The Batman Strikes #50 Talkback (Spoilers)

[James Harvey]

The final issue of The Batman Strikes! is here!

THE BATMAN STRIKES #50

http://worldsfinestonline.com/WF/thebatman/strikes/guide/t-50.jpg (http://worldsfinestonline.com/WF/thebatman/strikes/guide/50.jpg)

Written by: James PeatyMatt Manning
Art by: Christopher Jones and Terry Beatty

The Demon comes to Gotham in this final issue! On Halloween night, Batman and Robin will be forced to team up with an unpredictable force, the Demon Etrigan!

Comments?

[M.O.D.O.K.]

I should be getting this one soon. I will post a review whenever I get it in the next couple of weeks.

[Spideyzilla]

This is the end of The Batman's canon.:crying: I loved it....

[ShadowStar]

Got it yesterday and I must say, it was a fine issue. I think it's appropriate that The Batman's stories should end with a Halloween tale since the writers of the show/comic are generally allowed to go darker on occasions such as this. The otherworldly menace of the Demon's three might have been a bit out there, but just look at "Grundy's Night" and "Strange New World" and you'll see how the writers up the ante for the darker material.

And there are plenty of things this issue has that work in its favour, thanks to the Halloween setting. An early easter egg shows us what Two-Face might have been like in The Batman. Etrigan is made to look like a formidable wild card, wounding and mocking the Dynamic Duo. And the Riddler's appearance actually works for the story, though there's perhaps too much exposition at the climax. There are other flaws, like Etrigan's contrived constant rhyming and the straightforward manner in which the Demon's three are dispatched, but they're minor.

This take on Etrigan is intruiging too. Even without the Demon's three whispering suggestions into his mind, he seems unpredictable and reckless. It's just a shame that they had to almost completely copy the Jason Blood and Etrigan designs from the DCAU instead of come up with something completely original. But the characterisation's fresh and interesting. There's a lot of fun to be had with the characterisations of Batman and Robin too, though sadly there's not a glimpse of Alfred, Batgirl or Gordon. As with JLU #46, there's no sense of finality; it's just a simple short story.

I'd say this trumped JLU #46 but not TTG! #55. It wasn't really a final farewell, and for that it disappoints. But like the other issues I have (#41 and #43) it's a good read. It's fun (as you would expect of a Halloween themed Batman story) and the artwork is great.

3 and a half stars.

[M.O.D.O.K.]

Well, here's my review:

For the final story to take place in the universe of The Batman (unless WB changes its mind about that Hush DTV), our heroes team-up with the demonic anti-hero Etrigan and his alter-ego, Jason Blood, in order to stop the end of the world, unwittingly unleashed by the Riddler. The villain decyphers an ancient artifact and activates it, which releases the Demon's Three, a vengeful group of demons that threaten to kill Etrigan and destroy Earth on Halloween night.

It was a brilliant move by the writers to set the last story on Halloween. Like ShadowStar mentioned, the setting usually calls for a darker story, and this one is no exception. Characters bleed, hell and damnation are mentioned in dialogue, and it gives this team-up a different flavor from others, with a more interesting setting and a much bigger threat than before.

While Etrigan's rhyming can get annoying, his character was fun due to his unpredictability. Batman cannot be sure if he's a hero or a villain, and Kirby's Demon sure gave the duo a hard time. There is also some good dialogue between Batman and Robin. The issue also felt much longer than a regular one, and that says a lot in terms of storytelling. The art cannot be praised more, as Jones and Beatty really gave it their best for this final issue, especially the way Etrigan is drawn, and the Demon's Three had some imaginative designs.

The only downside I saw to this final issue was the fact that it really did not feel like a final issue like the "Lost Powers" finale before it, this did not feel like the final Batman story in this universe. The continuity finishes on a strong note, but it does not really feel like a conclusion.

The only easter eggs to point out are two kids in Halloween. One is dressed as Superman, and the other one as Two-Face, who seems to be a hybrid of his incarnation on Batman: The Animated Series and his comic book version.
Overall, I like to thank the artists, writers, producers, and the talented staff of this book. I have enjoyed reading this series, and I hope the upcoming comic series is just as enjoyable.

5/5