Batman: Prelude to Knightfall

Batman: Knightfall #1

by Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, Tom Grindberg (Artist)

Bane, the man destined to one day destroying the Batman has his sights set on taking over Gotham City! The event that changed Batman's world forever kicks off with this new volume, including never before collected material in PRELUDE TO KNIGHTFALL. Bane has spent a lifetime on the South American island of Santa Prisca. The time he spent as the toughest inmate in their worst prison led him to develop berserk strength, savage intellect, and unparalleled megalomania. In Gotham City, Batman begins to feel he has lost his edge as he is forced to deal, in rapid succession, with the returning villain Black Mask and his gang a crazed killer called Metalhead, and a sharpshooter assassin hired by an imprisoned mobster to murder Commissioner Gordon. Part of a massive 25th anniversary re-cut of the entire KNIGHTFALL saga, this graphic novel, collects VENGEANCE OF BANE #1, BATMAN #484-491, DETECTIVE COMICS #654-658.

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

374 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 11, 2018

About the author

Charles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.

His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.

In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.

His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.

He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .

While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.

In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.

On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."

Reviews

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHAT A BOOK!

This was such a great read and you get the origin of Bane from the get go and its brutal and you feel for him and his obsession with Batman is also explored here and finally what he is doing behind the scenes trying to understand Batman before breaking him and then on the other hand we have Bruce fighting Black Mask and his false face society and I love the way they handle this story and showing the danger that is this new foe and its a fun story overall.

Then Batman has to deal with new threats like Metalhead and Headhunter and both are assassins and its alright stories, him protecting Lucius and others and showing his might while sme interesting stuff is being built towards Azrael and Robin (Tim) and I love the story.

And finally the big story we see Bruce getting beaten down and sort of not feeling well and you can see the prelude to things to come and also while at it, Tim and Azrael fight a pumped up riddler and then the coming of Bruce and encounter with venomified-Riddler and its fun what happens in the end with Arkham Asylum and changes the whole Gotham-verse on its head.

Its such a fascinating books and has so many moving parts and a series of stories showing Batman being broken sort of and I love how they introduce new villains and its crime-noir at its best and the exploration of his rogues gallery is awesome. Plus Bane is such a cool villain and I can't wait to read the main story and the drama that happens! Plus the art was okay for the most part, its 90s art so its an acquired taste.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never did read the famous "Knightfall" storyline for Batman despite reading thousnads of issues of the cape crusader. So I won a auction online for Book 1-3 that covers pretty much the complete run today for less than 40 bucks. Decided I'd read the Prelude to Knightfall on DC Universe to get myself ready. Am I ready? Kind of...

Actually this held up better than expected. Dixon writes half the stories while Doug moench writes the other half. And the thing is...They're kind of two wildly different writers.

Dixon relies on the art to show the inner turmoil more while giving us snappier dialogue and less of it. Moench is wordier (Though not to the extreme) and focuses on the internal dialogue more. So it's a bit jarring going back and forth.

But the main point of this book is to show a Batman pushing himself to his limits. With Dixon two stories we get one a bout a little psycho kid trying to run a gang and take out the Batman. It's comical in a sense it's a little kid doing it but kind of horrifying at the same time. Then there's a guy who basically hypnotizes people and makes them kill themselves.

On the flipside Doug has more basic stories of villains being...well villains. I can't even fully remember anyone except one dude dressed in all black with spikes on his head looking like Pinhead but too silly to take serious. But as we get to the end of his stories it starts to bleed into Bane's master plan and you can really see how worn out Bruce is at this point and how scared Tim and Alfred are for him.

Overall, this is mostly good. The Dixon stuff I'd even rate highly entertaining and solid art. On the flipside Doug stuff at the end got good but prior was just decent and the art at the start of his collection was pretty awful and only got good on the final two issues.

Still, the collection got me excited for Knightfall. Not amazing but solid. A 3 out of 5.

[Lukas Sumper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a bit of a history with this one, as I grew up with comics this story line was one I always heard about and one I really wanted to get my hands on. Sadly I never got to read it until now and I basically know about the story from friends and so on.

I am very glad that its as good as they say though you can tell its old by now, as the dialouge isn't the best (miles away from Jeph Loeb). The structuring is great and the first chapter has one hell of a concept, as it introduces our main villian with barely ever showing Batman. And then following up with attacks on Bruce Wayne and Fox rather then Batman. And the set up in this book alone.. its a joy to read.

