In this review of Batman #156, Riddler is double crossed by the Court of Owls and their mysterious overseas backer.
Batman #156 main cover by Jorge Jiménez
Batman #156
Written By: Chip Zdarsky
Art By: Tony S. Daniel
Colors By: Tomeu Morey
Cover Art: Jorge Jiménez
Variant Covers: Tony S. Daniel, Tony Harris, Alexander Lozano, Dan Hipp, Ryan Benjamin, Valentin Sécher
Release Date: January 1, 2025
This comic book review contains spoilers
The Story
Batman #156 sees writer Chip Zdarsky continue his excellent “The Dying City” story arc with artist Tony S. Daniel taking the reins. Gotham is in flames. Protestors rally against the perceived communist sympathies of the Wayne corporation while counter protesters aim to destroy a landmark “symbol of capitalism.” The question is, what’s their target?
Batman, having deduced that Gordon only killed Mayor Nakano while under the influence of Mad Hatter’s mind control technology (which is being co-opted by the Riddler), tells Bullock what happened and vows to take the Riddler down.
Riddler on the other hand, couldn’t be more pleased as he gleefully informs Leonid Kull, the current head of the Court of Owls, while donning his classic purple eye mask. “I believe we’re done here, comrade,” he says. When Kull asks how long Riddler has known about his communist ties Riddler reveals he’s known from the start but doesn’t care. All he cares about is “the game.”
Batman goes to NygmaTech Tower where he has to answer a series of riddles to free the victims that Riddler has kidnapped and put inside Saw-traps. Think of the Gil Colson scene in The Batman. First up is Sandra Tilford, Mayor Nakano’s executive assistant. Well, ex-executive assistant. Once freed, Batman directs her to have the police evacuate Wayne Enterprises while he works to free the others.
Meanwhile, an exonerated Gordon reunites with a newly widowed Koyuki Nakano, but she quickly rejects his advances when Gordon shows no sympathy for her husband’s death. Lest we forget, it technically was still Gordon who pulled the trigger (as far as we know).
Back at NygmaTech, Batman solves another riddle and engages with a group of Talons before freeing Jervis Tetch AKA The Mad Hatter, another one of Riddler’s victims. Then Batman starts putting it all together: references to Dostoyevsky, Maykov, and a quote from Winston Churchill can only mean one thing: Riddler’s working with Russia. And he’s unknowingly just given them a supercomputer that can compromise everything: banks, data, even the nuclear codes. Riddler quickly realizes he no longer has control of the server so he tells Batman where to find it and how to shut it down. But Batman is abused and just when it seems like he might be overpowered by a talon goon, Gordon comes in using a fire hydrant to knock him out.
Batman then supplies Gordon with his utility belt to take down the Riddler, which he does with a shockingly youthful alacrity for someone who’s gotta be pushing 70. Batman speaks to Wayne Enterprises CEO Rowan Birkemoe who tells him Wayne Tower was found clear of explosives but fears that Edward NygmaTech staged the WE protests in order to bring the stock price down so he could subsume the company.
Batman tracks Leonid Kull at Gotham Airfield preparing to make off to Russia while Gordon finds explosives planted at NygmaTech. The pair of them flee before the tower bursts into flames against the night sky. Finally, Batman unpacks Riddler’s last riddle about Gotham’s supposedly patriotic new hero: Commander Star. “Not in pounds, but I measure in weight. I won beauty’s love, which started as hate.”… KGBeast.
Is This A Good Riddler Story?
I continue to be impressed by the scale, prescience, intricacy, and unpredictability of Chip Zdarsky’s writing in this arc. After part two I had absolutely no idea where this was going, and while I thought Batman #155 was one of the best comics I’d ever read, Batman #156 settles for just being a ton of fun. It seems like what we’re in for in these last two issues is a Nolan-esque mega-climax where Zdarsky will presumably resolve all the seemingly disparate spinning plates he’s introduced in the first three. With the broader picture coming into starker focus with clues that are supplied piecemeal in each subsequent issue. Kinda like, oh I don’t know, a puzzle?
Riddler stories are notoriously hard to write and I think Zdarsky has done an excellent job here. The riddles themselves are original and follow an internal logic, and his larger scheme unravels in a systematic and satisfying way.
In addition to this intricate riddle structure, Zdarsky touches on a plethora of current events which include but aren’t limited to, the influence of big tech, cryptocurrency, US-Russia relations, the public assassination of a major figure (this one may even be a coincidence), etc. I do find that the “commie” subplot feels a little dated but then again, so does KGBeast, and who doesn’t want that? Riddler’s scheme to seed dissent and lower share prices for Wayne Enterprises by staging phony protests draws historical parallels to the CIA’s involvement in the 1953 Iranian coup d’état. And the troll-y Elon Musk/Ed Nygma parallels are too obvious to ignore.
There’s something kind of Adam West-y about how Batman works out the final riddle about Commander Star’s true identity, but it’s still reader-solvable unlike those were, and that joke never got old anyway.
Let’s Talk About Gordon (hear me out)
Is it just me or does this Gordon thing feel kind of like an Adam Baldwin situation? Like I get that he didn’t knowingly commit a murder. But are we really willing to absolve him of all guilt? As far as I understand he still went to Nakano’s home of his own accord and engaged in a heated argument with him. The man whose wife Gordon was schmoozing. Jim Gordon is my favorite character in all of comics but I think I’m with Koyuki on this one. You were just directly involved in an innocent man’s death, why are you smiling?
This is some of the most despicable we’ve ever seen Gordon but considering the fact that his most character-defining story ever is one where he cheats on his pregnant wife, I can’t honestly say that anything here feels completely out of character. Zdarsky and the Riddler both have found Gordon’s greatest weakness and they’ve exploited it.
And this may be potentially colored by the aforementioned details but Gordon using smoke bombs and batarangs to take out the Riddler isn’t nearly as cool as it seems Zdarsky thinks it is. I prefer my Gordon to carry a gun. I don’t know, maybe he had a bad experience with that recently.
The Art
Tony S. Daniel steps in here without missing a beat, and Tomeu Morey’s vibrant colors give the proceedings a fiery apocalyptic scale. It’s surprising how cohesive this arc has felt despite being drawn by three different artists. This is an issue that’s nearly wall to wall action and Daniel chooses such dynamic angels and draws movement with such kinetic momentum that at a certain point the pages seem to turn themselves. Although I have no idea how Gordon survived getting body slammed. He didn’t even get the wind knocked out of him. Did I miss an issue where he gained superhuman resilience or something?
Final Thoughts
Chip Zdarsky continues his excellent geopolitical Riddler epic in stylish fashion as we see the beginning of what is sure to be an exciting climax.
4.5/5
