Elseworlds Annual 2 Review

In an alternate universe, in Gotham City, we dip right into our Really Big Comic Book Box of Doom and pull out Batman Shadow of the Bat Volume 1 Issue 2, where Bruce Wayne is the undisputed and permanent ruler of Gotham City and Batman reigns surprise.

Batman Shadow of the Bat Volume 1 Issue 2

This elseworlds comic, Batman Shadow of the Bat Volume 1 Issue 2 was released by DC comic Books in 1994, titled "Tyrants". This issue was written by Alan Grant, Penciled by Tom Raney and Joe Staton, Inked by Tom Raney and Horacio Ottolini, Colored by Gina Going, and Lettered by Albert DeGuzzman.

The DC Elseworlds comics ask the main question that a lot of fan boys and fan girls ask, "what if something happened." That is a rather interesting question, but there have been times where the elseworld comics have been rather good, biting stories and there have been times where they have been absolutely wretchedly awful.

This issue was rather I think had some good concepts. What would happen if Batman took his crusade on crime to the most logical and horrifying extreme without killing people. He would be the supreme dictator of Gotham City, polluting the water with drugs to make those with criminal tendencies rather lazy and uninspired, all with the help of Professor Jonathan Crane.

You know, the Scarecrow.

Some of the criminals really get wind of this, it starts with Catwoman, who is that snooping reporter Vicky Vale in this universe. It appears that there is a force named Anarky, who is trying to get the dirt on Bruce Wayne, who has a monopoly on all all the media. Jim Gordon, normally a Batman ally, is not too happy so he is dismissed.

Apparently one out of ten people have the potential to have criminal thoughts. Oh come on, that's an absurd statistic.

It's likely more.

As it turns out, the criminals rally together and cause havoc, with Alfred getting the worst of it. And Crane, because in any universe Jonathan Crane is a manipulator, has been subtlety manipulating Batman, trying to get him to break his one rule but Batman manages to overcome it.

This comic book ends with Batman promising to make things right but everyone calls for his murder and/or permanent disfigurement.

The thing is, I think that it is not too had to see Batman go down this path with a harder push, given some of the paranoid things he does, including keeping records on how to defeat each and every member of the Justice League, so yeah. An interesting read to say the very least and one that I would recommend giving a look.