Batman: Detective Comics, Vol. 6: Fall of the Batmen

Detective Comics (2016)

by James Tynion IV

Batman's team of vigilantes is on the verge of destruction from within in the epic new graphic novel BATMAN: DETECTIVE COMICS VOL. 6!

Everyone in Batman's orbit is broken somehow--some more than others. For Clayface, keeping the pieces of his psyche together has been a years long struggle...and it's a war he may be about to lose! And as the team tries to pull itself back together, their enemies have learned something from Batman's newfound spirit of cooperation...and have formed a cabal of their own!

With the Victim Syndicate on the move and Clayface on the edge, the team faces a crossroads--but Batwoman believes she knows the way forward! The question is...does Batman agree?

From writer James Tynion IV (BATMAN/TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES) and a spectacular art team including Alvaro Martinez (BATMAN ETERNAL) comes the newest volume of DETECTIVE COMICS! Collects DETECTIVE COMICS #969-974 and Annual #1.

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

184 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2018

About the author

Prior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.

Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

The First Victim's plan comes to fruition. Once it gets going, you could see exactly where it was headed, I'm not sure why the Dark Knights couldn't. We get lots of focus on Clayface including a beautifully drawn origin story by Eddy Barrows (One of DC's unsung heroes!). Damn you James Tynion for making me care about Clayface! He always had cool powers, but was a one-note "Hulk smash!" type villain. Tim Drake should go see a doctor because he acts very manic in this arc. Stephanie reminds me more and more of one of those people who go off to college and suddenly think they know how to fix the world and everyone else is wrong. Another great volume that keeps building off previous arcs.

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for vol. 5: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The ending part of the story really isn't the ending which I'd haven wanted to see, but whatever. I think the plot is reasonable.

I really do like Clayface's backstory, and I noticed his father looks almost exactly just like Vincent Price. XD

Everyone got dumb-down-ed a little in this volume, and I'm not happy about this. I mean people are being too hard on Batwoman. XD

Plus the security in Arkham Asylum is as shitty as ever. LOL

PS: let me tell you one thing: hoping to read more books during self-isolation and work-from-home period during the time of the freaking WuHan virus outbreak probably doesn't work so good, I still have ton of unread and half-finished books to work on. *sighs*

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Read as single issues*

This was also a wonderful volume.

I had been wondering when they'd give an arc to Clayface and this was it. I can certainly say that Tynion IV didn't waste it. Clayface is supposed to be that sad, Jekyll/Hyde-ish character that you always get on a team. With the Avengers, it was Hulk and for the "Knights" it was Clayface. Basil just wanted to atone for the damage he caused the world as Clayface and this was sort of him realizing he may never get to do that.

Again, I am forever bummed that we get Cass trying to connect and redeem a monster rather than the loving and supportive relationship she had with Bruce, Babs and Steph pre 52. I get what was done here for her to relate to Basil but it just doesn't do as much for me as I would have liked. That being sad, I felt bad for her at the end of this book.

There was an interesting dichotomy set up at the end of this book and I'll be interested to see if it carries over into the next volume. I wish I could speak to whether I understand Batman's actions in bringing Clayface on the team in the first place but I understand his treatment of Kate in this book. (Although, I can understand why she made the call she did).

So, this is definitely a recommend and I'm excited to see where the story goes next. Hopefully I'll get more Batwing and Azrael.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

James really pumping it up at the end of his Detective Run.

Nearly 50 issues in now we got some great moments from the Batmen (the team who works with Batman) but this might be the end of it all. I mean, the title is Fall of the Batmen. So what happens when Clayface, a fan-favorite now, and also interesting character, loses all control. Well, he becomes a gigantic Dinosaur like creature and wrecks Gotham. The team of Batman have to stop him, on top of all the internal drama happening at the same time. What will finally happen at the end of it all?

Good: Everything with clayface worked well, even the annual. This is a gigantic focus on a character I before, never gave a shit about. Cass once again steals the spotlight, having some of the best moments overall. I also thought the ending, and the drifting of the team, worked very well and the emotions felt really high.

Bad: Some over-explaining at points and also some subplots, mostly to due with the children, wasn't that done. Also, Stephanie is acting really out of character for some reason.

Overall a great, fast paced, fun volume of Detective comics. While the last remains my favorite this one is still good stuff. A 3.5 but I'll push it to a 4 out of 5.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic Plot: The first victim enacts her plan to take down the Bat family.

