Batman: Reptilian #3
The start of Batman: Reptilian #3 initially caught me off guard in a weird way. Everyone knows Garth Ennis isn’t one to shy away from an opportunity to comment on a subject happening outside the pages of his book. Still, it felt like an odd time to discuss readers’ perception of Batman’s handling of low-level henchmen.
DC Comics
Written by: Garth Ennis
Art by: Liam Sharp
Letters by: Rob Steen
But when you think about it a bit, Batman has been using one of those very individuals throughout these first few issues. Batman: Reptilian #3 isn’t an exception to that practice either. For me, it’s more about who he had the conversation with and how that person addressed the matter. More than a few of those closest to Bruce Wayne have expressed their differing opinions in varying ways — this character included. But this back-and-forth felt odd.
There’s also the matter of how dark this story is. Ennis’ Batman seems only concerned with solving cases and punishing criminals, doing whatever it takes to get both done. Nothing else.
Furthermore, there’s a big reptile on the loose that we don’t know much about. That’s assuming this monster isn’t the villain everyone expected from the beginning, Killer Croc. Ennis spends a deal of time addressing that possibility. Also, Liam Sharp’s depiction of Croc is as menacing as any I’ve seen before.
Regardless of whether this is Croc or a new player altogether, Ennis has built this character up to be the biggest bad Gotham has seen, and I can’t wait to see Sharp’s vision for this creature.
Score: 9
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