Comic Book Review: Batman -Battle For The Cowl #1

Batman: Battle For The Cowl #1
Written by Tony Daniel
Illustrated by Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea
Covers by Tony Daniel
Published by DC Comics
Reviewed by Joseph Copelli

The Story: After his confrontation with the Black Glove, Batman has disappeared. Gotham City has descended into chaos; criminals are organizing, crime is escalating and the protectors of Gotham are losing ground in the war on the streets. For peace to return to Gotham City, someone else must take on the Mantle of the Bat.

This Issue: Gotham’s underground is reacting to the rumor of Batman’s death: Two-Face and the Penguin are warring against each other while the Black Mask is gathering costumed villains to take control of the city. The Batman family has called in other heroes to help out, but it’s not enough. Meanwhile, a very talented Batman imposter has appeared and Robin aims to find out who he is.

I love it when Gotham City is going to hell. Batman is usually considered one of the most capable heroes ever. He keeps his city under such strict order that it’s easy to forget just how dangerous a place Gotham can be. Every once in a while, we need to be reminded of how messed up a place Gotham is and why Batman is so important to it, and Batman: Battle for the Cowl pulls this off wonderfully. Tony Daniel paints a chaotic picture of Gotham where the gangs are getting ambitious, the mob bosses are declaring war on each other and supervillains are getting ready to tear the city apart to take control of it. Nightwing and Robin are trying to hold it all together with the help of regulars like Oracle, Huntress, Batwoman, Batgirl and Catwoman, but also the team of Knight and Squire, Wildcat, Black Canary and even Talia Al Ghul’s son with Batman, Damian. Despite their numbers, they are finding themselves overwhelmed. It’s tough to imagine that all of these people can’t hold back the tide the way one man was able to, but that just shows how effective and necessary Batman was/is. Tim realizes this and tries to convince Dick to take on the Mantle of the Bat, but Nightwing, like many rabid comic fans, believes that no one but Bruce Wayne can be Batman. Robin describes Nightwing as having cut himself off from all emotion, a distinctly Bruce quality. We’re only one issue in, but right now my money is on Dick Grayson taking over.

While we’re waiting for Dick to come around, Robin has discovered that a well-trained imposter is claiming that he is Batman. An indignant Tim puts himself on the case, carefully analyzing clues and doing the kind of detective work typical of Batman. At one point, he even puts on an old Aparo-era style Batman costume (my favorite) and goes after the imposter. The last page of the issue shows the imposter to be wearing an armored Batman-like costume and wielding a pair of guns.

The biggest threat to Gotham City appears to be coming from the back-from-the-dead Black Mask. He blows up Arkham Asylum and forces many villains from Batman’s rogues gallery to organize and work under him, or die. With so many villains on his side, he will be a formidable enemy for the Batman Family without a capable Batman to lead them.

The art in this issue is great, with the action well-portrayed and story paced well. Tony Daniel manages to cram a lot on info into both the art and Robin internal monologue. Even though many of the ideas in this story are retreads: a criminal organizing a gang of criminals, Gotham in a state of emergency, Arkham blowing up, etc., Daniel makes the story feel fresh enough to make you want to continue with the series and see what happens next issue.

Joseph Copeli

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