Batman #687 Review

Batman #687

Batman #687 was great, and in a way was everything I wanted Battle for the Cowl to be.

SPOILERS AHEAD

We get Superman handing over the burnt costume, Dick Grayson breaking down, Damien being dumb, a new Batcave, and thank you Judd Winick for saying what I’ve been thinking this whole time (as Aldred says to Dick who can’t bring himself to put on the cowl), “Then, sir, I must ask…just what the hell are you doing here?”

DC admitted to not knowing what do to with Dick Grayson around the time of Infinite Crisis and know that Final Crisis left us with no Bruce Wayne I think a lot of people were beginning to wonder the same thing; if Dick was just going to sit around all day and and not take Bruce’s place than step aside and let someone else take over. This was not the case though.

Back to the issue, it was great because we finally dealt with the death of Bruce Wayne. Since his “death” the mourning of Bruce has all but gone untouched (and we aren’t counting Neil Gaiman’s out-of-continuity What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader) but in #687 it seems to be the main focus, and the weight weighs heaviest on Alfred. With his one panel saying, “No, Sir. I am not. My son has died.”, we get more depth into the effect of Bruce’s death than any cool-looking Nightwing-staring-off-into-the-distance 1-page spread could ever give us. In all this mix-up you can’t forget Alfred who for all intended purposes help make Batman just as much as Bruce did. And it’s Alfred who calls Nightwing to man up and do what Bruce would have done.

Ed Benes, as expected, deliverers some amazing art and Judd Winick proves to me again why he’s a great comic book writer (despite all the haters). And beyond all the heavy death stuff we get a new villain who is an obvious and great call back to the Batman Beyond villain, Blight, and a great Scarecrow scene.

I give this issue a 4.8 out of 5

Seriously, this issue could have been titled Battle for the Cowl, give us three extra pages of Dick beating up Jason Todd and the whole thing would have been over quicker and done better (sorry Tony Daniel). It’s not that I didn’t like Battle for the Cowl, it’s just that this was the introduction to a new Batman I was looking for. Judd Winick “gets” Batman (not Superboy) and I can’t wait to see what he’s got in store for the bigger and buffer Dick Grayson.