up in the story. Most the problems listed are minor in my opinion and don't really affect the overall saga, but could disrupt some readers. The only thing readers could look into is the Knightfall prelude information. Characters like Jean-Paul having no introduction (checkout Batman: Sword of Azrael (Prelude to Knightfall) for that), Riddler being high on Venom, Black Mask attack to Batman, Bane attacking Jean-Paul, Bane attacking Killer Croc, and Batman being mysteriously exhausted all the time (presumably after the death of Jason Todd with Batman: A Death in the Family) are all information that's not explained at all in this book. It's all information that is explained before Knightfall, and hopefully if the entire 3 volumes of the Knightfall saga sell well and the fans like it...maybe we can ask DC to make a Knightfall Prelude trade collection that includes this information in the future.
Art is another big deal that has to be mentioned. If you're not accustomed to the older drawings of 1993, most of the art might seem archaic by today's standards. People who grew up and are more accustomed to this level of art will see no problem in the process, but again...new readers might really be turned off by 19 old art. I still think the art is fabulous for it's time and age, but again, it won't be for everyone.
Okay let's talk about this new 2012 edition. The book has colored paper, but the paper is more akin to the older trade paperbacks paper (but I feel the color stands out a bit more), has complete original covers before each issue, and has the original trade paperback covers and fold-out cover of issue #500. That's about it for extras, but it's insignificant to the rest of the trade. What I also have to mention and this applies for the upcoming Vol.2 and 3 editions, is the solicitation regarding the books. All editions have information of what DC has listed for the contents, and the all 3 don't have wrong information...but incomplete information. DC's solicitation of Knightfall has everything listed EXCEPT Detective Comics issues #661-666 and Shadow of the Bat #16 for example. It's collected here, but those that want the complete Knightfall Saga really need to know exactly what each book has and we all want the complete saga. So for Vol.2 and 3, you might want to wait until you get complete confirmation (Youtube, a friend, or go to your comic shop and look at the books description personally)about what each book has before buying. Just to make sure.
BATMAN KNIGHTFALL VOL.1 NEW EDITION is great start to what might be the true and complete collection of this sought after saga fans have wanted done right for years. At 600+ pages for the pricing that you can't beat, and combined with all the Batman mythos so strongly here...I gave this a 5 score, which I think outweigh the faults. The thing is most of this collection has been available for some time now in other trades...and the real test of the Knightfall saga will come with Knightquest (Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2) which will be available for the first time ever in trade form and KnightsEnd (Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 3) which includes the "Prodigal" storyline at an affordable price. Highly recommended for the price and content.
Batman Knightfall is the first ever Batman event made and DC wanted to make one hell of an impact on that notion. Coming in the middle at the time of the famous Death of Superman story (specifically World Without Superman arc), Knightfall was unleashed to the masses that almost lasted 2 years worth. The event is made up of 3 made sections of the event, with sub-sections. Batman Knightfall the 1st main section, with sub-sections "Broken Bat" and "Who Rules the Night". Batman Knightquest is the 2nd main section, with sub-sections "The Crusade" and "The Search". And finally the last section Knightsend, with the sub-sections "Knightsend Aftermath", "Prodigal", and "Troika". In all 15 years or so, DC has had various reprints of Knightfall and Knightsend, with numerous issues being exempted in-between all the reprints. One of which being the "Prodigal" son trade (which is a small fortune), the "troika" arc, and most famous arc missing every issue: Knightquest. That's about to change.
With the up coming The Dark Knight Rises this year, DC is re-releasing material based off of the villain Bane (and to a certain extent, Ra's Al Ghul) for the films marketing. This includes Batman: Birth of the Demon, Batman Versus Bane, and the preempt story Batman: Venom as buildup to the grand story of Knightfall event re-print. BUT...DC looks to have finally gotten the hint from the fans concerning the lack of incomplete issues and demand regarding them over the years. It looks like DC is actually going to release the entire Knightfall event in proper older and affordability. And from what it looks like, DC means business.
BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL VOL.1 NEW EDITION collects the entire sections of "Broken Bat" and "Who Rules the Night" arcs:
BATMAN: VENGEANCE OF BANE SPECIAL #1
BATMAN #491-500
DETECTIVE COMICS #659-666
SHOWCASE '93 #7 and 8
BATMAN: SHADOW OF THE BAT #16-18
Batman Vengeance of Bane #1 shows an entire origin story of the Bane, including growing up at birth in a prison, his ideology, and training Bane endured his whole life to lead him to the beginning of Knightfall. For the longest time, this was a rare and expensive story to get a hold of, but is now included to help setup Bane. This is a phenomenal introduction of Bane and you really believe in his whole being to possibly being Batman's equal.
