Batman Vol. 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles (Rebirth)

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Hoist by His Own Petard: The War of Jokes and Riddles is caused by this trope: the Riddler and Joker's obsession with Batman is so far reaching that they can't get over the fact that Batman refuses to laugh and all the Riddler wants to do is outsmart Batman. Riddler attempts to partner up with the Joker to get revenge on Batman, but the Joker shoots him in the gut and leaves him to die, setting off the war. Despair Event Horizon: Bruce after the wedding issue. The very next issue, he rips a public urinal out in anger and is clearly lashing out against his Batman persona while on the jury. The story is incredibly engaging. Tom King has done a great job of creating a story line that seems almost hopeless to Batman as he tries to engage the different sides in this conflict. You can really see the Batman’s struggle as he has to play the dual roles of negotiator and enforcer, all the while it just seems like everything is hopeless. There is also a sub-plot within the story where a villain by the name of Kite-man is involved. His story is very tragic, his son was poisoned by the Riddler, jolting him into this conflict and is often the butt of jokes because he isn’t the most terrifying villain. He is not a good guy, but he is used by all sides in this conflict for one reason or another. I won’t spoil anything, but his story is a woven thread of tragedy and redemption. Rashomon"-Style: The recurring "It was on a boat"/"It was on the street" argument that Batman and Catwoman have over how they first met. Bruce's account references the original telling in 1940's Batman #1, while Selina's references the version from Batman: Year One. The story eventually clarifies that they both remember both events, they just disagree about which one "counts"; Bruce thinks of their very first meeting, before the costumes, but to Selina, they didn't really meet until they met as the Cat and the Bat. Eventually, they reconcile the difference after talking on a beach, when they've come to terms with the idea that Selina Kyle and Catwoman have finally "met" Bruce Wayne and Batman.

The Joker and The Riddler are at war, each recruiting various villains across Gotham City to their side, and it's up to Batman to end it before it gets out of hand It turns out, in the end, that the Riddler made Kite Man. He made him to be a joke. And Tom King took a joke character and made him something that it takes a two-thousand word article to fully explain. The Chew Toy: Kite Man is first captured by Gotham Girl in the "I Am Gotham" epilogue, and thrown into Arkham. In his next appearance, he's free, but gets the stuffing beaten out of him during Batman and Catwoman's "date night." Hypocrite: Flashpoint Thomas Wayne is motivated by his Papa Wolf tendencies to prevent his son from experiencing the immeasurable pain that comes with being Batman. This leads him to have Alfred murdered, thereby causing Bruce immeasurable pain. Dragon with an Agenda: Bane turns out to be the Big Bad of the entire run, and his second-in-command is none other than Thomas Wayne, the Batman of the Flashpoint universe. Both of them want Batman broken, but for different reasons: the Big Bad wants to prove his superiority, while Thomas wants Bruce to give up Batman so they can settle down as father and son.Positive Content: Despite many of the negatives that I list, the actions of Batman are heroic as he tries to save Gotham from this devastating street war. Review Graceful Loser: Talia al Ghul doesn't seem that bothered by being beaten by Catwoman, implying the whole conflict between them and Batman was a test to see if she was worthy of being his bride. Flashpoint Thomas Wayne, acting as a foil to Bruce, is also this. Except he never outgrows it and is a self-destructive, jaded Batman who is old and alone and, by the end of Tom King's run, possibly dead. Kite-Man's origin story (very well flashed out, him being a father, his son asking him if he's a "joke" etc.)

Also we see a spectacular return of Kite-Man, Hell yeah! No jokes though, the issues that focus more on Kite-Man are actually the best issues I felt, and I don't think anyone has ever given Kite-Man such a meaningful arc like King has here. Kite-Man although not my favourite villain or anything, definitely was a stand out here!Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2023-01-12 04:13:28 Associated-names Janín, Mikel, artist; Chung, June, colourist; Cowles, Clayton, letterer Autocrop_version 0.0.14_books-20220331-0.2 Bookplateleaf 0002 Boxid IA40655824 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier Moreover, the angles that Batman (and oddly as Bruce Wayne too) decides to battle against both villains was off-course of the way that the Caped Crusader should react to this criminal war. In Batman #4, Gotham tries to prevent a suicide that's extremely similar to a scene in All-Star Superman. Except instead of it working out, the person still commits suicide by blowing themselves up.

Freudian Excuse: Batman #27 details Kite Man's: his young son was killed by the Riddler after a sting operation for Batman went wrong, prompting him to take on the Kite Man identity to seek revenge. Amicable Exes: After Catwoman beats her in a sword fight, a wounded Talia al Ghul crawls up to Batman and they act rather friendly with each other despite her attempting to kill him earlier that day. She also approves of Selina being Bruce's fiancée. This is the magic of never ending, serialized comics, as King effused at San Diego Comic-Con, an event dominated by movie studios but still the annual house that comics built. “The history of taking old ideas seriously.”He’s long been a joke villain in the same vein as Condiment King or Crazy Quilt, but there are two interlude issues, drawn by Mann, that intimately focus on his personal stake in this massive war, and while I don’t want to reveal what happens, I will say that the frankly brilliant work done on the character elevates him from a silly bad guy to a compelling, tragic villain you can’t help but feel for. It’s not unlike how Batman: The Animated Series re-invented Mr. Freeze in a genius way that’s still embraced today. What happened next, when it was just us...no one--no one but the insane know what happened next. But I have to tell you. You have to know, Cat. Because, then, you'll know me. Who I am. And then you can decide. If I'm worth your life, your love. If you can forgive me. If you can marry me." True Final Boss: Flashpoint Thomas Wayne, who kills Bane and gives Batman the final fight of the run, while also being a more personal and thematically fitting villain for Bruce to fight. His family gets put in protective services, but it’s too late. Riddler knew, even before the meeting, that Brown would double-cross him, and he poisoned his son with a chemical on his kite string. Brown does the only thing that makes sense in Gotham City, the thing that only makes sense in Gotham City.