this first volume of the critically acclaimed ZERO YEAR storyline, theNew York Times bestselling creative team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo present an astonishing new vision of the Dark Knight's originand his first encounters with the Riddler, the Red Hood, and others!
Before the era of superheroes beganbefore the Batman spread his wings to protect the innocent and punish evilGotham City's prodigal son, Bruce Wayne, had been missing for years.
But this was exactly the cover of darkness Bruce needed, Patrolling Gotham's streets, in a series of disguises, he began a career as faceless vigilante,
Collecting: Batman, This is essentially a new exploration of Batman's origin story, It has a few what I would consider right turns, but I suppose if you're going to reimagine a character, that's poetic license.
I think Snyder is a strong writer and the artwork is also appealing, I would say this is a good quality graphic novel, It has all the things that a Batman fan would like, Portraying Bruce Wayne as the strong character he is the important and foundational relationship he has with Alfred Pennyworth, who is as much surrogate father as mentor and caretaker.
It also portrays the broken and irredeemable nature of Gotham, which seems to attract the morally bankrupt and flamboyant criminals that Batman exists to thwart.
It also shows why Batman won't give up on Gotham, even though it cost him his own mother and father.
The storyline about the Red Hood Gang was interesting and more than a little creepy creepy in the sense of the pervasiveness and ruthlessness of the cult.
I'm thinking that the leader may be the origin of one of Batman's archnemeses,
I've really liked the NewBatman that I've read so far, Each one makes me want to pick up the next, This is the one of the finest Batman origin stories I've read to date,
After Bruces travels, this volume deals heavily with his identity, Who is Batman Who is Bruce Wayne "What does Gotham mean to you" The dichotomy between Batman and Bruce Wayne is greatly explored here: "Batman's legend begins with the rescue of Bruce Wayne.
Their separation is cemented into the foundation of the mythos, " So this is the origin of Batman's legend but also the distinction between him and Bruce Wayne, which is vital to the protection of his loved ones and what essentially makes him Batman.
Darn good reinterpretation of the Year One / origin story, with lots of easter eggs toward future stories, Lots of changes overtake the Dark Knight as the story progresses, both instory and in the changes in this timeline because of The New.
We have:
preBatman battles between Bruce and the Red Hood
Bruce remaining hidden in Gotham until spotted by his uncle Philip Kane !
a wonderful twist on the batthroughthewindow decision to be a Bat Man
master of disguises
a battle at Ace Chemicals need I say more, True Batfans!
Wonderful art and wonderful story!
But, for all that, the fact remains that: They.
Changed. Batman.
And no one that changes Batman gets five,
SRCSUM Task,mask on the cover Thomas Wayne: What do you love about Gotham, Bruce
Bruce:, . . its a place where you can be ANYONE, Where I can be NOT Bruce Wayne The city lets me be ANYONE I want,
I was one of those who rolled their eyes when Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo announced they were doing their take on Batmans origin.
Theyd just done their best arc in Death of the Family, Batmans nemesis was defeated or was he and the Batfamily lay in ruins what would Batman do next Put a pin in it! the creative team declared as they turned the clock backyears to tell us once again how Bruce became Batman.
It was disappointing because we all know how that story goes, Say it with me: a boy loses his parents to a mugger, he becomes angry at injustice and vows never again, one night “Yes, Father, I will become a Bat” training, training, training, first falls, experience, and finally Batman now and forever.
I wasnt one of those who thought Frank Miller and David Mazzuchellis Year One would be at all affected because that complaint never made sense to me.
Zero Year is another origin but its not erasing Year One well always have that book and it makes sense that in this new universe, this Newuniverse, that the creative team whos been with Batman since the start should take on all aspects of the characters story, including retelling his origin for their Batman.
Zero Year works on multiple levels for a number of reasons, perhaps most importantly because Snyder focused not so much on “origin” but “story”.
Granted its the origin you expect but its told by Snyder and, as experienced readers not just of comics but of literature in general should know, its not the story itself that matters so much as its telling.
After all, King Lear and Hamlet had been around for centuries before Shakespeare wrote his version of those old stories.
