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Batman (2016) (Single Issues)
Batman (2016-) #156
The GCPD is closing in on their suspected killer—and on Batman! Wayne Enterprises is under attack as Nygma’s plans come into focus. The Owls are not what they seem. Don’t miss the thrilling penultimate issue of “The Dying City”
32 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 1, 2025
8 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
Chip Zdarsky
874 books863 followersChip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.
Source: Wikipedia.
Source: Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 8, 2025
This is an arc/mini-series that I can't get more of. I'm tired of it and don't like it. It seems like the next one will be the last, so that's one good news. Let's hope it bounce back after it!
January 5, 2025
Only saving grace is art.
January 3, 2025
Why did the entity in this story that is the Court of Owls need to be the Court of Owls?
February 22, 2025
Rhonda KRASH!
(ノ｀Д´)ノ彡┻━┻
Who needs the Hulk when you can have Rhonda?
¯\_(ツ) Get your Rhonda today! (Tiny print says you can't sue for damages or anything like that.)
Anyhoo...🦉...lots of answers in this one. Lots of action and plenty of old school Batman/Rogue antics, with a bit of espionage thrown in for good measure. It's all fun and games, but it's also a bit on the nose and I don't know if I like that. Also, since Victor is a scientist, I'm fairly certain his favorite number would be 0, not 32. The Riddler mucked that one up.
Gotham's on fire. Again. The police are corrupt. Again. Bombs in unknown buildings. Again. (And with Riddler, no less - we literally just saw this in The Batman.) Protests and counterprotests. Again. Man. A new good guy who's not so good? Again. Can't we get something original in here?
It feels weird to have a real life adversary that's so prominent right now show up in Gotham. Don't get me wrong. I know comics are often used for social commentary - I mean, that's why Captain America punched Hitler in the face on his first issue. There was no, "Gee, I wonder what this comic is about?" Um, pretty sure it's about Captain America fighting nazis and punching Hitler in his tiny 'stache as an analogy for the US beating the nazis during WWII.
Batman though? Maybe it's the somewhat good fortune of being a Gen-Xer and having seen actual good done in the world that I haven't seen the need to bring such strong foreign commentary into it. Batman's always been the outlier, the one with the super crazy villains, the extra dark city that refuses to be fixed or transformed, the one where Gotham needs him because he's the only one that gets it, and that generally means over the top bad guys from made up places, generally places with Lazarus pits. And I can't say more without spoilers, so ...
And I do get it. The commentary is dead on. And it's not the only DC comic exploring the dangers of what is said and the court of public opinion or what's being said vs what's being done. Given the state of things, I can only imagine we'll get plenty more coming.
So. Ranting - did I actually rant, though? 🤔 Not really. Ranting would have a point. And I never said I wouldn't want to see Batman punch Hitler. Hmmm. (Oh yeah! Another HN-less issue! We've graduated to Hrrr - which is actually better.) Hell. I don't know. I liked the issue but didn't want to 5 star it. Between so much being done before and my spoiler non-rant, I think it's justified. It's still Batman. He's still detecting. He's still punching people. And he's tagged Gordon in, too. Fun times. Plus...
Rhonda KRASH!
(ノ｀Д´)ノ彡┻━┻
(ノ｀Д´)ノ彡┻━┻
Who needs the Hulk when you can have Rhonda?
¯\_(ツ) Get your Rhonda today! (Tiny print says you can't sue for damages or anything like that.)
Anyhoo...🦉...lots of answers in this one. Lots of action and plenty of old school Batman/Rogue antics, with a bit of espionage thrown in for good measure. It's all fun and games, but it's also a bit on the nose and I don't know if I like that. Also, since Victor is a scientist, I'm fairly certain his favorite number would be 0, not 32. The Riddler mucked that one up.
Gotham's on fire. Again. The police are corrupt. Again. Bombs in unknown buildings. Again. (And with Riddler, no less - we literally just saw this in The Batman.) Protests and counterprotests. Again. Man. A new good guy who's not so good? Again. Can't we get something original in here?
