Batman: The Dark Knight #4

Title: Batman: The Dark Knight
Issue: 4
Date: February 2012
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Paul Jenkins, David Finch
Penciler: David Finch
Inker: Richard Friend
Colorist: Jeromy Cox
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Editor: Mike Marts, Rickey Purdin
Cover: David Finch, Richard Friend, Alex Sinclair

Caption-based narration by the (until the last panel) essentially takes the entire issue to tell us what the Eagles once did in two lines: "Somebody's gonna hurt someone, before the night is through/Somebody's gonna come undone, there's nothing you can do." Um, without the rhymes, though.

The plot is basically a series of random encounters. First an Aubrey II that Poison Ivy left to guard her lair. Then an encounter with a venomed-up Deathstroke. Much to my amusement, Deathstroke jobs clean and quick to the Batman.

By the way, I'm using the term "venom" here because we really do seem to be heading for a reboot of the "venom" concept. And no, I do not mean the alien symbiote guy over at the other company. I am expecting that the major villain revealed at the end of this issue is not, in fact, the mastermind behind all of the mayhem that's been happening in this series. There's one more enemy waiting in the wings, and they are timing his arrival for maximum movie-crossover potential. And if that's the case, than the drug that is turning all of these villains into bad 1990s Image Comics art is indeed the New 52 version of venom.

Until then, the Batman is getting no further direct help from the Justice League as they are busy rounding up more escaped Arkham inmates (Spellbinder and Electrocutioner get mentions but not actual appearances; Wonder Woman does actually appear in two panels). Bruce is left to content with Deathstroke, White Rabbit, and this issue's new (not all that surprising) surprise villain. Poison Ivy, meanwhile, is apparently an unwilling participant in all of this.

Random digression:

Something that I noticed: Batman has some of the most vicious and psychotic villains in comics... Except for the female ones. Ever notice how many Batman villainesses turn out to have some amount of goodness deep in their hearts, or at least manage to take on "anti-hero" roles on the side of good? Catwoman (own series), Harley Quinn (Suicide Squad), Talia (plenty of mixed motives/emotions in various past stories), Poison Ivy (Birds of Prey). White Rabbit gets played for sympathy in this series, and even Lady Shiva gets some sympathetic portrayals. Compare this to, say, Cheetah, who is typically portrayed (in modern versions) as an absolutely bloodthirsty monster in her appearances. Not sure what to make of this. Just an interesting observation.

Back to the story at hand. Interestingly, even though they weren't really meaningful scenes in terms of plot, I actually found the action sequences in this issue to be better than the more character development-related scenes. I blame the dialogue. A scene with Jim Gordon drags on without really getting anywhere, while Alfred's dialogue is hokey enough to be something out of 1966 TV. And Alfred is a character that can usually be counted on for good dialogue.

The action scenes are effective, but very little plot was actually accomplished here.

Rating: 4.5/10