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 3: KnightsEnd
When we last saw Bruce he was using Lady Shiva to regain his fighting spirit. As I mentioned there the logic is sound. Shiva is one of DC’s best assassins, alongside the likes of David Cain, Deathstroke, and others…most of whom fight Batman or Robin a lot I notice. She might find the idea of getting Batman, who doesn’t kill, a few lessons from the assassin side, since it’s practically a religion to her. Batman’s also beaten her before so he knows defeating her will mean Bruce is ready to retake the cowl.
Narratively, and I don’t know yet if the book or the original comics this is adapting took the opportunity, we have a chance to explore Bruce’s “no kill” rule, something fans of the “kill the Joker” group like to break out is that Batman (or The “Bat-Man”) did kill in his earliest appearances.
Wait, isn’t this the Joker’s origin?
Fair enough but that one could be an accident, even if that Batman didn’t seem bothered by it. Early Batman got his cues from pulp heroes like The Shadow, when killing the baddies were all the rage. Eventually DC (then known as National Comics before naming themselves after Detective Comics for a reason) decided that if kids were flocking to this character and back then they didn’t hate kids (or rather their money) maybe a killin’ Batman was not a good idea. Also the Comics Code happened. By now, however, the idea that Batman doesn’t kill is just part of his character, that he respects life and will not play judge, jury, and executioner. Let the courts kill him and if the Joker ain’t dead yet, stop blaming Batman. The problem with killing is that it gets easier and at some point, the argument used by opponents of the death penalty, you end up killing an innocent person.
Let’s see how this story uses Shiva, but first we should check in on Jean Paul. He’s not a well man.
