Batman #500 - DC Comics [Part One]

BATMAN [1940] No. 500, October 1993

Containing the final chapter in the "Knightfall" Saga, and a crucial development in Jean-Paul Valley’s thinking when it comes to being Gotham City’s latest incarnation of the Dark Knight, it’s arguably pretty clear just why the collector's edition of this publication was the seventh best-selling book of 1993 – at least according to “Diamond Comic Distributors”. Indeed, the super-sized periodical’s opening alone makes for a scintillating read as Bruce Wayne’s replacement quite coldly calculates what aspects of the Caped Crusader’s legendary costume is potentially going to cost him his life, and subsequently allows the sinister subconscious “System” to help him redesign it; “The cape becomes a drag on his momentum, a hindrance.”

In addition though, Doug Moench’s script for Issue Five Hundred of “Batman” also begins putting in place an environment which will disconcertingly allow “the Angel of Death” to break so many of the boundaries that his predecessor meticulously put in place, such as Mayor Armand Krol’s willingness to turn a blind eye to the vigilante’s utter ruthlessness. Such decisions are obviously made in complete indifference to Valley’s already obsessive determination to be a better ‘Bat’ than the billionaire who passed him the mantle. Yet will still allow the somewhat inexperienced youth to believe the dark, unrestrained violence he is planning to inflict upon the criminal fraternity is entirely permissible – and quite possibly even endorsed by the metropolis’ more hard-lined politicians.

Similarly as intriguing is debatably the early signs of weakness seen in Bane. Up until this point the super-villain has been depicted as a “super-intelligent world-class fighter and tactical genius” who has always been one step ahead of Wayne’s fight for justice. In fact, the vast majority of Bruce’s recent dilemmas have been solely caused by the mask-wearing Santa Priscan. In “Dark Angel: The Fall” however, Batman’s decision to severely cut him with a handful of throwing blades clearly shakes the Venom-enhanced brute, and results in him desperately seeking another source of his precious steroid before he bleeds out.

Helping to make this storyline stand out even more so are the layouts of Jim Aparo, who does a great job in making Jean-Paul’s Dark Knight appear physically different from the former man behind the cowl, despite their attire being pretty much identical. The New Britain-born artist is especially good at illustrating Valley’s much grimmer jawline, and disturbing sneer whenever he feels someone is being weak in his presence.

The regular cover art of "BATMAN" No. 500 by Kelley Jones & Bob LeRose