martes, 23 de noviembre de 2021

Some thoughts about Batman: Reptilian #6


How can Batman beat the creature?

Bruce has been eaten by the being who has been causing chaos all over Gotham City and his enemies are willing to take revenge of him too but Batman always finds a way to win.

This series has come to a conclusion and I still can't believe that it actually happened. Garth Ennis writing about one of the characters that he humilliated so much in the past, a character who he clearly despised in every page he used him, and yet writing such a fascinating and fresh take on him is nothing short of shocking.

Mind you, this is not saying that this is exactly perfect since there are a few issues I have with the book and this finale in particular. At times it feels like Ennis is a bit too enamored with extreme asshole-ish version of Batman to the point that he becomes too unlikable for his own good. Yes, he does bad things to bad people but at times he seems a bit too cruel and like he enjoys what he does too much which can be a bit awkward to see.

On the other hand, I believe Ennis also acknowledges this when one of the characters that Batman has been mentally torturing starts calling him "psychopath" and "monster" which shows that Ennis' Batman is far from a perfect person and he can be almost as bad as the people he fights. It makes you think that all the time battling monsters might have corrupted this Bruce in a particular way but never reaching the levels of the criminals he faces. There's a particular scene towards the end where Batman's "Don't kill" rule is brought back and once again, it demonstrates how ruthless he can be while technically not breaking his code. Is the kind of twist that you can expect from an experienced writer like Ennis.

The plot is not that great per se since the whole series has been mostly dedicated to how low Batman can go to solve a mystery and he definitely can go low to the point of not even caring about what happens to the people who helped him as long as they're bad people. I actually feel bad for Killer Croc here.

Liam Sharp continues to do a stellar job on art duties due to the bizarre scenarios and characters he depicts along with an unique storytelling that, while is not that clear, it definitely helps to sell the setting and tone of this book.

Good conclusion for a great series. Hope to see more works like this from Ennis.

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