** Warning : Spoilers Most Certainly Ahead **
Batman #51 shows the brutal return of the brutal Bat. After a vicious beat down of Victor Fries, aka Mister Freeze, Bruce Wayne is summoned to be a juror in the case of Victor Fries vs the People of Gotham City. We learn through the story that three separate women have died: Elizabeth Andrion, Maureen O’Connell, and Christi Barnhart. The official cause of death was that these three separate women died of blood clots that entered their brain. The Batman, however, had a different view of the deaths. With the assistance of Commission Gordon, Batman is able to perform his own autopsies on the three dead women, and believes their deaths were caused by Mr. Freeze. How so? Batman believes that each woman had a slight temperature drop in their brain stems leading to their untimely deaths.
In retribution for these murders, the Batman tracks down Mister Freeze, drags him to a rooftop, and nearly beats Freeze to death in an attempt to get a confession. Finally, after be tortured by the Bat, Freeze concedes and pleads his guilt. The Batman leaves Freeze unconscious and with a note attached: “He did it. Ask him.”
Typically, the Batman story would end there. Batman finds Mister Freeze, beats Mister Freeze nearly to death to extract a confession, and leaves the battered villain behind for the police to arrest. Scratch that mythos archetype off the plate right now. This series takes it to the next stage, and brings Bruce Wayne into the legal aftermath of his Batman persona’s action. Wayne is now a member of Freeze’s courtroom battle.
As the case is drawn out in court, we learn that a) Batman is not a certified licensed coroner (of course) and b) Freeze claims that he only plead guilty to the crime because he feared for his life. The Batman’s violence and brutality was at a more extreme level, per Fries.
The jurors are summoned to the jury room, and a vote is taken. Eleven jurors find the evidence in favor the Batman’s verdict: Mister Freeze is guilty for the deaths of the three women. The lone juror who does not agree with the mob opinion? Bruce Wayne. It’s probably a cliché story line, but I don’t care. I want to see Bruce Wayne / Batman have an existential crisis. It’s what makes me want to read more.
Other Thoughts
What I like about this issue is, again, Dick Grayson as Batman. When the Bat-Signal is lit upon the black firmament of Gotham City’s sky, Bruce Wayne looks hopelessly from his hotel window. Grayson shows up as the Bat on the police building’s rooftop, Commissioner Gordon knows he is something else, and then is seen effortlessly taking down Killer Croc at some unknown location. Grayson makes Batman look easy, as he is apparently calling Bruce Wayne to catch up while destroying Croc in a fight.
Again, King knows how great and important Bruce Wayne as Batman is. Previously we saw the Dick Grayson Batman as a psychotic, violent serial killer/vigilante courtesy of Booster Gold’s ill-advised plan to save Bruce Wayne’s parents. Is Bruce Wayne flawed? Yes. Is Batman out of control at times? Of course, and we love it. Yet King shows us once again how important Wayne is to the DC Universe. Grayson without his mentor-ship was an out of control psychotic killer. Grayson with his mentor-ship is Nightwing; cool, collective, intelligent, and bad ass. And Grayson when the Bat? Flawless, casual , and again bad ass-no brooding required!
This is why King does a great job with the Batman character. I realize people can’t stand his writing, but I disagree. King is a smart guy. He throws in things here and there like the Jungian number 137, the Gnostic Manicheans, and the Six of Wands that is Booster Gold in context to the DC Universe. More so, he is developing a Batman/Bruce Wayne psyche that is extremely human, something that we all can relate. We see it when he looks lost in that hotel room, when he rips a sink off of a bathroom wall, and when he breaks the jury vote with a vote of “not guilty.” This is the Batman we all love: vicious, violent, and deeply at odds with his psyche.
Has the brutal Bat returned after Selina’s disappearance? Yes. Has the Batman become so obsessed with a particular outcome that he is possibly going after the wrong killer? Maybe…is it possible there is another killer at large? Someone who the typically perfect Batman has missed? Yes, and I hope so.
This has the great makings of an actual crime/detective story featuring the greatest detective who has ever graced the pages of fiction. The artwork is dour and moody, and the setup of Wayne being called on to jury duty, however unlikely that might be, sets up a true existential conflict for Bruce Wayne. I really enjoyed this comic book, especially after the Wedding Issue. I recommend all with an interest in the Batman to check it out.