In this review of Batman: Dark Patterns #9, we get the finale of the arc in the Rookery as Batman finds himself trapped. But are things as it seems.
Batman: Dark Patterns #9 main cover by Hayden Sherman (DC Comics)
BATMAN: DARK PATTERNS #9
Written by DAN WATTERS
Art and Main Cover by HAYDEN SHERMAN
Variant Cover by ASHLEY WOOD
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 8/13/25
Batman: Dark Patterns #9 begins after Batman has been shot in the back by an old member of the Red Hood gang. The old man, along with his grandsons, plans on making a bigger statement to Gotham that the Red Hoods are officially back by killing Batman.
Batman, bleeding out and numb all over, starts to antagonize the old man that no one noticed the first body they dumped or the fire they started other than him and that no one really cares about the Red Hoods and that they are old news. The old man starts getting worked up before his grandsons put him back on his oxygen.
Batman finally calls the old man out that he was never in the Red Hood gang or an old soldier. Sam, the old man’s grandson, tells his grandfather that it’s ok and he doesnt care and that he’ll pour the bleach onto Batman to burn off his skin. The old man says no and that it’s his job to finish. As they tug on the bleach bucket, the old man drops his gun and a gun shot goes off and hits Sam in the chest. As he dies, the old man has a heart attack and dies. Batman thinks that if he wasn’t tied up, he could have saved them.
As Batman leaves, Sam’s brother is downstairs and says he heard a gunshot. Batman says that he is sorry and leaves.
As Batman: Dark Patterns #9 ends, Batman heads back to the cave and to Alfred and comments on how perhaps he never should have patrolled the Rookery and that all he brought was pain.
Analysis: Batman: Dark Patterns #9 was a pretty captivating issue. Fantastic all around. Batman tied up and numb and shot but he was still in control. If you were to tell me that one day I would read an issue where Batman was shot by an old guy and his grandkids and that he’s tied up the whole issue, I would have said what happened to Batman and why is he lame now? Well he wasn’t lame. He was in control the whole issue. He can’t move but he is picking apart this old man psychologically.
As compelling as the issue was, it was pretty heartbreaking. A sad old man with only his grandkids. He would hype up himself to impress his grandsons and it led to his death, Sam’s death, and another child left without family. Great writing by Watters to write such a compelling issue.
Can’t forget about the heart by Sherman. Great, unique layouts that you do not really see in main titles nowadays. More artists should experiment with panel layouts like this. There was a scene where Batman talks about what bleach does to a person’s skin and as he narrates it, his skin is bubbling and peeling off. Could work in a horror comic and not something you expect to see in a Batman one.
All in all, Batman: Dark Patterns #9 was a great Batman comic. The end of this arc. Excited to see what Watters does next.
Score: 5 out of 5
