BATMAN versus SOFIA GIGANTE FALCONE

Peace (DC)
Where: Batman: Dark Victory #13 When: December 2000 Why: Jeph Loeb How: Tim Sale

The Story So Far...
The mystery of a new killer grips Gotham City in the wake of The Holiday murders. The months melt away as The Hang Man stalks the ranks of law enforcement, pinning a crude scribbling of the children's word game to their victims, written on documents taken from the desk of Harvey Dent.

The scarred former District Attorney has gone underground as the walls of suspicion and his enemies begin to close in around him. Former ally, Batman, is on his trail, but the man now dubbed "Two-Face" is busy with his own investigation, and the pair will inevitably reach the same conclusion, leading to a showdown with Sofia Gigante Falcone!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Batman 5 (Professor)
Speed: Batman 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Batman 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Batman 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting: Batman 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy: Batman 4 (Arsenal)
Total: Batman 29 (Metahuman)

The Batman has had no shortage of run-ins with organized crime figures, but finding a comparison for the heiress to the Falcone Crime Family is no mean feat.

Sofia Gigante Falcone is one of a kind. The daughter of notorious Gotham City crime boss Carmine Falcone, she was much closer to her father than her mother, Luisa. Sofia inherited The Roman's cunning and determination, navigating mob rank with the benefit of a physically imposing stature and demeanor.

It's difficult to do Sofia Falcone's domineering size and aura justice. She is a truly powerful woman in every sense of the word -- but by the time of Batman: Dark Victory, she is carrying the literal & figurative scars of The Long Halloween.

The Holiday Killer's campaign against organized crime pushed Sofia to extremes and ended with her shocking plunge from the balcony of the Falcone Penthouse.

Catwoman's bola inadvertently saved Sofia from falling to her death, but in doing so, swung her uncontrollably through plate glass windows that sheered the right side of her face off, and left her wheelchair bound -- or so it seemed.

Cosmetic surgery, wigs, and a steel frame rebuilt Sofia's appearance, but rumors of her crippling physical injuries were greatly exaggerated. In fact, the wheelchair is a mere cover for her campaign as The Hang Man Killer: a serial murderer whose hanging modus operandi speaks to the physical strength of Sofia Falcone.

She isn't enhanced to the degree of Bane - who combined stratagem, training, and Venom augmentation to famously break the bat - but certainly possesses the natural physical attributes to give Batman a run for his money.

We know he can handle himself against the likes of a Venom-enhanced Riddler, Killer Croc, Fatman & Little Boy, and even Marvel's peak physical specimen, the super-soldier Captain America. How will he handle Falcone? Let's find out!

The Tape: Batman Ranking: Batman (#1)

What Went Down...

Gotham City burns from the inside out as the gas lines ignite, and Harvey "Two-Face" Dent crawls desperately through the labyrinthine sewers beneath.

Dent pulls himself across the stone, emerging from a metal hatch without noticing the dark figure hidden in the flames. A noose drops around his throat and yanks him toward the pipes overhead. On the other end of the rope - a hulking shadow, emerging through the flames as it sheds the metal frame around its head.

His executioner steps into the light -- Sofia Gigante Falcone, The Hang Man Killer.

The seemingly crippled crime boss almost fooled them all. They never suspected the woman in the wheelchair. She towers, completely capable and unencumbered, strong enough to hold a grown man off the ground by a rope around his throat.

Dent spits in Sofia's face. She yanks the rope and buries her right fist in his gut.

A razor-sharp batarang cuts the air and slices the rope. Two-Face drops.

The Dark Knight descends into the burning sewer tunnel, gliding over Sofia Falcone. A short uppercut knocks her back as he works through all the clues in his mind, unravelling and revising the inevitability of her guilt.

The powerful crime boss is disgusted that Batman would protect the Two-Faced former District Attorney. Falcone is more than able to match his blows, scuffling with a leading left that becomes an upward strike.

The Batman delivers a straight kick to her chest to wind the giant.

He follows rapidly with a precision nerve strike delivered with straightened hand.

A stiff uppercut completes the combination to end the Falcone Crime Family.

The Batman appears triumphant, but then --

Suddenly -- a gunshot rings out in the tight sewer tunnel and Sofia Gigante Falcone's grimace goes limp. Her eyes widen, dumbstruck, as blood bursts from her forehead. The Hang Man has been hit.

A noose drops around her neck, pulling the corpse away from Batman and toward those pipes running along the top of the sewer tunnel.

Falcone's body provides counterweight as Two-Face leaps to a lower level of the tunnel system, dangling from the other end of the rope in escape.

"You wanted it to end, Bats. So did I."

The pipe bursts as chunks of the old sewer system begin to collapse and fall away. Fire engulfs the underground. The Hang Man has been stopped, but it's not over. Not yet. Two-Face is still on the loose and The Batman has a cave to defend.

The Hammer...

It's been a while since I've revisited Dark Victory, but I remember a lot of it quite well. Not just through the ripples of its influence in the adaptations of Christopher Nolan, or the recent HBO live-action Penguin series streaming to MAX, but from the impact of that very first read some twenty-plus years ago.

The Long Halloween had passed me by, but I read vicariously through the pages of Wizard Magazine, where the hottest Batman story of the mid-late nineties was the source of much speculation and excitement. It got me excited, too!

Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale quickly became a must-read partnership as I reinvested myself in DC's Dark Knight -- a lapsed favourite from earlier childhood. Naturally, a collected edition of The Long Halloween became an instant favourite. I cherish it still. It's on top of a tall stack of comics on my desk right at this moment.

I still consider the two maxi-series to be among the very best Batman stories on offer. Individually, or together, they address the greatest aspects of the character, and his surrounding world. Masterworks ripe for study and enjoyment.

There is the thrilling tour through the iconic rogue's gallery that offers instant amusement and all the action you could want. Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent intersect with the conflict between organized crime and these new "freaks" in Gotham City. Dent's fateful transformation into Two-Face is retold, becoming an actualized transition between the two paradigms, nestled within an unfolding crime caper that fulfills the old fashioned pulp fiction of Detective Comics, while also addressing the oft-neglected mystery-solving of The Dark Knight Detective.

Loeb & Sale's work builds directly on a foundation of Year One, but surpasses it in a great many ways, better reflecting a definitive version of the superhero, while adapting the montage technique of Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's four issue classic to create a monthly timeline that plays directly into the story.

