Review: I Am Batman #18 – Final Issue
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: John Ridley
Artists: Christian Duce, Eduardo Pansica, Julio Ferreira
Colors: Rex Lokus
Letters: Troy Peteri
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
I Am Batman #18: Jace Fox is on the most urgent mission of his tenure as Batman: to save the life of his mother. At war with the domestic terror group called the Moral Authority, Jace fights a relentless battle alongside his sister Tiffany and a new hero who bridges DC’s past, present, and future as I Am Batman comes to a spectacular and emotional close.
Positives
So we’ve reached the I Am Batman #18, the final issue in John Ridley’s ground-breaking series featuring Jace Fox wearing the cowl. With this being the last issue, along with my assessment of this issue, I’d like to add some thoughts about the series overall.
In I Am Batman #18, we get to see Hadiyah in action as the new heroine Nobody for the first time. At least, I presume it’s Hadiyah behind the mask. It isn’t explicitly confirmed, but the clues make it pretty much obvious who she is.
I like that this identity seems to have some strong similarities to the Question. This is rather fitting, considering that earlier issues established that Hadiyah and Renee Montoya are old friends. While there is some influence, her Nobody persona is different enough to stand on its own, rather than being a copy-paste of the Question. We already have two Questions in the DCU, so there isn’t really any need for a third one.
Positives Cont.
It seems likely that Jace has accepted that, like it or not, Tiff is going to be his Batman’s junior partner. Although, she has yet to pick a superhero nom de guerre. While her costume has a similar colour scheme to the various Robin costumes, it might be best if she establishes her own heroic persona apart from the various Robins that have partnered with Bruce Wayne.
I quite liked the art in I Am Batman #18. In fact, the artwork has been superb throughout for the entire run of the book. the team of Duce, Pansica, and Ferreira aided by Lokus’ colours and Peteri’s lettering have produced a look that is befitting of a Batman book.
Negatives
I was disappointed to see there was no resolution to the recent falling out Jace had with his parents. Hopefully, he will be able to patch things up with Lucius, and the rest of the Fox family. But this thread was left hanging. Hopefully Ridley or some future writer will pick it up and provide some resolution.
While I have very much enjoyed this series, there are some problematic elements. I don’t have any inside information, but I suspect that most of the blame lies with the powers that be at DC rather than Ridley.
Jace’s Batman first appeared in the Future State event as a future successor to Bruce Wayne. In Future State, Jace was already active as Batman. This was followed by a prequel origin story in The Next Batman: Second Son and leading into this series. In I Am Batman #1, Jace justifies his taking on the identity with his assumption that Batman is dead, as he hasn’t been seen for around six years.
However, Bruce was very much visible at this time in his own comic, with Gotham City celebrating him as their savior following the events of Fear State. Thus, it would seem that Ridley was originally setting the title a number of years in the future, but before Future State. It seems that after DiDio’s departure from DC, it was decided to toss his G5 timeline, and that I Am Batman would be set in the present DCU. However, they forgot to tell Ridley about this change until a few issues into this run.
Negatives Cont.
This had a detrimental effect on the origin that Ridley had already established. Originally, Jace stepped in to fill a vital vacant role that was not being used – a role vital to Gotham City and the entire DCU. However, with Bruce Wayne still clearly active, Jace seemed was taking on a role that clearly belonged to somebody else. Even worse, he did so without the original Batman’s knowledge or approval.
It’s no wonder that some DC readers see him as a usurper. This does Jace an injustice, as Ridley has ably established Jace’s worthiness. Just taking the identity in use by an iconic hero is very problematic for how readers see him.
While I have no problem with another character role of Batman, it has to happen in a more organic fashion. Ridley originally did so. But DC’s sudden change in plans left Ridley with a badly compromised starting point for his creation.
Also, while I have no issues against a successor to Batman being Black (or any other ethnicity), the idea of a Black man becoming Batman in such a manner, could be seen as even more problematic. I have heard it argued that introducing a non-white legacy hero can make it appear that a person of that ethnicity needs to ride the coattails of an established white hero, instead of standing on their own.
I don’t entirely subscribe to this argument, but those who do might feel that this makes Jace look eve worse. It could make it look like he’s nothing more than a pretender playing off the original Batman’s reputation. And isn’t the character that Ridley created. Jace is an entirely capable Batman who is striving to be worthy of that reputation. He is not the pretender that some readers believe him to be.
Negatives Cont.
Related to this is another issue. With Bruce active in the role, why did we not get to see the two Batmen cross paths? Surely Bruce would prioritize dealing with someone else using the Batman identity without permission. It would go a long way towards winning over skeptical readers for Bruce to give Jace his blessing to remain Batman. Hopefully, this meeting will happen and happen soon.
The big question is whether DC has any future plans for Jace. It likely depends on the reasons for the book’s cancellation. If it was because flagging sales, we probably won’t see him in a solo title anytime soon. At least DC allowed Ridley 18 issues to tell his story. One great thing about DC is that they will often support a quality title, even past the point that other publishers would drop it.
Or is if because John Ridley is moving on to other pursuits? I have always thought it unlikely that this title would last if Ridley left. Likely his reputation as a writer brings in some of the readership. But also, does DC has any other writers that would be as passionate about the character Ridley? Sadly, if Ridley is done with writing Jace’s adventures, I don’t think the character’s future looks very bright.
However, it’s possible that DC has some project in the works for continuing Ridley’s story. Hopefully this is the case. Clearly Jace’s story is not over, so it would truly be a shame for the remainder to go untold.
Verdict
Despite the issues I quoted above, I still think there’s a lot of potential in the Jace Fox Batman that remains untapped. I hope that Ridley or other talented writer that shares his passion for the character will continue the story in the near future. That being said, I Am Batman #18 makes for an excellent conclusion to this chapter of Jace’s adventures. I just hope it’s not the final chapter.
