Y'know, this cover aside, I'd like to pontificate on the current state of the Batverse, if I may. I have almost the entire run of the 'Knightfall' storyline (minus the 'Knightquest' bit in the middle where AzBats gets crazier and crazier), and I was rereading it the other day, 'cause I brought it out to quote something from it, and I figured 'hey, why not?' And y'know something? That storyline did some very similar things to what's been going on lately - it trashed the normal Batman and put another one in his place; it had Gotham in chaos, a 'newer, deadlier' character running amuck - and y'know what? It. ROCKED. Seriously, Knightfall is definitely one of my favorite Batman sagas of all time. Seriously great stuff - and yet, it had plenty in common with the current situation - which, most agree, does NOT rock. So what's the difference? I'll tell you what it is. Characters. Or perhaps I should say, staying true to characters. Everyone in Knightfall behaves exactly as they should behave, exactly as previous experience with the characters has told us that they WOULD behave. Batman is stern and forbidding, but not to the point of mania; Tim is loyal, but not above striking out on his own a little, intelligent and concerned for his boss; Alfred is... well, he thinks the lot of them are crazy, but is still the backbone of the Bats. And then, of course, we have Jean-Paul and Bane, who have never had a chance to step OUT of character, as they've both just been created. Character is what drives the whole thing, and character consistency makes it real. My point? Well, Knightfall is great, for one. But more importantly, this current storyline could be great, too - it's doing most of the same things - if they'd just stop dicking around with the characters. Tim is now a grief-crazed psycho; the entire female supporting cast may as well not exist at the moment, Gordon is more-or-less blithely accepting this new Batman, despite the fact that he has expressed bitterness in the past over 'just how many Batmen ARE there?', etc., etc. The only characters who ARE in character are Dick and Alfred, and even they're focusing unduly on Damian at the expense of Tim. With Knightfall, I got the feeling that the writers were playing fair with me; here, I just feel like my chain is being yanked - and not in a good way. Straighten up and fly right, DC, or you'll crash into the mountain of our disbelief. (Oh, and - random thought I just had. Dick's having problems training Damian to be Robin, right? 'Cause the kid's a little snot, and won't listen to him. Well, here's an idea - why not bring in Bane to help train him? It makes sense - the guy's had experience with both the Bats and the al Ghuls - in fact, he probably met Damian at one point while he was working for Ra's - and, more importantly, the kid's main concern is fighting skills - he thinks Dick's a lousy teacher because he focuses on tactics instead of violence. Well, Bane BROKE HIS FATHER'S BACK, and he used both muscles AND tactics to do it. If that doesn't cool the kid down a bit, nothing will.)