Tim is back, but there are still conflicts as he tries to avoid turning into the version of himself that tried to kill everyone. There are questions of morality and control, and what should be done to stop the bad guys. I really like how central Basil Karlo was to the story. He was integral in both technical detail and in emotional weight. The art was great overall, though there were a few panels where Spoiler in particular looked off. Nothing huge. Looking forward to seeing where the fallout of this arc will lead.

[Wing Kee · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a culmination that is emotionally choppy and void.


World: The art is solid, par for the course for this series. There are dead eyes on the characters and I kinda want more emotion from them and kinetic movement but oh well. The world building is solid, it's a continuation of everything since Rebirth and a full circle of the idea of the Batmen. The pieces we play with are fine and internally the logic is pretty sound with a few issues here and there but the world is good.

Story: A choppy, wordy, janky mess of a story that should be more heavy than it was. The pacing is a bit off and draggy and the pieces for the downfall of the Batmen was not really well out together. On paper it's all there but the pieces don't really end up well into a nice unit. As I said the story is fractured making the story flow wrong. The tragic story of Basil is okay but it's been very draggy for a while and the dialog is just sometimes too much...it's wordy. The victim syndicate is an okay concept but the execution makesnit hard for regular people to believe and support so yeah there's that part. Add to that the expected though still kinda wonky character of Kate made for a sad and unsatisfying end.

Characters: Let's talk about the main characters for this arc. Tim is a bit much and his execution was choppy and bordering on obsessive and it's kinda not the Tim I like but oh well. Then Steph as not really been that we'll thought out since New52 and her stance is somewhat of a stretch. Her relationship with Tim should have been done better and more fleshed out. Kate is inconsistent and being the Lynch pin for this arc it should not have been. We've had the choppy characterization of her and her dad since Rebirth and it's really did not favors with her characterization. Her decision should have made sense to her but with her being so against Colony this should not have ended the way it did, it's as bad as Carol Danvers in Civil War II. Basil was a tragic story and also tragically realized, redundant, repetitive and bogged down by too much dialog it made his journey a chore. Cassandra...the best and most consistent and solid. She needs her own series. Then the other two Bat family characters are forgettable. Oh the Victim Syndicate is poorly done and though their mission and manifesto us sympathetic they were visually terrible and uninspired.

A not so good end to the idea of the Batmen...I love Tynion but other than Lonely Place of Living this has not been a good large arc for him.

Onward to the next book!

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tim returns to Gotham city and he has insane plans but then the Mayor is at odds with Batman for his team and then the Victim syndicate execute their plan and have Clayface unleash the monster him more like force it and its epic to see. I love the revelation of how he turns into a monster and the Bat family has to stop him and what the choices of one do to the others and then the splintering, war of words, fall of ideals, future coming to pass. Its such a deep emotional volume and hits the right spots and I love that it has that working for him.

Great stuff. Highly recommend this one! And the art was good and there is a Clayface story at the end which is meh and tells of his life till the point of his turning into a monster and then the story thereafter we know. Good stuff.

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty middle-of-the-road issue for me. I find Anarky and The Victim Syndicate both to be pretty lame villains, but there is a much better super-villain fight towards the end. Much of this volume is whining, complaining, and in-fighting within the bat army and between the heroes and the city.

I kind of hope they are moving toward disbanding the team because the idea seems to have run its course. Also, loner Batman is the best Batman.

[Ryan Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m still thoroughly enjoying Tynion’s Rebirth run on Detective Comics, and this is one of the better volumes to date. Vol. 6 has some real gut punches and I’ve become so invested that they landed pretty hard.

4.25/5

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review - https://youtu.be/tiCfXJ4tdCk

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Read as single issues]
Red Robin may be back, but that doesn't mean the team are going to be ready to deal with the return of the Victim Syndicate!

Bringing the Spoiler storyline that's been explored in the few one-and-done issues throughout this run to the fore is a good move, smashing it together with the ongoing plot in explosive ways. The Victim Syndicate were really interesting the first time around, and while they lose a bit of their impact here, they're still suitably creepy, especially the issues set inside Arkham Asylum.

