Detective Comics #831 Review

Stuart Moore’s two issue filler story arc bored The Revolution to tears. I’m thrilled that Dini returns with Detective Comics #831. With Dini back at the writer position, I am confident that this will be a solid read. It appears that Detective Comics #831 will be a one-shot issue centering on Harley Quinn. Let’s do this review.

Creative Team
Writer: Paul Dini
Penciler: Don Kramer
Inker: Wayne Faucher

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: We begin with Harley Quinn making an appearance before the parole board. One of the members on the parole board is Bruce Wayne. Harley Quinn claims she suffered from Stockholm Syndrome and that is why she helped Joker in the past. And that she promises she won’t violate the law ever again. Bruce doesn’t buy it and Harley Quinn’s request for parole is denied.

Harley Quinn is being led back to her cell by a large female guard who suddenly pulls out her gun and tells Harley to quietly come with her. That she is going to break Harley out of Arkham. Harley says she doesn’t want to escape since that will hurt her chances for getting parole in the future. Harley calls for help. The large female guard shoots a couple of guards that try to stop them.

The large female guard knocks out Harley Quinn and then race out of Arkham in a stolen ambulance. The woman drives the ambulance into a large container truck waiting for them down the road.

We cut to the Batcave where Bruce tells Alfred that there is no way Harley Quinn planned her abduction. That she isn’t a good actress and that there was true fear in her voice.

We shift to Harley Quinn waking up and seeing the new Ventriloquist sitting by her bed. Scarface introduces Harley Quinn to Sugar and says that both ladies have a lot in common. That they both hooked up with lousy creeps in the past who promised them the world.

Scarface says that he had Harley Quinn broken out of Arkham because they need her help on a huge job that will make all of them richer beyond their wildest dreams. The large female who broke Harley out of Arkham enters the room and hands Harley a bag with her costume inside of it. Harley slips into her Harley Quinn outfit.

Scarface says that a rich broker name Cott who runs one of the wealthiest security companies in Gotham is also laundering money through his business for Gotham’s biggest crime families. That tonight the Sabatino family is dropping off $10 million in cash will be dropped off at Cott’s building to be laundered. That Cott’s building is a fortress and no one gets in or out without Scott’s approval. Scarface wants Harley Quinn to break into Cott’s building.

We cut to Harley Quinn breaking into Cott’s office and knocking him out. Harley Quinn then waits for the Sabatino goons to enter with the $10 million. The goons enter the office and Harley Quinn knocks them out. Harley Quinn then calls Commissioner Gordon and tells him that Scarface and Sugar are pulling a heist at the Cott Securities building. Harley tells Gordon to also call in Batman and then asks if Gordon’s men could then give Harley Quinn a ride back to Arkham.

We then cut to Gordon notifying Batman of the tip Harley Quinn gave him.

We then slide over to Harley Quinn meeting Scarface, Sugar and the big female goon in the alley way with the $10 million. Scarface thanks Harley Quinn for the job well done. Harley then takes out the big female goon who was sneaking up behind her.

Harley Quinn said she knew all along that Scarface was never planning on giving Harley Quinn any of the money and that Scarface would kill her at the end of the job. Harley Quinn dodges the gunfire from Scarface and then smashes Scarface with a trashcan lid.

The big female goon then gets back up and attacks Harley Quinn. Batman then appears out of nowhere and takes down the big female goon. Sugar then detonates the bomb in the Scarface dummy and uses it as a distraction to make her getaway.

We cut to Batman and Harley Quinn in the Batmobile headed to Arkham. Harley Quinn confesses that she didn’t rat on Scarface and Sugar just to keep her record clean. That when Harley first got sent to Arkham she was deathly afraid. That Wesker, the original Ventriloquist, was very kind to her and tried to make her laugh. Harley didn’t like that Sugar stole Wesker’s gimmick.

Harley says that she wanted to show some respect for Wesker and then asks if the Batman knows what she means. Batman responds that he doesn’t. That Wesker’s kindness he extended to Harley doesn’t make up for the dozens of deaths he caused as Scarface. Harley retorts that maybe Batman is right, but it did show that there was still a person trapped inside that sad split personality. Harley is sad that that person never got out.

Batman drops Harley Quinn off at Arkham. We then zip forward two days and see that Harley is back before the Parole Review Board. They summoned her here because Bruce Wayne changed his vote. Harley is so excited the jumps up to the ceiling. End of issue.

Comments
The Good: Detective Comics #831 was an average read. Nothing great, but certainly nothing bad. I certainly enjoy an average issue from Dini more than the past two issue story arc that we got on this title.

