+1. I very much enjoyed Snyder when he was on Detective Comics, so I'd actually love to see him moved to Nightwing, where he would hopefully write a Nightwing who is compotent as he is one of the most experienced heroes after the JL. Then Tomasi might be allowed free reign on Batman & Robin.
Unfortunately, Snyder=$ so he's noot gonna be moving, which means more contrived, rehashed crap, which ultimately is systematically dismantling the run of the far superior Grant Morrison.
Since 2005 we've seen Bruce actually evolving as a character, that there is more to him than just Batman and that the most important thing, the first truth of Batman was that he was never alone, and Scott Snyder managed to take that away in one- very underwhelming- issue.
Exactly. Morrison and Tomasi are great because they understand there is more to Bruce Wayne than just Batman or his fake bruce persona. It reminds me in a way of the bronze age batman, when he was truly heroic, instead of being a psycho, and while he was dedicated to his mission, bruce was a true living character. I'm tired of those lame and cliched "bruce wayne is the mask" stories.
And while Snyder tries to humanize his characters, he doesn't succeed, imo, because he's so obviously trying to write the goddamn incredible arc everybody will talk about in a decade or so.
Like you said, not only the issue was underwhelming, but it achieved nothing new, and it certainly didn't help Bruce to grow as a character. We already saw him disappoint in his allies several times in the past few years: tower of babel, war games..... So this ending is nothing new. And it's not even interesting: Dick, Tim, Jason and Damian are all strong individuals, whose will would not be destroyed that easily by someone like the Joker. (I purposedly didn't mention Barbara). Having them turn their back on Bruce is not only off character imo, but it doesn't work because of how strong inc is right now, and how powerful issue #8 will probably turn. How are we supposed to care for that storyline, when inc threatens to be so intense, and the whole batfamily will be on the line? That doesn't make sense. And regardless, the story of DOTF was weak. Not because nobody died, but because it was cliché and boring. Which is sad, since some scenes were good.
I agree with this overall. I do think part of the problem is the hype surrounding this story. Snyder kind of set the stage for a horror-like, Silence of the Lambs type of ending but ultimately it was still a Batman story full of Batman tropes. I think it succeeded in finding some new edges to bring out in the Batman/Joker dynamic, but let's face it- a lot of readers were expecting at least one death. Doesn't mean that was the right way to end it, but the expectation was there.
This is just my opinion, but I think what rubs some people the wrong way about Snyder is his writing has a touch of self-importance to it (which Morrison's did too), which causes people to be more critical. Trust me, I can relate to that mindset so I'm not blaming anyone who bashes his run. But if you remove all the hype and whatnot, I still think he's writing quite solid Batman stories. I know others will disagree, but his arcs have certainly kept my attention so far, and Capullo's artwork has been stellar. One thing I respect about Snyder's stuff is that he comes up with an interpretation and sticks with it, even if it's an unconventional way of viewing Gotham/the characters. Joker's motivation throughout this story was unique and new to the mythos, it drove the story the whole way through and stayed consistent up to the very last panel. He had a take on the character and his relationship with Batman and stuck to his guns.
I understand your point. and while I do think the hype was irritating, I also think I wouldn't have liked the story more nor less without this hype. While I do think some of his ideas are good, more often than not since night of owls, it's boring and uninspired, and he's often stating the obvious, which doesn't work for me. For instance, Damian looking at Wayne manor with a sad look in Batman & Robin was more powerful than Batman telling nightwing that Alfred is like a father to him (something we all know for years, but do we need a writer to stating it loudly and without subtlety? I think not).
I stopped reading that IGN article after the first sentence.
Same here.
.Oswald and Dent were also nowhere to be seen in #17 despite #16 ending on a cliffhanger with both of them sticking around,no explanation was offered for their disappearance.
