Batman (2025) # 157

By Mark Rodriguez

The Riddler was working alongside Leonid Kull, a representative of the Court of Owls. Leonid was really working with the Russians and he stole Riddler's main cryptography that allows access to crypt and decrypt any security system, no matter how advanced. Now with Leonid preparing to board a flight to Russia with the stolen data, Batman has to stop as well as the mysterious new hero Commander Star who turned out to be KGBeast. How will this all end?

"The Dying City Finale" opens with Batman speeding through the city in the Batmobile. He ponders that leaving Gordon alone to arrest the Riddler might have been a mistake since he was still reeling from the Mad Hatter's mind control. He can't let Leonid escape with the Riddler's code. With the code, the Russians can infiltrate and control everything. Batman fires off his grappling hook and leaps out of the Batmobile. Batman hooks onto the airplane, which is now airborne as he says he has one chance to stop Leonid and prevent World War III.

At the NygmaTech building, an explosion hit the top floor. Bullock calls Commissioner Savage and tells him the cops need to get up there since Batman went to arrest Nygma. Savage says that Batman doesn't have the authority to do that and asks if the building looks like it's in danger of collapsing. Bullock says it doesn't look like it and there might not have been more bombs.

The Mad Hatter appears and says there were more bombs but he 'convinced' the security to find them and disable them. Bullock pulls his gun and tells Jervis to remove his mind-controlling hat. The Wonderland-inspired villain says he means them no harm, this time. He says Batman saved his life, so he endeavored to save his. He was not entirely successful as we see that the explosion did knock out Nygma, his bodyguard and Gordon.

On the plane, Leonid is calling his employers saying the plan worked out as well as they hoped but Anatoli is still on the ground. His employers tell him that Anatoli is an acceptable casualty. The KGBeast is a relic, and relics can become monuments. They'll build a statue for their fallen patriot. Batman is hanging onto the plane and plants a small explosive onto the door,

The explosion blows the door off as the air pressure floods in. Batman gets in, figuring he has to move fast since Leonid has professionals working with him and the surprise won't distract them for long. Batman fights with the men, telling them to turn the plane around. Leonid is down but he crawls towards the gun of one of the fallen bodyguards.

Back to Gotham, a riot has hit the streets between the police and protestors as Commander Star eggs them on. He says Gotham belongs to its citizens, and the elite would rather give it away to criminals invading the city for handouts and stealing their jobs. As the police tries to stop them, Star guns one of them down. He tells the rest of the police that they're on the wrong side of this. An officer draws his gun and says to not take another step.

Commander Star smacks the gun out of the officer's hand. He says he'll hurt the police since they protect socialist executives. He grabs Rowan Birkemoe, the current CEO of Wayne Enterprises, a company he claims has turned Gotham into a haven for undesirables. He will make an example out of her.

Gordon is unable to move, and Riddler goes over to him. Riddler says that Gordon should have just gone away and taken a vacation in Blackgate with his officer buddies protecting him.... but he had to wake up. Riddler grabs Gordon's throat and says he's an old man with nothing to lose, while he was finally building something, and he won't let him take it away. Gordon says they both have to leave before they both die. Just then the building shakes, the force of it knocking Gordon and Nygma towards a huge hole on the side of the building.

Batman continues to fight with the men, saying if he can just get his hands on the drive, he can get off the plane and back to Nygma. One of the men gets knocked out of the plane's missing door and Batman grabs him with his rope. Batman hangs onto the plane as he struggles to not let the man go. Leonid steps up behind Batman, holding a gun. He says it would have been more symbolic if he had killed Superman, but there will still be rejoicing as he drags Batman's dead body through the streets of Moscow. Leonid fires his gun.

Batman deflects the bullets with his gauntlet.  The ricochet hits the piloting equipment and also goes through Leonid's chest. Leonid slumps to the ground as he starts bleeding out. Batman says he can understand them going after Nygma's technology, but asks why he sent Commander Star to tear down the Bruce Wayne building.

Leonid explains that Gotham has become their bogeyman as it's the symbol of everything that's wrong with America. He says the Court of Owls had the tools and levers, all Gotham's citizens needed was that little push. With that Leonid dies. Batman ponders that all the damage caused was just to push more Russian propaganda. 

