"This is for Mr. Unknown..."
100 Words Or Less
Batman goes to Japan to retrieve a diamond with the help of Catwoman. At the same time, he is recruiting the first member into Batman Incorporated. Bruce has come to Japan to find and train the Japanese Batman, Mr. Unknown. But is he already too late? Has Lord Death Man already found our Asian hero? So Then I Said...
I was a little lost in this issue. From what I know, Mr. Unknown is the Japanese equivalent of Batman. Bruce Wayne himself describes him as a superb athlete, martial artist, and deductive genius. So how come not even a page into this issue do we see Mr. Unknown tied up and his hands burnt off? If this is the best Batman Japan has to offer and if Bruce thinks this guy is worth recruiting, perhaps Batman Incorporated isn't long for this world. With that out of the way, we see Batman and Catwoman breaking into a highly secure safe to get a diamond, or rather what seems like a diamond, invented by Dr. Sivana. The reason behind this and what the diamond actually is isn't revealed in this issue, but I suspect it will play a part in future issues. Then they go search for Mr. Unknown, only to find his lair ransacked. Then they run into Jiro, who witnessed Lord Death Man kill Mr. Unknown. The issue ends with Jiro's girlfriend dropped into a vat of water and Catwoman diving in to save her.
A few issues all around for this issue. First, I still don't understand Mr. Unknown. I thought there would be more to this than what we got here. Maybe he isn't really dead, I don't know. I don't know enough history about the other Batman-type figures around the world to understand. Second, who is Jiro? I almost have this feeling like that if Mr. Unknown really is dead, will Bruce Wayne take Jiro under his tutelage instead, sort of like the Japanese Dick Grayson? Finally, Catwoman doesn't know who this chick is that is suddenly submerged in water? Would she really just dive in there without a moment's thought to rescue her? I'm sure Batman has some crafty bat tool to get her.
Having just read Batman: The Return immediately before this issue, I can't help but be a little disappointed with Yanick Paquette. While David Finch had the drawings to convey the feeling of the issue, I didn't feel the same from Paquette's work. It felt a little run-of-the-mill and didn't quite have the impact that a #1 should have. I also didn't like the thick lines that were used throughout; that probably falls on inker Michel Lacombe.
