Forever Evil: Arkham War

Forever Evil: Arkham War #1-6

by Peter J. Tomasi (Writer), Scot Eaton (Illustrator), Jaime Mendoza (Illustrator)

Madness and mayhem hit the streets as both Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison unleash their prisoners upon the helpless citizens of Gotham. And with no Dark Knight to protect the city, what horrors will follow? Arkham and Blackgate face off in this series featuring Scarecrow, The Penguin, Bane, Killer Croc, and more.

Writer Peter J. Tomasi (BATMAN & ROBIN) brings you FOREVER EVIL: ARKHAM WAR, detailing the battle for Gotham City in the midst of the epic crossover event FOREVER EVIL from comics superstars Geoff Johns and David Finch.

Collects: FOREVER EVIL: ARKHAM WAR #1-6, BATMAN #23.4: BANE and FOREVER EVIL AFTERMATH: BATMAN VS. BANE #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Batman, Superheroes, Comic Book, Science Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2014

About the author

Peter J. Tomasi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, such as Batman And Robin; Superman; Super Sons; Batman: Detective Comics; Green Lantern Corps; and Superman/Wonder Woman; as well as Batman: Arkham Knight; Brightest Day; Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors; Nightwing; Black Adam, and many more.

In the course of his staff career at DC Comics, Tomasi served as a group editor and ushered in new eras for Batman, Green Lantern, and the JSA, along with a host of special projects like Kingdom Come.

He is also the author of the creator-owned titles House Of Penance with artist Ian Bertram; Light Brigade with artist Peter Snejbjerg; The Mighty with Keith Champagne and Chris Samnee; and the critically acclaimed epic graphic novel The Bridge: How The Roeblings Connected Brooklyn To New York, illustrated by Sara DuVall and published by Abrams ComicArts.

In 2018 New York Times best-selling author Tomasi received the Inkpot Award for achievement in comics.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B+) 76% | Good
Notes: Ofttimes unserious, all tussles and ploys, cosplay and mimicry, it’s visual gimmickry: an overturned toy box of noise.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Moon has been permanently placed in front of the Sun by some “crime” syndicate, by using smoke, mirrors and some Crazy Glue. The JLA are apparently dead or missing or doing other stuff.



Relax, Batman! Whatever happens in the Batcave stays in the Batcave.

The inmates of Arkham have been freed and they’ve divided the city up into sectors and Penguin is Gotham’s mayor, so don’t ruffle his feathers.

Ruffle his feathers? Jeff, have you taken your meds this morning?

This doesn’t quite sit well with Bane, he wants to bring a little “discipline” to Gotham City and the Arkham crazies. No worries because the Arkhamites have Killer Croc and he can go toe to toe with Bane.



So...Okay, after the Arkhamites pee themselves they decide to thaw out some of the Talon squad, but Bane has a twisted idea too.



That’s not ‘roid rage Batman, kids. That’s Trick or Treat Bane.

I think you have your cowl on too tight, buddy, but good luck!

Bottom Line: If you can get past the dopey premise and the fact that the real Batman cleans up this mess rather quickly in the last issue, you’ll find this to be a quick, bone-crushingly violent and fun read.

[Lono · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection seemed like it had a shot at being something really fun. It definitely had some great ideas, but fell short in execution for me.

This book is set during the time that the Forever Evil storyline was playing out across the DC Universe. Batman is nowhere to be found and Bane has come back to Gotham in an attempt to rid the city of the Arkhamites (Bat’s rogues gallery) and rule the city once more. I’m a fan of Bane, so this got me seriously interested. Bane brings an army of venom equipped mercenaries along for the ride to lend a hand in taking out the trash. He also has a secret agenda release several Talons held in cryogenic sleep below Blackgate to help build an even better army that will ensure his total domination of Gotham and it’s freaks. Eventually Bane actually assumes the role of Batman by donning a cape and cowl and takes to the streets with a newly awoken Talon William Cobb, Nightwing’s grandfather alongside him filling in for Robin. Sounds like it has potential, right?



