Batman: Dark Age #6
Chad Burdette
Recap
Meet Bruce Wayne, Gotham's favorite delinquent son. In an origin story like no other, witness the boy become a dark knight shaped by a city in turmoil as it marches towards its prophesied doom. Set against the backdrop of actual historical events, Gotham comes alive, filled with the iconic characters who’ve loved and hated Batman over the years like you've never seen them before
- An Origin Story Like No Other As Bruce Becomes The Dark Knight in Batman: Dark Age #1
- A Batman Goes To War in Batman: The Dark Age #2
- Batman: The Dark Age #3: Welcome To The (Concrete) Jungle
- Batman: Dark Age #4: Robin & The Rogues Begin
- Batman: Dark Age #5: Ra’s’ Endgame and the Coming Crisis
Gotham appears to be saved, but for how long? A face from Gotham’s past emerges from the ashes and the Anti-Monitor threatens to destroy everything. Bruce Wayne looks back across the years and wonders if it was all for nothing
Review
Batman: Dark Age #6 is the final chapter in Mark Russell and Mike Allred’s Batman story and is more of an epilogue than the conclusion of the story which is resolved in the last issue.
Pariah’s long game and final fate on this Earth is revealed as he, like many corporate bigwigs had not only figuratively but literally a Golden Parachute, which hits a bit close to real-world for comfort. Russell also adds a nice touch of having Pariah meet this Earth’s Superman and making the comment that they had met before but on different Earths (ie Superman: Space Age and the main DCU’s Crisis On Infinite Earths event) and offering Superman money if he would help home save himself when Brainiac arrived to collect the world before the Anti-Monitor arrived.
Readers are also given a glimpse into Bruce’s post-Batman life which had beats similar to the Silver Age, Earth-2’s Batman with some interesting tweaks to make it stand out as it’s own. As Selina Kyle and Bruce begin their life together, more about her origin is learned along with her final fate making the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the survival of Gotham City from the Anti-Monitor.
The final fate of The Joker is also revealed and how Bruce not only saved his life but also helped him on the road back to sanity and how they became friends in the nursing home.
The series as a whole was a fun, interesting, and artistically beautiful take and addition to the Batman mythos.
Final Thoughts
Batman: Dark Age #6 concludes the series and sticks the landing providing a succinct and beautifully illustrated and colored series that put a interesting and new spin on the Batman mythos. This issue and series as a whole leaves one wanting more stories like this from the creative team focusing on the other A-Listers of the Justice League of America.
Batman: Dark Age #6
- Writing - 10/1010/10
- Storyline - 10/1010/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10
