Although I’d say that
BATWING is probably my third favorite Bat-title behind
BATMAN and
NIGHTWING, it definitely fills the void of what
AZRAEL did. David Zavimbe is an “agent of the Bat” with a mysterious past who works outside of Batman’s jurisdiction (and sometimes his morals) but is still worthy of the Dark Knight’s influence and guidance. Five issues in, this series has proven to be one of the most enjoyable and consistent books in the New 52 for me. Whereas some of the Batman-related titles (like
DETECTIVE and
BATGIRL) have been surprisingly hit-or-miss, I’ve yet to be disappointed by this series so far, and this month’s issue may be the best one yet.
The story opens up by revealing Batwing’s plan to lure the elusive serial killer Massacre out into the open. This villain has been hunting down the retired members of The Kingdom (which was kind of like the Justice League of “DC Africa”) and is murdering anyone else who gets in his way. The Kingdom’s base of operations hasn’t been used in years and is being repurposed into a museum. As you can guess, this is the perfect location for Batwing’s plan, and he’s also brought Batman himself along to make sure everything goes smoothly.
It’s always a treat when Batman shows up in this series, and this issue is no different. However, I took note of an interesting plot point that I hadn’t even considered thus far -- Batwing doesn’t know that Bruce Wayne is Batman. It makes sense when you realize that some of the other members of Batman Incorporated don’t know this, but I just figured that Batwing was “special” because he has his own comic series or something. Maybe this is just a trivial part of the story, but I’m curious to see if it’s explored in future issues.
Anyway, Massacre didn’t fall for Batwing’s plan at all. Instead, he hired a swarm of goons (decked out in copies of his skull mask) to sabotage the event and destroy The Citadel, bombing it to the ground. At the end of the issue, we learn that Massacre wasn’t even at the event and is waiting for Batwing to find him elsewhere…
So if you couldn’t tell by now, I dug the hell out of this issue. It’s got a great blend of action and drama, and this month’s story had a decent amount of exposition compared to the past couple of issues. This title has been sitting in its own small corner of the Bat-universe and I get the feeling that it’s been a bit overlooked. Do yourself a favor and pick it up if you haven’t given it a shot or if you’re looking for something a little different but still “Batman.”