The overarching threat of "The Long Halloween" is a veiled antagonist, The Holiday Killer, who strikes but once a month -- just like comic books. In Dark Victory, it's the mysterious Hang Man who terrorizes Gotham by calendar.

The layers are many, and that doesn't even begin to address the immediate appeal of Tim Sale's artwork, complimented beautifully by the colours of Gregory Wright. The collaboration with Sale is impeccable, creating an unrivaled mood for Gotham City and its many haunts. You see it in every gloomy night, grand interior, and stone-walled sewer tunnel.

The penciler's layouts, designs, and expressive characters are on another level. Cinematic, beyond merest reality, yet believably grounded in it.

I recall listening to an interview with Fanboy Radio, where Sale waxed romantically about his real-world inspiration for Catwoman -- a character he and Loeb revisited with the sequel mini-series, Catwoman: When In Rome.

I wouldn't ordinarily skip straight to the conclusion of the second series, but I settled on today's featured fight for its reflection of all of Sale's skills. In particular, I wanted an entry that captured the grandeur of his vision for Sofia Gigante Falcone, who seems underserved by the recent live-action casting of diminutive, slight, and conventionally glamorous, 5'2" Cristin Milioti.

I've already expressed misgivings about the entirety of The Penguin spin-off and its origins in The Batman. Not having seen the show, I wouldn't want to be too outwardly venomous towards Milioti's portrayal, but I think the panels included in today's entry speak to the vast disparity between the originating comic book character, and Hollywood's all too typical choice for females in these projects.

Towering and scarred, wearing that heavy trench coat, there's obviously a lot of dramatic exaggeration going on in this final chapter of Dark Victory, but for anyone who has read both series throughout, you will recognise Sofia Falcone as an archetype that exists in life. A powerful, physically imposing Italian woman, with strong features. A distinct and appropriate choice for the character, whose domineering presence looms literally & figuratively over both stories.

With so much of contemporary cinema caught up in social concerns, it's a little dismaying to see female characters with unique characteristics, be they body-type or age, regularly supplanted in live-action with more standard types.

Marisa Tomei as Aunt May might be the most egregious example of this time, but I also think of DC's Amanda Waller, who is yet to have the robust physicality of "The Wall" seen in classic comics in any of her live-action portrayals.

Put simply: Sofia Gigante Falcone would crush her live-action counterpart in much the way she squeezed Riddler's head to the point of bleeding.

A fantastic character, who like other key figures in The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, is irreversibly corrupted by Gotham City and her own obsessions, driven to becoming one of the very "freaks" her family so detests. Thus, The Hang Man Killer is hung by her own noose. A perfect, ironic end, punctuated with a gunshot to the head to seemingly rule out another miraculous return from the dead.

Of course, this isn't actually the end. There was The Long Halloween Special in 2021, and now Jeph Loeb has collaborated with another excellent Batman artist, Eduardo Risso, to begin Batman: The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween. A final chapter that pays homage to Tim Sale, who passed away in June, 2022.

It still hits me pretty hard to think about that.

I didn't know the man personally, but his work has been tremendously important to me. Having neglected talking about these favourite series all these years, I finally started working on an entry for Halloween 2021, but when I couldn't confidently describe a detail in the story, I wanted to seek clarification from the source. Just over half a year later, I understood how poor my timing must have been. That entry, or any others, just became a little too hard to think about.

We're blessed to have Sale's work adorn Last Halloween covers. His unmistakable hand still a part of the project. I think fondly not just of his work on The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, but also his covers for Detective Comics, which were as exciting at times as the interior issue itself.

One day I will return to that unfinished 2021 entry, and other memorable moments from The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, but for now I'm taking a break.

You can find relevant entries, past and future, by following links throughout this article, or by diving in to the Secret Archive. That's where every featured fight is filed in order of publisher, series, and issue number. Starting with DC, you'll be able to find plenty of Batman right near the top, but I also recommend following the Tim Sale label for some of his other fantastic works, at DC and elsewhere.

If you'd like to see me return to this subject sooner than later, or any other topic that strikes your fancy, you might like to become a supporter on Patreon. This is a fine way to get my ear, but also just help keep us all in the fight. With over 700 battles detailed, and many more subjects covered, Secret Wars on Infinite Earths is determined to be a free resource to anyone who might have use for it.

Get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day by following on X (aka; Twitter)! Don't forget to smash that like, fave, and share -- and keep your eyes peeled for the week's top trending battles every Sunday on X & Discord! The lively Discord chat is one of the bonuses of becoming a Patreon subscriber!

Winner: Two-Face & Batman
#152 (+297) Two-Face [+1 kill]
#1 (--) Batman
#1032 (new) Sofia Gigante Falcone

Hero of the Week #28: Two-Face

TWO-FACE (DC)
Real Name: Harvey Dent
First Appearance: Detective Comics #66 (August, 1942)
Group Affiliation: NA
Gaming Credentials: Batman: The Animated Series (1993); Adventures of Batman & Robin (1994); Batman Forever (1995); Batman: Chaos in Gotham (2001); Lego Batman (2008); Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 (TBA); DC Universe Online (TBR)
Infinite Wars Cumulative Ranking: #327

The (Super) Hero of the Week was always about reacting to cross-cultural references that would resonate with gamers, fanboys, and those that fall somewhere between. Arkham Asylum certainly achieved that goal in 2009 by harnessing multiple facets of the Batman license to deliver an experience just as sure to satisfy the hands-on interaction of video games, as it was the customary plotlines more familiar to comic books.
I feel a little like I'm jumping the gun by talking about a character that will inevitably have far greater significance in the future, but there can be no denying the immediate impact of the revealed return of Rocksteady and their take on the Batman license.

Revealed live during Spike's Video Game Award show; the trailer for 'Batman 2' quickly guarantees more quality adaptation from the developer, with a string of references promising a wider perspective of Gotham City as a platform and presence. Honing in on these clues that point to appearances by enduring villains like The Penguin and Black Mask, as well as less subtle inclusions, Joker and Harley Quinn, was eagle-eyed 1up Editor, Mike Cruz. He was first on the scene and already shared his findings with "detective vision" clarity on his own 1up blog.

