Batman #667 Review

Batman #667 is the first issue in a strange two part story arc involving The Batmen of All Nations. Batman, Robin and the Club of Heroes get involved in some murder mystery. I have never heard of these two groups, but this sounds like a pretty interesting little story. I have faith that Batman #667 is going to be a fun read. Let’s hit this review.

Creative Team
Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: J.H. Williams, III

Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with a villain referring to themselves as the “Black Glove” at a roulette table looking at the body of a dead man. The Black Glove says that this weekend he will settle the question of which is stronger Good or Evil?

We cut to Batman and Robin flying in the Batplane to a private island in the Caribbean owned by John Mayhew to meet a bunch of C-List wannabe superheroes. They arrive at the island and are greeted by Cyril, England’s Knight. His costume is a suit of armor similar to Batman’s costume. He is considered the “Batman of England.”

Batman says that the last time he saw Cyril he was just a boy and Batman was just beginning his career as Batman. That was at the first meeting of the Club of Heroes and Batman never showed up to anymore of the other meetings.

We cut to inside the castle on the island where the other members of the Club of Heroes are eating at a wonderfully stocked buffet table. We see the Musketeer who is from France. We have the Legionnaire from Italy. We have Native American Man-of-Bats and his sidekick Red Raven. There is Dark Ranger from Australia. And there is Wingman who is wearing some armored costume very similar to Batman’s outfit. And lastly, El Gaucho from Mexico.

We see Batman, Robin and England’s Knight walking into the Castle. They talk about how John Mayhew is an insanely rich man who was an adventure seeker. He tried to buy his own super=team. He gave the Club of heroes a 20 billion dollar headquarters in Midtown Metropolis. The group lasted all of half an hour.

Batman, Robin and England’s Knight enter the banquet room where all the other heroes are located. England’s Knight introduces his sidekick, The Squire, to Robin. Batman then tells the rest of the heroes that they should find out why they have been summoned to Mayhew’s island.

The heroes all take their seats at a large meeting table. A huge flat screen TV turns on and we see the Black Glove who has sliced off John Mayhew’s face and is wearing it like a mask. The Black Glove tells them that he killed Mayhew and that he wants to know if the world’s greatest crime busters can solve John Mayhew’s murder or will they all die there one by one. The Black Glove says that by this time tomorrow they will all be dead. There is an unusual painting on the wall behind the Black Glove. Batman immediately stands up and tells the other heroes to find the room with that painting.

Suddenly, all the planes that our heroes took to get to the island blow up. The heroes exit the castle and see their planes engulfed in flames. Batman tells everyone to not eat anymore food.

We cut to Legionary in the castle’s security room with all the monitors to cameras in every room in the castle. Suddenly, the Black Glove stabs Legionary in the back. The Black Glove proceeds to stab Legionary seventeen times just like how Julius Caesar was killed. The Legionary dies and the Black Glove says “Advantage: Evil. Place your bets with the Black Glove.” End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Batman #667 was a great read. Morrison delivers a cool little murder mystery with this issue. I dig it. Morrison does a good job tapping into the detective roots of Batman’s character. Morrison certainly has had no problem exploring Batman’s violent side showing off his spectacular fighting ability with all the quality action scenes we have gotten during Morrison’s run on this title. With this issue, Morrison pays some attention to the other older and frequently ignored aspect of batman’s character: The Detective. Batman is first and foremost the world’s greatest detective and it looks like we are going to get to watch Batman engage the Black Glove in a battle of wits.

Morrison gives us a well paced and plotted story. The issue moves along with a pleasant flow and doesn’t drag at any point. I totally dig the mood of Batman #667. Morrison creates a wonderful Victorian vibe with this issue.

Morrison wisely chooses the proper characters for this old school Mystery Theater style story. Morrison takes advantage of the DC’s rich history by bringing us these late Golden Age, early Silver Age characters from the Club of Heroes. The Club of Heroes first appeared back in Detective Comics #215 printed in January of 1955. They appeared a second time in World’s Finest #89 printed in July/August of 1957.

I love it when writers take the time and effort to reach into the long and intricate history of the DCU for some quality source material for a current story arc. And Morrison is a master at taking old DCU characters and incorporating them into stories for the modern DCU. Also, this is another example of the subtle changes that have taken place with this New Earth. The Club of Heroes was a part of Batman’s Pre-Crisis history that was wiped out with Crisis on Infinite Earths. Evidently, a good portion of Batman’s Pre-Crisis past has been re-established.

I love all the various character that constitute the Club of Heroes. Yeah, they are stereotypical in nature, but that is how many characters were designed back in the 1950’s, you have the hedonistic Italian who thinks only about wine, food and sex. You have a Native American character who is an alcoholic. But, I’m glad that Morrison refrained from modernizing and changing their goofy characters. The fact that they are clearly Silver Age characters who are out of place in the modern DCU makes then even more entertaining.

Morrison does a good job hi-lighting the difference between the Silver Age and the Modern Age of comics in the conversation between Dark Ranger and Wingman. Dark Ranger mention how he had to update his costume into a more aggressive looking one and change his name from Ranger to Dark Ranger in order to keep up with the times where heroes have to be dark and intimidating in order to properly fight the insane criminals that are running around these days.

These Club of Heroes are characters that are out of place and cannot be taken seriously. They are C-list loser heroes whose time has passed. Morrison uses Batman and Robin to play the role of the eyes of the reader as they view the Club of Heroes in the same way that the reader does. Morrison knows that these characters are outdated and doesn’t try to hide that fact. Instead he uses Batman and Robin to really accentuate that these characters are lame throwbacks to a bygone era. And Morrison manages to use the Club of Heroes to make Batman look even cooler than he normally is.

The Black Glove is an interesting theatrical villain. The Black Glove is certainly flamboyant and a bit over the top. However, Black Glove’s appropriately old school dramatic flair is quite fitting for this murder mystery. Morrison makes the Black Glove a delightfully evil villain that is easy for the reader to hate.

Morrison’s dialogue is well done. Morrison creates some excellent chemistry between the various members of Club of Heroes. Each hero has a nice unique external voice. The fact that the characters are walking stereotypes makes it easy for Morrison to quickly establish their personalities.

Morrison continues to deliver a wonderful Batman. I dig that Morrison is capable of giving us a violent and angry Dark Knight, but doesn’t make that his default setting like Frank Miller does. Instead, Morrison gives Batman a wonderfully dry and sarcastic sense of humor. Morrison’s Batman is certainly a tough guy; however it is great that he isn’t a one dimensional tough guy.

I absolutely loved J.H. Williams, III’s artwork. It was simply incredible. Williams gives this issue an wonderfully stylish and visually striking look. Williams grabs the reader’s attention from the start. Williams breathes life into Morrison’s story and his art compliments perfectly the mood of Morrison’s story.

The Bad: I have no complaints with this issue.

Overall: Batman #667 is simply a fun read. And in the long run, fun is what comic books are supposed to be about. Morrison does a wonderful job contrasting the Silver Age Club of Heroes with the Modern Age without being disrespectful to the Silver Age characters. You can tell that Morrison has a real soft spot in his heart for Silver Age characters. Yeah, this two issue story arc is a filler story buying time until we resume the major plotlines that Morrison has been building on this title. But, this is the type of filler story arc that I don’t mind reading at all.