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Batman by James Tynion IV

Batman, Vol. 5: Fear State

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Gotham City is on the brink of martial law as Batman fights a two-front battle! The Scarecrow is unleashing a devastating attack on the city while the Magistrate have made their move to invade!

The BATMAN: THE JOKER WAR creative team of James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez continue their epic run with Gotham City on the brink of a violent evolutionary path and the danger level to Batman and his allies reaching a fever pitch! The Magistrate now have full support from the mayor to handle high-level law enforcement in Gotham and have branded the Dark Knight as Public Enemy #1. Batman must also contend with the return of the Scarecrow who pursues his own terrifying agenda as he takes this chaotic moment to launch his FEAR STATE.

Includes Batman #112-117.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2022

89 people are currently reading
314 people want to read

About the author

James Tynion IV

1,645 books1,990 followers
Prior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.

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

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5 stars
155 (17%)
4 stars
280 (32%)
3 stars
332 (38%)
2 stars
92 (10%)
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12 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
Profile Image for Sean Gibson.
Author 7 books6,116 followers
March 21, 2022
Sort of like how people used to feel on blind dates with me: "This looks AMAZING...but it's kind of weird. I'm not sure I like it. I guess I kind of like it. Gosh it's beautiful, though, if garishly colored. I like it. I do. Don't I? I mean, I certainly WANT to like it. It's just that sometimes, it doesn't make it easy. I need another drink."
Profile Image for Chad.
10.3k reviews1,061 followers
April 2, 2022
Holy smokes, does this book look fantastic. Jorge Jimenez may be the best artist working in comics right now. If you can get past some of the nonsensical things in this (like Fauxracle announcing to citizens that cannibals are coming to eat you and the people are acting like they believe it.), it's actually pretty good. Some of the story is missing from this collection. I think it will probably read better in Batman: Fear State Saga where you get the complete story instead of just the Batman issues.
Profile Image for A.J..
603 reviews83 followers
January 26, 2022
An incredibly boring and lackluster arc, somewhat made readable by fantastic art from Jorge Jiménez. I am not exaggerating when I say I have never in my life seen a book be carried so hard by its art. The idea of Scarecrow swallowing all of Gotham in fear is awesome on paper, and just doesn’t work at all in execution.

Flipping through the art, with just no context to what is actually going on, is probably the best way to enjoy this whimper of an end to Tynion’s overall pretty meh Batman run. Thank the editors he never got 3 years on this title.
Profile Image for Khurram.
2,368 reviews6,690 followers
April 10, 2022
A great story. Everything about this book is awesome from yhe setups, to the main story. Batman and Gotham are both pushed breaking point and possibly beyond to the point of no return.

This time Batman will definitely not not be enough on his one. He will need not only the whole Bat family but the whole of Gotham as well.

Batman is no stranger to fear but even he has not experienced anything like what the Scarecrow has done to him and Gotham. Now with Simon Saint's greatest weapon has been corrupted things are going to hold from bad to worse.

It is so great when a story belivers on it potentially on every level. Great story that strikes every emotional response. The artwork is awesome, and the action is on point. I do wish it showed what yhe rest of the Bat family were up to but I think that will be in the other books. Incredible moment in the book and especially at the end. The book finishes with a cover gallery that contains full page versions of the varient covers and a two page sketch book.
Profile Image for Lashaan Balasingam.
1,475 reviews4,623 followers
May 24, 2022


You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

It is no surprise when villains put the city in which they reside through the wringer and force the hands of its heroes, sometimes to the extent of pushing their physical and psychological strengths to the extreme limits. Since writer James Tynion IV’s debut on this comic book run, starting with Batman #86, he has approached the Caped Crusader with tact and offered fans a grim, ally-surrounded, and complex characterization where both Bruce Wayne and Batman’s psyche were crucial to his survival. Concluding his time on this canonical Batman series and collecting Batman #112-117, writer James Tynion IV teams up one last time with artist Jorge Jiménez to deliver his grand finale before handing over the mantle to writer Joshua Williamson.

What is Batman: Fear State? Gotham City is now on the verge of self-destruction as Batman has to participate in a two-front battle. On one end, he must hunt down the Scarecrow before his mass-brainwash experiment sends the population into a delirious and fear-fueled mayhem, as he uses Peacekeeper-01’s (Sean Mahoney) tormented mind to his benefice to create his Fear State. On the other end, the Magistrate is ready to begin his high-tech and high-level law enforcement project with the accord of mayor Christopher Nakano. Still, before the world can embrace this new draconian anti-vigilante authoritative vision, Simon Saint must stop the now insane Peacekeeper-01 before the Magistrate’s reputation is harmed. With unusual allies waiting in the periphery, Batman must act quickly before Gotham City succumbs under the weight of this newly-established chaos.