By nestling deep within the confines of the iconic Arkham setting; the first game set utterly realistic expectations of itself by opting to tackle a single refineable location, rather than the vast landscape of a sprawling stylized city like Gotham. The flow-on effect was felt in everything from the mechanics of Batman's interactions with the enviroment, to the scale of the villains he was set to encounter.

In a game that presented such a respectable slice of the Batman mythos, I personally wasn't about to buy into vague references at the end of the game to Two-Face. Some of us might call that a very obvious way to establish intended content for a sequel -- a method that's a little too conventional, or similar to other popular examples [Batman Begins]. Hyperbole aside; it's seems the duplicitous former District Attorney is indeed set to play a significant role when Rocksteady return to the annals of the Dark Knight Detective. The biggest clue pointing in that direction -- jingoistic propaganda, found at ArkhamHasMoved.com, featuring a (literally) defaced poster of a distinctly half-soiled, gun-toting Uncle Sam figure. Another none too subtle reference sure to be familiar to movie-goers.

Image borrowed from Mike Cruz' blog: Batman Teaser Trailer Impressions.

2008's The Dark Knight presented the second cinematic account of Harvey Dent's fall from grace, combining the chaotic preaching of their version of the Joker, with the half-scarring that gave visual origins to the psychological bifurcation of the former lawman. It was a respectful vision that put the illdefined manic Tommy Lee Jones character of Batman Forver aside, to firmly establish the significance of Harvey Dent as a presence in his life before becoming Two-Face.

Harvey Dent/Two-Face represents many of the ideals that are closely associated with what makes Batman's rogues gallery one of the best in comics. Like Joker or Scarecrow; Two-Face is identified not for any superhuman trappings, but for the simple exaggeration of mental illness that could easily be found anywhere within society, taken to the nth degree in this homicidal package. Despite his relevance to the classic definition of a Bat-villain, it's actually been the continued work of writers right through to the nineties, that has fully realised the definitive Harvey Dent.

The portrayal seen in The Dark Knight owes the bulk of it's characterization to The Long Halloween -- a 1997 maxi-series by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, which has been regularly referenced throughout production on the revamped Bat-movie franchise, (Batman Begins included).

Loeb's portrayal of Harvey Dent; who is a central figure in The Long Halloween; was partially inspired by late DC editor, Archie Goodwin, with specific reference to the work of Frank Miller [Batman: Year One], who at some point once described Two-Face as a great under utilized Bat-villain. Dent played only a supporting role to the more significant (would-be) Commissioner Gordon, and Bruce Wayne, in his descriptive telling of the first adventures of Batman in Gotham City. It introduced a dynamic of antagonism between the traditional mobsters Batman fought regularly in his early stories, with the garish "freaks" who became more typical recurring foes in later years. Harvey Dent was to fall somewhere in between, making the transition from fiercely dedicated District Attorney-stroke-potential vigilante, to mentally and physically scarred miscreant.

Loeb's version further emphasised the treaty between Gordon, Dent, and Batman, and elaborated on the drive to see justice done that had made him a prime-suspect for being Batman, in Year One. The motif of duality has since continued in the characterization of Two-Face, who is often seen as more than a simple criminal menace, with the Harvey Dent persona often commanding some form of perspective based around the beliefs he held as District Attorney. It is a lingering presence that has also created a unique personalized relationship between he and Batman, rarely seen in the Dark Knight's dealings with other criminals in Gotham.

It will be interesting to see if these nuances of personality will have a platform to play out in the upcoming Batman video game sequel. If Paul Dini -- the writer behind the game and popular instalments of the animated series and comics -- returns for the sequel, we can certainly have high hopes for a success similar to the first title. As good as the movies are, it was the last game's ties to the source material that really impressed me. Here's hoping the team is ready to navigate the minefield of the sequel, which has the potential to undermine the great work done in the last game if the path forward isn't carefully considered.

I'm reluctant to refer to it as "Arkham 2", if only for the notion that it would be an error to attempt to recreate the confined systems of Arkham Asylum. As much as keeping the game contained to a single location played in it's favour, there's an expectation that sequels will be able to unfold on a much larger scale. There's only so often you can plonk players into the heart of Gotham City and expect the to remain a rat in a maze. This is "the goddamn Batman" we're talking about, after all.

A far less definitive version of Two-Face has been appearing in the pages of Batman as a quasi-caped crusader himself, battling the newly appointed Dick Grayson version of the Dark Knight amidst DC's Batman: Reborn line-up. You can find more information about these titles and more at DCcomics,com, more info about the next Bat-game at ArkhamHasMoved.com, and more blogging from me in my Best of 2009 post!

<< Hero of the Week 12/20: War Machine       [Home]       Hero of the Week 12/06: Dr. Doom >>

Originally posted: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9012917

HUSH versus BATMAN
Hush Chapter Twelve: The End (DC)
Where: Batman #619 When: November 2003
Why: Jeph Loeb How: Jim Lee

The Story So Far...
When a dramatically mutated Killer Croc partakes in the kidnap of a rich man's child; Batman unwittingly enters into a game of manipulation design to break his will, and lead him down a path toward destruction.

Having suffered severe injuries after a fall from a batline, severed by an anonymously thrown batarang; Wayne recalls the name of renowned surgeon, and former childhood friend, Dr. Thomas Elliot. The doctor returns to Gotham to perform the surgery and reacquaint himself with the city and his former friend, but the trip is cut short when the Joker and Harley Quinn raid a stage show. After taking pursuit of the clown prince of crime in an effort to recover a family heirloom; Thomas Elliot is murdered -- or so it seems!

In reality, this is but another chapter in the tale of Hush, the newest villain to enter Batman's murderous rogues gallery! Vengeful over wrongs commited when they were children, Hush has manipulated the heroes and villains of Gotham City in an effort to play Batman for a fool, but even as the dark knight desperately tries to unravel the mystery, the bandaged villain prepares to play his final hand.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Batman 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Draw 5 (Professor)
Speed: Batman 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Batman 5 (Marathon)
Agility: Batman 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Batman 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Power: Batman 4 (Arsenal)


- Born into wealth; Thomas Elliot spent his childhood in loathing of his parents. In an effort to gain independence and control of his family's estate, the child orchestrated a murder plot to sever the brakes on his parent's vehicle, after convincing them to pardon their driver. The horrific accident that ensued would bring the socialittes under the knife of Dr. Thomas Wayne, father to Elliot's best friend, Bruce Wayne. The doctor would fail to save Tommy's father, but leave him a mother to care for.

