✨ Gabe ✨

Overall, greatly enjoyed it. This is the kind of comic I love: tight, controlled storyline that focuses on the characters involved and how their relationship evolves.

The art and color - 5 Stars. Absolutely GORGEOUS work that fits the Batman mythos perfectly. Just look at this. It's got the beauty and darkness of a noir without falling into the grimdark or hyperrealistic territory.

Which is something I can extend to the whole book. Many people died, some on page, terribly, but it never felt like the comic was being dark just to be edgy. The characters themselves reflected that, too, having many moments of lightness, humor, and humanity even while dealing with very heavy themes.

As far as characterization, I continue to adore Mark Waid's Bruce. He's the perfect levels of serious, empathetic, and thoughtful that I love in my Batman. His conversations with Dick were all fantastic, watching him struggle to be a Good Dad tugged my heart strings, and him begging his enemies to stop fighting him because he knew they'd kill themselves doing so? Peak Batman.

Dick, as he should be, was another great standout. The way his upbringing affected how he took on Robin and how he handled grief was wonderfully shown. The fight between Dick and Bruce about whether Dick could handle being Robin was very well done, and the scene with Alfred near the end where they talk about his mother will haunt me for a while.

Grimaldi was a very intriguing villain -- his interactions with his father were fascinating -- and Clayface was intriguing as well. Unfortunately Two-Face fell flat the majority of the time. He might as well have been a run of the mill mobster. It felt like Harvey was shoved into the plotline for the face recognition, but not much was considered to make him a deep character. Harvey just wants to make a lot of money and run off to an island country? Very weak motive for what should be a complex character. He seemed to just turn off his compulsions at will, and show absolutely no acknowledgement of his past. I'd have liked to see something about maybe him hesitating over leaving Bruce's name in the police file or targeting Bruce at all, and having to flip over it.

I did appreciate the foster parent subplot, though it felt resolved a little quickly and without Lyn really seeing Bruce and Dick's bond. Lyn herself felt like mostly an afterthought, but considering what I've read of Waid writing women, that might be for the best.

All in all though, 4.5/5 stars, did highly enjoy. Has tons of character moments I'll be feeling for a long while.

Harvey Dent - Bruce's most serious, deepest romantic relationship of his past. They were very close to becoming Gotham's biggest power couple. Then... Two-Face happened and everything fell apart. A relationship characterized by tragedy, longing, and lingering love.

Oliver Queen - They never actually dated, but they definitely have had sex on multiple occasions. Unlike most canons, they didn't drift apart after their youth, staying in contact even as they both went vigilante. Friends with benefits, though less so now that Ollie has Dinah.

Selina Kyle - Second closest romantic relationship, and the first that started as Batman instead of as Bruce. For a long time was cat-and-mouse (hah), will-they-won't they, before briefly becoming a real relationship after their identities were revealed to one another. Selina tapped out after Bruce adopted Dick, having no interest in becoming a mother. They're still friends and sometimes allies as the situation calls for it.

Clark

Lana Lang - His high-school romance. Clark had it in his head that they'd get married and be sweethearts like his parents, but when it came time for college, they realized they had very different ideas of where they wanted to go in life. They've mostly lost contact, but think of one another fondly.

Lori Lemaris - His major college romance. Clark wanted to marry her, caught up in the same ideals about marrying young and having a family he brought with him from Kansas. That too got brought to a halt by their circumstances when she turned down his proposal and broke his heart. Though it was painful for a while, they reconciled afterwards. They bonded as two outsiders looking in on humanity, and eventually settled as good friends. Clark visits multiple times a year, and is supportive of Lori's new marriage with Renal.

Lex Luthor - After Lori, Clark gave up on the traditional romance. So when Lex showed interest in him but told him to keep it hush hush, he buried his romantic ideas and accepted being the hidden lover. There was genuine love between the two of them, but unfortunately Lex is Lex, and is terrible even on his best behavior. That relationship ended in a ball of flames and trauma.