In Batman #150, the man who learned Batman’s secret identity finds himself way over his head, and only Batman can save him.
Batman #150 main cover by Jorge Jimenez
Title: Batman #150 — “Be Better”
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artists: Denys Cowan & Jorge Jimenez
Colors: Tomeu Morey
Letters: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Jorge Jimenez & Alejandro Sanchez
Variant Covers: Dustin Nguyen, Mattia de Julis, Tirso, Chris Samnee & Mat Lopes
Release Date: July 3, 2024
Please Note: This comic book review may contain spoilers
Batman #150 opens with a former cat burglar of Catwoman’s at a bar, seeking out advice from the bartender. The cat burglar’s name is Teddy, and he needs money. This Teddy is also the one who found one of Batman’s secret hideouts in Batman / Catwoman: The Gotham War: Scorched Earth #1.
Flannigan, the bartender, warns Teddy not to go through with his plan to make money off of this. He relays a story from a few nights ago, when Batman was found lying in the street outside of the bar. Some patrons decided to take off Batman’s mask, and they took a beating as a result.
As Teddy mulls this story over, another patron intervenes. This other man, named Percy, can connect Teddy with some of Gotham’s villains who will pay handsomely for information about this hideout. Percy makes a deal with Teddy, asking for a small cut, and the two toast to their new business venture.
Much of the art in this issue comes from Denys Cowan, a legendary illustrator who, among working on Batman titles over the years, also co-created Henri Ducard and founded Milestone Comics. As a longtime Batman fan, it’s great to see Cowan back on the title, layering in a street-level grit that, beyond setting the scene, adds a realism and grounded-ness not seen on the title in a while. The first few panels opening the issue hit heavy with this 70s/80s era pulp style that harkens back to a more classic Batman tone, despite Batman’s costume fitting the modern look.
The next day, Teddy awakens with a hangover. He was beating down the door of Kim, the mother of his son, Yuto. Kim let Teddy in and watched over him, making sure he didn’t kill himself in a drunken stupor. It’s during their conversation that Teddy learns that their son, Yuto, moved out. Teddy is heartbroken by this, and Kim stops the wannabe bigshot from self-pitying. She tells him that he always has “something big” in the works, but he never gets a real job, never gets rid of that “chip on his shoulder” that holds him back from actually achieving.
It’s a refreshingly adult conversation, one drenched in emotion from writer Chip Zdarsky and penciled beautifully by Cowan. The way Cowan subtly layers in complex emotions on characters’ faces, the way he uses eyes to reflect care and love buried beneath Kim’s cold, straightforward demeanor, is incredible. This opening feels so real, as if this Gotham City is populated by complex humans layered with contradicting emotions, ideas, and personalities.
Later, Percy takes Teddy to meet with Two-Face. Harvey Dent asks everyone to leave the room except for Teddy, and that’s when he tells Teddy that he already knows who Batman is. He assumes that Teddy knows Batman’s secret identity as well but not really well. Two-Face waxes on about how he knows the real man behind the mask, about how the “four of them” have fought. Two-Face realizes that if one took full control of the other, the beauty of their duality would be gone, and that a true Batman would be a relentless monster.
Two-Face pulls a gun on Teddy, but it’s Harvey threatening to kill Teddy. Two-Face’s personality steps in, telling Teddy to leave. He tells the wannabe bigshot that he’ll soon learn exactly what he’s dealing with. As Teddy and Percy leave, Teddy spots Batman perched on a rooftop across the street. Teddy freaks out, but Percy convinces him to stay calm. The two take their business elsewhere.
At the Iceberg Lounge, Teddy and Percy meet with Aiden and Addison Cobblepot. They make a deal together, and then the siblings leave to take care of an intruder — Batman. One of their bodyguards, an old colleague of Teddy’s by the name of Roger, warns Teddy and Percy that the Cobblepots intend to kill them. The logic checks out, but before Teddy can bail, there’s an explosion.
Teddy awakens in a hideout belonging to Roger and some other former henchmen of Catwoman’s. They used their burglary training to steal from their other former bosses and are now a team that could use Teddy’s information.
Later, Teddy is riding in a van with a bunch of them, and they’re going to hit a bank, using Teddy as a warning to Batman. They believe Batman won’t throw Teddy in prison because it would force him to make a deal. At the bank, as Belle, Cut-up, and the others run out, they’re greeted by Batman. One of their own has betrayed them for a reduced sentence. As the gang battles Batman, Teddy runs for it, but it’s no use.
Batman towers over him, and his cloak descends on the poor hoodlum.
Throughout this story, Batman’s body and build changes, morphing with the interpretation of whoever is seeing him. In some flashbacks, he’s crisp and cleanly drawn by Jorge Jimenez. In others, he’s a towering figure overwhelmed with muscles. In this last shot of Teddy at the scene of the crime, Batman’s entire face is masked, including his mouth. He’s a broad-shouldered phantom.
Teddy awakens in Yuto’s dorm room just as Yuto is returning home. Yuto is surprised, and at first, he thinks his dad is drunk. The two argue, with Teddy trying to defend himself by saying he was trying to put food on the table. Yuto, who is attending Gotham University for a business degree, tells his dad that he used to look up to him, that he even tried to work for a criminal once.
We see Yuto’s story working for the Scarecrow, learning how dispensable he was when Batman arrived. It was Batman who held out a hand to Yuto; it was Batman who saved him.
Yuto relays how Batman listened to him, then encouraged him to apply for a scholarship at Gotham University. Batman knew who he was and knew who his dad was. Yuto got the scholarship and heeded the advice of Batman, “Be better.”
The words echo as Teddy leaves his son’s dorm only to be greeted by Bruce Wayne. Teddy realizes that, with everyone knowing that he knows Batman’s identity, it’s dangerous in Gotham for him. Bruce agrees, but he’s here to help. He has a new place, job, and identity for Teddy in Metropolis. When enough time passes, Teddy can come back, and in that time, Yuto will be okay. All the two of them can hope for is that their children are the best parts of them.
Teddy leaves Gotham, looking out at the Batsignal and remembering Bruce’s parting words that when he returns, Batman will be there to help.
After all the action-packed battles with Zur-En-Arrh, the Daniel Captio surprise, and the non-stop battle across different dimensions of Gotham, Chip Zdarsky finally brings it home with Denys Cowan, Jorge Jimenez, and Tomeu Morey. This issue has so much heart and love to it. It’s a one-shot story that ranks among the best of them as a man gets in over his head and realizes that he’s been getting in his own way all these years.
“Be Better” is exactly the kind of story we have been missing from the pages of Batman for some time now. It’s the story that challenges us to be our best selves, with beautifully dramatic and emotional art by Cowan that feels so realistic and lifelike.
Teddy can’t resist making an easy buck. (Credit: DC Comics)
Title: “Brick-by-Brick”
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artists: Mike Hawthorne
Colors: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters: Clayton Cowles
In the backup story, which is a direct tie-in to DC’s summer Absolute Power event, Batman tracks down Cyborg in order to get help fighting Amanda Waller’s army of Failsafe-empowered Amazo robots. It’s mostly expository captions that explain what’s happened to the world and how Waller has created a robot army to assume control. The heroes are on the run; Cyborg gets captured; and Batman needs to regroup with other Justice Leaguers.
All in all, it’s mostly an advertisement for Absolute Power #1, which is out in stores currently. As an addendum to Batman #150, this tacked-on story takes all the energy, love, and power from the main story. It takes those feel-good emotions and tosses them in a shredder, and with that said, it’s really not worth your time. Just read the main story, then close the book.
Editor’s Note: DC Comics provided TBU with an advance 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.
