Tags
Batman, Batman #100, Batman #100 review, Batmobile, DC Comics, James Tynion IV, Joker, Joker War, Joker War finale, JOker War part 6, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey
Batman #100
Review by Paul Bowler
Life changing events await the Dark Knight in Batman #100 as Joker War reaches its thrilling finale courtesy of the dynamic creative team of writer James Tynion IV, artist Jorge Jimenez and colorist Tomeu Morey. The fate of Gotham City hangs in the balance as Batman reaches his epic showdown with the Joker at ACE Chemicals, the outcome will change Gotham forever, and the aftermath will herald a bold new era for Batman and his allies!
James Tynion IV deftly juggles an ensemble cast of Bat-characters and numerous ongoing plot strands in Batman #100, with Batgirl revisiting her role as Oracle in the iconic Clocktower to coordinate the Bat-Families efforts by initiating latent protocols in the Bat-Computer and broadcasting a message of hope to Gothamites while Nightwing leads the fight against Joker’s marauding goons on the streets alongside Red Robin, Batwoman, Red Hood, Spoiler, Orphan, and Signal. I’m really pleased that Dick Grayson is finally back as Nightwing at last, especially now the whole Ric Grayson fiasco is out the way, and his banter with Barbara is a joy to behold here. Commissioner Bullock also steps up to the plate too; putting career on the line to keep GCPD in the fight to save Gotham.
Of course the main event of this landmark issue is Batman’s confrontation with the Joker at ACE Chemicals. The Clown Prince of Crime has donned his own Jokerized next-gen Bat-Suit for the occasion, and he’s even brought a present to the party to taunt the Dark Knight – Alfred’s weaponised corpse! Batman’s eternal conflict with the Joker has been elevated into a frightening theatre of war over the course of James Tynion’s Joker War story-arc – quite literally in some instances — and Tynion skilfully delivers a refreshingly new slant on the familiar tropes that inevitably resurface when Batman and Joker clash so spectacularly as this. The Joker really manages to push Batman’s buttons this time around though, finally getting the chance to really twist the knife just for good measure, before a wild card enters the fray and forces the Dark Knight to make a game changing choice that I feel won’t be as easy to walk away from once the dust has settled.
Joker War has seen some amazing work grace the pages of Batman from artist Jorge Jimenez and colorist Tomeu Morey, and with Batman #100 they’ve certainly gone that extra mile to make this issue extra special. Jimenez’s richly detailed artwork and dynamic page layouts convey the action at a break-neck-pace. Batman’s showdown with the Joker is all boiling vats of chemicals, brutal combat, and frightening horror — both psychological and physical. Alfred’s weaponised corpse is also chillingly macabre and looks like something that’s just shambled out of a Re-Animator movie. Other highlights include Oracle back in the Clocktower, the Bat-Family fighting Joker’s forces on the streets of Gotham, and Nightwing’s face-off with Punchline are all especially standout moments as are the vivid colors and hues by Tomeu Morey which bring a startling clarity to a fire ravaged Gotham gripped by chaos, the oppressive shadows of ACE Chemicals look more sinister than ever, whilst gleaming tones from Bruce’s futuristic dreams for the Bat legacy become a maniacal twinkle in the Joker’s eye, and the fiery finale is awash with the bittersweet hopes and shades of the new dawn waiting on the horizon.
In the aftermath of Joker War writer James Tynion manages to wrap things up with considerable style. There’s no attempt to pull the wool over out eyes. As is the way with most comic book ‘events’ nowadays everything and nothing changes in almost equal measure, corruption in Gotham may been exposed on every level, but the ambiguities of Joker’s fate are unashamedly glossed over to leave things open-ended, there’s a funeral for a dear friend, and we even get a tantalising glimpse of Gotham’s newest vigilante and rival to Batman – the Ghost Maker!
