The Arkham Knight taunts Batman in Detective Comics No. 1002
By Scott Brown
The Arkham Knight has Batman pinned down, but how exactly will the Knight keep him on the ground under his boot. Spoilers for Detective Comics no. 1002 follow.
Coming directly off the back of Detective Comics no. 1001, more is revealed about the Arkham Knight in this issue, more through his actions though, rather that exposition like the last issue. It’s revealed that he has a possible moral code, very similar to Batman’s, that he tries to uphold, even if he uses hostages to get an upper hand. This issue makes it clear that the Arkham Knight is no Batman in that regard.
This is most evident when the Gotham City Police arrive as a back-up of sorts for Batman against the Arkham Knight. When the Knight’s own soldiers begin to fire on the GCPD, the Knight goes to protect them, showing that there is more to this guy than meets the eye. He’s not just trying to take out Batman, to take out Batman, he believes he’s doing what’s in the best interest for Gotham.
Image by DC Comics/Art by Brad Walker
Once the Arkham Knight and Batman call their fight a draw, despite the Knight clearly winning, Robin goes in search of the fragments of the day-bomb that was set off by the Knight in the previous issue. Only, this leads to Damian being captured by the Arkham Knight’s forces, leading to his eventual temptation of Damian.
What’s been the best part about these last couple of issues is the willingness for the creative team to play around with a character that was introduced in another medium in a lackluster fashion. So, to see the mythos of said character drastically changed and making him pretty much the leader of a medieval cult makes this story extremely fun to read, even if this issue has some pacing problems. Peter J. Tomasi and Brad Walker seem to be taking this story into some interesting places and hopefully that momentum continues on.
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7.75/10
Detective Comics no. 1002 continues on with its introduction of the Arkham Knight into the comics in an interesting, albeit flawed way.