A Black Mirror For A Dark Knight

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Is it your reflection or a twisted version of your inner demons and troubles? Do we see what we want to see or what the mirror wants us to? These are some questions Scott Snyder asks us as he ends the first volume of Detective Comics for DC.

Detective Comics, the book that launched a universe of superheroes just released its last issue before it starts over with a new number #1.  This is the book from which DC gained its name, it was the book that made them stand out in the comics market, Batman became their symbol all over the world, in books, movies, toys, cartoons, games, you name it. Superman may be the symbol the entire world recognizes, but Batman is the real hero of DC. He is the peek of human skill, intellect and conditioning to become a hero to all. To stand up to those who are more than human and take them down.

This is why it’s so important that Batman and Detective comics end their pre-DCnU books on a strong note, one that ties up loose ends and sets the bar for the next generation of Batbooks to come. Detective Comics #881 gave us this and more, it shows why Batman should always be the hero of the DCU and how truly amazing and real comics can be.

Over the course of his run on the title Scott Snyder has taken Dick Grayson from a hero who many could have never imagined filling Batman’s shoes to becoming the true hero that Dick always had issues seeing himself as. He became Gotham’s new defender, he became his own Batman.

This idea of self-image and what we see when we look at ourselves was the major them throughout Snyder’s run on the book and was the key to the story line. Slowly we forget that we are seeing Dick Grayson as Batman and soon just see Batman. We are challenged to change what we see in the characters on the strength of the story and the ideas it presents.

In taking a novel like approach Snyder is able to plant little seeds of detail and information that only pay off when you read further down the line, shocking you and making you feel both embarrassed for missing these facts and yet also glad you didn’t see the twists coming. It is the things you don’t see coming in the book that make it as strong as it is. By treating Detective Comics like it should be, as a mystery comic, he is able to make us wonder what will happen as we wander the path the story unfolds along.

The book was originally going to have a back-up feature involving Jim Gordon, who often plays second fiddle to Batman in the story’s he is involved in. Rarely are we reminded that this is a man who, much like Batman has risen the ranks of the Gotham Police Department and got to be commissioner on his own skills. See when Gordon looks into his own mirror he sees the regrets of his life, his mistakes and the loved ones he has hurt. But he also sees something else, he sees the difference a man can make, he knows that there can be a tomorrow if we work for it.

When DC decided to axe the back ups in the books Snyder incorporated his backups into the main book, becoming standalone issues focusing on Jim Gordon and his long forgotten son James Jr as well as his daughter Barbara.  The Gordons almost take more precedent in the book than Batman, and going back to the idea of a mirror, maybe this is what the book itself wants to show us. There are other people in the book that deserve our attention besides the men in the masks, in many ways the supporting characters help make Batman. I am not going to lie, I was really hoping for a new Gotham Central book by Snyder when the relaunch was announced.

What makes this run so special is the care put into the story, the build up on so much that has happened in the past and Snyder’s use of history. Snyder is picking the fruit from the seeds past authors have planned while also leaving some behind for others to pluck a few years down the road. After this story is over, who wants to see James Jr. cast aside for another 10+ years like he was after Batman: Year One? It would be crazy not to follow up on this character and how he relates to the characters in the Batverse. He is the fallen son of the Gordon family, their own Jason Todd.

Seeing how the Gordon’s interact and how they all feel the pain of how the city they love is seemingly out to get them is something we learn slowly through the book; it’s a plot point that bubbles in the background as the main action happens in front of us. Snyder is able to make us care about these characters as we learn about their past like how Jim was worried about his son from a young age trying to help in any way he could, how James and Babs were at odds as kids and how she never really trusted him.

The Black Mirror is a perfect name for Gotham because it’s what she is, and up till the last issue we can see its black presence changing the reflections of all those who look into it. She sees a new Batman rise up and responds by creating enemies and situations that effect Dick in a more personal way than they would Bruce. From the daughter of Tony Zucco to a mysterious auctioneer we see how Gotham itself warps its own image to challenge those who rise up and defend her. Dick gets his own rogues as those close to him slowly warp the reflection Gotham casts and they soon get tangled in Batman’s life. Snyder made Gotham itself a supporting character as well as a villain, we see her impact on the lives of every character in the book.

That is the magic of Snyder’s stint on the book, he made the book evolve and change to combat a new Batman and the Gordon family. We see how the cast as much as the man behind the mask make Batman who he is. Without the Gordon’s Dick would be a weaker Batman, without Gotham Batman would have fewer rouges to fight and they wouldn’t be nearly as contorted without their inner flaws and terrors being dragged out by the true villain, Gotham City.

From the moment someone enters Gotham they are corrupted, and the longer they stay the harder it is to fight the demons inside. This is the horror that Snyder shows us in Detective Comics, how good people can doubt their choices, make mistakes and how the perfect human hero can still be flawed simply by the fact that he is human.

Gotham is distorted, a city that needs the danger and excitement that Batman provides her. She needs to challenge him and those around him in new ways to keep the game fresh. For all her challenges Batman rises to the occasion and makes his stand. He is not alone though, others join his cause, not because they need to, but because they can, they can be there to help a friend when he’s in need, they can be there for support and comfort when a hero is down.

A black mirror for a dark knight, it’s fitting, but no matter the dark reflection he sees when he looks in the mirror Batman is still there to protect his dark twisted love of a city.