Not so much. Somewhere shortly after it starts, this one went off the rails for me. Bane starts with the dramatic overacting right off the bat. Raising his hand in the air in front of him and shouting “And Gotham is mine!”. Little corny. At least Tomasi didn’t follow it with a “bbwwaaahahahahaha”. Next up, the Arkhamites. Tomasi’s characterizations of most of the classic baddies was just off. Why would Manbat/Langstrom give a shit about ruling part of Gotham city? I just could not buy these guys were all working together like a bunch of union members. And what’s up with the half a dozen battle-royale scenes with the Blackgate criminals and the Arkham lunatics going toe to toe in the street? I just don’t see the Mad Hatter looking to box with Black Mask or anybody else for that matter. The dude is a pussy. These fights just seemed like an excuse to put as many bad guys brawling in a two page spread as possible. Hokey. Finally, the whole venom infused, roid-raged Arkham escapees trying to put the beat-down on Bane was just blah. Saw the ending coming from a mile away and it just seemed like a blatant and rushed attempt to do anything possible to tie the titles included to the Forever Evil event and put a bow on it.



Scot Eaton and the other artists that provided illustrations didn’t do a bad job. I even liked parts of it. Bane’s “Dark Knight Returns” look was kinda cool.

In the end, all the venom in Gotham couldn’t make this one more formidable. This might have been a better story with a little more patience, better use of fewer characters, and a more consistency in its characterizations of the baddies involved. For me this is clearly a case where less would have been more.

Get this review and more at:

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a companion piece to the Forever Evil series. This series focuses on Gotham City, where the Arkham Asylum escapees have divided the city up with each of them ruling a sector. Bane takes exception to this, however, and attempts to take over the whole city for himself. Of course, once Batman gets back he's not putting up with any of their nonsense.

Overall this was a strong companion piece, not quite as good as the main Forever Evil series but still worth reading, especially if you are a Batman fan.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, then...

In case you ever wondered how life in Gotham would be like if Bane showed up to find no Batman and complete anarchy, thus becoming...Bat-Bane! here's your answer, I guess.



But truth be told, despite panel after crowded panel showing a veritable who's who of Bat-rogues battling other Bat-rogues, and the Court of Owl's Talons (who apparently can regenerate after getting cut in half. Holy Jason Vorhees, Bat-dude!) in order to control a city seemingly now devoid of, em, citizens that is shrouded by the endless darkness of The Syndicate's moon-blocking-the-sun stunt...It is awfully talky! Bane, in particular, just won't shut up with his pseudo-revolutionary claptrap. Which is why, when Bats finally comes back to put him in his place, I breathed an audible sigh of relief to see that the fight sequence was virtually dialogue free- at this point even the writer had gotten sick of his nonsense, it would seem!

I can respect that creative teams on spin-offs from major "events" are required to colour inside the lines and leave things back status quo, but sometimes less is more, and sometimes one arch-mastermind scheming against another is far more compelling than the entire cast of "Gotham" doing a 90 minute improv together on stage. Poor show.

[David Church · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aside from the ending battle between Batman/Bane I was overall pretty disappointed. I liked the concept of Bane taking over the Batman mantle while Bats was MIA - but thought the execution was poorly......executed??? (Austin powers moment)

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story great art work, and most importantly this is the fight between Batman and Bane since I read Knightfall. I know Bane and Batman have clashed a number of times in the past since Knightfall but never for the stakes of Batman reclaiming his city, by which point Bane was just another villain. Despite the new 52 reboot, the comic does mention the events of Knightfall did happen. The one criticism I do have about this book is that. Too much seems to go on in-between each issue. E.g. Bane leaves a couple of Arkhamites for dead saying I will deal with you in a minute, the start of the next issue they have escaped in the blink of an eye.

The Crime Syndicate from Earth 3 have taken over the world. Gotham the inmates of Arkham have been freed and divided the city up between them with the Penguin controlling the chaos as the "mayor". Enter Bane he want Gotham back. He has an army of fanatical/suicidal followers enhanced with smaller doses of Venom and that is not even his trump card. This version of Bane is based more on the Dark Knight Raises movie version of the character super strong, hot headed but calculating, and spewing rhetoric sermons. Even with all this they criminals see him as just another one of them. So to he must adopt the one symbol they truly fear. The one constant is Commissioner Gordon, trying to save as many normal people as possible in the wake of the maniacs ruling not only the city but the world.

