Snyder Delivers Again
I know good things don't last; I'm not pessimistic, I just know that all good things must come to an end. So, I keep waiting for the new Batman series to fall into mediocrity. I thought the third issue might be the breaking point. Man, was I wrong.
I have to say, this issue might be the best yet. Scott Snyder is amazing. He is producing some really groundbreaking stuff. I think it was G-Man who wrote an article on how he felt the "Gates of Gotham" storyline would have a lot of carryover into the DCnU, and he could not have been more right. This storyline is very similar to the "Gates," but no so much so that it seems like a ripoff of the other.
So why is it so groundbreaking?
One of the common criticisms of the villains that come from Gotham is that they are TOO crazy. It just seem a little irrational that one city could produce so many psychotic killers. What sets this issue apart and makes it groundbreaking is that we have a villain who isn't really new and isn't really psychotic. The Talon is more like a militant cabal leader than anything else. He and his predecessors have been around for years, working in secret, and although it hasn't been revealed yet, he is fighting for a cause he believes in and his killing has a purpose. It's not to take down Batman or take down Gotham, it's to shape Gotham to his and the Court's will (if you read the first two, you'll know what the Court is). Also, because he is the most recent in a line of Talons, this villain can actually die or go to jail and stay there! Someone else can just take his place and be the new Talon. You can't have another Joker or Two Face or Riddler, but you can have another Talon. And this is where Scott Snyder's genius is revealed.
Another great thing about this issue, that has been present in the other two as well, is the heavy use of technology. Snyder really capitalized on the relaunch to up Batman's tech savvy. We have had everything from contacts that double as computer screens to an in-cowl lie detector. Batman has lots of new tech that isn't too far out that it seems fake and reminds you that you are reading a comic. Which leads me to another point...
A lot of times, we look over things in comics because we KNOW we are reading a comic. "Hey, he has a hover disk that can move at the speed of sound," or "he has a suit that looks like spandex but is really impenetrable and indestructible." There is none of that in Snyder's comic. You don't have to overlook anything. Everything you read could be put directly in a film and not seem out of place or make you go, "Yeah, right." And that is the mark of a great writer.
If you like Batman even a little, you need to get this comic and the two prior to it. This is a great title that I only foresee getting better and better.