Alfred: The lifeblood of this city runs beneath Wayne Manor,
Snyders tack in Zero Year is to subvert all of the readers expectations right from the start, which he accomplishes.
First of all, its not so much a good Batman story as it is that rarest of things, a great Bruce Wayne book, and its not nearly as much Year One as it is The Killing Joke the next part, Dark City, is more Year Oneheavy.
And while its a Batman origin story, its not as much a Batmanthecharacter origin story as it is a Batmantheseries origin story Snyder focuses on everything about the series from the main character to the supporting cast to the main villain to the city itself as a major character.
Thats why Zero Year is made up of substories: Secret City, Dark City and Savage City the city, Gotham, is as important to understand as the character of Bruce Wayne.
Snyders main idea behind his version of the Batman origin is that theres no separation between them to him, Bruce Wayne, Batman and Gotham are this trinity that are at their greatest together.
Snyder makes a point of saying that when Bruce was away from Gotham, he was legally dead its like when the two are separated, neither are truly alive, and they need each other to live.
Bruces return to Gotham sparks the changes in the city and vice versa Snyder takes this even more literally towards the end of Zero Year, but thats a point for the next volume.
Bruce: We come here, to Gotham, because its TRANSFORMATIVE, this place, We come here with our dreams and the city, it looks at us with its unblinking stone eye an eye that sees all our faults, everything were afraid is true about ourselves and it says: Try.
I Dare You. ”
So whats the story, midnight glory A young Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham quietly and begins his oneman war against the Red Hood gang which is terrorising Gotham.
As he slips back into life in the city, we see his evolution as a crime fighter to become the Batman, while, at the same time, we see his nemesis change too, from Red Hood One to Joker.
This is a subtle point where Zero Year differs from Year One, In Millers classic, Batman appears and then we see the fall of traditional organised crime like the mob and the rise of costumed villains the message seemingly implying that, in a weird way, Batmans almost responsible for the way the city becomes, filled with maniacs like Joker, etc.
and therefore hes responsible for causing so much death and mayhem, making him much less heroic,
In Zero Year, the costumed crazies are already there in force, Snyder focuses on Batmans two greatest, Joker and Riddler, in this series, but Batmans not responsible for creating them theyre already there and theyre already crazy and evil.
Granted, Joker is Red Hood One for the duration of the arc, but we see the fateful transformation scene in the finale.
And though you could say, well, Batman kinda had something to do with Jokers creation and he was the worst one, the way the coda to this arc is written is ambiguous Red Hood One MIGHT turn out to be the Joker but he might just as easily not be.
We never know, and we shouldnt the less we know about the Joker, the more powerful a character he is.
Its so well written and, once again, Snyders Joker is as amazingly written as his Batman is,
Snyder also differs from the other Batman classic, The Killing Joke, in his creation of the Joker, Alan Moore and Brian Bollands legendary oneshot gave us the unimaginable: Jokers origin BEFORE he became Joker though its never been accepted as canon, especially as it arguably shows Batman killing Joker on the last page.
In it, a failed comedian reluctantly agrees to take part in the burglary of ACE Chemicals, puts on the Red Hood which is a prop to throw off the cops, and falls into the acid instant Joker!
But how does a failed comedian with a family somehow become a criminal genius That part never made sense to me and Snyder addresses it in Zero Year.
His Joker is already a criminal genius, Hes no failed comedian, hes
a ruthless, career criminal with an agenda who willingly adopts the guise of the Red Hood.
The fall into the acid changes his appearance and possibly warps his mind, but the transformation isnt as sudden he was a psychotic criminal before he went into the vat, he was a psychotic criminal when he came out.
Only with different colour hair,
None of this would matter though if Snyder didnt get Bruce Wayne right and he does, In the second scene, after that awesome shot of tshirt Batman on the Batcycle in this weird overgrown Gotham which youll see in Savage City, Snyder sets the tone with Bruce flipping off Red Hood One after he saves the day.
Its a panel that could be interpreted as Snyder and Capullo themselves flipping off all the naysayers who were expecting a rehash of Year One in that one defiant gesture, they establish this is most definitely not that!
