Batman: First Knight #3 a New Black Label Universe?
“Batman: First Knight” #3 From DC Comics
Story by Dan Jurgens Art by Mike Perkins
This week saw the finale issue of this fantastic historical fiction Batman Epic from DC Black Label chronicling the early career of a Batman set in a Gotham of the 1930’s, in a world on the brink of War. I had really been enjoying this series from the outset, but it is this final issue that made me fall in LOVE with the entire concept. I would love for this to be a recurrent Black Label series universe that we get new chapters of, I mean if we are doing new Dark Knights of Steel and Gotham by Gaslight, then we can certainly make room for this! If you have been longing for a cape and cowl detective story in popular Batman media like I have, or are looking for an imaginative, thoughtful genre piece to sweep you back in time- this is the book for you.
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Issue #3 picks up from the shocking final image of the preceding issue, which showed Bruce, still clad in his Batman suit, inspecting the handgun gifted to him by Commissioner Gordon to defend himself.
It’s one of those details in the Batman mythos that I feel we often take for granted, the fact that Batman does not use guns, or at least don’t see enough representation of in modern Batman comics because it’s a given facet of his character. Yet, in this comic set in the 1930’s, with a Bruce who is totally alone with his fanciful obsession with crime fighting, it was actually a really poignant moment to see him wrestle with the notion of using a gun. I almost wouldn’t blame him given the context of this comic where he is facing LITERAL zombie men with super strength.
The scene is interrupted by the arrival of Bruce’s unwitting love interest in this series, a Hollywood starlet named Julie who is in a public relationship with her famous costar who is secretly gay- which is also just a really amazing plot detail that grounds the world of this series and makes it feel more real. Julie is shocked to learn the truth of Bruce’s alter-ego but ultimately sympathizes with his purpose and confesses her worry for Bruce’s well being, leading to a passionate scene straight out of a Frank Capra romance film.
This is a fine a moment as any to point out that I really love that this series strayed away from including subtle nods or overt legacy character inclusions that would do more harm than good in a historically specific tale. Like a lesser story would have named this Hollywood actress, “Kitty” and then we see a quick scene on set where she steals a prop because she just can’t help herself- It’s nice that this world remained singular and focused.
In the morning, Julie discovers Bruce, not in bed, but in his guest house/lab dissecting the corpse of one of the Zombie men which is just a perfect scene for showcasing how weird Bruce is. Bruce is able to deduce from his autopsy that whatever chemical these once executed men were injected with is not permanent, and would lead to the victims death in a matter of days regardless of reanimation. This also allows Bruce to synthesize a chemical to accelerate the process of the decay that he gifts to Commissioner Gordon in typical “appear and disappear” Batman fashion.
Next we cut back to our humble Rabbi Cohen, who has acted as Bruce’s moral guide throughout this saga, which is just such an earnest and topical inclusion for this series that I really appreciated. What’s more I like that Jurgens uses the looming threat of dogmatic, fear induced control by a heinous Gotham villain as a parallel for the horrific turn of events and world war that are about to shake the foundations of society. I appreciate that not only did we NOT shy away from World War II and Fascism as a subject matter, we actively had conversations and scenes addressing that kind of violent, harmful fanaticism as well as Jewish characters prominently featured.
Rabbi Cohen is saved from an attack by local thugs by the unlikely character of the local Pimp/informant named Maxie that Bruce convinced to protect the Rabbi out of loyalty to his own Jewish people which was also a nice touch, seeing Batman “inspire people to do the right thing” even this early in his career as The Dark Knight.
From here Batman moves to discover the identity of the mysterious “Voice” who has been orchestrating the deadly attacks by the zombified men throughout Gotham. Bruce believes that the Warden of the penitentiary is to blame, hoping to vye for political control as a prominent civil figure looking to fill the roles of the recently murdered politicians- however, after an intense, epic entrance from Batman- Bruce learns that it was the Warden’s chief officer, Captain DeBesso, all along. As the Batman gives chase he realizes that the henchman of The Voice have already begun to burn the city, instilling fear into Gotham’s citizens in order for DeBesso to swoop in and miraculously restore order as an authority figure.
There’s a great final scene here where the Voice confronts Bruce about his own aspirations, saying that no normal, sane, individual would put themselves in harms way simply for the greater good, alleging that what Bruce really wants is the Power that comes from Vigilantism. And before we get a real reaction or rebuttal to this notion, the Batman redirects the Voice’s brandished needle of undead fluid, and it stabs into the Voice’s own chest, resulting in a rapid, deadly transformation into a pile of pink goo because of all of the chemical in the air provided by Gordon.
I love that this final confrontation leaves Bruce with an unspoken moment of reflection where we the reader don’t know how deep those words actually cut. They are important words for Bruce to consider as he continues to reevaluate his bold choice to combat crime as a symbol of fear and vengeance, a sentiment that is echoed in our final scene as Bruce speaks to the Rabbi once more.
I’m sad to see the story go as a lot of our interstitial scenes introduced such a wealth of specific characters and the artwork from Mike Perkins is so beautifully nostalgic and stylistically elevated that I just don’t want to let go.
If you are like me and want more of First Knight then you show your support in your local comic book stores and grab Batman: First Knight issue #3 on shelves now.
-Nicholas Aaron Hodge
