Resident Read Rat

You can tell I had a way better time with this one because while it took me a month to slog through KnightQuest, I finished KnightsEnd in three days.

Batman spends a good deal of this volume asking some tough questions about himself, his place in Gotham, and the unstoppable march of time.

Love, love, loved how Bruce called in Nightwing and Robin to help him take back Gotham. It's such a shining moment of character development. Bruce's refusal to accept his own limits and ask for help led to his defeat in Knightfall. This interaction demonstrates that Batman has not merely rebuilt his exterior; he's repaired the cracks in his foundation.

The Nightwing & Robin team up was everything. They're brothers, your honor.

But you can also see exactly why Tim didn't keep Dick in the loop during KnightQuest. All of his top notch detective training goes out the window when it comes to Bruce.

Should Tim have done that? No, but I get his motives.

Dick is wonderful. He's loyal, righteous, and far more in touch with his emotions than Batman, but those feelings make him act pretty impulsively.

Tim, meanwhile, is a major overthinker. It makes him a great detective and more adept at understanding Bruce than the previous two Robins, but he struggles with making spur of the moment decisions. He doesn't like to act rashly because he's constantly worrying about the repercussions of his actions. He wants time to assess and ruminate.

When Dick thinks that Bruce has broken his no killing rule, he doesn't wait to hear him out. He immediately tears into him: for "picking Jean Paul over him", for leaving Tim on his own, and for destroying everything he stood for.

Tim withdraws into himself, hardly able to speak as he feels that his world is falling apart around him. He wants to hear what Bruce has to say. He needs an explanation to wrap his head around and dissect.

When Dick thinks that Jean Paul has killed Bruce, he begins fighting him with no real strategy in mind. Eventually, he decides that if he just makes Jean Paul mad enough, he'll slip up eventually.

Tim spirals amidst the flames, questioning the worth of their actions now that Bruce is "gone," only springing into action when a woman screams for help.

When Batman resurfaces, Tim asks if they should go help Nightwing. Bruce tells him that Nightwing will retreat on his own if things get too dangerous...which is like totally untrue because Dick doesn't stop until he is literally beaten into unconsciousness.

He thought you DIED Bruce. He thought Jean Paul KILLED YOU. In what universe would he be normal about that?!??

Were YOU practicing good self-preservation tactics when Jason died? Because last I checked, the U.S. government had to hire SUPERMAN to keep you from killing The Joker.

However, Jean Paul truly takes the cake when it comes to mental instability.

He "killed" Batman, and then decided he was just gonna wipe the rest of the Bat clan off the map while he was at it. Dick was at least fighting him in this moment, but Tim hasn't done anything to him since the strangling incident?? He's also, you know, a literal child. But sure JP, that'll show everyone you're top dog.

I would describe my experience reading the second entry in the Knightfall trilogy as a headachy blend of boredom and frustration.

Apologies to any Jean Paul fans out there, but I personally cannot stand that man. He probably gets major character development in other comics, but Jean Paul Batman is essentially the fanon version of Batman who beats people to a bloody pulp for jaywalking.

I need him out of my city.

This is drawing a bit from Knightfall as well, but I love the difference between how Tim talks to Dick about Jean Paul vs. how he talks about Jean Paul with Alfred.

He gives Dick a vague, neatly packaged version of the issues he's facing. Instead of saying "the new Batman is brutalizing thugs and fired me for trying to uphold Batman's morals", he tells him Jean Paul is pretty "gung ho" and not a big fan of robins. He withholds the truth because he knows that Dick will try to intervene. He might tell Bruce and unintentionally derail his father's rescue, or confront Jean Paul head on and potentially be forced to take up the cowl himself. Either way, it would lead to a lot of conflict and emotional strain on Bruce and Dick. Tim sees it as his job to lessen their burdens. He would never willingly add to those. He'll take on as much as he has to for their sakes.

Initially, Tim tries to downplay things with Alfred as well, but he immediately calls him out on it. If it was anyone else, Tim probably would've at least tried to out stubborn them, but Alfred's his mentor in the art of placing the needs of Bruce Wayne above his own, and that's why Tim chooses to confide in him.

Alfred, though disturbed by Jean Paul's actions, knows that informing Bruce would destroy any chance of him recovering from his broken back. Bruce, self-care disaster that he is, would no doubt choose to push his battered body past the point of no return, so Alfred keeps the truth to himself.

When another emergency puts the choice that Alfred has fought so hard to keep out of Bruce's hands back in them, what does he do, you ask? Exactly what Alfred begged him not to.

And he is outta there!

