Overview: In Detective Comics #1080, As Selina Kyle hands Batman over to Talia al Ghul to escape the Orghams, the Reality Engine warps Gotham City.
Title: Gotham Nocturne: Intermezzo: Batman, Outlaw Part 5 (finale)
Writer: Ram V & Dan Watters (Backup)
Artist: Jason Shawn Alexander, Mike Perkins & Christopher Mitten (Backup)
Colors: Dave Stewart & Triona Farrell (Backup)
Main Cover: Evan Cagle (plus black and white 1:50 variant)
Variant Covers: Jason Shawn Alexander, Sebastian Fiumara, Liam Sharp (1:25 Outlaw variant)
Release Date: December 26, 2023
This comic book review contains spoilers
Jim Gordon drives his stolen police van through Gotham City, bearing Batman’s unconscious body and Selina Kyle in the back. An Orgham trooper knocks the van over with an RPG, but before a battle can begin, Two-Face (Harvey Dent) arrives with his gang with a bone to pick with the Orghams. Two-Face blows up the bridge behind Catwoman and Jim, delaying the Orghams as they steal a car and race to the harbor.
The Queen of the Orghams murders her son with poisoned wine as punishment for him giving Catwoman the chance to save Batman. She declares she will have other husbands and sons, but only the loyal shall live.
Selina hands Batman over to Talia al Ghul, who takes Batman far, far away by boat, through waves of enemies, ending up in a lifeboat, just Talia and a Barbatos and azmer-possessed Batman.
In the days to come, Gotham slowly forgets Batman. Dr. Simon Hurt sends the Flamingo to deal with Talia as he prepares for the son he wishes to shape.
And lastly, Renee Montoya dons the mask of the Question again to investigate the death of Detective Fielding.
Ram V’s “Batman, Outlaw” arc ends with a slightly perplexing paradox. Batman ends up running from Gotham, presumed dead, with the fantastical magic of the Reality Engine making his city believe he never existed. So…shouldn’t the NEXT arc be called “Batman, Outlaw?” This one could be “The Hanged Bat” or “Selina’s Eleven,” which would fit more appropriately. That aside, the action and character writing by Ram V continue to be quite strong when he’s focused on the characters he shares with the wider DC Universe, and the vague and confusing nature of his Orghams takes over whenever they once again take center stage in this issue. While it’s true that Ram V’s killing off of his “big bad” at this stage and replacing him with his mother is bold, it has next to no impact, as we still don’t care about this puppet of a boy/man. Queen Orgham is evil, sure, but her motivations remain as shadowy as her powers, their mechanisms, and the same information about her entire family and retainers. Add to that the continued vague appearance of Dr. Hurt, and the mind-boggling and frustrating aspects of the run continue to poke their head into even the strongest of Ram V’s character work and action.
There are also some structural issues to what Ram V does in this issue. Why does he feature the Flamingo so prominently when that same pink cannibal assassin is featured on the cover of Catwoman this month (no editors note to clarify, either). And why would a member of the League of Assassins (or former member) be working with the shadowy leader of the Black Glove (at least one version of which was destroyed in Tim Seeley’s excellent Rebirth Nightwing run)? Renee donning the Question mask would have a lot more impact if she didn’t keep sneaking off to don it, in the backups of this book, in I Am Batman, and in various short stories across the DCU. It’d be nice if Ram V solved the problem that is Renee – that she isn’t really suited for the job of Commissioner except for her integrity (an important quality, for sure, but she also needs to be a leader, administrator, and strategist). Hopefully someone else will take the Top Cop spot who is either better fitted to the role or provides a stronger narrative foundation, so Renee is free to be the Question she proved herself in great series like 52 or Pipeline.
Jason Shawn Alexander once again shares art duties, this time with Mike Perkins (as he preps for his Black Label Bat-Man book with Dan Jurgens next year). Perkins is a decent fit with Alexander, but not as strong an artist as Liam Sharp, so the transitions are more noticeable and a bit more disappointing. Dave Stewart’s colors don’t quite mask the transition, either, but are wonderfully moody and washed with a lot of great shadow work.
Batman: Outlaw has ended with a seeming Orgham victory, which leaves so many more questions about when this whole storyline happens. It doesn’t fit at all with anything Chip Zdarsky is doing in the main Batman title (despite the frustrating similarities of Batman being taken over by a darker version of the Batman from inside). Depending on how long Gotham is supposed to be without Bruce, it’ll either have to be long before or long after. An extremely irksome result of editorial refusing to insist on writers working together more strongly. Overall, a bit of a letdown as a conclusion, despite this Intermezzo being a much stronger arc than the last two or three.
Detective Comics #1080 Jason Shawn Alexander variant
In the backup, when Damian Wayne was ten, his mother Talia told him the story of Aleasa, who died in the desert waiting for her beloved, Farhad. To conquer his nightmares of Aleasa’s skull, he mastered dreaming techniques. But the dream of Aleasa fights against his assertion of mastery, and he fights to wake up several times before finally awakening, sitting at night, afraid.
Dan Watters creates a very nightmare-sequence heavy story, starring a character not seen in this run of Detective Comics much – Damian Wayne. Hopefully that indicates that Damian will play a part in the upcoming final arcs of Gotham Nocturne, but this short tale is very perplexing. It builds from Josh Williamson’s work with Damian in Knight Terrors, in which Damian fights nightmares from the inside. However, it says Damian is ten – which would be four years ago, at this stage of the timeline (which might make Ram V’s timeline make sense…except no…) Does the story of Aleasa and Farhad, told by Talia, have some connection to the Orghams? It seems somewhat similar, but a bit reversed, as the death was of the woman instead of the man. Lastly, Damian is said to “break or save the world” in the future – possibly a reworking of the canceled 5Generation plotline where Damian could become a tyrant? There are so many questions raised, and hopefully we’ll get to see them answered in satisfying fashion in the next year.
Evan Cagle’s main cover features a huge Batman tor (freestanding rock formation) in a Grand Canyon-style desert, with Catwoman and Batman (though hard to tell at their tiny scale) standing in front of it as the sun sets. Interior artist Jason Shawn Alexander’s variant features a be-haloed skeleton with frozen wings lifting Batman, all in blue. Sebastian Fiumara’s gorgeously painted Catwoman (Eiko Hasigawa) cover is full of gorgeous detail and warm colors (though would fit better with the earlier issues, as Eiko doesn’t appear in this issue). Liam Sharp’s 1 in 25 incentive cover also features Eiko in his final Wanted Poster cover – again, a bit of an odd choice for placement in the series!
Editor’s Note: DC Comics provided TBU with an advanced copy of this comic for review purposes. You can find this comic and help support TBU in the process by purchasing this issue digitally through Amazon or a physical copy of the title through Things From Another World.
