There’s a new criminal power in Gotham. The Minotaur has quietly been taking over the rackets, and Batman hasn’t even noticed until now, and it might be too late to stop him. Batman #4 is written by Matt Fraction, drawn by Jorge Jimenez, colored by Tomeu Morey and lettered by Clayton Cowles.
Will Nevin: I have a new conspiracy theory for you, Matt. DC editorial was absolutely sure Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee would miss deadlines on “Hush 2,” and that — more than anything else — is the only reason Batman was relaunched.
Matt Lazorwitz: I have little to no doubt that editorial expected the deadlines to be missed; Jim Lee hasn’t kept to a deadline since … ever. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was something to that, but you also have to combine it with the “new #1s sell” mindset. I would posit that they hoped Lee could get the first six issues out with minimal delay, hence the 6-and-6 structure, rather than 12, with the new #1 coming out of the triumphal sales of the first six. Which … did not happen.
Will: I really think the new #1 is something more like a fringe benefit — this was the only book that was relaunched, y’know? And if you really wanted to juice sales, it would have been more of a linewide deal. (See e.g. Rebirth.) But here’s a fun statement that I think can get us going into the actual good book we’re here to discuss:
Matt Fraction’s Batman is more of a tribute to ’90s comics (and a better representative of a period of excellence) than “Hush 2.”
Crime Is a System
Matt: There’s a lot to love in this book, as there has been in the previous issues. And part of the reason there’s a lot to love is that Fraction has a lot going on, like those ’90s Batman comics you mentioned above. We have subplots that are playing out over a long run. We have Batman action. We have villain scheming. We have Bruce Wayne doing Bruce Wayne stuff! I have so missed Bruce Wayne in a main-universe Bat book.
Will: This is why we work well together: You so easily pick up what I put down. After reading two or three or four or however many so-so runs focused on a robot Batman or an existential threat to Gotham, we’re getting to the real heart of what makes a good Batman comic — and it’s not the most over-the-top action you can throw at Bruce. Instead, it’s about developing a complex Gotham with multiple threats, with characters both in and out of costume, and presenting a real mental (and maybe emotional? moral?) challenge for Batman.
Batman will always have enough gadgets to protect Gotham. But can he figure out what the real threat is, and who his allies are? This is a little rambly, but I think my point is the Bat line in the ’90s was able to stitch together a tapestry that felt real and engaging. And while Fraction only has one book to play with here, he’s doing a great job (so far) of keeping these neat little balls in the air and advancing them ever so slightly with each issue.
Matt: This issue focuses solely on Batman and this new villainous threat. The previous issues have spent time with Tim Drake and Damian Wayne as well as Bruce, but here we’re able to drill down on Bruce. You mentioned keeping those balls in the air. Fraction knows when to drop one into a pocket for a bit on top of juggling. As much as I love Batman and Robin as a dynamic, there are times when Robin doesn’t need to be there and you just get a Batman story. And the action is here, but it’s a small part of the book, there because it’s a superhero comic and you need some action, but it does a good job of forwarding the plot.
Thinking about the one action set piece involving Batman, I know you can’t stand the little snot, but Anarky does seem a bit out of character here. Accepting money to pull a theft isn’t really his bag; he’s about overthrowing society and fighting capitalism. But that’s a pretty minor gripe since 1) I’m one of probably 10 people familiar enough with the character to really notice and 2) there might be more going on there that we haven’t seen yet. But if that’s my biggest complaint, we’re dealing with a damn fine comic.
Will: I have faith that we might learn a bit more about how and why Anarky would be willing to stoop to such henchmanery. I mean, now that I think two seconds about it, he’s gotta be the Minotaur, right? No one would take orders from a dork like him, but once you put on a mask and start murdering people and (most importantly) produce pocketbook results, folks start to listen. Would that be in line with the Anarky you know?
Matt: Intellectually? Absolutely. He and Tim have dueled, and while he’s not quite Tim’s equal, he’s close. It wouldn’t be in line with his personality, as the Minotaur is all about corporate evil and he’s about bringing that system down, but you could get a good story about the disillusionment of youth and what it does to someone. Even if he’s not, I kind of want to see that story now.
Do we want to talk about the Bruce scene or the Minotaur scene next? Because there’s plenty to discuss on both of those fronts.
Will: Let’s go with Minotaur, if only because an actual penguin was considered to be one of Oswald’s loved ones, and that was some darkly comedic shit.