Dini turned in a well paced issue. We get a nice blend of action and dialogue heavy scenes. Dini is so adept at being able to crank out a one-shot issue that moves at an enjoyable pace, has a proper elements of a story: an exposition, building action, climax and denouement.

It may not seem like it, but that is extremely difficult to properly deliver all the elements of a story in just one issue. Normally, I don’t enjoy on-shot issues because most of the times the writer has to rush through or skip one of more elements of a story. Since Dini is able to craft such a nicely developed one-shot, he has completely won me over to his style of plotting on Detective Comics.

As usual, Dini crafts good dialogue. I dig how Dini makes Batman appropriately gruff and cold. Batman’s dialogue is direct and to the point. There is just very little give in Batman. Even after Harley Quinn tells her story about how Wesker was kind to her in Arkham, Batman is totally unmoved and reminds Harley of all the people Wesker killed as Scarface. That is Batman. The man has ice flowing in his veins.

Obviously, Dini did a nice job with Harley Quinn’s character in this issue. That should be no surprise since Harley Quinn is his baby. I liked that Harley genuinely wants to reform. I wasn’t expecting her to call Commissioner Gordon and tell him about Scarface’s heist and then request that she be taken back to Arkham.

The coolest part of Harley’s appearance in this issue was her reaction to seeing Sugar and Scarface. I dig that Harley had fond feelings toward Wesker and that she didn’t take kindly to Sugar stealing Wesker’s gimmick. Just because a character is a villain, doesn’t mean that they don’t care for other people or have friendships. Often, it seems that writers handle villains in a fashion that they never care for anyone else or maintain any friendships. I just don’t buy into that view.

The scene where Harley explains why she felt a bond with Wesker was rather touching. And it actually had an effect on that cold hearted Batman. Harley makes the valid point that Wesker’s action toward her simply showed that there was still a person trapped inside of that sick split personality. And that person never managed to break free.

With this comment, Dini brings up the sticky debate of where you draw the line in feeling sad for a criminal who truly is mentally ill. Batman is right that a mental illness is absolutely no excuse for committing murder. However, Harley is also right in showing that while it is no excuse, there is no reason that the criminal can’t be looked at with at least some sympathy for the person inside that is lost due to the mental illness.

And this poignant scene did change the Batman’s mind concerning Harley Quinn’s parole as we see Harley get her parole granted at the end of this issue. I liked this move. I don’t think this shows Batman getting softer since Infinite Crisis. I think Batman has always been willing to give criminals who have paid their debt to society, have true remorse for their actions and have reformed themselves a second chance.

After all, Batman left Harvey Dent in charge of Gotham after the events of Infinite Crisis. And without a doubt, Two-Face has been a much more monstrous villain that Harley Quinn ever was.

I like that even though Dini is only performing one-shots during his run on this title, that he still has re-occurring themes that run from issue to issue. Dini continues to build off of the introduction of the new Ventriloquist by showing us more of this new villain. Dini constantly refers to events that happened in previous issues.

And the coolest part of Dini’s writing are the little throwaway references that appear in TV reports or news reports. For example, in this issue we hear a blurb on the radio that magician Loxias is making public appearances again. We last saw Loxias back in Detective Comics #824.

Don Kramer provides his usual enjoyable artwork. I love how Kramer draws the Batman. It is one of my favorite versions of Bats. Kramer has a good sense of feeling for the dark world of Gotham.

The Bad: Even though I can appreciate a well done issue, don’t confuse that with enjoying the issue. I found Detective Comics #831 to be a bit on the boring side. That is because I just have never liked Harley Quinn. Nothing about her character has ever interested me. I didn’t like her over on the Batman Animated Series and I my interest in her didn’t increase when she was introduced into the DC Universe.

Since Harley Quinn took the spotlight in this issue, Batman was pushed into a supporting role. And that is why I found this issue to be a boring read.

At first, I didn’t mind replacing Wesker with Sugar. But, know after seeing more panel time for Sugar I have realized that I’m not a fan of her character. I find Sugar to be rather dull. I think Wesker was a better Ventriloquist.

However, as we all know there is one thing that you don’t want to be in the DC Universe right now. And that is a viejo blanco. So, Wesker is killed and replaced by a female character. Sorry, Wesker, but this is Dan Didio’s world and you are (were) just living in it.

Overall: Detective Comics #831 was a slightly better than average read. If I liked Harley Quinn more then I certainly would have enjoyed this issue more. I know that Harley Quinn is very popular and that I’m in the minority on this issue. I think that your average Batman fan will enjoy this issue much more than I did. And if you are a Harley Quinn fan then you will definitely enjoy this issue. Dini does Harley justice in this issue.