BATMAN #46

Shhh!!! Be quiet. Be very-very quiet because I'm hunting for flowers. You know, like that blooming one planted in the following comic book devised in November, 2015, by both Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Just don't tell DC Comic's what I'm up to, OK? Or they'll be angry. As angry as a robotic gardener without no hose.

TO QUOTE A Cockney Who's Trying To Be Ironic: 'Oh! That's blooming marvelous, that is!'.

THE REVIEW:

On a conceptual level I'd say this episode of Batman (part six of Superheavy) is a story that can easily be broken down into the following three sections.

Section one, the main section, loosely depicts the bi-polar confrontation between Bat-Jim and Mister Bloom. Here, we get to see Bat-Jim confronting Bloom, getting captured by Bloom, before turning the tables on Bloom, only for Bloom to then make his escape, yadda-yadda-yadda, seen-it-all-before. Now in of itself, I wouldn't say this part of the book was very original to read. Despite enjoying Greg's earthy and well paced visualization of these sinister scenes -- and yes, they were sinister -- I'm sure you'd agree with me when I say that we've all seen scene's where a villain monologues to an enthralled crowd of captured people, only for the hero to suddenly turn up and save the day.

Granted, in this case the hero doesn't save the day. Postpones it at best. That said, however, the basic conveyance of this sequence does allow Bat-Jim the opportunity to prove that he's more of a hero than what some people give him credit for, and this is especially highlighted near the end of the book, and half way through it.

'How so?' You may ask! Well, simply put, after Bloom gets away, Geri Powers take's Jim back to their HQ, and shows him something rather alarming. No. Not naked pictures of herself with Donald Trump. Rather, her army of diversifiable Bat-men -- don't grown -- who she wants to use to capture Bloom, once and for all. But of course, Jim wants to prove himself, doesn't he? So he tells Geri to put away her pictures... I mean... ahum... Bat-men, so he can find him and do all of that other stuff he couldn't do previously.

Now in stark contrast to section one is section two. Or as I like to call it, the section where Bruce gets into the shower (naked) and asks Julie Madison to marry him, despite acknowledging the fact that he knows Julie's father (soon to be released) is somehow connected to the death of his parents.

No. Don't worry. I won't tell you exactly how he's connected for the sake of spoilers. For that matter, I won't even drop a hint as to how in another scene he ties his section to the overall Mister Bloom sub-plot. What I will say, though, is that I did enjoy these scenes, as they showed a more naive and simpler side to Bruce, whilst still insinuating that some of his memory may be on the return.

Oh! And while I'm on the subject of things returning, let's not forget to mention the final section of this story-line -- namely Section Three -- the one where Duke, from We Are Robins, breaks into the Penguins Iceberg Lounge, hoping to find something out about his missing parents. But of course, he doesn't find anything, does he? Not yet anyway. Because before he manages to find a piece of information connecting both his parents to old beak-face, old beak-face shows up and... and... aaahhhh... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Ops! Sorry about that. Just remembering this section made me remember why I wasn't a big fan of it. Seen it all before. Too tried and tested. Pedestrian even. And why on Earth does Scott Snyder keep on wanting to connect Duke's family to Batman and the whole Batman mythos? Is it an itch he desperately wants to scratch? Or does he just like playing about with Bruce's back-story, eager that nobody would mind him wedging things in for the sake of wedging things in.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to imply that I don't like Duke or what Scott is doing with this series. It's just that sometimes it becomes too obvious when a creator wants to make his mark on a character, even though he doesn't have to do it in such an overtly obvious manner.

Preach over. Good story. Amazing art. Too many Bat-men. Say no more.

THE MUSIC:

There's a reoccurring question that keeps on popping up in this story-arc, time and time again. And that question, my friend, is... where is Mister Bloom? Or as I'd like to reinterpret it... Where Have All The Flowers Gone? By Peter, Paul, and Mary. Bless.

THE COMPARISON:

Whenever you compare a plant themed villain to his contemporary's, what you have to remember is who did it best, and who did it with the same amount of style and joie de vivre? Now to me, personally, theirs only two real villains I can really compare him to: A Vincent Price themed villain (because of his sinister monologuing) or The Little Shop of Horror's, Audrey 2 (because he's a plant that wants to kill people).

Yes. Audrey 2 won out. Due to the fact that my mate Keath recently used the Vincent Price comparison in another review. Ha!

THE CONCLUSION:

At the very end of this issue Bat-Jim once again comes face to face with Mister Bloom. But, out of curiosity, what do you think Mister Bloom does not so long after they meet? Does he...