Azrael is on the loose and Batman has only one move to stop him. Trust in Gotham to help foil Azrael. Spoilers for Batman: Curse of the White Knight #7 follows.
Curse of the White Knight has generally been a great Batman story and fun alternate universe version of “Knightfall.” Sean Murphy clearly has a grasp on what he wants from his story and characters and is very much unafraid to do what he wants. This led to a fantastic first five issues, as well as the great Von Freeze one-shot. However, the last issue suffered a bit due to some meandering moments and this issue does the same. They aren’t bad issues in the slightest, but compared to the first five, there is a noticeable dip in quality. It’s still a very enjoyable issue though.
So, what does this issue do well? For one, it manages to show the Bruce Wayne side of Batman in a more concrete way. Batman has very much been the focus of White Knight and Curse of the White Knight, so to see the Bruce side shine is satisfying. Because of the focus on Bruce here, Murphy connects his thesis of White Knight very organically into the story, making it finally feel like a true sequel. In fact, there’s almost a Dark Knight Returns vibe at points with this issue because Bruce thinks that this will be Batman’s final battle.
Murphy also does some great work with Harley and Barbara and their relationships with Bruce. It really feels like Harley and Bruce are developing something romantic which, as an idea, might not work, but Murphy manages to make it work. As for Barbara, Bruce has a much different relationship with her and we get to see that shine here. The two are vulnerable with each other and it really helps us become endeared to them both, especially after everything that’s happened.
There’s some nice character work here that is offset at times with changes in tone. The series has been very dark, but here, there are some jokes, that take a page or two of set-up, that don’t land. For example, there’s a “Let’s get nuts!” joke/reference to Batman (1989) that some will get a kick out of, but it feels more like filler than anything else. The issue also ends very abruptly with a pretty weak final page. The page two pages prior to the final page would’ve been the better final page to this issue.
Murphy knocks it out of the park once again in the art department though, as he does in every issue. What is there to say about his art at this point that hasn’t been said. It’s absolutely gorgeous, tells the story beautifully, and captures emotions incredibly well. Matt Hollingsworth’s colors help bring all of that out, plus some though. The colors make already beautiful art stand out even more.