The Meat
Amid the hysteria surrounding The Dark Knight Rise and the ensuing Aurora tragedy, a little-noticed development occurred
in the world of Gotham’s caped crusader: DC ran out of Batman stories. So they let Geoff Johns rip off Year One.
All in all, Batman:Earth One is unnecessary. The plot was entirely boilerplate: a
young Batman seeks to close the case on his parents’ murder and bring down
Gotham’s corrupt mayor, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, in the process. Throw in a birthday-obsessed
serial killer, Harvey Bullock as a hotshot TV detective from LA, and a very
downtrodden Detective Jim Gordon and…well, boilerplate.
I’ll give Johns credit for reimagining Alfred, Bruce Wayne’s
butler. In Earth One, Alfred is a war
vet, security consultant, and all-around badass. But he’s also something of a
mentor to the Dark Knight, at times his guardian angel. Johns developed the
relationship between Bruce and Alfred in a way that has often been hinted at --
in both the comics and films, particularly Michael Caine’s interpretation -- but rarely fleshed out in such a way. Earth One’s Bruce Wayne doesn’t use the
whole spoiled rich kid thing as a cover for his clandestine crime-fighting. He is a spoiled rich kid. It’s Alfred’s
job to turn Bruce into a warrior.
Gary Frank’s artwork stands out, serving to subtly express
the angst and anger that has driven Batman’s personal crusade has always. His
work is clear and unadorned, evoking actual humanity and eschewing the hackneyed grit and brooding posturing
of virtually every Batman artist since The
Dark Knight Returns.
Unfortunately, Johns’ plot doesn’t match Frank’s art. It’s
ultimately too much like every other Batman story out there. DC envisions the
Earth One line as a series of graphic
novels exiting apart from the regular DCU -- thus ideal as an introduction for
new readers. But why is this necessary? After 70 years of comics, a
highly-popular TV series, and 7 feature films (not counting those from
the ‘40s) is there anyone out there who doesn’t know Batman’s origin story?
Maybe my mom, but she’s not going to be getting into comics anytime soon.
Anyways, there are many great Batman GNs for the novice
reader. Arkham Asylum, The Cult, Hush, Killing Joke, etc. In
comparison to these GNs, Batman: Earth
One is rather boring.
Reading this book -- and many of the 70 or so relaunched Batman
series under DC’s “New 52” line -- I have to wonder if Grant Morrison is right
about the Death of the Superhero. Have they outgrown comics? Has Hollywood FX
finally caught up with the potential of the superhero and replaced comics as
their primary narrative mode?
Or is it just that there is no longer any need for new
Batman stories?
The Math
Objective score: 5/10
Bonuses: +1 for letting Alfred actually do something
Penalties: -1 for ripping off Year One; -1 for being unnecessary
Nerd coefficient: 4/10, "not very good"
[See explanation of our non-inflated scores here.]
