Batman Vs. Ra's Al Ghul #5
Recap
Batman has been spending time in a Sword & Sorcery dimension, in the custody of a sorceress named Chiarascuro, the long lost sister of Boston Brand aka Deadman. Chiarascuro was working for Ra's Al Ghul but now she's with the good guys.
A Doppelganger of Bruce Wayne has taken his place at Wayne Manor. DoppelBruce thinks he really is Bruce Wayne, but has no memory of being Batman. With the help of Dick Grayson, Alfred, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne, DoppelBruce tries to learn the ropes and fill in as Batman as they try to figure out where he came from and why he thinks Ra's is his trusted friend.
Suddenly, Wayne Manor was ambushed by gunmen and a guy in a Batman costume who's in town to take part in the Batman Olympics!!!
Review
What’s the story here? So, Deadman found his long lost sister, now he’s looking for his long lost brother, see the 2017 Deadman miniseries by the esteemed Neal Adams if this is the first time you’re hearing about these long lost siblings, yadda yadda.
There is a criminal organization trying to pick a new Batman that they can control, using a Batman Olympics competition in the famed Wayne Hockey Arena, yadda yadda.
There are two Bruce Waynes who are now working together, they both have memory gaps, yadda yadda.
Look, don’t overthink it. The dialogue already overthinks it. Neal’s dialogue is fun to look through for weird sounding gems but it also gets in the way of the story. This is a visual issue full of delights and a relatively simple chapter of the six-issue story.
Speaking of which, it’s been a full year since #4. I was thinking #5 would never come, so having this hit the stands is both a treat and a relief. Maybe things really are looking up.
There is plenty of crazy. The new criminal syndicate has two guys who look like bad guys from the 60’s and one guy who is part fish gargoyle.
A squad of gunmen open fire on a guy and he disappears for no reason. Deadman improbably punks Etrigan.
And Matches Malone gets an unprecedented amount of screen time, because it’s Moustache March!!!
Final Thoughts
An artist's delight on every page, and a beautiful final page rendition of the Most Interesting Man in the World. An issue that would fit in well with Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams' stories from the '70's.
Batman vs. Ra's Al Ghul #5 (of 6): Welcome to the Hockeydome
- Writing - 7/107/10
- Storyline - 7/107/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10