Year One: Batman 406

Batman #406 (April 1987)
"Black Dawn"
Frank Miller-David Mazzuchelli

Doug: The plot is certainly thickening as we move into the second half of this mini-series within a series that redefined (for better or worse) the Batman in the post-Crisis DC Universe. Today's fare is chock full of action and suspense; I wouldn't say that any of the outcomes are unpredictable, but there's a certain page-turnability to this story. Before we get to examining the plot, I would like to say that I think the cover to Batman 406 seems out of place beside the other three in the series. We've remarked that David Mazzuchelli's art is at times minimalist; here we have something that's very busy. While it certainly foreshadows events within, it's just a wholly-different design in comparison to the rest of the covers he did for this storyline.

Karen: I hadn't thought about that, but looking at the covers, you're dead right Doug.

Doug: When we left off, the Batman was hiding in a tenement building when one of the GCPD fascists dropped a bomb on it! As the building exploded around him, we felt somewhat assured that no one could survive. Of course we were wrong. Batman falls from his perch as fire ignites all about him. Chemicals in his utility belt catch fire and he has to discard it. One of the things we find out about this novice hero is that he's much better prepared than his 1966 television counterpart; this Batman keeps some back-up utensils in his boots and cape! We also see that death is very real in Frank Miller's Gotham City; as Batman plummets he spies a homeless man in the midst of the flames. Batman somewhat callously thinks that he has no time to save that man. Lighting on the floor, the Dark Knight sees a large steel door marked "Danger: Electricity 80,000 Watts". Seems like a safer place to be than a burning building, so he removes a pick from his glove and jimmies the padlock.

Karen: Just goes to show how differently people can interpret things. I took Batman's thoughts, where three times he says he can't help the old man, to indicate his frustration in his inability to save him.

Doug: I've included the panels in question, above. Upon a reread, I do see that Batman's comments about the homeless man seem filled with regret. My original take on it was that he was so focused on the mission at hand that he couldn't tolerate any deviation from the necessary. Readers?

Doug: We then cut to the apartment of Selina Kyle, who obviously shares it with the young prostitute Holly (and about two dozen cats). Holly is trying to awaken Selina to tell her about explosions and fires burning across the city. Selina reluctantly rises, but takes the time to feed her cats. She tells Holly to turn on the television news, and then they get dressed to check it out. At the scene, Gordon's pretty banged up. He barks out some orders as Detective Essen is loaded into an ambulance, having sustained injuries from last issue's high-speed accident. The sadist Branden and his SWAT commandos are going into the building. Of course it looks like a war zone, but you know what struck me immediately? Where's the fire?

Karen: I was struck by that too. Even if the fire was out (how?), it still should have been plenty hot in the ruins. But the SWAT team enters it almost nonchalantly. And after all these years, I still wonder about the relationship between Selina and the very young Holly. Nothing is shown exactly, but it still leaves me a bit creeped out.

Doug: Branden's men quickly deduce that the Batman must have gone into the steel trap door, so they pump it full of bullets first and then open it and proceed down some steps. But as they descend, a gloved hand emerges from a broken brick duct and lays a Vulcan nerve pinch on one of the police goons. Now in possession of the guy's radio, Batman tells Branden that he has him right where he wants him. Even at the earliest times, intimidation is a hallmark of a Batman adventure! Batman then drops some gas pellets down the shaft in which he was hiding, but Branden's men are prepared for it.

Karen: Yup, that was definitely a Vulcan nerve pinch. I smirked when I saw that. Although Batman is ordering Branden around, he's also trying to reason with him -"Too many people have died already." This Batman is still concerned about protecting lives, even those of crooked cops.

Doug: Surface-side, Selina and Holly arrive on the scene and Holly strays across the police line. In the sky the Commissioner circles in a helicopter wondering why this hasn't been ended yet. Inside the building, Batman puts a tourniquet around his thigh and takes cover in the shadows. With dawn coming and no roof on the structure, the sun now becomes his worst enemy. That, and a stray cat who suddenly leaps away from him, drawing attention. Well, desperate times require desperate measures, and as the situation is beginning to look hopeless, the Batman plays his final card -- an experimental sonic device that he's created for Wayne Electronics. The bats beneath Wayne Manor, in the cave. They will come to his aid.

