Description: examining the art of storytelling
In our last installment we saw Jean Paul Valley’s first night on the job as Back-Up Batman and…there are concerns. The man was trained by lunatics following the teachings of a false saint. Having issues should surprise nobody…except Alfred and Bruce, apparently. I’d say “hopefully things go better this time around” but that miss the point of this storyline, to show readers what a kill-happy Batman would actually be like and why Bruce doesn’t want to be that Batman.
I have to wonder how long have they been planning this storyline? Bane was created just for this story but managed to stay around and is more memorable than Cyborg Superman Hank Henshaw easily. Perhaps using TWO existing superhero names didn’t help old Hank? Azrael was created before this story but were he and the Order Of St. Dumas created before this idea? If Bane isn’t going to be the main villain and they need to explain why Dick Grayson wasn’t called back to be Back-Up Batman the origin of Jean Paul Va
So was the whole Azrael thing created as set-up to “Knightfall” or did they see a previously made character that could fit into this story? Something to ponder as we go into the next duo of chapters.