It appears that Batman #52 is the swan song for storied creative team of writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo… for now.
After several mega-arcs starting with the early days of the Court of Owl to now, this issue is kind of a softer slide out for the creative team than I expected. It does seem to set up future plot threads for the team should they return to Batman in Scott Snyder’s All-Star Batman, part of DC Rebirth, or somewhere else.
Spoilers and review for Batman #51 follow!
The ground shakes and thunders as Gotham City is blacked out.
Which is villain is behind this turn of events?
First stop is Arkham Asylum where the cast of villains appear to be running roughshod.
However, all is not as it appears. Arkham Asylum is no longer about rehabilitation it seems, but containment. And, no, these villains are not behind Gotham’s blackout.
In fact, what is causing it is from under the ground.
Second view we have is… of some of members of the Court of Owls. They seem to pressing ahead, but against the broader Court of Owls wishes.
Future happenings are teased with the Mantling and some, presumably, beings referred to as Strigidae.
And, when the broader Court of Owls is no longer within broadcast, these underground Court of Owl misfits are felled from within.
No, the Court of Owl is not behind the blackout.
We wrap up the issue with the reveal of the blackout’s cause…. which villain was behind it? Well, it was…. Mother Nature! As in, it was a natural event not a villain-created one. Oh, Batman, you are so paranoid!
However, despite that reveal, we see Batman still just loves protecting Gotham City.
I enjoyed many of the issues of the Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo collaborations. However, I think none ofthe later ones were as good as those early Court of Owl centric ones. Still a solid creative team, with a nice quiet, yet entertaining, send off with Batman #51.
Next month’s Batman #52 series finale includes a different creative team, written by James T Tynion IV with interior art by Rafael Albuquerque, but its cover is by Greg Capullo.
It appears that Batman #52 will have a hand in setting up the DC Rebirth Batman family. It would appear it may set up the Detective Comics series to be written by James T. Tynion IV. The solicitation for Batman #52 reads:
I’m intrigued by Batman #52 now…. Hmmm.