The last issue is the Batman VS Bane One shot, the return and Battle between the two of them with Gotham. I am very glad they put this in the TP as everyone who felt let down by Knightsend this will make it up to them as it did to me.

[Patrick]

Cool concept. With Batman gone thanks to the Crime Syndicate, Arkham's biggest baddies split up Gotham, while Bane comes in with an army to take it all for himself.

Poor execution. Forgettable scenes with awkward "villainous" dialogue, and characters not quite true to their usual personalities. Especially, and inexcusably, when Batman (surprise, surprise) returns. His battle and dialog with Bane and his men falls flat.

Batman’s plan? This:



I found the art improved after the first issue. However, it is distracting when it seems like an artist has no idea what they are trying to replicate. Bane is a different size, his mask has a different pattern, and instead of having something red covering the eye slots, Bane's actual eyes glowed instead.

Also did you know Bane broke Batman's back once?



This seems to be Bane’s "thing" now, which to me just feels like a weak and over exploited idea in this story.

If you've read the main Forever Evil storyline, then it's a alright read, but don't go out of your way to hunt it down otherwise.

If I'm being honest, it doesn't necessarily deserve 3 Stars, but it is getting them, thanks to the overall concept, and the soft spot in my heart for Bane.

[Kyle · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I really like the main Forever Evil storyline.... This was just an awful tie-in.

The dialogue is nonsensical and the plotting of the story is entirely half-baked. There is an idea for a story, but really nothing else.

Total waste of time. Skip it.
1.5/5

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Great stuff with the inmates at Arkham and Bane. Batman only shows up in the final issue, so the cover is a little misleading. But I still enjoyed this one. I hope the other Forever Evils are good, too.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bane as a harsher bat-protector is an interesting concept.

[Brent · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate the art by Graham Nolan on the first chapter here, as he was one of the creative team at the time of Bane's first appearance. Series artist Scot Eaton does a serviceable job. This, though, is only for completists, or library reading. Big supervillain fights; that is all.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the lawless fallout since the arrival of the Crime Syndicate (an evil alternate-universe version of the Justice League), the Justice League is missing and the villains of Earth are running amok. This book focuses on events in Gotham City. Without Batman, Gotham is now the battlefield of a war between Arkham Asylum (led by Penguin and Scarecrow and Mister Freeze) and Blackgate Prison (led by Bane). Both sides are in a race to obtain control over the Talons (from the excellent Court of Owls story) to be used as a weapon to defeat the other side.

Even if this setup sounds good in principle (and I'm not saying that it does), I found that in practice it wasn't all that exciting. Yes there are many huge splash pages full of villains fighting each other -- virtually the entire Batman rogues gallery makes an appearance here. But there's not much more to it than that. The artwork is quite cool, but the storytelling isn't. "BAM! BIFF! POW!" is about all you'll find here.

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! So i actually read this a while back but only realized now i have not reviewed it! So this takes place during the forever evil event, heroes are gone, and villains can now run unchecked! This story takes place in Gotham, there is a war going on between Bane and Scarecrow and only one can win! This story was mainly a Bane story, and can easily be put up there with Bane stories like Knightfall and Vengeance of Bane! Also pretty cool Banes outfit in this was basically his Dark Knight Rises suit, except replace gas mask with traditional Mexican wrestler mask! (So i did a Tom Hardy Bane voice while reading his dialogue lol!) Overall a great bane story!

[Ryan Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batman is missing and the inmates of Arkham are loose in Gotham. So who will come to their rescue? Bane, apparently. But not just Bane — Bat-Bane. It's not as dumb as it sounds, I promise.

It's a decent little side story to Forever Evil. It's a fun romp with some interesting ideas that will ultimately have no lasting impact on the Batman mythos, but that doesn't mean it isn't a decent read.

Pick it up if you can find it cheap or at the library.

[Randal Silvey · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Someone moved the damn moon over the sun, the Justice League is dead, the lights are out, Gotham's been split between a dozen homicidal Arkham escapees and our secret weapon is gone... probably for good. I don't know what Bane wants-- or why he came all the way back from Santa Prisca-- but I think it's okay to be shocked now."