If all that wasn’t enough Batman #100 also features two back-up stories, both written by Tynion. Intervention, with art by Carlo Pagulayn, inks by Danny Miki and colors by Tomeu Morey features the first meeting between Batman and Clownhunter. The reveal of Clownhunter’s true identity wasn’t quite what I was expecting, if anything it had an almost Robin-in-waiting tone to it, and it will be interesting to see where Tynion takes this interesting — if somewhat messed-up — character next. Dead Ringers features art by Guillem March and colors by Tomeu Morey, and shifts the focus towards Punchline in the aftermath of Joker War. I‘m not a huge fan of Punchline, her character has slowly grown on me over the course of Joker War, but unfortunately this tale proved rather underwhelming and was easily the weakest out of the two back-up stories in this issue.
The only criticism I can really level at Batman #100 is that the requisition of the Wayne fortune feels little more than a sidebar to the main action and isn’t really explained in any detail at all. As for Joker War itself, well, as comic book events go, I think it turned out rather well. Some might argue that it was just a series of big set-pieces with scant narrative content and that James Tynion was writing solely for the omnibus / trade collection. To a degree, Joker War certainly reads better as a whole, but the story is far more than the sum of its parts. Joker War has examined the dark schism between Batman and Joker from an entirely fresh perspective, its shaken up the status quo, reunited the Bat-Family, and tackled the emotional fallout from Alfred’s death in a way that finally brings some meaning to his senseless demise during Tom King’s run.
Joker War reaches a powerful, emotional and action-packed conclusion with this outstanding issue — and overall I think Joker War can be considered a rousing success on practically every front. James Tynion IV, Jorge Jimenez and Tomeu Morey have excelled themselves with Batman #100, they’ve revitalised DC Comics flagship Batman book in every conceivable way, and I can’t wait to see where this teams run on Batman will take the Dark Knight and his allies next.
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artists: Jorge Jimenez / Gillem March / Carlo Pagulayan
Inks: Jorge Jimenez / Gillem March / Danny Miki
Colors: Tomeu Morey / Cover: Jorge Jimenez & Tomeu Morey
About The Author
Hi, I’m Paul Bowler, blogger and reviewer of films, TV shows, and comic books. I’m a Sci-Fi geek, a big fan of Doctor Who, Star Trek, movies, Sci-Fi, Horror, Comic Books, and all things PS4.You can follow me on Twitter @paul_bowler,or at my website, Sci-Fi Jubilee, and on YouTube and Facebook
“Alfred’s weaponised corpse” – Wow, I can only imagine how that plays out in the comic. However, it’s news to me that Alfred is dead. 😦 Excellent write up.
It is really creepy seeing Alfred like that in this issue, and doubly tragic for Batman to deal with as well.
Looking forward to reading it simply because it is finally the end of the Joker – at least for an issue or two until someone drags him out again. lol Great review!
I have enjoyed Joker War a lot. I agree though, we’ve had a lot of Joker stories recently, and now it probably a good time to have a break from him for a while. I think Batman #100 wraps this story up quite well and leaves things open for the creative team to take things in a fresh direction. Cheers, glad you enjoyed the review! 🙂
I’m almost afraid to ask, but what/who is Ric Grayson?
Well, a short while back in the comics the KGB Beast shot Nighting in the head. This injury caused Dick Grayson to lose his memory and stop being Nightwing. Dick Grayson thought he was Ric Grayson. A team of vigilantes became a group of Nightwings fighting crime and Ric Grayson mentored them for a bit. Then juts before Joker War the Joker brainwashed Ric Grayson and made Ric think he was now the Joker’s son. Then towards the end of Joker War Dick Grayson got his memory back, stopped thinking he was Ric Grayson or whatever, and returned to normal to team-up with the rest of the Bat-Family to help Batman save Gotham from the Joker. Phew! I bet you’re glad you asked now LOL! And yes, I think DC Comics have treated the character of Dick Grayson appallingly over the last few years. Hopefully this signals a new, and much better era for Nightwing now all that nonsense is over.