The Bruce Wayne of this book is cocky, arrogant, impatient and inexperienced, making him prone to mistakes.
In other words, the kind of person he would be at this point in his life hes on the way to becoming his true self, but hes not fullyformed yet and we need to see that as an audience, given that this is an origin.
Those are just personality flaws at the moment though crucially, hes got the skillset to make an instant impact on the Red Hood gangs crime spree and hes already essentially Batman minus the iconic outfit.
Throughout we see him as a master of disguise, adopting different masks before he settles on the best one, and that opening scene when he saves all of those people, he shows that he has the intelligence, quickthinking, imagination, and balls to become a superhero.
Also, all of the brilliant backups, written by Snyder in collaboration with James Tynion IV, are included after the main story the minisodes that show us how Bruce learned to drive, fight, and use gadgets.
And, of course, we see those important scenes that leads up to the big finale when Batman finally takes the stage.
Bruce retakes control of Wayne Enterprises, moves back to Wayne Manor, establishes the Batcave, sees the bats that he must become in one of the trippiest “I Will Become A Bat” scenes ever! to that triumphant debut that riffs on the cover of Detective Comicsfrom way back in.
For the most part of Secret City, Batman is offstage a presence we know is coming but dont see until the very end.
Bruce Wayne carries this book its his book basically and Snyder writes him beautifully in a style that explores his character the way an origin should and never once bores the reader enough to want to see Batman over Bruce.
Zero Year is similar to Snyders entire run on NewBatman in that it references ALL of Batmans cultural history.
From the aforementioned riffs of Detective, to seeing Edward Nygma from Batman Forever, to the Red Robin symbol on Bruces baseball cap, to the fight in ACE Chemicals like in Batman, Snyder is embracing all forms of Batman in his work in a way he knows will tickle the fans like nothing else.
Theyre here partly as easter eggs to Batman fans of all eras as much as it is a way of acknowledging Zero Years place in Batman history and a timely one too, given thatis Batmansth anniversary.
Billboard: Welcome To Gotham, Greatest City In The Country!
Zero Year wouldnt be the success it was without Snyders Batbrother, artist Greg Capullo.
From the gorgeous steamcycle on page four, Capullos art never dips in quality throughout the entire run its uniformly spectacular and inventive.
The creative gameboardesque layout of Bruce and Edwards first conversation, those stunning final pages and that last page especially are all amazing works of art.
The bestlooking sequence in the book is probably the dreamlike recognizance of Bruces awakening to the symbol of the Bat those six pages are nearly wordless yet Capullo tells the reader everything they need to through Bruces eyes.
The balance between artist and writer is perfect in this series with both Snyder and Capullo knowing when to lean on one another for greatest effect.
Danny Mikis inks are superb, wellmeasured and with the lightest touch to show off Capullos pencils to the finest possible effect.
FCO Plascencias colours are amazing too with the wonderful choice of making the book start out looking good and normal, the colours slowly becoming more vivid and urgent the closer Bruce goes to becoming Batman until, by the end, its like the pages are humming with their own energy!
Zero Year is a fantastic Batman book, one that goes so far as to challenge Year One as the finest origin story of all them but really goes up to Year One and gives it a hug, then stands alongside it.
This creative team go from strength to strength with each new Batman book somehow becoming even greater than the one that preceded it.
What do I love about Gotham
I love that Snyder and Capullo love Gotham as much as I do, as much as every Batman fan does.
The passion and energy they bring to these comics is something else and I always come away from their Batman books feeling the love and satisfaction they must feel in the creation of these stories as I do in reading them.
Some say the Golden Age of comics ended in the earlys but I say were living in a new Golden Age, and Snyder/Capullos Batman is one of the best runs the characters ever had.
Dont miss it!
Bruce: More than any other city in the world, Gotham FIGHTS you, challenges you to give up, to leave, to fall down and die.
But you dont. No, because deep down you know you KNOW that if you stand up to the challenge, if you walk through the fire, you will emerge changed.
Burned down to that self you knew was there all along, the one you came here to be,
The Hero. .
Avail Yourself Batman, Volume 4: Zero Year – Secret City Devised By Scott Snyder Shared As Paperback
Scott Snyder