Batman: Dark Age #2 is written by Mark Russell and published by DC. Artwork is by Mike Allred, colours by Laura Allred and letters by Dave Sharpe. Main cover art (left) is by Mike and Laura Allred.
Batman: Dark Age #2 is available from today, in print and on digital where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
Guilty as charged! When a young and aimless Bruce Wayne finds himself incarcerated, he looks for a way to shorten his sentence and return to his charmed lifestyle. Little does he know, signing up for a tour with the army in Vietnam will change him forever. Witness the birth of the Bat under the watchful eye of the one-and-only Sergeant Ra’s al Ghul!
Review
After a tonally spectacular debut, Batman: Dark Age returns today with an issue seeking to add more context to this new take on The Dark Knight’s origin. This issue focusses more on Bruce’s past than on his present day predicament. But it also put a fascinating and historically factual spin on events which could have shaped the young billionaire’s upbringing.
Issue #2 picks up with a brief scene in the 2030 to continue the idea that the elderly Bruce is writing down his recollection of events. There’s little context this time around and we don’t return to 2030 again this issue. After teeing up some interesting events last month, our focus here is on the past and not the present. I’m interested to see how the future timeline impacts on the overall message of the series. But for now writer Mark Russell is rightly putting the focus on setting up the mythology of the Batman.
Jumping back to 1965 we catch up with Bruce arriving at Blackgate prison following his sentencing in the previous issue. As anticipated the young heir to Wayne Enterprises quickly becomes a target with the False Face Society keen to have him taken off the board. Despite intervention from Alfred it’s clear that Bruce isn’t safe even on the inside and so he quickly finds himself shipped off to Vietnam to serve as part of the US armed forces.
Batman: Dark Knight has been touted as a series which would touch on real political history and events. Here Russell does this by placing Bruce in the middle of a conflict which is still debated to this day. Though his involvement in the armed offensive is tangential, Russell is still able to instil a sense of the US’s cavalier approach. Whilst at the same time, the events of the war – and specifically why Bruce is sent there – are tied in neatly to recreating a version of Batman’s origin which is reminiscent of comic books past.
Bringing in Ras’ al Ghul and Oliver Queen adds some great connections to the wider DC Universe. More than last month the spectre of Superman looms large, connecting Batman: Dark Age to Superman: Space Age which originated this version of Earth. Russell poses an interesting question about why the Man of Steel wouldn’t involve himself in the military conflict and that line of questioning becomes a mechanism through which to explore the idea that perhaps America’s objectives aren’t entirely honourable.
But back to Ra’s al Ghul. Batman: Dark Age hasn’t been in a rush to push this version of Bruce to become his alter ego. Instead we’ve taken our time to tread the path the young Bruce has walked. Seeing him train under the shadowy figure is rewarding for long-time fans, honouring past versions of the origin. It also opens up possibilities for future facets of the story to include the League and perhaps even Talia. The addition of Oliver Queen in a cameo could perhaps signal the next chapter in the story, giving us a Green Arrow in this world. They’re all tantalising nods to DC that keep the world of Dark Age bustling.
Finally, upon returning home to Alfred and Gotham, we get to see the emergence of the titular hero. A conflict with the False Face Society becomes an inciting incident for a soon to be legend. It brings Batman: Dark Age #2 to a satisfying cliffhanger which teases what should be a very exciting mid-way point in the story. With Batman beginning to emerge it should soon ignite discussion across the city and hopefully may bring more meaning to why Bruce has chosen to write down this part of his story.
Once again Mike and Laura Allred do incredible work on bringing Russell’s story to life. It’s hard not to flash back to their time working on Batman ’66 comics. But also it’s cool to see how the playfulness they brought to that series can translate in to something more dramatic for Dark Age. Whilst there’s no denying they’re great all rounders, it’s the expressive nature of character’s faces which is really the huge draw here. It’s going to be interesting to see how this version of Batman evolves moving forward.
Verdict
A strong followup for Batman: Dark Age. Tight storytelling shrewdly riffs on the classic Dark Knight origin weaving in real life events to young Bruce Wayne’s life,
⭐⭐⭐⭐
