REVIEW: Rime of the Ancient Mariner in ‘Batman The Drowned #1′
Do Aquaman and Mera stand the chance in fending of an Atlantean-evolved version of Batman from the shores of Amnesty Bay?
Central City, Detroit, the JL Tower, and Coast City all fell to the wrath of the Nightmare Batmen. Is Amnesty Bay the next town that will be consumed by nightmare? Do Aquaman and Mera stand the chance in fending of an Atlantean-evolved version of Batman from the shores of Amnesty Bay?
Let’s address the big elephant in the room first. BATMAN: THE DROWNED #1 is a female. This might not sit well with some fans, but it is what it is. Dan Abnett, which I’m assuming is the idea of Scott Snyder, continues the narrative that these nightmare Batmen came from the opposite multiverse—otherwise known as the Dark Multiverse. Earth 11 is protected by female heroes (check A Guide to the Multiverse by Grant Morrison), the same is true for Earth -11, where Batman the Drowned came from.
In this issue, Dan Abnett emphasizes the conflict of the nightmare Batmen—that their Earths must suffer so their Earth counterparts may strive. Its tale is analogous to the classic stories of rich vs poor where the rich gets richer at the expense of the poor.
I had a hard time to connect with the character’s dark origin. One thing I loved about the other nightmare Batmen is that their characters are easily relatable. For the Drowned, her misery is very specific that most of us will have a hard time appreciating it. But such is the case, the story is still good for what it purports to narrate. On the other hand, this issue really emphasized the nightmare Batmen’s motive, hence, the overall story is developing towards the right direction.
Philip Tan beautifully draws this issue and made the sequences an eye candy. Some panels blew me off my seat because of the details.
There are a lot of interesting developments that happened in this story. I am surprised with what DC did in Batman The Drowned #1. The manner of how it was executed will definitely leave a scar in the DC Universe. I wonder where DC will take this story.
Review by Paolo Ollero, co-founder of The Dark Knight Philippines, the premier Batman group in the country.
