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Batman #605
Bridget Haines |
| Title: |
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Courage |
| Cover Date: |
September 2002 |
| Story: |
Ed Brubaker |
| Pencils: |
Scott McDaniel |
| Inks: |
Andy Owens |
| Colors and Separations: |
Gregory Wright / Wildstorm FX |
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Synopsis: (WARNING! SPOILERS!)
At last, we have the answers, and I can shout
to the world "I TOLD YOU
SO!!!!"
So many months ago I theorized
on who killed
Vesper Fairchild and why, and
people told
me I was nuts. But damned if
I wasn't dead
on the money! And so as was discovered
in
Gotham Knights, Lex Luthor was
behind Vesper's
murder. In this issue, the final
part of
"Bruce Wayne: Fugitive"
we learn
the particulars, again confirming
my theory.
Batman stands at Vesper's grave,
apologizing
to her for her death. He is joined
by Nightwing,
and the two head back to the
cave, where
Bruce has called for the rest
to gather.
A mysterious person arrives in
gotham, picking
up their luggage alongside a
cameo appearance
by Jonathan and Martha Kent at
the airport.
Back at the cave, Oracle, Batgirl,
Robin,
and Alfred wait. The batmobile
arrives, and
Batman wont depart the car until
he removes
the mask, to face his "family"
as Bruce Wayne. He apologizes
to them in
that manner he has of doing so
without saying
his sorry, healing some pretty
painful rifts
between them all.
THrough use of the batcomputer, he drafts
out for them the truth of the murder. David
Cain was paid by Luthor to kill Vesper Fairchild
and destroy the man's image for the insults
levelled at him by Bruce and Wayne Corp in
the wake of, and during No Man's Land. Cain,
having figured out Bruce was Batman, used
that knowledge to drop hints and clues, subtly,
to the people he knew were aware of that
secret, to create doubt in them for their
mentor.
Meanwhile, Cain is sent back
to Gotham to
finish cleaning up the last piece
of the
mess, by killing Sasha Bordeaux
where she
is rotting in prison. Knowing
this would
be Cain's next move, the Bat
Family sets
up a trap for him. Robin and
Nightwing pursue
his decoys, and Cain shows up
in the cave,
attacking Oracle. Batman of course
expected
this, and he and Cain begin a
massive martial
arts battle. A mostly beaten
Cain admits
he did this in part as a test
to determine
if Bruce was worthy of guiding
and caring
for his daughter, Cassandra.
Furious that
the man would kill an innocent
woman just
to mess with his head, Bruce
comes close
to killing him. But Cain's taunts,
and Batgirl's
presence only remind him that
no, he is NOT
like Cain, he's better than that.
He throws
him to the floor and removes
his cowl.
Cassandra moves to her father, and tells
him simply "You have to make it right...you
have to." Cain Acquiesces. News footage
then shows Cain being taken into custody
on his confession, clearing Bruce Wayne's
name. Luthor demands Mercy locate agent Amherst,
and she replies that he's disappeared. Cut
to a scene in Arkham, where Amherst is now
locked up as a lunatic named D. Jones.
Analysis:
Cover:  (5 of 5 cowls)
Love the final cover being the puzzle pieces
from the Fugitive banners all fitted together.
The thing that threw so many people for so
long, was that with all but the last piece
in place, the man in the middle seemed to
have brown hair, when everyone knew Cain's
was white. The last piece reveals that to
just be a shadow, and Cain's identity is
unquestionable, as is Luthor's in the lower
right corner. A brilliantly done marketing
move by DC. Bravo.
Story: (5 of 5 cowls)
Loved it to bits. What a perfectly twisted
plot, with so much meaning. This has brought
Bruce back from that decline into huge personality
seperations, brought him back into focus
as a man as well as a vigilante, and brought
the family back together after a long downward
spiral since the shooting of Jim Gordon,
or really, since the paralization of Barbara
Gordon, which is when I think Batman and
Bruce began their persona split most noticeably.
Ed has done a spectacular job on this, and
I'm going to very much miss him on this book
when the new crew takes over. I'll also sincerely
miss Scott, as only he could have done this
story justice. Brilliant work here, very
poignant, and nothing left unexplored or
unexplained.
Artwork: (4 of 5 cowls)
Brilliant. I can see perhaps that last month's
weaker book may have been so to devote more
to this one, and rightfully so. The action
of this book, and the expressions, were spot
on perfect. My only gripes would be that
his female drawings seem a little weak in
this issue, with some of the limbs disproportionate,
and their faces looking a bit manly. Barbara
Gordon is a beautiful woman, and she look
that way here, and she looks a bit too geeky
and plain. This was the bombshell of the
era as Batgirl, being in a wheelchair should
not dull that beauty. Overall spectacular
work though.
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