A review by jakekilroy
Batman: Knightfall, Part Two: Who Rules the Night by Jim Balent, Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, Alan Grant, Norm Breyfogle, Graham Nolan, Jim Aparo
3.0
After Bane broke Batman's back, Bruce Wayne had Jean Paul Valley (formerly Azrael) step in as The Dark Knight. Nightwing gets involved, as Robin (Tim Drake) grows increasingly concerned about Valley's more brutal version of the hero. In fact, Valley's turn as Batman almost works as a sensual dream for Batman fans, since you get to see the costume work as reckless and careless as possible. Valley wants to pummel everything, if not kill all villains. So, to see the Batman cowl ready to destroy everyone, it's pretty cool.
However, it's still tainted with the knowledge that it's not Bruce Wayne or even Dick Grayson. It's some blonde asshole with a brainwashed assassin complex. Still, as Part 1 focused more on Bane as a villain, Part 2 hones in on Batman as a code. What makes Batman the actual Batman? Robin muses throughout the arc, all while Alfred tends to a paralyzed Bruce Wayne.
If Part 1 was a peculiar mix of Batman as a do-good hero series and a violent moral vs. immoral saga, then Part 2 is closer to the latter. There isn't much Batman as the cheerful rogue, nor as the brooding self-loathing weirdo. He's the 1990s Batman, stern yet dedicated, but he's so worn out and broken. Enter Jean Paul Valley reinterpreting the cowl and Robin doing everything he can to figure out what Batman is to the city, and you have yourself a pretty intriguing (though somewhat dragged out) opera in Gotham.
However, it's still tainted with the knowledge that it's not Bruce Wayne or even Dick Grayson. It's some blonde asshole with a brainwashed assassin complex. Still, as Part 1 focused more on Bane as a villain, Part 2 hones in on Batman as a code. What makes Batman the actual Batman? Robin muses throughout the arc, all while Alfred tends to a paralyzed Bruce Wayne.
If Part 1 was a peculiar mix of Batman as a do-good hero series and a violent moral vs. immoral saga, then Part 2 is closer to the latter. There isn't much Batman as the cheerful rogue, nor as the brooding self-loathing weirdo. He's the 1990s Batman, stern yet dedicated, but he's so worn out and broken. Enter Jean Paul Valley reinterpreting the cowl and Robin doing everything he can to figure out what Batman is to the city, and you have yourself a pretty intriguing (though somewhat dragged out) opera in Gotham.