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Batman (2016) (Single Issues) #75-85
Batman: City of Bane - The Complete Collection
The complete collection of Batman: City of Bane from Eisner Award winner Tom King and Mikel Janín! Batman faces his most personal and epic showdowns!
The Caped Crusader had a sinking suspicion there was someone lurking in the shadows plotting against him. There has been an unseen hand orchestrating these events. And while the true villain has yet to reveal himself, his minions are starting to step forward and break the Bat down once and for all -- beginning with Thomas Wayne, the Batman from the Flashpoint universe!
Just when the bad guys thought they had it made with Bane in control, Batman is back in Gotham and ready to remind them what justice feels like...and how it hurts when it hits you in the face. But is the Dark Knight Detective ready to take on the foe who broke him worse than any other that came before? Tread lightly, Batman, because not only do the lives of your son and trusted friends hang in the balance, but your entire home could collapse. Batman and his allies have a choice: let Bane stay in power and guarantee the city's survival, or risk everything to break free!
Collects Batman issues #75-85.
The Caped Crusader had a sinking suspicion there was someone lurking in the shadows plotting against him. There has been an unseen hand orchestrating these events. And while the true villain has yet to reveal himself, his minions are starting to step forward and break the Bat down once and for all -- beginning with Thomas Wayne, the Batman from the Flashpoint universe!
Just when the bad guys thought they had it made with Bane in control, Batman is back in Gotham and ready to remind them what justice feels like...and how it hurts when it hits you in the face. But is the Dark Knight Detective ready to take on the foe who broke him worse than any other that came before? Tread lightly, Batman, because not only do the lives of your son and trusted friends hang in the balance, but your entire home could collapse. Batman and his allies have a choice: let Bane stay in power and guarantee the city's survival, or risk everything to break free!
Collects Batman issues #75-85.
344 pages, Paperback
Published December 15, 2020
75 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
November 9, 2025
It was a great ending. Great action and complete heart-wrenching moments. I am very glad to have finished the year with this book.
Bane has come out of the shadows and is officially the ruler of Gotham. The Flashpoint Batman (Thomas Wayne) is his lead enforcer. Criminals patrol the street as police officers. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne must rehabilitate both mentally and physically. With the woman who broke his heart. He gets ready for his return, but even when he thinks he has nothing more to lose, he does.
Tom King masterfully ties up every loose end and explains every intricate detail. Nothing in any of the books in his run was by accident. Everything had a purpose. Even a story I thought was unfinished in the Secret Files #1 is finished here. For a continuity fan like me, this was beyond awesome. The book finishes with a day-by-day account of March and April for Batman. Then some sketch panels and a gallery of variant covers for #75 to 85.
Bane has come out of the shadows and is officially the ruler of Gotham. The Flashpoint Batman (Thomas Wayne) is his lead enforcer. Criminals patrol the street as police officers. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne must rehabilitate both mentally and physically. With the woman who broke his heart. He gets ready for his return, but even when he thinks he has nothing more to lose, he does.
Tom King masterfully ties up every loose end and explains every intricate detail. Nothing in any of the books in his run was by accident. Everything had a purpose. Even a story I thought was unfinished in the Secret Files #1 is finished here. For a continuity fan like me, this was beyond awesome. The book finishes with a day-by-day account of March and April for Batman. Then some sketch panels and a gallery of variant covers for #75 to 85.
September 26, 2021
3.5 stars
"We met on a beach." -- Selina 'Catwoman' Kyle
"Yes. We met on a beach." -- Bruce 'Batman' Wayne
"We agree? Holy $#&%. Bane is in trouble now." -- Selina 'Catwoman' Kyle
Although it's not the best Dark Knight collection that I've ever read, City of Bane - a mammoth volume clocking in at nearly 350 pages - was pretty spry for featuring a weathered middle-aged crimefigthin' guy. (Apologies for mangling lyrics by The Offspring - I just saw them at a concert festival yesterday.) In fact, the Bruce and Selina scenes - where they're incognito at a tropical resort, and Bruce's disguise has him obviously resembling TV's Magnum, P.I. - were the highlight in this otherwise oddball and not terribly interesting storyline. But the best part was unrelated to the main plot, which was an excellent standalone single-chapter section titled 'Everyday' for the finale. It follows Batman over two months as he handles whatever comes his way in a day's work - fighting a fire-breathing dragon, solving an Agatha Christie-inspired murder, participating in an MMA fight for charity, finding a lost child, and even walking a dementia-affected senior citizen back to her care facility. It reads like a journal entry, and many of the events are condensed to just one panel - the succinct writing (skillfully alternating between humor and drama) and the illustrations were just perfection, showing the character at his best in dealing with a full variety of situations.
"We met on a beach." -- Selina 'Catwoman' Kyle
"Yes. We met on a beach." -- Bruce 'Batman' Wayne
"We agree? Holy $#&%. Bane is in trouble now." -- Selina 'Catwoman' Kyle
Although it's not the best Dark Knight collection that I've ever read, City of Bane - a mammoth volume clocking in at nearly 350 pages - was pretty spry for featuring a weathered middle-aged crimefigthin' guy. (Apologies for mangling lyrics by The Offspring - I just saw them at a concert festival yesterday.) In fact, the Bruce and Selina scenes - where they're incognito at a tropical resort, and Bruce's disguise has him obviously resembling TV's Magnum, P.I. - were the highlight in this otherwise oddball and not terribly interesting storyline. But the best part was unrelated to the main plot, which was an excellent standalone single-chapter section titled 'Everyday' for the finale. It follows Batman over two months as he handles whatever comes his way in a day's work - fighting a fire-breathing dragon, solving an Agatha Christie-inspired murder, participating in an MMA fight for charity, finding a lost child, and even walking a dementia-affected senior citizen back to her care facility. It reads like a journal entry, and many of the events are condensed to just one panel - the succinct writing (skillfully alternating between humor and drama) and the illustrations were just perfection, showing the character at his best in dealing with a full variety of situations.
December 11, 2020
3.5, rounded down.
First off, I think 'Complete Collection' is a bit of a misnomer, since there's a Secret Origins tie-in issue that apparently isn't included here, so that's put us on the wrong foot to start with.
City Of Bane is the culmination of Tom King's run on Batman before he spirals off into Batman/Catwoman, a semi-canonical actual conclusion. This volume sees Gotham under the control of Bane after Batman gets himself trashed and has to slink off to lick his wounds, aided and abetted by Catwoman and leaving the rest of the Bat Family behind to deal with things.
It's not a bad conclusion - it has a lot of action, and it pays off on a lot of the plot points that have been built up so far, like the Flashpoint Batman, and some of the stuff from Knightmares is revisited which is pretty cool. But there's a bit of a pacing problem across these 11 issues - there's no urgency to clear Bane out, and instead we spend a lot of time with the Bat Family spinning their wheels until someone makes a bad decision, and Batman and Catwoman have a few issues to themselves all alone. When things finally do start moving again it's great, but I definitely feel like some of the momentum is lost.
The art's lovely though, can't complain there. We have contributions from previous Tom King run artists such as Tony Daniel and Mikel Janin, as well as Jorge Fornes, while Clay Mann lays the groundwork for Batman/Catwoman by pencilling the interlude issues for them. John Romita Jr. also turns up for an issue midway through, but the less said about that, the better.
City Of Bane's okay. If it was a little tighter, it might have been more impactful. As it is, it's just a tad too bloated to be as effective as it could have been.
First off, I think 'Complete Collection' is a bit of a misnomer, since there's a Secret Origins tie-in issue that apparently isn't included here, so that's put us on the wrong foot to start with.
City Of Bane is the culmination of Tom King's run on Batman before he spirals off into Batman/Catwoman, a semi-canonical actual conclusion. This volume sees Gotham under the control of Bane after Batman gets himself trashed and has to slink off to lick his wounds, aided and abetted by Catwoman and leaving the rest of the Bat Family behind to deal with things.
It's not a bad conclusion - it has a lot of action, and it pays off on a lot of the plot points that have been built up so far, like the Flashpoint Batman, and some of the stuff from Knightmares is revisited which is pretty cool. But there's a bit of a pacing problem across these 11 issues - there's no urgency to clear Bane out, and instead we spend a lot of time with the Bat Family spinning their wheels until someone makes a bad decision, and Batman and Catwoman have a few issues to themselves all alone. When things finally do start moving again it's great, but I definitely feel like some of the momentum is lost.
The art's lovely though, can't complain there. We have contributions from previous Tom King run artists such as Tony Daniel and Mikel Janin, as well as Jorge Fornes, while Clay Mann lays the groundwork for Batman/Catwoman by pencilling the interlude issues for them. John Romita Jr. also turns up for an issue midway through, but the less said about that, the better.
City Of Bane's okay. If it was a little tighter, it might have been more impactful. As it is, it's just a tad too bloated to be as effective as it could have been.
January 10, 2021
Batman is a murder who works For Bane, Bruce Wayne died at feet of his father and his mother is the Joker.
What if...
Catwoman and other world Batman are in 😍 puppy dog style it's sticking and sloppy.
Alfred is tied to a chair, waiting to die and Robin is crazy. The scarecrow and the Madhatter work for the police. This crazy
What if...
Catwoman and other world Batman are in 😍 puppy dog style it's sticking and sloppy.
Alfred is tied to a chair, waiting to die and Robin is crazy. The scarecrow and the Madhatter work for the police. This crazy
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2022
60% | C+ | Good
" Gotham's peaceful now, that's all they care about. Not who's running it or how "
Let me start off by saying that there is a lot going on in this storyline all at once which can make it hard to follow when each event is happening in relation to one another. That being said, one of the best elements of this novel is the juxtaposition between the Bruce and Selina moments and the utter chaos that has unravelled in Gotham City. One moment you are reading about Batcat professing love for one another, the next you are transported to the streets of Gotham where the infamous villains wreck havoc on the citizens in the name of the 'law'.
