Too Good To Miss—Batman—The Knight
Chip Zdarsky’s 10 part Batman story is the best Batman story you’ll read that doesn’t contain Batman (FYI—the story is set before Bruce Wayne becomes Batman).
The title of Batman—The Knight is misleading. It would be better if it was called Batman—The Becoming (except Brandon Thomas’s Jackson Hyde story took that title when Jackson became Aquaman).
The story focuses on Bruce Wayne’s journey to become Batman, without ever mentioning Batman or putting on pointy ears. There are a few shadows that suggest bat symbols and variant covers that feature Batman, but Bruce only gets as far as having a cape.
Setting the story before Bruce is Batman provides the opportunity to see Bruce make mistakes. Sure Batman gets beaten every now and again, Batman stories would be boring if Batman did everything perfectly. But moving through the story with a young Bruce Wayne allows us to see him doing some really stupid stuff. Bruce messes up to the point, it’s not unexpected to cringe at a couple of his decisions. It’s a pleasant change of pace for a Batman story.
The different parts of the story take Bruce to different masters to learn different skills and provide a good sense of structure to the story. Batman is a master fighter able to take down a number of highly trained opponents and even take out super-powered fighters. However, Bruce’s training is not just about fighting.
Bruce gets some training from a detective and a thief. In Paris, Bruce encounters a female cat burglar and we are presented with an enjoyable insight into Batman’s attraction to Catwoman, beyond the fact that she is Catwoman.
Bruce gets some training in the art of disguise, misdirection and manipulation. He also finds a marksman who trains him in all manner of weapons (surprisingly no throwing weapons). The story ends with the beginning of Bruce’s conflict with a supervillain character who pushes him ever further towards being Batman.
It is the over-arching objective of seeing how Bruce arrives at the decision to become Batman that makes it such an enjoyable story. We know the outcome and we are being provided with an insight to how a troubled and expectational young person decides to dress up like a bat and fight crime.
In addition to providing an insight into Bruce’s journey to becoming Batman, there is also the journey of his friend ‘Anton’ (real name Minhlhoa Khan) into becoming Ghost-Maker.
If you haven’t heard of Ghost-Maker, fear not. He is a relatively new addition to the Batman family, first appearing in Batman #100 in 2020. In Batman—The Knight, Anton hasn’t become Ghost-Maker yet, but becomes a friend, companion and rival to Bruce. They journey along a similar path towards slightly different goals and with a different outlook on life.
We are so used to seeing Batman with companions who are younger and less able than him. To see Bruce with someone his own age, is a great change and provides some great conflict.
Apart from the title, you will be hard pressed to find a better, self-contained Batman story. A great story from Chip Zdarsky and some brilliant art from Carmine Di Giandomenico.
Neuromyths did not receive a complimentary copy of Batman—The Knight to bring you this recommendation. We just considered it a really good read. Pick up your copy of Batman—The Knight (this is a paid affiliate link and as an Amazon Associate I will earn a small income from qualifying purchases, but won’t cost you any more).