It feels weird to have a real life adversary that's so prominent right now show up in Gotham. Don't get me wrong. I know comics are often used for social commentary - I mean, that's why Captain America punched Hitler in the face on his first issue. There was no, "Gee, I wonder what this comic is about?" Um, pretty sure it's about Captain America fighting nazis and punching Hitler in his tiny 'stache as an analogy for the US beating the nazis during WWII.
Batman though? Maybe it's the somewhat good fortune of being a Gen-Xer and having seen actual good done in the world that I haven't seen the need to bring such strong foreign commentary into it. Batman's always been the outlier, the one with the super crazy villains, the extra dark city that refuses to be fixed or transformed, the one where Gotham needs him because he's the only one that gets it, and that generally means over the top bad guys from made up places, generally places with Lazarus pits. And I can't say more without spoilers, so ...
And I do get it. The commentary is dead on. And it's not the only DC comic exploring the dangers of what is said and the court of public opinion or what's being said vs what's being done. Given the state of things, I can only imagine we'll get plenty more coming.
So. Ranting - did I actually rant, though? 🤔 Not really. Ranting would have a point. And I never said I wouldn't want to see Batman punch Hitler. Hmmm. (Oh yeah! Another HN-less issue! We've graduated to Hrrr - which is actually better.) Hell. I don't know. I liked the issue but didn't want to 5 star it. Between so much being done before and my spoiler non-rant, I think it's justified. It's still Batman. He's still detecting. He's still punching people. And he's tagged Gordon in, too. Fun times. Plus...
Rhonda KRASH!
(ノ｀Д´)ノ彡┻━┻
July 6, 2025
3.5
Is it me, or does Batman come across as a bit dumb in the story arc?
Is it me, or does Batman come across as a bit dumb in the story arc?
January 11, 2025
Honestly peak. On one hand it reads as the chaos of a classic Batman story with so many of his rouges working together, whether they like it or not, to defeat him but it has major modern twists thrown in. Court of owls being Russian agents is a bit ehhh, but then seeing characters like commander star claiming to be a “true patriot” actually being a Russian agent, really ties it all together and draws some pretty obvious real world parallels. So good.
This issue starts where we left off. The city in flames, the “protests” have gotten completely out of hand and commander star looks over the protestors trying to rip Wayne enterprises down without lifting a finger. All the while Batman had just found the hidden Tetch tech in Jim’s glasses they caused him to kill the mayor and after fighting off a few cops he was able to show the evidence to Bullock and then race over to drag Nygma from his tower. All the while Nygma is saying goodbye to Kull and preparing for his return as the riddler. He hasn’t cared about the owls or what they want, all he cares about is the game, the thrill of laying the pieces and seeing him work through it. And now he’s rich and isn’t going back to prison. He’s on the verge of taking Wayne industries, securing his part of the bargain. They delivered goons and a mayor he could walk over…so now Nygma believes his deal is done with the “comrade.” Kull is a bit surprised he figured that part out, but riddler had known the entire time and doesn’t care…the special guest has arrived.
Batman could grapple up to the penthouse and take Nygma out immediately but they are playing a game and if he doesn’t follow along people will die. Immediately getting in Nygma lights up the screen with a domino mask and crazed look in his eyes as he had the mayor assistant in a saw trap. The riddle he gives is easy enough and leads to the answer: assist, which prompts Batman to easily help her down and out. Also, just want to take a moment to comment on the art style, it’s so good. The way Batman is drawn in every action scene is so cool, and really shows off that the underwear on the outside can work so well. But this is just the warm up round, and riddler proceed to show his unwitting assistant, the mad hatter, trapper himself. Batman had five minutes to find the right floor or leave and stop terrorists from blowing up buildings. What’s victor’s favorite number? Batman sends the assistant off to get police and tell them to evacuate Wayne enterprises. She asks what Batman is going to do: “win the game.” I LOVE IT, such classic Batman with such high stakes.
