Detective Comics #934-940

Detective Comics #934-940

Originally released in 2016

Written by James Tynion IV

Art by Eddy Barrows (#934-935, 939-940), Alvaro Martinez Bueno (#936-938)

With so many team books out there, it sometimes helps to have an unexpected character as part of the team to serve as a hook, so audiences will pick the book up out of curiosity for how that will work.  I got into Al Ewing's run on the Ultimates because Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, was listed as being one of the team members (though he wound up playing a supporting role rather than being part of the team), and an upcoming West Coast Avengers run as Ultron as a member. (Presumably the heroic one who was brought back in Avengers Inc.) This can backfire if it comes across as being blatantly promotional (putting a character on the Avengers or Justice League despite them being brand new, for example, or putting someone like Black Adam on the Justice League because he has a movie that's coming up), but when I saw that Clayface was part of Batman's team in Detective Comics, I wanted to see how that turned out, though I didn't have the opportunity to do that at the time. (Physical comic stores are few and far between in my area)

Right from the start, Eddy Barrows gives us some amazing art of Batwoman traveling across a snowy Gotham. I don't know much about Batwoman, so I appreciate how quickly the series establishes details about her - her father (a military man) knows she's Batwoman, she's ex-military, she's in a relationship with another woman (which is likely why she left), she's Bruce Wayne's cousin on his mother's side, and she's a good enough detective to have deduced Batman's identity.

Bruce wants her help to train the next generation of vigilantes, though it seems a little weird for some characters like Tim Drake to be referred to as the next generation when he's been Robin for decades in real-time. (Though I suppose it's the next generation relative to the two of them)

The other vigilantes are Stephanie Brown, a.k.a. Spoiler (who was Robin and Batgirl before the New 52, though she was written out for a while to emphasize Barbara Gordon as the main/only Batgirl) and Cassandra Cain, who's going by Orphan. (Who was also written out for similar reasons as why Stephanie was written out)

The last member of this group is Basil Karlo, who Batman wants to give a second chance to.  There have been several Clayfaces over the years, so I'm not sure how sympathetic Karlo was originally. He's treated as being pitiable here. Once the team is assembled, Kate makes it clear to the others that this will be like a boot camp because otherwise, they or others could die. (And she makes it clear to Batman that the two of them are partners, though I'm sure Bruce is keeping secrets from her)

The reason why this team is gathered is because someone is using small drones to keep an eye on Gotham's vigilantes for some undoubtedly nefarious purpose.  As well, someone posing as Batman attacked one of those vigilantes, Azrael, a few nights beforehand - as the end of the first issue of this story reveals, a mysterious villain has an army of Batman-inspired soldiers or robots.

I'm not very familiar with Tim Drake or Stephanie Brown, either together or separately, but I like what I see of their relationship here - it's refreshingly normal and relatively drama-free compared to what I've seen of most relationships in comics.

Kate's father is another character that I know almost nothing about, except he's much more suspicious.  He's dismissive of Bruce, feeling like Kate can do more good working for him.  Maybe it's a red herring, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he's the one behind the Batman army. (Especially when that army attacks Bruce that same night)

With Batman captured, Kate brings the rest of the team together and calls in an expert: her father.  Of course, her father picks this moment to betray them all, revealing that (barring some sort of mind control, shapeshifter that isn't Clayface, or body double) he's the one behind the Batman army, which is codenamed the Colony.

The team escapes and prepares to track the Colony down and launch a counter-attack.  Meanwhile, Batman escapes (he's got plans for what to do when he's restrained, being observed, and has his utility belt removed) and discovers what he can about the Colony, quickly learning that they have no concern for how many they kill in their pursuit of justice.

Kate's father finds him, blocking his soldiers' hearing with static so they don't hear him talking to his nephew and freely mentioning his identity.  He planned to shape Kate into the second-in-command of the Colony, and talks about how the League of Shadows has infiltrated Gotham.  Despite what Christopher Nolan's Batman movies had me believing, the League of Shadows (at least in this continuity) is a separate group from Ra's al Ghul's League of Assassins, with the League of Shadows specifically targeting Ra's's group.

Using a series of abandoned subway tunnels that Tim turned into bullet trains, Batwoman makes it to the Colony's hideout in time to keep her father from shooting Batman.  In a flashback to many years ago, it turns out that Kate's father was involved in some sort of government plot relating to the League of Shadows, though whether it's a creation of the US government or something that the US was opposed to is unclear. (It seemed like the first one to me, but it turns out that it's the second one) The Court of Owls was merely a small part of the League of Shadows, if the folder is any indication.

Bruce has a very different view on the League of Shadows - that it doesn't exist, and as a result, the Colony is going to get hundreds or thousands of innocent people killed over a lie.  However, the last time I can think of that Bruce insisted that a secret society didn't exist, it was the Court of Owls, and that turned out to be very real.

Clayface inadvertently reminds Tim of a concept that he's been struggling with. Tim is a technological genius, and with him being accepted into a prestigious school, he intends to devote himself to his studies full-time, even if it means giving up being Red Robin for the betterment of the world. He's worried about telling Bruce, and I can see why as it's one of those things that seems like it would depend on the writer.  Some would have Bruce be disappointed, wanting Tim to prioritize the mission above all else, while others would have Bruce be proud and supportive, wanting Tim to help the world in ways that Bruce, with his obsessions, never could.

The Colony sends a fleet of armed drones, figuring that hundreds of innocents are an acceptable number of casualties if twenty supposed members of the League of Shadows are killed.  Unable to stop that many drones, most of the team tries to evacuate people while Tim, acting on his own, changes their targeting system to target one person in particular: himself.  With Batman's expression upon hearing about that, it's clear that he'd be proud of Tim's decision about school, as he's absolutely devastated by the possibility of Tim sacrificing himself.

Kate captures her father, who seems determined to take on the US military if that's what it takes to accomplish his self-imposed mission.  Even when Batman informed the president about the Colony, and the president shut it down, he's still insisting that he's right.  Meanwhile, Tim destroys the first wave of drones, and is in pretty rough shape... Only for a second wave of drones to enter Gotham, with him still as their sole target.

By the time that Bruce makes it, only Tim's bloodied staff remains.  Seeing Bruce and Stephanie's reaction to Tim's apparent death, and Bruce seeing Tim's acceptance letter, is heartbreaking, and it's a rare moment of vulnerability for Batman that makes it all the more powerful of a scene.

Though as this is comics, and there's no body to be found, it's clear that something is up.  Tim finds himself teleported to some kind of prison where a mysterious shadowy figure has placed him, wanting him removed from current events for some reason.  The level of technology is far above any Batman villain, so I'm not sure if this meant to be the Monitor, some new villain, or a character that I'm not familiar with.

I thought this was an extremely well-written storyline, particularly when it came to characterization.  Tim and Stephanie's relationship was sweet, and its inclusion made the conclusion all the more heartbreaking.  You can tell that Clayface wants to change his life around (and I like seeing supervillains redeem themselves, although realistically, I have my doubts that it will stick), and his disappointment in himself when he has to use his monstrous form to scare people into getting results is clear. Despite their tough natures, Bruce and Kate are still vulnerable at times, even if it's difficult for them to open up to others given their lives so far. I've read a few stories by James Tynion IV before (including some Batman and TMNT crossovers that were the source of a memetic panel where Batman says "this is where I watched my parents die, Raphael"), and he did an outstanding job with capturing the grief that was felt over Tim's apparent death.