Written by: Chip Zdarsky
Art by: Jorge Jimenez
Colors by: Tomeu Morey
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
Cover art by: Jorge Jimenez
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: October 2, 2024
Batman #153, by DC Comics on 10/2/24, finds Gotham City on the road to recovery thanks to Bruce Wayne’s company moving into the public sector to rebuild. Sadly, kindness can be taken as a weakness.
Is Batman #153 Good?
Did you ever get the feeling somebody is trying to make a point, but they keep dancing around the idea, so the message feels incomplete? That’s what you get with Batman #153. Chip Zdarsky moves Bruce Wayne and Gotham City into a new day of rebuilding and social improvements, but Batman feels the city pushing back with the “commie” insult hurled left and right. Zdarsky is certainly leaning into a “message,” but I’m not quite sure which one.
When last we left the Caped Crusader in Batman #152, Batman and Catwoman successfully completed a heist to steal a mother box Amanda Waller kept hidden in a secret military installation. This whole ordeal was part of the hero’s counter-offensive to the Absolute Power event. The issue ended with Batman and Catwoman taking a stroll on the beach while the world burned around them.
In Batman #153, the Absolute Power event is over, and everything is (mostly) back to normal. Jim Gordon is flourishing as a private detective. Edward Nygma has started Nygmatech to use his genius for the greater good. And Wayne Industries is funding more socially beneficial programs and rebuilding efforts to make the city a better place. All signs are trending positively.
Or are they?
Mayor Nakano’s marriage is on the rocks, thanks to overwork, several indiscretions, and pressure from his longtime, secret relationship with the Court of Owls.
A new, patriotic-themed vigilante has come on the scene. He uses guns, and he has the approval of Commissioner Vandal Savage, which suddenly makes Batman’s job a lot harder.
Finally, Edward Nygma decides he can cut through the red tape for his corporate expansion if he makes moves to merge with Wayne Industries, using leverage from an unlikely source.
The issue ends with a hostile takeover bid, Bruce gets a reminder about someone he’s Source link