Batman 3- Riddle Me This Review
Batman Creators:
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Color: Tomeu Morey
Letters: Clayton Cowles with Jorge Jimenez
Story:
Metalhead Mundy: We’re three issues in, and I’m loving the balance of stand-alone stories, and through-line subplots. However, the latter is much more prevalent, as I believe you’d feel like you were missing something if you picked up this book randomly. I don’t mind. I’m in either way.
The cold open is cute, until it becomes a truly “Holy crap” reveal of video footage of Batman and Robin’s fight with the cops, which then escalates into Commissioner Savage planting a Batarang on the dead officer’s body. Put that in your back pocket. Through lines, kids.
The very next scene shows even more Vandal viciousness when he attempts to threaten the surviving officer into fingering Bats for the attack. Personally, I love the build up of Savage, and can’t wait to see how our heroes tear him down.
Bruce visiting Tim in the hospital is played wonderfully. Bernard shows impressive bravery as the protective boyfriend, confronting Bruce to his face about why Tim always gets hurt when they spend time together.
Hugo Strange and Dr. Zeller squaring off on TV gives us a huge exposition dump about the Crown of Storms, a device to “regulate electricity in the brain,” which can affect behavior. That can only be a good thing, right? We also get a breadcrumb about funding from Wayne Enterprises, which is something Fraction is doing so well in this series: drop this nugget here, pick it up later to tie it all together.
“Alfred” returns in this issue, but he’s drawn much more clearly as a figment, rather than looking like a projection of some kind. I don’t mind the storytelling device, but I’m hoping we eventually get some sort of payoff with Bruce’s mental state, because I’m not sure I need Bruce talking things through with an imaginary Alfred when it could just as easily be inner monologue. I need a reason for it, at some point.
The relationship between Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock is delightful. Obviously friends and confidants, they’re working together to assist Batman. Officer Gordon is very much a man on the inside of the GCPD, while Harvey is still a P.I. Bullock brings the humor, with a well-played joke that genuinely made me laugh out loud.
The Riddler is kind of a lame villain. Occasionally, someone finds an interesting angle on the character, but that’s not the case here, really. He’s mostly used as a means to deliver information, but he’s played pretty pathetically, and I did feel sorry for the guy and his compulsive behavior being manipulated.
The debut of Batman’s Stealth Suit is kind of cool, but I don’t want this to turn into a “gadget of the month” deal. I do appreciate the expository graphics when new tech is introduced, though. I’m a dichotomy, I guess.
Foggy: Wow, excellent wrap-up Mundy. I won’t regurgitate the actual events, but reflect on Fraction’s brilliance of pacing and plotting. As Mundy mentioned, we have a loosely tied together through-line of plot and story with each issue dealing with a different villain(s). This issue is no different with the Riddler, but there is so much more going on. What Fraction does so well here is let every story point have its moment while not making the issue feel crowded or bloated.
As Mundy said, there are some pages of info dump, but the way he fits them in neatly among other plot points, they work and don’t bog down the story. One particular dump is the Strange vs Zeller TV interview. It is tied neatly into a visit to the hospital as Bruce is there to see Tim after the events of the previous issue. As Bruce is leaving, he pauses to watch the interview and discover that his company is partially involved with the Crown of Storms. This visit also offers a really cool piece of juxtaposition as opposing pages show Vandal going to the hospital to threaten an officer while Bruce brings flowers to Tim’s room. The cop vs the vigilante- well played.
One small issue I have, or maybe more of a question, is the use of Damian. I’m not sure why Damian is in the book if the focus is Tim. And, this current relationship that Bruce and Damian share doesn’t seem to align with current Batman and Robin books. Damian here is too angry and dismissive with his dad. It ignores the growth the two have made in their relationship and especially ignores the growth of Damian. He has become a very likable character.
As for the rest of the issue, I agree with Mundy. Spot on!
Art:
Metalhead Mundy: I wanted to mention one thing about Jiménez’s art. His depiction of action, specifically fighting, is superb. There are scenes of sparring and actual fisticuffs that are absolutely top tier.
Bullock really bumped this issue up a notch for me. The dynamic between him, Gordon and Bats was above and beyond.
Foggy: As we continue down this road, it is going to get more difficult to explain why Jimenez is amazing. As Mundy stated, he is an absolute master with action sequences. They flow beautifully and have a lot of kinetic energy. But the page of the issue for me is the last page. He uses his vanishing point lines to a new level. Typically they are erased after they are used to give proper perspective, but here some are used to show the movement of the Batmobile. And the exhaust, or path, behind the Batmobile is solid blue as he races to Arkham. The choice to use blue, like Batman’s suit, is brilliant here and makes the page pop and gives serious movement! Kudos to Jimenez and Morey for the choice.
Score:
Metalhead Mundy: 4.5/5
Foggy: 4.5/5- I hate to mimic Mundy here (he’s going to get a big head), but I love this issue and this series. My minor quibble is the only thing that brought this down from a 5 out of 5.
