Comic Recap/Thoughts: Batman Volume No. 1: I am Gotham, Part 2

Happy New Years Eve! Welcome to part 2 of this Batman recap! If you haven't read Part 1 click here to check it out. I am having a hard time pairing down my recaps and if I am honest Batman is not the one I was going to start doing it on. This part of the recap is going to cover Batman issues #4-6.

I am Gotham Part Four: The first page of this issue is literally a bloody mess, dead soldiers everywhere. Someone off the page is repeating the phrase, "I'm scared." Gotham Girl is huddled in a corner repeating the phrase over and over, twenty-seven dead soldiers, killed by someone with superhuman strength. Gotham is not there, he is however standing on a building with a man who looks like he was about to jump to his death. There are a bunch of soldiers and firefighters on the roof. Gotham keeps repeating that he can fix his mistake, the man about to jump says the same thing. Jumper guy then tells us the Monster Men are coming and proceeds to blow up the roof, killing a lot of people.

Gotham Girl is in the Batcave on a bed screaming. Alfred tries to offer her coffee or tea, but she just screams. Duke tries to comfort her and it works, kind of, but she can only keep repeating that she is scared. Batman needs Duke to find Gotham, so he is disappointed, but gets to work.

Gotham is trying to fix the broken bridge, while still just saying, "I can fix this." Batman arrives trying to talk him down, but he just throws a beam, destroying the Batmobile. Batman stays cool as he lists all the ways he thought that Gotham was going to help save the city. Then Batman is angry about all the dead soldiers. Gotham seems shocked as he yells and flies off. (Below is a classic Batman joke.)

Duke tells Batman some info that I found hard to track, but basically lead to Task Force X, aka, Suicide Squad. While they are talking, Batman blows up the rest of the Batmobile and flies off using a jetpack. (I know this isn't important to the story, but I liked that he had a jetpack.)
Amanda Waller (the boss in charge of the Suicide Squad) is chilling in an office talking to the general guy. (She calls him Lane, so I think he must be General Lane, aka, Lois Lane's father.) Lane is confident that Batman will never be able to connect the incident to them, then lists a bunch of ways that Batman would never get to them. Amanda tells him that Batman is standing behind him. Batman then proceeds to knock out Lane, wanting to chat with Waller.

Waller proceeds to monolog about how ever since Batman showed up on the scene, Gotham has had one fight after another. She was tasked with cleaning it all up. She is the one who brought in Psycho-Pirate to control emotions and handle problems. Hugo Strange was brought in to handle the pirate.   

Bad news is Strange went rogue, now Gotham and Gotham girl are crazy. Good news, Batman is there to help her clean up the mess.  She offers to work with Batman if he says please. Batman points out that 27 of her people are dead, she says 28 are dead. He realizes something that is unclear to me...the reader.

Ten minutes later, at the home of Gotham's now dead parents, Gotham is holding another soldier. Batman explains that masks get hot, Gotham had thought everyone was dead, but one guy was faking, took a picture of Gotham and figured out who he was. Gotham found the soldier standing over his dead mother, the soldier called Gotham a monster. Batman promises to find Psycho-Pirate and fix him. Gotham tells Batman he can't fix it, then snaps the soldier's neck. Batman tries to fight Gotham, but is no match. As Gotham is flying away he tells Batman the monster men are always coming. Gotham can't fix the city, but he can kill it before it hurts anyone else. 

I am Gotham Part Five: Batman is telling Alfred how Pirate has given Gotham some kind of uncontrollable anger. Now Gotham wants to destroy Gotham (both the city and himself). We see Gotham land in a crowded city square full of people, eyes glowing red with rage, he tells everyone to run. 

Alfred is talking to himself, thanking Thomas (Wayne) for entrusting him with the care of master Bruce. While he is talking out loud, he is suiting up in the Batsuit and driving the Batmobile. He continues talking to himself, it is kind of funny, as he goes on and on about how easy it has been taking care of Bruce. He is driving really fast right at Gotham (the person). He crashes the Batmobile right into the guy, destroying yet another car. 

