With war on the horizon, the Dark Knight asks an important question in this week’s Batman #24…and what a question it is!
Batman asks for Catwoman’s hand in marriage, using the diamond she stole during their first encounter in the ring. Oh, that old sentimentalist! Bruce tells Selina that he knew, from that first moment, that he’d need the diamond for her. With the Batsignal shining in the background, Bruce gets down on one knee, ring in hand, and asks Selina to marry him.
Anyone else imagining what Bruce’s bachelor party would look like? No, me neither.
It’s the culmination of an issue that shows Bruce at his most vulnerable. He spends much of the issue with Gotham Girl, high atop a radio tower. Gotham Girl, Claire as Bruce calls her, is unsure about her future. Where does she go from here after her brother’s death? Should she walk away from being a hero? Should she continue to use her powers, knowing that doing so would eventually kill her?
Bruce confesses that when his parents died, Alfred tried to tell him what to do all the time, and Bruce eventually drowned his loyal butler out. Claire tells Bruce she wants him to tell her what to do, because he’s Batman. Because he’s better. It was an emotionally powerful scene to read, one of many from King’s brilliant mind. The man gets Bruce Wayne better than any writer I’ve read in years.
The issue served as a perfect calm before the coming storm of The War of Jokes and Riddles, beginning next issue. If the 24 issues King has written are any indication, we’re in for a helluva ride.
Strap in.
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