Another book to file in the "psychological study" category of the Batman mythos, Tom King's issue #56 shows the extent of the Dark Knight's focus, intensity, and will power to bring justice. It's a book that demonstrates the means Bruce Wayne is willing to use to achieve a goal. The hero's quest this time through? Confront and take down Dick Grayson's shooter: Anatoli Knyazev, or the KGBeast.
This book is a bit of a wild ride. In the pursuit of Nightwing's attempted assassin, the Bat hunts down both the Bronze Tiger and even New God sadist Kanto to track down the Soviet assassin. I wasn't aware of either characters until I read this issue, but thanks to my trusty DC Comics Encyclopedia, I know now that :
Bronze Tiger, aka Benjamin Turner, is martial art expert with associations to Deathstroke, Rhas Al Ghul, the League of Assassins, Lady Shiva, and of course the Batman
Kanto, aka Iluthin, is Darkseid's most favorite assassin; Kanto uses Mother Box technology to track targets down through space and time to sadistically torture and murder targets.
Prior to this comic, as far as I know, only fellow New God Mister Miracle has escaped Kanto's tactics. The Batman can now be added to this short list of impressive feats.
It's a tour de force of Batman's will power and physicality. He's ultimately focused his insanity to track KGBeast down to a corner of (assuming) Siberian Russia where . In the process, we see Bruce Wayne finding KGBeast's location by:
- Defeating about 50 ninjas with Bronze Tiger's assistance
- Play "pretend" captive of Kanto
- Spending untold amounts of US dollars tracking down the Beast's father's records through Russia's bureaucracy
- Losing three Batwings in an attempt to move through Siberia
Finally, we see the beautiful panel below:
Not even the cold, destructive wrath of nature can stop the fire that burns in the Batman.
It's an insane ride that is moving toward a highly violent confrontation. As the story ends, we see the Beast shoot his father in the head, Batman losing audio assistance from Alfred, and the Batman moving in on the isolated, Siberian cabin. What I liked about this closing scene is that the Dark Knight isn't even attempting to sneak up on the Beast. The Bat, as he trods through the snow, makes as much noise as possible. It's a scene that is telling us that Bat is making no doubt about the future outcome; the Beast is about to get physically destroyed by the Dark Knight. Nightwing's shot to the head is about to be brought a very brutal and destructive form of vengeance.
Again, I really enjoyed this book. The whole exchange between Kanto and Batman, with Orion and some type of "grandmother" being brought into it was fascinating. Anything including Kirby's stuff is fascinating (for me, at the very least). Batman's personal life has been a mess the past few issues; Selina left him, Mister Freeze mistakenly almost died at the hands of the Bat, Batgirl has been disabled, and now his only true friend and first son, Dick Grayson, has been shot in the head. I think it's safe to assume the ultimate darkness of what Batman is capable of has yet to be seen.
Check this one out if you can. The writing is quick paced and the art is gorgeous. Reading and seeing Batman moving from point A) to point Z) in such an intense manner is a wonderful read for this Batman fan. I should mention I opted for the variant cover as the foil cover seemed to be "prone to injury" when at the comic book store this past Wednesday.
As always, feel free to drop a line. I'm curious what others think of King's work as it continues on. I think Batman is about to be seen on a completely different level. He bested a New God of Apokolips in two pages of brilliance; God knows what else he is capable of doing.