Batman (The New 52!) # 5

By Mark Rodriguez

Batman starts the New 52 by having him confront the secret organization that's been ruling Gotham behind the scenes for centuries, The Court of Owls. His quest takes him to their deadly maze. This is probably one of the highlights of the entire saga as we see just how dangerous the Court of Owls and how badly they can break Batman's body and mind. This issue is probably one of the biggest part of the series that had fans talking about how innovative it was…. So let’s check it out.

Issue 4 starts with ‘Face the Court’ and we find out it’s been about 8 days since Batman has entered the Owl’s maze and no one has seen him since. Gordon leaves the Bat-Signal on, though Bullock says it’s been too long and the Bat isn’t coming. Gordon insists he keep it on for the sake of the city and people that know Batman. We also see that Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, Alfred, Batwing and Catwoman are also concerned.

Even though Batwing is in Africa, he still hears from Bats from the Batcave every now and then, so even he’s wondering why he hasn’t heard from him in 8 days.  Batman is still trapped in the maze, missing his utility belt, now looking kinda scrawny, his mask and cape are torn up, and he has a bit of a stubble. Weakened by thirst and hunger, he has to drink water from a huge owl fountain. Even though it might be drugged, he still needs to drink something. He tries to stick to the dark areas in the maze and finds himself in a huge room full of portraits, all the people the Owls have killed over the years, all with terrified looks on their faces.

Batman slowly descends into madness as dehydration and starvation takes its toll

Bats thinks he sees a bunch of Owls and runs after them, only to find nothing. It’s clear at this point he has been trapped walking in circles and losing his mind. To prove that point… now the comic turns on its side. Yep, just like a Playboy pin-up, you have to turn the comic on its side for the next few pages. And it’s not for a huge pin-up either, the pages are full of panels as Bruce continues to lose his marbles. Among all the names on the walls and pictures of people, Bruce faces his biggest delusion ever. His parents, alive and well, and I assume aged to how old they might have been had they not died that fateful night.

Just then the comic turns back to normal… sorta. Not only do you have to turn the comic upside down now… but you have to read the right page first and then the left, almost like a manga. The parents suddenly explode as owls fly out of their mouths and attack Batman. He snaps out of this weird delusion and finds himself right back in front of the owl fountain again. This time, Bats finds a loose panel in the floor and dives into the hole hidden underneath. Bats now finds himself in another room full of more portraits, but this time of him. Bats covers his ears yelling out that he’s not listening (to their trickery and mind games) when suddenly…

Batman is impaled by the Talon. Just then, the Bat Signal burns out. Damian shows up and demands that Gordon and Bullock put up another one.

My Opinions

This issue got a lot of comments from fans due to the unique gimmick of having to turn the comic on its side, upside down and read right to left to go along with Bruce’s lost grip of sanity. Many loved it, few thought the gimmick wasn’t necessary. I liked it since it was a unique surprise and added to the story, especially since we rarely see Bats so mentally fatigued. 

Batman is bad ass, he's awesome, and he's a master of adapting to his surroundings, especially since he knows every inch of Gotham so well. It's odd seeing him so out of his element, succumbing to starvation and dehydration, and being able to drink any water because it's drugged. He sees hallucinations of his parents, he doesn't know what is real and what is not. And the comic takes you on that journey as you have to turn the comic in all sort of directions just to read it, as Batman himself doesn't know what is up and down anymore. 

It was pretty cool, and I have to admit, seeing Talon impale Batman at the end made me anxious to get the next issue to see what happens next.