Some thoughts about Batman: The Knight #1

How did Bruce Wayne become Batman?

After the loss of his parents, Bruce wanted to unleash his rage towards anyone in his way but Alfred and one of his closest friends will show them the right way to channel his power.

Yes, yes, this is yet another sort of "origin" story for Batman but, while there's nothing particularly original about such premise, the execution is ultimately what makes any story succeed and fortunately writer Chip Zdarsky knows how to deliver in that regard.

The plot is rather simple, a young and angry Bruce can't be controlled and needs to be lead to his inevitable role as the Dark Knight, everything around though, is what makes this more complex. Let's just say that Zdarsky knows to WRITE, he creates a pretty engaging and believable dynamic between the protagonist and the rest of the cast. The conversations between Alfred and Bruce are perfectly in character and interesting, especially considering the time where this story is suited, so are the interactions between Bruce and one of his first girlfriends and even his treatment with Hugo Strange that reveals more of his character. All of this is certainly helped by Zdarsky's natural and enjoyable dialogue that makes the read much more pleasent.

Even more compelling for me though, is the more complex take concerning wealth and vigilantism, especially how Alfred confronts Bruce about his parents' fortune and how to use it properly or how his friend tells him about how to use his rage to be more than simply another angry cop. It presents a much more realistic social commentary that I've seen recently, Lord knows that if someone like James Tynion IV and especially Tom Taylor handled the topic it would be something like "Rich people and cops suck! Huehuehue!".

The plot itself is more of a set-up. Hell, technically the whole miniseries is more of a set-up because we all know what's going to happen so the character-centric approach is much more understandable and fitting, in that sense I consider it a pretty satisfying work.

Carmine Di Giandomenico handles the art and his work is pretty solid. I was pretty surprised here since his style is less rough than during his early years and delivers a much more polished finish that follows the script in a very clear manner. Is great stuff.

Solid beginning, can't wait for the next one.