Once more, this final story arc falls victim to a larger marketing and publisher issue as the narrative suffers from the absence of crossover issues that could potentially fill in the plot holes spread across this major crossover event. With the release of Batman: Fear State Saga, containing the additional issues, from Secret Files to the Alpha & Omega stories, fans are better off picking up the complete story than focusing solely on the Batman issues. The absence of these issues mostly emphasizes writer James Tynion IV’s weaknesses, noticeable in terms of narrative pacing and his tendency toward unstoppable torrents of words through an abundance of dialogues. Although there is some great characterization and key dilemmas discussed in-depth, it is difficult to not observe their irrelevance, which could have been spared to allow readers to indulge in the subtleties of these intimate and emotional moments through action and artwork alone.

With all the major new characters created by writer James Tynion IV making their appearance once more in this final battle, allowing him to wrap up the motley of narrative threads that he has had difficulty weaving together since his debut, the story itself is not particularly impressive, often feeling like certain central ideas didn’t get the opportunity to properly bloom. Where his comic book run did succeed however is almost entirely thanks to the phenomenal artwork by artist Jorge Jiménez. There isn’t a single moment where his artwork doesn’t command the narrative and leave the reader mesmerized by the glorious character designs, impeccable and dynamic action sequences, and phenomenal grasp over emotion and feeling. Tomeu Morey’s colouring also adds electricity and madness to the world, perfectly capturing a world on the brink of destruction. It would not be an exaggeration to vouch for this comic book run simply for its visual exploits. And, of course, Batman.

Batman: Fear State is a chaotic and frenzied finale marking writer James Tynion IV’s final moments as the lead writer as he sends Batman up against Scarecrow and the Magistrate in a nutty and twisted two-front battle.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Author 7 books123 followers
March 5, 2022
I'll go into the actual review of this storyline more over on the Batman: Fear State Saga volume (spoilers: I liked it a lot), but it's worth mentioning here that this volume's incomplete, hence the lower rating than usual.

While the Joker War issues of Batman could be read alone without all the fluff around them, Fear State kind of needs the set-up Alpha issue and the wind-down Omega issue to really feel complete. They give the impetus for the story and the conclusion, so this is like reading the middle of the story without the beginning or the end.

It's a very strange decision by DC to collect the story like this, and definitely not one I agree with.
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,203 followers
April 18, 2022
The end of James' Batman run is here.

Batman has suffered a semi-loss from facing against scarecrow. Not sure if he can trust his own mind. On top of that the military state leader pushing his soldiers into the frontline and the Batman crew has to stop him. Letting our new female sexy badass step up to plate.

overall, it's a fine volume. It's not great, but not bad. The art is fantastic. I just wish James got more time on this title to flush out his story. but of course he has famously said this is where he dipped to write his own creator own stuff, and that's respectable.

A 3 out of 5.
Profile Image for Benji Glaab.
771 reviews60 followers
April 20, 2022
4.5🌟 I've been really into James Tynion's indie created projects over the last couple years so that's why I picked this series up in the first place. I'm not regularly a DC reader, but overall really enjoyed this arc. It has it's eye rolling moments sure but I was still invested.

This is guaranteed the best looking super hero book I've ever seen. Jorge Jiminez's art is superb. The character designs are amazing and the colour and effects just pop so well.
Profile Image for Roman Zarichnyi.
686 reviews45 followers
January 22, 2022
Арка у рані «Бетмен» #112-117 є основною у події «Стан страху». Джеймс Тайнін IV вже іде протоптаною стежкою, на початку наганяє пафосу, масштабності й інтриги, навіть видає один із кращих номерів після того, як він замінив Тома Кінґа на цій серії. А пізніше все знівельовує, спрощує і зливає.

Схожі відчуття у мене були під час події «Війна Джокера». Обидві події тісно пов’язані, адже без «ВД» не було б «СС», бо Страхопудало чекало правильного часу аби покрити страхом увесь Ґотем.

Що ж мені хотілося від події? Відчути те, що відчувають жителі Ґотему, відчути цей страх виглянути у вікно. А отримав боротьбу Бетса й Ко проти Магістрату й Страхопудала.

Розв’язка виявилася передбачуваною, бо лінія із Отруйною Євою настільки довго тягнулася, що іншого не могло бути. Очікував більшого з таким розмахом. Єдине варте уваги — малюнок Хорхе Хіменеза. А, і ще Саймона Сайнта запроторили у в’язницю. Кінець Магістрату?
Profile Image for Mike.
248 reviews4 followers
April 30, 2022
The end of the series doesn't quite stick the landing. There's a little bit too much chaos, and it seems to get to the point of being convoluted. There's another Peacekeeper for 2 seconds, then Mad Hatter gets needlessly name dropped. Robot armies and multiple personality Ivy. It's all a bit much.