Forever Evil: Arkham War is a 200 page DC Comics paperback collecting Forever Evil: Arkham War #1-6, Batman #23.4: Bane, and Forever Evil Aftermath: Batman vs. Bane #1. (The Goodreads description is slightly incorrect. It does NOT include DETECTIVE COMICS #23.3 or BATMAN AND ROBIN #23.1.) [NOTE: I received this book free through Good Reads First Reads.]

As Commissioner Gordon has so succinctly established for us, Gotham has been plunged into eternal night and with no power or superheroes to keep order the city has fallen to chaos. Penguin has stepped in, carved up the city and dealt out each district to various Arkham rouges. Of course this only adds to the chaos but allows Penguin mayoral-like control over the city. Enter Bane, army amassed, poised to take control of Gotham now that it's resident protector is M.I.A. With the assistance of Gotham's more "sane" criminals, Blackgate inmates, Bane heads to war with the Arkham escapees.

While taking place during and facilitated by the larger plot of the Forever Evil event Arkham War manages to stand more or less on it's own. Outside knowledge by the reader is not required but leading into and coming out of the story without it may be a little jarring, particularly during the conclusion.

Familiar Batman villains are speckled across nearly every page of this book which helps to keep this Batman-lite tale rooted in the Bat-corner of the DC universe. It is these villains that the plot revolves around. There is a subplot involving Gordon but his involvement diminishes and seems mainly to serve the theme of hopelessness. Instead of picking a villain or side to direct the readers sympathy toward, writer Peter J. Tomasi fills the plot with double-crosses and the back and forth power struggle with-in the warring factions.

Watching the various villains scramble towards the next point of battle or advantage works well at times though doesn't always pay off in a satisfying way. The majority of Arkham War is an action book, as one would expect, and there is a lot of it. The dialog and panel layouts are easy to follow and the battles are massive with baddies filling the pages.

Often times, though, the action sequences opt to jump between characters as they deliver short bits of dialog sacrificing fluid motion for disjointed snips of chaos. When these bits of dialog are not used to further the plot they are the most baseline Batman villain puns. In a different book the one-liners could be taken for cheesy fun but in the context of Arkham War's established dark tone and artwork they fall eye-rollingly flat.

Bane is the true main character here. The story opens with the most Bane-centric issue of the collection, Batman #23.4: Bane. While the book does jump between sides and a few of the key players in the plot, Bane continues to take center stage and of all the characters his is the viewpoint the reader is given the most insight. There are plenty of hard-edged Bane moments to be enjoyed but it doesn't take long before the character becomes one dimensional. He delivers the same message over and over again, whether as a rally speech or his own inner monologue.

Some of the characterizations are spot on, for example the Penguin and his customary conniving is a high point. As one sided -- or perhaps single focused -- as Bane is, he is written true to character even if his end goals do get a bit muddied. On the flip side of that, more peripheral characters like Professor Pyg, who admittedly spouts ridiculous nonsense to begin with, and Poison Ivy are reduced to a simplistic one-liner machines. This ties into the aforementioned mismatch of tone, the primary weakness in the writing.

As a trade paperback the art varies a bit in sections as different artists handle different issues that the book collects. The art does dip in quality for a short time but most of the book has very nice pencil and ink work. The look is still surprisingly cohesive, pulled together by a consistent color palette and superb color work overall. It is not the kind of coloring that pops off the page but, fitting the eternal night setting, a more muted palette that seems in line with this period of many DC Comics titles.

Forever Evil: Arkham War takes a moment to get going but once it does it rolls along at a good pace that held my attention but never really had me invested. Tomasi takes a good stab at filling out an otherwise unnecessary mini-series set within a larger event. He keeps the plot forever moving forward. There are a few turns in the plot that are truly over-the-top and while they sound fun on paper don't really work in context. These moments didn't kill the story for me but the majority of the plot serves to set up these big moments and they just don't come across as memorable or as fun as perhaps they were intended.

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[Cujo · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know how so little kids want to grow up and become Lebron James, or Derek Jeter? When I was young, I wanted to grow up and be like Bane. Not so much a ragging psychopath, but a bulked up wrestler type who made a ton of money, had a hot ass assistant, and kicked ass. So I hit the weights, babbled in wrestling for a while and then finished growing up =). To this day Bane is my favorite DC villain and when I heard about this, I knew I had to read it. When I saw he was gonna don the bat suit and become the "New" batman, I was like fanfuckintastic!!!