Batman Knightfall deals primarily with the introduction of Bane, a powerful and well-educated man from prison out to take the Batman and take over Gotham. Bane breaks out all of the Arkham inmates, causing chaos among Gotham. Batman gets put to the test of his very being fighting and re-capturing all the inmates, while slowly being worn out for the big fight with Bane. Bane does his famous "back-breaker" and decommissions Bruce Wayne as Batman. This leaves Gotham at the mercy of Bane, in which the possible Bat-replacement Jean-Paul Valley takes over the reigns as the new Batman. He goes on a savage take-back of Gotham his own way, which finally makes it way to the battle of Jean-Paul and Bane.
Batman Knightfall is big mainstay in the Batman mythos. We get the obvious introduction of Bane, the first real time Batman physically and mentally gets pushed and broken to the limit, the perils of working alone, and the theme of a Batman that embraces brutality and even possibly murder. And yes, all of this is here in this book (which tells you a lot, considering we still have Vol.2 and Vol.3 coming down the pipeline.) If you're a new reader that's reading Snyder's current run on Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls (The New 52), then you have to see the first time Batman really fall hard and have epic scope at the same time. There isn't anymore I could say the other reviews can explain better, so look that up.
On the flipside of this book, the book does suffer from typical problems most comic events have: some filler material, possibly being too long, consistent change in writing and drawing, and various information leading up to the event that's not explained well for readers not caught up in the story. Most the problems listed are minor in my opinion and don't really affect the overall saga, but could disrupt some readers. The only thing readers could look into is the Knightfall prelude information. Characters like Jean-Paul having no introduction (checkout Batman: Sword of Azrael (Prelude to Knightfall) for that), Riddler being high on Venom, Black Mask attack to Batman, Bane attacking Jean-Paul, Bane attacking Killer Croc, and Batman being mysteriously exhausted all the time (presumably after the death of Jason Todd with Batman: A Death in the Family) are all information that's not explained at all in this book. It's all information that is explained before Knightfall, and hopefully if the entire 3 volumes of the Knightfall saga sell well and the fans like it...maybe we can ask DC to make a Knightfall Prelude trade collection that includes this information in the future.
Art is another big deal that has to be mentioned. If you're not accustomed to the older drawings of 1993, most of the art might seem archaic by today's standards. People who grew up and are more accustomed to this level of art will see no problem in the process, but again...new readers might really be turned off by 19 old art. I still think the art is fabulous for it's time and age, but again, it won't be for everyone.
Okay let's talk about this new 2012 edition. The book has colored paper, but the paper is more akin to the older trade paperbacks paper (but I feel the color stands out a bit more), has complete original covers before each issue, and has the original trade paperback covers and fold-out cover of issue #500. That's about it for extras, but it's insignificant to the rest of the trade. What I also have to mention and this applies for the upcoming Vol.2 and 3 editions, is the solicitation regarding the books. All editions have information of what DC has listed for the contents, and the all 3 don't have wrong information...but incomplete information. DC's solicitation of Knightfall has everything listed EXCEPT Detective Comics issues #661-666 and Shadow of the Bat #16 for example. It's collected here, but those that want the complete Knightfall Saga really need to know exactly what each book has and we all want the complete saga. So for Vol.2 and 3, you might want to wait until you get complete confirmation (Youtube, a friend, or go to your comic shop and look at the books description personally)about what each book has before buying. Just to make sure.
BATMAN KNIGHTFALL VOL.1 NEW EDITION is great start to what might be the true and complete collection of this sought after saga fans have wanted done right for years. At 600+ pages for the pricing that you can't beat, and combined with all the Batman mythos so strongly here...I gave this a 5 score, which I think outweigh the faults. The thing is most of this collection has been available for some time now in other trades...and the real test of the Knightfall saga will come with Knightquest (Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 2) which will be available for the first time ever in trade form and KnightsEnd (Batman: Knightfall, Vol. 3) which includes the "Prodigal" storyline at an affordable price. Highly recommended for the price and content.
