All Star Batman #11 Review/Discussion

[JBatmanFan05]

I thought it was a really good issue where the theme of this arc started to show itself. Tec #27 and Batman's quest for immortality?....a mistake Batman is making and Alfred feels guilty for? I'm wondering if this arc might be Alfred in some way standing up to Bruce against his immortality plans. Or maybe Bruce walks away with some lesson on that. Or maybe the end of that desire lies with Sean Murphy's future arc, but this arc just kinda foreshadows that showdown, that reckoning.

I love how Snyder captures the exotic and pirate pastiche and aesthetic. Stealth submarines worded as ghost ships. Snyder is just really good at directing atmosphere and aesthetic.

Snyder sorta interestingly gives young Alfred his own..Alfred-ish sort of mentor. This figure also kinda mirrors Ducard a little bit, and Batman trainers.

Cons: Snyder continues with that, as one reviewer put it, too "on the nose" wording by Alfred of Bruce as his son. Which is precisely my thought on that.

From CBR's interview today:

CBR: There is definitely a sense of guilt with Alfred, especially in terms of how he has taught Bruce that there is always a way out.

Snyder: That’s exactly what we’re trying to do here. We are answering the question: Is Alfred being a good father by protecting Bruce from harm and constantly patching him up and sending him back out? Would he be a better father to just make him stop? Is he being a bad father for hiding things from him? Those aren’t easy questions to answer. As a father, there are no easy answers for those things and a lot of the time you wind up doing things that you realize are detrimental to your kid that you thought were positive because you were being protective. This story is emotional certainly. It’s one of the most emotional stories that I think I have told. But it’s also meant to be over-the-top fun. We wanted every issue to be packed with pirate goodness and sunken ships and mermaids and all kinds of craziness. There are scenes right out of an Errol Flynn movie coming up. It’s pretty fun.

http://www.cbr.com/interview-scott-s...batman-alfred/

[Bukdiah]

The villains remark about Batman's terrible Bruce Wayne disguise cracked me up. Love the chin references.

[Frontier]

I swear one of these days a writer is going to kill off Alfred and then we'll have to deal with an Alfred hologram for a year .

All those flashbacks to Alfred's Dad being there for all of the Wayne family's biggest moments (Thomas' graduation, Thomas and Martha's courtship, the birth of Bruce) were weird because those were all moments I always imagined Alfred being there for.

I mean, I get what Snyder was going for...Alfred holding a grudge over his father seemingly abandoning his family for the Waynes and throwing himself into military wetwork while his father got to experience the joy of being part of the Wayne family and finding meaning in life while Alfred wasn't, but still. I wonder how long Alfred was with the Waynes before they were shot?

I also wonder why Alfred's Dad didn't just bring his family with him to America, which would probably have solved everything, unless he wanted Alfred to have a life in Britain.

Snyder has been really writing Bruce and Alfred's conversation over comms as very belligerent on Bruce's side.

I wasn't expecting Penguin, Black Mask, and Great White Shark to show up again (does Black Mask have a new mask?). It's like they're setting up this weird, three-way, bromance between these crime bosses.

This new villain feels like the 8th evil version of Batman we've seen in the comics at this point, and maybe the second or third one Snyder's created in his tenure. Oh well, he looks cool at least .

[JBatmanFan05]

All those flashbacks to Alfred's Dad being there for all of the Wayne family's biggest moments (Thomas' graduation, Thomas and Martha's courtship, the birth of Bruce) were weird because those were all moments I always imagined Alfred being there for.

History and continuity surprisingly support Snyder's chosen path.

The Pre-Crisis comics (the comics that were published by DC Comics between 1938 and 1984) established Alfred as a retired actor and intelligence agent who followed the deathbed wish of his dying father Jarvis Pennyworth to carry on the tradition of serving the Wayne family. To that end, Alfred introduced himself to Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson at Wayne Manor and insisted on becoming their valet. Although the pair did not want one, especially since they did not want to jeopardize their secret identities with a servant in the house, they did not have the heart to reject Alfred.

In the Post-Crisis comics continuity, Alfred has been the Wayne family valet all of Bruce's life and had helped his master establish his superhero career from the beginning. In addition, he was Bruce's legal guardian following the deaths of his parents. Alfred's history has been modified several times over the years, creating assorted versions. In one such version, Alfred was hired away from the British Royal Family by Bruce's parents, and he virtually raised Bruce after they were murdered.

Meanwhile, another version of Alfred's Post-Crisis life [in 1989's Batman Annual # 13; script: Kevin Dooley] was slightly more closely linked to his pre-Crisis counterpart. In this version, Alfred is an actor on the English stage who agrees to become the Waynes' butler to honor his father's dying wish. At the time he begins working for the Waynes, Bruce is a young child. After several months, Alfred voices the desire to quit and return home to continue his life as an actor. However, these plans are momentarily forgotten when young Bruce returns home after getting into a fight with a school bully. Alfred teaches Bruce to handle the bully strategically, rather than using brute force. Following Alfred's advice, Bruce takes care of his bully problem. Upon returning home, Bruce requests that Alfred stay, and Alfred agrees without a second thought. Alfred raises Bruce after the Waynes are murdered.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Pennyworth
http://www.fanzing.com/mag/fanzing45/oracle.shtml

[Frontier]

History and continuity surprisingly support Snyder's chosen path.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Pennyworth
http://www.fanzing.com/mag/fanzing45/oracle.shtml

Still feels weird though .

[PurpleGlovez]

It's definitely interesting to think about the fact that Alfred has NEVER been there for Bruce's birth in the main continuity... however, it looks like they might have tried because the end of Paul Dini's Streets of Gotham run (mistakenly?) has Alfred present prior to Thomas and Martha's wedding. A back-up story called Regnum Defende in Detective Comics 806-807 depicts Alfred's days in British intelligence as well.