Batman notices that the plane's controls are shot. The copilot says they're headed straight for the city. Batman radios Bullock, who still thought he was in the NygmaTech building, and tells him that he's on a jet headed for 17th street and touching down on Albrecht. He needs the street cleared for five blocks. Bullock says he's on it.

Bullock tells his men what to do. Commissioner Salvage delays that order. He says the officers are needed at the protest and Batman is only trying to draw them away from it. He repeats that this is an order from their commissioner. Bullock says to screw Savage (although he didn't say screw....) and tells his men to clear the streets.

Batman tells the pilots to go the back. He dumps the plane's fuel since he doesn't want the plane to become a huge bomb. He determines the plane has a 98-foot wingspan while 17th street is only 68 feet wide... so he'll have to ditch the wings. He fires off ignitable putty on both wings, but he'll have to set them off simultaneously so the plane doesn't roll and crash into a building.

Batman climbs out of the plane holding two guns from the bodyguards. He hates the feel of them in his hands, but he does what he has to do. Batman shoots towards the wings, making them explode. He shoots his rope to hang onto the plane.

Back at the protest, Commander Star is ready to publicly hang Ms. Birkemoe over a traffic sign, when he suddenly sees the wingless plane headed towards them. As the plane slides across the evacuated streets, Batman leaps out of the broken pilot's window and tosses out two batarangs. One of them cuts the rope meant to hand Birkemoe, saving her life. Still in mid-leap, Batman tells the KG Beast 'let's go' as he delivers a Superman Punch to the face (I mean, it's a leaping punch, I'd rather call it that than an Orange Punch). Star takes the punch and then throws his own right into Batman's ribs, gladly taking the challenge.

Gordon and Nygma are barely holding on to the side of what's left of the NygmaTech top floor. Nygma says if it would at be nice if the headlines will read 'Tech genius killed by Ex-cop looking for revenge'. Gordon reaches out for Nygma's hand saying Nakano's death was already one too many. Nygma says he's surprised after everything he did to him, he still believes that a good man exists. Nygma and Gordon both lose their grip and fall.

Gordon grabs onto the Riddler and tells him to hang on. The former Commissioner, who was given Batman's utility belt earlier, fires off a grappling hook. Gordon and Ngyma swing through a window of one of the lower floors which is in sturdier condition. Gordon tells Nygma that he's not a good man, but he is doing his best.

As Batman fights the KGBeast, he's surprised he was able to get rid of his accent and mannerisms for his disguise as Commander Star. KGBeast says he spent months training under Russia's best, Avery Oblonsky. Batman says the KGBeast got his neck and hand all fixed up, just for him to come to Gotham and get his ass handed to him. KGBeast wiped the blood from his mouth and whips out wrist-mounted blades.

Batman starts seeing red. He had been helping make Gotham better, and this was the closest he had felt to his parents. He was rebuilding Gotham, not by beating up the bad guys, but by giving people what they needed to have the chance to be better. But now Leonid and the KGBeast have poisoned that well. 

Batman wraps his cape around one of KGBeast's arms and then kicks it, snapping one of the blades off. Batman wraps the blade around his own arm now. Batman is also angry that the Riddler convinced him that his friend Gordon was a murderer. He narrates that while the KGBeast is a great fighter that could beat him on his best day, he won't win today against his righteous anger. 

KGBeast leaps towards Batman with his remaining blade. Batman blocks the strike with the blade he took and flips his opponent onto the roof of a police car. Batman leaps onto him and uses his blade to slice KGBeast's bladed artificial arm off.. With the KGBeast pinned, Batman unleashes his anger, punching the hell out of his face. Batman forces himself to stop since he senses that all eyes are on him.

Batman looks at the crowd and realizes his city needs to stop the violence. He has a speech about not falling for the rhetoric of a masked man, but he forgets he's wearing a mask too. He sees some people look down in shame, which is a start. Bullock contacts Batman and tells him that Nygma is in Gordon's custody. Batman walks off, the crashed plane in the background, as he says it's a win but it doesn't feel like it.

A week later, at a free clinic, a doctor is about to leave for the day and asks if there are anything straightforward he can take. A nurse tells him there's a man looking for a follow-up, though he's not sure why Bruce Wayne would be at a free clinic. It turns out William was the long-lost half brother of Wayne. In his office, he asks Bruce if he came to thank him for dropping the case. Bruce wanted to know why he did drop the case. He knew he had lawyers ready to help him take Wayne Enterprises and wondered if they backed out.