As Hush; Elliot is soon revealed to be the manipulator whose influence had led Batman to call upon his services as a surgeon when he suffered head injuries from a fall, also part of Hush's plan. Having teamed with The Riddler and an adult Jason Todd; a spiteful Elliot fulfills a lifelong goal of revenge for the Waynes' part in his mother's survival, and the jealousy felt toward Bruce for living the life he wanted.

- After witnessing the street murder of his parents, the young Bruce Wayne's destiny was forever shaped to be one dedicated to an ideal. Having spent his formative years studying the various sciences, martial arts, and crime fighting techniques, Bruce is ultimately inspired to become the one-man war on the criminal element in Gotham City: Batman.

Perhaps Batman's greatest power is the millions inherited from his industrialist parents, and the various facilities that came with that. They prove crucial in the design and construction of his many weapons, which are typically non-lethal, and have a variety of uses.

Complimented by his keenly strategic mind is Batman's expertise in the martial arts. He is extensively trained in multiple fighting styles, and commonly regarded to be one of the greatest hand-to-hand fighters in the world. He is also extremely proficient in general urban warfare.

The Math: Batman Ranking: Batman (#2)

What Went Down...
Revealed to be the man responsible for planting subliminal messaging devices on his computer hardware, Batman's once malformed technical supporter, Harold, drops with two bullets in him. The gunman -- Hush -- a man who has helped orchestrate a string of horrific events and attacks in the life of the Batman.

Alone with the killer on a bridge in the pouring rain, Batman launches himself into action, avoiding further gunfire from his newest nemesis. Perched atop the bridge structure, he returns fire with a handful of batarangs, but like Hush's own ammunition, they fail to make a crucial hit.

Closing in, the dark knight jumps toward the gunman as he counts the final bullets in his round, and unleashes weapons of his own. Hands and feet, trained to kill, and so masterful they need never strike a lethal blow.

A boot and a fist don't stop the marksman, but they reveal the necklace Tommy Elliot was buried with; his mother's. The distraction gives Hush the opportunity to the turn the tables, while Batman continues to analyse every fine detail in an effort to deduce the bandaged man's identity.

Hush makes continued references to Tommy Elliot's childhood with Bruce; facts that plague the dark knight detective as much as the physical blows from the masked man. Hush denies him the opportunity to pull the bandages from his face, impaling Batman's hand with a blade.

Hush challenges Batman to puzzle the reason for their confrontation on the bridge in the rain. Resonance of the night Tommy Elliot's parents crashed their car is not lost on the Batman, but still he refuses to believe the taunting of a masked man, over the facts of his witness to Elliot's death at the hands of Joker.

The two engage in an exchange of acrobatics and fisticuffs, continuning to dance around the specifics of both man's true identity. Hush returns the favour for a punch to the face, and Batman strikes back with a chop to the neck, each blow bringing with it a little piece of the past.

With a kick, Hush puts some distance between he and the wounded Batman, only to reveal the true motivation for his endless machinations: The thwarting of his childhood dream to murder his parents to inherit independence and wealth!

The revelation rocks Batman almost as hard as the bullets that cause the Batmobile to explode behind him, triggering C-4 charges planted during Batman's brief reunion with Harold.

Revealed, the truth floods from Hush like the deluge hitting the bridge.
He compares the struggle of life with his mother, and her slow death to cancer, as tokens that Bruce Wayne was lucky enough not to have. In so many ways, he is revealed to be the anti-thesis to every aspect of the Batman, who now lies badly injured at the villain's feet.

A commanding voice echoes onto the bridge, and from out of the bellowing smoke steps former GCPD commissioner, James Gordon. Implicated in the staged murder of Thomas Elliot, Gordon is accompanied by a man intimately aware of the details of his innocence -- Harvey Dent.

Dent, having had his facial scarring repaired by Elliot as a part of his sinister plot, appears ironically cured of his alter-ego, Two-Face. With clarity and a zealous penchant for justice, he willfully turns his back on his agreement with Hush to take the shot, when Jim Gordon proves unable to fire with Batman at such close proximity.

He doesn't miss.
An appropriate two shots hit Hush in either shoulder, forcing him away from his would-be victim, and off the side of the bridge. Batman does his best to find a body, but even with nightvision technology, he proves unable to find anything in the murky Gotham waters below. Hush lives to strike another day.

The Hammer...
So, for striking the deciding blow, I've got no choice but to call it a victory for Harvey Dent! For fighting valiantly, despite very nearly suffering defeat, Batman picks up the assist, with Jim Gordon sharing in the honor. Valuable info for you Fantasy Fighters out there!

As you might have seen, the Infinite Wars is gearing up for all the hype surrounding the recently announced, Mortal Kombat versus DC Universe video game, set to be released in the fall. The unlikely crossover pits the fighting kombatants against DC's icons in a story featuring contributions from Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, as well as series co-creator, Ed Boon, and the rest of the MK team.

Since Batman is bound to be at the forefront of the DC movement, I wanted to throw a feature up here that at least touched on his capacity to exist in this environment. With the announcement of the game, it seems the two camps have quickly devolved into violent distain over the dimished degree of violence, and utter bemusement, for those comic fans disinterested in the gimmick-laden fighting property. It seems all perspective has gone out the window, so hopefully the Infinite Wars can become a middle ground for both groups.

If you haven't already seen them, you might like to check out the first of our weekly rundowns of potential match-ups between the two brands [Fantasy Fights: Round 1], as well as a C2C flashback to previous entries touching on some of the characters and action you might be seeing in the game.

With the benefit of hindsight, I can see it might have been better to go with a scenario more flattering to Batman, but then, I think the grim tone of the issue is probably good for MK fans to see.

Hush was a twelve-issue storyarc with a lot of momentum. Written by Jeph Loeb, the man behind stories vital to inspiring the movies; The Long Halloween and Dark Victory; it promised another year-long romp through Gotham City, with the introdution of a brand new villain, sure to menace Batman far into the future, should he survive that long!

Batman: Hush also brought superstar artist, Jim Lee, back to the drawing board, after taking an active interest in less involved responsibilities with Wildstorm Comics (bought-out and assimilated by DC comics, as it so happened).

