Batman faces down the mastermind behind all his recent woes, the terrorist Ra’s al Ghul, as Harley Quinn storms the TV studio and Scarecrow does … something. It’s a series finale that may or may not (almost definitely may not) answer all your questions in Batman ’89: Echoes #6, written by Sam Hamm, drawn by Joe Quinones, colored by Leonardo Ito and lettered by Carlos M. Mangual.
Matt Lazorwitz: Earlier this week, Editor-in-Chief Dan Grote messaged me, joking that we should cover the last issue of Batman ’89: Echoes. I rejoindered with, “Sure, and we’ll do it without rereading anything to see what it reads like.”
Will Nevin: That’s a funny bit. Hilarious even. We’re not going to do it, though … right?
Matt: Why would we? I mean, it’s been eight months since the last issue, and 22 months since issue #1. This series was nonsense even with shorter breaks; how could we make sense of it after all that time? But then again, we do tend to commit to a bit.
Will: Oh for fuck’s sake. Goddamnit, Dan.
What?
Will: Let’s start with the nicest possible thing we can say: It’s finished. Most people might have given up, left this book for the graveyard of series to never be finished (perhaps a spot right next to Batman: The Widening Gyre, even). But no. They persevered and finished this … thing.
Matt: But did they? That ending wasn’t even an ending. It ends with what felt like a sequel setup with none of the plots resolved.
I am morbidly curious to reread this in one sitting and see if it has a cohesive plot. The first of these ’89 miniseries definitely read better in collection, since there were plotlines that were introduced in the first couple issues that disappeared and came back in the last issue. And while I guess that might be the case here, there was so much that went on, and it was all so disjointed, I don’t think it will work as well. This was 25 pounds of story in a five-pound bag. I like it when a comic crams a lot in, but this was all too much.
Will: The first series had something to say with Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent unraveling and being crushed by his political ambitions. The only thing this book wanted to do — and the only thing I continue to be interested in talking about for any number of reasons — is its late ’80s/early ’90s fan casting. I got David Warner vibes from Ra’s, but 1) it’s hard to tell and 2) that seems like an incredibly poor choice.
Matt: Oh, the sudden appearance of Ra’s al Ghul in a series with two villains already was wildly confusing. Yes, there had been hints of this foreign terrorist organization throughout, but making Ra’s, who was always just on the good side of the offensive line when it came to presenting him as a yellow-terror villain mixed with ’70s Middle Eastern terrorist tropes, the leader of a group whose members say, “Allah be praised”? That’s very, very bad. And while I love a nod to Batman: The Animated Series, where Warner voiced Ra’s, white washing (or worse brown facing) the character is even worse.
Will: So Warner makes sense there as a connection to B:TAS. And while I don’t think the book is making this statement, slotting him there and drawing attention to it would be in line with terrible casting decisions of that time.
Matt: Y’know, I wish this book was that smart, but I highly doubt it.
Another thing that bugged the hell out of me is the artistic inconsistencies. Ra’s first appears with his trademark demonic hair chin points, on pages 2 and 3. They’re there for a few pages, then gone on pages 11 and 12. Then they’re back on Page 15, except on the last panel, where they’re gone again. It reads to me as a case of editorial deciding to add the facial hair after the initial art came in, but the artists involved just didn’t pay enough attention to add it everywhere. It’s lazy.
Will: A frantic, lazy mess pretty much sums up what I can gather from this final chapter. We’ve got weird nods all over the place — a Robin costume that looks more like Batman Beyond, some group or gang or whatever called the Nightwings — but none of it seems to come together to amount to anything. I couldn’t even venture a guess as to what’s loosely going on here. You could make up a fuckin’ plot, and I’d believe you.
Matt: We also don’t see a few of what should be key scenes. Batman is talking to Ra’s on Ra’s boat, and then we cut away, and by the time we get back, Batman has basically taken Venom and is fighting his way through the boat, but we don’t see Batman actually fight Ra’s. Why introduce Ra’s if you’re not going to see the climactic fight? Harley never meets Batman, she has a whole thing going on with Catwoman which while teased earlier doesn’t really resolve anything. And Barbara’s antipathy to Batman sure fades quickly, huh? Like they just needed to wrap up the plot and get her in a Batgirl costume for a sequel that isn’t going to happen.
Will: Buddy boy, you and I are more likely to get a Bat book than a third chapter of ’89. If it happens, it certainly won’t be with this creative team. And if they bring another one on, I’d recommend ignoring all of this. Say, you think Martin Short died at some point before this issue?
Matt: I don’t remember. That would be a damn shame to kill off the Riddler as played by Martin Short, but let’s say yes so at least one thing gets wrapped up neatly here.
I hate writing a review about a comic that I can find nothing truly redeeming about. We’ve seen a bit too much of that in this column lately. And on the flip side, there are some great Bat books out there. Maybe we should do some of the Bat family books that are really good that we don’t usually cover in the next few months. An issue of Tate Brombal’s Batgirl or Dan Watters’ Nightwing could be a good time.
Will: See what you did, Dan? See what you did to your best friend? Your little gag bummed him out and made him sad, and I now ***I*** have to be the cheerful one. Thanks for that, boss.
OK, let’s say you are a super fan of Batman ’89. Just can’t get enough of it. You and director Andy Muschietti’s mom are the only two people in America who liked The Flash. You read the first series and thought it was the best thing ever written.
This … was a followup to that and will give you more time in the universe that you love, and nothing we can say will lessen your enjoyment of it. Enjoy this final chapter of Echoes, mythical Batman ’89 superfan. Please explain the plot to us … if you exist.
Bat-miscellany
- Hear that sound? It’s the sound of cell doors closing. This week’s BatChat podcast focuses on three stories of the Joker behind bars.
Buy Batman ’89: Echoes #6 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.
