Year One: Batman 404

Batman #404 (February 1987)
"Who I Am, How I Came To Be"
Frank Miller-David Mazzuchelli

Doug: From Batman: Year One through the events of The Dark Knight Returns, did the Batman make a difference in Gotham City? That's a question we'll ask you again at the conclusion of this 4-part series of posts. Beginning today, we'll spend a month with Frank Miller's and David Mazzuchelli's stand-out mini-series that gave the post-"Crisis" Batman a detailed backstory. At the conclusion of this run, we'll also give a review of the feature-length DVD by the same name that came out shortly before Christmas 2011.

Doug: We've discussed Frank Miller around here before, both the man and his work as well as his most famous book, the aforementioned Dark Knight. Everyone knows his penchant for writing noir tales, of crime and criminals at their seediest. When going back through Batman: Year One, it's pretty obvious the seeds that were being planted that would grow into Miller's notorious Sin City series. The Gotham City that we meet on the first page is torn right from Miller's later Dark Horse work.

Karen: Just want to say here that I dug out my copies of these books and I realized I haven't read them in probably over a decade.

Doug: We begin with a dual narrative, of two men arriving in Gotham City at the same time, with the same mission -- to clean up the corruption, crime, and general hopelessness of one of America's largest morasses. Lt. James Gordon arrives on an elevated train, wishing he were in an airplane and pledging to make sure his wife does indeed fly in when she comes to join him. Twenty-five year old Bruce Wayne arrives on an airplane, and while impressed with the scope of the city wishes he were on a train so he could be closer to the filth. Gordon seems a reluctant hero, second-guessing himself and all the while wondering what he's gotten himself into. Wayne exudes ambitious self-confidence, and is eager to get to his work. Wayne is greeted by the media who question where he's been the past 13 years; Gordon is met by a Detective Flass, a cop worth keeping an eye on.

Karen: It's an interesting contrast. One thing I noticed was how Gordon's narration is written in very orderly, basic block letters, while Wayne's are in a tight cursive. It adds a little more depth to the story, although it's kind of surprising to see Wayne using the more personal handwriting. The letterer was Todd Klein, who has always treated his lettering as another aspect of the art.

Doug: The early part of the story deals a lot with characterization. Gordon meets Commissioner Loeb, and Wayne meets Alfred (again). Wayne describes Wayne Manor as a "fortress", Gordon goes on patrol with Flass -- and watches him virtually destroy some street punks. Police brutality? You betcha. Bruce works out on the grounds of his estate, obliterating a pile of bricks and halving a full-grown tree with a series of kicks -- yet he's not ready. Gordon begins to clean up his department, punishing rogues and making rules. Wayne prepares to go on his first patrol, to the worst part of Gotham. And both men will meet their matches.

Karen: At this stage, I'm actually more interested in Gordon than Wayne. We're given a lot of clues as to what's going on with him -he's not happy about his wife's pregnancy, he had some trouble in the past that involved bringing down a fellow cop - and he's obviously not going to fit in with this corrupt Gotham police force.

Doug: Bruce shows what we've known about him for years -- that he is a master of disguise. In yet another mask episode, Wayne applies make-up and a fake scar to his face and then wades into the Lower East Side of Gotham. It's a land of strip joints, bars, and hookers. Bruce is hit on by what appears to be a 12-year old girl, whose pimp is none-too-happy that she doesn't score the way he taught her. As he talks down to her, Bruce gets agitated and picks a fight. When I was reading this, I kept seeing the hitman from the Costner/Connery flick The Untouchables -- anyone else see that film and think the guy pictured (see below) looks like him? Observing all of this is some dominatrix with a crew cut... named Selina. Wow. So much for the socialite jewel thief from 1940!

Karen: It's been a long time since I saw The Untouchables, so I don't recall the character you mention. What I thought of was the Joker! In the original comic, the guy has white skin; not the pink that denotes caucasian, but milk-white flesh, and a purple suit! I can't help but think this was done on purpose, yet I don't think it's supposed to be the Joker, either. I recall being shocked that Catwoman was depicted as a possibly lesbian dominatrix too.