The way Tom King uses back and forth narratives to tell a story works about 80% of the time in this book, however, the there are times where the story feels disjointed and all over the place. Perhaps this is due to the way it has been compiled, but I'm reading a story which should have a narrative which can be followed, not playing with a jigsaw puzzle where I have to find out where each random piece goes and how it fits together. Some sections feel out of place within the story and I found myself asking what is going on? on more than one occasion. Although this isn't a recurring problem, it is still jarring when the narrative you've been following suddenly has a moment where you no longer understand what is happening before returning to the familiar.
Whilst I enjoyed the read for the most part, I did end up feeling like I wasn't reading the story I had built up in my head which is partly due to the title of the collection which makes it seem like you'll be reading a Bane centric story. Bane is present, and there are some nice call-backs - accentuated by the wonderful art - to the 'Bane breaks the Bat's back' moment, but this is very much a Thomas Wayne centred story. It's a shame that there is such a focus on Flashpoint Batman as I would have loved to have seen more about Bane actually running Gotham. Batman and Bane barely share any pages together which makes the title and cover art that much more confusing.
" Gotham's peaceful now, that's all they care about. Not who's running it or how "
Bruce Wayne is beaten, and the city of Gotham has fallen into the hands of Bane and the new ( Flashpoint ) Batman. With the help of Selina Kyle, Bruce must regain his strength and take his city back before there are irreversible consequences on both a city wide and personal level
Let me start off by saying that there is a lot going on in this storyline all at once which can make it hard to follow when each event is happening in relation to one another. That being said, one of the best elements of this novel is the juxtaposition between the Bruce and Selina moments and the utter chaos that has unravelled in Gotham City. One moment you are reading about Batcat professing love for one another, the next you are transported to the streets of Gotham where the infamous villains wreck havoc on the citizens in the name of the 'law'.
The way Tom King uses back and forth narratives to tell a story works about 80% of the time in this book, however, the there are times where the story feels disjointed and all over the place. Perhaps this is due to the way it has been compiled, but I'm reading a story which should have a narrative which can be followed, not playing with a jigsaw puzzle where I have to find out where each random piece goes and how it fits together. Some sections feel out of place within the story and I found myself asking what is going on? on more than one occasion. Although this isn't a recurring problem, it is still jarring when the narrative you've been following suddenly has a moment where you no longer understand what is happening before returning to the familiar.
Whilst I enjoyed the read for the most part, I did end up feeling like I wasn't reading the story I had built up in my head which is partly due to the title of the collection which makes it seem like you'll be reading a Bane centric story. Bane is present, and there are some nice call-backs - accentuated by the wonderful art - to the 'Bane breaks the Bat's back' moment, but this is very much a Thomas Wayne centred story. It's a shame that there is such a focus on Flashpoint Batman as I would have loved to have seen more about Bane actually running Gotham. Batman and Bane barely share any pages together which makes the title and cover art that much more confusing.
December 19, 2024
I don’t care for Tom King- never really loved his work. Although, I will admit he has some great moments. John Romita Jr is a love him or hate him artist- very cartoonish and being a nepo baby but I’ve always enjoyed his style, like a blockier or chunky Gendy Tartovsky.
This is a cool story, Bane wins, Thomas Wayne (from a multiverse) becomes the brutal new Batman, The GCPD is replaced by Arkham inmates and Batman is banned from returning to Gotham.
The constant fight Batman puts up to just be BATMAN every moment of every day, in the face of uncertainty and fear, is inspiring. I will always love Batman just having the superpower of dedication.
I still don’t enjoy the Cat/Bat relationship, I think this story was an interesting culmination between these two but I just don’t care for Batman and Catwoman to be so close to each other, although while even thinking about this I guess it does make sense. Overall, probably one of my favorite King stories I’ve read.
This is a cool story, Bane wins, Thomas Wayne (from a multiverse) becomes the brutal new Batman, The GCPD is replaced by Arkham inmates and Batman is banned from returning to Gotham.
The constant fight Batman puts up to just be BATMAN every moment of every day, in the face of uncertainty and fear, is inspiring. I will always love Batman just having the superpower of dedication.
I still don’t enjoy the Cat/Bat relationship, I think this story was an interesting culmination between these two but I just don’t care for Batman and Catwoman to be so close to each other, although while even thinking about this I guess it does make sense. Overall, probably one of my favorite King stories I’ve read.
September 3, 2023
2.5 stars
Maybe Alfred murder would hit harder if we didn't have to spend the next two issues with Batcat on the beach, and this is more about Thomas Wayne than Bane.
Maybe Alfred murder would hit harder if we didn't have to spend the next two issues with Batcat on the beach, and this is more about Thomas Wayne than Bane.
February 3, 2025
3.5
I dunno guys.
There was a lot of build-up to this (ending), and it kinda let me down.
Let's start off with "City of Bane"... Bane is only the puppet baddie here. (Alternate reality Batman/crazy person) Thomas Wayne is really the big baddie and I just didn't care for it the whole way through (starting with Batman, Volume 11: The Fall and the Fallen). His (Thomas's) motivation was cray cray (needing to destroy/break Bruce so Bruce could leave the Batman cowl behind & live a "nice normal life"... but first we need to torture him and kill everyone he loves to do it!), and wasn't strong enough to carry three whole volumes of cray (IMO).
(I get that Thomas is a crazy Elseworld's/other multiverse Batman, but at a very basic level, the torture of his own son, who he put on the cowl for in the first place for, was something I just didn't get.)
Ok, so if we remove Thomas from this book, I did enjoy the other aspects of the story.
Obviously, Cat & Bat is MY FAVORITE part. Besides for shipping them hard, I am a hopeless romantic, and seeing them come back together in this double volume was *swoon*.
The confusion and doubling back on explanations (of why Batman hit Tim like two/three volumes ago) was very Tom King ala Mister Miracle. A little loopy, but enjoyable, and then super cool on the reveals. I'm starting to see this might be King's writing style, which I LOVED for Mister Miracle, but sadly, did not enjoy for Batman at the end of this series.
(I did like it a lot in the earlier volumes, like Batman, Volume 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles, but did not enjoy it here. Could be the content more than the style here, but something felt super off. Maybe because it was all condensed here? I dunno.)
The reveal of Damian's infiltration being a part of Bruce's plans was well done. At first, I thought he was being rogue Damian (especially with the staged/public confrontation with Tim), but with his genuine shock at seeing Alfred, I knew something was wrong.
A few notes on some side characters.
*I did love how the baddies took over the GCPD. That was super cool to see Riddler, Joker, Croc, etc. in the beginning.
*I didn't get why Gotham Girl was helping Thomas at all. Wasn't Bruce helping her the last time we saw her?? What was her motivation here? Obviously, she was working with the baddies. Unless she was also supposed to be cray cray here (from Psyco Pirate? But that was like 11 volumes ago, damn if I'm supposed to read with that memory.) Tom King should have explained her role a bit more.
*I wish Bane had been the read baddie here. I know I already wrote that above, but we almost got a Brue breaking Bane's back here and it was almost glorious!
*I loved seeing Chuck Brown at the end. Especially
*Clayface. I LOVED his character arc in Detective Comics & seeing him here again (for an important second) was awesome. <3
*Tim.
The art is gorgeous. The story is meh.
Including Annual #4 Everyday (also, written by Tom King) at the end of this volume did a lot to (try &) heal my broken heart.
It's a "diary" issue from Alfred showing the relentless (never-ending/ceaseless!) crusade of Batman day after day. The loving and admiring tone in which it was written (from Alfred's POV) was very meaningful & *heartsqueezy*.
"I offered him tea. Which he politely accepted. Before asking, "What's next?"
I dunno guys.
There was a lot of build-up to this (ending), and it kinda let me down.
Let's start off with "City of Bane"... Bane is only the puppet baddie here. (Alternate reality Batman/crazy person) Thomas Wayne is really the big baddie and I just didn't care for it the whole way through (starting with Batman, Volume 11: The Fall and the Fallen). His (Thomas's) motivation was cray cray (needing to destroy/break Bruce so Bruce could leave the Batman cowl behind & live a "nice normal life"... but first we need to torture him and kill everyone he loves to do it!), and wasn't strong enough to carry three whole volumes of cray (IMO).
(I get that Thomas is a crazy Elseworld's/other multiverse Batman, but at a very basic level, the torture of his own son, who he put on the cowl for in the first place for, was something I just didn't get.)
Ok, so if we remove Thomas from this book, I did enjoy the other aspects of the story.
Obviously, Cat & Bat is MY FAVORITE part. Besides for shipping them hard, I am a hopeless romantic, and seeing them come back together in this double volume was *swoon*.
The confusion and doubling back on explanations (of why Batman hit Tim like two/three volumes ago) was very Tom King ala Mister Miracle. A little loopy, but enjoyable, and then super cool on the reveals. I'm starting to see this might be King's writing style, which I LOVED for Mister Miracle, but sadly, did not enjoy for Batman at the end of this series.
(I did like it a lot in the earlier volumes, like Batman, Volume 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles, but did not enjoy it here. Could be the content more than the style here, but something felt super off. Maybe because it was all condensed here? I dunno.)
The reveal of Damian's infiltration being a part of Bruce's plans was well done. At first, I thought he was being rogue Damian (especially with the staged/public confrontation with Tim), but with his genuine shock at seeing Alfred, I knew something was wrong.
A few notes on some side characters.
*I did love how the baddies took over the GCPD. That was super cool to see Riddler, Joker, Croc, etc. in the beginning.
*I didn't get why Gotham Girl was helping Thomas at all. Wasn't Bruce helping her the last time we saw her?? What was her motivation here? Obviously, she was working with the baddies. Unless she was also supposed to be cray cray here (from Psyco Pirate? But that was like 11 volumes ago, damn if I'm supposed to read with that memory.) Tom King should have explained her role a bit more.
