A run-in with an abusive cop leads Robin (Tim Drake) into a really rough night in Batman #2, written by Matt Fraction, drawn by Jorge Jimenez, colored by Tomeu Morey and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Matt Lazorwitz: It’s a pretty busy week for DC, huh? Prelude to DC K.O., Absolute Evil, new Gotham Academy.
Will Nevin: DC K.O. might be a tough sell for me, guy-who-has-never-cared-about-power-levels. But Absolute Evil seems like a thing we gotta read at some point, right? And Bat-Man: Second Knight is still out there, flappin’ its perfect little wings in the old-timey breeze.
Tim Drake vs. The GCPD (and a Stick Shift)
Matt: Listen, I’m not going to even try to disguise the fact that an issue that centers on Tim Drake isn’t exactly the kind of thing I’m into. But this could have been any Robin and I think this story would have worked for me. It just works better for me because it’s Tim.
Will: I have waited for … years? … for a main Bat title to actually have something to say about our world — you know, the real one we live in. Escapism is fun, yes, I won’t argue with anyone there, but when we’ve had high-caliber writers come in and have nothing of substance to contribute, it has been incredibly disappointing.
This was as ugly as a story as I can remember, right down to the obvious nods to real world tragedies.
And it was incredible.
Matt: We had a hint of what was going on at the end of last issue, seeing Tim’s SOS to Bruce from Bruce’s perspective, but we’ve seen Bat family run-ins with the cops since the earliest days of Batman. But this is, as you pointed out, so much more grimey. There is a cop here who is the worst kind of bully, the worst kind of man. He’s someone who revels in his power and his use of force. It’s not your normal Gotham corruption, where someone is on the take from the mob. It’s a small man who is using his power to make himself feel big. And it’s scary in the right way.
Will: This wasn’t a story about crazy tech or science fiction or anything else outlandish — as you said, it’s a bad cop doing bad things in an outsized but utterly believable way. And while Batman doesn’t preach or sermonize, he makes his views clear: “Police brutality and murder puts us on opposite sides.”
Matt: The book does its best to make it clear who is in the right and who is in the wrong both in obvious and subtle ways. The guys who Tim and the cops interrupt are idiots, and they deserve some justice for shooting the truck driver, I don’t think anyone would doubt that. But they’re stealing baby formula because it’s so damn expensive. And for this, the guy gets shot in the back. It takes away the argument of, “Well, he was a drug dealer, and a drain on society” that certain quarters use to justify excessive force, huh? But would that have been needed? Regardless of who the guy was, it would have been wrong. But this is to add that little extra oomph to the moment.
Will: And, look, I’ve been critical of the Commissioner Vandal Savage idea, mostly because it’s only a hair’s breadth away from giving the police force to any other supervillain. BUT if that’s a tool for Fraction to put into place a public official who openly exploits tragedy and lies to the people of Gotham for his own ends? Well, count me in, fella.
Matt: And his utter disregard for the press? “Remove the reporters. Break their cameras. And jaws.” You put that in a comic before 2016, I’d be rolling my eyes at the overkill. Today? It’s a little too real.
Will: This and One Battle After Another are but the thinnest of satires in 2025. Some country we got goin’ for us, huh? And like I said earlier, maybe that’s an argument in favor of escapism — not that this issue didn’t have some moments of levity — but I want to be confronted with the shit we’re in. I don’t want to be able to look away. I don’t know that I can do anything about it, but I don’t want to become numb to it. Our art may not be able to change things, but it doesn’t have to help us slide into a comfortable oblivion.
Matt: I think there’s a medium between the two. I don’t want every story to be this ripped from the headlines, but I don’t need every story to be Batman and Bat-Mite traveling through space, either. And this issue does balance the intensity with not just levity, but character. We just read a series for the podcast that did a lot of the flashback-mingled-with-the-present-throughout thing that was just tiring. Balancing this intense story in the present with Tim learning to drive stick, and it coming around in the end to matter to the story, released the pressure just enough to keep it from crushing the reader under the weight of the story.
Plus we got an Alfred cameo and Damian getting shown up. Both pluses.
Will: Two issues in, and I think we’re getting a good sense of how Fraction is able to deftly balance the seriousness with some lighter bits. You mentioned the learning to drive, right? Batman talking about all the gears in the Batmobile and what they were for was some good nonsense shit. Because, of course, he has “the coolest car in the world.”
Matt: Those lighter touches don’t take anything away from Batman, don’t make him a clown, but it shows he appreciates the weird world that he lives in, and I like that a lot.
Will: I’m also excited for the fact that this will ultimately get us to what the Batman status quo should more or less be: a principled Officer Gordon helping out a Batman without many other allies.
Matt: Will Nevin: “If every story could be ‘Year One,’ I’d be happy.” Love you, man.
Will: I am as god (and Frank Miller, who is specifically not god, especially when judged by his views and late-career output) made me, Matt.
Matt: OK, question I have at the end of the issue: Tim says he stabilized our killer cop’s partner before he left with Bruce, and he should be fine for when the paramedics get there. But that cop is dead by the time the paramedics get there. My money is on our killer cop having removed the bandage to kill his own partner to avoid the consequences of his actions and he feels betrayed. Thoughts?
Will: That’s a tough nut to crack. Obviously Savage could have had a hand in it since a dead cop serves his story. But Alive Cop has to know that Batman is going to suspect something happened with Dead Cop. Certainly doesn’t feel like the end of the story, does it?
Matt: Oh, most certainly not. Yet, despite the cliffhanger, this is pretty much self contained. I like that we’re getting done-in-one stories with a little tease of what’s to come for the next issue or for the overall book at the end. It’s serialization, but someone should be able to pick up any issue and enjoy the ride. Smart storytelling.
And the art team here just continues to absolutely kill it. The credits spread, with the credits on the right with a shot Tim Drake falling on the left? Stunning. Not only Jimenez’s falling Robin, but the reds and the blacks from Tomeu Morey really make for a stark scene.
Will: Who knew a credits page could be that friggin’ good?
Matt: Two issues in, and I’m very happy. I know that’s not a lot, but I haven’t felt this optimistic after a couple issues since Ram V on Detective.
Will: We have to give it just a wee bit more time before we can pronounce it Great(™) because … *stares vacantly at the upside down picture of Tom King on my mantle*. But I too am optimistic. Optimistic enough to finish the last issues of the previous volume. You know, whenever they come out.
Bat-miscellany
- The new volume of Gotham Academy hit comic shop shelves this week, so this week’s BatChat podcast features stories of young people in Gotham, including one of the early miniseries starring Tim Drake. It’s a Tim-tastic week in the BatChat world, and I, Matt, couldn’t be happier.
- We had a Creeper-inspired gang last issue. The guys this issue with their gold masks and tagging with the A symbol seem to be an Anarky gang. I’m curious if this is just set dressing or we’re building to something bigger.
Buy Batman #2 here. (Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, ComicsXF may earn from qualifying purchases.)
Matt Lazorwitz read his first comic at the age of 5. It was Who's Who in the DC Universe #2, featuring characters whose names begin with B, which explains so much about his Batman obsession. He writes about comics he loves, and co-hosts the podcasts BatChat with Matt & Will and The ComicsXF Interview Podcast.
Will Nevin loves bourbon and AP style and gets paid to teach one of those things. He is on Twitter far too often.
