Batman#7
Story By: Scott Snyder
Art By: Greg Capullo
Review Score: 9.5/10
Scott Snyder opens up this issue with an homage to Batman Year One. We see Bruce sitting in front of a statue of his father as a Bat comes crashing through his window .He uses that as his sign of what he will become . That’s how the scene was left. Scott Snyder however uses this moment to draw more subtext into his story. He shows us the short path that bat traveled after Wayne Manor. Very shortly after leaving the Manor the bat gets attacked and eaten in a brutal display of power by an Owl. These scenes drawn by Greg Capullo and narrated by Snyder are a perfect way to build tension and dread into Bruce’s already bleak situation. It once again proves that Snyder is a master at creating new story threads using old elements from a characters past which strengthens the title characters history in the process.
Batman finds help from an unlikely teen which provides some levity from an otherwise shocking and dark issue. Batman finds his way back to Wayne Manor using the underground sewage tunnels . Alfred sees Bruce and helps him into the Bat Cave . Bruce not knowing that Alfred had found the corpse of Talon shows considerable fear at first site of the character. It’s a sad moment showing us just how much Batman has went through that he would back pedal in fear at the site of his dead enemy. Instead of resting Bruce opts to inspect the body to try to find clues about what he’s dealing with.
Enter Dick Grayson aka Nightwing. If Dick has served anything in this series its been that he’s the one who hasn’t been afraid to call things what they are to Bruce.When he comes down to see Bruce he immediately see’s Bruce is in a bad place. After Dick asks Bruce what hes hiding from him Bruce finally explains what hes found out. Batman has found out how and why Talon was able to come back to life . Using an alloy called Electrum that was put into his tooth at an early age it caused his cells to reproduce at an accelerated rate . This is how the bodies are being reanimated as well as how he survived the Fall in issue two. However Batman also reveals to dick that this Talon’s name is William Cobb and that hes Dick’s Great Grandfather. A angered Dick starts arguing with Bruce , telling him that the reason he hid this from him was to protect himself from feeling emotions. Bruce’s response? He backhands Dick knocking out a tooth in the process. That tooth ends up also having Electrum in it in the shape of an owl . Finally Batman tells Dick that he was supposed to be this eras Talon and he found out that Haley’s Circus has gathered Gotham’s best young talents for The Court of Owls throughout the years. Batman saved Dick from that fate when he adopted Dick after the Death of his parents. Again its a nice way to pay respects for cannon while adding new layers to an already rich story.
Greg Capullo again shows us that he’s becoming stronger and stronger as a story-teller in his own right. He manages to add dramatic touches to every scene he draws . Whether it’s the many facial expressions he captures on Bruce even while wearing his costume or the anger and sadness on the faces Dick and Alfred he forces you to become emotionally invested in every panel. I especially love the scene where he Backhands Nightwing and then the next panel is him picking up that single tooth. Because of Scott’s ability to set the build up to that scene in his writing he allows Greg to finish it out through his Artwork. The two of them may be the best collaborators working in comics at the moment.
The last pages show the Court of Owl’s unleashing a whole army of Talon’s on Gotham . They want to reclaim Gotham City and Dine on Batman’s bones in the process. Whats going to unfold on this next arc has me excited to no end. It’s Batman and his extended Bat Family against the Court of Owls . Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo continue to tell an exciting and emotional story that is sure to go down as one of Bruce’s best in recent memory. Simply put go read this book.
Mike DeVivo
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