*I wish Bane had been the read baddie here. I know I already wrote that above, but we almost got a Brue breaking Bane's back here and it was almost glorious!
*I loved seeing Chuck Brown at the end. Especially
*Clayface. I LOVED his character arc in Detective Comics & seeing him here again (for an important second) was awesome. <3
*Tim.
The art is gorgeous. The story is meh.
Including Annual #4 Everyday (also, written by Tom King) at the end of this volume did a lot to (try &) heal my broken heart.
It's a "diary" issue from Alfred showing the relentless (never-ending/ceaseless!) crusade of Batman day after day. The loving and admiring tone in which it was written (from Alfred's POV) was very meaningful & *heartsqueezy*.
"I offered him tea. Which he politely accepted. Before asking, "What's next?"
March 24, 2021
Tom King’s Batman run is over, what a ride
City of Bane: This story is about 11 parts long or something but I think it should be a lil longer but it’s a really good final arc from King. Very emotional and action heavy story with all the big fan pleasing moments being cool as hell. This story really is a big payoff to everything King has setup and even though I wasn’t always a big fan of his Batman run in the end it was worth it 5/5
Batman Annual #4: A nice lil one off story to end King’s run. Batman fights a dragon and is in a UFC fight within a few pages! Wonderful art as to be expected and it made me sad that King’s run is over 5/5
Overall King’s run on Batman is peaks and valleys. Some of the best Batman stuff with maybe some of the worst as well. King’s run works better in trade in my opinion and I totally understand why people picking up the single issues dropped off but I think reading it as a whole it was worth it
City of Bane: This story is about 11 parts long or something but I think it should be a lil longer but it’s a really good final arc from King. Very emotional and action heavy story with all the big fan pleasing moments being cool as hell. This story really is a big payoff to everything King has setup and even though I wasn’t always a big fan of his Batman run in the end it was worth it 5/5
Batman Annual #4: A nice lil one off story to end King’s run. Batman fights a dragon and is in a UFC fight within a few pages! Wonderful art as to be expected and it made me sad that King’s run is over 5/5
Overall King’s run on Batman is peaks and valleys. Some of the best Batman stuff with maybe some of the worst as well. King’s run works better in trade in my opinion and I totally understand why people picking up the single issues dropped off but I think reading it as a whole it was worth it
March 14, 2021
I am a Tom King fan and I too waited to read the entirety of the City of Bane arc in this collection.
It is a jumbled, disjointed, meandering mess. I feel like Tom was trying to do his best Grant Morrison impression with an existential, bizarre, nonsensical, meta-verse-multiversity based story and, as it usually does for Grant, it fails miserably.
This is not the same writer that wrote "Sheriff of Baghdad", I'm not sure who this is. And, let's be honest, it's been coming for a while now. Knightmares, The Fall and Fallen, they've all been the same fever-dream, hazy, toxin-induced dreamscapes that just aren't moving the character, the narrative, the mythos or anything else forward.
It's as though ever since Tom was told he wasn't going to realize his full run he went full Grant-Morrison, as everything since the Cat/Bat wedding has been, in a word, pointless.
It is a jumbled, disjointed, meandering mess. I feel like Tom was trying to do his best Grant Morrison impression with an existential, bizarre, nonsensical, meta-verse-multiversity based story and, as it usually does for Grant, it fails miserably.
This is not the same writer that wrote "Sheriff of Baghdad", I'm not sure who this is. And, let's be honest, it's been coming for a while now. Knightmares, The Fall and Fallen, they've all been the same fever-dream, hazy, toxin-induced dreamscapes that just aren't moving the character, the narrative, the mythos or anything else forward.
It's as though ever since Tom was told he wasn't going to realize his full run he went full Grant-Morrison, as everything since the Cat/Bat wedding has been, in a word, pointless.
July 19, 2021
I think it's extremely clear throughout this volume that King's run was prematurely cut short. I know I'll get the last leg of it eventually when Batman & Catwoman hits trade, but for all intents and purposes it ends here, as King tugs tight all the strings he's been weaving throughout the 85 issues of his run. There's good and bad here. Foremost at the front of my mind is the breathtaking way he pays off everything he's been setting up throughout the run. There are things in here that I hadn't even considered as being "part" of this "master plan" that King reveals (or maybe retcons; but I'm inclined to believe the former) as feeding into this larger narrative.
Some of these work. Bane, in particular, is a character who is famous for one thing (breaking Batman's back), but the piece that is regularly forgotten is that the back-breaking is the end result of a gauntlet that Bane forces Batman through. After going through his entire rogues gallery Batman is exhausted, fatigued, and battered, not at 100%. This was the plan, and given that Batman is in a vulnerable state, Bane completely breaks him. So many people focus on the venom and the beefcake and the physical prowess, but the key thing in that arc is that Bane does manage to outthink Batman. It's the wits he uses that puts him in the position to win, not just the muscles.
It is clear that King is familiar with this, and so his Batman run goes counter to what the usual Batman run does. The Joker is a side character AT BEST and in no way some "secret/ultimate Big Bad" like in something like No Man's Land. Two Face is only in this at the periphery, and yes there's a bunch of arcs that focus on other characters (Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, etc), but this is really a massive game of chess between Batman and Bane as Tom King sees the parallels between the two characters and exploits them to tell this really great story.
Where it... doesn't work so much (for me) is with the full implementation of Thomas Wayne. I think telling the story the way he did, with Flashpoint Batman taking over as Batman for Bane's Gotham was innovating and interesting, and there's something SUPER interesting about seeing Thomas Wayne try to do right by his "son" (and the punchline is hilarious), but it felt like one thing too many. I think it also hurts that it comes so deep into the run and is such a critical aspect of the book (the emotional core of the finale) and it's such a wildly out there idea... but I don't know if it entirely worked for me.
What did work, is the emotional gutpunch of the final cost of what's happened. I knew about it going in, but it was gutwrenching to watch it actually happen. I won't spoil it here, but props to Tom King for going there with a sacred cow and doing something I don't think has been done before (or if it has been done, I'm not aware of it). A friend told me that issue is just horrible to read, but man. What an issue.
In the end, I think it's a shame that this book ends the way it does, because the rest of the series is just so so good, and even the weird things about the ending didn't ruin this run in any way. This is still one of if not the best Batman runs I've ever had the pleasure of reading. It's a fantastic long-term Batman story with basically no low points. The risks of this were huge and Tom King had all the odds against him in this. I'm sure there are things he would do differently and there's a lot of learning he probably did throughout. But I think that just informs him for the next time he does something this big and audacious, and none of that changes the fact that Tom King is probably my favorite comics writer out there right now. This was truly spectacular and I am so glad I read it. It was absolutely worth it and worth the wait.
4.5 Stars (rounded down)
Some of these work. Bane, in particular, is a character who is famous for one thing (breaking Batman's back), but the piece that is regularly forgotten is that the back-breaking is the end result of a gauntlet that Bane forces Batman through. After going through his entire rogues gallery Batman is exhausted, fatigued, and battered, not at 100%. This was the plan, and given that Batman is in a vulnerable state, Bane completely breaks him. So many people focus on the venom and the beefcake and the physical prowess, but the key thing in that arc is that Bane does manage to outthink Batman. It's the wits he uses that puts him in the position to win, not just the muscles.
It is clear that King is familiar with this, and so his Batman run goes counter to what the usual Batman run does. The Joker is a side character AT BEST and in no way some "secret/ultimate Big Bad" like in something like No Man's Land. Two Face is only in this at the periphery, and yes there's a bunch of arcs that focus on other characters (Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, etc), but this is really a massive game of chess between Batman and Bane as Tom King sees the parallels between the two characters and exploits them to tell this really great story.
Where it... doesn't work so much (for me) is with the full implementation of Thomas Wayne. I think telling the story the way he did, with Flashpoint Batman taking over as Batman for Bane's Gotham was innovating and interesting, and there's something SUPER interesting about seeing Thomas Wayne try to do right by his "son" (and the punchline is hilarious), but it felt like one thing too many. I think it also hurts that it comes so deep into the run and is such a critical aspect of the book (the emotional core of the finale) and it's such a wildly out there idea... but I don't know if it entirely worked for me.
What did work, is the emotional gutpunch of the final cost of what's happened. I knew about it going in, but it was gutwrenching to watch it actually happen. I won't spoil it here, but props to Tom King for going there with a sacred cow and doing something I don't think has been done before (or if it has been done, I'm not aware of it). A friend told me that issue is just horrible to read, but man. What an issue.
In the end, I think it's a shame that this book ends the way it does, because the rest of the series is just so so good, and even the weird things about the ending didn't ruin this run in any way. This is still one of if not the best Batman runs I've ever had the pleasure of reading. It's a fantastic long-term Batman story with basically no low points. The risks of this were huge and Tom King had all the odds against him in this. I'm sure there are things he would do differently and there's a lot of learning he probably did throughout. But I think that just informs him for the next time he does something this big and audacious, and none of that changes the fact that Tom King is probably my favorite comics writer out there right now. This was truly spectacular and I am so glad I read it. It was absolutely worth it and worth the wait.
4.5 Stars (rounded down)
March 2, 2024
Ok? And?
January 5, 2023
This book is the culmination of everything Tom King has been building since the very beginning of his run. The end of this saga, ended up being everything I expected. The same narrative and same characterizations continue into this volume and come to a close. If you like the way Tom King writes the characters of the volumes before this, you will probably like this one and if you dislike it, then you probably won’t be a fan.