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some top-notch fun ideas here, which I give full credit to Peter Tomasi for employing, and also some frustrating ones, and an amazingly abrupt and uneven finale. Read it for the premise: the villains of Arkham are freed, Batman is busy elsewhere (in events that happen in the main Forever Evil story) and a power struggle ensues between Bane and Scarecrow. As far as being an Forever Evil tie-in, it's completely irrelevant to that story. So irrelevant, in fact, that the six issue Arkham War needed a special Bane vs Batman one shot to wrap up this story in a big hurry, and if you read Forever Evil collected edition first you'd be questioning how this story tied in, because it doesn't. So read it as a Bat-story: Tomasi has fun with the villain vs villain, some clever fan-pleasing ideas about how the Gotham baddies would react, and here we get the chief story problem: the unevenness of the character Bane. In the course of this story he starts out the traditional South American venom-infused mercenary he had been in comics, but along the way he dons the Swedish bomber shearling Tom-Hardy-Dark-Knight Bane jacket and sets his sights on world domination, somehow acquires Superman-esque strength (there's a fight sequence where Bane stretches the term invulnerability to new heights) before absurdly displaying the stamina of a one punch chump. Why? Because the story needed to end, that's why. So, in the end, it's like most of the DC Comics New 52 stories-- interesting idea, some clever premises, well-written through the middle and great art in the main issues, but a non-ending that somehow leaves you unsatisfied, scratching your head and asking yourself if that's really the best ending the story deserved. Knowing that, there are enough good bits in this story to recommend it over a casual trade collection, read if you will.

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bane takes over Gotham in Batman's absence. There are a lot of villain vs. villain brawls here. Some of cat mouse games between the Penguin, Scarecrow and Bane are interesting. But all in all the story was alright but extremely predictable. I wish Peter Tomasi could have kept Bane in Hero worshipped status for a while. I would have loved to see his rivalry with Batman come to some more unexpected results.

[Trent · Rating 2 out of 5]

The least best of the Forever Evil graphic novels, surprisingly. The story isn't great, and I have to say that I've never liked Bane as a villain. Find him monumentally boring and cheesy. (As opposed to just cheesy like some Batman villains.) The artwork was okay, but nothing really stood out. Not a bad story, just forgettable.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty decent tale, taking place in Gotham City during the Forever Evil event. You have the inmates of Arkham vs Bane and his minions from Blackgate Prison. fighting each other over control of Gotham City. This book is a bit long, and there's not much characterization apart from Bane, but overall it was interesting and a decent tie-in.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice twist.

[Matty Dub · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable Bane-centric tale that’s low on plot but high on action in what feels like a Michael Bay movie come to life. While it feels like a paycheck gig for all involved, Tomasi’s script is serviceable and Eaton/Mendoza turn in good art. A welcomed addition to the Forever Evil event.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great art, entertaining story 3.5 stars

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the apparent death of the Justice League in Forever Evil, the Crime Syndicate unleashes all the inmates from Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison and unleashed them on the citizenry of Gotham City. With Batman apparently dead, Nightwing captured and unmasked, Red Robin missing, and the rest of the Bat Clan away, there is no one to protect the city and a civil war between Arkham Asylum and Blackgate Prison threatens to destroy the city they want to control. Forever Evil: Arkham War collects all six issues of the miniseries, Batman #23.4: Bane, and Forever Evil Aftermath: Batman vs. Bane.

Forever Evil: Arkham War starts out with Batman #23.4: Bane, which serves as a prelude to the Forever: Evil Arkham War miniseries. Batman #23.4: Bane was written by Peter J. Tomasi and penciled by Graham Nolan and tells about Bane's escape from Santa Prisca Prison and sails to a lawless Gotham City with a sizable crew and vows to Gotham City over. Tomasi's text is rather straightforward and simplistic, because there was really little plot. Nolan's penciling is rather well done and complements the text rather well.

