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Batman: Gotham Nights #2 Review: It Chugs Along In Second Gear

Published Sun, 03 May 2020 14:00:15 -0500

When your case involves actors and mistaken identity, it doesn't take being the world's greatest detective (or even reading the solicitations copy) to figure out what's the nature of the problem and how it should likely be handled. That's not to say that there aren't fun surprises along the road — literally, as Batman reveals some of where he got all those wonderful toys. He gets to show off some of his language skills and has a surprising moment where his own mask is metaphorically pulled in Batman: Gotham Nights #2.

The cover of Batman: Gotham Nights #2 by DC Comics with a creative team of Michael Grey, Ryan Benjamin, Richard Friend, Alex Sinclair, and Troy Peteri.

Likewise, the artwork from Ryan Benjamin, Richard Friend, Alex Sinclair, and Troy Peteri is fantastic in depicting the action in the streets and corners of Gotham City. The colors are bright but still cast enough shadows to make the Caped Crusader own the darkness.

Here's the thing: it's not that Batman's not smart, because he figures out some pretty complex geometry and physics on the fly and plans a way out of a death trap before he knows its a death trap. On the other hand, knowing all that he did, his actual plan for stopping the bad guy seems a little underresourced. Was a stern talking to really going to chastize a cold-blooded murderer properly? The situation doesn't pass the fridge logic test, falling apart the more time you consider it. That's a pretty challenging deficit to overcome, even with production values this high.

There is no objective metric that could call this a bad comic book. What it is, however, is a book that played with house money that chugged along in second gear instead of opening up the engine and seeing what this bad boy can really do. That's an approach, and it's only a buck for the issue on ComiXology, so maybe that's a high enough bar for many to accept. Here, however … RATING: MEH.

Batman: Gotham Nights #2
It's a mad dash as Batman races to stop a murderous plan – but when the villain is revealed to be in two places at once, and the victim turns out to be not so innocent, Batman must make the ultimate choice in a fight against Clayface.

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