In this individual volume, I thought King did a good job wrapping everything up, even if I wasn’t a fan of everything he did in this volume. Everything seemed to come to a stopping point and finish what he had started. It is such a weird criticism for me to say I felt this book dragged its feet but also felt rushed. It would feel very slow at times and felt like it was rushing at others. The final confrontation in this book that the story has been building ever since issue 1, lasted about a page or two. It felt so rushed and because of this I think the payoff wasn’t what they were hoping for in the end. To me there would be some issues where the pacing was good the action was well done and it felt really solid and then we would have whole issues that just felt unnecessary and just slowed the pace down so much in the middle of our climax “City of Bane” story arc. Much like my criticisms from the other volumes before this one, personally, I didn’t like how King characterized Batman and some of the supporting cast. I thought the writing for Bruce Wayne didn’t feel like I was reading a Batman story. The standout issues in book was Batman #75, Batman #80, and Batman Annual #4. Batman #75 was a good introduction from where the last story left off and sets the atmosphere up. Batman #80 was good mostly because of the Frank Romita Jr artwork. I really like his style so this was a major draw to this issue, and also this issue has more action and plot implications. Batman Annual #4 was great, much like all the other annuals included in the other volumes I loved the switch of pace and standalone story. The art for this issue was also great and I really liked the idea behind this story.
The overall series, it was a very unique take on the character and had lots of ups and downs. I felt myself more times than not wondering why some of these decisions were made or why we are beating the same plot point so hard. It seemed like what went on for 3 or 4 consecutive volumes had the exact same themes hammered home over and over. I think this characterization of Batman or should I say Bruce Wayne was something that hasn’t been done before, but I personally don’t know if it was necessary to begin with in the beginning. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this run on Batman, but I think a lot of people may like it just for how unique it is or because it does touch on the human side of the character. I do think this run had its moments, the earlier volumes I thought were pretty good, some better than others. The end, I didn’t like, I thought it didn’t make any sense as to the motives of the antagonist to do the things he did. Nothing struck me as exceptional but nothing as terrible. I thought the art work through the whole series was really well done, much of it done by Mikel Janin, that was one of the biggest things that drew me into this series in the first place. Overall for me, taking everything into consideration, I thought the story was rather average as a whole run.
Overall: 5.2/10
Overall Run: 5.0/10
In this individual volume, I thought King did a good job wrapping everything up, even if I wasn’t a fan of everything he did in this volume. Everything seemed to come to a stopping point and finish what he had started. It is such a weird criticism for me to say I felt this book dragged its feet but also felt rushed. It would feel very slow at times and felt like it was rushing at others. The final confrontation in this book that the story has been building ever since issue 1, lasted about a page or two. It felt so rushed and because of this I think the payoff wasn’t what they were hoping for in the end. To me there would be some issues where the pacing was good the action was well done and it felt really solid and then we would have whole issues that just felt unnecessary and just slowed the pace down so much in the middle of our climax “City of Bane” story arc. Much like my criticisms from the other volumes before this one, personally, I didn’t like how King characterized Batman and some of the supporting cast. I thought the writing for Bruce Wayne didn’t feel like I was reading a Batman story. The standout issues in book was Batman #75, Batman #80, and Batman Annual #4. Batman #75 was a good introduction from where the last story left off and sets the atmosphere up. Batman #80 was good mostly because of the Frank Romita Jr artwork. I really like his style so this was a major draw to this issue, and also this issue has more action and plot implications. Batman Annual #4 was great, much like all the other annuals included in the other volumes I loved the switch of pace and standalone story. The art for this issue was also great and I really liked the idea behind this story.
The overall series, it was a very unique take on the character and had lots of ups and downs. I felt myself more times than not wondering why some of these decisions were made or why we are beating the same plot point so hard. It seemed like what went on for 3 or 4 consecutive volumes had the exact same themes hammered home over and over. I think this characterization of Batman or should I say Bruce Wayne was something that hasn’t been done before, but I personally don’t know if it was necessary to begin with in the beginning. I wasn’t the biggest fan of this run on Batman, but I think a lot of people may like it just for how unique it is or because it does touch on the human side of the character. I do think this run had its moments, the earlier volumes I thought were pretty good, some better than others. The end, I didn’t like, I thought it didn’t make any sense as to the motives of the antagonist to do the things he did. Nothing struck me as exceptional but nothing as terrible. I thought the art work through the whole series was really well done, much of it done by Mikel Janin, that was one of the biggest things that drew me into this series in the first place. Overall for me, taking everything into consideration, I thought the story was rather average as a whole run.
Overall: 5.2/10
Overall Run: 5.0/10
June 19, 2023
The finale to Tom King's incredible Batman run, and boy howdy does he stick the landing.
There is an almost effortless grace in the way King ties threads together, concluding themes that you didn't even realise needed concluding. All the while he is complimented by some of the best artists in the biz!
Mikel Janin has fast become one of my favourite Batman artists, and colours from Jordie Bellaire and Tomeu Morey elevate everything to the next level.
But it's Tom King's story-planning, love of literature, and reverence to all of Batman's history that make this a very special collection.
DC have yet to release City of Bane vol 1 and 2 as paperbacks, instead opting to release the entire collection. I assume this is because, much like why they are constantly changing the spines of their trades mid-run, they hate collectors - but alas!
If you have been reading Tom's run you would know that Vol.3 published back in 2017 was "I am Bane" and in this it was revealed that Bane was responsible for much that happened in the past two volumes also.
Now with what would be Vols 12 and 13, Bane is back, and everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) that's happened in between, is directly tied in to this. It would be easy to assume, reading that statement, that the writer has just decided to tie it all in retroactively, and for comics that's not uncommon. But such is King's craft that you can't help but see that this was the plan all along. And everything slots in to place beautifully.
My one complaint would be that there is essentially two big showdowns to bring this tale to a close, and none of the end particularly satisfyingly. Well, that might not be fair. The outcomes are what you want and largely expect. It's more that you never really see the finishing blow.
But then, I guess that's the point of this run. It has always been about Batman's growth. The character development. And punching out another villain is a foregone conclusion. The real story is about how Batman got to that point, and who is standing there with him when he does.
So yeah, this rules, and Tom King remains the most consistent writer in mainstream comics at the moment.
Snyder and Capullo get all the credit for the modern Batman run, thanks the Court of Owls and the New 52, but their run definitely ran out of steam towards the end. This run is five or six years of unwavering quality.
There is an almost effortless grace in the way King ties threads together, concluding themes that you didn't even realise needed concluding. All the while he is complimented by some of the best artists in the biz!
Mikel Janin has fast become one of my favourite Batman artists, and colours from Jordie Bellaire and Tomeu Morey elevate everything to the next level.
But it's Tom King's story-planning, love of literature, and reverence to all of Batman's history that make this a very special collection.
DC have yet to release City of Bane vol 1 and 2 as paperbacks, instead opting to release the entire collection. I assume this is because, much like why they are constantly changing the spines of their trades mid-run, they hate collectors - but alas!
If you have been reading Tom's run you would know that Vol.3 published back in 2017 was "I am Bane" and in this it was revealed that Bane was responsible for much that happened in the past two volumes also.
Now with what would be Vols 12 and 13, Bane is back, and everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) that's happened in between, is directly tied in to this. It would be easy to assume, reading that statement, that the writer has just decided to tie it all in retroactively, and for comics that's not uncommon. But such is King's craft that you can't help but see that this was the plan all along. And everything slots in to place beautifully.
My one complaint would be that there is essentially two big showdowns to bring this tale to a close, and none of the end particularly satisfyingly. Well, that might not be fair. The outcomes are what you want and largely expect. It's more that you never really see the finishing blow.
But then, I guess that's the point of this run. It has always been about Batman's growth. The character development. And punching out another villain is a foregone conclusion. The real story is about how Batman got to that point, and who is standing there with him when he does.
So yeah, this rules, and Tom King remains the most consistent writer in mainstream comics at the moment.
Snyder and Capullo get all the credit for the modern Batman run, thanks the Court of Owls and the New 52, but their run definitely ran out of steam towards the end. This run is five or six years of unwavering quality.
January 24, 2021
Well, it's been a long time coming to get to this ending. Not only were there many issues before this on King's run, but just to get to the point where I physically had a copy of this took awhile. It was worth it though.
The issues in this collection basically wrap up King's tenure on Batman. What I liked the most was the attention to 1) Bruce and Selina's relationship - there were pages of discussion (in their own way) about who they are and what they needed from each other. While some of the dialogue makes you think (who speaks that way?) it feels genuine and justified. 2)Bruce and Alfred's relationship - there are multiple pages of wordless Bruce showing his love for Alfred, as well as Alfred detailing his love for Bruce through a letter. Heartfelt and true.
Not sure how I feel about the double-ending. The first lived up to the expectations. The second I didn't even foresee, because I had gotten lost in the long run up to this point, but it made sense and provides closure in more ways than one.
On top of that, the art team is stellar. While JR JR's art was fine, his style was jarringly different from the others. For my tastes, Mann's art is the best, but Janin's Catwoman is stunningly beautiful.
The end of the collection has an issue that looks at Batman's long career as a crime fighter, highlighting the variety of crimes and criminals he's stopped. It's done in at interesting way and I really enjoyed that.
I'd be curious to reread King's run, parsing out the issues and stories that didn't pertain to the main story. Reading it month to month, sometimes it felt like it meandered too far. Some of King's writing is fantastic, but at the same time, some of it is too...elusive. Either too unconnected, or connected in a way that is so subtle, it isn't worth trying to figure out.
The issues in this collection basically wrap up King's tenure on Batman. What I liked the most was the attention to 1) Bruce and Selina's relationship - there were pages of discussion (in their own way) about who they are and what they needed from each other. While some of the dialogue makes you think (who speaks that way?) it feels genuine and justified. 2)Bruce and Alfred's relationship - there are multiple pages of wordless Bruce showing his love for Alfred, as well as Alfred detailing his love for Bruce through a letter. Heartfelt and true.