Karen: The bat-signalling device in the heel of his shoe verges on Batman TV show territory. It's played very straight, and the imagery is great, so it works, but I felt that it was out of place. To connect Batman and Selina, we have both of them commenting on Siamese cats and how they won't be quiet. Nice touch.

Doug: Using a blow gun, the Batman puts a dart into Branden's neck. All that does is stir up his men, who now commence firing. This forces the Dark Knight from his hiding spot and puts him on a run for his life. Amazingly he picks up the cat that had tipped the cops to his whereabouts and shields it from the automatic gunfire. The cat is tossed out a window and soon leaps into the arms of Selina Kyle, near the police line. Back inside, Batman has taken shelter behind a large column. As the police move in, we see our hero reenact a scene from the first issue, when he was training himself on the grounds of Wayne Manor. He gives a mighty kick to the weakened beam, and literally brings the house down. Surprisingly there's still some fight in the GCPD thugs, but as Batman battles the bats arrive -- enough to blot out the sun. In the chaos, the Batman is able to commandeer a motorcycle and make his getaway.

Karen: I'm sure modern audiences would find Batman's rescuing the cat to be ridiculous, but I loved it. This Batman is a good guy, even if his methods are sometimes harsh. We saw him save the kid on the balcony in the last issue, and now, he saves the innocent cat -maybe because he could not save the poor homeless men who were squatting in the building. The visuals of the fight between Batman and the squad were very exciting. This whole series has had a cinematic feel to it.

Doug: While a fitting end to the story, Miller gives us quite a long coda. Gordon narrates the lion's share of it, debriefing the reader on the fall-out from the bombing/bats episode. We then see him working late (again), in his office with Det. Essen. Gordon's trying to find a way to pin the whole Batman thing on Bruce Wayne. Wayne, it seems, has left Gotham City and has been on a month-long ski vacation in the Alps. Allegedly he's broken quite a few bones in a bad fall. Essen puts it together quickly that the injuries sustained by Wayne would roughly match-up with injuries believed to have been sustained by the Batman. And, she knows the background on the murder of Wayne's parents and thinks he might have motive for his alleged vigilante behavior.

Karen: It's kind of funny, after so many years, to see the idea of Bruce Wayne is Batman laid out so easily. It does seem like any detective worth a damn could figure it out, especially since Batman's equipment would require considerable funds to obtain or build.
Doug: The way Gordon and Essen are on the case, Batman's about as thin a disguise as... oh, I don't know -- a guy wearing black-rimmed eyeglasses?

Doug: The book ends with five quick vignettes: Bruce Wayne is indeed skiing, but it's more to rehabilitate his injuries and his mind, and to refine his mission. He surmises that he cannot do what he wants without an ally -- Gordon. Selina Kyle punches out Holly's pimp and yanks her away by the hand -- Selina has an idea. Gordon and Essen do what they've been doing lately -- having coffee late into the evening, after work. It's becoming way too personal for Jim Gordon; as they leave out into the rainy night to catch a cab, they duck into a doorway where they exchange a mutual kiss. Selina has spent a bunch of money on a catsuit. She leaps out into the night despite Holly's protestations. Gordon sits at the foot of his bed, having had yet another fight with his very-pregnant wife Barbara. His life is not going well. He feels like he needs an ally -- the Batman.

Karen: I recall being so mad when Gordon crossed the line with Essen. With some years behind me though, I can look on this and see how Miller was showing us a Jim Gordon who wasn't perfect -or boring. The mutual realization that they need each other promises interesting developments.

Doug: I agree -- it was disappointing to me as well. I take it for what it's worth, and isn't this a heaping dose of Marvel into the formerly staid DC Universe? Talk about clay feet.

Doug: This story continues to pay-off. Miller's brought us deeper into the minds of Bruce Wayne and James Gordon. As one of our commenters remarked (was it sarcastically?) in our first review, this could just as easily be called "James Gordon, Year One". I don't have a problem with that. I used the line "parallel lives" last week -- it's all that. And it moves the story along quite nicely, seeing these two men working against each other but on a collision course where it's now evident that they must work together to accomplish each other's goals. I think this story holds up just fine.