Batwing #22 Review

Batwing returns to Gotham City, unaware that his actions in Africa have set in motion a dangerous plan of retaliation that will not only target him personally but also Wayne Enterprises! Plus: An attempt to reconcile with his father is interrupted by the arrival of the mercenary swarm of the Marabunta! Will Batwing be able to protect his family without revealing his secret identity?

The Good

Cover- Plain background while Batwing his father Lucius are swarmed by the Marabunta in the foreground. It looks pretty good especially with the bats fluttering about in the mid ground with the pale blue moon.

Action- So many flying fists in the opening action junkies will be hard pressed to complain.

Characterization- Luke is as much if not more of a hothead than we’ve been predicting. He’s similar in temperament to Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown or Jason Todd, there is something very dangerous and unpredictable about him that’s reminiscent of the wildcard sidekicks Batman has had. It didn’t end well for any of them each ‘died’ at some point because of their impulsiveness and it would be equally easy to have Luke go down the same path unless he get’s this reactive jump first personality in check. One thing you can’t fault the writer with is Luke’s personality has been consistent since his debut.

Villains- I like the concept for the Marabunta. The Ant motif gives them a great deal of variety in their design and implementation. Pus think about it ants are everywhere and come in all different sizes and colors, quite a bit of mileage to be gotten from this one.

Art- Eduardo Pansica turns in the best art on the new Batwing thus far. The colors from Paul Mounts compliment things like never before, everything just pops right off the pages. The actions scenes flow very well.

Suit- The batman beyond progenitor costume continues to shine with its retractable wings, infrared vision and whispers of a stealth mode, this baby is sweet!

Set Up- This issue we have a potential new villain and or nemesis for Wayne Tech and Batwing in the form of Atticus Fontain the head of the multinational corporation Seclum who owns the imperial diamond exchange which own the very diamond mine which featured so prominently in Batwing #21 and Batwing #20. If this is implemented well this could make for an interesting crossover between Batman and Batwing and add a very wealthy adversary to the Batman rogues gallery.

Danger- The fact that Luke has a family is handled very well this issue and the panic from him when said family is in danger really hits all the right notes.

The Bad

Too easy- It’s interesting how fast Luke seems to adapt to life as Batwing. It would have been nice to see some of his training to ease us into quite a few of these feats he’s accomplishing. I really don’t think it would be as simple as rolling off a log to do a great many of these superhero feats especially as an amateur no matter how well trained one may be.

Missing David– Yeah David Zavimbe has disappeared……..I still miss him…..

The Ugly

Overall I’m enjoying the new direction of this series, it has action, emotion, great art, cover and a new Black Superhero that you should be reading. We give this issue a sturdy 4/5