Batman #157 will mark the end of Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez’s creative run on this series. Throughout their run they’ve challenged Bruce Wayne in and out of his cape and cowl. That is showcased in their final story arc, “The Dying City,” that has shown a city turned against both Bruce Wayne and Batman. But while the city has turned against him Gotham still needs their protector to save the day or else it could burn down in all the chaos. Let’s see how Zdarsky and Jimenez end their run with Batman #157.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Artist: Jorge Jimenez and Tony S. Daniel
Colorist: Tomeu Morey
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
BATMAN #157 SOLICITATION
“With the Court of Owls’ plan revealed and the city in chaos, Batman must find the strength to fight a war on multiple fronts and save Gotham from disaster. The fates of Jim Gordon, the Riddler, and all of Gotham rest in the hands of the Dark Knight in a climactic issue so big it takes two superstar artists to bring it to life!” – DC Comics
REVIEW
Batman #157 accomplishes what it needed to do by providing a satisfying conclusion to “The Dying City” story arc. By doing so Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez, along with Tony Daniel, conclude their run by doing some clean up on lingering plot lines. The end result is leaving Batman in a spot where many intriguing plotlines can be spun out by future creative teams.
The way Zdarsky goes about this “clean-up” is what stood out most. Zdarsky does not take the approach that he has to leave a clean slate for the next creative team. Instead, he goes about showing how impactful this period was for Bruce Wayne. By doing so he is able to leave Bruce in a spot where he can move forward even as he is walking down a path that will have countless challenges.
There is no reset button that can be made to go back to what the status quo was before. Batman and Gotham City went through too much, which we see with how Bruce goes about taking on the Court of Owls and Commander Star/KGBeast. Ultimately Bruce had to prioritize saving the Gotham City and its citizens even if they do not understand how or what he does.
And it is really in the big and small action that Bruce makes as Batman that standout. The incredible sequence of Batman stopping the Court of Owls while ensuring a plane does not crash and destroy a large part of the city was incredible. This was a display of Bruce’s pure efficiency as he knows there is not a second to lose. Bruce being forced to use guns in order to break the plan apart amplified how this was a situation where hesitation would be his greatest enemy. Bruce had to put aside his hatred for guns to save the city he loves.
This big action in saving the city made the more personal fight between Batman and KGBeast hit harder. While he can make a miracle happen what the people end up seeing is Batman defeating a person they rallied around. Even though Batman knows he is fighting KGBeast and the Russians trying to burn Gotham City to the ground, the people don’t know that. They just see Batman defeating Commander Star, who rallied them against Gotham City’s elite. It made Bruce’s decision to end the fight how he did be a stronger move.
The way things go for Batman is further complimented by what Jim Gordon does and where he is left by the end of this issue. Jim taking ownership of being the one that pulled the trigger of the gun that killed Chris Nakano, mind controlled or not, is a smart move. By taking this ownership Jim returning to the GCPD, that’s now being ran by Commissioner Vandal Savage, a good reset for his character without being a step backwards, he can find ways to make up for his actions.
The one aspect of Batman #157 that didn’t work as well was the way the Thomas Wayne possibly had a secret child wrapped up. As soon as this sub-plot was introduced it was obviously a ploy to break Bruce. There were too many signs that pointed to this turning out to be falsified. While Zdarsky tries to give meaning to this sub-plot by how the guy that admits the story was false as he never cared for if it was true all it accomplished was that this was a forgettable sub-plot.
Jorge Jimenez and Tony S. Daniel combined to deliver strong artwork for the conclusion of “The Dying City.” It is a good thing that Jimenez and Daniel’s art styles have enough similarities that the transition between the two artists worked naturally. This led to the flow of the story working well for how action heavy the entire issue was.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Batman #157 delivers an impactful conclusion to Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jimenez creative run on the series. To the very end Zdarsky challenged Bruce Wayne in and out of the cape and cowl, leaving Batman in a spot you want to see where he goes next. Jimenez and Tony Daniel help elevate the impact of this story to make both the big and small actions pop off the screen. It all leads to a conclusion that highlights how special this creative run on Batman was.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
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