Batman #49 Comic Book Recap/Review

Batman #49 Recap/Review  – Into the Cave…

Batman #49 Comic Book Recap

Bruce thought he could hide from his secrets.  He was wrong.  There’s no way around it.  He needs to see the cave for himself.  Alfred begs him not to do this.  He says Bruce can and should not to do this.  Jim Gordon can be the hero.  However, Bruce knows that Jim might be dead.  Mr. Bloom ripped the new Batman apart on live television.  The city is in chaos.  As Alfred collapses in grief, Bruce says the words.  “I’m Batman.”

[Related: Click Here To Find Batman Comic Books Online]

It’s time for them to go to the cave.  Inside, Bruce is taken to the machine that will restore Bruce’s memory.  Alfred does not think this is an option, as it will kill Bruce.  He reminds his former master of Bruce’s new life with Julie Madison, but Wayne won’t have any of this.  He could not live with himself without trying to help, and Alfred knows it.  The two men share a hug, and they begin the process.

In a flash, Bruce begins to see other iterations of Batman.  Him in the future, happy and with a family, but still fighting the good fight.  Him in the past, working at the side of Jim Gordon.  A hundred different lifetimes.  It is all to much for Bruce, whose mind begins to rip apart.  He demands that Alfred keep activating the machine, but the butler will not have any part in killing the closest thing he has to a son.  However, Julie appears, and says she will.  She explains that she’s always known about Batman, and is willing to accept the need for Batman’s return.

She knows that this means Bruce won’t remember their time together, but he will be able to save everyone.  Bruce says he loves her, and Julie says goodbye.  She fires the machine, and Bruce’s mind dies.  She fires it one more time… and the process is finally completed.  Bruce Wayne is silent for a moment, and says it is time for them to get to work.

Batman #49 Comic Book Review

Hello and welcome to Comic Island!  My name is Arden, and this is my recap, and review, of Batman #49.

So… I have been quite conflicted over the direction Batman was going.  Last issue, I had a blast as things came to a head.  This issue, I left feeling disappointed.  The art is great, I will give the comic that.  I though Yanick Paquette did a great job with it.  I also really liked Alfred’s breakdown over Bruce becoming Batman again.  That felt fitting to his character, though as the issue went on, it feels like Alfred transitions from a concerned parent to a whiny child.

But… I don’t know, I finished reading this comic and felt truly bummed out.  What was the point of all this?  What’s this comic trying to say about Batman?  I honestly don’t know, and what I do know, bothers me.  This whole comic felt… off to me.  It’s a bad mix of boring exposition and weird flashes of other Batmen in other worlds, and I don’t get it!  I just don’t!  Why are they doing this?  Why is Bruce seeing lives he never lived to get his memories back?  That doesn’t make any sense!

[Related: Click Here To Find Batman Comic Books Online]

Oh, and don’t even get me started about Julie Madison somehow knowing about Batman.  Within the DC universe, that’s supposed to be one of the best kept secrets on Earth.  And yet, somehow, this childhood friend of Bruce Wayne not only knows about his secret identity, but also how to get into the cave.  That makes no sense, and though it’s a minor point, it’s a critical part of this story and really sticks out as just… silly.

Let’s also be clear about something else, it’s not the return of Bruce Wayne that bothers me.  That was a long time coming, and most of our viewers are sure to be happy about this moment, while I just… barely care, to be honest. I was fine with Batman going away for a while because DC relies way to heavily on him already.  But sure, if they want to bring him back, that’s cool.  I get it.  Still, his short-lived absence makes me wonder why I bothered with any of this new Batman stuff.  I compare this to stories like Knightfall and Final Crisis, which had a lot more to say and do when it came to Batman.  Here, <SIGH>.  Whatever.  There’s nothing here we haven’t seen before, it doesn’t feel like it adds anything to the Batman mythos, and at the end of the day, I don’t think Batman #49 has anything all that clever or well thought out.

So uh, I need to stop talking about this before I get too annoyed.  I look forward to issue 50, where I can hopefully do my Mr. Bloom impression again.  Because he’s great and that’s always fun and I am looking forward to Batman going up against him.  So let me know what you guys think in the comments section below, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and keep reading comics.