Batman: Earth One Series

[The Laughing Fish]

I got my copy of this comic and finished reading it a couple of days ago.

I thought it was rather average, despite having its moments.

***MASSIVE SPOILERS (AS WELL AS EXTREMELY LONG POST) DOWN BELOW***

It takes place six months after the events of Volume 1. Batman investigates a series of bombings occurring in Gotham, where people are set up into riddle-themed death traps. The newly elected Mayor Jessica Dent, together with her brother DA Harvey, sought to continue cleaning up the corruption in Gotham, but they discover that five anonymous city officials have taken over the late Oswald Cobblepot's criminal operations. Jessica seeks out to Bruce and confides to him about what she knows, and demands him to become more involved with taking an interest in society's well-being like his parents did. Despite initially refusing, Bruce agrees to do his best to help.

As the Riddler slowly makes his mark - literally - with each bombing, Batman seeks Gordon and the two work each other to learn of the perp's MO. Batman eventually tracks down the Riddler's hideout into the sewers thanks to Killer Croc (!). The Riddler immediately forces Batman to track down an train passing by underground to solve his latest riddle. Despite Batman solving the riddle correctly, Riddler blows up the train anyway. Batman survives the explosion, outraged that the Riddler murdered people on a whim. Batman deduces that the Riddler's MO is a gimmick to cover up the real motive for his crimes, and he and Gordon figure out that the Riddler himself is one of the five people involved in taking over Cobblepot's criminal empire were killed in each bombing; hoping to eliminate the competition for himself.

Later on, the Riddler came up with an elaborate plot to frame Bruce for being the Riddler, and he and Alfred end up in jail. Then, the Riddler takes control of Gotham PD and releases all the prisoners via remote control as he has explosives rigged to the whole precinct. Bruce conveniently turns into Batman, and stops the Riddler in time with some help from Killer Croc, but Harvey Dent is murdered by Sal Maroni (!), and Jessica gets herself disfigured in the heat of the moment. With the Riddler in custody, Bruce realizes that he can be a symbol as the public personality and as Batman, and Killer Croc is secretly given a place to stay at Wayne Manor to help build the Batcave. Jessica is implied to become Two-Face and a woman who Batman encountered earlier on in the story is revealed to be Catwoman, who becomes obsessed over him.

I'll start with what I liked about this book. I liked how the story emphasised that it was a sequel to the previous story, as people became more dubious that Batman was responsible for killing the Penguin since he is known for not using guns. I just like how we get an idea of what people think of Batman. I think this book does a good job that explains why Batman doesn't like to kill, nor does he want to see anyone else get killed. While saving a crook during the heat of combat in the beginning, Alfred argues to Batman that shouldn't go out of his way to save everybody, and even insists he should become more lethal. But Batman refuses to listen to Alfred's advice; explaining that even criminal scum have family and children and the last thing he wants is kids growing up believing that Batman is responsible for murdering their parents. I like this explanation a lot. It makes much more sense than trying to justify Batman having a moral code because he's trying to follow the footsteps of his father saving lives as a doctor, or whatever misguided rubbish that writers come up with nowadays. Bruce may not care for the criminal scum, but that doesn't mean he wants their families to experience the same loss as he did, and he certainly wouldn't anybody else to repeat that desire of revenge like he did. Batman intends to save lives, not ruin them. If Batman really needed to be written as somebody with a code against killing, I'm content with this.

Batman's relationship with Gordon further develops. My only issue is that Bats still lacks skills in detective work e.g. he steps on evidence in one of the Riddler's crime scenes, to which Gordon quipped "you're not much of a detective, are you". Made me cringe a bit, but Gordon becomes convinced in Batman's potential when the latter figures out the Riddler's true motives following the third mass bombing. Gordon is a confidant to Batman during the Riddler case, and the two work just as well as in any other comic in that regard.

I like Gordon's partnership with Bullock, who has slowly gone over the deep end since he saw the Birthday Boy's horrific crime scene in the last book. Gordon still looks out for Bullock, feeling he owes him for inspiring to fight back against the corruption in Gotham, despite Bullock becoming increasingly irresponsible as time passes by. You can feel Bullock's dejection in the end, as his struggle with alcoholism and depression contrasts to Gordon getting promoted as Captain.

In case you haven't fully comprehended it, yes - Killer Croc is not the cannibal monster like he normally is. Instead, he's a good-natured outcast who looks to hide under the sewers after society had discriminated against him for many years because of his abnormal skin disorder. While I don't care for the characterization that much, it paints Batman positively that he doesn't judge Croc, and his compassion ultimately earns Croc's loyalty in the end. It's a good step for Bruce's aspirations in becoming a symbol in Gotham.

Now here are things what I don't like. The Riddler in this comic is nothing more than a generic psychopath. His crimes are based on riddles, yes, but he's not obsessed about them. Nor he is to be the egotistical, amusingly obsessive compulsive villain we see in other media. And he has a question mark tattooed around his left eye. Lame.