Despite mixed reactions to the conclusion of the story, which effectively resolved the year-long mystery with a reveal described by many as anti-climactic and heavy handed, given the first-appearance introduction of Tommy Elliot (Hush) at the beginning of the story. So disappointing was this fact, it nearly dwarfed Elliot's partnership with the Riddler, and the shock implication of the dead Robin's resurrection; later confirmed under writer, Judd Winick.

Fans of the comics might be surprised to learn of scepticism from the Mortal Kombat fans for DC's ability to assimilate into their gothic world of interdimensional mayhem, infernal resurrections, and frivilous ninjary.
Much of this has been sparked by the announcement of a T rating, and the first time a Mortal Kombat game will be released without their trademarked finishing system of gory, over-the-top slayings -- fatalities.

MK's penchant for gore has earned the series it's fair share of infamy. Often viewed as little more than a distraction for a teen demographic overlooking the technical flaws of the series; I tend to think of fatal violence as an expendable trademark of the series. I'm much more interested in the characters and story of the MK universe, which are obviously arenas the DC universe is more than ready to match them in.

The balance of power has been another keenly debated topic.
I probably could've done better to showcase Batman's ability to battle foes far more powerful than he. On the Infinite Wars alone we've been routinely privvy to successful matches against the likes of; Gorilla Grodd, Dr. Light, Killer Croc, Superman, Amazo, Captain Nazi, killer robots, murderous cults, et al.

Likewise, confusion at the other end of the scale has caused a glitch in the suspension of disbelief. The unfortunately common misconception that Superman somehow dwarfs all other superheroes, and is therefore a terminally flawed character, is the result of a lot of supposition, and the phenomenon of internet chinese-whispers. A lot of unconfident and uncertain fans have latched onto this belief, but in reality, it simply isn't true. The Infinite Wars, a site dedicated to tracking heroic defeat and victory, rates Superman at only a 54% win-rate, highlighting the potential fallibility of the character, at least on a fight-by-fight basis.

This argument is also quickly quashed by the prominent existence of playable characters, like Raiden; who is a god and already existant in-game on the precipice of suspended disbelief. Likewise, even the already confirmed Sub-Zero is more than capable of freezing his opponents (ala; Mr. Freeze) to take fatal victory in an instant if not for the competitive mechanics of a video game.
Unfamiliarity shouldn't be left to cloud common sense and precedent for what might be a conceptually flawed compromise between two companies, but otherwise works, strictly based on fundamentals.

Ironically, I don't want to come off too supportive.
I personally regard the game a misstep for a series that promised to step into the arena of the next generation of gaming with a newly rebuilt fight mechanic, and a fresh slate. While it's fair to say everything vaguely promised has been delivered, the implication of losing many mainstay characters suggested something far more immersive for fans awaiting a conclusion to the last game's apocalyptice endings. Though story shouldn't be short with Palmiotti and Gray contributing to a split mode revealing perspectives from both franchises, the longterm viability of referencing crossovers with licensed properties is always unlikely -- effectively rendering this a prolonged interruption in the MK saga.

For me, it comes down to context, and the looming threat of homogenization that was talked about during our last Street Fighter entry [Street Fighter Alpha Vol.1]. DC, notorious for it's sub-par video games, is presumably attempting to extend the reaches of it's branding, while also improving it's stock in the gaming genre. On the flipside, MK benefits from similar expansion of an already incestuous fanbase, with far more expansive mainstream connotations.

I'm interested! With the dust settled, there's no doubting that this is the game that has my attentions as of this moment! That just doesn't distract from the fact that the MK design team have outstanding debts with dedicated fans, and as games gradually become increasingly detached from their brands, MK runs the risk of joining the trend having not yet established it's footing in this generation.
Will it be sloppy seconds for companies classically chasing their more successful counterparts, Marvel and Capcom, or is this the beginning of a turnaround for both? We've touched upon just some of the issues that are sure to be talking points on the Infinite Wars for the next few months! All you MK/DC fans should make sure to stay with us as we count down to the game every Monday with more fantasy match-ups: PLUS! This weekend, a special look at fatalities!

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 6

Not the greatest reveal in the history of comics, but definitely a much better read without the baggage of monthly release, and a year's worth of anticipation. Though not showed off to it's fullest, Loeb and Lee choreograph a fantastic fight scene, despite much of the battle keeping Hush at arms length! If you're looking to get better acquainted with the dark knight and some of the movers and shakers in Gotham City, Hush is a great place in history to start! You can get the whole story in two convenient volumes from Amazon! Amazon not only offer great prices, but by using purchases links provided here, or in the Infinite Wars Amazonian Gift Shoppe, you help sponsor future melees in the Infinite Wars!

QUICK FIX DOUBLE FEATURE: Silent Knight!
BATMAN versus SCARECROW
Toys (DC)
Where: Batman: Dark Victory #3 When: February 2000 Why: Jeph Loeb How: Tim Sale

Quick Fix...
Dark Victory was the welcomed gritty sequel to the mid-nineties thriller maxi-series, Batman: The Long Halloween. Long Halloween was an instant classic, bringing together the oft overlooked mystery writing techniques that compliment the Dark Knight Detective; combining them with the world of Gotham City in an unofficial sequel to Miller's Year One.

Dark Victory is an equally revered piece of Batman fiction, but why should the Infinite Wars happen upon these issues now? As is often the case, there's a simple, if veiled explanation!

On the one hand, the Loeb/Sale maxi-series' have both been incredibly influencial to the Christopher Nolan directed feature film(s); with Nolan, [co-writer; David] Goyer, and cast members regularly quoting both stories as invaluable references. Empire magazine, (along with various websites), have featured the first official promotional shots of The Dark Knight's Heath Ledger in full Joker regalia, making now as good a time as any to delve into DK countdown mode!

That, and also, we're featuring an single issue spotlight on reviews from the past twenty-five years in weekly Cover to Cover features. If you're inclined to scour the back issues based on printed year, then you'll already realise that 2000 was a slow year for me. So, just to make sure there aren't any gaps, I'm ramming a couple of 2000 reviews in for four week's time. Haw!

Of course, just to lift the curtain to spoil the magic, in the time it took to start this post, to reach this point, we've also seen the release of a fantastic Dark Knight poster [alluding to the Joker with a dripping red bat isnignia] -- and I've also bumped this entry back several days, making room for another.

So, while a shred of the original intention remains, we should get this show on the road to make way for other entries of immediate interest.

