Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Batman #20
DC Comics
Snyder, Capullo & Miki
Batman wraps up the mini-arc involving Clayface. It's a solid read but when you churn out epic after epic as Snyder has, the normal arcs tend to feel very average. The comic book does have a very odd explanation about the reveal of Batman's identity that I wasn't sold on. Overall, you can't go wrong with this comic book and it is worth checking out.
Clayface gives Bruce Wayne a beating and he's been disposed of much in the same way that Lucius Fox has been. The pair work together to escape the death trap, but Bruce takes special care to not break out of the Bruce Wayne mold too much in fear of tipping off Lucius to his alter ego. It's cleverly done; both the trap and the escape. There is a sense that some of it is rather convenient, but it's written and depicted well which is what really counts.
The story gets a little lazy towards the end. Clayface touches Batman and therefore learns his identity is really Bruce Wayne. This occurs in a room full of people. Snyder provides the excellent idea that Batman had placed a special filament over his face to give Batman Bruce's DNA. This is all done well. That is until the very end when Clayface taunts Batman with the death of Bruce's son.
After the careful placement of Batman's apparent identity reveal Snyder follows it up with Batman reacting violently towards Clayface's mocking of Bruce's son. This doesn't make any sense at all. Any other character in the room would have to start connecting the dots that Wayne's son is dead, Batman's kid-Robin is gone and there was just the reveal and fake-out that Batman and Bruce are one on the same. It's just not pulled off very well.
Capullo delivers excellent art as always. The Clayface in this comic is a departure from the previous versions and I like the way Capullo illustrates the transformations. I particularly like the expressions he gives Clayface when he is completely switched to some other persona. It's a very good illustrated comic book.
Snyder is creating too many epic Batman tales. That is the main failing point in this comic in terms of making it memorable. The comic does end with a touching couple of pages but it still doesn't make this issue stand out among Snyder's many great ones. This was a solid but average read.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
