Batman: No Man’s Land Volume 1 Review (New Edition) By Deffinition

The Road To No Man’s Land has been a rocky one so far. Inconsistency has plagued the run and it’s difficult to fully assess how I feel about the build up thus far. We had some absolutely classic issues but they sat amongst the dull and repetitive. Overall I’m unsure of exactly how the major arc itself will turn out.

I’ve heard nothing but good things in regards to it. Many stating that it’s one of the best Batman stories ever put to page. However, these opinions may be marred by nostalgia and the fact that upon it’s release, it didn’t have much competition. Nowadays there are countless classic Bat based stories so it may not stand up as highly in new reader’s eyes.

That’s purely what my perspective will be. Having never read this story before I’m wary as to how good it will actually be. Whilst it may be unfair to mark it with the harsher 2017 eyes that I possess (that’s not a super power by the way) I have to come at it from a modern audience standpoint.

That’s a long winded way of saying ‘will it hold up?’

Let’s find out!

The Dark Knight’s City Is Dead

Gotham is a No Man’s Land (Hence The Title). No one is allowed in or out. The desolate city is now a hot bed of criminality. Only the strongest and smartest survive and from the off you will Get strong elusions to the classic film, Escape From New York. Gangs and Madmen lurk on every corner claiming their territory with a mob mentality. The entire town is completely alien to the dark Metropolis it once was. This is Hell.

Instantly I was sucked in by this aesthetic and it immediately established itself as better than it’s predecessors due to its dark tone and bleak hopelessness that is rife throughout the pages.

Batman is gone and whilst the book takes a while to reintroduce him the payoff is worth it. The creative team show glimmers of him in the shadow and it really adds the mythological status that is often missing from the character, firmly back into his persona.

I love the way he spray paints Bat symbols onto street corners. Similar to it’s use in the Dark Knight Rises, it gives the surviving citizens hope that there is someone out their looking after them. A silent guardian, a watchful protector…(insert the rest of the poignant speech from the end of The Dark Knight).

Gang Warfare I absolutely love the strategic approach that Batman takes to breaking down the gangs. Realising that most of the leaders will not want a coup to be formed, he figures out that all of the foot soldiers will be heavily under armed. This theory is proved correct when he discovers that every soldier in Scarface’s territory only has one bullet. Arranging trade deals in order to trap the gangs and take them down, Bruce is able to showcase his militaristic mentality. It’s a solid take that firmly places the Caped Crusader as superior due to his brain rather than his brawn.

Take Em To Church

The mid section of the book focuses on a Church Community in central Gotham. Trying to rebuild and shelter people during this time of poverty is difficult but it’s great to see that some Gothamites still have good within their heart. This plot point thematically symbolises rehabilitation and we see Batman guide criminals towards the center in order to turn them away from the criminal lifestyle they have lived thus far. Scarecrow even becomes a member of the sect and it adds the hope that if he can change anyone can. At the core of Batman, is the belief that anyone can become good, it’s why he took Jason in and refuses to kill his foes. So it’s great to see it brought up here and established as an ideology.

This is reflected in the transformation of Two Face. Harvey now seeks out those trapped by the rubble, flipping his coin in order to decide whether to save them or not. Whilst still deplorable, it shows a brighter side to the character and that there is still kindness within.

Of course this peace doesn’t last long and like all things in the city, it becomes rotten. Presented at such a high level in the story, we really become attached to the characters. Each piece works brilliantly as it’s own little drama and provides a plot element that I never really thought would be in a Batman story, but still work considerably well.