Written by: Scott Snyder
Art by: Greg Capullo
Publisher: DC
Month in and month out I wait for the latest issue of Batman to come out and every month, without fail, it’s the first thing I read when I get my comics the week released that week. After the ending of last months issue nothing in my pile mattered except this book. Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Danny Miki, and FCO Plascencia bring us worthy follow up to the shocking ending of last month’s chapter.
This entire issue is dealing with Batman being THE Batman that everyone loves to talk about. He’s the one that’s always prepared and can defeat anyone with prep time. There is a scene at the beginning of the issue where Bruce pulls out a weapon to fight Superman that just about borders on implausible, but the end result answers the question of who wins in a fight between Batman and Superman. The answer to that question really shows us just how much of a grasp Snyder has on the lives of these heroes. I think my one problem with this portion of the book is that it seems that the threat of a rogue Justice League was just set up. I wonder if they’ll figure into things later in the arc, or if they’re just down for the count. It would be disappointing have them out so early when their presence was a big deal.
That being said, things take another turn that left me raising my fist and shouting Snyder’s name. It was a long planned return that stretched multiple issues as far back as a year ago. I immediately ran to my long boxes and connected the dots showing the surprising return of the Joker. It was brilliant and the most unexpected development. The full on return of the Clown Prince of Crime was a welcome sight and good to see Capullo making a call back to an issue from Death of the Family.
One of the continuing highlights of “Endgame” are the back ups featuring the “origins” of the Joker as told by escaped Asylum inmates. James Tynion IV and Graham Nolan give us a more alien approach this time as opposed to the demonic one last issue. They are quite enjoyable for the fact that in the end one of them is real, or at least will be the most real. Each story is starting to look like it fits into their type of illness. I excitedly await what comes from the next story.
Batman #36 ramps up the action and threats as the Clown Prince of Crime makes his return.
