Batman #20 Review

Writer: Tom King / Artist: David Finch / DC Comics Tom King and David Finch have spent the past few months focusing on Batman’s rivalry with one of his most dangerous foes in a story arc entitled “I Am Bane.” Issue #20 of Batman brings that duel for the ages to a bloody close and brings much more to the surface about who these men are than expected. Throughout the earlier parts of this story, emphasis was placed on the surprising similarities between Bruce Wayne and the man who would go on to be known as Bane. They both lost parents at a very young age, pushed through much more physical and emotional trams and went through years of training to reach their respective goals. But the similarities have to end somewhere, or else Bane would’ve just become another Batman, right? Those differences are placed under a microscope in issue #20. If this story arc accomplished one thing, it showed what a sense of invincibility can do to a person’s ego. Batman’s life has been put in danger thousands of times. Mostly due to his own choices. This would understandably make one feel as if they could beat death at every turn. However, unlike Bane, Bruce Wayne is fully aware that he’s still a human at the end of the day, albeit one who’s at the pinnacle of strength and intelligence. Meanwhile, Bane suffers from a clear diagnosis of hubris.

As the final story in the saga, issue #20 spent a lot of time recapping what brought us to this point, going all the way back to the introduction of Gotham an…