A killer is following in the footsteps of the Holiday killer who terrorized the Gotham crime families with a murder for every month. Now the game is Hangman, and the new killer is eliminating corrupt cops, following a similar seasonal modus operandi as the supposed original Holiday.

The Batman, unclear as to who is responsible, interrogates all available sources, arriving at Boss Zucco, who failed to fullfil his usual routine of receipt collecting from one of the fine establishments owned by the Maroni family. The Cheetah Room gentleman's club was manned by Arnold John Flass - former marine and disgraced police Detective - with all the motive in the world to go after Commissioner Jim Gordon, and Harvey "Two-Face" Dent, for bringing him down under affiliation with criminal activity. Too bad he's not the guy.

Zucco gives up the Scarecrow as the catalyst for variation in his operations: and a potential suspect, or witness, for the Hangman murders. Batman tracks Scarecrow to the abandoned Gotham Toy Factory, where Scarecrow is hatching a plan to release his fear toxin through children's dolls.

Scarecrow proves less than cooperative, attacking Batman with a cloud of his sickly green gas that masks his gangling escape from the Dark Knight's clutches. The weight of a pulley proves vital, swinging like a pendulum through the muck to strike the Batman in the head.

Far more physical a foe than the gawky Jonathan Crane; Batman finds his way outside to the snow, where he lands atop the Scarecrow's getaway truck.

Reciting lines from nursery rhymes to the very end; the Scarecrow opts to plunge his vehicle into the icey depths of a Gotham River. He cuts loose from the noose that binds him to the man crouching atop his caboose; leaving him on the pier to suffer the effects of terror and fear.

See what I did there? Yeah, well, before we spiral down into the abyss of my apparent fixation with alliteration and/or rhyming, let us steer this train back to the rails of a valued entry. Actually, it's probably worth noting that we very nearly discussed this earlier as part of our Halloween spillover!

While the Scarecrow has roughly fifty years of history, it's his depiction in this series (and Long Halloween) that comes right to mind when I think of the character. It's almost contradictory to go from talking so much about pseudo-realism [New Avengers #35], to talking about preferring this fairly outlandish visual take on the Scarecrow character, but that's a surface observation.

These are really points coming at the same rules from different ends of the spectrum, and therefore opposite references. For me, it's the fusion of fiction with inspiration taken from reality that makes these sorts of urban characters so wonderful and enduring.

Scarecrow is famously one of the characters they struggled to totally come to terms with in the much beloved animated series. In my opinion, while the final visual of a bulky man who may or may not be something supernatural is quite neat, it actually gets too far away from the heart of the character.

If I could envision my ultimate interpretation of the Scarecrow it would be very specifically referenced in this contemporary tales. It would be the eerie but stylized appearance of Tim Sale's character; with shades of Loeb's distanced insanity, and Geoff Johns' deranged motivation and desensitization [as seen in Batman: Gotham Knights #49].

Scarecrow is already confirmed for an appearance in the upcoming Batman Begins sequel, and while sources close to the film downplay the cameo as being comparable to Willem Dafoe's returning role in Spider-man 3, one still can't help but imagine how a reference point like Dark Victory might come to play. Will the fractured remains of Jonathan Crane, last seen screaming into the night in Begins, be a silent observer of crimes in the new chapter, or could the Scarecrow and his toxins even be tied to the emergence of a new version of the Joker?

Mmm, me thinks that might just be discussion for another time... Now!

The Fix: 3 The Issue: 6.5
Winner: Draw

It seems a great many comics reader missed out on the experience of the Long Halloween, only to catch up by immediately diving into the 2000 sequel. If you haven't had the opportunity to read either of these modern masterpieces, I strongly recommend them as great Christmas gifts. That said, I would suggest you stay tuned for links to the original, if you're only going to seek out one, because it's there that the intrigue begins, that is inadvertently spoiled if reading Dark Victory first. Note efforts to avoid giving any clues to the final identity of either Holiday, or The Hangman!

---

THE JOKER versus HARVEY DENT
Christmas (DC)
Where: Batman: The Long Halloween #3 When: February 1997 Why: Jeph Loeb How: Tim Sale

So, this is the kind of thing that happens when you bounce your entries around. I did scan and upload the next issue of Dark Victory, which is a Solomon Grundy story I've been trying to shoe-horn onto the site since it's very inception!
However, with measured enthusiasm I must declare that I am but a humble servant of a higher power, and that is creative logics. It was just too tempting an offer to do an all Christmas Bat-entry, given the date, and all.

So, here we are, doing it in reverse order!
I stress again for the uninitiated or for anyone who skims over the names and dates at the beginning of entries -- Batman: The Long Halloween is the story to which Batman: Dark Victory is a sequel!

So, here we are, three years before the last entry.
This is a very different time. Movie goers will have recognised the Dark Victory mention of ex-Detective Flass. The man you know as an overweight vision of corruption actually began life in the pages of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, as a tall and deadly peroxide blonde with special forces combat training. The visions you're having of Bridgette Nielsen are actually reasonably accurate, substituting silicon implants for Miller's standard olive trenchcoat.

Batman: The Long Halloween, like various stories that have followed, serves as a sort of unofficial sequel to Year One. While it provides inspiration for the big screen Batman Begins, it's worth noting that Year One serves more as a vignette of concepts, than a vivid depiction of the early rise of the Dark Knight Detective.
It's this fact that leads Loeb and Sale to quite successfully begin a tradition of telling tales early in hero's careers, elaborating on the Gotham criminal underworld, the corruption that facilitates the existance of a Batman, and the rise of the community of "freaks" and their costumed gimmickery.

While the period of transition (from conventional crook, to freaks) is more specifically explored in Dark Victory, the underpinnings are certainly quite well conceived in Long Halloween. In fact, one of the most vivid analogies of this transition of crime in Gotham is the transformation of Harvey Dent into Two-Face, which was apparently a wise tip from Miller himself, who recognised Two-Face as one of the under utilized gems of the Bat rogues gallery.

Actually, the story does well to further enhance Two-Face's motivations and character, differentiating him from the cooky insanity of his predecessors by drawing on his driven life as a District Attorney. It is no doubt this characterization that will steer Aaron Eckhart's depiction of the character in The Dark Knight; and it's here, in the Long Halloween, that we get a glimpse of the speculated relationship between Two-Face and Joker.

