Batman No. 69 reviewed: Knightmares are finally over

In the final issue of the Knightmares arc, Batman is ready to come out of Scarecrow toxin induced coma, but not before he faces his biggest fear: realizing he doesn’t love Selena.

Batman No. 69, Knightmares, Finale: “The Last Dance”

Writer: Tom King

Artist: Yanick Paquette

Since Batman No. 51, writer Tom King has broken down, inspected and deconstructed Batman in search for how the failed marriage proposal affected Bruce on a psychological level. 15 issues later in Batman No. 69, we have finally reached the end of King and Batman’s psychological trip, as we finally get to the bottom of this entire arc — Bruce doesn’t love Selina.

Credit to DC Comics and artist Yanick Paquette

Perhaps seven issues was a tad long to get there, but it was an extremely fun and surreal look into Batman’s incredibly complicated psyche and how being left at the altar really messes with someone who is already mentally unstable. It’ll be interesting to see where this relationship goes moving forward, although this was probably King’s way to back off and distance himself from the anticlimactic Batman/Catwoman wedding.

There is a beautiful dynamic between sadness and happiness in Batman and Catwoman’s relationship in this issue, as they both have their final dance together while their song, and entire history, plays in the background. King used Catwoman as Batman’s lighthouse in the turbulent sea of nightmares, only to find out that the lighthouse was not what kept him alive. So many of us could relate to that, which through all the criticism of his run, King does exceptionally well: making all of these super powered and super smart heroes relatable.

While getting some closure on the Bruce and Selina front, King has been building up for the final showdown, at least in his run, between Batman and Bane. A showdown that has been brewing since Batman No. 20, and the “I Am Bane” arc that left Batman’s nemesis beaten and humiliated. Bane looks to take the upper hand on Batman, as he has recruited Thomas Wayne to bring down his own son.

Credit to DC Comics and artist Yanick Paquette

There was a big misstep, however. In trying to build Thomas Wayne, King buries Bane and now makes him the secondary villain in this conflict. We were led to believe that Bane was the mastermind and pulling all of the string of this operation, all while being physically superior to Batman. Now, Thomas Wayne is all of that. Plus, he now emerges as the physical counterpart that Bruce will ultimately have to face to win the day.

Truthfully, Bruce fighting Thomas is much more interesting, but almost invalidates Bane’s entire place in the story. Hopefully, we get a course correction on this, and we get the final showdown that has been teased for 20 or so issues.

Once again, it seemed as though King and the Batman team chose the correct artist for the right project. Yanick Paquette’s art in Batman No. 69 brings to life the waltz between Bruce and Selina.

The way Paquette draws Catwoman throughout the years, as if strolling down memory lane, really brings out the history and familiarity that Bruce and Selina have had between them, which makes it easy to understand why these two characters are, or think, they are in love with each other. It is often hard to draw characters dancing with each other, but for an entire issue, Paquette’s waltz between Bruce and Selina was a clinic on how to show two characters in sync.

Batman No. 69 review: Knightmares over

By Abel Loza | Apr 17, 2019

In the final issue of the Knightmares arc, Batman is ready to come out of Scarecrow toxin induced coma, but not before he faces his biggest fear: realizing he doesn’t love Selena.