Batman #17 Review

I have been waiting for this, like everyone else, for months. The conclusion to what has been the most consistent in quality story line I have read for quite some time. Synder and Capullo have so clearly put absolutely everything into this story. They have worked so very hard, and they have been rewarded throughout this story with rave reviews all over the place. This was built up to be another classic Joker story, and even if it will not be looked at in that way in years to come, it will have only just fallen short. So how did this story finally end? Well, it was fantastic, which I am sure does not come as a surprise to anyone.

This issue was very heavy on words, which I did not mind at all seeing as the whole of this story has pretty much been the same. However, before it got wordy, we were shown just exactly what Joker had in store for the Bat family. The situation that Batman and the gang found themselves in was something I really could not see a way out from. I was also shocked to see what was on the plates ( which ended up to be false ), which really made me think that some really heavy **** was about to go down. Luckily for them, everything turned out ok thanks to some very clever writing by Mr Synder. We knew that no one major was going to be killed off, but credit really needs to be given to the writer when explanations and get outs do not feel like cop outs.

So, as I mentioned, it did indeed get kind of wordy in places, but I could not get enough of it. I loved the explanation Joker game for Batman never attempting to kill him. Also, it was great to get a bit of an explanation as to why Joker had taken his own face off. It showed just how messed up he was, and I enjoyed the fact that the reasoning was relatively minimal. I was not wanting a massive explanation for this, as it would have ruined just who the Joker is for me. Yes, he obviously puts a lot of time into his plans, but I like the fact that he can disfigure himself so easily with really loose reasoning.

The final scene of the issue between Joker and Bruce was immense. Bruce teased that he knew who the Joker actually was, which absolutely terrified him. It seems that he has decided to block out who he used to, and he might have genuinely erased it from his memory completely. Bruce ended up to just be bluffing, which I was happy about but also disappointed with. I desperately wanted to know just who the man is, but on the hand it would totally ruin the whole effect Joker has on Batman as well as us readers. This whole scene felt very cinematic and was full of epicness; I thoroughly enjoyed it.
There was also a scene that teased that Joker knew exactly who Batman was. This was also another major highlight for me in this issue. It showed that Joker didn't care who Batman was as it looked like it would have ruined the game for him. This shows again that it is Batman who Joker is totally obsessed with, and how uninterested he is with the man under the cowl.

I have not mentioned everything that happens in this issue in this review, and I have attempted to be as spoiler free as I can be. It is clear that there is going to be some major fallout between Bruce and the rest of the Bat family. I wonder just how long this will go on for? Also, what exactly have they been told by Joker about Batman? I am sure #18 will make things a bit more clear on that. It also looks like Joker will be making a return at some point in the future. How soon in the future is unclear at the minute, but I can guarantee that it will struggle to live up to this storyline. Will it be hailed as a classic in the future? Who knows. However, do I regard it as a classic Joker story? You are damn right that I do.

Rating: 9.5 / 10