No one can be him. But someone can represent what he stood for, The ideals that made Batman--Justice, consequence and ironclad resolve to protect.”
Battle For The Cowl #2
Written By Tony Daniel
Art by Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea
Act 2 of Battle For the Cowl really heats up (you will get that joke after you read it). Tony Daniel takes his vision of Gotham City in shambles and takes it to a new level entirely. Buildings are burning, people are dying, and we are about to have an all out war between the three major players in Gotham’s underworld-Two-Face, Penguin, and Black Mask.
The issue opens with a page for Two-Face and Penguin respectfully. It appears Two-Face blames Penguin for the attack on his weapon shipment from last issue while Penguin realizes a third party is involved and prepares for a war with both.
The next six pages treat us to the fall out of the final moments of issue one. Apparently Rambo-Bat (which I will refer to until his identity is revealed) has taken out all the Black Mask thugs that were gunning for Nightwing and Damien. Dick confronts Rambo-Bat about what wearing the Bat Symbol means and him killing those men isn’t it. Rambo-Bat has a few choice words about that and calls Nightwing by his real name.
The following double page spread of Damien and Nightwing chasing after a fleeing Rambo-Bat treats us to a new point of view. Looks like this issue follows Rambo-Bat’s inner monologue. Rambo-Bat’s thoughts are obviously from the anti hero school of heroics. He muses on how Bruce’s mistakes were not staying in the shadows, because criminals stopped fearing him, seeking help from the law when he should have been above it, and taking Dick Grayson under his wing. Then he hints at who he is (if you don’t already know you should probably stop reading BFTC and go brush up on your Batman History). Luckily if you didn’t figure it out Dick points it out in the next few panels-Jason Todd. Jason Todd (as Rambo-Bat) shoots Damien in the stomach and uses it as a distraction to make his escape.
The next few pages follow Black mask as he begins to set his plans to destroy Gotham in order. He introduces Adam Bomb (who blows stuff up) to Firefly (who lights things on fire).
Afterwards, we get to see Jason Todd in real action as Batman. He busts up some kind of deal The Black Masks flunkies are having with a Priest. We get to see just how violent Todd is as he repeatedly shoots a man in the kneecaps to get some information about Black Mask out of him. His inner monologue focuses on how Batman has become real fear once more.
After a brief scene with Tim, as Batman, and Catwoman finding Jason Todd’s HQ, we are given one of the most powerful moments of this whole series. Dick is sitting in the Bat-Cave at Damien’s side as the boy sleeps in a bed recovering from Todd’s attack. Dick sits and sulks over how Damien is responsibility and he let him down. He goes on about Gotham also being his responsibility and everything that happens to Gotham from this point on, falls on him. Dick says he tried to be Bruce once before and didn’t like what he became and that’s when Alfred makes a point about what I think this series is about.
It’s not about replacing Bruce to become the new Batman. It’s about honoring and respecting him by standing up for he believes in in order to protect what it is he has watched over most of his life. There will never be another Bruce Wayne or a Batman like the one he created, but there still needs to be a Batman that fights for the same things Bruce did. There needs to be a Batman to protect Gotham and there is no one who would do that with more honor and respect than Dick Grayson.
After an attack on GCPD and Jim Gordon, we are treated to a beautiful full page spread of Black Mask basking in the glow of a burning Gotham City. That picture alone is worth the price of the Comic. Next is a big showdown between Tim-Bat and Rambo/Jason-Bat.
It looks like the two are evenly matched, but they are fighting on Todd’s home court and as a result, it looks like Todd is going to be Tim to a pulp until Tim reaches out and finds a crowbar. He proceeds to clock Todd a few good times with it mirroring the beating the Joker gave Todd all those years ago. Then Todd starts laughing and we see he stabbed Tim in the stomach with a Batarang. The final scene is Jason Todd walking away from a limp Tim Drake with a batarang hanging out of his gut and the ominous words
“Just one more to go.”
All I have to say is, Tony is still giving us a fantastic story in the Bat universe that continues to shine on many levels. Of course, this story is going to ruffle some feathers, but that’s expecting giving the context of the story. The issue still suffers from some art problems, most notably when Jason and Tim fight it out, and it holds the issue back a little. He did what a good author is supposed to do when you reach act 2, makes the reader want to read act 3.
8.5/10
See you next month for The Last Man Standing.
--Tom
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