Batman is an icon. Some see him as the indestructible defender of Gotham, while others see a worn-out trope of masculinity. Whichever version you endorse, it would still be fair to call Batman a cemented part of pop culture. Millions have seen his likeness cross all forms of media for nearly 80 years, but in the new Batman: Damned from DC’s Black Label, it is safe to say you have never seen him like this.

The comic is a raw and disorienting tale from the beginning. We see Batman bleeding out on a stretcher as medics banter over removing his cowl, their sworn task to help forgotten over satiating their gross curiosity. Batman escapes before he is unmasked only to stagger away into an alleyway. There he collapses onto a pile of garbage and still bleeding, calls out for help.

While fans are used to seeing the Caped Crusader in these life or death situations, this comic is the first time we see him in a truly vulnerable and humbled state. This early scene sets the tone for the entire comic, as the writing and artwork exemplify the humility of a warrior fatally wounded and lying in the gutter.

Near death, Batman calls out for Alfred as he is pulled into a memory/hallucination of him falling from a bridge and into the river. He struggles to the surface as our narrator reminds the reader that, while a fall from that height would kill a normal person, “he is the best… to hell with the lad from Krypton.”

We are then thrust back to the present where Batman- still sprawled in his deathbed of trash- reaches out to someone walking toward him like a rescuing angel. But this is no saint; only our “original unreliable narrator” himself, John Constantine.

The comic continues in this unsteady vein as Batman wakes to find his wounds have miraculously healed and his archnemesis, the Joker, has been killed and pulled from the very same river he had possibly fallen into the night before.

DC’s Black Label was touted as “..edgy and provocative standalone stories to the legends of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman,” and this first installment by artist Lee Bermejo and writer Brian Azzarello delivered everything that was promised.

The artwork is a masterful paradox. Drawings that give an ambiance of realism while paying homage to the comic feel. The pallet is muted and elegant yet includes vibrant colors that are calculated accents to the story.

The subtle additions in the artwork force the reader to suss out nonverbal plot points that are vital to understanding Batman’s mindset and motivations. In one panel we see Batman as a child seemingly oblivious to the adult themes being carried out around him. It is only with a second look that you notice the true intention of the young Bruce Wayne clamoring for his parent’s undivided attention.

The story and artwork combine, grating the iconic Batman down to his most raw and fragile state.

A truly low moment for the Batman is when we see our Dark Knight cowering naked on the floor in what could be a puddle of his own urine. This disparity from the leather-clad superhero spotlights Batman’s humanity.

The story is truly suburb if you catch all of the subtle nuances hidden within the comic. However, there are those who will choose to focus on what has been dubbed, “the big reveal.” That would be the unfortunate realization that Batman’s right-hanging member will now forever be apart of canon. While this is not something many fans ever needed to know, this information will surely be right beside the Giant Penny and the T-Rex chiseled into the history of the Batcave.