Batman: The Adventures Continue Season Two #4 - DC Comics

BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON TWO No. 4, November 2021

Considering just how successful the character of Renee Maria Montoya has become since the police officer made her television debut in 1992, it’s difficult to imagine many fans of “Batman: The Animated Series” were particularly pleased with the detective’s portrayal in Alan Burnett and Paul Dini’s script for “The Muscle”. For whilst this twenty-page periodical still undeniably depicts Harvey Bullock’s partner as a strong-minded, self-reliant badass, the detective’s public and private contempt for all that the Dark Knight has done for Gotham City arguably soon transforms Bruce Timm’s co-creation into a pale, highly dislikeable shadow of her former self.

Happily however, this overconfident, unpleasantly arrogant Montoya doesn’t completely eclipse a delightfully well-penned narrative which sees a concussion-plagued Caped Crusader try to protect Renee from a truly formidable-looking armoured assassin. This seemingly deadly mercenary-for-hire genuinely captures the imagination straight from this comic’s opening when he commits an efficient, cold-blooded murder at the Gotham docks, and doesn’t let up until he’s about to literally bash Batman’s brains out with a set of powerlifting weights; “He’s faster than I thought. And stronger. A lot stronger… That’s why I’m ending this fast.”

Likewise, plenty of thought seems to have gone into just how this latest adversary could seriously rival the legendary fighting prowess of the titular character, when, unlike Bane or Mister Freeze, the newcomer has no evident super-powers to call upon. This conundrum is cleverly solved by having the Muscle attack an unsuspecting Bruce Wayne whilst the billionaire playboy is being driven in his limousine by Alfred, and suffering both a debilitating bullet to his shoulder, as well as a hefty bang to the head, as a result. Of course, the cowled Justice Leaguer does don a power brace in order to off-set his gun-shot wound, but he’s still so visibly impaired physically that he gets Pennyworth to drive the Batmobile for him.

Adding plenty of shadowy menace and spine-tingling chills to all these pulse-pounding proceedings is artist Jordan Gibson and colorist Monica Kubina, who together genuinely provide a claustrophobically dark atmosphere to the crime-ridden metropolis within which this twenty-page periodical’s plot is set. The pair’s panels also help sell every bone-crunching blow thrown during some dynamically-drawn punch-ups, most notably when Batman and the Muscle confront one another for the first time.

The regular cover of "BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON TWO" #4 by Bob Guillory