Meanwhile, Jim has gotten released and is ecstatic to see Koyuki. But she isn’t, even though he didn’t directly kill her husband he still took away the father to her son and he went there filled with anger. This isn’t about him and she can’t forgive him.
Mr Freeze’s favorite number is 32 degrees, and Batman arrives to find a room mixed with Owl and Nygma goons. Time for a physical test, and of course he had to borrow henchmen because of the deficit these days lol. Yeah because they used all of them in the past. I swear in the 80s I saw two face run through 4 pairs of twin goons in one issue. As Batman is fighting, Nygma keeps talking about the owls and his plans and how much he missed all of this, continuing to reveal everything and give all the pieces to Batman. Batman eventually makes his way to the AI ICE room that stores the technology used to cool the servers, plus where Tetch was kept captive. Funny enough the room could be read as ALICE instead of AI ICE. Batman tries to tell Jervis to get out and get checked out, but instead he runs off yelling about how Nygma perverted his beautiful hats and he can’t have them. But Batman can’t deal with him right now, especially with the riddles Nygma is revealing right now. He is now quoting famous Russian poets, and Batman recognizes that he quoted Churchill earlier for a line he was referring to Russia. Leonid is a Russian name, Batman now understands the court is under Russian control. Nygma doesn’t seem too bothered, until Batman makes him realize that his company created a software that could encrypt and decrypt the world’s most secure servers. That software could give them access to everything…even nuclear codes.
The dumbfounded look on Nygma’s famous is pretty hilarious ignoring the current situation. But Nygma is quick to direct Batman to the server room and the specific rack where the main code is kept. He even tried shutting it down remotely but something blocked him. Nygma is no longer in control, and when Batman arrived to the server room he was met with owl goons trying to rip him to shreds. Luckily this was the time Jim showed up to provide a helpful hand and bash some owl heads in with a fire extinguisher. Batman is now split, Nygma’s on the top floor and needs to be taken in…but the primary code server is gone and Kull is going to try and flee the country with it. Batman can only hope he hasn’t found the tracker he placed on Kull. But Gordon is here and he can get Nygma. He doesn’t have a gun dl Batman outfitted him with his own utility belt, as he has a spare in the car.
All the while we get a glimpse at Tetch as Batman is racing out the door. He got his precious hat back, but he noticed something else. Timed C4 placed under some of the desks. I don’t think Wayne’s building is being targeted. Right as Batman gets to his car Bruce recibes a call from Rowan. Their building is clear, no bombs. But she also admits that this is partially her fault. She thinks Nygma is behind the protests to drive down share prices and she helped him. She fully admits she has been working with him to help find Bruce’s brother, she wanted the merger to make the company strong…but Bruce cuts her off, tells her it will be okay. But needs to know, did the police mention any other buildings being targeted?!
We now see as Nygma is in full freak out and get out mode, as the most terrifying thing marches up to him. Jim with a utility belt and not a care in the world. Jim isn’t there to arrest him, just to beat him within an inch of his life, he made Jim kill a man. But it’s only when Nygma’s bodyguard, Rhonda, gets involved does Jim go full Batman. Whipping out smoke bombs and using batarangs like it’s just another day on the job. But right as he slices Nygma’s leg and drops him to the ground do they look over and see the bomb under the nearby desk!
This issue ends at a pretty stressful point. Kull is escaping at the airfield with the power to start WW3. Nygma and Jim are hobbling out of the building as fast as possible before we see it explode. But there is one piece Batman can’t place…commander star and tearing down Bruce Wayne. Was it all just a distraction? If star works for Kull, it may be riddlers last riddle that have him what he needed. “Not in pounds, but I measure in weight. I won beauty’s love, which started as hate—the beast won beauty’s love. And for the first part, he’s talking about kilograms. Abbreviated KG.” KG BEAST IS BACK!! This is not a drill, omg that is wild!! And honestly makes perfect sense. As is said earlier, a man claiming to lead the “true citizens” to test the city down and build it back, yeah that’s a Russian agent is disguise. And the next issue promises to conclude it, I love how not drawn out this series has been.