November 2, 2015
Batman Knightfall Volume is a book written by chuck Dixon and was published in 1993. This book follows the life of Bane (a villain) and how he starts out as a small boy in a prison to a super buff super-villain who develops a serious hatred for batman.
This book is seriously good. The storyline is epic. I like the way how it tracks Bane from the beginning. From when he is born to when he is beaten up by Jean – Paul. This book shows in incredible detail the journey Bane takes from getting out of prison all the way to how he becomes a super-villain. Surprisingly Batman does not have the biggest role in this book. He is wounded by Bane about halfway through and is unable to continue his role as the Batman. Batman’s protégée, Jean-Paul takes up the role as the Batman. I don’t mind this. It gives the story a twist and a new perspective. Batman is a considerate person who cares about others and takes note of who he hurts. This is typical for a superhero. Jean-Paul does not really care about who he hurts or what he does while he is Batman. He turns arrogant and is sort of a more evil superhero. As I said, this gives the story a new perspective and gives it more violence and that is good. Violence is needed in a Batman comic.
Another thing I like about this book is that involves a lot of the main villain’s from Batman. Bane, Two-Face, the Joker, Scarecrow and Killercroc are just a few from a wide variety of others. This make the storyline even more interesting. You get to see the personalities of so many villains and what they do that makes them evil. And you get to see Batman beat them all up which makes it even better (until he gets beaten up by Bane). Then the story changes. Suddenly Batman is able to seriously injure and kill people and a lot more blood can be seen in the illustrations. Obviously, this is when Jean-Paul becomes the Batman. As I said before I like this change and it gives you a break from the typical Batman, being good, saving people and stopping people from getting hurt. But after Jean-Paul becomes the Batman he hurts more people and the blood is clearly visible through the illustrations.
There is nothing wrong with this book in my opinion. Everything is perfect and it is my kind of book. Overall I was really impressed by the sheer size of the story and the journey that it takes you on. Bane entering Gotham and causing havoc, Batman trying to stop him but being defeated and then Jean-Paul becoming the Batman and beating Bane. I was also impressed by the amount of characters in the book. There are more villains than good guys and that means there is more fighting which is quite enjoyable to read. In the end I think Batman Knightfall is a great book and I highly recommend it to Batman fans.
June 6, 2017
I'll get this out of the way first, I liked this collection a lot because I got so many villains for the price of one so to speak. Bane breaks out the Arkham inmates and Batman and/or Robin have to take on each of them night after night. I like this because so far in my recommended reading of Batman mythos, I've not come across too many villains. Nice to have them all in one place. I also like Tim Drake quite a bit, and that's saying something because I don't like Robin as a rule.
I understand that this book is liked because Bane breaks Batman. And I understand that The Dark Knight Rises isn't liked because Talia stood behind Bane and orchestrated the whole thing. But Bane here doesn't have much of a motive to take on Batman. I mean, he wants the Gotham pie, not a slice but the whole thing, but that's not where it starts though. It starts when he hallucinates a future version of himself, and that hallucination shows him the face of fear he needs to conquer (like Amadeus Arkham) which looks like a bat. And then he sets out to break Batman.
He does, and he does it well, but I was also slightly disappointed. Bane breaks Batman when a strong wind could have broken him. He broke the crazies out of the Asylum which is a masterstroke, but then there's no cause for him to keep following him around to know exactly when to finish the thing. Take on a full strength Bat for heaven's sake (not Azrael, because he's a douche) or don't carp about what a disappointment he is when you finally get around to breaking him. This maybe the point, but, a let down also. I preferred both Joker and Scarecrow.
I could have done without Jean Paul Valley/Azrael.
I understand that this book is liked because Bane breaks Batman. And I understand that The Dark Knight Rises isn't liked because Talia stood behind Bane and orchestrated the whole thing. But Bane here doesn't have much of a motive to take on Batman. I mean, he wants the Gotham pie, not a slice but the whole thing, but that's not where it starts though. It starts when he hallucinates a future version of himself, and that hallucination shows him the face of fear he needs to conquer (like Amadeus Arkham) which looks like a bat. And then he sets out to break Batman.
