When Chip Zdarsky came to Batman earlier this year with Batman #125, it was very much a return of sorts. For the title itself, it was a return to a quality in storytelling that had largely been absent in previous extended runs bogged down by a focus on dismantling the iconic vigilante by throwing too many random new supporting characters at the story and losing sight of who Batman and Bruce Wayne are. It was also a return to form for Batman himself, clearing some of the abstracts that stood in the way of the character’s grit and heart while also bringing into play a fallible “World’s Greatest Detective” whose own creation gets in his way in what one can only describe as a spectacular success – save for Failsafe turning on its master. The story Zdarsky began with Batman #125 concludes in Batman #130 this week and while the characterization of Batman continues to be a richly nuanced and complex work of art, it’s the mechanics of this story’s resolution that don’t quite land.
