Batman: Secret Files

Batman (2016)

by James Tynion IV, Tony Patrick, Mariko Tamaki

Dive into the depths of Gotham's underbelly with Batman: Secret Files!

Collecting tales from all over Gotham...Huntress, the Gardener, Peacekeeper...even the history of Miracle Molly! It's all here!

Discover a story so secret even Miracle Molly doesn’t remember it! Discover what led a regular Gothamite to reject their past, name, and humanity to embrace the promise of a blank slate-the promise of the Unsanity Collective!

Then turn your head over to Gotham’s Violet Vengeance. After having her brain invaded by a violent parasite bent on sending her on a deadly slugfest bender. Not fun, amiright? Well, Helena Bertinelli is no one to mess with-and when the villainous Vile’s parasite gives her the ability to see through the eyes of his victims? You best believe she’s gonna track him down and pop an arrow in that slimeball. Look out, Batman, Huntress is on the prowl...

And that's just where we begin. Find your favorite secret tales collected!

Collects: Batman Secret Files: The Signal #1; Batman Secret Files: Huntress #1; Batman Secret Files: Clownhunter #1; Batman Secret Files: The Gardener #1; Batman Secret Files: Peacekeeper #1; Batman Secret Files: Miracle Molly #1.

Genres: Batman, Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Crime

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 19, 2022

About the author

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

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

Reviews

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each of the stories collected here are available elsewhere, bar two, The Signal and Clownhunter. The Huntress one-shot is collected in Detective Comics: Fear State, while the Peacekeeper-01, Miracle Molly, and Gardener one-shots are all collected in Batman: Fear State Saga. So if you're planning on nabbing any of those, you might want to think twice about grabbing this collection.

Honestly, all of these stories are pretty good, but there's definitely a disjointedness about collecting them together. The three Fear State tie-in books are pretty much essential reading for that story, but read on their own, they're a bit stale. The same can be said of the Huntress one-shot, because it draws on and sets up further Detective Comics stuff.

Which leaves the Signal and Clownhunter stories, which aren't really worth the price of admission on it's own. I expect Clownhunter will be included in an upcoming Ghost-Maker trade anyway, so that's even less reason to pick this up.

For completionists only, like this idiot here.

[Jadyn❀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used a hoopla borrow on this just because the Clownhunter issue is only available to premium DC Infinite subscribers and this inconveniently isn’t collected anywhere else, unlike most of the stories here. So, full disclosure, that’s why I came to this book. So I know that I’m biased for that reason and because Red Hood appears in the Clownhunter issue, but I think his issue is one of the better inclusions. Despite his newness in Gotham lore, I actually find him interesting. While he’s not the most original in terms of motivation, his approach is a little different. It’s reminiscent of Red Hood, obviously, but this issue uses that to its advantage. It suffers a little bit in hindsight, actually, because the idea of Red Hood mentoring Clownhunter is simply perfect. And yet, they chose to pass up the opportunity! Clownhunter ended up in fine enough hands, but I can’t help but feel if something had actually come of this issue’s proposition, Red Hood would be in a better place now.
I liked the Huntress issue too, and it’s intrigued me enough that I’m now interested in picking up the Detective Comics arc it ties into.
I wasn’t a big fan of the Signal issue. I don’t think it resolved itself well. I don’t feel like Signal was an active enough participant in the plot— a lot of things happened to and around him.
I read the Peacekeeper-01, Miracle Molly, and the Gardener stories previously in Fear State, I guess. I’m inclined to call them not necessary, but they’re necessary in the way that there is so much going on in Fear State that if you don’t get a good handle on who these characters are, it’s easy to get kind of lost in the sauce. I can see why, for that reason, they were deemed necessary enough to collect with Fear State. That being said, I still don’t care much for any of these characters. They add to Fear State, but I don’t think any of the three stand as compelling characters in their own right. I don’t know why they chose the Gardener for the cover of this thing, because I think she was the most forgettable. I read Fear State about a year ago and forgot she was in it.

