Batman #3

If one could make a true criticism for Grant Morrison's Batman story, it would be that it has become too large. Batman, after-all is mostly Gotham-centric, and to have him globe-trotting and travelling through time is somewhat grand for the mythos of Bruce Wayne. After-all this is Batman, not Booster Gold. It almost felt like Bruce Wayne became some sort of "Bat-God" and was invincible as Superman.

Scott Snyder does not have this problem, he is much more focused on the dichotomy of Gotham and Batman. Bruce is grounded back to his human abilities and superior technology, a mere mortal once again. And ff you haven't figured out that Gotham is its own character in his stories, you're behind the eight-ball, and need to catch up fast. While the Court of Owls appears to be his villain in this story, they're just a larger function of Gotham's malice.

Also, in this issue I learned that the owl is a natural predator of the bat. Nature lessons from Scott Snyder, sweet!  But this is why Scott Snyder is so great, he knows how Batman's rogues work, how they're all extensions of him, and thus makes his new villain an extension of Batman instead of just another Bane-type villain (yes, Bane is awesome, but he doesn't really relate to Batman -- he's just super strong, an effective fighter, and a master strategist, cool, but doesn't quite fit right). I don't know enough yet about the Court of Owls to determine whether I think they can be a good villain, but so far they look to be plenty intimidating.

Sadly, this issue is absent of Dick, Damian, Tim or any of the other bat-family members, which disappointed me. So far, Snyder had shown a knack for writing Bruce as a family man, with a natural tendency to keep other around him, but here he seems very lonely, like Gotham is his mission alone again. Hopefully a son (or daughter, what's Cass Cain been up to since "Gates of Gotham"?) will make a cameo in the next issue.

 

What I enjoyed:  Strong story, good dialogue, though I am worried Bruce is becoming a little to trusting of Lincoln. Something tells me that he is involved with the Court of Owls. Again, making Bruce fallible humanizes him, which is good after 5 years of Bat-God. 

What I didn't: Again, I wanted to see him interact with some family member, though maybe it's not a mistake that his loneliest issue is also the one where he seems too trusting of a stranger.

Conclusion: Snyder only writes good comics. 8.5/10 (B).