The miniseries starts out with Bane breaking into Blackgate Prison and taking over the site rather easily. His goal is to use the Talons being stored there for his own personal army, but before it could happen he needed to bring a semblance of order in Gotham City. With Bane making a presence in Gotham City, a civil war is about to brew with Bane and his Blackgate Prison army, Jonathan Crane as the Scarecrow leading the Arkham Asylum team, and Oswald Cobblepot as the Penguin caught between three sides – Blackgate Prison, Arkham Asylum, and Gotham City Police Department. Penguin is a survivor and he would play any and all sides to see that he survives when the dust settles.

Penguin directed Scarecrow to Blackgate to steal the Talons while Bane was otherwise occupied and told Bane what Scarecrow was up to, while at the same time told James Gordon that now was the right time to rescue Agatha Zorbatos – the warden of Blackgate Prison who is being held prisoner. He also told Bane that he would never with the war with Arkham Asylum because they don't fear him, like they did the Batman, which prompted Bane to make a Batsuit of his own and become Batman.

With the help of William Cobb, the ancestor of Dick Grayson, they became the Diabolic Duo and together they quell most of the lawlessness in Gotham City, managed to subdue the Talons that the Arkham Asylum stole from Blackgate Prison and defeated the a venom induced Arkham Asylum villains and in the end Bane became the defender of Gotham City.

Forever Evil: Arkham War is written by Peter J. Tomesi and penciled by Scot Eaton. I really do like the premise of the miniseries, the inmates from Akrham Asylum escapes and divvies up Gotham City among themselves, although having Scarecrow as the defacto leader of the group seemed rather incongruous to me. I really like the idea of the Diabolic Duo with Bane being Batman and William Cobb being the Nightwing role – it's rather poetic in its symbolism. Eaton's penciling was done rather well too – despite the chaos that’s happening, the illustrations were done rather well.

Forever Evil Aftermath: Batman vs. Bane ends the trade paperback. It too was penned by Peter J. Tomesi and penciled by Scot Eaton. The epic battle between Batman and Bane to reclaim Gotham City was – really underwhelming. William Cobb and his Talons were defeated in a couple of panels – if that, and the fight between Batman and Bane was done too quickly and seems like they were just throwing things and each other around. I just wished that Tomesi was given more pages – perhaps make this issue a deluxe one, because it went by much too quickly. Eaton's penciling was top notch and consistent throughout the trade paperback.

All in all, Forever Evil: Arkham War was written and depicted really well. I really enjoyed the premise of the miniseries. I just wished that the prelude was also penciled by Scot Eaton, because then we would have the same writer and artist throughout the trade paperback. I also wished the aftermath or the epilogue was given more space as the story really needed it.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Złoczyńcy z Syndykatu Zbrodni balują na świecie, wyswabadzając wszystkie ważniejsze więzienia, więc tylko kwestią czasu było, że „pensjonariusze” Blackgate i Arkham Asylum zaczną walkę o wpływy w Gotham. Jedynym przedstawicielem prawa pozostaje komisarz Gordon, który ma małe wsparcie, ale w bezpośrednim starciu nie ma szans z tym co dzieje się w Gotham. Urząd burmistrza przejmuje oczywiście Pingwin, a strefy wpływów dzielą pomiędzy siebie m. in. Zsarz, Man-Bat, Pig, Scarecrow czy Mr. Freeze. Jest jednak ktoś kto postanawia ratować Gotham. Wzorem Luthora z Forever Evil do ataku rusza sam Bane…

Koncept na pewno ciekawy, który jednak wykonaniem trochę razi, bo nie ma tu nic absolutnie odkrywczego, poza wyswobodzeniem i użyciem Szponów na własny użytek w części przez Stracha na Wróble, w części przez Bane’a. Podobał mi się tutaj początek i zakończenie. Wprowadzenie pokazuje co porabiał Bane, gdy go nie było w Gotham. Nabuzowany szajbus ulepszał swoją recepturą na jad i wpoił sobie do głowy, że jest w pewnej formie zbawcą miasta. Tyle, że jego plany sięgają dalej. Początek pokazuje jak indoktrynuje własnych żołnierzy, często w ramach zwykłego treningu zwyczajnie ich masakrując, bowiem reputacja w przypadku takich potworów jest wszystkim. Też się głowiłem czemu Ci ludzi nie uciekną, widząc jak taki osiłek bez żadnej przyczyny masakruje kogoś, bo… tak.