In some Issues I really disliked the art of the characters... esp. Robin looks like a body builder with a tiny head, its hilarious but took me out of the story. And then it gets topped by this guy:



Metalhead, he attacks enemies by shaking his head at people with a spikey latex... yeah who came up with that? The writer must've thought Batman is in need of spanking. But this issue actually picks Batmans state of mind apart in a interesting way so despite the "on the nose" villian I liked it.

If you can see over the flaws, esp. if you are a Batman fan this is one you kinda can't miss out on. 4.0 of 5

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember when the whole "Knightfall" storyline occurred -- I remember hearing about Bane breaking Batman. And I remember regarding it with contempt. I had no interest in reading it. I didn't need more of that 1990s nonsense. Nearly a decade later, when I paged through the trade paperbacks wondering if there was something I'd missed, I found a pointlessly-gritty contextless story that just seemed to be about a pathetic Batman being inexplicably beaten by some jumped-up yutz in a Lucha Libre outfit and equally inexplicably passing his mantle on, not to either of his adopted sons, but on to some psychopathic rando who appeared out of nowhere. So I moved on. When Christopher Nolan adapted elements of it for the silver screen, I felt he did the best he could with an overrated garbage fire of a story.

Earlier this year, one of my favorite political/cultural podcasts abruptly dipped into discussing comics and I heard a take on the whole "Knightfall" era of Batman that I'd never heard before. That it was, in fact, intended from the very beginning as a critique of the grim-and-gritty excesses of 1980s & 1990s comics -- that it was intended as a sort of morality play, forcing the characters to act out the tropes so popular at that time, giving the audience what they THOUGHT they wanted, and then demonstrating how ridiculous and venal those tropes actually were. And for the first time I reconsidered my stance on the storyline. So I went out and picked up this volume which, it turns out, finally provides all the context that was missing from the original TPBs.

Why was Batman so pathetic in "Knightfall"? Where did Bane come from and why was his costume so...silly? Who was this Azrael character and why did Batman pick him as his successor? A lot of that is established here and it turns out that, in context, the "Knightfall" storyline actually does make a lot of sense. We don't see it all, some of it having begun in previous issues, but we see a Batman who's already run ragged, exhausted and sick, but too obsessed to admit he needs a break and too proud to admit he needs help. Lack of sleep can do that to a mind, and here we see Bane in the background coming to Gotham, studying its criminal ecosystem and slowly manipulating events, pushing this villain here and this mob boss there, so that Batman can't afford to take a break (which he already desperately needs) and can't get the rest he needs to come to his senses. We see a Tim Drake/Robin who's doing his best but similarly divided in his loyalties as he frets over both his actual father and his father-figure -- the latter of whom is also demanding Tim take over training Azrael whom Batman recruited but is now too frazzled and exhausted to train himself. And we see a Batman walking a knife's edge between burnout and mania.

I'm really grateful for this TPB because now I can go back to "Knightfall" with a lot of the context that was always missing for me in the past. I only wish they'd also included the storyline that introduced Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael because the dialogue explaining his introduction and origin doesn't quite cover enough ground for my tastes...

[Zosia Faba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Szczerze mówiąc nie pamietam robienia którejkolwiek z tych rzeczy, ale podobało mi się studium Batmana. Podobało mi się, że nie chodziło mu o zemstę, ale o współczucie i muszę pochwalić polskiego wydawcę za uzupełnienie luk fabularnych komiksami komplementarnymi do wydarzenia Knightfall.

[Daria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just saying, Tim called Jean-Paul cute twice in this story and also cut his hair. Guys being dudes.
I enjoy Bane's character to a certain extent, I like the fact that he's obsessed with Batman to the point where he's saved his life multiple times just because he wants to be the one to kill him. You know, this point of Bruces life is full of people that are really huge fans of him, from Tim to Bane you really have the two ends of the spectrum. You also have the depression arc which is fascinating to try and figure out. Tim is on the edge between "he needs to get out there" and "he needs to rest", Alfred does not know what to do anymore, Lucius Fox exists and is sweet as usual. We slowly see Bruce descend into this spiral, blaming himself more and more for small failures, and my only wish would have been that Jason Todd's death was brought up in this one. Like, if he's depressed, surely having a dead son would be brought up into this. Surely the nightmares would be about his dead son rather than his dead parents. Surely.
Tim and Jean Paul are a very interesting team, although I'm not sure why they did that to poor Jean-Paul's costume. He deserved a bit more. Instead he looked like the spike head dude from a few issues past. I like seeing Tim try and deal with him, and again, I would have liked to see Jean-Paul being a bit more terrified about this mind control thing, but I guess we're already having one man trying to talk about his emotions so that will have to be enough. Also I would have liked to see him and the general dudeguy interact a bit. He was a cool concept.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yo I waited like 25 years for DC to collect these issues for my Knightfall shelf and uh, turns out you wait that long and you read the stories again and you're like a 40 year old man now and uh, turns out Batman stories from the early 90s when you had hardly even kissed many girls mostly don't hold up till now, so, huh.

