Batman: The Adventures Continue Season Three #3 - DC Comics

BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE No. 3, May 2023

Focusing an enthralling spotlight upon “the Joker’s right-hand man, Straightman”, as well as featuring an intriguing appearance from both Amada Waller and Task Force X, Alan Burnett and Paul Dini’s script for “Crack-Up!” certainly should have impressed most of the twenty-page periodical’s bibliophiles. True, the Caped Crusader’s brilliantly brutal battle against the former super-soldier doesn’t actually last all that long. But that doesn’t stop the Dark Knight’s investigation into Captain Carl Finley’s “pre-Joker life” from being any less intriguing, especially once the likes of the Suicide Squad show up to help muddy the waters; “I figured that was you back in the alley, Deadshot. The expert marksmanship was one clue. The motley company you keep was the clincher.”

Furthermore, the book’s opening action sequence, depicting the Afghanistan veteran bravely risking all to save the life of a badly-wounded Colonel Haslett, makes for a riveting read and also helps establish that the formidably-powerful hoodlum clearly has a tragically heroic backstory to be told. Indeed, despite the slow-minded bruiser’s evident loyalty towards the Clown Prince of Crime, it’s debatably difficult not to feel some semblance of sympathy for so courageous a trooper who unselfishly put himself into the hands of Professor Hugo Strange in an unwise attempt to help create “a battlefield where no soldier has to suffer, where none are left behind.”

Similarly as successful is this narrative’s introduction of a mysterious, heavily-honed female fighter, who seemingly has Straightman’s best interests at heart and will even merrily blast away at Batman with an automatic weapon at close range if she feels it will aid her mission to “save him from Waller and that horrible clown!” Of course, many perusing this publication will soon deduce that the hooded vigilante is probably the aforementioned Haslett, who apparently joined her would-be rescuer as a guinea pig for Strange’s diabolical experimentations once she recovered from her injuries. However, that notion doesn’t lessen the sense of intrigue permeating any scenes in which the vigilante appears.

Also adding to the aura that this issue of “Batman: The Adventures Continue Season Three” was lifted directly from the animated television series are Ty Templeton’s layouts, which at times genuinely look like a cartoon still. The Canadian illustrator's art style is particularly impressive whenever a panel features the Dark Knight himself, with colorist Monica Kubina doing a first-rate job in covering the crime-figure or his trademark silhouette with precisely the sort of shadows any Bat-fan would expect from a super-hero who utilises “a bat-inspired persona.”

The regular cover of "BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE" #3 by Baldemar Rivas