Jest tu wiele męczących akcji, które już gdzieś widziałem, choć zdarzają się takie perełki jak „pomoc”, której mocarz udzielił pewnemu chłopcu, który przybiegł do niego z prośbą a ratunek matki. Bane jak na psychola przystało, skraca jej cierpienia i poucza chłopca, aby to był ten ostatni raz, gdyż słabi szybko giną. Takie „smaczki” powinny występować tu częściej i z pewnością uczyniły by całe story znacznie lepszym, zwłaszcza, że mięśniak w pewnym momencie zakłada pelerynę stylizowaną na to co nosi Batman… Złoczyńca korzystający z symbolu nadziei mieszkańców, aby na własny pokręcony sposób to miasto ocalić? Mocna rzecz. Bane jest jak chaos. Tutaj pomoże, tu skręci kark. Finał jest przewidywalny. Tym bardziej, że koniec końców wiemy, dojdzie do konfrontacji na linii Bane-Batman(zresztą prawie „krzyczy” na nas o tym okładka) i będzie to całkiem niezłe, choć krótkie starcie.

Komiks nastawiony jest na jak najlepsze ukazanie starć, bo mamy ich tutaj od zatrzęsienia. Bane się nie cacka i mało kiedy rozmawia, a jak już to na bank naruszy czyjąś „strefę” osobistą. Jest wyznawcą „kultury siły”. Zwycięży tylko najlepiej dostosowany. Szkoda, tylko że czasami wygląda to jak wygląda. Myślałem, że odchodzimy nieco od przerośniętych, nieco karykaturalnych postaci w dzisiejszych czasach, ale mają się one tu świetnie. Zwłaszcza, że nie tylko Bane zasmakuje tutaj w specyfiku jaki płynie w jego krwi...

Krótkotrwałe sojusz, utarczki pomiędzy frakcjami, chaos fabularny. Nie ma tu nic co by zaskoczyło czytelnika i to główny problem albumu, który złośliwi mogą nazwać zbędnym. Ot, wydawnictwo „wykorzystało” okazję, aby zaprzęgnąć jakiegoś niezbyt znanego autora do opowiedzenia historii, którą można sobie rozrysować już po pierwszym zeszycie. Wiadomo, że i tak wszystko wróci do normy wraz z powrotem Batmana. Zresztą końcowa rozmowa pomiędzy Wayne’m, a Gordonem dobitnie o tym świadczy. Fanom może się podobać, bo to wykorzystanie znanych motywów w nowej, ale średniej formie. Ja po lekturze większej części New 52 czuję już przesyt tymi wszystkimi złoczyńcami. Chciałbym coś nowego, z kilkoma nutami zaskoczenia. Takie jest Forever Evil, ale nie Wojna w Arkham. Co dziwi, bo Tomasi przecież świetnie radzi sobie z Batman i Robin... A tutaj, taki produkcyjniak...

Średniak, również w warstwie wizualnej. Rysownikom ponadto się chyba miejscami nie chciało naprawdę rysować, bo są kadry wyglądające koszmarnie, co nie powinno dziwić ze względu na ilość artystów pracującą nad tym tomem (gdzie kucharek sześć[w sumie chyba siedem] tam nie ma co jeść...). Cała historia jest też miejscami nadmiernie rozciągnięta, przez to nie czuć tu jakiejkolwiek wagi. Wiemy, że ktoś komuś nakopie i zazwyczaj zgaduje się to jeszcze na długo przed walką.

[Elijah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because I have been reading most of the New 52 Batman titles, I decided to read this title as well despite having not read the New 52 Justice League nor the main Forever Evil event title. You might think that having not read the Forever Evil story-line first would curtail my enjoyment and understanding of this story, but my ignorance actually had little impact. In reality, I found that this book had more ties with the New 52 Batman titles. While it is possible to appreciate this story without having read any of the New 52 Batman titles, Justice League, or even the main Forever Evil event itself, readers who have read these things (especially readers of the Batman titles) will probably appreciate this title the most... or maybe not. You see, most of the New 52 Batman titles were really bad in quality (excepting Batman and Batman and Robin). Arkham War acts to consolidate the Batman line of titles, wrapping up a lot of the plot threads begun in some of those titles and calling back to many of the villains appearing in those titles. This serves as a painful reminder of those terrible stories which I would rather forget than remember. But, it was kind of satisfying seeing the resolution of all of those plot threads, especially the Bane ones from Batman: Detective Comics and Talon.

