There are a lot of misconceptions about Batman. I’m sure you’ve heard the popular hot takes about how he’d be better off just donating to charity, or how he’s a rich sociopath beating up the mentally ill. Sometimes writers will even indulge these ideas, further permeating them into the rest of the fandom. These readings of the characters, 90% of the time, simply amount to a misunderstanding of the character, his history, and just how the superhero genre works. Last month’s issue of Detective Comics went out of its way to address these accusations head on as part of Dr. Hurt’s attack on Bruce’s psyche. What better way to have your villain sow doubt in the hero than to use the same arguments used in real life? This month, the “Elegy of Sand” intermission concludes with the final resolution to that debate.
It’s immediately clear that Batman rejects the notion that he’s some sort of tyrant, wanting to impose his will on Gotham. As he hides among the rubble in the fantasy Gotham, he’s joined by “Brutus Wainwright” and other loose manifestations of his allies. Above all, they tell him to “resist”, to the point of self sacrifice. The message is clear: Batman is not afraid of becoming the villain that Hurt warns because he would rather die than let that happen. He holds life to be so valuable that he would do anything to protect it, even if it costs him everything. That’s why he has his “no kill” rule. It’s a sentiment that Hurt simply mocks.
Back in Gotham, the Orghams continue their campaign of misinformation and population control. The entire sequence is via a talk show where Shavhod argues how they are better for Gotham than Batman ever was. It’s similar to the arguments made to Batman for why he should give up, but takes on an interesting form when directed towards the masses. They argue “a lie people want to believe” in an all too familiar technique. What the Orghams are doing is what dangerous right wing demagogues have been doing for decades. It’s fascism.
Ironically (and perhaps intentionally) in opposition to a superhero often accused of being a fascist, their rhetoric actually echoes the arguments made by those groups. They have created explicit out-groups of the dispossessed and marginalized. Stability of the state is praised above all else as those who suffer are swept away lest they “contaminate” the rest of society. Statistics like crime/homelessness being down while business is up are touted as evidence of their success, but that crime and homelessness are just pushed out of view, or carried out by the state itself (in this case Orgham forces) and therefor don’t count. They’ve created a hierarchy where the privileged “right people” have their individual wealth protected at the expense of the poor relegated to slums.
Aside from a line about making the trains run on time (which should be an obvious signal as to what Ram V is doing), all of this is without ever explicitly saying anything obviously evil. It’s the type of rhetoric that can sound appealing to many normal people upon first inspection. However, for those with both the drive to dig deeper and the empathy to understand, it’s horrifying. They are the opposite of Batman in every way. Instead of using fear to protect people out of empathy, they are the smiling face printed on the boot that crushes them.
Bruce’s final trial is interesting because it tackles a mistake that even fans of the character tend to make. The idea that Bruce Wayne is simply a mask and Batman is the “real” one is at least kind of true. I say that because the “Bruce Wayne” that attends board meetings and gets fake drunk at charity events is obviously a ruse. However, the persona he adopts as he terrorizes the superstitious and cowardly criminals of Gotham is a mask as well. There’s a third identity, and it’s the one we see talking to Alfred, Dick, and all the others in the Batcave or behind closed doors. That’s his true self, and his name is still “Bruce”.
Every now and then he forgets that fact and tries to be just Batman, and it never goes well. It happened in No Man’s Land, and even again a couple years later in Bruce Wayne: Fugitive. With the temptation of a better life and the fear of what he might become having failed, Hurt turns to this as his last move. He offers complete subsumption by the bat persona, and with it the ability to finally achieve total victory.
Bruce rejects the offer because his humanity is not an albatross around his neck; it’s what makes him who he is. Hurt fails to tempt Batman because he doesn’t understand Batman. What Bruce does is ultimately out of empathy and a desire to help people. It doesn’t matter if it’s less effective or keeping him from greatness, his principles are what will always guide him. There’s a wonderful line that encapsulates why he would never want to ascend to whatever “godhood” the demon is offering: “People shouldn’t have to look up for hope and salvation. They should only have to look around.”
This all culminates in one of the best scenes of triumph I’ve read in a comic. Bruce rejects the demon’s offer and in doing so accepts the tragedies and sorrows that come with being who he is. His understanding of what it means to be Batman and how that fits into his perception of himself is now more complete than ever. It feels like actual character growth for a character that rarely gets that opportunity. When the demon tells him that letting go means he will die, and he replies “I am Batman. I will stand again”, it feels as powerful as the iconic “I am the night” scene from Batman: The Animated Series.
When Batman does return, he looks like a dark angel descending from the heavens. The art style shifts from Federici’s immaculate and fantastical realism into something more mundane, but all the same still beautiful. He has reentered the land of the waking and he’s in peak form. The climactic moment of his arrival in Gotham is one of cathartic release and joy after seeing what he’s gone through to get there.
Score: 9/10
Backup: His Name Was Dr. Hurt part three
If there were any doubts about to the depths of Hurt’s depravity, this final chapter should put them to rest. Every action the group has taken, every quest for revenge, has all been part of Hurt’s game. He is constantly manipulating those around him in order to control their minds and create a duplicate of himself. Selma’s personality is completely overwritten by Hurt’s as she makes it her goal to kill and replace the old one. But it doesn’t stop there, everyone else in the party is under the same control. Even the house itself is some sort of “pocket dimension” that Hurt has “coerced” into believing it’s him. It’s all a sick game, making Hurt out to be an inescapable horror.
Of course, the twist at the end is that this was all a dream. Or rather, this was all a hallucination as part of a sensory depravation chamber experiment like the one Bruce did all those years ago. All of the torment and suffering we’ve witnessed over the past three chapters have been a mind game by Hurt to implant memories and suggestions into his latest victim’s subconscious. It bookends the story nicely, tying it all back to the first appearance of Dr. Hurt in the comics.
As a brief side note, if Hurt’s experiments (which created Zur-En-Arrh) are being explicitly referenced again in the comics, then I have no idea what’s going on over in Batman.
Score: 8/10
Recommended If
- You’re a fan of stories that examine characters on a deeper level
- Bruce’s mental journey has kept you interested so far
- You want to see the conclusion to how Batman fights against the demon that’s been corrupting him
Overall
This finale to the “Elegy of Sand” intermission acts as a celebration of Batman and an affirmation of his values. By pitting him against his antithesis in the Orghams and Dr. Hurt’s mind games, the story digs deep into what makes him work as a character and uncovers a more holistic person in the process. The arguments presented confront real world critiques of Batman through an organic yet compelling narrative. Ram V manages to skillfully weave heady ideas about who Batman is into this thrilling triumph.
Overall score: 9/10
DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