You can tell that James Tynion has been building towards this story (and the next) because all the pieces he's set up across the run come into play here with an especially powerful conclusion. Also included is an annual which puts the focus onto the ill-fated character from the main story and retells their origin for the Rebirth era, again weaving in the rest of Tynion's continuity into the past as well as the present so it works as both an epilogue and a 'see how far we've come' kind of story.

The art is a bit more uneven than previously; Joe Bennett takes two issues, Miguel Mendonca has another two, Phil Briones has one, and Jesus Merino also snags one too. They're all similar enough to blend well in collection, but they lack the distinctive style of Alvaro Lopez who has defined this series, and Eddy Barrows who returns for the beautifully rendered annual.

The Batmen fall, and Tynion and friends race towards their conclusion. I'm going to really miss this.

[RG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Im really enjoying this. The confilct within the group dynamic was great. The solo issue at the end was great as well.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much happened in this volume!
So much to review!

Let's start by just staring at this beautiful cover art for #969 by Guillem March and Tomeu Morey.


...

Ok, so the argument made by Mayor Akins & the people of Gotham against the Gotham Knights, is that they look like a batarmy or batsquad... The Mayor can support Batman as a lone vigilante, but the second he creates a squad of bats, people are scared that they're a strike force with no accountability. That sort of makes sense, except that there are other superhero teams in the world plus Batman is his own strike force, but for the purpose of the story, I get the issue.

Stephanie...is well, she's still being kinda stupid. She's visiting Anarky in jail, and ignoring the batfamily...until she's reunited with Tim, and then she comes back to the team just for Tim, just waiting to step back out again when Tim is ready... But he's not ready, and it's starting to look like he might not ever be ready. So, Stephanie walks.

I really liked seeing Tim in this volume. He's frantic with energy and ideas for the team. He's smart and driven and maybe even a little manic. #cantstopwontstop

Batman. I loved his efforts to rehabilitate Clayface, and stand up for him.
Mayor Akins: "Clayface belongs in this asylum. You've indulged the fantasy of his rehabilitation for too long. He's a monster, Batman.
Batman: "So am I."

The flashback to Tim setting up the Belfry was great.
(Double page/Side by side)
Left page:

Right page:

Look at that! Even Batman is smiling!

Their double page at the end though is heartbreaking. Tim sees his future as the crappy future Batman solidifying in front of him. Tim's tears and Batman's sad frown is just so sad.

I like the resurgence of The Victim Syndicate. They really F**k shit up for Batman and the Knights this volume.
And I was wondering about Azrael and the Batman AI. Glad to see it in action for a second!

Clayface's story here is absolutely tragic. He's so close to the cure when the Victim Syndicate find him. So close.

And when the mudroom spills... I honestly don't know how they would have stopped him without the bullet... But there's always another way, right? Right?

And Oy, Cass. Cass and Clayface were my favorite pair. They understood each other and they complimented each other.
Cass shouting: "He could be good. He could be saved."
I'm so glad she was the one to rip the bat symbol off Batwoman. I was waiting for it (I thought Batman would have done it), and I'm glad she did it.

Batwoman... Cass asks why she did it, and I know exactly why. She's a soldier, and soldiers take lives. That's OK, that's their job. But that's not Batwoman's job.

I do have a question about Colonel Kane. Wasn't he the bad guy who betrayed Batwoman and her team the last time we saw him? Why did she talk to him, allow him near here, accept a gun from him etc.?!


I didn't love the Clayface origins story at the end of this volume. Basil's dad was upsetting (the Renu/clay must have been making him crazy), but his line "nobody really loves a monster" was an important part of Clayface's psyche on the team.
I like how Batman played his part in Clayface's story. I bet his words to Basil were similar that first time to when Batman came to him with the team idea.
"And so you have a choice, Basil. You can just be what you think the world sees when they look at your face. You can be the monster... Or you can...be something more."

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poignant, but troubling. I'm not sure I like where Tynion is taking Tim Drake, either, and now we have a giant rift in the Batfamily. Drama for drama's sake? Still, it's pretty riveting reading, even though Tynion, like most Americans, doesn't really understand anarchism and does a poor job transmitting those ideas through the character of Anarky. That could have very well been a major subplot to the book, the never ending clash of ideas over whether Batman is a fascist or not, but it's gone now and probably soon forgotten.

