jithinjohn's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vernip's review against another edition
2.0
By all accounts, this makes no sense; seriously, did this pop up in like some schoolyard nerd fight and the folks at DC just HAD to make it to settle the debate?
jonghyun's review
dark
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
very odd and interesting concept; batman gets taken and brainwashed by a cult. this comic explores such themes as religion, politics, and morals.
batman is at his lowest points here and at one point even decides not to come back to gotham and fight the cult, which i find not much of his character at all since he only regrets this because of a dream he had of his parents. he also doesn’t do much for the homeless which is the root of the problem in some way, otherwise well written and executed! love jason’s robin in this.
i also found out i would be somewhat easy to brainwash, which is a weird discovery.
batman is at his lowest points here and at one point even decides not to come back to gotham and fight the cult, which i find not much of his character at all since he only regrets this because of a dream he had of his parents. he also doesn’t do much for the homeless which is the root of the problem in some way, otherwise well written and executed! love jason’s robin in this.
i also found out i would be somewhat easy to brainwash, which is a weird discovery.
kellygorman's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I’m slowly working my way through a list I found online of the best Batman comics and this one was definitely a departure from the others I’ve read so far. This was such a weird premise but it was actually pretty well executed and had a lot of commentary on heavy issues like crime, politics, religion, and what should guide our morals.
I feel like a lot of times Batman gets written off as just a guy in a costume that punches people but so far he’s the most psychological superhero character I’ve encountered. There was a lot of moral issues he faced, like whether or not he should kill and why he does his job (which is pretty much in every single one of his stories) but also why his villains do what they do.
One thing I didn’t like was that he makes pretty much no effort to solve the actual issue. At one point, the main villain alludes to the fact that many of his followers (who are mostly homeless and poor people) were brainwashed into joining him, just like Batman was at the beginning. However, all Batman does through this entire story is beat up the followers. The homeless people just end up homeless again at the end of the story. I had hoped that at the end he would try to do something to help those vulnerable people, but he doesn’t.
I also didn’t like that he was totally okay with Gotham being overtaken and him just ditching. The only thing that makes him decide to go back is the dream he has about his parents. What about the 4 million people that are still there and supposedly being murdered in the streets, plus all the brainwashed homeless people! Honestly I thought that was a little selfish and he never really amends that.
It was a cool story with great art and I did really like a lot of aspects of it. I think it was trying to do something really interesting. However, when I think about some aspects of it for more than a few minutes, I don’t like it as much.
tabman678's review
5.0
Batman: The Cult is a pretty rad Batman story. I’d compare it to Knightfall and The Dark Knight Returns if Knightfall was better. I’d put it right up there with No Mans Land, Knightfall, and Death in the family as major trials for Batman.
Cause he gets broken here. His spirit is crushed and he has a crime fighting impotence. And it’s great. The art is amazing for one. And it’s written very well with the exception of two instances. One being Batman’s loose use of guns here and he stood by at a point while people died. And it’s a cult, you already know how ridiculous it’s going to be.
But I see why this is considered a classic. It’s violent and disturbing but very Batman. And it’s a great Jason Todd story too.
I’m giving it 5 stars.
Cause he gets broken here. His spirit is crushed and he has a crime fighting impotence. And it’s great. The art is amazing for one. And it’s written very well with the exception of two instances. One being Batman’s loose use of guns here and he stood by at a point while people died. And it’s a cult, you already know how ridiculous it’s going to be.
But I see why this is considered a classic. It’s violent and disturbing but very Batman. And it’s a great Jason Todd story too.
I’m giving it 5 stars.
birdmanseven's review
3.0
This was odd, but I think I liked it. The concept was interesting: Batman gets captured and brainwashed by a cult. I was interested to read this in part because it includes Jason Todd as Robin. While it was predominantly just Batman, it was interesting to see some of the things that seperate Jason from Dick, Tim or Stephanie. Jason doesn't feel like Batman's sidekick, but rather an equal. He takes the lead sometimes and is more tough with Batman than the others. That's particularly important with Batman being somewhat incapacitated for the majority of this volume. Another Robin would have made this a very different story. I wish Jason would have been developed more because I think it's a really interesting dynamic.
For more (much, much more) on Robin, tune in to a special spotlight over on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-241-holy-robin-spotlight-batman
For more (much, much more) on Robin, tune in to a special spotlight over on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-241-holy-robin-spotlight-batman
abhi_thelegend's review
4.0
Batman The Cult was a fun one to read! I really liked how unique it is because this is the first book where Batman gets mentally broken, and it’s just an interesting story, Robin is in it so that’s cool! There aren’t many books with Robin so that’s also something that makes this unique! The things that Batman experiences and how he reacts send like a feeling of guilt cause you feel bad about what happened to him, great story I enjoyed it!
libra17's review
4.0
Weird Story
I chose to read The Cult because it is the first appearence of the Miagani tribe in DC and because I vaguely remember it mentioned as one of Batman's low points. And, oh; is it a low point. Batman is captured and brainwashed by a psycho (possibly supernatural) cult leader, nearly abandons Gotham when that cult leader succeeds in taking the city, and - when his own dreams guilt him into coming back and defending the populace - he uses a modified tank and modified assualt rifles to clear a path for the army and confront the cult leader. Granted the weaponry is modified to shoot tranquilizers, but this is still a story where the Batman resorts to firearms when he admits that their usual arsenal would not be up to task and eventually stands aside as the cult leader is literally torn to bits when his followers turn on him. And he's surprised when Jason Todd - the Robin in this story - one day decides that last resort should be first resort weaponry in order to prevent as many casualties as possible from even happening? The Cult is a decent enough story - though the content is a bit supernatural for my taste in a batbook - but I liked it for a better understanding of the Red Hood and for foreshadowing Batman's eventual capture and attemped brainwashing by the Court of Owls.
I chose to read The Cult because it is the first appearence of the Miagani tribe in DC and because I vaguely remember it mentioned as one of Batman's low points. And, oh; is it a low point. Batman is captured and brainwashed by a psycho (possibly supernatural) cult leader, nearly abandons Gotham when that cult leader succeeds in taking the city, and - when his own dreams guilt him into coming back and defending the populace - he uses a modified tank and modified assualt rifles to clear a path for the army and confront the cult leader. Granted the weaponry is modified to shoot tranquilizers, but this is still a story where the Batman resorts to firearms when he admits that their usual arsenal would not be up to task and eventually stands aside as the cult leader is literally torn to bits when his followers turn on him. And he's surprised when Jason Todd - the Robin in this story - one day decides that last resort should be first resort weaponry in order to prevent as many casualties as possible from even happening? The Cult is a decent enough story - though the content is a bit supernatural for my taste in a batbook - but I liked it for a better understanding of the Red Hood and for foreshadowing Batman's eventual capture and attemped brainwashing by the Court of Owls.
drasticpear's review
4.0
The art alone is enough to make me love this book, with the dark aesthetic of the lines contrasted by psychedelic colours.
The story was compelling, breaking batman down and filling him with doubt, confusion, and fear. It's a side of him rarely seen.
We all know batman need a robin, but this book is an excellent example of how much of a stabilizing force they actually are.
The story was compelling, breaking batman down and filling him with doubt, confusion, and fear. It's a side of him rarely seen.
We all know batman need a robin, but this book is an excellent example of how much of a stabilizing force they actually are.