(yes yes don't comment telling me about all the 90s Batman that's actually good, congrats)

(exception proves the rule)

(also get a hobby god)

[Shaun Winters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories that highlight what appears to be a decline for our main hero. Knowing what this is a Prelude to (since it is right there in the title) appears to be important as a reader to get a grasp as to why this collection is vital reading before the main story of Knightfall. Does a good job of setting up things. Not the best, but I am a bit tainted as a not huge Batman fan. Trying, however, to get out of that box.

[Stano Várady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dixon s Moenchom v prvom dvojčísle ukazujú zrod Banea a jeho príchod do Gothamu, aby ten takticky vyčkával a sledoval Batmanove moves v akčnom boji proti béčkovým padouchom ako sú: Black mask (zruinovaný kozmetický magnát, ktorého krém zohyzďuje tváre), Metalhead (chlap v koženom oblečku, ktorý na boj používa ostnatý bič na svojej hlave) alebo General (čo je 10-ročný chlapec z vojenskej školy, ktorý sa vďaka svojim znalostiam z vojenstva stane šéfom pouličného gangu); čo je tak krásne blbé, až to sami potrebujú vyvážiť Brucovým začínajúcim syndróm vyhorenia, ktorý ho má ako postavu naopak poľudštiť a do príbehu priniesť tak populárne povolanie psychiatra. Vo výsledku tak máte jednoduché, ale zábavné čítanie a art, ktoré robia meno mainstreamu roku 1992.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most important issues in this volume are reprinted in the next, which is certainly odd and leaves this whole "Prelude to Knightfall" concept feeling quite raggedy. There's more stuff here that's worth having for Knightfall context alone though, particularly the issues with Killer Croc and the Riddle, both of which are a lot of fun in their own right. previous stories involving Black Mask, Metalhead The General and the hypno guy ... well they are all standard weeklies for the most part although there's a running theme of Batman being just kinda exhausted with it all, and that's a great angle and it's great to see a new villain in Bane come in and exploit that vulnerability - but damn is Bane the most dishonorable supervillain ever!

Anyway, I get ahead of myself - there's plenty to enjoy here and it's my motto with comic books that you should always read as much context as possible as the journey just ends up feeling that much more epic.

[Jason Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of my Batman comic book reread project. Continued from Sword of Azrael.

I really want to give this five stars, but it doesn't deserve all five. I've read Knightfall several times since high school, and it refers to events that preceded it. Until now, I'd never read about those, and I was thrilled to find this thing that filled in all the gaps (listed below). This starts with Bane's origin story which is excellent. Then we see Batman slowly wear himself out with several villains over the course of 12 issues. In the 13th issue, Bane releases all the inmates at Arkham. (That issue is also the first issue in the Knightfall Part I trade paperback.)

I think this should also have included Sword of Azrael. I mean, you have the Bane origin story, so you might as well have Jean Paul Valley's too. But since that's it's own trade paperback, and I have it, I'm not too bummed. Jean Paul's training starts in prelude and continues through the end. It's cool to see him before he became a complete dick.

Here are the stories mentioned throughout Knightfall that are covered in the prelude.
*The Black Mask story where Batman starts his slow descent to total mental and physical exhaustion.
*The Metalhead tale. That villain's costume served as the inspiration for Jean Paul Valley's training outfit, and Robin questions that decision later.
*Bane's fight with Killer Croc and his dismissal of Jean Paul Valley in the Batman suit as being unworthy to even fight him. This will eat at Jean Paul in subsequent issues, culminating in a showdown several months later.
*Batman's fight with the Riddler when he's pumped up on Venom.

Other stories that aren't referred to throughout Knightfall are also included because it wouldn't make sense to leave them out for continuity reasons. This is why I give Prelude four stars instead of five. Don't get me wrong; I loved the extra stories. But, anyone looking for just Bane/Knightfall related material would get annoyed at these. They show Batman slowly wearing down, but don't otherwise advance the main story in any way.