The last issue, focusing on the origin of Clayface, was particularly moving, and the art by Eddy Barrows was top notch as always.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Fall of the Batmen" does an amazing job of bringing together all the disparate plot pieces from the Detective Comics Rebirth run: Stephanie's reluctance with vigilantism, Basil's problems with sanity, Kate's increasing militarism, Tim's desire to make up for lost time. It's all here, and the story even makes great use of the First Villain and Anarchy, both of whom were less effective in their earlier appearances.

Though this volume feels inevitable, it's also shocking to see how much things fall (apart).

[František Vondrák · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pořád výborná suprácká týmovka. Díky své konzistentnosti nejlepší řada "Znovuzrození", co u nás vychází.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really nice art, some interesting developments and character stuff, but the super repetitive exposition got to me after a while. Surely there was a better way to deal with Basil Karlo’s crisis than to have him yapping on every issue about how he can’t go on, then have all the characters around him yapping on about how he can. By the end I was just sighing to myself and wishing he’d turn evil already.

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not a particularly enjoyable read for me, because I cannot stand books in which evil triumphs. If that's your bag, this is for you, but it's definitely not mine.

[Ma'Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I jumped back into this series after going a while without reading much, due to starting a new job *at the library!* This is the volume that finally gets to the climax that various events have been leading to since the beginning [of this run]. Actually, it was seeing the plotspoiler of this volume, in an adjacent Bat-comic series, that prompted me to go back and read this run of Detective Comics in the first place! Clay Face has been one of my favorite Bat-villains since watching episodes featuring him on Batman The Animated Series as an elementary and middle school student. I recently was wondering why I'd never seen Clay Face in action as a mini-boss in any of the Batman Arkham ______ video games. No more than a week later, I'm getting further in Arkham City (having previously played all the other games - Asylum, Origins, and Knight) and all of a sudden I'm facing off against Clay Face, though he really wasn't used well in my opinion, and the battle was brief and almost impossible to lose. Anyway, back to the book.

I was tempted to give this 5 stars, simply because Tynion writes so many of these characters so well, and the story is woven beautifully, with facial expressions drawn with so much clear emotion.

The one thing that kept bugging me was how little sense it made for the Possible Future Tim try to kill Batwoman in order to stop this foretold and foreboding cascade of catastrophic events. Merely by telling the Bat-family (or at least Present Tim and Bruce) "Hey, protect and save Clay Face right fucking now so Batwoman isn't pushed to murder him, as she's done in my timeline!" so many other strategies could have been put into play to prevent it, and maybe find a way to save or benefit Future Tim as well? I had to silence that internal voice that was irate about this plot point that only served as an absurd means to an end (the plot itself).

There are two panels - I think a conversation between Dr. [Victoria] October, Batman, and/or Red Robin - that I read as foreshadowing a not-too-distant return/resurrection of Clay Face. They're discussing an advanced retreat (or, I think, strafe of a sort) they'd been working on with Clay Face in their training sessions over the past 6 months to a year. Batman ends up blasting Clay Face with Mr. Freeze's Ice Gun (!!!) and then shattering him (presumably to collect and seal in a hundred small containers until he thaws?), only to confirm that his sentience had left a massive fighting shell or "husk" behind while moving along into the sewers, probably making some really gross sound that we don't have a word for yet. Splooching? So what if part of Clay Face had been alerted or prompted to send off a safety portion of himself elsewhere that could lie dormant with his essence or whatever. That's my theory, and as far as I know, it could have already been revealed in the ongoing comics that I don't read.

I enjoyed imagining James Tynion IV and Tom King and some of the others producing this generation of Bat-comics, standing around talking and coming to terms on interwoven plans between the titles.

[Blindzider · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tynion has been setting up the pieces his entire run and now the final conflict between Batman's new team and the Victim Syndicate comes to its conclusion. It certainly isn't perfect, but what I like most about Tynion's work is that he gives some psychological motivation for the characters, allowing the reader to see how they are feeling or what's driving them. The focus for this series has been primarily Tim and Clayface, but Cassandra has had some of the spotlight as well. Spoiler's story was never really clear to me. Perhaps if I read this entire series in one sitting I might have picked it up better.

There's a backup feature giving the origin of the Basil Karlo Clayface, and it is fantastic. Barrows art is simply beautiful to look at and Tynion recounts the tragedy of how Clayface was born. Really outstanding stuff.

