Batman #15 - "Look into his eyes and tell yourself he's just a man..."
More of the Joker's nefarious ploy to "strengthen" Batman by separating him from all of the allies who've been, in the Clown Prince's opinion, weakening his brand, is revealed in this stellar continuation of "Death of the Family"! Joker's claiming to know the true identities of the Bat and all of his allies...despite Bruce's insistence that this is impossible. However, Bruce is harbouring a secret from his "Family" as well...one that may lend credence to the theory that the Joker actually DOES know!
Or maybe Joker's just messing with all of the Bat-Family's collective heads, trying to turn them against each other? If so...it may be working!
Guess we'll find out soon enough, as Batman's next step is to accept a party invite from the Joker...a party being held at Arkham Asylum!! This is bad, but much worse is Joker's promise to all of Batman's allies..."in less than three days, you'll be dead, dead, DEAD by Batman's hand!"
Lots more Joker and some Before Watchmen and Superboy thrown in for variety! After the JUMP!
Batman and Robin #15 - "They pointed their fingers at him--played the blame game as if mistakes never happen on their watch."
Another "Death of the Family" tie-in, starting right where Batman #15 ended, we see Robin left alone with his dog in the batcave, filling in for Alfred who's been kidnapped by the Joker! Damian, of course, knows that this is just because his father is trying to protect him by keeping him out of the fight with his most nefarious foe...and, knowing our latest Boy Wonder, I have to think Bruce should know better by now...when Damian's left to his own devices, he almost ALWAYS wanders off and gets into trouble!
So yeah, Robin decides that while Batman tries to protect all of Gotham from the Joker, it's up to HIM to find and protect Alfred! He finds a lead...right to the Hyena cage at the Gotham City Zoo! Unfortunately, in his arrogance, Damian never stops to consider that this could very well be...A TRAP!!! Well, he IS only 10...and his heart was in the right place, at least!
Batgirl #15 - "I'm sorry Batman. But you're wrong. You can't save him. No one can save him. He hurt my mother. And I'm going to kill this bastard."
Batgirl was appalled, last issue, to learn that the Joker had taken her mother hostage! Not just that, but when she arrived to try and save her mother's life, the Joker proposed to her, with her mother's engagement ring...still on her now-severed ring finger! He's such a romantic...
Barbara is NOT going to stand for this...unlike her mentor, she's decided it's time to put this mad dog DOWN! Unfortunately for her, Joker isn't so easy to end....
Instead, it looks like she may have to go through with this marriage sham! Unless, that is, her brother James Jr., who, incidentally, is ALSO a psychotic killer, can find and HELP her?
Suicide Squad #15 - "Isn't this nice, Harley? Just the two of us. HAHAHA! We can finally have some quality time."
Harley Quinn is learning that breaking up IS hard to do...at least it is when your boyfriend is the Joker! Since Harley isn't too keen on his new style, Joker's decided she needs a refresher course in how to be a good psycho girlfriend! This entails attempting to dump her in a vat of acid (AGAIN) and then, of course, she'll have to have her face cut off so that they match! Obviously...
If that doesn't work, well then it's time for some TOUGH LOVE...one thing about the Joker in this "Death of the Family" event...no matter who he's dealing with, he knows EXACTLY how to get into their heads and push their buttons, whether it's Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl, or yes...Harley Quinn...
Oh, in other news, Amanda Waller has an interesting conversation with YoYo about his future and the boys in the lab get a shock! More about that...next month!
Superboy #15 - "The Kryptonian freak called H'El finally broke the toy soldier."
DC's OTHER crossover event, "H'El on Earth" continues here as Superboy lays dying in the street in Metropolis, literally being torn apart from the inside out due to HE'l's torture from last issue! Meanwhile Superman and H'El are in a battle for both Superboy's life and Supergirl's soul (see Superman #14)! H'El achieves his primary objective of securing Supergirl's help (through trickery and deceit, naturally) and seemingly teleports away...Superman would like to track him but first...is it possible to save this baffling clone from coming apart at the seams??
