Batman #138 Review
Written by: Chip Zdarsky Art by: Jorge Jimenez Colors by: Tomeu Morey Letters by: Clayton Cowles Cover art by: Jorge Jimenez Cover price: $4.99 Release date: October 3, 2023 Batman #138 marks part four in the Gotham War event wherein Batman goes to an extreme to stop Jason Todd's involvement, while the Bat Family goes to an extreme to shut Batman down. Meanwhile, Vandal Savage's presence is explained. Is Batman #138 Good? I can't tell if Chip Zdarsky got roped into telling a Gotham War story when he wasn't interested, or if he truly wanted a Gotham War story, got bored with it, and decided to move on to something else. Either way, Batman #138 is a bizarre comic. When last we left Batman with Red Hood, Jason woke up after being drugged, and Batman explained he did something he wasn't proud of. Now we know what he did. Batman uses a Zur-En-Arrh-inspired machine to "infect" Jason's mind with a failsafe that creates debilitating fear in Jason when his adrenaline spikes too high, effectively neutering Jason's ability to fight. Elsewhere, Nightwing accesses a Batbox he was given by Batman to shut down Batman's access to his network if Bruce should ever go rogue. Fearing Bruce has gone off the deep end, Nightwing attempts to access the Batbox when Damian and Bruce arrive for a family spat. Meanwhile, Vandal Savage is in town to acquire a number of stones from the Lazarus meteors that Ra's Al Ghul has been hoarding for years. His plan? Create an immortal army by using the Lazarus stones to grant immortality to Selina's Henchmen Union if they agree to follow him. Whew! There's so much to unpack here. On its surface, this story is completely off the rails. The further you dig, the worse it gets. Is Batman justified in infecting Jason with a "fear suggestion" to stop him from killing/harming people? Probably, yes, but it isn't much different than forcing a violent criminal to take court-ordered medication as a condition of sentencing. Considering the number of times Jason has killed, he's getting off easy. That doesn't make Batman's actions ethically correct, but it isn't the worst plan in the world. By the way, how, when, and why did Batman build a mind-altering machine that can implant fear in people? Next, what in the world is a Batbox, what does it do, and why does Nightwing have it? The Bat Family shows up to fight like rabid dogs over it because it's supposed to stop Batman somehow. If an object is that powerful, why couldn't Zdarsky take one panel to explain what it does and how it's supposed to stop Batman? If all it does is disconnect Batman from his network, that's not nearly enough to put Batman down. Did Zdarsky create a literal black box as an excuse for the family to fight??? Jim Note: The Batbox is from Scott Snyder’s New 52 Batman run (Issue #12). Batboxes were used to secretly siphon power from the Gotham Power Grid, but also kept Batman from being captured on surveillance video and pictures in the area. Harper Row began looking for and fixing the Batboxes, unknowingly causing more harm than help for Batman, though it eventually lead to her becoming part of the Bat Family. It’s a bit of a deep dive to be played off so matter of factly here and should have been explained at least a little! How in the world did this turn into a "Vandal Savage takes over the world" arc? Vandal comes out of nowhere and decides to use Ra's amulet to create a stronger source of immortality to make an immortal army. Why? What's Vandal planning to do with an immortal army, and why is he using Selina's collection of bumbling henchmen to do it? What happened to the Gotham War? Did Zdarsky decide the event wasn't to his liking, so he started a new arc in the middle? What in the world...? What's great about Batman #138? Forget the plot. There is no plot. Batman #138 has a lot of great rough-and-tumble action. You truly believe all the Robins have the potential to seriously hurt each other. Also, the Vandal Savage "immortal army" development is a neat concept - it just doesn't belong in the middle of this event. What's not so great about Batman #138? See the baffling questions above. Zdarsky has literally lost the plot. This issue is a jumbled mess of incoherence. How's the art? Give credit where credit is due. Jorge Jimenez's art is outstanding. If you focus on the action (because that's the only thing worth focusing on), the art is great. About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com , a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers. Follow @ComicalOpinions on Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter Bits and Pieces: Batman #138 is a bizarre fever dream of nonsense storytelling. Zdarsky’s plot is all over the place and relies on things that most readers are likely unfamiliar with. Then Vandal Savage shows up to take over the world. What is happening? Somebody send out a search party for Chip Zdarsky because he might not be okay. 3/10