Harvey Dent is actually a douchebag in this. He openly resents Bruce because he believes he has taken after the craziness from his mother's side of the family. Don't expect his characterization to be as rich as in BTAS or in The Eye of the Beholder, so I wasn't too unhappy when he was killed for that twist. As for his sister Jessica? I don't mind her I guess, in fact, I kind of like the idea of a female character who initially looks like a damsel in distress but instead ends up potentially becoming one of Batman's biggest villains in the future. As her face touches Harvey's when he dies, she seemingly inherits his own personality, as she threatens Bruce in her brother's voice and words in a hospital towards the end of the story.

Lucius Fox is not given anything to do at all, and the whole scene with him asking his staff to build a new car (hinted to be the Batmobile to the unsuspecting workers) is a waste of time. Now while I kind of like how Alfred and Bruce don't see eye to eye on how certain methods and beliefs, the butler here is quite an idiot this time around. It's not that he's paranoid over Bruce seeking other allies that could expose his identity that's the problem, it's just that Alfred jumps the gun and attacks the entire police when they arrive at the Manor as the Riddler has tricked everybody into thinking that Bruce Wayne is responsible for the mass bombings.

If I had to give a grade to this comic, I'd have to give it a C at best. It's not worthless, but don't go expecting it to be the next Long Halloween, Year One, Killing Joke or Eye of the Beholder. So far in the Earth One universe, the only real standout for me is Superman: EO Vol. 1. I remember liking Batman: EO Vol. 1 too, but I really disliked the use of using little girls as murder victims in that book. Mass murder is always a morbid subject, but using children as victims like that is just so gross and I can't blame anyone for condemning that book because of that.

[The Dark Knight]

Finally got around to reading this today. I actually really enjoyed it, a lot more than volume one. It had more spunk, and it's made me reconsider the series as a whole.

The story is quite engaging, and I think the villain choices help. The Riddler pulls a series of crimes in Gotham, and he later encounters Batman. Batman solves the riddle but Edward blows up a train anyway. Between this and the Arkham games, I'd love for this type of Riddler to appear in a solo movie. He's clever and cruel, and it lends the story with a sense of drama and tension. I liked how he was handled.

Killer Croc appears in a very sympathetic manner, and I liked his portrayal overall. It makes sense for someone with a rare skin disease to behave in this way. Hiding away from a judgmental society in the sewers, lashing out at whoever encroaches on his space. But is willing to live and let live - if said person doesn't have hostile intentions.

I think Earth One's charm lies in a few areas. One is the military style Alfred. Two is the young Batman who is learning on the job. And three is the deviations form the established norm, such as key characters being killed. I also like the artwork, which lends the comic a degree of realism. Earth One isn't the top of the tree when it comes to Batman comics, but it's a universe I'm warming to. I hope they get volume three completed sooner rather than later, because the tease at the end of volume two was great.

[thecolorsblend]

Finally got around to reading this today. I actually really enjoyed it, a lot more than volume one. It had more spunk, and it's made me reconsider the series as a whole.

I read it with minimal expectations. It's better than vol. 1, I'll give it that. But then, the bar was already set pretty low to begin with.

The Riddler pulls a series of crimes in Gotham, and he later encounters Batman. Batman solves the riddle but Edward blows up a train anyway.

I dug that moment. Up to then, the Riddler was a sort of Jigsaw type of figure in my mind. Blowing up the train even though Batman solved the riddle showed that the Riddler was on a personal vendetta of some kind. His choices truly weren't random and he wasn't actually interested in giving his victims a fair chance. He wanted to prove he was smarter than them but he always intended to kill them.

Chuck Dixon portrayed the Riddler in on the Year One annuals from 1995 as a performance art criminal. I prefer that approach. But the Riddler as a pseudo-Jigsaw character works too.

Killer Croc appears in a very sympathetic manner, and I liked his portrayal overall. It makes sense for someone with a rare skin disease to behave in this way. Hiding away from a judgmental society in the sewers, lashing out at whoever encroaches on his space. But is willing to live and let live - if said person doesn't have hostile intentions.

Ditto. I like the idea of rethinking these characters. Killer Croc as a halfway ally (or at least not an outright enemy) plays for me.

Two is the young Batman who is learning on the job.

I like this Batman finding some direction. He intended to take his parents killer down. That was his original mission. Having accomplished that, he found reasons to extend his mission further, which he hadn't originally planned on so now he has to study and become more than he originally intended. I like that.

The mainstream comics would do Year One stories but I'm at a loss to think of very many occasions when Batman was shown to be a real ROOKIE and not really knowing how to BE this.

I hope they get volume three completed sooner rather than later, because the tease at the end of volume two was great.

Good luck with that. Gary Frankenstein is notoriously late with his work.

Generally, I haven't followed the entire Earth One line; only Superman and Batman. I have some reservations with both of them, tbh. But what I dig about both of them is how JMS and Johns are in no rush to move straight into either character's established status quo. They're playing with the mythos a tiny bit but mostly they're screwing around with the conventional status quo.

