Detective Comics #989: A Lesson in Defeat

James Robinson’s ‘Deface the Face’ part two continues a Batman story that truly gets back to the basics of the Worlds Greatest Detective. The previous issue held a certain gravitas as Bats struggled with the emotional toll of recent events. This led him to what seemed to be a simple case, but now we find out just how orchestrated it all really was. It’s this twist that actually puts the story into perspective and opens the door to an even worse enemy than the Fireflies…Two-Face!

Unfortunately, this issue loses some of the weight that helped the issue before stand out so much, but it also makes up for it with a surprisingly great mystery. While the Detective Comics series has often brought in the more expansive Bat-family in previous issues, James Robinson’s story is shaping up to be a classic detective story that sees the Dark Knight and Alfred back at their old ways.

The creative team set the bar high on issue #988, and they don’t disappoint at all with this issue. With incredible pencils and colors that bring out the best in each panel, the overall artwork is stunning from start to finish. So far, the creative direction has proven to be both unique and beautifully familiar, making for a story that any fan of Detective Comics can easily pick up and highly enjoy. Two-Face’s reveal at the end sees the character with a gruesome new look that suits the story well so far, but the Fireflies are done so well that I want more of their characters in the book. And with their plan to create a swarm of like-minded pyro-maniacs, it looks like I could get my wish sooner than expected.

The story itself is a great mystery that is shaping up to include some interesting characters. Two-Face’s last reveal pushes the story even further with just a slight mention of faulting Commissioner Gordon for everything that has transpired so far. This deepens the mystery even further, right after the quick introduction of Tweedles Dee and Dum along with Two-Face, and sets up the next issue’s confrontation really well.