Batman Legends of the Dark Knight # 31- Family

 By Mark Rodriguez

It's time to go back to my era of Batman, the comics of the late 80's/early 90's. Legends of the Dark Knight takes place during different times in Batman's career, mostly his earlier days. Most of them are anything from 3 to 5 parts, but this one seems to be a single issue. Let's take a look. 

The story opens with Batman on a mission, thinking to himself on how this time the criminals have pushed him so far, he actually wants to kill them. Someone named El Vato has kidnapped Alfred and taken him to an ancient city, and Batman fears that if they dare to hurt his longtime father figure, he just might kill someone tonight. 

We flashback sometime earlier where Bruce has decided that it was time for Alfred to get a vacation, he hasn't had a days off in three years. Bruce has already bought him a ticket to Corto Maltese which has incredible beaches and first rate resorts. Alfred teases that Bruce has a new girlfriend and he wants the cave to himself. Bruce says his plane leaves in the morning. 

Bruce sent Alfred for a week but he later saw that he wasn't on the flight back home. He called the hotel and Alfred did indeed check in but wasn't seen since the second day. Bruce caught the next flight out disguised as a tourist named Paul Grant and checked into the same hotel Alfred did. After asking around he found someone that remembered Alfred and said he showed an interest in the Mayan ruins. Batman comments that Corto Maltese isn't that safe outside of the resort area and the jungles and full of Galinperos. 

Later that night, Batman goes beyond the resort and runs into some bandits. Apparently they had someone tied up and they cut themselves free with broken glass. A nearby tree has a carving on it saying 'NU GF?' short for 'New Girlfriend?' with an arrow pointing left. Batman knew this was Alfred. The blood on the ropes suggests he was beaten. 

Batman drops a smokebomb to knock down another bandit and his dog. The arrow on the tree that Alfred left led to an old rubber factory. Batman continues to assume the worst and takes out more of the guards. There are three more men inside but still no sign of Alfred. Batman is running out of patience. He smashed in through the window. He kicks a man down before he could use his machete and demands to know where Alfred is. The man says he's dead, killed by a snake bite. Flashbacks hit Batman as he notes that Alfred was the only family he had left. He demands to know where his body is, and the man says it's on the other side of the wall. The other two try to attack him, but Batman easily takes them down. The last guy tells Batman that Alfred was sold to El Vato. 

Returning to the hotel, Bruce accesses the Batcomputer via a modem and finds out that El Vato is a major drug, gun and extortion racketeer.

Meanwhile, Alfred is beaten and tied down to a table as El Vato demands to know a secret from his employer. He wants any dirt he can get on Wayne so he can blackmail him into funding his business. Alfred says Bruce is so boorish he would rather take headlines than keep secrets. El Vato says he better come up with someone, as he puts a knife uncomfortably close to Alfred's eye. 

Batman gets closer to El Vato's hideout, wondering what he would want from Alfred since no ransom has been asked for after his disappearance. Batman figures he can try a trick that works back in Gotham City, but before he does so, he falls through a trap door. Batman falls in water and the guards rush towards the top, aiming their guns on him. El Vato shows up and is impressed Alfred is so valuable that Bruce even sent Batman after him. He says even bats can disappear in these jungles. 

El Vato tells his men to open fire and Batman dodges the bullets. He sets off a signal that calls bats over to his location and they all over the gunmen. Batman climbs out and moves past the men as they are so busy trying to shot the bats, they shoot some of their own. Batman makes his way inside, dodging gunfire and taking down anyone in his way. 

Once inside, he finds crate full of drugs and weapons and large trucks. Alfred calls out for whoever's there and is glad to see Batman. Bats cuts him loose and asks if he still remembers how to drive a semi. Batman will take care of the guards, he tells Alfred to drive the truck to the exit since he saw a helicopter outside. As Batman fights the men, Alfred drives through the exit where El Vato and more guards are waiting. Batman sets off a detonator he left inside the building and the explosion cause enough destruction for him to take the men down.

As Batman is busy fighting the guards, El Vato gets ready to shoot him. Alfred bashes him on the back of the head with a jewel-headed cane and knocks him out. Batman says he doesn't know what he'd do without him. Alfred tells him now he knows why he never takes a holiday. 

My Opinions-

This was a pretty good fun read, and once in a while a one-and-done is pretty refreshing. Basically Bruce sent Alfred away on vacation, he gets kidnapped and now he has to save him. What this story does though is bring up the sense of urgency, the sense of morbid foreboding, the fact that Batman might already be too late and may have lost the only remaining family he had left. I mean, Alfred was missing for a week, couple that with Bruce booking a flight over and the time it took to ask around until he found someone that saw Alfred, he could have been dead already. As the time goes on, Batman grows more and more impatient and even thinks he'll be driven to kill if he finds that it's already too late. Sure you and I know Alfred is ok since this is an earlier story, but Batman doesn't know that.

One of the downsides of the issue is due to it being a sole issue and with how fast-paced it was (Batman was beating up guards while re-telling how he got here), it woulda been cool to see an actual Alfred flashback rather than just a panel. I don't know, maybe a scene where Alfred tells young Bruce that he'll be there for him in absence of his parents, to add to the current fear that Bruce might not have been there for Alfred during his time of need.

Another thing is, with all the thoughts swirling around his head, is I'm surprised Bruce wasn't blaming himself because he was the one that told Alfred to go on vacation in the first place. When he mentioned the place wasn't safe past the resort and the jungles were crawling with bandits, I'm thinking to myself 'THEN WHY DID YOU SEND HIM THERE???' I guess he should have been told 'by the way, don't leave the resort and tourist areas ok?'. 

Either way, it was a good read. In a certain way, this trip also helped take down one of the most notorious criminals in Corto Maltese.

One funny thing I found out while I was curious what country Corto Maltese was in, I found out that not only was it a fictional place, it was a shout out to an comic series of the same name. Plus this island was also featured in The Dark Knight Returns. 

Oh and hey, this comic was originally made around the time that Batman Returns was gonna come out that summer. Man, I still remember seeing that movie in theaters with my family. That reminds me, I was very surprised that modems were still around in the early 90's since Bruce used one via, I assume, the internet, to get into the Batcomputer from Corto Maltese. I'm curious just how much of the internet has been around before it finally reached it's current state. I mean I remember being impressed when Bruce used a CD in Batman Returns because those were still super new at the time. In fact it was so new, Batman was 'record-scratching' the CD at a time many people didn't know that CDs don't work that way. This issue really brought out a lot of nostalgia.

Kinda funny how in this comic advertises a Batman movie with the Catwoman and the Penguin, and we're about to get another Batman movie that also has Catwoman and the Penguin.