Batman Volume 4: Zero Year- Secret City (The New 52)
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| Mask includes bat-eyebrows. |
Writer: Scott
Snyder
Artist: Greg
Capullo
Collects: Batman #21-24 and Batman Zero Year Directors Cut 1
Background
Information:
Since the mid-80s, the definitive Batman origin story was Batman: Year One. It was referenced
pretty heavily in Batman Begins, found
its way into the DC animated universe, and became Batman’s “official” origin
story, even though it was never really part of the DCU.
With that in mind, it’s impressive that a book like this
even exists. A book that dares to try
and compete with a story so iconic, so readily canonised in the minds of so
many fans that to look on it even with indifference is an act of heresy, was
likely going to be dismissed at best, burned in effigy at worst. Good thing the
book was written by Scott Snyder, a man who, looking at his previous Batman
work, can do no wrong.
Review:
Writing Batman’s new origin is no simple task. You’ve got to
answer to multiple masters, all of whom claim to be showing the “real” Batman-
the animated series, the Nolan trilogy, almost anything written by Frank Millar;
it’s a difficult job, but Snyder has handled it brilliantly, paying homage to
pretty much each version of Batman’s origin.
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| When he's not Batman, he's not always great at this. |
So Gotham’s middle-to-upper class are being manipulated into
joining a gang led by a man called the Red Hood. Red Hood’s been having some
problems though; a vigilante, a man with a deathwish, it would seem, has been
foiling a large part of Red Hood’s plans. No prizes for guessing, but that man
is Bruce Wayne. Bruce has been successful thus far, but needs to be something
greater.
It doesn’t sound like much of a Batman origin story, I know;
there’s no death of parents, being the major difference. But by not letting the
readers see Bruce’s mother and father get shot, Snyder does a couple of things
that allow for Secret City to be
truly great. Firstly, we’re not retreading already familiar ground. Secondly,
by not doing so, we can inject our own story of their death. You like the Nolan
one? Great! That’s what it was- totally. You like the Burton story? Sure, that’s
how it went down! Certain that the death happened after a night time screening
of The Mask of Zorro? Of course it
did! It’s a level of freedom for the reader that I really wasn’t used to, and I
loved it.
That said, there are some scenes that you just don’t leave
out. Snyder was wise enough to keep the classic Bruce Wayne line; “Yes father,
I shall become the bat,” and keep the gravitas of the moment. That said, he’s
injected a new life into the story, grounding it in the tech-fiction that has
characterised Snyder’s run so that the whole thing feels fresh. Aside from this
Year One excerpt, Snyder also inserts
references to The Killing Joke- which
I won’t spoil for you. It’s nice references like this that make Secret City near-perfect for new readers-
a smorgasbord of samples from the character’s history given a new context, and
it works wonderfully.
Sure, there are nitpicks; the fact that this collection is
shorter than most is a bummer, as is the fact that this is another Joker story. Death of
the Family was great, don’t get me wrong. But that, along with this, along
with the current Endgame story arc
happening in the floppies, and I’m concerned that we’re going to “Jokered-out” by
volume 7 of this series. But they’re small concerns and really don’t hinder
your appreciation of the book.
Oh, and side note; Red Hood’s helmet is not a hood, and
looks like a giant tablet.
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| Hey, look, homage! |
The art here by Capullo continues to look great, but he does
something here that distinguishes Secret
City from the other volumes in this series; he uses colour, and a lot of
it. The fact that the first scene in the book features Batman in the day should
be sufficiently telling of just how different this book is.
Alternatively, maybe Capullo’s just running out of black,
grey and brown paint, but the affect is nice, nonetheless.
Secret City is
fantastic, there’s no other word for it. It gets a four and a half out of five
giant tablets.
**** ½
+ Pays homage to so much.
+ Actual colour in the art
+ Origin somehow avoids retreading.
- Didn’t we just get a Joker story?
Alternate Option:
Batman:
Zero Year
Something for the gruff old traditionalists.
