Chapter By Chapter (usually) features me reading one chapter of the selected book at a time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.

PART 2: KNIGHTQUEST FINALE

Here we are, the last chapter of part two of the novel. Last time Jean Paul moved against a serial killer while Bruce began his final gambit against Benedict Asp.

One thing I noticed recently is that Jean Paul is barely part of the novelization. I know he had more adventures. For example an issue of Showcase ’93 had Valley as his Batman trying to take Huntress’ case as if only he should be fighting crime. I feel like part two focused more on Bruce than it did Jean Paul, to Jean Paul’s detriment, especially in the latter chapters of this part. Remember, the point of the Knightfall storyline and it’s various subtitles is to show that Jean Paul is the Batman some people in the 1990s said they wanted and to show why they didn’t understand who Batman is or why having a violent Batman doesn’t work. (A lesson that’s fallen on the deaf ears as some writers continue to lean into Bruce’s supposed anger issues and willingness to punch his way to solve a problem.) We only get hints of how more violent Jean Paul is since most of the focus has been on Bruce tracking down his doctor and solving her and Jack Drake’s kidnapping. It’s still a Bruce Wayne story more than it is about comparing and contrasting the two takes on Batman.

Perhaps we’ll see more of that in part 3 but for now let’s see how the Knightquest ends.

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