Batman: The Detective

Written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Andy Kubert, “Batman:  The Detective” has a very high-profile creative team for a miniseries that doesn’t have any direct connection to the current goings-on in the “Batman” books or wider DC Universe.  That raises expectations a bit since you figure the story they’re telling has to be special to warrant such treatment.  The story in question begins with the death of 146 passengers in a plane above England.  Beryl Hutchinson, a.k.a. The Knight, was the only person to survive the experience and she knew that Batman needed to be told about this.  That’s because the people responsible for these deaths were all wearing bat-suits of their own.  Someone out there has a grudge against the Dark Knight and they’re looking to undo all of the good he has done to make it known.

“The Detective” is a slickly-made story that definitely benefits from Taylor and Kubert’s talents.  There’s some clever writing that plays to the character’s strengths and weaknesses along with art that gives every scene a propulsive energy that draws you in and keeps you reading.  However, the reason this is a fine “Batman” story instead of a great one is because, at its core, it’s about picking at the underpinnings of the character in a way that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.  Equilibrium’s goal is a solid super-villain plot, but they’re played way too sympathetically for the kind of villainy they’re engaging in.  I get that Taylor wants to have a nuanced antagonist here, but their goals feel like something out of the Joker’s playbook rather than a warped manifestation of grief.  That leaves us with a “Batman”story that’s still perfectly readable, but not up to the standards I was expecting from this creative team.