I wasn’t expecting much from this issue, and as a stand-alone issue, I think it’s ok… But there are so many epic moments that happen here that I’m literally like, “Go Metal! Go Metal! Hey, Snyder! It’s yo’ birthday! Shake your bootay!”
We’ve reached the fourth and final chapter of “Gotham Resistance,” and I honestly thought Ben Percy was tasked with a battle he couldn’t win. Over the course of Teen Titans, Nightwing, and Suicide Squad, “Gotham Resistance” has both been fun and misguided. There were times when the writers hit the right notes, and times when it completely missed the mark. Although the concept has been entertaining, the story had yet to really serve a purpose to help the tie-in stand on its own, and I felt that this story – like so many tie-ins before it – would be doomed to simply exist as an unneeded side story. Thankfully, somehow, that’s not the case.
Percy has a lot of ground to cover following the third chapter, and he manages to do so quite well. Most of the Teen Titans and the Suicide Squad have been taken by the Batman Who Laughs, and they’re serving as agents of his. Our heroes are fighting to reach the center of the mountain that’s appeared in Gotham, and they’re encountering nightmare versions of Gotham City’s rogues along the way. If this weren’t enough, one of evil Robins is in pursuit of our heroes in an attempt to kill/ convert each of them.
This chapter starts by providing a decent amount of exposition. I’m not going to lie, I had a moment of “Oh God, all we’re going to get are explanations for the finale… This sucks.” But the tide of the issue quickly shifts. After Mr. Terrific gets the team up to speed, the Resistance encounters Bane, and eventually the evil Robin that’s been pursuing them. The action is intense, and the issue receives a boost of energy and suspense!
Even the way the story wraps is satisfying! No, we don’t get a solid conclusion – I mean, we’re not even halfway through Metal and its tie-ins yet – but we definitely get the sense that this is the end of a chapter. “Gotham Resistance” is ultimately a bridge to help connect various stories and explanations that may have felt out of place if covered in the main Metal story. If this information isn’t regurgitated somewhere else, then “Gotham Resistance” is definitely worth your time. Yes, it’s a bit embellished, and the story might appear as though it’s losing its way at times, but everything packages together nicely by the last page of this chapter. Now I just want more! More, more, more!
The Art: It’s been a minute since I’ve had the chance to review Juan Ferreyra’s art, and I’m super stoked to get the chance to speak to it here! I’m a huge fan, and I think he’s visually captured the horror of Gotham’s current state, as well as the Batman Who Laughs, better than any other artist! The Batman Who Laughs, as well as his pet Robins, are the peak idea of terror that I’ve seen, and it’s all due to subtle details that Ferreyra textures his art with. The guy is simply an outstanding artist with great technique.
Beyond this, he manages to tell stories well through his art. He accentuates Percy’s script to help give it the life it deserves while adding creative touches to the entire issue. If you read digitally and use Comixology’s guided view, then you most likely won’t realize that all of the smaller panels on each page are shaped and shadowed like cards. Ultimately, it doesn’t do anything to aid the book’s story, but it’s such a nice, easy touch to help round out how special Ferreyra’s work is.
Breakdowns for this issue can be found in the spoiler tag.
The Good:
The Machine. We’re introduced to a machine in this issue that is quite twisted. It’s unclear what the point of the machine is, but it uses the life force of individuals to power itself. The machine looks terrifying, and Killer Croc drives that idea home when he begs Harley to have Waller blow their brain bombs so the Squad can be spared of the machines horror. That’s pretty damn terrifying! I am curious as to why the Batman Who Laughs decided he wanted to change them from evil minions into machine food though… I feel like something should have happened first before he decides that they’ll be better served as part of this machine.
Dark Acquaintance. The Batman Who Laughs comes face to face with Harley, and it’s a nice moment that I wish we’d gotten more of! “Gotham Resistance” has been building to a moment of these two meeting, and I’m glad it finally happened, even if it is all too brief. The page that captures the encounter also holds some noteworthy mentions as well. For one, that’s a sick Batman-Who-Laughsmobile! Absolutely sick! Beyond that, Raven, for whatever reason, isn’t held captive in the same machine that holds the rest of the Teen Titans and the Suicide Squad. I have to assume there’s a reason for that!
A Light At the End of the Tunnel. I’m not going to lie, things were starting to look really bleak! Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman were all taken out before the arrival of the evil Batmen (in Metal), and since then, Flash, Cyborg, the Suicide Squad, and most of the Teen Titans have been taken out (Red Death, Murder Machine, and “Gotham Resistance”)! I was beginning to wonder how our remaining heroes had any possible chance of winning considering our strongest heroes have been taken out so easily… And we get that answer in this issue when Robin inadvertently discovers their weakness is the Nth Metal. Damian, you little shit… You kick ass!
It’s All Coming Together. Each issue of Metal, the evil Batmen tie-ins, and “Gotham Resistance” has all kept their distance from one another to a degree, but this issue starts converging these stories together. I’m really excited for what remains, and I can’t wait to see how Snyder is going to continue to build and develop the story overall!
Dr. Fate. Dude… DDDDUUUUDDDDEEEEE! Dr. Fate is the bomb.com! I mentioned that things looked bleak earlier, and we got some relief with the discovery of how the Nth Metal affects these evil Batmen… But Dr. Fate just kind of swoops in and has a Gandalf, “You have no power here, Batman Who Laughs!” type of moment! The Batman Who Laughs has our heroes trapped with no possible escape, and Fate appears to save the entire team with one, easy swoop! I loved it!
Also, can we just start a petition to have a Dr. Fate illustrated by Ferreyra? Can you imagine how spectacular that would be? Look at the picture below! It’s incredible. I’ve got another picture below that shows Fate’s makeup is the cosmos. I’m in love with this!
Rally the Troops. Dr. Fate, Mr. Terrific, Zatanna, and Plastic Man have all been working together and assembling other heroes… I don’t know who else is involved, but none of these characters have had the strongest spotlight since the launch of the New 52, so I can’t wait to see what else is in store! We already know that Terrific and Plastic Man will be featured in their own team book, but I really want to get something with the others as well!
The Bad:
Black Canary. Where in the hell is Black Canary?!?! She was teased for this event, I got excited, and then she never appeared! What. The. Hell?
Recommended If:
- You’ve been following “Gotham Resistance”
- You want a deeper look into the Dark Multiverse.
- You’ve been waiting for a showdown between Evil Robin and our heroes.
Overall: “Gotham Resistance” finds success because of a sum of its parts. While the issue itself is just ok, there are many developments the greatly add to Metal’s story overall, and that gives this tie-in more prevalence and weight compared to other tie-ins. The original concept of “Gotham Resistance” appears to fall apart in this issue, but we do get a nice look into the Dark Multiverse, as well as some highly anticipated teases!
SCORE: 8/10