He does, and he does it well, but I was also slightly disappointed. Bane breaks Batman when a strong wind could have broken him. He broke the crazies out of the Asylum which is a masterstroke, but then there's no cause for him to keep following him around to know exactly when to finish the thing. Take on a full strength Bat for heaven's sake (not Azrael, because he's a douche) or don't carp about what a disappointment he is when you finally get around to breaking him. This maybe the point, but, a let down also. I preferred both Joker and Scarecrow.
I could have done without Jean Paul Valley/Azrael.
October 17, 2013
So I figured that it was about time for me to finally get educated on this. I know of the storyline, but I generally try to avoid reading comics put out as the main line, mostly because the writing is terrible and the art is inconsistent, at best, since everyone is strung out trying to meet crazy deadlines.
Well, the writing is terrible and the art is inconsistent, at best. That's not entirely true, nor is it entirely fair. The first story, of the creation of Bane, is actually pretty interesting. It's a neat story that isn't too terribly told. Sure, it's full of ridiculous things that don't make any sense, even in the fictional world of Batman, and some truly awful lines, but it is also an interesting story of persevering and the pursuit of knowledge, as gleaned through a completely corrupted filter. That was neat. Everything else was downhill from that. It went from silly to worse, and it was a slog getting through all 600+ pages of the thing. I had originally intended to read all of the Knightfall saga, but two more books of this garbage is enough to completely put me off. I'll stick to the graphic novels that have a chance to go through edits and work with more flexible deadlines, and without the onus of needing to fit into canon.
Well, the writing is terrible and the art is inconsistent, at best. That's not entirely true, nor is it entirely fair. The first story, of the creation of Bane, is actually pretty interesting. It's a neat story that isn't too terribly told. Sure, it's full of ridiculous things that don't make any sense, even in the fictional world of Batman, and some truly awful lines, but it is also an interesting story of persevering and the pursuit of knowledge, as gleaned through a completely corrupted filter. That was neat. Everything else was downhill from that. It went from silly to worse, and it was a slog getting through all 600+ pages of the thing. I had originally intended to read all of the Knightfall saga, but two more books of this garbage is enough to completely put me off. I'll stick to the graphic novels that have a chance to go through edits and work with more flexible deadlines, and without the onus of needing to fit into canon.
February 14, 2015
What a incredibly engrossing graphic novel.I loved every minute of it.The tone was set early with the creative and brutal imagery of Banes origin.Like no other super villain before him he intricately plotted a foolproof master plan to break The Batman both physically and mentally and succeeded.As for Bruce Wayne/Batman it was astonishing to see him broken in spirit and embrace defeat.However the gauntlet of super villains he had to face before arriving to Bane would have broken most teams of superheroes much less one man.Outstanding read from cover to cover.Cant wait to read vol 2.
April 13, 2017
Read this originally when the issues were coming out. Still one of the comic runs that's stuck with me above and beyond almost anything else I've read. This is right up there with Death of Superman or Civil War.
April 20, 2014
This was a great read. If you love Batman then I feel like you have to read this at some point or at least try it out.
April 8, 2023
I’ve been looking forward to reading this ever since one of my kids told me about it back in the early ‘90s. Now twenty years later I’ve finally read it, and I’m underwhelmed. Some of that may be due to my inherent snobbery against DC, and some of it might just be how spoiled I am by how far the industry has come over the last two decades, but it feels like Doug Moench, et al, just didn’t give this storyline the time and development it needed. Bane’s character is horribly flat; Batman’s ennui is poorly developed; the dialectic between them doesn’t come off very well, and Tim Drake is such a little puss.
Also, there’s my ongoing dismay with the silly way DC takes every extended Batman storyline and overlays it with a sequence of boring fights against a greatest hits rogues gallery of villains. Do we really need the Joker to pop into every gosh darn storyline? Or the Madhatter, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and the Scarecrow? No, no we don’t. And yet there they are. Oops, someone let them all out of Arkham so they can square off against Batman, one boring fight at a time . It’s the same damn thing in Hush, The Long Halloween, White Knight, ad nauseum.
Also, there’s my ongoing dismay with the silly way DC takes every extended Batman storyline and overlays it with a sequence of boring fights against a greatest hits rogues gallery of villains. Do we really need the Joker to pop into every gosh darn storyline? Or the Madhatter, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and the Scarecrow? No, no we don’t. And yet there they are. Oops, someone let them all out of Arkham so they can square off against Batman, one boring fight at a time . It’s the same damn thing in Hush, The Long Halloween, White Knight, ad nauseum.
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