Batman: Gotham Knights - Gilded City #1 - DC Comics

BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS - GILDED CITY No. 1, December 2022

Leading “directly into the upcoming video game Gotham Knights” by “Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment”, Evan Narcisse’s narrative for “Limited Editions” probably didn’t excite its readers anyway near as much as “DC Comics” hoped it would. In fact, considering that this twenty-two-page periodical is supposed to tie-in with an action-packed beat ‘em up set “in the immediate aftermath of Batman's death”, the American author’s plot of a mysterious virus causing shoe, handbag and food fans to potentially die from FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) arguably seems a little ‘left field’ when it comes to storylines detailing the Dark Knight’s demise; “If these button-mashers want the newest graphics card so bad, they should’ve preordered like I did!”

Furthermore, there’s a definite lack of threat posed to any of the Bat Family throughout their city-wide ordeal, despite the likes of Robin and Batgirl working alone against numerous opponents. Much of this apathy is generated by the heroes facing simple, everyday Gothamites who are more determined to get their hands on the latest ‘in thing’ as opposed to being well-trained, deadly killers. But the book also lacks any recognisable central antagonist or arch super-villain, courtesy of the Scarecrow supposedly being “in custody for months” and his last “vermin-infested hellhole” being empty.

Happily however, what Narcisse’s modern-day adventure lacks in intrigue and tension, his wild west yarn debatably makes up for in some small part. Indeed, it’s a pity that the exploits of the masked Runaway and his physical endeavours to ensure white slavers don’t succeed in their vile trade of “dragging bodies back into bondage” on the outskirts of Gotham in 1847 aren’t given even more ‘screen time’ than they are – especially as the plight of Vivian Foxworthy momentarily smacks of genuine peril when she’s violently dragged from a carriage by her prejudicial abductors.

Helping add some much-needed energy to the gun-toting cowboy sub-plot is the artist Abel, who quite marvellously manages to imbue this ‘golden day of the American Frontier’ with all the shocking savagery and merciless ferocity an audience might expect from a time when a person sadly had to rely more upon their wits and close combat skills than fancy papers covered in scribbles. Disappointingly though, the illustrator doesn’t seem to succeed quite so well when pencilling Batman, and even depicts a rather stiff-looking Caped Crusader when he suddenly encounters two of Scarecrow’s ex-goons loitering in Jonathan Crane’s old lair.

The regular cover art of "BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS - GILDED CITY #1 by Greg Capullo