[Adam Roll · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second time including comics I've read as a part of my reading challenge. I think I won't list every comic I read, but this Batman collection was incredibly good and deserves some good reviews. The story has a lot to do with Clayface and Red Robin, both parts of the Batman ethos I have always loved. The Tim Drake character is just always trying too hard, and I relate to that in a personal way. James Tynion IV is a fantastic young talent I can't wait to read more of.

[marieska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jest to pierwszy komiks o Batmanie, który udało mi się przeczytać "posiadając" go na swojej półce i nie jestem zawiedziona. Historia, kreska i bohaterowie to było coś kozackiego – choć oczywiście najbardziej jestem zakochana w tych pięknych rysunkach. Sama fabuła była fajna – istnieją lepsze pomysły, ale postać Batmana i całej BatRodziny nadrabia wszystko. Muszę przeczytać całą serię od początku, by móc polecić komuś zbiór ale dla pięknych ilustracji każdy musi zwrócić uwagę na to cudo!

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the Clayface chapter and questions about his state of mind.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. The final stand alone issue that retold Clayface's origin was a good one, the rest not so much.

[Ondra Král · Rating 4 out of 5]

Klasická suprácka šablonka, ale všechno to funguje. Monumentální akce, hrdinové si sáhnou na dno, charaktery se někam posouvají... velká spokojenost. Škoda uspěchaného závěru s První obětí.

[Petr Čapek · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.schefikuvblog.eu/james-tyn...

[Adam Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book collects Detective Comics #969-974 and the Annual #1.

Tim Drake is back and determined not to become future crazy Tim Drake and willing to do anything to strengthen his Batmen program. Meanwhile, the Victim Syndicate returns with a plan that begins by kidnapping Clayface inside Arkham Asylum and the Mayor wants Batman alone to deal with him.

This is the type of story that makes it worth it having stuck through the more mediocre second to fourth Volumes. This has a lot of great action and wonderful visuals but at the same time, it tells a great story and it's full of emotional moments that address who the lead characters are and who they're becoming.

In addition, this story explores some ideas or questions such as forgiveness and the possibility of redemption, but does it an open and subtle way.

Overall, this is a splendid story, well worth a read.

[Batgirl_ALT_21 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a highly emotional turn of events, but damn, it was executed so well, and the tension was just right.

We begin with the appointment of the new Mayor of Gotham Mayor Michael Atkins, who claims to be willing to work with the Bats of Gotham. We then cut to Stephanie Brown, who is revealed to be visiting with Lonnie, aka Anarchy, who reveals his ideology regarding the fear of the people further and how they should be freed of their political systems. Stephanie gets into an argument over their deference of ideology, then leaves and, on her way, crosses Basil, who is visiting with Glory. On her way out, Basil tries to tell her about Tim but misses her.

Stephanie returns to her base dressed as Spoiler and prepares her nightly patrol as she recounts some of the events that have led her to where she is and others about her grief. A knock on the door startles her, but when Stephanie goes to open it and sees Tim alive and well rambling, the two reunite with a passionate kiss and excited return.

Tension in Gotham starts to rise as Killer Moth gathers all of the 2nd-rate lead henchmen & women to Gotham's greatest villains with an offer they can't refuse as he proposes a team to go up against the Bats. Meanwhile, RR & Batwoman peer in through the window prepared to attack. Batwoman lectures Red Robin on how to not piss off Spoiler as he is avoiding the conversation surrounding his unwillingness to return/begin college but is continuing to mislead Stephanie. The group then busts in with Clayface leading the ambushed as a fake Solomon Grundy, and the villains are stopped.

Batman then pays the mayor a visit, who further discusses his disdain towards the Bat Army consisting of the team and the use of a formal supervillain murderer, Clayface. We then briefly cut to Anarchy, who is revealed to be working with the Victim Syndicate as they prepare to put their plan into action.

Next, we see an exhausted sleep deprived. Tim is awakened by a bad dream of his future self as a concerned Stephanie comes to his aid. Red Robin then begins rambling about his vision to further unite the Batfam for how they can further support the citizens of Gotham. When Stephanie tries to gently remind Tim to make time to care for himself in the process, he pushes it off, claiming that it can wait.

The plot then advances with a brief side quest as Batman, Batwoman, Batwing, and Azrael take down a ring of cyber assassin robots programmed to fight as they have over the last few months, revealing that someone has been watching them but no answers as to who. We then see Kate return to her base where her father pays a surprise visit to help patch her up and discuss a purposed message that Red Robin sent to Jacob asking to work with Colony. Kate is taken aback while Jacob further warns of the dangers Tim could be engaging in far beyond his comprehension.