This issue starts where we left off. The city in flames, the “protests” have gotten completely out of hand and commander star looks over the protestors trying to rip Wayne enterprises down without lifting a finger. All the while Batman had just found the hidden Tetch tech in Jim’s glasses they caused him to kill the mayor and after fighting off a few cops he was able to show the evidence to Bullock and then race over to drag Nygma from his tower. All the while Nygma is saying goodbye to Kull and preparing for his return as the riddler. He hasn’t cared about the owls or what they want, all he cares about is the game, the thrill of laying the pieces and seeing him work through it. And now he’s rich and isn’t going back to prison. He’s on the verge of taking Wayne industries, securing his part of the bargain. They delivered goons and a mayor he could walk over…so now Nygma believes his deal is done with the “comrade.” Kull is a bit surprised he figured that part out, but riddler had known the entire time and doesn’t care…the special guest has arrived.
Batman could grapple up to the penthouse and take Nygma out immediately but they are playing a game and if he doesn’t follow along people will die. Immediately getting in Nygma lights up the screen with a domino mask and crazed look in his eyes as he had the mayor assistant in a saw trap. The riddle he gives is easy enough and leads to the answer: assist, which prompts Batman to easily help her down and out. Also, just want to take a moment to comment on the art style, it’s so good. The way Batman is drawn in every action scene is so cool, and really shows off that the underwear on the outside can work so well. But this is just the warm up round, and riddler proceed to show his unwitting assistant, the mad hatter, trapper himself. Batman had five minutes to find the right floor or leave and stop terrorists from blowing up buildings. What’s victor’s favorite number? Batman sends the assistant off to get police and tell them to evacuate Wayne enterprises. She asks what Batman is going to do: “win the game.” I LOVE IT, such classic Batman with such high stakes.
Meanwhile, Jim has gotten released and is ecstatic to see Koyuki. But she isn’t, even though he didn’t directly kill her husband he still took away the father to her son and he went there filled with anger. This isn’t about him and she can’t forgive him.
Mr Freeze’s favorite number is 32 degrees, and Batman arrives to find a room mixed with Owl and Nygma goons. Time for a physical test, and of course he had to borrow henchmen because of the deficit these days lol. Yeah because they used all of them in the past. I swear in the 80s I saw two face run through 4 pairs of twin goons in one issue. As Batman is fighting, Nygma keeps talking about the owls and his plans and how much he missed all of this, continuing to reveal everything and give all the pieces to Batman. Batman eventually makes his way to the AI ICE room that stores the technology used to cool the servers, plus where Tetch was kept captive. Funny enough the room could be read as ALICE instead of AI ICE. Batman tries to tell Jervis to get out and get checked out, but instead he runs off yelling about how Nygma perverted his beautiful hats and he can’t have them. But Batman can’t deal with him right now, especially with the riddles Nygma is revealing right now. He is now quoting famous Russian poets, and Batman recognizes that he quoted Churchill earlier for a line he was referring to Russia. Leonid is a Russian name, Batman now understands the court is under Russian control. Nygma doesn’t seem too bothered, until Batman makes him realize that his company created a software that could encrypt and decrypt the world’s most secure servers. That software could give them access to everything…even nuclear codes.
The dumbfounded look on Nygma’s famous is pretty hilarious ignoring the current situation. But Nygma is quick to direct Batman to the server room and the specific rack where the main code is kept. He even tried shutting it down remotely but something blocked him. Nygma is no longer in control, and when Batman arrived to the server room he was met with owl goons trying to rip him to shreds. Luckily this was the time Jim showed up to provide a helpful hand and bash some owl heads in with a fire extinguisher. Batman is now split, Nygma’s on the top floor and needs to be taken in…but the primary code server is gone and Kull is going to try and flee the country with it. Batman can only hope he hasn’t found the tracker he placed on Kull. But Gordon is here and he can get Nygma. He doesn’t have a gun dl Batman outfitted him with his own utility belt, as he has a spare in the car.