Wil says he never wanted to win. The lawyers came in, knowing about his parents and were very persuasive. He grew up knowing it was possible that he was a Wayne. Wil said he never really cared. He figured the money might have been nice, but then he looks at Bruce. Bruce asks what he means. Wil says he's a mess and is constantly in the news but rarely for anything good. It's great that Bruce is doing good now, but it made him mad to watch him unfold. His mother said Thomas was one of the greatest surgeons she's ever seen so it broke her heart to see how Bruce turned out. 

Wil never wanted his money but he wanted Bruce to see how it would feel like knowing he could lose it all. Bruce said he had lost everything before. Wil says he should always fear losing it, like how regular living paycheck to paycheck do. Bruce says he is trying his best and if he is his brother, he'll make sure he'll get what he rightfully deserves. Wil said he got the DNA test but the lawyers didn't let him see it. Now that they left, he has the file but he hasn't bothered to look. He says Bruce isn't his brother and Thomas isn't his father. He's seen how money changes a person and how it changes the people around you, and he's just happy being himself. 

Bruce takes the file and apologizes for what his father did to him. Wil says he can't see into their past, but his mother told him that Thomas spent the rest of his life making up for his mistake by helping the people in Gotham. He just asks that Bruce does the same.

Leslie waits for him outside, asking Bruce how it went. Bruce says he's not what he was expecting. He's a healer like his father was and how Leslie currently is. He checked the DNA results and Wil isn't his brother. Leslie asks if Bruce is OK. Bruce asks how he can move on from his past. So much of his life revolves around not moving on, and holding tight onto the memory of his parent's deaths. He asks how he can forgive his father for his mistakes. He asks how he can forgive himself for Failsafe and Jason. Then he mentions how he can look at Jim again after his affair with Koyuki.

Leslie says to look at Jim as a friend. She tells him to hold in his heart that nobody is just one thing and everyone is struggling. Jim Gordon is human, so he tells Bruce to be human with him,

Later on, Batman visits Gordon on the rooftops, asking if he brought an extra coffee cup for him. Batman informs Gordon that the Court of Owls went back into hiding and it's not clear if they were duped by Leonid or knew about the Russians. The Mad Hatter isn't talking. Riddler is on bail insisting the glasses were a set up from the Russians. Batman says Nygma is probably going to buy his way out of this one.

Batman asks about Koyuki. Gordon says she won't talk to him. The affair is over and never should have started. Gordon says he was a fool, seeing himself as a white knight swooping in to rescue Koyuki's imagined grievances with Nakano. He was mostly trying to save himself from being constantly overlooked.

Gordon is considering rejoining the force, figuring Savage would love to have him under his thumb anyway. He'd probably start over as a beat cop but it's the only way he knows to help make the city better. Batman thinks it's a great idea. With Bullock fired, they would need a man on the inside to keep track of whatever Savage is up to. He asks if he's ready and needs more time. 

Gordon says he wants to prove himself again. If left alone, his mind wander back to that night which continues to haunt him. Batman says he knows Nygma killed Nakano, not him. Gordon says Batman saw the mind-controlled glasses, but his guys ran tests on them. When Nakano punched him, they broke and stopped working. Gordon still pulled the trigger. Batman says the Mad Hatter's mind control has lingering effects. Gordon says he felt anger, righteous anger. He says he pulled the trigger, not Jervis or Nygma.

Just then the police radios about a break in with multiple shots fired and Batman gets set to check it out. Gordon says he needs to wash this away and be able to help again. Batman says he's not alone and they'll do this together. He says mistakes were made, and they'll always be made since they're both flawed and human. Batman swings off saying all they can do is to be good men.

 

My Thoughts- 

So it all came down to this issue. The story didn't feel as rushed as I thought it would, and it was good to see Jim handle the Riddler on his own so everything didn't have to rest on Batman's shoulders. I'm honestly of a mixed bag of Batman leaping out of the plane right into landing a flying punch to KGBeast's face. On one side it's kind of a rushed way to get Batman from stopping one threat and directly leaping into the next one... but on the other side... it is pretty damn badass. 