Holy schnikeys Batman! It’s not as bad as Jason Todd coming back from the dead, but not by much
LOL!
It was a solidly enjoyable finale to the story and what a tense showdown at ACE Chemicals! Of course we knew that twist was coming at the end but it makes the future of Batman all the more tantalising.
Unpopular opinion: I don’t think Alfred’s death was senseless, I really do feel it’s added a lot of emotional weight and opened up a lot of narrative and character opportunities (not in the least putting Lucius Fox front and centre). I want Alfred back and know that eventually he will be, but every now and then things need shaking up, especially after 80 years (the only constant is change as they say).
Anyway, great review Paul – think I’ll be picking up the hardcover collection (Jimenez’s art will look all the more gorgeous in print) to re-read it. DC are doing companion collections as well which collect the tie-in issues from the other Bat-family comics so they might be worth picking up as well!
I though the showdown between Batman and Joker at ACE Chemicals was brilliantly exciting. Also really gad to see Nightwing return to the fold properly as Dick Grayson. I’m still not a fan of how Alfred was killed off in City of Bane, but I think Tynion has done a good job addressing Bruce’s grief during Joker War. Change is always usually good for creativity though and I’ve no doubt Alfred will return during some inevitable reboot or other. Cheers, glad you enjoyed the review. Been a while since I’ve covered a whole comic book event like Joker War, was fun. I’ll probably get the hardcover trade edition of this storyline as well because I really enjoyed it too. I only read a couple of the tie-in issues in Detective Comics and Red Hood Outlaw, and those were pretty good – so you might enjoy the tie-in volume as well.
Fingers crossed James Tynion’s run maintains this level of quality, looking forward to the next arc for sure – plus there’s still one more issue of Three Jokers to come, we’ve really been spoiled with Joker goodness this year!
I agree, think Tynion did a great job with Joker War, and hopefully the high quality will be maintained going forward. Yeah, we’ve really been spoiled with some great Joker stories this year. I’ve been enjoying Three Jokers as well! 🙂
Now if DC would turn both those stories into animated movies I’ll be even happier!!!
Oh yeah, they sure would. Its wouldn’t surprise me if we saw animated features for both Joker War and Three Jokers at some point. Especially as these stories have been so popular.
I had to skim through this considering that I still haven’t picked up my issue #100. I am glad for all the positive notes you’ve mentioned here though. Seems like Tynion IV has wrapped things up marvelously here and that this Joker War will go down in history as one of the best stories in a while too. Thanks for sharing, Paul! 😀
I think Tynion has done a great job with his run on Batman so far, and Joker War has also been an excellent storyline. He’s certainly set things up for a blond new era for the Dark Knight. Cheers for checking out the review and enjoy the the issue. 🙂
Wow, this finale of the Joker War was truly epic and was a pleasant surprise. All too often, these so-called epic storylines feel so run-of-the-mill and basically leaves the status quo unchanged.
Thankfully, Batman #100 lived up to the hype and delivered a finale that gave most of the characters their moment to shine.
Of course, we know this is not the end of the Joker, but now Batman (the book and the character) can focus on other threats to Gotham as well as the potential rivalry from the Ghost Maker.
I thought Batman #100 provided a fantastic finale to Joker War. The artwork was great as well. This was a story that more than lived up to the hype for a change. – not something we get in comic book events much these days sadly. I’m sure Joker will return but for now I’d like to see the focus on other villains for a bit. Really excited to see what Tynion has in store next for Batman and the introduction of Ghost Maker is sure to challenge the Dark Knight as well!
Your quote “As is the way with most comic book ‘events’ nowadays everything and nothing changes in almost equal measure” is so very true of comics! Drives me nuts!
Yes, so often the big changes in comics never seem to amount to that much in the end do they? It is a bit of a bugbear of mine as well when it comes to the comics sometimes. Still, at least Joker War was an exciting story, so I’ll let them off this once. 🙂