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A review by neilrcoulter
Batman: Curse of the White Knight by Sean Murphy
3.0
I’m a fan of Batman: White Knight, which I find to be a satisfying standalone story, not in need of a sequel. But I was curious what the sequel volumes do with the story, so I checked them out. The first sequel, Curse of the White Knight, picks up the few loose ends from the first volume—what’s under the floorboard in Alfred’s room, and what Napier meant that he discovered the Joker in his original cell in Arkham. Those details lead to what, for me, became an overly convoluted way of exploring the themes of “What is the Wayne legacy?” and “What makes Bruce Wayne a Wayne?” The story goes all the way back to the founding of Gotham City, setting up a conflict between Waynes and Bakkars that culminates in the present-day story. It’s an interesting enough theme, but I was over my head in all the deep-cut details. I’m sure this is no problem for people more steeped in Batman lore, but I didn’t know enough about all the pieces moving around in this story.
This volume is as grisly as the original, but it also gives even more emphasis to the value of life. It’s an odd mix overall. On the one hand, the entire rogues gallery is killed at once. On the other hand, Harley is pregnant, delivers her baby, and finds a redemptive arc that’s nearly powerful enough to allow Napier to overpower the Joker for good. The beauty of life is not always present to counterbalance the despair of a Batman story, so I appreciate it in this one.
I wish the “von Freeze” story had been integrated into the part of the book where it is meant to go, rather than being relegated to an extra feature at the end. I think reading that in proper sequence would have been really excellent. Ironically, that’s the flashback that meant more to me than all the Wayne/Bakkar stuff. Victor is one of most interesting of the Batman villains, and I would have liked to see him play a bigger role in this story than just doing what the plot required at a few points.
With so many characters from all of Batman’s history brought into the White Knight series, it’s a little odd to me that Catwoman is nowhere to be found. Because she’s absent, Harley ends up having to play the “pal who understands and perhaps loves Batman” role that usually belongs to Catwoman. It basically works, but there were moments where I thought, “This should be Selina, not Harleen.”
This volume is as grisly as the original, but it also gives even more emphasis to the value of life. It’s an odd mix overall. On the one hand, the entire rogues gallery is killed at once. On the other hand, Harley is pregnant, delivers her baby, and finds a redemptive arc that’s nearly powerful enough to allow Napier to overpower the Joker for good. The beauty of life is not always present to counterbalance the despair of a Batman story, so I appreciate it in this one.
I wish the “von Freeze” story had been integrated into the part of the book where it is meant to go, rather than being relegated to an extra feature at the end. I think reading that in proper sequence would have been really excellent. Ironically, that’s the flashback that meant more to me than all the Wayne/Bakkar stuff. Victor is one of most interesting of the Batman villains, and I would have liked to see him play a bigger role in this story than just doing what the plot required at a few points.
With so many characters from all of Batman’s history brought into the White Knight series, it’s a little odd to me that Catwoman is nowhere to be found. Because she’s absent, Harley ends up having to play the “pal who understands and perhaps loves Batman” role that usually belongs to Catwoman. It basically works, but there were moments where I thought, “This should be Selina, not Harleen.”