Detective Comics #996: Batman Unmade

The countdown to issue #1000 continues with Batman forced to confront his own origins as the deaths continue to pile up in this intriguing mystery!

We begin with an interesting duality represented by Batman’s bloody knuckles from visiting villains in Arkham and his interactions with his son that come immediately after. We see a conflicted Bruce struggling to deal with the fact that these attacks are coming from someone who knows his deepest secret. This kicks off a detective-driven mission that brings Batman face to face with the very people who helped create the Dark Knight.

Taking Batman through his own origins is a great approach to the countdown to issue #1000, and it shows that writer Tomasi has no intentions of ignoring Batman’s extensive history as we draw closer to the character’s 80^th birthday. Henri Ducard’s history with Batman goes back to his early days traveling and training, but their rather unfriendly reunion takes a turn for the worst with the attack of a protoplasmic monster that takes the shape of Batman’s most notorious foes all at once.

The horrific monster works incredibly well mainly because of the remarkable artwork from Doug Mhanke, Jaime Mendoza, Mark Irwin, David Baron and Rob Leigh. Batman feels iconic and the story gives the artwork plenty to explore both in mystery and action alike. It is a beautiful book overall.

We finish out the story with Batman making his way back to Master Sensei Kirigi who sends him to none other than Thaddeus Brown, the first Mister Miracle. Unfortunately, he arrives into a trap!  It will definitely be interesting to see not only what this trap entails next issue, but who else the creative team pulls from Batman’s incredibly rich lore.