Batman #10 has a lot to follow-up on after the events of the previous issue. In Batman #9 we saw the entire Batman Family being hunted down by Vandal Savage’s GCPD. Commissioner Savage was successful as he took out most of the Batman Family’s bunkers and was able to arrest Barbara Gordon. Though these things appear to be part of Batman’s plans with how he and Barbara deployed the Batman Family during that issue. Let’s see if that is the case and what the new status quo is for the series with Batman #10.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
BATMAN #10 SOLICITATION
“ONE DARK NIGHT CAN’T KEEP THE BATMAN DOWN! The GCPD’s Operation Peregine struck a deep blow to the heart of the Bat-Family. But while Savage and his TUCOs celebrate their victory, Batman is about to set the record straight. He knows how to take a punch. He knows how to get back up. And he’s about to show Vandal Savage, the Minotaur, and anyone else who threatens Gotham City exactly what they’re messing with. Superstars Matt Fraction and Jorge Jiménez continue their triumphant run with the best character in comics!” – DC Comics
REVIEW
Batman #10 does exactly what it needed to do to keep the momentum from Gotham City vs. the Batman Family rolling. In the process, Matt Fraction’s writing feels like it’s truly hitting the level you expect from one of his comic books. That’s not to say his run hasn’t already been good, but there is a noticeable jump in the stakes that makes this series feel especially important moving forward.
The opening of Batman #10 shows this jump with how it focused on the fallout from the previous issue’s events. It places Vandal Savage in a position where he has never been more confident. He fully believes he has done what no one else ever could: dismantle Batman’s operation and back the Dark Knight into a corner like a rat.
The impact of seeing Vandal Savage boast to the press is strengthened by the fact that Damian Wayne, Duke Thomas, and Stephanie Brown can do little more than sit and watch. While they were brought in to help Batman execute the plan he and Barbara Gordon put together, the trio were not filled in on every detail of the plan.
At the same time, Fraction makes it clear that this is not a trust issue. Bruce and Barbara needed everything to look believable if the Batman Family was going to appear truly out of action. They also trusted Damian, Duke, and Stephanie enough to know that, once they learned the full plan, they wouldn’t take it personally. Its little things like this that help drive home how Fraction wants to amplify character growth rather than doing the stereotypical thing of Batman’s allies being mad at him for his decisions.
All of Vandal Savage’s bragging about defeating Batman adds to his aura of being a villain you love to hate. Jorge Jimenez sells that perfectly with the constant smug grin Vandal wears in nearly every scene. That comes through especially well in the way Savage clearly takes pleasure in seeing Jim Gordon reduced to working as a GCPD beat cop after Barbara’s arrest. He hasn’t just gone after Batman, Vandal Savage has also found a way to keep leverage over someone in the GCPD who could stand in his way.
Bruce’s response, moving forward with the plan he and Barbara put together, is a great reminder that the Batman Family is far from defeated. In fact, things are going exactly as Bruce and Barbara expected, because they knew they were already cornered before the events of the previous issue. To turn the tide, they first had to sell the illusion of defeat.
That makes the image of Batman still protecting the streets of Gotham City have a greater impact. As he moves to stop crime, Batman is no longer just fighting criminals, he is leading a rebellion against those with an iron fist control of Gotham City. In that sense, the new Batsignal 2.0 becomes a symbol of the resistance the Batman Family is building moving forward.
While Batman #10 is mainly focused on the conflict with Vandal Savage, that is not the only thread driving this storyline. The threat of Minotaur is still hanging over Gotham City. As Bruce discovers, Minotaur poses a very different kind of danger to either Vandal Savage or Poison Ivy. Minotaur has weaponized capitalism in a way that allows him to infiltrate not just Gotham City, but other parts of the world as well. The fact that he has centered his operation in Gotham City makes the direction of this storyline even more intriguing.
Jorge Jimenez also does a great job throughout Batman #10 of capturing Gotham City’s mood after the hunt for the Batman Family. The villains carry themselves with total confidence, which comes across clearly in Vandal Savage’s constant smirking expression. At the same time, Batman’s actions show how he and his family are ready to fight back and remind Gotham that its protectors are still standing. That point is driven home by the fantastic splash page that gives us our first look at the Batsignal 2.0.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Batman #10 does everything it needs to do to show the strong potential this new direction for the franchise has. The pacing of this issue moves at a steady pace with plenty of strong character work for all the major players in this storyline. Vandal Savage is the perfect villain for the Batman Family to go up against, while Minotaur is further built up as an even bigger threat. It all comes together to leave us in a spot where we can look forward to where things will go next.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10
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