REVIEW: ‘The Batman Who Laughs #1′ – the Batman who always wins
Now in its final origin chapter, we finally get to know who The Batman Who Laughs is.
Getting to know and learning about the origin of the different Batmen from the negative Multiverse has been fun. Exploring the different aspects of Batman’s nightmare is refreshing and imaginative. Now in its final origin chapter, we finally get to know who The Batman Who Laughs is.
James Tynion IV brings justice to the Batman Who Laughs by giving him a compelling origin worth losing one’s sanity. The story pays tribute to Batman The Killing Joke and, to a certain extent, even the Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy. The story started strong and stayed that way until the very end. The twists in these stories will leave the Batman fans in a state of shock. The best part in this book is the narrative that Batman and the Joker are opposites who complete a whole.
The only thing I didn’t like about it was the disjunction with Grant Morrison’s The Guide to the Multiverse. The different Batmen from the negative multiverse were the exact counterpart of the different Batmen from the positive multiverse. Batman Who Laughs came from Earth-22. Its positive counterpart is the Earth where Kingdom Come Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman reigns. Batman Who Laughs clearly depart from the narrative that characters in the negative multiverse are the opposite of the characters from the positive multiverse.
Riley Rossmo’s art is captivating and freakishly good. The panel sequencing is also great. There are a lot of great panels and spread in this book that art alone give you your money’s worth.
I was hoping for a big reveal in the end but Tynion IV didn’t show all of his cards. Seems like they’re saving a big reveal for Dark Nights Metal #4 or for some other time. Nonetheless, The Batman Who Laughs #1 is a great book. It would be foolish not to get it.
Review by Paolo Ollero, co-founder of The Dark Knight Philippines, the premier Batman group in the country