All the while we get a glimpse at Tetch as Batman is racing out the door. He got his precious hat back, but he noticed something else. Timed C4 placed under some of the desks. I don’t think Wayne’s building is being targeted. Right as Batman gets to his car Bruce recibes a call from Rowan. Their building is clear, no bombs. But she also admits that this is partially her fault. She thinks Nygma is behind the protests to drive down share prices and she helped him. She fully admits she has been working with him to help find Bruce’s brother, she wanted the merger to make the company strong…but Bruce cuts her off, tells her it will be okay. But needs to know, did the police mention any other buildings being targeted?!
We now see as Nygma is in full freak out and get out mode, as the most terrifying thing marches up to him. Jim with a utility belt and not a care in the world. Jim isn’t there to arrest him, just to beat him within an inch of his life, he made Jim kill a man. But it’s only when Nygma’s bodyguard, Rhonda, gets involved does Jim go full Batman. Whipping out smoke bombs and using batarangs like it’s just another day on the job. But right as he slices Nygma’s leg and drops him to the ground do they look over and see the bomb under the nearby desk!
This issue ends at a pretty stressful point. Kull is escaping at the airfield with the power to start WW3. Nygma and Jim are hobbling out of the building as fast as possible before we see it explode. But there is one piece Batman can’t place…commander star and tearing down Bruce Wayne. Was it all just a distraction? If star works for Kull, it may be riddlers last riddle that have him what he needed. “Not in pounds, but I measure in weight. I won beauty’s love, which started as hate—the beast won beauty’s love. And for the first part, he’s talking about kilograms. Abbreviated KG.” KG BEAST IS BACK!! This is not a drill, omg that is wild!! And honestly makes perfect sense. As is said earlier, a man claiming to lead the “true citizens” to test the city down and build it back, yeah that’s a Russian agent is disguise. And the next issue promises to conclude it, I love how not drawn out this series has been.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2025
“THE RIDDLER FRAMED HIM WITH FRAMES.” Such an Adam West line if I’ve ever heard one.
May 20, 2025
Got sick and didn't touch my comics for a week. It realy didn't take me 6 days to read a comic LOL
This story is quite intense so far!
This story is quite intense so far!
January 9, 2025
Creo que Zdarsky se ha hecho un verdadero cacao conceptual con todo esto. Al final, Nygma resulta más pesado de lo debido. El echarse hacia atrás con estas sombras de Jim no me parece que se justifique porque la mujer implicada lo rehúya. Y la revelación del Commander Star... Pues bueno... Me alegro un poco porque KG Beast creo que merecía recuperar su enemistad con Batman. Pero también se ha adelantado su revelación de una forma absurda.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2025
I absolutely love how much this mirroring US politics and the hate wrapped up in patriotism. Bruce as a nonprofit director is pretty rad too, not to mention the Riddler, Mad Hatter and the Court of Owls, it’s all around a great story arc so far.
January 1, 2025
Fun riddler story with a nice twist at the end, and lots of great Batman action!
January 27, 2025
Can't wait for the final issue in this exciting arc!
February 18, 2025
This was a fun read. Pretty entertaining and a bit of nice twist of turning away the resolution from everything just being one villain's doing.
February 26, 2025
I want to give this a 4, but the riddles were kind of silly…which is not what I expect from a Riddler-centric story.
Nice action though and a cool twist at the end.
Nice action though and a cool twist at the end.
April 11, 2025
4.25 🦉’s
This arc is classic Batman. First time in a while this book has felt like Batman!
This arc is classic Batman. First time in a while this book has felt like Batman!
June 20, 2025
Okay, it kind of lives up to the vibes of the cover.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews