Deron Generally
Deron Generally
The Batman Who Laughs #4
DC Comics
Written by Scott Snyder
Art by Jock
Colors by David Baron
Letters by Sal Cipriano
In order to fight and beat the Batman who Laughs, Bruce will have to employ his dark technology to try to discover the next Bruce Wayne on the BWL’s murder list. Before he can see the world the way his enemy does, Alfred steps in to stop him. It’s a pretty intense scene that potentially changes everything about this father/son dynamic.
At the same time, Jim Gordon is still being held by BWL and the Grim Knight. When BWL leaves, Grim Knight goes rogue and tells Jim to start running so he can hunt him. Unfortunately for Gordon, Grim Knight has some special hounds he’s going to employ to hunt the man down.
Batman finds a new Bruce Wayne in Gotham and races to rescue him before BWL can get to him. As he sees the world the way his enemy does, he continues to lose more of himself and both James and Joker question whether he is up for this fight and what will happen when he wins. Winning this fight becomes harder when Bruce finds himself at Blackgate prison face to face with BWL who has seemingly won another round.
Like a twisted chess game, Batman continues to get outplayed with each move. Scott Snyder does a masterful job of crafting this story with a scary intensity that drips from each page. There is so much unpredictability in this issue that the reader is pulled emotionally in different directions as they want Bruce to win, but doubt if he can and if he does, what it will cost him in the end. Snyder uses the dialogue to show the desperation in Bruce’s need to both win and stop the Batman Who Laughs.
What’s even more insidious is how well BWL is playing this game against the Dark Knight and how people like James and Joker are having more influence over Bruce than Alfred. It’s getting scary to witness this fight between these two because there is no way to predict who will win with BWL seems to be holding all the cards.
Jock’s art is so amazing in this issue and throughout the series. It’s dark, scary and full of shadow. There are some great close up moments throughout with Jock showcasing the details of the characters faces to show both emotion and horror.
The Batman Who Laughs #4
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