And so, apparently, is Tim after Jean Paul tried to straight up murder him in the batcave.

After the strangulation incident™, Jean Paul seals up the Batcave, plunges off the deepend, and finally breaks Batman's no killing rule.

(That's all you're gonna get from me about Jean Paul's Batman run. Not only was he mean, he didn't even like detective work!)

But it's all okay, because Bruce is back in town!!!

He's getting that mantle back, baby!

Had to split my thoughts about Knightfall into 2 posts thanks to Tumblr's photo limit.

While most of the rogues seemed content to keep to their regularly scheduled criminal activities, The Joker & Scarecrow unfortunately decided to collab.

They do pretty well together until they have the brilliant idea of spraying Batman with fear gas. So what does Bruce fear above all else? The death of Jason Todd.

Given that his worst nightmare is already his reality, his fear turns quickly to anger and grief. Batman spends the next four pages rightfully bludgeoning the man who killed his son.

As glorious and cathartic as that moment was, the good times of course do not last, and Batman gets snapped in half.

And let me tell you, Broke Bat Gotham is not a place you want to be.

There's goons in the street, thugs in the park, and I'm about ready to launch Jean Paul into the freaking sun.

Like, what happened to that pathetic, wet paper bag of a man? He's mean, mega violent, and only concerned with taking down the biggest bad around. He doesn't care about the citizens of Gotham; he calls Batman's compassion a weakness and says that's why he was defeated. He almost let literal children get shot and an entire train full of people die just so he could get the jump on Bane. It was only Robin's interference that stopped all that from happening, and Jean Paul FIRED him for it.

Meanwhile, Tim can't even tell Bruce about all the crazy stuff that's happening because he and Alfred have disappeared. Turns out Tim's dad has been kidnapped, and just like in A Death in the Family when Bruce decided to hold a funeral without so much as telling Dick about his brother's death, he leaves Tim in the dark about his dad. Alfred at least leaves a note, but it's incredibly vague.

I get they were on a time crunch to catch up to the culprits, but if my only surviving family member got abducted in the middle of the night, I'd at least like a phone call.

I know it must SUCK to be a crime fighting vigilante and not be allowed to assist in rescuing your own father because you're stuck babysitting a grown man who seems hellbent on destroying the legacy you sacrificed your childhood, innocence, and safety to protect.

I'd go ballistic, actually.

Tim, however, looks at the mess that he's been left to deal with and decides "if Jean Paul didn't hire me, he sure can't fire me" and just keeps on keeping on.

by Doug Moench and Chuck Dixon

Our first Arkham escapee to be rounded up is The Mad Hatter who as you can see takes the dress code at his tea parties quite seriously.

So you've got a machine gun? That's cute. Well Batman's got a 14 year-old with a slingshot, so good luck, buddy.

Speaking of Tim, he's got his work cut out for him. Batman's falling apart at the seams, and things can literally not get worse for Gotham, but he's still insisting on facing the worst of it on his own.

Bruce just wants to keep Tim safe, but if there was ever an instance where Batman can literally not afford to work alone, it's this one. As seen by all the instances where Tim watches Batman get beaten to a pulp and has to wait until the very last moment to assist because otherwise Bruce will ground him.

He's provides moral support

Harasses Bane's chief henchman

And has a very reasonable reaction to finding out Bane can pulverize a skeletal system with his bare hands.

Listen, I know people love to view Alfred as a grandpa figure for the Batkids, but Tim and Alfred are the co-workers of all time. It's like Tim is this bright-eyed new hire and Alfred is the wizened veteran who knows all the right tricks to get McDonald's ice cream machine (Batman) up and running again. And as we all know...sometimes that takes a sledgehammer.

I also personally love this panel of Alfred, who appears to be supplicating the heavens as Tim tries for the millionth time to convince Batman that he's walking headfirst into his own murder.

(The rookie employee has not yet learned that there is no use in arguing with the manager. It is better to resign yourself to face the fallout of his commands).

Batman, meanwhile, is having an awful time. The rogues are like "YIPPEE! Time for my bimonthly battle with Batman," but unfortunately Batman has been booked for 20 psychotic playdates in a row, and he is so over it.

by Doug Moench & Jim Aparo

This was my first run-in with Black Mask. Hard to believe he hasn't shown up in any of the Batman comics I've read thus far. Black Mask beefing with Bruce Wayne instead of Batman was a refreshing change of pace. I also really enjoyed the face melting make-up. There's nothing more haunting than the stuff children's content creators will come up with to torture their characters with when they're told death is off the table. I have childhood diaries full of my nightmares that can attest to that.