Matt: You talked about how Fraction had something to say when he dealt with the issues with policing in issue #2. This feels like a condemnation of corporate culture, huh? Taking the way we let corporations get away with crime that isn’t technically crime, and just extrapolate it into crime becoming corporate.
Will: Is there a substantive difference in how the Minotaur discusses wealth and how Elon Musk might? I don’t really think so, so I think that speaks to your point about this being an indictment of corporatized greed.
Matt: We get an establishing shot of all the new families of Gotham, the gangs that Batman has been too busy dealing with street crime to notice. They’re all new, except Penguin, which is fine. It’s been a while since we had real recurring mobsters in Gotham as it is, at least in Batman; Tini Howard did some stuff with that in her run of Catwoman, but it never made it into the other books. The one that made me wonder is La Penitenta of the cartels. I think it’s a coincidence, since it’s a pretty standard look and routine, but it immediately made me wonder if there’s a connection to the El Penitente cartel from Batman and Robin, the one run by Dr. Hurt. But that’s a bit of a stretch, I think.
Will: The thing that stuck out to me from that scene is Penguin’s place as the leader of the Thieves Guild that controls the “mercantile sector.” You’re better situated to speak on this than I am, but for some reason, that struck me as vaguely anti-Semitic. Not that I’m accusing Fraction of that. (He, as I learned today, is both not Jewish and has nipple piercings.)
Matt: Penguin is thoroughly WASP-y, but he does tend to look a little like those old Shylock stereotypes. I don’t entirely know why he isn’t running vice, since that has usually been his scam, but there might be story purposes here. I too don’t think there is anything intentionally unpleasant here. What do you read as “mercantile” here? Just stealing and street crime? The others were pretty clear, but I always hear that word and think of general stores in Westerns that are also called mercantiles.
Will: What popped in my mind was street vendors and associated crimes and schemes. I know I’m thinking too hard about it, but it just seemed off to me. Probably because I listen to too much Alex Jones (via Knowledge Fight podcast) and his rants about the “globalists.”
Matt: The other thing in that scene we see is that shockingly, and by that I mean not at all shockingly, Vandal Savage, commissioner of police, is working with Minotaur, the guy who is running Gotham crime, managing its money and ruthlessly killing anyone who steps out of line. Who would have thought a millennia-old caveman who worked with Hitler would turn out to be a shitty corrupt cop, and that we further see the condemnation of systems that support corporate greed and crime?
Will: I’m just stunned, buddy boy. Beside myself in shock. Next thing you’re going to tell me is that his campaign against capes is somehow self-serving.
Matt: Oh, and one final note before we move onto Bruce. The hits on society keep on coming as Minotaur mentions an incurious press being key to his plans, and we get the great scene of Jack Dean, our journalist who has damning evidence against Savage, showing up at his old paper just to be drummed out because no one cares. If that didn’t feel like something that feels accurate and makes me terribly sad, I don’t know what would. Can’t we get Jack, Vicki Vale and Deb Donovan to team up and start their own news source? I would read the miniseries about them!
Will: That scene was a little strange to me because Dean has both the kid’s video and the kid. What’s the problem with his story? Sure, he’s a wee bit of a drinker, but video doesn’t lie (when it’s not AI-generated slop shit). So we’re going to need to watch that a bit more for it to make sense to me.
Matt: I think it might just be a condemnation of the modern media. Which might make it a bit strained to make the point, but there might be more to it, so we’ll have to see.
Finally, the Bruce Wayne bit. That’s just charming. I love Bruce being slick, using his Bruce Wayne-ness to get the intel he needs as Batman. It’s organic, it’s fun and it helps break up the grimness with a light scene. And Dr. Zeller is a charming enough character. I’ll need more of her before I really care, but I’m still leaning toward either her tech has been poached or she’s doing the wrong thing for the right reason after that.
Will: I’m just so glad someone called out her Crocs, because that’s the damnedest shoe choice I’ve ever seen on a treadmill. Eventual ally, love interest, villain or none of the above, you reckon?
Matt: Currently? It could be any of the above. I think love interest is definitely most in the cards, and it’s not like that hasn’t crossed over with the other two on multiple occasions.
Will: Friends-to-lovers-to-enemies. Just like Bill Finger wrote it up.
Bat-miscellany
- The BatChat podcast looks at three very distinct takes on Barbara Gordon as Batgirl in this week’s episode.
- Next week, we’ll be covering both last week’s Absolute Batman #14 and next week’s Absolute Batman #15, so stay tuned.
Buy Batman #4 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.
