Review Detail

I will admit, Batman is not my favourite hero but I love Marie Lu so I was excited to see how she would write a teenage Batman to be. She’s a fantastic writer and the mythology was well handled. I liked the idea of a reckless teenage Bruce having to work at Arkham as community service and also seeing Bruce getting more invested in Wayne Enterprises as he was graduating. My favourite thing was the friendship between Bruce, Dianne, and Harvey.

This Bruce was a lot less broody than I was used to from the movies I’ve seen. He was more open, still secretive, but he seemed more playful with his friends and Alfred. He could be frustrating when he thought he knew better than the adults and wouldn’t listen that Madeleine was dangerous. Even as a teenager, the protectiveness of Batman was ingrained into him as he worried about Madeleine, a girl his age in the asylum, and Harvey, his friend with an abusive father.

The dynamics between characters were so amazing in this book, which was to be expected since it was Marie Lu. She writes absolutely amazing character dynamics. The trio of Bruce, Dianne, and Harvey in their last summer before college were an interesting combo and I really loved their friendship. Bruce and Alfred were great, as always in any Batman medium I’ve seen or read. The dynamic between Bruce and Madeleine was as interesting as it was frustrating. She was playing him and he was letting her but their conversations were intriguing.

The plot focused on the Nightwalkers, a gang, and Bruce trying to get information from Madeleine to help the police put an end to the murders happening in Gotham. It fit it well with a superhero plot and was entertaining. With two DC Icons books in the series down, both have made me excited for the next two to come.