First teased at the end of Detective 1000, we are introduced to the Arkham Knight and a legion of knighted followers. When a new Bat-villain is introduced, the villain either needs to make a meaningful impact quickly or have a buildup that is protracted over many issues. If it’s the latter, then amazing payoff is a must. The challenge in that slow buildup is it can oftentimes not feel like it was worth it. In the case of this issue, it is the former.

The Arkham Knight comes swinging and quickly makes short work of Batman. This helps establish that we have someone that can not only present a challenge to the Bat but is also worth our interest. Besides imperiling Batman by the end of the issue, we have a mystery that kicks off in the beginning of bats dying throughout Gotham city en masse. Throw in a plot device where a mini sun is launched above the skies of Gotham and you have yourself a good jumping on point for a title that has been around for a thousand issues.

Personally, I am excited to see where this story goes. Peter J. Tomasi is an industry vet who knows what he is doing, especially with the Bat family. See his runs on Batman and Robin, Super Sons, and Adventures of the Super Sons as examples of how well he can craft stories. Bringing on a strong talent such as Tomasi is key when editorial decides to pull an outside character into comic canon. For those who don't know, Arkham Knight first originated in the game of the same name. While he surely won't be the same persona from the video game [Google it if you want spoilers], it will be fascinating to see how this character unfolds. To my knowledge, the last time that out of canon characters were brought into the fold came in the form of Harley Quinn and Renee Montoya, both whom went on to have lasting effects on the DCU. Time will tell if the Arkham Knight will do the same.