I appreciate small details. Brad Walker, Nathan Fairbairn, and Andrew Hennessy do a very nice job in being consistent. For example, they pay great attention to make sure that Batman’s cowl does not convey his expression, with his emotions shown only in how his mouth is depicted. This is a hard feat to accomplish. It is much easier to foist expression into an ever changing cowl. Another bit that I really like that the art team does on this story arc is that they make sure that eyes of Batman’s cowl and Robin’s domino mask look like lenses. We have been told countless times that their masks have high-end Waynetech gear. More often than not, however, we are only treated to “superhero white eyes.” Seeing their eyes as lenses was fantastic. I loved these small details that sells a “more accurate” Batman.

Peter J. Tomasi successfully redefines the Arkham Knight for canonical lore. It can be a bit daunting, taking a character that has been successfully introduced in another medium [ see the Arkham Knight video game ] and ensure that a different version can stand on its own. Almost the entirety of issue #1004 is dedicated to Arkham Knight’s origin story. Clearly, Tomasi and the editorial team want this version to be a new Bat-villain that can last for a long time. Without getting spoilery, where there’s an Arkham, there’s a twisted family member that always seems to pop up.

Tomasi really gets Damian. I think it helps that he has had Damian in his head from writing the two Super Sons titles. He knows when to play Damian arrogant and when to make him an child excited from gaining his father’s approval. Certainly, it is difficult to write a child character to sound/act like a child, even when that child is master murder machine Damian Wayne. As with any good arc that introduces a new villain, it ends with an opening to bring that villain back. With the time that has beers invested, I do wonder how long it will be before we see the Arkham Knight pop back up.