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The 'Dark Prisons' arc reaches its penultimate chapter this week with the publication of Batman #147 - a particularly plot-dense issue that marks a turning point in both Failsafe's schemes to seize control of Gotham and Bruce Wayne's fight back against the evil forces that have stolen Batman's identity.
This issue, written by Chip Zdarsky, and drawn by Jorge Jiménez, with colors from Tomeu Morey, moves a lot of pieces into place for next month's climactic showdown. Pleasingly, after several months with Bruce on the backfoot, it's an issue that finally sees him start to get his head back in the game - and he has a new look to prove it.
Spoilers for Batman #147
The issue opens with Zur-En-Arrh still in control of the Failsafe android and still - somehow - convincing Damian Wayne that he is the real Batman (despite looking much pointier and never showing his face). He has "accessed every electronic device in Gotham" and that brings him to the attention of Amanda Waller in a scene that feels like a counterpart to one in last week's Superman: House of Braniac special and the start of another tentative alliance that will no doubt explode in the upcoming Absolute Power event.
Meanwhile, the real Batman is on the run. He heads out to an old cabin built by his father to hide out. I will admit to finding his logic here, that Zur/Failsafe will probably not look there, a little sketchy, but I suppose he's banking on Zur having his metal hands full for now. Bruce sets to work on building... something, though we don't see what just yet.
Back with Zur/Failsafe, Damian finally comes to his senses and discovers the truth about his "father" when he learns that he is loading his army of multiversal Zur-En-Arrhs into Amazo robot bodies. And if that sentence means nothing to you, don't worry - it is slightly bewildering.
To quickly recap: The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is a psychotic alter-ego of Bruce Wayne that has taken on a life of its own. It's now inside the Failsafe robot meaning that there's an extremely hardline version of Batman prowling the streets of Gotham. He has managed to also bring versions of Zur-En-Arrh from other parts of the multiverse over to the prime DC universe and has contained them in robots - functionally creating an army of evil Batmen. Fun! Unfortunately for Damian, he has also created an evil replica of Batman's son who looks indistinguishable from the real thing except for his new red suit (because, y'know, evil).
Meanwhile, at the cabin, Bruce is unexpectedly joined by a familiar face: Tim Drake. Bruce has been on his own the last few months, ever since his paranoid, Zur-En-Arrh-corrupted self pushed away the other members of the Bat-Family, but Tim has come bearing food and the possibility of reconciliation. After months of Bruce's self-isolation, it's genuinely charming to see him reconnecting with one of the Robins.
It all leads to a scene that anyone who has been studying next month's solicits will know is coming, but is still pretty cool to see: Batman unveils his new suit: tougher, more armored, and with a Bat-symbol which directly nods to Frank Miller's iconic The Dark Knight Returns - perhaps a suggestion that things are about to get rough.
Is this a permanent new addition to Bruce's wardrobe or simply an anti-Zur suit? It's hard to say just yet - the already-released covers for Batman #149 and #150 show a different outfit, though that decision may have been made to avoid spoilers. Still, the point is made: Batman is ready to reconnect with his family and in the main story's final line he echoes what we're all thinking: "It's time to put this monster down."
Batman #147 is out now from DC.
The Boy Wonder #1 is also out this week. Check out our interview with writer/artist Juni Ba.