Superman whisks his young clone to the Fortress of Solitude where a closer inspection of Superboy's DNA shows that he is a hybrid Kryptonian and Human and...something else? His DNA has a third, mystery strand! After consulting with both Cyborg and Dr. Veritas, it is decided that Superboy's DNA needs a stable environment to attempt to knit back together...like putting a cast on a broken arm. This environment? Superman's Kryptonian Armour! It may help...but at what cost?? And even if it DOES save Superboy, how can even the Man and Boy of Steel together possibly thwart the seemingly all-powerful H'El???
The Ravagers #7 - "Fairchild...She is the key. She can save them all. But for that to happen...it would be nice if she lives."
The Ravagers have gone on their first mission, an attempt to save a young precognitive girl named Lisa from being kidnapped by Harvest's minions! Everything was going sort of well last issue, as our heroes, with assistance from special guest Superboy, (the events in this book take place before "H'El on Earth", naturally) defeated the junior bad guys! Sadly, that's about the time that Warblade and Rose Wilson showed up...
So here the Ravagers are in a battle for their very existence against two of the heaviest hitters that N.O.W.H.E.R.E. has to offer! It's nearly impossible for them to win this battle...and if they DO...it may be at the cost of Terra's soul!! She's pretty high-strung...Oh also, a new player seems to be taking an interst in this battle...planting seeds for the future! That someone? Deathstroke the Terminator!!!
Before Watchmen: Rorschach #3 (of 4) - "Pushed to the edge. The City has quit."
Rorschach was beaten the hell up last issue by a gang of thugs led by a charming "legitimate businessman" known as Rawhead. He managed to give about as good as he got, though, and escape! Now Rawhead is looking for Rorschach, but Rorschach is looking for Rawhead, too. Of course, Rawhead is cagey...maybe cagey enough to set up a trap!!
Meanwhile, there's also a serial killer known as The Bard running around the city killing and carving up pretty blond girls, much like the pretty blond waitress that Rorschach, in his "true" identity as Walter Kovacs, has befriended. She even agreed to meet him when her shift ends at 11 o'clock at night...sadly, he has been held up by the aforementioned trap and a city-wide power failure. So the pretty blond waitress is now waiting alone in front of a closed diner in the dark in a city that's dangerous at the best of times. Guess Rorschach values kindness over intelligence in the women he associates with...
Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan #3 (of 4) - "At some point I did something, saw or touched something that tore this quantum reality and created another..."
Dr. Manhattan is still on Mars, reminiscing about his life and the strange paradoxical discovery he made last issue that even though he IS Dr. Manhattan, he never BECAME Dr. Manhattan. Obviously this cannot be! Reality has somehow been split into pieces and Jon is pretty sure that it is all his fault!
Well, Dr. Manhattan is RIGHT that it is his fault...the problem started when he altered the outcome of the "random" drawing to determine who he would work with when the "new" Minutemen were being formed...he was meant to work with Rorschach but gave reality a nudge to be paired with Silk Spectre instead (and WHO can blame him?)!
Sadly, the alternative, original reality did not just disappear...it became an alternate reality...which in turn spawned other realities...until every decision Jon ever made became its own universe! Now Jon has to somehow fix this mess, just as he used to fix watches back in the day...one cog at a time...
Kapow! Another week done, and another New Comic Book Day to look forward to, tomorrow! That means next week you can look forward to reading about some Catwoman, some Nightwing, some Wonder Woman and more! Um...possibly not QUITE on schedule, what with next Tuesday being Christmas and all....we'll see what we can do...
Oh, here's the inside gatefold for Batman and Robin #15, btw:
Oh grumpy Damian...
As always, if you miss me, I'm as close as Stryder's Dementia...Christmas themed this week!
Have a great week and a very Merry Christmas and I'll see you soon! Peace!
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