The Batman Who Laughs #1 [preview]

[Dispenser Of Truth]

Rossmo's next-level art aside, this was pretty damn disappointing. After a handful of surprisingly interesting takes on what would break Batman - or at least, what Batman is scared could break him - the most fundamentally unsettling premise of all turns out to have an explanation of "blood drugs made him real bad real fast so he spoilers:

shot everybody and then made Superman and his kid kill Lois Lane before they died too and then he killed everyone else because he's Bad now

end of spoilers". Reading this I recalled Mark Waid talking about how on Irredeemable he always struggled to make sure it was scary because it was morally askew and tragic rather than because it was a splatterfest constantly trying to top the last gross-out, and I feel like this could have learned from that: this could have just as easily ended with Batman turning to the reader and screaming "AND THEN I DROPPED AN ATOM BOMB ON TITANS TOWER! AND THEN I COMMITTED SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD ON THE JUSTICE SOCIETY! AND THOSE NEW ZOMBIE ROBINS WERE ORPHANS WHO HAD JUST BEEN ASSIGNED LOVING FOSTER HOMES, AND THEN I MADE THEM EAT THEIR PUPPIES WHO LOVED AND TRUSTED THEM AND WERE ALSO ORPHANS!!!!!" Hell, this is a final Batman/Joker story that I don't think even had a damn joke in it, nevermind any of the interesting psychological stuff you'd expect to see with that kind of warping of Bruce's worldview. One or two interesting moments and the art notwithstanding, a serious letdown.

[dietrich]

Well that was disappointing. Why did he have to hand the most hyped one over to Tynion? I guess all big event's have low points and Metal just hit it's 1st one [imo]

[WontonGirl]

Well that was disappointing. Why did he have to hand the most hyped one over to Tynion? I guess all big event's have low points and Metal just hit it's 1st one [imo]

You really thought so?? What made it so bad for you

[Nick Miller]

I thought i would like this one but instead i didn't. I found it rather simple and rushed, and i knew it was gonna be dark and grotesque but it all just kind of fell flat.

Same
This was pretty bad. And easily the worst one shot.

[dietrich]

You really thought so?? What made it so bad for you

Maybe I was too hyped up but I just felt disappointed after reading it. I can't quite put my finger on it. Depth? Heart maybe. The general premise and story was okay but the way it played out was emotion less. All the others evoked some feeling this had no agency. spoilers:

The family didn't feel like the family so when he shot them it was empty. In Gotham Resistance the images and story Damian who laughs tells is better than this How they all turned against him betrayed him They did no such thing heck they barely did anything besides train. Even the shot in GR with Robin's head strapped to something as he was turned implied a more intimate method of turning or killing his family.

end of spoilers
based on just those teasers I expected a family book, the Family actually trying to stop him, lots of emotions, sadness and weird shit but it was Boring.


EDIT
Guys I'm sorry if I spoiled this I forgot to put spoiler tags.

[K. Jones]

The problem with a "Worst Case Scenario" Batman who is Jokerized is that you know ... we've had so many Batman and Joker and "Worst Case Scenario" stories over the years that the only thing it could ever be is this - predictable. It's not that he's not a horrifying, scary character, it's just that he's the most banal, cliched, and obvious "Evil Batman" you could possibly get. And I basically hope that Batman Who Laughs's tropishness is exactly the thing that defeats him in METAL and cancels out his "Nightmare Status".

But yeah! That's the thing about The Joker these days - for a character whose whole Modus Operandi is being the wild card, and unpredictability - he is literally THE MOST predictable villain in all of DC Comics because he has NO real motivation as a character.

[theoneandonly]

Batman who laughs should maybe have had a straight up horror story premise with Bruce being possessed by the spirit of joker rather than being exposed to joker venom and it should have been an actual amalgamation like red death is of Barry and Bruce. If Bruce was somewhere inside watching as joker used his body to destroy and pervert everything he created and slowly got driven mad to actually become convinced he was the joker from the beginning or something like tim in BB then maybe it would have packed more of a punch.

[The Whovian]

I'm looking forward to this as well

[judder64]

BTW, who do you think is the person TBWL is talking to?

spoilers:

His version of Alfred?

end of spoilers

[AlcorDee]

Gotham Resistence got me all hooked and anxious and I feel so underwhelmed right now. Meh. So dull. Much bore. Very dissappointed. They didn't even follow up on the bunch of GR hints that were ACTUALLY INTERESTING and intimate unlike this book.

[WontonGirl]

The problem with a "Worst Case Scenario" Batman who is Jokerized is that you know ... we've had so many Batman and Joker and "Worst Case Scenario" stories over the years that the only thing it could ever be is this - predictable. It's not that he's not a horrifying, scary character, it's just that he's the most banal, cliched, and obvious "Evil Batman" you could possibly get. And I basically hope that Batman Who Laughs's tropishness is exactly the thing that defeats him in METAL and cancels out his "Nightmare Status".

But yeah! That's the thing about The Joker these days - for a character whose whole Modus Operandi is being the wild card, and unpredictability - he is literally THE MOST predictable villain in all of DC Comics because he has NO real motivation as a character.

Yeah I kind of realized that in the Nolan movie. I think that's the thing with some of these villains who are the true villains. After awhile, you know what they are going to do and with Joker, you know it's just to drive Batman crazy and over the edge to kill somebody. That's really all The Joker mainly wants. At least that's what I think .

[WontonGirl]

Maybe I was too hyped up but I just felt disappointed after reading it. I can't quite put my finger on it. Depth? Heart maybe. The general premise and story was okay but the way it played out was emotion less. All the others evoked some feeling this had no agency. The family didn't feel like the family so when he shot them it was empty.

In Gotham Resistance the images and story Damian who laughs tells is better than this How they all turned against him betrayed him They did no such thing heck they barely did anything besides train. Even the shot in GR with Robin's head strapped to something as he was turned implied a more intimate method of turning or killing his family.

Yes it was definitely the one hyped up the most. I mean we bombarded with the advertisement of this books for a least 2 months.

It's just like I was saying in another thread, for me, I'm just over the whole "meta/worldwide threats/in your mind/dying and coming back" type stories, LOL! I just want some good stories with Batman back in Gotham beating folks up and handling Rogues, LOL!

No offense to anybody who likes these types of stories though. Just isn't my cup of tea now.

[dzub]

I think we were all spoiled by the peak at 'Issue #2' , Murder Machine.
I liked BWL but there was always a feeling it could've been better.

[dietrich]

Yes it was definitely the one hyped up the most. I mean we bombarded with the advertisement of this books for a least 2 months.

It's just like I was saying in another thread, for me, I'm just over the whole "meta/worldwide threats/in your mind/dying and coming back" type stories, LOL! I just want some good stories with Batman back in Gotham beating folks up and handling Rogues, LOL!

No offense to anybody who likes these types of stories though. Just isn't my cup of tea now.

That's fair enough. I don't mind a bit of both.
Shame how this turned out. I still like the character and I'm still hoping there will be a toy line.

Jokerized Dark Universe Damian would be amazing.

[WontonGirl]

That's fair enough. I don't mind a bit of both.
Shame how this turned out. I still like the character and I'm still hoping there will be a toy line.

Jokerized Dark Universe Damian would be amazing.

Yeah, I don't know if Metal is coming put with a toy line. Like, I haven't heard anything about merch. I think DC and WB are pushing JL stuff now, at least for the time being