Headhunter is an assassin hired to go after Commissioner Gordon. Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong, aka The General, is introduced in this. He's a psychotic 11-year-old shit with delusions of being a great military commander. His first big tussle is with Batman, though he gets relegated to Robin villain after this if I recall correctly. I have a soft spot for prepubescent/tweenager villains since they seem creepier on principle than grown-up baddies, so it's cool to see him raid the scene. Cypher (Who? Exactly! He's not around long) is hired to use hypnosis to cause some top executives at important companies to commit suicide. He starts this process by putting subliminal messages in the muzak that plays in these executives' offices, but I'm of the mind that the subliminals are unnecessary. If you're listening to muzak, then your chances of committing suicide are increased ten-fold right off the bat, and you don't need any help.

One other item of note: Bruce is introduced to Dr. Shondra Kinsolving who tries to help him with his fatigue. They eventually start a romance, but that comes later. She's been in the comics before helping Tim Drake's father, but this is where she and Bruce meet. I'm telling you, Prelude just has all kinds of kick-off moments.

Bane observes Batman from afar throughout all of this, studying his opponent so he'll know best how to break him later.

Anyone planning to read the three years' worth of comics (approximately 120 or so issues) that comprise the complete Knightfall story line really ought to start with this. (You also ought to include the Azrael story linked at the top, but you can skip Venom and not miss a thing.) You can start with Knightfall: Part One and be just fine, but reading Prelude enriches the experience significantly.

Next checkpoint: Knightfall: Part One

[Derek · Rating 3 out of 5]

How I wish 3.5 stars was an option here at Goodreads.

These stories won't likely make any Best Of collection but, although disjointed, they do paint a compelling portrait of a Batman on the brink: one who's vulnerable, worn down, and, frankly, depressed. As a result, we feel the weight of the world on Batman's shoulders just as he does.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Batman: Prelude to Knightfall by Chuck Dixon is the prequel to Batman comics big epic event of 1993 Knighfall where the Batman is broken both psychically and mentally. Tis graphic novel introduces the super villain Bane and his plan to break the Batman. It further introduce Azrael an intense fighter that Bruce Wayne met in England and wants to bring him into the Bat Family. Some of the comics in this collection fit better than others but the theme is something is wrong with Batman and this leads to him seeking therapy because he can not sleep. The villains in this graphic novel include Bane, The Joker, Killer Croc, the Riddler, Black Mask, and a lot of one off villains like metalhead and the general. The Batman allies feature in the graphic novel are Lucious Fox, (who knows Bruce Wayne's secret and runs Wayne Tech) Robin #3 Tim Drake, Azrael, and Alfred. The Climax is great as Bane busted out every criminal out of Arkham Asylum, starting Knightfall. Batman: Prelude to Knightfall collects BATMAN: VENGEANCE OF BANE #1, BATMAN #484-491, and DETECTIVE COMICS #654-658.

Plot Summaries: Bane is Born in prison and gets the sentence his father should have gotten life in prison. her Bane is molded into the perfect killing machine. Bane has one fear bats when he hears of this Batman he knows he must breakout of prison can confront his fear. Batman goes undercover in the Black Mask gang to take it down and find out why he is going after Wayne Tech, things get over head fast when the gang kidnap Lucious Fox. As Batman recovers after his battle with the Black Mask Robin starts teaching Azrael the way of the Bat, things go well until Azrael goes to far and almost kills someone. Batman tangles with the General, a 14 year old, military school drop out who takes over and starts leading over smaller gangs he want to destroy the police and Batman. Bane watches as a mentally drained Batman fight Killer Croc. Bane can only take so much watching before he interferes with the fight. Bane likes the Riddlers intellect as a foe for Batman but he has no strength, Bane pumps him full of venom and send him on the lose to test Batman. Finally Bane has seen enough and for Batman's final test is releasing every criminally insane inmate from Arkham Asylum. This starts Knightfall.

What I Liked: All the illusions to a broken like the bat symbol getting shot and projected a broken bat, and Batman fighting gets slashed and the Bat emblem is split. I like how calculating and cautious Bane is in his approach to the Batman and you see the respect that he has for his foe in how dangerous he is. I loved the tragic Bane backstory how he was bred to be a killer by birth. The asylum breach was so cool and genius. I like the psychology that was set up with Batman not sleeping.

What I Disliked: Azrael could have been better and really need the four issue Sword of Azrael released a year earlier where Batman and Azrael wok together and he decides to train him and join the Bat family. What this issue shows is Azrael really wooden and hardly any personality. He has one good scene where he goes too far but that is it. The General was really weak and could have those 3 issues excluded.

