The Heart Of The Bat — Reviewing ‘DC K.O.: Knightfight’ #4

Always ten or more steps ahead, Batman has planned for every outcome except one; an actually happy Batman-free future. That’s what the Heart of Apokolips has shown him and plans to punish him with after he cheated.

Hard decisions are made as heartstrings are yanked in DC K.O.: Knightfight #4, the conclusion of this miniseries from Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Tríona Farrell, and Tom Napolitano.

-Spoilers Follow-

Moran-drawn comics are truly a massive treat.

No matter what the particular issue might be asking for, his artwork will deliver the absolute hell out of whatever it might be. He adds tons of detailed depth and an overall grand epic feeling, no matter what is happening. We’re given a lot of very intimate emotionally heavy moments in this issue and they feel that way. Mora’s facial expressions, body language, and panel pacing are beyond top notch.

Every bit of sadness and joy that comes from Bruce’s time with Damian and his extended family permeates from every panel. Even as the issue shifts towards more action and bolder settings, it never misses a beat.

Calling the art style superhero-friendly is a misnomer, because it’s just comic book-friendly period. There is a reason that Mora is tapped for so many different series as well as so many covers. In just these four issues, he gave us a ton of artwork that was similar in style but so wildly different tonally that one might have mistaken it for another artist stepping in for a moment.

After going through a lot of heavier and darker palettes in the previous issues, Farrell gets to go brighter and lighter with this issue. This really highlights how different this version of Gotham is from everything else we’ve ever seen. No lingering shadows or grimmer elements remind us of the darkness that exists eternally within the city’s core. Instead, it feels like the most hopeful of palettes. All the better to rip out Bruce’s heart along the way.

Once more, Napolitano is given so much room to go nuts with lettering work. He really leans into the ways to modify any of the lettering with colors, box shapes, fonts, and outside of the box thoughts. He’s going with some different vibes here as the tone of this issue is different than the previous ones. Lighter and brighter, as noted above, leadsto a different way to approach the dialogue and styles.

The Heart and its big loud white on black dialogue explosions are still some of my favorite bits.

I applaud what Williamson has crafted here.

Batman’s whole thing is that he tries to game the system to stay ahead and win. Admitting defeat is not in his vocabulary and even in his ideal thoughts about the future, he never imagines a world that doesn’t need him. As hopeful as he can be at times there is a part of him that can’t let go of the darkness. Seeing it as an eternal battle at times, it’s something a Batman will need to deal with.

This issue didn’t just dangle the better future before Bruce and have him push back. No, instead we get to see him struggle with the fact that he actually didn’t foresee something like this; that he would get to have a family, be a grandfather, and see a better world. Batman’s admittance of defeat comes from the fact that he cannot let go of a potentially hopeful outcome for himself and his family.

I love every bit of that.

Batman as a family person who wants what is best for things, not just cloaked in the darkness, is what I’m here for. Punishing Batman with hope to hype him up to return to the tournament? Oh, that’s some deliciousness right there.

DC K.O.: Knightfight #4 is now available from DC Comics.