Not sure how I feel about the double-ending. The first lived up to the expectations. The second I didn't even foresee, because I had gotten lost in the long run up to this point, but it made sense and provides closure in more ways than one.
On top of that, the art team is stellar. While JR JR's art was fine, his style was jarringly different from the others. For my tastes, Mann's art is the best, but Janin's Catwoman is stunningly beautiful.
The end of the collection has an issue that looks at Batman's long career as a crime fighter, highlighting the variety of crimes and criminals he's stopped. It's done in at interesting way and I really enjoyed that.
I'd be curious to reread King's run, parsing out the issues and stories that didn't pertain to the main story. Reading it month to month, sometimes it felt like it meandered too far. Some of King's writing is fantastic, but at the same time, some of it is too...elusive. Either too unconnected, or connected in a way that is so subtle, it isn't worth trying to figure out.
July 17, 2025
More like "City of Wayne."
I tore through this volume in rapid time, finding its short, easy-to-read issues incredibly digestible. I particularly enjoyed how Bruce was written, and his evolving relationship with Selina was a compelling highlight throughout.
However, the story itself did feel a bit fragmented at times. It jumped around a lot, and issues would occasionally start abruptly in the middle of an event with no real build-up. Take the "no masks" scene, for instance; the issue literally began with Bruce and Bane about to throw down without any explanation of how we got there.
For a character whose name is in the title, Bane was also surprisingly underwhelming. He had barely any screen time and didn't fully capitalize on what he had. It would've been more impactful to explicitly show his iron fist through direct action, rather than just relying on other characters' exposition about his reign.
That said, Bane was responsible for the single most shocking scene in the collection, involving Alfred. The subsequent issue, narrated by Alfred, was an emotional rollercoaster that truly made me appreciate Bruce’s character even more profoundly.
My interest did wane somewhat (no pun intended) with the Thomas Wayne arc, and the finale to this sprawling story ultimately felt a bit messy. I found myself wishing for more direct focus on Bane, as the title initially implied.
Despite these narrative stumbles and the underwhelming presence of its titular villain, City of Bane delivers on compelling character writing for Bruce and Selina, an unforgettable emotional peak with Alfred, and a pace that makes it hard to put down. Its strengths ultimately make it a worthwhile, if imperfect, read.
I tore through this volume in rapid time, finding its short, easy-to-read issues incredibly digestible. I particularly enjoyed how Bruce was written, and his evolving relationship with Selina was a compelling highlight throughout.
However, the story itself did feel a bit fragmented at times. It jumped around a lot, and issues would occasionally start abruptly in the middle of an event with no real build-up. Take the "no masks" scene, for instance; the issue literally began with Bruce and Bane about to throw down without any explanation of how we got there.
For a character whose name is in the title, Bane was also surprisingly underwhelming. He had barely any screen time and didn't fully capitalize on what he had. It would've been more impactful to explicitly show his iron fist through direct action, rather than just relying on other characters' exposition about his reign.
That said, Bane was responsible for the single most shocking scene in the collection, involving Alfred. The subsequent issue, narrated by Alfred, was an emotional rollercoaster that truly made me appreciate Bruce’s character even more profoundly.
My interest did wane somewhat (no pun intended) with the Thomas Wayne arc, and the finale to this sprawling story ultimately felt a bit messy. I found myself wishing for more direct focus on Bane, as the title initially implied.
Despite these narrative stumbles and the underwhelming presence of its titular villain, City of Bane delivers on compelling character writing for Bruce and Selina, an unforgettable emotional peak with Alfred, and a pace that makes it hard to put down. Its strengths ultimately make it a worthwhile, if imperfect, read.
August 19, 2022
I love and hate parts of this final arc by Tom King. Once I finally grasped what all had transpired to set up a Gotham under Bane's control, complete with mind controlled villains acting as police, and a imposter Batman and Robin, but the long drawn out rebuild of Bat and Cat on vacation stakeout was needlessly long, so much so I started to skim it, it was a lot of good looking art with needless text.
The actual finale didn't land with me either. I liked seeing the bat family taking on Thomas was great until he somehow overpowered all of them for the plot. I also didn't care for Bane basically becoming usurped by Thomas by the end, even if we finally got answers to how and why Thomas was present. Both Alfred's death and the eventual ending both didn't sit right with me, even if it tries to give Batman somewhat of a "happy ending". It's clear it had to tweeked when it spun out into the maxi series.
King's run as a whole didn't work for me, like many others. I wish it felt less bloated and more concise, and I get it became more self indulgent. I liked parts of the run, but overall it didn't work for me. Hopefully Tyion is more my speed.
The actual finale didn't land with me either. I liked seeing the bat family taking on Thomas was great until he somehow overpowered all of them for the plot. I also didn't care for Bane basically becoming usurped by Thomas by the end, even if we finally got answers to how and why Thomas was present. Both Alfred's death and the eventual ending both didn't sit right with me, even if it tries to give Batman somewhat of a "happy ending". It's clear it had to tweeked when it spun out into the maxi series.
King's run as a whole didn't work for me, like many others. I wish it felt less bloated and more concise, and I get it became more self indulgent. I liked parts of the run, but overall it didn't work for me. Hopefully Tyion is more my speed.
January 14, 2023
I liked this, but there was so much going on I feel like I may have missed things. There's really too much plot to get into here, but I will say I didn't like the way Alfred died, or really the fact he died at all. I also thought the ending was a little confusing, as far as Thomas Wayne was concerned. Did Bane break his back after all was said and done? Not sure.
Another thing that was irksome was the title itself. Even though it's called City of Bane, it's really City of Thomas Wayne. Bane is mostly a bit player in the story even though he's presented as the central character and was featured on most covers.
Overall this was well done. We had a huge epic storyline that really put a new spin on Batman. We had Batman/Catwoman romance. The art was great, especially some sexy art art from Clay Mann. Me-ow. We had several cool fights. I still just felt like I was a step off throughout the series, but maybe it was just me.
Another thing that was irksome was the title itself. Even though it's called City of Bane, it's really City of Thomas Wayne. Bane is mostly a bit player in the story even though he's presented as the central character and was featured on most covers.
Overall this was well done. We had a huge epic storyline that really put a new spin on Batman. We had Batman/Catwoman romance. The art was great, especially some sexy art art from Clay Mann. Me-ow. We had several cool fights. I still just felt like I was a step off throughout the series, but maybe it was just me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 23, 2023The final volume of #batman by #tomking #cityofbane . On the whole I have really enjoyed Tom King’s Batman run. Obviously some high and low points but generally much better than Scott snyder’s run (which started strong and deteriorated as it went on) and Batman eternal. King’s development of Batman and catwoman relationship was excellent. There were a few things I didn’t like as much plot wise, but I expressed those in previous reviews. In this particular volume I thought Some of the jumping back and forward in time seemed unnecessary. One constant throughout the run has been the tremendous choice of artists and colourists.
September 30, 2023
Bane fans beware. This has very little to do with Bane but more so about Batman and Catwomans relationship…which is my least favorite storyline for Bats. I didn’t really know what this was when I bought it but I thought I could read it stand alone but there is too much you’re thrown into right from the jump. You’d really need to read the entire Batman series to capture all this story.
January 22, 2021
I don't know enough Batman to know where King's run stacks up, but it's definitely the Tom King-est, which is always a good thing. This final set (before a separate wrap-up series hits the Black Label) ties up a lot of threads. Without checking, it feels like there's fruit from seeds that were planted 50+ issues ago. Formally, it's pleasing and even surprising.
King's run has plenty of action, but it's largely about character development, and King does impressive work here, primarily with Batman and Catwoman, but with one villain in particular, who seems self-contradictory until the pieces come together.
All that said, it would make for a terrible jumping-on point. If you're interested in King's run, you'll likely want to start at the beginning.
King's run has plenty of action, but it's largely about character development, and King does impressive work here, primarily with Batman and Catwoman, but with one villain in particular, who seems self-contradictory until the pieces come together.
All that said, it would make for a terrible jumping-on point. If you're interested in King's run, you'll likely want to start at the beginning.
May 15, 2024
This was a difficult read, to say the least, and a heartbreaking one to say the most.
Batman's spirit has been broken. He has retreated to the mountains to locate the last vial of Super Venom obtained from a seller who also made Bane's venom and where Hank/ Gotham and Gotham Girl obtained their unique powers. Batman is K.O.ed by a few low-rank villains who report the venom back to Magpie and Catwoman finds & rescues Batman from inevitable frostbite The two travel to Florida or Hawaii, where they rekindle their love for one another as partners, rehash some of their unresolved emotional turmoil, and train to ultimately defeat Bane.
Meanwhile, Bane has taken control over the city of Gotham. The citizens are treated horrifically while Arkham escapes to patrol the street with the full authority of the government and the city supporting them. All G.C.P.D. officers and officials have been disbanded, and any member or allies to the Bat have been ordered to stay out of Gotham. Bane has appointed his Batman (Thomas Wayne) & Gotham Girl to handle minor/major threats around the city. This includes kicking the crude out of Captain Atom, who lies in a hospital bed after going against federal law. Red Robin catches word of this and meets up with Robin while alerting the others. Red Robin tries to devise a plan to safely enter Gotham without triggering Bane or Thomas, but Robin behaves erratically and believes a full assault is best. The 2 argue and leave in anger, but Robin is determined to see the plan carried out.
As this Gotham's Batman continues to patrol the streets, it is Gotham Girl, who ultimately catches a glimpse of Robin, but Damien uses magic as a means to subdue her super strength prompting Thomas's involvement. A fight ensues, and Thomas wins, then he returns to the Manor with a kidnapped Robin. Bane makes good on his promise by killing Alfred Pennyworth, who is unable to escape as originally planned in front of Damien.