As its own story, it is pretty well written by Peter J. Tomasi who I find an understated yet competent writer. The art is also well done.

P.S. The New 52 Batman line of titles that tie in to Arkham War (that I am aware of) are:
- Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1-5
- Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 1-4
- Batman Vol. 1-2, 6
- Batgirl Vol. 4 - 5
- Nightwing Vol. 1 - 5
- Talon Vol. 1-2

P.S.S. I would strongly not recommend that anyone bothers reading New 52 Batman: Detective Comics, Batman: The Dark Knight, and Nightwing as those titles were awful and became abysmal as time went on. Batgirl and Talon started out well, but gradually declined in quality. Batman was probably the only title I would recommend to anyone out of this list.

[Eric Cone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not what I expected out of this book. I almost considered not reading it because I think a lot of the Batman villains, especially the ones that end up in Arkham, are silly. But this book wasn't about a squabble amongst the loonies, but rather the villains of Arkham fighting a war against Bane and his allies and mercenaries, many of whom have been treated with Venom, the chemical cocktail that gives him his powers.
There are three really interesting aspects to this book. First, Bane utilizes a resource in Gotham that every seems to have forgotten about - the Talons. I like when books have a sense of their own history. At the end of the Court of Owls story arc, Batman hands off the remaining Talons to Blackgate Prsion for safekeeping. Many times in comic books, something like this would go forgotten for years by the writers and then, wham! Suddenly they're back with no explanation other than that the writer needed a curve. But, this actually makes sense. Secondly, Bane not only wanted to beat Batman, but he hated Batman (past tense because during the course of the book, Bane and the rest of Gotham believe Batman and the Justice League to be dead at the hands of the Crime syndicate), instead he ends up donning the cowl and bit by bit becomes the new Batman in more ways than just a costume. Of course, he is still a villain, but changed in many ways. Thirdly, the Penguin actually does the smart thing, keeping this ego in check and plays both sides against each other. He always has something to offer whomever is on top and comes to him for aid or info. In the end he is the only villain that comes out of this book in better shape than he started.

[Adrian Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una buenísima historia secundaria durante el Forever Evil, buenísima desde Gordon conectando (y supongo que volviendo a hace canon) etapas como No Mans Land con el Año Cero, más historias que han ido paralelas como Dick y su abuelo, Emperor Penguin, Langstrom, Ivy y el Emperor, más obviamente lo que sucedía allá afuera, los Taleones (o Talones) con el sindicato del crimen.

Solo no siento que Bane tenga poder, deseo o verdadero motivo para querer controlar Gotham. Suponiendo (por lo que Bane mismo dijo) la historia de Venom es canónica y ya intentó dominar Gotham (tendríamos que aceptar entonces Batman arrojó a un mercenario a los tiburones), y que Bane tenga algo de recelo por Gotham. Simplemente no tiene mucho sentido, ya que es una mini No Mans Land.

Fuera de eso está lleno de acción aceptable. Lo que no quedó muy bien es lo que pasa (ya que no se ve) pero qué sucede con esos villanos que inhalaran cierta sustancia.

Otro plus: Bane vistiendo la chaqueta del Bane de El Caballero de la Noche Asciende. Cool.

[Robert Bussie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story could have been special. The plot about the villains taking over Gotham and dividing up the territories was done much better in the No Man's Story arc.

Arkham War could have been a smaller take on the similar plot, however this time centering only on the villains. Instead, it is a story about Bane beating up the villains who get in his way until the end when Batman shows up.

Bane takes on several villains drugged up on the venom drug along with Court of Owls assassins. However, when Batman shows up he easily beats Bane. An unsatisfactory ending.

This book is part of a larger story, but there is no summary paragraph or brief recap, so it is confusing as a stand alone story. The line art is fine, but not spectacular. The coloring is muted and muddy which makes the action confusing and hard to follow.

This is worth reading for a Bane story, but not as a multi-villian story.