Deron Generally
Deron Generally
The Batman Who Laughs #3
DC Comics
Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Jock
Colors by David Baron
Letters by Sal Cipriano
Bruce is desperately trying to hold onto the moments that made him the man he is. Moments that define him as Batman, but those moments might be what is holding him back from finding a way to stop the Batman Who Laughs.
Gordon and Bruce confront Gordon’s son in an attempt to get his perspective on what BWL will do next. As a former criminal mastermind, Gordon is in a unique position to know what BWL might want with the Last Laugh protocol.
When the Grim Knight attacks, Bruce and Gordon try to fight him off, but he uses his tech to get who he came for and it’s a surprising turn. Battered, beaten and desperate, Bruce locks down the cave and makes a desperate decision to fight fire with fire.
At the same time, BWL confronts Penguin at his club and lets the crime boss know that he’s more special than he people give him credit for. Right before he destroys everything in sight.
Scott Snyder is pushing Bruce to the ragged edge of sanity and the ride continues to be engaging with each issue. The dialogue showcases the struggle Bruce is going through to hold onto his sanity and humanity. A struggle that will force Batman to look at his legacy and make a decision about whether he can be effective in the face of a new breed of crime using his old methods. Snyder is a genius at taking the reader to the brink emotionally and crafting a cliffhanger with each issue that forces the reader to envision multiple possible scenarios to come.
BWL continues to be the scariest and most engaging version of the Dark Knight. For all the darkness that the character is unleashing in Bruce’s life and world, he remains both engaging and entertaining. His confrontation with Penguin was amazing and it would be interesting to see how the character interacts with the rest of the rogues on this world.
The Grim Knight continues to be an interesting character, but he still isn’t as interesting as BWL or the other Dark Multiverse Batmen. There is definite potential there with his ability to take control of things using his own tech, but he still doesn’t have the kind of depth BWL has.
Jock’s art is perfect in this issue. Everything from the stark and shocking reveals to the quiet and subdued dialogue heavy moments is filled with detail and drawn in a tone that perfectly matches the story.
The Batman Who Laughs #3
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