It’s a mixed bag, but a good read

Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding
DC Comics
Creators: Tom King, Mikel Janin and Tony S. Daniel
Release date: October 2018

I’ve been reading recent issues of Tom King’s Batman Rebirth run in trade format and enjoying them. The entire courtship and developing relationship dynamic between the modern Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle since the former proposed has been an interesting read even though the title of this particular trade is a bit of a misnomer.

That’s right: If you’ve been living under a rock and missed the news after the release of Batman No. 50, Batman and Catwoman did not end up going through with the wedding. That was several months ago now, in real time, and the “secret” was spoiled for me long before I read this trade, too, so you might have even heard the news while living under a rock. But that’s not what makes this outing such a mixed bag — not exactly.

First the good stuff: The Batman (or rather, the Joker) short from DC Nation No. 0 is included in this collection. It focuses on the Joker showing up at a random house and holding the owner hostage until the mail arrives. The Joker is waiting to see if his wedding invitation will be delivered. And King handles the Clown Prince of Crime quite deftly in this eight-pager. The stream-of-consciousness dialogue and daft motivation make sense coming from this insane character. There’s more of the same on ample display in Batman Nos. 48 and 49 as Joker faces off against the happy couple one at a time. The running exchange between Joker and Catwoman especially is both mundane and hilariously off-kilter while still ringing quite true to form.

I also credit King with writing a very minimalist yet spot-on interpretation of Batman, especially his caring. That’s not a side a lot of writers focus on with Batman. But that is what makes the character be his best self. As grim as things look, as dire as the situations grow, as murderous as his foes become, Batman hopes they can still change. Why else would he continue to confront them and foil their schemes time and again. Without his belief that they could still reform, there would be little to keep Batman from simply killing his foes. King seems to get that as Batman kneels when the Joker asks him to pray in the image above.

I have some issues with the first half of this trade, though. The premise of the first three issues collected in this trade are that Booster Gold, a time-traveling hero, wanted to get Batman and Catwoman the perfect gift. So he went back in time and saved Bruce Wayne’s parents from being killed. The idea was to give Batman a “For the Man Who Has Everything” moment, an “It’s a Wonderful Life” revelation that shows the Caped Crusader that his life is how it was meant to be and that it is better for how things unfolded. The result is much worse than Booster anticipated, a reality where nothing is as it should be.

My first problem with this scenario is that such a story has been done before several times. Maybe Bruce has the chance to save his parents lives. Maybe someone else does it on his behalf. Things never turn out well, and Bruce is forced to relive his parents’ murders all over again to right things.

Secondly, even if Booster has no first-hand knowledge of any of the times when this scenario has played out for readers, what sense does it make to prevent the tragedy that led to the creation of the Batman in an effort to show Bruce Wayne that his life is perfect as it is. Booster refers in-story to the time when Superman went through a similar life re-imagined event in the story “For the Man Who Has Everything.” Anyone who has read Superman annual No. 11 knows the Man of Steel did not find the experience pleasant. Why on earth would Booster think this was a good idea?

Then thirdly, it is truly bizarre just how wrong things go in this revised history where Thomas and Martha Wayne live on. We are told most of the Justice League was killed in battle with Starro the Conquerer because the team was missing the strategy of Batman. If the League lost that battle, why is everyone on Earth not wearing a Starro face-hugger? Dick Grayson, Selina Kyle and Jason Todd all make appearances in this new reality, but as twisted parodies of their traditional selves. Yet if Bruce is not Batman, why are these characters even connected to him?

If one simply accepts events as they unfold, this isn’t a bad story arc. It’s just that there are a lot of oddities within the reality that results from Booster’s actions that don’t seem to add up logically. I can’t help but wonder if this arc was stuck in here simply to explain the trauma Booster is supposed to experience that leads him to treatment at Sanctuary in the new miniseries, Heroes in Crisis. Neither that story nor Sanctuary are mentioned in these issues of Batman, but I just can’t find any other reason for its inclusion here.

But by and large, my biggest issue with this trade is the final issue, Batman No. 50, in which the wedding falls apart. First the Joker, then Holly Robinson, manage to convince Catwoman that marrying Batman would be a mistake. If she marries him, he will be happy, and a happy Bruce Wayne cannot be Batman, they reason.

I find that logic flawed. Bruce Wayne is a traumatized individual and there is a lot of anger and vengeance wrapped up in the origins and the workings of Batman. But to say that he can never be happy and continue to function as Batman is to insult the relationships he has with his surrogate family — Alfred, Dick, Barbara, Jim, Jason, Tim, Damian, Clark, Diana, etc. Are those relationships strained at times? Yes. Adult relationships are sometimes strained. But there is genuine love and affection at the root of those relationships or they would have fallen apart long ago.

This doesn’t ruin the stories presented here. Joker and Holly make these arguments, but neither of them is the most sound or logical of minds. Selina comes to accept their arguments; but that doesn’t make them right. People often act on false information or incorrect assumptions. They don’t always do what is right.

I enjoyed reading this trade, and think it is worth checking out if you are a Tom King, Batman or Joker fan. It’s worth a read even if you’re just a comics fan in general. I just wanted to point out my take on some of what happened between the panels.