Batman: Gotham Adventures #17

Batman: Gotham Adventures

by Bob Smith (Cover (Pencils)), Terry Beatty (Inks/Cover), Lee Loughridge (Colors/Cover)

Batman finds himself in the middle of a family matter when a mob leader tries to kidnap the young son of immigrants--a boy the leader claims is his son.

Genres: Comics, Comic Book, Batman

40 pages, Comic Book

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[cauldronofevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic cover.

”Daddy Dearest” begins when three gunmen burst through a door. Its a continuation of the cover. Batman subdues the gentlemen but they won’t talk.

”He’s obviously terrified of his boss, Enrico Zarelli.”

The mother and son (Nicky) have no idea what the mob boss would want with them. Her husband comes home just then. He was at work at the factory.

”I do nothing but eat and sleep and work. ”

Mother and son work as well. Batman assures them he’ll find out what the mob boss wants. He slips them a little cash as well.

In jail, one of the crooks has a new cell mate who says he’s getting out soon and he’s willing to finish the job for Zarelli that was screwed up. The crook tells him he’d better not - Zarelli wanted to do this kid personally.

Turns out the new cellie was Batman in disguise. So now he knows that Nicky was the target.

Batman goes straight to Zarelli. He has to get through his guards. He warns Zarelli not to harm Nicky. Zarelli tells him a story. June fifth there was a mob war where the Bonaduces attacked Zarelli’s mob. Zarelli was crippled and his son Richard was killed before Batman interrupted and got the situation under control. Because of his injuries Zarelli could have no more children.

So Batman arranges a meeting between Zarelli and Nicky. Zarelli tells Nicky that the most important thing is family and that Nicky can have anything he desires.

That was a good story. I like it when they shake it up a bit. And it was neat to see Batman put in a quandary. 4 stars.

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am slowly reading my way through the Batman: Gotham Adventures series with my kids and this one is issue seventeen. Seeing this was from 1999 blows my mind away: I was in high school when this came out, I didn’t know about this series until 2024 and of course they were published before my kids were even alive but they remain my kids favorite series from DC.
Goodreads gives this description for the issue: “Batman finds himself in the middle of a family matter when a mob leader tries to kidnap the young son of immigrants--a boy the leader claims is his son.” I like the human dimension of this, of father and son, of identity and legacy. Its neat to see comics not just being all action but shows a level of deeper consideration for human relations and complexity. I enjoyed it and do recommend it.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about Batman taking a leap of faith.