Batman: Beyond the White Knight #1
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Sean Murphy
Art: Sean Murphy
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Andworld Design
Cover: Sean Murpny & Dave Stewart
They say no good deed goes unpunished and it’s no truer than the events that take place here. At the end of Curse of the White Knight Bruce Wayne turned himself in and decided to put his fortune to good use for the betterment of Gotham. However, in his absence, Derek Powers made some shady business moves and let’s just say the past 10 years have made him rich and Gotham…well…still Gotham but worse. Which is saying quite a bit all things considered.
There’s never a concern when it comes to the visual storytelling when Murphy and Stewart are on the job. They drop you right back into this version of the Batman mythos that’s – dare I say it – damn near perfect. The action sequences hit hard and show that an aged and incarcerated Bruce Wayne hasn’t lost a step. However, the real impact is how they move the drama along. From Bruce’s revelation to Jason and then Harley’s interaction with her children there’s just so many great moments here. The shadow revealing a character’s alter ego takes the visuals to another level adding yet another level of storytelling. Many already were expecting the appearance of Terry McGinnis due to the book’s title. Just know that his entrance does not disappoint and the redesign of the suit is subtle and still gives off the Batman Beyond look we all know and love.
Now, even if you’re more a fan of Murphy’s artwork just know that the narrative alone is reason enough to pick this title up. His small tweaks to Batman’s world are impressive with each installment of this series. This version has Jason being the first Robin and the dialogue along with how things played out between the two just kicks you in the gut with the feels. There’s more but that would lead into spoiler territory and a huge part of the fun with this book are the surprises along the way.
If you’ve been reading the White Knight series from the beginning then this is certainly a book you need in your collection. If you haven’t I’d still suggest picking up this one anyway. It’s comfortable enough that the creative team gives you the necessary backstory needed to enjoy this issue and it might make you want to go back and see what led up to these events here! If I had a complaint it would be that there wasn’t enough Terry but other than that this was almost perfect. 4/5
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
