Batman – Curse of the White Knight #2 Review: Azrael is Born

The Joker has escaped from Arkham, but a much more dangerous opponent now awaits Batman. An opponent centuries in the making. Minor spoilers for Batman – Curse of the White Knight #2 follow.

Batman – Curse of the White Knight started off with an interesting new premise in this alternate universe and now, that premise is really taking off. There’s a lot going on in this issue, but nothing ever feels jumbled or rush. That’s probably because this issue is set-up more than anything else, which is what an ambitious series like this needs. It needs a proper first act to set up character, motivation, and stakes and that’s what this issue did a great job of finishing out the first act of this series.

There’s absolutely no reason for this issue to be as good as it is. Yet, it’s a great issue. It manages to balance set-up, revelations, mystery, and action incredibly well without making any of it feel forced. Character motivations are also better established in this issue and they fit incredibly well. Just some of the best Batman stories as of late, so many of the character motivations are tied into the history of Gotham itself. If it continues to happen, it may become a cliché, but right now, it makes the conflict even more personal to Batman and Azrael.

This issue also takes full advantage of its alternate universe setting to do things that probably wouldn’t happen in the main universe. There are several things that happen in this issue alone that drastically alter certain aspects of several characters, which makes the story feel even more unpredictable. It’s a really great feeling to have a story where you don’t know if certain characters are going to be okay. There are actual stakes that accompany this story, which is, honestly, quite rare in many mainstream comics.

There are a couple of aspects of the story that do feel a bit superfluous though. For example, there’s a character that serves as a middle woman of sorts between The Joker and Batman/Bruce Wayne. She seems to be the one planning everything to take down Batman, or at least partially. This character really doesn’t seem like she was needed, at least in this issue, to tell the story. The character feels like an extra cog in the machine that wasn’t necessarily needed.

As good as Sean Murphy’s writing of this series is though, his art is even better. It could be a panel of someone giving a speech at a podium or a high-octane double-page spread, everything simply looks magnificent. Murphy’s style is perfectly moody and sets the tone perfectly for the story being told. There’s a grittiness to his art that feels right at home in this world. Additionally, his redesign of Azrael is perfect. It’s exactly what this version of the character should look like. Good Azrael designs seem to be few and far between, and this may be the best one yet.

CHECK OUT: Batman – Curse of the White Knight #1 Review: The Mystical Makes its Way to Gotham