Twenty years in the future, Bruce Wayne wakes up in Arkham Asylum. Young. Sane. And… he’s never been Batman. So begins this sprawling tale of the Dark Knight as he embarks on a quest through a devastated DC landscape. Batman: Last Knight on Earth is finally collected and as a whole the comic is rather… predictable.

Written by Scott Snyder the three-issue series starts off well enough but as it progresses the reveals, for the most part, become rather predictable (who the villain is) or unexplained shock value. The series feels like a shock value read in that the visuals and concepts are enough to entertain. The story itself is rather shallow and in many ways feels like something Snyder has done before.

The story is a journey for Bruce as Batman as he discovers the new DC landscape and attempts to piece together what has happened. A new villain dubbed Omega is the end boss. The identity of the villain becomes fairly obvious early on. In many ways, this all feels like a retread and extension of Snyder’s gonzo Dark Multiverse concept and with it one of the best villains of DC, The Batman Who Laughs.

While the journey Snyder puts Batman through could be interesting in an examination of the character, it instead feels like a reference check list. We’re taken to locations but it never gets too deeps in an examination of our hero and his legacy. It’s flash without depth. Cool concepts that aren’t explored enough. This is the basis of an interesting world and feels like a bunch of ideas on a white board instead of an interesting narrative.

Snyder is joined by his often partner in crime Greg Capullo who delivers his usual impressive visuals. Jonathan Glapion provides ink, FCO Plascencia the color and Tom Napolitano the lettering. The visuals are a whirlwind of cool with interesting takes on characters that much like Snyder’s narrative hints at something so much more. We can guess the crap that’s been seen and battles waged but little is dedicated to that. We get some mentions but little exploration beyond that.

The world itself is one of weird and wonderful as if we’re descending into the different levels of Hell. Much like the story itself, there’s some interesting things that could have been done with the visuals to take it to the next level as far as page layouts and panels but for the most part we’re left with a pretty standard comic in that sense. A sweeping tale didn’t get the sweeping art it needed. But, the detail is fantastic and makes you want to learn more of the how and the why of this world.

Batman: Last Knight on Earth is an entertaining enough story but it doesn’t match what Snyder and Capullo have delivered before. There’s a lack of emotional punch and connection. There’s also the lack of exploration of the impact of what’s presented. It’s danced around but never quite makes its case. It’s a Cliff’s Notes final product of something that could be so much more.

Story: Scott Snyder Art: Greg Capullo
Ink: Jonathan Glapion Color: FCO Plascencia Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Story: 6.95 Art: 8.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read

DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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