writer: Scott Snyder / artist: Greg Capullo
It is no secret that Scott Snyder has been doing The Lord’s Work on Batman since even before his Zero Year run. When some thought his epic origin retelling would be impossible to follow, he gives us Endgame. Granted, it’s only two issues in, but Snyder has come to such a place of comfort with his characters, it doesn’t take long for his book to really pack a punch. With the return of Batman’s greatest foe coming, is Snyder keeping us turning the pages?
Spoiler Alert: Yes. As it turns out, Endgame isn’t so much a follow up to Zero Year as it is a long awaited sequel to Death In The Family. Snyder takes a different tact when approaching Batman’s “relationship” with the Joker, noting more than once via dialogue that it’s safe to assume that everything has changed since their last encounter. All signs point to this being, as far as Snyder’s run is concerned, The Final Joker Story. In fact, this is the closest I’ve read to a superhero horror story. In fact, I think I’m getting that copyrighted and using it for my purposes. So expect season one of Superhero Horror Story soon. You heard it here. Anyway, given the nature of the cover, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how epic the fight between Batman and a Joker Toxin-ed Superman is.
It’s smart of Snyder to answer the age old question of who would win between these two without really answering, leaving room for exploration from other writers later on. But Greg Capullo’s artwork is the glue that holds it all together. I mean, he’s always had a penchant for creating the right atmosphere with such a diverse color palette, but this time, Capullo is the key to telling a truly scary tale. The way he uses shadows and silhouettes for his brainwashed Superman makes him look absolutely fucking terrifying. It’s like being invited into Batman’s mind to witness the Worst Case Scenario he’s always been so worried about over the years.
Bottom Line: You made it to my “bottom line” without dropping what you’re doing to buy this book? Commendable, but….what’s wrong with you? The flipside of Scott Snyder talking DC into dropping the price of his book back down to “vaguely reasonable” is that now, the book is so wonderful to read, I almost feel like I’m not paying Snyder his due. That’s how good this book is. Seriously. 9.75 out of 10.
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