Batman the murderer

[flint_marko]

This is from Batman Annual #8, by Mike W. Barr and Trevor Von Eeden.



















title: batman, creator: mike w. barr, creator: trevor von eeden,char: ra's al ghul, char: talia al ghul,char: batman/bruce wayne,char: robin/nightwing/dick grayson

Comments

[lissa_quon]

Ok...sorry I got distracted by how freaky and inhuman Batman looks in those last few scans. Just wow...

[deliandra]

I just love how over the top Ra's is. His speech in the first scans ist just so enjoyable evil.

[icon_uk]

Has to be said that my answer when Batman says that would be "Well... Hell YEAH!!!" He dessicated and is drifting as a cloud of ash in space. I know you're Batman and all, but doesn't that mean dead to most people?"

The fact that Ra's DID come back in no way invalidates that this was about as final as any death ever.

[nezchan]

The whole mess sort of ignores that there are a lot of personnel visible on the base while they're running for the shuttle. They clearly died too, but nobody's making a fuss about that.

[icon_uk]

Independent contractors have to be aware of the risks that they run.

[seriousfic]

Just imagine Batman as being really sarcastic there. "Oh, have I, Robin? I had no idea!"

[nezchan]

Man, after the Serious Business of the rest of it, Bats calling Robin "chum" at the end seems really out of place.

[icon_uk]

I think that's sort of deliberate, part of the reason for Robin in any Batman story is that he's partly there for cheering Batman up (And Robin knows it). No matter how grim the case has been, he has his chum to rely on (and for once I don't mean that in a suggestive way) and be positive for him and as such can take a deep breath, psych himself up and get on with his next case.

[protogarrett]

"he has his chum to rely on"

tee-hee

[r0b666]

This issue was one of the first Batman books I ever bought as a kid, and I always loved this story.

Freaky as it is.

[jkcarrier]

I suppose we should give Barr credit...he was ahead of the curve when it came to portraying Batman as a total dick (see also: The Outsiders). The bit with the remote control cracks me up, though, because it reminds me of the Adam West episode where the Penguin tries to steal the Batmobile:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXLpG90devc

[yaseen101]

I always thought O'Neil was the one that was big on the 'Bat-dickery' but thought the better of it later on.

[sistermagpie]

Love it. But my god, I can't believe anyone can get through a conversation with Talia without wanting to knock her unconscious.

[chipsnopotatoes]

i get that urge myself :) and I can't get over the fact that Ras wears stirrup pants. LOL

[jelly_ace]

Batman looks like the villain from Battle of the Planets. I think. But I kinda like the art.

[thehefner]

I absolutely adore Von Eeden's artwork from this issue. There are a couple pages (not scanned above) that are absolutely stunning in their composition.

[icon_uk]

Von Eeden always brings great art to the party!

[chipsnopotatoes]

I really like the artwork too except for the dehydrated/emaciated Batman.

[psychopathicus_rex]

See, the way I interpret this - and, more importantly, Batman's significant 'HAVE I, Robin?' - is as follows: Bats pretty much knows at this point that, no matter what he does, Ra's cannot be killed. Hell, he just described being DISSOLVED AND RE-FORMED AGAIN with his memories and everything else intact - that's about as close to out-and-out resurrection as you can get. The way I figure it, the moment he heard THAT little story, he went '@$^% it, this guy is not going to die no matter what I do, so I might as well take the gloves off.' Also, remember that he was just engaged in a life-or-death battle a minute before he pushed that button - it was more of a logical extension of that than anything else.
Also, this is some damn good-lookin' artwork here. I've seen some examples of Von Eeden's stuff on here before, but you really need to see a full sequence of this sort of stuff to appreciate it.

[flint_marko]

Hell, he just described being DISSOLVED AND RE-FORMED AGAIN with his memories and everything else intact - that's about as close to out-and-out resurrection as you can get.

Yes, because he had fallen in the Lazarus Pit. It's not like he can survive that all on his own.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Oh, pish-tush. His burned remains are still in the spaceship somewhere; all his doting daughter has to do is gather 'em up and take them to the nearest Pit, and voila! (Of course, he may have gathered a great deal of dust and so forth into his genetic code, but them's the breaks.)