BATMAN #697 is an improvement in this latest story arc, but the most resounding feeling that I get after reading it is, "too little, too late."
In this issue, the conclusion to "Life After Death," Tony Daniel attempts to inject the Black Mask with a sympathetic character flaw that baffled me. Apparently, this new Black Mask has been the "victim" of mental illness that's guided his sinister actions since BATTLE FOR THE COWL. This would've been very interesting, if there were any hints alluding to it when the new Black mask first appeared. instead of having a build-up on this character arc, Daniel instead introduces it at the 11th hour and I believe, greatly reduces the potential effect it could've had. If this Black Mask was supposed to be somewhat sympathetic, then couldn't he have let us in on that before he was supposed to be hated?
One thing I was slightly happy to see was Dick get some of his witty banter back. But again, there lies the problem. He didn't have ANY of it in the last five issues of this story. Because of this, the final result seems much more forced than it should be coming from Mr. Daniel's Dick Grayson. It seems odd that Dick, who's been so serious and reserved in the last five issues finally decides to let loose on one of the things he's so good at. Now, I understand that Mr. Daniel is new to writing Dick Grayson, so maybe in the next arc or two he'll be a bit more in-character. It's just that here, if he was going to go with Dick Grayson playing a bad ass role for most of the story, it seems odd that he'd turn on the more light-hearted switch right at the end. A welcome bit of dialogue, but it definitely feels forced.
As far as the revelation of Black Mask's identity, I liked it. Again, there could have been a lot of exposition not just in this titles, but the other titles that Mask's alter-ego has appeared in to make his mind seem a bit more fractured. The pay off here should've been a lot bigger than it was in this story. Hopefully, since we now see an end point with Dick's tenure as Batman, the pacing in his final stories as Batman will quicken and he'll get some good, character driven arcs to close out his time as the Guardian of Gotham.
"Life After Death" was a wacky story, with a lot of misplaced characterization and rather clunky story beats. But now, after seeing the entire story, the intent of what it was supposed to do isn't lost on me. This could have been a great story, but instead, I'm shrugging my shoulders at it. It seems that as of right now, Mr. Daniel is starting to realize the fundamental differences in style and thought between Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.
I just hope that as long as he has the BATMAN title, he realizes that those should make for different kinds of Batman stories. I also hope that he doesn't forget that those differences make Dick a great character, not merely a fill-in for Bruce Wayne. As a lifelong Batman fan, I firmly believe that Dick Grayson deserves more than that
