Everything Scott Snyder has done with Batman has come down to Zero Year. His work reframing the Gordon family in Detective Comics, the introduction of Gotham as a character in the mythos and not just a backdrop, his work forcing Batman to admit the city he thought he knew was still an enigma, and Snyder’s recent story reinventing the Joker – it has all culminated with Zero Year. True, it is a story set before those events, but without all of Snyder’s careful groundwork, this would be just another origin story.
Batman #24, the first look at how Batman arrived on the scene in The New 52, is a mammoth issue. Snyder puts a lot on us, but if you’ve been a faithful reader, it all clicks together wonderfully. Plot wise, The Red Hood Gang is planning something, and Batman aims to stop them. The thread of the story is simple, because of the complexity surrounding it. Take Snyder’s strengthening of the Gordon family. In Zero Year, Gordon isn’t the commissioner yet; he’s just a cop trying to figure out Gotham and Batman. We know that somehow, before the story is over, the Dark Knight and Gordon will be inextricably tied together. With Gordon as strong a character as he is, especially after Snyder’s work, the excitement of watching them form their bond is palpable.
Gotham, the next component here, ties in both Batman and Bruce Wayne. Until issue #24, Bruce has been a vigilante, a man not interested in saving Gotham, but only avenging his own pain. With all the history Snyder has introduced with Gotham, the tie between the city, its golden son and its dark protector is cemented. When Alfred helps Bruce see that Gotham is worth saving, when Bruce realizes that he must become a symbol for his city not only as Batman, but also as Bruce Wayne, his fight crystallizes. He uses both Wayne and Batman to stop the Red Hood Gang, creating something for Gotham City to believe in. Powerful stuff happening in Zero Year, and it’s all subtly brought together, which has always been the power of Snyder’s storytelling.
Bringing me to the Joker, sort of. Snyder’s Death of the Family story arc brought us a Clown Prince of Crime that was less exaggerated, more ruthless, and much more psychotic. In Zero Year, the mystery surrounding his origin becomes a bit clearer. No, Snyder does not come right out and tell us if the Red Hood gang leader is the Joker. You have to read between the lines, you have to judge from what the man who is dropped into the acid says along the way. It seems certain that the man dropped into the chemical vat will become the Joker. Snyder writes that scene beautifully, turning it into something inevitable, as though the coming of the Joker was a force of nature or a fate that neither the man nor the bat could escape. Even with all of that involved, Snyder never spills the beans, he leaves multiple outs that enable Joker to remain a shadow.
Now don’t fret. Batman #24 is still filled with action. Snyder is smart enough to allow much of the story to be told through Greg Capullo’s stunning visuals. A scene where a huge bat-shadow falls over Gotham is striking. I’m also particularly fond of the Hunter S. Thompson nod Snyder and Capullo put into the opening scene. You have to look for it, but it’s right there, hiding in plain sight. Capullo’s standard excellence remains throughout the issue, and he adds his own stamp to Zero Year. The new Batman outfit is built off practicality and, while it’s a base for what comes later, this costume its own creation. Capullo doesn’t feel the need to nod to other incarnations of Batman’s debut costume.
Snyder and Capullo continue to redefine Batman. Strengthening the mythos, adding to the legacy, and allowing Batman to grow in new directions without sacrificing what we hold dear about the character. This era of Batman is something very, very special.