Robin then becomes the new hostage in the hopes of deteriorating/attracting the rest of the Batfamily. Batman has now finally recovered and is back in action with Catwoman as they take down an array of villains who have been claiming his streets, including PYG, Two-Face, Kite Man, Mad Hatter, and Hush.
All while Thomas Wayne's Batman tries to nurse Gotham Girl back to health, who has been greatly impacted by Robin's magic used on her when the ventriloquist (his butler) intervenes and relays a message from Bane demanding the death of Robin. Thomas goes down to the cave where he has kept Robin tied up when the rest of the Bat family (Batwoman, Huntress, Batgirl, Red Robin, Orphan, and Signal) ambushes Thomas giving him a beating for Alfred. However, during the fight, things go very wrong as Thomas gives them all the beating of their lives, leaving the Batfamily broken on the ground of the cave.
Meanwhile, Batman & Catwoman meet up with a rondeau Clayface who has disguised himself as the Joker and was entrusted to protect the city from the inside while Batman recovered. Clayface also offers insight into Bane's location as Batman & Catwoman go to join the masked venom man in one last battle. Along the way, Batman explains the plan that was set to happen and how valuable the last vial of venom is to Bane. The two vigilantes then meet, and the Battle ensues under the premise of no masks and no help, thereby disbanding Bane of his venom concoction. Batman then double-crosses the stakes, and Catwoman comes to his rescue once more as the 2 team is up to take down Bane. The dialog in this scene is absolutely fantastic, as Catwoman explains that the city of Gotham belongs to neither Bane nor Batman but rather to her as she was the one who grew up on these cold streets As Batman is poised to break Bane's back and finally set an end to all that has occurred, he is shot by Thomas Wayne. Thomas then makes one final demand to the ventriloquist that it is time to fetch the Psycho Pirate.
What follows is one epic and heartfelt message from Alfred as Batman awakens in the dining hall with his father figure dead at the end of the table. It is so touching and so moving that I was brought to tears for the loss of Batman's/Bruce's greatest mentor. Catwoman then enters after providing Batman a moment of silence, and he emerges into the study where he is confronted by his father, who seeks to see his son submit and give up being Batman. We get a series of flashbacks regarding Thomas's time/origin as Batman and how he lost his son, wife, Alfred, and even killed his world's Catwoman by leading her to the Joker...his deranged wife Martha Wayne.
In the end, Bruce and Thomas fight one last time, but Bruce declares that this is the life he has chosen and that it is his to lead with the chilling words that "He (Thomas) is not his father" ( Batman, 2022).
We see a few more scenes as Batman ties up losses by granting Gotham Girl unlimited powers via the Kryptonian rock Superman gave him, some dedicated time with Selina Kyle and the family in mourning over the loss of Alfred, and an analogy regarding football in a bar with a random stranger as Bruce Wayne drops in.
The last section of this book includes Alfred giving an ongoing journal entry account of Batman's adventures showing his son's strength, dedication, ability to rise above fear, and love of his city and family.
Wow, overall, this is a 10/10 story arc🌟. What with all of the expert moving parts and complex plot. This was an epic finally, to say the least. However, because we lost such a valuable and pivotal member of the family and the fact that this act was done in front of Damien Wayne and later traumatized Bruce further in the dining room scene...I have to take off points for frustration and sorrow at the very least. Alfred's letter made me cry and to see Bruce's loss, his father was truly heartbreaking, given all that he had been forced to endure over the years. Tom King is a wonderful writer, but this truly was an epic Shakespearean tragedy. How befitting for the ongoing Batman stories and a tribute, if you will, to Alfred Pennyworth (the best father this family has to offer). Final rating 7.5/10 or 3 stars for the sorrows endured.
This is an epic Batman story to end a fantastic run. Bravo 👏❤️🦇!!
Batman's spirit has been broken. He has retreated to the mountains to locate the last vial of Super Venom obtained from a seller who also made Bane's venom and where Hank/ Gotham and Gotham Girl obtained their unique powers. Batman is K.O.ed by a few low-rank villains who report the venom back to Magpie and Catwoman finds & rescues Batman from inevitable frostbite The two travel to Florida or Hawaii, where they rekindle their love for one another as partners, rehash some of their unresolved emotional turmoil, and train to ultimately defeat Bane.
Meanwhile, Bane has taken control over the city of Gotham. The citizens are treated horrifically while Arkham escapes to patrol the street with the full authority of the government and the city supporting them. All G.C.P.D. officers and officials have been disbanded, and any member or allies to the Bat have been ordered to stay out of Gotham. Bane has appointed his Batman (Thomas Wayne) & Gotham Girl to handle minor/major threats around the city. This includes kicking the crude out of Captain Atom, who lies in a hospital bed after going against federal law. Red Robin catches word of this and meets up with Robin while alerting the others. Red Robin tries to devise a plan to safely enter Gotham without triggering Bane or Thomas, but Robin behaves erratically and believes a full assault is best. The 2 argue and leave in anger, but Robin is determined to see the plan carried out.
As this Gotham's Batman continues to patrol the streets, it is Gotham Girl, who ultimately catches a glimpse of Robin, but Damien uses magic as a means to subdue her super strength prompting Thomas's involvement. A fight ensues, and Thomas wins, then he returns to the Manor with a kidnapped Robin. Bane makes good on his promise by killing Alfred Pennyworth, who is unable to escape as originally planned in front of Damien.
Robin then becomes the new hostage in the hopes of deteriorating/attracting the rest of the Batfamily. Batman has now finally recovered and is back in action with Catwoman as they take down an array of villains who have been claiming his streets, including PYG, Two-Face, Kite Man, Mad Hatter, and Hush.
All while Thomas Wayne's Batman tries to nurse Gotham Girl back to health, who has been greatly impacted by Robin's magic used on her when the ventriloquist (his butler) intervenes and relays a message from Bane demanding the death of Robin. Thomas goes down to the cave where he has kept Robin tied up when the rest of the Bat family (Batwoman, Huntress, Batgirl, Red Robin, Orphan, and Signal) ambushes Thomas giving him a beating for Alfred. However, during the fight, things go very wrong as Thomas gives them all the beating of their lives, leaving the Batfamily broken on the ground of the cave.
Meanwhile, Batman & Catwoman meet up with a rondeau Clayface who has disguised himself as the Joker and was entrusted to protect the city from the inside while Batman recovered. Clayface also offers insight into Bane's location as Batman & Catwoman go to join the masked venom man in one last battle. Along the way, Batman explains the plan that was set to happen and how valuable the last vial of venom is to Bane. The two vigilantes then meet, and the Battle ensues under the premise of no masks and no help, thereby disbanding Bane of his venom concoction. Batman then double-crosses the stakes, and Catwoman comes to his rescue once more as the 2 team is up to take down Bane. The dialog in this scene is absolutely fantastic, as Catwoman explains that the city of Gotham belongs to neither Bane nor Batman but rather to her as she was the one who grew up on these cold streets As Batman is poised to break Bane's back and finally set an end to all that has occurred, he is shot by Thomas Wayne. Thomas then makes one final demand to the ventriloquist that it is time to fetch the Psycho Pirate.
What follows is one epic and heartfelt message from Alfred as Batman awakens in the dining hall with his father figure dead at the end of the table. It is so touching and so moving that I was brought to tears for the loss of Batman's/Bruce's greatest mentor. Catwoman then enters after providing Batman a moment of silence, and he emerges into the study where he is confronted by his father, who seeks to see his son submit and give up being Batman. We get a series of flashbacks regarding Thomas's time/origin as Batman and how he lost his son, wife, Alfred, and even killed his world's Catwoman by leading her to the Joker...his deranged wife Martha Wayne.
In the end, Bruce and Thomas fight one last time, but Bruce declares that this is the life he has chosen and that it is his to lead with the chilling words that "He (Thomas) is not his father" ( Batman, 2022).
We see a few more scenes as Batman ties up losses by granting Gotham Girl unlimited powers via the Kryptonian rock Superman gave him, some dedicated time with Selina Kyle and the family in mourning over the loss of Alfred, and an analogy regarding football in a bar with a random stranger as Bruce Wayne drops in.
The last section of this book includes Alfred giving an ongoing journal entry account of Batman's adventures showing his son's strength, dedication, ability to rise above fear, and love of his city and family.
Wow, overall, this is a 10/10 story arc🌟. What with all of the expert moving parts and complex plot. This was an epic finally, to say the least. However, because we lost such a valuable and pivotal member of the family and the fact that this act was done in front of Damien Wayne and later traumatized Bruce further in the dining room scene...I have to take off points for frustration and sorrow at the very least. Alfred's letter made me cry and to see Bruce's loss, his father was truly heartbreaking, given all that he had been forced to endure over the years. Tom King is a wonderful writer, but this truly was an epic Shakespearean tragedy. How befitting for the ongoing Batman stories and a tribute, if you will, to Alfred Pennyworth (the best father this family has to offer). Final rating 7.5/10 or 3 stars for the sorrows endured.
This is an epic Batman story to end a fantastic run. Bravo 👏❤️🦇!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2021
Tom King's writing often leaves me feeling a little conflicted and this collection is no exception.
There's a lot to like here, straight off. This is the end of a very ambitious run by King, one in which he's tried to expand the narrow parameters the Batman character has been contained within for more than 30 years. I don't know that another writer has done as much to humanize Batman, to make him more than just a grim avenger in the night.
And the art here is gorgeous and very deserving of mention. Tony Daniel, Clay Mann, Mikel Janin, Jorge Fornes...even the great John Romita Jr. contributes an issue.
But there is the negative to consider. King is a stylist and that can wear a little thin at times. Clipped, repetitive dialogue, jumps in time forward and back, etc. There's absolutely nothing wrong with experimenting with narrative form in a comic but ten issues of it can feel wearisome.