Lois Lane isn't even on Clark's radar as a love interest in E1. The batsignal isn't lighting up Gotham's skies in E1. Both writers are taking their jolly sweet time and I value that.

[The Dark Knight]

Yeah, I agree with all that. Earth One Batman and his world seems grounded but without being realistic. He's similar to Daniel Craig's Bond is some ways. He's mainly a head kicker who doesn't have much finesse just yet. For example, taking too much time with a lock pick, tossing away the tools and simply kicking the door open. I think that's part of the appeal. This Batman is always learning and evolving, and we'll probably never see the final product. The Earth One lines are not about the status quo. Far from it. They're postmodern twists on an established formula. Deviations which provoke and excite in equal measure.

[riddler]

I FINALLY got around to reading this. You guys mostly summed up my thoughts but here's what stands out to me;
-the theme of Batman being sloppy starting out continues here. The first novel featured a sloppy Batman who learns to fight from Alfred, this time around he learns his detective skills from Gordon.
-I get that this is a different interpretation of the characters but I just wasn't a huge fan of the way the riddler was portrayed. His motives and framing Bruce were good, I felt they got about 75% of the character right but the big aspect I thought was missing was his OCD which causes him to get into his own way. Usually the riddler is responsible for his own demise but this time it was mostly Killer Croc. I question the choice of villain as a weak detective doesn't match up well against a villain who is all brains and little braun
-Killer Croc was portrayed in a manner in which I hadn't seen him much- as an anti-hero working with Batman. I liked the tragic treatment he got in this book.
-I wasn't a big fan of the portrayal of Harvey Dent, I thought he was a little too dark and evil. Once you read the character arc though it kind of makes sense. A female two face could be interesting, especially if the face rubbing is meant to imply that Jessica absorbs part of her brothers evil personality, thus causing the split personality

Overall I found it better than the first book. I doubt this series becomes canon given the departures of the source material but it serves well as an alternate reality/origin

[Travesty]

This was on sale, so I picked it up. I dunno, I'm just not a huge fan of the E1 series. It's not bad, but it just not my thing. The art is fantastic, though.

-The Riddler was ok, but he just seemed a bit too much like a regular terrorist to really interest me. Kinda reminds me of Ledger's Joker. Just a bit too bland for my taste.

-Croc was cool at first, but a bit of a let down that he becomes more of a sidekick. He was full on Croc, and then out of nowhere, he's just like, "leave me alone", and then a few seconds later, he's Batman's sidekick. Eh, whatever.

-Batman is a bit weak here. I get that it's his rookie years, but he's not smart enough to build most of his tech, he's not even a good detective(let alone the world's greatest detective), and he gets his ass kicked with whoever he fights. He's constantly just a body shield, and has to whimper off all bloody or dazed.

-They kill off Harvey, and make his twin sister the new Two-Face. We'll see if they actually explore this. I'm not really diggin the idea, but if could be interesting. But we'll see, as I'm not really enjoying this universe, so far.

-Alfred is similar to what we saw in Vol 1, so he's ok. Don't hate him, but I don't love him.

-Gordon is probably my favorite character in this universe. He was down and out in Vol 1, but he's really picked things up in Vol 2. I actually chuckled when Batman gave him the "Batsignal"(cellphone), and Gordon goes, "he even put a Bat on it". I thought that was funny.

Overall, it's nothing groundbreaking or extraordinary. It almost feels like this is an amalgamation Year One, Nolan's trilogy, and The Telltale series. If they ever do a Vol 3, I'll probably check it out, but just like this, I'll wait for it to go on sale before I pick it up. I'm in no rush for this series.

[The Laughing Fish]

Gary Frank tweeted an update late last year to confirm that Vol. 3 is in the works, and uploaded this rough sketch of what appears to be Batman interrogating somebody.



Source: https://twitter.com/1moreGaryFrank/status/946811316534210566

Let's see if Catwoman has any involvement, seeing as how she appeared at the end of the last book.

[The Dark Knight]

It almost feels like this is an amalgamation Year One, Nolan's trilogy, and The Telltale series.

That's a fair comparison. I personally like the mix and find enjoyment in the canon deviations, just like the Telltale games. There's a gritty/raw atmosphere these two properties share that hooks me in - we generally expect the unexpected.

I haven't read Volume Two since I posted my review here in 2016, but I'm still a fan. I'm looking forward to Volume Three. I'm positive Catwoman will be used. Volume One's last panel had the Riddler, who appeared in the sequel.

[The Dark Knight]

Finally a release date for Volume 3: June 8, 2021.



https://www.amazon.com/dp/1401259049

Based on the cover art, I'm inclined to believe he'll start using a batcave, which is a significant character growth keeping with this slow and steady early days vibe.

My most anticipated book for next year. Even if this is it for Earth One Batman, we'll have a trilogy.

[The Dark Knight]

Found this striking art preview that matches the front cover aesthetic:



Special event titles like this and Three Jokers deliver visually, and narratively they're a free hit to be bold and thus influence the overall brand by being seperate from main continuity. After ZSJL, this is my main 2021 Batman jam.