After Alfred declares himself the Dark Knight, Gotham tells him that he isn't Batman. The real Batman says that he is there and Alfred runs away like a bat out of hell. Actual Batman knocks Gotham down, while asking to talk. He throws a lot of exploding Bat-a-rangs at him, pushing him in the Batmobile and then blowing this one up too. Gotham does appear to be taking a beating. 

Back in the Batcave, Duke is watching the fight and points out that Batman is going to run out of Batmobiles. (A line I love, but is not my favorite this week.) Gotham Girl (I might start calling her Claire) walks up and asks what he is watching. Before Duke can reply she says she is sorry. Duke tries to apologize too, but in a shaky voice she tells him that she is infected and still really scared, but she is trying. 

Gotham stands up, while Batman tries one more time to talk some sense into him. Batman tells him to stand down or Batman will take him down. Gotham asks how and Batman welding only a grappling hook tells him that he is going to crash a plane into him. He does...Batman proceeds to jump out of the way and crashes his Bat-plane right into Gotham. While the plane is exploding, Batman tells Alfred to get on the Bat-phone and make the call. (To whom? We do not know, but I bet we find out. Also Alfred makes me smile with his wit.)

Claire is upset and throws a stand with a Robin outfit right into the Bat-computer (for real, so much destruction of Bat stuff!). Duke asks her if she is okay and if she is going to kill him. She is scared of being alone without her brother. Duke the kind soul he is gives her a hug and is way more chill than any normal person would be. 

Gotham is still alive. He tells Batman that he tried to save Gotham (the city) but you can't. Batman agrees and they both say goodbye to each other. Gotham (the person) gets knocked down again, we see Superman and all of the Justice League have arrived. Superman asks Gotham to surrender. 

He does not. Gotham punches Superman and then proceeds to take out all of the Justice League one by one. Batman realizes that Gotham's power seems to adjust to what he's fighting, he tells Duke that he needs Claire to tell them how the powers work. Duke is still hugging her, trying to calm her fear. Duke tells her she is not alone and then he asks her how Batman can win this fight. 

She proceeds to explain that they bought their powers. They did not buy powers for life, they traded life for powers. They are trading years of their normal lives to produce hours of being super. They figured they had two year worth of powers, two years to save the city. Then they would die. Super power math, they can choose to be human for a few decades, Superman for a few years, or Gods for a few hours. In short, Batman cannot win this fight. (While she is explaining all this, we see Gotham take down all of the Justice League like they were nothing. 

Now two conversations are taking place at the same time. Batman is talking to Gotham, telling him that the city is just a place. The city didn't kill his parents or free the Pirate. Batman had failed to save the city, Batman told Gotham to go face the soldiers and the pirate. Batman is to blame for his parents death. If Gotham wants to kill Gotham (the city) then he needs only to kill Batman, because he is Gotham. 

At the same time Claire is asking Duke what can be done. She is too scared. Duke reminds her of the thing Batman always says about being scared. That being scared just means everyone gets a chance to be brave. Claire didn't know that Hank (Gotham the person) got the saying from Batman. It inspires her enough to be brave and head for the fight. 

Hank agrees with Batman and decides to kill him, as he is about to do just that, they both say goodbye to each other again. Claire flies in and carries Hank off, they fight for a brief moment and she takes him down. (Killing him) Claire is also narrating. In her narrations, she tells us that after Bruce died, after she killed him, her and Duke come back to this place on the anniversary of her brother's death to remember the origin of Gotham girl  and the Death of Batman. (Well that is a heavy place to end an issue. Lucky for you dear reader there is an Epilogue to this storyline)

I am Gotham Epilogue: Monday, Claire (Gotham Girl) is having a rough time. She is talking out loud to Hank (Gotham). He isn't there of course, because she killed him. While she is talking she cuts all her hair off, then shaves it even shorter.

Tuesday, a villain calling himself Colonel Blimp is terrorizing Gotham. (I looked this guy up and I think Tom King might have just Googled, “obscure Batman bad guys”.) Claire takes him down easily all the while still talking out loud to Hank. She tells him she is tired, she had stayed up late watching reruns of TV shows from when they were kids. She also reminisces about their mother. We catch a glimpse of Batman watching her from the shadows.

