Judge not, lest ye be judged #2 July 22, 2019 – Posted in: Books – Tags: ,

Batman: White Knight

by Nikos Michalopoulos

That Batman: White Knight is an 8-issue limited mini-series published by DC Black Label in 2017-2018. The author and design manager is Sean Murphy.

The series explores one “Elseworlds” Gotham City, in which Batman has lost control of himself and has adopted more brutal and violent crime-fighting methods. THE Joker (now known as  Jack Napier), on the other hand, has been cured of his madness and is trying to heal the city and prove that its real enemy is Batman himself.

 Several stories have been written where the Joker somehow stops being crazy and bloodthirsty, but Batman: White Knight takes a completely different path than the others. Although there is no shortage of action scenes and appearances of classic characters, the story focuses on and delves into the toxic relationship between Batman and the Joker, the political position of the latter trying to take the city on his side, and its flawed legal system, which he tries to exploit. Murphy managed to give a new dynamic to a decades-old controversy, as well as show us, sometimes literally, that the lines between good and evil are more blurred than we think.

 

           

All of this is accompanied by Murphy's beautiful designs. As soon as someone opens the book, they can tell from these alone that they are in a much darker version of Gotham City, effects that betray the dark and cloudy colors, strong shadows and, quite early in the story, the "raw" fight scenes . It's clear that Murphy chose to use the above to show us how deep into corruption the city has sunk and how this isn't a typical Batman story.

Reading the series closely, it's clear that Murphy is a huge Batman fan. Easter eggs and subtle references to other stories are plentiful and quite pleasant surprises. It's also clear that the inspiration for this story (the style more, not the plot) came from the very successful series Batman: The Animated Series. So if you liked this series, you'll probably like Batman: White Knight.

 

 

Unfortunately, the series had some problems, mainly a sub-plot that doesn't feel like it's going anywhere, as well as its finale. In particular, the finale, somewhat moves away from the themes that make the series original and returns to the narrative we are used to: lots of explosions, battles with lots of Batmobiles, a Mastermind villain and injured people everywhere. This abrupt change in style makes the finale feel rushed and somewhat out of step with the rest of the series. In addition, in order for the story to work, Murphy had to make several changes in the behavior and psyche of some characters, to the point that we don't recognize many of them. In the beginning, this was somewhat covered by the situation we were presented with, in the finale, however, it doesn't work as well and can leave a strange feeling for the reader.

 

           

However, the positives far outweigh the negatives. Overall, this series is an original piece and something we really haven't seen before, with a very nice combination of mature themes, beautiful design and interesting interactions between characters. But given the changes to our main characters, I wouldn't recommend it to someone who wants to start reading Batman for the first time. There are much better stories out there for this purpose. Also, the Batman: White Knight it can get pretty… graphic (don't forget it's published by Black Label), so anyone easily swayed by images of intense violence would do well to avoid it. Murphy showed that he has a deep understanding of the characters, what makes them tick, which is why even though the changes he made to them were so significant, they were also very careful and targeted. The design is amazing and perfectly matches the tone, style and maturity of the story. I can't wait for the sequel.