Overview: In I Am Batman #18, a new normal starts in New York as the Next Batman has new allies and a new partner, while Jace Fox calls another woman mother.
Synopsis (spoilers ahead): As I Am Batman #18 begins, things do not look good for the Batman (Jace Fox) of New York. The police are pinned down by heavy gunfire. Jace Fox’s birth mother is about to be executed. Tiff is about to be killed. Batman is powerless to help anyone as he is bound by heavy chains. However, not all is lost.
The mysterious Nobody has arrived. King orders her to be killed, but Nobody can block all the bullets with her cloak and answer their attack. She hurls gas balls at the gang. With this distraction, Tiff can break free from the thug holding her, and she can free Batman. Soon Batman, Tiff, and Nobody stand off against the gang. This prompts King to order the gunman to rain their bullets on the police outside to leave their posts and join the fight inside. Detective Chubb and the other cops take this reprieve and advance inside.
King leaves to kill his hostage, but Batman makes short work of the reinforcements. The hostage is not helpless. She grabs a shard of glass and slashes at King’s face, giving her a chance to flee. She soon finds that a locked door is in her way, and King has recovered enough to unsheathe his knife. He will kill her, inflicting as much pain on her as he can. Batman arrives. His body armor protects him from King’s bullets, and he takes King out, brutally beating the criminal until his mother stops him. Jace removes his mask to show his mother his true face.
Outside, the police, Tiff, and Nobody clean up. Chubb actually thanks the young vigilante. Chubb realizes that Nobody is not the Question. Nobody says that it is a bit complicated. Detective Chubb says that she will talk to the mayor to get her added to the Special Crimes Unit.
Tiff asks the new vigilante if she is a new hero. Nobody says that she is trying to work out her own guilt. Nobody further reveals that she knows who Batman is. He needs her, and if Tiff needs her, she will be around. Nobody vanishes in smoke.
Jace and his mother have a discussion by the harbor. Jace is basically being unfair to her by saying he was a mistake and blaming her for giving him up to the Fox Family. She hopes that, in time, Jace will allow her to be his mother.
Jace packs and leaves the Fox residence in front of Lucius and Tanya. Later, Tiff meets up with Jace. Tiff suggests that he get to know his birth mother. Jace admits that he is not good at getting to know people. He cites Lucius, Tanya, and Hadiyah. Jace asks if the girl has a code name. She is working on it. Jace tells her she has time, it is going to be a long night. He and Tiff race off into the night on their bikes on patrol.
Analysis: The story found in I Am Batman #18 seems to create a new status quo for Jace Fox. Batman has a new partner. Jace Fox officially leaves the Fox residence. In conversation, he refers to them by their first names, a sign that he is not looking at them as his parents now. He does not even mention Tam and Luke either, even though Tam is present when he leaves the Fox apartment. He does not even talk to her, and she, for her part, does not even look at him. He even has to catch himself when mentioning his birth mother. He starts to refer to her by her last name and changes to referring to her as his mom. He even distances himself from Hadiyah by just saying that he really did not know her either.
This leads to the character of Nobody. I still believe that she is Hadiyah. They refer to Batman as Tiff’s brother meaning that she knows who Batman is. This was alluded to in the last issue when she tells Vol she knows everything. This was before her appearance as Nobody in the warehouse. The question is, what guilt does she refer to here? It appears that most of the characters in this book are suffering from some form of guilt and shame. Lucius and Tanya are dealing with Lucius’s infidelity. Jace is haunted by his own decisions and mistakes in life. Hadiyah is not clear on what her guilt really is. I am looking forward to further exploring this character.
It also looks like we have a Batman and Robin situation in New York. Tiff is taking to the streets in her masked identity, and Batman seems to be all in. I do like that they are not immediately referring to her as Robin. I would be in favor of a new name for her. Jace has to become his own character and come out on his own, not as the “Black Batman” but as his own unique character.
The art in I Am Batman #18 is the usual high standard that I have been enjoying. The colors are vibrant but muted, as is appropriate for the atmosphere and the story. This is really not a feel-good story but a muted story shrouded in mystery and heavy themes. The lights in the windows look like light, as do the headlights of the bikes at the end of the story. Nobody’s entrance and exit are shrouded in mystery and smoke. Smoke hangs around her, being the visual representation of her mystery.
Editor’s Note: DC Comics provided TBU with a copy of this comic for review purposes. You can find this comic and help support TBU in the process by purchasing this issue digitally on Comixology through Amazon or a physical copy of the title through Things From Another World.
I Am Batman #18
Overall Score
5/5
This story creates a new normal for the characters. Batman has a new partner and possibly a new mystery ally as well. Jace takes on a new identity by referring to his birth father and the woman who raised him from infancy by their first names. He gives the title of mother to his birth mother.
