Review — ‘Batman’ #156 Sets Up A Hell Of A Finale

Batman as a series has been flawed for some time now. Some stories have been better than others, but it hasn’t quite hit the heights that the creative team is capable of. As the penultimate issue of the run hit stands this week, we got a glimpse of what could have been, and a story I’m glad we got.

Chip Zdarsky, Tony S. Daniel, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles set Gotham City on fire…

The Court of Owls and the Riddler have caused chaos and riots across Gotham City. Batman has only just now unraveled their plan and exonerated Jim Gordon from accusations of murder. Now, the Dark Knight and the former police commissioner are racing against the clock to assemble the final pieces of the Court’s plans and solve Riddler’s puzzles before Gotham is torn apart.

The frantic energy of this story is fantastic. Zdarsky takes multiple fantastical elements of Batman’s world — the Court, some sci-fi DCU technology, the Bat-rogue’s gimmicks — and bundles them into a tense thriller. It’s not realistic, per se, but it’s grounded. And having Bruce and Gordon team up breathed a lot of life into the issue that was previously missing. A lot of this issue felt to me like “what could have been” as this is the Chip Zdarsky that I really love fully on display, even if there is one twist at the end that’s a little too far.

Daniel is just as much a reliable hand as he is a superstar. I missed Jorge Jimenez here as his run with Zdarsky wraps next issue, but Daniel steps up here to make sure that the issue doesn’t miss a beat. His characters and layouts are clean, but everything is dynamic. Batman fighting through the GCPD is exciting, but he draws Batman fighting through NygmaTech in a very different way, exploring how different the spaces are while still making it clear they’re both clearly Batman.

Morey creates a visual continuity through the run. His lighting effects stand out, and he bathes the issue in reds to create a foreboding sense of doom. His use of green is muted, except when the Riddler is on the page, making Nygma pop every time he shows up.

There was so much potential through the entire run, and the execution just did not live up to it. This issue just shows what could have been, and I’m glad we got to see it. I hope we can see more from this creative team soon.

Batman #156 is available now from DC Comics.