Batman # 433 The Many Deaths of Batman Part 1

 By Mark Rodriguez

I've run across different parts of this one here and there but never wanted to buy an incomplete story. This was way before I discovered sites like Hipcomic where I could just buy the missing issues. One time at Sci-Fi Valley Con back in 2015 where I actually found all three parts at the same time, so I finally nabbed them. 

 

The issue opens on a stormy night as police cars rush down the dark alleys. A local bum points towards something and they see Batman, hanging from a wall of wooden planks, seemingly dead. He's rushed to the hospital where they try to do what they can (a doctor even stops a nurse from trying to unmask him) but the Caped Crusader flat-lines and is taken to the morgue.

 

The doctors are all saddened and one of them in particular goes to a bar to drink away the pain. A guy in a tacky green suit, (looks like a reporter to me) enters the bar and talks to the doctor. He then arrives at the morgue and bribes the guard there to let him take a look at Batman. He is shocked to see the fallen Dark Knight and starts taking pictures. The reporter sells the pictures and the story and the death of Batman is soon printed.

Meanwhile in prison, the Penguin reads the news and is furious, stomping all over the newspaper. Two-Face also sees this and flips a coin. It lands on the scarred side and he gets enraged. Dick Grayson sees the news and Starfire soon arrives to comfort him.

 

 

Alfred prepares the daily paper as well as master Bruce's breakfast, but when he catches a glimpse of the headline, he drops the food and runs off. He checks both Bruce Wayne's regular bedroom and the Batcave, not finding his master anywhere. At a police commissioner convention, Gordon is informed of the news. He soon drives down to the hospital and tells the others in the car to 'Get out'. So far this is the only line of dialogue in the whole story.

Gordon checked out Batman's corpse and works up the nerve to unmask him. We see that the man under the mask.... is blonde. Elsewhere, Batman is standing on the top of a building, looking unconscious and propped up against a wooden board. The building blows and the witnesses are confused as they see pieces of Batman's costume falling everywhere, alongside all the debris What is going on?

 My Thoughts-

This was an interesting read.... sorta, since there was no dialogue throughout 99% of the story. It does make the story go pretty quick and it surprised me just how short my summary was. The only line of dialogue through the whole thing was Gordon saying 'Get out'. I wasn't expecting that, but it was done so very well. Right off the bat the first few panels establish the rainy night and the police cars rushing to get to the scene.

The artists did a really good job conveying emotion without a single word from neither the characters or the narrator. You get the panic of the emergency room as they try desperately to revive the Dark Knight, and the look of grief on one of the doctors as he tries to drink his sorrows away. The reporter guy buying his way to get the scoop. This comic did a very good job explaining everything that was going on.

I liked this issue and I'm curious to see where this goes. Why the fake Batman? Why this other fake Batman? And where is the REAL Batman during all this?