In Batman #145, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh has total control of Gotham City while Bruce Wayne finds himself locked up with the Joker.
Title: Batman #145 — “Dark Prisons: Part One”
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Colors: Tomeu Morey
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Jorge Jimenez & Tomeu Morey
Variant Covers: Matteo Scalera, Lee Loughridge & James Stokoe
Release Date: March 5, 2024
Please Note: This comic book review may contain spoilers
Batman #145 variant cover by Bruno Redondo (Image Credit: DC Comics)
Batman #145 opens in the prison cell readers last saw in Batman #141. A grizzled Bruce Wayne calls Joker a liar. Joker sits up, his body in a back brace, and shrugs as he finishes retelling the “origin” story seen in Joker: Year One (which ended in Batman #144). Bruce Wayne puts the pieces together that his former mentor, Daniel Captio, trained Joker to create backup personalities and that Joker has known about Zur-En-Arrh this whole time.
Joker muses how breaking Bruce was easy, but breaking Zur is a whole new level. When Batman pushes back, Joker humors himself by saying how much he loves this, that Bruce is in here while Zur is out there living Bruce’s best life.
Jorge Jimenez returns to art this issue with Tomeu Morey on colors. That beautifully dark, gritty polish that has become a mainstay of Batman books for years now returns, and it brings with it that foreboding vibe that was missing in Joker: Year One. Morey blends in the bright, almost cherubic colors of Joker’s face against the grime and decay of his shared prison cell with Bruce, all the while Zur, inhabiting the body of Failsafe, is cast in a red warning glow. Though the grit and dirt is visible, Jimenez’s clean lines shine through.
Elsewhere, while hoodlums load a truck with ill-gotten goods, missiles interrupt their business. Silhouettes of criminals fly before a fiery explosion, while other silhouettes are strung up as a bat-like shadow casts itself over the scene of the crime.
A man flees for his life, but Zur-En-Arrh catches him. Purple eyes that blare out from a specter of a Bat-shape tell the man to let everyone know that Batman is back. After teasing readers across several pages, Jimenez shows the new-and-improved Zur in all of his glory, and he’s… fine?
This new Batman has long, tendril-like fingers that look like limp Lady Deathstrike noodle fingers. Cylindrical holes and mechanical lines run across his suit, but there’s a smoothness to this Zur-En-Arrh that feels futuristic and almost otherworldly. A fat Bat-symbol, akin to The Dark Knight Returns, sits across Zur’s massive chest, and a classic cape and cowl covers a robot head. Zur also wears a protective, purple groin plate, though one can only guess as to why.
En route is Red Hood (Jason Todd), who is conversing with Oracle (Barbara Gordon). Their brief back-and-forth reminds viewers that Batman did something to Red Hood back in The Gotham War, and now a spike in adrenaline results in a fear-based response. However, at the finale of The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing #12, a dose of Joker toxin seemingly helped to counteract the intense fear? Jason also notes that when the fear hits, he just pushes through it like a normal person, which makes one wonder if the whole Batman abduction subplot in The Gotham War is now rendered moot?
When Hood arrives, he’s greeted by Zur, who refers to Jason as “son.” A creepy projection of Bruce appears against the sleek digital screen that sits where a face normally would. Its’ genuinely eerie, and Zur proceeds to explain that he “lost his way” during his war against Selina Kyle and hurt Jason. But he doesn’t want to hurt Jason anymore, unless Jason breaks the law. With that, Zur flies away, leaving Jason lacking words.
Back in the prison cell, Bruce takes some pins out of Joker’s back brace and uses them to open the cell door. He finds himself in the lower levels of Blackgate. Donning a makeshift mask from bandages, he proceeds to break out, noticing that these usually empty lower levels are starting to get filled.
Bruce finds Vandal Savage, who now joins the ranks of the incarcerated. Before they can chat, Bruce is attacked by robots. He’s knocked out.
Across Gotham City, Zur-En-Arrh hijacks digital screens and declares Gotham his. Mayor Christopher Nakano (hey, remember him!?) chews out Commissioner Montoya for not catching Batman, saying that he can’t hold off others who aren’t pleased with the situation anymore. It’s an ominous allusion to what’s coming, and with all the recent teases lately, one wonders if this means that Amanda Waller is coming to Gotham.
Zur-En-Arrh busts the Riddler, and while dragging Edward Nygma out of his lair, encounters Robin (Damian Wayne). Zur uses Bruce’s memories to appeal to Damian’s heart, trying to convince him that it’s really Batman.
Meanwhile, the Bat-family wonders if this truly is Batman or Zur-En-Arrh. Because of all of the drastic actions Bruce has been taking lately, they can’t confirm either way.
Back at Blackgate, Daniel Captio, seemingly back from the dead, greets Bruce Wayne. Captio is now the warden of Blackgate, installed by Zur-En-Arrh. The plot thickens.
There’s a lot going on in this issue, much of it to set up for future battles and machinations. A lot of major players, whether it be Gotham City Hall, the Bat-Family, Bruce Wayne, or Zur-En-Arrh are given time to start new journeys as writer Chip Zdarsky lays the groundwork for his continuation of the Zur-En-Arrh saga. While the art is phenomenal, this total takeover of Gotham, once again, feels one-note.
Early on, in the Failsafe arc, Bruce Wayne was unconscious for weeks while Failsafe assumed control over Gotham. He then was lost to the multiverse and took a long nap while Selina Kyle “rehabilitated” Gotham. Within the last few years, we’ve also seen Gotham fall under the control of Scarecrow, Bane, and The Magistrate. Entire levels of law enforcement and criminality have been installed and dismantled often over the past few years, and it makes one long for the simpler detective stories that showcases Batman as an empathetic hero of the laypeople.
This issue is fine, but it’s nothing special that we haven’t seen a hundred times over lately.
Backup Story: Doctor’s Orders
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Michele Bandini
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
In the backup story, Daniel Captio details how Joker locked him up and used him as a therapist, divulging his fights against Zur-En-Arrh. Though a captive, Joker properly deduced that Captio wanted to be here, that he wanted to witness the ultimate incarnation of Batman battle against this pure force of evil and malevolence in Joker. According to Captio, it would only be a matter of time before Joker would bring out Zur-En-Arrh for good.
The art in the backup is much brighter and gleeful than the main story. The dirt and grime is gone, and a sleek, clean look gives readers one of the snappiest versions of Joker we’ve seen in a while. He truly is the embodiment of chaotic aristocracy, looking more akin to a classic incarnation than the dirty street clowns we’ve been treated to recently. Though the story is one long narration, the art is a welcome surprise.
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 on Amazon or a physical copy of the title through Things From Another World.