This is likely a book that will reward revisits and there may come a time when my affection for it grows. I admit that. But right now I can't say that I loved it. I liked it and enjoyed reading it but I never felt as engaged as I wanted to be.
There's a lot to like here, straight off. This is the end of a very ambitious run by King, one in which he's tried to expand the narrow parameters the Batman character has been contained within for more than 30 years. I don't know that another writer has done as much to humanize Batman, to make him more than just a grim avenger in the night.
And the art here is gorgeous and very deserving of mention. Tony Daniel, Clay Mann, Mikel Janin, Jorge Fornes...even the great John Romita Jr. contributes an issue.
But there is the negative to consider. King is a stylist and that can wear a little thin at times. Clipped, repetitive dialogue, jumps in time forward and back, etc. There's absolutely nothing wrong with experimenting with narrative form in a comic but ten issues of it can feel wearisome.
This is likely a book that will reward revisits and there may come a time when my affection for it grows. I admit that. But right now I can't say that I loved it. I liked it and enjoyed reading it but I never felt as engaged as I wanted to be.
March 2, 2021
Tom King is one of my favorite comics writers. His work is not perfect, but his ideas are many, and I appreciate effort. I enjoy the way he challenges tropes, both in story and story-telling. I like how his writing pushes the artists he works with to try new ideas as well. I like other things as well. He even writes good jokes!
This 5 star rating is directed more to his overall run on this title, although I enjoyed this volume as well.
This 5 star rating is directed more to his overall run on this title, although I enjoyed this volume as well.
August 21, 2023
4 stars for the creative re-imagining, compelling concepts and the admirably deep (or depth-seeking) emotional insight. -1 for the regrettably flat-falling ending and confusing end-chapter without transition nor notice. However, a glint of promise did compell me in the meta of the finale, which saves the rest of the stars.
//ADDITIONAL WARNING//: needs a lot of background on the Brubaker-continuum of Final Crisis & Co. , i.e. it's in part a heavy digest even for the pre-initiated.
Segway to confusing and/or heavy: occasionally readers are ready to stretch their suspension of disbelief and gloss over glaring plotholes, if they feel they obtain something they really want. This could be a novel and satisfying story, or new ideas never seen before. This story in my case is one of these occasions, and for its tricks to work one needs to trust the whole and pay attention to nuances and details (though I agree: some of it is probably due to pacing/character problems, the ending felt rushed and forced).
This writer's gamble -if you will- gives author and reader alike a fresh pair of eyes, ideal for the mixture to include both expectation and subversion of tropes. Character-driven stories profit from it by putting the characters into unique circumstances and relations, giving a worn-out franchise another chance to shine.
Now on the theme, heavy/strong: what makes this story especially interesting is the exploration of emotional stability in the form of strength. The process could be described in layers: 1) once you know your strengths and weaknesses, it is time to 2) learn from them. Some plots even go on to 3) observe the weakness of strength and/or vise versa. However, City of Bane takes ot one step further: 4) strengths are once again seen as strengths, but stronger, as self-doubt is thrown out the window via insight found in the emotional journey. You know yourself, why doubt it?
One could argue it to be just a cut through the proverbial Gordionic knot, and the story as a whole treats it as such. It is however a choice which tames part of the story and ultimately plays it safe. It could also be that there is thus a mismatch in the earlier-displayed emotional growth, only to find the Batman at square one.
In subtext, Bane is the epitome of a brute with simple and rigid solutions. So, if Batman is meant to mirror him, he should find a way to replace that, e.g. by denying simple solutions. Well, this time force was met by force, denial with simplification.
Probably too many threads to keep it smooth until the end anyway, at least I accepted the terms. And enjoyed the rollercoaster ride of emotional insight.
//ADDITIONAL WARNING//: needs a lot of background on the Brubaker-continuum of Final Crisis & Co. , i.e. it's in part a heavy digest even for the pre-initiated.
Segway to confusing and/or heavy: occasionally readers are ready to stretch their suspension of disbelief and gloss over glaring plotholes, if they feel they obtain something they really want. This could be a novel and satisfying story, or new ideas never seen before. This story in my case is one of these occasions, and for its tricks to work one needs to trust the whole and pay attention to nuances and details (though I agree: some of it is probably due to pacing/character problems, the ending felt rushed and forced).
This writer's gamble -if you will- gives author and reader alike a fresh pair of eyes, ideal for the mixture to include both expectation and subversion of tropes. Character-driven stories profit from it by putting the characters into unique circumstances and relations, giving a worn-out franchise another chance to shine.
Now on the theme, heavy/strong: what makes this story especially interesting is the exploration of emotional stability in the form of strength. The process could be described in layers: 1) once you know your strengths and weaknesses, it is time to 2) learn from them. Some plots even go on to 3) observe the weakness of strength and/or vise versa. However, City of Bane takes ot one step further: 4) strengths are once again seen as strengths, but stronger, as self-doubt is thrown out the window via insight found in the emotional journey. You know yourself, why doubt it?
One could argue it to be just a cut through the proverbial Gordionic knot, and the story as a whole treats it as such. It is however a choice which tames part of the story and ultimately plays it safe. It could also be that there is thus a mismatch in the earlier-displayed emotional growth, only to find the Batman at square one.
In subtext, Bane is the epitome of a brute with simple and rigid solutions. So, if Batman is meant to mirror him, he should find a way to replace that, e.g. by denying simple solutions. Well, this time force was met by force, denial with simplification.
Probably too many threads to keep it smooth until the end anyway, at least I accepted the terms. And enjoyed the rollercoaster ride of emotional insight.
July 22, 2021
3,5 Estrelas para esta história.
E finalmente chego ao fim dessa longa série contínua do Batman do Tom King. Sem dúvidas Tom King é um ótimo escritor que sabe alcançar a humanidade dos personagens como poucos hoje em dia. Mas nem tudo são flores, e no final das contas tive sensações mistas sobre essa Run dele de longuíssimos 85 capítulos.
O principal ponto forte dele é a humanização do Batman e Mulher-Gato sem dúvidas, e a forma que ele escreve tudo isso. Realmente são poucos que consegue. O romance entre Bruce e Selina também foi muito bom e é algo que sempre gostei desde os tempos antigos das histórias do Batman, mesmo aqui as vezes parecendo um pouco excessivo, isso não me incomodou. O retorno as origens da personalidade do Bane também foi destaque. E a arte do Mikel Janín merece destaque porque é maravilhosa, assim como os outros artistas convidados.
Mas os pontos negativos, pelo menos pra mim se mostraram mais evidentes. Um deles foi o o ritmo lentíssimo dos acontecimentos, além de ter muitos capítulos que não contribuíram em absolutamente nada para mover a trama e só serviram para enrolar os acontecimentos. Um exemplo grande de enrolação, foi o casamento, que demorou um longo longo tempo para acontecer e quando aconteceu foi bem sem graça. Ou os delírios mais pro final de sua Run que duraram um compilado inteiro. Ou os motivos rasos que Thomas Wayne tomou para fazer com que seu filho abandonasse o manto do Batman. Sem contar o horrível início de sua Run onde os diálogos eram muito ruins, mas pelo menos com o passar do tempo King voltou ao seu normal. Personagens aparecendo e sumindo do nada. Algumas escolhas estranhas em relação a alguns personagens, como a Gotham Girl derrotar o Capitão Átomo muito facilmente com alguns socos apenas, sendo que o próprio Átomo quase destruiu o Dr. Manhattan. E essas escolhas estranhas de personagens derrotando personagens muito mais fortes de forma rasa e sem sentido, já vem de outras histórias do King. Mas Enfim.
Falando assim, parece que não tiveram momentos bons. Sim!! tiveram muitos momentos bons, mas também tiveram momentos ruins. Então pra mim no geral foi Médio.
3 de 5 para toda a Run de Tom King.
E finalmente chego ao fim dessa longa série contínua do Batman do Tom King. Sem dúvidas Tom King é um ótimo escritor que sabe alcançar a humanidade dos personagens como poucos hoje em dia. Mas nem tudo são flores, e no final das contas tive sensações mistas sobre essa Run dele de longuíssimos 85 capítulos.
O principal ponto forte dele é a humanização do Batman e Mulher-Gato sem dúvidas, e a forma que ele escreve tudo isso. Realmente são poucos que consegue. O romance entre Bruce e Selina também foi muito bom e é algo que sempre gostei desde os tempos antigos das histórias do Batman, mesmo aqui as vezes parecendo um pouco excessivo, isso não me incomodou. O retorno as origens da personalidade do Bane também foi destaque. E a arte do Mikel Janín merece destaque porque é maravilhosa, assim como os outros artistas convidados.
Mas os pontos negativos, pelo menos pra mim se mostraram mais evidentes. Um deles foi o o ritmo lentíssimo dos acontecimentos, além de ter muitos capítulos que não contribuíram em absolutamente nada para mover a trama e só serviram para enrolar os acontecimentos. Um exemplo grande de enrolação, foi o casamento, que demorou um longo longo tempo para acontecer e quando aconteceu foi bem sem graça. Ou os delírios mais pro final de sua Run que duraram um compilado inteiro. Ou os motivos rasos que Thomas Wayne tomou para fazer com que seu filho abandonasse o manto do Batman. Sem contar o horrível início de sua Run onde os diálogos eram muito ruins, mas pelo menos com o passar do tempo King voltou ao seu normal. Personagens aparecendo e sumindo do nada. Algumas escolhas estranhas em relação a alguns personagens, como a Gotham Girl derrotar o Capitão Átomo muito facilmente com alguns socos apenas, sendo que o próprio Átomo quase destruiu o Dr. Manhattan. E essas escolhas estranhas de personagens derrotando personagens muito mais fortes de forma rasa e sem sentido, já vem de outras histórias do King. Mas Enfim.
