Review: Batman Vol. 12- City of Bane Part 1

Quick Summary

Pros: The story introduces changes to the status quo and sets up the entire arc in a way that is engaging and interesting. The conclusion introduces some drama for the next volume to explore. Batman’s portion of the story is well-written and emotional. The majority of the artwork looks great.

Cons: There are a few places where the visuals look a little strange.

Overall: This volume gears fans up for a new story arc while also significantly rewarding dedicated readers. It introduces the “City of Bane” in a way that is constantly engaging and closes things with a twist. It also advances Batman’s story in a way that has not been done since the Wedding. The volume could definitely be fun for newer readers to jump into but more dedicated readers will find a lot more to enjoy here.

Story

Batman Vol. 12: City of Bane Part 1, by Tom King, is a highly enjoyable volume and a significant step for this series as a whole. This collection finally sees Bane’s ultimate plan come to fruition. The specifics behind his plan are interesting to discover and produce some exciting scenes. They also introduce a shocking surprise that is sure to have a big impact on the next volume. Meanwhile, this collection also, finally, addresses the aftermath of the Wedding (Reading Order) in a more complete way than ever before. In general, this volume is able to successfully utilize the development throughout this series in order to produce a solid opening for an epic finale.

(spoilers start here)

About half of City of Bane Part 1 is focused on simply explaining the situation in Gotham. Readers learn that Bane controls the city, that he is brainwashing supervillains to work as his police force, and that he has worked out various strategies in order to prevent intervention from the rest of DC’s heroes. Many of these points are introduced in unique ways, like opening on Riddler and Joker investigating a crime together, or through energetic demonstrations, like Gotham Girl taking down Captain Atom. All of this makes for an introduction to this storyline that is both interesting and engaging.

This narrative moves beyond introductions and into its second half as Robin attempts to stop Bane. Though he is able to easily make his way past Gotham Girl, he is stopped by the Flashpoint Batman. This leads to Bane making a statement about what he will do to interlopers by killing Alfred and keeping Damian as his new hostage. This is a brutal and shocking development in Bane’s battle against Batman. It ups the stakes of the entire conflict and leaves the door open for some massive fallout in the next volume.

The rest of City of Bane Part 1 follows Batman and Catwoman as they prepare to mount a counterattack on Bane’s forces. Seeing them simply take it easy for a while and enjoy themselves is just fantastic. It shows that these two really care for one another and gives them some time to talk out their troubles. I really enjoyed the explanation that Batman realized being in love does not invalidate his vow to his parents, it simply means he has found time for a less singularly focused life. I’m interested in seeing how the Bat/Cat narrative continues as the City of Bane storyline progresses.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The vast majority of the artwork in City of Bane Part 1 looks fantastic. Tony S. Daniel’s work is detailed, well-laid out, and energetic. It performs equally well at depicting street-level brawls in Gotham City or lush landscapes in foreign lands. Either way, the environments and what is taking place within them look beautiful. This is particularly true when it comes to the volume’s many splash pages, all of which look gorgeous. On top of all of this, the Gotham Girl redesign looks amazing and I believe is far better than her original look.

Despite all of these, there are a few places where the visuals end up looking a bit strange. The depictions of the Joker and the Riddler look a little off and there are a couple of places where the bodily proportions of various characters appear wrong. This is still a good-looking volume overall but it doesn’t feel like Tony S. Daniel’s best work.

Continuity

Batman Vol. 12: City of Bane Part 1 continues the story from Batman Vol. 11: The Fall and the Fallen (Review).

The story here continues in Batman Vol. 12: City of Bane Part 2 (Review).

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Events from the majority of the Batman series up to this point are referenced throughout this read.
  • Gotham Girl’s story is mostly told across Batman Vol. 1: I am Gotham (Review).
  • Bane previously fought Batman in Batman Vol. 3: I am Bane (Review).
  • Batman met the Flashpoint Batman in Batman/The Flash: The Button (Review) (Reading Order).
  • Robin shared an idea to stop super-powered superheroes in Batman Vol. 6: Bride or Burglar (Review).
  • The Wedding took place in Batman Vol. 7: The Wedding (Review) (Reading Order).
• The argument regarding whether Batman and Catwoman met on the street or the boat concerns two versions of their first meeting. Their meeting on the street is from Batman: Year One and their meeting on the boat is from Batman #1, collected in Batman: The Golden Age Vol. 1.
• The conclusion of Batman #75 is a tie-in to the Year of the Villain event.