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Batman: Rebirth #1 Review

By Zak Edwards
June 15, 2016 - 15:09

This review of Batman: Rebirth #1 has spoilers. Not a lot of them, but some. If you want a spoiler-free version of DC’s latest Batman non-reboot, then head over to Andy Doan’s review. A preview: he liked this issue much more than I did.

Stan Lee’s Silver Surfer run is one of the last comparisons people would make to Batman in any of his forms. They’re completely opposite colours, for one thing, and they exist in entirely different sorts of circumstances. Batman likes to crack the skulls of gangsters and super-powered sociopaths. Silver Surfer generally tries to stop the annihilation of entire solar systems, when he wasn’t scouting them out for Galactus.

Batman Rebirth #1 cover by David Finch & Jordie Bellaire

But Rebirth’s Batman and Silver Surfer seem to have one thing in common: standing on a flying object and talking. But while Stan Lee used Silver Surfer to pontificate his musings and philosophies, the usually amazing Tom King (of Vision fame, which you must certainly check out) uses the same idea to make Batman narrate out loud.

Almost the entirety of this issue centers around Batman saving a runaway plane from crashing into downtown Gotham City. The premise makes sense since King has a lot of world building to do in these small pages. Adding a flaming airplane is as good an excuse as any to introduce the new status quo for the Rebirth-ed Caped Crusader.

It also means this issue is an infodump, a long one at that, dolled up like something else. And, like most infodumps, it’s stilted, awkward, and fairly lifeless. The single exception to this is the introduction of Duke Thomas, the latest in a long line of Robins, who comes across as inexperienced, eager, and fairly competent all at once. Other parts feel like cross-promotion, like Batman mentioning the Justice League, Superman, and Green Lantern. But mostly, it’s Batman on what is essentially a runaway train, telling Alfred and Duke what he's doing, what he's going to do, and what he's already done. That makes sense for those on radio comms, but for an audience who can see it, the words mostly just take up space.

Even when the stakes get higher, they amount to nothing anyways. The back half of the book is mostly Bruce Wayne dictating his dying wishes to a surprisingly calm and uninteresting Alfred, which comes off as emotionally flat (a give in, perhaps, considering the title character). And it’s all for not at the end as well, when a last minute save sets up the story’s first cliffhanger: the appearance of some Superman copycats who call themselves, I’m not joking, Gotham and Gotham Girl.

To the credit of the entire art team working on this book, they do a great job of trying to distract from the somewhat boring premise. I’m not usually a fan of David Finch’s predilection for dolling up teenagers like blow-up dolls, but his work is tempered by Matt Banning’s inks, Jordie Bellaire’s colours, and a nearly all-adult cast. The entire issue is a joy to look at, with splashes of fire and colour that liven up the book’s stilted dialogue and characterization.

tl;dr review: If you like Batman, you’ll probably pick this up anyways, but I was not a fan. A stilted premise is compensated, in part, by great visuals, but it doesn’t distract enough. The big "reveal" is yawn-inducing.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12