Falando assim, parece que não tiveram momentos bons. Sim!! tiveram muitos momentos bons, mas também tiveram momentos ruins. Então pra mim no geral foi Médio.
3 de 5 para toda a Run de Tom King.
January 7, 2022
A Fine Ending to King’s Batman Run
City of Bane hits a lot of familiar beats. The city occupied, Batman at his lowest point, a turbulent romance, appearances from Batman’s entire rogues gallery. These are all hallmarks of Tom King’s Batman run, and they are essentially summarized and brought to their conclusion here.
Reading King’s entire run all the way through almost feels like an essay. Lines, jokes and earlier scenarios are called back to constantly, in new contexts and with new meanings. While it can make for somewhat tedious reading at times (“Hell Yeah” “We met on the boat” “I am Bane!” Etc.), it’s interesting to see what Tom King’s final conclusions for all of his themes he’s been driving at are.
City of Bane is, story wise a fairly boilerplate story in which Batman must train to retake his city from a villain, but it’s told in interesting nonlinear narratives, and is full of enough twists and turns to keep things interesting.
My main complaints would be that the world setup is less detailed than you would hope for (Where are the police, or any of the other Gotham officials?), major Batman villains are reduced to minor thugs, the ending is a bit abrupt, and the last minute villain switch is unsatisfying. There is also little play for any of the supporting members of bat family.
Overall I’d give City of Bane a B. Tom King’s run is good, but I don’t know if it was ever great, and this isn’t the best part of it. Interested to see what the next writers do with the series after this.
City of Bane hits a lot of familiar beats. The city occupied, Batman at his lowest point, a turbulent romance, appearances from Batman’s entire rogues gallery. These are all hallmarks of Tom King’s Batman run, and they are essentially summarized and brought to their conclusion here.
Reading King’s entire run all the way through almost feels like an essay. Lines, jokes and earlier scenarios are called back to constantly, in new contexts and with new meanings. While it can make for somewhat tedious reading at times (“Hell Yeah” “We met on the boat” “I am Bane!” Etc.), it’s interesting to see what Tom King’s final conclusions for all of his themes he’s been driving at are.
City of Bane is, story wise a fairly boilerplate story in which Batman must train to retake his city from a villain, but it’s told in interesting nonlinear narratives, and is full of enough twists and turns to keep things interesting.
My main complaints would be that the world setup is less detailed than you would hope for (Where are the police, or any of the other Gotham officials?), major Batman villains are reduced to minor thugs, the ending is a bit abrupt, and the last minute villain switch is unsatisfying. There is also little play for any of the supporting members of bat family.
Overall I’d give City of Bane a B. Tom King’s run is good, but I don’t know if it was ever great, and this isn’t the best part of it. Interested to see what the next writers do with the series after this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2025
Wszystko do tego zmierzało. Batman kontra Bane. I co paradoksalne, Batman kontra Batman. Musiało do tego dojść, bo King podbudowywał całe wydarzenie przez kilka dobrych tomów, ale wreszcie dowiózł. I tak jak mógłbym narzekać na jakość serii, która przypomina amplitudę, tak dwunasty już to zdecydowanie znajduje się na górce.
Bruce został złamany, a Bane i ojciec Wayne'a z innego świata zaprowadzają swoje rządy w Gotham. Za pomocą potężnego telepaty dostosowują złoczyńców do roli policjantów. Miasto stało się 'bezpieczne', ale jakim kosztem. Nawet pospolita kradzież jest karana bardzo srogo. W tym czasie Wayne dochodzi do siebie, co zaskakująco w towarzystwie Seliny.
To ten czas, aby para przeszła 'domową' wersję terapii małżeńskiej, przez co ich relacja się cementuje i wewnętrzny spokój pozwala Batmanowi znów stać się obrońcą miasta, jakiego ono potrzebuje. Nie obędzie się bez strat, nie obędzie się bez zmian i wielu epickich starć. Całość nie jest przełomowa, ale domknięcie serii jest solidne, choć King na przestrzeni serii bywał już znacznie lepszy.
Całość jak zwykle wygląda świetnie, a nieco szerszy zbiorek nie zanudza ani na moment, mimo wielu przestojów. Jest to zdecydowanie seria warta uwagi, która początkowo do tego nie zachęca, aczkolwiek od pewnego momentu się rozkręca, aby nieco zdenerwować czytelnika kilkoma tomami stanowiącymi filler, aż w końcu dostarczyć satysfakcjonujący finał. Dla fanów postaci must have.
Bruce został złamany, a Bane i ojciec Wayne'a z innego świata zaprowadzają swoje rządy w Gotham. Za pomocą potężnego telepaty dostosowują złoczyńców do roli policjantów. Miasto stało się 'bezpieczne', ale jakim kosztem. Nawet pospolita kradzież jest karana bardzo srogo. W tym czasie Wayne dochodzi do siebie, co zaskakująco w towarzystwie Seliny.
To ten czas, aby para przeszła 'domową' wersję terapii małżeńskiej, przez co ich relacja się cementuje i wewnętrzny spokój pozwala Batmanowi znów stać się obrońcą miasta, jakiego ono potrzebuje. Nie obędzie się bez strat, nie obędzie się bez zmian i wielu epickich starć. Całość nie jest przełomowa, ale domknięcie serii jest solidne, choć King na przestrzeni serii bywał już znacznie lepszy.
Całość jak zwykle wygląda świetnie, a nieco szerszy zbiorek nie zanudza ani na moment, mimo wielu przestojów. Jest to zdecydowanie seria warta uwagi, która początkowo do tego nie zachęca, aczkolwiek od pewnego momentu się rozkręca, aby nieco zdenerwować czytelnika kilkoma tomami stanowiącymi filler, aż w końcu dostarczyć satysfakcjonujący finał. Dla fanów postaci must have.
March 31, 2021
City of bane is the final arc in King's run, and the culmination of a pratically all of the events depicted the 85 issues that comprise his run, and it mostly does so sucessfully, altough there are quite a bit of flase notes.
Some of the revelation
s in this volume, aside form seriously streching logic and believability, also undermine considerably some previous stories i this run, which was rather dissapointing.
The death of a certain key charcater was also something I felt was unnecessary and a bad idea, but that was really a DC editorial mandate, rather than a decision of the author.
There is also a few issues where Bruce Wayne acts very uncharacteristically, chiling on the beach when Gotham is run over by crimminals, which hardly makes sense, even after we are told why he does so.
However, despite these flaws, this is a very exciting read, if at times somewhat excessively streched; and a very compleeing read. I almost read it in one go.
The artwork remains top notch, with artist Tony daniel, Mikel Janin, Jorge Fornés and Clay Mann delivering some really jaw dropping panels.
Its a somewhat dissapointing, but compelling read, that does alot more right than it does wrong.
If you've read the run this far, and enjoyed the ride, you will definetly be pleased.
Some of the revelation
s in this volume, aside form seriously streching logic and believability, also undermine considerably some previous stories i this run, which was rather dissapointing.
The death of a certain key charcater was also something I felt was unnecessary and a bad idea, but that was really a DC editorial mandate, rather than a decision of the author.
There is also a few issues where Bruce Wayne acts very uncharacteristically, chiling on the beach when Gotham is run over by crimminals, which hardly makes sense, even after we are told why he does so.
However, despite these flaws, this is a very exciting read, if at times somewhat excessively streched; and a very compleeing read. I almost read it in one go.
The artwork remains top notch, with artist Tony daniel, Mikel Janin, Jorge Fornés and Clay Mann delivering some really jaw dropping panels.
Its a somewhat dissapointing, but compelling read, that does alot more right than it does wrong.
If you've read the run this far, and enjoyed the ride, you will definetly be pleased.
May 17, 2021
**I've read WAAAY more than I've been able to review, so.... time for some knee-jerk reactions!**
SPOILERS GALORE!!!!!
- I'm not crying! You're crying!
- Batman comics won't be the same... but at least they did Alfred's character justice. They better do the hole he leaves in the Bat Family justice as well.
- I was so mad at Selina after she left Bruce at the altar... but I have to say, I'm kind of forgiving her. I loved the moments between them--particularly how Bruce came to realize that being happy didn't mean he couldn't be Batman. If anything, it would just make him fight harder.
- This may have been called "City of Bane," but this was much more about Bruce Wayne and Flashpoint Batman--which was fine by me! A way more interesting story, looking at two men who had been shaken to their cores by tragedy, but who had lived such different lives and had come to such different conclusions about happiness and right vs. wrong.
- I loved the themes about fathers. (Bruce called Alfred his father!! I'm not crying... it's dust, I swear!)
- As much as this book ripped my heart out, it truly was a magnificently written Batman story--psychological, emotional, intense, action-packed... It really had everything. Just maybe don't start it on your lunch break and then have to go back to work after one of your favorite characters just got his neck snapped. *Cries*
SPOILERS GALORE!!!!!
- I'm not crying! You're crying!
- Batman comics won't be the same... but at least they did Alfred's character justice. They better do the hole he leaves in the Bat Family justice as well.
- I was so mad at Selina after she left Bruce at the altar... but I have to say, I'm kind of forgiving her. I loved the moments between them--particularly how Bruce came to realize that being happy didn't mean he couldn't be Batman. If anything, it would just make him fight harder.
- This may have been called "City of Bane," but this was much more about Bruce Wayne and Flashpoint Batman--which was fine by me! A way more interesting story, looking at two men who had been shaken to their cores by tragedy, but who had lived such different lives and had come to such different conclusions about happiness and right vs. wrong.
- I loved the themes about fathers. (Bruce called Alfred his father!! I'm not crying... it's dust, I swear!)
- As much as this book ripped my heart out, it truly was a magnificently written Batman story--psychological, emotional, intense, action-packed... It really had everything. Just maybe don't start it on your lunch break and then have to go back to work after one of your favorite characters just got his neck snapped. *Cries*
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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