Recommendations: This book is good on giving the turmoil and psychosis of Batman before Knightfall. I really liked the symbolism that alludes to a broken Bat. I don't feel this book is totally necessary to know what's going on in Knightfall but it brings a weight of knowing what Bruce Wayne/Batman was already going through. I do remember own the comic book on the cover and it was revered to as Knighfall #0 since it sets Knightfall up perfectly and is the best comic in this graphic novel. I rated Batman: Prelude to Knightfall by Chuck Dixon 4 out of 5 stars.

[Hugo Emanuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some decent stand-alone stories from the 90's, that serve as a prelude to the massive and important saga Knightfall, with the running theme of Batman becoming exausthed, while being observed by Bane. The best stories were The Vengence of Bane, which recounts his origin; a story about Black Mask, and one with Cypher, a villain I had never heard of before. The rest range from good to mediocre, but none of them is actually bad.. The writing duties interchange between Doug Moench and Chuck Dixon.

The artwork does look dated, even for a 90's comic book. With a few exceptions, the art is, aside from a few exceptions, handled by Graham Nolan, Norm Breyfogle and Jim Aparo. Actually, Jim Aparo is, by far, the artist who draws the most issues collected here. Nolan and Breyfogle are great, no complaints there, but I believe the option of using Aparo for most of these stories was not a very good one. I know Aparo is a veteran from way back, and it might sound disrespectuful to his legacy to say so, but his style has not aged well, and looked a bit out of place in a 90's comic book. I feel choosing a artist with such a older style was somewhat baffling, and certainly not the best fit for such an importan saga.

While this volume is not a fundamental to understand and enjoy the Knightfall saga, I do feel that it adds immesely to it, as there are several issues where we see how weaker and exasuthed Batman is becoming, and which arent collected in the Knightfall volumes from 2012 (which are the ones I own). Aside from two issues (Vengence of Bane and Batman # 491 specifically) everything else here is not included in the Knightfall Vol. 1 paperback from 2012.

For completists that want the full saga on a cheaper price, owning this prelude, along with the 3 Knightfall 2012 edition paperback volumes will probably mean you will own all the Knightfall related issues, at least from the main batman titles (there are some omnibus who were just released that are probably the more comprehensive collection of this saga, but are a lot more expensive).

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

To be fair, I will say that the initial Bane origin story part of this collection was actually decent. It was a solid and actually had a surprising amount of depth. Granted, it was nothing profound but still, it was more than I expected for this run.

If this only gave you Bane's time in Pena Duro to his initial entry into Gotham, I'd rate it a 3.5 or maybe even a 4 star read. But instead, what is also included is so. much. pointless. exposition. with the flimsiest of connection to Bane. Two-thirds of this prelude could be covered with the compound sentence: Batman is exhausted, makes questionable decisions, and becomes bad at his job.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot, a good start to the series for me!

So this is part of Knightfall and is the selection of stories that led up to the event.

I enjoyed seeing Banes backstory at the beginning as well as Batman try and manage the constant moving line of new criminals and the toll it’s starting to take on him and the ending leads nicely into the next book. I did think it was a bit long for what the book is getting across to you but at the same time I enjoyed all the little plots that were in this.

Overall I enjoyed reading this and has me looking forward to reading the main Knightfall event!

[Arijit Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crime noir stories featuring some of the most well-written depictions of Batman's rogues gallery, this book is easily one of my favourites. I was lost in Gotham City. Through the very expressive artwork and colouring, I felt the grime, rain, and the effervescent fear in the shadows in every corner. At times, it felt like watching a film, but more than that. The creators used the comic book medium, allowing it to express elements exclusive to the medium, instead of going for a totally cinematic approach found in recent comic book issues. From Bane's origin to the short episode of "The General", my eyes were glued to the screen of my Mac. Additionally, no villain unsettled me as much as Bane in this book. He is everything Batman is and everything Batman isn't.

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

With a bunch of D-list villains like Cypher, Headhunter, and Metalhead going up against Batman, this isn't a fantastic volume. What is neat about it, though, is everything going on outside of the villains' capers. Batman begins suffering from major burn out, Azreal begins his Batman training, and Bane keeps a close eye on everything so that he can find the perfect time to strike. All of this, if course, leads into Knightfall.

As a standalone volume I can't really recommend this, but if you want to read Knightfall then this is worth checking out first.