The popular bet is that it will be the clown prince of crime who scars Harvey Dent in this new big screen canon; but in the Long Halloween that is an honor reserved for a vastly different character (who is also rumored to appear) -- I won't spoil it for those of you making eagerly making Christmas purchases.

Having had his home previously destroyed by gang violence; Harvey Dent surprises his chair-bound wife, Gilda, with a bow wrapped cottage on Christmas Eve. Having carried his excited bride across the threshold, the DA encourages his wife to explore the upstairs, having observed unsolicited footprints in his home.

Lurking around the Christmas tree stirs a grinning Joker.

Dent charges the Joker, exploding in a furious delivery of fists that smack the jester's twisted grin left and right of his face. Though the blows might have shaken an average man, the Joker will forever be remembered as anything but average.

Investigating the Holiday murders in his own bizarre way, Joker swiftly puts chief-suspect Harvey Dent down with a swift kick to the crotch.
The uncermonious maneuver sufficiently floors the Distict Attorney, and gives the Joker the opportunity to examine him beneath his magnifying glass.

The Joker notes that Harvey is not Batman; as suspected by some citizens of Gotham; but remains uncertain of his potential as the killer called Holiday. Discontent with the presence of another themed maniac, Joker leaves Dent with a stern warning that should he indeed turn out to be the killer, he will return with intentions far less "forgiving" than this visit.

Joker disappears into the night, leaving Dent to be discovered beside the toppled Christmas tree in a quivering heap. A humiliation the District Attorney will not soon forget.

Boy! Wasn't that a cheery Christmas tale?
Alright, so it might not leave you warm and fuzzy before the jolly fatman slides down the chimney, but it's none the less a piece of a fantastic puzzle! A puzzle in both the story itself, and as a piece of The Dark Knight to come.

As both a fan of play-along mysteries, and Batman and his cast of supporting characters, I fall in that massive category of fans who regard these tales with reverence and awe. Say what you will about Loeb's lesser outings, but undeniable is the stoic execution of this gritty, urban mystery.

Often on the Infinite Wars we've discussed the typical divide of what a fanboy regards as their penultimate Batman. If such a thing is seen in print, for me, it may just be in the pages of The Long Halloween and Dark Victory.
Tim Sale's visuals deserve all the credit in the world for enhancing what is a relatively well constructed story. It is mind boggling that Sale, colour blind, can be so deft at laying down the perfect greys, blues and greens.
I think ultimately the visuals and written execution deserves more kudos than the mystery itself, which I find gets a little muddy, and maybe hides behind the safety net of being coy, just a little too much.

This is historic Batman, and if not for it's connected relevance, it would be a must-have perhaps only surpassed by The Dark Knight Returns; another Frank Miller inspiration for the big screen (re; The Dark Knight).

The Fix: 3 The Issue: 6.5
Winner: Joker

If you can't wait six months for The Dark Knight, or have a loved one who loves Batman and doesn't already own this, then it's the ultimate Christmas gift! If they're really special, you can't go past the oversized Absolute Edition with hardcover, slip case, and tonnes of extras. For everyone else, the complete collected trade isn't a bad way to go, at all! Actually, I kinda think the matte paper stock has a special charm!

BATMAN versus TWO-FACE
A Lonely Place of Dying Chapter Five: Rebirth (DC comics)
Where: Batman #442 When: 1989
Why: Marv Wolfman & George Perez How: Jim Aparo

The story so far...
Somewhere in space Superboy-Prime is pounding on reality, eventuating in some dramatic changes, but for the time being, Jason Todd is recently deceased.

The Batman has retreated into himself, and a young man named Tim Drake, who has deduced the identities of Batman, Robin and Nightwing - Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd and Dick Grayson, respectively - believes the Batman needs a Robin to remain in tact.

Thus, sponsored by Alfred, Tim Drake dons the tights and cape and goes to save Batman and Nightwing from certain doom at the hands of Two-Face.
With Batman and Nightwing trapped in a collapsed building that Two-Face has blown up for double-good measure -- can Tim Drake - Robin - save the day?

Recommended reading:
Batman: The Long Halloween #0-#12: One of the greatest Two-Face stories ever told.
Batman #647: Batman & Jason Todd team to take on a trio of members from The Society of super villains!
DC versus Marvel #1: A disorientated Bullseye takes Robin hostage in the Batcave. KAPOW!

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Batman 3 (Trained Athlete)
Intelligence: Batman 5 (Professor)
Speed: Robin 3 (Trained Athlete)
Stamina: Batman 5 (Marathon Runner)
Agility: Nightwing 4 (Gymnast)
Fighting Ability: Batman 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Powers: Batman 2 (Projectile Weapons)

Not a single category. Two-Face is totally fucked.
Seriously, taking on the entire bat-family, let alone one of them alone is just totally ridiculous. Especially when you're Two-Face, whose insanity revolves around duality, indecisiveness, and a pistol.

There is no math in the world that makes this seem like a good idea. Not even the Anti-Life Equation itself could save a lone Two-Face's bacon against the terrific trio.

Being that Two-Face was one of the very few classic characters never to appear in the sixties series, this logic might not apply, but there's always the three Ls: Luck, lackeys and location.
If Two-Face can somehow get some thugs to pull a fast one on ol' Bat-boob, knock him out, and drag him into an elaborate set-up device, he might have a chance. The odds of Two-Face having something like... I dunno... a giant perpetually spinning coin, which, once exceeding a certain speed will spin Nightwing's pretty face off, well... Those odds aren't great.

Especially since we're travelling to the eighties this week.
This is the era of some respectability for the Dark Knight detective. There's no way something that cornball could work... or could it?!?

What went down...
Okay, yeah... Robin saved the day, and there's probably a fight there to be featured another day.

Meanwhile -- despite being shut down, distraught, and reluctant to take another ward in the wake of Jason Todd's death, Batman decides to postpone further deliberation until Two-Face is defeated, and brings Tim Drake along for the ride anyway.

Being the world's greatest detective, it doesn't take long to track Two-Face to a vehicle scrap yard. There, Two-Face can hardly believe his bad luck, and desperately seeks advice from a 24-7 news radio network.

Batman orders Drake to stay in the car while he and Nightwing spring into battle, but just as he does a wrecking ball comes swinging in their direction.
The ball strikes a pile of crushed car bodies, sending them tumbling right before the Batman's eyes onto the Batmobile. Onto Tim Drake!
Or so he thinks!...

