In the review of Detective Comics #1091, Bruce struggles with the idea of age as more young criminals turn up dead. Luckily, Damian is around to help.
Detective Comics #1091 main cover by Mikel Janin
Detective Comics #1091
Title: “Mercy of the Father, Part Two”
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist & Main Cover: Mikel Janín
Variant Cover Artists: Bruno Redondo and Simon Bisley, McFarlane Toys, Ashley Wood
Release Date: November 27, 2024
This review contains spoilers
Detective Comics #1091 kicks off as Batman is dreaming that Joker is strangling him to death. A Robin steps into save Batman, only to be murdered by Joker. Batman sees that it is Sam, the boy he was unable to save in #1090. Batman awakens, dresses, and heads to the Batmobile, contemplating the juxtaposition of nine teenagers murdered in a month as he considers extending his own via Dr. Scott’s serum.
Batman meets Bullock at the morgue and examines Sam’s body. Batman laments that he struck the boy; Bullock consoles him. Oracle comms in and indicates one of the kids she is monitoring has been snatched. Batman heads off, but not before reminding Bullock that the nine victims, all of whom lacked close family, did in fact have someone who watched out for them.
Batman arrives on scene to find Robin clinging to the back of the getaway truck. Batman provides ingress to Robin and, before he joins him, marvels at the ease with which Robin dispatches the villains in the back of the truck. To that note, Batman takes a crowbar to the knee, which causes him pain as he, Robin, and the kidnapped teenager make egress onto the hood of the speeding Batmobile.
Later, Batman is perched upon an especially large grotesque conversing with Superman. Superman diagnoses a tear of the medial collateral ligament; Batman initiates a conversation about Dr. Scott’s treatment. He asks Superman whether the prospect of outliving all of the people he loves is difficult. Superman notes that he may not in fact outlive them, and that despite the guilt he feels at being one of the only Kryptonian survivors, he feels happy at the time he shares with his loved ones. He also reminds Batman that any inequity in the access to Dr. Scott’s treatment may only be temporary; if it helps, Superman is confident that Batman will find a way to “share it with the world.”
Back at Theromise headquarters, Bruce is conversing with Dr. Scott in an elevator. He has decided to go through with the treatment, though he struggles to conceal the toll of his injuries when a Theromise worker, Dr. Forster, asks to run a serious of medical checks. The treatment begins when Dr. Scott herself administers the serum, known as “Sangraal.”
At the Batcave, Robin awakes his father and informs him that he has been asleep for eleven hours. Batman flexes his knee and indicates that he feels better. Robin informs him where he has installed the teenager they saved, whose name is Kai. Later, Batman pays a visit to The Iceberg Lounge and observes how much better he moves in disposing of Penguin’s henchmen. Batman and Penguin converse about Kai and the fact that Penguin paid the kidnappers to reacquire some of the funds Kai stole from him. Penguin admits the killings have caused some unrest in the Gotham underground, but Batman informs him that Kai is now beyond his reach.
Back at the Three Seasons hotel, Kai answers a knock on the window. It is the Rogue that has been killing the teenagers. It is Asema.
Analysis:
After the breakneck speed and dramatic revelations of the opening book in writer Tom Taylor’s run, the storyteller dials it back a notch and digs into narrative development in Detective Comics #1091. Gone are the flashbacks to Batman’s parents and stunning additions to the origin myth. With the exception of the opening dream sequence, issue #2 of “Mercy of the Father” proceeds in linear chronology.
Taylor does some nice character work with The Dark Knight, picking up the deep ethical question from #1090 regarding scarce access to life-extending resources. Is it fair for Batman to extend his life when so many innocents in Gotham are robbed of theirs? The dialogue with Superman is almost touching, apart from the peculiarity of Superman apparently having magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) vision in addition to X-ray vision (ligament tears will not generally show on a X-ray). The conversation ranges from survivor guilt to the existential horror of mortality, and Superman’s faith in Batman’s commitment to distributive justice resonates.
Although Damian Wayne does not get significant airtime in Detective Comics #1091, I very much appreciate the mature, reflective Robin that Taylor renders, as it reminds me of the representation writer Joshua Williamson offered in his recently completed run on Batman & Robin. The father’s envy of the son’s youth is fascinating, as that’s an undertreated theme in their relationship.
The art is simply gorgeous, from cover to cover. Artist and colorist Mikel Janín offers stunning art that reminds me a bit of Jorge Jiménez in the definition of the pencilwork and the realism. Some of the faces are especially expressive, most notably Penguin, who moves through a string of emotions, all worn plainly on his visage and delivered with a healthy dose of Janín’s characteristic horror tones.
Final Thoughts:
After the rapid plunge of the opening sequence, it is a relief to see Taylor pull back on the reins just a bit in Detective Comics #1091 and offer readers a chance to breathe. The story is well-paced and well-sequenced, and paired with Janín’s fantastic art, effectively layers the narrative. The arc is engaging and I am more than a bit curious about Asema. I’m excited for the next issue!