[kingboycar]

entertaining! jean-paul is a fun addition, and it's nice seeing the rough road towards knightfall. having a newcomer to the scene is always a rich opportunity to drive home the point of the 'mission'--you'd think that the repetition of this model would make b's moral message clearer to people but...eh, whatever. i like the emphasis of bruce's aversion to guns, and i liked tim's wise-beyond-his-years attitude towards b's specific brand of vigilante justice compared with his 90's teenage boyishness. very 'of its time'. i like batman's huge impractical cape!!

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 good start. Nice foundation. Decent to good art mostly. Pretty engaging. Page numbers!

[Mohammad Aboomar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd say Dough Moench is the best Batman writer I'd read so far, and this book is the beginning of the best Batman story I've read.

[Savannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only thing interesting about this book was the beginning and end. The middle felt unimportant…

[Liz.Loki · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This was an interesting start to the Knightfall event! I really like Bane as a villain, the fact he’s both strong and smart makes him a real threat to Batman. I can’t wait to see them fight.

[Al Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid lead up to nightfall, this is Batman as it’s supposed to be.

[Eddie B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5/10

[kesseljunkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid collection with clear build

Lets be honest, the reason you read this is to get to the infamous Knightfall arc. As such, this is a well focused prelude. It only functions AS a prelude but as such puts the story together with the right pacing and build. Of course, only comic and/or Batman fans need apply.

[Tacitus · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a lackluster Batman run where the only really interesting thing was Bane.

That started with the Bane long one-issue origin story, Vengeance of Bane, and continued to the end. Bane upstaged just about every other character, both in terms of plot and presence. These included Killer Croc, Riddler, Joker, and even Batman himself. It became clear that Bane was the sole focus for Chuck Dixon, and in the end, these Batman titles became a way for Dixon to highlight his contribution to the canon, while sacrificing the rest of it.

“Batman was tired.” That was literally true in these stories, as Batman (the character) was suffering burnout from spending too many nights crouched on gargoyles. He was consistently shown as failing to stop criminals. He got beaten up several times, and he came nearly close to dying but for Bane’s weirdly chivalrous interventions. Bane had this thing where he wouldn’t let anyone else defeat Batman irreparably, because only he could do that.

Batman was constantly snapping at Alfred and Robin, he couldn’t find time to train Azrael (delegating that to Robin), and he even had to delegate his Wayne business to Lucius Fox. All the while, he tried to take a break but couldn’t, it never having occurred to him that he needed to spend a month on a tropical island, or anywhere besides Wayne Manor and Gotham.

But it wasn’t just Batman; the entire franchise that seemed tired too. None of the other villains had any real plans, but were passive plot devices to draw out Batman for Bane. Bane was obsessed with Batman for reasons that weren’t entirely clear. He learned of Batman while in prison and determined to destroy him. How Bane and his compadres support themselves wasn’t clear, but they spent a lot of time watching Batman at work.

Bane was given more time and development than the other characters. Croc was homeless and obsessed with name-calling from his last. Riddler wanted to taint Gotham’s fish in an impractical scheme, while his riddles weren’t that clever and required in-world knowledge to solve them. Joker was an Arkham prisoner and rambled on without much humor or malevolence.

None of them were used to much effect, perhaps suggesting that Dixon couldn’t think of anything better to do with this material. Or maybe their ineptitude and insignificance was precisely the point.

Thank goodness for Bane, then, the only element that livens up these pages. He was shown to be incredibly smart, deliberate, surrounded by able sidekicks, and strong, making him a potentially formidable foe. Better than the others, or maybe combining elements of Croc, Riddler, and Joker; the ultimate Batman villain. And getting rid of Batman to take Gotham seemed like a sensible way of going about things.

All of this was driving toward was Batman’s coming downfall. At one point Batman was wearing the Death of Superman black armband, and one had to wonder if Dixon was striving to set up a similar situation here.

Much attention in these issues was given to Robin’s development of Azrael, though the latter struggled to resist his order’s programming. Jean Paul Valley’s willingness to kill lingered, setting up obvious conflicts for later, but also raising questions about Batman’s choice of Azrael. Batman should have been training Az, but then Robin needed something useful to do in these stories. For alll the attention given to them, Robin and Azrael show little development, and Azrael’s are cosmetic: he gets a security job at Wayne Tech guarding the photocopiers, and he cuts his hair and switches to contacts (finally!).

