Batman #46 Comic Book Recap/Review

Batman #46 Recap/Review – Gotham Blooms

 

Batman #46 Comic Book Recap

“Ah, you’re thinking about the doorway.  But there’s no door there, friends.  No exit open.  No door I can’t get to before you.  So settle in!  Let’s start over, shall we?  Look at this!  So many familiar faces!  I think I actually know… all of you.  Nice.  Me, they call me Mister Bloom.  And I’m here today to talk about lawn maintenance.  Aw, I was only kidding, Mister Crowne.  Where are you going?  Here, relax… have some dip.  See, truly, I’m just here to celebrate with you.  All of you good folk who toil so relentlessly to make Gotham better, make it exactly what it is today.  You know, I was one of you, once.  A bleeding heart.

A soldier for Gotham.  Like you.  Commissioner Sawyer.  Trying to grow a new police force right out of your shoulders.  Or all you community activists, growing programs for children out of your arms.  Giving them hope!  Real hope.  Here’s to all of you.  I mean it.  Your efforts – your whole lives, actually – are the rich fertilizer of this great city.  (Maybe I am talking about lawn maintenance after all.)  You give yourselves over to Gotham so that amazing things may grow here… things… like me.  Ah, Geri Powers, head of the incredible new Batman program.  All I’d really like, is for you to keep doing what you’re doing.  Please.  That’s why I’m here.  In fact, I’d like to contribute to the fundraiser.  Here you go.  No?  Ah, well then, give it to Batman for me, will you?  Next time you see him?

There you are!  And out of your little squad-bot.  Aw.  It likes you.  That’s cute.  …I like you, too.  Out of everyone here, you’re the one I really want to thank.  Now hold still.  I want to pin this on just right.  After al, because of you, “bat” has lost all its meaning.  That’s the real feat… the great symbol has now power in Gotham anymore.  UNH!  <LAUGHS>  I really think you’re on track to be the best Batman yet, Mister Gordon.  But we’ll talk more when you’re friends aren’t around.  Don’t be a stranger.”

[Related: Click Here For More Dc Comic Book Reviews]

Elsewhere, Bruce Wayne is enjoying a shower.  Julie is concerned as her father has a hearing in three months.  Her dad was a gun runner, with a long criminal history.  He wrecked Julia’s family… and also sold a gun to Joe Chill, that he used to kill Bruce’s parents.  But Bruce doesn’t care about this anymore.  He wants to marry this woman, and will support her… through everything.

Over at the new Iceberg Lounge, Duke is attempting to infiltrate the building while talking to Darryl.  Duke’s parents are, perplexingly, still missing after the Joker’s attack on Gotham, and Darryl still hasn’t been able to find them.  Though he is consolidating towards Duke regarding his parents, he still insists that the boy avoid investigating Bloom, as the villain is very dangerous.  Ignoring this warning, Duke hangs up and manages to sneak into the Iceberg Lounge.  See, the Penguin is notorious for gathering information on his enemies.

But he never keeps anything on a digital server that could be accessed by Batman, and always destroys any record of what he learns.  But Bloom put Oswald in the hospital before he could destroy what he knows about Bloom, and Duke is able to find this information.  The boy is shocked by what he  finds.

Meanwhile, Powers shows Jim Gordon an army of mech suits her company has been building.  The idea is that if the Batman program was successful, it could be applied to other cities as well.  Geri wants to enact a full force police strike to take down Bloom, but Jim doesn’t think this is a good idea.  In spite of being recently fired, he insists that this will send the wrong message, and he wants to take down Mr. Bloom by himself.  Geri thinks this is a terrible idea, but it isn’t her decision to make.

Commissioner Sawyer gets to make this call, and she asks what Jim’s plan is.  Gordon says he just wants one more chance to prove his worth to the city.  It’s the right way, to strike not with an army, but just Batman.  Just Jim Gordon… and him.

At the rec center, Bruce learns about the attack on the Powers company.  He goes to look at the seed given to him by Jim, and panics when he realizes it is gone.  Meanwhile, Duke attempts to leave the Iceberg Lounge, only to be confronted by Penguin and his goons.  He tries to escape, but one of them is able to catch the boy in his teeth.

Batman then goes into the Narrows… alone.  Jim knows all about Blossom Row.  It never really was a real street, more of a footpath that, long ago, was once a border of sorts between the rich side of town and the working class area of the city.  There, the wealthy would buy flowers off of young, impoverished children, paying the equivalent of college tuition for these little bouquets.  It was a strange form of charity in a harsh and unforgiving world.  As the city grew, and time marched on, the pathway vanished, and was, for the most part, left forgotten.  Julia Pennyworth is surprised at this story, as she assumed this place would have been home to more horrors, given Gotham’s history.  Gordon begins to search for Mr. Bloom.

[Related: Click Here For More Dc Comic Book Reviews]

“Here.  Right here.  That other voice was just for show.  This is for real.  Come here, Jim.  Sit with me a moment before it all changes out there.  It’s going to look so different, soon.  I almost miss this already.  Rookie… it’s time to get the bad guy… and break his little neck.”

<BREAK>

Hello and welcome to Comic Island!  My name is Arden, and this is my recap, and review, of Batman #46.

So, uh, I’m not really sure what to say, here.  At this point, I’ve said my piece.  The Batman series remains on track, doing everything it should be doing but in new and different ways.  The art and writing are all there, and heck, even the lettering is quite impressive, conveying the change in voice in Mr. Bloom quite nicely and instantly telling us what’s going on.

[Related: Click Here For More Dc Comic Book Reviews]

Speaking of Mr. Bloom, this villain is pretty damn cool.  He’s creepy, he’s mysterious, and he seems to have some pretty big plans for Gotham.  I’m not sure what’s going to happen, hell, the whole comic is completely ambiguous as to where it’s going.  The mysteriousness of this comic adds a lot to the story, as I have no idea what is going to happen but I sure am excited to see it for myself.  For example, look at the very first panel of this comic.  Is this Alfred destroying the clone machine?  I think so, but I can’t tell.  What this all means, and where things are going are beyond me, but at this point, I am robustly, and completely, interested in this story arc.  So everything checks out as a solid comic and promises to be bringing some pretty cool stuff as this story moves forward.  Yeah, sure, there’s still some little things here and there that bug me, but nothing wrong with this story can possibly be considered anything but nit-picky.  It’s a good comic overall, so why bother sweating the small stuff?  I liked and would easily recommend this.  So thanks for watching, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and keep reading comics.