Though the car is crushed, the quick thinking Tim Drake hopped out of the vehicle to hide beneath it escaping certain doom, much to the approval of the Dark Knight.

In the wrecking crane control seat, Nightwing discovers Two-Face has disappeared, only to feel the rumbling of a bulldozer heading right for him!
Two-Face charges through the broken scrap heaps, and rams the crane, but Nightwing is able to sommersault free.

Batman tries to keep a concerned Tim Drake clear, while former the former Robin, Nightwing, springs into action.
He scales a stack of wrecked vehicles, and then leaps onto the out-of-control wrecking ball, using it's frantic sway to swing across the yard to swoop down on the dastardly DA.

Nightwing meanders too long, and Two-Face gets the drop on him with a piece of junk. Right to the face!
Nightwing's survival rests in the fate of the coin toss, but as the coin makes it's descent, a dark blue glove snatches the coin out of the air and delivers a stern message; "No, Harvey, it's your mistake."

"Or Robin?" "Or Robin!"

Awwww, it's an arse whooping the whole family can appreciate.

The hammer...
The winner, and still champion, Batman, with some fine assistance from Nightwing and Robin. Hah, but honestly, was there any doubt?
For those playing the Secret Wars on Infinite Earths home scoring game, you'll know that Batman is not only the monthly reigning number one, but he's also undefeated.
Should that change? Write in, drop a comment, and maybe let us know.

Meanwhile, everyone party. Yes, it's actually September 26th, but this post was scheduled for July 21st - my birthday! Hussah!

It was this special event that inspired the pseudo-themed selections for this month, and this stop is probably the most special. Mostly because I was in my formative and happiest comic reading years in the eighties and nineties.
Which was a fantastic time to be comics fan, because they were quite literally available everywhere. I kick myself now in hindsight for not buyin that one issue of Wolverine with Deadpool in it from the service station. They were just everywhere.

I don't know what the American equivalent is, but we have stores we call newsagencies. They're stores that chiefly sell magazines, newspapers, stationery and maybe some other crap, these days.
You're slowly seeing comics coming back to these places, but when I was a kid there was an entire wall at one particular store, and it was just the coolest thing. I mean literally, this must have been the biggest section in the entire place.

So, here's me, all two, three feet of me, staring up at this mountain of colours, and characters, and just sheer excitement and wonder personified. It's something, deep down, that I kinda miss.

I was a terrible reader as a kid, too.
I had a lot of different interests, and over the years I've connected with firends through sports, or music, or movies, or whatever -- but comics has rarely been the common ground. It's just been one of those things I've always done, and that made for a unique experience.

I kind of went through my comics years in a vaccuum.
There was no internet, and even when I went to the comic store proper, I didn't really stop to talk to people. So, I just bought comics based on what I liked the look of at the time.
There was no allegiance to a title, or a writer, or an artist, or anything else. I just bought characters I liked, and whatever felt interesting at the time.
So, in that respect, I missed out on some of the good and some of the bad. For example, my first Image comic wasn't until the very recent Powers #11, because they just carried the stigma, for me as a general fan, of those early Liefeld-ian stories.

It was an interesting way to grow familiar with comics, and I think it's maybe given me a little bit of a heads up over other readers. I'm usually not too fussed by mountains of continuity, and I'm not particularly interested in the trends.
Hopefully some of that reflects on this site, which maybe has some diversity, and showcases some genuine interests that you might care to share.

But, to talk a little bit about this issue (before the readership dies off completely)... Wow, what a strange issue as a youngster.
It actually contains many of the things I despise as a Batman fan. It's got Robin, which, y'know, I don't hate, but prefer to keep in small doses, while the kid goes off and plays with the Titans.
Equally frustrating is the blue and grey, and the yellow Bat-symbol. Things I was glad to see go after the change was made in the animated series.

Actually, I don't really come back to DC comics [since childhood] until Batman loses the yellow symbol. It's more coincidence than anything else, but you damn sure don't see me clamboring for nineties back issues.

Anyway, despite those misgivings, it's actually a pretty decent issue.
When I was growing up reading comics I read a combination of various eighties (and nineties) new releases, with a combination of sixties/seventies/eighties back issues and reprints.

For whatever reason, that meant I mostly missed out on Jason Todd, and through new issues I met Tim Drake, and through the reprints, I lived Dick Grayson.
Always regarding Dick Grayson as the Robin, this issue provided a way for my young brain to accept and acknowledge the new Robin for all he could [and would] be.
I probably don't regard him as such, but if I have a Robin, Tim Drake is probably it.

One of the things that stuck with me as a kid was how eerie this issue kinda felt.
It's not murder and zombies and the grotesque, like other scary Batman comics. This just has a very spooky, frightening reality to a young Mike.

Two-Face has trapped Batman and Nightwing in a collapsing building, and then just for crazy-psycho kicks blows the rubble up. So, you have this blue tinted dark comic with an inexperienced Robin trying to free a buried Batman and Nightwing from the rubble.
And all of this comes after Alfred and Tim confronted Two-Face, and got bricks and shit smacked around with a crowbar. Even just the threat to Alfred felt very real, and very grim, and not in the catchy marketing grim 'n' gritty sense, either.

So, Alfred's almost been killed. Batman and Nightwing have almost been killed. Young kid who wants to be Robin is probably going to be killed.
It's a pretty dark premise, and then Robin manages to free a disorientated and confused Dark Knight, and it gets spookier.

Again, this isn't the over the top Miller Batman, or other marketable grim Batman interpretations. This is a closed off, and very stern father-figure like Batman.
He's got this scowl on his face the entire time, and he's kind of peeved about this strange kid running around dressed like Robin -- who died not long ago.
It was again, kinda scary as a kid.

The final element of the spook is a touch, presumably from Aparo to signify the damage sustained in the blast, is these little cracks all over Batman and Nightwing.
They're not just isolated to cowl, cape and costume either. They have these little spooky, stone-like cracks laid out sparsely all over them.

I can't tell you why, but it was spooky, and made the violence seem unusually real.

So, there you go. A flashback of some fond memories from the past.

The Fight: 2.5 The Issue: 5

NEXT: It's Clobberin' Time! The Thing goes out for a stroll, and finds himself frightfully outnumbered - four to one! Time travel July winds up in the seventies!