The overall effect of these events was depressing. Batman was in his head the whole time, and he was even seeing some kind of therapist. Bruce would vow to get right, then show up in costume before a fight, telling Robin off. He became so unpleasant and dispiriting that I wanted Bane to end my suffering as well as Bruce’s.

I am not sure of the effect Dixon was going for here. Before any fight with Bane, Batman was nearly broken anyway. Maybe the intent was to make his defeat later all the more understandable. That may be, but also made these events hard to read. There was little that was uplifting in these issues. It felt like Batman—the franchise, as well as the character—was being run into the ground, maybe to fracture it and make it into something else, maybe to create an event, or maybe to make Bane the star.

Worse, I couldn’t help feeling that Batman somehow deserved what was coming to him. Or maybe the tragedy lies in Batman’s relentless pursuit of Justice that stems from his parents’ deaths; an unsolvable problem, maybe, because if Bruce were able to get over his childhood trauma he may no longer have any need to be Batman. In any case, as it played out here, Dixon broke the back of Batman long before Bane did.

Technically, the stories were well told, though the coloring seemed off in a few panels. The layouts were clear and the artists had an eye for action, though their styles seemed rooted in an earlier decades and not moving forward stylistically. This may have also contributed to the feeling that Batman was tired, in more ways than one.

[Clay Bartel · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1992 some big things happened in the comic book world. Superman died and Batman lost big to Bane in what was a ridiculous long, but surprisingly good and character defining multi-volumed arc which would eventually be adapted by Christopher Nolan in his 3rd and final Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises.

Personally while I'm a diehard Nolan fan since The Following and Memento, as well as sci fi epics like Tenet, Interstellar and Inception... I couldn't stand much of his Batman Trilogy... the only really redeeming qualities for me was Heath Ledger's reimagining of the Joker in what became his career defining performance, and Tom Hardy's imagination of Bane.

The big problems with Nolan's take was his attempt to capture a more Chicago-esque backdrop, opposed to Gotham, and his failed attempted to capture the brilliance of Michael Manns career defining crime epic, Heat... starring the likes of Robert De'Nero, Al Pacino and Val Kilmer all at the top of their game.

Instead we got the unlikable Christian Bale (great as a villian in Psycho) as Batman. Constantly Nolan's characters explain the plot, and Bale's Batman can't seem to shut up with exposition and bad speeches about what it is that he does.

But I digress, this isn't a film review... but I did in fact see Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises before I ever read Knightfall Volume 1 or Batman Prelude to Knightfall...

So the story I knew was components of the Batman The Animated Series and Nolan's live action take.

I think a common problem with DC movies as of late is a desire to tell a lot of story in a single film.

Zack Snyder did the same thing with BvS by telling an awesome Bat vs Big Blue battle royal and then trying to tack on a massive Superman Arc with a battle with "doomsday" and The Death of Superman.

Nolan does the same thing. The comic book Knightfall story arc is huge, complicated and should have been more closely adapted... really this story could have been its own trilogy.


In 1992 I was 7, having a 3 dollar allowance meant choosing between candy, arcades and comic books.

Our aunt gave my brother The Death Of Superman issue on his birthday, I swear I read it many more times then him... and my collecting began, and while I only managed to collect maybe 50 books between 1992 and 98 I kept all of them.

I always remembered seeing the Knightfall issues on the stand but they were dark, lacking color... and I was interested in Superman on the page, even though Keaton was incredibly as Batman, I never felt the comics reflected "my Batman."

Fast forward to 2017, Dark Knight Rises has been out for 5 years, and my local used book store has the full run... I'm curious.

So I start with Knightfall Volume 1. I've got a review for that as well on here. In short I loved it. Clearly you could see where Nolan had drawn inspiration... but he does change it, incredibly I would still mostly describe it as reasonable faithful...

But he does strip out a lot of fun parts.

Bane's ethnicity, the luchador wrestler vibe, vemon which both makes Bane incredibly strong and fast, but also smarter, as well as Azrael and the idea that while Bruce is injured, a new vigilante rises to protect Gotham.

Prelude to Knightfall is mostly about Bruce being worn down by criminals that Bane manipulates or frees from Arkham, it also shows him being drugged to sleep as therapy during is physical and mental breakdown, and how Azrael steps in with Robins help.

If you only have time to read one book Knightfall Volume 1 is essentially the only book you need read.

If your like me and wanna know all, here are the books I've collected and will be reading through.

