Detective Comics #521, December 1982, written by Gerry Conway and Joey Cavalieri, penciled by Irv Novick and Trevor Von Eeden
Detective Comics #520, November 1982, written by Gerry Conway and Paul Kupperberg, penciled by Don Newton and Curt Swan
Detective Comics #881, October 2011, written by Scott Snyder, penciled by Jock and Francesco Francavilla
Detective Comics #654, “God of Battle,” December 1992, written by Chuck Dixon, penciled by Michael Netzer
A tween busts out of military school and uses his ridiculous Asperger’s strategist brain to begin a terror campaign to scare all of Gotham’s street gangs into one big gang, for the purpose of taking over the city.
What the 26 year old thinks: I don’t want to sound like…a Bon Jovi fan who just wants the hits…but Batman’s rogue’s gallery is pretty awesome. And iconic. And maybe a good chunk of why he’s awesome. So far Batman has just fought…gang members. And this one’s no different. It’s a fine story, I guess, but I’m also the guy that used to get disappointed when episodes of the animated series wouldn’t have a colorful bad guy in it. Nameless mobster? No thanks. So this is fine but…I still want to know what it’s like to read a Batman comic where he actually fights super villains.
What the 8 year old thinks: Another weird issue. Much like his 26 year old self, he wants to see the bad guys he loves. Riddler! Joker! Penguin! Catwoman! Clayface! Harley Quinn! No, wait, 8 year old me, she’s only in the cartoon. Anyway, he’s bored by this. Not because it’s a bad story, but because none of these generic bad guys are as COOL as the classic ones. A military school brat with a machine gun and itchy trigger finger is no Two-Face.
Verdict: “This kid is like Kevin McCallister, but with guns instead of paint cans. No thank you, dude! Guns aren’t cool unless they shoot laser blasts!”