I would have preferred to see more of the fight, especially against such a skilled opponent. I get it's the end of the story and we're running out pages, but still. It was full of hard-hitting action but I would have liked a more evenly matched fight. Sure Batman was full of 'righteous anger' but I felt a fight between those two deserves more than 'hurry it up, we're running out of pages'. Especially since Batman should have been somewhat worn out after dealing with both the Riddler and Leonid the same night.

Gordon and Koyuki's affair came to an end in previous issues, so the only plot thread hanging was this mystery Bruce half-brother. I guess this was the only part that was rushed and turned out to be nothing. Just a regular guy that really didn't care about the money but more-so wanted to teach Bruce a lesson. That would probably explain why Leonid wouldn't let Bruce see him in an earlier issue. Wil would have probably just talked it out then and there, and ruin the plans. It still is awfully convenient he didn't choose to pursue this further so everything would up neatly in this issue, but on the other hands it makes sense the lawyers would back off after Leonid's death.

The two main complaints I have about this story deal with affairs. I guess over the years the cool thing to do was to show that Bruce's parents weren't perfect and did shady things that a kid Bruce's age wouldn't understand. I hate thinking  that Thomas Wayne would cheat on his wife and just chock it up to 'oh rich people do that'. 

What I hate even worse if the fact that Jim Gordon would have an affair. And not only that, but having an affair with a woman that hired him to see if her husband was having an affair. "So turns out your husband is clean, just very busy.. so um.. how you and I have an affair instead, baby?" It's something that Wendy and I both complained about. The story tries to shove it under the rug as 'all humans are flawed'. While that is true, not everyone has the same flaw. Can Jim just... not have an affair with the Mayor's wife?

Then they wanted to add a final seed of doubt that the mind-control glasses broke and the possibility that Jim really did shoot and kill the Mayor without an coaxing? And he tells this to Batman of all people who might have turned him in. And Batman just chooses to 'not go there' and give his friend a pass? 

 

I would have liked it better if they did this with Harvey Bullock, even thought you would have lost the 'life-long friend' angle. In fact it might have made things more intense since Bullock and Batman can barely stand each other but still have to do things by the book. I just hate to think of Gordon as being the last decent honest cop in Gotham but also having trouble keeping it in his pants.

Honestly with all this multiverse stuff, if you want to explore such themes like 'what if Bruce's parents weren't as good as he thought they were?' save it for stuff like Earth 2 or Absolute Batman or any other non-canon Batman.

The final complaint is one I given up on since this story just reads as a completely Batman solo story, where for whatever reason the rest of the Bat-Family are all busy in Bludhaven, outer space or wherever. There was zero mention of them at all during this story, as well as the new Pennyworth Estate that Bruce built where they can come and go as needed. I mean in this case we could have seen some of them try to keep the riots under control while Batman was chasing after Nygma. We could have seen Nightwing or one of the Batgirls stall Commander Star for time until Batman arrived on his crashing plane. Bruce lives with them now, where they hell were they?

I guess I'm still a bit disappointed that the Dark Prisons story ended with this new status quo that got side-tracked by the Absolute Power tie-ins and this Dying City arc that ignored. The next issue will start the big Hush 2 story line that is set to go on for either most or of the rest of the year. Maybe since that is a larger type story line that feels more 'all hands on deck', we'll see reference to the Pennyworth Estate and the rest of the Bat-Family.

Overall I did enjoy a lot of this story. It was odd how the art shifted from issue to issue. The only other complaint was how Commander Star made a grand entrance and then faded into the background until this issue decided to bring him back. I guess fighting him early would clue Batman in on his identity due to his fighting style, but he did mention that he changed his mannerisms. I did like the cast of the characters, and the mystery of who killed the Mayor with so many suspects. It was a shock that Gordon did it, I just it was done somehow without throwing an affair in there. I guess I can say this one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Not perfect, not horrible, still fun to read at parts but there's a lot to nitpick.

I also wished Riddler was a big more legit with his business since he was lobotomized in the Dark Prisons story. It would have been a cool conflict if Leonid completely fooled him and Nygma had to prove to Batman that he was innocent despite his criminal history. Oh well, that's how most comics roll. The more things change, the more they stay the same.