Thursday, June 30, 2016

Dark Knight III: The Master Race #5

   I'm impressed by how much this series feels like a sequel to the original Dark Knight Returns story.

   That's the idea, of course - but original creator Frank Miller didn't manage it when he crafted the second "Dark Knight" chapter.

   For the third time around, the story is written (or perhaps co-written) by Brian Azzarello, and it feels much tighter and more cohesive.

   The threat is certainly bigger. A small army of religious fanatics have escaped from the bottle city of Kandor, regained their normal size, and are threatening to rain destruction on the Earth.

   Their first goal was to take down Superman - which they did - and now they're going after Batman.

   But there's a good reason why Superman once called the Dark Knight "the world's most dangerous man" - even though he's older and more fragile, Batman has a plan to fight back, and this issue we see his plan swing into action.

   It doesn't hurt at all that the art is by Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson, who bring along the kind of big-screen cinematic action that such a story demands. And oh, that final page - it should warm the heart of any long-time fan.

   I'm not sure how long this series is going to run, but at this point, I'm all for keeping it going forever!

Grade: A

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've liked this series more than I expected to, but the final panel (no spoilers, of course) was a complete letdown. Not only does it convey an idea that has been done a dozen times, but it simply looked stupid. I'll try to hang on, but I expected more of a "TA DA!" moment than that....

Chuck said...

Anon, it's the old "different strokes for different folks" thing. That last page made me smile - it felt like a fond throwback to the Silver Age of DC Comics. But everyone sees these things through their own filter.