Comic Book Review: Batman #693

Written by Tony Daniel

Art by Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea

Cover by Tony Daniel

Plot

The new Arkham Asylum has its inaugural ceremony for the rich and famous to celebrate.  But the good-natured fun and frivolity come to a quick halt as a mysterious explosion puts everyone’s lives in danger.  With the assistance of Huntress and Oracle, Batman puts a few names down as possible perpetrators and goes on the hunt.  Little does he know that terrifying events are about to occur that will undoubtedly shock the Dark Knight and throw his new life as Batman in a new direction.

My Thoughts

There are certainly a lot of questions raised with this month’s issue, one of which sticks out like a sore thumb…who is The Black Mask?  But before I delve into that enigma, there are a few other aspects of this book that caught my eye, most notably the fact that Thomas Elliot is still parading around as Bruce Wayne.

Now I’m sure that this makes life easier for our esteemed Mr. Grayson, but I wonder how much longer Thomas “Hush” Elliot will be able to keep this up?  Bruce Wayne was able to trust his secret to multiple peoples, and with his public funeral, many people who knew the secret identity of Batman will be wondering who this imposter is.  How much did Thomas Elliot learn of Bruce Wayne prior to his death?  He certainly couldn’t have learned enough to continue as the playboy billionaire for too long right?  It will be fun to see if this will blow up in Thomas Elliot’s face, or if Daniels is planning on using this to his story-telling advantage.

Now concerning Black Mask, as we learned in the “Battle for the Cowl” series, the Black Mask referred to himself as “we.”  Contained within the pages of issue #693, we find numerous panels where Black Mask is talking to himself.    The possibilities are endless of course; Two-Face could be the culprit, (however I find that unlikely) and so could the ventriloquist!  However, I don’t think the answer will be as simple as it was knowing Dick Grayson to be the next Batman, or Jason Todd claiming the title of Red Hood.  Tony Daniels seems to be giving us very subtle distractions to throw us off the real answer, and I have no doubt that when we find out who Black Mask is, it’s going to blow us away!

I was a bit disappointed in how Daniels decided to resurrect The Riddler.  It was way to campy and over the top for me.  It was a little too “Tim Burtony” for me.  But I am excited to see how The Riddler will be used in upcoming stories.  The art surrounding that event was remarkable.  Sandu Florea might as well have been commissioned to be the artist for Blackest Night with her work on the creepy smile of Edward Nigma looking up into the night sky.  However, if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear Dick Grayson and Helena Bertinelli was brother and sister… which would make their make-out session pretty awkward, wouldn’t it?

Overall

A Stunning issue.  I was worried about Tony Daniels truly delivering with this arc, but he hasn’t disappointed me yet.  I’m really hoping when Black Mask’s identity is revealed, it’s someone we never considered…but should have!

4.5 out of 5 stars

Next Issue Coming December 16, 2009

While Black Mask and his Ministry of Death struggle to maintain control of Gotham City, The Dark Knight sets his sights on Kittyhawk – a young thief pivotal to the outcome of Black Mask's gang war. But will a powerful adversary thought long dead spoil all of Batman's plans? Guest-starring Oracle and the Penguin!