[Kurt Lorenz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Signal, ☆☆
Clownhunter, ☆☆☆
Huntress, ☆☆☆
The Gardener, ☆☆☆
Miracle Molly, ☆☆☆
Peacekeeper-01, ☆☆☆

[Alex E · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume collects a series of one-shots from characters from around the world of Batman. And the thing is, it's not bad - a lot of the stories in here are actually pretty entertaining, but I believe most if not all, were backup stories or stories told in annuals. So if you've been reading the bat books, then you've probably read most of these.

But there's some cool stuff in here, we see how Signal is basically on the "day shift" for Batman and we see how cool some of his powers are. We get to see the original of Miracle Molly and we see her life before her current one. We see the Huntress and how she discovers her new connection to the villain from the Detective Comics run... But I think the highlight of book for me, was the Peacekeeper 1 story. It really was a character study on what kind of past would mold a person that would take the mantle of Peacekeeper 1. For me, it was the highlight of the book.

I would definitely recommend this if you really want to round out the world of Batman, and get to know some of the side characters that have been popping up in his world lately. However, be warned that you may have read some of these already!

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5.

One off stories if varying quality set in Fear State. All of them have the same quality…they don’t conclude making you read more like In let’s say…Fear State.

I do laugh, in what had t be a marketing decision the back cover has an image of Harley Quinn that makes it look like she is equal to all the other characters who have an issue in here. She is on a few legs of one chapter. And the image that chose is a rough throw away image that lacks the sharpness of the rest. But hey convince the readers that their favorite Harley Quinn is here!

[J.R. · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Signal story was a 3. So was Peacemaker. Huntress was about a 2.5, but read on their own they are too disconnected and don’t stand up well, since they tie in to the main series.

The Miracle Molly and Gardener ones were 1 star each. The Molly one was especially bad. The Gardener story makes no sense at all.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t actually read the majority of the issues in this collection. I only read the final two, the Molly Machine and Poison Ivy stories written by James Tynion. Those two issues alone make the collection worth it. They are two of my favorite single issue comics, and both feature incredible and unique art, the first by Dani and the second by Christian Ward.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not terrible. Not essential, either. This is a mixed-bag of one shots from the time of the Fear State arc running in the Batman comics. Each issue focuses on a different bat-ally or bat-foe and some aren't that bad, while others have no reason, really, to exist. The art is quite variable from one to the next.

[Matt Maielli]

Solely picked this up to check out the Gardener story, which I knew featured Christian Ward on art duty. Ended up reading the whole thing and it serves as a sample platter of how weird Batman comics are recently, of which I’ve read none.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

the only story i really enjoyed is the last one, featured on the cover. Retelling Poison Ivy's origin and updating it (Jason Woodrue was popular at Burning Man). The ivy story got this book at least three stars, all the rest prevented it from getting 4 stars.

[Ming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh wow backstories of characters no one really cares about and nobody asked for lol. That being said, some are decent reads, while others are kinda messy. Only the Huntress one isn't an origin tale of sorts.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Batman: Secret Files might be the worst Batman volume in the whole DC Rebirth. It’s six one-offs of c-list Batverse characters set in the Fear State era. I read it to complete the run, but I’d advise skipping it.

[Jorge Lopez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read as single issues part of the Fear State event

[Wren Worthington · Rating 2 out of 5]

That sure existed. Some of the art was nice and I liked the conclusion to the clownhunter story but mostly quite boring to slog through

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume is understandably a little all over the place, given that each story follows a different character. I would check this out if any of them are your fave, but this is definitely skippable.

[camila · Rating 5 out of 5]

the gardener solos

[Isapropanol · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,75 really

[S S · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories work separately, and I loved the Clownhunter, Miracle Molly and the Gardener stories.

[John Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly uninteresting stories about uninteresting characters.

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very filler with independent stories that all don’t really feel worth it.

[Rafael Suleiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good graphic novel.

[Kris Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up, but I am only counting The Signal, Huntress, and Clownhunter for those as I will read the other three issues in Fear State

[Orhun · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a disappointing read, offering little new or engaging content. The stories feel rushed, with underdeveloped characters and shallow plotlines that fail to captivate. The artwork is inconsistent, with multiple artists creating a disjointed experience that lacks the cohesive atmosphere Batman comics are known for. Overall, the volume feels like a missed opportunity, offering little to excite fans looking for depth or fresh perspectives on Gotham's dark world.


Overall: 2.5/5