In this review of Immortal Legend Batman #1, we launch into space to see The Batman in pursuit of a murderer. And his prime suspect—Bruce Wayne.
Immortal Legend Batman #1 main cover by Dan Mora (DC Comics)
IMMORTAL LEGEND BATMAN #1
Written by KYLE HIGGINS, MAT GROOM
Art by ERICA D’URSO, DAN MORA
Main Cover: DAN MORA
Variant Covers: HOMARE, MATT TAYLOR
Page Count: 40 pages
Release Date: 8/27/25
This review contains spoilers.
Immortal Legend Batman #1 opens in space on Avoca. A shuttle is being chased by an ominous bat-shaped ship. It’s shot down and crashes while the pilot flees in terror. He hides in a cave but is soon confronted by the Batman who demands to know “Where is Bruce Wayne?”
It cuts to nighttime. Twin moons hang low over a mining site where three people stand talking: Ada Vee, manager of the site, Mayor Dent, and Sheriff Wayne. Vee has called them because of a grisly murder—the third in two months. Deciding to wait until morning to investigate further, Dent and Wayne return to Outpost Delta a.k.a. Davistown, very reminiscent of an old west town.
They are suddenly attacked by the Batman who singles out Wayne as his target—a “shadow.” They try to talk the “immortal legend” of Batman down, but he again attacks. Vee shows up in a van to rescue the two men but is pursued by Batman who disables their vehicle and disarms the trio.
Vee pulls out a massive laser gun and forces a standoff. Wayne casually walks up to Batman and quietly confesses to the recent murders. Knowing the only way to prove Wayne is a shadow is to reveal his true identity—that he, Batman, is the real Bruce Wayne.
The other Wayne reveals himself to be the Two-Faced Man. Batman and the Two-Faced Man fight until an explosion knocks everyone off the cliff. Batman rescues Vee and Dent while the Two-Faces Man is seemingly killed. Batman confesses that it’s his fault for letting the murders take place and leaves in his ship to “fix it.”
The second half of this issue goes into much of the backstory of this world. It speaks of using dark matter to bend space-time to reach distant worlds. This use of dark matter opened a door to our world’s Shadow from whence humanity’s “shadows” came to cause violence and destruction.
Three heroes emerged to fight these shadows: Robin, Batman, and Nightwing. They were thought to be immortal legends. In fact, these legends are kept alive by each hero finding and training a successor as time goes on.
This backstory is being told to a young man in a cave, who is tasked with the responsibility of taking the Batman mantle away from Bruce. This young man is Thomas Elliot.
ANALYSIS
Higgins and Groom have given us an interesting spin on the Batman legend. Immortal Legend Batman #1 gives us an interesting combination of sci-fi and western, splashed with a bit of fantasy.
D’urso and Mora’s art is dynamic. The action scenes are big and splashy—with perhaps a bit too much saturation at times. The slower scenes are dark and moody with very subtle tones.
Immortal Legend Batman #1 gives us a new design for Batman. I especially like the purple gloves—nice throwback to his first look. The Batman’s cape is very reminiscent of Breyfogle’s design—which is never a bad thing.
The lettering takes a beautiful spin when The Two-Faced Man reveals himself. His balloons are stylized and “shadowy” but don’t detract from the storytelling. The Batman’s balloons have an odd tan tint to them that I’m not sure compliments his character as well.
For me, the most interesting aspect of this story is the shadows and the shadow world. I’d love to see that developed more. Our three heroes (from the second story) have “discovered a way to access and channel the energy that binds our universe and the shadow universe together.” This fantasy element is the most essential genre here. Both Batman and The Two-Faced Man have fantastic powers that are gained from the shadow world.
That being said, I also hope that future issues of Immortal Legend Batman #1 lean into the sci-fi and western aspects too. If you’re going to set this in a sci-fi universe, let’s see more sci-fi. If you’re going to do a Western, let’s go Western.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Immortal Legend Batman is the Sci-Fi/Western/Fantasy you didn’t know you wanted. It’s a bold combination of genres that opens up a new world with much to explore. The shadow realm looks to be the most interesting and I hope we see more of it soon.