Batman Prelude to Knightfall
Batman Knightfall Vol 1
Batman Knightfall Vol 2
Batman KnightQuest The Crusade Vol 1
Batman KnightQuest The Crusade Vol 2
Batman KnightQuest The Search
Batman KnightSend
Batman Prodigal
Batman Troika

While I've only read Prelude and Knightfall Vol 1 I'm really excited by this series and recommend you get invested in what's a very 90s stylized series! Yes these stories are very of the period in writing and art, but I really love this series.

5 out of 5 story
4 out of 5 art, while many amazingly drawn issues, some have uneven art which is why I give it a 4.

Overall 4.5

[Javier Lárraga · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ufff pues si esto es nadamás el preludio no alcanzo a vislumbrar que será de la verdadera serie de Knightfall.

Batman: Preludio a Knigthfall es una serie de 11 cómics entrelazados que incluye tanto Detective Comics como historias de la serie semanal de Batman que narran con lujo de detalles todos los acontecimientos previos a la etapa de "La caída del murciélago" y nos ponen en contexto con una de las peores anécdotas denteo de la vida de Batman con el inicio de su declive como justiciero.

Nos encontramos con un Bruce Wayne cansado, que se ha cerrado al amor y cuyas amistades se preocupan cada vez más por su deterioro físico y mental. Por otro lado el alterego de Batman se ha vuelto ineficiente incluso contra criminales de poca monta y debido al agotamiento físico que ha sufrido en todos estos años de ser un vigilante encontramos a un Batman roto que regresa todas las noches golpeado y que cae exhausto después de cada batalla, donde prácticamente al final de cada historia sobrevive de milagro. Y por si esto no fuera poco tendremos la primera aparición de Bane; un hombre con una historia de origen desgarradora con el único propósito de demostrar que es un ser superior que ha salido adelante por sus propios medios y que lo único que necesita para probarlo y probarse a si mismo es matar a Batman. Bane no solo es pura fuerza bruta, tambien es una mente maestra y en esta precuela lo veremos maquinando ciertos planes para estudiar a Batman y probar su valía antes de la inminente batalla que se avecina entre estos 2 rivales, así que si, la historia me encantó y el guión (sobre todo la parte del origen de Bane) son excelentes.

Con la gran cantidad de artistas involucrados en estas historias y la tendencia colorida que existia en los 90 puedo decir que el arte es llamativo y tambien fue de mi agrado y hay varios diseños interesantes de Batman en estos cómics y una que otra portada donde aparece Azrael que la verdad me dieron ganas de convertirla en poster. Aunque eso si, Robin se ve extraño y hay villanos que se ven... raros... como Metalhead que ataca girando la cabeza porque tiene amarrada una bola con puas...lo se no todo podía ser tan bueno jaja.

No podría haber quedado más satisfecho con este preludio y muy pronto empezaré los demás cómics en lo que parece ser una de las mejores de etapas del caballero de la noche...

[Noah Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read. This was the first Batman book I ever got, and I can't imagine a better starting point for Batman fans to begin reading this series (though Alan Moore's graphic novel The Killing Joke would also be good, as that book tells the Joker's origin story), as it explains the origins of all three major villains (Bane, Black Mask, and the General) in the arc, and brings in more minor villains without explaining their origins but don't worry, it doesn't leave you confused. The art is great, although the issues featuring Black Mask didn't have quite as good art as the others.
The plot is wonderful, as it features Batman finding himself being confronted by villain after villain (some of these foes include a returning Black Mask, Killer Croc, and a brilliant mastermind called the General). Batman triumphs over all these foes, but these victories come at a cost. As the onslaught of criminals continues, Gotham's defender finds himself a victim of burn-out, and it continues to grow worse as Batman refuses to rest, eat, or even sleep, the Dark Knight focusing only on bringing these criminals to justice. Even when Batman (as his alter ego Bruce Wayne) does get medical help, he still can't rest, as he begins training the fledgling superhero Azrael to help combat the horde of criminals ravaging Gotham's streets (which is a good idea, but only if Azrael can get over his bloodlust).
But all these problems can't hold a candle to the ever-growing menace of Bane, a roided-out, nigh-unstoppable, poetic-waxing demagogue who is obsessed with breaking Batman both mentally and physically. Bane proves to be a serious menace to Batman, as kills several guys with his bare hands, mops the floor with Killer Croc, and pumps the Riddler full of the strength-enhancing drug Venom, allowing the normally weak villain to give Batman a run for his money.
All these elements add up to a perfect prelude to the Knightfall story arc, which has become one of the most well-known Batman storylines ever (you should read this before reading Knightfall, as Knightfall references several events from the prelude).