Are some lives worth more than others? That seems to be the central question of Tom Taylor’s debut story on Detective Comics. Spanning multiple generations via flashbacks, Taylor draws a parallel between the actions of Batman and the actions of his father decades ago, as well as the consequences of those actions. He also uses those flashbacks as an opportunity to reframe Batman’s origin with new characters who provide a link to key figures in his past.
After a brief scene in medias res to establish the new villain with clear ties to Bruce’s past, the story begins with a flashback to when Thomas Wayne was working as a surgeon. The key takeaway is that years ago, he saved the life of a domestic abuser, while Bruce’s mother Martha found a refuge for the abused girlfriend and their infant daughter. This then takes us into the present day where Bruce meets up with who is implied to be that infant daughter, Scarlett Martha Scott, now a renowned genetic scientist.
Scarlett offers Bruce a trial drug that she’s been working on that will restore his youth. She says that only the wealthy will be able to afford it, but wants him specifically to have it because “some lives are worth more than others”. This verbalizes the central conflict of the story in explicit terms, and it’s something that gets repeated multiple times in different forms. The villain in the opening scene comments that his victim is “unworthy of [Batman’s] mercy”, and later in the story Batman chooses to tend to an injured man instead of chasing the criminal that shot him. That same criminal ends up being the latest victim of the new “White Musk” serial killer, who has been targeting young criminals.
The fact that Scarlett takes such a utilitarian view of human life, coupled with her tragic backstory, heavily suggests that she is secretly the new villain who holds a disdain for Thomas Wayne’s “mercy”. It creates a clear moral inversion to Bruce, as well as adding the dark twist to Bruce’s past that the solicitation promised. On the other hand, it’s almost too obvious and I would be disappointed if that’s the route the story went. I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned out to be a red herring for someone else (possibly her mother). Of course, we can’t talk about Scarlett’s backstory without talking about who her father is.
Spoiler
At the very end of the issue, it’s revealed that the abusive boyfriend that Thomas Wayne saved was in fact Joe Chill, the man who would go on to murder Thomas and Martha Wayne. This feels far too coincidental, if not contrived. This sort of storytelling where everything creates a neat and tidy bow for maximum dramatic irony only works if used extremely sparingly. The Joker being created as a result of Batman stopping a robbery is probably the most famous example, but writers need to stop trying to do it with every villain they can.
Taylor even did something extremely similar in his recently finished Nightwing run where he introduced a (step-)daughter of Tony Zucco, the man who killed Dick’s parents, as well as placing the villain Heartless deeply connected to Dick’s origins. The more this sort of twist comes up, the less effective it is and the harder it becomes to suspend one’s disbelief.
All of this acts as an examination of Bruce’s rule about saving everyone he can, no matter the cost. It’s been a fundamental aspect of his character for a long time, often stemming from the trauma he experienced in seeing his parents shot in front of him. Taylor, however, adds a new source of that belief. He makes it an explicit lesson Bruce’s father tells him after he saved the life of the criminal. Just as with the spoilered topic above, having this one (new) moment be the source of Bruce’s convictions makes the story try too hard to be retroactively canonically important.
Mikel Janín does both pencils and colors for the story, and that comes with both the strengths and weaknesses that he’s become known for. Most of the time it looks great. Janín’s use of 3D models creates a precise sense of proportion and framing which allows for an incredibly realistic style and gives the whole thing a very cinematic feel. He’s also very good at lighting and environments, fully setting the scene for the characters to interact in. However, the drawback to his 3D model approach is that sometimes you can see through the pencils to the rendering underneath. Not in a literal sense, but rather that it can appear overly smooth or otherwise like a computer generated image. Still, it usually leads to impressive results that make for some great panels.
Recommended If
- You were a fan of Taylor’s Nightwing, as this revisits several core ideas
- Batman’s past is something you like to see explored.
- You like it when stories add new twists to a character’s origin
Overall
Tom Taylor’s first issue of Detective Comics clearly sets up what the main themes of the story will be. It circles questions regarding Batman’s moral code, where they came from, and what their consequences might be. In order to do this, he goes back and introduces several significant changes to Batman’s past that tie it back into the events of the present. How much this works depends on your tolerance for retroactive coincidences.
Score: 7/10
English (US) · 