In an alternate universe far far away, Batman wields the power to save his universe. Previously, evil Bruce Wayne variants have begun using their shadow transformations to attack the universe. Now, the real Bruce Wayne must track down each of his shadows all by himself. Incidentally, this issue focuses on Batman’s brand new attack strategy as space pirates begin a threatening campaign. Let’s discuss the next phase of Immortal Legend below!
I Can’t Let People Die
Getting directly to the point, Immortal Legend Batman isn’t good at this hero thing whatsoever. When Batman hears about an out of control pirate crew, he determines his best strategy is to go undercover in the gang. When the story begins, the pirates intercept their usual victims traveling in the Keystone Lanes. According to the captain of the boarded vessel, the pirates typically take a standard toll in exchange for free passage. However, due to the violent nature of their new captain, this would not be the case in this situation. Contrary to Batman’s beliefs, the pirates want more than the money and attempt to maroon the travelers. Despite the admittedly corrupt agreements between the Captain and the pirate crew, they end up killing several passengers and crewmates alike.
Unfortunately, Batman’s brilliant strategy means watching three to four people die before making his move. What makes it worse is that Alfred warns Bruce about the silliness of his plan, and he still goes through with it. Batman even leaves his transformation tools behind just in case the shadows can sense him. Part of this plan involves Bruce dressing like an old man under the assumed name of Malone. Of course, this is Kyle Higgins’ homage to the Matches Malone identity used by the mainstream Batman. Furthermore, the pirates forcibly jump “Malone” into the gang. By the end of the issue, there aren’t any plausible story reasons for Malone to join at all. Instead, Bruce proclaims how much he wants to prevent deaths, only to fail to save most of the people dying from his frivolous inaction.
Bruce Bane
In the last issue, the shadows mirroring Bruce Wayne take on unusual new personalities. For instance, issue number one focuses on the Immortal Legend version of Two-Face and this issue reinvents Bane. As Bruce, the shadow is virtually unrecognizable due to all the scars and duress on his body. Personality wise, this variant is a violent megalomaniac killing his own men or making them hurt other people to remain on the crew. Consequently, none of his crew are particularly loyal to him and only volunteer out of fear. As for his shadow transformation, “The Bane of Man,” his muscles engorge in a glowing neon mutation. His face somewhat borrows the monstrous traits of Marvel’s Venom more than his mainstream counterpart.
The story also introduces allies like the robotic Alfred, Lady Shiva, or Nightwing and Robin. Alfred’s design seems to borrow aesthetic from Transformers villain Shockwave, Robot from Netflix Lost In Space, and the overall Evangelion look. At the time of writing, it is unknown if the “Pennyworth” label on his cuirass is his last name or manufacturer. There’s also an interesting flashback segment of Bruce training under Lady Shiva. In this universe, Bruce seemingly purchases Shiva’s services to help him become a great fighter. Rather, a decent fighter without his costume. Moreover, there is a new backup featuring other Immortal Legends and their color shifting transformations, hinting about their various capabilities. Anyway, outside of Mora’s designs, the polygonal ships, confusing space wear of tweed suits and tracksuits feel undercooked.
Recommended If…
- You love Power Rangers/Super Sentai/Tokusatsu inspired series.
- Kyle Higgins is your favorite writer.
- You’ve begun to invest in the Immortal Legend story.
Overall
The first issue mostly focuses on dumping exposition, but this issue sets up a monster of the week format for the hero’s adventures. Immortal Legend Batman is about a new kind of Batman in the middle of a war supposedly bigger than himself. However, it seems like the shadows are preoccupied with solely pissing Batman off. Especially if all the villains are going to be Bruce Wayne variants. The other heroes in the backups feel tacked on and don’t seem to have a worthwhile B-plot to focus on. Personally, one big negative is how this Batman ineffectively assesses the situation and allows people to die so he can have his pointless undercover story. As a result, it feels as if the character is indulging some kind of hero fantasy at everyone else’s expense. Overall, it reads better than the first issue, but has yet to establish an engaging storyline.
Score: 6/10
DC Comics have provided advance copies of books for review.
English (US) · 