Wednesday, Duke is monitoring Claire, he knows that it is killing her and tells Batman that they need to find a way to save her. Batman agrees. I love that in the background Alfred is just hanging up extras of Batman's suit. I assume he just cleaned it. Alfred is without a doubt the best of all of us.

Thursday, Claire is floating over the city at night. She is telling Hank how beautiful it is. She is right, the art is amazing.

Friday, Claire is talking to Hank about a time at their Grandmother's. In the background we hear two others talking, they seem to be having a disagreement and one is likely about to kill the other. Claire tells Hank that she can hear it, she just likes talking to him. She is crying as she flies to stop whatever crime is happening now. The crime it turns out is a guy named Karl, who is calling himself Captain Stingaree, is making his brothers, who I think Karl may have forced to dress like Batman, walk off of a plank positioned on a very tall building. Karl is off his meds and thinks his brothers are all Batman and need to be killed. Claire catches the poor fake Batman and is happy to see the pirate, because Hank used to love pirates. She knocks Captain Stingaree out, right as the real Batman shows up, asking her if they can talk. The line she gives is mildly heartbreaking, (see below).

Batman offers her help with her pain and asks her to come with him. She debates it out loud and almost takes his hand, but then she smiles and flies off. Batman asks Alfred how he helped him after his parents died. Alfred gives my favorite line of the volume. I will share it later, but know that it doesn't really help Batman very much or maybe it does…

Saturday, Kite Man (fucking Kite Man) flies threw a window of some rich people and steals a ladies pearl necklace. Clair stops him easily. While she is stopping him, she is telling Hank a joke about Batman, she starts it and it is one she has already told. She realizes this and as she is dropping off Kite Man at the police station, she admits she isn't feeling very well.

Batman turns the Bat-signal on and shines it at Claire. He tries a different approach, this time he is asking her for help, not offering. He asks her why she is helping Gotham. She doesn't answer so much as she just keeps talking to Hank. She tells Hank (and Batman) that helping makes being alone hurt less and that she isn't choosing to help Gotham, she just has to help Gotham.

Batman is about to call her Gotham Girl, but instead calls her Claire and introduces himself as Bruce Wayne. He goes on to tell her all about the night his parents died and that while he could never really talk to his father, he could always talk to his mother. He still talks to his mother. Claire admits to Bruce that she doesn't feel good and she misses her brother. While she is crying and they are hugging, I admit this page got me a little, anyone who has lost a loved one, like a parent, a sibling or a partner can feel the pain in this moment. 

Sunday, Batman is talking to Amanda Waller again. She explains that Huge Strange traded Psycho-Pirate to Bane for a bunch of venom. So the only way to cure Claire and avenge Hank is to invade Bane's county, break into a crazy secure prison and, "pry a lunatic out of the hands of a monster." You know no big deal. Just your typical, "Suicide" mission.

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Well there are a lot of stories happening here. WTF is with these Monster Men. Also why did Hugo need that Venom? What is Bane up to? Will Batman figure out how to save Claire? What is this new plan for Duke? So many questions!! I'll be honest, this is why I love Batman. He is a superhero, but he is also a detective and there are so many mysteries to solve.

I don't think I talk about the writers and artists who work on these comics. The first issue in this Volume was jointly written by Scott Snyder (Twitter link) and Tom King (Twitter link). Snyder went on to work on All-Star Batman, while Tom King continued to write the Batman series. I stated before that I am a huge Tom King fan, I am really looking forward to where he takes this story. Batman Rebirth #1 the artist is Mikel Janin (Twitter link). I like his style and you can see his work all over DC. Issues #1-5, the main artist is David Finch (Twitter link). Finch also did the main covers of this run. Issue #6 we got a bit of a guest artist, Ivan Reis. Ivan did that amazing city shot. Please checkout and support all of these amazing writers and artists.

Okay, so I know you are dying to know what Alfred said to Batman. In my favorite line of this volume Alfred simply points out that he did his best, but is not sure he actually helped Bruce at all. 

Next Week: Nightwing Volume No. 1: Better Than Batman, Part 1                  Nightwing Volume No. 1: Better Than Batman, Part 2

Last Week: Aquaman Volume No. 1: The Drowning
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