Knight Terrors – Batman #2 – Follow That Nightmare

Knight Terrors – Batman #2 is the second and final installment of the tie-in series spinning out of the events in Knight Terrors: First Blood and Knight Terrors #1, with Batman attempting to break free from Deadman, who hijacked his body.

The issue, after a page that seems out of place, picks up where it left off with Bruce as the mugger, holding the gun that killed his parents, while an Insomnia-controlled young Bruce tries to convince Batman that he always wanted to be Batman.

Williamson leans into that Batman knows he is trapped in the dream realm and continues Bruce’s quest to regain control of his body from Deadman without skipping a beat. As would be expected given the nature of the event, Williamson has Batman confronts Insomnia, who believes he has found the Nightmare Stone behind The Black Door. Batman turns the tables in true fashion, quickly disposing of Gun-Bat as Insomnia is pulled somewhere else in the Nightmare Realm.

Like any good writer, Williamson does not stop with Batman defeating Insomnia but then allows Bruce, as Batman, to confront and address the dream version of his younger self. In these final scenes, Williamson breaks down the tough-guy facade and tries to make some peace with himself.

As Batman supposedly wakes up, he finds himself in Arkham Tower, and Damian arrives, telling him that he is not asleep and that this is the real world and the heroes have lost.

Overall, the main story is solid, but a bit confusing as to when this takes place in the larger story arc. The opening pages show what is happening in the real world as the Golden Age Sandman fights one of the Sleepless Knights, and Batman and Damian are hooked into a machine at WayneTech. It feels like there is a missing editor’s note explaining that the scene takes place in Knight Terrors #3, which would explain how Batman/Deadman, Sandman, and Robin all ended up together.

The art by Guillem March combined with the colors of  Tomeu Morey are stunning, especially the splash page of Batman’s dream showing panels from Son of the Demon, Dark Knight Returns, and a twisted Batman: RIP panel with Batman standing with his mother and father who are dressed like Doctor Hurt, as Deadman is shown to be in control of his dreams.

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The backup feature stars Black Canary and Roy Harper as they are trapped as they leave Belle Reve following events in Green Arrow 2 & 3. While Black Canary dreams that her mouth is removed, as her nightmare is that she believes no one hears her, Roy’s nightmare is the main focus as he is attacked by himself dressed in various character designs. Roy realizes quickly that he is afraid of the experiences he missed with Lian, breaking himself out of the nightmare before being eaten by an alligator.

The Roy and Black Canary nightmares would have been a better thread to follow with its limited series (in place of Punchline or Angel Breaker) than relegating it to a single backup feature. Art and color-wise, Trevor Hairsine & Rex Lokus do a great job capturing the feel of the nightmare sequences, especially the twists to Roy’s various incarnations.