[darkseidpwns]

I swear one of these days a writer is going to kill off Alfred and then we'll have to deal with an Alfred hologram for a year .

All those flashbacks to Alfred's Dad being there for all of the Wayne family's biggest moments (Thomas' graduation, Thomas and Martha's courtship, the birth of Bruce) were weird because those were all moments I always imagined Alfred being there for.

I mean, I get what Snyder was going for...Alfred holding a grudge over his father seemingly abandoning his family for the Waynes and throwing himself into military wetwork while his father got to experience the joy of being part of the Wayne family and finding meaning in life while Alfred wasn't, but still. I wonder how long Alfred was with the Waynes before they were shot?

I also wonder why Alfred's Dad didn't just bring his family with him to America, which would probably have solved everything, unless he wanted Alfred to have a life in Britain.

Snyder has been really writing Bruce and Alfred's conversation over comms as very belligerent on Bruce's side.

I wasn't expecting Penguin, Black Mask, and Great White Shark to show up again (does Black Mask have a new mask?). It's like they're setting up this weird, three-way, bromance between these crime bosses.

This new villain feels like the 8th evil version of Batman we've seen in the comics at this point, and maybe the second or third one Snyder's created in his tenure. Oh well, he looks cool at least .

I'd fit him more in the category of Raptor, Deathstroke and Nobody than the likes of Bane, Wrath, Prometheus, Owlman. The former are evil Batmen by virtue of their relationships with their own families/those closest to them or even with that of the Bat family while the latter are outright dark twins because of the tragedy of their lives and the choices that they made which made them dark twins of Batman.
Evil Supermen, Flashes and Spider-Men still outnumber them though. Whats his name though? Nemesis keeps popping up but I dont think he's been addressed as such.

[SicariiDC]

I liked it, this looks to be my favorite arc so far

[UnderTheRedHood]

The New Villain Intrigues me. I know the next time they meet batman is gonna figure out a way to beat him But Still Cool Guy

[Pohzee]

How to write like Scott Snyder:
http://www.wikipedia.org

It's like he's parodying himself at this point.

[millernumber1]

I really, really, really hate the cloning plot. That's creating a slave army designed to bleed and die for something they never signed up for. The bioethics of the whole scenario are horrifying, the opposite of heroic, and the more Snyder brings it up, the more loathsome it gets. I really, really hope he knows this, and is building to its destruction.

[millernumber1]

So, we have a new issue this week, but no new thread. I am (unsurprisingly) mad at this week's issue (#12) because of the blisteringly lazy writing of Alfred looking at Bruce's scars from when he was 8.

After Snyder himself wrote in Batman #51 that Bruce has no old scars.

And he is co-writing an event that mentions the healing in the Metal that caused this lack of scars. THIS MONTH.

[SicariiDC]

So, we have a new issue this week, but no new thread. I am (unsurprisingly) mad at this week's issue (#12) because of the blisteringly lazy writing of Alfred looking at Bruce's scars from when he was 8.

After Snyder himself wrote in Batman #51 that Bruce has no old scars.

And he is co-writing an event that mentions the healing in the Metal that caused this lack of scars. THIS MONTH.

Hh that is interesting. Not keeping me from enjoying this issue but that's def something I wouldn't expect from Snyder.

I like this arc ok but it's getting so fucking played that every Snyder bat story has some secret, dark, never mentioned before alteration or addition to the long-standing mythos. Even in the first arc, having Bruce and Harvey be old children friends...having Alfred be a member of some black ops thing...even Metal, Bruce is hunting down some element in secret...idk.I'm a Snyder fan but I don't think he can write a story with just present day elements anymore.

Maybe I'm just starting to see the chinks in his armor

Edit: he's like a human retcon

Edit redux: After thinking about my comment for a while I realized that this is still as we speak New 52 continuity...which Snyder and Capullo pioneered so I guess he can write whatever he wants into the mythos of this current Batman. I think he may struggle dealing with Pre-flashpoint Bats if/when tho...

[Katana500]

I really, really, really hate the cloning plot. That's creating a slave army designed to bleed and die for something they never signed up for. The bioethics of the whole scenario are horrifying, the opposite of heroic, and the more Snyder brings it up, the more loathsome it gets. I really, really hope he knows this, and is building to its destruction.

Yeah it is awefully stupid, I have no idea of the point of the whole thing.

[millernumber1]

Hh that is interesting. Not keeping me from enjoying this issue but that's def something I wouldn't expect from Snyder.

I like this arc ok but it's getting so fucking played that every Snyder bat story has some secret, dark, never mentioned before alteration or addition to the long-standing mythos. Even in the first arc, having Bruce and Harvey be old children friends...having Alfred be a member of some black ops thing...even Metal, Bruce is hunting down some element in secret...idk.I'm a Snyder fan but I don't think he can write a story with just present day elements anymore.

Maybe I'm just starting to see the chinks in his armor

Edit: he's like a human retcon

Edit redux: After thinking about my comment for a while I realized that this is still as we speak New 52 continuity...which Snyder and Capullo pioneered so I guess he can write whatever he wants into the mythos of this current Batman. I think he may struggle dealing with Pre-flashpoint Bats if/when tho...

He can write whatever he wants - but it'd be nice if he were consistent with his own freaking writing. Also, I'd love to read one of his endings that actually satisfied me like Gates of Gotham or Black Mirror. Everything else has felt overgrown and cliched, and completely lacking in any sort of ending that justifies everything that's gone before.