Review: Batman #5

In this review of Batman #5, as Bruce Wayne takes Dr. Zeller on a date, a lot of assassins are determined that it will not just be their first date, but their last.

BATMAN #5
Written by MATT FRACTION
Art and Main Cover: JORGE JIMÉNEZ
Variant Covers: JIM LEE, JULIAN TOTINO TEDESCO, LEIRIX, JORGE JIMÉNEZ, MITCH GERARDS, DAVID AJA
Page Count: 40 pages
Release Date: 1/7/26

This review contains spoilers

Batman #5 begins as Bruce Wayne picks up Dr. Annika Zeller for their date at the Harborview Wayne Experimental Science Building, and they trade some flirtatious banter as Bruce drives them away…but he also spots some motorcycle driving assassins tailing them! On the way to Little Tokyo, Bruce talks a bit about Dr. Zeller’s mental health technology and his driving skills, but then lets her know of the assassins. Bruce and the Cycle-Sassins engage in a lot of very exciting car chase maneuvers and close calls. After crashing his car, Bruce and Dr. Zeller run down an alley in Little Tokyo, but a scary new assassin lady appears (along with many birds) with glowing swords. Bruce throws Dr. Zeller in a dumpster for safety, but the assassin slices through the dumpster with a sword – which breaks on Bruce’s present to Dr. Zeller.

Bruce kicks the surprised assassin, and is surprised himself when she dodges. His Layer 0 Body Armor blocks a stab from the assassin’s remaining blade, and the assassin lady appears to turn into a flock of birds to move around the battlefield. The Cycle-Sassins arrive, all bearing katanas, apparently scaring the bird assassin lady off. Bruce explains that his present was a cube of titanographene which broke the sword, and the two flee as the bird lady and the Cycle-Sassins battle. They continue running, Bruce putting Dr. Zeller on his back to climb a fire escape. On the rooftop, the bird lady assassin appears again, and Bruce squares up against her, but Robin (Damian Wayne) arrives and launches a Batsnare shock field, causing the lady to morph into birds again and fly off. Robin declares that the lady was “The Ōjō”, someone he studied as a member of the League of Assassins. However, in his pride at scaring off the assassin, Damian lets the word “father” slip in front of Dr. Zeller…

Analysis

Back in 1997, Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan crafted Detective Comics #711 – and in homage to the 7-11 overnight convenience store chain, had the whole issue be Bruce Wayne running into problems Batman would solve easily, but having to deal with them incognito. Batman #5 from Matt Fraction, Jorge Jimenez, and Tomeu Morey puts Batman in the same situation – though adding the stinger at the end of perhaps revealing Bruce’s secret identity after all. All of the little gadgets and tricks Bruce pulls to save Dr. Zeller from the assassins plays with great dual layer humor and excitement. As Jorge’s main cover promises a very Hitchcockian “wrong man” style chase sequence, Fraction delivers in spades. Though Dr. Zeller isn’t our main point of view character (that’s Bruce), the glimpses we get of her perspective give us the same flustered, brave, frightened, but ultimately defiant response we see from Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll in the great film The 39 Steps.

In addition to the zany but frightening action, Fraction also runs a nice line in almost screwball comedy style flirtatious banter between Bruce and Dr. Zeller. Hopefully the good Doctor sticks around quite a while in this run, as her personality and interactions with Bruce are very winning and enjoyable. Jorge’s art gives both of them stellar expressions all throughout – showcasing a Batman issue without any Batman brilliantly. The storytelling, full of eyelines, complex action beats between panels, and kinetic sequences that almost create visceral sounds as you read, remains simply top notch in this book.

The new character, The Ōjō, highlighted on multiple covers and publicity pieces, seems to be sort of like a Dracula of ravens, cohering and de-cohering (as Damian mentions) in a very cool way. Hopefully some explanation will be forthcoming, and not just “oooh mystical Japanese ninja with magic.” Also hopefully, Fraction won’t go QUITE as overboard with new characters the way Jorge’s first Batman writer did (James Tynion IV) – we’ve gotten the Minotaur and The Ōjō two issues in a row, and while they’re quite cool, a balance between new and old helps to maintain the strength of a run (something Ram V’s Orgham Family did NOT manage to do, despite some very strong appearances of Two-Face and Mr. Freeze). That being said, Fraction has done so well in these first five issues that hopefully he’ll continue on that streak and provide depth, explanations, and motivation for our new villains (and new allies, like Dr. Zeller!)

Jorge Jimenez’s main cover for Batman #5 highlights the “Bruce and Dr. Zeller on the run” in a very 39 Steps fashion, with a huge Ojo head and sword (with Batman reflected in the sword) behind them ominously (this design is also featured as a virgin foil variant). Jim Lee’s variant features the new Damian Wayne Robin design, with a firefly dragon behind him. Julian Totino Tedesco’s lovely painterly cover features Bruce and Dr. Zeller on their date, a Japanese style painting showing the assassination attempt on the wall behind them. Leirix’s variant highlights the new character the Ojo alone, wielding two swords and surrounded by the birds she can transform into.

For his Bat-Gadget variant, Jorge Jimenez provides the Bat-Cowl, featuring the audio wiring, lens option, and microprocessing chips – typically awesome stuff. Mitch Gerads provides a fun, if basic, Sweater Weather variant, featuring Bruce’s smirking chin, a bat-mug of cocoa (or coffee), and a knitted sweater with Joker, Scarecrow, Man-Bat, Killer Croc, and Bane over a cityscape. Jorge Jimenez also provides a design sheet cover for the Ojo, showing his sketches of the new villain in action – quite cool, as all his design variants have been since 2021. Fraction’s Hawkeye collaborator David Aja continues to provide lovely 1 in 25 incentive variants, this time with a raven croaking on Batman’s shoulder, a shuriken in the raven’s word balloon.

Final Thoughts

Full of frenetic action gorgeously rendered and wonderful dialogue between Bruce and Dr. Zeller, this “Date Night” is well worth the outing.

Ian Miller

A latecomer to comics - I started reading Bruce Wayne: Murderer, Birds of Prey, Hush, and War Games in college. Over a decade and a half later, I'm still inspired by Batman, and especially the Bat-Family (Stephanie Brown!) I started out listening to BTO, then Stella drew me to TBUCP, I volunteered to write reviews, and the rest is history! Love recording the podcast, especially with my amazing cohosts. Also a huge fan of Jane Austen, C. S. Lewis, Tolkien, and many more books!