Batman 89 Echoes # 1

 By Mark Rodriguez

A few years back we had a 6-part series called Batman 89, which was sort of a 'what if only Batman and Batman Returns happened' and the adventures continued past there. We never got to see Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face, so that story dealt with that. Now Batman 89 returns with another 6-part story.

The issue opens with three men driving away from a heist. They are so desperate to get away from the police, they hit a fire hydrant which totals the car. They decide to grab the loot and run since they're close to the docks when Batman arrives. One of the men shoots Batman dead, but despite getting a clear shot, he can't believe that the Dark Knight is actually dead. The other two guys run off as the police arrive while the gunman is freaking out and continues to 'shoot' Batman even though his gun is empty. The cops grab the gunman and confirm Batman is dead, or at least someone dressed as him. Lt. Bullock calls Barbara Gordon to let her know that another Batman died.

Later on, Barbara goes to check on the fallen Batman. Bullock and Barbara discuss how this is the fourth guy that was killed while dressed as the Caped Crusader. Bullock asks her if it was the real Batman how would she even know. He says Batman disappeared two years ago and after her father passed she suddenly seemed to know all the secrets of the rich and powerful. He asks if she somehow inherited Batman in her father's absence. Barbara tells him that no one has seen Batman in two years, including her.

The gunman is interrogated as Bullock and Barbara watch. The man says he felt as if a switch went off in his head and he went into a state of panic. He just knew he had to keep shooting, then everything went black. The police want to show him a picture of the man he shot and starts freaking out. Barbara asks if he was a vet. Bullock asks how she knew and she says it was a wild hunch.

Barbara shows up at Wayne Manor and finds Alfred. Bruce isn't available and hasn't returned any of her calls. Alfred warms up the fireplace and they discuss the situation over tea. Alfred says that Bruce hasn't gone against their agreement and would never condone unskilled amateurs to run around dressed like him. Barbara says it's strange that a fake Batman was killed by a person that went crazy upon seeing him and that this happened four times.

Barbara says she was real close to turning Bruce in two years ago until she found her father's journal. The journal details that he knew Batman was bending the law but he never questioned his motives. He wondered why of all the cops in Gotham PD he went to him until he made a shocking discovery. She learned about what happened to Bruce's parents, so she got sentimental and let him skate. He promised to stop being Batman. Alfred says it's a promise he kept. She doesn't trust Bruce and is suspicious of this sudden irrational fear of Batman causing four murders despite the fact that he's been gone for two years.

Barbara leaves and says he better answer her calls by that Friday or she's spilling the secret. Alfred confides in her that Bruce has been missing for a month without so much of a word to him. He has no idea where he is.

Elsewhere, Alicia, Joker's former girlfriend is being interviewed by a woman off-screen named Dr. Q. The boss of the news station is embarrassed by the air time this is getting, and his employee Wendy tells him Dr. Q always gives a bump in ratings. The boss isn't happy that Dr. Q seems fixated on Batman and the Joker.

Dr. Q starts getting her make up on as she prepares for her interview. One of her coworkers says if she's any paler she'll look like a light bulb. Dr. Q says she works with violent sick people, but when they wear a secret face, it gives them a vehicle for all their hostility and aggression, and thus their normal face becomes a disguise. This is the basis for what she calls Persona Therapy.

Chuck, the boss, says she looks fabulous and hits on her. She says she'll kill someday. City Beat is on the air and Angela welcomes Dr. Harleen Quinzel to the show. Harleen explains she has an exclusive interview with the Joker's former muse. Just then Chuck gets a phone call with exclusive info regarding the bomber calling himself Firefly. Harleen's segment gets cut short because now the news is focused on police closing in on Firefly. This angers Harleen but Chuck says this news is more important, especially since it's an exclusive. Harleen says that ACN will pay for this. 

Elsewhere the police are closing in on Firefly's location, a small house in the middle of nowhere. They can see him in a rocking chair by the window. As the police approach, the front part of the house explodes. The police are relieved Firefly didn't wait until everyone was inside to press the detonator. They find out that the guy was a decoy and was already dead by the time they got there. He was set up in a rocking chair that was wired to the detonator. They find a hidden door on the floor with a staircase leading down below. 

One of the men, Zito, decides to check it out and only finds dry goods and canned foods, showing that Firefly has been planning this for a while. He found a crawl space big enough for a skinny person. Another cop in a chopper named Kestrel says he detected a heat signature. Someone is running through the woods, 500 meters from the cabin. 

Firefly is running as fast as he can, but the police tail him. He tries to fire back on the men but is shot in the leg. The police catch up to him due to the trail of blood and apprehend him. They see that he was headed towards a cave with enough ammunition to take down a small army.

Elsewhere, a man named Dr. Crane is on the phone when Harleen arrives. He asks how the show went and Harleen says her segment was pre-empted by the news regarding Firefly. Dr. Crane says he knows all about it and Firefly will be brought over to him as he handles his case. He says he might end up in the max wing and maybe he can introduce him to her. Harleen storms off calling him a quack, as he calls her a fraud.

Crane goes to see the man, who asked for Dr. Hugo Strange. Crane says he's unavailable but he worked under him and can be considered his disciple. He introduces himself as Dr. Jonathan Crane and comments that the cops roughed him up badly.

The man says they had to since he would have roughed them up if he could. He calls himself a weapon. He says it's what they do, start with a man and create a monster. The man is Bruce Wayne with grey hair and scars.

My thoughts-

Wow, what a cliffhanger. I have no idea what exactly Bruce Wayne has been up to. I mean... was he really setting up bombs all over the city as Firefly? I also can't tell if his white hair is part of a disguise, or if it's naturally white to go along with how Micheal Keaton is looking nowadays.

When I saw the cover of the issue having both Harley and the Scarecrow on it, I just had to grab it. Similar to how the first Batman 89 run was about 'what if we got Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face', this one seems to be 'what if we got to see Batman Triumphant'. It was rumored several times that had Batman & Robin not bombed, the next movie was going to be called Batman Triumphant with Scarecrow and Harley as the villains. We're already seeing Harleen and Crane being introduced here, so the new few issues should go into their descent in insanity.

I'm curious if this story is a big what-if created by the writers with what little knowledge we have about Batman Triumphant, namely the two villains, or if they got their hands on a draft. Even though, the story would have be changed to fit not only the Tim Burton films, but also follow up the events of the previous 6-issue mini series. Let's not forget Batman Triumphant was supposed to follow Batman & Robin, so who knows what the tone was going to be like.

Like the first run, the comic does its best to draw the characters looking like the actors that portrayed them in the movies. Since the story has to evolve, we mostly see Michael Gough's Alfred and and Jack Nicholson Joker. Barbara is changed back to being Commissioner Gordon's daughter and does not look like Alicia Silverstone, since the movie version turned her into Alfred's niece. Also wow, Alicia Hunt really is a blast from the past. I still remember one of the original Batman movie trailers full of actions, bullets and explosions, and then suddenly cutting to Jerry Hall telling Jack Nicholson that he looks fine, with him telling her he didn't ask... and then back to more action and explosions. 

The book has my interest, and I'm curious how this will go. I'm especially curious with what the hell Bruce Wayne is up to. I'll be trying to keep my eye on this 6-issue run and see where things go.