Meanwhile, Dr. Victoria October shares that she has a prototype for a cure sent to go upon a test trial on Basil Karlos's blood that could grant his physical restoration to return perfectly to his old self. Now stuck with the conundrum of whether Basil could return to the man he was a bury the monster within, he is perplexed on whether it is the right decision. Victoria reveals that she is transgender, and the alignment of her mind to the body didn't resolve everything, but it gave her the tools to dive further into what she needed to work on to become a better version of herself. Cass then appears, and the two then go to the mud room, where they run through training protocols. Basil confronts Cass and asks her if he should take it, to which she responds with a resounding yes. Basil then confirms that he'd always have a friend in Cass by continuing to run lines, then reveals that there is one last piece of business he needs to attend to before it's done.

Tim then calls in Stephanie to accuse her of sharing the Batfam video footage showing their training techniques publicly on the internet. Stephanie retorts by asking Tim to pull up the code, which reveals that Lonnie was the one to upload it and framed Stephanie by default. As Tim tries to apologize desperately, Stephanie then confronts his lie to go to an Ivy university as she checks for his enrollment. Steph then tells Tim that she's leaving and that she'll get back on the specifics while an angered Tim attempts to look up Lonnie, who should be in Arkham when his cage is revealed to be empty.

Clayface then returns to Arkham in an attempt to make amends and share the news with Glory of a cure to help her, too, when he is ambushed by the Victim's Syndicate and captured. Arkham is revealed to have been captured by the Victim's Syndicate with the demand that Batman arrive alone. Meanwhile, news reports and police surround Arkham, where they request one report to come in and it is then requested by the 1st victim that the truth of Clayface be revealed as an abusive monster by making an example of Glory's case. The news cycles then begin to fill in as the Batfamily scrambles to make sense of it all when Spoiler reveals that the social media is buzzing with word of protests claiming today to be 'Victim's Day' as the citizens attempt to claim back Gotham. Batwoman then enters with news of what Red Robin purposed for the Colony as tensions continue to fly high. Cassandra then reveals that centers the group by directing the attention back to the kidnapped Clayface in need of help, which then implores Batman to go in alone.

Batman enters Arkham alone and is confronted by Anarchy and the 1st Victim, who released the monster's dangerous inmates for Batman to fight. He does so then, as the smoke clears, calls for the G.C.P.D. to finish the job when the 1st victims reveal their secret weapon, which is a mentally damaged Clayface charging in to push past the police force. Batman then attempts to reason with Clayface, who continues to claim that he was playing Batman by being on the team and that his desires were never for good. Clayface then disappears into the sewers where the team regroups and prepares to defend the Belfery.

In desperation, the operations for Clayface cure are moved up as directed by Red Robin and Spoiler. Batwoman is then paid a visit by Jacob, who brings forth a gun set to denutrilizes his composition.
Azrael and Batwing are the 1st attacked in the sewers, and then Clayface emerges in the main base as he begins to take down Red Robin, Batwoman, and Batman once more but as he makes his way to Cass he breaks down into his more human form until the mud in the mudroom reacts to Clayface overpowering his being making him into a large monster set to terrorize the city and destroys the Belfery in his wake. Red Robin then falls but is caught by Batwoman and is revealed to have a concussion while being K.O. Spoiler and Orphan bring Red Robin back to Dr. October, where the cure is then ready, and Cass bravely offers to insert, knowing that she can get the closest. Meanwhile, Batman goes after Clayface, who is barreling towards the innocent protesters as he tries to direct Clayface to Monster Town with the help of Batwing and Azreal who use the Batwing suits until they are all taken out.

In a mad dash towards Monster Town, Clayface attempts to have the upper hand by becoming a tunnel, allowing Cass to monover and inject the cure into Basil's brain, allowing him a moment of clarity when Orphan attempts to appeal to his humanity when Basil claims that he isn't as good as Cass believes he is and that she is better than he ever could be as the excess mud begins to take the hole and Clayface prepares for round two Batwoman warns Cass to close her eyes then a bullet goes off and Clayface is killed.

