The first ten issues of Batman: The Adventures Continue are available to purchase now from digital comic book platforms.
Synopsis
Issue #3: Slade Wilson has come to Gotham and that has the Dark Knight suspicious. Robin, however, thinks the swash-buckling mercenary is just here to help. Is Deathstroke a friend or foe and what are his plans for Batman?
Issue #4: Batman and Batgirl don’t trust Deathstroke and his claims, but Robin however is all for teaming up with the mercenary. The Bat Family will have to figure out where they stand quick when Firefly returns and starts torching the Gotham Museum of Natural History!
Review
After an arc gently bringing readers back in to the world of Batman: The Adventures Continue, the gloves are off in these next two issues. The series goes off-book by bringing in Deathstroke and fully embracing bringing him in to the BTAS aesthetic.
Writers Burnett and Dini brilliantly fold his character in to the world of the cartoon series and use him as a perfect foil for Batman. With Jason Todd lurking in the background, bubbling away watching from afar until he is finally properly introduced, Deathstroke gives the core cast something else to focus on and distract from the wider problems.
Setting up Slade as someone to tempt Jason and Barbara away from Bruce. The emotional undertones of the story really speak to the maturity of the series and the core idea of family.
Fans of the Deathstroke character will have certain expectations about his demeanour and his characterisation. But this being a comic book based on a kids show a lot of that is toned down. However he is still a formidable fighter and able to go toe-to-toe with Batman.
Dini and Burnett instead play up the mercenary angle rather than making him an outright assassin. It opens the playing field for him to subvert the expectations of the key Bat-family members and manipulate them to his own gain.
The story culminates in a really interesting conclusion which makes Deathstroke’s addition to the universe incredibly worthwhile.
Going in to the third arc Batman: Adventures Continue has really hit its stride in terms of storytelling.
Verdict
The second arc of Batman: The Adventures Continue doubles down on the animated series aesthetic whilst widening the universe with hugely satisfying results.
7/10
Batman: The Adventures Continue is written by BTAS scribes Alan Burnett and Paul Dini with artwork by Ty Templeton. Grab your copy now on digital from ComiXology.
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