However, Batman still crushes dudes and Miracle Molly is awesome. The art is stellar, though I don't much care for the small portions contributed by Bengal. I don't really dig his style. I do love the look of Scarecrow in this arc.

Overall, the Tynion run is lots of fun and honestly super clever at its height. At its lowest point, it's still good but has a bit of a smack of "what could have been".
Profile Image for Frédéric.
1,973 reviews87 followers
November 2, 2022
3,5*

Oddly I thought the previous prologue volume slighly better than the actual main course. More compact, more tense and somewhat less pyrotechnic.

Still I rather enjoyed this book. Tie-ins obviously expand the big picture but that’s not a true condition to follow the plot which logically follows the path developed from The cowardly lot. Overall it is well handled though sometimes chaotic. Tension mounts quickly and is coherently maintained throughout without breaks. There’s lots of action, explosions and.... a kiss.

I can’t say this arc is particularly original, breaks the rules or whatever but it is decently crafted and entertaining. Works for me.

Jimenez and Morey both do wonders on the artboard. Again.
Profile Image for Alexis.
81 reviews
August 17, 2025
I relate to Scarecrow as a psychology student because I too want to huff gas to evolve beyond the horrors of publishing in grad school.
Profile Image for Doesjka.
65 reviews2 followers
December 9, 2023
And yet somehow there are still people living in Gotham.
Profile Image for Craig.
2,884 reviews33 followers
September 1, 2022
Just okay--perfect example of a "meh" book. The artwork is great, but the story is pretty dull. Tynion just doesn't seem to have what it takes to write a decent solo Batman book, even with all his past experience. I can't figure it out...
Profile Image for Clint.
1,141 reviews13 followers
April 3, 2022
2.5 stars
A mediocre mess of an ending to Tynion’s mostly underwhelming run; its very busy plot is in a hurry to tie up several loose ends but none of them are compelling or interesting. It’s the epitome of boring cape comic nonsense where complications arise but are then swept aside just as quickly, and none of it stands up to the slightest inspection or internal logic. It’s made worse by Tynion’s indulgence with bloviating social commentary dialogue that’s unclear at best and painfully obvious but grasping to be meaningful at its worst. This line from Batman is typical: “Misinformation is spreading quickly. So I need you to take what I’m about to tell you at face value and believe it.”Or this later clunker of a line: “The people need to believe in something—all together. It’s the only way to break them out of this…”

Now that it’s over, this run’s legacy will be introducing a bunch of new characters and factions that had promise but never making anything from them. Maybe another writer will do something fun with them in the next few years. Jimenez’s and Morey’s art is still very nice looking, but that’s about all this book has going for it.
Profile Image for Dakota Morgan.
3,398 reviews55 followers
May 19, 2022
I was more invested in James Tynion IV's Fear State saga than I was in his Joker War epic, though not by much. It's more of the same, as is ever the case with Batman. Criminal element has a Big Plan to instill fear in the city's population. Corrupt leaders make affairs worse. Batman and his entourage punch their way to a satisfying conclusion. Rinse, repeat.

I'll say that I appreciated the finality of the ending in Fear State and the thoughtful way it was handled. Miracle Molly plays a welcome role - I'd enjoy seeing her in the Bat-Family in the future. Scarecrow's plan was convoluted, to say the least, but more effective than whatever Joker tried to pull off. And the Magistrate and his Peacekeeper goon were worthy villains, if much more interesting in The Cowardly Lot. I missed spending time with Robin-via-Harley Quinn and what the heck was going on with Ivy and the merging of her two selves??

Jorge Jimenez rocked the art, as always. The one issue that featured Bengal on art duties (who I usually love!) looked atrocious in comparison to Jimenez's god-like abilities. Fear State was quality Batman, but if you've read enough Batman, it was just kinda...more Batman.
Profile Image for Blindzider.
969 reviews26 followers
April 15, 2022
A decent conclusion to Tynion's run: it wraps up most things. You walk away realizing it didn't have too much to do with Batman himself. The primary goal seemed to be to rev up the fear of Gotham citizens while also: adding potentially a new member to the Bat Family, modifying Poison Ivy (again), and continue Harley's journey to being if not her own hero but a Batman sidekick.

The ending is predictable and there were some liberties taken with some of the mind control devices, but like most of Tynion's work, he actually spends the time trying to make clear the reasons and motivations for the characters' actions. Not many writers do that nowadays so I give him a little more slack.

