Batman: Gotham Knights #9

Posted: Saturday, September 23
By: Ray Tate

"Transference"

Writer: Devin Grayson
Artist: Roger Robinson(p), John Floyd(i), Pamela Rambo(c)
Publisher: DC

Plot: Batman vs. Hugo Strange. Break out the popcorn.

Thank you, Ms. Grayson. Thank you. Thanks to the inclusion of carefully planted information in the dialogue, I know now which Batman stars in Ms. Grayson's story. The Batman in Gotham Knights is the one from the Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight story "Prey" by Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy. You're probably asking what's the difference, or you may simply wondering what the heck I mean by which Batman. I'll be happy to share.

Hugo Strange pre-Crisis was murdered in a classic Detective Comics by Steve Engelheart and Marshall Rogers(Available in Batman: Strange Apparitions). In the book, Rupert Thorne has Hugo Strange beaten to death because the good Professor refuses to divulge the secret he worked so hard to uncover--namely that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one in the same. His is not a typical comic book death of the-body-was-never-found variety. There is a body. Rupert gives him a traditional gangster-styled burial. His men break the corpse's back, stuff the corpse in a barrel and fill said barrel with concrete. You can check out the details of the procedure in Will Harrington's highly recommended Columbo novel The Hoffa Connection. We do not actually see the work being done on Hugo, but we do see his men toss a barrel into Gotham Harbor. Unless, Rupert's cat birthed unwanted kittens. The mystery of Hugo Strange's disappearance has been solved. Strange is really, really dead.

The question of premise is even more pertinent when regarding characterization. The pre-Crisis Hugo Strange was a genius. Though his methods--Monster Men for instance--may have seemed mad, the ends of the means boiled down to money. Hugo in his run through the eighties Detective Comics does what no other villain ever came close in doing. He not only discovers Batman's identity. He steals it and proceeds to, once again defining his sanity, transfer Bruce Wayne's wealth to his Swiss bank account. The pre-Crisis Hugo possesses a bizarre sense of honor. He does not underestimate Batman. He respects and admires the Dark Knight. He even considers keeping Batman alive. It is this sense of honor that dictates Hugo's fate. Though he at first intends to auction off Batman's secret identity, he comes to realize that the identity is priceless, and he in a superb twist dies protecting the name of his greatest enemy.

The Hugo Strange of "Prey" is a different animal. Whereas the pre-Crisis Hugo was a genius, the legend only believes he's a genius. Whereas the pre-Crisis Hugo had an understandable motive--avarice and ego--the legend's motive only makes sense to he. Whereas the pre-Crisis Hugo nearly succeeds, the legend never comes close. In short pre-Crisis Hugo deserves the descriptive term super-villain. The legend is a nutty screw-loose and screw-up deserving Dick's commentary in Gotham Knights:

"Batman is fighting Hugo Strange on the roof of Wayne Enterprises. We're gonna get popcorn!"

Ms. Grayson perfectly gibes her Hugo with the Legends of the Dark Knight character. He drivels psychobabble. He's the only one who believes he can succeed in the beating and belittling of Batman:think of a psychotic Stuart Smalley from Saturday Night Live. His plan is dumb, and his only motive is madness. Beautiful.

The hero side benefits from the legends treatment. There is no reason to think this Batman has never been broken in either mind nor body. This Batman is as invulnerable through skill and experience as his pre-Crisis counterpart. He's also as healthy as his model. Devin Grayson's Bruce Wayne is personable, and his real self generates pride and good feelings from his family; did the constant whining baggage ever come between Bruce and Dick? Probably not. Ms. Grayson's Robin could have been the same college-age Dick Grayson who stormed the pre-Crisis Hugo Strange's hideout to rescue his mentor. Tim acts like the Tim Drake from the animated series. So I'm not complaining. In fact the only bastard in the book is the one who should be portrayed as a bastard--not Batman.

In consideration of the premise, Ms. Grayson also puts a final touch to her story. Whereas the construction of the Batmobile became crucial to Batman's survival in "Prey," the Batmobile's destruction becomes pivotal in Devin Grayson's story. Things however are not what they seem.

The artwork vacillates from Klaus Jansen in still-life, but when the characters move, Mr. Robinson brands his own style to the book, and there are some great Batman moments playing into the story. There's a reason why you see Batman so obviously see so much of him and why he allows so many to witness his cape and cowl.

Jordi Bennet's style in the Black & White back-up feature crosses many inspirations. He manipulates an eye-catching Wrightson/Toth Batman with Kubert shading. His techniques for the femme fatale bring in the refinement of the Lee Elias and Steve Caniff good girl type artwork. All of it works in Howard Chaykin's best Batman story.