What follows is an ambush as Batman, Red Robin, Spoiler, and Orphan reprimand Batwoman for her actions. Cass is noticeably the hurt out of them all, and Batman decides to bench Batwoman until things can be further sorted out. Batwing believes that moral justice was served by neutralizing the threat while Azrael remains somewhat morally ambiguous. Batman then calls for them two to also be disbanded if they agree with Batwoman's actions.

Finally, the scene draws with Stephanie choosing to leave Gotham to sort herself out as she asks Tim to once again make the more selfish decision to direct his own destiny. Red Robin then breaks down as he feels the weight of it all fall on his shoulders. Batman tries to console him, to which Tim retorts that he and his mentor are a lot alike and that it will happen regardless. Batwoman then regroups in her base as she tries to heal the wounds left by Cass when her father comes in to tell his daughter that he is proud of her and to rejoin the field under her own rules like before.

In the last scene, we see Ulysses, who is revealed to have 'bother eye' unlocked and can access the future history with the timeline restored.

The last issue is about the origin of Basil becoming Clayface and the misfortunes that have struck his life as well as the harm that he caused along the way.

Overall, this was a remarkable well-done story arc that was logically executed. 9-10 stars 🌟!!

[Arthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this volume. This concluded the redemption arc of Clayface from villain to hero. I like that Basil was able to choose to be good without ever forgetting who he was or what he did. He shows a remarkable amount of growth when he talks to Glory and accepts that she (rightfully) will never forgive him, but he chooses to help her anyway. I also really enjoyed the issue that explained Clayface's backstory because it developed a lot of empathy for Glory. At first I furious with her for setting Basil up, and I agreed with Dr. October that it was cruel and selfish to take a reformed man who is trying so hard to be good and drag him back to the pit of hell that he climbed out of. But when you see how much love Glory had for Basil, regardless of his status or appearance you realize how irreparably hurt she must have been when he destroyed her life by making her mudface. It's a great balance of two very conflicted, imperfect characters who once loved each other.

Furthermore, I absolutely loved his friendship with Cass. It was so pure and wholesome, and I loved that she was still able to reach him when he was losing his mind as Clayface. They bonded thinking they were both bad people in need of redemption and believing each other were good. They gave each other strength and bonded over scripts and the fact that Basil was killed right in front of Cass was so damn heartbreaking. I really loved that Basil got to give Cass one final heartfelt speech where he explained that she was never bad and in need of redemption the way he was. (though to be fair he wasn't completely in control of himself as Clayface). That Cass is and always was good. They had a really deep friendship and as beautifully written as the ending was, I wish we could have gotten more of it.

While Clayface was growing from villain to hero, Tim stumbled down the opposite route. He became obsessed with his plan to improve the world and blinded to the fact that he was building a militaristic, oppressive regime. While we usually assume the Bats have the best intentions, the army he was creating was far too much power for any one ideologue. And he was beginning to lose his humanity in his pursuit for justice; he was alienating Stephanie, one of his closest relationships, not sleeping and dedicating every waking minute to forming and executing his plan. Ultimately he was becoming as paternalistic as Lonnie, and I felt really bad for Steph for having to deal with that after just getting her boyfriend back from the dead. I was also very excited by the concept of a Bat using education and money to better the world instead of commiting physical assault in costume and so was disappointed that he gave up on his dream to attend Ivy University. I think it would have been really refreshing to have Tim as the protagonist in a story set in the Gotham we know but with a sense of normalcy offered by university. It also would have been inspiring to see how he improved the city in a realistic way.

Finally, the third character development arc (or lack thereof) that I want to discuss is Kate's. While I understand she grew up in a military family and was a soldier and therefore doesn't share the same regard for human life as her teammates, I don't think there was enough buildup to her decision to kill Clayface. It seemed like she was on board with Batman's 'subdue' plan until her dad showed up and then suddenly murder was the only option. I'm not arguing that she did the wrong thing (I don't really know if they could have stopped Clayface from murdering people in time otherwise), but she seemed so convinced of her solution so quickly. I'd have preferred to see her slowly change her mind over the course of the volume so that it would feel more natural.

Overall, I really loved this volume. It's not on par with the books I'd like to own but it was definitely my favourite in the series thus far. I'm hoping for Spoiler-Orphan interactions in the upcoming issues and hope Basil won't be completely forgotten now that he's gone.

[Gareth Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things come to a head, and while its more a 3.5 due to some lackluster moments there's a powerful ending that I didn't think would occur.