Bruce is having the absolute worst time partly because the Black Mask got away but mostly because he doesn't know diddly squat about self-care.

Like the bloody gargoyle goes hard, but that's a whole DNA sample right there. You're telling me your utility belt doesn't have tissues?

But enough about the boring old Batman. Let's talk about who should be everyone's favorite masked freak: Metalhead!

I mean wow, with this absolute unit on the playing field, why does Hollywood still bother with a two-bit rogue like The Joker?

Switching topics yet again, I'd like to draw your attention to my favorite little traffic light, Tim Drake. I find it infinitely amusing how every time Bruce leaves these two alone with each other, they immediately start psycho-analyzing him. Bruce is zeroed in on the mission; these two are zeroed in on Bruce.

People have a lot of opinions about Bruce and Tim's dynamic during this era, but I love how messy and complex it is. It varies so much from moment to moment. Bruce wants so badly to be a responsible figure in Tim's life, but he's so neglectful of his own needs that Tim has to step in again and again to keep him from getting himself killed. And that's exactly why Tim signed up for this job to begin with. Does he enjoy being Robin? Absolutely. Does he like having someone care about him? Of course. But from Tim's perspective, becoming Robin and allowing Bruce to take on the role of his caretaker are key steps in his "Let's Heal Batman" campaign. In Batman's current state, he needs someone to protect as well as someone to protect him, and Tim has taken it upon himself to play both parts.

Tim has also, for whatever reason, taken on the role of Jean Paul's hairdresser. It's a travesty. Everything that made Jean Paul's appearance unique is washed away in an instant. Tim at least tried to talk him out of it. How could you, Mr. Valley? How could you?!

Also, Bane broke The Joker and all the other rogues outta Arkham, so you know what that means...

by Dennis O'Neill

Right off the Bat (ha!), we've got Azrael Sr. riddled with bullets and riding through the streets of Gotham on a literal high horse.

He pulls up to his son's house, gives him a location to travel to, and dies. A strong start to what ended up being a rather weak comic. There's so much going on and so little explanation of why it's happening. Azrael Jr., aka Jean Paul Valley, is such a pathetic little guy (affectionate), but I honestly have no clue why he's going along with what that little goblin man was telling him and I don't think he did either.

He's asking the right questions though.

Speaking of bullet-proof vests, I thought the whole criminals using kevlar bullets would be a more relevant plot point. Might be something to be more concerned about than striking a pose and arguing with Alfred about chocolate fajitas!?

Like Bruce, YOU also wear kevlar. If the goons get bullets that can shoot through that, it's over for you.

Following the events of A Lonely Place of Dying, Tim is (not quite) ready to take on the Robin mantle. Bruce's solution is to send him off to Paris to train. Things, of course, go off the rails and naturally Tim ends up in Hong Kong trying to stop the release of a Hitler-era biological weapon. Typical Tuesday, am I right?

Imagine not loving Tim Drake. His spiky 90's haircut and his silly inner monologue captivates me.

He's my perfect little idiot son. He's on sneaky time.

He's a crime-fighting vigilante who made a seriously injured, only sometimes conscious man drive him across France because he's "too young" to do it himself. Like you break the law everyday, and that's where you draw the line?

Them Essentially:

Gavroche: Give me a gun.

Enjolras: I'm not giving a kid a gun until all my men have one.

Gavroche: Whatever. I'll just take yours after you get shot to death.

Had an absolute blast with this one because it's Tim Drake's origin story, and I love him so much.

Look at that little stalker monologue. Having a newspaper clipping scrapbook is one thing, but having not one but TWO framed portraits of Batman and Robin on your dresser...no one is doing it like Timmy.

I thought it was so cool how Marv Wolfman connected Tim's origin with Dick's own. Shout-out to the Haly's Circus incident: bringing families together since 1940.

Dick after taking Tim to Wayne Manor: "tell me everything"

Tim: "It all started when your parents died..."

Dick: "...How about we skip that part?"

Convinced that Alfred was so on board with Tim being Robin because he wanted a gossip buddy. Imagine putting up the kind of nonsense he deals with on a daily basis and not even being able to rant to your coworkers about it.

I will say that I find it hilarious that Tim spends this whole comic saying "Batman's going dark" and then it cuts to Batman telling criminals to read more books while a circus clown from the family friendly attraction across town is telling his coworker to kill himself.

Don't get me wrong, Bruce is for sure slipping, but I feel more threatened by that clown than the guy having a full on Barbie as The Princess and The Pauper moment with Two-Face.

Just gonna let this panel speak for itself...