Doug: Yeah, as we go through the story, Selina's relationship to the child prostitute in this scene is somewhat ambiguous. Say, did you happen to notice the homages to the Golden Age Batman creators as Bruce Wayne enters this quagmire? Various landmarks are named Robinson, Sprang, and Finger. Nice touch. No Kane, though?

Karen: I did indeed notice that. And yes, Selina and Holly's connection is worrisome, if Holly is as young as we think she is, and their relationship is more than friendly.

Doug: James Gordon is also getting some trouble. Leaving his apartment for work, leaving his newly pregnant wife, Gordon's accosted by four men in ski masks -- with baseball bats. Gordon's no fool -- he recognizes mannerisms and voices and knows who his assailants are, why they're there, and what they're in for. Holding his own, Gordon gives out some punishment. But he succumbs to the superior numbers, who beat him within an inch of the hospital and leave him with a warning. Their mistake.

Karen: They've established that Gordon won't be corrupted, so we're rooting for him. He's a brave man but he's no Batman, and four men with baseball bats are nothing to laugh at. It's interesting that most of the violence here is really suggested, rather than shown.

Doug: The creators get a ton of mileage out of the coloring in this series. It really is a color version of Sin City.

Doug: Bruce is now in a full-fledged melee. Selina has hit the ground, and she's tough. A knife to the thigh limits Bruce's mobility, and when the heat shows up, Bruce is winged. Down, he's cuffed and put in the squad car. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he musters enough of his senses to threaten the cops and tell them to pull over. They don't and it's their trouble now. Bruce snaps his cuffs and creates enough chaos in the car to get it to crash. As the vehicle bursts into flames, Wayne rescues the cops and deposits them a safe distance from the inferno. He then finds his way back to his Porsche (really? You're going undercover, in a Porsche?) and winds back toward the Manor.

Karen: It's pretty impressive how he snaps the chain on those cuffs! I kind of doubt an unenhanced human could do it, actually. The panels where Bruce is climbing out of the flaming car are really well done.

Doug: On the way home, Wayne's in really bad shape. Swerving all over, he has a chance encounter with Gordon and about runs him off the road. Gordon's on a mission of his own. He's called into the station for Flass; Flass is out, with the boys. Gordon goes to one of his cop's house and waits. Flass is the last to leave. Gordon tails him, and when the time is right he runs Flass into a tree. Gordon gets out of his car with a baseball bat and a gun; he drops the gun, as does Flass. Gordon tosses the bat to Flass and then proceeds to kick the crap out of him. Flass is big, and with Green Beret training; Gordon's just bad. Flass ends up naked, bound by his own cuffs. He'll tell no one.

Karen: Gordon's 'justice' was definitely cathartic, at least for me. He doesn't kill Flass, he utterly humiliates him, which might even be worse for Flass. Again, most of the panels are in silhouette so the violence is really more suggested than shown.

Doug: Bruce has made it back to Wayne Manor, crashing his Porsche in the garage. Staggering up to his father's study, he bleeds. And bleeds. And laments calling Alfred, who could make it all better. Bruce seems to pray to his father, asking him for a sign, wanting to do this right. We see the scene yet again, of the Wayne family at a showing of The Mark of Zorro, and of Joe Chill's double homicide. As Bruce broods, dangerously close to passing out, a giant bat bursts through the window and lights on a bust. I shall become a bat...

Karen: He must have 20 gallons of blood in him, to have an arterial bleed and still be alive after two car rides and two car crashes. The one page recap of how Bruce's parents were killed is a great example of how concisely a story can be told -5 panels! And that closing page is extremely cinematic.

Doug: I really liked this issue. After I read it, and as I began to type this I decided to revisit our previous Miller/Dark Knight posts. Many who left comments moaned that Miller caught lightning in a bottle with Dark Knight and never gathered it again. But I think here we have all of what was good about that first issue of Dark Knight -- the pace is fast, the dialogue snappy, the situations grim but not too much. David Mazzuchelli's minimalist art seems perfect here, and the coloring really adds to the mood. This book is a near-perfect meshing of all of the integral elements of a good comic book.

Karen: It still holds up. It's still sort of jarring to me to see streetwalker Catwoman, but it's a well-told story and it nice to see Gordon getting some development. Hard to believe it has been 25 years since this came out!