I'm still enamored with Jimenez's art coupled with Morey's colors. The look and feel of it is slightly anime, slick and energetic. Panels have so much detail which is only enhanced by the extra attention of the coloring. Unfortunately, some of this volume is not completely Jimenez and it changes right in the middle of an issue at times.

I think doing a straight read through on this run will produce an even more satisfying experience. It's a shame Tynion wasn't allowed to stay longer on the title.
Profile Image for Tim Nash.
132 reviews1 follower
March 2, 2024
So James Tynion IV finishes his long awaited run with Fear State an event of sorts though mostly contained within the main Batman title.

The previous trade while definitely not filler, was prelude to this. I enjoyed this for what it was, but after a trade of Batman fighting against Scarecrow-toxin-induced madness, and detective-ing his way through a plot with multiple parties, it was a touch disappointing that this ended with Bats punching his way to the finish line.

The toxin problem was solved in like a page, and the supposed threat of Scarecrow manipulating Bruce's mind was really just a vehicle to exposition our way through the baddies big plan.

Looked great, and was not awful by any stretch, just a liiiiiittle bit of a let down.

Still we got a lot of Batman righteously taking down bad guys that had it coming and their come-uppances were quite satisfying.

3.5 probably!
Profile Image for Dimitris.
141 reviews72 followers
March 31, 2022
As with "Their Dark Designs" and "Joker War", I liked much more the story that was supposed to just build up to the larger story than the actual grant event. In this case, James Tynion did an amazing work in Cowardly Lot in setting a suspenseful tone for the Fear State. Fear State on the other hand was a bit dull and didn't manage to live up to its hype.
Gotham have been attacked so many times by Batman's big bads in the last few years that Fear State seemed like just another Tuesday to Batman fans. Pretty artwork thought
Glad to hear that Jimenez will be back to Batman in the summer with Chip Zdarsky.
58 reviews
June 22, 2024
Terrific

The Fear State has ended let growth begin. This volume really made me enjoy Tynions run full circle. I love all of the new characters he’s created, and the way he benefited Poison ivy as a character was marvelously done. Tynion is really great to each character and I never feel like he’s misrepresenting them. A good read, also Jiminez’s artistic capabilities are insane, Im in love.
Profile Image for Rolando Marono.
1,944 reviews20 followers
January 14, 2024
No me gustó nada esto. Esperaba poco pero pensé que quizá nos daría una historia más original pero es lo que hemos visto siempre. Un villano se apodera de la ciudad y primero no pueden detenerlo pero luego si. Sentí que no tenía mucho chiste y los personajes nuevos tampoco me encantaron.
Solo el arte salva esta historia mediocre del personaje.
Profile Image for Andrew Alvis.
863 reviews2 followers
January 10, 2025
Well, I was actually pleasently surprised how entertaining this was.
The artwork alone, courtesy of Jorgé Jimenez and Bengal with colours provided by Tomeu Morey, I was greatly impressed by and the story itself was very also engaging. Some stories drag over their arc but I was always eager to see how it progressed.
Profile Image for Matt.
2,606 reviews27 followers
September 5, 2022
Collects Batman issues #112-117

This collection continues the story that was started in "Batman: The Cowardly Lot." Scarecrow has put Gotham City into a state of fear and chaos, while at the same time, shades of "Future State" are happening in the present day.

I'm torn between a 3.5-star rating and a 4-star rating, so I'll round up for this one.
Profile Image for Derek Moreland.
Author 6 books9 followers
May 27, 2022
It continues to boggle my mind that such a talented writer--WHO HAS AN ALL-TIME BANGER DETECTIVE COMICS RUN UNDER HIS BELT--turned in such an absolute shitshow of a Batman run.
Profile Image for lizzy bat.
100 reviews
July 20, 2022
i loved miracle molly !!! and her teaming up with batman :] the hug at the end was so sweet

ALSO CASS RANDOMLY KNOCKING DOWN BRUCE ON THE ROOF LOL

ALSO ALSO THAT ONE PANEL WITH THE HAPPY SMILING MAD HATTER IN HIS LAB OMFG😭 THAT WAS UNREASONABLY CUTE
Profile Image for Arturo Del Rosal.
77 reviews1 follower
November 21, 2023
I liked it more than the Joker War!!!

Miracle Molly one of my favorite new characters.
Scarecrow was developed as the villian that I always wanted to see.
The pacing was right but the endinf felt a little bit rushed.
Good last arc in the Tynion IV run.
Still loving the art.
I want to see more from the Bat Family in the future in the Batman comic.

3.75 Solid Stars!!!!!
9 reviews
October 14, 2024
It looks good, but the story is really not that great. A rather disappointing end to an otherwise enjoyable run
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews

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