In this review of Detective Comics #1095, writer Tom Taylor riffs on the plot from Batman Year Two to great effect, with a few familiar faces and a terrifying new villain thrown into the mix.
Detective Comics #1095 main cover by Mikel Janín (DC Comics)
Detective Comics #1095
“Mercy of the Father, Part Six”
Writer: Tom Taylor
Art and Main Cover: Mikel Janín
Variant Covers: Bruno Redondo, Jason Shawn Alexander, John Giang, Ashley Wood
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: March 19, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Detective Comics #1095 starts with a reclusive Bruce Wayne hiding in the Batcave after receiving some devastating news. Repeated attempts by Oracle (Barbara Gordon), and even Clark Kent fail to get Bruce’s attention, but longtime family friend and confidante Doctor Leslie Thompkins succeeds in getting Bruce to open up (both literally and figuratively) with a few kind words.
The shocking past connection revealed between Thomas and Martha Wayne and the man who killed them (Joe Chill), seems too much of a coincidence for Bruce to still believe that their murder was just a random act of violence. Leslie urges Bruce to confront Chill (as Batman) and find out what he knows.
Batman arrives at Chill’s apartment (because of course he knows the whereabouts of his parents’ killer at all times, although shouldn’t that be Blackgate Prison?) The door opens and Batman momentarily reverts back to his eight year-old self as Joe Chill levels a pistol at him. Batman quickly recovers and knocks Chill across the room while resisting the urge to bludgeon Chill to a pulp, and instead grills his parents’ killer about a decades-old car accident.
Chill answers Batman without any resistance, admitting he doesn’t know who saved him after the car wreck, or where the woman who was with him (and their child) went when they were rescued. Convinced that Chill is on the level, Batman leaves him with a warning and joins Leslie in the Batmobile. She asks him about an envelope left by the new masked mystery killer Asema, and about why it smells like Martha Wayne’s perfume. After they leave, Asema breaks into Joe Chill’s apartment and attacks him.
Meanwhile GCPD Commissioner Vandal Savage (a holdover from the recent Chip Zdarsky Batman run), flexes his prowess by deploying an army of cops outside The Iceberg Lounge, and offers a friendly word of warning for Penguin to stop asking certain questions.
Later, Superman meets Batman in Gotham City and receives damning evidence that Batman wants Clark Kent to publish about the illegal procedures performed at the Theromise Health Clinic (where Bruce Wayne was a patient), despite the potentially devastating public fallout.
Detective Comics #1095 ends with Bruce Wayne contacting his old friend Scarlett Scott, (an employee at Theromise), and asking about the controversial rejuvenation treatments she used on him at others’ expense. Scarlett protests her innocence as Batman bursts into her office just as the building goes into lockdown and Scarlett’s office explodes.
Analysis
Detective Comics #1095 delivers another solid installment in this exciting story arc. The various plot threads continue to intertwine as Batman faces a war on multiple fronts, including from his own family history, (and possibly Joe Chill’s).
Writer Tom Taylor (Nightwing) seamlessly weaves new plot threads into long established DC Comics cannon with a shockingly plausible revelation about the Wayne family murders. Bruce’s retreat into the Batcave isn’t out of character either, since his ability to process trauma springs from childhood loss. Bruce’s reaction to Leslie’s kind words is also in character, as she coaxes him out by reaching out to the needs of his wounded inner child.
Artist Mikel Janín in Detective Comics #1095 continues to impress with his stunning visuals month after month without. Janín excels at depicting mood and facial expressions, showcasing numerous close-ups of Bruce Wayne’s repressed rage, Leslie Thompkins’ reassuring smile, Batman’s glower, Joe Chill’s look of defeat, and Scarlett Scott’s guilty pause. Janin also kills it with shocking art and color that amplifies Asema’s terrifying appearance in only four panels.
Detective Comics #1095 does raise some questions though, especially about the justice system in Gotham City. Because either Batman villains break out of Arkham Asylum, or they’re released from Blackgate. In Joe Chill’s case, did he get pardoned somehow? Otherwise why would the perpetrator of a brutal double homicide of two well-loved pillars of Gotham City ever be set free, let alone be able to carry a gun?
It’s likely there’s some reasonable explanation for both, so I don’t want to tread on Tom Taylor’s remarkable script by quibbling about random plot points, but these are just things that occurred to me as I read the issue.
The story pulls elements from both the excellent Batman: Year Two comics run, where Batman teams up with Joe Chill against a mystery costumed killer, and the Batman: Mask of the Phantasm animated movie, (which was also inspired by Batman: Year Two). Also, Scarlett Scott and Theromise seem reminiscent of the Elizabeth Holmes scandal, with a ghoulish twist which continues Bruce Wayne’s continual search for a fountain of youth.
This in no way diminishes Taylor’s work either, I can just see the similarities, but after almost 90 years of stories, some themes are bound to be recycled. Honestly, how many childhood friends with a secret has Bruce Wayne encountered over the decades in both comics and film? Also, how many writers can make Joe Chill seem almost sympathetic?
With Detective Comics #1095, Tom Taylor touches on elements of crime noir, horror, dark humor and repressed trauma to create a thrilling and touching new narrative.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Detective Comics #1095 is another home run for DC Comics with gorgeous art, sharp writing, compelling character beats and a twisting plot that keeps the reader constantly off balance.
