Batman: The Ultimate Evil #1-2 (2 issue mini series, prestige format)DC Comics
Avg. Cost: $1
Based on the novel by Andrew Vachss, this two issue mini series focuses on a heavy topic: child molestation. With a topic like that, it’s tough to maintain an even keel, and the series sways between drama and action, occasionally getting heavy-handed and preachy.
Batman seems to be in the middle of his crimefighting career, and starts to doubt himself, wondering if he is fighting crime or just criminals. It’s only when Bruce Wayne meets an attractive albino woman at an art exhibit, that he begins to key in to the catalysts of crime and criminals. Bruce accompanies her on some of her Child Protective Services visits and gets up close and personal with the child abuse going on in his own backyard.
And just when he’s feeling his lowest, Alfred pulls some secret diary out of thin air, written by Bruce’s mother. Apparently, she spent her free time fighting child sex tourism, which leads to Bruce realizing that he’s following in Mommy’s footsteps as a crimefighter with a secret identity. And so Batman vows to finish what she started.
It’s around this point, where the series jumps the tracks, as we see Batman go a little out of character.
After tracking down the location of a major child sex ring, Batman visits the country in an alter ego. That same alter ego arranges for some guns and munitions to be delivered to the local revolutionaries. Since when is Bruce in the gun-running business?
On top of that, at the very climax of the story, Batman does nothing to stop one of the revolutionaries from killing the ringleader. If Batman has a “no kill” policy, doesn’t letting someone else kill kind of go against that also?
On the bright side, Denys Cowan’s art is fantastic. He draws Batman like a cross between a Dark Knight Returns-era Frank Miller and Norm Breyfogle. Otherwise, this one is better left in the bargain bin.
